Why naps are a good thing

Why naps are a good thing

If you do nothing else this week… 

Let’s think about our sleep.

Jordan Stern, an M.D. and founder of Blue Sleep, has written this helpful piece about how healthy sleep and a healthy lifestyle are interconnected. Stern stresses the importance of building in time away from all technology during the day. Neither he nor his wife look at emails after 8:00 p.m. He uses dim light to read a paper book – rather than an e-reader – before the lights go out, and he writes about how good quality sleep can help with mood disorders. Not only that, but a 10- or 20-minute nap during the day can help to improve our health and reduce the risk of heart disease.

What are we reading this week?

It’s all about kindness.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee writes in his blog about the benefits of kindness and how it can benefit how we feel ourselves just as much as our kind acts can benefit others. Showing empathy and care to others can reduce our pain, anxiety, and depression, and also give us more energy. Dr. Chatterjee recommends making time for a five-minute act of kindness each day, whether it’s checking in on an elderly neighbor or writing a short note of praise in support of a local business. His reasoning is that making someone else feel good doesn’t cost us anything – in fact, we benefit just as much.

Something a little bit different

We really love this graphic from Grant Snider. Where is our mind at today? The key is not attaching to any one state. As with our thoughts, all of our states of mind are transient.