HITT Workout 

You will need a can of food, dumbbells, or your own bodyweight to complete this workout.  Submit your rate of perceived exertion, how you felt after the workout in the text entry box.  Have fun!

https://youtu.be/J85kQz1S_Es (Links to an external site.)

The Importance of Sleep and Rest

From The Seven Pillars of Health

1. Getting enough sleep will help you to learn new physical skills. Studies have shown that sleep builds procedural memory. What you practice during the day, you continue to learn while you sleep!

Sleep regulates release of important hormones.

Sleep slows the aging process.

Sleep boosts the immune system.

Sleep improves brain function.

Sleep reduces cortisol levels.

1. When you don’t sleep:

You increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes

You become clumsy and “sleep drunk.”

You jeopardize your job.

You endanger your life and the lives of others.

You reduce your sex drive.

You invite diseases.

You jeopardize your marriage.

1. A good night’s sleep restores, repairs, and rejuvenates your body. Sleep is important because it is vital for your immune system and your overall health. Sleep also slows down the aging process. Lack of adequate sleep increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as a host of other diseases.

Make sure you get at least seven to nine hours of sleep tonight.

1. Causes of insomnia: Stress and anxiety, Painful physical conditions, Caffeine, Cigarettes and alcohol, medications. Food insomnia, Low-carb diets, Exercise, A bad mattress or pillow, Snoring spouse, Hot flashes or menstrual cramps, Enlarged prostrate, Newborn babies, environment. As a nation we have become too dependent upon energy drinks and medications to keep us awake longer. We need to realize that when we cheat the body from getting the sleep it needs, we may eventually suffer the consequences health wise. There are stages to our sleep cycle, with stages three and four being the most restful part of sleep. Dreams are important to restore the mind.
2. Maintaining a bedtime ritual is essential to a good night’s sleep for children and adults. Exercise is one way to improve the quality of your sleep. However, exercising within three hours of sleep may interfere with sleep because exercise raises the levels of stress hormones. Eat a light, bedtime snack. Corral your thoughts, and take time to relax. Make an appreciation list, and recite it when you have trouble falling asleep.
3. Your bedroom is a place to retreat, relax, revive, and rejuvenate. For a more sleep-conducive environment, try the following: keep the room dark, filter out noise, get a good mattress and pillow, and make sure the room temperature is comfortable. Pleasure reading or watching TV is acceptable, provided they help you (and your spouse) to relax and do not add stress. Eliminate light from shining through your bedroom window, and keep the room dark. Install room-darkening drapes or vertical blinds.

“One of the most basic principals is a day of rest. Take time to rest.” Take one day out of this week to do nothing but rest. For many, rest may mean going out for lunch or dinner, watching a good movie, or spending time with family and friends. Rest, however does not mean cooking, cleaning house, or working in the yard.

Colbert, Don, MD, The Seven Pillars of Health, 2006.