24 Nov What would you do with an extra hour?

“What would you do with an extra hour each day?”

Money is great, but you can’t buy time or energy. The good news? You can make a couple of easy changes to your daily habits that will increase your energy so you could enjoy an extra hour of fun each day

Many of us begin to “annihilate” our mood and energy level as soon as we wake up. We continue to wreak havoc on our moods/energy levels with the foods and drinks we consume and the people that we allow into our personal space.

1. Change your alarm.  If you wake up to a loud and obnoxious alarm, your body will begin to manufacture stress hormones.  These hormones will raise your blood pressure and heart rate, creating a stress reaction in your body.  Do you really want your body to be highly stressed, before you even put one foot on the floor?  
   Switch to an alarm that wakes you up with nature sounds or an alarm that wakes you up with light. Like this one from Hammacher Schlemmer. This would make a great holiday gift for you or someone you love!

   Sleep deprived people eat an extra 221 cals/day. Quick math: 1 pd gained every 15 days. Get more sleep!

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2. Excess sugar. Sugar can impact your mood. Most of us have experienced a sugar-high, soon to be followed by a sugar-low.When you hit the sugar-low your body, in essence, says, “We don’t like this feeling, eat more sugar so I can get high again”. You then set yourself up to cycle between good and bad moods all day. In the morning, skip the pumpkin spice latte and go for an egg on toast or a bowl of oatmeal with some walnuts or almonds on top.
3. The Thanksgiving size lunch.  We all know how it feels to overeat; fatigue, brain fog and a lack of motivation quickly sets in! If your body needs 700 calories at lunch and you give it 1200 calories those extra calories will drive you straight to your favorite couch for a cat nap. Portion control is important, and when it comes to your mood and energy, lunch is probably the most important meal to control.  My favorite way to control my lunch portion: My Bentology Box!
4. Laugh! Have you ever had uncontrollable giggles when you were really tired? This is your body’s natural mechanism to increase your energy level. When you laugh, you increase your blood circulation, oxygen consumption and you release serotonin-a perfect remedy for a tired body!Someone isn’t happy about his new haircut…. Try not to laugh at that face. Haha!
5. The office gossip.  Getting involved in negative talk is a real mood and energy killer. Listening to gossip or bad news (perhaps it’s time for an internet/radio or TV break?) can really pull the plug on your energy. Guard your ears and eyes from bad news or people that push your buttons. Take the high road and don’t dwell on bad news, think good things! I’m still a work in progress in this area ☺
6. Bonus tip: as long as you’re making the break from negative talk make sure you take a look at your own negative self-talk. Many years ago, a friend told me that she would never speak to me the way she spoke to herself. Make sure you speak to yourself as kindly as you would speak to your bestie.