Having purpose in life gives us energy... a reason to get up in the morning, a reason for being excited, a passion to drive our actions. Having family or a pet or a plant, like the Cactus in the photo, or a hobby or a passion for healing or teaching, that is, having a calling, gives us energy. Text and photo of Cactus Flower in Snow (c) 2015 J S Shipman |
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Skipping breakfast means energy is drained away. After all, you have gone all night without supplying your cells with the nutrients they need to make energy. Have breakfast. Have energy.
Scrambled eggs, spinach, hot tea.....oatmeal and almonds and cashew milk....coconut water, cottage cheese and fruit....hot cocoa and muesli with blueberries...yogurt and raspberries with a cup of cafe latte....all these breakfasts sound good to me. A protein is paired with a fruit or vegetable and a healthy beverage and that seems like a great way to start the day. But, but, but, ... I hear. But, I don't have time, or, I am too sleepy, or any other excuse. Okay. Then, I have a speedy answer for you, a shake. Now you can make a shake from fresh fruits and vegetables or you can mix one up from a non-GM shake mix. I did the latter today, though, typically I like the eggs and spinach with the eggs cooked in a touch of coconut oil and the spinach steamed on top and I find the plain yogurt and fresh raspberries with the latte a real treat. But the shake i had today was quick, gave me the nutrients I need and had me up and active at 6:30 this morning. Happy Fourth, everyone. Have a safe, happy holiday and don't forget to have breakfast! PS With the hot weather, be sure to drink water, too. What do bluebirds (and other interests) have to do with energy?
In a 1942 research article, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HOBBIES: A Contribution to Civilian Morale by WILLIAM C. MENNINGER (http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/ajp.99.1.122), "...High pressure production, longer hours, night shifts, increased responsibility will all add increased stress to each personality with resulting tension and fatigue." In today's time of economic stress and Global war issues, people are again facing "...High pressure production, longer hours, night shifts, increased responsibility... increased stress ... resulting [in] tension and fatigue." Energy drain comes from high stress situations. Let's look at what Menninger suggests and at some current research on the role of hobbies in increasing energy and decreasing stress. Both recreation and rest are important, Dr. Menninger points out from the document, "Fatigue: Importance and Control," and further, we, "are not machines." Constructive leisure time activities, like watching bluebirds, or hiking, or feeding the goats, raising bees, gardening, crocheting, cooking for fun, and just relaxing, decrease fatigue and increase energy. This secret on how to increase energy, while not ancient, is something we need to remind ourselves of today. In the 2015, Google Scholar Metrics, Dr. Menninger's work has already been cited more than 65 times. That means he is being cited on average more than 10 times per month for his work on increasing energy. A paper presented in 2014, at the DRUID Society Conference 2014, CBS, Copenhagen, June 16-18, called, "Spanning the Creative Space between Home and Work: Leisure Time, Hobbies and Organizational Creativity," by Lee N. Davis (Copenhagen Business School Dept. of Innovation and Organizational Economics [email protected]), Karin Hoisl (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich School of Management [email protected]), and, Jerome Dean Davis (Copenhagen Business School Innovation and Organizational Economics [email protected]), addresses the concept of hobbies impacting energy levels. These authors related leisure activities, hobbies, to workplace creativity and patents. They quoted another research group who stated, "While many observers [...], see leisure time pursuits like hobbies as a waste of time, pursued by “dabblers”, studies suggest that hobbyists can play an important role in invention and innovation (Dahlin et al. 2004)" While this looks at the financial increase for employers, it also addresses the role for the individual, which we can relate to radiant health and bountiful energy. In reviewing the literature for their article, the Copenhagen group highlight Singh and his colleague's work, stating that "employees may benefit indirectly from hobbies, since leisure time activities have been shown to play an important role in the development of cognitive skills (Singh-Manoux et al. 2003)." Having better thinking ability would likely let all body systems work better, too. Goal-focused and socially focused hobbies both have value. While the Copenhagen research group looked at increase in creativity (enough to lead to more patent inventions) with hobbies, they did not touch on decreasing stress. We could decipher that there was an increase in creativity when there was less stress, then, went on to seek other research references. Hobbies were found to be a stress-reducing factor in a research study on medical students (1998. 44: 1. Pp.: 1-6. A study of stress in medical students at Seth G.S. Medical College. AN Supe, Department of Surgery, Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai.) How about a study showing such a link in the general population (DOI:10.1080/07053436.1995.10715489 Marie Louise Caltabianoa pages 33-51)? Sure, there is such a link, "The presence of social leisure was found to moderate the relationship between life event distress and symptoms. These stress-buffering effects of social leisure were not found to hold at high levels of social activity. Rather, high levels of social leisure exacerbated the effects of distress on symptoms. The presence of stress-reducing cultural-hobbies leisure moderated the effects of distress, but exacerbated the effects of life change," which means adding people to our hobby can increase stress, unless they are supportive. Imagine a Thanksgiving dinner where a family doesn't get along, compared to one filled with joy and laughter. Compare those dinners to the feeling gotten during a leisure activity. If it is like a bad Thanksgiving, better to do a solitary activity... feed the goats, crochet. If crocheting or goat feeding is stressful because you struggle to hold the hook, follow the pattern, or, if you are allergic to goats (if there is such an allergy), then pick a hobby that is relaxing for you. (I enjoy birdwatching, star gazing, hiking, painting, and crochet. These for me are peaceful.) What do you enjoy? Leisure, stress, and coping: An evolving area of inquiry: We can concur with Y Iwasaki, IE Schneider (Leisure Sciences, 2003 - Taylor & Francis) that the study of leisure, stress, and coping is an evolving research area, since a Google Scholar search on stress reduction and leisure activities lead to about 188,000 research articles on this topic in 0.08 sec. Now, let's look at stress reduction and energy increase (and, of course, bluebirds). Let's start with an infusion of energy when you balance leisure, work, and spiritual aspects of your life. For example, Pamela Grant, MSOE, in her book, Mastering the Balancing ACT (Dog Ear Publishing, 2011), states, "Fun is important! It's one of the ways to give us balance, an escape from our worries, an infusion of energy, and it's an important gateway to our creativity! ... your stress will diminish, your mood will lighten and you're creativity will greatly improve." So, provided your hobbies are fun, energy increases. A part of our population is aging and with that may come some dementias (depending on lifestyle and nutrition, and a bit of genetics), so, I am including a note here that I found: recreation in nature helps prevent and reduce dementia symptoms and decrease adverse behaviors (Design for Nature in Dementia Care By Garuth Chalfont). I see that outside hobbies are good for all of us young, middle age (which starts at 80 these days) and old alike... Hmmm! Bluebirds are outdoors so lets think about bluebirds as an example hobby. Watch a bird feed its young. Breathe in the fresh air. You can relax just thinking about it. The fresh air and pleasant thoughts bring calm to stress and simultaneously energy to your being. Check out Bluebird Man and BluebirdsForMarie. Go outside, too, if you can. Relax. Enjoy. Gain energy. Think of other hobbies that bring you comfort and energy. Yoga, perhaps. Hiking. What brings you joy and peace? What de-stresses you and gives you energy? That is your secret today for increasing energy. As for me, I am going to watch bluebirds. Energy Secrets: Effect of Water on EnergyChildren often appear to have endless energy. If you find yourself on this web page, then, it is likely that you, or, someone you know needs more energy. Here is a place ideas on energy and radiant well-being can be discussed. I am glad you are here.
One tip is to stay hydrated. Since metabolism, or the sum of naturally occurring chemical reactions in the body, take place in an aqueous or water solution, we need to stay hydrated. Here we go...people say they don't like the taste of water, or, they don't want to get up at night, or that they drink water and urinate right away. These things do seem common, so, how do we stay hydrated? First of all, always check with your doctor as different people are different and have different medical conditions. If your doctor limits your water consumption, you need to listen, and also, you can get an opinion from another doctor. A blog or forum, any blog or forum, is no substitute for medical wisdom from your doctor. This blog is informational only and not medical advise. In reading it, you agree to check with your health professional, your doctor, before changing any health practices. Water is the universal solvent and an ideal beverage. Typically if one is well-hydrated, one will not feel tired. Tap water often contains fluoride and chlorine. These adversely affect people, yet, provide some advantages of killing bad microorganisms. Still, those that remember letting water sit overnight before using it in a fish tank so it didn't kill the fish, may understand it is a good idea to let water sit so halogens like chlorine can come out and not be in the water people drink. I find that filtering water with a charcoal filter makes it taste better. Any filter needs to be changed regularly. Bottled water should not be left sitting in hot weather nor in a car, as, it can pick up chemicals from the plastic, and, or, bacteria or fungi can grow in the water. Distilled water is devoid of bacteria, fungi and parasites when just distilled. It lacks electrolytes so may taste, "flat." If you drink distilled water, your doctor might advise you to add electrolytes. You can tell if you are hydrated by gently (emphasis on, "gently") pinching the skin on the back of your hand when your hand is flat on the table. If it stays pinched up, you are dehydrated...Those are not wrinkles from age. Proper hydration will make them go away. Again, check with your health professional before trying this. If you still don't like the taste of water, try coconut water (no sugar added) or a drink especially made for hydration. For those that love water, drink enough, but not too much. Too much water can dilute the body's chemical reactions and lead to other problems. So, check with your doctor on the amount right for you. Typically if you calculate half your weight in pounds and drink that many ounces, it is about right. Hydrating helps rejuvenate us. I hope you get boundless energy from this little-known energy secret. Maybe you can keep up with the neighborhood children. Smile and enjoy a nice cool drink of water. |