From Relax and Unwind
Dinner is finished, the dishes are done, and you're looking at a lovely three hours ahead of you before your body begins sending go-to-sleep signals. You could veg in front of the TV, as so many people do these days. Or you could pick one of the following to do and sneak a little health into your evening. We'll start off with pleasure-based ideas, and then shift into more practical ways to spend your evening time.1. Go for an after-dinner walk. What better time for a hand-in-hand stroll through the neighborhood? To make it interesting, play a game of learning two new things about your neighbors on each walk, either through observation or conversation. It could be that the Smiths painted their living room red (something you spot through the window), or that the Bernsteins got a new car (which he proudly shows you). Playing this kind of "scavenger hunt" on your walk will make it go quicker, keep it more interesting. The best bonus, however: the health-promoting effects of the walk.
2. Play a game with your partner or kids. Try a board game, or work on a puzzle, or get up a rousing game of cards. Not only will it keep the television off, but it will make those brain cells move around a lot more than another episode of Survivor. And the social bonding with your loved ones contributes mightily to emotional and physical health. Stumped for choices? Go back in time, from when you were a teenager -- games like backgammon, dominoes, checkers, hearts, or chess. Crossword puzzles are great fun, as are visual, number, and logic puzzles that you can get cheaply in books and magazines. Have a dartboard, pool table, or Ping-Pong table? Go wear them out.
3. Go up to your partner, put your arms around his/her waist, and begin kissing the back of his/her neck. Hopefully, this will lead to something more. In addition to the obvious benefits of sex, you'll also be raising your heart rate, sending immune-boosting endorphins to your brain, and extending your life. One study found that sexually active men lived longer than those who had less lovemaking. Sure, the study was in men, but it most likely applies to women too.
4. Play with your dog or cat for 15 minutes. Studies show significant stress reduction benefits from pets, particularly those that, like dogs and cats, can interact with you. Looking for ideas? Get an old sock and have your dog try to pull it out of your hand. Use a laser light to drive your cat slightly crazy (the laughing you'll do as you watch her try to "catch" the light will have its own health benefits). Teach your cat to "fetch" by tossing a crumpled piece of paper. Hide treats around the house and watch your dog go on his own treasure hunt. Don't have a pet? Get one!
5. Do something totally mindless for 30 minutes. It could be watching the junkiest show you can find on TV (and we'll leave that up to your own warped taste), holding a computer solitaire tournament with yourself, marinating in a steamy, scented bath, or just lying on the couch listening to a favorite piece of music and staring at the ceiling. The idea here is that your mind is disengaged, it is not focused on anything, it is allowed to run free in a kind of "active meditation."
6. Slowly sip a glass of really good wine. Now, the definition of "really good wine" is in the eyes of the beholder. If you're used to boxed Almadén, then a $15 bottle of merlot is just the ticket. If you're a moderate oenophile, you might reach for a $50 bottle of Bordeaux. The idea is that you savor this one glass. While you're identifying the fruits you taste and the elements in the bouquet, the wine will be providing significant heart-healthy antioxidants shown to reduce your risk of heart disease.
7. Get lost in a book. Or a magazine or newspaper. Rekindle your love of reading. It's so much more rewarding for you than watching television. And it's much healthier, because it keeps your brain highly active and engaged.
8. Savor a piece of dark gourmet chocolate. Ounce for ounce, chocolate contains more healthy antioxidants, which repair damage to cells and prevent cholesterol from oxidizing (making it stickier), than any of the other antioxidant champs, including tea, blueberries, and grape juice. Plus, it's well known for its ability to soothe a troubled mind. It only takes one piece to provide the perfect post-dinner sweetness we often crave without a lot of fat or calories. Keep the chocolate dark -- it has the most antioxidants -- and plain. You don't need the extra sugar and calories from caramel, nougat, and other goodies.
9. On a dark, clear night, go outside and lie down in your backyard (or on the roof of your apartment building) and stare at the stars. Feel the immensity of the world as you view the heavens. Think about any problems you've been wrestling with and put them into context with the trillions of stars that are up there, only a few of which you can see tonight. If you find you enjoy this, consider learning about the stars with a star atlas.
10. Take a walk when the moon is full. The magic and mysticism of a moonlit night will energize you and provide an unexpected burst of positive thinking.
Indulge Yourself
11. Go to sleep at 8 p.m. We're all horribly sleep-deprived in this country. So every now and again, pretend you're six years old, put on flannel pajamas, get into bed at 8 p.m. and turn out the light.12. Give yourself a pedicure. Fill a basin with warm water and a few drops of peppermint oil. Soak until the water cools, then pumice away the rough skin on the soles of your feet. Massage a scented lotion all over your feet, inhaling the lovely scent and feeling your feet soften with every stroke. Trim your toenails and push back your cuticles and, if you desire, polish your toenails in some hot color you'd never dare wear on your fingernails. If you can, convince your partner to give you a foot massage.
13. Ask your partner, or even an older child or a friend, to wash your hair for you. Having your hair washed and your scalp massaged is an unexpected luxury that will help wash away the stress of the day and prepare you for bed.
14. Put a Glenn Miller CD (or whatever music you prefer dancing to) on the stereo and dance for 20 minutes. Jazz and cheek-to-cheek dancing not your thing? Fine, slip some high-energy rock music into the CD and pretend you're in a mosh pit. Either way, you'll get 20 minutes of physical activity and, if you're doing the mosh pit thing, you'll burn as many calories as if you were jogging. An added bonus: improved coordination and, if you do a lot of dips, some good stretches. Plus, this is a great way for younger parents to engage their kids in physical activity -- the whole family can cut a rug, dancing energetically until just one is left standing.
15. Make a yogurt smoothie for dessert. Toss a frozen banana, a pint of plain or vanilla yogurt, a handful of blueberries, and a teaspoon of honey into the blender along with a cup of crushed ice. Blend the mixture until it is thick and smooth. The combination of the antioxidants in the blueberries, the potassium in the banana, and the live bacteria in the yogurt just gave you a health boost that no vitamin could match. Specific conditions you have just helped protect yourself against: Urinary tract infection (blueberries), high blood pressure (banana), and yeast infection or irritable bowel syndrome (yogurt).
16. Sip a cup of goldenseal tea. The herb, often found in over-the-counter remedies mixed with echinacea, may boost your immune system, preventing colds and other infections.
17. Plan a vacation. Whether or not you're actually going to take it doesn't matter. Get on the Internet or pull out some travel magazines and begin planning your fantasy vacation. Check out airline costs, pick a hotel, virtually (but not really) book a snazzy red convertible to drive while you're there. Write down all the details and print out any pictures you find. Then file them into a vacation journal. Over the course of a year, "book" one vacation a month, each time in a different location and for a different purpose (i.e., a golf vacation, a family vacation, an adventure vacation, a spa vacation). Taking this fantasy trip will provide a pleasant way to unwind before bed -- and may ensure some really great dreams.
18. Set a timer and write in your journal for 10 minutes. Many people eschew keeping a journal because they can't stand the sense of responsibility it brings to write in it every night. But if you know you only have 10 minutes, suddenly what seemed like a chore takes less time than washing the dishes. Not sure what to write? Try just listing what you did that day. Write five things that made you smile that day. Write five things that made you angry -- and why they made you angry. Numerous studies attest to the stress-busting power of regular journaling. Plus, it's just so much fun to leaf back through your journal and see what you were doing a year before. It provides a way of marking your life in a world in which our lives stream by faster than cars on the German autobahn.
19. Do some writing. Go one better than a journal: Compose a letter to a friend, or some e-mails, or a missive to your political representatives, or something creative. Writing is wonderful brain activity, and who isn't better off learning how to better express themselves?
20. Write down your entire to-do list for the next day. It only takes five minutes, yet the peace of mind it provides is priceless. Now, instead of running a to-do list over and over in your mind -- which makes your responsibilities morph into gargantuan proportions -- you can enjoy the rest of your evening and have a better shot at falling asleep easily.
The Little Things Count
21. Pack your (or your kids') lunch for tomorrow, lay out your clothes, check your briefcase, and make sure the kids' school stuff is by the front door. The health benefits are clear: This will avoid the spike in stress hormones the following morning that comes from rushing around like a stockbroker on Black Monday while simultaneously screaming at your kids, ripping your pantyhose, and spilling juice on your silk shirt.22. Once a week, hold a "chore free" night. Order in pizza and eat on paper plates, leave any dishes unwashed, forget the laundry, don't even wipe the counters. Tell the kids they're on their own for homework, arrange rides for them to soccer practice or piano. This is your night to be as lazy (or productive in other ways) as you like. Maybe you have a hobby like painting, woodworking, or scrapbooking that you never seem to have the time to get to. This is your night for you. Don't let anything -- especially your own guilt -- get in the way of this evening. If your life is just too crazy to pull it off once a week, make it every other week, or once a month. But make it sometime.
23. Have a cooking fest. Tonight you're going to cook meals for the next two weeks to stock your freezer. Try easy-to-double recipes like lasagna, meatballs (make 'em with turkey to reduce the heart-clogging saturated fat), lentil soup, roast chicken, and eggplant casserole.
24. Change into nightclothes and slippers early in the evening. Even before dinner. It will help separate the "daytime you" from the "evening you," and be a constant reminder throughout the evening to relax and unwind.
25. Write a "done" list. This is a list of everything you've accomplished today. It's guaranteed to give you a sense of accomplishment and take some of the stress you feel about your to-do list off your shoulders.
26. Clean out one cupboard or closet in your house. This chore takes no more than 30 minutes, and leaves you with a sense of accomplishment at day's end, yet without any added stress because the task is simple and unchallenging, yet satisfying.
27. Do your weekend shopping and chores. Why buy your groceries or buy clothes when everyone else is doing it? Make Saturday a fun day, not an errand and shopping day. Stores are much emptier and shopping less stressful on weekday evenings.