Kootenai | Kootenai Health | Issue 4, 2017

SetYourself Up for Success To help stay awake and alert throughout the day, Chad Hagen, M.D., Kootenai Clinic Sleep Medicine, recommends following these guidelines to help your brain perform at its best. Sleep is key. Being fully restedwill help you get off to the right start every day. Dr. Hagen recommends settingupa consistent sleep schedule soyouget seven toninehours of rest. “It’s important to really protect the time you dedicate to getting rest,” he said. “Having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time will help your circa- dian function.” Eat the right foods at the right time. To help create stabilized energy throughout theday, eat abreakfast that is low in sugar and simple carbo- hydrates. Glycemic control (managingblood sugar levels) will help to regulate fatigue later in theday. “Being smart about the calories you consume will help provide stable, consistent energy throughout the day,” Dr. Hagen said. “Eating a lot of carbo- hydrates in the morning will cause you to experience more lows during the day. Eat a larger, protein-rich breakfast to prevent those dips in energy.” Move. Dr. Hagen believes the very best way to stay sharp is to incorporate movement that increases your heart rate several times aday. Setting a reminder for every hour or 30minuteswill help you stayon track. “I can’t overstate the importance of being active throughout the day,” he said. “If you can have a standing or treadmill desk at work, I highly encourage it. Anything that will help prompt you to move and get up from your desk.” the sitting habits of more than 200,000 people. The study found a direct link to the amount of time people spent sitting and increased mortality rates. “Everyone experiences afternoon lulls in energy, especially if you spend your days sitting at a desk,” Dr. Hagen said. “In many European countries, this is when they leave work to go take a nap, but if you can’t find a way to work that into your day, then I suggest doing the exact opposite—get up and move.” Brief stints of exercise (a minute or two every half hour) that increase your heart rate will help fight fatigue and improve your mood, alertness, atten- tion and productivity. Dr. Hagen said the amount of benefit even these small bursts of exercise bring is surprising. “People who spend hours sitting at work often feel like they can’t dedicate an hour or two to go work out during the day,” Dr. Hagen explained. “But what they don’t realize is they can distribute that exercise throughout the day and receive a very similar benefit while also fighting daytime fatigue. Not to mention, increased physical exertion during the day creates deeper, better sleep quality at night, which will help you feel less tired at work or school the next day.” Chad Hagen, M.D. Are you tired of being tired? Contact Kootenai Clinic Sleep Medicine at (208) 625-6877 or visit KH.org/sleep . Lorry Hagler, Billing Services representa- tive, walks on the Kootenai Health campus trail. KH . ORG 17