How long has it been since you kicked back, dropped out of the rat race for a few moments and thought about how you could make your personal life better?  The standard career sleepwalker works about a 14-hour per day job these days, so it’s not easy finding the time to maintenance you.  But we all need to do this every so often because our bodies, and minds are not maintenance free organisms.

Here are some ways you can help yourself look and feel better.  They won’t take up that much of your time and the results, over the long haul, will reward and please you.  Let’s start at the top, with your hair.

Get Your Hair Done

Professional hairstylists generally agree that if you wear your hair long, you should have it trimmed at least once every 8 weeks.  Women with shorter hair need even more style upkeep.  If you are exposed to the sun regularly, or severely style your hair, you should increase your hair appointments accordingly, since there’s nothing like the sun and curling irons for drying out and damaging your hair, resulting in split ends.

If you color your hair, you will need to adjust those appointments according to your individual root growth patterns.  Most roots tend to start showing at the 4-week mark, but a lot of women stretch this to 5 and even 6 weeks.  If you have a temporary, style color you may be able to maintenance it with a gloss treatment.

Contrast highlights need to be touched up every 3-to-4-months.  A color refresh should be done bi-monthly.  The main thing is, take a little time, for yourself, at your favorite salon, so you look and, thus, feel better about yourself.  It’s time well spent.

Have Your Smile Restored

Psychological studies have confirmed that the more you smile, the better you’ll feel.  But if you think your teeth are yellow and drab, you won’t smile as much.  Why not add a teeth-whitening session to your appointment the next time you go to your dentist?

There are all sorts of new techniques that really bring out the whiteness in even the dullest enamel. Dr. Bruce Taylor, from TaylorWagnerFamilyDentistry.com in Jonesboro, Arkansas, describes one of the latest whitening techniques like this, “We work specifically with KöR Whitening Deep Bleaching, which … restores the tooth’s ability to absorb oxygen.  The oxygen used in the whitening substance is absorbed by the tooth and it dissolves the apparent stain molecules.”

An extra fifteen minutes in the dentist’s chair after your bi-annual cleaning and check-up can make such a difference.  You’ll end up looking great and there’s nothing that builds confidence like the knowledge that you can flash a dazzling smile, whenever you want.

Get a Massage

There’s no better immediate treatment for stress and muscle fatigue than a relaxing massage.  Not only does massage address anxiety issues, but there are studies that suggest it can also treat headaches, digestive disorders, insomnia, Fibromyalgia and soft tissue injuries.

There are different types of massage therapy.  The gentlest form is Swedish massage, in which deep circular movements, vibration and tapping combine with long strokes and kneading to stretch the muscles and loosen them.

Soft tissue injury therapists generally employ the Deep message technique, which uses slower, more forceful strokes to target the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue.

Sports message therapists normally target specific areas of the body, due to specific joint and muscle strenuous use – for example a baseball pitcher’s throwing shoulder, arm, elbow and wrist.  These practitioners use both deep and Swedish techniques.

Specific trouble spots are addressed by trigger point massage.  This technique focuses on sections of muscle fibers that can tighten usually from overuse – such as carpal tunnel syndrome that results from too many hours typing at a keyboard without a break.

Take a Day Off

We all have taken sick days off from school or work.  Many times, the absent student or worker must supply a letter from a doctor to ‘prove’ that s/he was too sick to fulfill their obligation to that particular institution.

But sometimes you just need a day to yourself and, if it’s possible to take a sick day to do this, you should.  Go to a park, or a museum, or some local tourist attraction that you’ve never visited, even after living in a particular area for a long time.

Whatever you do, don’t just lie in bed or on the couch and watch TV.  You need to actively go out and do something you don’t normally do.  It’s just a little break from the routine to recharge life’s batteries.  Make sure you take advantage of it.