Get Your Sleep for the Health of It

Adults 18+ should get from 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Yet, can you remember the last time that happened? Few people get enough sleep. Those of us who “try” find ourselves tossing and turning all night long.

Lack of sleep not only slows our ability to react or think quickly, but also harms our abilities in the workplace. We are less productive, less focused, have more medical problems, increase absenteeism, and are more likely to be involved in a work-related safety incident.

Before we reach for an over-the-counter sleep aide or consult a physician, here are four tips which will help us fall asleep more quickly. Try them tonight for a more productive tomorrow: 

Avoid watching television, eating, or discussing “emotional” issues in the bedroom. The bedroom should be a peaceful haven from other distractions, and should only be used for sleep and making love.

Avoid reading anything before bedtime that elevates your emotions. Reading a thriller, mystery, crime novel, etc. may make it difficult to sleep later. The same is true for television viewing. A simple rule to remember: Keep It Light.

Minimize lighting in the bedroom. As we sleep, melatonin levels—which prepare you for sleep-- rise in the brain, but only if the room is completely dark.

Keep pets on the floor in your bedroom or, better yet, in another room. Many of us, including this writer, are pet lovers. Enjoy their company during the day, but not during the night.

Restful sleep the night helps us deliver maximum performance the next day! Not only does sleep improve your memory and performance in the workplace, but also reduces stress.Visit HERE for effective ways to improve your health, stamina, and well-being.

Losing at the Aging Game

Compared to some people, turning 50 didn't seem like a major milestone. Sure, I felt more tired, but dismissed this as “getting older”. And, my passion wasn't like it was in my 30s, even 40s. But, that's to be “understood” and “accepted”, right?

Five years quickly passed and I'm staring at the bathroom mirror. The guy looking back at me—with deeply set wrinkles and frown lines—was an older, weather-beaten, somewhat hollow shell of the once vibrant, energetic me. I looked like a man giving up on life, sitting in the waiting room of death.

It's as if I had gotten older overnight:

1. My once smooth skin was sagging, etched with wrinkles and age spots. Friends and strangers alike thought I looked ten years older than my birth certificate.
2. My energy level was on life support. At the end of the day, I'd often crawl into bed for a short nap—often waking up at two in the morning.
3. My desire, passion, and intimacy level were D.O.A. Sad thing was, my gorgeous girlfriend, who looked a decade younger than her age, deserved plenty of TLC.

Time waits for nobody. I had become an old man overnight! I needed to get back into the game of life.

Pouring over tons of material on how to slow down the aging process, I discovered many mistakes I made daily:

1. I ate the wrong kinds of food.
2. I didn't drink enough water.
3. I had way too much stress.
4. I rarely exercised.
5. I never exfoliated or moisturized my skin.
6. I didn't get enough sleep.
7. I never took a multiple vitamin. And...
8. I never invested in a special supplement to keep me active, focused, and younger looking.

A younger, more vibrant me is beginning to re-emerge from the shadows of a dull, boring, and sluggish life. In upcoming blogs, you too will discover how to take years off your life. You, too, can become the person you were meant to be—no matter your age.

Dying for A Cigarette? Your Skin Knows and Shows!

Even today, after all the warnings about cancer, emphysema, and other diseases, people are still "dying for a cigarette".  As your nicotine-stained hands reach inside your pocket or purse for yet another cancer stick, you reluctantly know it's true.  But did you also know your smoking habit also makes you look old beyond your years?

Smoking depletes your body of Vitamin C, an essential ingredient for skin elasticity and keeping your skin moist. Other essential vitamins and nutrients depleted more quickly include Vitamin A, calcium, and Vitamin D. Vitamin A is a must for beautiful skin, as it helps protect it from free radical damage while giving it a nice, healthy glow.  Calcium benefits the skin through cell renewal, lipid barrier function, and antioxidant protection from DNA damage. Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-carcinogen.

No doubt about it, smoking almost always makes you look older, less appealing to the eye.  Your breath reeks, your clothes stink, and you also help non-smokers inhale 70% of your poison, causing them feel less healthy and age more quickly themselves.

You have a choice: Quit smoking or risk the chances of premature death, heart disease, cancer, or stroke.  From a vanity standpoint, you'll most likely look older than your non-smoking friends.

Fight back against smoking.  If you've already quit but look older than your years, we can help.  Visit HERE for more help!

Do You Want to Look Younger than You Are?

When asked“why do we want to look younger”, a wide variety of reasons come to mind. Everything from attracting someone special to renewed youth, from a healthier, more radiant appearance to the fear of appearing older than we actually are often come to mind after noticing our first wrinkles.

Sure, nobody wants to get old but, unfortunately, it happens. However, we can try to help ourselves feel young on the outside which may, in turn, help us feel younger on the inside. Very soon, avoiding looking in the mirror because you are scared of what will be looking back at you will become a thing of the past.

Many folks in their twenties and thirties, notice frown lines slowly developing, eyelids may also slightly hood over their eyes, and lips may no longer look as “full” as they once did. Is this happening to you? Don’t be alarmed if fine lines are developing when you smile. These are all just small signs that your body is getting older.

If you’re approaching fifty, you may notice your eyebrows sagging, vertical neck bands developing and mouth corners turning downwards. Add these three indicators to the ones above, and it is no wonder we start to lose confidence about our appearances when we look in the mirror.

Our facial muscles, which are attached directly to our skin, will lengthen as we age. Our skin begins to follow the path of the muscles and over time will also start to travel south. Although skin care products will never stop the time clock they can help to plump, firm and smooth leaving your skin feeling softer and your lines visibly reduced.

Our facial muscles are most likely to stretch up to one-half inch by the time we are fifty-five years old. This is why we see aging right before our eyes. Using chemical peels and lasers may initially tighten the skin but it won’t be long before you notice that the sagging has returned.

Surgery for prolonging our youthful looks is drastic and can be expensive. Cutting perfectly healthy tissue in the name of beauty has consequences; the skin is forever changing and you just may not like the results.

Facial exercises that use isometric with resistance movements will systematically lift every area of your face and neck. Basically if you keep smiling and keep those facial expressions in a northern direction you will help to keep your skin looking younger. The exercises will refine, tone, curve and firm your face so that the younger face you thought you had lost forever is returned to you.

Start looking younger today! For more solutions, Visit Here!

Reasons You May Look Older Than Your Age

Once upon a time, we were the kings and queens of our own private worlds.  Time, the elements (natural or man-made), and a daily dose of abuse to our bodies were of little--if any--concern.  But life has a cruel way of reminding us that it marches onward, without our permission.  It's called the mirror.  The deeply etched lines and wrinkles make us barely recognize our once youthful selves, we shake our heads and ask "What the hell happened to me?"

What happened?  How did we "let" ourselves get old?  Why do some of our peers of the same age look younger?  C'mon...Most of us know the reasons.  But, in the event you wonder, here are several:

 1.  Excessive Sun Exposure
 2.  Smoking
 3.  Alcohol
 4.  Poor Sleeping Habits
 5.  Depression
 6.  Stress
 7.  Anxiety
 8.  Recreational Drug Use
 9.  Caffeine
10.  Lack of Exercise
11.  Drinking Little Water
12.  Poor Eating Habits
13.  Pollution
14.  Chronic Diseases
15.  Too Much Television
16.  Hormonal Imbalances
17.  Lack of Intimacy
18.  Loneliness
19.  Medications

I will cover each and every one of these frightening, even harmful, aging issues in future blogs.  In the meantime, there is no doubt  there are other underlying reasons you look older than you should.  I will cover these issues as well.

Until then, click HERE and fight back against aging.  Your body will thank you for it.