Thank you for venturing into the world of Denny’s Blogs. As many of you know, I have a lot to say about a lot of things and I know you do too. So I welcome you in the same dialogue that I invite in all of my classes, workshops and keynotes.
Since we are heading into the New Year, most of us think about what we vow to do in the year 2012: We want to make changes to our physical well-being, learn good techniques to maintain emotional control, make strides to understand the deeper aspects of ourselves, improve our relationships and make work and our professions more satisfying. (Much of what I will share comes from my book: I’m Juggling As Fast As I Can: Managing Stress, Avoiding Burnout and Achieving Balance. And much comes from the interactions that people like you have given me over the years.)
The beginning of stress is always about being overwhelmed and not knowing what’s going on. Those two factors lead to a feeling of being out of control and being out of control leads to feeling vulnerable and the vulnerability leads to stress. And, prolonged stress leads to burnout. So….looking at what we want to do in 2012 means we really want to gain control of all aspects of our lives. Yes, it’s true it takes a lot of will power to change habits and make new ones. But often it’s just because we don’t know where to start – it all seems so overwhelming. So within the next weeks I will begin to address these things and I welcome your comments.
A new blog will come out at least every two weeks. I hope you will join me in this interesting discussion.
First, let me introduce you to my five favorite stress busters. I have a lot, but I know if you did at least ONE of the five, your life would be less stressful. I’m going to start with #5 and then work up to #1.
#5 Mind Your Body:
Exercise – Every day we take in free radicals (toxins from food and air.) These toxins are like rust that bombards your body. It causes your cells to die. Free radicals means elements that are oxygen free. Therefore, it is critical that we put oxygen back into our blood stream. Exercise is the best way to get oxygen back into our body. Pay attention to exercising – like walking – for twenty minutes every day. The idea is to get your blood circulating. BTW the only way to get oxygen to the brain is through your blood stream.
Food – Every day eat vegies that are green, orange and/or red. Eat fruit that is dark berries – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and all fruit that is peach in color….cantalope (hopefully, no more listeria), peaches, apricots and mangos. These vegies and fruits build your immune system.
Tea – Green tea or any leaf from the black tea bush. Green tea supposedly has the most strength.
Sleep – The general average of sleep cycle for adults is 1 ½ hours or 90 minutes. Sleep doctors tell us we should sleep at least 5 sleep cycles a night or 7 ½ hours of sleep. Many of us need at least 9 hours of sleep. If you wake up and feel refreshed and wouldn’t have time to finish your sleep cycle, then get up. If you go back to sleep and can’t finish your sleep cycle you will be sleepy and groggy all day. If you have missed a sleep cycle, you can always make it up later in the week. Or…get used to power naps. Power naps last only a few minutes and can be very refreshing if you feel a heavy wave of the sleepies coming on.
Water – Drink lots of water and at least WALK 20 minutes a day for 5 days!
We will address the other four as we move along.