Niche Bookstore

While traveling, we often push ourselves to our physical limits, almost to the point of exhaustion and deprive ourselves of sleep. Because of this, we may experience symptoms of sleep deprivation including headaches, indigestion, decreased concentration and ability to focus, and irritability. It is imperative that we give our bodies the rest and relaxation it needs each night.

If you are a frequent flier, here are some tips to keep your sleep cycle on track. Try to get mid-morning flights so you’re not a zombie from not getting sleep the night before. Schedule your flight so that you arrive at your destination in time for a full night’s rest. Do not take red-eye flights unless absolutely necessary. When reserving seats, be sure to choose those that will give you the most legroom, such as an emergency row, or aisle seat. Pack a tote with comfort items such as eye shades, lip balm, bottled water, earplugs, and moisturizer. Plan to wear loose clothing on the flight and dress in layers for warmth and comfort. Start to preset your biological clock five days before your flight. If you are flying east go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. If flying west, try to stay up later and get up later. Once you are seated on your flight, reset your watch to the time zone of your destination. Keep yourself hydrated to counteract the dry cabin atmosphere. When the captain turns off the seatbelt sign take a few jaunts up and down the aisles aid in blood circulation. Do a few stretches to replace and refresh the air in your lungs. Loosen up your clothing to aid in circulation and slip off your shoes. Get comfortable. Eat lightly before and during the flight. Minimize alcoholic beverages. Stay away from caffeinated drinks 4-6 hours before you turn in for the night. Discuss the benefits and possibilities of sleep medication with your doctor before your flight.

Once you check into your hotel, request a room away from noise distractions such as stairways, vending machines, and breakfast rooms. If your room is facing the street, ask for a second floor room. Rooms with eastern and southern exposure in the mornings will leave you more alert in the morning. Being close to the stairs or vending machines almost always means inconsiderate noisy people. Try to acclimate yourself to the time zone you are in and avoid naps. Try to stay awake the entire day so you do not ruin your night’s sleep. Keep the curtains drawn to shield you from the light and noise distractions from outside. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature between 65 and 67 degrees in the afternoon and evening. Go to bed and awaken at the appropriate time for the new time zone. Schedule your outdoor activities at your new destination as soon as possible.

For road travelers, sleep debt can be dangerous to yourself and other drivers as well. If you are planning a road trip, be sure to get plenty of rest the night before. Don’t start out if you’ve had too little sleep or are sleepy when you want to leave. Plan to be refreshed when you depart. Plan your trip according to suggested driving time limits. Don’t plan on driving more than 10 hours per day. Make regular stops every 100 miles or every two hours. Try to avoid taking antihistamines as they can cause drowsiness. Try to drive during the day when you are normally awake and stop when you get tired. It is not a good idea to try to drive straight through. Keep your car temperature cool, turn up the tunes and keep the music selections upbeat. Don’t use cruise control if you can help it. Keep your posture at its optimum while driving. Not doing so will make your back tired. Make a few stops along the way for a drink and a light snack. Don’t get catatonic and focus on one point in front of you. Scan your surroundings and keep your eyes moistened with blinking. Traveling with a companion can help as they can watch for signs of fatigue before an accident or catastrophe ensues.

The number of single parents has increased over years. The number of children who have been a product of single parents have continually grown as well. This is because the overall change in society has changed drastically over the past years.

How a person reacts to certain situations, and how one copes with change have affected decisions involving families today. Studies have shown that there are effects, whether positive or negative on being a single parent to children.

Stress and single parenting are the usual topics in self-help books in parenting. Psychologists believe that raising children and even just a child is a very stressful task that requires ample management of emotional, behavioral and spiritual aspect of a single parent. Without the proper guide from self-help books, counsellors, group therapy, a single parent will deteriorate emotionally due to stress.

So how could you manage stress and single parenting? Psychologists say that in order for a parent to manage both stress and single parenting, he or she should enumerate things that brings him or her the stressors.

The universal stressors in single parenting for a female parent is how she could manage her household while she works her way to earn a living for 8 to 9 hours during the day. Self-help books on how to manage stress and single parenting gives single moms a good advice.

Firstly, if their job requires them to be out of the house in the usual office hours, she could hire a nanny during those times that she is away. But if she wants to have a quality time with her child or children, it would be for the best if she would leave her day job and establish a work from home business or job.

The internet isn’t there to merely entertain us. In fact, billions of dollars worth of business deals have been transacted through the internet. Of course, this isn’t just on sales transactions — sales on goods sold such as in Amazon or Ebay — but also those transactions that pay off a service using Paypal or other online payment mode.

Yes, believe it or don’t, many people, single parent or not, who earn a living through the internet not for selling goods but for offering and selling a service. 

Some employers, especially those who are always on the go, hire ‘virtual assistant’ to help them with clerical or typing or secretarial jobs. Employers simply email the typing or research job to their virtual assistant with the instructions on how to do it and when to submit it, and the virtual assistant shall submit to the employer the typing and research job at the time the employer has specified.

This way you can manage both stress and single parenting. Even if your two children are howling at each other, you can pacify them while you are waiting for the next job that your virtual boss will give you. Working online or telecommuting is one of the best ways that you can manage stress and single parenting.

As for single dads, the problem that they usually face is how to keep in-tune with his child or children’s feelings and emotional needs. This is the most usual cause of stress with a male doing the single parenting.

Of course, unlike a single mom, not all single dads want to work at home. They feel that this is not a very manly job. To psychologists, however, single dads doesn’t have that much liberty to think this way.

Single parenting is totally different to regular parenting (a household with a mother and a father). A single parent must adjust to the usual  activities expected of a ‘regular’ parent. So, a single dad must accept the fact that he can’t be just like ‘any other dad’ and work his bottom from sunrise till night.

A single dad needs to be at the side of his children, like a mother. If he can’t accept this fact, he cannot possibly manage stress and single parenting.