
Whether you take an invigorating shower, play with your dog or indulge in a strong cup of coffee, engage in morning activities that energize you and make you feel happy. A few solid choices: oatmeal topped with nuts and berries, scrambled eggs on whole-grain toast or plain low-fat Greek yogurt and fruit. After fasting all night, your body needs real fuel (preferably a mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat). If your daily fix is coffee and a Krispy Kreme, that could be contributing to your morning sluggishness. The only caveat: If skipping your morning exercise routine nets you an extra hour of sleep, that’s almost more beneficial than exercise, says Dr. In fact, as little as 10 minutes of movement can make you feel more refreshed and alert. Exercise not only improves circulation, it also produces mood-boosting hormones. workout can help you feel more energized. Work nights? Keep your room dark during the day so you can sleep and immerse yourself in light during your waking hours. Step into the sunlight within a few minutes of waking to cue your body that it’s time to wake up. Do the best you can to mimic that lighting no matter when you rise and turn in.

Your body’s natural circadian rhythm is designed to wake up with light and sleep in darkness. Nix alcohol and caffeine several hours before bedtime and shut down all electronics at least an hour before you turn in. Keep your bedroom dark, cool and peaceful. The best way to wake up refreshed is to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, says Singh, who stresses the importance of establishing good sleep habits. Here are six strategies guaranteed to put a spring in your step: routine can help you feel more energized and alert when the alarm bell sounds. Want to wake up refreshed? Making just a few tweaks to your a.m. As you wake, consciousness returns immediately, but alertness lags behind.” The more sleep deprived you are, the longer the lag time. “During sleep there’s less blood flow to the brain. “If you’re sleep deprived, it takes a lot longer to feel refreshed and alert when you wake up,” says Meeta Singh, M.D., a sleep specialist at Henry Ford Health. Getting out of bed can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be torture. But be warned, it is still in Alpha so it is by no means the finished article.If you’re like the vast majority of Americans, the sound of your morning alarm mostly serves as a cue to roll over and hide your head under the covers.

If you have some spare time and like being shouted at in a pirate accent then I would urge you to check out Blackwake. Although that’s as far as it goes in regards to mutinies, none of that HMS Bounty stuff. Anyone can elect themselves captain and if the crew don’t like you, they can vote to mutiny and remove you from the captaincy. Everyone can do any job from repairing ship to loading and firing the cannons. What I like about this game is, apart from the captain, there is no forced classes. There is a treasure hunt mode similar to capture the flag but with treasure and island forts. It’s win/win, baby.īut it’s not all ship to ship battles, ala Master and Commander. Loading a cannon 20XP, manning the pump 20XP, disintegrating the crew of a passing ship with grapeshot 300XP. Your character levels up very quickly and with each action in the game you gain experience points. But the gameplay is extremely entertaining and easy to learn. You have to work together otherwise you’re dead in the water.Ī game like this would normally be quite complex and difficult to master. I absolutely love Blackwake, and its premise of the game is simple: sink the bad guys and try not have your head taken off by a cannonball. I’m starting to get used to this.īlackwake is a multiplayer naval FPS where the accents are outrageous and you need work together to stay alive and, more importantly, stay afloat. The screen goes black and I’m dead - again. I respawn and find that pirates have boarded our ship and I get shot in the head.
BLACKWAKE TIPS FULL
I’m dead and the beloved HMS PinkPinkUnicorn is full of holes and sinking fast.

I get the ship in my sights and then I am catapulted 30 feet into the air and land in the water with a heavy splash. The captain is issuing orders in a shrill public-school boy accent as we come to engage the enemy ship, which is fucking massive. Normally, I would be sipping some form of alcoholic beverage with an umbrella in it, but instead I’m shovelling powder and shot into a hot cannon in eager anticipation of blowing a hole in the side of an enemy ship. It’s a hot and sunny day in the Caribbean.
