Instantly Change Your Mood

Do you ever just wake up in the morning in a BAD mood?

Or maybe you stub your toe, spill your coffee, or burn your toast. Doesn't it seem that once one thing goes wrong, the whole day goes down hill?



The truth is that the reason the rest of the day goes wrong, is because of your bad mood. In other words, when you become angry about something that happens, you spend time focusing on it. And where attention goes, energy flows. This energy attracts other bad experiences. That's why it's so important to change your mood, ASAP!

Ways to Lift Your Mood:

> Breathe: nice and deep, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Take 10 long, deep breaths to get the oxygen flowing though your body and begin to relax your muscles. Sit cross-legged on the floor or lye down if possible. Continue breathing deeply.

> Listen to music: Now, I don't mean the sappy music that always makes you cry. I mean something upbeat and happy. Music that makes your toes tap.

> Laugh: Laughter really is the BEST medicine because the easiest way to turn that frown upside down is by laughing. Watch a sitcom, rent a movie. Just remember to laugh out loud.

> Find a happy thought: Just like Robin Williams (as the adult Peter Pan in the movie "Hook") needed to find his happy thought in order to fly, so do you. You can begin to rise above this bad mood if you will shift your focus from what's bothering you, to things and people that make you happy. Find a happy place, real or imagined, and picture it vividly in your mind -- the colors, the scents, everything about it. Focus on that for a minute or two while you continue to breathe deep.

> Have an attitude of gratitude: Begin with something simple and obvious, like "Thankfully, I don't have to live with my boss, I can leave him at the office and feel sorry for his wife!" or "Thank God I am in this room with the door locked for at least 5 minutes of peace!" Whatever works for you. The funnier you can make it, the faster it will lift your mood. Even things like, "It could be worse, I could be in jail in a foreign country," or "I could be living on the street, or sick and in the hospital with some terminal illness. This is really not that bad."

> Spend time with your pet: Is there anyone in your life that gives you more unconditional love than your pet? If you have a pet, you know the healing effect an animal can have on you.

> Call a friend: Now, you need to be careful with this one. You should have a good-time friend, someone that's fun and makes you feel good. This is the friend to call. You aren't calling to complain, you're calling to hear all of the wonderful and fun stories she has to share. Soon, you'll be looking up.

Remember, things could ALWAYS be worse. You could be uglier, shorter, or heavier than you are now, I am certain.

Start listing all of the good things you have to be thankful for, like being able to see and appreciate beauty, hear music and laughter, smell roses, taste good food, walk, run, dance, drive a car, talk to friends, look up good articles on the internet, etc., etc. Keep breathing deep and choosing to think of the positive instead of the negative.

In just moments, even though your circumstances may not change, your mood will. You will have succeeded in changing your thoughts, relaxing, and taking control of your mood. You will no longer allow that particular person or situation to ruin your day. You will have taken your power back, and with it, your good mood!

Foods For Better Sleep

FOODS THAT HELP YOU SLEEP



What you eat affects how you sleep. One of the keys to a restful night's sleep is to get your brain calmed rather than revved up. Some foods contribute to restful sleep; other foods keep you awake. We call them sleepers and wakers. Sleepers are tryptophan-containing foods, because tryptophan is the amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows down nerve traffic so your brain isn't so busy. Wakers are foods that stimulate neurochemicals that perk up the brain.

Tryptophan is a precursor of the sleep-inducing substances serotonin and melatonin. This means tryptophan is the raw material that the brain uses to build these relaxing neurotransmitters. Making more tryptophan available, either by eating foods that contain this substance or by seeing to it that more tryptophan gets to the brain, will help to make you sleepy. On the other hand, nutrients that make tryptophan less available can disturb sleep.

Eating carbohydrates with tryptophan-containing foods makes this calming amino acid more available to the brain. A high carbohydrate meal stimulates the release of insulin, which helps clear from the bloodstream those amino acids that compete with tryptophan, allowing more of this natural sleep-inducing amino acid to enter the brain and manufacture sleep- inducing substances, such as serotonin and melatonin. Eating a high-protein meal without accompanying carbohydrates may keep you awake, since protein-rich foods also contain the amino acid, tyrosine, which perks up the brain.

To understand how tryptophan and carbohydrates work together to relax you, picture the various amino acids from protein foods as passengers on a bus. A busload containing tryptophan and tyrosine arrives at the brain cells. If more tyrosine "passengers" get off the bus and enter the brain cells, neuroactivity will rev up. If more tryptophan amino acids get off the bus, the brain will calm down. Along comes some insulin which has been stalking carbohydrates in the bloodstream. Insulin keeps the tyrosine amino acids on the bus, allowing the brain-calming tryptophan effect to be higher than the effect of the brain-revving tyrosine.

You can take advantage of this biochemical quirk by choosing protein or carbohydrate-rich meals, depending on whether you want to perk up or slow down your brain. For students and working adults, high protein, medium-carbohydrate meals are best eaten for breakfast and lunch. For dinner and bedtime snacks, eat a meal or snack that is high in complex carbohydrates, with a small amount of protein that contains just enough tryptophan to relax the brain. An all- carbohydrate snack, especially one high in junk sugars, is less likely to help you sleep. You'll miss out on the sleep-inducing effects of tryptophan, and you may set off the roller-coaster effect of plummeting blood sugar followed by the release of stress hormones that will keep you awake. The best bedtime snack is one that has both complex carbohydrates and protein, and perhaps some calcium. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.


SNOOZE FOODS

These are foods high in the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan:

# Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk
# Soy products: soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts
# Seafood
# Meats
# Poultry
# Whole grains
# Beans
# Rice
# Hummus
# Lentils
# Hazelnuts, Peanuts
# Eggs
# Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

BEST DINNERS FOR SLEEP

Meals that are high in carbohydrates and low-to-medium in protein will help you relax in the evening and set you up for a good night's sleep. Try the following "dinners for sleep":

# pasta with parmesan cheese
# scrambled eggs and cheese
# tofu stirfry
# hummus with whole wheat pita bread
# seafood, pasta, and cottage cheese
# meats and poultry with veggies
# tuna salad sandwich
# chili with beans, not spicy
# sesame seeds (rich in tryptophan) sprinkled on salad with tuna chunks, and whole wheat crackers

FOODS THAT KEEP YOU AWAKE (Avoid it)

Caffeine-containing foods top the list of foods that wake you up.

Know your caffeine quota: Some persons are more caffeine-sensitive than others. Many adults can take up to 250 milligrams of caffeine a day (the average amount in 21/2 cups of coffee) and experience no sleep problems. Others get jitters after one cola.

Time your caffeine boost: For most people, the effects of caffeine wear off within six hours, so coffee in the morning will usually not interfere with sleep in the evening. Caffeine-containing beverages at lunch may not affect your sleep, but coffee, tea, or cola in the evening is likely to keep you awake.
courtesy:askdrsears

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