The bedroom is for two (and only two) things: sleep, and “satisfying” sex.  That’s according to Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel, a sleep research specialist who spoke at LA Times Magazine’s annual conference on health & wellness. (Who wants un-satisfying sex?)

In my five years as a personal trainer, I’ve listened to many clients talk about their insomnia, struggling with my own at times.  My husband and I have tried to integrate most of the items on this list and, oh boy—when done in concert, they make a BIG difference.

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Yes, even on weekends. This is the single most important thing you can do for insomnia. Try not to wake your mate if your sleep hours differ.
2. Remove the clock from the bedroom, or cover it up at night.  Cover any other lights (such as LED lights on VCR’s). If you wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, do not look at the clock. This is key.
3. Don’t drink alcohol before bedtime. You may fall asleep faster, but drinking alcohol will also jolt you awake in the middle of the night.
4. Don’t eat before bedtime.
5. Do more cardio. Yoko Ono says, “Walk until your body feels like dancing. Then dance. You will find that you no more have difficulty in sleeping at night.”
6. Make the room as dark as possible and use thick window coverings; they have the added benefit of keeping noise out.
7. Keep the bedroom cool. The optimal temperature for sleep is 65-72 degrees.
8. Use a noise machine or soothing CD. We use Simonette Vaja’s guided meditation for sleep all the time. You won’t be able to make it through the CD without falling out.
9. Wind down before bedtime. A pre-bedtime ritual like reading or taking a shower or bath will relax you.
10. Use essential oil of lavender on pillows.
11. Replace old pillows, but don’t change the linens too often. Slightly slept in sheets are more comfortable to the body.
12. If you haven’t fallen asleep after 20 minutes leave the bedroom and go do something that’s relaxing and boring. When you feel sufficiently relaxed to enter the bedroom again, try again. Do not lay in bed tense or upset.
13. Avoid napping during the day.
14. Do not drink caffeine after lunch. Or better yet, eliminate caffeine altogether.
15. Find 10-20 minutes per day to worry. Don’t allow worries to come into your bedroom.

Got tips? Please leave them as comments.

NOW LISTEN UP, RECRUIT. If you want a leaner, harder body in time for summer, you must take action right now.  Here are a few basic building blocks to cleaning up your diet and shedding that fat. (I’ll add to this list often, so check it for updates).

Eat often, and listen to your body (eat when hungry) but get into the habit of eating 6 small meals a day and NOT 3 squares. A “meal” is considered 1 serving of carbs and 1 serving of lean protein. If you don’t eat both, it’s not a meal.  A “serving” is about the size of the palm of your hand.

Eat breakfast. Don’t ever skip it. It truly is the most important meal of the day.

Practice Zen Cheating™ (a Sam Page Fitness original). If you absolutely must cheat, I want you to get a chair, and sit in front of a mirror. Then, watch yourself while you eat or drink whatever it is you must have.  Become fully conscious and fully aware of each bite, and watch your Adam’s apple as you swallow.  This is a remarkably effective way to curb addiction.  You can cheat as often as you like, but you must practice Zen Cheating.™

Consume a meal-replacement drink containing high quality protein within ONE HOUR of weight training.

Food is fuel. Before you eat, ask yourself: “Self, what am I going to be doing for the next 2 hours?”  If you’re going to be sitting around in the house, don’t eat so much. If you’re going to be going to the gym, eat accordingly. You should think in terms of fueling your body for what you’re doing next, not eating for what you’ve already done. (more…)

Three weeks ago, my blood pressure tested higher than normal and my doctor ordered me off all caffeine. At the moment he issued this edict, I nodded along in happy agreement (maybe it was just the Lexapro?) but the thought bubble over my head went something like:

“You doctors just don’t understand how real people live. C’mon—me, a TRAINER who gets up at FOUR THIRTY in the MORNING, quit drinking COFFEE?? Yeah, right.”

Still nodding, I agreed to a follow up seven days later so he could re-test my blood pressure and determine whether or not I needed to be placed on “blood pressure meds.”

As I left the office, those three words rang in my head: “Mocha Iced Blended.” I pulled myself out of my daydream and started doing the math. I’d been drinking coffee every day from the time I was 13. More or less EVERY DAY for the past 21 years. Maybe the doctor was right after all. Could I really be a coffee junkie?

I decided to quit.

I started by going cold turkey. That lasted—(not)—for a little less than three days. By the 69th hour, I’d succumbed to a Diet Coke late in the afternoon. I tried to sell all sorts of reasons to myself, but it was really all bullshit. I needed a new plan: a way THROUGH the madness.

MY “PRACTICAL WAY” TO STOP DRINKING COFFEE

I created this approach from scratch, and it’s been a pretty easy way for me to reduce the amount of coffee I drink, largely because I haven’t felt deprived, while “tricking” my body.

• Taking a tip from a client who suggested coffee drinkers are far more addicted to the ritual of drinking the coffee than the actual beverage, I moved our coffee pot from the central point in the kitchen to the far side, making the coffee “ritual” less central to my morning experience. Next I took two large clear plastic canisters and placed them on the kitchen counter. I bought a large can of 1/2-Caf which contains 50 percent less caffeine than regular coffee and dumped it into one of the canisters. I bought the same sized can of “decaffeinated” grounds and poured them into the other canister.
• When I take a scoop from the 1/2-Caf can, I take an equal amount from the Decaf can and mix it into the 1/2-Caf can, thereby diluting the ultimate caffeine content of the beverage. I’ve mixed about 75 percent of the Decaf into the 1/2-Caf now, which means that I’m mostly drinking mostly decaf now.
• I’ve also changed my behavior. Instead of setting the alarm clock for 4:30 AM, now I sleep until 5:15 AM, and immediately hop into the shower, waking up naturally with great lemon-sage aromatherapy from Bliss Spa. That gives me an extra 45 minutes of sleep each weekday—that’s almost 8 hours of extra sleep every week. Not a small thing for a trainer.
• I’ve done a few of other things too. I’ve stopped using those impossibly huge mugs in favor of smaller mugs. I don’t make as much coffee in the morning, either. And I stop at two mugs, max. This morning, I only had 3/4 of one.

About a week to the day, I returned to my doctor. I could almost hear the pride in his voice when he gave me the good news: “Congratulations Sam. Your blood pressure is normal. You’ve saved yourself from having to start a new medication, and you’ve improved your health.”

I think he was a little surprised that I’d done it.

I was, too.

by Bob Lattanzio

THREE WEEKS, 6 DAYS, 6 HOURS AND 43 MINUTES. That’s how long it’s been since my last cup of coffee. Not that I’ve been thinking about it. Okay, maybe a little. I used to drink coffee every day. One or two cups with breakfast, another cup at work, sometimes a cup at a cafe.

The odyssey began a little over a month ago, when my doctor recommended that I see an acupuncturist for the bursitis in my shoulder. Physical therapy had helped in the past, but the pain still flared up from time to time. So off I went.

(more…)

Contradicting research I posted earlier this week, a story in this week’s the New York Times suggests that coffee can possibly be a considered a beneficial beverage for health. The Journal of the American Medical Association has concluded that regular coffee consumption could be associated with a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver.

Why? The hot, black beverage contains antioxidants, which can neutralize pesky free radicals. Coffee also contains chlorogenic acid, which reduces blood glucose levels in animals. A typical serving of coffee contains more antioxidants than a typical serving of grape juice, blueberries, oranges and raspberries.

Experts caution that these studies focused only on black coffee, not on other “coffee drinks” such as Starbucks’ “Frappucino” or mixed coffee drinks such as lattes and mochas. Drinking these types of coffee drinks for nutrition reasons is not advisable, because they can contain fat and sugar.

Medical professionals do agree that too much caffeine can have negative implications on the body. One study, published in January in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that the same amount of caffeine in two cups of coffee significantly decreases cardiac output to the heart when exercising at a high altitude.

Harvard scientist Rob van Dam and author of the study, acknowledged this to the Times: “I wouldn’t advise people to increase their consumption of coffee in order to lower their risk of disease,” Dr. van Dam said, “but the evidence is that for most people without specific conditions, coffee is not detrimental to health. If people enjoy drinking it, it’s comforting to know that they don’t have to be afraid of negative health effects.”

New research is suggesting that coffee can trigger heart attacks in some people, within an hour. The report, which comes in the September issue of Epidemiology, says that those highest at risk are “light” coffee drinkers (those who drink only 1 cup a day). Other people at risk include inactive, couch potato types.

Based upon these findings, if you find yourself in one of these highest risk factors, you may want to consider quitting coffee completely.

It has long been demonstrated that caffiene causes short term increases in blood pressure, and also activity in the nervous system. Both of these conditions can contribute to a heart attack.