Habits for a healthy weekend

Weekends are the perfect time to relax from weekly routine, but it shouldn't disturb completely your healthy habits that you try to maintain during business days. If you let yourself to easily fall in the weekends trap, you may lose a healthy rhythm as well as decrease results you got by being disciplined and working hard toward your specific goals. However, don't think that you can't enjoy with your family and friends if you follow healthy lifestyle even during weekend. Below I will share few easy tips that could improve your weekend, without feeling deprived from anything.

 1. KEEP YOUR SLEEPING SCHEDULE

This is probably not something that you want to hear for days off, especially if you get early during week, but waking up at similar time each day (even when you don't work) will help your body to maintain good rhythm for sleeping, and so you won't have too much problem with sleep when you start working again. Moreover, your day will be much longer and you will have more time to do things that you enjoy, instead of spending the whole day just laying down and sleeping!

2.  HAVE HEALTHY REGULAR MEALS

We all know how food can be tempting during weekend. You have more free time to enjoy it, so eating bigger meals can quickly become your weekend bad habit as well as unregularly nutrition since you don't have specifically organized day. For example, on business days, you may have breakfast, lunch and dinner at approximately same time, with maybe few snacks between. On the other hand, meals on days off are usually irregular with various snacks during day which are not always so healthy. In order to avoid gaining weight. losing energy and impairing health during weekend, try to eat same or even better than on week days. Don't be lazy to plan and prepare your meals, since they nourish the body you are living in!

3. STAY ACTIVE

It is well known that regular workouts improve physical and mental health, so it is highly recommended to train at least three times per week. However,  more activity is always welcome as long as you don't exaggerate and over train yourself. Weekend may be great for making up some missed training, or increase your fitness routine since you have more time to workout. For instance, you can go for longer run, cycling, swimming, playing some sports or whatever you enjoy but you don't have time for that during working days. Moreover, outside activities will be a great choice when it's sunny to also get some vitamin D which improves your overall health and mood too.
Enjoy in active weekend!

4. EAT SMART OUTSIDE

When it comes to healthy lifestyle, one of the first things that most of people think is that you have to deprive yourself from many enjoyments like hanging out all night or drinking and eating outside. The true is that moderation in will help you to make a good balance with your body and mind so make you happy and healthy. In a nutshell, stay moderate whatever are your choices, and try to follow what you want and not people around you. When eating out, tray to avoid food which is fried, buttered, breaded or too much creamy. Instead of that, strive for boiled, roasted or steamed food. If you pay little bit more attention, you will notice that actually many restaurants offer various healthy meals that you may enjoy without feeling guilty but you just need to choose the right meals for you. When it comes to drinks, if you like alcohol, again choose smartly and drink it slowly by enjoying more in your company rather than quick liters of cocktails after which you may even not remember of your night. Finally, go out little earlier in evening and then you won't necessarily go to sleep always when it sun rises and so lose all the next day!

5. PLAN YOUR TIME

Planning your weekend ahead will decrease chances of spending your days off by just thinking about what to do first and so even losing motivation for anything. Therefore, make a list about everything you would like to do when weekend comes, as well as the best order of those activities. Of course, try to be realistic, and not put too many obligations that will make you exhausted before the next week did not even start. Beside necessary tasks such house chores, big shopping at groceries or others, always include at least on thing just for your pleasure. That can be anything you enjoy to do, from reading a book, meditate, watch a movie, have a massage or attend a class of dance. Do more of what makes you happy. In that way, you will get more positive energy and feel great for the following productive week!

Written by Tamara Arapovic

Healthy & Delicious Snacks

You have probably heard many times so far that having regular meals is very important for your body to stay healthy and strong. However, most of people skip their meals because of various reasons. Some of the most common reason is a very busy daily schedule, overeating instead of splitting food in several moderated meals, or belief that starving will help them to lose weight.

On the other hand, while eating more often small portions during your day will improve your overall health and mood, it is also very significant what actually do you eat. Whether you want to lose, gain or maintain your weight, you shouldn't skip your meals, especially when you are very hungry. Of course, what and when you are going to eat something depend on many facts such as your activity level, current health and personal goals. One of the best thing you can do to maintain your energy at highest level during all day is to eat at similar time each day.

The following ideas of savory and sweet snacks are easy to make and so tasteful that you will never want to skip them. Since most of these snacks you can eat on to go, they may help you to maintain your organism in balance while eating healthy food regularly wherever you are, but don't forget to dedicate more time to your meals whenever you can. Although snacks make you satisfy for some time, they should not replace your main meals.

PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA

This snack will definitely keep you full and satisfied and help your body to repair and build muscles. Peanut butter is high in protein and potassium as well as banana which is also rich in dietary fiber, potassium, biotin, manganese and several vitamins  such as B6, E and C. These nutrients will improve your overall health, such as maintaining good blood sugar level, decreasing the risk of high blood pressure, and keeping your bowels healthy.


STRAWBERRIES IN CACAO

Good news for chocolate lovers is that cacao has many health benefits, so if you choose dark chocolate with higher percent of cacao content, you may improve your health and maintain desired weight while still enjoying in great taste. Beside many vitamins, flavonoids, protein and fiber, cacao contains also monosaturated fats that keep you heart healthy. The combination of melted dark chocolate and strawberries is a delicious healthy sweet treat. Streawberries are an excellent source of antioxidants, vitamin C, manganese, omega 3 fatty acids and other healthy nutrients that will keep your body healthier and even youthful.


BAKED POTATOES

The easiest way to gain weight or increase the bad cholesterol more quickly than you think is to often grab salted deep fried chips for your snack. Instead of adding additional calories without getting satisfied and even impairing your health with processed chips, switch it with baked potatoes. There are many ways to prepare this very healthy vegetable, which is full of potassium, vitamin B6 and other important nutrients for healthy body. One of the best way to keep all nutrients of potatoes is to bake them. You can even cut potatoes on several thin pieces to make it more convenient for your snack on to go.

BOILED EGGS

Hard-boiled eggs are a great source of protein, good fats and important vitamins to keep your bones strong, heart healthy and maintain or even gain more muscle mass. They will make you satisfied for longer time while also providing your body with high level of energy. What another reason do you need to quickly prepare boiled eggs for your next snack? Just stay on two to three eggs per day. Moderation is a key for everything!


QUESADILLAS

When you are looking for a very nutritional snack that will make your tummy satisfied but don't impair your diet, mini quesadillas could be the right choice for you. They can be made very quickly and easy with various ingredients. Only you need is a whole wheat flour or corn tortilla in which you are going to put some low fat cheese and vegetables you want such as beans, tomatoes, onions, avocado, spinach and others. You can also add some meat like chopped chicken or turkey. Then you just heat your tortilla to be crispy or as much as you like it. Enjoy in healthy mini quesadillas whenever you want to nourish your body in right way with great taste!

FRUIT SALAD

Fruit salad is certainly one of the best and common snack because it's easy, healthy and delicious. Since fruits are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, they should be part of your regular nutrition. Moreover, most of fruits such as watermelon or apple contain lot of water what will keep you hydrated. Fruit salad may also be a perfect dessert because the fructose from fruits won't impair your health and weight as will the sugar you get from processed sweets. Therefore, feel free to enjoy in various combinations of fruits you like to make a tasteful snack that will improve your health and also body image. Remember to don't eat less but just eat right!

VEGGIES & DIP SAUCE

One of the lowest in calorie snack but very nutritional is mixed vegetables with some home made sauce such as avocado, spinach or low-fat cheese. There are various vegetables that taste very good with some dip sauce and they will satiate your hunger fast because of high content of fiber. Enjoy every day in different mix of vegetables like carrots, zucchini, cucumber, celery and many others. Eating vegetables on daily basis will contribute a lot to your better health, prevent you from overeating and craving for too much carbohydrates or simple sugar.


SWEET CORN

Beside it's very convenient and tasteful snack, corn has several health benefits and here are some of them that should convince you to consume it more often. Natural corn is a very good source of dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin B6, phosphorus and beta-carotene. When you cook the whole corn, its antioxidant activity is higher what protects your body from various diseases. In addition, the sweet corn is full of phytochemicals that protect healthy vision. So grab one whole corn or cup of sweet one to satisfy your tummy for your snack time while improving your health too.

NUTS & HONEY

It is highly recommended to consume every day a handful of almonds, cashews, pistachios or walnuts, because they are full of healthy nutrients like protein, various vitamins and healthy fats. Since they are easy to eat on go, these nuts should become one of your regular daily snacks. For  more sweet taste, you can add little bit of honey which is also known for its health benefits. Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants that keep your heart healthy and reduce risk of various diseases. It is also anti-bacterial, and helpful with throat irritation.

MINI MUFFINS

Maybe you didn't expect to see muffins in the list of healthy food, but the true is that if they are prepared with right ingredients, muffins may be a perfect healthy snack to fuel your body quickly and with healthy nutrients. Since muffins can be salted and sweet, you can be creative with taste but always use whole wheat or corn flour and include healthy ingredients like vegetables, cereals, nuts, fruits, dark chocolate, and if you like it, even little bit of cinnamon for sweet and some hot spices for salted muffins that will speed up your metabolism. Just avoid additional syrup and sugar on top of your muffins.

SMOOTHIES

Don't forget this snack which is easy to make and to carry everywhere. Beside it will keep you hydrated, smoothie made with natural ingredients will nourish your body in healthy way, give you energy, help you keep the healthy weight and maintain your skin nice and clean. You can enjoy in various smoothies every day, by combining your favorite vegetables or fruits.  For example, the Green smoothie (one of possible recipe: mix spinach, romaine salad, ginger, orange and banana) or the Berry smoothie ( mix strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) are known as detox drinks full of antioxidants that will help you to get rid of bad

toxins, burn more calories and also reduce body fat percentage.

Consume snacks in moderation, as well as your other meals. In addition, be active as much as you can. Strive for active lifestyle and good nutrition rather than sedentary life and overeating or starving.

Written by Tamara Arapovic

Perfect reasons to workout

It is common that almost everyone would like to look nice, be strong, healthy, successful, and happy. However, most of people are not aware that just one little change can actually help them to improve their life in all areas. No, it's not about some miracles, but it's feasible for everyone who is determined to live better. One of steps that you can take immediately in order to improve yourself is to include regular workouts in your life and get more benefits that you can imagine, Instead of complaining, start working on yourself and never stop to be the best version of yourself. If you already train on regular basis, keep going and stay motivated. Although people usually start training to lose weight or just improve their body image, here are some other even more important reasons why working out is great for you, beside the fact you will look better.

1. IT IMPROVES GOOD MOOD

Even though you feel sometimes unmotivated to exercise, this feeling will change in few first minutes of working out if you push yourself to start. it is known that workout boosts production of brain chemicals that will make you feel good and happy.  Therefore, don't spend time being lazy and negative, while you could feel great and be more positive after even one workout. By improving your mood, you will improve also your social life, because nobody wants to be surrounded with boring and negative people.  In addition, you can workout with your partner or friends to have even more fun.

2. IT STRENGTHENS MEMORY

Whether you are a student who need to learn so much different things, or you just have so many daily activities that sometimes you even forget to do something, regular workouts could help you to strengthen your memory and be more focused on what are you doing. Older people engaged in regular exercise are more likely to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, the productivity is also significantly improved by training what will make you more successful in everything you do.

3. IT REDUCES STRESS AND INSOMNIA

Stress at work, in relationships, or with daily activities usually leads to constant pressure, lack of sleep, then fatigue, and all that can cause various diseases. It's very difficult to avoid completely every kind of stress, but reduce it on minimum is definitely possible with regular physical activity. When you feel stressed, instead of fighting with everyone, or even worse, keeping the angry inside of you, try to get rid of stress by working out. Training doesn't always mean hard workout in gym, so feel free to do whatever you prefer to stay active. If you love to dance, take Zumba classes or go jogging by listening your favorite music. When you train, your body releases hormones endorphins, known as hormones of happiness, so you will be in better mood, and your sleeping won't be so much disturbed. Once you feel rested, and relaxed, you will be ready to solve any problem.

4. IT INCREASES SELF CONFIDENCE

People who train regularly have more self confidence not just because they are more satisfied with their body image, but also they are more positive and aware how much their body are strong what makes them feel good about themselves. This good feeling of your own power may help you to act more confidently in every situation and so achieve your desired goals in all areas of your life. Always believe in yourself, workout often, and never give up.

5. IT BOOSTS ENERGY
Are you one of those people who feel tired in the middle of your day? Instead of just grabbing immediately cup of coffee, energized drinks or eat too much sugar, include workouts in your routine. Even short training regularly can increase your level of energy, by improving your muscle strength and endurance. Exercising delivers nutrients and oxygen to your body tissues, and then your cardiovascular system works more efficiently, what gives you more energy during your day. You will be able to do much easier your daily tasks and feel great. Enjoy in more productive days!

6. IT SLOWS DOWN
We can't avoid some natural process like aging, but did you know that looking and feeling younger could definitely be achieved with regular exercising? Physical activity improves blood flow, what helps your skin to be nourished and more vital. Beside providing oxygen, blood flow is very important in helping out to carry away free radicals from your working cells. However, nutrition is also significant to maintain nice and healthy skin. Therefore, try to eat healthier and train regularly to keep your youngest as much as possible.

7. IT KEEPS HIGH IMMUNITY

There is one good and true quote ''In healthy body is a healthy mind." Various researches suggest physical activity as one of the best fighter against diseases. Working out at least 2 to 3 times per week will reduce your sick days by improving your immunity and increasing your ability to fight against viruses and bacteria. What a better reason to start training right now? Live longer, healthier and happier!

Written by Tamara Arapovic

Stay healthy while traveling

Traveling may be fun and interesting but also uncomfortable and exhausting sometimes. Besides it depends on whether you are traveling for your own sack or for business, your travel habits could affect your traveling experience as well as your health and body shape. For instance, if you travel is based on relaxing vacation, you could come back home with few more pounds and maybe even more tired. Generally, most of people imagine the best vacation by just laying down, eating lot of food and consuming more alcohol drinks. On the other hand, if you are traveling for business, you may not have time to eat and relax at all, so your body will be exhausted and metabolism will probably slow down because of unregular meals and sleep. Finally, your body is the reflection of your actions, so why not having a healthy and beautiful body along with good trip? Here are some of useful tips that could improve your travel experience and help you stay in shape and healthy even during traveling.

PLAN EVERY DAY

Did you know that many people are eating often from boredom or stress? If you have too much time during your day when you are not actually busy, it is very likely that you will eat whatever is available for you at that moment although you are not really hungry. The similar habit could happen in stressful situations, where people crave for food with hope they will feel better after eating. However, the true is that eating more than your body needs can make you feel only more depressed and deteriorate your health. Therefore, to avoid boredom and also stress the best would be to plan your days in ahead so you will have less time to eat unnecessarily and also avoid pressure for business or other stuff that make you nervous because a good plan of action will make you feel more confident.

MAKE YOUR SNACKS

Another advice, similar as planning activities, would be to make your own snacks in advance. Since you never know what food will be offered during your traveling, it is smart to always carry with you at least some small healthy snacks. That's can be whatever you want from packet of fresh fruit, nuts, muesli bars, or small sandwiches, everything which you could carry on your travel. In that way, you won't skip your meals, eat food you don't like or just spend too much money for food that you could prepare cheaper. Once you get adjusted to great benefits of homemade snacks to go, you will love it and carry with you wherever you go.

KEEP A GOOD BALANCE

Needless to say how difficult is to stay away from various interesting food and drinks that we face during traveling and at final destination. For example, people who are staying at hotel with all inclusive service have more temptations to overeat since many tempting food is available for them. Actually, we all love to try new food and drinks when we travel to new destination and that's completely fine but the moderation is the key of everything. If you want a delicious piece of chocolate for dessert, take it and enjoy but skip then one cocktail or increase your physical activity to keep the balanced organism and healthy body. Moreover, make sure that your nutrition doesn't change too much when you are away from home. Your body would be thankful to you for not stressing it additionally since travel is by self already sometimes stressful because of changing climates and daily routines.

MOVE MORE

Long trips can make your body so stiffed while decreasing also well blood circulation. To avoid that you should move whenever you can. For instance, if you are flying in airplane, go for a short walk every 45-60 min. Since in buses walking is not so feasible, then just stand up for few minutes in order to prevent too much swollen legs later. If you are driving a car, it would be easier for you to decide when to make breaks so take advantage of that and stop about every two hours to relax your body and brain from driving. Some light stretching is also recommended to practice during longer traveling.

WORKOUT ANYWHERE

When it comes to travel, working out is usually the last thing that will come to your mind. However, if you have a long break with training, you will may found even more difficult later to come back to your workout routine. In addition, you could lose little bit of shape you were working so hard to get so why then just not maintain your current fitness level? It is not necessary to spend most of time on your trip to train. Only you need is a good effective and efficient bodyweight workout that you can do anywhere from hotel room to the beach. This kind of workout is ideal for business trip when you don't have too much time for yourself. On the other hand, if you are on vacation and you have more time, then strive to stay physically active in various ways. In order to increase your activity level, beside usual workouts, you could go for a walk more by discovering new places, or trying new interesting activities. For example, on summer you can play volleyball or other sports at beach or try fitness classes in water, while in mountain, challenge yourself for skiing or some hiking in snow.

STAY HYDRATE

Keeping your body always hydrated is so important especially when you travel. Waiting to be very tirsty before drinking water is a sign that your body is already dehydrated what could cause you many health problems and impair your good mood. For instance, you can have hard headaches and sometimes even lose conscious. Your energy level would be also reduced so much that you could be more tired than usual. Instead of getting dehydrated and then trying to make it up with liters of water in short time, try to split your daily amount of water in small sips during all the day. When you travel, you will probably  need even more water so never forget to carry bottles of water with you.

REST AND SLEEP

Beside being active, your body needs a well rest and sleep in order to stay fit and healthy. Although changing climates, nutrition, daily routines, and sometimes even excitement can disturb your sleep, you should try to rest as much as you can. For some people it is easy to fall asleep during traveling while others face difficulties to relax when they travel. If you are some of those who don't feel enough comfortable away from home, you should practice little routines that will help you to sleep well and relax wherever you are. Do something related to your sleep at home such as drinking tea, reading something, watching a movie or whatever that will remind you to your home night routine. During travel, you could rest and maybe even fall asleep by using little portable pillow to put behind your neck and listen to the relaxing music. By that, the time will pass faster and you may feel better.

Written by Tamara Arapovic

Reduce stress in several steps

Everyday more and more people face to daily stress which becomes hard to overcome. We can't avoid all daily situations that provide stress such as traffic jam, waiting in long queues, short deadline at work, plenty obligations about family and house and so on. However, we shouldn't let stress to become chronic in your life, because it disturbs your emotional feelings, but more important it also affects our health. If you don't learn to cope with daily stress, you could even lose completely the control of your life.
Since we are all different characters, we have also different approaches to specific situation. Some people are more sensitive while others are less susceptible to the stress. It is difficult to change your personality but there are certainly some steps that everyone can follow in order to have more peaceful, happier and healthier life. 

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

The first step is to understand and believe that you deserve the best and you can have and do whatever you decide. With negative attitude and lack of confidence, you prevent yourself to achieve your desired goals before even starting to work for them. Believe in yourself even when others don't. There is always going to be some problems or people who maybe won't like to see you succeed but you should stay strong and positive looking good sides even in failures and keep only right people near you. Don't let anyone to bring you negative energy and unnecessary stress. Everything happens for reason even though sometimes you don't understand immediately why. Therefore, if something is not going as planned, and you did everything you could to make it the best, then don't blame yourself and put additional stress in your life for something that you can't change. Believe in positive instead of torturing yourself with negative thoughts. Finally, everything will come at right place at right time. The stress won't help you at all while positive attitude could improve your life so much.

BREATHE DEEPLY
Generally, people lose control and face stress when they feel powerless to manage some situations. One of the easiest helpful things in that moment is deeply breathing. Mediation is a great practice to improve self control and so reduce stress. Combine yoga exercises with meditation will give you even better results because of the well balance with your body and mind. Therefore, next time when someone or something make you do angry that you get feel as you will stay out of air, just close your eyes and breath deeply by also counting slowly on your head up to ten or more. This may sounds absurdly, but it really works if you practice it in right way. Additionally, it could prevent you from saying something just under influence of anger.

LISTEN TO A MUSIC
Another thing that seems too easy to be true but has a great effect in stressful situations is listening to a music. Since music has a calming effect on your brain almost immediately, you should always have near you some of your favorite music so you can relax wherever you are. In addition, music improves your mood and give you more positive energy. According to some researches, people who enjoy often in music are less likely to get nervous easily. Therefore, do not wait some special occasion to afford you relaxation with music and make your best play list with could wake up, workout, clean your house and reduce stress when you feel it.

SOCIALIZE
Friends are very significant in everybody's life. Usually people who have better social life have less risks of depression. Talking with others about your problems fears, concerns or anything that is bothering you, help you to relieve your pain or worry.  Your friends can be more objective than you, and so help you to understand better your own situation. Moreover, if you have good friends, you could probably expect from them sincere advice as well as any kind of help. The same is with your family, so try to always be surrounded with nice people who care about you. People around you could really be a gift from life or pull you down so carefully choose your most close circle of people. When you want to share some feelings or just talk about something, don't hesitate to call someone of your beloved. Right friends or family members will never let you alone when you need them. However, make sure that you spend time with friends and family whenever you can and not only when you are not in good mood. Therefore, improve your social life by enjoying and relaxing as often as possible, what will definitely reduce your stress.

WRITE A DIARY

Have you ever thinking about everything you passed in your life so far including all nice and bad situations? Many people forget how grateful they should be for some things or proud of themselves for all they achieved. One of great way to see how your life is improving and also drive away little bit of your stress is to write regularly a diary. Although it seems maybe helpless writing down all your important thoughts, and daily experience may help you to reduce daily stress. In addition, you will have a better control under your life when you know exactly how is going. When you write about what is bothering you, the effect is similar as talking to someone. You will decrease a pressure inside you and while reading later your own words you may be more objective about your situation. That could help you to think more clear about everything and so make better decision.

DRINK TEA
It is already common that drinking tea may help people to fall asleep, cure some belly pain, or lose weight, but did you know how much influence has tea on reducing stress too? Herbal tea has several soothing qualities that act immediately on your calming. Moreover, if you prepare a tea by yourself, you may reduce little bit your stress even before drinking it. That's because your brain gets information that soon it will be relaxed, so the stress is slowly getting down since you take kettle. However, that maybe won't work always especially when your stress level is very high. Additionally, since some teas contain caffeine, stay moderate or strive for decaffeinated teas because too much caffeine could make you sometimes even more aggressive.

WALK, RUN AND TRAIN
When we get nervous and stressful, our organism feels attacked so it starts it's defend what produce various uncomfortable feelings for us. One of things that you can do at this moment to return your body in normal condition is to walk quickly on fresh air. By that action, your body will slowly regain the needed balance and your brain will also be more relaxed so think more positive and clear.  Brisk walk or running can reduce stress faster than just sitting and constantly thinking about problems or people that made you feel stressful. As soon as you regain control under yourself, you will be able to solve everything and feel good. In addition, being regularly physically active and workout at least three time weekly will help you to keep positive energy and more calm attitude in bad situations.

LAUGH EVERY DAY
Finally, there is no better way for reducing stress than sincere laughing. As adults, we all get too busy with our jobs, daily activities and pursuing better future while forgetting to enjoy in our present. If you are one of those  people who don't remember when they had great fun last time, you should have it as soon as possible! Don't wait to be under stress for doing something relaxing. Although, laughing by watching a good comedy can help you feel better in stressful moment, you should also laugh more often to prevent too much stress. Never feel guilty for spending time in fun atmosphere enjoying with friends and family, by watching movies or just doing what you love. Beside it reduces stress, improves your mood, makes you feel and look younger, sincere laughing can also prolong your life. Therefore, surround yourself with positive people, do more of interesting and fun activities that will make you to laugh from you heart!

Written by Tamara Arapovic

7 tips for better sleep

Nowadays, more and more people have problem to fall asleep or have unstopped sleep over night. Some of the most often reasons are daily stress, lack of physical activity, bad nutrition, unregularly working hours or too much night living so the body and brain change completely the night for day. All that brings the lack of adequate sleep what has various consequences from chronic tiredness, weight gain, less productivity to even more serious diseases and risks of stroke. Sometimes, you don't even need to have diagnosis of insomnia or some other sleep problem but you can still have difficulty to fall asleep and don't wake up all the time during night. Therefore, the question is what can you do in these situations to improve your sleep and with that whole your life too? Since everybody is different, then different things will work for everyone. However, here are some tips that could help the most of you to get longer and quality sleep every night.

1. HAVE A GOOD MORNING
The first thing you should do as soon as possible when you wake up is to get some of the morning sun. Whether is summer or winter, try to get a little bit of this sun light if possible or just fresh air in the morning which will tell your body's natural biological clock that is time to wake up. Doing that continuously every day, this same biological clock will be then set up to remind your body when is time to sleep what is usually about 16 hours later. If you can't manage to go outside for a morning walk or spend some time at your home balcony, then at least open all curtains and windows so the sunlight and fresh air can freely reach all your home. That will even help you to wake up more quickly and with more energy. Begin every day in nice way!

2. REGULAR HEALTHY MEALS
It would be ideal if we all could have meals at same time every day, but sometimes it is very difficult to follow a good nutrition because of constant changes in our lives. However, it is not impossible to eat better if you would plan your meals in ahead so you can't have excuse for skipping meals when your body needs them or eat unhealthy food  just because it is more available at moment. Beside it prevents weight gain, and some health problems, the regular and healthy nutrition could also to improve your sleep every night. For example, people who skip their breakfast and don't eat well during day are more likely to overeat at evening and then get difficulty to fall asleep or sleep continuously. On the other hand, it is also important what you eat for dinner, so even though it is a small meal you could still have problem with sleep if you for instance eat too much sugar.

3. REDUCED CAFFEINE

Most of people love to begin their day with cup of coffee, and even have few more during their day which is completely fine. According to many researches, drinking coffee on daily basis could help you to improve your health and reduce risks for several serious diseases such as strokes, diabetes 2, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. However, as with everything the moderation is very important. Additionally, you should drink more water than usual when you consume coffee. About one more glass of water per every cup of coffee will help your body to rid off caffeine. If you drink coffee little before going to sleep, some amount of caffeine will still be in your body which could make you difficulties to fall asleep. Don't forget also that some teas and even chocolate contain caffeine. That's why the best would be that you consume the last coffee in the early afternoon while in the evening strive more for beverages like decaffeinated teas or glass of milk.

4.GET ORGANIZED
Do you know this feeling when your body is so tired and your eyes crave the rest but you brain doesn't give you to fall asleep? You just can't stop thinking about many different things such as your job, love status, daily tasks, bills to pay and it seems that you are analyzing whole your life in that moment. If you found yourself in similar situation, just to know that your are not alone with this problem. There are many people under so much pressure every night and one of helpful things for that is to get more organized.  Instead of torturing your brain to remember everything, help yourself little bit by making your own daily check list. In that way, you can plan all your activities including your meals as mentioned above, and so avoid additional stress at night by resuming in bed what have you done and what you need to do the next day. Moreover, if you would also write all your worries, it would be easier for you too assume what is really important and think more clear about possible solutions instead of just complaining about so many problems that are going through your head, especially at night. This step about organization will maybe not drive away all your worries but you could definitely have more control under them and even reduce unnecessary stress.

5. WORKOUT OR BE MORE ACTIVE
There has always been a question is working out at evening improve or deteriorate your sleep. Actually there is no the right answer because we are all different and also it depends what are you doing, how intense is your training and how much time before sleeping you train. However, one of the proven things is that working out regularly help people to be more satisfied, healthier and more positive. During workouts your body releases the hormone endorphin that makes you feel so good and happy. Therefore, you will get out of negative energy and relax your mind which could help you to fall asleep faster, especially if you had a hard workout that exhausted your body.

6. COOL DOWN AND DARKEN BEDROOM
It is natural that your body's temperature will decrease at the end of the end when you should go to sleep. If you keep the temperature of your bedroom at high level what people usually do especially during winter, your body will get confused and you may won't be able to fall asleep. That doesn't mean you should spend time at chilly home, but little fresh air through window or at least little reduced temperature in your bedroom will improve your breathing and make you feel so comfortable under your blanket that you will soon get very sleepy. Another important thing is to shut down all lights and electronics in your bedroom. Although you maybe think that these things don't bother you, they actually do by keeping your brain awake when it should be in nice dreams. Checking emails, cell phone or watching TV should be done approximately about 30 minutes before bedtime. If is to difficult for you to deprive yourself from watching tv, then strive for more relaxed shows or movies instead of for example horror movies or news about which you will probably think later.

7. BEDTIME ROUTINE

As you have your morning routine such as drinking coffee, preparing breakfast, get ready for work or other daily tasks, you should make own for evening too. That could be anything you want which will associate your body and brain that is time to rest and sleep. For instance, you can make yourself a cup of tea that you will drink in peace while reading a book, or prepare your clothes and other stuff for tomorrow so you can save some time in morning and instead sleep longer. Spending some time in hot bath will relax your muscles and mind too. However, make sure that bath is not too hot but rather warm because as mentioned above your body's temperature should be lower at night. In addition, try to get in bed every day in similar time so your body can get adjusted to fall asleep at that time every night.

There is no miracle that will make you sleep well and solve all your problems that make you anxious and stressful. However, as you see there are many things that could help you to rest more during night and so then have more energy and will to find a good solution for everything that make you worried. Another step that you should practice is to do every day at least one thing that makes you happy. The result is similar as when you workout, so you may feel more satisfied with your life and fall asleep with a smile. It seems too easy to be true? Well, sometimes things are really easier than we think but we always make them more complicated. Sleep well every night for enjoying more in every day of your life! Good night and sweet dreams...

Written by Tamara Arapovic

Make every year successful

There is no better time to make some changes in your life and improve it in all areas than at the beginning of the new year. During the first month of the year, people are usually motivated and ready to change whole their lifestyle if necessary, so they feel positive about changes and new challenges. However, it is very easy and common that most of people lose this positive energy and motivation  when they face some harder obstacles or they don't see results overnight or very soon. From there comes the question, how to keep motivation for our goals to make more productive all 12 months so be more satisfied at the end of every year?

1. DECIDE

The first thing you should do is to firmly decide what you actually want, so you may start working for your wishes to realize them. Try to summarize well all your life so far, and be honest with yourself about everything. The following questions can help you to see where are you now. Are you happy with your current love status? Are you confident and proud of your own body? Are you satisfied with your job? Are you enjoying in your social life? Are you healthy and full of energy? If you have even one negative answer on the questions above, it is time to do something about. Before making excuses that is impossible to have so positive and good life in all areas, give your best to be the best you and live life which is the best for you. Perfection is often illusion, but you can have your own instead of be jealous on people who seem to have perfect life. We are all human with flaws and nobody has perfect life, but we all could be satisfied enough to feel as we live the perfect life.

2.NOTEBOOK

Once you have decided what are your goals, you have to write them down. Get a practical notebook which is very useful for successful people. You can write there all your plans and wishes, what will improve your organization. Notebook can also help you to stay on right path and track every progress you make toward your goals. Wise people always write down important things and whatever interesting that come to their mind rather than try to remember everything and so put additional stress to themselves. Avoid unnecessary tension could improve your health so much as well as keep your mind more fresh and positive what lead to more productive and successful life. Moreover, when you write down all your goals, you have double more chances to achieve them. Many people are afraid to dream and wish something big and the reason is usually the fear to even try something new because it seems impossible. However, as one old quote says "If you never ask what you want, the answer will always be negative." Therefore, feel free to dream and keep the notebook with you to help you stay realistic by making smaller goals that will gradually lead you to the main one. After all, you may enjoy the process and be happy even before achieving completely what you want, just because of good feeling that you are finally doing something for you.

3.PERSISTENCE

When you have in mind and also written on paper what you want, the next step is of course working for that with persistence. Be ready to stay committed, instead of running away of hard work. Although it's easier said than done, remember that you can do that because it's your dream and your decision to realize it. Therefore, using your notebook mentioned above, organize your time well so you can have every day some time to do at least one thing related to your wishes. For example, if your goal is to lose weight or just improve your body image, do not skip your workouts! Even short daily training may help you to get your dream body shape. It would be also good to have a workout plan, so you know every day what to do or when is your day of rest from exercising which is also important. To improve your health, along with exercise, you should have a well balanced healthy nutrition. People who crave too much for unhealthy food should gradually change their eating habits, by including every day some healthy food which will by the time ameliorate the unhealthy nutrition completely. Another example of persistence is the wish to write a book. There are many unrealized talented authors that were always waiting the perfect period of time to start writing their desired book. Let's be honest, as we already talked about, nothing is perfect by self, so no more wait for perfection to come to you and start working to make your own perfection, in this case for your own book. To achieve that dream, you should every day dedicate some time for that. That's could be in the morning, while you drink coffee and your brain is rested, or at evening before going to bed, to relax thinking about something different than usual daily routines. In addition, one more reason to carry your notebook with you is that if you get some sudden inspiration you can always write it down so later when you get some time, put that in better words. On the other hand, if you don't have inspiration some days, or you just don't have a will to do anything special related to your goals, that's also fine. Instead to blame yourself for feeling like that, and trying to do something in spite of bad mood, give yourself a break from everything. After you recharge your batteries and get more energy, you will be more productive and able to make amazing things. Just never give up!

4. REWARD EVERY PROGRESS

During childhood, adults usually motivate children to be successful by awarding them for every success they make. For instance, if children got a high mark at school, their parents praise them with nice compliments, buy them what they want or just do something that will motivate children to continue with good work. The same should you do for yourself even as adult. Why deprive yourself from little awards periodically just because you are not kid anymore? Actually, adults often need even more motivation than children to stay productive and positive. Therefore, next time you do something good or just feel that you make a progress toward your wanted goals, treat yourself as you deserved. That's could be anything from cheat meal such as piece of cake, a relaxing massage if you were training hard, out night with your partner or friends, spa time only for you or whatever that will make you happy and inspire you to be productive and hard working in the future too.

5. APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE

In general, people relate success with business career, or achieving some great things even if they don't really want them, but just because they seem important. Nowadays, the pressure to be successful in all areas in life is so huge that some people became obsessive with things they don't have while forgetting to appreciate what they already have. Here are some examples of these situations. A successful business woman who doesn't have kids, after many consistent comments about her lifestyle, starts to be unsatisfied with her life and just think about making family even though she never thought about that so far. On the other hand, one housewife with kids and husband is dreaming about successful business career and working in desired profession. Both women spend their life wishing something they currently don't have, although they don't know if they would be happy to have different lifestyle. Therefore, never forget to appreciate everything you have, enjoy in your own luck by working reasonably toward your other dreams. In that way, you won't lose time in vain and feel even worse if things are not going as you expected. Always find some time for your family, friends and even yourself to be alone and relaxe in peace by doing things you love. Finally, whatever happen, you may have nice memories with your beloved and also improve your health by relaxing occasionally from all daily stress. Additionally, your heart will be full of happiness after doing things you enjoy. After achieving all that, year could be called productive and successful!

Written by Tamara Arapovic