Sleepy at Work?

Find yourself sleepy at work, especially after lunch? Dozed at your computer more than once? Recent surveys and polls indicate you're not alone...

Too Comfortable "A study on workplace taboos," NPR reports, "finds employees may be getting a little too comfortable. About 45 percent of workers admitted to falling asleep on the job." Why is this happening?

Bored According to a BBC news story, many workers are bored.

Rich Foods for Lunch Eating too many carbs and desserts at lunch causes a letdown and leads to afternoon slump.

No Exercise Most jobs require little physical energy.

Little to no water People are not aware that fluids, especially water, are essential to well being.

Employers Foot the Bill When folks can't sleep at night...

Employers are also paying a price for our national sleep troubles in the form of lost productivity, industrial accidents and computer equipment malfunctions caused by workers falling asleep and drooling into their keyboards. To combat this sort of on-the-job drowsiness, today many forward-thinking companies are giving office workers opportunities to catch up on sleep with initiatives featuring names like "employee nap time," "workday rest breaks" or, as the practice is already known at many organizations, "staff meetings."

Brain Drained The Australian Sleep Research Project shows that lack of sleep actually curtails mental capabilities ...

Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days.

So, what to do?

Find Challenge Your brain leaps to challenges and enrichment. University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers find that the quality of your day links directly to the intensity of your sleep at night. Chiara Cirelli, lead researcher explains...

Wakefulness associated with exposure to an enriched environment and with high levels of exploratory activity, a condition well known to trigger plastic changes in the brain, leads to increased BNDF expression and increased sleep pressure as compared to wakefulness with low exploratory activity. More stringently, the study finds that the amount of exploratory behavior during wakefulness can predict the extent to which brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF] is induced in the cerebral cortex, as well as the extent of the physiological waking activity to sleep [SWA] response during subsequent sleep.

Strategies for Peak Performance:

Eight hours of sleep nightly... With enough sleep your brain and body and brain rewire and re energize. With deep REM sleep, you won't snore at your desk.

Nutritious lunches... To increase brainpower in the afternoon, here's a few suggestions for lunch... to bolster your afternoon acuity:

Opt for a combination of carbs and proteins at lunch: Dr. Judith Wurtman, MIT nutrition researcher says that protein contains precursors of serotonin, the neurotransmitter which promotes a calm, relaxed feeling and helps to fight emotional fatigue. Protein rich foods also contain tyrosine, a precursor to neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine that elevate alertness, attention, and motivation. Wurtman suggests adding just a few carbs boosts the brain's intake of tryptophan.

Select protein rich foods from lunch menus: Seafood, poultry and lean meat supply the richest sources, as well as dairy products, legumes, nuts and seeds. Veggies and grains have protein too, though in lesser amounts, without the fat.

Drink plenty of water at lunch since it helps you eat less. And, take a few extra trips to the water cooler at your office – you’ll not only relieve stiffness from too much sitting, but movement helps raise the oxygen level in your brain.

Use stairs...Skip the elevator! Exercise pumps more oxygen to your brain, which uses 21% of your body's oxygen supply. If you feel drowsy, get up and move... deliver that package down the hall. Take time at lunch for 20 minutes of aerobics

Be the person you most want to be today at work... Ask yourself if you are working in the most challenging and enriched environment that works to advance your career... Take first steps to make that a reality.

What steps keep you from snoozing on the job?

Puzzled No More

Examples of autistic wunderkinds who put together complicated jigsaw puzzles practically blindfolded without their backs turned abound. Pamela is not one of them. She still does not completely get standard notions about puzzlemaking like the edges lining up, spotting potential locations on the box, and studying the shapes. We have been working on simple 100-piece puzzles since March in an RDI-like way. One thing I do is to build joint attention and then tell her indirect comments like "This is an edge. All the edges line up." "I wonder where this might be on the box." "Oh, I think I see a match with this piece."

Today, we ran out of time puzzle-building. Pamela stayed behind to finish it while I cooked lunch. Not only did she finish the puzzle, she skipped into the kitchen and announced proudly, "I did it! I finished the puzzle." You can bet I spotlighted that moment with an enthusiastic response.

She had a similar moment yesterday when she was trying to break off the remnants of a branch. She found garden clippers useless, so I suggested we visit my Dad to borrow a saw after dinner. She had other ideas. Pamela grabbed a huge, heavy stone and dropped it on the branch repeatedly until it snapped. She ran it to the house, skipping and telling me, "I broke the branch!" And, of course, I celebrated--Steve did not know the backstory and could not fathom why we were Snoopy Dancing over a stick.

Pamela is becoming much more interested in SHARING exciting moments in her day with me! Before RDI, she only shared the tragedies, not the triumphs.

More Sweet Moments

I am finding that a great way to practice episodic memory is right after narrating a book. Pamela and I tell each other when a story reminds us of something. Today, we read a story about a skunk, so I told it how it reminded me of our dog Pepper who used to come home stinking after a meeting with a skunk when we lived in Pennsylvania. That alone brought a smile to her face, but she lit up when I quoted a poem she is memorizing for recitation (At the Zoo by William Thackeray), "Mercy! How unpleasantly he smelled!"

Then, I hinted at another animal story that happened in Colorado. Intrigued, she guessed, "A bear?" (There was a bear story, but that was not the one I had in mind). She ventured a few more guesses before I told her about the time our other dog Loa came home with a quill beard after meeting a porcupine. Then, Pamela told me about the eagles with sharp claws in Alaska and the rabbits in Minnesota. We tried to think about an animal encounter in South Carolina, and she remembered the hummingbird that zoomed up to Pamela while she was eating an orange popsicle on the porch. She laughed and giggled at that very recent memory.

Another exciting development is that Pamela is finally able to put together a puzzle in one sitting with much less help. She is better able to match parts, which was a challenge for her six months ago. Okay, we have been doing the same three puzzles since March . . .

Finally, she is getting better at referencing her brother. David hides the locked box item and Pamela has to reference him to find it. On Monday, I had him hide two objects. He was able to communicate to her wordlessly to find another object (he snapped his fingers to catch her attention and turned his gaze to the spot where the other toy hid). Yesterday was a bust because he did not realize I had given him two objects. Today was great! He hid six small objects, and Pamela responded well to him, finding all six fairly quickly.

Two-footed Questions Spark Surprise

Ever noticed some questions have ready made answers? If I ask, "Who was the first man on the moon?" there's an expected answer. Questions with expected answers bore people, unless you're in the hot seat on The Millionaire. Here's why...

Questions that deal with facts and information, have little affect on the person asking or the person questioned. People's minds fly a million miles away, because their interest is simply not captured. Did you experience that at school?

On the other hand, some questions are all about people, their ideas, feelings, opinions... If I asked, "How are you feeling today?" the question is very subjective and can change between morning and evening or from day to day. And, even worse, you run the risk of hearing an organ recital. Since it's one person's experience, it does not necessarily involve me or anyone else but that person. When we don't connect, we tend to lose interest, too. So what kind of questions really spark peoples' juices?

A two-footed question bridges facts and folks' interests, and sparks surprise as folks respond thoughtfully...

Here're some starters that begin with you directly...

How might I adjust my day to do ... differently?

In what ways could I assist my manager with ...?

What strategies might work for me to engage my children in ... following school?

Note how your interests link directly to a topic... and if you ask the question just before you go to sleep your brain works on it while you get your zzzz's... Or, ask it in the morning and mull it over during the day. You'll be amazed that a great answer comes when you least expect it...

Consider two-footed questions that draw out others' thoughts and experiences...

Who has influenced you most at work, and in what key way did he or she help boost your leadership?

What contribution could you make to... and how might it impress the boss?

How do you get your teens interested in ...?

Or, maybe you'd like to try two-footed question strategies to draw from others' smarts.

When you use this strategy to inquire of another person, you show respect for their knowledge and experience. Your respect inspires, and folks jump to the challenge of providing you a very thoughtful answer.

When you ask two-footed questions of folks on your work team, with clients or with family, you'll be amazed at unexpected answers and deeper conversations that develop.

Dr.Ellen Weber, CEO of the MITA International Brain Based Center developed two feet for questioning as a way to spark deeper ideas, thoughtful discussion and interactions, based on many years of research. For additional insights, check Ellen's posts:

Two Footed Questions for a Flat World

Questions without Watertight Answers Increase Wonder

A Cat Covers Its Material, but Humans Question

Recapture the Power of a Question

And for your upcoming Thanksgiving table, Ellen advises...

Start your dinner by inviting each person to give thanks for one thing in the last week. Such a two-footed questions keeps the tone fresh. People tend to piggy back off one other’s insights from thanks, so cortisol diminishes, that horrid hormone for stress and negativity.

Ready for surprises and depth of thought as you communicate? Try asking a two-footed question at one of your next meals. Figure out a great question in advance... Come back and share results...

Casual Dress Can Limit Your Paycheck

Dress codes have been relaxed to the point that employees don't know what to wear anymore. Do people dress casually where you work? You'd be interested to know that, 40 percent of respondents say they wear jeans or whatever is most comfortable to the office. But most still think how they dress affects their performance reviews according to an NPR news item this week. Dressing for work can be a bigger problem than "what will I wear?"

In fact, by chilling out as they dress, workers may risk career success for the sake of comfort, according to two recent surveys. But here's a fact more puzzling... "At the same time," according to surveys by Yahoo Hot Jobs and Banana Republic, "61 percent of workers admit they either don't know or don't care about their company dress code."

Attractiveness Consider for a minute that the neurology of beauty impacts decision makers in your workplace. Remember the school playground where kids were selected on the basis of looks and popularity. Let's face it, attractiveness affects others' perceptions. So how does casual dress fit in?

Keep clothes handy to "dress up" quickly Even when you're in a casual environment, Tom Musbach, managing editor for Yahoo Hot Jobs suggests it's a good idea for workers to keep a nice pair of shoes and blazer in their cubicles, to be prepared for a high-level meeting.

Trends changed over the last few years for both guys and gals. Consider this guys... Barber shops gave way to styling salons; more men seek cosmetic surgery and dye their hair; and at newsstands men's health and fitness publications now equal shelf space with women's magazines. Appearance is critical for many men at the top.

Women: avoid dressing like men Gals, be sure not to dress like the guys, if you want that promotion...

When male executives are asked what holds top women back in the workplace, appearing too masculine is always in the top five, says Benton. Most men think women should be business-like, but should not try to join the boys' club.

Tone Down - Stay Stylish Bobbi Engelke, a litigation paralegal at the Boca Raton law office of Adorno & Yoss, considers herself a stylish dresser, but tones down her look for work. "I don't want to give someone the wrong impression," says Engelke, who usually dons a pantsuit or other professional attire for the office. But even on "casual day," she says, "you can dress casually and still be stylish and professional."

Along with this, South Florida business consultant Luis Mago advises, "to always be ready for an unexpected meeting with the CEO."

"Let's assume you're in a business meeting with a client and all of a sudden the president of the company walks in and you're wearing shorts. You're not going to get that business," Mago says.

Matt Kennedy, 24, a public relations account executive in Orlando, no longer wears his hair to work in a fashion that looks like a modified mohawk. Instead, he wears glasses and sweeps his hair to the side in a style he describes as a bit like Clark Kent.

"Before, I was struggling to get a job. Then I got three job offers in one week," Kennedy says. "On the weekends, I wear my trendy clothes and jeans that are bleached out."

It's the reason Brian Chernicky, 30, owner of the newly founded San Diego-based Real Online Marketing, wears a pair of fake glasses when wooing clients. He thinks it makes him look smarter. "Marketing is perception," he says.

Appearance and your paycheck "Your appearance, good or bad, can affect size of your paycheck," according to Stephanie Armour. Continuing research reveals that how you look is influential. Here's an overview of research results...


Hmmm.... what will you wear today?

A Great Day for Autism!

Pamela had a great day when it comes to personal relationships.

First, we drove to the office that processes our homeschooling paperwork, and it just so happens that the lady who runs it homeschools her autistic 18yo son, too. So, when Pamela asked to play with the "time machine" (hourglass), spun the globe, and rocked in the rocking chair, she smiled and remarked, "She reminds me of my son!" Pamela was comfortable enough to comment how the “time machine” reminded her of The Wizard of Oz. She pointed to South America and, when asked, said it reminded her of Kon-Tiki.

Then, we went to Wal-Mart. Earlier in the week, Pamela asked me what RDI was because she saw it on her schedule. I told her it was the game therapy we do. While scanning at the self-check out, Pamela looked at me, smiled, and announced, "I'm doing RDI!"

Then, I took my two teens to get haircuts. The hair stylist completely "got" Pamela, and, by the end of the hair cutting session, this kindred spirit was playing along with Pamela's word games as if they were bosom buddies. Most people are puzzled or back off, but this stylist was wonderful. Pamela was thrilled that a stranger knew how to play.

On the way home, Pamela was very communicative and told me something new. She has been reviewing her life often lately because she has been writing her autobiography in her journal. She told me today that the reason why she broke her arm in the bathroom in 1997 was that she was pretending to skate. Apparently, the floor was wet, so she was trying to take advantage of the slick surface.

Steve beat us to the house. Pamela walked into the house and yelled happily, "Daddy!" She walked up to him and gave him the biggest bear hug ever. He could not get over her delighted reaction to seeing him at home!

Brain Myths Shape Your Choices

Myths you hold about your brain shape major decisions and ability to perform well. For example, I've worked with many people who have the notion that if they work hard, they'll really get ahead in life. If folks began to work smarter and not harder, they'd accomplish much more and enjoy it, too.

Often we work against our brain rather than with it... Working hard indicates folks work long hours, trying to fit a lot in , so to compensate they cut down on sleep. When humans cut down on sleep their mental progress slows. Related to this, folks who work hard often try to do too much in a course of a day so they soon fall under stress, which in turn can lead to medical problems.

Working smarter, may include...

• Questioning your priorities
• Targeting small daily steps toward larger projects
• Organizing spaces for relaxation to be good to you
• Using more of your gifts and talents to generate variation in daily activities
• Reflecting on "Where to from here?"

You might be unaware of the myths you hold about yourself. When I said to Ellen Weber, But, I'm not smart enough... a myth I'd held for years surfaced. At the invitation of Rosa Say to participate in Joyful Jubilant Learning Community's September Signature Event, I share my personal story of how I burst this lifelong myth.

Dr. Ellen Weber shares realities about brain myths you may hold...

Harsh lessons make you gullible

Choice sacks control

Working harder and longer pays off

Seeing others smarter than you

Myths about Talents that Will Hold Some Back

Energy Level Myths and Your Success

Myth About Anxiety as a Fixed State

Myth about Memory and Your New Year Predictions

Is Your New Year Success Tied to Myths about Family?

Getting beyond myths about the brain

Mahalo to you, Rosa and your Ho‘okipa, Hospitality of Complete Giving. May you prosper!