All About Happiness – A weekly column by Sandy Galiano
My, oh my, aren’t we just busy little bees. It has become such a common excuse for why we don’t do something. It’s why we can’t take a call or accept an invitation to a birthday party. We are too busy to put down our smartphones at the dinner table. We sit across our friends for tea with our phone in our hands checking to see who called, read an email or text while we half listen. We run late because we’re busy. We don’t attend family events. We text instead of picking up the phone to talk. What can us busy bees do to keep up with the necessary day to day tasks but also getting the REST we need.
Don’t wait until you are so busy that you become exhausted. If you become too busy to apply these four simple steps then you will feel yourself draining into exhaustion therefore depleting your beneficial contributions to the people around you. Let’s take a look at how to apply these simple steps and what they can actually do for you.
Rejuvenate
That youthfulness we seek can be found anywhere we are. The glowing skin and radiance comes from none other than exercise. It is one of the good stresses we actually need but very little refer to when we speak of stress. The physical stress our bodies require for optimal performance and function are movement and mobility. Our bodies are intended to move about and perform different activities. It can be any physical activity you like so long as you are active. It can be a variety of things as well. The important thing to remember is how that high feels from working out. This natural high will also give you energy for the day and provide the restful sleep you will need. Keep reading and see the connection.
Eat
If we are what we eat then I better make sure to make the time to eat well balanced meals. I am not going to get specific or tell you what to eat. I simply want to address the importance of providing our bodies with the nutrients to think clearly, to be active, and to support every aspect of our being. One of the books I recommend to my readers is by Kris Carr, “Crazy, Sexy, Diet.” If you haven’t heard of Kris Carr then now is a good time to get to know her. I guarantee a great read, very honest, and full of useful information any person can apply.
Sleep
I’m not talking about a 20 minute power nap here, but instead the much needed deep sleep. It is understood that sleep impacts mood, energy level, and it also allows the body time to repair itself. In the book “Eat Your Way To Happiness” it states the body makes human growth hormone (Hgh) during deep sleep. This hormone promotes growth and repair needed for all the muscles and tissues. It further goes on to say how less sleep will produce less Hgh which then results in less muscle and a slower metabolism. The last thing anybody wants is to lower their metabolism. We want a high metabolism to burn more calories while resting. Here’s the connection between working out and sleep from the same book I mentioned: “Exercise every day and you will fall asleep faster, sleep deeper, and sleep longer than if you were a couch potato.” To add one more thing here I want to point out the obvious. No matter how busy we are and how much more work we want to get done our bodies will have to sleep. It is one of the beautiful parts of being human; we can not control breathing, sleeping, and other functions intended to sustain us.
Time-Out
A time out from a game means you are out of the game. When a child gets put in time out its because the parent wants them to think about what they have done. I will always address the importance of putting time in your day for yourself. Especially as I talk about the busy bee person I can not stress enough how taking the time out of your busy schedule to get “me” time. This fourth simple step can be whatever it needs to be for each individual person. It can be playing the piano for 15 minutes. It can be taking a day off to watch an entire season of your latest television show. Or it can be a jog in the morning. It is possible that one or more of these steps represent the same thing for you. You might want to take a nap or you may prefer treating yourself to a tranquil solo lunch. But again, the focus must be on doing something for yourself that you enjoy.
These four simple steps will give you the R.E.S.T you need to go about your busy days. Every busy bee needs to rejuvenate, eat to live, sleep, and take a time out. This is not about stressing out over adding yet another task to the schedule. This is all about your happiness.
