Soothe your Jet-lag and sleepless nights

21 July 2013

I just returned back from Europe and the first couple of days with jet-lag were rough, to say the least!

9 hours time difference, really does you in and affects your entire system, in a big way! I felt completely out of balance…

Woke up at 1:30 in the morning and was hungry, started to unload the dishwasher and checked my email ……

I desperately needed to soothe that out of control jet-lag of mine!

Sleepless nights creates imbalance in the body, it affects our health and overall sense of well -being, but there are lots of different ways we can promote great sleep and regain balance again.

Jet-lag is always talked about as something we get when traveling thorough time zones. But really, we go thorough the exact same thing if you work shifts, if you have had a baby and need to get up to feed in the middle of the night or when we are simply stressed and just can’t sleep at night. Regardless of the reason it is important that we take time to really soothe that sleepless, tried and exhausted body of ours in order to get back in to balance and promote good sleep patterns again.

I travel a lot and often experience jet-lag – so these are my favorite tips for soothing jet-lag and regain balance again:

I set the clock and go with the time it is where I am
I don’t nap or sleep during the day even though I am dead tired.
I spend time outside and get as much sunshine/ daylight as possible, as it helps to adjust to the new time zone.

A swim in the lake

I go to bed early (but not too early…)
I get up at the usual time
I quickly get back into the routines and follow the daily rythm
I exercise gently – a swim, a walk, a bike ride, yoga
I meditate
I drink lots of water

Fresh Cool Water

I drink green juice and/or green smoothies

Green and delicious

I eat lots of healthy food to help my body restore, find balance and rejuvenate.

Balance

This mornings fresh green juice –

Refreshing green juice

Red Kale, Apple, Ginger and Lemon Juice

5 sweet apples

1 bunch of red kale

1 lemon

A small slice of fresh ginger

Wash and clean the apples and kale, peel the lemon and the ginger – run it all through the juicer and serve ice cold.

Sleep well

Cycling in Wonderful Copenhagen

4 May 2013

26 Comments

Nyhavn Copenhagen

Hi from Copenhagen – my favourite city! I am visiting and loving every minute!

One of the first things you will notice when you come to Copenhagen is that there are bikes everywhere – people on bikes everywhere. Everyone

bikes!

Bikes everywhere

You see men in business suits, polished shoes, briefcase and all, snipping through the streets. You see women in high heels, skirts and shades, moms and dads on cargo bikes with little ones comfortably placed in the front. No matter the weather – come rain or shine – even in the coldest winter, people bike. All ages, dressed up, dressed down, all going somewhere, pedalling through the streets.

Happy cyclist

It all adds to the charm and vibrance of Copenhagen.

Yesterday I saw a very handsome gentleman biking trough the streets of Copenhagen. No hands on the handlebars and casually texting away on his cell as he rode.

Unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough on the camera to catch him.

This bike outside the Supreme Court – perhaps parked there by a lawyer or judge…..

An old guy

We Danes are crazy about biking – we don’t bike to stay fit, primarily. We bike because it is much more convenient, much easier to get from point A to B, and easier to park. Perhaps a basic reason is that parking a car in Copenhagen is a nightmare – it’s almost impossible to find parking and it’s terribly expensive.

April last year opened a super highway for cyclists –

To encourage long distance commuters to take the bike and thereby

Reduce CO2 emission
Promote Health
And Happiness

The highway is 11 miles long and runs from the suburb into the centre of CPH. If you drive 12 miles pr hr during rush hour, you are guaranteed a green light.

The plan is to make 26 super bike highways like this – a total of 186 miles. Super effective bike highways – a haven for cyclistst!

Read and see more about the SUPER HIGHWAY for bikes in a great article from New York Times.

Bike lanes of course

Denmark aim at being carbon nutral by 2025 .

Many Danes simply give up their cars because biking is SO much easier, faster and safer – in the city!

On the bike lane there are airpumps every mile, footrests for bikers, handlebars to hold onto at traffic lights, even tilted wastepaper baskets to make it easier for cyclists to throw away garbage…… Ren Kœrlighed til København – Clean Love to Copenhagen.

1/3 of all trips in Copenhagen are made by bike.

Its faster and more convenient – on top of that, it makes you healthier and ……. happier – maybe this is one of the reasons why the Danes are considered the happiest people in the world?

Nyhavn

Copenhagenize – is a concept and a very cool organization that promotes safer, faster and better biking infrastructures in the cities. They travel the world to spread the message ” Copenhagenize is possible everywhere”

This month is National Bike Month check it out here

With love from Copenhagen

24 December 2012

20 Comments

To Travel is to Live

26 October 2012

17 Comments

Packing and getting ready for my flight tonight to Copenhagen.

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote: To Travel is to Live” Hans Christian Andersen

I am overly exited and really looking forward to seing family and old friends again!

Email, skype, Viber and texting is all very good – but nothing in the world, takes the place of a real hug, real conversation and real actual time spend together!

I will be posting on the 1st of November and be part of the amazing Vegan Virtual Potluck – so stay tuned.

Au revoir Copenhagen and Thank You!

3 May 2012

11 Comments

Landed in Vancouver last night after being in my old home Copenhagen – for 10 beautiful days!! When we left it was 20+ degrees (70 F) and Copenhagen was showing off, maybe to make it harder for me to leave, I don’t know 🙂

I am married to a Canadian and we have 2 wonderful Canadian/Danish teenagers – this is why my life is split between two of the most gorgeous places in the world. I am so lucky, and hugely privileged, but it is always related to both great happiness and great sadness. Fantastic to say “hello” and sad to say “goodbye”- so I cry with happiness when I arrive and cry with sadness when I leave. That is just the way it is.

Let me rewind a bit – Sunday the 29th of April I tied my shoe laces put on my cap and went out to do the wwwp5k, my opportunity being an early morning run in Copenhagen. I enjoyed every minute of the run and took lots of photos along the way. When I got home I wrote my blog, posted it, closed the laptop and went out to enjoy the rest of my Sunday.

Tuesday morning Danish time I got up and with my cup of tea, I turned on the computer – my in-box was flooded with emails from all over the world, hundreds of emails! I was in shock, what was going on?? My stats had gone from 150 on my busiest day to 8700 in a day!!!!

This is what had happened

I have been asking myself “Really?” over and over again over the past couple of days.

I have been jumping up and down with joy and gratitude too. Most of all I am humbly grateful from the deep bottom of my heart!! Thank you, WordPress for “pressing me freshly” for giving me this opportunity! Thank you for all the views, thank you for all the “likes” and all the comments, thank you to new followers, I am thrilled to have you here – Thank you all!!!

I am grateful beyond words at this point, really!!

All this happened while I was getting ready to go – packing and saying good-bye.

and so “au revoir Copenhagen”, with all its beautiful people and places! The last photos I took before leaving Wonderful Copenhagen.

I love the old back yards

And the garden of Rosenborg Castle in the sunshine

Rosenborg Castle dates back to 1606 and houses the crown jewels and the queens soldiers have residence here. It was King Christian IV favorite place to live until his death

All the way round Rosenborg Castle there are these old sentry houses that today are home for small art galleries, cafes, flower shops, designers, jewelers, etc.

Across from Rosenborg Garden is my favorite juice place – Big Apple Juice Bar- owned and run by Christian – I went down there one last time to get myself a “Green Fix with apple” – a delicious juice made with celery, cucumber, spinach and apple- yum!!

While he was busy making my juice I enjoyed the flowers in his shop

Now I am back home with my family in Canada. Tired and happy – my kids have been in the garden to pick these beautiful flowers for me.

A Morning Run in Copenhagen

29 April 2012

216 Comments

I grabbed the opportunity to join in the fun by running the 5k wordpress run. A brilliant idea by WordPress – you simply run/walk/skip/dance/jog/skate/ 5k wherever you are in this world and then you blog about it.

As some of you may know I am visiting Copenhagen, and what better way to breathe in my old city than by running through its beautiful streets? I long to see the little mermaid again – to give her a good morning kiss. I’m up and out by 7am – the only thing I forgot while planning this – a terrible jet-lag.

So off I go and this just proves that as soon as you get yourself out there it is amazing!! It’s absolutely fabulous – I have Copenhagen all to myself and the sun is rising, the air is fresh and not a person in the streets.

Right away, I meet this lovely little family:

I continue out to Langelinje and pass Gefion springvandet – revisiting my childhood.

Copenhagen is the “city of towers” and when I turn around I see the tower of the old stone English church where I was married and behind its steeple, the magnificent dome of the Marble church right next to where we live when we are here in Copenhagen.

I continue my run along Langelinje enjoying the fresh sea breeze and my solitude on the path.

Suddenly I see her sitting there in the morning sun. The little mermaid – I love her – and either my jet-lag or the sea breeze is suddenly making my eyes moisty.

I turn around and run back towards the city center – wanting to enjoy more of the city in the early morning sun.

Past Amalienborg, where Queen Margrethe lives – a beautiful palace in the center of Copenhagen with the Marble Church in the background. Past the small dock where the royal family, kids, grandchildren, and 2 dachshunds embark on their way to other parts of Denmark – we are in the land of the vikings remember, so by ship of course.

Run, run, run – I am honestly enjoying this run through Wonderful Copenhagen that holds so much history, culture, architecture and beauty. An adventure through my own city and I mindfully see things that I just took for granted when I lived here. I am loving every minute.

I reach the old harbour – Nyhavn – a romantic place from the seafaring days but today is full of restaurants and cafes. The place where everyone longs to sit outside in the sunshine and well into the long light summer nights.

This morning it is still quiet but later today it will be packed full of people enjoying life in the sunny side of the street!

And the quiet side of Nyhavn on the other side

Round the corner from Nyhavn I almost fall into a pile of bikes! Copenhagen is a paradise for many things among them cycling. And there are many bicycles!

How about this cute “bike-dress”!

I fell in love with this old lamp on my way home

And this adorable door

I love running – I can explore, I can experience, I can inhale life, I can do it anytime, it’s cheap, I don’t have to book or reserve – I just do it, anytime, anywhere, anyplace.

On the way home I run into “Joe and the Juice” and get a big glass of Arth Away – a glass of green juice made from fresh spinach, apples and pineapple – I’m off to enjoy the rest of the day! Wishing you all a beautiful Sunday.

Anne Sture Tucker

Balanced Living

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