Are You Tired?

When we get tired, many things begin to happen, most of which are NOT good! We eat wrong, sleep more (or less), we stress out about little things that probably won't happen, and both our personal and professional livelihoods may suffer. When you are tired, what is the first thing you give up? Is it "doing the dishes", walking the dog, skipping breakfast, or perhaps you buy fast food instead of cooking an actual dinner? Do you skip seeing your family or friends so you can stay home and rest up? If so, then a really important thing to do when you are especially tired is to simply be mindful. Be aware of when you are about to get overly tired, and be prepared!

1) FOOD: Hit the grocery store and stock up on healthy food - prepare them and keep them ready to go so instead of ordering pizza, you will have something ready at home. Keep healthy snacks at your office to combat being tired - if you don't know the ten healthiest snacks, go online and find them. Prep your breakfast at dinner time...and have it waiting for you to take on the run come morning commute time. If "bad dinner food" makes you feel all warm and cozy come nighttime, then make a meatloaf ahead of time (or other comfort food, but avoid anything fried) - this way you will get all the mouthfeel of what you want, without all the extra fat and calories; make sure to add good colorful veggies to your grocery list. Like apples, but don't eat enough of them? Slice them up, add some lemon juice, and keep refrigerated. Fruit and veggies go bad at your house? Buy some "green bags' - they have clay infused into the plastic which absorbs the ethynol gas that causes spoilage (these bags keep things fresh up to 3 weeks - the commercial produce market has used them for years).

2) SLEEP and EXERCISE: These two things go hand in hand. I was reminded of this when I saw my girlfriends' husband drag himself into the gym the other morning; recently diagnosed with M.S. at only 37 years old, he has just began taking medication. But the drugs that are supposed to help slow down the progression of the disease have turned him into a walking zombie. Hair uncombed, clothes sitting askew, he was still coming to the gym for 15 minutes on a bike; he knows that the ramifications of not getting up, no matter how tired and awful he feels, is the worst thing to do. I figure if he can get going, so can the rest of us. After work, put on your sneakers, grab a bottle of water, and go for a walk - anywhere! Those extra 10 minutes of time in the outdoors making your heart work a little extra is better than nothing - right? If you plop down too soon, make yourself get up during a TV commercial and walk around the block. Take heed though - exercising too heavily can cause you to not be ready for sleepytime until midnight. About 2-3 hours before bedtime, take a really warm bath. Both exercise and bathing will kick up your core body temp a little bit, which, as your body cools off later on, will induce sleep (BTW...showering wakes you up). Another tip - don't nap if you are not a good sleeper; you are just training your body to want sleep whenever it wants. Set a time and stick to it best you can; develop a routine and your body will respond within 21 days.

If you can eat right, exercise a little, and sleep well, you will find yourself much more in control of your life. Control equates to saving money, and that is why I felt a need to remind you, today, to be ready for those hectic times. P.S. Excuse any typos - my computer is creating a problem for spell check so I'm typing this off quickly without much proofreading.