Weekly Motivation – Page 11 – The A.L.I.V.E. Experience

Reset Your Internal Clock

Ah, daylight savings time—the double-edged sword: a yearly rite of exhaustion and the official sign of spring. And even though you’re only losing an hour of sleep, studies have found increased rates in workplace and traffic accidents on the Monday after springing ahead.

Here are a few ways to handle the changing clock:

Start Early
“The 24 hour clock in our brains prefers that you to go to bed later rather than earlier—something that most people naturally do on weekends,” says James Wyatt, Ph.D., and Director, Sleep Disorders Service and Research Center at Rush University Medical Center. So instead of sending your circadian rhythm into a tailspin Sunday when you have to head to bed sooner, Wyatt suggests splitting the hour and starting on Saturday night.

Begin your evening processes a half hour earlier—hit the gym or eat dinner earlier so that you’ll be in bed 30 minutes before you usually are. Do the same on Sunday. This will give your body more time to process the change, weakening the blow.

Get Some Sun Sunday Morning
Every day our body clocks reset. How? A light/dark cycle, for one. To help it adjust to a new time, take a bike ride or head out for a jog Sunday a.m. The sunlight will shift your body clock to an earlier position, helping your brain remember it’s earlier, says Wyatt.

Check Your Sleep
Don’t notice any change at all? You might need to log some more z’s. Seeing no effect could be a signal that your body clock is being overridden by your sleep deprivation, Wyatt says. Is your city sleep deprived?

Just like the fire department urges you to check your smoke alarms twice a year, daylight savings does the same. It’s a good time to look at your sleep pattern. And for those who haven’t been sleeping so well, it’s a wakeup call, Wyatt says. If your sleeping skills have been lacking, establish a ritual before bed—repetition conditions your brain and body for sleep. And check out our other tips on how to sleep right tonight.

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The Crazy Reason You’re Always Tired

Weekly Motivation

Feeling tired all the time? Too much sleep—not too little— could be to blame.

One in 800 Americans could have a substance in their cerebrospinal fluid called somnogen, which acts like a sleeping pill and leads to “hypersomnia”—or too much sleep, say researchers at Emory University.

And while that condition is rare, over-sleeping is common—and a possible sign that something’s off. Even though we all think we need more sleep, routinely logging 10 hours a night and waking up tired—with no illness, jetlag, or stress to blame—is a problem, NYC-based sleep expert Janet K. Kennedy, Ph.D., tells MensHealth.com.

Logging lots of ZZZ’s and still feel beat? Your beauty sleep could point to one of these four problems:

1. Your Thyroid Is Acting Up
Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid, a gland that produces hormones to control sleepiness and hunger, is underactive. It’s a common cause of over-sleeping, but hard to pinpoint without a doctor. If you’re feeling sluggish, but getting plenty of sleep, make an appointment with your doc. A simple blood test can detect the problem, clinical psychologist Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, tells MensHealth.com.

2. Your Mood Is Fueling Your Sleep
Many depressed people aren’t just down in the dumps—they’re sleepy, too. But here’s the deal: Depression doesn’t necessarily make you sleep more, it just makes getting out of bed in the a.m. tougher, which could lead to excess sleep, says Breus. So if you’re finding yourself lacking the energy to face the hours ahead of you or dreading the day, head to your doc to get checked for this very common disease.

3. You Could Have Sleep Apnea
The disorder affects between 3 and 7 percent of people, waking you up because you stop breathing anywhere from five times to hundreds of times an hour, Breus says. As a result, you wind up sleeping longer because the quality of your sleep is so compromised, Kennedy adds. The catch: You don’t remember all the waking up, so it’s hard to tell if you’re suffering. Snoring, being overweight, and waking up with a headache—from oxygen deprivation at night—are all symptoms of sleep apnea, says Breus. Ring your doctor if those symptoms sound familiar, since a recent study found that people with severe sleep apnea are almost five times as likely to die of cancer than those who breathe easy.

4. Your Alarm Clock Is Killing Your Slumber
Your constant sleepiness could have to do with what stage of sleep you wake up in, says Breus. “If you wake up in deep sleep, you could experience what we call ‘sleep drunkenness,’” he says. (Think: grogginess, disorientation, and drowsiness). If mornings are rough, try something like the Renew SleepClock ($129.95, apple.com). Stick your iPhone in the device and it will monitor your body movements, waking you up in a window when you’re in lighter sleep, says Breus.

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The Face-Off: Early Birds vs. Night Owls

Weekly Motivation

low angle view of a young man lying in bed and reaching out for the alarm clock

People smiling at the crack of dawn are happier all the time, suggests a new study from the University of Toronto. When researchers studied two groups of people—ages 17 to 38 and ages 59 to 79—early birds reported feeling happier and healthier than night owls.

Blame the phenomenon of social jetlag, which is when your social life throws off your body’s internal clock, says lead researcher Renee Biss, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto. “The biological clocks of night owls are out of sync with society’s expectations.” Read: A blaring Monday morning alarm clock bugs evening people worse than early risers.

The problem? Your preferred time of day is rooted in biology, says Biss. “The region of your brain that houses your internal clock determines different sleep mechanisms and times of day when you feel most alert,” she says.

Fortunately, there are easy ways to make your mornings more tolerable, or your evenings less sleepy. Here’s how.

If you’re a morning person
Put a cap on the booze. Everyone’s ready for drinks after work. The problem: Alcohol makes you tired and compromises the quality of your sleep, says Janet K. Kennedy, Ph.D., a psychologist in New York City. Plus, a 2011 study found that boozing before bed led men to lose as much as 30 minutes of sleep a night, and wake up twice as often as those who didn’t drink. Your move: Stick with a glass or two, and make sure to give your body the time it needs—about an hour per drink—to metabolize the alcohol before hitting the hay.

Track your time. “Melatonin—the sleep hormone—is secreted earlier in morning people than in night owls,” says Atlanta-based psychiatrist Tracey Marks, M.D. If you know when your energy dips, you’ll know when to fight back, says Laura Vanderkam, author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. One day, keep a log of what you do at work each hour, and how productive you are at certain times. “It’ll show you the times you need to take a break,” Marks says.

Have a 2 p.m. plan. “We have a natural cycle of feeling energetically low around 2 p.m.,” says Marks. And it’s worse if you’ve been awake longer. Your move: If you can, work out. “It can keep you alert for up to four hours after you’re done,” says Kennedy. Not an option? Take a quick walk, surf the Web, or try deep breathing for a few minutes—anything to re-boot, Marks says.

If you’re a night owl
Plan personal stuff in the A.M. “The morning hours are good for things that you want to get done—exercise, creative work, even family time,” says Vanderkam. “You’re less likely to be interrupted.” Fill your mornings with fun—even something as simple as breakfast with your kids—and you’ll be more likely to actually enjoy them, she says.

Squeeze in some sun. “Natural light helps to determine your clock’s phase,” says Biss. Trick it into thinking it’s time to wake up by taking a walk, hitting the pavement, or even opening the shades in your home in the morning. It’ll become habit: “Early morning sun exposure can alter when your body starts to wake up in the mornings,” Marks says.

Prepare in the P.M. Capitalize on your nighttime energy by preparing your morning routine after dark. “Get the coffee ready to brew, pick out your clothes, and gather everything you’ll need to remember to bring with you when you leave,” says Kennedy. “The less you have to think about, the better.”

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‘Biggest Loser’s’ Jillian Michaels: Fad diets don’t work

Weekly Motivation

BY NANCI HELLMICH

Jillian Michaels, the fitness trainer with the drill-sergeant style on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” says that for those who want to lose weight, her best piece of advice is: Stop following fad diets.

The 38-year-old Michaels, whose latest book is Slim for Life: My Insider Secrets to Simple, Fast, and Lasting Weight Loss (Harmony Books, $25), shared her thoughts on the challenge of weight loss.

Q. What is the one thing you wish everyone knew about weight loss?

A. Stop turning to fad diets and use common sense. This is where so many people go wrong, from cutting out all carbs to eating only fat-free foods to fasting to the Master Cleanse (a plan that involves eating no food but drinking a mixture of fresh lemon juice, organic maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water). It’s all bull, and not only is it bull, but it harms your metabolism in the process. The fad diets are doing way more harm than good.

The key is to master a few simple ways to exercise that will burn the most calories in the least time. And you also need to figure out how you can eat more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff without feeling deprived so your diet regimen feels manageable.

Q. What were your past struggles with weight?

. I was overweight as a kid, and if I looked at why that was, there were a couple reasons. My father was overweight. Food was a way we bonded. As I got a little bit older, I began to see food as something comforting, something I could look forward to, something I could control. I was a child of the ’80s, and there was a lot of misinformation. Everybody was drinking pop, and people thought a cheese-and-bologna sandwich was better than a Big Mac. Of course, it’s not. I was 175 pounds at 13 years old and 5 feet tall. By comparison, I’m now 115 pounds at 5-foot-3.

Q. How did you lose the weight?

A. My mom got me into martial arts. That’s when I began to appreciate fitness. It translated into every other aspect of my life — my confidence, self-worth, self-esteem. Nobody bullied me or picked on me anymore because I respected myself. When I carried myself in a confident way, I commanded respect. When I was 17, I started training for my black belt. I graduated high school early, and people would come and ask me if I was a trainer. So I fell into personal training at 17. Now I have four fitness certifications, and I’m a certified nutritionist.

Q. What advice do you have for parents who are worried about a heavy child?

A. Lead by example. I see that with my toddler every single day. If I am doing a yoga DVD or at a photo shoot and doing exercise poses, she does them with me. If we are at a farmers market, she wants to pick the fruits and vegetables. We grow a garden and let her plant the seeds and pick the fruits and vegetables.

Play with your kids. Limit their TV time. Get outdoors and chase them around. Wrestle with them. Walk the dog. Go bike riding.

The reality is that your kids are not stupid, and they know when they are overweight. It’s about the entire family getting healthy. Gradually change the foods in the house; go on active family vacations; start walking the dog after dinner instead of watching TV. You don’t want them going on the Web to find ways to lose weight. That’s when you’ll find them eating tissue paper because they read that a supermodel did it.

Q. What’s the biggest mistake exercisers make?

A. People don’t maximize their time in the gym. They might be on an elliptical reading a magazine. Or they may be using the machines and resting after every exercise. They should be doing high-intensity circuit training.. … If you work out in the right way, you burn calories while you work out, and you burn more calories after.

Q. What words of inspiration can you offer to the millions of people who have a hard time eating healthfully and exercising regularly?

A. Gain perspective. Think through the choices you are about to make. If you are going to have a doughnut over oatmeal or pizza over a grilled chicken sandwich, ask yourself how you are going to feel 15 minutes after you eat it, the next day when you feel bloated, the next week when you’ve gained weight and at the end of the year when you’ve gained even more.

On the flip side, think about how you are going to feel if you eat the healthy food … how you are going to look in a bikini next summer or in skinny jeans. You’ll be more confident in the bedroom, more confident at the office. These things are going to be far more beneficial than any pizza is going to taste in the moment.

Q. You’re known for your drill-sergeant-style personal training. Is that just your TV persona, or typical style?

A. It’s “The Biggest Loser” persona, and there’s a good reason for that persona. If you read my books, do my DVDs, listen to my radio show or go to one of my speaking engagements, I’m not screaming at all.

On “The Biggest Loser,” that is a life-or-death situation. The contestants are suicidal with food. I need them to have a rock-bottom moment. If they don’t see how bad things have gotten, the fear and work involved with change is going to be too scary for them. I’m so intense and aggressive because I have limited time with them. Every season starts with me being crazy and intense, and as the contestants become healthier and more confident, then I become more of a buddy, a coach and friend.

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Shape Up At The Office: 6 Healthy Habits For The Workplace

Training, Weekly Motivation

by Shannon Clark

Even if you spend an hour each day at the gym, you spend at least eight times that amount at work. Sitting. Snacking. Stressing. None of which furthers your personal fitness agenda.

I’m not saying you should throw your papers in the air and walk out the door to become a personal trainer, professional mountain bike racer, or bear wrestler. That may not be a good idea. You can, however, implement a few strategies to make your workplace healthier.

By making your office a friendly place for health and fitness, you’ll be able to spend more time working toward your goals. Add the following things to your workday and you might just see those inches slide off a little faster. This will probably help your career, too. Win-win.

1 / Fire Your Chair and Replace it with an Exercise Ball

Your old office chair sees more of your backside than probably anything or anyone in the world. Sitting eight hours every day may not be killing you, but if you add those hours to the time you spend sitting in the car, sitting on the couch, and sitting at the table, you’re looking at spending most of your life on your butt. According to this infographic, sitting too much is just about the worst thing you can do.

Take some wear off your spine by sitting on an exercise ball. It’s a great way to strengthen your entire abdominal region and the muscles that flank the spinal column. By sitting on one throughout the day, you maintain a low level of contraction in the core muscles, providing strength benefits and added calorie burn.

If you’re struggling to stay upright on an exercise ball, try sitting on it for one-hour intervals until you can remain upright all day.

2 / Stock a Mini-fridge/Cooler

If you have an office, invest in a mini-fridge. If you’re in a cubicle farm, bring a cooler to work. Packing in your lunch and snacks for the day makes keeping track of your macros nice and simple. If you’re constantly going out for lunch instead of preparing a healthy meal at home, you probably ingest far more calories than you need.

It takes 10 minutes to prepare a healthy lunch the night before work or pack leftovers from dinner. So there’s no excuse to continually make poor eating choices.

3 / Stuff Your Desk Drawer with Healthy Snacks

The vending machine can take a toll on your nutrition plans. Instead of wasting your money on that Pop-Tart and Diet Coke like usual, keep some canned tuna, instant oatmeal, low-sodium jerky, protein bars, and home-made trail mix in your desk drawer. The next time you have to work late, healthy eats will be within arms’ reach.

More ideas for some easy, packable snacks can be found here.

4 / Coffee Break? Put Caffeine to Good Use.

No matter how hard you work, you need to take an occasional break to de-stress and refresh. So keep a pair of running shoes stashed under your desk, and when your coffee break rolls around, take a brisk 10-15 minute walk. Not only will this torch a few calories, but it may help you clear your mind, ease stress, regain focus, and feel more energized.

Movement increases circulation to your limbs and brain. Most people don’t realize how energy-draining long-term sitting can be. So if you feel like passing out at your desk, a mid-morning and mid-afternoon stroll could be just what you need.

5 / Keep a Water Bottle on Your Desk

If the only fluids you tend to consume during your workday are coffee and diet soda, you need some water. Many people don’t realize they’re dehydrated. Thirst can zap your concentration, energy and performance.

Start keeping a water bottle on your desk at all times. That way, you can sip on it as the day moves along and get the water your body needs without having to think about it.

6 / Set a Timer

Instead of sitting at your desk for eight hours straight, set a timer to go off each hour. When it beeps, do something active for one or two minutes.

You can do 10 push-ups or squats easily enough. Even going for a short walk is better than nothing.

By moving around for just two minutes every hour, you’ll feel better at the end of the day. Bring a little play to work and your brain. Your body and your boss will all thank you.

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