Summer days fly swiftly by and as the start of another school year is on the horizon my thoughts are turning towards the health classes I soon will be teaching. While visiting an outlet mall yesterday, I picked up a little gem of a book packed with wonderful healthy living tips. The book, "Health The Reader's Digest Version. Easy Ways To Feel Better And Live Longer," by Joe Kita and the Staff of Reader's Digest Magazine has great information that I want to share with readers of my blog.

The first topic covered in this small book, packed with healthy living tips, is sleep. A great topic to begin with, to be sure, since according to the authors, 50% of Americans do not get adequate rest. I surmise that the percentages are even higher since it seems nearly everyone I know does not allow for enough hours of sleep or has difficuly getting good sleep. This is a common admission of many of my students each year. The authors tell us that experts estimate those people who are significantly sleep deprived have a poorer quality of life and a 20% greater risk of death than those who get good rest.

The section on sleep tells us we need one hour of sleep for every hour of wakefulness. Stopping the caffeine early is one tip given. Did you know that caffeine's half-life is about six hours? I didn't till I read it in this book. That means that six hours after our last caffeine intake 50% of it remains in our body. Other tips listed are, exercising regularly, eating early and light, preparing a dark bedroom, and putting worries aside.

The topic of sleep interests me because I often have a tough time disciplining myself to get enough sleep. Reading information like this serves to help motivate me to do better. Often we are somewhat aware of advice we read, but the information serves as a great reminder and motivator to us.

Even as I strive to live healthier I want to empower my students to live well! Who knows, perhaps some of my readers will be motivated to do better as well. I leave you with this quote from the sleeping section in this book: "Sleeping is not a sign of laziness; it's the simplest most important thing you can do for better health."

I look forward to connecting with you on here and hearing what you have to say my friends. It will be fun sharing with each other.

Sleep well friends!