SteveOH

So for the longest time I’ve been drinking beer while studying.  I’d drink until I felt a little buzz and then space out the beers to try and maintain my productivity and creativity while either programming for work or studying for school.  It turns out, I had rediscovered an already well-known phenomenon called the Ballmer’s peak.  Go figure… at least I’m justified in my drinking!

Borrowed from xkcd.

Rise and shine! Follow these 8 tips to start the day refreshed and ready-to-go

By Michele Bender

do in the hour after you get up can help you look and feel your best for the rest of the day.

Tap into the Power Hour

What you

The right moves and foods will give you the focus, stamina, and positive outlook you need to plow through your busy schedule. Plus, you’ll kick-start your metabolism, helping you torch extra calories and melt more fat. Our get-up-and-go routine outlines the latest research-based tips guaranteed to make your morning a true power hour. Here’s how to rise and shine.

1. Cue Energy with Color

“Seeing a bright, vibrant hue when you open your eyes gets your adrenaline going–and that sudden surge of energy helps clear the cobwebs and kicks you into gear,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Put a red, orange, yellow, or fuchsia throw pillow, blanket, or piece of art in the area you first see in the morning, or slip on a robe in one of these shades. You can even make breakfast visually stimulating (and get a nutritional boost) by pouring yourself a glass of antioxidant rich pomegranate or cranberry juice with a sweet slice of orange.

2. Wake Up and See the Roses

Seeing a bouquet of blooms when they first woke up gave women in a new study a mood lift and energy boost that lasted all day, reports Nancy Etcoff, PhD, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative.

3. Stop Hitting the Snooze Button

There’s truth in the adage “You snooze, you lose.” When you hit snooze, your brain knows it will go off again in a few minutes–so you won’t go into the deeper, more restful stages of slumber. That means you’ll be more tired than if you’d gotten up when it first sounded. A better strategy: “Set your alarm for when you really need to get up,” says Jodi Mindell, PhD, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “That extra, uninterrupted sleep makes you feel more rested and refreshed when you get out of bed.”

4. Picture the Day Ahead

Once you’re awake, close your eyes and picture yourself alert and energetic. “Imagining an activity fires up the same parts of your brain that are used when you actually experience it,” says Dana Lightman, PhD, a behavioral psychologist in Abington, PA. “Thinking positively about the day ahead energizes you.”

5. Drink Instant Energy

Drinking a big glass of water as soon as you get up is a good way to replenish the fluid your body loses overnight, and it provides instant energy. “Everything that happens in your body requires water,” says Holly Andersen, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center. “Without enough of it, your systems have to work harder in every respect–which can cause fatigue.” Indeed, even a 2% drop in water stores can tire you physically and mentally. Starting to sip early also gives you a head start on the 11 cups of water the Institute of Medicine now recommends women consume throughout the day to stay hydrated.

6. Let the Sunshine In

A splash of sunlight makes you feel more awake, so read the paper by a sunny window or step outside for a few minutes while having your coffee. “Daylight signals your biological clock to stop the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy, and promotes wakefulness,” says James B. Maas, PhD, a professor and past chairman of the department of psychology at Cornell University. It also increases the brain’s level of serotonin, a chemical that boosts mood. If it’s still dark when you get up, consider purchasing a dawn stimulator (from $80; Light Therapy Products), a device that gradually brightens a light source at a preprogrammed time. Set it to create a dawn that breaks a half hour before your usual wake up time and grows to maximum brightness when your alarm goes off–even when your eyes are closed, the light that passes through your lids signals your internal clock to trigger waking neurons in your brain.

7. Give Yourself a Face Rub

“Massaging your face boosts circulation, making it a surefire way to wake up,” says Maggy Dunphy, general manager of the Aria Spa and Club in Vail, CO. Starting at your forehead and working down to your chin, lightly flutter tap or drum your fingertips, varying the velocity, intensity, and location until you’ve touched your entire face. Bonus: These moves give you a quick healthy glow.

8. Have a Romp in the Hay

Physical activity is one of the best ways to shake off grogginess–and having sex boosts your body’s levels of chemicals associated with stamina (testosterone), energy (dopamine), and calmness (oxytocin), says Helen E. Fisher, PhD, a research professor in the department of anthropology at Rutgers University. What a great way to start the day!

1. If you owe someone money, always pay them back in a bar. Preferably during Happy Hour.
2. Always toast before doing a shot.
3. Whoever buys the shot gets the first chance to offer a toast.
4. Change your toast at least once a month.
5. Buying someone a drink is five times better than a handshake.
6. Buying a strange woman a drink is still cool. Buying all her drinks is dumb.
7. Never borrow more than one cigarette from the same person in one night.
8. When the bartender is slammed, resist the powerful urge to order a slightly-dirty, very-dry, in-and-out, super-chilled half-and-half martini with a lemon twist. Limit orders to beer, straight shots and two-part cocktails.
9. Get the bartender’s attention with eye contact and a smile.
10. Do not make eye contact with the bartender if you do not want a drink.
11. Unacceptable things to say after doing a shot:
Great, now I’m going to get drunk.
I hate shots.
It’s coming back up.
12. Never, ever tell a bartender he made your drink too strong.
13. If he makes it too weak, order a double next time. He’ll get the message.
14. If you offer to buy a woman a drink and she refuses, she does not like you.
15. If you offer to buy a woman a drink and she accepts, she still might not like you.
16. If she buys you a drink, she likes you.
17. If someone offers to buy you a drink, do not upgrade your liquor preference.
18. Always have a corkscrew in your house.
19. If you don’t have a corkscrew, push the cork down into the bottle with a pen.
20. Drink one girly drink in public, and you will forever be known as the guy who drinks girly drinks.
21. Our parents were better drinkers than we are.
22. Never talk to someone in the restroom unless you’re doing the same thing – urinating, waiting in line or washing your hands.
23. Girls hang out, apply make-up, and have long talks in the bathroom. Men do not.
24. After your sixth drink, do not look at yourself in the mirror. It will shake your confidence.
25. It is only permissible to shout ‘woo-hoo!’ if you are doing a shot with four or more people.
26. If there is a DJ, you can request a song only once per night. If he doesn’t play it within half an hour, don’t approach him again. If he does play it, don’t approach him again.
27. Learn how to make a rose out of a bar napkin. You’ll be surprised how well it works.
28. If you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to drink in a bar. Go to the liquor store.
29. If you owe someone twenty dollars or less, you may pay them back in beer.
30. Never complain about the quality or brand of a free drink.
31. If you have been roommates with someone more than six months, you may drink all their beer, even if it’s hidden, as long as you leave them one.
32. You can have a shot of their hard liquor only if the cap has been cracked and the bottle goes for less than $25.
33. The only thing that tastes better than free liquor is stolen liquor.
34. If you bring Old Milwaukee to a party, you must drink at least 2 cans before you start drinking the imported beer in the fridge.
35. Learn to appreciate hangovers. If it was all good times every jackass would be doing it.
36. If you ever feel depressed, get out a bartender’s guide and browse thru all the drinks you’ve never tried.
37. Try one new drink each week.
38. If you’re the bar’s sole customer, you are obliged to make small talk with the bartender until he stops acknowledging you. Then you’re off the hook. The same goes for him.
39. Never tip with coins that have touched you. If your change is $1.50, you can tell the barmaid to keep the change, but, once she has handed it to you, you cannot give it back. To a bartender or cocktail waitress, small change has no value.
40. If you have ever told a bartender, “Hey, it all spends the same,” then you are a cheap ass.
41. Anyone on stage or behind a bar is fifty percent better looking.
42. You can tell how hard a drinker someone is by how close they keep their drink to their mouth.
43. A bar is a college, not a nursery. If you spill a beer, clean it up. If you break a glass, wait for a staff member to clean it up, then blame it on someone else.
44. Being drunk is feeling sophisticated without being able to say it.
45. It’s okay to drink alone.
46. After three drinks, you will forget a woman’s name two seconds after she tells you. The rest of the night you will call her “baby” or “darling”.
47. Nothing screams ‘Gay’ louder than swirling an oversized brandy snifter.
48. Men don’t drink from straws. Unless you’re doing a Mind or Face Eraser.
49. If you do a shot, finish it. If you don’t plan to finish it, don’t accept it.
50. Never brood in a dance bar. Never dance in a dive bar.
51. Never play more than three songs by the same artist in a row.
52. Your songs will come on as you’re leaving the bar.
53. Never yell out jukebox selections to someone you don’t know.
54. Never lie in a bar. You may, however, grossly exaggerate and lean.
55. If you think you might be slurring a little, then you are slurring a lot. If you think you are slurring a lot, then you are not speaking English.
56. Screaming, “Someone buy me a drink!” has never worked.
57. For every drink, there is a five percent better chance you will get in a fight. There is also a three percent better chance you will lose the fight.
58. Fighting an extremely drunk person when you are sober is hilarious.
59. If you’re broke and a friend is “sporting you”, you must laugh at all his jokes and play wingman when he makes his move.
60. If you’re broke and a friend is “ragging on you”, you may steal any drink he leaves unattended.
61. Never rest your head on a table or bar top. It is the equivalent of voluntarily putting your head on a chopping block.
62. If you are trading rounds with a friend and he asks if you’re ready for another, always say “Yes”. Once you fall out of sync you will end up buying more drinks than him.
63. If you’re going to hit on a member of the bar staff, make sure you tip well before and after, regardless of her response.
64. The people with the most money are rarely the best tippers.
65. Before you die, single-handedly make one decent martini.
66. Asking a bartender what beers are on tap when the handles are right in front of you is the equivalent of saying, “I’m an idiot.”
67. Never ask a bartender “What’s good tonight?” They do not fly in the scotch fresh from the coast every morning.
68. If there is a line for drinks, get your damn drink and step the hell away from the bar.
69. If there is ever any confusion, the fuller beer is yours.
70. The patrons at your local bar are your extended family, your father, hers, your brothers and sisters. Except you get to sleep with these sisters. And if you’re really drunk, the mothers.
71. It’s acceptable, traditional, in fact, to disappear during a night of hard drinking. You will appear mysterious, and your friends will understand. If they even notice.
72. Never argue your tab at the end of the night. Remember, you’re hammered, and they’re sober. It’s akin to a precocious five-year-old arguing the super-string theory with a physicist. 99.9% of the time you’re wrong and, either way, you’re going to come off as a jackass.
73. If you bring booze to a party, you must drink it or leave it.
74. If you hesitate more than three seconds after the bartender looks at you, you do not deserve a drink.
75. Beer makes you mellow, champagne makes you silly, wine makes you dramatic, tequila makes you felonious.
76. The greatest thing a drunkard can do is buy a round of drinks for a packed bar.
77. Never preface a conversation with a bartender with “I know this is going to be a hassle, but . . .”
78. When you’re in a bar and drunk, your boss is just another guy begging for a fat lip. Unless he’s buying.
79. If you are 86′d, do not return for at least three months. To come back sooner makes it appear no other bar wants you.
80. Anyone with three or more drinks in his hands has the right of way.
81. If you’re going to drink on the job, drink vodka. It’s the no-tell liquor.
82. There’s nothing wrong with drinking before noon. Especially if you’re supposed to be at work.
83. The bar clock moves twice as fast from midnight to last call.
84. A flask engraved with a personal message is one of the best gifts you can ever give. And make sure there’s something in it.
85. On the intimacy scale, sharing a quiet drink is between a handshake and a kiss.
86. You will forget everyone of of these rules by your fifth drink.

Green tea is one of the healthiest teas (and drinks for that matter) that you can consume.  That’s a very strong statement, but I stand by it.  I have yet to come across a beverage (or chemical for that matter) that has so many health benefits with little or no negative side effects.

Well, after reading this quick summary of the benefits of green tea (http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011400a.htm) I’ve been trying to drink at least 3 cups of tea a day.  I’ve calculated that it’s about 360mg of the powerful EGCG antioxidants.  Although that’s not as great as most supplements out there which can contain a gram or more of the stuff, it’ll work for now since 1) I cannot drink coffee on a regular basis, so tea is my stand-in, and 2) there’s something about drinking it naturally as opposed to taking a supplement, which I’m hoping will have some additional benefit.   Maybe there’s some additional chemicals in the tea which work together with the EGCG, who knows?  There’s really only one way to find out either way, and that’s to drink the stuff on a regular basis.

It’s been 2 months into my “3 cups of green tea a day” campaign.  Thus far I’m averaging 2.333 cups a day.  That’s only counting weekdays since I only drink tea at work.  So if I continue at this pace, I should be able to bring the average up to the ‘effective’ amount.  This is particularly important to me because a variety of cancers run in my family as well as diabetes.  While there have not been any links between green tea and diabetes, there have been between green tea and cancer, since the EGCG protects cellular DNA from free radicals and hinders the growth of cancer cells.

Thus far I have had no negative side effects.  The caffiene it contains is minimal (30 mg / 8 oz hot serving) according to my Lipton Green Tea with Lemon and Ginseng box.  30mg is nothing, especially for someone like me who can down several hundred milligrams just to be alert.

One last note regarding the amount of antioxidants.  I’ve noticed that the flavored variations of green tea (such as my lemon-ginsend and vanilla caramel truffle) decreases as you add additional ingredients.  I’ve attributed this to the simple fact that there has to be less tea in the tea bag to make room for the flavoring agents.  It’s a signicant decrease (200mg in 8oz of regular green tea as opposed to 120mg in Lemon-Ginseng Green Tea) but it doesn’t hurt to mix it up.  After all, you’re more likely to drink more of something you like that not (obviously).

CORRECTION: Water is the healthiest liquid you can drink.  Green Tea would have to be #2