Monthly Archives: November 2015

Naturally Purposeful: Building the Dream with Andrea Shields Nunez

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After our interview, I asked Career Liberation Coach Andrea Shields Nunez if she would answer a career/business question with a (health and wellness slant) quarterly.  She agreed!  I am really excited about this collaboration because I believe pursuing a dream you feel passionate about is integral to good health.  Our timely first installment is below.

Everything gets so crazy this time of year with the holidays.  It would be easy for people to get side-tracked from working on their dream.  Do you have any tips for people not to lose focus during all the holiday madness?

Not falling prey to the inevitable holiday madness that this time of year brings requires you to be very intentional. Even things that are truly important to you can get bumped for family obligations or just out of pure exhaustion. As much as I tout the importance of staying focused and taking action, in this case—at this time of year—my advice is not to fight it. In fact, build the downtime into your plan. Chances are you probably need the break, and what better time to give yourself permission to wind down then when everyone else is allowing themselves to be stressed! (I’m nothing if not a contrarian!)

The keys here are intention and full permission. Make it your intention to actually get some rest, recharge, do things you enjoy just for the sake of the enjoyment. Understand that this is as important to achieving your goals as taking action. Giving yourself this time can actually help you gain even more clarity and focus once you get back into action! And give yourself full permission to take the break. Absolutely NO guilt; None! For some, this time of year comes with plenty of that already. Don’t pile it on!

As we head into the season full force, take a few minutes to declare your intention to juuuust chill, give yourself full permission to do so, and know that you’re doing the very best thing possible for moving yourself forward in the New Year!

♦

I agree with Andrea that rest and taking time to recharge is very important especially this time of year.  What do you think?  Please leave a reply in the comments section.

Many blessings,

Cynthia

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justdragonfly

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Naturally Well-rested: How Are You Sleeping?

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I’ve mentioned in previous posts that fatigue and getting a good night’s sleep can be challenging for me. I’ve learned to cope with the insomnia and, thankfully, that’s rarer these days but I could still feel better rested than I do. Being the health and wellness nerd that I am, I have been researching sleep.

“Can you catch up on sleep?” is one question I have been pondering. I had always heard in the past that you can’t. Once it’s gone, it’s gone; you can’t get it back. However, a lot of new information has cropped up over the last several years claiming that, actually, you can!

Sleep debt is determined by the variance between the amount of sleep you are getting and the amount you ought to be getting. Most of the sources I checked were in agreement that seven to nine hours a night is considered optimal. I guesstimate that I tend to get on average around six or less. Splitting the diff on the optimum range, my sleep debt is around 1.5 hours a night or 10.5 a week. No wonder why I feel so damned tired!

I have decided to dedicate the month of November to getting more shut-eye in the hopes of balancing out my sleep account. Most articles I read, like this one from Scientific American, “Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep? …”, agreed that the best way to repay your sleep debt is to intentionally get more sleep every night. So if eight hours of sleep is optimal, then aim for nine or ten.

I have been shooting for ten hours a night. I try to be in bed by 9PM and sleep until 6AM. This means I am sacrificing my beloved morning routine somewhat for a while. However, I figure that it does me little good to run through routine activities if I end up exhausted by 2PM. Besides, if this works the way I am hoping it will, then I can return to my AM rituals bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by the holidays. I do want to get to back in the 5AM club before the end of the year!

Are you getting enough sleep at night? Do you feel rested and energetic all day long? I would love to hear from you. Leave me a reply in the comments section!

Many blessings,

Cynthia

Please follow me on Twitter.  Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page.

justdragonfly