sleeping on the weekend

It's Finally Friday! YEAH!! I'm not sure why I'm so excited about Friday this week, I have such a busy weekend coming up. We are getting one of our rental properties ready to put on the market and we'll be painting all weekend. But, it is the weekend. So, YAY!!!

Do you change up your routine just because it is the weekend? I try to stick with my normal routine of workout, eating and water, but I just seem to have more fun on the weekend. Since I work from home, it doesn't make much of a difference for me. I do know that when I had an office job, it was completely different!

I think it is so important to get our sleep into a good routine. Even on the weekends, you should go to sleep at the same time and wake at the same times. You can vary a little, but getting out of my routine can affect me for days. Last weekend, my father-in-law, Bill, was in the hospital. I stayed overnight with the in-laws on Friday night and didn't get much sleep at all (about 2 hours), boy talk about a crabby patty!!!! I am still trying to get caught up on my sleep from that night.

So, even though it is the weekend, be sure to stick as close as possible to your sleep routine. A good night's rest is important :

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:

1) Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.

2) Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.

3) Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.

4) Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.

5) Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.

6) Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

I do know that when I do get enough sleep, I feel better, I look better and Brian will certainly tell you that I am easier to get along with :)

It's Friday Follow!!!!

This is my 3rd week to participate in Friday Follow. This is a lot of fun and a great way to find some great blogs and people!

If you are new to Feeling Fit With Dana, I'm glad you stopped by and hope that you will enjoy what you find here. I like to focus on being healthy and will include healthy recipes (usually vegetarian) and we always have Fit Club Mondays. I have a workout song of the day that you can turn on and dance around! I also do product reviews and host giveaways on occasion! So, take a moment and look around. Be sure to get to bed on time, no staying up too late on Friday Follow!