Sleep restores the body physically and mind mentally and emotionally. You need sleep to ensure that your mind and body operates optimally and your general mood is properly calibrated. An absence of memory recall, mental agility na ka temper temper is usually as a result of premature ejection from the blankets and hunger (in some cases).

Sleep benefits
Sleep is thought to help keep the immune system strong and the heart and blood vessels healthy. It allows for growth and healing, and helps control appetite and weight. Sleep also promotes creativity, attention, memory and learning.

Sleep stages
Sleep has 4 stages, 3 of which are non-REM (rapid eye movement) and the last being REM sleep.

During stage 1, you are transitioning between being awake and asleep, and wake easily. During stage 2 your body temperature and heart rate starts to drop and your muscles relax as you fall into a slightly deeper sleep. During stage 3 you're in deep sleep with your body fully subdued and relaxed. At stage 4 (REM) rapid eye movements begin, your brain's activity increases as well as heart rate and blood pressure and most of your dreaming occurs. Dreams are considered important for learning and creating new memories. 

A complete sleep cycle comprises of all 4 stages of sleep with each cycle lasting an average of 90 minutes.

How much sleep do you need?
Most adults need about 8 hours of sleep per night which is roughly 5 sleep cycles. Some people can cope with less but that doesn't make it ideal or optimal. Test different sleeping hours and pay attention to things such as your mood, appetite control, memory and general alertness. Settle for the number of hours where you feel your best without forcing things or playing mind games. Generally speaking and without encouraging laziness, the more sleep cycles you can get in the better.

How can you sleep better?

• Expose yourself to the sun early in the morning to properly align your circadian rhythm (body's internal clock). This will ensure that by the time it's bedtime your body has already started shutting down.
• Take a hot bath 🛁 right before bed. Don't find yourself in the kitchen or anywhere else after you wipe yourself down. Head straight for the covers and stay there.
• Turn your bedroom into a cave 🦇. This means boycotting technology so no electronic devices, TV, laptops or any other digital appliances in your bedroom and limiting the activities you engage in. The bedroom is strictly for sleep and marital duties. For a complete blackout experience contact Twambi on 0977-579280 for blackout curtains for the perfect sleep environment set up.
• Switch off your phone 📞 to avoid being roped into problems at night. Whatever issue arises at bedtime can be resolved in the morning. Additionally, I have an alarm 🚨 set for bedtime which helps me not lose track of time - you should too. Once it goes off so does my phone and I'm headed straight for bed.
• Wear earplugs to block out noise and eye masks to block out light. You can avoid anything stimulating your senses this way. Available at Link pharmacy.
• Eat supper 2 or more hours before bed to avoid activating digestion at a time when your body should be shutting down.
• Drink a small cup of chamomile tea 🫖 before bed. Chamomile has a particularly notable calming effect once ingested. Those that need help relaxing at night should consider it. Available at Woolworths and Shoprite. 
• Reduce your fluid (especially alcohol) intake after 6 pm to avoid waking up in the middle of the night to pee.
• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time, even on weekends. With sleep, rhythm and consistency is everything.

Do everything you can to level up your sleep game and it'll pay dividends if you stick with it. Your mental sharpness will skyrocket, emotional balance will maintain equilibrium and physical wellbeing will improve.

Everyone has likely found themselves in a corporate building or shopping mall having to take the stairs because the elevator wasn’t working. If you're out of breath and cursing the engineers and the schools they went to then just know that you're letting yourself go. Life gets busy sometimes but you need to get back on track with your health and fitness. I want to show you how.

Make exercise the first order of business
Go for a run/walk 🏃🏿‍♂️ 🏃🏾‍♀️ first thing in the morning or hit the gym 🏋🏾‍♂️ for a strong start to your day. Those afraid of getting slapped while exercising in the morning can opt to join the Lusaka Fitness Squad for group running sessions. If you don't have the discipline or experience to exercise on your own then consider guided classes such as aerobics with Lubasi (0969-900786), spin class with Twambi over at lifestyle gym or boot camp over at Go-Go Fitness. If you want personalized attention and encouragement then Joe (0978786307) has got you covered with personal training services to whip you back in shape.

Whatever you decide to do just get it done as the first order of business before the spirit of laziness gets a chance to overwhelm you. And most importantly remember to have fun with it! You won’t be consistent if you engage in activities you don’t enjoy.

Consider joining a recreational sports team/club
Social soccer ⚽️ at the Barca Academy is good keep-fit option to consider for those that didn’t quite make it pro😅. Whatever team you decide to join will likely play a couple times a week and that's sufficient for a start (>0) and most certainly better than no activity at all. Your employer might even be paying for your recreational activities so join the madalas for free and run around a little. Alternatively you could sign up for golf ⛳️ . I'm not entirely convinced about the merits of golf as a sport but it does allow for a fair bit of walking 🚶🏾‍♂️ and for the opportunists among us, a chance to network.

Purchase a home workout program such as insanity or P90x
All you need is money and a TV and you can follow guided fitness sessions at a time and place of your convenience. I strongly suggest doing this in the morning before breakfast as any time after that is more of a gamble. Get active before someone spoils your day and sends you straight into your blankets 😤 🛌 after work. Available for purchase and streaming on Beach Body.

Clean up your nutrition 🍽 🥦 🍌 🥛
Eating better and nourishing your body in a manner that aligns with your body goals doesn't require a complete kitchen overhaul. Small adjustments add up to big results over time. Tips on how to do this include:

• A tall glass of water with fruit and/or vegetables with every meal for a more balanced diet and increased hydration.
• Swapping out full fat milk for fat free/low fat milk for lower energy intake.
• Swapping out white rice and pasta for brown rice for more fiber.
• Swapping out breakfast meal with roller meal for more fiber.
• Swapping out white bread for wholegrain bread for more fiber.
• Swapping out regular drinks and sodas 🥤 for low sugar or sugar free variants for lower energy intake.
• Only eating foods (main meals) made in your kitchen. If it wasn't prepared in your pot don't put it in your mouth. Strive to prepare and pre-pack your meals a day in advance before hunger possesses you to attend vitumbuwa parties at work.

Sleep adequately 😴
Aim to have better quality and quantity sleep by targeting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Poor sleep in terms of quality and quantity has been linked to hormonal imbalances, and subsequent poor mood, appetite control and weight gain as well as a compromised immune system. Neglecting sleep is self-sabotage. Nga taule nchetekela kepushe ba Google 💻 .

Dropping a dress size or getting rid of that belly doesn't have to be a long drawn out, punishing process that only the tough among us can endure. ​It could really be as simple as adding more of one specific nutrient to your diet: fiber.

What is fiber?
Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate that passes through the digestive tract relatively undigested.

There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber moves through your digestive tract and it absorbs water to create a gel-like substance. This has a softening effect on your stool. Insoluble fiber is essentially roughage that does not dissolve in water, but absorbs it, helping to form bulkier poop and improve elimination. Overall, fiber intake helps reduce your risk for constipation, haemorrhoids (you don't want these, trust me), and some forms of cancer while also stabilising blood glucose levels, lowering total blood cholesterol, increasing fullness and delaying hunger and finally, improving gut health and immunity

Easy-to-find food sources of fiber:

• Beans and lentils
• Nuts and seeds 🌰 (chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, walnuts etc.)
• Avocado 🥑
• Sweet potato 🍠
• Vegetables 🥦 🥬(broccoli, okra, green peas, spinach and other leafy greens)
• Fruits with seeds and edible skin 🍏🍐🫐(berries, apples, pears, dried fruit etc.)
• Corn 🌽
• Most whole grains (oats, bran cereals, brown rice, wholegrain bread & pasta etc.)

Some tips for increasing fiber:

• Eat fruits and vegetables with their skins on. The magic is in the peels!
• Add beans to your salad or any other appropriate meal.
• Sprinkle seeds like hemp or flax onto salads or stir into soups.
• Add chia seeds to smoothies and/or cereal.
• Replace pasta with whole-wheat-based versions.
• Replace white bread with wholegrain bread.
• Choose rolls and wraps that have at least 4 or more grams of fiber per serving. Read the label.

Conclusion
​Fiber has a myriad of benefits and on the weight loss front fiber is king. There's no better appetite suppressant or cravings killer that can outdo fiber. Get yours in and you'll literally be flushing away the excess weight 🚽 💩.

⚠️ Warning: For those unaccustomed to high fiber intake you'd be wise to incorporate more lemon water and/or a probiotic supplement or probiotic containing food or drink such as yoghurt or kombucha to combat the gas 💨 you'll likely experience. The effects of gas tend to wear off with time so this recommendation is for those that would rather not wait 😄.