A Semester of Wellness- Week 1
llabaw
Posts: 119 Member
Hello all,
With the start of our new semester, I've put together an optional, but suggested, list of help tips... A Semester of Wellness. Let's start out the new year right and really get all of the benefits that we can from spending this semester together in this class.
Each month will have its topic of focus, with each week within the month elaborating on that topic. There will be weekly "homework" to do with the idea that this homework becomes habit and by the end of each month you have developed strategies in your lifestyle to help fulfill the needs of the health topic of focus.
So, without further ado....
A Semester of Wellness- Week 1
"Dear Sleep, I know we've had our problems, but I love you!"
Focus Topic - Sleep
We spend about 1/3 of our lives asleep, however most people don't know much about what is happening during this time. Sleep isn't an option, it's a necessity... but why? Sleep in critical for normal cognitive and motor function. We all have felt when we don't get enough sleep that sometimes our balance is off, or our brain is a bit "foggy", or our heart races a bit faster. We've heard stories of people who, for whatever reason, pull several all-nighters in a row and start to hallucinate and literally start to lose their mind. These are all real physical reactions from lack of sleep.
Sleep is one of the most important pieces of overall health that often gets overlooked in my opinion. In our goal-oriented, career-driven, productivity-focused society, we don't make sleep a priority. You hear people say, and this may be you, something to the effect of "I only need 5 hours of sleep. I feel great. With more sleep I feel sluggish." I challenge each one of these people to sleep 8 hours consistently for 2 weeks and then try to go back to 5 hours per night and see how they fair. I was one of these people... I used to stay up really late studying, catching up on email, checking facebook, etc. I then was too wired to fall asleep until 11p or 12a, so after getting up for school, I was running on five or six hours of sleep and I felt "GREAT"... until I didn't. Until I knew what it was like to sleep. My performance increased, my ability to focus increased, I leaned out, and I just felt better. But I didn't know I didn't feel good, until I knew what feeling good felt like.
So, long story short. Sleep is critical and quality sleep is even more important. We will talk about tips for quality sleep next week.
Until then, this week's homework is...
Get in bed a minimum of 9 hours before you have to get up with the intention of 8-9 hours of sleep.
Mr. LaBaw
With the start of our new semester, I've put together an optional, but suggested, list of help tips... A Semester of Wellness. Let's start out the new year right and really get all of the benefits that we can from spending this semester together in this class.
Each month will have its topic of focus, with each week within the month elaborating on that topic. There will be weekly "homework" to do with the idea that this homework becomes habit and by the end of each month you have developed strategies in your lifestyle to help fulfill the needs of the health topic of focus.
So, without further ado....
A Semester of Wellness- Week 1
"Dear Sleep, I know we've had our problems, but I love you!"
Focus Topic - Sleep
We spend about 1/3 of our lives asleep, however most people don't know much about what is happening during this time. Sleep isn't an option, it's a necessity... but why? Sleep in critical for normal cognitive and motor function. We all have felt when we don't get enough sleep that sometimes our balance is off, or our brain is a bit "foggy", or our heart races a bit faster. We've heard stories of people who, for whatever reason, pull several all-nighters in a row and start to hallucinate and literally start to lose their mind. These are all real physical reactions from lack of sleep.
Sleep is one of the most important pieces of overall health that often gets overlooked in my opinion. In our goal-oriented, career-driven, productivity-focused society, we don't make sleep a priority. You hear people say, and this may be you, something to the effect of "I only need 5 hours of sleep. I feel great. With more sleep I feel sluggish." I challenge each one of these people to sleep 8 hours consistently for 2 weeks and then try to go back to 5 hours per night and see how they fair. I was one of these people... I used to stay up really late studying, catching up on email, checking facebook, etc. I then was too wired to fall asleep until 11p or 12a, so after getting up for school, I was running on five or six hours of sleep and I felt "GREAT"... until I didn't. Until I knew what it was like to sleep. My performance increased, my ability to focus increased, I leaned out, and I just felt better. But I didn't know I didn't feel good, until I knew what feeling good felt like.
So, long story short. Sleep is critical and quality sleep is even more important. We will talk about tips for quality sleep next week.
Until then, this week's homework is...
Get in bed a minimum of 9 hours before you have to get up with the intention of 8-9 hours of sleep.
Mr. LaBaw
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