The Connection Between Goals & Better Sleep, Part 2: Discovering Your Goals

Posted on January 22, 2015February 19, 2015 by Joey Donovan-Guido

In Part 1 of our series, we talked about the importance of sleep in relation to accomplishing goals. In Part 2, we’ll be discussing how to discover your goals, which will make it possible for you to clearly define them.

Discovering Your Goals

Do you know what your goals are? Each year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, but they don’t really understand how to accomplish them. Of course, before you can accomplish a goal, you need to know what it is. This may sound obvious, but when asked what their goals are many people’s response is “I don’t know.”

What I like to ask people who give me this answer is, “if you did know, what would it be?” This is a question I learned from Brian Tracey, and it has a way of freeing up the mind so an individual can discover their goals. So if your answer is “I don’t know,” ask yourself what if you did know? A good rule of thumb is to be mindful of what you love to do the most in life. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy and start writing down what comes to mind. Don’t worry about whether or not you can make a “living” at it. The only contingency is your love of doing it.

Make sure your list is full of things you really want to do — not things you think you’re supposed to do, or what others might expect of you. Remember, if you focus on doing what you love, you’ll be more apt to do a fantastic job with it — and make a better living, too!

Once the list is completed, set it aside for at least a day or two. Then, sit with it again and cross off anything that doesn’t really get you excited, and circle the items that still get you really pumped. There may also be ideas that are stuck in the middle of these two options. Cross them off. If they’re not getting you excited enough to place them in “pumped” section, there’s no need to put them there.

Addressing Fear

The exception to this rule is fear. In other words, if you’re crossing something off the list because it scares you, that’s not a good reason not to do something. If you feel it would be really great to do but, you you’re not “good enough,” or it seems too difficult, think long and hard about putting it on your goals list.

At the end of the day, if you believe you can than you probably can. And if you believe you can’t, you’ll be right, too. If you’re having trouble with your goals list, it might be a good idea to sit with a good friend or loved one to discuss it. As a matter of fact, it’s a good idea to do this even if you wind up being crystal-clear about what your goals are. The more support the better!

Once you have a paired down list of goals, you armed with the foundation of information you need to manifest each goal into reality. Some may take only days to accomplish, some years. Our next installment of this series will focus on clearly defining your goals, which will help you create a step-by-step plan of action to accomplish them.

The Goal of Better Sleep

One of the main reasons our customers buy the Natural Comfort Pillow is the fact that it helps them sleep better. In all, our supportive pillow can be of assistance with eight different types of sleep issues — from reducing neck and shoulder pain, to reducing snoring, and more. The importance of a good night’s sleep cannot be understated. So when you’re thinking about your goals, consider whether or not you’re getting the quality of sleep you need in order to accomplish those goals most effectively.

Until next time, sleep well, and good luck with creating your goals list!

You may also like:

The Connection between Goals & Sleep, Part 1: How to Sleep Better

The Connection Between Goals & Better Sleep, Part 3: Clearly Defining Your Goals

The Connection Between Goals & Better Sleep, Part 4: Implementing a Step-by-Step Plan of Action

The Connection between Goals & Sleep, Part 1: How to Sleep Better

Posted on January 15, 2015February 19, 2015 by Joey Donovan-Guido

In our last article, Resolve to Reduce Pain & Live a Happier, More Active Life in 2015, we talked about New Year’s resolutions, which in essence are goals. In this series, we’d like to dive deeper into the connection between goals and sleep, and offer a step-by-step process that can help you sleep better and attain your goals for 2015.

Let’s start off with strategies that can help you sleep better. Without proper sleep, attaining your goals becomes more difficult. And if you’re experiencing sleep deprivation, you’re facing a major obstacle that’s smack in the middle of where you are and where you want to be. And sometimes, better sleep and less pain are the most important goals you can attain!

In a previous post, we talked about 5 Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep, which include setting a schedule of when you go to sleep and when you wake up, staying physically active during the day, creating a bedtime ritual and being mindful about what you eat close to bedtime.

Another tip we covered is making sure you’re comfortable in bed. It’s one of the easiest things to do — if you know what to look for. But the kind of comfort we’re talking about here goes beyond comfy PJs and a soft down feather pillow. As a matter of fact, that soft feather (or foam) pillow may be doing you more harm than good.

Sure, down feathers and foam are soft, and we associate soft with comfort, but what your body craves when you lay down to sleep is support — especially in the head, neck and back areas.

Whether you’re a world-class athlete, or simply suffering from neck or shoulder pain, the trick to getting a good night’s sleep is alleviating the tension in your neck, shoulders and back. Once the tension is alleviated, muscles have the chance to relax, which can help speed training recovery in athletes and lower pain, stiffness and soreness in anyone who uses the Natural Comfort Pillow.

And with less pain, comes a much better opportunity for better sleep.

With such busy lives, it’s often a challenge just to get through the day. Add in the initiative to attain one or more goals, and good sleep becomes a critical component to succeeding. We encourage you to read more of our articles on improving sleep (see the “Better Sleep” category in the right-hand sidebar), and to explore the Natural Comfort Pillow website to gain a better understanding on how our pillow works and what types of issues it can help resolve. In addition to diminishing neck and shoulder pain, our supportive pillow also helps align your spine and can help with snoring, sleep apnea and more!

In our next installment of The Connection Between Goals & Sleep, we’ll be talking about how to discover and clearly define your goals.

Until then, sleep well!

You may also like:

The Connection Between Goals & Better Sleep, Part 2: Discovering Your Goals

The Connection Between Goals & Better Sleep, Part 3: Clearly Defining Your Goals

The Connection Between Goals & Better Sleep, Part 4: Implementing a Step-by-Step Plan of Action

Resolve to Reduce Pain & Live a Happier, More Active Life in 2015

Posted on January 8, 2015January 8, 2015 by Joey Donovan-Guido

Have you been suffering from chronic pain in your neck, shoulders or back? There’s no better time than now to make a few simple New Year’s resolutions that can help reduce that pain, and put you in a position to lead a happier, more active life.

What is a New Year’s Resolution?
We’ve all heard of resolutions before, but what exactly to they mean? Many people treat their resolutions as a wish list, but then never do anything to follow up on making their New Year’s resolutions a reality. We’re going to be honest with you: if you want to reduce pain in your neck, shoulders or back, you’re going to have to take action on making things better. Sure, pain reliever can make your discomfort bearable, but it’s not a solution.

The good news is that there are plenty easy strategies you can add to your life that can provide a lot of help. That being said, let’s take a look at a handful of New Year’s resolutions that you can implement to reduce pain in 2015 and beyond …

Physical Activity
There are a broad variety of physical activities that can help reduce pain. Your interests and physical ability should drive the type of activities you choose. Yoga is an excellent, low-impact, activity that both strengthens and stretches the body, and there are specific yoga positions that help reduce neck pain. Running, walking and cycling are also excellent choices, but keep in mind that any of these may exacerbate pain. Of course, you can also go the gym, but be sure to avoid overworking a muscle group that’s already causing you discomfort.

One of the main ways physical activity helps with neck, shoulder and back pain is by bringing additional blood flow to these areas. Something as simple as a stretching regimen each day can help you loosen up those tight muscles.

Eat Better, Drink More Water
A common New Year’s resolution is to eat better. But you might be wondering how eating better can help reduce pain. For starters, without enough water, your muscles are more likely to become tight. You’re also more likely to get headaches. In addition to drinking water, eating foods that are water-rich — like fruits and veggies — can help. Plus you’ll get the benefits of the nutrients these foods provide. Including foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, calcium, vitamin D and magnesium can also help reduce neck pain. In essence, we’re asking you to eat whole, fresh foods as opposed to junk food. If you are performing some form of exercise, it’s also important to make sure you’re eating enough protein to help your muscles recuperate.

Meditate
Meditating more is an excellent New Year’s resolution for many reasons. When it comes to reducing neck pain, meditation can help reduce your stress level. And since stress causes muscles to tense up — especially in the neck and shoulder region — reducing it with meditation is a good way to help keep muscles from tightening. Learn more about how to manage stress.

Get a Better Pillow
One of the main reasons we make the Natural Comfort Pillow is to help people reduce pain so they can lead happier, more active lives. Through the support of our pillow, muscles in the neck shoulders and back are more likely to relax during sleeping hours instead of tensing up because they’re out of alignment. Our pillow also helps align your spine, making it the easiest way to reduce neck, shoulder and back pain. All you have to do is get a good nights sleep!

Learn more about how our pillow can help reduce neck and shoulder pain.

Thank you for visiting Natural Comfort Pillow!