6 Things that could help improve your sleep

Feel tired even though you went to bed at 11 and woke up at 8? Find yourself slurring your words even though you are completely sober? Failed at lifting a weight even though you've succeeded at it before, or even passed up a hot date for a night with the TV? You may be suffering from a lack of quality sleep.  Below are five ways to improve the quality of your sleep and hopefully help you avoid looking like a zombie.

1. Take a measurement of your sleep quality.

It used to be that when you wanted to analyze the quality of your sleep you had to go to the doctors office and be subjected to invasive overnight polysomnography tests. Today you can easily buy a nightstand bedside sleep manager that will tell you how long you slept as well as how deeply or lightly you slept.

2. Keep the right temperature

The best sleep comes when your bodies core temperature is at its lowest. That does not mean aiming for hypothermia, but changes in your body temperature can disrupt your sleep patterns.  For optimal effect keep your bodies temp between 68 and 73 degrees.

3. Good Neck Support

This one is rather obvious anything you lay on should be capable of supporting your head and neck for 7 to 9 hours. Make sure you have a good pillow to do this.

4. Air Quality

Pets and other allergens in the bedroom can be detrimental to a good nights rest, because they can cause stuffiness and other nasal difficulties, keeping an air purifier in the room can go a long way to keeping the air irritant free.

5. Noise Levels

Keeping noise levels low and consistent may not be possible in your situation but it is the best way to have a disturbance free sleep.

The Benefits of Adding Pull Ups to Your Workout

Making pull ups a regular part of your work regiment can allow you to get a wide array of benefits while simultaneously saving time.  That is because pull ups work a large range of muscle groups including your latissimus dorsi 'lats', trapezius 'traps', rhomboids, pectoralis muscles, and your abdominal muscles all receive a work out when you performing pull ups. Below is a video showing how to properly perform pull ups in 10 variations that will be explored in the next article.

Top 10 Foods That Lower Blood Pressure

Hypertension in the US was taking an increasing toll on the men and women of this fine country.  We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year directly or indirectly on expensive hypertension medication, that in many cases can conflict with other medications or cause pesky little negative reactions, up to and including death for those who don't consult a doctor about taking the appropriate hypertension medications.  Recently, and by recently I mean over the last two decades, there has been a larger push to find a more natural solution to maintaining lower blood pressure or at least one that doesn't conflict with your Viagra medication.  Many different foods have natural ingredients compounds and minerals in them that when taken in moderation can over time make your heart almost bullet proof ensuring lower blood pressure levels and an overall healthier lifestyle.  Below are a list of the top 10 foods that lower blood pressure.

Fruits- There is no real mystery as to why fruits are so great at lowering blood pressure.  Many are high in fiber, and have high levels of antioxidants.  Other fruits like bananas are rich in potassium a known blood pressure lowering mineral.  If you are not getting enough fruit in your diet make sure you add some immediately.

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Dark Chocolate - Rich in flavonoid a muscle relaxing, blood pressure lowering chemical be sure to adding small amounts of this to your diet will lower your blood pressure.

npr.org

Omega-3 Fish- Fish contains the blood pressure lowering super ingredient Omega-3 fatty acid.  Tuna, salmon, halibut, and cod are exceptionally rich in these ingredients.

www.fatsoflife.com 

Sprouts - Whether its brussel sprouts or bok choy, sprouts are incredibly nutritious, and have high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and proteins as well as many anti-carcinogens,  so these foods are great at preventing cancer and lowering blood pressure.  Double whammy.

www.juvenescence.net

Milk and other calcium sources - Foods with high calcium content are well known for lowering blood pressure, they also help fight off obesity when eaten in moderation.

Nuts and seeds- seeds like sunflower seeds are high in magnesium which is exceptional at controlling and lowering blood pressure over time.

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Spinach, Kale, Leafy Greens - These super greens contain magnesium, iron, folate, and vitamin C making them nutrient rich, and great for lowering blood pressure.

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Whole Grains-   High amounts of sodium are a key contributor to high blood pressure.  

Whole grains are rich in magnesium and potassium two minerals notorious for lowering sodium levels and therefore helping to lower your blood pressure.

nibbleonnutrition.blogspot.com 

Dry Nuts and Fruits - These are low in sodium and high in proteins which is exceptionally good at fighting high blood pressure and heart disease.

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Fresh and Dry Herbs - They're for more than just adding more taste to your favorite soups and pastas.  Herbs are loaded with ingredients that can fight off high blood pressure.  Some of the better ones for that thyme, sage, turmeric, cilantro, peppermint, oregano, and parsley.

frugallysustainable.com 

Adding these heart healthy foods to your diet will lower your blood pressure, and may even save your life.

Millennials in The Work Place

Millennials In The Work Place

Find yourself struggling to understand the new office creature that is the Millennial?  This video will show you how to better communicate with them, and to get them to do helpful things, like show up within 40 minutes of their actual start time or work at all.

Rising hypertension in the USA

Hypertension in the USA

heart health- tarrantcounty.com

With the rise of obesity in the United States hypertension has also been rising affecting men and women alike.  However if you are a male you will be slightly more at risk, especially if you are over 45. In addition to this younger men between 18-39 are at an even significantly higher risk for hypertension than women of the same age.

Here some basic info on the issue.  I'll be writing a follow up on what you can do to protect yourself soon.

Hypertension in the USA | Create infographics

Healthy Alcoholic Drinks For Men

Healthy Alcoholic Drinks For Men

renaissance-marriott.com

It’s Friday the weather’s warm and you’re fresh out of work or the gym and ready to enjoy a couple drinks to celebrate your weekend.  But how do you do this without completely undermining all your progress at the gym?  I mean that beach body isn’t making itself, right?  So what’s a guy to do if he wants to work out during the week but enjoy a tasty beverage during on the weekend?  Below are some drinks that can help you unwind without packing on the pounds.  

Guinness

If you love beer, think about drinking Guinness, since it’s a stout its heavier than normal beers and more filling.  However it only has 128 calories per 12 ounces.  In addition to this a University of Wisconsin study says that it can also help to reduce blood clots.

Guinness- www.delish.com

Anything on the Rocks

As men we really don’t need mixers anyway, especially if you’re trying to keep off the belly fat, since many times mixers have a lot of calories.  If you really do have an issue with the taste of liquor on ice you could always try some flavor infused varieties.

Whiskey on the Rocks- mychinaconnection.com

Fizzy Lemonade

Mix tequila, vodka, and diet lime-lemon (its lower in calories plus some people say that full calorie lemon lime soda is too sweet), to get a healthy and refreshing cocktail, that wound add on the pounds.

Fizzy Lemonade- media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com

Gin and Tonic

This drink is incredibly low in calories, with only 100 calories per 4 ounces.  

Tanqueray and Tonic- sportyafros.com

Bloody Mary

This drink is loaded to the gills with blood-pressure lowering vegetables and horseradish a known fighter of disease.

Bloody Mary - vegasseven.com

Vodka and Soda with Lime

Probably my personal favorite because I love having club soda with lime, if I’m not going to drink that night.  This drink is great for when you desire something a little lighter than shots of hard liquor.  Just take some vodka, some club soda, ice, and a lime slice and boom! You have a light refreshing low calorie drink ready to go.

Vodka with Club Soda and Lime- smartlifeblog.com

Whiskey and Green Tea

A great drink for cool nights, this drink has all kinds of additional health benefits like boosting your health, like lowering your cholesterol level and boosting your immune systems defenses.  

Whiskey and Green Tea -www.marketing-chine.com

White and Red Wine

I’m not really a wine fan personally, but if you are these two kinds of wine  are great.  Wine is low in calories and when consumed in moderation can provide numerous health benefits.  Red wine is an antioxidant and can help protect you from cancer.  White wine has fewer carbs per serving than red, 2g per 5 oz serving rather than 4g like red wine, so either way you are drinking healthy.

White, Red, and Pink Wine- www.wineat79.com

Light Beer

Not the healthiest option but still better than its full bodied alternative, these beers should be consumed in moderation.  Today light beer is incredibly low calorie with some beers having well under 100 calories.

Light Beers-www.fitsugar.com

Whatever you choose remember moderation is key, there is no point in drinking healthy if you are going to overdo it and undermine all your hard work. Cheers.

Top 5 Places To Pick Up Ladies In The Spring And Summer

Top 5 Places To Pick Up Ladies In The Spring And Summer

Almost a month into spring and we are now in the middle of one of my favorite parts of the year, CHOOSING SEASON!!!!

What is choosing season you might ask? It’s that magical time of the year where the weather gets warmer, the days get longer, and the dresses get shorter as women and come out of their recently thawed out apartments and dorm rooms to take advantage of the weather...and the scenery (that includes us fellas) as they look to find a new fling or boyfriend.  Here just watch this educational video for more information.

Now I don’t know how your parents raised you but I was always told it was rude to keep a lady waiting. I mean what kind of men would we be to keep these poor girls on the hook? So if you’re like me and you want to leave them dangling on a different kind of hook (yaaaah buddy) it’s important to find to avoid wasting time and go where the ladies are. 

The Beach

Seems obvious right?  Beaches are great places to meet women in the warm weather months.  Men love to look at women, especially when they’ve already done a lot of the hard work for us and have already shown up with such scantily clad…attire.  However there’s a difference between looking and leering so make sure you know it.   

Work it to your favor:  Bring a ball or Frisbee with you and invite her and her friends to play.  If you want to scan out the hottest chicks without raising the ‘perv flag’ of every women in your immediate area wear sunglasses, the more reflective the better, what they don’t know can’t hurt ‘em.

Any Summer Opening Event

These are great places to scope out your next future ex-girlfriend.  Many times if a bar, restaurant, or gallery of some kind is opening in the summer they will usually have an outdoor area, they will also likely have discounts on food or drinks, which is great because you need fuel before hunting, and saving money is always a good decision.

Work it to your favor:  If you can, try to throw a party or social event there. Since the place doesn’t yet have a social reputation women won’t necessarily be expecting to be picked up.  Also being the person who throws a party brings with it a lot of social status that some women find pretty attractive.  Finally since everything in these places is new you’ll have tons of conversation material (comment on the décor, the menus, etc)

Concerts, Festivals, And Other Outdoor Events

No grand openings in your area? No problem, find a concert, fair, or festival to go to.  These places are usually loaded with good vibes (women) great tunes (women) fun activities (women) and great food (women).  Meeting women here should be no problem.  

Work it to your favor:  If you meet them at a concert or music festival they probably already know about the band(s) and some of the songs, maybe even the genre so you already have loads of easy conversation starters right there.  If you’re at a fair there is no shortage of activities on site to invite her to choose from to try with you.

Parks, Cafes, Restaurants w/Patio

Another obvious but important place to mention, these places are high traffic areas attracting a lot of people who want to get outside and enjoy the day. They also attract a lot of ladies especially those who like to people watch.  

Work it to your favor:  Bring a good camera and take pictures in the park, casually ask her to be in some of the pictures.  If you can take your dog with you to there and make sure you sit outside. Nothing starts a conversation better than a cute puppy who “accidentally” wanders over towards her while you were taking a walk/sipping coffee/etc, plus if she likes dogs you know she’s at least not a sociopath so that’s always a plus.  Finally you can always bring a Frisbee and invite her and her friends to join you as a great way to break the ice.

Camping Sites

Get some of your friends together and go find some women at a camping site.  Since both groups are out there to camp you’ll already have a common interest.  Plus women don’t really expect to get picked up at a camping site so their guard will probably be down.  Also because they don't expect to get picked up it creates spontaneity, and if they are camping it's probably a vacation (ladies love vacation sex, seriously though who doesn't) Bonfires, a good amount of booze, moonlight hikes in the woods or on the beach or at the lake (chicks really like those last two).  This environment kind of screams romantic adventure, it'd be unmanly of you not to take advantage of such a great location.

Work it to your favor:  Make sure you have gourmet but outdoorsy food you can cook on a grill, things like smoked oysters, mushroom stuffed caps with pesto are great to bring because they are sensual foods.  Also you can bring fresh fruit and chocolates which are also sensual and snack like helping set the tone without being obvious.  Bring beer but also bring something women may be more likely to drink, such as sangria or wine (many chicks really dig wine, it gives them all warm and fuzzy, you want to be the guy who gave her that feeling).

Go For It

Whatever place you choose always have some kind of basic idea about the environment, taking into account things that can be used to start conversation or used as an activity.  As an extra note if you’re going out to a social venue keep in mind that the women who go out on off nights like a Monday or Tuesday to go out on the prowl will be easier to spot than if they were going out on a Friday or a weekend, when other non-prowl oriented (roadblocks) women are out with their friends as well. Work these venues to your advantage and you’ll be sure to come out of it with a lovely lady on your arm, hell maybe two if you play it right.  Summer doesn’t last forever so get going today.  Carpe Diem.