Jumpstart Your Dream Life

6 Simple Gifts That Make Life a Little Better

By

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re obligated to give a gift to someone you don’t know very well?

After painstakingly searching everywhere, you still have no idea what to get. Finally, you settle on a generic gift. A gift that isn’t particularly useful or meaningful to the person, but one that you know won’t be taken the wrong way.

And when you finally give the gift, the recipient politely thanks you. Yet both of you know that this gift is definitely not going to be useful. It is simply a gift of obligation, for formality’s sake.

Instead, how about giving a gift that will get used again and again? One that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also practical?

[Read more…]

Drinks, Drugs, and Dinners: How Diet Affects Your Sleep

By

It’s that dreaded time again.

Not when you have to get out of bed. Not when you have to step into a meeting. It’s when the clock strikes, signaling time for you to sleep.

As you crawl into bed, you wonder if things will be different. Will you shut your eyes and finally fall into slumber? Or will you once again stare at the ceiling, waiting until you drift asleep? If it’s the latter, you’re likely to end up exhausted the next morning, even though you went to bed early.

There are numerous reasons why we have difficulty falling asleep. Sometimes, it’s psychological. Other times, it’s due to the stresses that life cruelly throws at us. But what about our dietary habits?

We carefully plan out our diets to energize ourselves, trim our figures, and improve our overall health. Yet, the substances we ingest take a secondary role when it comes to sleep.

Here are four dietary factors that might be affecting your sleep:

[Read more…]

How Late Should You Be Drinking Your Daily Coffee?

By

Imagine it’s a Monday morning. You wake up to the beeping of your alarm and slowly open your eyes. After lying in bed for a few more minutes, you slowly get up and rub your eyes.

Groggy and bleary-eyed, you get dressed and prepare yourself for another start of the week. You glance at the clock and realize that you’re running late, so you leave for the office ASAP.

When you arrive, you turn on the computer and put down your things before heading to the kitchen. Now, here’s a question: what drink do you make for yourself?

If you chose coffee, well, you’re in good company.

[Read more…]

How to Fall Asleep Within Minutes

By

How would you feel after a restless night?

How about two nights? Or 10 nights in a row?

On December 28, 1963, Randy Gardner, with the help of two classmates, went on a mission to find out how his body would respond if he stayed awake until January 8, 1964, making a total of 264 hours (or 11 days).

To begin, he woke up bright and early at 6 am, alert and energized. But by the second day, he had trouble focusing on his surroundings and recognizing objects given to him. By the third day, Gardner became grouchy and his speech began to slur. The day afterward, he imagined himself to be a Paul Lowe, a 200-pound football player, while he was barely 120 pounds.

The experiment was originally meant for a high school science fair, but news spread to Stanford researcher William Dent, who flew down to San Diego to get involved[1].

[Read more…]