Holiday Challenge-- Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the "Maintain, Don't Gain Holiday Challenge" sponsored by Eat Smart Move More Weigh Less. It's still not too late to sign up (for free) at https://esmmweighless.com/sign/. You can also access their social media, tools, & recipes from that website.

Here's a summary of one article & the weekly challenge.

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Sleep and Counting Sheep

Lack of sleep is a chronic problem in America. ...Getting at least an average of 7 hours of sleep per night is critical to overall health. The way you feel while you're awake depends in part on what happens while you're sleeping.

...There are many body systems that are impacted when we don't get the sleep we need. Sleep deprivation can lead to irritability, cognitive impairment, impaired immune system, risk of type 2 diabetes, risk of heart disease, slower reaction time, memory lapses, and risk of obesity.

Lack of sleep decreases metabolism. This results in burning fewer calories each day. Lack of sleep also affects hormones that are in charge of hunger. ...So, we become hungrier AND it is harder to feel satiated. Therefore, we are prone to overeat when we are sleep deprived.

Use this chart to see how much sleep is recommended for specified age groups.

Age	Recommended Amount of Sleep
Newborns	16–18 hours a day
Preschool-aged children	11–12 hours a day
School-aged children	At least 10 hours a day
Teens	9–10 hours a day
Adults (including older adults)	7–8 hours a day

Tips to getting a good night’s sleep:

1. Set a sleep schedule...
2. No caffeine late in the day...
3. Don’t eat too close to bedtime...
4. Exercise...
5. Turn your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary...

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Week 2's Challenge are desk exercises.

...Physical activity is important for strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and bone density. The following exercises can be done at your desk and will help overall health. 

Each day this week, take a 3-5 minute break to follow Denise Austin as she leads us through "deskercises". Rotate through the YouTube clips below:

Abs 

Arms 

Legs 

If you would like additional exercises or if you are unable to access YouTube, here is a humorous list of desk exercises with visuals.  Another resource is this bingo board to print out and hang on your computer monitor.