What is it with vampires these days? Books, TV shows and movies featuring these mythical creatures seem to be all the rage and I can hardly turn around without bumping into something "fang"tastic. Now, I'd love to tell you that I'm above jumping on the bandwagon of this current fad but I have been seriously bitten (so to speak) and simply can't get enough. And I know I'm not alone. In fact, in a survey that I totally just made up for this article, I found that three out of four people in my mind are drawn to vampires for the following reasons.
- 10 percent of you see them as dark, dangerous and sexy.
- 20 percent feel that they reunite you with a primal, animalistic part of yourself that has been long suppressed.
- 35 percent just love the idea of having fangs.
- And the remaining 35 percent of you have no idea why you are still reading this article but somehow are unable to stop. And no, I'm not glamoring you ... not yet anyway.
What's this have to do with your health? Nothing really, it's just that I fell asleep last night watching a recent episode of "True Blood" (yes I'm a fan and yes I'll deny that if you ever tell anyone) and when I woke up I had this thought: vampires are like bad habits.
What I mean by that is that while they may seem to have some mystique or magnetic draw they are ultimately going to come around to bite us, leaving us the weaker for it. You see, vampires feed off of blood, which is our life force. And like bad habits, they suck our energy, often without us even knowing it, because we have fallen under their spell.
Let's take a look at a couple daily energy drains that can be easily re"vamped" into energy gains.
1. Energy Vampire #1: The Dark
Did you know that on average Americans spend 87 percent of their time indoors. Why is this a problem? Because the sun is largely responsible for our daily production of Vitamin D and recent research from the Mayo clinic found that Vitamin D plays a vital role in protecting us from osteoporosis, high blood pressure, cancer and several autoimmune diseases. Then, there are the well-known issues of depression, lack of energy and disrupting one's sleep cycle that occur from not getting enough sun.
The good news is, even an extra 10 minutes a day in the sun has been shown to greatly benefit a person's health. So make it a habit to get outside because as you know, vampires can't ever go into the sunlight. So, no matter how good your indoor lighting is, it just can't compare to the sun, or should we say ... It's simply no compari-sun.
2. Energy Vampire #2: Not knowing what to-do.
How often do you feel crazy busy all day only to realize you didn't get anything you wanted done? A simple "to do" list has been shown to increase focus, save time, increase energy and sense of purpose, and reduce stress. Here's one powerful way to do your to-dos.
Right before bed, write down the five most important things that you want to get done the following day. Getting these things out of your head and organized in order of importance has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve your quality of sleep. Then, each morning when you wake up, review your list. This stakes out your daily plan and gives you a sense of accomplishment as you cross off each item. And we all know how vampires feel about stakes and crosses. Seriously, you will be amazed at what a big difference this simple habit makes. Bottom line: Make a big to-do about your daily to-dos.
Now, this article may not have cleansed us of our current obsession with these shady creatures of the night, and certainly hasn't shed any light on the whole Jacob vs Edward debate, but hopefully you are have a couple of tools to protect yourself from any "pain in the neck" energy suckers you are confronted with each day.
For more powerful tips on how to feel better in minutes a day, please visit us at www.completebalance.com, a wonderful on-line program where the healthier you get, the more money we donate to charity.
"Fangk" you very much,
The Baietto Brothers