A 12-Week challenge for people who want to reach for more joy by improving their physical, mental and spiritual health, and cheer each other on while doing it!
Hello dear friends- Thanks to so many of you for filling out the SURVEY!! So many more of you chimed in this week! This makes me so happy! Way to go everyone! Let's see what you have to say about your week!
RESULTS WEEK 2!
Jenny Robinson
15
Vicky
Rhonda
9
Carolyn
Not counting
Mel Hopes
Carrie Phy
23
Rich
36
Darci
13
Maryjane
35
Christie Allen
15
Christie Allen
15
Fawn
31
Hannah
I'm not sure lol!
Dannette Allen
27
Hillarie
20
David Atkinson
?
Shon
11
Allison
25
Really Serious
37
Mushyaz
Caralee
28
WenD
17
Krystal
21
Marsha
Not keeping track but am doing all the things! 🤗
Liz Grajeda
27
Lisa
33
Mary Anne Koski
35
Val
32
Cam
29
Nancy Norton
15
Karin Brimhall
31
Jenny Robinson
25
Melanie
20
Mushyaz
10
Sarah you-know-who Norton
30
Bill
22
Congratulations to top point getters this week and everyone else who joined in and checked in! You sure are good at snatching those little points floating out in the atmosphere.... :)
Going on vacation for part of this week has made it hard since I'm thrown out of my routine and managing my time due to other's plans. However, I don't regret my vacation and will try harder next week!
Decluttering is an underrated pleasure! Thank you for the kick in the pants. It was a good reminder that we can do it in small chunks and it doesn’t need to take up an entire day.
I was out of my routine by having this week off of work, but seemed to be less productive, so I learned that I prefer structure.
I had the week off of work and I found that I had a hard time getting into a routine and was less productive than I thought I would be. I found out I need structure.
This was a tough challenge for me. I deleted games on my phone which freed up time but putting good things in that time was tricky. I started and will continue to redesign an unused junk room but overall I did not have any closure so I am continuing into next week.
I made so much progress with a lot of little areas and projects that I wanted to tweak that I realized I was keeping busy to avoid the biggest challenge that I had set for myself. I need to rethink that challenge and strip it down to the systems involved
I learned to listen to your video while walking which saved time
I just love the accountability of the challenge and it was a huge wake up call for my to declutter the things/relationships in my life that don't serve me.
I did but do no know how to put it in words. My mind clutter was dark and it is starting to become light.
I feel more calm and at peace when I declutter and simplify my environment. Takes away some of the overwhelmed feelings. I feel better when I focus on health too.
I realize how many of my calories are filled with sugar. It has been eye opening to take a break from that tendency.
I loved taking back some space in my brain from the adversary who is ALWAYS trying to distract me, slow me down or totally derail me!
Thanks everyone for all your personal comments and suggestions! It really helps the whole group! OK- GO TO SLEEP NOW.... See you in your dreams!
It's time to learn about how vital SLEEP is to our
body, mind and soul!
* Earn 1 POINT for every night that you GET AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep this week. (one cheat night allowed)
I am going to knock your socks off with what you are going to learn this week!! We are going to SLEEP OUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH!! Sounds easy, huh?! ;) Sleep is a nourishing, restorative gift that we give ourselves every night! I hope we can destigmatize sleeping late if you are a night owl, going to bed early if you are a morning lark, and taking naps if your nighttime sleep was disrupted or short. I can't tell you how many late mornings or afternoons I beat myself up for "being lazy" when I was just giving my body and brain the nourishment it NEEDED!! God bless the nappers! SLEEPERS UNITE!!
The following information is coming from the 20 years of research by Mathew Walker (and colleagues) former professor of psychology at Harvard University and current professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley and founder of The Center for Human Sleep Science. I am going to summarize some of the most vital things I learned from his book, "Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams" but there is so much more! I recommend reading his book! If you don't have time for that, I am posting the link below to some incredibly awesome interviews with him andHIS TED TALK!!Choose the one that most interests you or which one is a good length of time for you. You can also search online to find podcasts with him as a guest speaker. Some of these speeches are available as podcasts.
WHY WE SLEEP
- He recommends at least 7-9 hours of sleep. 8 hours is ideal for most people! (even if you can only get to bed 20 min earlier than you usually do, that will be a great benefit to your health).
- One of the best things we can do is GO TO BED AND WAKE UP at the same times every day. Set a BEDTIME ALARM 15 min. before bed. Don't binge sleep by sleeping in on the weekend. You can't catch up on lost sleep that way. You only make it harder to get back on schedule on Monday. (THIS IS WHAT MATHEW WANTS YOU TO REMEMBER MOST FROM THE BOOK!)
- "0% of people can get less than 6 hours of sleep on a regular basis and not show negative health outcomes."
- (the following bullet points are straight from his book) Routinely sleeping less than 6 hours a night weakens your immune system, substantially increasing your risk of certain forms of cancer. Insufficient sleep appears to be a key lifestyle factor linked to your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
- Inadequate sleep--even moderate reductions for just one week--disrupts blood sugar level so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic.
- Short sleeping increased the likelihood of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, setting you on a path toward cardiovascular disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure... Sleep disruption further contributes to all major psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety and suicidality. "
- Too little sleep swells concentrations of a hormone that makes you feel hungry while suppressing a companion hormone that otherwise signals food satisfaction.
- The shorter you sleep, the shorter your life span.
- Drowsy driving is the cause of hundreds of thousands of traffic accidents and fatalities each year."
- LET YOUR TEENAGERS SLEEP!! They need it desperately!
WHILE WE SLEEP-
* Our brain shrinks and then bathes itself in fluid which rinses the brain of dead brain cells. A build up of these type brain cells is found more often in people with Alzheimer's disease.
* We move recent memories, and things we have learned, from short term memory into long term memory storage during REM sleep, therefore, locking it into the brain, ready to be recalled later on.
* REM sleep helps infants lay down massively complicated and neural-pathway systems. Infants have more REM sleep than teens and adults.
* REM sleep in teens helps them fine-tune their neural-pathways by clearing out ones they are not using, making their brains more efficient.
* REM sleep helps lessen the pain of emotionally difficult events.
* REM sleep helps us with creativity and problem solving by bringing old experiences and current problems or puzzles into each other's presence and finding connections.
TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every night. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TAKE AWAY FROM THE BOOK!!! Set an alarm for 15 min. before bedtime to start winding down. Do busy things like changing clothes, brushing and flossing even before that.
2. Read or listen to music instead of watching a screen for the last couple hours before bed.
3. Eliminate or reduce caffeine, alcohol and marijuana use, especially later in the day. Alcohol and marijuana put you in a sleep-like state with very little or no REM sleep, which is very needed. It also causes you to wake up a lot during the night, having sleep be less restful and ineffective. You just don't remember all the small wake-ups the next morning.
4. Don't spend more than 20 min. in bed awake if you are having trouble sleeping. Get up and do something relaxing until you get sleepy and then get back in bed. Bed is for sleeping. Lying there stressing makes insomnia worse.
5. Turn your alarm clock away so you can't see it, reducing anxiety and clock-watching.
6. You sleep better in a cool room. 65% is optimal. Your body needs to cool down to sleep. You can also help it along with a warm bath before bed. It bring the blood just beneath the surface of your skin where heat from it can easily evaporate and cool your body down.
7. It's harder to sleep when you are too hungry or too full.
8. DO NOT use sleep aids like sleeping pills of any kind. These do not give you restful, dream-filled sleep. They cause dependence and a have a damaging rebound effect.
As Promised... Here are the links!
Excellent TED TALK! 19 min.
Great info and kinda silly Scandinavian Talk show. 15 min.
Why Sleep Matters, Talks at Google.56 min
Sleep expert reveals how you can optimize your brain with these simple hacks
50 min
(7:04 REM sleep10:38 Noradrenaline and PTSD and sleep)
Sleep in non-negotiable. The Rich Roll podcast. 3 hours!
I hope you'll find the time to watch this message from me. I felt like it was time to chat! I had some neat experiences this week and learned so many new things, I just had to share. The video is much more fun than the podcast but if that's all you can do, HERE is the link!
Keep going strong, my beautiful and studly warriors! We are all so loved!
17 glorious minutes! :)
GO HERE if you want to sign up for my SOUL RESTORATION RETREAT Feb. 17-21, 2022 right here in Gilbert in my new home! Just $499 for 4 days and nights. Save $50 if you sign up with a friend!!
Here is Michael Dunn's talk about the British Cycling Team and all the AMAZING THINGS!
One of our challengers, Hillarie Miller, took us on the river with her and her friends and she had some special experiences and she said I could share with the group, so here is her awesome adventure! Thank you for sharing, Hillarie!
I just returned from an epic adventure for week one and want to share with you and the group some wonderful things!
Part of week 1 was spent on a paddle board adventure from Glen Canyon Dam to Lee’s Ferry ( 4 of us spent 2 nights camping, 3 days paddling down the Colorado River) 7 days no added candy desserts etc…. I did it! I eliminated these items from my food (not easy- I love candy)
I did have a “cave in day” on Saturday- one of the women I paddled the river with brought birthday cake - not easy to keep that dry and not get crushed. Each piece was 2 bites. I had 2 pieces🙂
Each morning I read aloud to our group of 4 paddlers a daily devotional inspiration and then we applied that to the wonderful things we saw on the river. The words resonated in our talks by the fire and in the sights along the way.
“Faith is combining contradictions creatively” For example- take all you need but don’t overpack.
“Faith is drinking from new wells” example we drank from a spring in the canyon wall (totally free of all harmful things)
“Faith is perceiving the world around you- a wheel in the middle of a wheel” we saw this everywhere- swirls in the water, circles carved by time water wind, human connections- on and on.
Each morning another woman lead us in song and deep breathing to start our day being centered and one with everything. My personal challenge was to eliminate soda- and wow- tricky- but mission accomplished!
Here are a few pics and the words to the song. Thank you for Faith and for this challenge!`
May the long time sun
Shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light
Within you
Guide your way on
Guide your way on
May the long time sun
Shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light
Within you
Guide your way on
Guide your way on
THANK YOU, HILLARIE!! Perfectly timed message of how much this love and light is spreading! I love you all and hearing your adventures!
If any of you want to share your experiences with the group PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO ME! This is so special!
