Kerry Washington is one of those celebs who makes you feel like you two could be friends. You would have a girls’ night in and wear face masks and watch Shonda Rhimes shows on repeat. So when I got a chance to chat with her over Zoom, I jumped at it. Washington has incredible skin and it glows even through my 7-year-old MacBook. She gave me the rundown on her skincare routine, including a “game-changing” eye cream, as well as her Thanksgiving TikTok plans. You’re going to want to keep reading.

Washington is a Neutrogena spokesperson but she’s way more than just a pretty face. She’s incredibly knowledgeable about the formulas and what works for her specific skin and why. We’re here to talk about the new Rapid Firming Collection, which she adds to her favorites from the hydrating HydroBoost line. The actor admits that she’s doing more to her skin since the pandemic started.

“I don’t know I would have done all that before the pandemic,” she says. “I was in such a rush to go to bed and wake up for the next day but I started really trying to implement some of that stuff, the multi-step approach, to be more generous with myself and I find it to be very effective. And it literally takes less than five minutes to take each of those steps.”

It just so happens that we’re in luck: Practically every item in Washington’s skincare routine is on sale at Amazon for Black Friday, including the firming eye cream she swears by.

Source: Instagram

Washington starts her morning with the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Lightweight Hydrating Facial Cleansing Gel ($7.49 at Amazon). If she worked out first, she’ll use a Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Face Wipe (on sale for $8.93 at Amazon) first. Then, she adds the Neutrogena Rapid Firming Collagen Triple Lift Face Serum (on sale for $12.84 at Amazon), which is a lightweight collagen serum to help keep skin firm and bouncy. Last comes sunscreen, because there’s nothing more important for your skin.

One of the new products Washington uses both morning and night is the Neutrogena Rapid Firming Peptide Multi Action Eye Cream (on sale for $20.30 at Amazon), which she calls a “game-changer,” saying: “When I do it, morning and night, I tend to not need concealer. I love that addition to the routine.”

Neutrogena.

Along with the eye cream, Washington loves the new Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ .5% Power Serum ($42.99 at Ulta). “It’s a really great starter retinol,” she says. “It’s very gentle and it’s really effective. not just for fine lines but for darker spots.”

She plans to show her skincare routine with the new products on TikTok — well, maybe. If she has time. When I tell her I find it hard to keep up with all the platforms and all the trends, she tells me she tries not to buy into that. “I think it’s hard, I think we’re all under that pressure,” she says. “I try to let it inspire me to try new things rather than make me feel pressured to try new things. I’m thinking about doing a Thanksgiving turkey TikTok with my dad. He’s always good for content. I try to rope people in with me to make it more fun.”

Whichever one she decides to do, we’ll definitely be watching.

Contrary to what you may have heard, the amount of sleep you need as you get older doesn’t decrease. Boomers need about as much sleep – between seven and nine hours – as younger adults.

Unfortunately, the amount of sleep you actually get may tend to decrease as you get older. This may be because you have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep than do your more youthful counterparts.

Many people suffer bouts of insomnia that can last days, weeks, or even longer. As a result, Boomer adults, and particularly women, are more likely to use some form of over-the-counter or prescription sleep aid. For example, roughly one in three adults over 65 use some form of sleep aid occasionally.

This desire to get a good night’s rest is not surprising since sleep plays such a critical role in your health. Adequate sleep is necessary for the optimal functioning of your immune system as well as your cognitive and mental health.

How you feel and function during the day when you are awake is directly related to how well you have slept the night before.

What Causes Insomnia?

Your insomnia may have different causes. Some may be situational. For example, you may be worried about finances, your health, or your kids. Other causes may include medications that you are taking either temporarily, such as for a cold, or to better manage chronic diseases.

There are also physical causes, such as sleep apnea, snoring, an increased need to go to the bathroom during the night, restless legs, depression, sleepwalking, or even bad dreams that interrupt your sleep.

Risks of Sleeping Aids May Outweigh the Benefits

There are many sleeping aids available to help you sleep so they may seem the best – and easiest – solution to your insomnia. However, it’s highly possible that utilizing certain sleeping aids could do more harm than good.

The reason is that as you get older, the potential side effects of both over-the-counter non-prescription and prescription sleep medications can become more pronounced, serious, and riskier than they would be for someone in their 30s or 40s.

Some of these side effects directly impact your health while others may impact your ability to function and perform day-to-day tasks. These include:

• Constipation and urinary retention
• Confusion
• Possible increased risk of dementia
• Possible increased risk of cancer
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Hallucinations
• Falls
• Daytime drowsiness
• Impaired memory

Another risk of taking sleeping aids is what is known as a “prescription cascade.” This is where your healthcare provider unwittingly gives you medications to treat the side effects of the sleep aids you are taking.

As a result, you end up taking more medications than you need, with each of them carrying its own risks and side effects.

Making this worse, “prescription cascade” increases the chances of the multiple medications masking the symptoms of underlying diseases which can make it harder to identify and effectively treat them.

For example, if you’re taking a sleeping pill because a headache is keeping you awake, you’re treating a symptom and not the cause. It´s much better to treat the headache!

Better Ways to Improve Your Sleep

So, given these risk factors and that the American Geriatric Society views most sleep aids as “generally inappropriate” for seniors, what can you do to improve your sleep and get the rest that you need without resorting to medication? Turns out there is a lot you can and should be doing.

First, work with a competent healthcare professional to determine the cause of your insomnia. Once you have determined what it is, then you can work with your doctor to address it.

If, for example, it turns out that there are external factors affecting your sleep, you can take steps to create an environment that is more conducive to falling and staying asleep. Examples of actions you can take may include:

• Reducing noise or using earplugs if that would be easier.
• Increasing darkness / reducing ambient light or use eye shades.
• Keeping the room cooler and well ventilated.
• Adding plants, such as spider plants, to your bedroom to improve air quality.
• Making sure your pillows and mattress are the best ones for you.

See also: How to choose the right mattress

You should also take a look at how your lifestyle could be impacting your sleep and make appropriate changes. These include:

• Establishing a set bedtime and sticking to it.
• Getting enough exercise every day.
• Avoiding electronic devices such as smart phones in the bedroom.
• Considering yoga, meditation, or other relaxing activities.
• Avoiding caffeine in the evening.
• Avoiding alcohol in the evening.
• Limiting the number and length of naps your take during the day.
• Developing a bedtime ritual, such as a hot bath, to set the stage for sleep.

As with all things health related, making sure you get the nutrients your body needs also plays a huge role in ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep. For example, in addition to magnesium, calcium, Vitamin D, and iron may help you fall asleep and maintain a restful state throughout the night.

You can also try eating certain foods, like cherries, which contain melatonin (the sleep hormone). Other foods that may help your insomnia are kiwis, bananas, walnuts, and leafy green vegetables.

If you’re having problems falling or staying asleep, talk with your healthcare provider to see if there may be an underlying cause. Also consider getting a nutrient test to identify whether the nutrients necessary to help you sleep are present in the right balance in your body.

Most importantly, try lifestyle and dietary changes before resorting to over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids.

Are you or someone close to you battling insomnia? If so, what have you been doing about it? Has it been working? Have you considered or are you taking sleep medications to help? What has your experience been with them? Any side effects? Tell us about it. Please join the conversation.

Kerry Washington is one of those celebs who makes you feel like you two could be friends. You would have a girls’ night in and wear face masks and watch Shonda Rhimes shows on repeat. So when I got a chance to chat with her over Zoom, I jumped at it. Washington has incredible skin and it glows even through my 7-year-old MacBook. She gave me the rundown on her skincare routine, including a “game-changing” eye cream, as well as her Thanksgiving TikTok plans. You’re going to want to keep reading.

Washington is a Neutrogena spokesperson but she’s way more than just a pretty face. She’s incredibly knowledgeable about the formulas and what works for her specific skin and why. We’re here to talk about the new Rapid Firming Collection, which she adds to her favorites from the hydrating HydroBoost line. The actor admits that she’s doing more to her skin since the pandemic started.

“I don’t know I would have done all that before the pandemic,” she says. “I was in such a rush to go to bed and wake up for the next day but I started really trying to implement some of that stuff, the multi-step approach, to be more generous with myself and I find it to be very effective. And it literally takes less than five minutes to take each of those steps.”

It just so happens that we’re in luck: Practically every item in Washington’s skincare routine is on sale at Amazon for Black Friday, including the firming eye cream she swears by.

Source: Instagram

Washington starts her morning with the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Lightweight Hydrating Facial Cleansing Gel ($7.49 at Amazon). If she worked out first, she’ll use a Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Face Wipe (on sale for $8.93 at Amazon) first. Then, she adds the Neutrogena Rapid Firming Collagen Triple Lift Face Serum (on sale for $12.84 at Amazon), which is a lightweight collagen serum to help keep skin firm and bouncy. Last comes sunscreen, because there’s nothing more important for your skin.

One of the new products Washington uses both morning and night is the Neutrogena Rapid Firming Peptide Multi Action Eye Cream (on sale for $20.30 at Amazon), which she calls a “game-changer,” saying: “When I do it, morning and night, I tend to not need concealer. I love that addition to the routine.”

Neutrogena.

Along with the eye cream, Washington loves the new Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ .5% Power Serum ($42.99 at Ulta). “It’s a really great starter retinol,” she says. “It’s very gentle and it’s really effective. not just for fine lines but for darker spots.”

She plans to show her skincare routine with the new products on TikTok — well, maybe. If she has time. When I tell her I find it hard to keep up with all the platforms and all the trends, she tells me she tries not to buy into that. “I think it’s hard, I think we’re all under that pressure,” she says. “I try to let it inspire me to try new things rather than make me feel pressured to try new things. I’m thinking about doing a Thanksgiving turkey TikTok with my dad. He’s always good for content. I try to rope people in with me to make it more fun.”

Whichever one she decides to do, we’ll definitely be watching.

Kerry Washington is one of those celebs who makes you feel like you two could be friends. You would have a girls’ night in and wear face masks and watch Shonda Rhimes shows on repeat. So when I got a chance to chat with her over Zoom, I jumped at it. Washington has incredible skin and it glows even through my 7-year-old MacBook. She gave me the rundown on her skincare routine, including a “game-changing” eye cream, as well as her Thanksgiving TikTok plans. You’re going to want to keep reading.

Washington is a Neutrogena spokesperson but she’s way more than just a pretty face. She’s incredibly knowledgeable about the formulas and what works for her specific skin and why. We’re here to talk about the new Rapid Firming Collection, which she adds to her favorites from the hydrating HydroBoost line. The actor admits that she’s doing more to her skin since the pandemic started.

“I don’t know I would have done all that before the pandemic,” she says. “I was in such a rush to go to bed and wake up for the next day but I started really trying to implement some of that stuff, the multi-step approach, to be more generous with myself and I find it to be very effective. And it literally takes less than five minutes to take each of those steps.”

It just so happens that we’re in luck: Practically every item in Washington’s skincare routine is on sale at Amazon for Black Friday, including the firming eye cream she swears by.

Source: Instagram

Washington starts her morning with the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Lightweight Hydrating Facial Cleansing Gel ($7.49 at Amazon). If she worked out first, she’ll use a Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Face Wipe (on sale for $8.93 at Amazon) first. Then, she adds the Neutrogena Rapid Firming Collagen Triple Lift Face Serum (on sale for $12.84 at Amazon), which is a lightweight collagen serum to help keep skin firm and bouncy. Last comes sunscreen, because there’s nothing more important for your skin.

One of the new products Washington uses both morning and night is the Neutrogena Rapid Firming Peptide Multi Action Eye Cream (on sale for $20.30 at Amazon), which she calls a “game-changer,” saying: “When I do it, morning and night, I tend to not need concealer. I love that addition to the routine.”

Neutrogena.

Along with the eye cream, Washington loves the new Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ .5% Power Serum ($42.99 at Ulta). “It’s a really great starter retinol,” she says. “It’s very gentle and it’s really effective. not just for fine lines but for darker spots.”

She plans to show her skincare routine with the new products on TikTok — well, maybe. If she has time. When I tell her I find it hard to keep up with all the platforms and all the trends, she tells me she tries not to buy into that. “I think it’s hard, I think we’re all under that pressure,” she says. “I try to let it inspire me to try new things rather than make me feel pressured to try new things. I’m thinking about doing a Thanksgiving turkey TikTok with my dad. He’s always good for content. I try to rope people in with me to make it more fun.”

Whichever one she decides to do, we’ll definitely be watching.

Have you ever started the year with a sizable list of goals to complete by the next time the ball drops in Time Square? Goals are great. They are hard work and take repetition. If you don’t have a goal, you tend to live life haphazardly. Whatever life brings, you react and go with it.

I lived most of my life without a focus and reacting to life challenges. In some unpredictable circumstances it’s how we must be. I’m challenging you as you read this article to explore making goals by intentional design.

The Old Way May Not Work for You

We all have tried New Year’s Resolutions. When you look back on them, how far has that gotten you? I know some friends that have accomplished their resolutions. I’m impressed by those friends.

Most of us think back to when we made resolutions and get an overwhelming feeling of failure. One year my supervisor at work had us write down where we wanted to be at the same time, one year in the future. We sealed the envelopes, and she kept them for us, handing them back when the year was up.

Most of us couldn’t remember what we had written down, nor had we made much progress toward accomplishing the goal. We hadn’t made it a priority, so it became forgotten. Goals for the new year can start out a priority but then what happens?

Try a New Way

Here’s a new twist to New Year’s Resolutions 2022. What if you took one goal that meant a lot to you and decided that was it for the year?

Start by defining it clearly. When you get to the end of the year, what is it that you want to be different in your life? Get as specific as possible. Saying “I want to eat healthy by next Christmas” is too broad. How about chunking it way down to something like…

“I will research and then put into action limiting my sugar intake daily until next Christmas.”

If you had that as your ONE and only goal, would you feel more motivated? Having one goal prioritizes it and helps you remember to work on it throughout the year.

What Does Research Say

Did I mention that accomplishing goals and making them permanent is hard work? One goal at a time will help you focus and work hard toward it.

Researchers found that people who tried to accomplish multiple goals were less committed and less likely to succeed than those who focused on a single goal. If you accomplish your ONE goal before the end of the year, good for you! Then it’s time to set ONE goal going forward until you feel you have accomplished that one.

Visually Create the Picture

Another way to do this is with your vision board. Every year, my friends and I get together to construct a visual of what we would like life to look like at the end of that year. Visually, it helps us stay on track. We have a glass of wine, search through magazines for phrases or pictures that depict our best year ahead.

These tag boards showcase pictures of vacations, travel spots, exercise clothes, couples enjoying dinner, pictures of money and so much more. Every tag board has a different look by the time we are finished searching, cutting, and pasting our personal visuals.

We share with the group what each picture or phrase means to us. Yes, some pictures carry over to the next vision board party because they have yet to be attained. Surprisingly, we all have hit the mark on most of our vision board goals. This is a powerful way of approaching the year ahead.

A Vision Board with One Goal

This year, I’m encouraging my friends to give thought to expound on ONE goal with pictures and phrases about that one thing. It would laser focus and clarify everything. Let’s take the goal of eating healthy by next Christmas. The pictures would show heathy food choices, sugar with an X over it, cookbooks, meals at restaurants, all centered around the goal.

James Clear, author of the bestseller Atomic Habits, says it so well:

“The best way to change your entire life is by not changing your entire life. Focus on one specific habit, work on it until you master it, and make it an automatic part of your daily life. Then, repeat this process on the next habit.”

Focus Creates a Change 

My son recently shared with me that his marriage changed when he took this phrase to heart, “Where your focus is, your heart will be.” He said he began to focus on his wife. He thought about what she needed, what would help her, and how much he loved her. This changed their relationship, and as an outsider looking in, it shows. His heart followed his focus.

Can we apply this to our one goal? Yes, absolutely. George Lucas put it this way, “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”

Change at the One Year Mark

Our world is overwhelming if we let it be. Work, kids, home, food, money… it’s a balancing act to keep everything straight and organized in our brains. Be sure to take time to slow down enough to think about ONE thing you want to achieve in the year 2022. One important life changing thing.

Then set your path and take a whole year to get there. This can be as simple as getting up a half hour earlier to enjoy the calm before your day starts. It can be as complex as finding a new job.

If you do a vision board, keep it handy to view. Remind yourself that you have ONE goal, and you are taking steps to get there. You will thank yourself for being so smart when you once again watch the ball drop at Time Square.

Are you a goals and resolutions person? What are your goals for 2022? Have you considered focusing on only ONE goal for an entire year? If you’d like to give it a try, what would your one goal be?