Let’s talk about creating a system in your life, your habits, your sleep, your exercising and your eating.
Well, here we are on the final approach to the end of the year. How was the ride? Did you move forward, stay where you started, or did you fall behind? We are all a year older, but are we wiser, healthier, happier? As you know, the one thing I consistently promote is helping you get healthy and staying healthy. So, here is a quick review.
- Create a system or pattern for what you want to accomplish each day. This will lead to good habits. Ex: stretch your muscles at the same time every day.
- Go to sleep at the same time every night, as a rule, and get up at the same time each morning. This helps you get enough sleep and prevent fatigue and tiredness.
- Allow for some activity that requires you to move 10 to 15 minutes each day. This can be split up in to small segments throughout the day, but muscles are meant to move, and excessive sitting will kill you.
- Pay attention to what you feed yourself; what you eat, what you drink, what you read, what you watch and what you listen to. What you ingest physically, mentally and emotionally affects your total well-being.
There will always be change in your life, and I think one of the biggest challenges for all of us is how much of that change is within our control and how much of it is outside of our control. What are you constantly dealing with? Are you in control of you time, your focus, your weight, your strength, your flexibility, your energy? Or, are you consistently being buffeted and dragged along the river of your life, without a paddle?
This month, not in January, is the time to start examining what and how you handle your stress and your activities of daily living and begin to create a shift in what you can do to improve your life. Start practicing new habits now. Happy holidays to you all, and I wish you a very healthy and prosperous 2026.
BTW, I have closed my Tarzana office after 34 years and will only be seeing patients in Thousand Oaks from now on – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday afternoons. Be well. Dr. Ben
HOW HABITS DIRECT YOUR LIFE
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you’re at.” J.P. Morgan
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
Habits are made up with
A cue – a need must be met (keep your teeth clean, eat, feed someone else, etc…)
A routine – that need must be met daily/weekly. Let’s do it again, and again…
A reward – you accomplish your goal, daily or regularly
Your success involves:
Being involved, mastering your craft, learn outside of school, work harder than average, be coachable/mentored, have passion, have vision, learn the value of networking, look for opportunities to serve, make a study of success, hang out with successful people, go the extra mile, get excited, have a plan.
Success leaves clues (and so does failure), so create a compelling future.
Rest Easy: 5 Ways to Get Better Sleep Tonight
According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, “a lack of adequate sleep can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality [death].”
Suffice it to say that sleep is a big deal, which makes ensuring you get enough sleep of prime importance. Here are five ways you can get better sleep tonight and every night thereafter:
1. Wind down: Transition from your busy, hectic day at least an hour before bed so you’re not up half the night. Stress and sleep are bad partners, to say the least, so your pre-sleep routine should emphasize calmness and relaxation. Take a bath or shower, listen to soft music or meditate – whatever it takes for you to leave your stress-filled day behind you.
2. Exercise early: Physical activity has plentiful health benefits, but if you work out before bed, it can make sleep difficult. On the other hand, exercising first thing in the morning will make sleeping at night easier because your body will be fatigued after a long day. Exercising right before bed can leave you amped up, sore and/or unable to settle in for a long, relaxing night’s rest.
3. Shut the fridge: Put police tape around the fridge after dinner and you’ll likely get better sleep because your inability to pursue late-night eating (cheating) will let your body relax and doze off. The premise is simple, if you think about it: The body is a factory, processing and burning food all day. If the factory doesn’t close for the evening, it keeps on processing – and you stay awake while it does. Try eating a cheeseburger and fries an hour before bed; your eyes may feel sleepy, but your stomach will stay wide awake – and so will you.
4. Timing is everything: Ever heard of a circadian rhythm? As sleep goes, it’s our body’s internal “clock” and it runs on a 24-hour schedule. To maximize restorative sleep, regulate your internal clock by going to sleep and waking up at around the same time every night and morning, respectively. It might be difficult to go to sleep on a regular schedule because of various factors, but you can usually control when you wake up – it’s just a matter of willing yourself out of bed.
5. Don’t push it: One of the worst habits of chronically poor sleepers is the tendency to push it; to stay up longer than the body is willing. Sometimes that’s unavoidable, but too often Americans spend hour after late-night hour glued to the television (or these days, the computer), fighting off sleep and suffering the consequences. When the body says rest, listen and go to bed. You’ll be thankful you did.
Exercise for the Month (and the rest of your life)
Any form of activity that increases your heart rate and gets all your muscles moving is going to be beneficial. Also, check out pages 53 to 57 of my book, Stretching for Life (Book: https://prostarpublications.com/products/stretching-for-life-by-dr-ben-griffes?_pos=1&_sid=0c5f4f8ee&_ss=r or Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stretching+for+life&i=digital-text&crid=2FJCJP18MI6HV&sprefix=stretching+for+life%2Cdigital-text%2C326&ref=nb_sb_noss )
The World’s Healthiest Habits (for eating)
Most of the world views Americans as overweight and addicted to fast food. Compared to countries such as China and France, for example, our dietary habits are poor, at best. Here are five healthy habits we can learn from other cultures around the world, courtesy of CNN.
Habit 1: Infuse your diet with produce and whole grains
Countries Embracing This Habit: China and Greece
Research confirms that three servings or more a day of produce can lower the risk of stroke, heart disease and some cancers. The USDA diet and nutrition guidelines recommend consuming between five and 13 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. As a general rule, try to fill two-thirds of your plate with produce and whole-grain foods, and the remaining third with fish or meat.
Habit 2: Savor leisurely dining
Countries Embracing This Habit: Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Japan
Meals in these countries generally span several hours and are divided into multiple courses. Sitting down to eat is about more than food; it’s about quality time with friends and family, and savoring the scent, texture and flavor of food.
Habit 3: Exercise portion controlCountries Embracing This Habit: France, Japan
People around the world eat many of the same foods as Americans; where Americans go wrong is with portion size. An average meal in France is 25 percent smaller than one in America. Okinawans stop eating when they are 80 percent full. Part of the difference comes from using smaller plates and choosing filling, fiber-rich foods such as lentils and vegetables.
Habit 4: Eat a variety of unprocessed, fresh foods
Countries Embracing This Habit: Italy, France, Greece, Japan, USA
Shopping in countries like France and Italy often involves several stops to local markets, the butcher or the baker for fresh, whole foods, as opposed to the typical American one-stop supermarket with aisles of processed options. Fresh foods provide more fiber, fewer calories and saturated and trans fats, and less salt and sugar.
Habit 5: Spice up your plate
Countries Embracing This Habit: India, China, USA, Thailand
In addition to adding flavor without the calories or fat, herbs such as garlic, thyme and rosemary, and spices like cinnamon, cloves and turmeric may fight disease. In the U.S., we have many ethnic restaurants that use world spices, or you can grow your own windowsill herb garden and incorporate them into the meals you already make at home.
THOUGHTS FOR THE COMING YEAR
“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.” Helen Keller”
“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” Henry Ward Beecher
“When I look at the future, it’s so bright, it burns my eyes.” Oprah Winfrey
“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.” D. H. Lawrence