5 Ways to Achieve a Peaceful Night of Sleep

It’s not uncommon to toss and turn, squeeze your eyes shut and count backwards from 100 while trying to get that long awaited good night’s sleep. Studies have found that around 1 in 3 people have at least mild insomnia.

For years, scientists have been in disagreement regarding how to ‘treat’ sleep deprivation that approximately 60 million Americans struggle with each night. Still, there is much disparity in proposing one accepted solution, however there are many ways in which we can improve our overall sleeping patterns. Here are five ways you can restore your disrupted sleep cycle:

  1. Reduce Stress Levels: Most likely, one of things keeping you up at night is your mind racing about all you have to do the next day, or that fight you had with your significant other. Stress is the leading cause of restless nights here in the US. Some advice: Do not go to bed angry. Also, avoid the excessive caffeine and energy drinks throughout the day.
  2. Peace and Quiet, Eliminate Noise: Give your mind the rest it needs to fall into the deep sleep you hope for each night. Falling asleep to the TV keeps your mind working and interrupts your sleep cycle. Noise free is the way to go!
  3. Eat Light, Eat Early: It’s best to eat 3-4 hours before you settle in for the night. Going to sleep on a full stomach will keep your body working all night to digest that late night snack. Your body will thank you in the morning after eating an early, light meal.
  4. Morning Rituals: Make a routine. Wake up at 6am and exercise before work, get your day started early rather than rolling out of bed and into the office. This routine will help to prepare your mind for sleep hours later.
  5. Be Proactive: If you’re not sleeping well, then do something about it. Change up your habits. Improvements aren’t going to happen overnight, this must be something you are diligent about; you must work hard to see change.

A good night’s sleep will help support a productive, gratifying day of work. Being well rested is at the very core of an improved lifestyle. At Shift, we want our members to be operating at 100%, so we hope these tips will help those struggling to find that peaceful night of sleep.

11 Healthy Snacks to Eat at Work

That bag of chips always seems like a good idea at the time. We habitually reach for that fast easy snack without a thought because it’s what just we’ve always done and the number one reason– it’s easy. However it is exactly what you should not be doing, especially when sitting at a desk all day long. We should be filling our body with healthy nutrients and energy fueling ingredients, everything that bag of chips lacks.

 

Many people associate healthy eating with over-priced products and a lot of extra prep time just to enjoy a meal. People lack the motivation to eat healthy because they feel they just don’t have the time. Though, little do they know- it’s not that hard, it’s not that expensive, and can be pretty delicious if you do it right. So instead of grabbing that diet coke and bag of chips to fill that mid-day snack time, you should think about some other options. Consider the following:

1.Apple or Banana with Peanut Butter

2. Rice Crackers with Avocado or Nutella Spread

3. Popcorn

4. Veggies with Hummus

5. Dry Roasted Almonds

6. Dry Roasted Edamame

7. Trail Mix

8. Greek Yogurt with Granola

9. Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils with Bruschetta Sauce

10. Dried Mango Slices

11. Spinach Parmesan Quinoa

We offer many of these options as a complimentary perk for our members. It’s important to us that our members eat healthy and focus on wellness. That’s why we provide access to our fitness center and offer free classes in addition to healthy refreshments. But if you’re crabby from eating only rabbit food, we have plenty of Cheez-its to go around.

5 Ways to Stay Healthy at Work

 

Ah, the new year. “New you.” We’re finally weeding through the abundance of health, fitness and mental strength articles on our social feeds. We’re bookmarking at-home workouts, pinning healthy recipes and sharing them amongst friends. Getting back into the swing of things, they say. The new year marks an opportunity for a clean slate, blank pages waiting to be filled with the idea that we can begin again. So why not begin caring about your health again?

Read more