Caffeine: 14 better options to ease SAD

Caffeine: 14 better options to ease SAD

Nearly a year ago to the dot, I wrote an article about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but there I focused on the importance of getting access to a full range spectrum of light. Here I’d like to focus on caffeine and sleep’s effect on SAD. I’ll also offer suggestions for what to do to help you feel better on the dark days.

Avoid fish oil supplements

Avoid fish oil supplements

I don’t generally promote supplements. Most of them play to specific, isolated points of medical research to serve as a magic pill. One remarkable example of this is fish oil.

Covert Narcissist?! How do I know if I am one?

Covert Narcissist?! How do I know if I am one?

After a fight with two friends, one of them accused me of being a covert narcissist. That offended me to my core, but then I took a moment to consider whether or not it might be true. What if I am??

Exercising My Demons, part 9 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 9 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 8 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 8 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 7 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 7 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 6 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 6 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 5 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 5 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 4 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 3 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 2 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 1 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons: Introduction

I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren’t very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with my inner demons for far too long. I hope that something in this process will be helpful and healing for you.

Let’s try swimming again: The dating pool

So, now my latest dating blunder is affecting the day for three people — five, if you include his parents. This 30-something man-child literally told me to text his parents to find out what I should do with him; they actually didn’t do anything to help, so three is a better count.

The privilege of beauty: Who benefits?

It’s a pretty well established standard across time and place that human beauty is underpinned by symmetry, clarity, and proportion. However, beyond that, the standards vary wildly from culture to culture. And culture is dependent upon both place and time.

Suggested Products: Yellow Tinted Lenses

Yellow tinted lenses look yellow, because they are allowing red and green light to enter your eyes. How do they do this? By absorbing blue. This is why they help you maintain a proper circadian rhythm: They prevent the stimulation of light sensitive photoreceptors.

Square Foot Gardening: Perfectly efficient system

The style of gardening that fascinates me most is Square Foot Gardening. The ease, simplicity, versatility, economy, and variety of this process impresses me. It minimizes the money, equipment, soil, water, physical work, and time required to successfully grow food.

Love, a Happily Single Introvert

Dear Happily Partnered Extrovert: I love you, and I want our friendship to continue flourishing. But as an introvert there’s something I need you to understand, and I’m going to force you this one time to fully acknowledge what I’m saying to you. If you refuse, I’ll stop spending time with you.

Welcome to the INTEGRE8T Wellness Blog!
Welcome to the INTEGRE8T Wellness blog! Here you’ll find dozens of articles I’ve written about a wide range of topics. There are entries about exercise, fitness, wellness, nutrition, and personal stories. I hope they help inform you as you continue on your process of self improvement.

Blog Mission

I want to provide helpful information for workouts, recipes, personal stories, philosophy and position statements, interviews with content experts, and other ideas. I also have a lifetime of observations concerning body image, self esteem, goal setting, and perseverance. If you ever want some inspiration, I have a page just for that as well. The idea is that the posts on this site will be practical, inspirational, personal, conversational, and educational.

The INTEGRE8T System

I am a strong advocate of taking a wholistic approach to wellness. The eight patterns of fitness are Breath, Hydration, Nutrition, Strength, Conditioning, Flexibility, Focus, and Rest; however, these look primarily at the physical body. We are more complex than that, so many of my vlog posts will address the eight modalities of wellness. These address the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Psychological, Social, Sexual, Spiritual, and Financial components of our lives, which are intrinsically connected to each other like a web. Plucking one part of the web creates reverberations throughout the whole.

I will sometimes include thoughts about my favorite topics. These pressing concerns will generally focus on arts and culture; dance and theatre; language, poetry and fiction; personal stories; The Kitty Consortium; diamonds; aesthetics; chocolate; and, most importantly, Janet Jackson.

Enjoy!

Jack Kirven is a mobile personal trainer in Charlotte, NC. He is the owner of INTEGRE8T Wellness.

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