Health & Fitness Source

We all know exercise is good for us, but getting motivated can be a challenge. Although finding the time and inspiration can sometimes be difficult, it’s important to include an exercise routine as part of your lifestyle. There are many different activities you can try to get started, and finding what works for you will help you enjoy exercise.

Commit to change

Be willing to move in a new direction with your lifestyle and find ways to be more active. Lynda Johnson, R.D., specialist for Nutrition and Health Education with University of Missouri Extension, recommends identifying a successful role model who has made changes to improve his or her health by increasing physical activity and eating sensibly. Accept that change is all about making choices — like choosing to take a walk instead of watching TV. That doesn’t mean you have to stop watching TV, it just means you should find a balance between watching TV and being more active. Another way to be active is to take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Put these simple steps into action to add more activity to your day.

Believe in change

Believe in yourself and your ability to change. It’s easier to achieve a goal when you have a positive attitude. Make a list of successful changes you’ve made in the past and believe that you can make these new changes. Try not to get upset if you miss a couple of days of exercise — occasional lapses will not ruin your efforts.

“It’s important to give yourself some slack, not get discouraged and realize that missing a few days of exercise doesn’t constitute failure,” said Johnson.

Remain confident and keep a record of your activity on the calendar to help you stay on track. If you have friends who stay in shape with regular exercise, ask them for tips and suggestions that you could incorporate into your routine.

Focus on small changes

When it comes to exercise, it’s important to create a long-term plan that works for you. The goal is to make a lifetime commitment to staying active. Experiment and try various kinds of activities to discover ones you really enjoy. Fun activities you could try include line dancing, bowling, lifting weights, water aerobics, exercise classes or yoga. By choosing a variety of activities, you also have a backup plan if you need one. For example, if you can’t walk outside because of bad weather, use an exercise DVD instead. Try to make physical activity a part of your daily habits. Keep a pair of sneakers by your desk or the door as a reminder to walk, or place hand weights next to the TV to exercise while watching your favorite program. It’s important to do activities that are fun and make you feel good about exercising. Keep your focus on your accomplishments and feeling healthy.

Find a cheerleader

It’s easier to make changes when you have someone to cheer you on. Seek out a friend, co-worker or family member who will encourage you and keep you motivated. Regular phone calls, e-mails or visits could provide the boost to keep you on target. Your cheerleader could even become your exercise buddy, which can make exercise more fun. Reward yourself as you make simple changes that support your overall goal — celebration is part of successful change.

Too often people think they simply lack the willpower to change. Instead of being negative, try basing your plan on small, incremental changes that will improve your health over time. Charlotte Hayes, a certified diabetic educator, encourages people to ease into exercise by making the most of daily activities. In her book, The ‘I hate to exercise’ book for people with diabetes, she mentions walking, cleaning, gardening and stair climbing as daily activities that keep you moving.

Dr. Lisa Callahan, co-director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center of Weill Cornell Hospital, suggests keeping a journal when you don’t have time to exercise. By recording what you do every half hour for a day, Callahan guarantees you’ll find 30 minutes you could have spent exercising.

Lack of sleep has become a global problem in the past decade. Everywhere around the world people are sleeping less. This trend has increased in the recent years starting a viscious cycle of sleep deprivation. Many shrug off lack of sleep and say they will only become irratible. Lack of sleep can also play a role in weight gain.

A person’s weight is affected by hormone production. Two hormones in particular are responsible for stimulating and controlling appetite. Ghrelin is the hormone responsible for stimulating your appetite while leptin tells your brain that your body is full and does not need any more food.

Guess what happens to these hormones when you don’t get enough shut eye? They are affected in a way that is disastrous to your waist line. When you don’t get enough sleep your body responds by producing more appetite inducing Ghrelin hormone. This means that you will not only be tired, but have an increased appetite ast well.

Plus, when you do eat it will take you longer to feel full and satisfied. This is due to the fact that the amount of leptin hormone in your system has decreased. This wreaks havoc on your waistline as you eat more and more to feel full.

Don’t think ghrelin and leptin hormones play a significant role in your weight fluctuation? Think again. There is a link between lack of sleep and obesity. This link was found by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin. The polls tell it all. A little over 6 out of 10 Americans state that they don’t get 8 hours of sleep each night. Also, a little over 6 out of 10 Americans are over weight. (Source: usatoday.com, 12/06/2004). The link is to close to ignore.

Now some people might be tempted to conclude that being up longer should mean that you are burning more calories. While this is true, the urge to snack and eat something during the hours that we should be in bed is greater because of the increased production of ghrelin. Plus, since we consume more due to decreased levels of leptin, the calories burned by being awake are more than replenished by the food we eat.

Also take into account that we burn 2/3 of all calories while we are resting. Therefore, only 1/3 of our calories are burned during physical activity and exercise. So just because you are awake doesn’t necessarily mean you are burning more calories. It depends on each person and their activity levels.

No, most of us do not believe that sleep deprivation has anything to do with our weight. But, with the majority of Americans overweight and with a growing amount of research illustrating the link between obesity and sleep deprivation, people should start making shut eye a priority.

Lack of sleep has become a global problem in the past decade. Everywhere around the world people are sleeping less. This trend has increased in the recent years starting a viscious cycle of sleep deprivation. Many shrug off lack of sleep and say they will only become irratible. Lack of sleep can also play a role in weight gain.

Insomnia is described as difficulty in falling asleep or difficulty to achieve continuous sleep. It is not a disease or diagnosis but a symptom. An average person experiences insomnia at least once in their life. It was found that 30-50% of people are insomniacs.

All age groups are affected by insomnia. Its incidence increases as age increases because stress is the most common cause of insomnia. Furthermore, women are more affected by this than men.

The cure for insomnia involves activities that would promote sleep and reduce stimulation. Several activities are advised to the insomniacs to prepare their body for sleep.

1. Exercise regularly. Studies have shown that regular exercise helps the body with its sleeping problems. It is generally important to attain optimal health. It is important to stress that exercise should be made early in the morning and not immediately before sleeping.

2. Avoid heavy meals and lots of fluids before going to bed. Large meals could lead to indigestion while a lot of fluids will increase the incidence of having to get up to urinate in the middle of the night

3. Maintain a peaceful and comfortable environment. During bedtime, turn off the lights, turn off anything that could create noise, and be sure you are comfortable with the room temperature. These factors affect sleep. Remove the clock from sight because it will contribute to your anxiety and frustration when you can’t fall asleep.

The following are excellent tips to put an end to your sleepless nights.

1. Decrease ingestion of stimulant-containing substances such as tea, coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes. Stimulants increase alertness, which are not needed during sleep.

2. Eat a very light carbohydrate snack before bedtime; or better yet, drink warm milk

3. Take a warm bath 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. The immediate effect of a warm bath is sedation. When the bath is taken more than an hour before bedtime, an arousing effect would occur instead of a sedating one. Furthermore, warmth relieves body tension.

4. Stop watching TV, reading, or engaging in any mind-stimulating activities at least an hour before bedtime. These activities tend to prolong your wakefulness.

5. Use only your bed for sleeping (and sex). This will help your body associate your bed to just sleep. Thus, when you lie on your bed, it is a signal that it is time to sleep.

6. Engage in relaxation activities: listening to music, deep breathing exercises, meditation, etc. These activities slow down body processes and help the body to relax. Both functions aid the body in falling asleep.

7. Clear your mind. Remove all concerns and worries from your mind. You can do this through writing your thoughts and ideas in a journal.

8. Do not take naps. Try to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday. Taking naps will only disrupt your biological clock. On the other hand, sleeping and waking up at the same time everyday will help your body set your biological clock.

Through following these tips, a good night’s sleep is very much attainable. Remember that sleep is essential for the body’s growth and repair. Insomnia is not something that occurs naturally in your body. Thus, it must be treated.

While the more common complaints are from people who are having trouble falling asleep and getting “quality” sleep, some people have the opposite problem.

They sleep too much…

If you’re having trouble getting yourself out of bed on time, and find yourself sleeping much more than you’ve planned too, you’re not alone.

I personally used to sleep up to 14 hours a “night”. Sometimes I’d hit the snooze button for HOURS.

Improving the quality of my sleep was absolutely necessary in order to reduce the amount of sleep I get. After replacing a few bad habits, I now sleep less and feel much more lively and energetic throughout the day, then when I had slept longer.

However, getting rid of some bad sleeping habits, and improving the quality of your sleep is only one part of the process.

As you know, when you wake up you’re not completely in control of your thoughts and your actions. At this stage your subconscious is more dominant.

You may have to admit having some kind of emotional issues, which are suppressed deeply in your subconscious. The simplest way to say it is that you have a lack of motivation to wake up and get up.

Oversleeping can obviously CAUSE problems. The embarrassment when you fail to wake up on time, being late to work or loss of what could be your “free time”, and the tiredness that usually comes after an excessive sleep episode, all of those aren’t going to do you any good.

You should start putting your sleep system back to order, by going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, no matter when you’ve gone to sleep, no matter what time you go to work, and even if you have a day off.

Practice it for at least 3 weeks (they say it takes 21 days to establish a new habit).

However, if you fail to wake up on time, you should focus on your self-discipline.

You see, most people wake up on time every morning, no matter how much or how well they had slept.

Don’t beat yourself up when you fail. Instead, try to think what went wrong. Try to remember your actions and your thoughts at that morning. Then come up with a plan for tomorrow.

If you can’t even remember what went through your head when the alarm went off, try going to sleep earlier or setting the alarm to a later time. The idea is to get yourself used to be in control of your sleep and wake up habits.

Most importantly, dig inside yourself to find the reason you oversleep. Ask yourself a simple, yet hard question: “What are you running away from”?