Category Archives: Insomnia and Fatigue

Stand UP & Power DOWN

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It’s so easy to feel better. Often we don’t have to change much or buy anything extra. If you already own a car, a couch, some chairs, a bed and a smart phone you will find this month’s energy-boosting recommendations to be absolutely FREE.

Stand UP!
We spend way too much of our day laying or sitting down. It’s not natural and it isn’t healthful either. We used to have to chase down our chow and walk for miles to get somewhere else. Now everything we need is just a few paces or a car ride away.

This week, stand UP more. Stand UP when you talk on the phone with friends and go through your mail. Stand UP when you watch the news. Stand UP and stretch to start and end your day.

Power DOWN
I recently went through a nightmare spell of insomnia. It coincided with my upgrade from a flip phone to a “smart” phone. Coincidence? Hardly.

Flip phones, in case you don’t remember them, are only useful for calling or texting (while standing UP.) Smart phones are palm sized computers that are endlessly interesting. They also emit a bright light that keeps the sleepy-time dopamine at bay for hours and hours.

BIG thanks to my doc for helping me connect these dots. Since I started powering DOWN two hours before bedtime and charging it up in the kitchen vs. my bedroom the insomnia is gone and waking up refreshed is back!

 

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Beat fatigue the old fashioned way … eat right and sleep tight.

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Fatigue … so often the root cause of fatigue is traced back to something as simple as poor nutrition and sleeping habits. I use the word “habit” because whatever we do regularly, be it calling a cup of coffee “breakfast” or staying up late to catch another CSI show, becomes a habit. Habits are so easily formed – just twenty-something days – and so so hard to break. Don’t even try, simply form news ones to take their place. May I suggest …

New Fatigue Busting Habit – Feed your tired adrenals the “good stuff.”

It is time to get into seasonal fruit and veggie shopping. Fresh produce tastes better, will improve your appetite and entice you to eat more and eat healthier. Stock up this weekend at your local Farmer’s Market, and then join in our Monday Fruit and Veggie Day.

July’s produce bounty includes:

* Fruit:  apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, honeydew melons, limes, nectarines, peaches, plums, strawberries and watermelons.

* Vegetables: corn, cucumbers, lettuce and radishes.

Source: Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That and Go There

New Fatigue Busting Habit – Sleep tight.
7 fool-proof ways to get the sleep you need to stop feeling tired and wired.

There is one major reason why so many of us are tired all the time, sleep deprivation. Sometimes it’s because we allow ourselves to turn into zombies in front of the boob tube. Other times a metabolic imbalance can trigger insomnia. Ah, I know this one too well. Here are my favorite insomnia-busting tools and tricks …

1. The 10:00 p.m. bedtime hour. It is critical that people with fatigue and sleep problem be in bed and well on their way towards sleep by 10:00 p.m. Why? There is a dreaded adrenal gland “second wind” that kicks Continue reading →

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Fatigue Causes – Toxic Relationships, Energy Vampires and the “News”

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Fatigue is a complex topic. If you are feeling tired all the time you can bet you are under the spell of a combination of fatigue factors. The culprits include but are not limited to: your diet, exercise, finances, work environment, lifestyle and the quality of your relationships. Today I’d like to address just one of these, relationships gone bad.

Do you feel more fatigue around certain people? I do. In fact three chronically fatiguing Continue reading →

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Junk Mail Fatigue. Mail me something personal, something fun – please!

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Instead of junk mail I’d like to celebrate “National Card and Letter Writing Month” with some good news, please. I’d like a card from someone who knows and loves me. Or a note from someone who would like to know and love me. Heck, I’d settle for any piece of mail that does not threaten or guilt me into …

* completing a survey.

* making a donation.

* calling or writing to my congresspersons or political party.

* eating or drinking something I don’t want at some place I don’t want to go.

* making a payment Continue reading →

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Tired all the time?

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Boost-energy. Eliminate fatigue and insomnia. How? Sleep.

Tired all the time? Time to learn how to sleep tight all night.

Tired all the time? Time to learn how to sleep tight all night.

There is one major reason why so many of us are tired all the time. Crappy sleep a.k.a. insomnia. This feel-good thief sneaks up on me just like it sneaks up on you. By Friday I am a mess unless I’ve been up to my favorite insomnia-busting tricks …

1. The 10:00 p.m. bedtime hour. It is critical that people with fatigue and sleep problem be in bed and well on their way towards sleep by 10:00 p.m. Why? There is a dreaded adrenal gland “second wind” that kicks in around 11:00 p.m. and it launches an exhausting two to three hour cycle of insomnia.  Let me say this another way so you really get it.

If you don’t want to toss and turn and huff and puff in frustration until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. you must be sound asleep before 11:00 p.m.

2. The 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. snooze. This may seem like the impossible dream. Start with a Saturday or Sunday. Then make it every Saturday and Sunday. Make deals with your spouse, friend, neighbor …

According to Dr. James Wilson, author, Adrenal Fatigue The 21st Century Stress Syndrome, “There is something magical about the restorative power of sleep between 7:00-9:00 in the morning for people with adrenal fatigue.” Sometimes I’ll get up early – do what I need to do – and go back to bed during this time. As often as possible I’ll sleep in on weekends to tap into this magic.

3. The 2:00 p.m. Power Nap.  According to Dr. Lynn Hasher this is not luxury, it is the “best time of the day” to take a break and refresh our bodies and our brains so that we can be incredibly productive for the rest of the day. (Tell that to your boss and co-workers.) So, go to your car, close the door to your office — do whatever you need to do and slip a power nap into your day.
Psst. This is my problem-solving time of the day. I put out a question or request to my angels, shut my eyes and wake up fifteen minutes later with a solution. Amazing.

Three of my favorite sleep inducing resources:

* Inspirational Books: Always end your day, in bed with an inspirational book chapter (not a murder mystery thriller.)
For topics oriented to love and relationship please visit the Get Ready For Love Booklist. For mind/body health and inspiration there is the Fatigue Be Gone Reading Room.

* Healing Music: Soothe your mind and body while you sleep with Dr. Weil’s Self-Healing with Sound and Music CD

* Experiment with your sleeping “arrangements.” Do what you need to do. Rearrange your bedroom. Change your sheets. Get rid of any and all sleep obstacles even if doing so makes you feel mean and unloving. In the past three years I’ve gone from a husband, a dog and a bird to the same husband, six dogs, 3 cats and a bird. My bed has become a tad crowded.

Could that be contributing to recent spats of insomnia? Last night I ran an experiment and kicked all the cats and dogs OFF the bed. I didn’t kick off my husband but he kindly took his hacking cough into anther bedroom. Anyway … I slept and slept and slept and woke up this morning like the happy woman in the Ambian commercials minus the side affects or potential health problems.
So my friend, give this a whirl over the weekend and drop me a note on Monday. I’d love to hear how it works (or doesn’t) for you.

Cheers!

Viveca

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