Green Tea

I tend to exercise at night and in general I’ve evolved a lifestyle that includes go-go-going until I am ready to flip the switch into relax and sleep mode a process which usually does not begin until at least 10:30PM. Of course the body doesn’t work that way. Months ago I began drinking a cup of Tension Tamer tea when I am finally ready to settle down.  I have also tried L-Tryptophan which seemed beneficial though the form in which I was taking it was expensive and when I switched to a cheaper one it was  not as pleasant to use and I stopped using it. One beverage that is always relaxing is alcohol. I would sleep even less if it weren’t for this standby.

I do drink less caffeine now than I did even six months ago. I accomplished this by swapping out routine daytime coffee for green tea which I carry around in a really scary looking water bottle. Green tea is good to drink–Tom Venuto recommends about 4 cups per day–because it contains Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which helps the body use fat as fuel when exercising.  About 15 years ago I actually completely stopped using caffeine when a doctor recommended it to reduce fibrocystic breast disease. I was amazed at what a difference that made. The road back was slow and began with my gateway drug Diet Coke. I am happy to report that I have primarily cut that out of my diet–I used to buy it by the box;  now it’s a “treat.” I don’t know what the research is on this but I have a feeling that it gives you brain cancer.

My current philosophy is that being aware of and reflecting on my habits is important even if I can’t do the optimal thing at every turn.