Restful Sleep is the Key to Balance

Photo by Jsome1

Although scientists are still not sure why exactly we need to sleep at night, they do know that without sleep we experience a variety of physical and psychological disturbances. If we do not get enough sleep, we may be more susceptible to getting sick, we may find ourselves more irritable and not have enough energy to focus on our daily activities. According to Ayurveda, the 5,000 year old healing system, during sleep we recharge and connect to the universe. I think about sleep as an opportunity to recharge, just like we recharge our cell phones by connecting them to the electricity overnight. Approximately 70 million of people in the USA suffer from some sleeping disorders. Many people suffering from insomnia or other sleep disorders dread bedtime. There are many medications available that may offer some relief. However, along with the relief comes a variety of side effects and a possible addiction to sleeping pills. There are quite a few simple techniques that you can be helpful in getting a good night sleep. One of the things we discussed earlier is how food can affect your sleep. Here are some other things to consider:

• Eat a light dinner between 5-7PM or at least three hours before your bedtime. If you eat too close to your bedtime, your body will be too busy metabolizing the food. It would be more difficult for you to fall asleep and to get good rest.


• Favor light activities in the evening. Naturally, we tend to slow down at night, so try to go with the flow. Go for a walk, read something light, listen to a relaxing music. Minimize doing work or watching too much TV (especially, in bed).


• Establish a relaxing routine before going to bed: e.g., taking a bath, reading some poetry.


• Diffuse a relaxing fragrance such as lavender, vanilla or chamomile in your bedroom. Use this aroma only at bedtime, so you develop an association between the pleasant smell and going to bed.


• Prepare a hot bath for yourself and put a few drops of the same essential aroma oil you are diffusing into the bath water. Turn down the lights, light a candle and take a leisurely bath.


• Before or after the bath, give yourself and oil massage, paying special attention to your feet and scalp. I often massage my feet right before I get in bed.


• After your bath, drink a cup of hot preferably organic milk seasoned with nutmeg and cardamom or a cup of hot chamomile or valerian tea.


• Go directly to bed, allowing your attention to be on your breath as you fall asleep.


• If you still cannot fall asleep and find your mind is preoccupied with everything you have to do, write down your to-do list or anything else that is on your mind. I keep a journal next to my bed.


• Hours of sleep before midnight are more rejuvenating. You will feel more rested if you sleep between 10PM-6AM than 12AM and 8AM. If you typically go to bed later than 10PM, start out by slowly shifting to an earlier bedtime (maybe 15 minutes earlier, than ½ hour, etc.)
  
  Let us know what works particularly well for you to have a good night sleep.

Gratitude

Photo by Connie Sue2

I have a sign in my office at work with a single word on it: “Gratitude.” It sits on the bulletin board over my desk, where I see it multiple times a day, partly as a reminder and partly as a challenge. A reminder that yes, I have a LOT in my life to be grateful for. It is easy to forget that when the paperwork piles up, phone calls are coming in rapidly, and I feel I don’t have the energy to talk with one more person. But that simple sign also serves as a daily challenge to myself. When all those deadlines and responsibilities are looming around me, can I maintain some focus on the things I am grateful for? Like the fact that I have a job that I love?

It takes a conscious effort for most of us to really find and nourish gratitude in our lives. We are surrounded by a culture of complaints, perceived problems, and negativity that interfere with automatic gratuitous thoughts and ideas. Just listen to the evening news on most television stations for a quick reminder that being thankful is not where many of us focus. But that does not mean that it isn’t possible… or that it wouldn’t be healthy.

A recent study by a Psychology professor and student at York University (Myriam Mongrain, Ph.D. and Susan Sergeant), found that listing five things a day that someone is grateful for can decrease depression and increase well-being for people who tend to focus on negative things in life. Even other positive exercises (e.g., listening to uplifting music) did not elicit the same increase in well-being as journaling gratitude did. These results suggest that there is something inherent in being thankful that enhances our lives.

People have recognized the benefit of gratitude for centuries. Prayer for the spiritually religious focuses on giving thanks, holiday traditions such as Thanksgiving encourage gratitude, and handwritten “thank you” notes to someone who has shown kindness expresses appreciation. But sometimes we forget to be grateful for the seemingly minimal things in our everyday routines. Perhaps that is why something like a gratitude journal, as the participants in the above study kept, can be extremely helpful in keeping us mindful of the things we are thankful for every day. If you are interested in trying a gratitude journal, here are some ways to start:

1. Don’t make your gratitude journal just “something else on your to-do list,” or it will feel like a task rather than a journey toward well-being. Remind yourself about the benefits of feeling grateful for the various things in your life, and approach your journal with an open mind.

2. Set aside time each day for your gratitude journal. When will you realistically be most likely to work on it? If you are an early riser, perhaps this is something you could spend some time with in the morning. Maybe sitting down with your journal at night is more feasible and will allow you some time to review your day with a focus on the positive. Either way, choose a time that works for you, devote 5-10 minutes to it, and make it a part of your routine.

3. Use an actual journal. A non-expensive notebook works fine – just designate it exclusively for your thoughts about gratitude. Keep it somewhere that you can easily access it, and if possible, see it throughout the day as a reminder. Also, hand-written journals can be more emotionally meaningful than something type-written. There is something about seeing our thoughts in our own handwriting that is especially important. So while an electronic journal may be easy, it might not fully accomplish the goal here.

4. Write down 5 things each day that you are grateful for. Be specific and look for small things in your day that you can include. If you strive to identify 5 different things each day, you will quickly run through the usual “family, home, health” choices and have to become more creative. Maybe you are thankful for a new copy machine at work that has made your job much easier, or a new recipe for brownies shared by a dear friend. Similarly, think about things in your life that initially may seem negative, but that you can find some gratitude in. For example: “I am grateful for that driver who cut me off in traffic this afternoon because he reminded me about the importance of safe and defensive driving.”

5. Think about your gratitude journal throughout the day. Using this technique will not only force you to find things you are thankful for while writing them down, but will also encourage you to look for these things throughout your day. If you know you have to come up with 5 original choices tomorrow morning, you will start to search them out regularly. Doing so instills a feeling of well-being at times you may not typically expect it. (For example, while driving in traffic, as noted above!).

With the holidays quickly approaching, gratitude may be on your mind more now than at other times of the year. I have fond childhood memories of going around the Thanksgiving Day dinner table with each family member identifying something we were grateful for. But the sentiment usually faded quickly… (often before dessert, because I knew I would soon have to help clean up all those dishes!). A daily reminder that, despite hardships and a life that seems out of balance, we can all find something to be grateful for is valuable. Take an opportunity today to start your own gratitude journal, and begin searching for your life treasures.

Leave us a comment and let us know something you are grateful for today.

Health Week: A Review & Challenge

Health Week at :simple:balance: is coming to a close, but we hope that the information presented here has been just a stepping stone on your journey to wellness and balance. Perhaps as a reminder of things that you already knew but needed some reinforcement to put back into place, or maybe as new information that you are ready to implement. We have talked about using natural strategies for prevention, specific remedies for illness, and how to maintain some balance when the inevitable sickness strikes. There is a lot more that we plan to cover about wellness in the future, but we hope the focus this week has been helpful, especially during this season of potential illness.

Maintaining your health and that of your loved ones is essential, not just to overall wellness, but especially to finding balance in the juggle of life. Try some of the simple steps shared here over the last week and notice the benefit you find. As a challenge, we would like to encourage you to take a few minutes this weekend to think through your usual routine and make at least one change with a goal of working towards health and balance. Perhaps it is a natural prevention strategy or planning for illness in the future. Or maybe it is an improvement in your nutrition and diet. If you have time this weekend, try this recipe from Aundrea Tucker, our resident nutrition expert. Fall vegetables are packed with nutrients and make for a yummy meal to sit down to.

Enjoy and have a healthful weekend!

Photo by Dulcedo Blog

Roasted Root Vegetables

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25-35 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
2 parsnips
2 carrots
2 turnips or 1 large rutabaga
1 daikon radish (or substitute/add in your favorites, like squash)
grapeseed oil (or another oil appropriate for high heat such as almond, sesame, or sunflower oil)
salt and pepper
herbs: rosemary, thyme or sage (fresh if possible)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash and chop all vegetables into large bite-sized pieces.
3. Place in a large baking dish with sides.
4. Drizzle with oil; mix well to coat each vegetable lightly with oil.
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs.
6. Bake uncovered for 25-35 minutes until vegetables are tender and golden brown, checking every 10 minutes to stir and make sure veggies are not sticking.

Note: Any combination of vegetables will work. Roasting only one kind of vegetable also makes a nice side dish.

Juggling Illness

Photo by urbanphotographer

In theory, if we follow healthy recommendations for hand-washing, good nutrition, and other ways of avoiding germs, we should be illness-free this season. But we all know that the inevitable happens, and the chances are that most of us will end up feeling under the weather (or being impacted by someone else who does) at some point this year.

Being sick puts a wrench in the juggle of life and work and really makes finding balance even more difficult. Not only do we feel badly, but we also can’t keep pace with our usual, finely tuned schedule. Responsibilities pile up, phone calls and emails remain unanswered, and the stock of canned soup in the pantry disappears. Or perhaps we aren’t the ones who are sick, but rather someone close to us (e.g., child, partner, friend) or someone we are dependent on (e.g., child caretaker, co-worker) is. Any of the above scenarios can wreak havoc on balance, so it is vital to have a game-plan with some ideas for how to handle an illness scenario. Here are some suggestions:

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Sure, we can never be completely ready for illness when it strikes, but if we do some preparation and thinking beforehand, we might feel more able to cope when it comes. (There will be things like chronic illness or catastrophic injuries that are life-changing and are impossible to predict, but here we are talking more about run-of-the-mill fevers and flus.) Think about and plan for the following:
:: If you have children, how will your childcare be impacted by illness in the family? If you are sick, how will they get to school? How will they be cared for while you are bed-ridden? If they are sick, who will stay home with them? How will they get to the doctor? If someone is contagious, how will you try to prevent the spread of germs at home? If your childcare provider is sick, do you have a back-up?
:: Do you have supplies on-hand for illness? Medications, food, drinks, and other supplies are very important during times of illness, and not having them readily available can be a problem. The last thing you want in the middle of the night is to realize your thermometer isn’t working while you have a feverish, crying baby! Take stock of what you have, throw out anything that is expired or not working properly, and re-stock. Keep some comfort items around, as well – special teas, heating pads, a good magazine, and the like can make a day in bed a bit less miserable.
:: How will you notify your job if you have to be out because of illness (your own or a loved one’s), and how will your duties be covered? It is always helpful to have a contingency plan for this sort of thing. Keep telephone numbers or email addresses with you that you can use to contact your boss or someone else at work. Have a general plan for how your duties will be covered, recognizing that every scenario won’t be predictable.

2. Organize yourself. As mentioned above, keeping supplies on-hand at home and contact information for anyone who would be impacted by illness is important. Have this information stored somewhere that is easily accessible (e.g., address book, cell phone), and notify another reliable adult in your life of where it is, in case they need to access it if you are not able to.

3. Know how your sick leave (or lack thereof) works at your job. While laying in bed with a fever and stomach ache is not the time to talk with your human resources department about your benefits. Understand what you need to do administratively if you have a sick family member that you are caring for. Know how you should request time off for unexpected illnesses. Similarly to preparing for responsibility coverage at your job, having an understanding of how your time off is managed is helpful to know ahead of time.

4. Stay home if you are sick! We have all heard this before, and most of us have probably shown up at the office anyway. I know I have. The truth is (I can now say retrospectively) that we are NOT productive when we are sick. Yes, we may be able to make a few phone calls or send some emails that will get things done… but in the process we are potentially making ourselves worse, and we are certainly spreading germs to others. Other people around you do NOT want you to be at work when you are sick. Sometimes , folks around us are more susceptible to illness or have conditions that they have not publicly shared. So while you think you are just carrying around a cold, realize that your illness could be life-threatening to someone else. Keep your germs to yourself and avoid spreading them!

5. Ditto #4 for your kids and other loved ones. Don’t let children go to school sick and encourage a spouse or friend to stay at home. Even if it means more stress for you temporarily.

6. Listen to your body and rest. I can’t tell you how often I have gotten sick after a particularly stressful time in my life; my body was definitely communicating with me in those situations. When our lives are out of balance, we suffer emotionally and physically, and our immune systems are compromised. We have talked before about ways to prevent that from happening, but when it does, take note and give your body what it needs: rest. You will heal faster and be able to get back to your juggle sooner and more effectively if you actually take the time to relax.

This list of suggestions is certainly not exhaustive. We are interested in hearing from you too. What helps you to maintain balance while coping with illness?