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Prep Now - 5 Time-Change Adjustments to Make Now for a Better Monday
Daylight savings time ends on Sunday morning at 2am. Are you adjusting your schedule now to ease the transition? Most experts agree even this little change can take a toll on your health but a little prep can go a long way in getting your week off to good start. So if you haven't started prepping here's some easy ways to ease your way into a reasonable start to the week post-Daylight savings.
- Start adjusting sleep schedules now - Try going to bed 15 minutes later each evening leading up to Saturday night.
- Adjust meal times too - Eat at 6:15 tonight vs. your usual 6.
- Get your vitamin D - Light exposure is critical to keep sleep / wake schedules in balance so make sure you get lots of time outside on Sunday, especially in the morning, and ideally for the next few days post-change.
- Prepare your room - Make sure bedrooms have adequate window coverings so they are nice and dark, minimizing early morning bright sunlight. A sound machine is always a good option too in order to minimize early morning chirping.
- Don't engage too early - If you still wake up early give yourself a chance to doze or relax with a book until an appropriate wake-up time.
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8 Essentials to Buy Now to Ease Cold and Flu Season
They say prevention is the best medicine. You know you should get your flu shot, eat well and get plenty of sleep each night to keep your immunity up and fend off colds and flu this season. But when your best efforts fall short and you succumb to a cold, viral infection or the flu here's what you should have on hand to help you muddle through and hopefully be back to your best as soon as possible.
- Fluids (ginger ale, Gatorade, tea bags) - It's always recommended to get plenty of liquids when you're feeling under the weather so stock up now before illness strikes
- Chicken soup - Nothing replaces homemade but there's still something about chicken soup that helps you feel better, at least temporarily. So grab a couple of cans or mixes next time you're at the grocery store
- Saltine crackers - Somehow these always seem oddly satisfying when nothing else really sounds good. A little nourishment that is usually well tolerated even post-stomach bug
- Tissues - These won't expire so go ahead and buy more than you need. You'll be surprised how fast they disappear
- Hand sanitizer - Not necessarily recommended for day-to-day use but when you're trying to keep the rest of the family from coming down with your bug you need to fight hard. Grab a big bottle and be ready.
- Ibuprofen / Acetaminophen - No need to grab the big barrel that'll likely expire before you can use it all but it's always good to have a supply on hand for when a fever or the chills set in late at night
- Saline nasal spray - Buy a bottle for each family member and use a Sharpie marker to label each member's name so they have a tool at the ready to fight nasal congestion and clear stuffy passageways
- Cold / Flu symptom medication - Save yourself a trip to the drugstore and keep a small stash (these expire rather quickly) of these on hand to help ease some symptoms and hopefully help you rest - which is really the best medicine!
Hopefully prevention will be the best medicine. Stay well!
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This Saturday | Safely dispose of unused medications and clear the medicine cabinet clutter
Admit it you've got at least a couple bottles of expired or unused medication lying around. Who doesn't, right? And given growing concerns over water quality and medication misuse in our communities, we all need to do our part. So do yourself and your community a favor and add the National Prescription Take-Back Day to your calendar this Saturday.
Click here to find a location. And while you're running errands on Saturday or heading to or from sports practices or dance classes, swing by a Prescription Drug Take-Back location and drop off those expired and unused medication for safe disposal.
This Saturday - October 22nd - from 10am to 2pm locations nationwide are available for you to drop off your old medications for safe disposal through the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Usually held twice a year, this national initiative has kept millions of pounds of medications from contaminating our soil and water, and reduced misuse of the medication by others. So clean out the medicine cabinet and drop off those medications on Saturday. See you there!
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Trading One Risk for Another: Why Vitamins and Supplements are Not Always the Answer
You know the power of eating well - the right foods, in the right portions. A balanced diet gives you the vitamins and nutrition you need to stay healthy and active. But many of us also turn to vitamins and supplements to fill gaps in our diet and/or provide some extra insurance.
For some, this is unquestioned. The medical community almost unanimously agrees that pregnant women need to take prenatal vitamins, including DHA, throughout their pregnancy. But what about the rest of us? Do we really need vitamins in pill / capsule form to be healthy?
Just recently there's a study that shows calcium supplements may do more harm than good by trading one health risk for another. Often calcium supplements are prescribed for women to reduce the risk of osteoporosis but this latest study seems to be linking calcium supplements with increased risk to the heart with higher levels of plaques in arteries. Interestingly, this plaque buildup was not observed in those who did not take calcium supplements.
This is just one more reminder that the best thing we can do on a daily basis for our health is to consider what we're eating. And definitely talk to your doctor before adding vitamins or supplements to the mix.
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4 Nutrition Tips to Easily Adopt for a Healthier, More Balanced You
Like it or not, but so much of living a healthy and active life is about planning and organization. Life is busy for all of us. But taking a little time to plan better habits usually produces out-sized health benefits. Scheduling exercise into your day, planning and shopping for a few meals at home each week, and prioritizing sleep go a long way to a healthier, more balanced you.
So to make the meal part of this equation just a little easier, we're sharing a Huffington Post article about what nutrition tips registered dietitians focus on in their daily lives. Here's a couple of our favorites that are the most accessible for all of us.
- Have A Plan of Action. “It’s all about being armed with streamlined recipes, planning for the week, and having a calculated grocery list to stock your pantry strategically. A well-stocked pantry also helps with last-minute meals at a moment’s notice."
- Plan, Prepare and Store Healthy Meals for the Week. “...take 3 to 4 hours on a day that you have some extra time to cook 4-5 healthy meals for the week. Store those meals in the refrigerator so that you and your family can just reheat, eat and go..."
- Get Real with Your Food. “Cook as much as you can” and "Just get real with your food..."
- Quality Over Quantity. Don't “worry about calories or fat and focus on eating whole foods that are prepared simply.”
The theme is plan ahead to eat at home with real food as often as you can. You're body and mind will thank you.
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5 Easy Tips for Boosting Your Immunity for an Active & Healthy Fall & Winter
Fall is here! It took a couple of days for the weather to catch up with the calendar but last week's low 90s have been replaced with this week's barely 70 degrees. And with the change in season, and many more indoor activities, cold and flu season kicks off in full force. So being the active, healthy and energetic person you are, how do you build your immunity for the fall and winter seasons?
We've waded through the information, to give you 5 easy, immunity-boosting tips to keep the cold and flu to a minimum this year.
- Flu Shot - It's obvious, we know, but still shown to be the best offense in avoiding, or at least lessening, the impact of the flu. And you get them just about anywhere now and most insurance fits the bill for it. So put it on your to-do list and give yourself a shot at a flu-free season!
- Probiotics - Whether you choose to take them as a capsule or tablet daily, or incorporate probiotic foods into your diet (it's easier than you may think), the data seems to support the link between probiotics and immunity. Don't miss your daily dose.
- Exercise - Shorter days and cooler nights can often sap your energy but exercise can often reverse that feeling and have a positive effect on your immune system. So fight that urge to curl up on the couch with a blanket, and go for a walk.
- Sunlight - Our immune systems seem to thrive on Vitamin D and unfortunately we often get too little of it during the shorter days of Fall and Winter. Try to spend 15 minutes per day outside without sunscreen. Perhaps while exercising?
- Sleep - Don't underestimate the power of sleep to keep your immune system operating at its peak. You need rest to recharge and keep colds and flus at bay.
Wishing you a healthy start to Fall and a strong immune system all Fall / Winter season long!
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3 Things You Need to Know to Survive Fall Allergy Season
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, especially during the Fall, you'll do almost anything to ease the suffering, right? We feel you! That's why we decided to dig a little deeper to see if we could come up with some new or little known information and tips to help you get back to your healthy, active self before the season is over.
#1 - Brace ourselves. Evidence seems to be showing that global warming is extending the Fall allergy season and making it more intense. Lucky us! Warmer temperatures are resulting in longer growing seasons not only for things we love - strawberries, watermelon, etc., but also for the weeds that often define Fall allergy season.
#2 - Knowledge is power. While we already know that we should rely on our air conditioning in our homes and cars, change our clothes after being outside, etc., etc. It's also best to do our best to avoid being outside when pollen counts are high. So we've discovered two great tools to help.
- Detailed daily pollen counts available for where you live from a reliable source - American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
- 5-Day pollen forecast also customized to where you live, and also offers a 30-day tracker of historic pollen levels
#3 - Your are what you eat. Foods you're eating on a daily basis may be easing or exacerbating your Fall allergy symptoms! While everyone is different, it might be helpful to try a few a these to see if they help you feel any better or note if some of these do seem to have an unhealthy impact.
| Seek | Avoid |
| Broccoli | Bananas |
| Kale | Chamomile Tea |
| Onion & Garlic | Apples (some varieties) |
| Pumpkins | Cucumber |
| Carrots | Zucchini |
Hopefully these tips and resources will help you feel better and manage your health throughout the Fall season. Happy Fall!
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Is Fall Decluttering a Thing? 5 Simple Steps to a More Organized Closet, Drawer, Etc.
You've heard of spring cleaning but what about fall decluttering? Is it even a thing? Well we're not sure if it's a real thing or not but it's definitely something that has taken hold around here. In the weeks leading up to back to school and the weeks since we've been cleaning out closets and drawers, recycling and reselling and generally just doing a good clean out and getting organized.
Is it a need for order or a desire to simplify? Or both? Who knows but it does feel good to us. It has taken some time. Tackling one task at a time, in between filling orders, running to meetings and checking homework. But the reward is a sense of lightness and order that we've obviously been lacking.
So if you're looking to spark this decluttering streak in your house here's a few tips to get started.
- Identify the Hot Spots - Select a closet or drawer to focus on rather than a whole room. This will allow you to be more focused and make the task more manageable.
- Make a Schedule - Assign yourself one hot spot to tackle each week and schedule a time to tackle it. Again this keeps it manageable and you accountable.
- Come Prepared - Have a bag for garbage, another for paper recyclables and a box or two for give away items and for items to go to other rooms, closets, etc.
- Share your System - Hopefully in this process you've decluttered and set up a better way to organize the items that belong in the space. Communicate your new organization to those in your family that use that space so they too can help maintain the order you've worked to achieve
- Take a Deep Breath - Celebrate the completion of each task and enjoy your newly organized spot. For many of us, an uncluttered space reduces stress. So enjoy!
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Pausing to Appreciate Fans of the Style Rx
We're taking a break today. We're not writing about travel, fashion, style or health. Active lifestyles and great gift giving can wait. Today we're focusing on the most inspiring part of the Style Rx and Inspired by Dawn -- our fans!
Whether our fans come in the form of top-notch media outlets like The Los Angeles Times, Real Simple or Miami Herald; influential travel, style or parenting bloggers; or thrilled customers who are eager to share their find with their friends -- we love them all and we consider ourselves fortunate to have them rooting for us.
Last week - heading into the Labor Day weekend - we were particularly inspired by a customer in Colorado who took the time to send us a message about her new Style Rx pill box cases...
"AWESOME PRODUCT!! Keep coming up with other great things and design patterns for the pill boxes...They really are beautiful!!!!!!!"
Of course, we were flattered! She was happy, and of course that made us really happy!
So if we haven't said it before - Thank You for being a fan of the Style Rx pill box, of Inspired by Dawn and for inspiring us with your kind words and support! We remain committed to bringing Style to Life, one stylish woman at a time.
Don't keep us a secret. Share "your find" with someone you know would appreciate (as much as you do!) the marriage of style and function that defines the Style Rx and Inspired by Dawn. Share this post, send them a link or show them your Style Rx! We love to hear from fans - new and seasoned!
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Post-Labor Day Style - Expert Tips on Wearing White Well Into Fall & Winter
Since many of us were little we've heard - and all too often accepted - the adage about not wearing white after Labor Day. But this is 2016. So why are some of us - smart, independent, stylish women that we are - still accepting this adage as a style maxim?!?
Even Emily Post - the queen of etiquette - has given her blessing to break this antiquated fashion rule and embrace the white in our wardrobes. So don't pack away those summer whites just yet. And use these tips from the pros to keep your post-Labor day style looking fresh and thoroughly modern throughout the fall season...
Celebrity stylist Robert Verdi:
- "[pair] whites (whether they're jeans, a blazer, a bag) with a silhouette that is decidedly fall, like a navy velvet cigarette pant (that way it will look less summery)..."
- White or cream tops: "They're seasonless—always in style."
- White pants: "These can read the wrong season unless they're in a fall fabric. ...pair a white denim pant with a suede shoe and that's totally acceptable."
Suze Yalof Schwartz, executive fashion editor at large at Glamour
"Nothing is more chic than white jeans in the wintertime with a chunky cozy sweater or a blazer and leather boots"
Stefani Greenfield, the co-founder of Scoop boutiques
Always a fan of "a Jackie Onassis-inspired outfit: a black turtleneck with those white jeans, animal-print ballet flats and either a cuff bracelet or pendant necklace"
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