simplify life:
I don’t know about you, but there are things that make me better; things that increase my energy, my mental well-being, my motivation and stamina. When I do those things I know I feel better; I function better, I sleep better, I live better. I believe for each of us, there are a few big [but little] things we do for ourselves that are non-negotiable. Mine will be different from yours; yours will be different from someone else. We each discover what those big little things are, and when we do them, they make our lives better, and truthfully, simpler. Let’s chat…
Sleep
Sleep studies are curious to me. The range of what each person needs differs greatly. I know people who function amazing well on very little sleep; like 4-5 hours sleep. Then, there are those who need a full 8-9 hours of good, restful, regenerative sleep. My magic sleep number appears to be 6 hours. No matter what time I go to bed, I will wake up six hours later. If I go to bed around 9:00 p.m., I will wake up shortly after 3:00 a.m. If I go to bed around 11:00 p.m., I will wake up around 5:00 a.m. My body likes a six-hour sleep window. Your body may require more or less.
When we first moved, I found my sleep schedule was off. This was partially due to moving to a different time zone. We moved from Eastern Standard Time Zone to Central Time Zone. The birds on Central Time are absolutely true early birds. They begin singing their morning song around 4:30 a.m. I tell you no lies.
As I adjusted to living in this new and exciting crack-of-dawn, bird-singing sanctuary, I learned how important good restful sleep is to my body. Sleep is one of the big [little] things we do for ourselves that make us function better. But there are contributing factors to regenerative restful sleep.
Hydration
It’s no secret that our bodies thrive when we are fully hydrated. Our joints, our hair and nails, our skin, our digestion, they all function properly when we consume enough water. But dehydration is also one of the things that can affect sleep.
One study (I’ve listed it in the resources below) looked at how inadequate fluid intake disrupts body homeostasis. What they found was that “Mild dehydration does not appear to affect sleep measures in healthy adults. However, fluid intake correlates positively with REM sleep length, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency, suggesting that the quantity of water consumed may influence sleep quality. These findings highlight the potential benefits of adequate fluid intake for optimizing REM sleep, which is vital for cognitive and overall brain health.”
So, water intake, or good hydration, is one of the big [little] things we do for ourselves that improve our quality of life.
Exercise
In January of this year, I took a long look at my life. I studied the results from my HUME body scanner and determined I was NOT happy with what I saw. My metabolic age was near 60 years old. My lean muscle mass was low, and my body fat percentage was approaching obesity. Now, I am a 53 year old woman, 5’5″ in height, and was around 140 pounds. I had put on a little weight, but nothing that flagged obesity to me. But when a body scan comes back with those findings, you take necessary steps to correct them.
In the weeks and months that followed, John and I committed to walking 10K steps per day – non-negotiable. We changed our eating habits, and we started working out with a personal trainer. Currently, we have both lost 2 inches around our waists, we have increased our lean muscle mass, and my metabolic age is now in line with my biological age. John and I have both lost 10 pounds since January.
We took on exercise as a form of health improvement and our results have really been amazing. We feel better, we sleep better, and we have so much more energy. Exercise has been one of the big [little] things we do for ourselves.
Moderation
Well this one was hard! John and I have both been on the slimmer side (and healthier side) all of our lives. But somehow, after 50, things started to change. Doctors started mentioning words like cholesterol and blood pressure.
Limiting foods like potato chips, snacks, and refined sugar, was challenging. But we felt the benefits almost immediately. Cutting back on caffeine, sugary drinks, and liquid calories, made a huge difference in our waistline. Now, we start our mornings with a decaffeinated tea or lemon water before we start the coffee.
We take a walk in the morning sunshine to get our minds set for the day, and we soak up a little vitamin D in the process. Enjoying our favorite things in moderation has been one of the big [little] things we do for ourselves.
What are your big [little] things?
Each of us knows what makes us feel better, function more efficiently, and improves our quality of life. The strange thing is, most of us don’t do them consistently. We overindulge, take short cuts, or simply ignore what we know to be good for us. But these little things, like drinking water, eating well, and taking a moderate walk, are actually big things overall.
So I want to encourage you to take a moment and jot down what your big [ little] things are. It may only be three to five items, but acknowledging what they are will help you to commit to doing them. Odds are, you’ll start feeling better within a week.
And the takeaway is, when we feel better and function better, it actually simplifies our lives. We have the energy and the mental stamina to complete the tasks set before us. We have better mental health, we have better biological health, and we increase our overall quality of life.
xo, Billie
resources:
- Dehydration and Sleep
- Progress Reports for Good Growth [habit trackers included]: https://forwardourmail.com/progress-reports-to-assure-good-growth/
