| How to Feel Awake After Changing to Daylight Savings Time Posted: 03 Nov 2018 05:00 PM PDT Daylight savings time is used to save energy and have more daylight during the summer months. During this time, the clocks are set forward in the Spring and moved back in the Fall. It can drastically alter your sleep schedule, making you feel groggy during the day and can make it difficult for you to be productive at work or school. However, if you avoid common mistakes, and adjust your sleep schedule and lifestyle, you can adapt to the time change. EditKeeping Energized Throughout Your Day - Take a power nap. Take 20 minute power naps to energize and invigorate you. These can be particularly helpful during the afternoon. If you have a long lunch break at work or a break between classes, utilize that time to recharge.[1]
- Naps that are longer than 20 minutes will cause you to enter into deep sleep and you will feel groggy rather than awake afterwards. Avoid these kinds of naps.
- Get as much daylight as possible. One of the quickest ways to adjust to the new time change is to get as much exposure to sunlight as you can. In the morning when you wake up, open the blinds or go outside for a brief walk. During your day, take a break to go for a walk outdoors or go sit by a window for lunch.[2]
- Sunlight helps to calibrate your mind to the new time change.
- The lack of sunlight may reduce the amount of Vitamin D you receive from the sun. This may increase your risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and depression.
- Exercise in the mornings. Exercise in general is helpful to assist your body in feeling awake after the time change, but doing so in the morning is particularly beneficial. While still committing to getting eight hours of sleep, wake up a bit early to workout. You will feel energized and ready to begin your day.[3]
- Consider exercising with friends or taking a group fitness class.
- Walk around your neighborhood for 30 minutes or so. Doing this will also give you the necessary exposure to sunlight that you need.
- Try a cold/hot/cold shower. One surefire way to wake yourself up in the mornings it to take a shower of varying temperatures to shock yourself awake. Begin by using cold water for a minute or two, then hot water, and then finishing off with cold water. Though a warm shower might soothe you, it can also make you feel more sleepy, so try this method instead to be alert.[4]
- If you cannot handle the water being cold or hot, try it as cool and warm, instead.
- Listen to music. Music can be a great way to pump yourself up in the mornings and even during work. Create a playlist filled with upbeat fun songs that are sure to motivate and invigorate you. Listen to it as you get ready, while you commute, and during your day.[5]
- Don't listen to music in class, however.
- Keep your music at a respectful level so that you don't disturb your coworkers or peers.
EditAdjusting Your Lifestyle - Practice clean, healthy eating. Another way to give yourself energy after the time change is to eat better. Avoid heavy and fatty foods that are fried or filling but not nutritious. Fill up instead on fruits, vegetables, lean meat and whole grains. These foods will give you the vitamins that you need to have as productive and alert day as possible.[6]
- Make eight hours of sleep a priority. You may find it difficult at times to get a full eight hours, but begin making this a habit. You will feel much more well rested and will be able to adjust to the time change more readily.[7]
- Allot 8.5 hours for sleep each night, with the .5 hour being the time it might take you to fall asleep.
- Create calming rituals before bed. In order to get the best sleep possible pre- and post-daylight savings time, make sure that you properly wind down before bed. Consistent rituals at night can help tell your body that it you should sleep, no matter what time it is.[8]
- Avoid watching television an hour before bed and being on your smartphone.
- You can try to take a warm bath or have a warm glass of milk.
- Create a relaxing environment in your bedroom. Meditate for fifteen or twenty minutes, listen to soothing music, or practice deep breathing.
- If you already have rituals that help you sleep at night, continue to follow these as normal. For example, if you read before bed every night, keep doing this. This will signal to your brain that you are ready to go to bed.
- Go to bed and awaken at the same time each day. As much as possible, try to go to bed at the same time every night, even on the weekends. Establishing a steady routine of sleep will be very useful in combating the sleepiness that often comes with the time change.[9]
- Utilize eye masks or ear plugs. Make small adjustments to your environment to ensure that you get the best sleep possible during this time. Use eye masks to prevent light from keeping you awake and ear plugs if you live in a noisy environment or have a partner who snores.[10]
- You can also purchase light cancelling drapes or blinds to keep light out of your room.
- Consider playing sleep sounds, like rain or the ocean, to help soothe you to sleep.
EditAvoiding Common Mistakes - Get ready a few days in advance. You will feel more able to cope with the time change if you prepare for it. Begin adjusting your sleep schedule in advance depending on if the clock is springing forward or falling back. If the former, begin going to bed 15 minutes earlier for three days prior to the time change and then another 15 minutes earlier on the day of. If falling back, do the opposite by going to bed 15 minutes later for a few days.[11]
- Making small adjustments early will help to ease the transition of the time change.
- Start making small adjustments to your mealtimes in the days leading up to the time change. Perhaps adjust the start time by ten minutes each day to help your body adjust to the change.
- Limit caffeine, nicotine and alcohol until your body is adjusted. During both the days leading up to and after the time change, avoid soda, smoking and drinking. All of these substances can keep you up at night and disrupt your sleep. Once your body has readjusted, you can resume your normal usage of these items, but you might find that you sleep sounder without them.[12]
- Don't underestimate "falling back." When the time is set back, people often overestimate the amount of time they have. You might stay up an extra hour to watch a movie, and that extra hour might turn into two or three. You might even use that extra time to go out on the town, but you will often suffer for it in the morning and in the days that follow. Though your body needs a certain amount of rest, it also typically needs to keep on the same sleep pattern or rhythm in order to achieve the best and most restful sleep.[13]
- Don't stay up an extra hour. Go to bed 15 minutes later at a maximum.
- Avoid long naps. After returning home after a long day, you might be tempted to take a nap. A nap is fine, but taking one that is longer than 20 minutes will cause your sleep later to suffer. Set a timer on your phone to prevent yourself from oversleeping.[14]
- Practice safe driving. Car crashes tend to escalate by a significant percentage when daylight savings time changes occur. During this time, you will need to be particularly vigilant, awake and aware. If you are feeling tired, blast your music or roll down your window to wake yourself up. Consider carpooling with friends, as well.[15]
- Avoid texting and driving.
- If you have bluetooth, call a friend or loved one to chat during your drive.
- Don't overdo it at work. During the days following daylight savings time changes, avoid taking on any big projects at work or scheduling long or stressful meetings during this time. You might not be feeling at your best, so wait until a few days have passed before doing important tasks.
- Utilize your full lunch break to recharge.
- Get out of your cubicle and take a walk.
- Plan your schedule out ahead of the daylight savings time change.
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| How to Boil Carrots Posted: 03 Nov 2018 09:00 AM PDT Carrots are delicious and nutritious root vegetables. Their many great health benefits include helping with weight loss, lowering cholesterol, and improving vision, since they are packed with Vitamin A.[1] You can eat carrots raw, but they are also extremely easy to cook. Boiling carrots is a quick and simple way to bring out new textures and flavors in them. EditPreparing the Carrots - Choose your carrots. Stores usually sell carrots either in bunches with their green tops still on, loose with no greens, or in bags with no greens. Carrots with greens intact tend to be more expensive than carrots without their tops.[2] Try to choose the freshest vegetables that you can.
- Look for carrots that have a deep orange color. Carrot pigment fades with time, so paler vegetables tend to be older.
- Avoid carrots with withered green tops, since they are no longer fresh.
- Carrots with lots of cracks and little hairy rootlets growing out of them are old.[3]
- Wash your carrots. Scrub them with a vegetable brush under running water. Make sure you remove all the dirt.[4]
- Peel the carrots, depending on your tastes. Removing the tough outer layer of the carrot with a vegetable peeler makes it more tender, but it also takes away some of the carrot's nutrients and flavor. If you choose not to peel, make sure that your carrots are very thoroughly cleaned. [5]
- Cut the carrots. If your carrots still have their green tops, chop them off.You can then either boil the carrots whole, or cut them into pieces of any size.
- Carrots cut into smaller pieces will cook faster. If you are pressed for time, cut your carrots into very small, evenly-sized pieces so that they all boil at the same rate.
- On the other hand, the boiling process leeches some of the nutrients and flavor out of the carrots through their exposed surface area. Chopped up carrots have a larger exposed surface area, and lose more flavor and nutrients in the boiling process than uncut carrots. Cooking carrots whole helps to retain both the taste and the nutrient levels.[6]
EditCooking the Carrots - Bring water to boil. Fill a pot with just enough water to cover the carrots. Avoid using too much water in order to minimize nutrient loss.
- You can put some salt in the water if you want, which raises the water's boiling point and helps the carrots to cook faster while also adding more flavor.[7]
- Put the carrots in the water. Once your water has begun boiling, add the carrots and cover them with the pot lid.
- Cook the carrots until they are done to your satisfaction. The cooking time depends on how big the pieces of carrot are, and how soft you want them to be. Check after five to ten minutes and continue boiling for longer, even up to half an hour, if the carrots are still too firm for your liking.
- You can test doneness by spearing a piece of carrot with a fork. The tines should slide easily into the carrot.[8]
- Drain the carrots. You can either pour the carrots out of the pot into a colander, or hold the lid firmly over the pot, leaving just a small crack at the edge, and drain the water out into the sink while keeping the carrots inside.
- You might want to wear oven mitts to protect your hands from the hot steam.
EditServing the Carrots - Serve them hot. Your carrots will taste better if you eat them as soon as they are done cooking.
- If you are not planning on eating your carrots immediately, try blanching them - just boiling them quickly for two to three minutes - and then quickly cooling them in ice. After you dry them off, you can store them in the freezer in freezer bags. This quick boiling will improve the texture when you thaw them.[9]
- Cut the carrots into smaller pieces. If you have boiled your carrots whole or in large chunks, you might want to chop them, dice them, or julienne them for serving.
- You can cut your carrots baton-style into sticks of any length you want.
- Dice your carrots by cutting your batons into small cubes. Make sure all the pieces are equal sizes.
- To do a julienne cut, take a whole carrot and cut a thin slice off one side to make a flat surface. This will keep the carrot steady. Put the carrot flat-side down and then cut it length-wise into very thin slices, no more than 1/8th of an inch thick. Pile all of your slices on top of each other and slice through them again to create thin pieces roughly the size of matchsticks.[10]
- Season your carrots with herbs or spices. These add extra flavor to your dish. Salt, pepper, and garlic are all reliable seasonings for carrots and good standby options.[11]
- Thyme and parsley both pair very well with carrots.[12]
- Seasoning options are almost endless. Experiment with different flavors, such as tarragon.[13]
- Flavor your carrots with some liquid fats or acids. This gives them another pop of flavor and prevents them from getting too dry. Drizzle the carrots with extra virgin olive oil or melt butter on them after they are cooked.
- Try drizzling your carrots with a bit of balsamic vinegar. The tartness of the vinegar brings out the sweetness of the carrots.[14]
- Add a glaze. This is a flavorful, usually sweet, coating on food. It is a great way to give carrots more flavor, and can tempt even picky eaters into trying your dish.
- For a simple glaze, melt butter in a sauce pan and stir in sugar and a pinch of salt until they have dissolved. Put the cooked carrots into the mixture and cook them in it for about five minutes until they are covered in the glaze.[15]
- Experiment with different ingredients in your glaze. Try replacing sugar with maple syrup, for instance. Add some herbs, ginger, or citrus zest to give the glaze an extra pop of flavor.[16]
- Store your carrots until you are ready to cook them. If you buy your carrots but don't want to boil them right away, put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, since they lose their crisp texture and sweet taste at room temperature.[17]
- Cut the green tops off your carrots when you store them, because the greens draw moisture out of the root and spoil the texture.[18]
- Make sure that the carrots are very soft and cut into very small pieces if you are preparing them for an infant or toddler. Harder carrots and bigger chunks are difficult for small children to chew and present a choking hazard. Pieces should be no bigger than 1/2 an inch in any direction. If you have any doubts, cut them even smaller.[19]
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| How to Vote in the Midterm Elections Posted: 03 Nov 2018 01:00 AM PDT In the United States, midterm elections are a round of general elections held in the middle of the current president's term. In 2018, the midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, November 6, when voters will decide on seats in the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as state and local bodies. It's important to vote in all elections, but midterms can be especially crucial, since your vote has the power to either cement the current legislative majority or overturn it. Register early, cast your ballot, and make sure your voice gets heard. EditRegistering to Vote - Make sure you're eligible to vote. Although the basic voter eligibility requirements are about the same throughout the country, some states have slight differences in areas such as whether convicted felons or mentally incapacitated people can vote. Look up your state's requirements online to make sure you meet them.[1]
- Register to vote in the state where you live. Every state chooses their own voting requirements, paperwork, and procedure to register new voters. To vote in your state, you'll need to provide a proof of residency, like a lease or utility bill. You're only allowed to register in one state at a time.
- You can switch what state you vote in at any time, but you can't vote in two at once.
- In midterm elections, you'll likely be voting for local officials as well as state and national representatives, so make sure you're registered to vote in the correct state and county.
- Register to vote online for the most convenient option. Currently 37 states and Washington, D.C., allow voters to register online. If your state is one of them, you'll fill out the online form with information like your full name, address, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you'll also need to enter your driver's license or state ID card number, and/or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number.[2]
- Register in-person to make sure you fill out your form correctly. You can register to vote in person at local government facilities like the DMV or election offices. You'll bring in at least 2 documents to verify your identity and fill out a registration form in the office, then turn it in right when you're done.[3]
- Registering in-person is quick and easy, and you'll be able to ask the staff on-hand if you have any questions or need help filling out your form.
- To find a local facility where you can register, call your DMV, local election office, military recruiting center, political party branch, or voting assistance center.
- Use mail-in registration if your state doesn't offer online registration. If you feel more comfortable using mail-in registration than online, download the National Mail Voter Registration form online. Print it and fill it out carefully according to the instructions. Attach a copy of your proof of identification, such as a passport or driver's license, and mail it in if required. Then, send the form to the address listed for your state.[4]
- Get your registration in before your state's deadline to be able to vote. If you want to vote in the midterm elections, it's crucial that you turn in your registration before your state's deadline. This will be posted on your state's election website, and you can also find it by searching online.[5]
- Deadlines vary by state, but most are either 25 or 15 days before Election Day.
- Some states have different registration deadlines for online, mail-in, and in-person registration. You may be able to register in-person closer to Election Day, but confirm this beforehand to make sure.
- Once you've successfully registered, you'll receive your voter's registration by mail a few weeks later.
- Check and update your information online. If you're already registered to vote in your state, you still might want to check on your information to make sure it's all correct. This is especially important because some states purge their registration lists regularly, removing any inactive voters. You can make sure you aren't removed by mistake by doing a quick check of your status.[6]
- You can check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-i-vote. Click "Voter Registration," enter your state, and follow the directions to see your information.
- You can contact your state or local election office to make changes or ask any questions. Find a local election office here: https://www.usa.gov/election-office.
EditVoting Early or Absentee - Get an absentee ballot if you want to skip the polling place. An absentee ballot is a great choice if you want to get your voting done early, or if you won't be in your polling precinct on Election Day to vote in person. To register for an absentee or mail-in ballot, go to your state's election website or office.[7]
- Request an absentee ballot if you live overseas. All states allow members of the military stationed overseas, their dependents, and other U.S. citizens living in another country to use absentee ballots. To register and get more information, go to https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/vote/home.htm. [8]
- Register for permanent absentee voting to save time in future elections. Some states allow you to join a permanent absentee voting list. You'll automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election and won't need to re-register, and you can opt out at any time.[9]
- Vote early if your state allows it. If your state permits early voting, you'll be able to visit a local election office or voting location and cast a vote in-person during a set period before the election. This is a great option if you want to vote in-person but don't have time to do it on Election Day. Currently, 37 states and Washington, D.C., allow early voting. To see if your state is one of them, go to http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx#permanent.[10]
- The early voting window varies by state, and can be as early as 45 days before Election Day or as late as the Friday right before. It typically ends a few days before Election Day.
- You won't need to notify the state that you're voting early, or do any extra registration beyond what's already required.
EditGetting Your Ballot In - Look online to see what polling place to go to. Your name is only on the roster at your assigned polling place, so it's important that you go there to vote. Your polling place is assigned based on the home address you give, but it might have changed from the last election, even if you haven't moved. Check online to find your polling place, its open hours, and other information.[11]
- Check beforehand to see what you need to bring to the voting booth. Many states allow you to simply state your name and address at the polling place, then cast your vote. Others require you to show proof of identity, such as a government or institution-issued photo ID, although some allow a non-photo ID. To see your state's requirements, look online on your state's election website.[12]
- See what time the polls open in your state and go at a convenient time for you. Polling places in most states open by 6-7am, and won't close until 7-8pm. Check the hours for your polling place in particular and plan ahead to decide what time to go.[13]
- Many polling places will get crowded early in the morning, around noon, and from about 5 pm to close. If you decide to go during these times, you may have to wait in a line.
- If you're in line when the polling place closes, you'll still be able to cast your ballot in most states.
- Make sure to fill in your ballot carefully and accurately. Take your time when you get into the booth. Whether you're voting electronically or with paper ballots, make sure to follow all instructions to the best of your ability. If you have any questions, ask the poll workers for help.
- In some states, you won't be allowed to bring anything into the booth with you other than a sample ballot.
- You should go into the booth by yourself, unless you have a young child with you.
- Stay quiet as you're voting and don't discuss your votes with the poll workers or any fellow voters.
EditDeciding Who to Vote For - Look up the candidates and research their views online. Choosing who to vote for is a major decision, and one that impacts the policies that shape the country. Don't make it lightly! Do your own research by looking up each candidate up for election and digging into their views and proposals. Ask yourself whose ideas you most agree with, and who you think would be the best choice for the position.[14]
- Don't just vote for a candidate because a family member, friend, or significant other supports them. Try to what other people think and make the choice for yourself.
- Do research on the candidates' websites and look for unbiased reviews of candidates from neutral sources, like Vote 411 or Vote Smart.
- Doing proper research is especially important in a midterm election. You have the ability to swing power towards or away from the party currently in power, which has a huge impact on the laws that the government can pass.
- Review candidates' track records if they've held office before. If a candidate has held public office before, or if they're running as an incumbent (looking to retain the seat they currently hold), all of their voting history is open to the public. Look it up online to see how they've used their voice in the past, and how their decisions compare to what they say on the campaign trail.[15]
- Go to https://www.congress.gov/ to look at the voting history of a candidate who's served as a U.S. Representative or Senator.
- Go to your state legislature's website to look at the voting history of a candidate who's served in a state government.
- Watch debates to compare the candidates' ideas side-by-side. Most major races will hold debates amongst the top candidates, often broadcast live on local stations. Tune in to these debates to learn more about the candidates and issues, making sure to read between the lines of persuasive rhetoric. Try to listen to what the candidates are really saying, beneath the attractive language they might be using.[16]
- Look over and fill out your sample ballot, if your state sends one. Sample ballots might be sent out by your state or territory, or available online. They'll look exactly like the real ballot you'll see when you vote, and show you all of the candidates you'll be able to vote for, as well as the state and local propositions or measures being proposed. Fill out the sample ballot while you're doing your research to get familiar with the process and help you decide which candidates and proposals you want.[17]
- Most states allow you to bring a sample ballot directly into the voting booth with you, which can speed up the voting process and ensure that you're voting for the people and measures you want.
- Don't forget to wear your "I Voted" sticker!
- You typically only need to register with a political party to vote in primaries, not in general elections like the midterms.
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