Our bodies are not good at keeping secrets

Fadzayi Maposah-Correspondent

THE winter season is upon us.

While it is absolutely wonderful to get into a warm bed at night, waking up in the morning when the alarm goes off at the height of freezing temperatures is torture.

These days it is difficult for me to get out of bed.

I have a good body clock that warns me that it is time to get up, and usually when the alarm goes off, I am wide awake.

I used to vouch that I did not need an alarm, and that my body clock would simply tell me to wake up. Not anymore. I have now switched to being an alarm-dependent individual.

Some days I wake up so energised that it is as if when I slept, I was recharging my energy levels. I know that sleep is good for an individual, but there are days when I have more energy than usual. I get out of bed ready to face the world with a spring in my step.

On some days I feel as if I did not get a chance to sleep. I wake up so tired that I have to force myself to prepare for the day. I am waking up an hour earlier than usual as I work far from home.

Have you ever woken up and had to do some amount of self-talk until you convince yourself to go back to sleep?

Try just pulling the curtain a bit and then you may slowly start walking back to bed. This is because it will be dark and one may have to look at the clock again just to confirm the time.

Combine waking up early with the cold and the darkness and you wonder why when you were young you wanted to grow up.

Some of the things we thought were part of growing up as children, we have come to realise that they are not a bed of roses. Just to find those things missing may have hit us, the difference is the impact.

Growing up comes with a lot of responsibilities, and when looking up from a point of being young, it seemed like adults had it easy because at times they assigned duties and did not seem to do much. Take note of the word seem. Then we learnt that it was not so. I digress. Let us go back to the winter season being upon us.

Bathing can be a very tall order for those who struggle to do so even in summer. It has to be done properly, despite the weather.

Avoid just passing through the bathroom, but go and actually take a bath. Don’t entertain thoughts of skipping the ritual. Set aside adequate time for bathing so that you do not have to rush the process with the excuse of running behind time!

One should be free to travel with others without thinking that they are ones being referred to when someone asks; “What is that smell?”

Our bodies are not very good secret keepers. You do or do not do something, our bodies are ready to tell the world. Think about it.

Eat too much and the body is ready to show the world. Exercise and the body tones and trims for everyone to see. If you are a woman, have unprotected sex and your body tells the world with pregnancy.

If you fail to take a bath your body will report that it has not been interacting with soap and water! If you must do something with your body, just make sure that you are not partners in crime!

Always be on your best behaviour when it comes to body interactions. If one should misbehave, be able to reach out to get support on how best to rectify the relationship with the body.

Winter brings with it a lot of comfort eating. The hearty stews and the heaps of starch will lead us to gain weight.

For some, exercise becomes a punishment and the warm blankets are more tempting than getting out of bed and pumping iron.

Then procrastination, the thief of time, creeps in and days turn into weeks, weeks into months with no exercise. Winter needs one to be focused on their health — all aspects of it.

Then there are those who may bath and eat well, but do not dress appropriately for the winter season.

The start of this week was rather chilly, yet I am sure that like me, you saw some people who were dressed inappropriately as far as the weather was concerned.

There are some people who have beautiful skin that is well toned, but honestly to wear a vest or a sleeveless dress on a cold day is a big no!

Then when one has a flu or they are coughing, they want people to be at their beck and call and even provide medicines! You will have more summer days to put on your sleeveless clothes if you keep your body warm this winter.

Schools open next week. My heart goes out to the younger learners, most of whom will ask their parents and caregivers if they really have to wake up, bath and go to school.

These children will be forced to go to school, yet the adults may choose not to bath at all! The children who see this cannot wait to grow up!

This winter, let us bath properly for good health and well-being!