Tomboy Style: Beyond the Boundaries of Fashion, is a fabulous book from blogger, writer, friend and tomboy Lizzie Garrett Mettler.
What better way to celebrate Dads than to look at the styles they inspire?
You had to prove yourself to my father. And he liked courage. If you fell off the horse, you got back up. And that could go on for days. And as often as you’d fall off, as often as you’d have to get back up.
—Anjelica Huston, in an excerpt from an interview with Lauren Bacall for Intimate Portrait.
Studies show well-rested people are judged to be younger, more attractive and more competent.
2. Brighter Mood
People feel better and brighter when they get adequate sleep. Poor sleep is linked with clinical depression.
3. Manage Stress
It is easier to respond to challenges in productive ways when well rested.
4. Appetite Control
Not sleeping enough leads to increased hunger and is linked with weight gain.
5. Brain Boosting
A good nights sleep is critical for protecting brain.
6. Love Life
Couples whose sleeping patterns are in sync are more satisfied with their relationship and argue less.
7. Weight Loss
Total sleep time and quality of sleep predicted the successful loss of fat in individuals enrolled in a weight loss program.
8. Reduce Cravings
Studies show that people who are sleep deprived crave sweet and salty food.
9. Boost Memory
Sleep and memory go hand in hand.
10. Optimal Functioning
Even though some people claim they only need 4 or 5 hours of shuteye, studies show they are not functioning at their best.
11. Learn New Material
Studies show people retain information if they go to sleep shortly after learning it. It’s why all-nighters don’t work.
12. Performance
Getting extra sleep has been shown to improve athletic performance, alertness and mood. Well-rested football players improved sprint time in the 20-yard shuttle and 40-yard dash. Similar improvements were seen with basketball players.
If you sleep less, you eat more. You remember less. You get sick more often. You look bad. And poor sleep also leads to high blood pressure, missed workouts, irritability, poor decision making, and greatly impaired well-being.
These statistics, compiled by Online Psychology Degree, are startling:
1 in 3 smartphone owners would rather give up sex than their phones.
95% of people said that they regularly: browse the web, text or watch TV before trying to sleep.
90% of 18-29 year olds say they sleep with their phone in or right next to bed.
1 in 4 people don’t silence their cell phones before bed.
1 in 10 say they are awakened at least a few times a week by phone calls, texts or emails.
1 in 2 say if they wake in the night for no reason, they’ll check their phone right away.
In a study of people who use gadgets before bedtime:
63% of participants said that their sleep needs were not met during the week.
This is because a two-hour exposure to light from electronic displays suppressed melatonin by about 22% (melatonin is the chemical in your body that promotes sleep).
Regular late-night computer use isn’t just associated with sleep disorders but also with stress and depressing symptoms.
Sleep deprivation takes a toll:
1 in 5 car accidents are a result of drowsy driving.
3 in 10 workers will fall asleep at their desks this month.
Sleeping an average of less than 6 hours per night raises lifetime heart attack risk by 50%.
Prioritize eight hours of high-quality sleep ahead of all else. You will be more likely to have a good workout, get more done at your job, and treat your loved ones better when you put sleep first. Remember, every extra hour of sleep is a positive investment. It is not an expense.
Previous research has shown us that the lunar cycle does not contribute to erratic human behavior, including transforming people into wolves, or causing inexplicable chest pains. But that doesn’t mean the moon has no effect at all.
As part of a routine study, scientists analyzed aspects of test participants’ sleep patterns – time it took to fall asleep, length of full night’s sleep, etc. Five years later they decided to revisit the data and analyze it in a new context: the lunar cycle.
The findings were surprising. During the full moon, test subjects took 5 minutes longer to fall asleep, slept for 20 minutes less per night and suffered a 30% decrease in deep sleep.
It has become increasingly rare to find oneself in silence. Even when we are alone or in the country, phones beep, televisions blare, and iPods beckon. Wherever we go, a constant drone surrounds us. Noise is pervasive and has become the soundtrack of our lives, so much so that it is not unusual for patients to tell me that silence scares them.
Research shows that constant noise is what we should be worried about. As a recent report highlights, in addition to hearing loss, sleep, cardiovascular function, anxiety, and even a patient’s ability to heal in a hospital after surgery are all affected by noise:
In our 24/7 society, noise is pervasive and the availability of quiet places is decreasing. We need to better understand how this constant exposure to noise is impacting our overall health. From ear buds blasting music during subway commutes to the constant drone of traffic heard by those who live or work near congested highways to the beeping of monitors that makes up the soundtrack heard by hospital patients and staff, what we hear all day impacts many parts of our bodies.
A quiet environment allows for internal quiet and is a space for reflection. Seek out silent sacred spaces like galleries or museums. Consider “running naked” and by that I mean technologically naked, without your phone, music or any gadgets. Or go for a swim to hear the sweet sound of solitude:
As the world, with its escalating rings and pings, gets ever more hysterical, suspending yourself in water becomes ever more appealing.
As Michael Phelps points out, a pool can be the ultimate “safe haven.” It’s hot outside. Dive in for some peace and quiet.
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit in a quiet room alone.
How hard is it to sit alone in an empty room with absolutely nothing to do for 15 minutes? No distractions. No cellphone. No magazines. No window to gaze out of. It couldn’t be that hard, right?
According to the results of a recent study, participants found being alone with their thoughts surprisingly challenging. In fact, some found it so difficult that they resorted to giving themselves electric shocks to interrupt the boredom. Before the alone time began, the researchers administered a brief electric shock to demonstrate what it would feel like. Most participants described it as unpleasant. Some even said that they would pay money not to be shocked again.
That changed once the experiment was underway. In the 15 minutes of solitude, 67% of the men and 25% of the women zapped themselves. Even the researchers were shocked by the shocks. “I’m still just puzzled by that,” commented one.
It is tempting to blame the overuse of devices to provide non-stop entertainment and distraction. Interestingly, however, difficulty being alone was unrelated to age or use of technology. A grandmother was as miserable as a college freshman when forced to entertain herself.
Perhaps the best explanation for this “shocking” behavior is the “scanner hypothesis” which posits that mammals have evolved to monitor their environment for change and to scan for danger and opportunities. As the lead researcher describes:
It would be a little odd to see a chimpanzee posed like Rodin’s thinker for extended periods of time.
In other words, there may be an evolutionary explanation for being hyper-vigilant and feeling restless when left alone with one’s thoughts. Forcing oneself to focus internally may feel uncomfortable and unnatural.
That said, there is also an advantage to being alone with one’s thoughts. In fact, studies show that solitude is crucial for the development of the self. As highlighted in a study entitled, Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone, solitude is associated with freedom, creativity, intimacy, and spirituality.
Spending time alone means growing spiritually, discovering your identity without outside distractions, having the freedom to do what you want without needing to cater to other people’s wants and thriving creatively.
Meditation and other relaxation techniques are useful ways to make downtime more tolerable and also productive. By gaining control over our thoughts, the little annoyanceslike traffic jams and waiting rooms become less stressful and the big questions become less daunting.
