Relax Yourself Slim!

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People who sleep well and have low levels of stress may have a better shot at dropping unwanted pounds.

In a recent Kaiser Permanente study published in The International Journal of Obesity, good sleep and low stress levels boosted participants’ chances of success in reaching their goal of losing at least 10 pounds.

Good sleep was defined as being more than six but less than eight hours a night. The group that reported the least stress and the target amount of sleep was twice as likely to succeed at losing weight as the participants who reported the highest levels of stress and got six or fewer hours of sleep a night.

It hardly seems fair that so much good fortune befall those already graced with restful nights and easygoing days. But instead of dwelling on that, adjust your goals.

Striving for better-quality sleep and finding healthy ways to manage stress may be the key to kicking your dieting efforts into high gear.

Conveniently, many of the things that breed good sleep are good stress relievers, too. Physical activity, of course, is an effective way to simultaneously promote sleep and reduce stress (and that’s just a couple of its many assets).

Check out these additional stress-reduction and sleep-promotion tips from WebMD:

For stress management:
• Keep a positive attitude.
• Accept that there are events that you cannot control.
• Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
• Don’t rely on alcohol or drugs to reduce stress.
• Seek out social support.
• Learn to manage your time more effectively.

For better sleep:
• Minimize noise with earplugs and minimize light with window blinds, heavy curtains, or an eye mask. Do not turn on bright lights if you need to get up at night. Use a small night-light instead.
• Go to bed at a regular time and avoid napping late in the afternoon. If you need to nap, take a brief nap for 10 to 15 minutes about eight hours after you awake.
• Stop working at any task an hour before bedtime to calm mental activity.
• At bedtime, keep your mind off worries or things that upset you; avoid discussing emotional issues in bed.