Archive for the ‘Behavior Modification’ Category

How To Get That Sleep For Cheap…

Posted: September 22, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

Sleeping is a natural state of reduced or absent consciousness where most sensory activity and nearly all voluntary muscle activity is inactive. Sleep is also a hyper anabolic state where the growing and rejuvenating of the body take precedence. Sleeping is regulated by your “circadian clock” which is governed by a “circadian rhythm”, a time frame that encompasses about 24 hrs. worth of biological, physiological, and psychological processes that reoccur daily. The amount of sleep recommended for each person is based on their circadian rhythm and their age. On average:

Age and condition Average amount of sleep per day
Newborn up to 18 hours
1–12 months 14–18 hours
1–3 years 12–15 hours
3–5 years 11–13 hours
5–12 years 9–11 hours
Adolescents 9–10 hours
Adults, including elderly 7–8 hours
Pregnant women 8(+) hours

“Sleep offset” or awakening is also controlled by your circadian rhythm which is adaptable; this is why some people who often rise early sometimes end up awakening on a off day around the time they normally get up, even when relatively sleep deprived.

Even with our circadian clock regulating our sleep patterns however, we’ve all come across nights where something has kept you from a restful slumber. That’s natural since external factors do affect our sleeping patterns. For those of you that have a more consistent problem, there are some techniques that may help to settle you down and improve your sleeping patterns and quality of sleep. For a better night’s sleep, try incorporating these sleeping tips and making them a part of your daily routine:

Go to bed and wake up at the same time, even on weekends. It becomes easier to fall asleep at night when you schedule a consistent sleep-wake cycle. As this is one of the most important sleep tips, always ensure a regular sleep and wake cycle.

Exercise regularly. Regular physical exercise during the day will help you fall asleep faster and realize a more restful sleep.

Start a relaxing bedtime routine. Ease the transition between wakefulness and sleepiness through relaxing activities such as reading a book, listening to soothing music or taking a hot bath. Perform the same routine each night to signal your body when it is time to wind down.

Go to bed when tired. Forcing yourself to sleep will only create stress. If you can’t fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something sedentary until tired.

Avoid eating or drinking large amounts before bed. Eating before bed could result in heartburn, which can disrupt your sleep. Drinking before bed could also cause you to get up frequently throughout the night to use the bathroom. Eat a light dinner at least two hours before bed.

Limit daytime sleep to a half-hour. Prolonged daytime naps can steal hours from your overnight rest. Avoid taking naps longer than 30 minutes during the day.

Set up a conducive sleeping environment. Bedrooms that are cool, dark, quiet and comfortable are best for quality sleep.

Avoid stimulants in the evening. Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol can all keep you awake at night.

(Ref.) – American Board of Sleep Medicine

The position in which you sleep also plays a vital role in how fast you fall asleep, the quality of sleep, and the effects of the sleep thereafter. Typically, the best sleep positions are:

Lying on your back. This position is good for preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux, minimizing wrinkles and maintaining perky breasts (in women). Sleeping on your back allows for the spine and neck to maintain a neutral position preventing any extra curves in your back (causing soreness, aches and pains from overworked, overstretched, or tweaked back muscles). This also eliminates acid reflux because the esophagus rests above the stomach, preventing acid and food from coming back up. In addition, the fact that your facing upwards means nothing is against your face for hours at a time preventing wrinkle formation. For women, your breasts are supported when lying on your back preventing eventual sagginess. The only bad thing is lying on your back can increase the likelihood of snoring or exacerbate any snoring issues you already have.

*Lying on your stomach when sleeping is the worst position specifically for the opposite of all the reasons lying on your back is beneficial.

Sleeping on your side. This position is good because it prevents neck and back pain, eases snoring, reduces acid reflux and improves blood flow in pregnant women. However, for women, years of sleeping with a pillow contouring one side of your face can eventually lead to wrinkles earlier in life. Also, it can lead to saggy breasts over time because when lying on your side your breasts aren’t supported leading to stretched ligaments under the mammory tissue.

These are just a few recommended tips to help you fall into a deeper sleep faster. If you have serious sleep issues that persist for days or weeks at a time, you should see a physician immediately since sleep deprivation can have very dangerous side effects.

10 Quick Tips on How to Improve Optimal Health and Performance

Posted: September 21, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification, Exercise, Myth Busting, Nutrition
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

1. Get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night (or as close to it as you can for those 24-7 grinders like myself).

2. Learn how to incorporate deeper breaths into your breathing pattern to increase wellness and relieve some stress symptoms.

3. Incorporate “me time” into your life. No matter how busy or hectic your life may become, “me time” helps you refocus, reenergize and often recommit to any waning enthusiasms that are unfulfilled.

4. Get massages twice a month. Although considered a luxury, for some it’s becoming a necessity. Massages can relieve stress and tension carried in the body allowing you to move freer, think clearer and be more relaxed in times of stress.

5. Stretch daily. Stretching daily can help alleviate stress as well, both mentally and physically. It also can reduce, eliminate or prevent little aches and pains that normally limit your movement whether consciously on unconsciously. If it becomes less taxing to move you will more likely do more of it, keeping you more in tuned with a healthier lifestyle as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle.

6. Cold baths and showers can make a world of difference in terms of relaxed muscle tissue and rejuvenation from any type of overuse. They have also been show to increase circulation, increase fertility (in men), and increase immunity and energy.

7. Drink water, at least half your body weight in ounces every day.

8. Avoid high fructose corn syrup wherever possible.

9. Eat small frequent meals every 3 to 4 hours.

10. Incorporate foundational exercises into your exercise regimen. Don’t just work out the muscles you want everyone to see and envy, work out the muscles that do the little things that support your body’s movement (lower back, rear delts, forearms, calf muscles, neck, etc.)

The Alcoholic Truth about Exercise

Posted: September 14, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification, Nutrition
Tags: , , ,
0

by: Will Power

Alcohol is the most readily used and abused drug in the United States today. In some circles, alcohol is referred to as a food and a drug because of its calorically dense nature. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, almost twice that of both carbohydrates and protein. Alcoholic calories are considered “empty” calories because they only contain negligible amount of vitamins and nutrients. In fact, alcohol is considered and anti-nutrient because of its interference in the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body. This interference causes a disruption in the metabolism of both carbohydrates and fat in the body. Alcohol inhibits the production of the enzyme that helps break down fat in the body thereby ceasing your fat burning process for a significant period of time. Note that often times when consuming alcohol, you also consume fatty foods that deliver fat to the body that now, post alcohol intake, will not be broken down. If fat cant be broken down and used directly after ingestion, it is automatically stored until it can be used. In addition to that, this excess storage of fat can stress the liver causing the body to over use and deplete its glycogen (sugar) levels. Over time with chronic drinking, the body will develop a strong tendency to store body fat at all times in an adaptation to the alcohol’s stress the liver. This is a big contraindicator for anyone looking to trim down or lean up.

In terms of alcoholic beverages, I managed to narrow down a list of some of the top alcohols guaranteed to make you fat over time. Ill start with one of the top dogs, “The Devil’s Advocate” as I call it:

Long Island Iced Tea (9oz) (on average 543 cals) – a mix of 5 different alcohols, Sweet and Sour Mix and Coke. It may look like tea but mind you a long island iced tea made the right way can have as many calories in one glass a McDonald’s Big Mac. That’s right every time you suck down a Long Island you are consuming calories close to that of one of the fattiest fast foods in America…so yea…bottoms up buddy. Through the teeth, over the gums, watch out waistline, here it comes!

Mai Tai (9oz) (620 cals) – a mix of Light Rum, Dark Rum, Crème de Almond, Sweet and Sour Mix and Pineapple Juice. This little guy right here will run you the same caloric overdose as a Wendy’s Double Cheeseburger.

Mud Slide (6oz) (560 cals) – Vodka, Kahlua, Baily’s Irish Cream, Half and Half. That’s two slices of Pizza right there…per glass…Im just saying…PER…GLASS…

Piña Colada (12oz) (590 cals) – Rum, Coconut Cream, Pineapple Juice. This is about 100 cals MORE than a McDonald’s large fries.

Mararita (10oz) (550 cals) – Tequila, Margarita/Sour Mix, Triple Sec, Lime Juice, 1tbsp Sugar. Equivalent to a Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla. Enough said.

*Side Note – Just to add further perspective, the average 150 pound person would have to jog for about 30 minutes to burn about 300 cals.

Frankly, for all of you who have weight loss goals but like to “indulge a little” (usually meaning a lot) while enjoying the night life, just understand what you are doing and just how much of your hard work you’re throwing away. These are just a few drinks out of thousands of alcoholic beverages that do a great job of pushing people farther and farther away from their weight loss goals. Please understand, this article is not intended to make anyone stop drinking, that’s a personal battle everyone has to take up with themselves. This post is merely to help those who don’t know to realize exactly what they’re doing to their bodies and their goals when they drink.

For those who feel that cutting out alcohol is simply out of the question, there are a few ways you can lessen the effects alcohol has on you and your long term weight loss goals. First off be cognizant of what and how much you are drinking. Research the calorie content of your favorite drinks. This alone my convince you to find substitutions for higher calorie drinks. Secondly, having water between drinks can help prevent you from drinking too much, can help prolong drunkenness and can keep you hydrated which can help avoid that next day hangover. Thirdly, know your own weaknesses. If you know you overdrink in certain situations, be prepared. At least eat a healthy snack before hand to avoid drinking on an empty stomach (which expedites intoxication). Fourthly, keep your goals in mind. Think about how much work you will have to do to burn off the cals in that refill. Is one more drink worth a 30 min jog?! Lastly, avoid high calorie drinks. Typically, drinks that include mixers like Sweet and Sour Mix, juice or club soda will have more calories.

The key is to remember that alcohol, like everything else, should be consumed in moderation. Moderation is the key when, or should I say if, it comes to enjoying cocktails while watching your weight. Treat alcohol the same way you treat other things in your diet – as something you can enjoy from time to time without going overboard.

Tips on Behavior Modification and Exercise

Posted: August 23, 2011 by Bizzy Amor in Behavior Modification, Exercise
0

3 Behavior Modification Tips:

  • Describe the behavior to be modified
  • Replace the undesirable behavior with a desirable behavior
  • Develop a technique to control the newly acquired behavior

Eating behavior:
Describe the behavior:

  • Where are the meals eaten?
  • What was the mood, feeling and psychological state during the meal?
  • How much time was spent on the meal?
  • What activity occurred during the meal (watch TV, driving, laying down)?
  • Who was present while eating the meal?
  • What and how much food was eaten and at what time?

Replace undesirable behavior with desirable behavior:
Create new associated behaviors to replace old established patterns of behavior, e.g.:

  • Eat candy while driving –> Chew sugarless gum while driving
  • Snacking while watching TV –> sewing, writing, exercising while watching TV
  • Eating ice cream after an argument–> Doing 10 reps of an exercise after an argument

Develop technique to control behavior:
Use techniques for gaining control over eating behaviors:

  • Make eating a certain food or at a certain time a ritual
  • Eat slower
  • Measure quantities of food
  • Put off unplanned eating for as long as possible
  • Purchase individual sized packages of snacks
  • Instead of emotional eating substitute the behavior with activities incompatible with
  • eating : reading, walking, exercising, dancing, cleaning, etc.
  • Keep yourself out of situations where your food options are limited to only bad choices; keep yourself out of situations where foods that are overly tempting are visible or accessible

Exercise Behavior:
Describe the behavior:

  • Observe and either evaluate or survey your own activity over 3 days and get an overall description of your patterned behavior. Substitute more strenuous activity for those with low calorie expenditure

Examples:

  • Park a few blocks from work and walk the rest of the way.
  • When taking the bus get off a few stops early.
  • When traveling short distances walk instead of drive.
  • Exercise for lunch instead of going to a different restaurants.
  • Wake up early and workout before work.
  • Replace coffee breaks with exercise breaks.
  • Walk up and down flights of stairs every hour at work.
  • Do your own chores instead of hiring people (mow lawn, etc).

Develop Techniques to maximize exercise success:

  • Progress slowly – sedentary people shouldn’t do too much too soon
  • Include variety – switch up your activities to keep yourself motivated
  • Be systematic – set aside times of day or night to exercise and don’t get distracted
  • Be comfortable – wear clothing that is comfortable and conducive to exercise
  • Exercise with a buddy or in small groups
Newer Entries