Prioritize Sleep!

Where is sleep on your priority list? Is it after your job, family, social life? For many of us, sleep is sacrificed in favor of life’s wakeful whirlwind. Surely skimping on sleep won’t affect us significantly, right? There is so much else to do!

But we couldn’t do anything without sleep. It is one of the foundational needs for human survival, along with air, water, and food. Both quantity and quality of sleep are important to our health.

Here are just a few of the effects that poor sleeping habits have on your health:

• Negatively affects hormone levels including insulin and leptin. This leads to increased sensations of hunger and cravings, prompting you to eat more and gain weight. 

• Impairs learning, memory, judgment, and reaction time. It isn’t just your body that’s tired – your brain is, too. As a result, you are less productive at cognitive tasks.

• Impacts mood and stress hormone levels. You are more likely to be short-tempered, anxious, and depressed when lacking sufficient sleep.

• Affects physical body systems. Studies have shown increased risk of heart problems, illness, and cancer in people with sleep deficiencies. In children, poor sleep can affect growth hormone levels and impair development.

So if sleep has such a great effect on our health, then why do many Americans get less than the recommended seven to eight hours per night? One survey found that sixty percent of people report difficulties or deficiencies in sleeping almost every night.

Taking care of your health requires effort, and sleep is no exception. Consider your current sleeping schedule. How long on average do you sleep per night? Do you notice certain patterns to your routine? When you do have trouble sleeping or falling asleep, what is preventing you? And how do you feel the next day?

Try the following two-pronged approach to achieving better sleep:

1) Address the Cause of Poor Sleep

Start by looking for the cause of your sleeping difficulties. Keep a sleep journal beside your bed and record your nighttime routines, hours of sleep per night, and how you feel the next day. Look for patterns to your sleeplessness and adjust your routine accordingly.

Common causes of sleeping difficulties include stress, anxiety, fear, and depression. Concern over family issues, work problems, or life transitions can affect your sleep, and yet it is during these trying times that a good night’s sleep is most important. Address the cause of poor sleep directly by seeking help to cope with these issues.

2) General Tips for Better Sleep

Proactively prioritize your sleep with these suggestions:

• Schedule your sleep! Give yourself a set routine for bedtime and morning, allowing for seven to eight hours of sleep.

• Create a favorable sleep environment. A cool, dark, quiet setting is optimal. Turn off the TV, computer, and other artificial light sources.

• Avoid large meals, alcohol, and caffeine within a few hours of bedtime. All have negative impacts on your sleep.

• Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows.

• Exercise regularly and during the daytime.

• Use relaxation techniques before bed such as deep breathing or meditation.

• Write down your worries in a journal before bed. Get stressful thoughts out of your mind so that you can let go of the day’s anxieties and sleep peacefully.

• If you continue to have difficulties, talk to your doctor or see a sleep specialist.

Sleep deprivation is cumulative. If you get just an hour less than your needed amount per night for seven nights, then by the end of the week you have missed a full night’s sleep!

Take charge of your health and prioritize sleep. Your body will thank you!

Resources:

National Sleep Foundation

NIH – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

New York Times Health Blog – Cheating Ourselves of Sleep

By Jennifer Stanhagen

Jennifer is a fitness and wellness coach with Total Health Concepts, LLC.  A graduate of George Mason University’s Athletic Training Program, her professional interests include helping people return from injuries to lead happy, healthy, active lives. She also works as a freelance writer and group fitness instructor, earning the nickname "Bootcamp Jenn."  Comments, questions, and feedback are always welcome at jennifer@totalhealthconcepts.net. 

Creative Solutions To Overcoming Your Obstacles

“Logic will get you from Point A to Point B. Creativity will get you everywhere.”

-       Attributed to Albert Einstein

When was the last time you ran into an obstacle while working towards a goal? Last week, or maybe even yesterday?

Obstacles are everyday occurrences that can make even simple things hard to do.  We look for ways through or around them, but sometimes we change our goals or give up entirely to avoid them.

If you are struggling with a particularly difficult obstacle, you may have to get creative to overcome it. A little ingenuity can go a long way. You don’t have to give up on your goals – just find inventive ways to achieve them.

Here are three helpful strategies to finding creative solutions:

Brainstorm Wildly

Give yourself permission to be ridiculous.

Yep, you read that right. Your first step is to brainstorm every solution that you can think up – even the ridiculous ones. Let your mind wander through everything and start writing your list. Don’t worry about the logistics of each solution. Know that you can sort through your list later and turn off your inner editor for this moment.

The goal of this exercise isn’t to find the exact solution to your problem. You want to open your mind to new possibilities. By thinking outside of your usual train of thought, you will come up with lots of outrageous ideas, but you also may discover possible solutions that you couldn’t see before.

Go wild! Unleash your inner ridiculous self!

Examine Beliefs

We base our solutions on assumptions of what is and isn’t possible. Yes, there are aspects of your life you may not be able to change – you do need to eat, sleep, etc. But some things that you see as unchangeable may not be as fixed as you believe.

Look at what you assume you can’t change and ask, what if? What options would open up if I could change this part of my life? What new obstacles might I encounter? For example, your job may be interfering with your ability to work towards your goal to focus on family. Do you need to keep that specific job? Could you change something about your career to allow you to spend more time with your loved ones?

Questioning your beliefs doesn’t mean you have to reject them. To continue with the example, you may find that you can’t imagine a satisfying life without your job. This could lead to a new appreciation for your situation, and the realization that your obstacle is unrelated to your work and stemming from something else entirely.

Challenge Preconceptions

Our perceptions are formed from all of our senses. We develop preconceived ideas of what something is like before we ever do it based on what we hear and see. But until we try something for ourselves, do we really know what it is like?

Don’t discount solutions that involve trying something new, even if you have a preformed sense of whether it will work for you. Approach it with an open mind, challenge your preconceptions, and learn through experience.

To give you an example, I hear a lot of women express concern that lifting weights will make them “bulk up.” In reality, it takes a very specific type of program for women to significantly increase muscle size. There are plenty of great strength training programs available that help women improve their fitness and have fun being active. Explore the possibilities to find the one that fits you and your goals!

There is always the possibility that you will prove your preconceptions right. Even if your first try doesn’t work out, it may lead to new resources and ideas. Or, you may be pleasantly surprised and discover something new about yourself and what works for you. You won’t know until you try!

Next Steps

What is holding you back from working on your goal right now? Define your obstacle, and then try these strategies to overcome it. Talk to friends and family to gain additional perspectives and ideas. Or look for a life coach to help you through the process.

Embrace your creativity and allow a world of possibilities to unfold before you!

By Jennifer Stanhagen

Jennifer is a fitness and wellness coach with Total Health Concepts, LLC.  A graduate of George Mason University’s Athletic Training Program, her professional interests include helping people return from injuries to lead happy, healthy, active lives. She also works as a freelance writer and group fitness instructor, earning the nickname "Bootcamp Jenn."  Comments, questions, and feedback are always welcome at jennifer@totalhealthconcepts.net. 

Three Steps To Dealing With Injury Issues And Physical Activity

When I first started out in the fitness industry, it took me less than three months to realize that there is no such thing as a completely healthy client. If you make it to the age of thirty without having a physical injury, you are either very lucky or living in a bubble.

I am not necessarily talking about major injuries like ligament tears and joint replacements. The small, chronic injuries can be just as frustrating and emotionally draining. Or you could have a predisposition to a particular injury that becomes apparent during the initial assessment, something that might not be causing pain right now but will lead to later dysfunction and damage if not addressed. 

If you are experiencing pain, it can be extremely hard to motivate yourself to exercise. Your schedule is already packed, you have twenty other things on your to-do list, or you are tired, or hungry, or the weather is unpleasant. Add pain from an injury into that scenario and the couch starts to look very inviting. 

Or maybe there is an activity you really enjoy but pain is keeping you from doing it. Knee pain keeps you from walking, back pain keeps you from gardening, or shoulder pain keeps you from playing tennis or golf.

What can you do to fix it?

Here are some simple steps to approaching physical activity with an injury. When in doubt, always consult your physician before beginning an exercise program. And if it hurts – stop! “Hard work pain” is okay to push through, but “injury pain” is not. Find a professional who can help you learn the difference and keep your body safe and healthy for years to come!

Step One: Response

Depending on the type of injury, the body may respond with pain, swelling, redness, loss of function, or other signs. Acute injuries result from a single incident and usually appear obvious. Chronic injuries often start as minor aggravations that can become significant impairments if left untreated.

Whether your injury is minor or major, acute or chronic, your first step is to see a medical professional for evaluation and diagnosis. Talk to your personal physician or ask for a referral to a specialist. The sooner you address the issue, the sooner you will be on the path to recovery!

Step Two: Repair

Follow your physician’s prescribed treatment plan during the healing stage of the injury. If this includes rest, then you may need to find alternative physical activities that allow for rest to the injured body part. For example, swimming is a great low-impact workout that minimizes pressure to the joints.

Once the healing begins, a rehabilitation program can help you progress slowly back to full function and optimize tissue remodeling. Talk to your physician, physical therapist, or athletic trainer about developing a timeline and plan. Depending on the type of injury, you may begin rehabilitation exercises immediately or after a period of initial healing.

Report any reoccurrence of symptoms, such as increased pain or inflammation, to your rehabilitation specialist immediately. Aches and soreness stemming from hard work may be okay to push through, but strong or uncomfortable pain may indicate that the healing tissue is not yet ready for that increased demand. As frustrating as the slow progression can be, it will take even longer if you push too hard or too fast and experience a setback.

Step Three: Maintenance

Once you have healed and returned to your physical activities, you may need to continue some of your rehabilitation exercises as a maintenance program to prevent injury reoccurrence. This can be especially important with chronic injuries or if you display some predisposition for a particular injury.

As you finish your rehabilitation program, talk to your specialist about what you can continue to do on your own. Develop a short set of exercises that will help keep the previously injured body part strong and healthy. Correcting posture and dynamic movement dysfunction can help prevent future injuries as well. Most fitness specialists have training in assessing and develop a program to address these issues.

Committing to a fitness routine that includes prevention exercises can reduce the likelihood of future injury. Fifteen minutes a few times per week now could save you from the significant time and frustration of coping with an injury later!

Injury issues can be traumatic, frustrating, and emotionally draining, but with the right support and treatment plan, you can overcome these obstacles and improve your health and physical function. Think of the effort you put into this as an investment in your future health – what activities do you want to be able to do when you are sixty, seventy, or even ninety? Your body may be showing a little “wear and tear,” but with the right program, you can enjoy movement and activity for many years to come!

By Jennifer Stanhagen

Jennifer is a fitness and wellness coach with Total Health Concepts, LLC.  A graduate of George Mason University’s Athletic Training Program, her professional interests include helping people return from injuries to lead happy, healthy, active lives. She also works as a freelance writer and group fitness instructor, earning the nickname "Bootcamp Jenn."  Comments, questions, and feedback are always welcome at jennifer@totalhealthconcepts.net. 

Confessions Of A Frozen Pizza Addict Part Two

As much as I love pizza, even the healthy version that I described in Part One of this series doesn’t drastically improve the variety of my diet. Plus, I figure I need at least two healthy dishes so that I can eat something different for lunch and dinner. And so my quest for healthy eating must branch out beyond my favorite meal.

I come from a family of cooks. It’s not unusual for dinner to take an hour or more to prepare every night. Things are sautéed, stuffed, seasoned, soused, seared, shredded, simmered, steamed, and steeped on a regular basis. Marinades, brines, fillings, and sauces rule each day. While I often enjoy the fruits of these labors, my own mind boggles at the thought of spending so much time on something that disappears in a matter of minutes. And when frozen pizza can be had at the click of a button – well, any interest in learning the art of cooking disappeared as quickly as food does from my plate.

However, now living away from my family, and having decided that frozen pizza alone isn’t going to cut it, it seems I am destined to enter the land of dicing and flambés after all. But how can I turn this around and, instead of seeing it as a chore, make cooking into an enjoyable activity by doing it my way?

The first thing I firmly decided was that leftovers are critical. If I’m going to spend time cooking anything, then I want several portions of it to last me through the week. A great option for leftovers is soup. Soup can be made in large quantities and frozen for later consumption, heated up quickly just like my frozen pizza!

And so I needed a healthy, easy-to-make soup recipe. My mom provided me with one of her favorites, and it has quickly become a favorite of mine as well. Split pea soup is full of vegetables that provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It can look a little, well, green, but with the right proportions it tastes quite good, especially with a little bread and cheese on the side. And although it takes a few hours to make a batch, it lasts for several meals. I’ve taken to making it on weekend afternoons when I’m puttering around the house – once I have it going, I can stir it every fifteen or twenty minutes while I’m doing other things.

Intrigued? I include the recipe below for your tasting pleasure:

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

1 bag of dried split peas

4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1 to 2 cloves garlic

1 yellow onion

1 stalk celery

2 to 3 potatoes, depending on size

2 to 3 tomatoes, depending on type

1 large carrot

Pepper

Water

Directions:

1. Rinse 1 regular bag of dried split peas and add to large pot.

2. Add chicken broth plus 2 to 2.5 cups of water.

3. Peel and cut garlic cloves and add to large pot.

4. Cut onion into several pieces and add to large pot.

5. Chop celery and add to large pot.

6. Dice potatoes and add to large pot.

7. Cut tomatoes into several pieces and add to large pot.

8. Chop carrot and add to large pot.

9. Add a dash of pepper.

10. Gently simmer all ingredients about 2.5 hours, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

11. Once everything is mushy, turn off heat and allow mushiness to cool for about 30 minutes.

12. Blend in a blender until smooth.

13. Eat now or save for later!

I like to eat mine with a little bread and cheese (whole grain roll and Havarti with dill are my favorites). But you can also try it with turkey sausage for extra protein.

Total prep time is a little long, but most of that is spent letting the soup simmer, only requiring the occasional stir on my part. It takes mere minutes to heat the leftovers, so I find the trade-off acceptable. I have even begun to enjoy the more intensive cooking part of preparing the vegetables, turning on some music and wiggling my way through the chopping and dicing (very carefully, of course).

Thoughts? Comments? Give the soup a try, and don’t be turned off by a little bit of green! Or share your own favorite soup recipe!

By Jennifer Stanhagen
In addition to being a frozen pizza addict, Jennifer is a fitness trainer and wellness coach with Total Health Concepts.  She also works as a freelance writer and group fitness instructor, where she earned the nickname "Bootcamp Jenn."  You can contact her at jennifer@totalhealthconcepts.net.