Tag Archives: sleep

Reading for the Health of it!

Health Issues, , ,

Did you know reading is good for you? Here are some ways it can help:

1) Reading can help reduce stress. Because it can immerse you into new worlds, you can forget about some of the issues dogging you. It offers a distraction.

2) Reading helps keep your brain from slowing down too quickly. Keeping your mind active helps slow down cognitive decline.

3) Reading can help improve your sleep. If you use a device at bedtime to read, be sure to use the night or blue mode, though.

4) Reading can improve some social skills. Engaging with book characters helps increase empathy.

5) Reading may increase intelligence. Well, the more you read, the more you know.

Does it matter what you read? Some of the wealthiest, most successful people read biographies, autobiographies, educational, and other non-fiction books. Health benefits are enhanced from all kinds of reading. Even reading for just 6 minutes a day can help.

Sources:
medium.com
medicalnewstoday.com

Ever have trouble sleeping?

Health Issues, Healthy Eating, ,

Trouble sleeping could come from anything be related to a number of things – what you eat, eating before bed, stress, acid reflux, too much on your mind. Too much caffeine may affect sleep habits as well.

If you eat too close to bedtime, it can cause acid reflux because there hasn’t been enough time to digest the food you’ve eaten. Some foods like tomato sauce and chocolate give trouble too since they are so acidic.

If you must eat at night, maybe try some oatmeal or something else that is bland and fulfilling.

Did you know you can work yourself to death?

Health Issues, ,

A woman from Japan, it was just revealed, died from working too much, it was just recently revealed. She logged 159 hours of overtime in one month before dying from heart failure. She was only 31 but only took 2 days off when she worked all these hours.

If you look at the numbers, in 4 weeks, most Americans work 160 hours. Now double that. Many Japanese workers even commit suicide due to overwork. They have a word, karoshi, for “death from overwork.”

The Prime Minister of Japan proposed a monthly cap of 100 hours overtime. Asians sleep an average of less than 6 1/2 hours each work night.

Read more

Sleep Habits

Health Issues, ,

So lately, we’ve been trying to get more sleep by going to bed earlier. A full eight hours should make us feel better, but it really doesn’t help. Feeling tired all week, you look forward to sleeping in on Saturday and getting about ten hours to make up for lost sleep. Does that help? Not really.

The average person need just 7.5 hours of sleep per night. So how is that determined? Each sleep cycle is about 90 minutes and there are usually five cycles per night. What also matters is which cycle you wake up from. The first two are the easiest to awaken from.

It is recommended you stick to a schedule of 7.5 hours of sleep a night. Period.

Read the full article from Business Insider.

Some tricks to try to lose weight

Healthy Eating, , , , ,

The Victor crew stumbled across an article about some weight loss tricks you can do (without exercise). Of course we don’t say you should stop your routine but maybe incorporate some of these ideas.

1. Dim lights and less noise.
It was found those who ate where there was softer light and less noise ate 175 fewer calories. Also eat slower rather than rush through your meals.

2. Eat from a smaller plate.
This is an age-old trick but seeing a smaller plate look full tricks the mind rather than a large plate that looks half-empty.

3. Announce your snacks
(This one gave us pause.) Say out loud something like “I’m not hungry but eating this anyway.” They are saying this helps break mindless eating.

4. Weigh yourself
We know some people who have scales but never weigh themselves and just rely on their yearly doctor visit. They also say to take your weight over a seven-day period and take the average for a true weight.

5. Keep a food journal
If you write down what you eat it can help keep you honest with yourself. There are several sites with apps that help you like www.loseit.com, www.sparkpeople.com, www.myfitnesspal.com.

6. Get enough sleep
If you are sleep deprived, you may eat more to satisfy your brain. With enough sleep you can moderate your eating better. Maybe just the time span alone of being awake more hours causes you to eat more.

7. Eat a good breakfast
No this doesn’t mean go to your favorite diner and pile on the food but do try to incorporate some protein. For instance some yogurt, peanut butter, or eggs.