Sharing love is the most powerful force of nature, whether it's with a pet, a friend, or a significant other. Experts stipulate that loneliness and social disconnect result from our increasing attention on technology and work. Regarding ailments such as heart disease, Dr. Ornish says that "the real epidemic isn't physical heart disease. It's spiritual heart disease: loneliness and isolation."

It is amazing but true that the easiest thing in the world to do to improve our own health and wellness is to express our love for ourselves and for others. It doesn't cost anything and it doesn't have to take much time. The benefits of love are beyond measure.

Sleep expert and President of the American Sleep Research Institute Lynn Larson explains that the link between sleep and decreased longevity is due to the immediate effect lack of sleep has on human performance. Missing sleep leads to poor decision making and affects everything we do: rushing when we should be methodical, forgetting important procedures, loss of attention (such as when driving), not having the energy to exercise, poorer reaction time, higher stress levels, elevated blood pressure, and inability to adapt to change. These things lead to accidents in the short term, and poor health in the long term.

Research at ASRI suggests that the amount and quality of sleep we achieve has profound effects on wellness. Nightly sleep is critical for proper function of: the brain, immune system, endocrine system, digestion, as well as for energy, recovery from injury, and restoration of health. The lifestyle changes explained throughout this website are all intertwined with sleep. Sleep gives us the energy, the will, and the foundation to accomplish these changes.

Approximately 100 million Americans struggle with difficulty sleeping. If you have trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep, there are some "tricks" to improve the situation. To some extent, insomnia can be like the old expression about fear: there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Sometimes, just the fear of not being able to sleep causes enough stress to keep us awake. Don't worry, these guidelines should help.

• Sleep is like a good meal. It must be at the correct time and well anticipated; it helps to be hungry, the food should look, taste and smell good; your surroundings should be pleasing; and you should have plenty of stress free time to enjoy it. Make your bedroom as inviting as that meal and you will sleep better.
• Don't look at the clock. Studies have shown that looking at the clock during the night increases insomnia. You will sleep more if you ignore the clock when you wake up during the night.
• Leave work at the office and don't take it to bed with you.
• If you wake during the night - do not think! Mental distraction is the name of the game. Try counting backwards from 100. The first times that you try this technique you might count from 100 two or more times. It's OK. Eventually you will fall to sleep at about 95. You are training yourself to stop thinking about problems and to fall to sleep instead. It will take time to learn this good habit.
• No caffeine after dinner. The half life of caffeine is about four hours.
• Alcohol makes you doze off quickly, but after it metabolizes it will interrupt sleep later in the night.

The second thing is to act "as if." Whenever you change what you are doing, it will feel unnatural. It may feel like you are doing something wrong, funny, or something that is just not you. In a way you are right. When you change a habit, you are by definition acting in a way that is 'just not you.' But in a very short time, it will feel normal and it will seem strange that you ever acted any different. Changing habits is like starting a new job, the first couple of weeks are stressful and disorienting, but if you just hang in there, you will feel at home before you know it.

The third is to work on yourself every day. The highest demonstration of a healthy and growing self-image and self-esteem is the commitment to work on yourself each and every day. You experience an elevated consciousness when you realize your power to step up to your greatness or default to your weakness with every challenge, distraction and decision. Working on yourself with consistency and persistence connects you to your inner wisdom and inner strength to become unstoppable.

Each of us has a sphere of influence, a circle of friends and acquaintances who need to hear our message. Whether you decide to do something small or great, please accept your share of the responsibility for moving our society ahead. If we all invest our own special something, the net effect will be a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life for us all.

If you are a gadget junkie, a professional athlete or just like to have the most advanced new technology, you'll want the Suunto t6. It is a wristwatch that calculates your heart rate, energy consumption, ventilation, oxygen consumption (VO2), respiratory rate, Training Effect and EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). You can then wirelessly upload your data to your computer to track your progress. They even have programs that will correlate your data with sport specific training programs. They have programs for novices through professional athletes. You have to check this out, it's cutting edge technology that can help you get better results, faster.

Unless you live on an organic farm, most experts agree that we should take a daily supplement in order to ensure that our bodies are receiving the nutrients necessary to promote our optimum health. Multi-vitamin supplements help your body stay nourished to keep healthy and strong. One of my favorite products is the NutriWell Pack formulated by Biotics Research. Besides being a high quality blend of basic wellness nutrients formulated by scientists they are conveniently packaged in individual daypacks eliminating the need for multiple bottles and pill counting. Also they are easy to take with you on the go or on a trip.

With today's technology there really is no good excuse not to stretch and exercise properly. You can check out exercise videos for free at the local library, rent them from video stores or access free information online. You can even purchase exercise, yoga and pilates programs to download onto your iPod.

In order to keep your muscles strong, you must stress them by resistance training. Dumbbell weights or resistance bands are great ways to strengthen your muscles. Resistance bands are great because they are easy to travel with. Take them on your next business trip and you won't miss a workout wherever you are.

Protein is another nutritional foundation essential to building and maintaining muscle during every stage of life. Protein provides a number of benefits in the areas of weight management, immune support, and bone health. As you know it is always best to nourish your body with natural organic foods, but you may also benefit by adding a protein powder to your supplement routine. This is recommended especially for people who are on vegetarian diets, the elderly, and to those striving for maximum energy.

Most people spend approximately one-third of their entire life lying in bed. The quality of your mattress can make a huge difference between waking up feeling refreshed and waking up in pain. In fact, old worn-out mattresses are an extremely common contributor to chronic back and neck pain. Good health and sleep are closely linked. Just as we improve our eating habits for better health, we should also improve our sleep habits. Good sleep not only reduces back problems, it also helps to prepare us for a more productive day. If you think that your mattress may be past its prime, here are some tips to help you select the right mattress for you:

• There is no single mattress that works well for all people. Look for a mattress that is adjustable in firmness and support for you.

• Find a mattress that has proper support for good sleep posture. Good sleep posture is nearly the same as good standing posture, with the ear, shoulder, hip and ankle all in alignment. This will require different levels of support for different parts of the body.

• Mattress firmness and support are not the same. Mattress firmness describes comfort and conformability. Look for a mattress that is comfortable.

• Look for a mattress that manages temperature and moisture.