Rushed off your feet and feeling stressed? Gabrielle Fagan discovers some quick fixes to improve your health 

WE’RE constantly trying to do more and more in less and less time, which can leave us exhausted, feeling generally rundown and more vulnerable to illness.

But making time for all the things we know we should do – from regular gym visits or fitness routines to dieting – can seem impossible as we get caught up in endlessly juggling work and a family.

As winter approaches, bringing its traditional dose of coughs, sneezes and ailments, we’ve asked the experts for their top tips which take only minutes but could significantly improve your health.

MORNING FIXES

FIVE SECONDS: Adding a little sprinkle of cinnamon on porridge or cereal can help stabilise blood sugar and help keep hunger at bay throughout the day, according to some scientific studies.

Putting as little as 6g (a little over a teaspoonful) can lower blood glucose, it was reported recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

30 SECONDS: Allow your shower to run for that length of time before you step underneath it, as according to research, bacteria can lurk in the head and spray out with the first burst of water and get inhaled into your lungs.

TEN MINUTES: Get up early and go for a brisk walk – and don’t call it exercise. Professor Adrian Taylor, a sports psychologist at Exeter University, says the word “exercise” has negative connotations and is associated with being demanding and sweaty, whereas “physical activity” can be gentle, easy and fun. Scientists reported in The Lancet last year that a daily brisk ten-minute walk can lengthen a lifespan by three years.

15 MINUTES: Have a morning cuppa sitting beside a window or outside on a patio. “Fifteen minutes of sunlight first thing strengthens your body’s sleep-wake cycle, so you’ll feel fresher for the rest of the day,” says Derk-Jan Dijk, a professor of sleep and physiology at the University of Surrey.

  • Total: 25 minutes and 35 seconds.

LUNCHTIME TACTICS

TWO MINUTES: Three daily sessions of toning your pelvic floor with exercises could improve your sex life. It could also mean you’ll remedy or avoid stress incontinence.

Tense the muscles you’d use to hold back the flow of urine for a count of three, then relax for the same time. (Do not do this while passing urine).

Start with ten clenches, which should take about two minutes, and build up to 20 over time.

TWO MINUTES: Turn a tiny part of your lunch break to good use: book an appointment with a dental hygienist. You should go at least once a year to ensure your teeth sparkle and you can cut the risk of heart attack by 24 per cent and a stroke by 13 per cent. Not brushing properly causes plaque to build up, which leads to gum disease. Bacteria then enter the bloodstream via the gums, and it is thought that this causes artery walls to become inflamed, which can trigger heart attacks or strokes.

FOUR MINUTES: Correctly adjusting your office chair could save hours of physiotherapy treatment.

Sitting in the wrong position for long periods can cause pain in your neck, shoulder, back and legs.

For advice (and a step-by-step video) on sitting correctly, visit the NHS Choices website at nhs.uk/Livewell/workplacehealth/Pages/howtosit correctly.aspx

TEN MINUTES: Eating a protein-rich snack or meal at lunchtime will help give your body a steady supply of energy for the afternoon, says nutritional therapist Ian Marber (thefooddoctor.com ).

A salad, such as nicoise, which has a double protein dose with eggs and tuna, and perhaps boosting its benefit by adding a handful of nuts, will help you resist sweet snacks in mid-afternoon.

  • Total: 18 minutes.

EVENING IDEAS

TWO SECONDS: Turning off a laptop and mobile at least an hour before bed could make for more peaceful sleep. “The blue light suppresses melatonin production,” says Professor Derk-Jan Dijk.

Harvard researchers conducted an experiment on exposure to blue light, and it was found it could suppress melatonin and alter sleep patterns.

TWO MINUTES: At the end of every day, simply noting what you’ve eaten could help double your weight loss. A six-month study of 1,700 people in the US in 2008 found those who kept food diaries lost 18lb, while those who didn’t lost only 9lb. Make it easy by visiting myfitnesspal.com, which will work out calories, fat and vitamin levels.

FIVE MINUTES: A tennis ball could ease pain, says Dr Rick Seah, consultant in sport and exercise medicine at Pure Sports Medicine clinics.

“For backache, lie on the tennis ball and move it around under the painful area,” he says. “For neck pain, stand against a wall, put the ball behind your neck and move the ball around the painful area for five to ten minutes.”

The pressure helps increase blood flow to the area and brings more oxygen and nutrients to aid repair, and it can also release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.

FIVE MINUTES: Stretching before bed will help to prepare you for sleep. “Your muscles hold tension, even if you’ve been sitting down all day,” says personal trainer Jean-Pierre De Villiers. “Taking a few minutes to gently stretch them out, and focusing on breathing deeply and evenly at the same time, will send your body a signal that it’s time to wind down.”

  • Total: 12 minutes and two seconds.