How to Ease Morning Tension and Stiffness

With the stress of daily life, many people find it difficult to simply get out of bed and face the challenges of home and work life. The vigor to face the day with anticipation and accomplishment fades as the early morning aches and pains begin to strike. Staying in bed is not an option if you want to pay off your mortgage. Unfortunately, that perpetual brain fog won't dissipate until after a few cups of strong coffee.

What can you do to insure that you have some pep to last your day? How can you make sure that you won't drag your feet through another boring day at the office? And how can you be sure to accomplish all those household tasks you've been putting off for tomorrow? Here are five simple things you can do to improve your alertness and get into shape:

Step One: Get Active. It sounds simple, but a sedentary lifestyle doesn't translate into improved blood flow unless your body, including those old bones get a chance to be used. Most people don't get the kind of exercise that can keep them healthy. Make it a point to walk more. During holidays and weekends, you can afford to take a fifteen minute walk with the family or the dog. During the work week, you can park your car furthest from your place of work or, if you're going shopping, somewhere far enough from the mall. Climb up and down stairs, rather than the elevator if you need to deliver a memo to a different floor. Don't just sit in your cubicle until lunch. Take a break every hour to stretch and kick your legs up and down while seated in your office chair. A few minutes is all you need to get the blood flowing and it will help sharpen your concentration and memory.

Step Two: Eat a Good Breakfast. Too many people are in a rush and skip this most important meal. Skipping breakfast leads to poor concentration and memory ability. Most important, it leaves you hungry and you will tend to overeat and what you do eat will not support health. Your body and your mind need the right balance of protein and carbohydrates to function. A lack of protein in the diet has been found to cause headaches.

Step Three: Eat a Light Lunch: A heavy lunch leave you sluggish the rest of the day. Your lunch should supply enough fuel to give you energy until supper. A light lunch doesn't mean an extended smoke break. Use the time to get in an extra walk. Combine a short "thinking nap" during your lunch hour to review the assignments you need to tackle for the afternoon. Close your eyes for a few minutes to relax.

Step Four: Take a supplement: They're not just for athletes. There's a good chance that you're deficient in many essential vitamins and minerals and will need to take what your typical food doesn't provide. Gingko Biloba is especially useful for memory enhancement and alertness. It helps improve your concentration skills. Take gingko instead of a pep pill or that extra cup of coffee to help you stay awake

Step Five: Meditation and Prayer. Stress and depression are common in the workplace. Those deadlines weigh easily and the stresses of family activities can add neck and shoulder pain before you reach home after that hectic work day. Learn to meditate. You are not chained to your desk, so you can take a quick break to simply close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm your mind and help your concentration. That applies equally at home. You've got more time so turn off the TV and relax in the easy chair. Violent programs and the daily diet served up by the evening news broadcasts only help add to your stress level and high blood pressure. When it comes to any kind of negative programming, you should take an impartial stance to what you see and hear.

Step Six: Diet is just as important to weight loss as to how you can efficiently conduct your daily activities. Those refined foods with simple carbohydrates don't contain the nutrients you need to maintain good health. They leave you sleepy and sap your energy well before the end of your day. Despite what you read on those label, there are hidden ingredients food manufacturers add that entice you to eat more. While they realize good profits, you add more pounds.

These simple steps are far from complete, but they will set you on a better course for health, longevity and give you the energy to make it through your day.