There is no denying it. Study after study has proven that an adequate amount of sleep is a requirement for health and vitality. If you cut your sleep short, you are compromising your overall mental and physical wellbeing. Yes, sacrificing a few hours sleep here and there can sometimes be a badge of honor in our "busy" society. But do this repeatedly, and you are setting yourself up for failure.

Remember...life is a marathon, not a sprint. So take time to take care of yourself for the long term, and that includes getting good sleep. Following are some tips that I have found effective for better sleep and more energy....

• Limit your caffeine intake to one or two cups of coffee in the morning. No caffeine after noon....period.
• Walk and/or exercise daily. Do this as early in the day of possible. If you exercise too close to bed time, you may have a hard time falling asleep.
• Determine the optimal amount of sleep that makes you feel your best each day. For me, it is about 8.5 hours on average. Some nights I need a little more, and some nights I can get by with a little less. I know that if sleep less than 7.5 hours a night, I will feel bad in general. The less sleep I get, the worse I feel exponentially.
• Do not work on anything that requires mental energy at least one hour before bed. This includes work emails, paying bills, paperwork, etc.
• Use a pen and paper to write down all of the random thoughts that are running though your head before going to bed....things to do, things your worrying about, etc. You can rest assured that you have these thoughts written down so you can address them tomorrow.
• Read something that relaxes you before bed. I am not a fiction fan by any means, but reading fiction before bed seems to help take my mind off the real things in the world that negatively affect my sleep.
• Gradually dim or turn off the lights around the house as bed time approaches.
• Develop a relaxation routine that you use each night. Start this routine at least one hour before you want to fall asleep.
• Think about what time you need to wake up tomorrow morning, then calculate backwards to determine when you need to be asleep so you get a good night's sleep. For instance, if I need to be up by 6:00 a.m., I know I need to be asleep by 10:00 p.m. at the latest to get 8 hours of sleep. And therefore, I need to initiate my nightly relaxation routine by 9:00 p.m.
• Use a sound machine to creat background noise. This especially helps me when I am traveling and sleeping in a hotel.
• Cool down the room so that your body is actually a little chilly. If you feel like getting under a sheet or cover, then you are getting close to a good temperature for sleep.
• Keep your bedroom generally dark. I do not like a completely dark room myself, but find the right amount of darkness that works for you.
• Put your digital clock out of view, or at least dim the light so that it does not light up the entire room.
• Don't go to bed hungry. Preferably eat a a large enough dinner so that you are not hungry before bed. Or eat a light snack closer to bed time if that works better for you.
• Use the bathroom before going to sleep. The less you wake up during the night to go, the better.
• Interrupted sleep can sometimes feel worse than no sleep at all. Hence, reduce sleep interruptions at all costs. If your pet is waking you up during the night, have them sleep in another room. If the air conditioner fan turning on and off wakes you up, change the setting so the fan runs continuously. If your significant other snores or generally interrupts your sleep, firmly hold a pillow over their head...oh wait, I mean...lovingly talk to them about improving their sleep as well.
• If you wake up during the night for some reason...
  • Try to slip back into the dream you were having when you woke up. If that does not work, it helps me to think about being outdoors doing something I enjoy. I often think of walking along a wondering stream, camping out under the stars, etc.
  • Do not turn on any lights, drink a lot of water, or do anything else that may signal your body to wake up
  • Take off your covers and cool your body down even further
  • Remind yourself that sleep imperative to health and productivity, and embrace it. But if for some reason you do not get a good night's sleep tonight, you will survive. Do not ruminate on your sleeplessness. Think happy thoughts and pray.
  • Keep a pad of paper and pen next to the bed to scribble down any thoughts that are keeping you awake. I do this in the dark on a regular basis. My writing is not the most legible the next morning, but it still works to get the thoughts out of my head.

​One last note. If generally accepted practices are still not helping you get adequate amounts of restful sleep on a routine basis, go see a sleep doctor. Most metro areas now have multiple medical practices that focus on sleep problems. Get a sleep study if your doctor calls for it, and get to the bottom of your issues. The quality of your life and your health depends on it.

P.S. Dad...if you read this, I admit that what you have been telling me all of these years has finally sunk in..."If you get enough sleep, son, you don't get sick. It's that simple." Thanks Dad. I just wished I would have listened sooner!

Do you yearn to be happier and more productive in all that you do? The good news is, you have the power to do it. So how do you do it? Well there are many components in life that make one happy and productive, but one of the best steps you can take is to identify and routinely create YOPA... Your Optimal Personal Atmosphere.

Everyone's YOPA is a little different, but atmosphere is everything when it comes to happiness and productivity. And depending on what you want to specifically accomplish, your YOPA will vary. For instance, if need to study for an exam, you may want to get into some comfy clothes, turn on some Mozart, and sit down at a quiet desk at the library. Or if you want to relax, you may want to wear some shorts and flip flops, sit by the beach, get a cold drink, and turn on some Jimmy Buffet. If you want to power through your email inbox or some office paperwork, you may want to close your office door, grab a hot cup of joe, and turn on some Van Halen (...Okay, maybe this is just me...). If you want to pray and contemplate, a quiet sanctuary is the place to be.

Thomas Edison was famous for his workshops where he created his optimal atmosphere for experiments and inventions. It is said Mark Twain would escape to his sister-in-law's farm to work on some of his most famous writings. And some surgeons routinely play music in the operating room during the most delicate of surgeries.

Requisites for creating YOPA are....
- the atmosphere helps you focus on the task/goal/occasion at hand
- the atmosphere makes you feel safe, generally happy, and in control
- the atmosphere is free from undesired noise/distractions/interruptions/visitors
- the atmosphere is motivating and inspiring
- have the tools you need at hand

So what are you waiting for? Start to think about your optimal personal atmosphere(s), work on creating it each and every day, and leverage it to do more, to be more, and to be happy. As the famous song by the Village People goes, "It's fun to stay in your Y-O-P-A, it's fun to stay in your Y-O-P-A...." Now put your hands in the air people...!

Many years ago I was on a business trip and walked miles in a new pair of dress shoes. They were relatively expensive shoes of a well known name brand, and looked great. I remember thinking to myself that the shoes would be a wise investment, and though the arch support was not superb by any means, they were made well and my feet would surely adapt. But by the end of the trip, my right foot hurt so bad that I could barely walk, and my left foot didn't feel much better. This occurred during a period in my life when I was on my feet almost the entire time I was home. We had twin boys that were toddlers, and we were trying to do everything around the house ourselves in order to save money for our growing family.

I spent the next month or so limping along thinking the pain would eventually get better, but it did not. My knees we hurting too. Eventually, one of my big toes became so inflamed that it began swelling and was sore to the touch. I finally decided to go see a podiatrist.

After a thorough exam, the doctor noted my naturally high arches, and one leg slightly longer than the other. Looking at my dress shoes and running shoes that I brought with me, he said it was time for some changes.

He immediately got me into some modified over the counter orthotic inserts. Then I came back to be fitted for custom orthotics. After a couple more visits to tweak the orthotics and then buying some better suited shoes to accommodate them, I ultimately found full and lasting relief. My feet and legs felt good once again.

Since that time, I have worn my custom orthotics, or some over the counter ones, nearly every day for nearly every occasion. I am on my feet a good portion of every day, I intentionally stay active, and I exercise regularly. After all, I now have three young boys with lots of energy. And, my feet still feel great!

Orthotics, in combination with good shoes, give your body a proper foundation to work from. They help keep your feet, ankles, knees, and your posture properly aligned and functioning as a balanced system. Like a house, if you do not build it on a firm foundation, it will not stay standing straight for long.

Think about it, if your feet hurt, then you legs begin to hurt, then your back. You begin to associate standing and being active with pain. Then you stop moving as much, then you put on some additional weight, then you start getting down on yourself, and your overall well being begins to turn south. So I urge you to stop the madness, get to the bottom of your foot and leg pain, and begin living an active lifestyle again. You owe it to yourself and those around you.

As the ancient proverb goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with happy, healthy feet....or something like that!

What is the single best thing I believe you can do to improve your overall health and quality of life? WALK!

Yes, a deliberate walk as frequent as reasonably possible will likely do wonders for your health...physically, mentally, and spiritually. It has been said that exercise is the best medicine known to humankind. It arguably can cure a wide range of ills, and prevent even more. And the simplest, most natural form of exercise is walking.

It is that easy. Nothing complicated. Nothing too difficult. Just go for a walk whenever you can, and turn it into a regular habit over time.

If you have some injury or other disability that may prevent you from walking, try to simulate it to the extent practical. Maybe a bike ride (moving or stationary), arm pedaling, rowing, or some other process that gets you physically and mentally moving. Be creative (and safe).

If you can walk at least once a week, good. If you can do it every few days, even better. If you can do it every day or twice a day, great. But just start walking! Wear what you have on now, and walk to the end of the block and back. Tomorrow, maybe walk around the block. A few days later, try walking a couple blocks. The more you do it, the better you will likely feel and your desire to do it will continue to grow.

My advice on walking applies to all walks of life (pun intended)...the most busy executives, the most lonely souls, the most unhappy and desperate citizens, the young, the old, the bold...you get it...almost everyone can benefit from walking!

Following are some additional tips for walking success:

• Walk outdoors whenever possible. It keeps things interesting, and is good for the soul. The more natural the setting, the better...a park, some woods, a country road, a trail, etc. But a city block will do just fine.
• Walk in the morning, before the day gets a way for you. Sleep in clothes you can walk in, wake up, drink a glass of water, and head out the door. Before you know it, you have finished a nice walk and watched the world wake up to a new day.
• Incorporate walking into your normal daily activities. Walk across campus. Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk further to the building. Walk to the store. Walk at the mall. Take the stairs. The opportunities are endless once you get in a walking frame of mind.
• And for a super simple trick/strategy/hack to truly get into the habit of walking everyday, sign up for my fairly infrequent email newsletter and I will send you a short summary of what worked best for me.

Financial opportunities and the flow of money are like streams of water in nature. Water flows when it rains and follows the path of least resistance. As a stream gathers more water along the way, it flows faster and stronger. If a stream hits an obstacle, it changes course in some way. It may flow over the obstacle, join an adjacent stream, or carve a new path altogether. If the rain stops, a stream eventually dries up. Streams are ever changing; they never stay the same.

Financial opportunities exist were people are ready, willing, and able to spend money (rain)..and it is easy to make a transaction (the path of least resistance). A stream of money begins to flow. If an obstacle pops up, via a new government regulation, competition, newer technology, or otherwise, that particular money stream will start to dry up. But people will find something else to spend their money on and create a new money stream somewhere else.

Financial opportunities are ever changing, and so are the streams of money that accompany them. A new technology/product/service/information will be invented and people will spend money on it as long as they find it useful and a good value. But things will change and that new technology will eventually become old technology and the money stream will dry up. When this happens, you must learn to jump to a new money stream.

If you are thirsty, look for water. If you have financial desires, look for a money stream.

​What the heck is a Paleo diet? After asking that question myself a couple years ago, I decided to do some research and simplify it. A brief summary follows....

Eat whole, natural foods...
Vegetables
Meats (from pastured and grass fed animals)
Eggs (from pastured hens if possible)
Wild caught seafood
Fruit in moderation
Nuts (raw) in moderation
Seeds in moderation
Potatoes in moderation
Dairy in moderation if at all (full fat from pastured grass fed cows)
Healthy cooking fats (coconut oil, ghee, macadamia nut oil, EV olive oil, etc.)
Fermented and cultured foods (sauerkraut, etc.)
Spices

Do not eat...
Grains
Legumes (beans, peas, peanuts)
Sugar in its various forms
Vegetable oils
Processed oils
Processed foods
Artificial sweeteners
Food dyes

After testing this simple morning coffee recipe for many months, and enjoying its benefits, I am ready to reveal it to the masses (or the couple of people who accidently stumble across this blog :) ). 

First off, I love having a morning cup or two of coffee.  I did not start drinking coffee until I was in my thirties and my kids came along.  Before then, I drank copious amounts of juice and soda in the morning, fueling my body with massive amounts of sugar which would ultimately end in an energy crash.  I eventually got off the sugary drinks and switched to black coffee.  A positive change, I must admit.

I always drink coffee upon waking and before breakfast.  I started noticing that after a cup or two, I would feel anxious and sometimes irritable.  Then I started learning more about the positive benefits of certain fats, and read about people who make various drink concoctions incorporating fats. So I began to experiment myself.

I had been intrigued by the benefits of coconut oil for some time due to its natural medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), a fancy term for a certain type of fat that the human body and brain can readily use as a fuel. I had also been using more natural butter in my cooking, and liked the way it tasted and made me feel.  Butter also contains some natural MCTs. So I decided to mix these two healthy fats into my coffee.  

As it turns out, I love the taste and I feel better than ever in the morning after drinking it.  I get the caffeine boost, but without the jitters, anxiety, and irritability that I experienced before with just black coffee.  I can think more clearly, and my morning hunger is suppressed.  Overall, I feel a morning dose of coconut oil has decreased my general anxiety as much, if not more, than any other strategy I have tried. Hopefully I will expand on this in a future blog post...

After some tweaking here and there, following is my now standard recipe....

8 to 12 ounces of fresh brewed, hot, black coffee
Approximately 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil
Approximately 1/2 teaspoon (about a half a pat) of unsalted butter
Stir vigorously, preferably with a battery-powered latte aerator
Heat up a little if necessary, either with more hot coffee or in the microwave
Drink up and enjoy!

Ever since I was a young child, I can remember having stomach aches routinely. As I stressed over something, trivial or not, stomach pains became more intense. Was it diet induced, was it stress induced, or was it a true medical condition? I do not know. But what I do know is that with age, observation, and study I have for the most part kicked stomach issues to the curb.

I have been "scoped" twice in my adult lifeboth times to find general irritation and lastly a hiatal hernia. But before my last scope, my doctor had me fill out a questionnaire detailing my diet and other lifestyle factors. This is when I noted that my diet had been very low fat and high carb since I could remember, with lots of processed sugars, fruits, grains, pastas, breads, and the like with a sparse amount of non-meat protein. I thought to myself, "Since this diet has obviously not been working, I should flip it and try the opposite!" After all, I had little to lose except the routine sleepless nights with extreme acid reflux, and the myriad of prescription and over the counter antacids. Game on.

So I gradually shifted my diet to replace the carbs/sugars with primarily more fats. I nixed the carbs to a practical extent, and increased my intake of various fats including coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, animal fats, nuts, and cholesterol from eggs. On average, I would say that my vegetable and protein intake increased as well. By not filling up on empty carbs, I now had the appetite for more vegetables and meat. I was now following basic Paleo diet principles.

My dietary changes, combined with the other key items below, have allowed me to go off all antacids and other medications, and have eliminated the vast majority of all stomach / acid reflux issues. The only time I now turn to antacids are the rare evenings when I have strayed off my dietary track and indulged on some old staples like pizza. Getting off of the "stomach acid roller coaster" has been a true relief.

- I drink a cup of kefir or eat yogurt most mornings, and sometimes at night. You can buy kefir it at the grocery store in the dairy section. It is like a yogurt smoothie, but has more pro-biotics in it. I also eat other probiotic foods like kimchi, sour kraut, etc. I cannot say enough about the benefits of maintaining a healthy population of good gut bacteria. Also a word of caution on kefir and yogurt - watch your labels for sugar and fat content, and choose an unsweetened and full fat version if possible.

- By cutting out the breads, crackers, and the like, I decreased my gluten intake drastically. I previously ate ludicrous amounts of wheat and other gluten containing foods. I now eat corn and other non-gluten products on a limited basis, with an occasional splurge on bread for a sandwich or burger.

- I drink a lot of water, but I make sure it is filtered so it gets the chlorine out. I think the chlorine residual in regular tap water may adversely affect the good bacteria in my belly.

- I stopped drinking tea, as I realized it was causing me issues. I had mistakenly replaced my sugary soda and juice habit with lots of unsweetened tea (both hot and iced), but I think the tea made things worse.

- I have found that I can tolerate coffee in moderation, say two cups max on a given day. But it goes down so much better with some fat mixed in. I now drink my coffee black with about a teaspoon or so of raw virgin coconut oil and about a half teaspoon of unsalted butter. I mix it with a latte aerator thing-a-mi-giggie and voila...out comes a wonderful tasting morning concounction.

- I stopped drinking beer, and stick to red wine in moderation. Beer is tasty for sure, but most beers are loaded with carbs and gluten.

- I try to eat unprocessed, natural-state foods to the extent practical.

- I eat very limited amounts of fruit. This was actually a big change for me, as before I thought fruit was healthy and it tasted great, so it was a big part of my old diet. But I now realize fruit is still naturally healthy, but in very limited amounts due to the high sugar/carb content. When I do splurge on fruit now, it is generally a small amount of berries of some sort and the occasional apple.

Disclaimer: Everyone is different, and my protocol above may or may not work for you. But, since it has worked so well for me thus far, I wanted to share the information for what it's worth. And, by no means do I perfectly follow my own advice in all situations...I am human after all. With that, I wish you much health and happiness!