I belong to a Woman’s Breakfast Club. We meet on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 am.  That means that I have to get up at 5:15 to get there by 6:30. It’s crazy but it seems that every Monday night (before the breakfast club meeting) I stay up really late - Like Jimmy Fallon late,  and I have to drag myself out of bed to make it to the 6:30 meeting. We socialize for the first 30 minutes, have breakfast, share ideas and then listen to a speaker. This past Tuesday our speaker, Mary Rose PsyD , talked to us about sleep disorders and the importance of 7 to 8 hours of good sleep each night.  We all know that  sleep is essential because it is the time when our bodies replenish, repairing the mental and physical wear-and-tear we suffer during the day. However our American "always-on" culture has created a sleep-deprived generation. Cell phones, computers, iPads, PDA’s and 24/7 mentality keeps our brains constantly stimulated. The results are surprising!Here are the top 10 things I learned about sleep deprivation:

1.Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later. For this reason there is a huge movement out there to start schools later so kids can get the needed sleep to learn and perform. 

2. Not getting your 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite. Less sleep = always looking for something to eat. Very interesting!

3.    There’s this thing called Circadian rhythm. The term circadian rhythm refers to a person's internal sleep and wake-related rhythms that occur throughout a 24-hour period. The sleep disruption leads to insomnia or excessive sleepiness during the day, resulting in impaired functioning. Lack of sleep causes accidents, mistakes, and mishaps such as tripping and falling.  People who are shift workers are prone to sleep deprivation- Truck drivers, medical staff, plant workers are concerned about mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.

4.    Women in particular notice that sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness.

5.While we are on the subject of women did you know that women tend to hear more noises at night than men?  Like babies crying, words like. "help" "mommy" or "I"M sick", and women can hear the tap water drips... Actually women are programmed to hear the sounds of children and men are NOT! That’s why men can sleep through the 2 a.m. feedings with no guilt. They don’t hear a thing -except for car alarms and gun shots!

6.This one was kind of weird.  Dr Rose said that lack of sleep decreases your ability to see and connect with facial expressions.  When you are tired you don’t pick up on  facial signals.  Not good if you are a teacher, manager, doctor, or in any sort of face to face communications. 

7.Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.

8.Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

9.Did you know that a few hours before your natural go-to-sleep time you get a burst of energy? Dr. Rose said it may have something to do with the caveman.  Think about it. Back in the cave man day people had to complete their tasks before it got dark. They had to gather things up and get them into the cave and there was no daylight savings time.  Cave people needed energy bursts to get thing done.  Well now we get that boost of energy too. That’s why it’s almost impossible to go to bed early in order to catch up on sleep.  You may try going to bed at 8:30 but your body and mind are not ready!

 
10. For most of us mornings are our most productive time of the day. With little distractions our minds are fresh and alert and it is a great time to get the thinking part of work completed.  Exercise is best for us when it is done at the end of the work day, but not so late that it keeps us up at night!

What do Leonardo daVinci, Albert Einstein Thomas Edison, and Me, Hanging out Hanna, all have in common? We are all lovers of the power nap.  Taking a mid-day nap not only is a great way to catch a few extra winks, studies show power naps increase productivity and boost creativity. A 20 minute nap around 2 or 3 in the afternoon can recharge your mind and body and give you that extra push needed to have a completely successful and productive day.

Here are my tips on how to have the perfect 20 minute power nap: You Can read more about this in the Seven Women Project
•    Draw the blinds and make it as dark as possible

•    Take off any constricting clothing and of course your shoes.

•    Set your cell phone for your wake-up time

•    Some of us need a cover- if you are at home get under the covers. If you are at work bring in a soft blanker. It helps

•    Close your eyes and let go – forget counting sheep, even if you don’t think you are sleeping, let your mind go and enjoy the rest

•    Don’t feel guilty. Remember you are doing this to be more productive, creative ,and successful!

Remember it worked for Einstein, Edison and da Vinci and it will work for you too. Feeling better and have more energy in the afternoon and evening is absolutely worth trying out a power nap.It’s 2:17 and I am getting ready to go down.  See you in 20….

A few weeks ago I spent the day reading cook books.  As many of you know I love to read about food and look at the photographs, but I do very little cooking! That day,  I came across a fabulous cook book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and she (Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman) made it look so easy I got off the couch and actually started cooking.  My favorite recipe so far is the spicy pulled pork.  Not only is is easy to prepare but you make so much is lasts forever!

• One 5-7 pound pork shoulder
• 1 whole onion, cut into quarters
• 1Tablespoon chile powder
• 1/2 Cup brown sugar
• 4 cloves peeled garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• salt to taste (1 to 2 Tablespoons of salt)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tablespoons olive-oil
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 cups of water
• Lime wedges
• Flour totillas (I bought tiny rolls at Costco after one day of tortillas)

Preheat oveen to 300 degrees. Rinse off the pork shoulder. In a food processor (I have a mini cuisonart and I love- love- love it!) combine the onion, chile powder, brown sugar, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar. Pulse it until it is totally combined. Place the pork in a roasting pan or a dutch over and pour the mixture allover it getting it into every nook and cranny of the pork shoulder.(Nook and Cranny are Ree's words...)now  ADD 2 CUPS of WATER.Cover tightly and roast for 6 to 7 hrs. turning the meat evey hour or so. When it is fork tender uncover and increase heat to 425 and cook another 20 minutes making is crispyish. Then remove from the oven and let it  rest for at leaset 15 minutes. Shred the meet using two forks. Put on a platter and surround with lime wedges. Pour the pan juices over the shredden meat. My mouth is watering just typing this, it is so good!!!!Serve with warm torillas or rolls... your call!

Today's blog entry is a guest post by Naomi Gottlieb-Miller, an Anusara-Inspired Yoga teacher living in Takoma Park, MD. By all counts Naomi is quite a Zenful Zoë, but that hasn't stopped her from getting in touch with her inner Hanging Out Hanna, and taking us along for the ride.  

I just returned from a week-long vacation in the great state of Maine. This was the first vacation I'd taken, really, since after my wedding in September, so I was way overdue.

As we drove north, I could literally feel my body uncoil from the tension and stress that had been binding me up in the past few weeks. We made it in record time to the small coastal town which was our destination (10 1/2 hours, for those of you keeping track) and enjoyed a relaxing evening of good food, good company and even better, going to bed early followed by sleeping in.

Everything seemed to be falling into the perfect vacation category ... until we went for a hike in Acadia National Park. 

The sun was hot, we were on exposed rock, clinging in places to metal bars protruding from the rocks. Maybe I was dehydrated, but none of that explains why I felt so sick I couldn't climb anymore. Or why on the hour-long ride home I was supine, delirious in the backseat of the truck. Or why I felt too weak to stand up on my own and eventually, when we got back to the Inn, I went to bed and slept for two hours. I know vacations are supposed to be relaxation focused, but this seemed ridiculouUntil I noticed a pattern. A vacation specific pattern. Beginning when I was a student in college, every time I had a break from school, time off from work or just a planned vacation, I've had a bizarre, but consistent tradition.  I always get sick the first day.

Headache. Dizziness. Nausea. Extreme Exhaustion. Neck Tension. From what I've heard, vacations shouldn't involve any of these things. So what gives? In this last experience with vacation-interrupted, I realized that my body is so used to being in high gear all the time that as soon as it slows down, my body doesn't know how to function. This, I think, is a problem. But not one I can't work on...

In order to be able to enjoy a true vacation every time I have the opportunity, I have to be able to have mini-vacations in my day-to-day life.  Since I’m just starting this new habit, going small is probably a better idea.  So I’m thinking week-to-week.  I basically have to learn how to back off a bit, in work and in my sense of personal responsibility. I have to teach myself that down time doesn't equal "lost time."

Instead, it can be found time. And realistically, it can't be immediate. I have responsibilities schedule-wise that I have committed to through the end of June. But knowing that the summer will offer a lighter workload gives me something to look forward to and plan for. 

As I step into this new Spring, I'm creating intentional mini-vacations in my schedule. Even if it’s just half a day of just sitting on my porch and reading a book. Or spending an afternoon baking devilishly good vegan cookies. Or giving myself a "spa" day.

My personal goal is to create a technological vacation of sorts once a week.  Often, what winds me up the most is looking at an inbox full of unanswered emails, which remind me of all the things I haven’t done yet.  So I propose an email day-off.  Or night-off, if an entire day computer-free seems too extreme.  Remember, we all have to begin somewhere.

To jumpstart my new weekly, mini-vacation habit I’m going to make a list of all the things I love to do, but never seem to have the time for.  If I can block out a few hours on at least one day of my week, then I will be giving myself the gift of found time.

So go find your coziest chair.  Take out a pen and paper and make your list.  Then have at it and enjoy the mini-vacations that await you!

Finding Hanna: About our Guest Blogger

Naomi Gottlieb-Miller is an Anusara-Inspired Yoga teacher living in Takoma Park, MD.   She started practicing yoga to take the edge off of living in New York City, upon moving there more than 10 years ago. It was yoga that chose her path, taking her from NYC back to Washington, D.C., her hometown, to study how to teach yoga to others. After graduating from Willow Street Yoga’s Anusara Teacher Training in 2005, Naomi has come to the conclusion that choosing yoga was the best choice she ever made. She continues her yoga study with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, Amy Ippoliti and Sianna Sherman, focusing specifically on the Therapeutic benefits of yoga, as well using yoga to help an already healthy body even more fit.

Naomi teaches at a number of great studios in the DC area includeing, Willow Street Yoga, MINT, Spiral Flight Yoga and Circle Yoga. Naomi brings lightness and play to all her classes, encouraging students to invite a healthy dose of laughter into their practice. She is inspired by the joy her students bring to their mats and considers teaching yoga the best gig ever. Get intouch with Naomi on FaceBook or email her at: northernstaryoga@gmail.com to sign-up for her newsletter.

Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Hanna and I am the woman on the team that is known for doing as little as possible. Now, please don’t think that I am lazy!   I just know that when things get rough, the best gift that you can give yourself is permission to take a personal time-out. That means that if you have had a tough week at work, take a break before you get back in there; or if your kids have been home with the crud and you’ve been serving up chicken soup and wiping runny noses all week, this might be your weekend to have your husband or mom take over and you take a break.

We live in crazy busy times where working all the time is the norm. I am the woman that gives you the courage to go against the grain and place value on rest and relaxation. I give you the strength to just say no, reboot and get your creative juices flowing.

I have been reading a lot lately about the power of rest. Did you know that children who sleep less get worse grades, have more trouble with tests, and don't remember as much as children that get a good night’s sleep.  Sleep more and you learn more!  New brain cells appear only during sleep. In fact, studies have shown that brief naps improve your memory.

So this weekend I give you permission to take a nap!