You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life. ~ Herbie Hancock
Month: June 2019
Sleep Quality Hack: Ditch the Blues
Blue Light at Night Will Cause the Sleeping Blues
Exposure to light during the day is beneficial, but nighttime light exposure has the opposite effect. . . . Blue light tricks your body into thinking it’s daytime. . . . This reduces hormones like melatonin, which help you relax and get deep sleep. . . . Blue light — which electronic devices like smartphones and computers emit in large amounts — is the worst in this regard.
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Stress Hack: Naming The Role We Play
Identify the sources of stress in your life
Stress management begins by identifying the sources of stress in our life. While it’s easy to identify major stressors such as changing jobs, moving, or a going through a divorce, pinpointing the sources of chronic stress are more complicated. . . . To identify true sources of stress, look closely at habits, attitude, and excuses. Once we accept responsibility for the role we play in creating or maintaining our stress, our stress level remains outside our control.
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Longevity Tip ~ #8 of 10 Anti-Aging Foods
Spinach
This leafy green is a true nutrient powerhouse — and it’s easy to add to foods like scrambled eggs, pasta, as the base of a salad, or even smoothies. Spinach is rich in lutein, which has been shown to have anti-aging properties. Eating spinach (or including it in your morning green juice) will keep your skin healthy and hydrated. And hydrated skin looks younger.
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Health Hack ~ Mood Booster
Did You Know You Can Boost Your Mood Naturally?
Smell the skin of an orange for a natural mood booster. Studies have shown that orange essential oil helps boost mood and alertness, and can reduce anxiety. If you don’t keep the fresh fruit on hand, buy some bottled oil and dab a drop on each wrist or massage into your temples for the same effect.
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Writer’s Wisdom: Neil Gaiman’s 8th of 8 Writing Tips
Tip #8: The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. ~ Neil Gaiman
If ~ Rudyard Kipling
If
Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream- -and not make dreams your master;
If you can think- -and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on! '
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings- -nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And- -which is more- -you'll be a Man, my son!
Today’s Reflection: Time to Act
So plant your own gardens and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. ~ Jorge Luis Borges
Sleep Quality: Get the Rhythm
Bring on the Sunshine
Your body has a natural time-keeping clock known as your circadian rhythm. It affects your brain, body and hormones helping you stay awake and telling your body when it’s time to sleep Natural sunlight or bright light during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy. This improves daytime energy as well as nighttime sleep quality and duration. In people with insomnia, daytime bright light exposure improved sleep quality and duration. It also reduced the time it took to fall asleep by 83%.
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Stress Hack: Stop, Take a Deep Breath or Two
Slow, rhythmic breathing activates the vagus nerve — a large nerve that travels throughout the body and links your brain with your heart, lungs, gut, and other major organs. The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows down the fight-or-flight response and takes the body back into a relaxed state known as “rest and digest.” Blood flows from your hands and feet back to your inner organs, since your brain assumes you no longer have to run or fight. To practice slow, rhythmic breathing, breathe in for a count of 5, rest for a count of 2, then breathe out through either your nose or mouth for a count of 6. if this is too difficult, you can begin with a 4-2-4 rhythm and work up to 5-2-6.
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