Getting Quality Rest - A healthy resolution.

Rest is as important, if not more important than physical activity for good health. Try to take advantage of periods during your day when you have the ability to be passive, do nothing or without any stimulation and try to make time for them. People feel guilty taking time off their busy day to do nothing, but there is nothing to feel ashamed about as this is one ability we have ignored and lost in our busy daily lives. Taking time off in your day for yourself goes back as far as the beginning of humanity.

A few steps to consider when planning rest into your schedule:

1. Try to make napping a habit. 10-20 minutes max int he afternoon. If you can be selective of your napping area, elect for a dark and quiet room where you can lay down.

2. Spend as much time outdoors as you can in order to get exposed to bright, natural light, and not the artificial light we are used to in our offices and homes. If solar radiation is a threat to you, try to get out before 10am or after 3pm in order to minimize the harmful effects (however keep in mind that staying in the sun for 30 min is not that dangerous, but actually beneficial).

3. Try to make it a point to give yourself a dim or even dark ambiance about an hour before you got to bed at night. Lower all lighting in your home and bedroom. You can opt for candles in order to set the mood right and offer a more natural lighting environment.

4. Avoid all technology and screens emitting blue lights. It needs to be as dark as possible in the bedroom when sleeping. Opt for blackouts.

5. Avoid all caffeine after 3pm and again empahsize on as dark a room as possible.

To a good an sound night of sleep.