How Your Friends Make It Easy to be Healthy: Sleep & Swim
This is a diary of the healthy lifestyle goals that my son, Chris, and I are making together each month. Since it takes 21-30 days to develop a new habit, making a goal for the month ahead is an effective strategy.
The buddy system is one of the main ways to get motivated. I’ve always found that if I say out loud to someone what I plan on doing, I’m more likely to do it. Because if I say I will, I feel responsible to follow through.
Age doesn’t matter. It’s never too late. You can always make progress and even reverse the signs of aging!
Last month, Chris’s goal was to catch up on sleep and take a vacation to a sunny place. My goal was to swim once a week, and if the weather got in the way, I was to swim indoors or on an extra day when it was sunny again. Here’s how we did:
Chris’s Goal: To Catch Up on Sleep & Take a Vacation
What a wonderful goal to have: something fun and pleasurable! It’s important to take a break after working hard and pushing ourselves day after day. Sleep and vacations are good for our health, well-being and mental clarity.
But once Chris’s play run and movie production were completed in mid-June, other things got in the way of pleasure. Stressful situations filled his thoughts and prevented sleep. Rather than leaving on a vacation, he hung out with friends to try to try to take his mind off things. By the end of the month, he was no more rested than he was in the beginning.
Besides, he said the sun wakes him up every morning at 7 a.m. He forgot that I gave him an eye mask the last time he had that problem. So he’s going to start using the eye mask.
But how do you rest when you are faced with problems? I suggested he try to relax rather than sleep. The mind must be relaxed before you can find enough peace to fall asleep. I asked him if he might want to try meditation. He agreed to take at least ten minutes or more a day to relax his body and mind.
I have written before about how easy it is to meditate in the post: “How to Meditate: Free & Easy Ways to Calm Your Mind.” So I told Chris he can call me if he tries to meditate and has a hard time.
I advised him to take 10-20 minutes at any time each day to take some deep breaths, relax each muscle of his body and let go of all the stressful thoughts filling his mind. Then he can either keep his mind blank (which is hard to do) or focus on thoughts of appreciation. Stressful thoughts can be replaced with thinking of all that we are grateful for. It can be anything: the good foods we have to eat, the income we have, our friends and family, the weather, etc.
Thankfully, Chris was open to my suggestions.
My Goal: Swim Every Week
The opening of swimming pools and beaches on Memorial Day weekend came with suddenly beautiful weather after a late spring of very cool temperatures. My brother had his birthday party at the lake, so I packed my swim bag as usual in anticipation of swimming there. For the first time, I ended up leaving the lake at the end of the day without swimming. 🙁
My brother’s many friends were at the party, whereas usually I am there with only our family members present. We had a pleasant boat ride as usual, and we waded on the lake’s edge. But nobody went swimming. When I was leaving, my sister-in-law said she would have gone swimming if someone else did. I would have if I know she was going to, too. But it was too late as I was on the way to the car. So swim season started without a swim.
The second weekend, I also failed to get out to swim. I went out of town to visit friends and was too busy.
So I got a late start but have been in the swim of things (pun intended :D) since the second week of June. The temperatures shot up into the 80’s, 90’s and a real feel of 100 degrees.
My family supports my desire to swim. I have gone to swim at my sister’s pool a few times and to the beach with my husband.
With such a hot summer, I shouldn’t have a problem getting in all of my outdoor swimming. Especially because I look out the window every morning like I always have in anticipation of a hot, sunny day for swimming outdoors. I am content, and looking forward to it with great joy!
On the days when it rains or I have errands to do, I usually walk at the mall or while I’m out shopping. My Fitness Pal connects with Map My Walk by Under Armour. It pops up whenever I enter my walking exercise into My Fitness Pal. So I’ve finally decided to stop ignoring it and try it out. For the next month, I’m going to give it a try when I walk instead of swim.
Our Goals for the Next Month:
I will be trying out the app Map My Walk when I walk instead of swim. Chris will be trying out meditation. See next month’s health diary entry to find out how it went!
Do you get enough rest, do you meditate, do you swim or walk? Please leave a reply below!
Did you like reading this month’s diary? You might want to see other journal entries in my Health Goal Diary category.
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This post is linked up with #Wellness Wednesday at Hello I’m 60ish.
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