[It's a new year (which I am having trouble remembering when I have to write the date on anything), meaning it's the perfect time to wipe that slate clean and start anew. And we're gonna help you out. Every Thursday in January we're bringing you advice from experts on ways to improve yourself and your life. From mental health to making the most of your workspace, we'll all work together to get our lives, health and GPAs back on track. First we feng shui-ed our rooms to make them happier, more productive places; now it's time to overhaul our inner selves with mind/body coach, Sarah Yost.]

Stressors in life are inevitable: deadlines, expectations, the lack of time to do it all. But you don’t have to be at the mercy of those things. The less you stress the better you’ll feel and the more you’ll accomplish. Think about your energy as if you have a finite amount of it every day. If you use a lot of it stressing out about things beyond your control, you’re left without the energy you need to actually do the things that matter to you.

So how does one simply not stress?

Try these six easy tips to calm down and preserve your energy so you can accomplish everything on your plate and all those other things you just want to have time for.

Attend to your breath.
You know how people are always telling you to “just breath”? Well, there’s a reason for it! Full diaphragmatic breaths aren’t going to cut a full fledged panic attack, but they will make a noticeable difference. Full breaths change you physiologically, bringing more oxygen to your blood, slowing the heart rate and soothing the nervous system.

Try this: Inhale through the nose to the count of four, exhale through your mouth to the count of four.  Do that four times. That simple exercise will make a huge difference, and it takes less than a minute and you can do it anywhere with your eyes open. No one needs to know what you’re up to and you don’t need to schedule any extra time in your busy day to find some inner peace. Read More »

After suspecting for years that I have sleep apnea, I finally got around to going to a pulmonologist and discussing it with him. He agreed that my symptoms sounded apnea-ish and recommended that I do an overnight sleep study at my local hospital.

I wasn’t afraid to do the study or anything like that, but I did want to get the best sleep possible since I had three job interviews scheduled for the next day. Error in judgment? Perhaps, but there wasn’t much I could do about it because I’d have to wait at least a month if I wanted to reschedule the sleep study.

Generally, these studies take about 9 hours—an hour to put on and take off the equipment, 7-8 hours to sleep (or perhaps I should say “sleep”), and a little bit of extra time to fill out forms. If you’re not an early riser, you’re out of luck, because at my sleep clinic the wake-up time was between 5:30 at 6 a.m. Luckily, I had to get up early anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.

When I arrived at the clinic, the sleep technician greeted me and explained what she was going to do—put about a zillion wires on almost every part of my body. She explained to me that the wires on my arms and legs would monitor my physical movements, the wires on my chest would monitor my breathing, and the wires on my head would monitor my brain activity and sleep levels. Read More »