He's certainly not the star of the team or even a medal favorite, but Eric Shanteau has earned as much respect as any of the U.S. swimmers at the Olympic Games.
Eric Shanteau says the support of teammates has been important as he fights testicular cancer.
Shanteau, 24, of Lilburn, Georgia, was diagnosed with testicular cancer June 19, a week before he left for the U.S. swim trials. But he put off the decision to have surgery until after the Summer Games, his first and last Olympics.
"I can't believe what he is going through," said teammate Dara Torres, "but he still has that drive to be here and to do his best. It is an amazing thing to watch."
It will be even more amazing if Shanteau can medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, which begins with preliminaries Tuesday night (Tuesday morning in the United States). He has the ninth fastest time in the world this year, but he's confident he can surprise people. After all, swimming is the easy part.
Cancer is on his mind constantly, he said. He worries about himself and his father, Rick, who has lung cancer. It reminds him that while reaching the Olympics was his dream, there are other things he should treasure.
Shanteau, an Auburn University graduate, admits that he has some down times because of the disease, but constantly reminds himself: "I have cancer; cancer doesn't have me." Watch how Shanteau says he won't give in to cancer »
And there is the support of his 40 teammates. He broke the news to them at a training camp. They had suspected something was wrong after Shanteau barely celebrated making the team. Aaron Peirsol, who is a club teammate of Shanteau's, wondered why his friend had been keeping to himself and had been showing up late for practice a lot.
Since the announcement, Shanteau has received e-mails, cards and letters from all over the world, but he points to his fellow swimmers as a huge support group.
"I'm very thankful they've taken me under all their wings," he said Wednesday at a news conference before the swimming competition began. "They are all behind me, willing to support me in the fight I am going through." iReport.com: Show your Olympic spirit
He also has the support of his girlfriend, Jeri Moss, who played the key role in discovering the cancer. She was the one who prodded him to go to the doctor one weekend. It was one of those kick in the butt moments that may have prevented a more serious issue.
Testicular cancer is an extremely treatable disease, especially when caught early. More than 95 percent of cases are cured, according to the National Cancer Institute's Web site.
In Shanteau's case, it was discovered extremely early and doctors determined it was slow-moving. He decided to live "week to week" in hopes that the cancer wouldn't quickly spread or grow.
Shanteau's decision to wait is common for people who have constant doctors' care.
"It is not unusual for someone to delay getting treatment for several weeks or several months," Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society told CNN in July. "I'm not advocating that everybody wait a period of three or four weeks. If they do it under medical supervision, it can be very safe."
Asked about how he kept his focus after deciding to compete with cancer, Shanteau said it wasn't difficult.
"A lot of times when you get to an event like the Olympic Games, you can put too much pressure on yourself," he said. "I've kind of got an out with cancer."
It is unlikely that when Shanteau boards a plane to head back to the United States that he will have a medal to take with him. He disagrees. He said he believes he will finish in the top three "if I show up and swim the race I am capable of."
And then the man with cancer will turn supporter, cheering on the teammates who look to him for inspiration.
"To know I will be cured and I will beat this is inspiring," he said. "It's not going to get in the way of my life."
(CNN)
9.02.2008
Stories of Inspiration - Episode 1
1.31.2008
You are Brilliant!
You're a remarkable person. But, you knew that already. Still, buried among apathy, unbelief and inhibition, is the brilliant "you" waiting to be released. You already knew that, too. A few disappointments here, several temporary defeats there, and POOF! just like that, you settled for being a risk-conscious, opportunity: self-denied, generality. Nobody makes any progress by standing still. You're not an exception; and you're not alone.
In fact, you have plenty of company. But, why settle for a life that looks like just about everyone else's? Do something magnificent with your God-given gifts and boldly distinguish yourself from the masses. Decide-on this day-to connect with your brilliance, within.
Paramount in your quest for brilliance is the personal development and daily utilization of your talents and abilities. As a matter of fact, it's required. It's not necessary to be perfect. Striving for excellence in everything you do is enough to release your brilliance.
Trust me. You were not born to be "mild." So cut it out! There's an entire universe out there starving for your gifts. How long will you continue to wait to take those last four classes needed for your degree? What career have you just been "wishing it were so" about? If all you can see is yourself remaining 16 units short of your degree, how can you possibly prepare for an exciting future? If you can't believe for a meaningful vocation now, will you have the passion to believe for one later?
Challenge yourself. Commit to do just two things this hour that will untap your brilliance. Revamp your resume; make a phone call to your advisor. Even a modest amount of brilliance unreleased, would relay the message to your brain: "Wow, she's serious!"
Ignite your passion. Inhale, then excel. Stand and deliver! See, then be!
Your life matters. Visualize your brilliance totally unreleased. Then boldly, step into the vision.
Fran Briggs is a "motivational speaker of the inspirational kind." She is a published author of several books including, "Seeds for Success," and the children's inspirational, "Don't Think Like an Elephant!" For resources that maximize human potential, visit Fran at http://www.franbriggs.com and sign up for your free successzine. It's a newsletter loaded with innovative success tools and strategies.
1.25.2008
Life is Worthwhile If You...
1) First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN.
What you don't know WILL hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences, negative and positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people's experiences, both positive and negative. I've always said it is too bad failures don't give seminars. We don't want to pay them so they don't tour around giving seminars. But the information would be very valuable - how someone who had it all, messed it up. Learning from other people's experiences and mistakes.
We learn by what we see - pay attention. By what we hear - be a good listener. Now I do suggest being a selective listener, don't just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we read. Learn from every source. Learn from lectures, learn from songs, learn from sermons, learn from conversations with people who care. Keep learning.
2) Life is worthwhile if you TRY.
You can't just learn; you now have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new sport. Life is worthwhile if you try. It doesn't mean you can do everything but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?
3) Life is worthwhile if you STAY.
You have to stay from spring until harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project - see it through. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up. And that's the end, but just don't end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.
4) Life is worthwhile if you CARE.
If you care at all you will get some results, if you care enough you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win.
Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can you make in your life today by putting these four words to work?
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com
Inspire Your Life
INSPIRATION can be a powerful thing. It can keep you going when all around you cries out "quit!" It is even more powerful than motivation,as motivation gives you your basic reasons to keepgoing--it tells you why you want to do what you do, because motivation is based on goals. These, in turn, may be based on necessity want or desire. But inspiration fills those reasons with hope, possibility and enjoyment and keeps the "grind" from becoming too grindy.
But just what does inspiration consist of? I posit two elements: vision and mission. Proverbs 29:18 says 'Where there is no vision, the peopleperish." A vision is the first step toward turningyour motivation into inspiration. A person with a vision sees down the road. He can sense what itwill be like six weeks, six months, a year, two years, five years and more ahead.
But how do you get a vision?, you ask. Firstof all, you need to narrow your perspective. You can't attempt to "ride off in all directions at once,"so to speak. Try to decide what it is you are looking for, so you'll know it when you see it.In other words, try to have in mind some general goals as to where you want to be six months a year,etc. from now. These goals will not only form the basis of your motivation but should also serve to limit to an extent the scope of your activity.
Next, try to locate and choose an opportunity(buisness, career or job) which you feel is right for you.This may be easier said then done, as there are many choices which sound good. You may come upon an outstanding one right away, purely by chance. If so, latch onto it. But you will probably have to pick several at first and study the things which each one offers and try to evaluate the potential of each one as you see it.Settle on the one which you feel has the most potential with the least amount of hassle (preferably one that is totally Internet driven as opposed to one where you have to spend time calling potential prospects by phone).
Once you have chosen your company, stand behind it in every way and don't quit or change your mind.B.C. Forbes said "Without loyalty, nothing can be accomplished in any sphere..." Think of yourself as being in it for the long haul, no matter what. And try to envision, based on what you know, how things will be down the road. Keep that picture before your mind, and never doubt. Napoleon Hill said "What themind can conceive and believe it can achieve,"and the Bible says, in Hebrews 11:1 "Faith isthe substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Once the vision is firmly implanted in your mind,let it become your driving force. Let the vision exciteyou with the possibility of its fulfillment and you will automatically begin the next step--you are on a mission. Your mission is to bring about the realization of thevision. If you keep the vision in mind, you will move forward in the mission, accomplishing enthusiasticallystep by step that which is necessary to bring the visioninto reality. You will have developed a sense of excite-ment, importance and urgency which will keep the fires of inspiration burning in your heart and moving you ever onwardand upward.
Article written by Rev. James M. Becher, Bible teacher, author of Of Such Is the Kingdom, A Novel of Biblical Times, and publisher of the bi-weekly Ezine, "Inspirational Success Tips".
Change Your Destiny!
The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. ~James Allen, As A Man Thinketh
The world you live in arises from the world within.
As you think and feel, you create your outer circumstances, relationships, and choices. Your thoughts determine the home you live in, the automobile you drive, the avenues you walk on, the buildings you work in, the people in your life, and your health and bank account.
Your mental view of life is expressed as tangible substance and experience.
This is the truth about reality.
Yet for centuries humankind has believed the opposite.
People believe that they can be happy when things go well for them. Yet it is their mood that determines how well or ill things will go for them.
People believe that all sorts of trouble come to them. Yet it is their agitated thoughts that have attracted trouble to them.
People believe that they have to react to the world and survive in it. Yet it is their reactions to the world and their insecurity that created the conditions that they struggle in.
Some people live like kings and others like paupers.
A king will associate with other kings and play on golf courses and vacation in exclusive resorts. He will create wealth building enterprises and invent massive economic machines. And when he has something to say, television cameras and periodicals will broadcast his opinions. As far as a king can tell, it is an abundant world. His experience of it is constantly expanding and he has visions of what else is possible.
The pauper will associate with other paupers. He will visit pawn shops with his television on his shoulders to pay the rent for his dilapidated housing. He'll create elaborate schemes to stretch his dollar because he makes precious little from his work-although his labor produces wealth for his master. He will live his life in obscurity. If he has something to say, he shares it with his faithful dog. As far as he can tell, it is a world of lack, limitation, negativity, and scarcity. His experience of it is constantly bitter. He shirks contact with the world of hope and possibility.
The king and the pauper may pass each other in the streets but do not even exchange glances for each is enveloped in his own view of the world.
What creates these worlds and the millions of variations? It is thought and feeling alone. These thoughts create behaviors and effects, knowledge and skills, and associations and choices.
Sometimes the pauper may change his thoughts, ascend to greater knowledge and enterprise and move into the world of a king. And sometimes a king may change his thoughts, descend in mood, become careless of his stewardship, and lose his empire and tumble into the world of a pauper.
To say that the world creates us is like saying that the cart is pulling the horse.
We choose the world we live in out of all possible worlds.
Resource Box
Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Ca., 15 years ago and now resides in Denver, Colorado. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world.
Copyright 2005 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.
12.24.2007
Some Chirstmas Stuffs
Here are some nice stuffs about Christmas, especially for children. Enjoy!
Audio stories:
The Night before Christmas
A Christmas Carol
Santa’s Letter to Suzy Clemens
Christmas Stories from Germany
Videos:
The Real Santa
12 Days of Christmas
A Mother's Christmas
Songs:
When Christmas comes to town
Santa Baby
Christmas Tree - The Countdown Kids
Spongebob Squarepants - Very First Christmas
Christmas_Mix
Upon A Christmas Night ( Michael Learns To Rock )
Christmas Fantasy
Text Stories:
A Collection of Christmas Stories
Christmas Tales
12.10.2007
The Minds Fancy Dress Party -Or- A Brainstorming Session
In Berlin a restaurant opens for anorexics and in Buffalo a lawyer with a stutter wins a court case. When everything you're working on has gone STALE and your own initially promising concepts are starting to annoy you, you need a brainstorming session to get to the missing bits or generate some new ideas.
The papers provide ample ideas for jump starts. A stutterer in a court case or an anorexic going to a restaurant that has opened especially for them must have no problems with ideas to keep them going for at least two weeks after their memorable experiences.
Brainstorming is trix galore, right? But that's really nothing new. Our mind plays on us all the time, wherever we are, whatever we do. It thinks of a stutter as its rightful body. Or of the numb anorexic craving as its self in top form.
The mind's always on a mission. Always. When faced with putting together a magazine-type product, a sales promotion concept, a new hype of some sort. It's the mind, that comes up with everything.
When brainstorming, think of the stutterer. At all cost, do NOT work on losing the stutter if you wanna speak. It's only obstructing and keeping you from the ideas labeled 'good' in the recesses you're trying to access.
Material to work with? Anything, so long as it is not defined. Space for now. Goal to achieve? An arrival point.
Very often the best ideas are the ones born in the early seconds of a session. Here at contentClix, we call it 'performance brainstorming'. Trust your instinct rather than the treacherous mind and your first utterances prove most valuable.
What DO we get at when we get at what we normally miss out on? And DO we miss out? Or does what we can't afford to miss out on catch up with us anyway?
Days that we are opening restaurants for anorexix are here. Really, since last December. How about launching something with a statement. Something like "Soon, human beings don't have to think anymore and they'll still be thinking". Sounds like a reproach to technology - it's also been said 1,000 times of poetry.
So we live in days that a restaurant caters for anorexics. A real-life manifestation of something we think of as an unviable concept made into a commercial venture, a marketable concept.
We really are so overmarketed in our entertainment that this new theme restaurant probably doesn't even stand out any more. We can go around feeding anorexics and the poor girlies probably won't feel in any way forced to eat. Solves their problem by creating a new layer in indifference on a wider scale.
Perhaps this is a consolation for those girlies with enough energy left to be on the lookout for healthier anger ventilation opportunities: of the stutterers, 80 is male.
The mind's mission RIGHT NOW is getting on target. Do you feel it coming? The next thought you're likely to produce is something to do with doing your very best and losing a stutter. A marriage of idea and form! Perhaps we nearing some arrival point.
Angelique van Engelen runs http://www.contentClix.com, a copywriting agency in Amsterdam. She has lived and worked as a journalist in the Middle East and London for over six years and currently lives in the Netherlands.
10.21.2007
Part VI: Your Personal Powerful Sleep Plan
Tying it All Together to Increase Sleep Quality and Reduce Sleep
In order to reduce the total amount of time you spend sleeping, you MUST increase the quality of your sleep first.
There's a popular myth out that you can simply gradually reduce your sleep and this will work fine. This may work for some people, and I'm willing to bet they already do some of the things which we've talked about in this book to increase the quality of their sleep, albeit they're not aware of it. But it doesn't work for others.
If you simply reduce your sleep without making the proper life style changes we talked about before, chances are you will only reduce your energy levels and your immune system, which could lead you to getting sick or getting into a car accident because of drowsiness! This definitely isn't the way to go.
As the saying goes: You must learn to walk before you run.
You must increase the quality of your sleep and your daily energy levels by using the techniques we talked about so far in this book before proceeding to cut down on your sleep.
Does this mean you have to change your WHOLE life around drastically to simply cut down on an hour or two of sleep? No. In fact, just creating some small changes in your life style will have a difference on your sleep. The two most important aspects
of your life-style that affect your sleep are
1) Light exposure
2) Daily activity level
Both light exposure and your activity levels affect your body temperature rhythm in a very big way.
Your first step is to design a plan to incorporate these lifestyle changes into your life, and increase the quality of your sleep. To help you do this, I've included my personal Sleep Evaluation Worksheet in this book. As you fill the worksheet out, you will gain a better overall understanding on the obvious areas you need to improve on.
Once you complete the worksheet, we'll talk about reducing sleep. Then you'll create your personal strategy to increase the quality of your sleep, increase your energy, and reduce your sleep. Here we go:
Your Personal Sleep Evaluation
You will find a printable version of this entire sheet in the downloadable package that came with this e-book. The best idea would be to print it out and fill this out in pen, this way you will be able to look back on this sheet and see how much you've
changed your sleeping habits!
Your Basic Bio-Rhythm Evaluation
Your first step is to evaluate your body temperature rhythm, or circadian rhythm. In the appendix section of this e-book you will find a method to do is precisely by doing a little body temperature experiment. Print out the graph in the appendix
section labeled “My Body Temperature Rhythm” and follow the instructions. However, if you do not want to go to the extent of doing the personal body temperature experiment, you can simply estimate the progress of your body
temperature by answering the following questions:
1. At what time do you wake up? _______________
2. Do you feel really drowsy in the early hours of the morning? If so, how long
does it take for this drowsy feeling to go away? __________________
3. At what point during the day do you feel the pressure to sleep or take a nap? Note: This is most likely the time at which you experience your regular body temperature “slump.” This is most likely sometime in the afternoon.
_________________
4. At what point of the day do you feel MOST energetic, alert, awake, and “on the go!”?
___________________
5. At what time during the day do you start to feel tired and drowsy?
__________________
6. At what time during the day do you feel the pressure to sleep most intense?
____________
This should give you an ideal estimate of what your current temperature body rhythm looks like. You should know when your body temperature rises and when it falls, this way as you apply the methods in this e-book to optimize your sleep, you will be able to notice the changes. Here is an explanation on how to use the answers from the above questions to determine your body temperature rhythm.
1. If you feel you need an alarm clock to RIP you out of your sleep in the morning and you have difficulties getting out of bed and feel lethargic in the early morning hours, chances are your body temperature levels are still at a low and haven't began
to rise very quickly.
2. By the time you're feeling more alert and awake, your body temperature has risen past the low it was in while sleeping.
3. When you feel the pressure to sleep or take a nap during the day, this is when you experience your body temperature slump.
4. The point at which you feel most energetic and alert is your body temperature peak point.
5. The point at which you begin to feel drowsy and tired is when your body temperature begins to fall.
6. When you feel the pressure to sleep becoming really intense, this is when your body temperature is beginning to fall quickly. This is the ideal time to go to bed.
Here again, for your reference is the body temperature rhythm graph (this is the general shape your body temperature rhythm usually takes)
Your Sunlight Intensity Exposure Evaluation
As you've learned so far, high intensity light has a huge effect on the strength of your sleeping system. If you expose yourself to light during the day, your body temperature rhythm will “peak” at a higher point and will fall at a later point. You'll experience better sleep and will be able to lower your amount of sleep.
If you get inadequate light exposure your body temperature will be closer to “flat-lining”, preventing quality sleep and lowering your energy levels throughout the day. Lack of sunlight also inhibits melatonin hormone secretion, this further promotes lower energy levels and sleep difficulties.
1. When you're outside, do you wear sunglasses?
Note: You should limit your use of sunglasses in the morning and evening. If you live near the equator wearing sunglasses in the mid afternoon IS a good idea to protectyour eyes from UV radiation. Limit your use of sunglasses as much as possible, and as much as feels comfortable. UV radiation is lowest at sunrise and sunset.
2. When you wake up do you instantly get sunlight into your eyes?
Note: If you press the snooze button on your alarm or lie in bed for a few minutes, circle “No.”
Circle One: Yes / No
3. On average, how much time do you spend outside at sunrise / Early Morning Hours?
Check one:
__ 1. 10 minutes
__ 2. 10-30 minutes
__ 3. 1 hour
__ 4. 2 hours
__ 5. 3 hours or more
4. On average, how much time do you spend indoors?
Check one:
__ 1. 10 minutes
__ 2. 10-30 minutes
__ 3. 1 hour
__ 4. 2 hours
__ 5. 3 hours
__ 6. 4-5 hours
__ 7. 5-7 hours
__ 8. 7-10 hours
__ 9. 10-13 hours
__ 10. 13-16 hours
5. On average, how much time do you spend outside from 12 PM to 6PM?
Check one:
__ 1. 10 minutes
__ 2. 10-30 minutes
__ 3. 1 hour
__ 4. 2 hours
__ 5. 3 hours or more
6. On average, how much time do you spend outside around Sunset?
Check one:
__ 1. 10 minutes
__ 2. 10-30 minutes
__ 3. 1 hour
__ 4. 2 hours
__ 5. 3 hours or more
Understanding Light Exposure
Indoors, we experience an average of 1-500 luxes of light.
At sunrise, we experience an average of 5,000 to 10,000 luxes of light.
During noon and the early afternoon we experience an average of 50,000 to 100,000 luxes of light.
At sun-set we experience 5,000 to 10,000 luxes of light.
If you currently spend less than 1 hour getting high-intensity light, you're suffering from light deprivation! Remember, for your eyes spending the day indoors is the equivalent of spending it in total darkness. The more “darkness” you expose yourself
to during the day, the poorer the sleep you'll receive in return.
Now that you have an idea of how much light you get, make plans to get as much sunlight during the day as possible. However, don't go out hard-core and try to get 16 hours of sunlight in one day, you're going to get sunburn! Use your common sense.
If you live near the equator then light is pretty intense all year round, and you shouldn't have problems. However, if you live further from the equator then it will naturally be more difficult for you to obtain light during the winter. This is why most people are lower on energy and usually sleep longer during the winter.
If you have difficulty obtaining natural sunlight because of your work schedule or because of the winter season, you may consider purchasing an artificial light generator.
Are You Currently Strengthening Your Sleep System or Are You Weakening it?
The rest of these questions will help you determine if you're currently following sleep system strengthening habits or not. By the end of filling out this sheet you should have a general idea of obvious areas you can improve on! Make sure to look over this e-book again and re-learn the key concepts of optimizing your sleep.
1. Do you smoke?
Circle One: Yes / No
Note: If you smoke, quitting smoking would be the first step if you want to achieve quality sleep and reduce your sleeping time.
2. How often do you drink alcohol?
Check one;
__ 1. Never
__ 2. Rarely, and on occasion
__ 3. On most occasions
__ 4. Very Frequently.
Note: If you chose 3 or 4, your alcohol intake is definitely affecting your sleep system.
3. Do you currently drink coffee?
Circle One: Yes / No
Recall: Coffee is one of the biggest enemies of our sleep system!
4. Do you drink any other caffeinated beverages?
Circle One: Yes / No
5. Do you currently eat heavy meals 3-4 hours prior to sleeping?
Circle One: Yes / No
6. How much water do you drink during the day?
You should be drinking AT LEAST 1.5 Liters of water per day! (8 cups or more)
Check one:
__ 1. None, I drink pop, juice, and other crap all day
__ 2. 1 cup
__ 3. 2 cups
__ 4. 3-4 cups
__ 5. 4-6 cups
__ 6. 8-10 cups
__ 7. 10 cups or more
7. Do you need an alarm clock to wake you up? If so, do you often press the snooze button and lie in bed for a while after waking up?
Circle One: Yes / No
8. What sleeping position do you sleep in most often? What position is most comfortable in putting you to sleep?
Check one:
__ 1. On my back
__ 2. On my side
__ 3. One my front
9. During the Weekend, do you “sleep-in” or follow an irregular sleeping pattern?
Circle One: Yes / No
10. Do you currently or have you ever taken sleeping pills to induce sleep?
Circle One: Yes / No
11. Do you exercise regularly?
Circle One: Yes / No
If so, what time do you usually exercise at?
Check one:
__ 1. In the morning
__ 2. In the afternoon
__ 3. Early evening
__ 4. Late evening
Note: Exercising in the late evening can cause insomnia and will prevent you from sleeping deeply as your body temperature will not drop as low. However, if it is only light exercise then this isn't something to worry about.
12. Do you Currently have a Regular Sleep and Wake Time?
Circle One: Yes / No
13. What time do you currently go to sleep at? _________
14. What time do you currently wake up? _______
15. On average, how much sleep do you currently get per night? ________ hours
If you currently don't have any sleeping problems, skip the next 2 questions
16. How long does it take you to fall asleep? ______
17. Do you frequently wake up during the night and can't go back to sleep?
If so, how often do you wake up? ______
How long does it take for you to fall back asleep once you wake up? _______
18. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the quality of your sleep?
Circle one. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
19. On a scale of 1 to 10, how rested and energized do you feel when you wake up?
Circle one. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
20. On a scale of 1 to 10, how energetic do you feel every day?
Circle one. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
21. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much stress do you have in your life? Health / Finances / Social Life, etc.
Circle one. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
22. Do you currently take regular naps? If so, how long do these naps usually last?
Check one:
__ 1. Around 10 minutes
__ 2. 10-45 minutes
__ 3. Around 1 hour
__ 4. 1-2 hours
__ 5. More than 2 hours
Note: as you remember, you should keep your naps minimal, at a maximum of 45 minutes to avoid entering deep sleep and lowering your body temperature.
23. How long do you currently stay awake during the day? _____________
If you take naps, this counts as sleeping, so subtract the time you spend napping away from your total awake time.
24. Do you currently do any of the following?
Check all that apply to you:
__ 1. Use your bedroom as an office
__ 2. Watch TV in your bed during the day or before sleeping
__ 3. Read books in your bed during the day or before sleeping
__ 4. Talk on the phone while in bed or lying on the bed
__ 5. Use the bed to do lots of thinking
__ 6. Use your bed to do paper work.
__ 7. Use your bed as a storage area during the daytime
Note: You should use your bed only for sleeping and sex. This will create a good association in your mind that the bed = sleep; decrease the amount of time it takes for you to fall asleep, and the chance of insomnia.
Reducing Your Sleep
As you recall, during jet lag we travel over several time zones. If we travel 2 time zones to the West, our body temperature rhythm will still be set to 2 hours ahead. In response we feel out of place and it takes a while for our body temperature rhythm to adjust to the new time zone.
In the same way, when we try to reduce the amount of time we spend sleeping, it takes a while for our bodies to adjust to the new sleeping time. The main challenge with reducing sleeping is understanding how sleep works, which we have over-come
by going through all this information together.
The second challenge is people tend to misread their bodies. If you feel tired and drowsy during the day ask yourself this question:
“Am I tired right now because I need sleep? Or is it because of the way I'm living my life or acting at the current moment?”
Even if you take a highly energetic person and place them in front of a TV for 2 hours, they WILL GET TIRED!
This is why it's important to realize that increasing your daily energy levels is as important as decreasing your sleep, they work together.
A Little More About Body Temperature
As you've learned, your body temperature is really an internal clock that keeps us awake and sleeping at certain times.
It's also extremely important to understand that the rise and drop of body temperature is a cue for the body to produce feelings of awakeness or tiredness.
Whenever your body temperature begins to fall, you will feel tired, lethargic, and drowsier. Whenever your body temperature rises, you will feel more energetic, alert, and be able to focus better.
Don't mistake the fall of body temperature at certain times during the day as the need to sleep. Your body temperature may rise and drop several times in the day as a response to the activities you're doing at the time.
Whenever you put big physical demands on your body, your body temperature will rise above the norm. In response to intensive physical activity body temperature drops for a while when you stop the activity.
For example, if you work an 8 hour shift at a job that requires intense activity, you may feel totally wiped and ready to sleep when you come home at around 4 PM. What you'll actually find is that this feeling of tiredness is not a sincere desire to sleep, but rather a response from your body due to the drop of body temperature.
If you resist sleeping at this moment and provide a “wind-down” period for your body after this period, body temperature will return to a normal and you will feel alert again.
In your Powerful Sleep plan I suggest that you take a 10-45 minute nap during your day to physically recharge yourself, it's ideal to take this nap when you experience this body temperature drop as it will help you sleep. Always limit your naps to 45 minutes to avoid entering deep sleep.
If you currently live a very sedentary lifestyle, your body temperature will drop very often when you're sitting around on your butt or watching TV, so if you feel tired during the day understand it’s not because you need more sleep. It's because you need LESS SLEEP and MORE MOVEMENT!
How Much Sleep Should I Aim at Getting?
Everyone has a minimal amount of sleep on which they can function properly during the day; this minimal amount of sleep is called your core sleep. The amount of core sleep needed to function properly varies from person to person. It also depends on
the strength of your sleeping system, and on the lifestyle you currently have.
The amount of core sleep you need will change if you employ the behaviors and strategies we've talked about so far in this book. If you incorporate the power nap system, your core sleep will change as well.
A recent study by the University of California has shown that people who sleep less than 8 hours a day live longer! The study also shows that the optimum sleeping time is about 6 hours. Does this mean you should sleep 6 hours?
No. The amount of time you eventually reduce your sleep to will be up to you and your body. The amount of sleep you need for optimum performance will vary. Sometimes the amount of sleep is genetic.
It will also be easier for you to sleep less the older you get, this is because melatonin production decreases as we age. That’s why elderly people sleep an average of 5 to 6 hours.
As you apply the techniques of this program, you will have to do a little trial and error testing to determine how much sleep is just right for you.
How to Reduce Your Sleep
The best way to reduce your sleep is to do it gradually and go at a pace that is comfortable to you. Do not try to reduce your sleep cold-turkey. If you reduce your sleep by two hours right away your body temperature rhythm will not adjust immediately. Although it has been known to work, I do not recommend it. The first challenge with reducing your sleep comes with sleep cycles. As you know, during the last sleep cycle the period of REM sleep is the longest. This is naturally when most of us wake up as it's easiest to get up from. The last period of REM sleep lasts for about 1 hour, but this varies from person to person.
If you begin reducing your sleep it's possible that you might start waking yourself up in the deep sleep phase. If you wake yourself up during deep sleep it's relatively hard to get up and you will feel very tired, slow, and lethargic. If this happens, experiment by reducing your sleep by another 20 to 30 minutes to wake yourself up in REM sleep instead of deep sleep.
Another reason why getting up in the morning may be difficult is because of the lack of sunlight. When you reduce your sleep, make sure that you get up at around sun-rise so you can instantly exposure your eyes to high intensity light. If you purchase a light box generator, this challenge can be easier over come.
Lets move on to your Powerful Sleep plan where we'll discuss how you'll put this system to work in your life, and the specific techniques you might want to use to decrease your sleep.
Your Powerful Sleep Plan
Did you fill out your Personal Sleep Evaluation yet? If you didn't go back, and do the sleep evaluation, a printable copy of the evaluation is available with the downloadable package this e-book came in.
After filling out the personal evaluation you should have a greater idea of the areas you could improve on in your life-style to increase the quality of your sleep.
If you filled out the body temperature rhythm evaluation or if you did the body temperature experiment, you will have a very good idea of how your body temperature rhythm operates right now, and will see the changes take place as you apply this program.
We'll now go over the most important aspects of this program.
1. Sunlight Exposure
Getting Sunlight into Your Eyes the Instant You Wake
You must get sunlight into your eyes in the first few minutes you wake up. This will instantly give your body temperature rhythm the message that it's day time. Your body temperature will begin to rise and melatonin levels will drop.
This is why it's such a good idea to exercise in the morning hours.
When you reduce your sleep time it's a good idea to set your “awake” time at sunrise.
Getting High Intensity Light during Long Indoor Times
If you are forced to spend a lot of time indoors because you work in the office or at home, this is the time that is most detrimental to your body temperature rhythm.
Ask yourself: What can I do to get the most sunlight possible during work?
Are you going to move your desk next to a bright window?
Are you going to take your lunch break outside in the sun?
Are you going to convince your boss to buy some artificial bright light generators?
Reducing Your Use of Sunglasses
Do you currently use sunglasses?
Reduce your use of sunglasses as much as possible. If you live near the equator, use sunglasses with common sense. UV radiation is harmful to your eyes, and is highest during when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Avoid wearing your sunglasses just for style.
2. Activity Level
Have at least 15 minutes of intense cardio vascular exercise.
15 minutes is the minimum. You must provide enough physical demand on your body to raise your body temperature. Any kind of physical exercise will help your body temperature rise to a higher point, delay the body temperature drop, and allow you to sleep deeper.
Exercise in the Morning if Possible
Exercising in the morning is perhaps the best idea as it will get your body temperature to rise quickly. If you exercise in the morning you will easily beat the early morning zombie phase everyone else goes through.
If you exercise outdoors this is a double benefit as you give light exposure to your eyes as well!
A short 10 minute jog around the block at sunrise is ideal to raise your body temperature.
Avoid Exercising 2 hours prior to sleeping.
The rise of body temperature after exercise can continue for a considerable time. As you recall most of our deep sleep happens within the first 3-4 hours of sleep. If you exercise before sleeping the body temperature rise may prevent you from sleeping deeply.
3. Power Naps
The real important part of this program is to take power naps during the day. A power nap consists mostly of Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleep which is very beneficial to your physical energy. You must avoid making your naps longer than 45 minutes or you may enter deep sleep.
It is natural to feel lethargic and tired after a nap as your body temperature might begin to drop a bit more and you will have a higher level of melatonin in your body. This period of drowsiness after a nap is only temporary, so when you wake up, make sure to get lots of movement and some sunlight.
The ideal time to take these naps is when you experience your natural afternoon body temperature slump, or when your body temperature drops after a hot bath or exercise. Body temperature drops 60-90 minutes after a hot bath and about 4 hours after intensive exercise.
If you take your naps for about 30 to 45 minutes and you feel extremely lethargic and drowsy, it's possible that you entered deep sleep. The amount of time required to get into initial deep sleep varies from person to person. If this happens, make your nap time even shorter to avoid entering deep sleep.
The best idea to make sure you don't over sleep these naps is to get one of those cheap $1 watches with a timer on it. Don't worry, the beeping noise should wake you up as Stage 2 sleep is very light sleep and we're very wakable during this stage.
Take only 1 nap per day. If you feel the need to take another nap, keep it really short.
Don't underestimate the power of taking these short naps. If you want to succeed at reducing your sleeping time, these naps will help you tremendously at giving you more energy during the day. They will restore your physical energy as well as allow you to clear your mind and concentrate better.
4. Reducing Your Sleep Properly
Set a goal to what you want to reduce your sleeping time to. Understand that this amount will not be exact and that you must find the “hot spot” for waking up in the proper stage of sleep.
Many people who try this program report that they achieved instant results by simply increasing their sunlight exposure and cutting down an hour on their sleep right off the bat.
Other people who try reducing their sleep feel really tired when they wake up. Remember that your energy levels during the day depend more on what you do during the day and your body temperature levels. Don't blame the amount of sleep on you right away if you haven’t implemented completely the whole new sleep system.
Reduce your sleep gradually in 20 or 30 minute periods. When you feel comfortable with one sleep setting, you can push the time back a bit more. How quickly you reduce your sleeping time is up to you. The most important thing to remember is that you need to be consistent with your sleeping schedule. If you're not consistent with your new schedule you will not give your inner sleep clock enough time to adjust to the new schedule, and your body temperature will not align with your new wake up time. You must provide enough time for your body temperature rhythm to adjust to your new sleep and wake up time, this will reduce morning feelings or drowsiness and provide you with better sleep.
Remember that reducing your sleep isn't just about waking up earlier in the day. You may reduce your sleep by going to sleep later in the day. As you implement this program you will find that it becomes easier to stay awake longer and fall asleep later in the day, as your body temperature will drop at a later part during the day.
Once you get to a point where you find you can't function properly throughout the day, you have trouble concentrating and fatigue hits you at random times, this may mean you've reached your core sleep amount. At this point it’s a good idea to not push it any further. Increase your sleep a bit until you can function properly and set this as your optimized sleep time.
Reducing your sleep at first may seem challenging, but just like with everything in life, it gets easier as you do it consistently.
And remember, you MUST make the proper lifestyle changes to increase the quality of your sleep and your energy levels first. If you try to skip this step, reducing your sleep may make you feel extremely tired during the day. You may experience nausea, headaches, and stiffness in your muscles when you wake up.
5. Proper Hydration
Proper hydration to your sleep system is like engine oil to a car. If you truly want to optimize your sleep and increase your daily energy through the roof, take the steps explored in the earlier section of this book to hydrate your system.
Proper hydration allows our body temperature rhythm to rise and fall easier. Your body temperature rhythm will adapt to the new schedule you set for yourself much easier.
Those are the 5 most important points of this program. If you're still unsure about what changes you need to make in your lifestyle to increase the quality of your sleep and your daily energy levels, refer back to the self evaluation sheet you filled out and skim over this e-book to re-learn some of the important concepts.
To summarize, let’s look at an example of two people who work at the same job but have two completely different sleeping systems:
Bob
Bob gets up in the morning at 8 am and lies in bed for 30 minutes to “rest” before he heads off to the office. In the car he drinks a star-bucks cup of coffee which gives him 500 mg of caffeine, at work he spends 7 hours indoors. Once he gets home he sits on the couch and watches 2 episodes of Friends, he feels drowsy during the show so he doses off for about 2 hours. He wakes up at 8 PM feeling hungry. He sticks some microwavable dinner in the oven and watches the news as it cooks. After dinner, Bob takes a stroll around his apartment and decides to vacuum his living room, and organize some shelves. Bob heads to bed at 12:30 AM after sending a few e-mails, sleeps for 7 hours and 30 minutes, and wakes up un-rested and drowsy.
Hehe, that may be an over dramatization, but is it Bob's sleep clock that is controlling his feelings of drowsiness? or is it his actions?
1) Bob doesn't get any natural sunlight during the day. This contributes to very high melatonin levels which make him sleepy, and un-motivated during the day .
2) He stays awake for only 14 hours, only 4 more hours than he slept. He's practically sleeping 50% of his life away - This puts little pressure on his sleep system to give him quality sleep.
3) He doesn't put any physical demands on his body at all, which decreases his body's demand for deep sleep.
4) Because of the low variance in body temperature and melatonin levels during Bob's day, it's very difficult for Bob to obtain sufficient deep sleep to feel rested.
Over all the message he is sending his sleep clock is: “ I LIVE IN A CAVE and I HAVE LITTLE ROOM TO MOVE.“
As you recall, the sleep clock will adjust to whatever demands you put on it. In this situation Bob's sleep clock will naturally produce a “timer” for his body to follow, to keep Bob sleeping the same way every-day.
Is Bob's sleep clock working against him? Is it Broken? No. In reality this is simply his body's way of keeping him alive. If Bob DID live in a cave, this sleeping system would keep him alive.
Jane
Now, let's took at Jane, who works in the same office as Bob, but has an optimized sleep system for maximum daytime performance.
Jane wakes up at 6 AM, and bolts out of bed, she instantly opens the drapes in her bedroom to let the sunlight in. She puts on her shoes and goes for a 30 minute jog outside to absorb as much sunlight as possible. During her jog her body temperature
rhythm raises. At work, Jane feels energized and focused, during lunch break, she makes sure to go outside to get more sunlight for at least 30 minutes. During this time she goes for a walk with a friend. When Jane gets home from work, she takes a short 15 minute nap on her couch. When she wakes up she heads to the gym to do her 1 hour of exercise, this prevents her body temperature from staying low and making her drowsy and tire. Jane eats a meal out in her yard, in the sun at around 5
PM. When it finally gets dark, Jane visits a friend across town, her friend lives only 8 blocks away, so Jane decides to walk instead of taking her car. After an evening of sharing a few good laughs, Jane gets home by 8 PM. She spends the rest of the day actively moving about her home, and she also takes the dog for a walk. Jane finally goes to bed at around 12 AM, excited about the next day to come.
1) Jane gets as much sunlight as possible during the day
2) She takes a power nap that recharges her physical energy
2) She stays awake for 18 hours which puts a lot of demand on her sleep system
3) She puts many demands on her body, as well as her mind.
The message she's sending her body is I am an active Individual, I need energy, make sure I stay awake!.
Jane's body temperature rhythm starts at 6 AM, when sunlight hits her eyes first thing in the morning, her melatonin levels begin to drop rapidly. As she goes for a short jog, her body temperature is pushed to rise faster, as she is putting a higher demand on staying active during the day. Jane gets extra sunlight during the day; this delays her drop of temperature, and enables her to stay more active during the day.
When Jane finally goes to bed, she sleeps for only 6 hours, during which her body compensates for all the activity by lowering her body temperature quickly and making sure she gets enough deep sleep to prepare her for another 18 hour day.
Conclusion - How Are You Going to Use This Program?
I created this program with the best intention of helping you get the most out of your life, by providing you with the knowledge I have had the privilege of learning in my life :o)
However, I understand that not everyone who reads this book will follow through with this program 100%. This is only natural as most people who invest in self-improvement programs never use the information! Is it because they're lazy?
No! It's because most people are AFRAID of change in their lives. You've got to ask yourself: Is the result this program promises for your life worth putting in the time to make it work for you?
Also, we all have very different daily schedules and challenges, which might make it difficult for certain people to follow through with this program 100%.
I have done my all to give you my balls-out best in this book, I have spilled my beans and given you all the scientific knowledge you need to know to be your own personal sleep expert.
However, if you find yourself at a challenging time when you're not quite sure if you're following through correctly, you're stressed, or just plain down on yourself. Remember the two key most important parts of this program!
#1) Get Sunlight
#2) MOVE YOUR BUTT!!!
I'm not going to suggest that you get up off your butt right now and sign up for a membership at the nearest gym, and start a daily exercise routine. You can come to that conclusion only as naturally and easily as you let that sense of motivation in you
to grow.
However, do note that in almost every case of poor sleep, physical inactivity has something to do with it.
• Fact: More than 50% of people who experience insomnia are inactive, and live a very sedentary life style. You MUST MOVE during the day, get off that butt, and use your body. The more you use your body, the more your sleep clock will put the incentive on to giving you more restful and energizing sleep!
What's the point of sleeping and re-energizing your body if you're NOT going to use it?!
I hope you enjoyed this information, as I enjoyed sharing it with you! Remember, in order to increase the quality of your sleep, you MUST to INCREASE THE QUALITY OF THE DEMANDS ON YOUR LIFE AND YOUR BODY.
Wishing you Sweet Dreams,
Kacper M. Postawski, the insomnia terminator