Power Naps! Websites regularly trumpet the age old news that many of us do not get enough sleep nightly and it takes a toll on our health, productivity and overall wellbeing. That’s where power naps come in. I swear by them. An early riser, I’ve practiced power naps all my life, at work and home! Yes, at work. At different workplaces over the years, at noon, after eating my lunch, I closed my office door, shut the lights, set the alarm and 20 minute power-napped. When I worked in a cubicle configuration, I went to my car in the parking lot and napped. Power naps instantly invigorate and can have more of a positive effect than the energy drink or double expresso you down at 2pm to try and get through the rest of the day. I’ve always thought I should have a power nap bumper sticker at my desk and on my car to spread the word. I googled power naps and as it turns out, I can still get that bumper sticker and I will!
Walking! I love the Australian tradition of a walkabout. While my American version is shorter, for years I’ve practiced and continue to practice daily walkabouts. I practice two types: solitude walks, were I walk by myself to have alone time with my thoughts and to meditate. The other type is friend walks which I highly recommend. Friend walks provide wonderful mental health benefits. If you don’t have a walking friend, find one. It’s easy, just introduce yourself. Whenever I see another female about my age out walking, I smile and ask if she walks often and would she like a walking buddy? And, that is how I make new walking buddy friends.
In addition to power napping and eating healthy, walking is the lowest impact, easiest type of exercise to embrace–no dues or exercise equipment needed, save for a good pair of athletic shoes every six months. (For avid walkers, shoes wear out that fast). And for its ease, walking is the most productive way to exercise. Beyond the physiologically benefits (exercises the heart muscle and boosts metabolism), walking is also mentally beneficial! If this reads like an advertisement for you to get out and walk, it is! As a former health teacher, I can’t extol enough the benefits of a daily walk. If you are a walker, keep at it! If you have never walked for exercise, there is no time like the present to start. Research shows that type two diabetics and even severely obese patients can substantially improve their health by walking daily. If you are overweight, start slow. First walk your block and back, or walk a half a block, or lap your living room. With each week add another block; watch the pounds melt away. Walk on now, walk on………
Be Kind to Yourself, Daily. What have you done nice for yourself today? What happens when our batteries get low? What happens when we try to take on too much, do too much, love or work too much, exist on too little sleep, too much drink and a cray cray diet of fast food, fats, and sweets? We run down. We run down to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Physically, we catch colds and the flu more easily and succumb to cancer, heart-attack, stroke, or general malaise. Mentally, we can become so exhausted chronic sadness and depression can set it and we only halfway function through the day. Burn Out.
Anytime we begin to feel run-down, we need to STOP. Stop in our tracks and re-look at our life. What is too much in my life? The extra committee or job I took on, the extra family member or friend that I’m taking care of or worrying about, the marriage that has run its course and no matter of investing any more energy in it will revive it. Figure out what needs to go in order for you to function well again. Gently, but firmly, detach that from your life, no matter how uncomfortable it is to do and watch the equilibrium in your life come back to center.
But, what if it’s a family member you must care for, for the time being, or money issues that require you work two jobs for the short term? Then, absolutely practice “be kind to yourself daily.”
Each and every day, even if it’s at 11 at night before you collapse in bed, or a noon hour you steal for yourself, or a half hour you get up earlier than the rest of the household, do some small kindness for yourself daily…. Treat yourself to the first coffee of the morning in a quiet house, relaxing on your couch, feet on the coffee table, soaking up the silence. Better yet, sit outside with your morning coffee, even in the winter, wrapped in a parka. Take 15 -30 minutes each day and enjoy a solitude walk, just you, and nature, and if you wish, your favorite tunes in your ears off of your smart phone. However you choose to do it; be kind to yourself daily. We can’t love others until we love ourselves.