Insomnia

04/16/2011 14:25:00

The National Sleep Foundation states that stated 70 % of American woman suffer with insomnia. Women need more sleep than men, Dr. Jim Horne, Britain's leading expert in sleep science states women use their brain differently due to their common multi-tasking.

Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, an increased desire for carbohydrates, an increase in mood swings, increased rate of aging and many health problems.

For women who are sleeping under 5 hours a night their rate of a heart attack is twice as likely. We need 8 hours a nights and good sleep hygiene is the way to start.

Key ways to obtain good sleep hygiene:

Set-up a consistent bedtime that ensures you can obtain 8 hours a night.
Discontinue alcohol, caffeine and nicotine use 2 hours before the designated bedtime.
Turn off all lights and electronics.
Keep you room at 65 degrees.
Don't hit the snooze button in the morning.
Understand your muscles can not be relaxed and tight at the same time.
Wear an eye mask.
If troubles pop-up in your mind see them floating away in balloons.
Focus on you breathe.

Change & Resolutions

01/02/2011 21:41:00

In the beginning of the year, New Year's Resolutions are set in hopes of making great change in eating habits, exercise routines, communication styles, sleep schedules, and/or relationships. Sometimes goals are lofty and unattainable and sometimes we need support to accomplish these goals. Change, however, is not easy, and it goes against the current flow of how we are living our lives.

In an attempt to make change we should acknowledge two important things:

First, to create a thriving and flourishing positive communication loop we must balance our positive and negative input. We must find ways to quiet the internal chatter and the negative thoughts that limit us from obtaining goals. We must relay 3 positive statements to every 1 negative statement.

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson's, research has found that the 3-to-1 ratio has the potential to help change many negative aspects. For more information regarding this research you can read her book Positivity (Crown Archetype, 2009). Also, Dr. Fredrickson has a two minute quiz at www.positivityratio.com/single.php which will help you determine your current positive to negative ratio, she suggests you take the quiz nightly for two weeks.

Along with positive thoughts and actions, Dr. Ibrahim Senay, who is a psychology professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has found that how we phrase goals determines if individuals actually complete those goals.

His study shows that by asking, for example, "Will I exercise today?" instead of "I will exercise today." gives the individuals the opportunity to be curious about the possibilities, increases autonomy and helps create a sense of responsibility. Commands that begin with "I Will" lead to feelings of shame or guilt when they are not attempted or completed.

As individuals we become more motiviated about completing goals when we are given a choice. More information on this research can be found in Scientific American Mind, "The Willpower Paradox" (July 2010) at www.scientificamerican.com/mind.

As we set forth in new and healthier directions for 2011, please know that I am here to assist you on the journey. By reading this today I hope you realize the path to change is multi-layered and the first step is to be kinder with and to yourself. Question your negative thought process and retrain your mind to allow more positive self-talk.

The Healing Process

Insomnia

Change & Resolutions