#saferforyu

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Pub Night Priorities

Even though Halloween is over, it doesn’t mean that tips for safer partying are out of style!!

Whether you’re going out to celebrate a holiday, special occasion, or just any regular Thursday Pub Night, it’s important to always keep safer partying tips in mind!

Here are some tips to remember:

Before the party:

Assign a Designated Driver

Avoid fast paced pre-drinking games  

Have only ONE standard serving size per HOUR (beer=12 oz., wine=5oz., hard  liquors like vodka=1.5oz.)

Plan how many drinks you’re going to have today

Download the GoSafe App on your smartphone

Download the Beck Taxi App on your smartphone

Save other taxi cab numbers in your phone for later! 

During the Party:

It’s easy to consume more alcohol than planned when playing drinking games, instead of using alcohol, try substituting a mocktail, water, juice, or pop instead!

Remember to stick to your planned limit!

Drink water in between alcoholic drinks

Eat food between drinks

Pace yourself by consuming no more than ONE standard serving size of beer (12oz.), wine (5oz.), or hard liquor (1.5oz.) in ONE hour

Always watch your drink!

NEVER take a drink that you didn’t make or didn’t see the bartender make

Never leave your drink alone and do not continue to drink it after you have left it

Make MOCKTAILS!!! Mocktails are a great way to drink delicious beverages, without consuming alcohol!

Check out these sites for easy and fast to make mocktails

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/easy_mocktail

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/drinks/mocktails

Or, get creative and create your own!! Have fun with friends and explore new ways to create tasty, non-alcoholic drinks!

 After the Party – Planning the Safe Way Home:

Ride with your Designated Driver (DD)

Call a Taxi - Beck Taxi 416-751-5555 or use your downloaded App!

Call GoSafe - 416-736-5454 or use your newly downloaded GoSafe App!

Take the Village Shuttle: check out it’s schedule below:

   Source: http://gosafe.info.yorku.ca/gosafe/

Any normal night out and/or a special holiday is a time for fun and safer partying!

Check in next Thursday for our next blog!

  For more information check out Health Education and Promotion Site: http://healthed.scld.yorku.ca

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Get The Sleep YU Need!

Ever had one of those nights when no matter what you do YOU JUST CANNOT FALL ASLEEP? It happens to me all the time and is one of my biggest pet peeves!

Sleep is crucial for your overall health and well-being, but there are so many reasons why people struggle with falling asleep, some of which include:

Feelings of nervousness or excitement

Thinking too much at bedtime

Eating, consuming caffeine, or watching TV too soon before bedtime

Having an irregular sleep/wake-up schedule

An inadequate environment (e.g. clutter, noise and bright lights)

About 1 in 6 Canadians have insomnia aka trouble falling asleep, so if you struggle with insomnia, you are definitely not alone!

Tons of people immediately turn to sleeping pills as a quick-fix solution to help them sleep, but sleeping pills can cause negative side effects, become addictive and in some cases actually do more harm than good.

Psychologist Geneviève Belleville found a 36% rise in the mortality rate among Canadians who reported having used certain types of sleeping pills

Benzodiazepine sleeping pills are the most commonly prescribed, with up to 100 million prescriptions a year

It’s important to know about the other options out there that can help you get the zzz’s you need.

These are some suggestions to help you get to sleep quicker without relying on pills:

1)    Drinking chamomile tea or warm milk

2)    Listening to soothing music

3)    Practicing meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises

4)    Spritzing some lavender or honey-scented fragrance in your bedroom

5)  Writing down your thoughts before bedtime

If you don’t feel comfortable trying out natural techniques like these, then you might want to consider booking a consultation with a sleep specialist who can work with you one-on-one to build a personal sleep improvement plan.

If you feel that sleeping pills are the best option for you then you should definitely book an appointment with your doctor to get all of the information you need. Get informed so that you can feel confident making the choice that is best for YOU. 

For more information, visit Health Education and Promotion Sleep Portal at http://healthed.scld.yorku.ca/hit-the-snooze-button/ 

  Remember to check in next Thursday for our new blog post!