Grey Power March 2017

10
NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » MARCH 2017
Great survey offers life-changing prize
For one lucky New Zealand household, power bills are
about to become a thing of the past.
The Great New Zealand Energy Survey
is being launched and everyone
that takes part is in with a chance of
winning Energy for Life.
The survey only takes a few minutes to
complete and asks straightforward questions
about how your household uses and
saves energy, what you believe is important
in a power provider and how you
think the future of electricity might look.
Conducted by Pulse Energy and Grey
Power Electricity, this is the only survey
of its kind, targeting New Zealand households
and sharing its results with all participants.
The very first Great New Zealand Energy
Survey was conducted in 2014 and
was a huge success with 12,000 households
taking part and explaining what
was important to them as energy consumers.
For instance, the survey revealed that
as a nation we care about our environment
with 62 percent of respondents
agreeing that global warming needs proactive
action, 54 percent saying they valued
a company that was environmentally
responsible and a massive 96 percent
considering themselves as active or very
active in reducing energy consumption.
Now it’s time for an update with a second
Great New Zealand Energy Survey.
“The energy industry is always changing,”
explains Pulse Energy CEO Gary
Holden. “We know it’s vital for us to understand
what is important to our current
and future customers.”
Pulse Energy is an innovative company
that offers low costs, price protection
and bills that make sense so that customers
know exactly what they are paying for.
The Great New Zealand Energy Survey
will give the Pulse team valuable insights
into how to better serve households
around the country.
This time they are aiming to get more
than 20,000 people to take part.
All participants will be automatically
entered the draw to win the incredible
money-saving prize, Energy for Life.
It only takes a few moments and it
could make a difference for the rest of
your life.
To complete the survey go to
www.energysurvey.co.nz
Love the benefits of being with Grey
Power Electricity?
Grey Power Electricity is a partnership
between Grey Power NZ Federation
Inc and Pulse Energy to provide our Grey
Power members with a better power deal.
Reminder for Grey Power Electricity customers
To remain a customer with Grey
Power Electricity, you must ensure
that you maintain your financial
membership with us, Grey Power NZ
Federation Inc, by paying your subscription
to your local Grey Power Association
annually.
Please check your Grey Power NZ Federation
membership card to see when
your membership expires. Feel free to
ring the Grey Power Federation office
on 0800 473 979 should you require the
phone number of your local Association.
The Association numbers are also listed
on our website www.greypower.co.nz
and in our Grey Power National Magazine.
Thank you for your continuing support.
TOM O’CONNOR
National President
Grey Power NZ Federation Inc
Maturing with dignity as changes occur
As we age there are certain obvious
changes that occur.
Our muscles begin to soften
and sag, we can gradually lose our muscle
strength and some of us start to slow down.
We may need glasses to read the small
print, hearing may be compromised and
mobility will possibly begin to decrease.
But we are still okay.
We want to continue as we have in the
past. Our minds are sharp and we still feel
as though we are fifty.
However there are also less obvious
changes that are occurring and if neglected
can really compromise your quality of life,
putting a stop to many outings and both social
and physical activities.
Do you have complete control over your
bladder or does it control you?
Are you ever anxious that you might wet
yourself? Do you worry where the next toilet
may be?
Do you need the toilet often?
Do you minimise your fluid intake to
stay safe?
Do you have nights interrupted by toilet
visits? Do you need to wear pads or liners?
When these changes start to occur it
is common for people to moderate their
activities to avoid being left in a compromising
situation. The issues are private and
often not shared.
They will not go away and the consequences
will gradually get worse.
Pelvic floor neglect is not unusual. Various
strategies are implemented to cope
and disguise the problem. You may now be
living with a “bossy bladder” and undignified
damp patches. If you have lost control
of your most intimate body functions – it
does not feel good. It leads to decreased
confidence, lowered self esteem, fear of embarrassment
and loss of spontaneity. Being
spontaneous makes us feel young.
Brenda Holloway is a private physiotherapist
who has been specialising in
women’s pelvic floor dysfunction since
1991.
“Make maturing with dignity your option
of choice. Do not assume that this will
happen without some input from you. With
information, education and intent you can
be proactive and regain ownership of these
issues. Seek help and do it now.”
Another sleepless night?
You are not alone!
Advertorial
One of the most common issues
we face in our lifetime at one
point or another is poor sleep.
This of course can have adverse
effects to our health.
We all get to the end of the day
imagining that we are going to
wake up after a good 8 hours
sleep. With horror we wake up
after only 2 to 3 hours sleep and
toss and turn for the next
couple of hours hoping to
eventually drift off back to sleep.
Finally it is time to get up and
we feel absolutely shattered and
dissatisfied with the little amount
of sleep we have had.
Before too long it develops into a
never ending cycle eventually
causing us a degree of anxiousness
every time we go to bed at
night. One of the first thoughts is
“Will I have a good night
sleep?”, “I hope my mind
switches off”, “I hope I don’t
wake up worried about this or
that”.
These patterns are learnt patterns
that need to be modified to
enable us to achieve a good night
sleep on a more regular basis.
For most it has taken years to get
to this point and it requires real
effort to modify this behaviour.
Listed are strategies that often
used with success to achieve a
more regular sleep pattern.
The strategies you could take:
NO caffeinated drinks in the
evening
NO drinking alcohol before
bed
NO naps during the day or
limit them to short periods
Avoiding TV or computers
before bed. Instead read or listen
to music
Going to bed at the same
time each night
Making sure the bedroom is
dark and cool
Keeping your bed for sex and
sleep
Setting your alarm for the
time you wish to wake up
Turn the clock away from you.
If during the night you do wake
up avoid looking at your clock.
This is a way of retraining your
normal response. You need to
retrain your mind and body that
you are not going to get out of
bed and start doing anything
worthwhile. So there is no point
waking up anyway. To help get
back to sleep try focussing on a
point in your room and opening
your eyes with each inhale and
closing with each exhale. This
helps focus the brain on a
mundane task rather than some
complicated and stressful scenario
that keeps you awake at night.
You will probably agree not
many good decisions are made at
three o’clock in the morning.
Often combined with the above
we also suggest taking Gold
Health Super Magnesium 1000
which supports relaxing the
nerves and tight muscles. This
supports a good night sleep.
(see Page 5)
Don’t give up!
It is time to make a change. Just
remember how many years it has
taken to get to this point. Start
tonight with your new sleep plan.
Sleep Tight.
Tell us your story
Sleep or rather the lack of it can
be a major contributor to anxiety
and to our health. Most people at
one time or another suffer from
this and have their own way of
coping or techniques for getting
back into a healthy sleep pattern.
We would love to hear your
story. Maybe there will be an
idea in your story that could help
someone else to cope. Please
take the time to write your story
and post to us at.
Gold Health
P.O. Box 35-197, Browns Bay
Auckland, 0753
To support a good night sleep
and support relaxing tight
muscles order your Gold Health
Super Magnesium now on
0800-777377 Free delivery (see
page 5)
Caution: Always read the label
and use as directed. Supplements
are supplementary to and not a
replacement for a balanced diet.
See your healthcare professional
if symptoms persist.
TAPS PP9243