For the most part we think of nap time for little children and toddlers, but did you know there are many advantages to power napping for teens and adults!

If you lack sleep, it can affect your performance, motivation, ability to deal with stressful situations, judgment, reaction time, short term memory, information processing, and patience. If you’re tired, you could also be moody, aggressive and candidate for burn out, all of which will add unneeded and unnecessary stress to your life.

Napping isn’t being lazy, it’s a quick refill for your brain and body so they can continue to work effectively and efficiently.

So, when you’re feeling like you a need a pick me up, grab a 20 minute power nap and recharge.

When you awaken, you’ll feel less stressed, invigorated, will be able to think better, boost your creativity, you’ll be more alert & productive.

Granted, you’ll want to find an appropriate time & place for your power nap. In middle of high school or college class probably isn’t going to be the most opportune time, nor would it be appropriate in the midst of a big business conference. However, the benefits are there for you if you can swing a power nap without being a distraction to others.

Welcome back!

Exercise is one of the best stress management tools accessible to you.
Though, many won’t make the time or fit it into their schedules-not realizing if they exercised for even twenty minutes they’d be able to function more efficiently and actually be able to save time and be stress free to boot!

Exercise releases beta endorphins that actually counteract the effects of stress in the body-it signals the body that the danger (stress) is gone and the body can begin to relax.

You don’t have to go out and join a gym or run a marathon right away to feel the stress relieving benefits of exercise. Find something you enjoy and can do easily without added stress.

Walking-it’s fun, it’s easy and gives you a chance to get out in the fresh air. You can walk alone and spend time in thought, prayer or grab a friend and make a social event of it.
Bicycling-there’s something about the wind in your hair and the breeze hitting you that is exhilarating and refreshing. Find a bike path or go to a park or hit the bike trails and enjoy.
Yoga-some quiet time to build your coordination, flexibility, circulation, posture, strength and complete body conditioning and de-stress at the same time.
Swimming-if you love the water or want something you can do that’s easy on the joints, muscles and bones try swimming.
Dance-dance at home or go out dancing with your friends or significant other. Get those feet moving and enjoy the music!
Running/Jogging-no, you don’t need to go run a marathon immediately-but do get those running shoes on and take an invigorating run. Enjoy the sounds and scenery as you go (yes, you can run and enjoy it without constantly being plugged into your ipod)-brings you closer to the environment around you.

Whatever form of exercise you enjoy, make time to do it!

The benefits of exercising are countless but here’s a few:
~Improved ability to manage and deal with stress
~Decrease in the effects of stress
~Increased energy
~Improved self-esteem and self-image
~Improved quality of sleep
~Decrease in body fat
~Strengthening of your immune system
~Improved heart & lung efficiency
~Decreased risk of developing heart or lung disease
~Reduced blood pressure
~Reduced cholesterol levels

So, what are you waiting for?
Get up and get exercising and reap all the wonderful benefits!

Your work/job makes up a large portion of your life. Whether you work for yourself or have a J.O.B. most people spend 8-10 hours a day dealing with work. Your life can be more stressful from situations at work if you don’t know how to deal with certain stressors. No worries though, you can have a more balanced and less stressed out life if you can manage, balance, avoid, confront or better yet eliminate the stress in the work environment.

Here are a few quick tips to help you:
1)Eliminate the stressor–if it’s a task you hate, delegate it to someone else or share with a co-worker, partner.
2)Avoid the stressor–is there a co-worker that just drives you up a wall? Avoid them as much as possible.
3)Manage the stressor–give yourself a reward after accomplishing a task that is stressful, that way you have something enjoyable to look forward to.
4)Confront the stressor–if a co-worker, supervisor or someone else is making your job more stressful or difficult, confront them and get it worked out, they may not even know what they’re doing or saying is stressing you.
5)Learn how to balance–if you have no other options, then deal with the stress but once you’re away from the work place you’ll need to practice some form of stress relief techniques or hire a stress management coach to help you along the way to a calmer, more balanced, less stressful life (in and out of the work place).

Read the full article here about which foods help relieve stress and which foods to avoid.

Dr. Rovenia Brock says it’s important to eat foods that will calm our nerves amid the chaos of our most stressful days. “I think a lot of people become overwhelmed with the notion of what it is to live healthy, to get a healthier lifestyle—including the foods you put in your kitchen,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be a science project.”

Full article here

Do not let people or circumstances steal your joy or create unneeded, unwanted stress in your life.
Everyone deserves to be happy and enjoy life.

yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! ~~ Habakkuk 3:18

It’s not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life…it is how you handle what happens to you. ~~ Zig Ziglar

You will run into people, circumstances in your personal life, work and/or school that may not be in alignment with your best interest. Do not let them steal your joy, avoid “joy stealers” when possible.

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” ~
-Henri Nouwen

Focus:
to concentrate: to focus one’s thoughts.
To concentrate attention or energy.

It’s like the cat who wants the goldfish, he has to focus on what he wants and figure out a way to get it. (note: personally I’d be upset if the cat got the goldfish but hey it was a cute pic and knew it’d get your attention). But, on a serious note…you need to know what you want, how to get it, what steps need to be taken to achieve it and be active. The “goldfish” isn’t just going to jump out of the safety of his bowl into your hands.

You can spend time in prayer to focus…

You can go deep in thought…

It’s like the golfer who has to put things into perspective when making the put…
focus on what you want to happen, do what has to be done to achieve it.

Here you will be able to read focus tips so you can achieve your desires.

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