Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Friday, 15 November 2013

Learn How To Get More Energy In The Morning

The sounds of your alarm clock goes off. It’s Monday morning. You were up late Sunday night and you have to be at work in two hours. You don’t feel like getting out of bed, let alone completing your morning tasks. How can you get out of bed more quickly and get more energy in the morning? Try some of these techniques:

1. Set your alarm clock to play your favorite music
The sounds of most alarm clocks is miserable and can elicit feelings of anxiety in many people. Thus by using a standard alarm clock, the first thought in your head each day is a negative one. That’s a terrible way to start the day! Instead try setting your alarm clock to play music that makes you happy. The first thought in your head each day be a bright one. Unlike with an annoying alarm clock sound, you won’t even want to push the snooze button! You will just want to dance, and you can’t sleep when you’re dancing… and when you’re dancing, you want to stand up. So before you know it, you’re up and ready to take on the day!
2. Drink caffeine shortly after waking
Often people feel groggy and slow for the first hour or two after waking up. Feeling groggy leads to lower productivity, and means more time spent on certain tasks than is necessary. To eliminate the morning groggy feeling, drink coffee or tea within about fifteen minutes of waking up. It prevents you from wanting to go back to sleep, and will give you the energy you need to get your morning tasks done quicker and get to work on time.
3. Place your alarm clock far from your bed
By placing your alarm clock far from your bed, you will be required to get out of bed to turn it off. Getting out of bed is often the hardest part about waking up in the morning. By getting out of bed faster, you increase the likelihood of starting your day instead of pressing the snooze button. Having your alarm clock next your bed makes it easier to press the snooze button and sleep longer.
4. Exercise in the morning
Some light exercise in the morning will get your endorphins flowing and give you more energy. The optimal duration and intensity of exercise varies from person to person. After a brief workout at the gym, you will feel energized and ready to take on the day. In addition, it leaves the rest of may day open for other activities.
5. Drink water right before going to sleep
By drinking water first thing in the morning, when you wake up you’ll have to go to the bathroom which will make you want to get up and prevent you from falling back to sleep. However, try to avoid excess amounts of water within the few hours prior to going to sleep as at may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. Try experimenting to find the optimal timing and quantity of water to drink prior to sleeping.
6. Leave your blinds open
Leaving your blinds open at night will allow the sun to enter your room and wake you up. The sun is also a source of vitamin D, which is a natural source of energy.
7. Eat before sleeping
One of the reasons why you feel groggy and slow in the morning is because you haven’t had any sustenance during the eight hours you were asleep. A small snack before bed can help prevent this feeling. Eat a low-carbohydrate, easy to digest, snack, such as cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, and/or peanut butter. Too much food or those that are difficult to digest may prevent you from sleeping, so it’s best to experiment to find the best quantity and types of food to eat before you sleep.
8. Eat when you wake up
A small and easy-to-digest meal in the morning will give you a boost of energy. As discussed above, while sleeping for eight hours you haven’t provided your body with any sustenance. Apiece of fruit, a glass of milk, or yogurt will do good.
9. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day
Keeping a regular and consistent sleep schedule helps your body get in to a natural rhythm. By doing so you will begin to naturally fall asleep and wake up at the same time each day. Waking up will feel more natural and you will therefore have more energy in the morning. In addition you will help you fall asleep earlier. Getting the right amount of sleep will help you feel more energized. Staying up too late when you have to be up early the next morning can be detrimental to energy levels.
10. Do something you enjoy doing in the morning
Stimulating your mind by doing an inspiring or enjoyable activity will give you energy. Knowing that you will be doing something fun will make you more eager to get out of bed in the morning.
11. Schedule something with somebody in the morning
Having “peer accountability” is one of the most effective motivators. If someone is dependent on your for something or monitoring your progress, you will feel motivated to do it. Scheduling a breakfast or workout with a peer will give you a clear deadline to attain to in the morning, thus giving you a kick-start in the morning.

Sunday, 20 October 2013

How To Keep Your Brain In Shape

How to make your brain work more productively? Here are 10 popular ways to keep your brain sharp.
1. Physical activity
Physical exercise does not only keep muscles in tone, but also has a positive impact on the overall health of the brain, because intense movements improve the blood supply to the muscles and brain. Exercises when the head is below the heart are particularly effective (such as yoga postures).
2. Drinking water instead of coffee
Many studies show that a morning cup of coffee does not stimulate brain activity but on the contrary, makes people dumber! But if you replace it with a glass of water, the feeling of cheerfulness will be much longer. Drinking water on an empty stomach activates the entire gastrointestinal tract, and, in contrast to the hot, strong coffee, it doesn’t irritate mucous membranes, which in turn gives a sense of cheerfulness.
3. Scents can help focus
As a rule, people do not recognize smells well, which in fact help focus and give courage. Specialists advise to use aromatherapy scents of basil, rosemary, lemon balm, thyme, rose and lavender in situations where the focus is particularly needed.
4. Tranquil environment
It is no secret that in a tranquil environment, any work (especially mental work) is significantly easier to do. However, a quiet environment is a rarity in our society. But if you learn to focus on the bright side, it will certainly increase your productivity.
5. Puzzle solving
An effective workout for the brain is the solving of puzzles, crosswords, word games which in the case of illness even help restore damaged cognitive abilities.
6. Watching TV reasonably
Many people not without reason believe that TV dulls the mind. But if you do not watch all the stupid shows and serials and choose TV programs wisely, then you can learn a lot of informative things.
7. Looking for information online
There are many studies that confirm that the process of looking for relevant information online makes brain work the same or even more than when reading a book. So do it more often, and do not forget to ask the right questions.
8. Healthy nutrition
The surest way to clear the mind and is the well-known “healthy diet” consisting of vegetables and fruits. And, of course, sometimes you can treat yourself to sweets. However, the fact that the human brain needs glucose does not mean you have to eat much sweet.
9. Herbs
Herbs known today to the official medicine and not only, such as ginseng, significantly improve the cognitive abilities of the person and increase stress tolerance.
10. Everlasting learning process
If even the most capable and talented brain is not actively used, it will quickly lose its capabilities. Therefore it is necessary to constantly make the brain work, which can be achieved by doing the following activities: learning foreign languages, painting, cooking, etc. 15-minute cognitive activity every day will be more effective in preventing the degradation of the brain than any medications.






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Monday, 5 August 2013

Learn To Sleep Better

Though sleep disorders are hardly new – even Aristotle wrote about them – our round-the-clock lifestyles, caffeine and alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, stress loads, and a myriad of other factors have conditioned our bodies to stay awake. At times, sleep seems like the impossible dream and staying up is wearing us out.

So is there hope for the bleary-eyed? Is a good night’s rest even possible these days? Absolutely! But first, you’ll need to brush up on your sleeping skills and make a few simple daytime changes so you can sleep better tonight. Here’s where to start:

1. Get into a sleepy-time groove.

Getting up and going to bed around the same time, 7 nights a week, is one of the most important things you can do to establish good sleep habits. Waking and sleeping at regular times reinforces a consistent sleep rhythm and reminds the brain when to release those all-important sleep and wake hormones.

2. Lost sleep is lost.

Going to bed extra early Sunday night after Saturday night’s debauchery won’t help you “make up” for lost sleep. Instead, it’ll throw off your body clock even further, making quality sleep more elusive. Take a power-nap if you really need it (see below) but again, go to bed at your normal bedtime to maintain a consistent sleep routine.

3. Nap like a grown-up.

Toddlers need 2-hour naps. Adults don’t. A grown-up power-nap should be no more than 30 minutes, preferably before 4pm. Long or late afternoon naps damage sleep rhythm, and make it tougher to fall asleep at night.

4. Rest your belly.

To rest easier, eat light at night, at least 3 hours before bed. This will help ensure that the digestive process is well under way and nearing completion before you hit the hay. Eating close to bedtime forces your body to work into the wee hours, digesting when it should be resting.

5. Say no to late night snacks. 

Refined grains and sugars at night can raise blood sugar and overstress the organs involved in hormone regulation throughout the body. This roller coaster can contribute to waking you up throughout the night as hormone levels bounce up and down. Advice? You’ll sleep better tonight if you just say no to late night snack attacks.

6. Dry up your act.

Late night liquids can disrupt sleep with frequent trips to the loo, so cut yourself off about 4 hours before you turn in for the night to extend your bouts of uninterrupted sleep.

7. Deprive your senses.

To sleep better, you’ll need a quiet, dark room. Blackout curtains, an old-fashioned sleep mask, earplugs, plus a white noise machine (optional) will help block out common sleep-disrupters like street noise, streetlights, snoring partners and early morning sun.

8. Chill out, dude.

A sleeping temperature of 60 to 68 degrees is best for most people, even in winter. In hot weather, a fan or an air-conditioner set at about 70 degrees will do the trick. “Chilling pillows” with cooling gel inserts and sheet-cooling devices can also make sleep more comfortable.

9. Prepare to sleep.

It’s important to prepare for sleep with a few day-ending rituals. Start by turning off all screens, computers, iPads and so on, an hour or two before bed. Engage in quieting activities that relax the body and down-shift the mind to begin the transition to a sleep-friendlier state.

10. Banish all electronics from the bedroom.

Their glowing lights and EMFs can undermine your ability to power down at night. Even in seemingly innocuous doses, light can stop your melatonin levels from rising, which is essential to induce sleep and help you achieve the deep, restorative rest your body needs.

11. Use melatonin strategically.

When sleep proves elusive, melatonin, in low doses for short periods – no more than a week or two at a time – can help regulate sleep rhythms. Generally, 1/2mg to 2 mg about 90 minutes before bed will do the trick. Keep in mind however, for some people, over-use of melatonin can actually disrupt sleep, so use it sparingly and follow the manufacturer’s dosing instructions.

12. Power down with calming nutrients.

Instead of sleeping pills or alcohol, try herbs or supplements with calming effects, about a half an hour to an hour before bedtime. Magnesium (300-600 mg) is a wonderful calming mineral and can help induce sleep. Also helpful are the amino acids L theanine (100-500mg), 5 HTP (50-100mg), taurine and GABA, or herbs like lemon balm, passion flower, chamomile, magnolia and valerian root taken per package instructions. 

13. Catch a sleep wave.

If you can’t fall asleep within 45 minutes, get up and out of the bedroom. Keep the lights low and try a calming, screen-free activity, like reading or knitting. Wait about an hour before going back to bed. Staying in bed trying to fall asleep (instead of getting up), will only stress you out more and train your brain to not recognize bedtime as sleep time.

14. Have a chat with your doc.

Do you take prescription drugs? They could be contributing your sleeplessness. Among the more common sleep-stealers are antihistamines; diuretics; anti-psychotics; anti-depressants; decongestants; asthma medications, and some blood-pressure medicines. If you suspect they may be undermining your zzzzzs, ask the doc if you can switch to a more sleep-supportive alternative.





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