Become Fit with the Wii Fit

How can you combine sporting with entertainment? Yes I'm not really a sportive guy. But playing a game on the Wii every once in a while is something that's more my thing. A few months ago I ordered the game Wii Fit. This game is a very strange game, because are we sure it's a game? It helps you do some yoga, strength training and aerobics. This is more like sport isn't it? But yes one of the four categories you can sort of do/play is a game category, it's about balancing. I tried this category first off course. Its exactly what it says its all balancing games.

I'm not entirely sure how the game works internally. But the game comes with a board that looks like an ordinary scale but has the intelligence to determine where your balance is. It's just perfect for all the things you don't want to know, like your BMI. I've just played the game for half an hour, but I really like it.

Chair massage

It's almost three years ago when I got my first experience in getting a chair massage. I really liked it. Specially if you look at a job when you sit most of the time. This in combination with working on a computer can result in RSI. I'm a Software Engineer and am constant aware of the risks of RSI. I always try to make as much movements during the day as possible, getting coffee for everyone for example, to prevent RSI. But this might not be enough.

Since a few months I get a chair massage. I try to get one every month. The man who does my chair massage is Jerry Elkhuizen who has a company in giving massage. I highly recommend him for chair massages. You can contact him through his website: laatjeeensmasseren.nl.

Wake up by light

Since a week I'm the proud owner of the Philips Wake-Up Light. It helps me wake-up.

A lot of people are using music to wake-up, I was used to this also. But from now I'm getting awake by some sort of sunset. Half an hour before wake-up time the light gradually increases. The light has to fall on your eyes to send some kind of message to your brain. And if you cannot get awake by only the light it also starts with a chosen sound on wake-up time.

But how does it work for me. Last week I awoke three times from only the light and two times I awoke after hearing some virtual birds. Besides this I felt a lot more awake on the early hours of the day. I just have thrown away my old alarm clock, let's hope the Wake Up Light keeps working.

Sleeping habits and Power napping

Profile your sleep

A lot of people feel they are tired. BBC has an assessment you can take about Sleeping habits. It gives you a quick insight about how you can make the most of your sleep time. My results are:

If keeping alert is your goal and you want to cut down your caffeine intake, try taking a short nap when you feel sleepy.

Exercise is a good way of improving your the start to the day. But if you exercise too close to bed time, it will make it difficult for you to sleep. After a heavy workout, your muscles may be tired, but muscles only need to rest, not sleep. Your brain will be too stimulated to calm down quickly.

I know that me exercising almost never isn't a good thing. I will try to get started using my spinning bike more often. Besides this what about power napping?

Power Nap

I once thought about Power Napping as a small nap for about 10 minutes. But after reading some more resources about Power Napping I found out there are actually four styles:

• Nano nap - 10 to 20 seconds
• Micro nap - 2 to 5 minutes
• Mini nap - 5 to 20 minutes
• Traditional power nap - 20 minutes
• Lazy man's nap - 50 to 90 minutes - this is not a power nap ;-)

If I'm looking into this list, the best power nap for me should probably be something between micro nap and mini nap. Are you doing power naps? Or would you like to do power naps?

Resources on Power Napping:

• A guide to power napping
• 10 Benefits of Power Napping and How to do it