Spring and Summer are around the corner. Are you ready?
If you’re still stuck in hibernation mode from the long winter, you’re not alone. But now is a great time to detox your body, your mind, and your lifestyle to set yourself up for an active and enjoyable summer. Here are seven steps to better health and a renewed sense of vitality to make the most out of the sunny months ahead.
1. Drink more water.
Quick quiz: do you feel thirsty right now? If you do, you’re dehydrated. Water has so many amazing benefits: it helps control calorie intake, energizes your muscles, keeps your skin looking beautiful, and keeps those bowels working properly (hey, it’s important). If you’re not a fan of plain water, infuse flavour by mixing in your favourite fruit, like strawberries and blueberries or lemons and oranges, or mix in some veggies, like cucumber slices.
Okay, so alcohol isn’t a food, but if you’re trying to detox, you’ll want to avoid it. Same with too much salt; the body needs small amounts of it to function, but too much can lead to high blood pressure, water retention (read: bloat), and other issues. And did you think I’d let you get away with processed sugar? Nope. Try to minimize your intake. Stick to natural sugars from fruit and leave the baked goods and sweets for special occasions (and I’m not talking about Fridays, I’m talking about birthdays and weddings).
4. Get moving.
This should already be a staple of your everyday life, but if you’re not super active, just get outside and walk around the neighbourhood after dinner each night. Not only can regular walks help you maintain a healthy weight and strengthen your bones and muscles, but it can also improve your mood. Major bonus.
5. Hit the hay.
And by that I mean make sure your head is hitting your pillow at least seven to nine hours a night. A proper night’s sleep can work wonders on your mood by lowering your stress levels, among other benefits. If you have trouble getting to sleep, make sure your bedroom is cool and dark, and try taking a shower right before your target bedtime.
If you’re alarmed by the number on the bathroom scale, you probably want to find a way to lose weight fast. But healthy weight loss takes place over time, not over the weekend.
Small, manageable changes to your diet and exercise will yield lasting results—even if it feels too slow. It’s important to think about weight loss as a sustainable solution, not a quick fix. This kind of thinking isn’t your fault.
The idea that you can lose a lot of weight quickly and maintain it long-term is a classic weight-loss trap. Avoid it by sidestepping the well-trod path of rigid diets that leave you feeling hungry. These diet plans produce results that may not last long. You could quickly tire of the restrictions and find yourself rebounding into old habits. And it’s more likely you gain the weight back than see lasting changes.
That’s because quick weight loss isn’t the best way to settle at a healthy weight. In other words, it simply isn’t sustainable.
Eat up these facts about how this measured approach is the right one for healthy weight loss that will last.
Why Healthy Weight Loss is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Here’s a fun fact: It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound (equal to about 0.5 kilograms) of fat. If that seems like a lot of calories, that’s because it is. The average recommended daily calorie intake for adults is 2,000 calories. So, one pound of fat represents almost as many calories as two full days of eating.
This is one reason why healthy weight loss is a gradual process. If you want to lose weight, you have to start by reducing the number of calories you consume. If you eat 500 fewer calories each day than you burn, you can expect to lose one pound over the course of a week.
You can achieve this calorie deficit with diet alone. Or you can mix in exercise to burn more calories in a day. Thirty minutes, five times a week is a great place to start. Focus on any type of exercise or activity that increases your heart rate and moves your body.
By incrementally altering your diet and exercise habits, you can safely lose one to two pounds a week. At the same time, you’re creating manageable lifestyle habits that can stick.
The Open Secret to Weight Loss: Calorie Deficit No matter what new diets promise, the proven way to lose weight is by creating a calorie deficit. Calories are converted from food into cellular energy by your body during metabolism. They power muscle contractions, breath, brain activity, and so much more. But when you consume more calories that your body needs to operate, they are stored as fat (including visceral fat) for later use.Learn more about calories in this helpful overview.
Typical Changes in Your Weekly Weight-Loss Rate
Even a gentle, incremental start to losing weight can provide you with an encouraging beginning. That’s because it’s possible to lose more in the first few weeks of your weight loss journey.
Build on the momentum, but understand what’s going on biologically. This quick start is the result of your body ridding itself of extra water weight. But staying the course means your weekly weight-loss rate could eventually settle around a pound or two per week—the incremental, sustainable rate you want.
Be cautious of diets and exercise programs that promise faster results. And remember that it’s typical to experience a weight-loss plateau a few weeks after you start. This is your body’s natural response to a sudden drop in weight. Along with the fat loss you’re aiming for, it’s possible to lose a bit of muscle mass, too.
Since muscles are the calorie-burning machines of the body, decreasing their mass can hurt your rate of calories burned. You can minimize muscle loss by ramping up your exercise and keeping your protein intake high. That way you’ll bust through the plateau in no time.
One way to break through periods of changing weight-loss rate is to focus on why you’re doing it. People lose weight for many different reasons. But the fact is, living at a healthy weight benefits your overall well-being.
The heart is one of the first organs to see lasting benefits. Maintaining a healthy weight supports your cardiovascular function, circulation, and reduces the workload on your heart.
Sleep issues are often linked to being overweight. So, one added benefit of your healthy weight loss could be improved sleep. Healthy weight loss can also be good for your mood and help support healthy energy levels. You may find you have more strength and endurance than before, along with a boost in self-esteem that often comes with weight loss.
Designing a Sustainable Weight-Loss Diet: Quality of Calories vs. Quantity of Calories
Diet is one of two main ways to control your calorie balance sheet. So, what you eat obviously plays a key role in the success of your weight loss journey.
While the numbers vary individually and by gender, adults need between 1,600 and 3,000 calories each day to thrive. As you’ve read above, a moderate, consistent calorie deficit will be enough to trigger weight loss.
But you should think beyond simple calorie counts.
It’s important to know all foods are not created equal. Some are high or low calorie. Some foods are filling, while others are not. Look at what you’re eating to determine if the calories in your food are being put to good use.
High-calorie, low-quality foods eat up a large piece of your daily intake, but don’t fill you up. Take soda for example. A 12-ounce serving of the sugary drink represents about 150 calories. These empty calories are all liquid, without fiber or other nutrients, and leave you hungry. Eating 150 calories of filling, fibrous vegetables have a different outcome.
Cutting out empty calories will bring you closer to your weight loss goals. Aim to make high quality, whole foods—like vegetables and lean protein—the center of your diet. Poultry, lean beef, and fatty fish provide quality nutrition and ample energy without the extra calories, starches, or sugars typically found in processed foods. Green vegetables are naturally low-calorie and packed with fiber that leaves you feeling full long after you eat.
On a daily basis, that means limiting high-calorie, low-fiber foods—like sugary drinks, fruit juice, and candy. Replace the drinks with water and snack on an apple instead. Always remaining mindful of where your calories are coming from can help you take control of your diet and create lasting, healthy weight loss.
Up the Ante on ExerciseIt often takes healthy eating and exercise to create lasting weight loss. Experts recommend 150 minutes of exercise each week to achieve healthy weight loss. That can look like 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week, or three 50-minute workouts.One of the best tips for your meeting long-term weight loss goals is to find a physical activity that suits you. Exercise isn’t limited to grueling days at the gym. It can look like a walk or jog with a friend, a hike in the woods, playing a sport, or a group fitness class in your neighborhood.Don’t beat yourself up if your exercise routine is at a beginner level. Everyone starts somewhere. You will gain strength over time. Your endurance will improve. Soon you’ll find you can do more, have more fun, and feel better.
Celebrating Non-Scale Victories Helps with Long-Term Weight Loss
Over the course of your weight-loss journey, there will be hiccups that slow or halt your progress. You might indulge in too many sweet treats, catch a cold, or suffer an injury. When these obstacles pop up, don’t fret.
Trust the process. Continue to eat well. Also keep incorporating regular exercise to help break out of your slump. No matter whether your weight loss is flourishing or has plateaued, celebrate achievements other than the number on the scale.
Here are some examples of non-scale victories worthy of revelry:
Fitting into old clothes
Keeping up with your kids
Increasing endurance during exercise
Experiencing better sleep
Developing a new love for healthy food
Feeling more energized
Gaining self-confidence
Noticing an improved sense of overall health and wellbeing
These non-scale victories will make the excitement of reaching your goal weight even sweeter. You’ll feel better in your body and see all the fruits of your hard work.
Remember that a slow, steady pace is the key to long-term weight-loss success. When you focus on the whole-body benefits of weight loss, you’ll summon the willpower to keep going. If you need more motivation, think of your heart, mental health, sleep, and endurance improving each day. Reaching a healthy weight has added benefits that set you up for a happy and full life ahead.
In today’s overly connected world, it’s easy to keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, sun-up to well past sundown. Being connected 24/7 has upsides: business and personal connections can happen anywhere, any time. You can call your cross-country sibling, message a funny cat video to your favorite aunt, send a roommate a passive-aggressive rent reminder. The possibilities online are endless.
These incredible advancements in communication and productivity also have their downsides. More than one-third of American adults don’t get enough sleep. We willingly deprive ourselves with every swipe, tap, and like. And there are countless other reasons why you may feel tired during the day. In fact, there’s a whole science behind it. One of the most common causes of fatigue is the lack of quality sleep.
Here’s some good news: no matter how poor your bedtime habits currently are, you always have the power to get your sleep schedule back on track. Read on to assess your current sleep habits and learn how you can better catch all those sweet, sweet Z’s.
What Sleep Does
There are oh so many reasons to get an adequate amount of sleep. Not only does your body spend this time repairing itself, a healthy amount of sleep can improve mood, help with weight management, reduce stress, lower your risk for serious health problems, offer clearer thinking, improve your work and school performance, and more. The CDC recommends adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night.
While scientists don’t entirely understand everything snoozing does for the human body and mind, we definitely know what happens when we don’t get enough of it. Even one night of sleep deprivation may result in daytime sleepiness, a foggy mind, physical and mental fatigue, difficulty concentrating, even memory impairment. Oh, and it turns out beauty sleep isn’t just an expression. Cellular stress is another result of sleeplessness, and it can show on your skin.
Practice Your Z’s
Lucky for you, even if you’re sleep deprived, there’s hope! Like any healthy routine, it all starts with making the effort until it’s a habit. Here are seven simple ways you can improve every snooze:
Maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends. Avoid sleep inertia by committing to a consistent sleep schedule seven days a week. Don’t worry about a few late nights a week, just make sure to wake up at the same time every day. Your body will adjust the next night by getting more tired, earlier. You’ll also find yourself waking up before your alarm more often, refreshed and ready to take on the day. It’s truly one of the greatest feelings on this earth.
Avoid stimulants like alcohol, sugar, and caffeine well before bedtime. The afternoon struggle is all too real, but turning to that pick-me-up cup of coffee may have adverse effects when it continues to pick you up at 10:00 p.m. Similarly, sugar and other simple, processed carbs will cause a spike and crash in blood sugar, affecting your circadian rhythm. Alcohol can help you get to sleep (nightcap, anyone?), but it actually interrupts rapid eye movement (REM), one of the five key stages of the sleep cycle.
Turn off the electronics an hour—or two—before slumber. You’re probably already familiar with the dreaded blue light flowing from our screens. Not only does this light throw our circadian rhythm off, long-term exposure may cause macular degeneration. Give your eyes a rest by avoiding screens for at least an hour before bedtime. Pick up a screen-free habit such as reading, meditating to sleep sounds, or other relaxing activities.
Develop a nightly skincare routine. Any excuse to treat your epidermis is a win-win for you and your skin. Adopting healthy skincare habits is good for any time of day, particularly as part of a nighttime routine—and it’s another excuse to avoid electronics. Put on some relaxing music and get to pampering.
Workouts are awesome for sleep—if you time them right. Regular exercise is a great way to promote a good night’s sleep, but it’s all about timing. Working out too close to bedtime will leave your body wide awake and wired for the next exciting activity. Instead of yoga too late into the evening, take a time-out with some mindfulness practices.
Chill out. When your core temperature drops, it’s a signal to your body to produce melatonin. Drop the temperature a few degrees, shower, wear fewer layers to bed, and throw on some socks—no, really.
Keep a sleep diary. Take a quick minute in the morning to jot down roughly what time you went to bed and what time you woke up, how many times you woke during the night, and how refreshing your sleep was. Make a short note of what you did the day before which may have contributed to a better or worse night’s sleep. You may be surprised how your new habits positively contribute to sleep quality!
Of course, life has a habit of derailing our best-laid plans. Whether it’s a rowdy pillow fight, the absolute need to watch the new episode of MasterChef Junior, traveling through too many time zones, or any number of other reasons, it’s unavoidable, at times, to end up restless at the end of the day. When you need occasional extra help to get into a sleepy-time state, consider a non–habit forming melatonin supplement. An extra dose of melatonin can help support your body’s natural circadian rhythms for those challenging nights. One option is Pure Rest™, USANA’s fast-acting melatonin supplement.*
Nighty Night
What are your go-to tips for getting the best sleep? For me, it was taking a step back and realizing I needed to make sleep a priority. Once I scheduled in time to wind down—and swapped my phone for a good historical fiction and some tea—the rest fell into place.
Drop your advice below!
*THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
For most areas in North America, our clocks will spring forward an hour on Sunday, March 10, as we begin Daylight Saving Time. Basically, this moves an hour of morning daylight to the evening. While this gives us “longer” days that bleed into summer nights, this change can shake up bedtime routines and cause restless nights for up to a week.
Here are a few tips to keep you sleeping soundly during Daylight Saving Time and beyond.
Plan Ahead
Have you ever wondered why it’s recommended adults get between 7–9 hours of sleep every night? Or why, when you stay up too late or travel, it takes a few days to recover? Our sleep and wake cycles—or circadian rhythms—follow a 24-hour cycle. These rhythms influence nearly everything in your body, such as hormone release, digestion, maintaining normal blood pressure, hunger, and body temperature.
Leading up to and following Daylight Saving Time, a consistent sleep routine that supports your body’s natural rhythms becomes even more important. About a week before your clocks change, start going to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual. Increase this by an additional 15 minutes every few nights and you’ll be ready for some easy shuteye come time change time.
Unplug
An easy way to carve out that additional 15 minutes of sleep is to power down for the evening. Digital devices can keep your mind occupied, and you awake. The light—TV included—reduces your body’s melatonin production. This is the helpful hormone that regulates your circadian rhythms.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends shutting off your devices as early as is realistic and to, instead, read a book.
Take a Short Nap
If you have a hard time making it through the first week of Daylight Saving Time, catch a quick nap instead of that mid-afternoon cup of coffee. Even a short rest of around 20–30 minutes can help with alertness and performance and—most importantly for some—mood.
Taking one or two brief naps throughout the week can be a serene way to help regulate your body and help you feel more refreshed after lost sleep. Valuable tip: if you’re sneaking away from your desk at work, set an alarm.
Exercise Early, Rest Late
Some experts recommend exercising in the morning to really see those sleepy time gains. According to an Appalachian State University study, subjects who exercised in the morning had a consistent decrease in blood pressure throughout the day. They also showed a more significant drop at night, slept longer, and had better sleep cycles.
A morning endorphin boost also helps wake you up to focus on the rest of your day.
If you can’t fit in a morning workout, there isn’t a wrong time to exercise. Whether done morning or night, moderate physical activity can reduce stress and tire you out, paving the way for longer, higher quality sleep.
Supplement Your Sleep
If you’ve tried the other tips and you still need help getting enough sleep, consider trying a melatonin supplement.*
A quality supplement, such as Pure Rest™, can tell your body it’s time for sleep by
complementing your body’s natural melatonin production. Not only will this support your sleep-wake cycle, but it can help you get a dreamy night’s rest.*
Visit the USANA shop today for a restful night’s sleep.
Frank Sinatra’s 1956 tune “You Make Me Feel So Young” hits all the right notes. It starts with a blasting horn line underscored with soothing strings and a walking bassline guaranteed to get your fingers snapping. And then Sinatra lends his voice to one of his all-time greats.
It’s about a young man swooning in love with his new lady friend. When he is with her, he’s unstoppable. She gives him the strength to bounce the moon just like a toy balloon. All he wants to do is pick flowers with her and spend every moment together. And it ends with the perfect message: “And even when I’m old and grey, I’m gonna feel the way I do today.”
It’s a wonderful message and hopefully one we’re all lucky enough to feel just once in our lives.
Bells to be Rung and Songs to be Sung
Evidence shows being in love may elevate your heart’s health. It’s more than running through meadows picking lots of forget-me-nots (although this is a good cardiovascular activity). People in committed relationships actually have improved heart health.
A recent study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health followed 620 married fathers and found that those who were in flourishing marriages experienced improvements in several cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol and body mass index (BMI). Comparing those in happy relationships to ones that deteriorated over time, happy relationships showed lower rates of high blood pressure. The report suggests several reasons why people in healthy relationships tend to have fewer health issues. It starts with the social support offered by each partner.
Those in happy relationships encourage the other to take care of themselves, provide care, and cheer on new, healthy behaviors.
Men seem to benefit more from these relationships. The study found that men in happy relationships have better health outcomes, including fewer hospitalizations, fewer severe disease, and less physical pain. The thinking behind this research suggests people who have partners who can share things are more likely to address problems sooner than later. Those in harmful relationships are more likely to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, which can lead to arthritis, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Every Time I See You Grin
The better the relationship, the bigger the payoff. Harvard Medical School published an article stating there are biological and behavioural benefits when people stay in long-term, happy relationships. Looking at over 309,000 subjects, they found people in solid relationships were less likely to suffer from “harmful levels of stress, which can adversely affect coronary arteries, gut function, insulin regulations, and the immune system.”
Essentially, the article encourages people to pursue healthy, couple-building activities. When you’re working toward common goals, you’re less likely to develop habits damaging to the relationship. Take care of your partner and they’ll take care of you.
Just as important as fostering a positive relationship is being conscious of the dangers of being in a negative relationship. An article published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that partners who annoy you, demand too much, ignore you, or pressure you to do things you don’t want to do are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases.
It makes sense. When you’re feeling unvalued or neglected, you’re likely to develop resentment or depression. These stressful life events and other social strains are associated with early indicators of cardiovascular disease. By avoiding harmful relationships, you are mitigating the risk of developing unnecessary stress which can manifest in a number of health issues.
East Coast Life Solutions product partner with USANA Health Sciences. We are passionate health influencers, sharing a message of prioritizing self-care and making it a habit.
Reruns of old Friends episodes, the pitter-patter of rainfall on a tin roof, classical music—there are countless sleep sounds people listen to when trying to hit the hay at night.
We all know that sleep is pretty darn important, but if you’re having a hard time falling asleep, consider some of the following popular sleep sound options to help you get a restful night’s sleep.
Calmsound
If you enjoy the gentle sound of waves breaking on the shore, check out Calmsound Nature Sounds. They provide a variety of both videos and albums that can be downloaded online or purchased through Amazon. The dreamy sounds of an Australian summer morning at Coogee Beach seriously had me bobbing my head at my desk as I listened. Sigh.
Sound of Sleep Machine
The Sound+Sleep machine provides you with a pretty wide range of realistic, natural sound environments. (Apparently, they really do use naturally recorded sounds like a bubbling brook or the sound of leaves blowing in the wind. Also, they claim to never loop, so you don’t have to worry about getting bored from repetition.)
This machine comes with a 3″ speaker that can easily fit on your nightstand. It also comes with a small headphone jack so you can kick back and relax without disturbing your partner. Or the neighbors upstairs. Or the cat. Meow.
Sleep Sounds Mobile App
I legit just downloaded this app by Relaxio from the Google Play Store on my phone and have had an absolute ball listening to the different sounds. My favorite so far is “Vintage Train.” The cool part? You can set a timer anywhere from one minute to eight hours. You can also add in additional sounds, which makes it a very customized experience. (I added the sound of a rainstorm to the mix and the effect was magical. I felt like I was napping on the Hogwarts Express.)
For iOS, try a similar app called Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds, White Noise & Fan.
Head Space
Have a stressful final to take in school or a presentation to give? Maybe you just need to chill out before going to bed? Try using Headspace. This app helps you connect with your body and mind through guided meditation. There are tons of benefits associated with meditating. In fact, one Harvard study shows that practicing mediation may actually help with sleep.
If you’d like to give mediation a whirl, Headspace has a meditation series specifically for sleep that helps create the inner and outer conditions for you to properly zonk out.
Breath in. Breathe out. Now sleep.
Spotify
Even your Spotify account has some awesome sleep sound options. If you’re in the mood for quiet music, you can listen to some calming acoustic guitar solos, some fun Indian music, or even peaceful flute music. If you prefer nature sounds, crawl under your covers, turn on your shuffle, and get ready to enjoy the pleasant sounds of a rainforest storm.
From A to Zzz
These aren’t the only solutions for sleep—there are tons of mobile apps designed to help you sleep better tonight. Discover your favorite go-to sleep sounds for a night of blissful rest. And if all else fails, there’s also a little something called Pure Rest.*
Well my friend, are you ready to get some sleep? Tell Little Bo Beep to grab her sheep—you won’t be counting them anymore.
Are you interested in learning more about our products or becoming a USANA Independent Associate, check out our website at http://www.lindah.usana.com or your can contact us direct at [email protected]
Let’s face it—feeling self-love is much easier said than done. Especially when we live in a society obsessed with Snapchat-filter perfection. We constantly see others obtaining status, owning the latest and greatest technologies, going on dream vacations, and living in a big house on a hill with the perfect family.
It’s no wonder we often feel like we don’t measure up.
Even worse, we begin to tell ourselves lies. We start to think that we’re weird, poor, ugly, awkward, not smart enough, or even too smart. In short, we feel like we’re never enough.
But what if we’re wrong?
What if you were good enough, just the way you are? In this very moment?
When it comes to love, it’s often easier to give it to others. But showing yourself love is just as important, maybe even more so. Here are five ways you can start showing yourself some much-needed love today.
1–Make a List of Your Positive Attributes
How often do we take the time to praise ourselves? If the answer is “rarely” or “I don’t even know what self-praise is,” let’s fix that, pronto. Try writing out a list of your positive attributes and take time to reflect on it every day.
When putting together your list, instead of being super generic in your attributes, try to be specific and have a little fun with this. (And then get really wild and add one or two new attributes to the list every week.)
For example: “I always give genuine compliments to others.” Or: “I’m non-judgmental and I always try to see things from another person’s point of view.” Or: “I have a nice singing voice and my husband/wife/next-door neighbor/puppy (woof!) loves it when I sing loudly when doing the dishes.”
Another tip? Along with the positive attributes list, try making a list of the things you are grateful for. Showing gratitude can go a long way into helping you out of self-defeating and negative thinking patterns.
2–Take Time for Yourself
Maybe you’re a super busy mom with adorable but rambunctious children. Or maybe you’re a hard-working sales rep putting in 60 hours+ of work each week. Your time can start to feel like it doesn’t belong to you anymore, and far too often you may feel like stretched taffy pulled too thin.
But how can you fully give to your children or to your job if you haven’t given anything to yourself?
This may mean taking extra time for yourself to meditate. It could mean curling up with a good murder mystery for a half hour before bed or indulging in the latest episode of your favorite guilty pleasure (if you love The Bachelor, I’m right there with you). It could mean making it to your daily CrossFit class or going to a weekly yoga class. It could even mean making a delicious snack for yourself and not sharing it with your kids!
Seriously, stop. When you call yourself a name or criticize yourself, you are shrinking yourself from a human being of value down to a single element of yourself that you don’t like.
This can be a hard habit to quell, but it’s one that can have truly astonishing results. Think about it. You wouldn’t tell a 5-year-old that their crayon drawings look terrible. You wouldn’t tell your bestie that they’re hopeless for not knowing how to do their taxes online. And you certainly wouldn’t tell your loveable Grandma that she’s a basket case every time she smears pink lipstick on her teeth. (At least let’s hope you’d never do this.)
Yet how often do we berate ourselves and think negative thoughts like “I’m so stupid” or “I never get anything right”?
Instead of thinking of yourself as a total dumb-bat, rephrase the way you think about things. Try this instead: “Okay, so I don’t know how to relight the pilot light on my furnace. But there are YouTube videos that can probably teach me how to do this.”
4–Don’t Compare Apples to Oranges
Everybody is different. You don’t look the same, act the same, speak the same, or have exactly the same mind and heart and experiences as anybody else. You are a unique individual. Embrace it.
This is one I can certainly work on. For instance, I know that I’m kinda weird. I have a bizarre and irrational fear of birds (I’d never survive at Hogwarts with all the owls), I secretly cling to the hope that aliens and mermaids are real, and I’m addicted to reading young adult fiction that teenage girls obsess over, even though I’m a 32-year-old man. It’s like I’m becoming a crazy cat lady, but with books instead of cats. But I’m slowly learning that it’s okay to embrace your quirks. It’s okay to be different. Be weirdly you and own it and love it. And remember that no one is perfect, and perfect is boring anyway. Be flaw-some instead.
To make my point, let’s look at fruit. Say you are an orange. You are tangy-sweet, smell like a citrus-flavored candle, and are round with a thick skin. As an orange, why would you compare yourself to an apple? Or if you’re a strawberry, why look at a kiwi and think you’re somehow less? Every fruit has a little something to bring to the fruit salad. Likewise, we all have something unique to bring to the table.
5–Leave the Past in the Past
If we’re being real, life isn’t always hunky-dory and chances are you might have some old emotional wounds or negative memories lingering on the surface in the present moment. If you find yourself dwelling on an old memory you’re not too fond of, catch yourself and say, “I’m not that person anymore.” Because truthfully, you aren’t. You don’t have to be defined by mistakes or incidents from the past.
Another thought—try accepting where you are right now, in the moment. Sometimes we give ourselves a hard time simply because we are feeling emotional. We feel like we need to be stronger. But it’s okay if you might be feeling a little down about something. Instead of beating yourself up for feeling down or emotional, give yourself permission to feel the feels for a bit. And then let it go and move on to greener pastures.
Allow Self-Love into Your Life
Self-love isn’t something you arrive at overnight. But by taking small, daily steps, you can begin to truly appreciate your uniqueness. You absolutely can love yourself just the way you are (and I sincerely hope you will).
Reruns of old Friends episodes, the pitter-patter of rainfall on a tin roof, classical music—there are countless sleep sounds people listen to when trying to hit the hay at night.
We all know that sleep is pretty darn important, but if you’re having a hard time falling asleep, consider some of the following popular sleep sound options to help you get a restful night’s sleep.
Calmsound
If you enjoy the gentle sound of waves breaking on the shore, check out Calmsound Nature Sounds. They provide a variety of both videos and albums that can be downloaded online or purchased through Amazon. The dreamy sounds of an Australian summer morning at Coogee Beach seriously had me bobbing my head at my desk as I listened. Sigh.
Sound of Sleep Machine
The Sound+Sleep machine provides you with a pretty wide range of realistic, natural sound environments. (Apparently, they really do use naturally recorded sounds like a bubbling brook or the sound of leaves blowing in the wind. Also, they claim to never loop, so you don’t have to worry about getting bored from repetition.)
This machine comes with a 3″ speaker that can easily fit on your nightstand. It also comes with a small headphone jack so you can kick back and relax without disturbing your partner. Or the neighbors upstairs. Or the cat. Meow.
Sleep Sounds Mobile App
I legit just downloaded this app by Relaxio from the Google Play Store on my phone and have had an absolute ball listening to the different sounds. My favorite so far is “Vintage Train.” The cool part? You can set a timer anywhere from one minute to eight hours. You can also add in additional sounds, which makes it a very customized experience. (I added the sound of a rainstorm to the mix and the effect was magical. I felt like I was napping on the Hogwarts Express.)
For iOS, try a similar app called Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds, White Noise & Fan.
Head Space
Have a stressful final to take in school or a presentation to give? Maybe you just need to chill out before going to bed? Try using Headspace. This app helps you connect with your body and mind through guided meditation. There are tons of benefits associated with meditating. In fact, one Harvard study shows that practicing mediation may actually help with sleep.
If you’d like to give mediation a whirl, Headspace has a meditation series specifically for sleep that helps create the inner and outer conditions for you to properly zonk out.
Breath in. Breathe out. Now sleep.
Spotify
Even your Spotify account has some awesome sleep sound options. If you’re in the mood for quiet music, you can listen to some calming acoustic guitar solos, some fun Indian music, or even peaceful flute music. If you prefer nature sounds, crawl under your covers, turn on your shuffle, and get ready to enjoy the pleasant sounds of a rainforest storm.
From A to Zzz
These aren’t the only solutions for sleep—there are tons of mobile apps designed to help you sleep better tonight. Discover your favorite go-to sleep sounds for a night of blissful rest. And if all else fails, there’s also a little something called PureRest.
Well my friend, are you ready to get some sleep? Tell Little Bo Beep to grab her sheep—you won’t be counting them anymore.
Rest Easy
And don’t forget to enter for your chance to win one of our Rest Boxes on Instagram.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I legit just downloaded this app by Relaxio from the Google Play Store on my phone and have had an absolute ball listening to the different sounds. My favorite so far is “Vintage Train.” The cool part? You can set a timer anywhere from one minute to eight hours. You can also add in additional sounds, which makes it a very customized experience. (I added the sound of a rainstorm to the mix and the effect was magical. I felt like I was napping on the Hogwarts Express.)
