John Aaron Wellness

I have got to say that my sleep is always best when I’ve got a cool pillow to rest my head on. Nothing starts your day off better than getting a good night's sleep. And, since getting a full night’s sleep is essential to overall health, finding the right pillow can help. "Pillows can not only impact the quality of our sleep, but also how healthfully we rest and recharge," says sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, a clinical psychologist and author of ‘Beauty Sleep: Look Younger, Lose Weight, and Feel Great Through Better Sleep.’ Just as a good pillow can help your health, using the wrong one can make you miserable.  A bad pillow won't be the cause of any of these problems, but using the incorrect pillow can worsen headaches, neck pain, shoulder and arm numbness, discomfort, and induce sneezing, and wheezing. All of which can keep you from getting a good night's rest. Don’t forget that if your pillow is old, it is more than likely overflowing with dead skin cel...

Happy New Year! I hope this 2012 year is your best yet, and I pledge to do all I can to help you make it so! As I sit here in the wee hours of the morning on the first day of the New Year, I remember my father. He’s an early riser, too. I remember him telling me one morning that the reason he loved mornings was because it was his time to see the world “untouched” by the rest of us. It made him feel like the world was his alone. For me this is the “Golden Hour” because it sets the tone for whatever follows. It allows you to take care of yourself first thereby setting you up for a happier day. What can you do with this time? Well, here are a few ideas that I think will work: Read: Most accomplished people took the time to “feed” their mind a diet of positive, uplifting and educational materials that moved them forward through their day and gave them inspiration for new ideas, goals and insight on life. Exercise: Take a walk. It circulates your blood, strengthens your hear...

Maybe you’ve been working really hard at losing those last 10 pounds. You’ve done everything you can think of from cutting back on the amount of calories you eat, to working out twice a day. You’ve even sworn off desserts! So why do those extra pounds hold such a stubborn grip on you? Well, if you’ve read a couple of my most recent posts, you could be sabotaging your efforts by neglecting your sleep. As I’ve been saying, your ability to maintain a healthy weight can directly correlate your ability to obtain adequate quality. The interesting thing is that the two benefits are symbiotic in that losing weight is a good way to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep. Why? There are a number of reasons. For starters, a significant number of overweight people tend to suffer from sleep apnea. This is a condition which commonly causes snoring. However, the snoring is severe enough to obstruct a persons’ breathing for prolonged periods, as he or she sleeps. However, there are recorded...

So, since we’ve already gone over some of the benefits of actively getting enough sleep, I’m sure you are eager to secure better sleep help with your weight loss efforts. Yet, you may be wondering how do I get better sleep? The first step is to prepare for bed time. Choose a bed time and stick with it. You need to be sure you have enough time to sleep. Many studies suggest that while you may be able to function on four or five hours of sleep each night, most people require more. On average, you should be getting about eight hours of sleep each night, give or take an hour. I know for some of you this may mean you will be giving up your late night dancing, movies or television. It may even mean you delay your morning workout, but getting your body's hormones regulated will pay off. Sometimes I find clients that spend plenty of time in bed at night wake up feeling un-rested in the morning. If you have the same issues, you may be living with a sleep disorder and may need a professio...

That's right: it’s all hormones! If you’ve read any of my articles regarding sleep and weight loss, then you know the medical fact that spending an ample amount of time getting shuteye is essential to helping your body get rid of those unwanted pounds. But have you ever wondering how it works? Read on as I try to make sense of this amazing process. Our bodies are filled with all kinds of hormones that are responsible for doing any number of things. Two hormones; leptin and ghrelin, are predominantly responsible for influences on your appetite. In other words, these two hormones make you feel either hungry or satiated. Ghrelin is responsible for making you to feel hungry and leptin alerts your brain to the sensation that you are “full” and have had enough to eat. Here’s where the problem with sleep deprivation begins. A lack of sleep can result in your leptin levels to plummet and your ghrelin levels to rise. The result being that you feel hungry more often than you ought to and, ...

"And what is a man without energy? Nothing - nothing at all." - Mark Twain Coffee is my number one “gotta have” in the morning. And, while I’ve been known to make a quick Starbucks run in the afternoon, I don’t necessarily rely on caffeine for my energy boost. Instead, I can get all the energy I need three times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Carbohydrates: You may remember the world-famous Atkins diet has caused countless people to stop eating breads and pastas in order to lose a few quick pounds. Unfortunately, carbohydrates are essential when it comes to boosting your body's energy levels. Don't eat enough and you won't be able to push your body to its limits in the gym. Instead of starving your body of fuel, eat smart carbohydrates, such as whole-wheat bread, cereal, and brown rice. Magnesium: If you're looking for energy, you should consider it. Magnesium has unique properties that turn sugar into something useful: energy. In other words, you can g...

I love the morning. It’s my favorite time of the day. So, naturally, it’s also my favorite time to exercise. Likewise, when clients ask me what is the “best” time for them to exercise, I recommend “first thing in the morning.” Actually, exercising during any time of the day is proven to help you obtain and maintain a healthy weight. But, recent research seems to back-up my theory that exercising in the morning gives you an “edge” to your pursuits, a little more “bang” for your effort. Anyway, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “You’re full of it, John. You’re just trying to trick me into leaving the warm comfort of my bed for the cold steel of a weight room!” While that may not be far from the truth, hear me out because I think an early morning workout can improve your life in several ways all at once. First, you’ll notice that working out during the first few hours of the day helps you sleep better at night. Typically, working out in the evening can increase adrenaline, and...

Let it be said that you can beat the odds and maintain a healthy figure throughout middle age. Gaining weight during middle age is only natural, right? Wrong... If you dread the pounds of midlife, cheer up! With the right attitude and an appropriate diet and exercise regiment, you may be able to keep your youthful figure and good health for a healthy start to your silver and golden years. It's a matter of weighing your responsibility. Midlife weight gain is unfortunately very common. There are definite factors working against you as you age. Besides fluctuating hormone levels, your metabolism begins to slow down. This means it takes more work to burn the calories you consume. Another problem is that most adults lose between 30 and 50 percent a pounds of muscle each year. The smaller your muscles are, the fewer the calories you are able to burn. Weight gain during your midlife is also a danger to your health as it increases your risks for a range of serious medical conditio...

If one is the loneliest number, "No" is the loneliest word. However, if you're going to exist on planet Earth, you've got to learn how to use this tiny word - even when the person asking the question is your friend. Here's how to get a better handle on "No." Nip it in the bud. Good ol' Barney Fife was onto something when he coined this classic phrase. Giving an immediate "No," when you know the answer is "No" is the best way to go about giving a negative response. You're nipping the question in the bud. Promising that you may be able to catch a movie or have time to play softball after work - when you know you can't - only makes the "No" seem that much worse. So as soon as you know your answer will be "No," let it out! Reserve it for rare, special occasions . If you're truly someone's friend, this one should be a no-brainer. You enjoy spending time with your friends and helping them ou...

Like most things in medicine, the amount of liquid you should drink seems to be constantly changing. So just how much do you need to drink on a daily basis for optimal health? You're about to find out that the scientific world has determined about your drinking needs. So turn on the tap and get ready to find out how full you should fill your glass. Only a few years ago, the medical community had a nice, one-size-fits-all answer to the liquid question. According to the experts, adults needed about eight glasses of water each day. This equaled out to approximately 64 ounces of water. While this acted as a good goal for most adults, it was a goal that was rarely met due to people simply being too busy to remember to down their daily regimen of water. Today, the old answer is no longer the only answer. Granted, it is still an accepted answer that helps many people remember to keep their lips to a glass of water, but researchers spent plenty of time studying just how much water a pe...

Give up? It's acne. But are you armed with the right tools to fight it off? They're bumpy, red splotches on your picture-perfect skin. But you don't have to put up with them anymore! Or do you? If you are not sure what to believe about acne and what it takes to get rid of it for good, you're not alone. The good news is you won't be in the dark for much longer. Think back on all the chocolate you didn't eat in an effort to avoid unsightly acne? Didn't help, did it? That's because foods such as chocolate, pizza, and fried chicken don't put your skin at increased risk for acne. Granted, these foods aren't always the best choice for your overall health, but they're not going to give you a pepperoni face. So what causes it? Good question. Sadly, there isn't one factor that causes every pimple on every face. However, the process for every zit is the same. First, the body's oil glands kick into gear. As you probably guessed, this usual...