Category Archives: What’s New/Blog

New Products and Improved Techniques That Help You Sleep

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It’s common knowledge these days that everything from financial worries to a demanding job can create stress, which leads to the inability to fall asleep or get enough sleep. Websites like WebMD and Dr. Oz offer some general remedies, but how well do they really work? After researching some products and techniques, here are results that may surprise you:

Improved Techniques That Help You Sleep

According to WebMD, you should go to bed at a regular bedtime every night, and wake up at the same time each day. This sounds logical, but we all know life is full of unexpected events that can make a regular sleeping routine impossible. Tracy Rupp of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research was part of a new study on banking sleep which found that getting more sleep at times was more helpful later to those who were denied sleep than those who slept the same amount each night. She explains that those who stored sleep when time permitted were “more resilient during the time when sleep was restricted.”

Setting aside time for problem solving earlier in the day so that you don’t carry anxious thoughts to bed, is a common recommendation that is also suggested by WebMD . They say to keep a notepad by your bed to write down any thoughts or worries that may keep you up or wake you up during the night as well. In an article by Elizabeth Scott, M.S. on About.com, she goes on to say, “Writing in a journal before bed can clear your mind, help you process emotions, solve problems….and can get you in a positive frame of mind for sleep.” Allowing yourself to have a good cry at bedtime is also a good way to relieve pent-up anxiety and allow for a good night’s sleep. Life coach Martha Beck says it’s actually stressful to force yourself to stay happy. She says that giving yourself “permission to feel as we feel, not continuous happiness, is the foundation of well-being,” in her May 2010 column in Oprah Magazine.

WebMD recommends doing something relaxing before bedtime like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, tai chi or muscle relaxing exercises. Dr. Oz, however, advises that if you’re still awake after 15 minutes, you do something to quiet your mind like reading a book, not exercising. In an article by Robert Pendergrast, M.D., he goes on to say that by breathing deep, and “…taking the time to observe your breath, being fully aware of its movement in and out, and bringing the mind’s attention back to the breath as soon as it wanders onto another thought…is very useful for easing into sleep or going back to sleep in the night.”

New Products That Help You Sleep

Using earplugs or sleeping in a different room if your partner’s snoring keeps you awake is another common solution, also suggested by WebMD. They say that if you notice that your partner is sleeping on his or her back, turn your partner to his or her side. This may help your partner stop snoring. You may also want to encourage your partner to see a doctor to find out what may be causing him or her to snore. If this doesn’t work, consumersearch.com recommends Breathe Right Nasal Strips. They studied reviews from BBC News Magazine and SleepEducation.com and found that, “Reviews by users, tests by manufacturers and recommendations by doctors all point to Breathe Right Nasal Strips as the most effective over-the-counter treatment for chronic snoring.”

According to WebMD, reducing the noise in the house, or masking it with a steady low noise, such as a fan on slow speed or a radio tuned to static helps with sleeping.  Another way to create white noise while cleaning a room of allergens is by using a portable air-cleaning machine. Lowes sells affordable Idylis room air cleaners for different sized rooms, and they’re easy to clean and use.  Wearing earplugs at night is another effective way to reduce distracting noise, and can be comfortably used for long periods of time.  One problem with the long term use of earplugs is that they tend to cause wax to get impacted deep in the ear. Dr. Go, an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist from Cincinnati, Ohio, explains that this also happens to people who wear hearing aids, and that having the wax removed once a year by an ear specialist takes care of the problem.

Keeping the room cool and dark is also recommended by professionals. WebMD says that if you can’t darken the room, use a sleep mask. Pilot Paul, a frequent user of sleep masks, gives an excellent review of different quality sleep masks on his website, but he prefers sleeping in a darkened room whenever possible. One easy way to darken a room is to install products like Blackout EZ Window Covers, that are simply blackout vinyl material you can cut to fit any window.  They are inexpensive, easy to order, and come with velcro attachment material.  To keep a room cool enough to help with sleep, H. Craig Heller, PhD, professor of biology at Stanford University says it should be between 65 and 72 degrees. It helps to have a battery operated room thermometer in the room to help monitor the temperature.

Dr. Oz lists taking medications as a way to help you sleep as well. He goes on to say, “Benadryl or one of the combination OTC painkillers or sleep drugs can give you that little nudge into natural sleep.” A review of these products showed that everything from Ambien to Tylenol PM had side effects that made them difficult to use in the long run. Reviews of Ambien showed many people walked in their sleep or were dizzy and tired the next day. Most over-the-counter sleep aids contain antihistamines that caused nervousness, dizziness and sleeplessness for many users. Be sure to check any prescribed medications that you may be taking to see if sleeplessness is one of the side effects. It may be possible to change to another medication that does not interfere with sleep.

So there you have it, by taking the time to prepare yourself for bed with a cool, dark room, a calm state of mind, and the right products, the average person now has a better chance of sleeping well and tackling the challenges of the day ahead. Sweet dreams, folks!

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Taxing Time

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Marrying each other later in life, my husband and I were mature enough to find a pretty good match. Or so we thought. I was so confident, in fact, that when we were planning our wedding and the minister informed us that second marriages rarely work, and we should tell each other all our secrets immediately. Needless to say, I fired my minister and considered other options for the wedding.  We ended up getting married outside an old cabin, with little structure and even less stress. It was perfect for us, and just my style.

As for style, my husband and I operate in opposite styles. I fly by the seat of my pants, and he does everything by the book. This works in our favor most of the time. On vacations, for example, he researches extensively before leaving, so he knows exactly where we are at all times, not only in relation to our destination, but in relation to the sun, the moon, and the planets. I, on the other hand, rarely have any idea where I am, and, if left to my own devices, would spend a significant amount of time being lost. His ways help our trips run smoother, and my ways loosen things up and leave room for spontaneous discoveries.

Things don’t always work in our favor. During our trip to New York City, for instance, sparks flew when he refused to take my picture in the lobby of a Broadway theater because there was a sign that said, “No Photos Allowed Inside Theater.”

Our well-oiled machine came to grinding halt again recently when we began preparing our income tax return. Normally Greg does the taxes by himself, crossing every “T” and dotting every “I,” and I happily leave the job to him. Last year, however, he made a $2000 mistake, so we decided that we would do them together this year. Having worked as a bookkeeper for 15 years, I am good with numbers and familiar with taxes, so we thought it would help.

It started in an orderly fashion, but when I insisted that my freelance deductions be entered into categories that did not exist, things began to deteriorate rapidly. Suddenly, he was shouting, “we are not going to deduct that, there’s no category for it, and I do not want to go to jail!” And I was shouting, “what’s the worst that can happen? You’re not going to go to jail!”

After each one of us had our turn at stomping out of the room, he said he found a category that would probably work, and the deduction was entered. That evening on our way to dinner, he calmly commented that he was relieved that we had finished doing the taxes. He had been dreading it for weeks, knowing I would certainly expect him to risk going to jail at some point. We had a good hard laugh, and went on our way.

It later occurred to me that the secret to our success is most likely our differences. I was confident once again that we were a good match, not because we were the same, but because we fit together.  Like opposite spokes on a wheel, we meet in the middle, and the machine moves on as we help each other tackle challenges, and to go places we could never get to alone.

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Products that make wall painting easier

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In today’s economy when many people may be home bound with less money to spend on home improvements, a fresh coat of paint is an inexpensive way to brighten your home and make you feel productive. There are many new products that can make this job easier. Gone are the days when painting walls meant lugging around huge drop cloths and heavy ladders, or suffering hand pain from heavy paint brushes and awkward paint rollers.

The following is a list of painting supplies that make the task easier:

The Paint: The best advice here is to use what the professionals use. The paint may cost more, but it saves aggravation down the line. The paint used by professional painter Gary Barnes, of Kathy McCoy Design Services in Batavia, Ohio, is Sherwin-Williams, which can only be purchased at a Sherwin-Williams store. The paint holds up for years, especially in bathroom and kitchens.

Paint Brushes: A large, traditional paint brush can leave a small hand hurting in no time. The Wooster shortcut 2” flexible brush is so easy to handle, with its rubber handle, it can be used for long periods of time without a lot of effort.

Paint Rollers: Paint rollers that are normally used to paint walls are 7 to 9 inches long, and the cover is sized accordingly. This can pick up quite a bit of paint after it’s rolled in the tray, which can make your arms tired as well as spraying excess paint around when the roller is moved from the tray to the wall. An easier solution is to use a mini-roller. Whizz makes a great Mini-Roller System that can be purchased at any painting supply or hardware store. The rollers are 6 inches long and much more narrow, with smaller, replaceable covers that come in different pile lengths. They are advertised for use on doors or cabinets, but make wall painting fast and easy as well.

Paint Trays: Plastic disposable paint trays are the new alternative to cleaning large metal paint trays. Less Mess makes an inexpensive tray that is sized especially for the 6 inch mini-roller. Using aluminum foil to line the tray makes it last even longer and keeps dried paint off your roller.

Spackle: Filling in nail holes on the wall is an important step to making your walls smooth and attractive, and by having an 8-ounce tub of ready-make spackle paste on hand, the job is easy and fast. Simply apply the spackle with a small putty-knife where needed, sand the area when dry, wipe off the dried spackle dust, and viola, the hole disappears when the paint is applied.

Making Straight Lines: To keep a straight line of paint at the top and bottom of walls, or around door or window frames, tape off the area you do not want painted with Scotch 3M blue painting tape or Frog Tape. The one-inch size is the easiest to use. For the best results, remove the tape when the paint is still wet. This can be a problem when using a primer or multiple coats that dry between layers. If the paint dries, it can pull of pieces of dried paint with it. These areas can be fixed by applying small touch-ups with an artist’s paint brush. Small touch-ups may also be needed when the tape is pulled off when the paint is wet because paint can get under the tape. In this case, wiping the paint off with a wet rag or later touching up the areas with the paint color of the ceiling or floorboard will fix it easily.

Drop-Cloths & Furniture: Drop-cloths are now available in smaller sizes, designed for hallways or small areas. When moving furniture out of the way, furniture gliders make the job a cinch, and can be purchased at hardware stores.

Ladders: Two-step foldable ladders are easier to move than full-size stepladders, and are tall enough to tape off the ceiling of the average home. Foldable one-step stools are also great for sitting while painting near the floor as well as giving a step up when needed.

Pouring Paint: An easy way to pour paint from a gallon can when needed is to replace the top of the can with one with a spout that can be screwed open and closed. They are inexpensive and can be purchased at paint supply stores. An example is the Aqua-Tainer Super Lid SL96. They make touching up later easy and give you more control on paint usage without the mess.

Finally, make it enjoyable. By using the products above, it is easy to paint one room at a time, or even one wall at a time, so the rest of the house can be used normally. By making your comfort a priority, it’s amazing what can be done.

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