Sleep - how little can we get by with?

When I do the Time Choices workshop or coach people on how they use their time, the question comes always comes up about how much sleep is enough. A recent New York Times article, quoting research done at the University of Pennsylvania answers that question!

Most people (Adults) need 8 hours sleep. If we get less than that... we become impaired in our thinking. The average number of hours slept in the U.S. is 6.9...... There is a small % (less than 5%) that are effective with less than 6 hours and a similar small % who needs more than 8 hours.

So.... what are we doing to ensure we get those 8 hours???

Great relaxation excercise!

A client sent this to me...

If you are feeling stressed, tired and would like to calm down and refocus - try the following:

Click on this link http://www.emnergie.com/coherence/ressources/guide/index.html
Click on the video (If you can add the sound, that helps)

• Make sure you are sitting straight, breathing from your abdomen
• Feet flat on the floor.
• Inhale as the yellow circle goes up (5 seconds)
• Exhale as the yellow circle goes down (5 seconds)

Do it for 3 to 5 minutes.

And... if that does not work, try the excercise number 2 (listening to waves on the beach). The site is in French, but the video and sound work easily without knowing French!

Enjoy!

Pick Me Up #4 Ask for help!

Ask for help!

When you are having a bad or black day... ask for help. Tell somebody how you feel. Ask for help to pick up your spirits and change your outlook!

Probably one of my biggest challenges... hopefully it is not yours!

Pick Me Up #3 Only Good Stuff!

Only Good Stuff

When you are having a black or bad day... avoid the news (99% is bad), avoid people that drain your energy, avoid people that annoy you, basically, avoid anything that is negative for you. Surround yourself instead with positive things and people.

Positive things could be good books with happy endings, a great funny film (like "Grumpy old men"), a comic book you love, etc. etc.... the list is as endless as there is variety in people! I love making oatmeal cookies for some odd reason...

This might be sound simple... but I am surprised how much just a little focus on this helps on a black day.

Tip: If you often have black days... make a "positive things and people" list and keep it handy.

Pick Me Up #2 Rituals

Rituals!
Create yourself a list of about 5-10 things you want to do everyday and... do them. They should not be big, audiacious activities, but things that help you get through the day well, that contribute to a great, healthy, you.

Here is an example of some that have been on my list (my list changes, based on what is bothering me, blocking me, hanging over me and as my life changes).

1. Meditate when I go to bed
2. Stretching routing of 5-10 minutes when I get up in the morning.
3. Clean the living room and kitchen floor every morning (so I dont worry or think about it for the rest of the day)
4. Buy a cup of coffee for somebody I dont know well when I am angry (this worked great when I was in an office environment)
5. Shower cold every day (this is not my most successful ritual, but I keep trying! )
6. Make a SHORT to do list for the day
7. Weigh myself every morning (I wouldnt want to get too thin, cough, cough...)

We are all different, with different personality types and challenges in our lives, so what works for you will be different than what works for me.. But having simple rituals (especially when we get up in the morning and when we go to bed) make us feel good when we accomplish most of them, chips away at some obstacles in our lives, and help us change some less than helpfull habits into good habits.

TIP: Make the list with all 5-10, but work on one a week. When that first one becomes easy and a habit, take on the second one!

Pick Me Up #1 Music

Music!

When you are feeling awful, unhappy, etc.., try using music to help you change your attitude. Choose some music that represents well how you feel at the moment and play it. Then, play something a little more cheerful and upbeat. Then.. keep going until you get to the attitude and mood you want to be in!

Does this work for you? What else do you do to help you get back into a more positive frame of mind?

What a Roller Coaster Ride!

I recently got an email from a coach that has been going through some rough times and he talked about different approaches to dragging ourselves out of the black hole of feeling bad, depressed and being miserable. He asked for examples of how others help themselves get back to feeling well mentally. This got me thinking...

Here is my view...

Get the roller coaster car up the hill
First, we all have a normal state of being. From this normal or most frequent state, we deviate up (elation) and down (well... we all have different words for how this feels). When we are below the our normal state of being, It is helpful to have tools, techniques, structures to help us get back to our normal state, earlier than we would without those things. These "Pick Me Ups" are used quite frequently. If you think about how we feel as a roller coaster (ups and downs, some small, some big), this is all about what we need to get that roller coaster car back up the long, difficult hill after the big plunge.

Change the ride!
Secondly, sometimes we want to move that normal state of being to a new plane, a new level of happiness, well being and satisfaction. This is big change and requires new habits, new ways of thinking of about things. This means the tools, techniques and structures to help us do this are probably different from those above. Again thinking about the roller coaster, this means... it is time to change our ride... we get off this roller coaster and go look for a better one!

So, knowing what we want (a Pick Me Up or a Big Change) helps us choose the solutions we need.


Roller Coaster Picture from "© Andre Klaassen Dreamstime.com"