We all lament there aren’t enough hours in the day. Some people seem to accomplish so much when others do not. There are 24 hours at our disposal. Do you spend yours wisely?
About 7 hours should be spent sleeping. Before you say you could never sleep so much and it’s a waste of time, WHOA. Here’s the skinny: proper sleep can make a profound difference on your heart and brain and knock off about 3 years on a ‘real-age’ scale. You’ll be more mentally aware, less fatigued; you’ll eat less, and have a lower accident risk. Your body actually repairs what ails you during a deep, restful sleep. You’ll look good. Remember Mom’s words, ‘Go to bed, you’ll feel better in the morning!’ True. This is especially good advice for golfers. You cannot play continued great golf when fatigued – despite what John Daly or other party boys and girls will sometimes do.
RULES FOR SLEEP:
1) Get on a schedule and try not to vary from it on weekends;
2) Eat small portions before bedtime – skim milk, rice or oat cereals are good choices. Avoid caffeine or exercise before bedtime;
3) Use your bedroom only for sleep or romance. Keep the TV and computer out;
4) Change your bedroom climate – cool and dark works best. Can’t sleep? Try removing socks or lowering the thermostat.
Now you have 17 hours left to use. Between work, school, commuting, eating, playing, or studying you MUST find time to exercise your body, which does want to be active, to be used. You know the old saying, ‘Move it or lose it’? Devote one hour per day toward some type of exercise combining walking, taking the stairs, calisthenics, swimming, housework, or volunteering. Of course, if you have about 4 hours, play some golf…..doing all your exercise at once is optimal but splitting it up is OK too. However, ‘running’ off at the mouth DOES NOT count.
Since we are nearing the end of February, which is designated as Heart Health Awareness Month, it is not too late to consume these superb foods for optimal heart health:
1) eat a handful of nuts, preferably walnuts, every day;
2) choose olive oil, which helps raise HDL, the ‘good’ cholesterol;
3) Favor flavonoids, which are powerful anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory substances including red wine, grapes, cranberries, green tea, OJ, and tomato products;
4) eat fish like salmon, bass, whitefish or cod and/or take Omega-3 fish oils (about 2700mg per day); these lubricate every joint in your body and do SO much more;
5) Know the Devils: STAY AWAY FROM TRANS-FATS, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WHITE PROCESSED FOODS, FRIED FAST FOODS;
6) Appropriate any day: eat dark chocolate;
DID YOU KNOW: Most people calculate their dosage of Fish Oils incorrectly? Do NOT go by the number of milligrams on the front of the bottle. Look on the back label for the EPA value and the DHA value (or Fish Oil concentrate) and add them together. THAT number is what you are getting per Serving Size. Aim for 2700 mg.
