​When I first start working with a new client, they are eager to talk about diet and exercise and weight loss.  Sure, all of those are important for overall health.  What I really want to know, from them and from you, is: how much sleep are you getting each night?  Is it quality sleep?  How many times do you awake during the night?  Are you restless?  What time do you go to bed?  What time do you wake up?

Why is sleep more important than diet and exercise in determining health and well-being?  Because if you are consistently sleep deprived you are creating a hormone imbalance that will negate many of the positive aspects of diet and exercise.  Research shows sleep deprivation causes two hormones to malfunction.  The first is gherlin, the hormone that signals when to eat.  When you are sleep deprived, you produce more gherlin leading you to eat more often.  The second is leptin, the hormone that signals when to stop eating.  When you experience sleep loss, you produce less leptin and so you don't stop eating when you normally would.

When you are sleep deprived, you eat more on a slower metabolism.

It is not necessarily that you will lose weight if you start consistently sleeping well, but you will gain weight if you are sleep deprived.  One of the major keys to taking exceptional care of yourself is to prioritize sleep and make it sacred.  

Three Ways To Consistently Sleep Better NOW

One.  Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends.  This will create stability in your sleep pattern and help reset your hormones.  Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night.  Respect your biological clock.  (Source).  

Two.  Remove all electronics from the bedroom.  ALL of them.  The TV.  The cell phone.  The iPad.  All emit a signal that disrupts your circadian rhythm.  How?  The light emitted by them signals the brain to delay the discharge of melatonin needed for sleep.  Beyond that, their physical proximity is a temptation few can resist given our social media and e-mail addicted tendencies.  Give in and it creates a cognitive stimulation that disrupts your sleep cycle. (Source).

Three.  Create a ritual around going to bed.  Light a candle.  Massage your feet.   Put on soothing music.  Write in a gratitude journal.    Have a practice at night that helps you wind down and motivate the relaxation response in the body.  "A ritual sends a signal to your body and your mind that it is time to slow down and fall asleep, " (Dr. Gerard T. Lombard, Sleep to Save Your Life, p. 45).

Now it's your turn.  Have any great tips on how you get a good night's sleep?  Share them in the comments below!  

Hello summer.  A heat wave is coming.  It will be so hot we've cancelled our plans to go camping.  It's too hot to camp.  Thoughts turn to cold, frozen, icy, cool, and anything that distracts from the heat that is coming.  It's too hot to go outside.  It's too hot to go to the store.  I want something cold and delicious and refreshing.  Don't you?  You know you do!  

This super easy and quick frozen yogurt is what you want.  You likely have all the ingredients on hand:  yogurt, frozen fruit, sugar, and lemons or limes.  The only equipment you need is a food processor.  In 10 minutes or less, cold and creamy satisfaction can be yours.

This recipe was inspired by one published in Food & Wine magazine a decade ago. Created by Ferran Adria using strawberries, I've played with it a bit as the original had too much sugar for my liking and not enough acid.  I present the mango version here.  Scroll to the end of this post for the Strawberry Frozen Yogurt variation.  

10-Minute Mango Frozen Yogurt
Makes 3-4 cups

1 pound frozen mango chunks, broken up if clumped together
5 ounces whole fat yogurt (Greek is fine), unsweetened
1/4 cup sugar (I prefer organic cane sugar)​
One lime, cut into wedges

Equipment:  7-cup capacity food processor (or larger)

Set up your food processor with the blade attachment.  Into the processor bowl add the mango chunks, yogurt, and sugar.  Process for two minutes.  Scrape down sides and stir around any chunks that have clumped together or are not broken down.  Process until smooth.  May require up to five minutes of processing.  

Serve immediately with lime wedges.  Encourage eaters to squeeze fresh lime over the frozen yogurt to added a much needed and quite enjoyable zing!

Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three days.  Though, it won't be as good as when it is first made.  

Strawberry Variation:
Substitute one pound of frozen strawberries for the frozen mango chunks.  Instead of lime wedges, cut one lemon into wedges to be squeezed over the Strawberry Frozen Yogurt.  

The end of May kicks off the summer travel season.  Time to explore new lands!  Time to relax at the beach!  Time to get sick...wait what?  Often travel means we throw out the good habits keeping us healthy, deplete our immune systems, and rush from one bucket list item to the next.  Then we come home ill having not relaxed.

In the past week, two clients have asked me for help around travel.  One asked how to eat healthy while she is traveling. The other one has just returned from a trip and feels completely derailed from all the healthy living tools she's learned over the past couple of months working with me.   Over the years, I've learned many lessons around travel, staying healthy, and enjoying an easy reentry.  

With these tips, I hope you find a way to have a fun and exciting vacation while taking care of yourself.  This way you can enjoy the trip, and you can enjoy your return home!

1. Maintain Routine.  At home, I drink warm lemon water every morning, walk 10,000 steps most days, and do a minimum of five minutes of yoga or Qigong every day.  On vacation, I drink warm lemon water every morning, walk 10,000 steps and more every day, and do some Qigong, yoga, or combination thereof daily.  Travel can mess with your immune system, upset your digestive system, and disrupt your sleep cycle.  When you maintain what you do at home to stay healthy, you are more likely to feel great and enjoy your vacation.   As an important aside, travel often slows down our digestion.  Warm lemon water every morning will help you stay regular.  
2. Schedule Down Time.  I had to learn this lesson the hard way.  Feeling encumbered by few vacation days and the desire to see everything, I would sightsee until I would drop.  I wasn't resting before the vacation, and I wasn't resting on the vacation.  My immune system would throw in the towel, and I would come home with an upper respiratory infection or severe fatigue.  The rushing on vacation meant I wasn't actually experiencing or enjoying what I was seeing.  Then, re-entry would be incredibly painful because my body would knock me upside the head and force me to lie down.  I now know to schedule only one or two big items per day, with plenty of time for leisurely lunches, slow strolls, and meaningful meanderings.  If I am traveling for more than a week, I enforce downtime with a laundry day, which leads us to Tip #3.
3. Pack Light.  You may be wondering why packing light is a healthy tip.  Packing a suitcase to the hilt and then lugging it from destination to destination is a recipe for stress.  Stress interferes with enjoying your trip.  Also, in some places, especially southern Europe, wheeling a large suitcase makes you a target of petty thieves, including pickpockets.  If you are traveling by train with a big bag, sometimes you have to leave it on luggage racks at the end of each train car.  This means it is often out of your sight and a target for theft.  When you travel light, you are able to travel faster, safer, and access more places.  When you travel heavy, you have to constantly factor in how you are going to move your suitcase from point A to point B.   When traveling light, I only pack for one week, and do one day of laundry per week of travel.  That laundry day is enforced down time, usually needed at that point in the trip when I've been out and about sightseeing for multiple days.  There are easy ways to travel light.  Pack only three colors (mine tend to be navy, black and white), pack only clothes in these colors that can be washed together, and pack a scarf that ties all three colors together.  From my friend Emily:  lay out everything you want to bring and eliminate half.  Think back to what you always drag with you but never need.   I have never needed heels while traveling during the summer.  By the way, the one exception I make for traveling light is when I take a cruise.  Then I do bring a big bag because I enjoy participating in the formal nights and various activities.  Plus, often the cruise line takes care of moving my bag from airport to ship and ship to airport.

Now it's your turn.  What is your best tip for staying healthy during summer travel?  I'd love to hear from you in the Comments section below.