The ABC’s of Self Care R & S
This week we are fortunate to talk about two facets of Self Care and the Nikken Wellness Home that pair perfectly with each other, Rest and Relaxation (R & R) and Sleep.
The ABC’s of Self Care R & S
“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer. ”
This week we are fortunate to talk about two facets of Self Care and the Nikken Wellness Home that pair perfectly with each other, Rest and Relaxation (R & R) and Sleep.
REST AND RELAXATION
Maintaining good health depends on quality, satisfying rest and easing discomfort in safe and natural ways. Relaxation, comfort and good sleep do more than make us feel good. They're vitally important in helping our body repair itself, resetting mental processes and restoring our energy after each day's challenges.
Relaxation is the act of relaxing and can be defined as the release of tension and the refreshment of the mind or body. Relaxation differs from rest, in that relaxation is our mind’s way of rejuvenating, and can assist in reducing the arousal we experience from stress and/or anxiety. While rest occurs while we are asleep, relaxation happens while we are awake. Relaxing has been shown to improve mood and cognitive functioning, such as decision making and memory, and lowers the risk for depression, anxiety, and other heart-related issues. When we relax, we boost our immunity and can curb our desire for sugary fatty treats. Relaxation also improves our ability to cope with adversity and helps to improve our quality of sleep.
Rest and relaxation work hand in hand however, one is not mutually exclusive from the other. It is important that we invest time in both rest and relaxation, to optimize our mental and physical health. Make sleep and down-time a priority, particularly when you have had a stressful day both mentally and physically. Listen to your body and take time out for yourself. Remember, to give your best, you must be at your best. If you do not look after yourself, who is going to do that for you, this is the fundamental principle of Self Care, so make R&R part of your daily Self Care Awakening.
The Nikken Wellness Home offers innovative technologies and products that promote relaxation, performance and rejuvenation to combat effects of discomfort, fatigue and stress, while providing support that everyone needs, every day. Nikken products combine advanced technologies and physical principles based on natural energies to enhance rest and relaxation.
Here are just a few of our favorite Wellness Home products that fall in to the Rest and Relaxation category.
Kenko mStrides®
Nikken introduced the original Magsteps® in 1975 — the company’s first product. When your feet hurt, your whole body knows it. But you can be relaxed and comfortable even if you’re on your feet all day, thanks to Nikken insoles. A major step forward in design and engineering, mStrides feature patented DynaFlux® Magnetic Technology and exceptional comfort. Patented DynaFlux provides 100% coverage and intensifies the magnetic field for greater tissue depth. With mStrides in place, walking creates a dynamic energy flow — in effect, a magnetic field generator inside your shoes. The mStrides surface is long-wearing, does not absorb moisture or odor and is ventilated to stay cool. These are the most advanced and durable insoles in the world.
KenkoTouch®
Massage is an effective way to ease aching muscles. A deep-tissue massage can help loosen tight muscles, ease discomfort and relieve stress. A good massage can produce positive results even for those who enjoy excellent health. The KenkoTouch® is a unique, advanced system that gives you a heightened magnetic massage experience.
Kenko MagDuo®
Compact, portable and a quick, effective means to have a relaxing massage experience. This advanced pair of massaging spheres can help you feel relaxed and reenergized, in minutes! Heather and I both have them in our vehicles and at home. One resides in my golf bag and one in Heathers gym bag too.
Kenko MagFlex®
This lower-back pad has contoured edges, flexibility and cool ventilation for all-day comfort. Plus, it’s the only lower-back support product with patented DynaFlux® Magnetic Technology. This is a very versatile product that can have many uses for relief of discomfort.
Simple, effective and easy to use, these are staples in our Wellness Home for relaxation.
SLEEP
Sleep is the single activity that we spend the most time doing in our lifetimes. We spend one-third of our lives asleep and for good reason. In our fast paced, highly productive lives, we often sacrifice sleep for other activities. This is due in part to this perception of sleep as a non-productive endeavor, when from a physiological and health standpoint it is the most productive time of our day
William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University, is one of the world's leading authorities on sleep. He is sometimes referred to as the father of sleep medicine. To quote Dr. Dement, “Healthy sleep has been empirically proven to be the most single important determinant on predicting longevity, more important than diet, exercise and heredity.” Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley agrees, "I used to suggest that sleep is the third pillar of good health, along with diet and exercise, but I don't agree with that anymore. Sleep is the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body for health."
Sleep is not only about how many hours we sleep, but more importantly about quality of sleep that we are receiving. A significant component of sleep quality is dependent on our sleep environment. For that reason, the foundation of the Nikken Wellness Home and our personal choice, is the Nikken Kenko Sleep System. It uses natural materials and simple principles to create Adaptive Sleep Technology. This includes, self-regulating temperature control, advanced magnetic technology and passive massage to provide a natural, relaxing sleep environment to for a deep restful, rejuvenating sleep
Nikken Kenko Sleep products are made in the USA.
Regular sleep on a Kenko Sleep System can contribute to improved learning ability and decision-making abilities, improved memory, alertness and increased mental acuity. Quality sleep supports physical health including improved immune system function, better ability to resist premature aging, increased ability to resist stress, and better-regulated hormone production that can help prevent weight gain or obesity.
Sleep Matters and getting enough sleep is one way that we all can be healthier, more productive and happier. Sleep is a vital component of every Wellness Home. Get at least 7.5 to 9 hours of quality sleep per night with the Nikken Kenko Sleep System and take time for relaxation daily to BE HEALTHY BY CHOICE, NOT BY CHANCE.
Self Care Travel Tips
Love it or not traveling can be extremely disruptive to the “self care” routine you have worked so hard to establish unless you follow a few simple guidelines.
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Self Care Travel Tips
The holiday season is in full swing and with it comes the busiest travel season of the year. Love it or not traveling can be extremely disruptive to the “self care” routine you have worked so hard to establish unless you follow a few simple guidelines.
1. Keep up with your water intake. In fact, when traveling it is not a bad idea to increase the amount of water you drink. Why? Lack of humidity, especially on a plane it is very dehydrating. Have you ever noticed how dry your skin feels when get off of a plane?
Most travelers experience bowel issues when traveling for various reasons. The World Health Organization identifies dehydration as the most severe threat posed by “traveler’s diarrhea.” Hydration can help both diarrhea and “traveler’s constipation.”
We always travel with a filtered, alkaline water bottle that we can easily fill anywhere. It is convenient and less expensive than bottled water. Keep track of how much water you drink in a day. Try to drink half of your body weight in ounces a day. For example if you weigh 120 lbs. drink 60 ounces of water a day.
2. Stay comfortable. No matter how you travel “temperature regulating fabric” can help keep you either warm or cool. We always travel with comfortable socks that have ceramic reflective fibers in the material that absorb energy from a variety of sources. These fibers have a saturation point, and do not retain excess heat. Instead they release it into the surrounding environment.
3. Eat smart. It is best to use some common sense here. First thing to remember, it is the holiday season and refusing a slice of your hosts award winning pie is not going to win a popularity contest so enjoy that pie but there are ways to eat smart throughout the day. Remember portion control and if possible eat as many fresh vegetables as possible. Avoid snacking by trying to maintain your usual meal schedule and don’t skip meals. If you have a super frantic schedule be sure to pack your favorite protein shake.
We always travel with Kenzen Vital Balance (KVB). KVB is an organic based pea-protein shake naturally sweetened with monk fruit. KVB also has prebiotics and probiotics which support gastrointestinal and immune system health.
4. Sleep matters. Losing as little as one and a half hours for just one night reduces daytime alertness by about one-third. Traveling across time zones changes the principal time cue -- light -- for setting and re-setting our 24-hour, natural day-night cycle, or circadian rhythm. When you pack be sure to pack for sleep. We always pack ear plugs, a sleep mask and travel with a temperature regulating travel comforter. Remember to keep up with any established sleep routines, for example, if you listen to relaxing music while preparing for bed make sure you have that with you and a way to play it. If you are well hydrated, eat smart, stay comfortable, exercise and try to maintain a sleep schedule while traveling you can alleviate sleep deprivation and enjoy your trip a whole lot more.
Happy Holidays and be Healthy by Choice, not by chance.
Sleep for Better Health
Stop doing other activities so you get the sleep you need. I realize that this is not easy for many of us, but give it a try and you will see that with more and better quality of sleep your mood, effectiveness and productivity will improve.
Sleep for Better Health
“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together”
Like many others, getting enough sleep and good quality sleep was one issue that was very difficult for me through much of my adult life. My sleep was often interrupted with thoughts, projects or just that flood of ideas that ran through my head preventing me from going to sleep. Once asleep, (if I really was?), I would wake up every few hours and look at the clock. Doze and look at the clock became what I considered to be a normal sleep pattern for me. From a personal standpoint, my perception of sleep was that it seemed like a waste of valuable time. A non-productive part of my day. Not until my mid-40’s did I take heed of what I knew about sleep to be healthy by choice.
In our fast paced, highly productive lives, we often sacrifice sleep for other activities. This is due in part to this perception of sleep as a non-productive endeavor, when from a physiological and health standpoint it is the most productive time of our day. Work that must be completed, a project that just must be finished, studying for that mid-term, getting up an hour early to exercise or miss that rush hour traffic on the way to work are a few of many reasons we rationalize not sleeping but for the most part it is our perception of sleep. Sleep is anything but a waste of time. While many people think of sleeping as the body “shutting off” until morning, nodding off activates an organized, complex process to help you feel rested and healthy the next day.
Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives. William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University, is the world's leading authority on sleep. For this pioneering work in a previously uncharted field, he is sometimes referred to as the father of sleep medicine. To quote Dr. Dement, “Healthy sleep has been empirically proven to be the most single important determinant on predicting longevity, more important than diet, exercise and heredity.”
"I used to suggest that sleep is the third pillar of good health, along with diet and exercise," says Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. "But I don't agree with that anymore. Sleep is the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body for health."
In a 2015 CNN documentary Sleep with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he states, “If you have an extra hour in the day to exercise, you would be well advised to use that hour for sleep, as it will provide more health benefits.”
Given all the scientific evidence to the importance and benefits of a good night’s sleep we are a sleep-sick society, ignorant of the facts of sleep and the price of sleep deficiency.
It is estimated that nearly 70% of American’s do not get adequate sleep. National Institute of Heath research studies on sleep state that the average American gets less than 7 hours of sleep per night. Cognitive performance after less than six hours of sleep is equivalent to getting no sleep for 48 straight hours. Cognitive performance relates to mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning.
Sleep Deprivation Statistics from the American Sleep Association:
37% of 20-39 year-olds report short sleep duration
40% of 40-59 year-olds report short sleep duration
35.3% adults report <7 hours of sleep during a typical 24-hour period.
A good read on the importance of sleep and ways to get a better night’s sleep are elucidated in Dr. Dement’s book The Promise of Sleep.
One thing I do and suggest others do is to make sleep a priority. It may sound funny, but schedule sleep like any other daily activity, so put it on your "to-do list" and cross it off every night. Don’t make sleep the thing you do only after everything else is done. Stop doing other activities so you get the sleep you need. I realize that this is not easy for many of us, but give it a try and you will see that with more and better quality of sleep your mood, effectiveness and productivity will improve.
Sleep Matters and getting enough sleep is one way that we all can be healthier, more productive and happier.
Tips for a better night's sleep:
- Stick to a sleep schedule, even on weekends.
- Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual.
- Exercise daily.
- Evaluate your bedroom to ensure ideal temperature, sound and light.
- Beware of hidden sleep stealers, like alcohol and caffeine.
- Turn off electronics before bed. Avoid reading on electronic devices.
- Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.
Healthy Sleep System
Since you spend a third of your life sleeping it is as important to choose healthy bedding as it is you living room couch and matching drapes. . “Most mattresses contain a petroleum-based polyurethane foam and flame retardants that release volatile organic compounds, which can pollute your bedroom air, irritate your respiratory system, and cause skin problems and other allergies,” saysTasha Stoiber, EWG senior scientist. Stoiber’s tips:
Look for natural materials: Choose a mattress that include at least 95 percent organic content, such as cotton, wool, or natural latex.
Avoid fire retardants: Chlorinated Tris, a chemical flame retardant commonly found in mattresses, sleeping mats, pillows, and futons, is a known neurotoxin and carcinogen.
Wash and cover: “When you’re tossing and turning in bed, you can stir up a lot of dust in your mattress that can potentially cause allergy issues. It’s important to frequently launder your bedding, and vacuum your mattress once in a while.” Also, use a mattress cover, preferably one made of tightly-woven, organic cotton, to avoid dust mites.
Steer clear of additives: Mattresses and toppers treated with antimicrobial solutions and added scents can contain hidden carcinogens.
I recommend a visit to our Kenko Sleep Shop for the best in healthy choice sleep.
Sleep is an essential physiological process.
Get 8 hours a night of good quality sleep. It’s one way to be Healthy by Choice.
“Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year olds”