We are a Sleep-Deprived Nation

We sleep for 18-22 hours a day

Do you often complain that you need more sleep? A 2002 sleep survey done by the National Sleep Foundation showed that almost 74% of Americans do not get enough sleep at night. Before Edison invented the light bulb, people slept for about 10 hours, on average.  That number is now 6 hours!

Without adequate periods of rest for physical and mental repair, you may not be able to function at your peak. Here are some of the short-term consequences of not getting enough sleep:

• Decreased daytime alertness 
• Impaired memory and cognitive ability, the ability to think and process information
• More than double the risk of sustaining an occupational injury
• Impaired immune system
• Stressed relationships & poor quality of life

Over the long term you may be faced with:

• High blood pressure
• Heart attack or heart failure
• Stroke
• Weight Gain
• Depression and other mood disorders
• Mental impairment
• Increased mortality risk
• Relationship problems
• Diabetes

The amount of sleep you need depends on many factors, including physical activity, emotional issues, diet and of course, age. Infants need 16 hours a day; teenagers – 9 hours on average; most adults – 7 to 8 hours and women in the first 3 months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual.

Our internal body clock governs our daily or circadian rhythm – telling us when to wake up and when to feel sleepy.  In future posts I will give you some solutions for insomnia but right now you might want to visit an interesting site that allows you to do a very short test, the results of which produce a chart showing your natural sleeping and waking pattern over a 24-hour period. If you’re finding it difficult to get enough sleep, it could be that your natural body clock is at odds with your routine.

Check it out at – http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/crt/

Memory at Midlife: Did Your Car Keys Disappear Again?

Do you find you are forgetting things more often?  Those car keys that just disappeared again!  The grocery list that’s probably still on the kitchen table!  The eyeglasses you’re sure you left next to the bookcase! 

As we age, our memory seems to fail more often. Researchers point to the erosion of the white matter pathways in our brains as the reason.  This impairs communication between different areas of the brain.

For a fun exercise try this short-term memory test (slightly modified) developed by the Memory Assessment Clinic in Maryland.

Read through this list just once, and only once, and concentrate on each word. Then look away and have a pen and paper handy.

Here’s the list:

• Onions
• Potatoes
• Milk
• Blueberries
• Peanuts
• Shrimp
• Carrots
• Mayonnaise
• Oregano
• Cucumber
• Papaya
• Noodles
• Ham
• Crackers
• Cottage Cheese

Now write down as many of the foods as you can remember on your sheet of paper.

How many did you remember?

The average person ages 18-39 can remember ten items. From ages 40-59, nine items; from ages 60-69, eight items and for 70 and older, seven items.

If you scored low for your age, there are MANY books and articles available on increasing your memory power. I would give you some names now, but I have forgotten them!

PS If you find you are being forgetful because your life is one big clutter and you are unfocused and distracted, a tool you might want to try is EFT. For more information check out the EFT World Summit starting tomorrow.

Are You Living By Your Choices or Someone Else’s?

We can choose to be responsible for our lives … or not! There is a great deal of power in knowing that it’s up to us.  If we don’t like the way our life is, we can choose to change it!  There is always a choice although it may not seem so at times.  Even doing nothing is a choice.

To illustrate, imagine for a moment, that you are driving down a road (in your shiny new car) in your neighborhood and:

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road … you drive in … you choose to get angry and feel helpless … it isn’t your fault (they should do something about the roads!) … it takes a lot of effort to get your car out.

OR

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road but your mind is on other things … you drive in, not believing you’ve done it again … you choose to feel even more angry and helpless … it still isn’t your fault (they still haven’t fixed the road!) … again it takes a lot of effort to get your car out.

OR

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road … you see it but drive in through force of habit … you know where you are … you choose to realize it is your fault … you get out very quickly.

OR

There is a deep pothole on your side of the road … you choose to drive around it.

OR

You choose to drive down another street.

We are not controlled by outside events, as difficult as that may be to believe when we are faced with desperate situations. We always have a choice as to how we feel and the action we take. Are you blaming others for your choices or taking responsibility for your own choices? 

Choose your thoughts wisely; they become words.
Choose your words wisely; they become actions.
Choose your actions wisely; they become habits.
Choose your habits wisely; they become character.
Choose your character wisely, it becomes your future!

In a Rut? The Secret to Getting Unstuck

Mary (not her real name) came to me because she couldn’t seem to lose weight (at least not more than 10lbs at any one time) no matter what she tried and she had tried most of the diets and products on the market.

What Mary didn’t realize was that food was not the real issue.  The “culprit” was the emotional baggage she carried around the issue of being thin. Her programmed beliefs were contributing to her holding onto stored energy (fat):

I don’t deserve to be happy with my body
My weight holds me back from earning more
My weight keeps me from making life changes
I want someone to love me as I am and THEN I will lose weight
Other family members are overweight and so that is my fate
My size allows me to avoid certain sports, hobbies or events
I avoid some social situations because of my weight
If I stopped eating ice cream, pastries etc, it would be like losing a friend
My weight allows me to be passive, to hold back
…etc, etc.

Every diet she had ever tried was an outside job.  She was supposed to shape up and act right externally: eat the low-fat foods, exercise more, and drink copious amounts of water.  What she needed was an inside job – an energetic approach to getting rid of the stored energy.  Or in other words, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques).

EFT is a simple, easy-to-learn form of energy psychology (or acupuncture without the needles) that you can use to gain freedom from emotional and physical issues that hold you back from success in those things that are important to you.

You can learn more about this innovative technique by attending the FREE EFT World Summit. It starts this Monday, April 20, so you might want to register for this virtual online event right away.  The process is being used and endorsed by some of the major players in the health and personal development industry like Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale and Bob Doyle, featured teachers from The Secret…and Dr. Joseph Mercola, Bruce Lipton, Dr. Norm Shealy

The organizers of the EFT World Summit have put together an amazing event featuring 9 consecutive days of FREE presentations from some of the top experts and Masters of EFT in the world.  So join us and register now.

… oh yes, if you are wondering about whether it worked for Mary, after 12 weeks she had lost 30lbs and was well on the way to achieving her goals.

Midlife Transformation

Transformation

TRANSFORMATION

Transformation has its place,
Don’t get all upset;
By definition all things change,
We’re just not ready yet.

Transformation comes I think,
Often quicker than a wink;
Or years may pass before I see
Changes that occur in me.

Growing up or getting old
Requires change or so I’m told;
Compassion when applied to pain 
Transforms losses into gain.

Transformation equals change,
It’s mind or matter rearranged
And challenges when squarely met
Leave no room for past regret.

In the future I shall see
Just what has become of me.
Here I stand a single soul
Transformed by life as it unfolds.

 
Greg Wright (All-Around Artisans,
703-217-7253)

Are You Missing a Sense of Purpose in Life?

At midlife we are more apt to move from a focus on career, success and family to needing to find a sense of purpose, a chance to make a difference, a belief that what we do matters in the world.  We still want to feel challenged but not in the same areas that were important during our younger years. We yearn for the satisfaction that comes from making an impact, however insignificant it might seem to those around us.

Take a moment to ask yourself the following questions. Write down the answers.  Even if the answers don’t come to you right now, just asking yourself the questions can get you started on the path to self discovery and how you might make a difference.  

If you were able to create anything at all, what do you really want to accomplish in life?
When, where and with whom would you want to accomplish it?
How would you know when you had achieved it – what would it look like?
What is preventing you from doing it?
Do you currently have any resources to help you start achieving that goal?
What else might you need?
Do you know how to get the resources you need?
What first step could you commit to taking right now?
How do you feel about taking that step?

Just remember, you never know when “To the world you may be one person but to one person, you may be the world!” (Anonymous)

How Would You Like to Live in a Retirement Community at the Age of 43?

As we get to midlife some of us may be thinking of a retirement community as an option for the future. Or perhaps we are dealing with parents who are moving into, or should be moving into, a retirement community.  We want to do what’s best for them but do we stop and think about how it might feel to make such a move?  We can only imagine because unless we physically take that step, it isn’t real.  Do we understand the emotions involved, the social fabric of the community, the physical environment, the services that are offered unless we ourselves spend time there?  

My mum lives in a retirement community in Australia.  I can be there and notice how she spends her days, how she interacts and connects with the other residents but I can never feel the emotions of actually having to live there. Mum doesn’t like it, for a number of different reasons, never has, and never will, even after having lived there for some 20+ years.

Finding the best retirement community, either for yourself or your parents, can be an overwhelming task. I found it fascinating when the publisher of the magazine Sourcebook:Your Guide to Retirement Living decided to move into such a community, at the age of 43, to experience senior housing options first hand.

If this is a topic you have an interest in, you may want to visit his blog at http://www.retirement-living.com/publisher/ and follow his experiences. Makes for interesting reading!

Is Your Life in a Rut?

Most of us come to a point in our lives when we know that life isn’t working the way we want it to. We become aware that we need to make some changes.  It could be anything from losing weight to changing a job to leaving a relationship.  Life is about change.  We give ourselves many reasons to change but when the “rubber meets the road” we find just as many reasons for not being able to make the changes. 

In order for us to make life changes easier, there are a few critical aspects to consider:

Do you have a deep and sincere desire to change?
If you are not motivated or excited enough from within, chances are that your success will be limited.  If the change is for some external reason and isn’t for yourself, you won’t have the motivation to make it stick.  For example, if you want to give up smoking because your spouse is constantly nagging you, but you happen to like smoking, you will undoubtedly fail.

Have you taken time for self reflection?
Understanding how you might self-sabotage will help you overcome the obstacles that might stand in your way. For example, I had a client some years back who adamantly stated she wanted to lose weight.  After losing about 30lbs she would hit a plateau that refused to budge. Long story short – her “back story” was that if she lost the weight, she would become attractive to men and may have to date again.  Scary thought since she had been molested as a child.  Until she was able to work through that issue, she would not be able to lose the weight she wanted.

Are you committed to doing whatever it takes to bring about the change?
I can’t tell you how many of my clients say they will do whatever it takes but then don’t have enough “time”, “money”, “resources” to get on with it.  Some change takes time and you may run into a few “potholes in the road”.  Are you going to “hang in there” when you hit one of these “holes”?

Can you visualize what success looks like?
Without clarity, it’s hard to reach your goals.  Just like having a roadmap to drive across the country, you need to know where you are going. An excellent tool to gain clarity about what is important to you, one that my clients love, is The Passion Test™. See http://blueprints4change.com/passiontest.htm for further information or go to http://budurl.com/thepassiontest

Do you have a support system?
It’s important to be surrounded by people (family, friends, pastor, coach) who know what you are trying to accomplish and support you every step of the way even though you may stumble from time to time.

Change can be exciting and fun; it doesn’t have to be frightening and distressing. With the right tools and support, change can be empowering, increasing your self esteem, sense of worth and fulfillment in life.  Isn’t it time to get out of the rut and give it a shot?

What Do You See in the Second Half of Your Life?

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road.

After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many others never understand….

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.

–Author Unknown

Got a Cold?

Over the last few weeks a number of people in my office have come down with colds so I thought this would be a good time to mention a few natural remedies to help combat the common cold.

Astragalus – builds up the body’s resistance to colds and flu by stimulating the immune system to help kill and protect against viruses. It also helps protect the liver and builds up the blood.

Goldenseal – a natural antibiotic and anti-viral. It boosts the immune system, helps the mucous membranes, and relieves upper respiratory infections and sore throats.

Garlic – boosts the immune system, relieves respiratory infections and helps fight infection from bacteria and viruses.

Ginger – a natural anti-inflammatory that eases headaches and muscle pain with anti-viral properties to kill cold viruses and relieve strep throat.

Willow bark – a natural painkiller to relieve fever, mild headaches and inflammation associated with colds and flu. My favorite as an alternative to aspirin, ibuprofen and other over-the-counter pain relievers.

My Mother swears by the following remedy – to a cup of tea, add a shot of rum, some fresh lemon juice and honey.  Delicious!

Lemon – is a good source of vitamin C.  It has long been thought to boost the immune system and shorten the duration and/or prevent the common cold. It helps acidify the body, stimulates digestion and elimination, and acts as a natural antiseptic.

Honey – is an anti-bacterial, soothes the throat, and is a good source of antioxidants. Raw, unfiltered honey provides the most benefit.

All material is provided for informational or educational purposes only. Please consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or condition.