Sleep

Dragging your feet lately? Dumblittleman.com just published a quick article called '10 Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy Levels' that might help you out. It's good stuff.

My favorite point:

Ditch the Strict Schedule!
If you start to feel anxious and stressed when working on a task, try switching to something else. Do not force yourself to work on something because your predetermined schedule says so; in fact, coming back to that project later when you have a more accepting attitude will yield better results. Loosen the reigns and allow yourself to work on projects that are most appealing to you during the present moment!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to cut stress by going with the flow more often. Scheduling has its place, but there is definitely something to be said for 'loosening the reigns' and doing more of what makes you happiest.

It's just what you need.

Check out the full article:

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/11/10-effective-ways-to-increase-your....

Stumble It!

Just because many people say that going to bed with a full stomach is a bad idea doesn't mean that eating food before sleep should be entirely avoided. In fact, according to a recent article on Yahoo! Food, there are even certain foods that will help relax your muscles, calm your mind and get some sleep-inducing hormones flowing in your body. So, if you're planning on a late night snack, let it be one of the foods on Yahoo! Food's top ten list.

Some surprise items on the list:

Bananas - The presence of bananas on Yahoo! Food's list came as a bit of a surprise as they are a rather sweet fruit with the potential to charge up blood sugar levels. As it turns out though, they're also a source of melatonin and seratonin, both of which relax and prepare the body for sleep.

Honey - A big surprise. Apparently the glucose in honey triggers our brains to limit orexin, a hormone that affects alertness.

There's even a recipe for 'Lullaby Muffins'. Yawn.

http://food.yahoo.com/blog/beautyeats/746/top-10-foods-for-a-good-night-...

Stumble It!

For many people, getting a good sleep at night can be highly elusive. High stress and never-ending demands on our time keep us going to bed too late and getting up too early. Though our minds may be exhausted, lack of sufficient physical exercise leaves us without the physical exhaustion vital to a good night's sleep. And, to top it all off, the coaxing appeal of a late night cola drink or chocolate fix keeps us wired far past the time we should be hitting the sack.

The list goes on.

The fact of the matter is that getting a good sleep at night isn't easy for a lot of us, and although there is plenty of advice out there on how to get a good sleep, finding the winning combination isn't easy. Advertisements on the TV tell us that our pillows are to blame, while magazines point fingers at our evening warm showers.

But it isn't that simple, is it?

True, a new pillow may help a bit, and true, maybe the warm shower is actually waking you up more than it soothes, but let's be a little smarter about it:

You have to find out what works for you, as an individual.

No one knows your body better than you do; not your doctor, not your partner, and certainly not the b-grade infomercial on late night TV. You know what a good night's sleep feels like; the difficult part is distinguishing what habits and activities will set you on a consistent path to having a good sleep.

Enter your sleep diary.

A sleep diary is a simple record of things in your life that you feel affect the quality of sleep you get, and you can begin keeping a sleep diary for as little as a couple of minutes every evening. All you have to do is find a small notebook, and every morning and evening jot down some or all of the following:

• What time you went to bed and got up.
• The quality of sleep you feel you got.
• The total amount of time you slept for.
• The types of food you ate in the hours leading up to your bedtime.
• Your mood and feelings.
• What before-bed activities you did.
• The number of times you woke up in the night and why.
• Any naps you took during the day.
• How you felt during the day.

After keeping a sleep diary for a while, you'll likely start to notice patterns, patterns that are personal to you. You'll see what helps you as an individual get a better sleep at night. Most importantly, it will make you more aware of your life habits and how they might be affecting the type of rest you can get at night. Costing you only a few moments a day, it's a good investment. Nothing feels better than a good night's rest.

Stumble It!