Hard-Nosed Facts About Two “Soft” Subjects
Posted by Ted | Filed under Health
“Serious” people are squeamish about dreams and sleep. I note this in my own life and interactions with others, and research supports the notion that we underplay the importance of both sleep and dreams in our lives. This post makes a few simple, hard-nosed observations about these neglected topics.
1. The average person sleeps six to eight hours a night. Thus, over the course of an average lifetime, we sleep at least 16 years.
2. Failure to get enough quality sleep can cause a wide range of disorders. In fact, what we blame on work, relationships, and ourselves may in fact have sleep disorder as a root cause.
3. The average person dreams two hours each night. Over a lifetime, then, we dream for at least five and a half years.
A lot of life is spent engaged in sleep and dreaming. If I am exploring life’s best practices on this blog, it will be worthwhile to explore best practices relating to sleep and dreams. In other words, despite what I’ve joked to others, sleep is not highly overrated.
Tags: best practices, dreams, sleep
Navigate By Tag Cloud
Posted by Ted | Filed under Best Practices - The Core Theory, Meta
Just a note for any readers here who tend to shy away from tag clouds, this post is a quick Tag Cloud 101.
The “cloud” at the top of the right-hand column provides a visual depiction of the labels I’ve used to tag my various blog entries. When I write an entry, I provide a list of tags that I believe describe or relate to that entry. An entry on “mindfulness,” for instance, may include tags for mindfulness, mind tools, anxiety, or other labels that spring to (my) mind at the time.
What does this mean for you? A few things. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: core theory, navigation, tag cloud
Mindfulness Combats Anxiety
Posted by Ted | Filed under Mind Tools
Another benefit of mindfulness for those who lead Type-A, hard-charging, tension-filled lives: mindfulness can profoundly reduce anxiety.
That’s the message of a post last week on Psychology Today’s blog. Peter Strong, who provides mindfulness counseling, gives a simple exercise in that post that can work to decrease anxious feelings. I have provided links to other resources in another post here on my blog. I’d appreciate it if readers would provide to other links in the comments to this post.
Tags: anxiety, meditation, mindfulness
Mindfulness and Happiness
Posted by Ted | Filed under Mind Tools
Tom Wootton makes an important distinction in a recent post on his blog: mindfulness does not necessarily lead to happiness. The practice of mindfulness techniques make one more aware. They may make one feel that he is living a fuller life. The practice may, in fact, lead to greater happiness. But that is neither the point nor the necessary result.
Tags: happiness, mindfulness
Prescriptions for Child Perfectionism Work for Us, Too
Posted by Ted | Filed under Perfectionism
Dr. Michelle Borba had a solid post the other day describing steps parents can take to help children with perfectionistic tendencies. This advice works for the rest of us, too, as described after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: failure, Goals, mistakes, Perfectionism, presidents, values