SOMETIMES ONE MUST TRAVEL FAR TO FIND WHAT IS NEAR

SLEEP WELL TIPS

Healthy sleep habits can make a big difference in your quality of life. Here are some tips from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School that might help you get that perfect snooze.

1. Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, and Other Chemicals that Interfere with Sleep

Any coffee lover knows, caffeine is a stimulant that can keep you awake, so avoid caffeine (found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola, and some pain relievers) for four to six hours before bedtime. Similarly, smokers should refrain from using tobacco products too close to bedtime.

2. Turn Your Bedroom into a Sleep-Inducing Environment

A quiet, dark and cool environment can help promote sound slumber. To achieve such an environment, lower the volume of outside noise with earplugs or a “white noise” appliance. Use heavy curtains, blackout shades, or an eye mask to block light, a powerful cue that tells the brain that it’s time to wake up. Keep the temperature comfortably cool—between 60 and 75°F—and the room well ventilated. Make sure your bedroom is equipped with a comfortable mattress and pillows, remembering that most mattresses wear out in about ten years.

3. Establish a Soothing Pre-Sleep Routine

Ease the transition from awake time to sleep time with a period of relaxing activities an hour or so before bed. Take a bath (the rise, then fall, in body temperature promotes drowsiness) or read a book. Avoid stressful, stimulating activities such as checking work emails. Physically and psychologically stressful activities can cause the body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which is associated with increasing alertness. If you tend to take your problems to bed, try writing them down—and then putting them aside.

4. Go to Sleep When You’re Truly Tired

Struggling to fall asleep just leads to frustration. If you’re not asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed, go to another room and do something relaxing, like reading or listening to music, until you are tired enough to sleep.

5. Don’t Be a Nighttime Clock-Watcher

Staring at a clock in your bedroom, either when you are trying to fall asleep or when you wake in the middle of the night, can actually increase stress, making it harder to fall asleep. Turn your clock’s face away from you.

6. Use Light to Your Advantage

Natural light keeps your internal clock on a healthy sleep-wake cycle, so let in the light first thing in the morning and get out of the office for a sun break during the day.

7. Keep Your Internal Clock Set with a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day sets the body’s “internal clock” to expect sleep at a certain time night after night. Try to stick as closely as possible to your routine on weekends to avoid a Monday morning sleep hangover.

8. Nap Early—Or Not at All

Many people make naps a regular part of their day. However, for those who find falling asleep or staying asleep problematic, afternoon napping may be at fault. This is because late-day naps decrease sleep drive. If you must nap, it’s better to keep it short and before 5 p.m.

9. Lighten Up on Evening Meals

Eating a pepperoni pizza at 10 p.m. may be a recipe for insomnia. Finish dinner several hours before bedtime and avoid foods that cause indigestion.

10. Balance Fluid Intake

Drink enough fluid at night to keep you from waking up thirsty—but not so much and so close to bedtime that you will be awakened by the need for a trip to the bathroom

11. Exercise Early

Exercise helps promote restful sleep if it is done several hours before you go to bed. It also can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

10 Tips to Better Family Time

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Parents and their children are spending less time interacting with each other. As a result, many children are getting less personal love and attention than their parents did. American Demographics reported that parents today spend roughly 40 percent less time with their children than parents did a generation ago.

Keep in mind, quantity time and quality time are both important when choosing activities. So build memories by keeping your family time creative and enjoyable. Here are 10 tips to better family time:

1. Eat together and listen to each other

Most children today don’t know the meaning of a family dinnertime. Yet the communication and unity built during this setting is integral to a healthy family life. Sharing a meal together allows the opportunity to talk about each other’s lives. This is a time for parents to listen, as well as to give advice and encouragement. Attentive listening conveys a message that a person is interested in another. It also imparts a sense of worth and helps develop trust.

2. Read often

Research indicates that reading to your children cultivates an interest for knowledge and stimulates language development. It also increases their attention spans and helps them become more curious. Look for books that your child would enjoy reading. After reading, ask questions about the content.

3. Do chores together

Part of what goes on in the home is the development of teamwork. Functional family life depends on the contribution of everyone. Assigning chores is the most productive way of teaching responsibility and accountability to your children. Doing chores with your child will help foster good communication skills.

4. Help with schoolwork

Spend quality time with children and light a fire of learning by helping children with their schoolwork. [Tweet This] A parent’s eagerness to help will cause a child to become more interested in school, improving his or her grades. Regular trips to the library for school projects are an inexpensive and enjoyable way to spend time with children. Helping should begin with an understanding that children are responsible for homework. Parents are there to help their child get organized and to encourage them when they get stuck.

5. Start a hobby or project

Choose a fun activity that your child is interested in. Activities like cooking, crafts, fishing or biking will make great hobbies that can open the door to exciting family time. Once a child learns a new recipe or is able to cast a lure accurately, let him or her take the lead with your supervision.

6. Play games

New technology has made video games more prevalent. Play with them, but also spark an interest in family-oriented contests such as board games or card games. This will give you additional time to talk and nurture the relationship.

7. Plan a family outing

Sometimes getting out of the house is important. Get in the family car and go for a drive. Prepare a picnic lunch and visit a local park. Take time to play catch or ride a bike. A stroll in the woods will help you interact. Also, a visit to the zoo or museum may spark a child’s enthusiasm and lead to good discussions.

8. Encourage athletic activities

Sports not only strengthen the body, but also build character and determination. Whether it’s a father pitching a baseball to a son or a mother and daughter nature walking, finding time for athletic events is important for a child’s emotional and physical development. This is a great opportunity for a family to interact.

9. Create a Family Time calendar

Since many parents have hectic schedules, time with children often becomes a low priority whether intended or not. Post a calendar on the refrigerator and have parents and children pencil in special events. Knowing when you’re going to meet may also help you think of creative activities. Commit to keeping this schedule free from interruptions.

10. Pray together and attend a house of worship

Nothing is more special than taking a few minutes each day to pray with a child before bedtime. [Tweet This] By explaining the purpose behind prayer, children will learn the importance of faith as the foundation for the family. Also, when parents go to religious services, they instill in their children a reverence for God. Churches can also offer invaluable support to families.

10 easy tips to sleep better at night

Seen babies waking up with smiles? They don’t smile because they love waking up, they smile because they have had a great night of rest. With our 10 tips you can wake up with a smile too. Most times not being able to sleep is all in your head and some of these tips target just that.

1. No lights, no monsters

Many people like having muted light in rooms to help them fall asleep or to walk around if they wake up in the middle of the night. Turns out that dark rooms increase the secretion of melatonin which makes you sleepy while increased light exposure, even by a little, decreases this hormone. Instead of installing nightlights in your room, install one in the hall or keep a flashlight handy for your midnight forays into the kitchen or bathroom. Use heavy curtains to block light from outside. 

2. Set a rhythm

Having a sleeping pattern is a great way to ensure that you get enough sleep. Set a time for sleep and lie down regardless of whether you are sleepy or not. This applies to waking up as well. An adult needs at least seven hours of sleep daily, so an example of the ideal time frame could be 10pm to 6am or 6.30am. For the first few days try to lie down a little earlier to get your body used to the timing.

3. Take a nap, don’t sleep in

Your sleep timings are applicable to weekends as well. Research shows that sleeping in or sleeping late, even for two days, can throw off your pattern and make you feel tired as the week starts. If you feel sleepy, take an afternoon nap that won’t throw off your rhythm. Wake up from the nap five to six hours before your bedtime.

4. Exercise regularly

Regular exercise can help you relieve stress and relax your muscles, which is conducive to fitful sleep. However, workout should stop at least three to four hours before you sleep, giving your body enough time to come down from its metabolic high. This is also why exercise is best done in the mornings.

5. No phones or laptops before bedtime

Phone screens, late-night TV watching or laptops can make you stay awake longer no matter how tired you physically may be. Keep aside your phone and other devices at least 30 minutes prior to your bedtime. Leave your phone face-down or notification lights can disturb your sleep.

6. Sleep-assist phone apps

Not everything on your phone is bad for good sleep. There are many apps that you can download to help you sleep better with calming music or sounds. Some even create white noise scientifically designed to lull you to sleep

7. No carbs or caffeine before bed

Most South Asians eat rice or wheat dishes as their staple dinner. Science shows that a large carb intake right before sleep can interfere with your rest. While carbs generally make you feel immediately tired and sleepy, you are prone to restless sleep and intermittent waking. Coffee and other caffeine sources such as energy drinks can also affect your sleep schedule.

8. A glass of warm milk

Milk before bedtime brings to mind deep baby-like sleeping to mind. Whether it’s all in our heads or scientifically based on the warmth of the milk and the spike of insulin from honey or sugar – a glass of warm sweet milk can do wonders. Ensure that the milk is only warm and not hot, and use as little processed sugar as possible – substituting it for a dollop of honey.

9. Bedtime bath

A hot body-bath ten to twenty minutes before bed time can relax your mind and body to help you sleep well. There is also something about going to bed clean that brings about deep sleep. No, it's not just for kids, we have rights too.

10. Let the sun wake you up

As mentioned earlier, light, especially natural sunlight reduces the hormone melatonin which wakes you up. Have your morning cup of coffee or tea out on the balcony or near a window as you look out. Spend at least 15 minutes getting as much sunlight as possible. Let the sun wake you up after an undisturbed seven to nine hours of sleep to feel rested and awake for the rest of the day.

8 ways to set up your day

You’ll wake up for about 25,000 mornings in your adult life, give or take a few.

According to a report from the World Health Organization, the average life expectancy in the United States is 79 years old, and most people in wealthy nations hover around the 80–year mark. Women in Japan have the highest, with an average life expectancy of 86 years.

If we use these average life expectancy numbers and assume that your adult life starts at 18 years of age, then you’ve got about 68 years as an adult. (86 – 18 = 68) Perhaps a little less on average; a little more if you’re lucky.

(68 years as an adult) x (365 days each year) = 24,820 days.

25,000 mornings.

That’s what you get in your adult life: you’ll open your eyes 25,000 times, face the day, and decide what to do next. I don’t know about you, but I’ve let a lot of those mornings slip by. Once I realized this, I started thinking about how I could develop a better morning routine. I still have a lot to learn, but here are some strategies that you can use to get the most out of your 25,000 mornings.

8 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Morning

Here are the strategies that I’ve found to be most effective for getting the most out of my morning.

1. Manage your energy, not your time.

If you take a moment to think about it, you’ll probably realize that you are better at doing certain tasks at certain times. For example, my creative energy is highest in the morning, so that’s when I do my writing each day.

By comparison, I block out my afternoons for interviews, phone calls, and emails. I don’t need my creative energy to be high for those tasks, so that’s the best time for me to get them done, and I tend to have my best workouts in the late afternoon or early evening, so that’s when I head to the gym.

What type of energy do you have in the morning? What task is that energy best suited for?

2. Prepare the night before.

I don’t do this nearly as often as I should, but if you only do one thing each day then spend a few minutes each night organizing your to–do list for tomorrow. When I do it right, I’ll outline the article I’m going to write the next day and develop a short list of the most important items for me to accomplish. It takes 10 minutes that night and saves 3 hours the next day.

3. Don’t open email until noon.

Sounds simple, yet nobody does it. It took me a while to get over the urge to open my inbox, but eventually I realized that everything can wait a few hours. Nobody is going to email you about a true emergency (a death in the family, etc.), so leave your email alone for the first few hours of each day. Use the morning to do what’s important rather than responding to what is “urgent.”

4. Turn your phone off and leave it in another room.

Or on your colleagues desk. Or at the very least, put it somewhere that is out of sight. This eliminates the urge to check text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. This simple strategy eliminates the likelihood of slipping into half–work where you waste time dividing your attention among meaningless tasks.

5. Work in a cool place.

Have you ever noticed how you feel groggy and sluggish in a hot room? Turning the temperature down or moving to a cooler place is an easy way to focus your mind and body.

6. Sit up or stand up.

Your mind needs oxygen to work properly, and your lungs need to be able to expand and contract to fill your body with oxygen. That sounds simple enough, but here’s the problem: most people sit hunched over while staring at a screen and typing.

When you sit hunched over, your chest is in a collapsed position and your diaphragm presses against the bottom of your lungs, which hinders your ability to breathe easily and deeply. Sit up straight or stand up and you’ll find that you can breathe easier and more fully. As a result, your brain will get more oxygen and you’ll be able to concentrate better.

(Small tip: When sitting, I usually place a pillow in the small of my back. This prevents my lower back from rounding, which keeps me more upright.)

7. Eat as a reward for working hard.

I practice intermittent fasting, which means that I eat my first meal around noon each day. I’ve been doing this for almost two years. There are plenty of health benefits.

But health is just one piece of the puzzle—I also fast because it allows me to get more out of my day. Take a moment to think about how much time people spend each day thinking, planning, and consuming food. By adopting intermittent fasting, I don’t waste an hour each morning figuring out what to eat for breakfast, cooking it, and cleaning up. Instead, I use my morning to work on things that are important to me. Then, I eat good food and big meals as a reward for working hard.

8. Develop a “pre–game routine” to start your day.

My morning routine starts by pouring a cold glass of water, while some people kick off their day with ten minutes of meditation. Similarly, you should have a sequence that starts your morning ritual. This tiny routine signals to your brain that it’s time to get into work mode or exercise mode or whatever mode you need to be in to accomplish your task. Additionally, a pre–game routine helps you overcome a lack of motivation and get things done even when you don’t feel like it.

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