Be watchful of increasing caffeine consumption when you’re tired. It can lead to fragmented sleep later that night–and that’s harmful to your cognition and productivity. The worse time for caffeine consumption occurs in the afternoons and evenings. People who think caffeine “doesn’t affect them” often experience lesser-quality sleep after consuming too much.
There’s plenty of evidence proving the value of short, 10-minute naps. Longer naps, however, can be problematic–especially if you’re already getting six to eight hours of sleep per night. . . . The sleep that you get in the middle of the day isn’t the sleep you get at night, because it’s not part of a 90- to 120-minute sleep cycle. Limit naps to 10 minutes or power through your midday slump until bedtime.
If you’re short on sleep, don’t try to catch up by sleeping in. Instead, adhere to your normal routine whenever possible, even on weekends. “Irregular schedules do bad things to thinking, cognition, mood, hormone secretion, and waking–and are risk factors for all sorts of untoward health outcomes. Source
Get outdoors.
Your body’s natural circadian rhythm is actually slightly longer than 24 hours, which means your sleep clock naturally shifts a few minutes each day–making it a challenge to consistently wake up at the same time each morning. Exposing yourself to natural light–not indoor light–each morning will help you reset that clock daily. “Doing things in brighter light does improve alertness and performance,” Sharkey says, adding that you don’t even have to do it in one fell swoop: As long as you’re accumulating between 15 and 60 total minutes of outdoor time daily by lunchtime, you’ll be in better mental shape.
Compress Your Sleep.
The reason most experts recommend six to eight hours of sleep per night is because your brain is only capable of producing that much quality sleep on any given night. Sleep for ten hours and that quality gets diluted. So, set yourself some relatively rigid bedtimes and wake-up times to ensure that you’re experiencing the highest quality sleep you can.
Veg out — Adding vegetables and fruits to your diet boosts your heart health. Aim for five servings each day.
Volunteer — Sharing your time and talents is good for your heart. Look for opportunities to get involved at your neighborhood school, place of worship or community.
Give thanks — Gratitude can boost your immunity and help you sleep. Keep a gratitude journal to help the act of regularly giving thanks become second nature.
Stress less — Exercising and meditation can help you manage stress. So can setting boundaries. You can’t do everything. Learn to say ‘no’ occasionally.
Sleep more — Make sleep a priority. Aim for eight hours a night. Exercising during the day and avoiding heavy meals and electronics too close to bedtime may help you fall — and stay — asleep.
Hand Pain: Fingertip Touch
Arthritis is the usual suspect if you have hand pain. Give this hardworking body part a break with this mini finger workout. Point your hand upward, fingers close together. Slowly touch your index finger to your thumb to make an “O.” Move your thumb on to the middle finger and do the same, and so on to your ring finger and pinkie. Smoothly repeat these motions several times with each hand.
Each day I make a spinach salad with an avocado, olives, celery, and tomatoes. I mix it with EVOO and Balsamic vinegar. No wonder I’m in perpetual motion. LOL
Superfood: Spinach
You’ll find lots of nutrients in this “super food.” One of them is folate, which helps your body make new cells and repair DNA. It also boasts fiber, antioxidants such as vitamin C, and more. Eat spinach raw or lightly cooked to get the most benefit.
Your mind is a powerful tool in managing anxiety. By changing your thought patterns, you can shift your perspective and calm your nervous system.
Beware of Fortune Telling
The news can often trigger terrifying thoughts and images about the future, and it can feel like these fears are sure to come true. You might even believe that something awful is likely to happen because you thought of it. Distinguish today between the mind’s fantasies and reality. When you notice you’re fearing an imagined disaster, call it what it is: “That’s a fantasy.” Take a slow breath in and out, smile, and return to reality.
Pass it on – #we’reinittogether
Live Well
If you’re looking for a magic bullet to boost your body’s ability to fight off bugs, you might be disappointed. But if you want added motivation to improve your overall well-being, look no further: “Healthy immune systems live in healthy bodies,” Wedner says. So think big picture – from eating right and staying active to getting enough sleep. “It’s important to recognize the things that are most supportive of a good immune system are a healthy lifestyle,” says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
