My Lifelong Battle with Sleep (UPDATE)

     Over the past few weeks I've had quite a few successes and just a handful of failures when it came to getting my sleep schedule on track. I did quite a bit of research and found a myriad of suggestions regarding healthy sleep habits, sleeping more soundly, and getting out of bed at a reasonable time in the morning. Most of those suggestions were quite helpful but some were just bizarre such as placing a coffee maker next to your bed so you can reach over first thing in the morning and grab a steaming cup of Joe. I'm sure that scenario would actually work but with my luck and incredibly dexterity I would just end up with severe burns on my face and terrible coffee stains on my sheets. Plus, how would I explain the weirdness of having a coffee maker next to the bed?

     My biggest problem with sleeping has been "turning off my brain" at night. It is hard to go to sleep with a million things running through your head. Usually, I will lay in bed, relaxed, trying to get some sleep, when my brain will suddenly say:
                          "Hey, let's contemplate all the vastness and inner workings of the Universe!"
This is common for a lot of people but points to a much larger problem. I find that I thrive on simplicity. I find that I thrive when I have less "stuff". I find that when I de-clutter my life so follows my mind and thus, I sleep better.  

     After doing a little research and some experimentation I have found what works for me and I will list those below. All of these suggestions may not work for you but I'm sure some of them will.

• Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time. - Have a set bed time every night and conversely have a set time you wake up every morning. Starting a routine is key to long term success in pretty much everything you do.
• Wake up and stretch. - When your alarm clock goes off in the morning instead of quickly hitting the snooze and getting back under the covers (which is so tempting) take a moment to stretch, do a few side twists, and start the day. You are not a bear....don't continue to hibernate. 
• Turn off ALL electronic devices 1 hour before your bed time.  - The television, and in my case my laptop, is the single biggest reason people are getting less and less sleep these days. Turn them all off and read a book. Or, use the time to get rid of clutter in your house. Studies show that having a less cluttered home is a good way to clear your mind at night.  
• Lay off the caffeine throughout the day. -But that goes without saying.
• Drink plenty of water. - Staying hydrated throughout the day, with water not soft drinks, is great for all around health in general but you are at your most dehydrated state as soon as you wake up in the morning. You have just gone 8 hours without drinking any liquid and you are respiring the whole night. Keep a Nalgene of water next to your bed and drink a cup or two when you wake up.
• Let technology help you. - I found a lot of computer software and phone apps that are designed to help you with sleep. I didn't try many of these because they just seemed to be more trouble than they are worth but I can recommend one. I had read about a computer program that is designed to change the color and hues of your computer screen throughout the day to reduce eye strain. It is called F.lux software and I can honestly say that it has worked for me. It's FREE and a very quick download. Check it out and read more here.
• Melatonin  - I've done a lot of reading on the hormone Melatonin. It is found naturally in all mammals and plays a role in regulating circadian rhythm. I am always wary of any substance that is used to regulate sleep (i.e. sleeping pills) but after my own research and listening to others who use it, I knew I had to try it myself. I can easily say that it works for me. I don't take a Melatonin tablet every night but I do take them on nights that I know I will have trouble sleeping or I will have trouble calming my mind. Talk to your doctor (if you're lucky enough to have one) if you have any questions. I found that you can find Melatonin pretty much anywhere that sells vitamins but Trader Joe's has the most reasonably priced bottle I could find. 

   
That's really about it. Simplicity! Just the way I like it. I'll be exploring sleep a lot more in the future so I may add to the list and more posts are sure to come. Do you have any suggestions? Let me know.

Take care of yourself and each other...

Tasty Tuesday!

Egg White Frittata with Fresh Broccoli and Mixed Greens

     My favorite meal of the day BY FAR is breakfast. At heart I know everyone else agrees with me. Breakfast is so great that it is very common for people to have "Breakfast for Dinner". Honestly it's just an excuse to eat pancakes at night but this practice is proof that breakfast foods are the most preferred type of food. You don't often hear people having "Dinner for Breakfast". No one wants to have "Late Night Dinner that You Made With Leftover Obscure Condiments You had in the Refrigerator Because You Didn't Have Time to Go To the Grocery Store Earlier That Day for Breakfast". But, we've all been there and nothing reeks more of failure.

     But, my typical breakfast usually consists of a bowl of oatmeal. I don't have much time to eat breakfast in the morning due to certain work schedules and I find that is true for most people. That's why on weekends I try to make it a point to spend the entire morning making a nice breakfast for myself, usually consisting of coffee, eggs, toast, jam, and whatever blogs, books, or news stories I've been meaning to catch up on. 

     I haven't featured many breakfast recipes here in the past (check out: Blueberry Scones and Vegan Breakfast Burritos) but I'll try to make it a point to due so in the future. Also, all the photos I took in this post used natural light from my kitchen window. It was a bit of an experiment but I'm pleased with the outcome. Hope you like the recipe. 

Tasty Tuesday!

Vegan Braised Chinese Mushrooms and Bok Choy

     First post of the new year!!! Happy 2012 everybody. So after all the holiday eating I thought I would post a simple and light recipe from the NY Times for everyone to enjoy. This recipe calls for Chinese dried mushrooms but you can substitute fresh mushrooms if you like but this may be a good opportunity for you to go exploring that Asian market you've been meaning to check out. You would be surprised how cheap and plentiful dried mushrooms are. 

     I've talked a lot about how inexpensive ethnic grocery stores can be in previous "Tasty Tuesday" posts (see: Baba ghanoush, Thai Red Curry Eggplant and Mustard Greens, Hummus) and after exploring yet another local store recently, that statement still holds true. Also, they're usually family owned so you can feel good about spending your money there. Anyway, enjoy this easy recipe and I know all of you will have great accomplishments this year!

My Lifelong Battle with Sleep

     I haven't posted much lately. Ever since I returned from my trip overseas I have been trying to get back on schedule. I've been busy getting certain affairs back in order and trying to catch up after more than a month away. The main reason I haven't been posting, however, is that I have been having more trouble with sleep than ever before. Over the past 3 weeks I have not fallen asleep before 2AM and I've had two nights that I had no sleep at all. So, here I sit after another night of only getting 2 hours of sleep. On the bright side, I did get to see the sunrise this morning.

     I have the world's worst sleeping habits, at least it seems that way. I've had problems with sleeping for as long as I can remember. In elementary school I would often stay awake until 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning watching television or playing video games and then I would sleep until the early afternoon. In my teen years the problem got even worse and in college, between working full time and taking a full course load, sleeping was truly a luxury. As an adult my bad habits continued but I have been lucky that most of my jobs never required an early start time and I could make my own hours. There isn't a time in my life when I don't remember feeling like a zombie in the morning. I have always thought that people who say they wake up feeling rested were full of shit. I have almost accepted that I would always feel like garbage in the morning and there wasn't much I could do about it.

     I've had occasional success with my sleep. From time to time I'll get into a very nice routine, in bed at a reasonable time, up for an early start and feeling energized. But, those occasions have been very few. I'd quickly fall back into old habits. It has become quite obvious to me over the past few weeks that I have a serious problem that needs to be addressed. I've been reading a lot lately on how to obtain proper sleeping habits and over the next few weeks I'll be applying some of the things I've learned and talking about them here. This may not be interesting to a lot of you but hopefully it will be helpful to a few. I know for a fact that I'm not the only one with bad sleeping habits. Also, this will be a good chance to get back to why I started this blog in the first place, a place to explore self improvement. So, keep checking back in to see my progress or to see my crash and burn. Who knows what will happen.

Do you have bad sleeping habits too? Share your story.


Take care of yourself and each other......AND GET SOME SLEEP!

Tasty Tuesday! Late Edition

Yellow Split-pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale

     This is my first post since returning from Guyana! It has taken a little time to get back in the habit of updating "A Beer with Brad" but more posts are coming. In the meantime try this soup recipe. I believe I've posted a lot of soup recipes on here lately. Apparently I really dig soup and didn't realize it. I'll put up a wider variety of recipes some other time.

     This is the first recipe I've put up that you will need special equipment in order to make. You'll need a pressure cooker for this one or else the sweet potatoes and split peas will take forever and a day to cook. It just so happened that someone gave me a pressure cooker a while back and I have never used it so I thought why not try it out.

     The thing is, this pressure cooker was most likely manufactured in the 1950's (at least that is when the user's manual was printed). Obviously pressure cookers have come a long way in 60 years and they are completely safe to use now. Today, thanks to built in pressure relief valves, there is no risk of a pressure cooker exploding, or creating a new sky light in your kitchen, maiming you, or vaporizing the family dog. But, this pressure cooker lacked all the modern conveniences and safety features. I probably had no reason to fear the cooker while it was on the stove but I left the room anyway and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't have to explain to my landlord why his house had to have the kitchen replaced.

     Honestly I wasn't really curious as to how this recipe would turn out. I just wanted an excuse to use a piece of antiquated cooking equipment. It worked, the meal preparation was pretty uneventful, the soup tasted great, and I will be using the pressure cooker again in the future.

     If you don't own a pressure cooker this recipe may not be for you. There is a way to make this recipe without one but the amount of time it takes isn't worth it. If you have one though give the soup a try.

A fun side note: I scoured the user's manual for any kind of funny anachronistic uses of sexist/racist language but the manual was PC even by today's standards. Kudos Mirro-Matic!

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. oil (I used olive)
• 2 tsp. ginger paste or 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger (minced)
• 2 tsp. garlic
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 8 cups of water (give or take)
• 3 cups of dried yellow split peas
• 2 tablespoons of curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large handful of kale, central rib removed, chopped

1. Saute the onions until translucent in a little oil. Throw in the cumin, pour oil over the spices, add the ginger and garlic. Add the sweet potatoes, water, split peas, and 1 tablespoon of curry powder. Stir. 
2. Seal the cooker and bring it up to high pressure (as described in your manual). Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes, remove from the heat, and allow the pressure to come down.
3. When the potatoes and split peas are cooked add the kale, season with salt and pepper, and the rest of the curry powder. If the soup is too thick add a little more water.
4. Cover the pot again and let the kale cook down a little just using the steam of the soup. Do not apply heat.

Saute those onions

Add the potatoes

There is essentially a bomb on top of my stove.

Next add the kale

Take care of yourself and each other...