Are You Really Getting Enough Sleep?

My guest on tonight's show is Patty Tucker. She's a sleep coach. While that might seem to be an unusual focus for coaching, it is definitely needed. One out of five Americans get less than six hours of sleep a night. And that doesn't include the number of people who are sleeping more than that but aren't sleeping well. I know because I've suffered from insomnia my entire adult life.

Here is a reprint from a blog on Patty's Sleep of Champions website on some surprising signs that you aren't getting a good night's sleep.

We all know how important it is to get enough sleep. Without it we yawn and drag through the day and maybe even need a long or involuntary nap to get through it. But you don’t have these obvious signs of sleep deprivation so you must be getting enough sleep, right? Maybe not. Check these 6 signs that you may not be getting all the sleep you need after all.

1. You use an alarm clock.
When we are free of sleep debt we will wake naturally at about the same time each day after our body has completed its restorative tasks. If you keep a regular schedule and avoid substances that alter the natural cycling of sleep and waking, you should not need to be yanked forcefully from your slumber in the morning. Waking to a jangling alarm clock is a nasty, stress inducing way to start the day. A natural, quiet and fresh awakening is a much more pleasant way to greet the new dawn.

2. You lose your keys.
Memory consolidation is thought to be one of the functions of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. We generally get the bulk of our REM sleep in the last ½ of our sleep session. Therefore if our night is cut short we miss out mostly on REM sleep and may be more prone to memory glitches. Long term sleep problems have even been shown to have an association with Alzheimer’s Disease.

3. You yell at your kids.
Irritability, lack of tolerance and impulse control problems have all been linked to sleep deprivation. This is true for both kids and adults. It is important for everyone in the family to make a sleep a nightly priority. Then the kids will be more likely to behave and you will be less likely to fly off the handle if they don’t!

4. You would rather eat doughnuts than broccoli.
Sleep balances our appetite hormones. With enough sleep under our belt we will have fewer cravings for carbohydrates and the artificial energy found in sugary snacks. We can then make those healthy food choices more easily.

5. You can’t seem to lose weight.
Along the same lines as #4, sleep is also the time we are most efficient at producing human growth hormone and testosterone. Theses hormones help us achieve and maintain a strong, lean body. Without adequate sleep, all our good intentions, diet plans and workout routines will be far less effective than they would be if supported by just a bit more shut-eye.

6. You’ve had a fender bender.
Just a second of inattention is all it takes. A car travelling 37 miles per hour will cover 54 yard in 3 seconds. That’s more than ½ the length of a football field! If the car in front of you brakes suddenly or someone turns in front of you, your safety, maybe even your life, hangs on whether you can react fast enough to avoid impact. Studies have shown that both chronic and short term sleep deprivation leads to slower reactions times. One study at Stanford even proved that sleep deprived people performed more poorly on reaction time tests than did people who were legally drunk.

So don’t wait until you can’t get through the day without propping your eyelids open with toothpicks. Watch for the subtle signs you need more sleep and make it a point to adjust your schedule to get it. When you get the sleep you need you can live the life of your dreams!

Visit Patty at www.sleeprestlive.com to learn more about sleep-related issues.

Tom Corley - Eliminate Poverty Emotions

Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, will be the featured guest on tonight's Get It Together Girl Radio show. He'll talk about how we can change our financial condition by changing our thinking and engaging in some small but different behaviors on a regular basis.

The following is reposted from Tom's blog, Rich Habits.


Rich Habits Fact of the Day
There are 48 known human emotions.

Rich Habits Lesson of the Day
Poverty emotions hold you back in life financially. They are often related to certain limiting beliefs such as “I am not smart enough to be rich.” All Poverty Emotions are negative emotions. Emotions reside in the subconscious.

When combined with continuous thoughts or beliefs, emotions act like giant magnets attracting things into your life that are related to the emotions you continuously allow yourself to feel. Your subconscious does not know any better. It thinks the emotions are something you want to have. It’s job is to give you more of what it thinks you want. For example, if you feel grief, your subconscious will attract more things into your life which will make you grieve.

If you want to become wealthy in life you need to eliminate Poverty Emotions. What are they? Hate, Anger, Doubt, Sadness, Worry, Anxiety, Grief, Fear, Disgust, Stress, Envy, Suspicion, Panic, Disappointment, Greed, Guilt, Revenge, Shame, Embarrassment, Humiliation, Insecurity, Hesitancy, Rude, Obnoxious, Nervousness, Exasperation, Intimidation, Wary, Upset.

Relationship Rescue: Get Your Head Outta the Sand!

For the four Mondays in November, we’ll be attempting a relationship rescue. Even if you aren’t in a relationship, this can help you for the next time you are.

Like the ostrich, many times it is easier to bury our heads in the sand and not confront the sometimes ugly truth. It isn’t that we don’t see the signs that a relationship is in trouble. Most often, we choose a different interpretation.

Yet, on a certain level, a deeper level, we know that something is seriously wrong. Not only is it wrong, but it is probably also complicated, messy and unpleasant to deal with. So we ignore it or make excuses for it.

Of course, I’m talking about infidelity but I’m also talking about more than that. Cheating isn’t the only problem that relationships encounter. There are a myriad of things from abuse to addiction and even indifference or feelings of overwhelm to contend with.

Whatever the issue, ignoring it won’t make it better. You have to deal with it in all its ugly, complicated and messy glory. This requires both honesty and openness. You need to be honest about what you are feeling and what you are experiencing. However, you need to be open to the other person’s feelings and experiences. My Aunt Linda told me a long time ago not to ask a question if you weren’t ready for the answer … especially because it might not be the one you want.

Yet, you have to get down and dirty if you want to get to the bottom of things … and you have to get to the bottom before you can start your rise to the top again.

Relationships, be they romantic, professional or personal, go from bad to worse when issues are allowed to fester and worsen. An wound needs to be treated and bandaged so that it can heal. It won’t get better on it’s own. The antiseptic you use to clean the wound will hurt and the bandage to protect it might be uncomfortable but in the end, it is a pain and discomfort that is necessary to cleanse the wound and let the healing begin.Re

Marie Dubuque: Mind Your Manners!

Marie Dubuque with Manners By Marie wants everyone to know that manners and etiquette aren't old-fashioned or out-of-fashion. In fact, as long as people are interacting with one another, there will be a need for etiquette and just basic rules of behavior.

On tonight's Get It Together Girl Radio show, Marie stops by to talk about manners in fast-paced world. As society changes so do the basics of social behavior.

Here are a few excerpts from her Manners by Marie blog.

Can you be friends with a guy who has a girlfriend?

Yes, but only friends. If he flirts at all, even innocently, you need to change the subject, ignore him, whatever it takes to veer the conversation back to a "friends only" mode. It's easy to start flirting with someone, but look at it like this: If you were his girlfriend, how would you want him talking to other girls? You see what I mean? You know the difference between a conversation between friends, and a flirtation. So, don't do it!

If you feel an attraction towards him, wait until he and his girlfriend are completely broken up. Until then, keep the relationship on a platonic level.

How to handle a co-worker who is on her cell phone all day long?

First, I would talk to her. Explain in a calm manner that you are having trouble concentrating because you can hear all of her conversations. And that just might do the trick! Because the last thing she wants is someone who listens to everything she yaks about!

But if it doesn't work, and she continues to chat away all day long, I would talk to your boss. In fact, I bet you are not the only person who is complaining. After all, she can't be too productive if she is on her phone the whole day.

If the problem still persists, ask to move to another room, office, department...whatever it takes to be able to work in peace!

Should you leave a tip at a partial service restaurant?

You know those restaurants where you order at the counter, get your own drink, and then a server brings you your food? A lot of people don't really know what to do. You have a waiter, but that person doesn't really do much. Yet, they are really friendly when they bring you your meal! (At least in my experience.)

I would leave a dollar on the table...or two if they are really courteous and do something special for you, like grab a high chair, or bring you extra napkins.

Finish Strong

It's November and we're in the final stretch of 2013. However, the year ain't over yet. There is still time to finish strong. Those goals you set at the beginning of the year are still within your reach. Even if it's not possible to complete your goal in two months, you can at least get a good start and gain some momentum.

• You might not be able to lose 50 pounds but you can lose 10.
• You can start that workout routine.
• You can begin putting a little money aside every paycheck.
• You can order a few college catalogs.
• You can try again to quit smoking or stop another bad habit.

It's not to late. You can still finish strong!

It's Not Too Late to Finish Strong!

It's November and we're in the final stretch of 2013. However, the year ain't over yet. There is still time to finish strong. Those goals you set at the beginning of the year are still within your reach. Even if it's not possible to complete your goal in two months, you can at least get a good start and gain some momentum.

• You might not be able to lose 50 pounds but you can lose 10.
• You can start that workout routine.
• You can begin putting a little money aside every paycheck.
• You can order a few college catalogs.
• You can try again to quit smoking or stop another bad habit.

It's not to late. You can still finish strong!

Relationship Rescue: Speaking the Same Language

For the four Mondays in November, we’ll be attempting a relationship rescue. Even if you aren’t in a relationship, this can help you for the next time you are.

A relationship is always difficult. It will always be work … hopefully, mostly fun and rewarding work, but work just the same. When you think about it, it’s a miracle that two people ever come together. There are so many factors to consider: attraction, chemistry, values, location, baggage, issues, finding the person for you is hard!

But even when you have found that person, The One, the road isn’t always sunny and smooth. It’s possible, after everything, that you are The One aren’t even speaking the same language! In his best-selling book, The Five Love Languages, author Gary Chapman determines five ways people want to be loved. Of course, we give love the way we want to receive love. The problem occurs when the way we want to be loved isn’t the same way the person we love want to be loved.

For instance, for many people gifts and receiving things is a sign of love. This person will naturally give gifts. However, the spouse may not place a high value on gifts, what they want is time. So frustration ensues. The person who wants gifts gets time and the person who wants time gets a lot of stuff. See the problem?

Here are the Five Love Languages

1. Words of Affirmation: This person wants to hear “I love you.” Thanking them for something they’ve done and telling them how you feel is what really matters.
2. Receiving Gifts: Whether it’s wrapped in a box or given in a bouquet, this person wants to see and receiving the tokens of your affection.
3. Acts of Service: This person wants their actions to speak for them. Cooking a meal for someone, taking the car for an oil change, these things are not just done out of necessity, they are done out of love.
4. Physical Touch: This is more than just the sex act. A touch on the shoulder, cuddling on the couch, holding hands, these are the signs that show this person they are loved.
5. Quality Time: This person doesn’t want things they want time spent together: on a drive, at the movies, over dinner, it’s the amount of time and quality of that time that matters.

Knowing your Love Language is only half the battle. You need to know your partner’s Love Language so that both of you can receive love in your own way.

Visit Chapman’s site at http://www.5lovelanguages.com/. Click Discover Your Love Language across the time to find out what your Love Language is. (Mine is Acts of Service!)

Timogi Jackon - Empowering YOU

Guest Timogi conducts workshops across the country helping women move through healing to wholeness. She is an Empowerment Coach working with individuals and groups.  If you aren’t familiar with what an Empowerment Specialist does, read what Timogi has to say about it and listen to her positive and powerful interview tonight!

• An Empowerment Specialist supports women in their efforts to achieve desired personal growth.
• An Empowerment Specialist is actively listens and hears what you say as well as what you do not say.
• An Empowerment Specialist is a professional confidant willing to acknowledge truth in your life with your greater good in mind encouraging you to strengthen and grow.
• An Empowerment Specialist is an idea editor proofreading your thoughts and goals making them focused, tangible and organized.
• An Empowerment Specialist is an interior decorator strategically placing your goals into a set of streamlined, specific, measurable actions.
• An Empowerment Specialist encourages your self-discovery and your critical thinking allowing you to be the visionary and author of your growth and success.

Listen live at 8:00 p.m. tonight or anytime after that at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/getittogethergirl.