Month: September 2016

Stay Healthy: Drinking Water the Right Way Can Greatly Boost Your Energy And Brain Power (Yet Most People Are Doing It the Wrong Way)

Posted by

0

featerued-img-template

The answer is unexpectedly simple but effective.

It all started with feeling a lack of energy and an unclear mind……

Recently, I realized that I’ve been feeling pretty dehydrated no matter how much I drank, and was feeling an overall lack of energy and wasn’t having a clear thinking. Part of this is due to it being winter. Another part is being active most nights of the week in one sport or another and sweating out my body’s water. But then part of me started thinking that why, no matter how much water I drink, am I always thirsty?

So I started researching everything about water and the body. From most of my questions, I found some answers, and other questions provided some pretty basic answers that didn’t get me anywhere.

I’ve set this up below in the form of questions with the answers I found. Hopefully at least one of these will answer something you’ve been wondering, or at least make you smarter. Feel free to astonish your friends with knowing more than them on this subject.

Then I tried to find out how long it takes to absorb water into the body.

I first started wondering how long after a drink of water does it take to enter the body’s system. I know that you should drink ’8 glasses a day’, but if you’re feeling dehydrated, how long does it really take for that first mouthfull of water to help?

Well the answer varies greatly depending on a lot of conditions. Water can literally start entering your system within seconds, but on a more localized level, starting in your mouth. Then the majority of water is absorbed in the large intestine, after being let out of the stomach.

But here is where the aforementioned ’conditions’ are in play. If you drink water on an empty stomach, it can pass through the stomach into the large intestine and enter your bloodstream within 5 minutes(especially if the water is colder, compared to warm!). But, if you’re eating while drinking the water, you may have to wait upwards of 45 minutes before the water is passed into the intestines because the stomach must digest the food first. Overall, on average, it takes from 5 minutes to a total of 120 minutes for water to fully absorb into your bloodstream from the time of drinking. The University of Montreal did a study poetically called “Pharmacokinetic analysis of absorption, distribution and disappearance of ingested water labeled with D₂O in humans.” which has graphs and timelines explaining their study if you like that kind of stuff.

So when you’re very thirsty and somewhat dehydrated, especially after something like cardio-heavy sports, drink water first then eat, or else your body will be dehydrated longer.

On a side note, not all water you drink is fully absorbed into your system, especially if you drink a lot of water. Much of it is flushed out in your urine, and some in your stool. If you want an interesting read on water’s involvement in your bowels, the University of Michigan has a Bowel Function Anatomy.

I tried to do something to help my body absorb more water.

So if we’re drinking enough, yet still feeling dehydrated, how can we ensure our bodies absorb more water?

Well there are two main schools of thought here.

First is to ensure you have enough salt in your body. Though over-consumption of salt isn’t good, not having enough is bad as well. People who play a lot of cardio-heavy sports, or do a lot of running, lose a lot of salt via sweat, and it needs to be gained back. Salt is used in the body to retain water in cells, along with helping get nutrients from the small intestine, and if we don’t have enough salt in the body, your cells can’t retain enough water. This causes the cells to dehydrate.

The second idea to ensure we keep enough water in the body, is to eat fibrous foods. Fiber in foods will help your body retain water in the intestines, where it is slowly absorbed. This means that instead of just passing through fast, it’ll take its time and your body can use all the water it can.

I drink lots of water but still feel thirsty!

This happens to a lot of people. Some research groups have calculated that about 95% of North Americans are constantly dehydrated. Normally trying to drink the right amount of water every day can fix this (side note: the ‘correct’ amount of water for you is half your weight in ounces, meaning a 150lb person should drink 75 ounces per day, equal to 2.25 liters), but most people don’t drink that much.

As mentioned above, you can do a few things to keep more water in your body, but drinking the right amount constantly is the best solution.

If you follow those steps, keep yourself hydrated but still feel thirsty all the time, there could be some more serious conditions present, like onset diabetes or something called Adrenal Fatigue, which means your adrenal glands aren’t working properly. If thirst continues, even after days of drinking right, definitely see a doctor.

So what are the best ways to drink water for healthy bodies?

1) Slow and steady

Its been proven that drinking water slowly throughout the day makes you more hydrated than drinking lots fast. This makes sense as your intestines can only process so much water at a time, and if it is passed through too fast, you’ll lose out on it.

2) With additives

I’m not talking about adding koolaid or tang, but lemon. Lemon in water has well known health benefits, including aiding your digestion, hydrating your lymph system, has a load of nutrients including potassium and vitamin C, reduces inflammation and gives you an energy boost. It is a common practice to drink warm water with 1/2 a lemon squeezed into it first thing in the morning, then after about 30 minutes have your breakfast. This process is supposed to improve your energy, cleanse your system and provide a better digestion for your breakfast, which can give you energy throughout the day.

Another way to have great tasting, healthy water available when you’re home is to use a water pitcher with an infuser. This simple device can be kept in your fridge and infuses your water with whatever you put in it, like fruit, without having the pieces of fruit fall into your glass. For example, adding lemons and cucumber slices will give you a healthy drink that tastes great. There’s a great recipe for a healthy, anti-bloating water-infused drink from two well known nutritionists.

3) Timing

Since we now know that most water is absorbed within 120 minutes, we can assume that drinking a glass of water about 2 hours before heavy sports will give us the best benefit, as your body will be the most hydrated then.
It is also best to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning, since you’ve gone for about 8 hours without a drink. And for those with a stronger bladder, drinking a glass before bed helps your body stay hydrated while you sleep. But if nightly bathroom visits are already a factor for you, take it easy before bed.

To make drinking water easier, keep it by you all day, whether at the office with a bottle that you sip from all day and can refill, or at home with a glass of water on your counter that you make yourself drink from every time you pass it. Having a bottle of water in your car is great too, especially when you’re out doing chores and can’t get a good drink in for a few hours.

We also know from above that drinking while eating isn’t a good idea, as it can slow your digestion and doesn’t help your body until your stomach finally digests all food. So take a drink 30 mins before a meal and you’ll be feeling good.

So what should you take from this?

Getting the most out of water comes down to these three parts.

First, drink enough. Know how much you should drink and make sure you do it every day.
Second, add to the water. Whether its lemons or cucumbers or a simple mint leaf for flavoring.
Third, drink at the right time. Know that a glass of water 30 mins before a meal will help more than a glass during!

This article is adapted from An Explanation of Water and Your Body written by Aaron Robb.

Featured photo credit: Stockpic via stokpic.com

The post Stay Healthy: Drinking Water the Right Way Can Greatly Boost Your Energy And Brain Power (Yet Most People Are Doing It the Wrong Way) appeared first on Lifehack.

via Lifehack http://ift.tt/2cCMsoC

Single Mom Struggling With Her Life Wins A Lottery, But She Makes An Amazing Decision When She Meets A Homeless Man

Posted by

0

fotorcreated-3

When single mum Sofia Andrade, won $200 on a scratch card one Saturday evening she was overjoyed at her luck. But before she could even think about the ways she would spend it, a chance encounter led to a hugely selfless act and a lasting friendship.

12744161_1028372917229936_1099962270651438311_n

It Started With A Simple Act Of Kindness

It was just after her win on a cold, bitter evening that she spotted a homeless guy in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was hanging around a stop sign begging for food and money, clearly struggling with the cold and hunger.

It was at that moment that Sofia’s altruistic and empathetic nature struck her deeply and she decided to approach Glenn Williams and offered to buy him a coffee at a local coffee shop to warm him up.

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-11-37-29

The Ultimate Generosity

It was while she was talking to Glenn that he told her the difficulty in finding somewhere to sleep since all the homeless shelters were full. Without thinking about it, Sofia took out her lottery winnings and offered to selflessly use it to pay for a motel for Glenn to stay at.

She drove him to the Rosewood Inn in nearby Wareham where the money she had was enough to pay for a bed for three nights.

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-11-37-58

Sharing The Positivity

After sharing her experience on Facebook, the story went viral and people donated clothes and haircuts for the man staying at the motel.

It’s through a chance encounter and truly selfless act that the two came together and Sofia is now raising money through GoFundMe to secure long-term accommodation for her new friend.

Williams said he “couldn’t believe there’s somebody” like her.

“She deserves a lot of the credit for where I am right now,” he told a news outlet. “I’m overwhelmed with all the help and I just want to thank everybody.”

Featured photo credit: Sofia Andrade via huffingtonpost.com

The post Single Mom Struggling With Her Life Wins A Lottery, But She Makes An Amazing Decision When She Meets A Homeless Man appeared first on Lifehack.

via Lifehack http://ift.tt/2db3cXG

Stay Healthy: Lack Of Sleep Is Killing You And Your Productivity – 7 Little Twists You Can Make To Sleep Better

Posted by

0

sleep-deprivation

Sleep deficit is the number one performance killer.

Sleep deprivation is not a badge of honor

Forgoing sleep is like borrowing from a loan shark. Sure you get those extra hours right now to cover for your overly-optimistic estimation, but at what price? The shark will be back, and if you can’t pay, he’ll break your creativity, morale, and good-mannered nature as virtue twigs.

Now we all borrow occasionally, and that’s okay if you fully understand the consequences and don’t make it a habit. I did that the other night. I pushed through the system update of our product with the team, which had me working until 1:30 AM. That wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t because I got woken up at 5 AM to help deal with an issue that arose. But the costs the following day were typical, numerable, and high:

  • Stubbornness: When I’m really tired, it always seems easier to plow down whatever bad path I happen to be on instead of reconsidering the route. The finish line is a constant mirage and I’ll be walking in the desert for much longer than is ever a good idea.
  • Lack of creativity: What separates programmers who are 10x more effective than the norm is not that they write 10x as many lines of code. It’s that they use their creativity to solve the problem with a tenth of the effort. The creativity to come up with those 1/10 solutions drops drastically when I’m tired.
  • Diminished morale: When my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, it loves to feed on less demanding tasks. Like reading my RSS feeds for the 5th time today or reading yet another article about stuff that doesn’t matter. My motivation to attack the problems of real importance is not nearly up to par.
  • Irritability: If you encounter someone who’s acting like an ass, there’s a good chance they’re suffering from sleep deprivation. Your ability to remain patient and tolerant is severely impacted when you’re tired. I know I’m at my worst when sleep deprived.

These are just some of the costs you incur when not getting enough sleep. None of them are desirable. Yet somehow it seems that our society still celebrates a masochistic sense of honor about sleep deprivation. At times it sounds like bragging rights. People trying to top each other. For what? To seem so important, so in need, so desired that humanity requires you to sacrifice? Chances are you’re not that special, not that needed, and the job at hand not that urgent.

Working on a project is rarely a sprint, but mostly a marathon. Multiple marathons, actually. So trying to extract 110% performance from today when that means having only 70% performance available tomorrow is a bad deal. You end up with just 77% of your available peak. Bad trade.

This is why I’ve always tried to get about 8 1/2 hours of sleep. That seems to be the best way for me to get access to peak mental performance. You might well require less (or more), but to think you can do with 6 hours or less is probably an illusion. Worse, it’s an illusion you’ll have a hard time bursting. Sleep-deprived people often vastly underestimate the impact on their abilities, studies have shown.

So get more sleep. Stop bragging about how little you got. Make your peak mental capacity accessible.

7 hacks to get more sleep

  1. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day. This will allow your body to get in to a rhythm, making it easier to both fall asleep and wake up on time.
  2. Avoid screens such as phones or computers before bed. Many screens have been shown to display a type of light that may cause restlessness.
  3. Avoid work or other stressful activities close to bed time. Instead, try relaxing activities such as reading or spending time with friends or family.
  4. Don’t do work in your bedroom. You don’t want to have your bed associated with the feeling you get from work. Keep your bedroom as your place of relaxation.
  5. Don’t drink caffeine too close to bed time.
  6. Drink water right before you go to sleep. When you wake up you’ll have to go to the bathroom, which will make you want to get up and prevent you from falling back to sleep. However, try to avoid excess amounts of water within the few hours prior to going to sleep, as at may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.
  7. Leave your blinds open. The sun will make you up in the morning and give you energy.

This article is adapted from Sleep deprivation is not a badge of honor written by DHH.

The post Stay Healthy: Lack Of Sleep Is Killing You And Your Productivity – 7 Little Twists You Can Make To Sleep Better appeared first on Lifehack.

via Lifehack http://ift.tt/2dBmRBm