|  1. MAKE YOUR LIFE REGULAR... as "clock work"
If you suffer from OVERSTRESS, you have disrupted the function of your Body Clock. Re-setting your Body Clock is vital if you are to feel well, sleep soundly, and awake refreshed. Give yourself a definite wake up and sleep time. This sets a frame of reference for your Body Clock. It will take two or three weeks to synchronize your Body Clock to your schedule. So, stick to your schedule!
But what if I try to go to sleep at 10 p.m. and I can't fall asleep? Or what if I fall asleep but keep waking up during the night?
Sleep difficulty is the hallmark of OVERSTRESS. When your Body Clock stops working, you may have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Or conversely, you may feel sleepy all the time. Either symptom may be produced when the Body Clock stops working. It all depends on which "position" the Clock was in when it stops: wakefulness, or sleepiness.
So, do not expect to have your sleep problems go away until your Body Clock is working again. Go ahead and set yourself a reasonable wake up time and bed time. Do the best you can to stick to these times. As you lower your stress levels, your Body Clock will begin to work. It will then match its cycle ofwakefulness and sleep to the times that you have set for it. Remember, this process will take at least three weeks, so stick firmly to your time schedule.
But what if I put myself to bed at my bed time, and I just lie there without falling asleep?
If, after 45 minutes, you have not fallen asleep, get up and read a book or do something around the house. Sooner or later, you will feel sleepy and fall asleep. Keep putting yourself to bed at your bed time every night. As you reduce your stress levels, your Body Clock will begin working. Your Body Clock will gradually match your chosen sleep schedule. In the meantime, be patient and work to reduce your stress levels as much as possible.
If You Must do "Shift Work":
Your Body Clock will always try and synchronize itself with your daily schedule. If your job requires you to work varying shifts, however, you may have difficulty in getting your Body Clock to match your shift. When properly synchronized, your Body Clock tells you to be awake for your work, and tells you to go to sleep after your work. If you do evening work, your Body Clock will shift itself so that you will be awake for your evening work, and be able to sleep during the day. But this change requires two or three weeks to occur. If your employer rotates your shift more often than every two or three weeks, your Body Clock will always be mis-matched with your work requirements. You will be trying to work when your body wants to sleep, and trying to sleep when your body wants to work. This will make it practically impossible to restore the proper functioning of your Body Clock.
If you are OVERSTRESSED, you should avoid "shift work". If you MUST do "shift work", try and work at least three weeks at each shift before rotating to a new one. And always make sure the direction of shift rotation to is "morning to evening to night to morning again".
Do you remember that the untrained cycle of your body clock is 25 hours? Because of this, it is always easier to stay up later, than to try and force yourself to go to bed early. So never try to rotate shifts from "night to evening to morning". Your Body Clock will blow a fuse.
If Your Work Involves Air Travel to Different Time Zones:
Those of you who do frequent long distance air traveling will be familiar with the condition known as "Jet Lag". Jet Lag occurs when you board an airplane and rapidly move to an area where the local time is more than three to four hours different than the time on your Body Clock. You might, for instance, board a jet in Hawaii and fly to New York. When you arrive in NewYork, it might be midnight New York Time, but only 6 p.m. on your Body Clock.
All you body rhythms: temperature, stress fighting hormone, sleep cycles are now out of synchronization with your local time zone. Now you are trying to go to sleep when your body is still awake, and trying to work when your body expects you to be in bed. It will take two or three weeks for your Body Clock to harmonize with your new surroundings. During that time it is not unusual to be fatigued and to feel "not with it". We call this feeling "Jet Lag".
If you are OVERSTRESSED, you should avoid inter-time zone traveling. But if you MUST change time zones, try to wait at least three weeks between trips. And when you do take that trip, and you arrive in a new time zone, it will be easier for you to adjust if you stay up later, rather than trying to force yourself to sleep when your body wants to be awake.
If You Work Indoors:
Your body Clock requires exposure to daylight during the day in order to remain synchronized with your local time zone. Normal fluorescent lighting does not have the same light spectrum as daylight, hence it will NOT help your Body Clock to properly set itself. If you are a person who arises when it is dark, works indoors all day, and goes home when it is dark, your BodyClock may become out of phase with the world around you - giving you a case of permanent "Jet Lag". Because of this problem, manufacturers of fluorescent lights have begun producing "daylight spectrum" fluorescent lights. These lights will allow your Body Clock to synchronize itself with your work schedule.
If you work indoors, try to work by a window. If you cannot, then see if you can have "daylight spectrum" fluorescent light bulbs installed. It really helps.
As an alternative for people who never seen the sun, one can sit facing 600 watts of daylight spectrum fluorescent lights, three feet in front of you, for one hour. Do this at the time that you wish your Body Clock to learn to wake you up. You may eat breakfast, read a book, or watch television, but the light must be facing you. (Caution is required with light therapy in people with manic depressive disorders, skin that is sensitive to light, or medical conditions that make the eyes vulnerable to light damage - consult physician first.)
Note that persons living in northern climates lacking in sunshine may have the same problem of permanent "Jet Lag". It is so common it has been named "Seasonal Affective Disorder" or "SAD" for short. For these people the above suggestion will be equally helpful.
2. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK TODAY
You must give your body adequate time to repair itself, and to regenerate Happy Messengers. If you are having symptoms of OVERSTRESS:
Fatigue
Aches and pains
Anxiety
Problems sleeping
Lack of enjoyment of life
Depression
Give your body a chance to heal itself.
Every morning make a list of things that you want to ge done...
THEN, CUT OFF THE BOTTOM HALF OF THIS LIST!
3. LIGHTEN UP YOUR LOAD OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
Let someone else do the holiday dinner for the family, or make it a pot luck on paper plates. Only go out once this week. Tell your visitors from out of town (who always expect to stay at your house) to call you "just as soon as they get settled in a hotel room".
SAY "NO" A LOT MORE OFTEN TO REQUESTS FROM OTHERS OF YOUR TIME.
4. POSTPONE MAKING ANY CHANGES IN YOUR LIVING ENVIRONMENT
Remember, CHANGE IS STRESS. So relax, postpone any big moves or changes for awhile.
Postpone remodeling your home or apartment.
Postpone moving to a new house or apartment.
Making a change in your living environment, even if it is a change that you are excited about, is a major stress. It will add a minimum of 25 stress points to your life; and, if it is a financial strain, may add as much as 65 stress points!
When you consider that you would like to reduce your stress level to 150 or below, you will see why postponing a change in your living environment will be very helpful in obtaining that goal.
5. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HOURS YOU SPEND AT WORK OR SCHOOL
If you are a "workaholic", or a "school-a-holic", you need to reduce the energy drain you are placing on your body. Work or school more than 40 hours per week adds 40 stress points to your life.
TAKE SOME TIME OFF
6. THE OVERSTRESS DIET
Keep Your Blood Sugar Steady
People who are OVERSTRESSED almost always begin to use sugar as a Pick-Me-Up. Their blood sugar goes up and down wildly. Thus, the most important dietary consideration is to keep your blood sugar from swinging high, or swinging low. In order to feel well, you must level out your blood sugar, avoiding the"sugar highs", and "sugar lows". Take your sugar in the form of complex carbohydrates, such as cereals, rice, pasta, bread and potatoes. These foods, comprised of tightly interlinked sugars, are broken down slowly by the body, releasing their sugar over a long period of time. Eating frequent small meals, instead of a few large ones, also helps keep your blood sugar stable.
Eat More Vegetables
Your brain's production of one of the Happy Messengers, Serotonin, is sensitive to your diet. Eating more vegetables, can increase your brain's Serotonin production. This increase is due to improved absorption of the amino acid L-Tryptophan. (Vegetables contain the natural, safe, form of L Tryptophan. At the present writing, synthetic L-Tryptophan has been removed from health food stores due to probable impurities that were, in some cases, causing severe and even fatal illness). Meats contain natural L-Tryptophan also, but when you eat meat, the L-Tryptophan has to compete with so many other amino acids for absorption that the L-Tryptophan loses out. The net result is that you get better absorption of L-Tryptophan when you eat vegetables.
In other words -- eat a salad for lunch.
You should also take a good multi-vitamin and mineral preparation.
Here is a formula which is representative of such a vitamin. Such a vitamin is available at most any drug store. It is best to take such a vitamin once each
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