What are we spending our time on? Are we balancing our time with our needs? There are many different concepts behind the idea of a Balanced Life. There are no set of exact numbers that work for every single person. Below are guidelines and thoughts to consider. When our lives are out of control in one or more areas we must consider the cause of this imbalance, and in order to be healthy and happy, make the necessary adjustments. Not all of these things need to be enjoyed separately, there isn’t any reason we can’t blend parts of our lives. But, it is important to plan for these parts of our lives that are so important to us.

Sleep: 6 ½ -8 hours per night

Work: 6-10 hours day

Exercise: 4-6 hours week

Quiet time: 30min-1hour per day

Family/ Social Time: 4-20 hours per week

Food: A balance of micro nutrients 40/30/30 Carbohydrate, Protein, Fat

Sleep: According to studies at Pennsylvania State University, physiologic studies show that not getting enough sleep may put the body into a high stress condition:

· Increasing the production of stress hormones

· Driving up blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes

· People who are sleep-deprived have increased levels of substances in the blood that indicate a heightened state of inflammation in the body, which has also recently emerged as a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

Work: Yes, we all want or need to work to be successful, and provide a living for our selves and our families but we must be realistic about our schedules. For a short period of time most of us can handle lengthy days and weeks.

· Major concern of excessive work day is stress

· Negative effects on our mental, physical and social health

· Time away from our families, communities, and other interests

Exercise: As my partner says, most often time’s people either exercise too much or too little. Some people exercise hours a day and then go for bike rides or hikes that last several hours on the weekends. They do this for years until they have some sort of injury that forces them to slow down. Respectively, there are the other folks who don’t exercise enough or at all. They tend to believe that walking the dog is a real workout. Don’t misunderstand, any activity is great and we all are at different fitness levels, but we need to be honest about what we are actually achieving.

It is not necessary to spend hours at a time exercising. For most healthy people, the official recommendations for exercise according to the CDC are:

· Cardiovascular exercise 30 minutes per day 5 days per week (yes you have to sweat a little)

· Strength Training practicing 8-10 strength exercises per day 2 days per week to ensure we maintain our lean muscle as we age

Quiet Time: It is essential to factor in our own time in our daily schedules.

· This is time where we are just alone to think or to journal.

· This helps to keep us connected to ourselves and what’s important to us.

· Any time of day is fine, whether it be early morning, a break in the middle of the day or at night before bed.

· Quiet time is not where we think about work projects or worry about the problems in our lives, it is time where we just relax and think about our life goals, the big picture.

· This is when we check in to see that we are on track and going in the direction of our planned future.

Family/ Social Time: For most of us our families and friends are the number one most important priority in our lives. This time is equally important to all the other areas we have discussed. Without our health and jobs our family time would be grim. To have the satisfying relationships we desire with our loved ones we need to be sure we have planned time to spend and share.

Food: Ok, I will try to keep this part as short as possible.

· Here it is: We all owe it to ourselves and our families to eat with purpose.

· Eating is a pleasure and absolutely without any question be enjoyed. But, the main reason for eating is to fuel our bodies for life’s activities.

· Eating is not a hobby nor should it be a sport.

· The first thing we must do is to think and plan ahead.

· Only eat what you need for the energy you will expend in the next 3 hours.

· Shoot for 40/30/30 balance in micronutrients (Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats) This helps to maintain your energy level by keeping blood sugars more stable.