Health & Fitness

** One Medical: The Way All Doctors Offices Should Be **

When it comes to going to the doctor’s office, I highly recommend any doctor from One Medical.  There are many reasons why this medical group has made going to the doctor a painless process—literally!  First, you can make an appointment online for any of their locations in San Fran, Chicago, NYC, and Boston.  They have multiple offices in and around these locations with little to no wait times.  Next, you can email your doctor for small issues.  For example, one time I emailed my doctor a photo of my rash and she instructed me to get some over-the-counter solutions. It saved me a trip to the doctor and also the co-pay fees. I have an HMO, and they accept most insurance plans.  Each time I have gone in to a One Medical location the staff has been very approachable, and the offices are nice and not institutional looking.  If I ever needed to see a specialist they were happy to provide me with a referral.  I can’t say enough good things about One Medical!  If you are interested in becoming a patient at one of their locations, they are running a great promotion where you can receive a $25 Whole Foods gift card upon joining.  Just follow the instructions below!

1. On the User Information page, select “Other” in answer to the question “How Did You Hear About Us?” Then write my email address—cheryl@reclipit.com, in the “Please Specify” field.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to know more about my experience with One Medical. I hope you find membership to be as amazing as I do!

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** Sleep Cycle: For Measuring Sleep Quality **

I’m a huge “quantified self” person and have been tracking data about myself since 2006. I was probably one of the earliest user of the Body Bugg but have since advanced to FitBit and other tools. One particular app that I discovered last year is a sleep tracking app call Sleep Cycle. Unlike path or fitbit, I will never forget to track my sleep because Sleep Cycle is also an alarm clock! Best thing is that it wakes you up within a 30-min time frame when you’re in light sleep (as opposed to in deep REM, so you don’t wake up groggy!).

I’m a big believer that productivity apps should be created to fit into people’s daily routines and lifestyles, otherwise usage will eventually wane off. Since I set an alarm every day, it’s easy to turn the tracker on, as well as take notes on certain activities during the day (i.e. drank coffee or tea, worked out, ate late, meditated, etc). This app has made me more self aware about how my daily habits affect my sleep quality; for example, I now consciously try not to eat after 8pm or try not eat a heavy dinner because these has the highest negative correlation to my sleep quality. I also know that drinking tea and working out yields the highest positive correlation to my sleep quality. Even though this sounds intuitive, it’s actually nice to see real data supporting notions that tea & working out improves sleep quality! Oh, and I also love the oscillating alarm clock & sleep aid tunes. Go give it a try!

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