Regular inclusion of basic yogic techniques have been shown to improve attention and decrease impulsivity. Schoolchildren who are taught to do daily sun salutations, and regulated breathing activities demonstrate better sustained attention. The benefits increase when yoga is done in different settings. For instance, if you’re getting ready to go shopping, take a few moments before entering the store to do yogic breathing. At home, do a sun salutation before grabbing junk food to snack on. Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, will help you be less impulsive in a number of ways. Exercise lifts your mood, and decreases feelings of stress and anxiety.  In addition, exercise keeps a person’s attention actively engaged. If you’re more likely to act impulsively out of boredom or frustration, you can put this energy to better use through exercise. Research suggests that 40 minutes per day of aerobic activity improved executive functioning in overweight kids. All ages will benefit from increased exercise. Becoming aware of your feelings, and learning to connect your impulsiveness to your thoughts, emotions and urges will help you better control your actions. Mindfulness helps by allowing you some distance from your impulses, offering you the opportunity to choose to act upon your impulses or not.  When you notice an urge, articulate that urge mentally to yourself before acting on it. For example, “I am angry that my partner just said that, and I want to criticize her.” Follow this with a more constructive response, such as, “I can try to calm down.” Mindfulness means to focus on what’s going on inside yourself, and it may take time to notice what’s going on in your body before you act impulsively rather than afterwards. When your impulsivity is based in anxiety, you can help yourself by spending time with people you trust. Making sure to have people in your life with whom you can share things you’re concerned about may help ease your anxiety, and decrease your impulsiveness.  You might consider talking with a professional, such as a counselor, life coach, or a professional organizer, about your difficulties with impulsivity. Just spending time talking with trusted friends can help address your anxiety, even if you’re not having a serious conversation. A friend can help you stay accountable to the goals you've set for yourself. Find a friend who is reliable and nonjudgmental, and share with her what your goal is for yourself. You can decide how you'd like to be held accountable for your goal.  For example, do you want your friend to call you to check on your progress? Or do you want to schedule regular meetings so that she can check in on your commitment to your goal? You'll also need to have a plan for what your friend might do to support you if you're not staying focused on your goal, and acting impulsively instead. You might offer to help your friend stay accountable for something she's struggling with. This way, you'll be accountability partners. Sometimes being impulsive can have positive as well as negative effects. For example, if you have a hard time making decisions, you may find yourself making last minute decisions as a means of avoiding the anxiety you feel when trying to make a thoughtful decision.  If you’re experiencing benefits from acting impulsively, try to find more effective ways of achieving this benefit. Remember that you can still be spontaneous even if you’re less impulsive. Being less impulsive doesn’t mean your life will be dull and conventional. It just means that you’ll be more in control of what you choose to spend your money, time, and attention on. Calming activities vary person to person, but might include listening to guided meditations, calming music, or doing deep breathing exercises. Getting more relaxed can help you avoid acting impulsively.  Do a body scan to locate any areas of your body which are holding tension, then intentionally focus on relaxing these areas. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and allow yourself to focus on your breath for this limited period of time. This short break will help you relax, and prevent any hasty reactive actions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, helps a person focus on connecting their thoughts and feelings with their behaviors. CBT is a common treatment for anxiety and impulse disorders, among others. The goal of CBT is to identify the thoughts that often result in impulsive activity.  Impulsive behavior is often the result of automatic thoughts, which are the thoughts that your mind produces as an immediate reaction to certain situations. These thoughts can be negative and may lead you to make poor decisions. CBT helps you to identify these automatic thought patterns and reframe them in new ways. A therapist or behavioral specialist can help you explore the ways that CBT might work in your life!
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One-sentence summary -- Start a yoga practice. Develop a daily exercise routine. Learn more about mindfulness practices. Talk to people you trust. Ask a friend to hold you accountable. Understand how impulsivity functions in your life. Engage in activities that will calm you down. Consider cognitive-behavioral therapy.


Most gyms set their class times beforehand and require fitness instructors to stay within that frame, usually an hour or hour and a half. Plan a set number of exercises to do during the class and time how long it takes you to go through the routine. Adjust your schedule as needed to fit the time frame. Keep in mind that you'll need to allow time for helping your students or correcting their form. Get blood pumping, do dynamic stretches, and do range of motion exercises before and after your class's main exercises to help prevent your clients from straining muscles or burning out. Schedule in at least 5-10 minutes of warm ups and cool downs for a balanced workout.  You might, for example, do stretches, jumping jacks, jump rope, squats, or pushups. How long your warm ups and cool downs are depends on the workout intensity—the tougher the workout, the longer both should be. Save static stretches for the cool down of your workout. Songs with repetitive, lively beats will be better at motivating your clients than, say, a crooning guitar solo. Make a playlist of songs that will last throughout the entire workout and distract your class from how their bodies feel.  If you don't know what to include, try searching a music streaming site like Pandora, Spotify, or YouTube.  Many classes have prescribed music playlists that you can download for a fee. Look for companies, such as Power music, that compile exercise class playlists with specific beats per minute that progress through an entire workout. If possible, start some music and turn on your microphone at least 5-10 minutes before the class starts. This will help the class atmosphere feel friendly and inviting from the start. If any regulars come in early, ask them if they want to help set up so they feel involved. Before the class comes in, start your playlist on your laptop or phone to make sure it runs smoothly. Always bring a back-up device (like a CD) in case your first option doesn't work.
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One-sentence summary -- Time your routine to make sure it fits within your class frame. Plan warm ups and cool downs into your routine. Make a playlist of catchy songs with a strong beat. Set up about 10 minutes before the class begins. Check for technical difficulties before you start the class.


If you wear contacts, switch to eyeglasses instead until your symptoms go away. The additional contact with the infected eye(s) can increase both your discomfort and your likelihood of spreading the infection. You can soothe some of the discomfort associated with an infection by applying cool compresses to your closed eyes. Seal some ice in a clean plastic baggie. Wrap with tinfoil to slow the melting of the ice, and then wrap the entire thing with a towel or paper towel to make it more comfortable against your eyelid. Place the compress against your eye for five minutes.  Use a different compress on each eye to avoid spreading the infection, and use a new compress each time.  Warm compresses are not recommended. Though they may relieve some discomfort, the warmer environment can create an even better breeding ground for bacterial conjunctivitis. Artificial drops can help ease symptoms by reducing the gritty sensation in your eye(s). Speak to your eye care professional about using lubricating drops in conjunction with prescription eye drops. You can also put the artificial tears in the fridge to cool them. when dropped into the eye, this will soothe the eye even more
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One-sentence summary --
Avoid contacts. Apply a sterile, cool compress to the eye(s). Use over-the-counter eyedrops.