tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45398114789328875862024-03-13T22:25:49.658-04:00Third Age HealthHealthy Aging For Modern TimesDr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-57779792731836601102016-12-09T16:00:00.000-05:002016-12-09T16:06:11.596-05:00John Glenn - Pioneer in Space and on Earth (1921-2016)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">John Glenn
was a gentle lion. A warrior, a marine, and among the original <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hfg88cHAWRg/WEq0QYQregI/AAAAAAAAAIY/TwixPnfwBkwn2mAAmzWa0Oke2TE3M8vvgCLcB/s1600/Glenn%2Band%2BJV.1996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hfg88cHAWRg/WEq0QYQregI/AAAAAAAAAIY/TwixPnfwBkwn2mAAmzWa0Oke2TE3M8vvgCLcB/s320/Glenn%2Band%2BJV.1996.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sen. John Glenn and Dr. Vernikos, 1999</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
seven astronauts.
He became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 on the Mercury
Spacecraft he named 'Friendship 7'. With distinction he served his country as a US
Senator (D-OH) from 1974 to 1998. He also was the first man to return to space
at the age of 77, for a nine-day mission on the Shuttle Discovery. At a stage
in life when most resign themselves to living out their old age John Glenn demonstrated
better than I ever could that it is not age itself but rather good health
habits that matter most in being able to accomplish lofty goals. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yet that is
not what I and those whose path he crossed will remember him for. He was a
gentle giant, with a twinkle in his eye, firm and determined to achieve
whatever goal he set for himself. Hard working with a small devoted staff, who
were there to work <i>with</i> him not for him. Glenn did his own research, and hand-wrote
his own speeches and reports. He was accessible to anyone at any time. Why is
this worth mentioning? Because I have not come across any such work habits by
any Senator or Congressman in my years of interaction with those on Capitol
Hill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the 1990s
while serving on the Senate Special Committee on Aging he noticed similarities
between his personal experience of the effects of Space-flight and those he
heard presented by Aging experts. He consistently emphasized these similarities, proposing
that much could be learned from space to help the elderly, a perspective I strongly held too. There was much
antagonism to this view, well before these similarities were proven correct, and yet he persevered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eager to
show that he would carry his own weight during training for shuttle mission STS-98,
he studied while on flights to and from Washington while maintaining his duties in
the Senate. At the time I was Director of Life Sciences at NASA and our Administrator had asked me point blank: “Joan do you
think we should fly John Glenn again?” That was a heavy responsibility. We set
about to build the case both for and against his flying with the science community
and the National Institute on Aging. What would we learn from flying an older
man even though this was not just any man? Many were concerned that it would be
dangerous to fly someone of that age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
concern was not his ability to withstand the space mission but his ability to
recover after returning to Earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
proved all of us wrong and he loved doing that. During and after the mission his health data were similar to those of
his crew-mates 30 to 40 years younger! Ten days after landing he was
sharing his experiences with me at the National Press Club and other venues.
His schedule was grueling. He used his flight to promote research into Aging in
general and support funding for research programs at the National Institutes of
Health and non-profit organizations well after he had retired from the Senate. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I was particularly
lucky when later he offered to write the Foreword to my book <a href="http://joanvernikos.com/pages/g-connection.php" target="_blank">TheG-Connection – Harness Gravity and Reverse Aging (2004)</a> where the Space and
Aging story was presented for the first time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally,
last year I was speaking to the Ohio Physiotherapist Association in Columbus, Ohio and Senator Glenn had wanted to attend.
He was unwell unfortunately and could not come but surprised me by sending a touching
introduction to my talk.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">John Glenn was a
great man, a gent, and someone I could rely on. Though we may not have known each
other as well as others may have, we shared the golden years of the space
program, and the space-aging connection discovery. Best of all he made me feel
he was my friend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Goodnight
sweet prince.</span></div>
</div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-18593690335803120362015-12-02T16:04:00.003-05:002015-12-02T21:42:18.278-05:00My Vitamin D Journey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>by Joan Vernikos PhD</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>December 2015 </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Early this year I shared on the emerging understanding of
the importance of <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2015/03/vitamin-d-and-sunlight-whats-big-deal.html" target="_blank">Vitamin D for health</a>, and how you can test and manage your
own Vitamin D levels.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iyP7NPGNE_Q/Vl9d0Js13xI/AAAAAAAAAHw/1jU8bDVBFf0/s1600/JV%2Bsun%2Bsalutation%2Boutside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iyP7NPGNE_Q/Vl9d0Js13xI/AAAAAAAAAHw/1jU8bDVBFf0/s320/JV%2Bsun%2Bsalutation%2Boutside.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joan Saluting The Sun</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My own story around Vitamin D has been fascinating and quite
illuminating.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a summer of sun, swimming and gardening last year my
Vitamin D3 serum level was 25ng/ml 25-OHD. That’s average for the US today, so
my result was a surprise to me. However Vitamin D3 levels dip as we age plus I
have darker skin, which is also a negative factor in Vitamin D synthesis. The
recommended normal range is 30-70 so I knew that something needed to change!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To make matters more interesting I was then and we are now
entering the Vitamin D winter. This means that anyone living north of a
latitude of 35°- almost all in North America and Canada – will get zero benefit
from the sun from November to March. You can view this <a href="http://www.vitamindday.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Sunshine-Calendar.png?mc_cid=de046ae251&mc_eid=8e1ca121da" target="_blank">sunshine calendar</a> to see
how this works across the globe.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people in North America are deficient in Vitamin D3
even prior to winter. They either don’t expose enough skin for adequate periods
of time to make enough and/or do not make up for it from food or
supplements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some like me may have
been taking a daily dose of supplement without really knowing if I need it or
if it was enough. Clearly the solution was to measure, and as I noted above my
levels as of last Fall were low. I joined the Grassroots Health program (<a href="http://www.grassrootshealth.org/">www.GrassrootsHealth.org</a> ) to get my
blood levels tested every six months while contributing my data points to their
Global Vitamin D Data base. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My blood tests surprised me and I am sharing here what I
have learned thus far. As I noted above, in September of 2014 at the end of an
active summer and supplementing with a standard dose of 2,000 IU’s of Vit D3 which
I had taken as ‘insurance’, my blood level was 26ng/ml or well below the
recommended normal range of 30-70ng/ml. Grassroots Health’s data suggest that
for every added 1,000 IUs taken the blood level goes up by 5ng/ml. With winter
approaching last year I decided to increase my dose by another 2,000 IUs,
making my daily dose 4,000 IU. By the end of March 2015 six months later by
blood level had increased to 45ng/ml. Out of curiosity I increased my dose by
another 2,000 IUs to 6,000/day. My latest Vit D3 blood level in early October
and after an active, sunny summer was 73ng/ml. So taking the additional
supplements seems to have worked in my case.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because winter is here I shall maintain this dose of 6,000
IU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on my blood level at
the end of March, I might reduce my intake through the summer by 1,000 or 2,000
IUs and return to 6,000 for the next winter. In my case 1,000 IUs raised my
blood level by more than 5ng/ml. Each one of us is slightly different. One dose
does not necessarily fit all and depending on your state of health you may need
more or less. And it’s important to note that you would need to take extremely
high doses for it to be harmful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My intention is to share my results in the future while we collectively
learn more about Vitamin D and its impact on health. Please share your own
story with Vitamin D in the comments below.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s to a healthy winter.</div>
</div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-71669673069658388712015-03-04T18:24:00.002-05:002015-03-17T17:21:26.588-04:00Vitamin D and Sunlight - What's The Big Deal?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>by Dr. Joan Vernikos</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
is It and How Does it Work?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">Vitamin D3 is an oil-soluble
steroid hormone that forms in your </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FKNQ9ANTYkQ/VQiauk8Za_I/AAAAAAAAAHM/2bndSa1OajM/s1600/Vit_D-Sun.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FKNQ9ANTYkQ/VQiauk8Za_I/AAAAAAAAAHM/2bndSa1OajM/s1600/Vit_D-Sun.png" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">skin when it is exposed to sunlight.
Sunlight converts a cholesterol derivative into D3 also known as cholecalciferol.
This is the most active form of Vitamin D. Over 80% is made in this way by the
skin. Small amounts are in some foods, including fatty fish such as herring,
mackerel, sardines and tuna and in smaller amounts in beef and chicken liver,
cheese and egg yolks. In modern times small amounts of Vitamin D3 are added to
milk and other dairy products, juices, and cereals. But diet alone won't
provide enough Vitamin D to become Vitamin D sufficient.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">During the darker months of the
year, the modern habit of using sunscreen and our sardine habit not what it
used to be, we have unknowingly become deficient in this crucial vitamin for
health. The problem is most of us see inadequate sunlight directly above us
from 10am to 3pm. Few expose enough skin that is not sprayed with sunscreen to
protect ourselves from skin cancer and premature skin aging. Sunscreen reduces
Vitamin D3 production by 98%.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>In the
winter the sun is at too low of an angle over most of the US and all of Canada
for us to produce adequate Vitamin D from sun exposure. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">A bit of back-story: From the
1960’s NASA funded researchers to help us correct the loss of bone of
astronauts in space. As part of this research, Michael Holick in Boston
University and Bob Heaney at Creighton University, discovered Vitamin D3 was
important for bone health by enabling the absorption of calcium from your gut.
Without Vitamin D3 any calcium supplements you take simply go right through you
unused. With Vitamin D3, calcium is absorbed into the blood from where together
with Magnesium and Vitamin K2 it finds its way to bone, to build new bone. Together
with calcium, Vitamin D helps protect older adults from osteoporosis. The
amount of D3 commonly added to calcium supplements is too low for the job.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Emerging Story on Vitamin D Preventing & Treating Illness</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">Since ancient times the sun was
used to heal many conditions. In 1933 medicine recognized 133 different
conditions that were treated by sunlight. Without enough D3 circulating in your
blood, your body simply does not function as it was intended – ridding the body
of intruders, fighting disease, repairing cells. Muscles need it to remain
strong and flexible, nerves need it to carry messages between the brain and
every body part, and the immune system needs Vitamin D to fight off invading
bacteria and viruses. It is used by cells throughout the body. That is its
vital role in preventing a broad cross-section of diseases. Vitamin D is
important to the body in many ways including, autoimmune disorders such as
multiple sclerosis (MS), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD),
rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, oxidative stress, autism, depression,
dementia, pain and Alzheimer’s. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">UV light exposure in sunshine
has other health benefits that are independent of Vitamin D such as increased
production of NO (nitric oxide) which lowers blood pressure, and setting the
circadian clock. It is now established that Vitamin D3 is needed for each cell
in the body to optimally access its own genetic DNA library. This is a big
deal. The lower your Vitamin D3, the worse the problems from its deficiency you
are likely to see during your lifetime. While sun exposure remains the most
effective way to get Vitamin D3, the challenges of doing so coupled with its
relative unavailability in foods, mean that we need to take supplements.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who’s
At Risk of Being Deficient?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">In winter it is nearly
impossible to gain adequate Vitamin D from the sun without spending long
periods outside, and few of us do that!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Even
in the summer, as you might imagine, if you are someone who shuns being in the
sun, or only allows a small part of your body to be exposed to the sun’s rays,
you are probably deficient in Vitamin D. Even if you are a frequent swimmer or
someone who works outside in the garden, if you religiously cover yourself with
sunscreen you may still not be getting adequate Vitamin D3. Similarly if you
live in more Northern latitudes (or Southern latitudes in the southern
Hemisphere), you are also likely not getting enough Vitamin D3. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">Black (dark) skin pigment needs
5-10 times more sun exposure than Caucasian (light) skin pigment to produce the
same amount of D3. So if you are someone with dark skin or as you get older,
you may need significantly more sun exposure to produce the same amount of
Vitamin D3 as someone with pale skin. Know that burning is not at all required
to get Vitamin D3! People older than 65 are at highest risk of Vitamin D3
deficiency perhaps because they go outside less as they get older. Aging
kidneys and less functioning skin receptors mean that less Vitamin D3 is
synthesized. Additionally those who are obese are also at risk because their
body fat binds to some Vitamin D3 and prevents it from getting into the blood.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
Much Vitamin D is Enough? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">There are varying opinions on
this but what I share here is my own options based on the science and what I
have learned in a lifetime of work in the area of health.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">In order to best know what
actions you need to take you will have to have your blood levels measured.
There are two vitamin D tests – 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D. The correct test is
25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This is the better marker of
overall D status and health. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">The recommended normal range is
50-70ng/ml of 25-OHD in the blood. The average person today is vitamin
D3-deficient with a serum level around 25ng/ml 25-OHD. That’s what mine was at
the end of a summer of swimming and sun. I was sure that my levels would have
been much higher. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">To achieve and maintain your
blood level within this 50-70ng/ml range, you need to take approximately
5,000-6,000 IU’s/day of total Vit D3 from <u>all sources </u>– sun, food and
supplements. Add up the amount from the labels of your food and supplements. If
your level is low, I suggest you begin with 2,000 IU’s (or up to 4,000 IU’s/day
for seniors) in supplements to increase your blood levels to the desirable
range. If next time you measure it that was not enough, increase your
supplement in steps of 1,000 IU's before you measure again. What matters is not
what you take but whether your blood levels are in the right range. Therefore
measuring your 25-OHD every 3-6 months is important until you know how to
maintain a healthy level. You likely will not need as much supplementation
after raising your level, but this will vary on an individual basis, so pay
attention! The variations in sun exposure based on your location, the time of day
and of the year that you are outside, how much skin you expose, how old you
are, how much sunscreen you use and how much you cover up (or don’t’) will all
factor into your Vitamin D3 levels.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">The growing body of work shows
that to treat cancer or heart disease requires an even higher level of 25-OHD
in the blood. Here are some guidelines that might help:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;">Levels of Vitamin D (25-OH Vitamin D)</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="center" style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deficient<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Optimal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Treat Cancer and Heart
Disease <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Excess</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
<div style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><50ng/ml<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>50-70ng/ml<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>70-100 ng/ml<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>> 100ng/ml</span></div>
<div style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>or</u></span></div>
<div style="background: #F2F2F2; border: none; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><125nmol/L<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>125-175nmol/L<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>175-250nmol/L<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>>250nmol/L</span></div>
</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">The amount you take in
supplements needs to be carefully considered against how much you are getting
from the sun itself. For instance if you frequently swim outside in the
equatorial tropics at noon for extended periods you likely will need much
less supplementation that someone from Bangor, Maine who rarely goes outside.
And know this: it is very difficult to get your Vitamin D3 levels to be too
high for your overall health.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">If you want to measure
your own blood levels every 6 months which is what I do, then simply purchase
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">D*Action Measurement Kit</b>, part
of the global non-profit Grassroots Project (<a href="http://www.grassrootshealth.net/">www.GrassrootsHealth.net</a>). This
site will also help you stay up on the latest information.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com233tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-60702562766031074152014-02-25T13:43:00.001-05:002014-02-25T13:46:00.670-05:00How To Control Sleep Interruptions at Any Age<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span><i>By Dr. Joan Vernikos</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>March 2014 </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is taken for granted that as we get older we will need to
get up several times during the night to pee. Yet I do not believe this has
anything to do with aging. Rather, it is something we can almost wholly control
through a shift in one key lifestyle habit. My own experiences really turned me
on to this reality as I myself passed the age 65 mark.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was approaching retirement from NASA and was looking
forward to getting a proper night’s sleep. During the years leading up to retirement
I had been waking up at 5am. My routine was to get off to work early to beat
the traffic, then exercise and call colleagues in other time zones before
launching deeper into my new day. Yet I was anxious about my sleep. Was it a
given that as I aged I would experience
nocturnal diuresis – the technical name for having to get up to pee in the
night? I hadn’t yet experienced it but decided to take a proactive approach to
preventing this reportedly age-related consequence. If you and your sleep are
bothered by these frequent episodes, and even if you are currnently not, you
may wish to try it out. Imagine how much better you will feel during the day
after a night of uninterrupted sleep.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>The Causes</u></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">There can be many reasons for nocturnal diuresis: </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Various kidney, bladder and card<span style="font-family: inherit;">iovas</span>cular disorders, prostate issues,
diabetes and medications commonly prescribed for them.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Diuretics prescribed for high blood pressure and heart conditions, also
called ‘water pills’ like Lasix, Bumex, Esidrix or Zaroxolyn.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Common non-medicinal diuretics like alcohol, coffee, milk, juice,
watermelon or too much water</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jet lag,
shift-work or other day/night shift habits when the body’s day and night are
confused. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">A sedentary
lifestyle.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
astronaut and cardiologist Drew Gaffney returned from his 9-day Shuttle
mission(STS-40) eager for a good night’s sleep in his own bed, he was
frustrated by having to get up multiple times. In space the day-night, light
dark cycle is every 90 minutes leaving the body clock very confused. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="line-height: 115%;">Sedentary Lifestyle or Aging?</span></u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When a baby
is born, its diaper is wet around the clock. When it stands up and learns to
live in gravity, mechanisms develop involving Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) that
regulates the water in its body. For example drinking lots of water at one time
inhibits your ADH making you need to empty your bladder.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>During
the day</u>, when you are meant to move, ADH starts off low but increases as
you stand up, move and are active. This is to help you preserve normal blood
volume. But if you spend time lying down during the day or sitting for many
hours at the office or at home in front of the TV, or go into a swimming pool,
all conditions where gravity’s effect is reduced, your ADH is reduced as it is
at night; you urinate more and can become dehydrated. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>During
the night, </u>ADH is higher overall, reducing the urge to urinate and allowing
you to sleep. Yet research has
shown that unlike during the day, if you get into a pool at night the kidneys
do not respond to the ADH in the same way as during the day, and you do not
need to urinate. This is because a
protective mechanism in your kidneys prevents them from responding to ADH at
night in the same way as during the day. However, in the microgravity of space,
in volunteers lying in bed continuously and in those who sit much of the day and therefore use gravity
less, this kidney shut-off mechanism eventually becomes less effective. The result is the need to pee
whenever you lie down whether it is day or night. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you are like so many today and spend most of the day
sitting, and especially if you sit uninterrupted for long periods, your body
cannot tell the difference between day and night. So it responds to lying down
at night with the same urge to pee as it does during the day when the body is
expecting more frequent posture changes and movement. This has nothing to do directly
with old age except that perhaps one may move less with age. Much of this is up to us.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>My
Solution for Nocturnal Diuresis – Move!</u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I adopted
the following habits that have served me well for the 15 years since I retired.
Some are based on reducing the challenge you provide your system overnight, and
the others on tuning your system so that it functions more optimally:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I eat my
last light meal and avoid drinking anything the 3-4 hours before I go to bed. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I empty my
bladder just before I go to bed.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">My meals are
low in fluids; I rarely eat soup or juicy fruit especially later in the day.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I avoid
naps, rarely read and never watch TV in the bedroom.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most of all
I make a point of moving all day, frequently changing posture and never sitting
for more than 30 minutes at a time even if I only break it up with 1 minute of
standing and easy stretching.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Find your
preferred activities: For more vigorous activity I personally play tennis
doubles once or twice a week and practice yoga twice a week. In the summer
months I swim regularly. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Simply, to
minimize the need to awaken in the night to pee we can re-tune our systems and
the regulatory mechanism of ADH with frequent, all-day movement. Participate
in some more vigorous exercise activity from time to time as is possible, and
you most suredly will see fewer sleep interruptions and more satisfying sleep. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">For more information on healthy aging habits, visit <a href="http://www.joanvernikos.com/" target="_blank">ThirdAge Health</a> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-82696966421064045592013-01-03T17:07:00.000-05:002013-01-04T14:51:08.824-05:00Developing Relaxation Habits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">by Dr Joan Vernikos</span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In
recent weeks I have shared information on the importance of quality sleep and
its impact on personal well-being. We all know that a good night’s sleep leaves
us refreshed and full of energy to tackle the day. What a wonderful feeling
that is!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">So
what about during our waking hours? During these times the analog to getting
quality sleep is our ability to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relax</i>.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gm6HWprFPfo/UOYDAtLgGDI/AAAAAAAAAC0/8w-X7kaLhJY/s1600/Relaxation-at-work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gm6HWprFPfo/UOYDAtLgGDI/AAAAAAAAAC0/8w-X7kaLhJY/s1600/Relaxation-at-work.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Relax<span style="font-family: Calibri;">at</span>ion
is to release tensions – the tension that comes from feeling that things are
not quite right (or really not right!). This tension manifests as different emotions but is characterized by a lack of <i>ease.</i> To relax is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">let go</i> and settle into what is, to stop being carried away by the things we see,
hear, taste and touch (including ourselves), and instead remain open and curious
to what is happening. In essence it is a change in how we relate to the vast
amounts of information we manage each day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Relaxing
is a way to lessen the negative effects of stress on your mind and body.
Practicing relaxation techniques is basically free and will help you cope with
daily stress as well as stress related to particularly difficult situations,
from illness to job loss to the death of a loved one. When we are more relaxed,
it improves how we feel and how we relate to those around us. Like improving
your <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2012/12/sleep-better-now.html" target="_blank">sleep habits</a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>developing ways to relax will help you de-stress your life and
improve your health (and surprise! experience more restful sleep.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
first step begins with developing greater awareness of what is happening around
you and especially of what you are feeling. It’s important that we learn to
notice when we are getting stressed out in a way that is not helpful or necessary.
When we can recognize getting uptight we can then apply instant relaxation techniques.
Similarly, we can practice techniques that help us be more relaxed on an
ongoing basis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Remember that relaxation techniques are skills. As with any
skill your ability to relax improves with practice. Be patient with yourself —
don't let your effort to practice relaxation techniques become yet another stressor.
If one relaxation technique doesn't work for you, try another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But
it does take practice. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Relaxation Tips</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <b>for Today</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Breathe</b>. Take a deep breath into your
abdomen, hold it and exhale in a big sigh. Do this 3 or 4 times. Breathing is
the easiest way to experience immediate relaxation, and your breath is always
available to you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Relax your face</b>, jaw and scalp. Allow it to droop - you'll feel better in only a few seconds.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Pull your shoulders down</b>. Drop your ear
to your shoulder and hold for a couple of breaths. Repeat on the other side.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Practice gratitude</b>. In mornings it is easy to feel a bit anxious. Instead, as you wake up consider the gift of
another day and what you want to do with it. During the day take a
break to recognize a few good things about your life. The more you look, the more you'll find.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Participate in your own creative
hobbies</b>. Shoot photographs or paint, write or scrapbook, whatever yours may be.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Spend time with your pet</b>, showing it
love and affection. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Exercise</b>. People who are more active
experience a greater level of positivity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Unplug. </b>Need any more be said on this? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Laugh!</b> Watch or listen to funny shows
or spend time with people who make you laugh.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Shift it from You to Them</b>. When around
stressed out or unhappy people practice developing compassion for the person, thinking how
terrible it is for them to be feeling so poorly. Even if they are being unkind,
consider that they are only that way because they are unhappy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Go easy on the caffeine</b>. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Soak</b>. How stressed can you be in a warm
bathtub or jacuzzi? </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Get a Massage. </b>But don't marry a massage therapist - you'll never get one!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Keep a journal. </b>Journaling may be the best way to develop a more accurate view of what is going on in your life<b>, </b>and what you might do differently.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b> </b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b></b></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ongoing Methods for Relaxation </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Practice Meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga or a myriad of other traditionally calming activities. Many have now been scientifically proven to relax you both while you are doing
it and well afterwards. <span style="font-family: Calibri;">Personally, I practice yoga in a class setting once or twice per week and have found it greatly beneficial since I took it up in recent years.<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">For tips on
getting started with a mindfulness meditation practice <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/05/meditation-for-average-person.html" target="_blank">click here</a> .</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A Gravity-based
Technique for Deep Relaxation</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Here
is what I use that might help you too achieve whole body relaxation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Lie
on your back on the floor with eyes shut, palms up. Try and clear your mind of
thoughts. Focus on your breath, gently in and out. Think about gravity pulling
you down through the floor. Feel the weight of your heels sinking. Holding onto
that feeling, slowly move up to your calves, hips, lower back, abdomen, shoulders,
arms; let go giving in to gravity pulling you downward. Feel the knots in your
shoulders and neck let go and dissolve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mentally move up to your head. Let go of all 15 pounds of it sink
through the floor. Feel your scalp and your hair slide down away from your
face. Let all thoughts on an imaginary screen be erased by gravity. Nothing is
more important than this moment. Now you are in total relaxation. Stay there as
long as you like. Relish the moment. Nothing else matters. When you open your
eyes you shall feel calm and energized.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We
live in a world today that sometimes seems to value busyness over calm – a go-go-go lifestyle that often leaves us feeling stressed out. But the good news is that our natural state is relaxed and
open – this is why it is possible to become relaxed at any moment, just like that. If we practice
habits of relaxation, over time<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it becomes
easier and easier to let go, even when things are quite challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Commit to practicing some or all of these relaxation
techniques for two months, and I guarantee the changes you experience in your life will not
disappoint you. Good Luck!</span></div>
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Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-26259888784035352092012-12-04T12:57:00.001-05:002012-12-04T12:57:51.863-05:00Sleep Better, Now!<h3>
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--></style><span style="font-size: small;">...And Improve Your Health</span><i><br /></i></h3>
<br />
<i>by Dr. Joan Vernikos</i> <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Here
are 10 things you can do starting today to improve the quality of your sleep,
and your overall health.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
recommend you print these reminders and put them somewhere you can easily refer
to them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Start
with perhaps 2 or 3 and commit to doing them for at least 6 weeks – this is how
long it takes to engrain a habit for long-term benefit. Great sleep and the
benefits it brings are worth it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Get up and
go to bed at set times. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When tired,
don’t sleep in but rather go to bed earlier.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Be active
during the day but avoid exercise or excessive activity for two hours before
bedtime. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Reduce your
exposure to lights 90 minutes before bed. Avoid laptop, tablet, and smart-phone
screens and turn off the TV!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Eat sparingly within 3 hours of bedtime.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Stop
drinking fluids within two hours of bedtime.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Well before
getting in bed, review the day gone by and then calmly mentally prepare for the
next day’s commitments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sleep in a
dark cool room.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Make the
bedroom for sleep and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">amore</i>. Do not
have a TV in the bedroom. And do your reading whenever possible sitting upright
in a chair, and not in bed. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spend two or three minutes before getting in bed doing calming<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>breathing exercises or more formal sitting meditation. For tips on meditation for the average person, <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/05/meditation-for-average-person.html" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Remember, small investments in your sleep will pay back in a myriad of ways.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-38615329420815799162012-10-22T18:11:00.004-04:002012-10-24T19:33:30.229-04:00Yoga Therapy – Fitness in a Healing Context<b>The Proof of Yoga's Benefits</b><br />
<b><i>by Dr. Joan Vernikos</i> </b><br />
<br />
In 2012 most all of us have heard of yoga and some of us know, or are ourselves, regular practitioners and familiar with the well-being it seems to encourage. <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VqnEnVv8XB8/UIXD6C9b5tI/AAAAAAAAACg/xMC6v2TF0k0/s1600/yoga-class.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VqnEnVv8XB8/UIXD6C9b5tI/AAAAAAAAACg/xMC6v2TF0k0/s1600/yoga-class.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
In the West, people practice yoga for a myriad of reasons. Personally, I began a relationship with yoga almost 10 years ago, and though I greatly enjoy my twice weekly yoga class and love the way I feel afterwards, my understanding of how it works has been minimal. I felt like most in the medical community, that the claims of yoga’s health benefits were overrated, and lacking the scientific research to provide the evidence and credibility.<br />
<br />
So I organized a workshop in Palo Alto, California on “Space Health, Aging and Yoga Therapy” in order to hear what the experts had to say and become better educated. This workshop was scheduled to precede a large international gathering of Yoga Bharati followers, some 400 yoga practitioners, teachers and members of the local community. Tracks included Philosophy, Health, and Research, where perhaps predictably I spent most of my time. It did not take long until my skepticism was addressed.<br />
<br />
<b>Research evidence of Yoga Therapy</b><br />
All medical research begins with observation and case studies, before progressing to controlled evidence-based research. Today, such research from top US and global research institutions is providing much needed evidence about the significant benefits of yoga practice that is understandable to mainstream medicine. For example:<br />
• Dr. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa , Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School focused on the growing body of clinical research showing its efficacy in a wide variety of mental health conditions, particularly in chronic stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression.<br />
• Dr. Shirley Telles reported on a study in Bangalore, India that after two weeks of daily yoga children were calmer, improved cognitive skills, better focused and memorized verbal and spatial information.<br />
• Dr. Helen Lavretsky, Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA used PET imaging and changes in cell gene expression to compare listening to music for relaxation to the daily practice of yogic <a href="http://www.alzheimersprevention.org/kirtan_kriya.htm" target="_blank">Kirtan Kriya meditation</a> in stressed family dementia patient caregivers. The daily yogic practice led to reduced stress, better coping and cognitive function as well as a 43% increased telomerase actvivity indicating improvement in the stress-induced biological changes of aging.<br />
• Several studies reported reduced blood sugar levels in diabetics and improvement in irritable bowel syndrome and multiple sclerosis in other examples of the healing benefits of yoga interventions.<br />
<br />
In the West we have come to rely on the wonders of modern medicine to replace our broken parts, taking a pill to cure a discomfort or an illness, relying on expert advice of medical doctors to guide us. Alternately, we sometimes adapt a technique that is popular in the East to a western method intended for a similar purpose. Power Yoga is one such example. We “modify” yoga believing that making a movement faster, stronger, more contorted than the person next to us, will make it more effective on that muscle, bone, balance, circulation or controlling function. Essentially we bolster the egoic when the benefits of a physical yogic activity are rooted in our doing the opposite. The results, in hindsight, are perhaps to be expected.<br />
<br />
In essence we have effectively segregated mind and body in the west. We do not fully appreciate it although intellectually we might recognize that separating mind and body will not lead to total healing. I hear stories repeatedly of healing, of the importance of mind, attitude, and faith to healing even in a physically weak body. How else can we explain countless examples of miraculous recoveries in cancer patients, stroke victims and others with incapacitating conditions?<br />
<br />
While we are now beginning to successfully demonstrate through evidence-based research how each yogic practice works physically and physiologically, we frequently ignore the context in which it was practiced in the East, the spiritual component of healing and wellness, thus undermining its full benefits.<br />
<br />
In the quest for fitness I have learned that Yoga is much more than exercise. This ancient behavioral practice allows for the development of skills of self-regulation of internal physiological states. For this reason its use and promotion for treatment of a range of conditions has increased, including as an adjunct therapy for psychological wellness and psychiatry.<br />
<br />
<b>The Search for Healing</b><br />
A question we must ask ourselves is “What is the healing we are searching for?” And then, “How can we best find it?” In order to answer these two questions we can begin by observing the practices of other cultures, look back into our own, and learn from centuries of observation and successes. Evidence-based research is now clearly showing that greater health and vitality does not come when we separate the body’s needs from those of the mind.<br />
<br />
What is highly attractive about yoga is that it works best when it is practiced in this way – meditative concentration and self-awareness is blended within a comprehensive physical approach. Research is now supporting these long-held beliefs. Yoga stands to be of great benefit to improve health in the west. Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com101tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-20291933964612797232012-07-18T15:05:00.005-04:002012-07-18T17:33:08.249-04:00Caregiving is Growing - How You Can Be of Greatest Benefit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P2SGI8Qea4Y/UAcIsbQW6BI/AAAAAAAAACU/im2V-NLCQkU/s1600/caregiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P2SGI8Qea4Y/UAcIsbQW6BI/AAAAAAAAACU/im2V-NLCQkU/s1600/caregiving.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>by Dr. Joan Vernikos</i><br />
<i> </i> <br />
Giving care is the most noble form of human compassion. Yet it is necessary for the survival of a society, a need that makes a society work. It fulfills the emotional requirement of giving and receiving, interdependence, generating or strengthening personal bonds. It taps into the instincts of love and nurturing; brings out the best in being human.<br />
<br />
However, maintaining the balance between caring for others and sacrifice is a delicate one. It can quickly turn negative; it may take its toll physically and emotionally on the giver as well as those that surround them. Excessive, unmanaged stress tips the balance. The key word here is balance. In trying to put together a set of guiding principles for effective and satisfying care-giving what struck me was the enormity of the task because every situation is different. Achieving balance begins with learning, understanding, assessing and being prepared.<br />
<br />
As the number of those requiring care increases the social, personal and financial impacts of care giving will need to be better addressed, just as the need for child care became accepted and recognized as a social responsibility when working practices changed as women entered the workplace.<br />
<br />
<b>Who is a Caregiver?</b><br />
Anyone who is concerned or cares for another individual or living thing. It begins with children, brothers, sisters or even pets. It includes parents, a husband, partner or wife, friends and neighbors. Professionals like nurses and doctors may be paid for care-giving. Becoming a doctor has been considered a vocation for centuries whether one is paid or not. Florence Nightingale drew attention to this fact when nursing was recognized as a profession.<br />
<br />
<b>Stress and Burnout?</b><br />
Caring for others involves expending tremendous amounts of time and energy. That energy can be physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Usually all of those modalities are involved when you care for others. If you expend more time and energy caring for others, eventually you will find yourself feeling completely overwhelmed. Burnout, the next step, can occur when you give more of yourself than you are taking in, It is more likely to happen when you are pulled in different directions outside your care-giving, criticized or not supported by family and friends.<br />
<br />
<b>Guilt: Feeling Selfish</b> <br />
It is common to neglect yourself when caring for others. I like the example of flying on a plane that experiences sudden oxygen loss. The instructions to adults are to place the oxygen mask on your-self FIRST, and then place the mask on the child next to you. The idea is, if you give oxygen to the child first, you will lose consciousness and be of no help to the child. The idea is the same. When you are caring for an individual but neglect yourself, you may reach a point where you are really not able to care effectively for the other person. Though we think of care-giving mostly in the sense of caring for a parent, caring for a disabled child can also be all-consuming. Though professional caregivers, you would think, do not have the added emotional load that caring for a family member does, they frequently have a difficult time dissociating their emotions from their care giving job.<br />
<br />
<b>Self-care: Manage your time, Take Time Outs</b> <br />
Taking time for yourself will have great energy rewards. You will feel better. You will be able to give better care to those you are caring for. Regular time-outs can take two forms. The same paid help at regular intervals, as for example every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, allows you to plan your errands, appointments or some social activity. Agreeing with the care-receiver to go to a facility for two to six weeks to allow you to take a holiday. At other times, take a walk or a bike ride. Get a massage, meditate, learn to breathe to relax. What do you do for yourself? Taking a Health Assessment inventory will allow you to monitor where the energy leaks are. Do not sacrifice your sleep habits, nutrition and movement.<br />
<br />
<b>It’s a Team Effort</b><br />
• The Care-receiver<br />
Care-giving is limited at best without the cooperation and motivation of the care receiver. Before starting make sure you sit down and have a heart to heart talk alone with your care-receiver. Honestly define your and their expectations. Many seniors used to being in charge and independent feel a loss of dignity when they find themselves on the receiving side. For others, decisions made for them allows them to complain. Explain the options available to each of you, your and their expectations, and how working together and communicating openly can bring about the best results.<br />
• Family or Others Responsible for the Care<br />
Whether you are a professional caregiver in an Assisted Living Facility, part of a growing At Home Care team or an ICU nurse, you will experience a similar pattern of physical and emotional responses as the amateur family-member.<br />
• Public Resources<br />
Know your resources – whether they are free or not, identify what helps others most and when you can get help when you need it. Most work environments have employee assistance programs. Use them. Do your market research, ask others. Almost every family has some case of care-giving and most have had to find out the hard way.<br />
<br />
Today people are living longer but are not necessarily healthier. The need for giving care to these older persons will continue to grow. More and more of us will be significantly involved in the giving of care in some manner. When greater attention is paid to the well being of everyone involved, and beneficial resources are more wisely used, the caregiving itself can be a more rewarding experience for all. <br />
</div>Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-65712143390342669062012-06-26T16:10:00.000-04:002012-06-27T10:18:53.408-04:00Your Take-Away Benefits from "Sitting Kills, Moving Heals"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>by Joan Vernikos</i><br />
<br />
Since the publication of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals in December 2012, people who have read the book or heard me speak, have been sharing their stories on how they have benefitted. This has been informative and very rewarding, as the reason I wrote Sitting Kills was to offer a different way to approach our lives and our health – one based far more on what is possible without relying so much on things outside ourselves. <br />
Today I’ll share what you have said matters.<br />
<br />
<b>1. It raises awareness of how one’s lifestyle directly affects one’s health. And that this is up to each one of us.</b><br />
<br />
<i>“I had not realized that what I do and don’t do all day makes a difference to how I feel.”</i><br />
<br />
When one becomes aware of how profoundly lifestyle habits have become more sedentary in the modern era, then people seem inspired to do something about it. Today we are sitting uninterrupted at rates never before seen, so often slouched in a comfortable chair or looking at a computer or smartphone screen. Our reliance on pills to solve more minor complaints can be reversed. Even youngsters can benefit from greater awareness about what impacts their health. <br />
<br />
No one else can move for you. You are the only one who can become aware of how you feel in order to better manage the conditions in your life and your response to them. <br />
<br />
Some things you have said:<br />
“I pay more attention to my eating and sleeping habits now.” <br />
“I think of stretching instead of taking a pill.”<br />
“The Health Assets Questionnaire was a useful start and guide to where I was health-wise.”<br />
<b><br />2. Increasing movement in small ways yields big results. </b><br />
<br />
<i>“I feel 20 years younger. I have walked every morning but was not aware how much I sat the rest of the day. Now I am doing something all day long and still enjoy my TV.”</i><br />
<br />
The key here is that sitting (and indeed relaxing) is ok as long as it is interrupted often and with gravity-challenging activities, and that exercise alone likely will not do it. It seems that almost weekly there is more research showing how uninterrupted hours of sitting increases the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease even if you exercise regularly. Between TV and other media we are encouraged to sit many hours but we can reverse the impacts simply by getting moving.<br />
<br />
If your mobility is constrained you can experience significant improvements just by briefly standing up every 20 minutes. Even if at first you cannot stand up at first you can regain your mobility in a few months. If you cannot get up at all there are many stretching and strengthening activities you can do. “I find that sitting on a straight-backed chair instead of a comfy chair has improved my posture and strengthens my core muscles.”<br />
<br />
Some things you have said:<br />
“Chuck sits in front of a computer screen all day long. He does not care to exercise because he has back pain but once he understood how this works, he can go along with the idea of standing up every so often and stretching.”<br />
<br />
<b>3. Weight Loss</b><br />
<br />
<i>“I lost weight without dieting.”</i><br />
<br />
No, really, and it isn’t complicated. Have you noticed that when you are generally more active that your weight stabilizes or goes down? The non-exercise activities I promote specifically target fat metabolism. Therefore the more one moves all day the more one will use fat stores for the energy needed to function. Couple this with good food choices and adequate sleep and you have a perfect storm for weight management.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Feeling More Energetic</b><br />
<br />
<i>“Moving about with housework, gardening, cooking, all day makes me feel energized throughout the day in a way that exercising once a day did not!”</i><br />
<br />
Maybe there isn’t a more important benefit than this one. <br />
<br />
When you exercise once a day, you generate one large spurt of energy. You then cool down because you have over-stimulated your body and then often rest from the fatigue often brought on by this type of activity. Your hunger may also increase, leading to your eating more. However if you can change your daily habits to include more non-exercise movements you will feel a kind of sustained energy, without some of the highs and lows associated with traditional exercise. By all means exercise, but do so in ways that allow you to keep moving the rest of the day too.<br />
<br />
“I get up at TV commercials and do something around the house.” <br />
“I told my work-mates that I am ignoring internal e-mails. They can come and talk to me instead.”<br />
<br />
A very handy side-benefit here is <b>More Free Time</b><br />
“It doesn’t take more time or effort to remain active and healthy.” <br />
<br />
We may not realize how much time exercising takes up – driving to the gym, prepping and showering after a run, and so on. As one reader has shared, “I realized that I can get the same or better benefit to my health and mobility in less time.”<br />
<br />
<b>5. Reduced Health Care Expenses</b><br />
<i><br />“I have extra money in my pocket because I feel better, sleep better and don’t think of the doctor first.”</i><br />
<br />
It is likely that if you follow many of the suggestions in Sitting Kills you will experience a greater sense of health overall - benefiting from an improved immune system. As people being to feel better more of the time based on changes to their habits, the old reflex to pop a pill or call the doctor at the first twinge subsides. Who doesn’t want to save money today on health care? But it’s probably up to you as I don’t think we can expect insurers to give us a deal. <br />
<br />
As one reader directly shared:<br />
“I spend less money now on my health and drug costs.”<br />
<br />
We hear often today that we are living longer than ever, which is true. But the big question is: are we living better? Trending data may paint a bleak picture on this front, but I am not deterred. In fact I am more confident now than ever that we each have a great deal of influence over the quality of our lives, both in the present and for future times. If we choose, each of us can take action to improve our health and overall quality of life. Starting right now.</div>Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-49939250629669492182012-05-23T15:04:00.000-04:002012-05-23T19:58:11.564-04:00An Interview on Commuting, Sitting, and Managing the Effects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was recently interviewed by Meg Boberg of Los Angeles-based Traffic Byte about the challenges of commuter life- the average commute in the US today is now over 46 minutes. The one defining feature of commuting in a car is the inability to stand up, and the increasing amount of time spent sitting is a problem for most of us in this modern age.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nvygZj4frKU/T700aLxNScI/AAAAAAAAACI/3COBtIgQocQ/s1600/commuting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nvygZj4frKU/T700aLxNScI/AAAAAAAAACI/3COBtIgQocQ/s320/commuting.jpg" width="320" /></a>So I thought I'd share some of our conversation about how the body deals with this kind of sitting, and what we can do to reverse the effects of too much sitting.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Meg: How does the body respond when we stand versus when we sit for extended periods of time?</b><br />
Dr Joan: Think of the body as toys that you need to shake to keep them working. The body needs to move up and down in relation to gravity to keep the blood circulating and tune the machine that pumps the blood around – not unlike a car. Gravity then pulls the blood down to the feet while the heart and arteries pump the blood against gravity up to the head to fuel the brain. Unlike the rest of the body that converts what we eat to glucose, the brain needs the blood to transport the oxygen and nutrients, mainly glucose, to supply it with fuel to function. No fuel, or running on low, compromises how the brain works. <br />
Standing up and sitting down or lying down and standing up again is how we do it. Doing so once a day and expecting it to work all day doesn’t do it.<br />
<br />
Every time you stand up the blood is drawn to the feet by gravity – plain hydraulics. The sensors in the neck register reduced volume topside triggering the heart to begin to pump harder. This increases heart rate and raises blood pressure thereby increasing blood flow to the brain. If you stand up often you will hardly notice anything was happening. If you have not stood up for a while, as with a couple of days in bed with the flu, you may pass out because your pumping system is out of shape. You faint because your brain is not getting the blood supply to carry the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function. Start moving again and you quickly recover.<br />
<br />
If you stand up or sit down for too long the blood stagnates in the feet and legs (encouraging swollen feet, blood clots and varicose veins) and even though the heart and pumping system may work well for a while eventually it slows down or quits. So, neither uninterrupted extended sitting nor uninterrupted standing are good for you. Guards at Buckingham Palace learn to squeeze their muscles periodically to pump the blood up.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Meg: What are some of your suggestions for office workers, who can’t control the fact that they must commute to work, sit during office hours and may sit even more when they go home? </b><br />
Dr Joan: Office workers who commute by train or who sit at work or when they get home need to structure their lives to introduce frequent opportunities to stand up often throughout the day until they become habits. They can do this with electronic or web-based reminders, by getting out of their chair to communicate with others – more sociably rewarding – or drink water, or use the restroom, but not all at once, as well as using the stairs instead of lift or escalator. In other words, consciously take every opportunity to incorporate movement of all kinds into the day. They also need to sit up in as upright a chair as possible. Slouching or tucking legs under the chair cuts off the circulation to and from the legs even further. Upright posture with feet flat on the floor encourages unobstructed circulation even when sitting. Working at upright desks and upright desk treadmills are fads that are hard to sustain. A new sliding adjustable desk - the XTensionDesk - looks more promising and can be adjusted to your height and your best work level from sitting to standing – better for your back as well.<br />
<br />
Commuter driving is bad for your health not merely because you are sitting. But if you have to, choose your work hours carefully to avoid stress and minimize the drive. Do not have a full breakfast before you start. The combination of stress, sitting and a full stomach that draws blood to your stomach and away from your brain is lethal. Use the slow traffic and traffic lights as an opportunity to practice deep breathing and some isometric leg contractions. Make sure the seat is at optimum level and back position for upright active posture. Introduce using the stairs, taking a walk, using the gym for short periods; shower immediately on arrival at work to provide a time-out between your commute and beginning of the work day.<br />
<br />
<b>Meg:What are some of the detrimental effects of prolonged periods of sitting?</b>Dr. Joan: Recent studies have linked increased mortality of hours of uninterrupted sitting per day to breast and colon cancer. Deaths from cardiovascular disease have also been linked to too much sitting even in people who exercised.<br />
<br />
Sitting is a leading cause of obesity, Type II diabetes, bone and muscle loss, joint problems, back pain, depression and reduced immune function. </div>Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-61490389143939014432012-05-08T21:30:00.000-04:002012-05-08T21:30:01.094-04:00That Green Thing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>by Joan Vernikos</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-hEB6sEtiU/T6nINr7ZpGI/AAAAAAAAAB8/jNFCdKn5U0U/s1600/happy+gardeners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-hEB6sEtiU/T6nINr7ZpGI/AAAAAAAAAB8/jNFCdKn5U0U/s1600/happy+gardeners.jpg" /></a>The following anecdote and related article is about living “green” and how in bygone years our lifestyles were less reliant on the many conveniences of modern life. And there’s a valuable extra takeaway in there.<br />
<br /><i>“Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.<br />The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.”<br />The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”<br />She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.<br />Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.<br />We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.<br />Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day.<br />Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.<br />We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.<br />Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.<br />But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?”</i><br />
<br />As you might imagine, what struck me about this post isn’t so much about the “green” movement. For me this story illustrates the significant changes that have taken place within only a few generations in the level of activity that was required in daily life. Non-exercise activities, including the several common ones highlighted here, kept the older among us and our parents slim and healthy without going to the gym or running 10K’s. <br /><br />
In the modern world we tend to rely on technologies that have minimized our habits of being active all day with these non-exercise activities (NEATs). Our reliable and plentiful powered vehicles have almost eliminated the need for self-propulsion. We hop on an electric gym-treadmill rather than take a walk or ride a bicycle down the road to accomplish a task. Our huge refrigerator-freezers and the readily-available packaged and processed foods means we no longer need to plan and cook meals. Elevators and escalators have mostly replaced walking upstairs. Clothes-dryers have eliminated the need to carry laundry outside to hang on a line, and wrinkle-free garments and dry cleaners have nearly eliminated the activity we got from ironing (although I am not complaining about doing less ironing!). The vacuum cleaner replaced the broom, and we know that pushing (or even riding) a powered mower is a heck of a lot less strenuous than pushing a human-powered one.<br />
<br />Back “in the day,” in the process of living an ordinary existence, our lives were replete with activity. At the same time we used less heating and transportation fuels. And we hadn’t been taken over yet by the throwaway culture that developed so quickly starting in the 1950’s. We washed empty containers and re-used them, used very little plastic, had no paper towels, and consequently had much smaller household ecological footprints. So perhaps we were green before anyone called it that.<br /><br />
And we certainly did not have to worry about sitting too much back then; sitting was a luxury. And when we did sit we usually accomplished something – knitting or sewing, talking with each other. And yes, we danced a lot more then too. <br />Conditions were more conducive to leading a healthy lifestyle precisely because we had so much daily activity. Maybe backwards isn't such a bad way to go.<br /></div>Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-54918231442349181182012-01-05T20:28:00.000-05:002012-01-05T20:28:07.889-05:00Why I Wrote "Sitting Kills, Moving Heals"<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ra-wCJdI-o/TwZL1ELnoVI/AAAAAAAAAB0/i6vW2jE5LAk/s1600/sk+cover.jpg" /></div><br />
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<i>by Dr. Joan Vernikos</i><br />
<br />
The answer is really quite simple: I want everyone to be as healthful and vigorous as is possible, and it is far more achievable than we believe – or are told – is possible. Despite all of the amazing technological advances, and enormous wealth created in the 20th century, we are fatter and less healthy than ever. And I am close to certain that the solutions aren’t all that complex, and are readily available to us. While the info we get on living healthfully is sometimes helpful, often it misses the most important points: that we each must take some level of responsibility over our current condition, and that the key denominator to greater health and independence is to use gravity, simply to move more, and perhaps surprisingly that doesn’t necessarily mean “exercise.” So here’s a little on how I got here, with my new book and why I am so sure of the efficacy of its approach.<br />
<br />
As I was growing up I always enjoyed solving problems so science research was a natural course to follow. Listening and asking probing questions was a logical path to solving a problem. My doctor father’s diagnostic questioning approach was a great apprenticeship. Among the things I was taught to be grateful for, is the one and only human body we get. “Make the most of what you’ve got,” my mother used to say. Probably yours did too. I could have paid more attention to that. But I also found out that it is never too late to work on it.<br />
<br />
Writing <b><i>Sitting Kills, Moving Heals</i></b>, was the result of a lifetime of blending the awareness of what made me feel good, with what was confirmed scientifically through my research. Stuff that is completely natural can help us live better, every day and into the future. Aging well is a function of how we live today. It begins with greater awareness, listening to your body and taking responsibility for its state of health. The approach is based on old, tested traditional practices and is really nothing new. Just that this science proves it. It is science that never really got out to people, and certainly not in understandable terms that can be readily useful to everyone. <br />
<br />
For those of you not familiar with my work at NASA and how it influences all I do today to help people live and age healthy, here is some key info. When in 1993 I became Head of Life Sciences at NASA it was my responsibility to find out how living in space affects the health of astronauts and how to protect them from adverse effects. I was therefore the focal point in answering questions from the media and interacting with the public. Senator John Glenn was well aware of my research and that it could help make the case for his flying again. He returned to space in 1998 at the age of 77. My own research had pointed to the similarities between the effects of living in space, volunteers lying in bed, and the rest of us as we age. It was clear to Senator Glenn why there was benefit in sending a person in their 70’s into space, but little understanding by the public of why we did it.<br />
<br />
So I began to seek ways to educate the “every-man” about how to live better. The explanations were obvious to me, but I realized that it was not so when I spoke to the general public . Though I had written many scientific papers, writing a book in simple language was a totally different undertaking. In my case, the urgency of writing such a non-technical book came from the needs of the public – your needs. The public audience wanted, and still wants, to know more.<br />
<br />
<b>The G-Connection and an Amazing Discovery</b><br />
In 2001 I “retired” from NASA. At a time when most others would take it easy, I took to the road and spoke with anyone who would listen. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to explain why these similar changes in astronauts and seniors happened, and how this knowledge could help just about anyone. My 2004 book <i><b>The G-Connection</b></i> was my first try at this – presenting the case that aging changes are not solely a function of how old you are but how much you sit over many years of living. I kept my skills sharp by advising the European Space Agency and working with top scientists. After over 100 talks on four continents, the numbers I could reach was still vastly smaller than my aspiration.<br />
<br />
What kept me going was the positive feedback on the benefit of my suggestions, especially on one seemingly simple one: stand up. I would advise people at my talks whose mobility was compromised by age, surgery or even stroke to stand up right then and there, even with assistance. I instructed them to do that every 30 minutes throughout the day every day. This is what I had found prevented in young bed-rest volunteers the adverse effects of continuous lying in bed. But the results reported back amazed even me. Those that adhered to the 30 minute rule with no other exercise, showed remarkable improvement in mobility within as little as three months. Today I am discussing with a senior center, a more structured study to validate this approach scientifically. And it remains an ongoing shining example of what is possible when we begin to use gravity more wisely. <br />
<br />
<b>Gravity as Friend? A Counter-Intuitive Concept</b><br />
In modern times gravity has gotten a bad rap – that it is the enemy that drags us down and ages us. To convince people of the opposite I needed to develop a simple ‘How To’ approach that was similar to the way I speak. And I was committed to address the questions that have arisen: How did we become so sedentary? Is too much sitting really to blame for the illness epidemics that are crippling us and the costs of our health care system? How exactly could one re-introduce gravity into every-day life? Why was structured exercise not enough on its own?<br />
<br />
And above all, what could I do to change attitudes and maybe even health policy? What tools could I give you to help you live healthier?<br />
<br />
<b>From Interest to Passion</b><br />
So let me tell you why I wrote <b><i>Sitting Kills</i></b>. While the country was figuring out who pays for health care, here I was sitting on a practical, inexpensive, scientifically-proven natural solution derived from research paid for by the taxpayer! It became my passion to share what I knew, in plain language, that anyone could understand. Astronauts, chosen on the basis of being the healthiest and the fittest ‘right stuff’, are transformed by the lack of gravity in space into the likes of those 30 or 40 years older. Yet, despite the debilitating effects of spaceflight, astronauts fully recover soon after they return to Earth. Why not use what we learned about astronauts at NASA to benefit the rest of us?<br />
<br />
My challenge was to provide clear, practical guidance to share with you the value of using our old friend gravity, simply and easily through everyday activities that are of a different nature than traditional vigorous exercise in the gym.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://joanvernikos.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>Sitting Kills, Moving Heals</i></b></a> does just that. It is a life-changing call-to-action to get you out of your chair and back into health and vigor. Follow its plan for a lifetime of energy and physical health. Here’s to your continuing good health!Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-1712682779107310222011-11-10T17:57:00.000-05:002012-10-13T14:42:29.668-04:00Tackling The Stress of The Busy Holiday Season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;">by Dr. Joan Vernikos</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><i> "A good conscience is a continual Christmas." ~ Benjamin Franklin</i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br />
</i></div>
The Holiday Season at the end of each year is a wonderful time to count one’s blessings and to connect more deeply with family, co-workers and friends. And perhaps to even feel a kinship and concern for the many.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ep8z5Fj3904/TrtQJqA9YTI/AAAAAAAAABQ/o7XHGmfvNms/s1600/xmas+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ep8z5Fj3904/TrtQJqA9YTI/AAAAAAAAABQ/o7XHGmfvNms/s1600/xmas+family.jpg" /></a>It’s also a time that challenges many of us to truly be able to enjoy the moments of the season. Often there is a sense of obligation, an unmanageable busyness and financial overwhelm. The ‘Ho, Ho, Ho!’ cultural expectation to remain happy and upbeat can be trying. Messaging on TV, radio and the internet constantly tells us we should have a well-decorated and tidy home, acquire and distribute gifts to the multitudes, and cheerfully attend social event after social event (beginning with Thanksgiving and running without break until early January). There never is enough time to get it all done – on top of daily commitments, there is little Emma’s Xmas play, decorating, and engaging the neighbors you rarely speak to. Rain, snow, traffic, and crowded shops conspire against you. Everyone seems to be on edge!<br />
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It’s easy to feel exhausted just thinking about it all, even before it’s begun. And while it may be a time of re-connecting to what matters, it is often challenging, and for many of us it is sadly the low point of the year.<br />
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I want you to know that while there well may be things you “must” do, and it is surely a time of year when a lot is happening, you have a lot more control over your holiday season than you might believe. Much depends on your preparation and decision-making around the season – you ultimately must take responsibility for how you approach this time of the year both outwardly and inwardly. Will you be a bundle of anxiety, facing impossible challenges, rushing around in a daze in rain or snow to the last minute trying to get it all perfect? Or will you have effectively planned and acted, ready to join in the celebration? Will you see time with your family as a gift, or will it make you cringe before you even get together? <br />
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Though factors that contribute to your feeling stressed are somewhat under your control, they come anyway. It is easy to fret and sleep poorly. And especially to eat in a way that makes you feel terrible about yourself and this whole holiday celebrating. Pressure to enjoy the time can make one sink into gloom.<br />
<br />
So, what can you do to have a more enjoyable holiday season? Here are a few things I have learned during my blessedly long lifetime that I think are worthy of your consideration.<br />
<b><br />
Manage Your Time</b><br />
Good time management is one of the best ways to reduce stress. Get a clear idea of what you will or will not commit to as early as possible and you will be much more likely to stay grounded during the holiday season.<br />
Start early. Begin with a list of your key people, shop for the holidays all year, and have a central place you store these gifts.<br />
<ul>
<li>Hold a family meeting about gift wish-lists after Halloween if it hasn’t already been discussed.Talk about what you really enjoy about the holidays, and how you might change your approach to better enjoy them. </li>
<li>Budget sanely. Determine what you can <i>realistically</i> afford to spend. Set an upper limit for gifts for everyone. Many people are in difficult financial situations today. If you find yourself stretched, either send only a card, or consider making something instead of purchasing gifts. Framed photos, fruit/health baskets and more are wonderful ways to connect with friends and family. And when people tell you that they really don’t need anything, listen! Consider making a donation in their name to a cause that matters to them. </li>
<li>Plan and publish a household social calendar for the holidays and put it on the fridge or bulletin board. Make sure that everyone knows there is a procedure in place to handle changes because there will be a lot of those!</li>
<li>Delegate. Ask for help from loved ones or friends.</li>
<li>Keep a list of what you need to accomplish in the coming days, starting with Thanksgiving. Review and update this before bed each evening, acknowledging your ability to get only so much done.</li>
<li>Well before the end of year work on one or two meaningful resolutions for the New Year. Consider them as you go through the month of December. You will feel more upbeat when January comes around.</li>
<li>Keep things as simple as possible. Remember: you do not need to “keep up with the Joneses”. The Joneses are probably stressing out about now!</li>
</ul>
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<b>Take Care of Yourself</b> <br />
By planning effectively, things will unfold more manageably and the inevitable curve-balls will be easier to cope with. But you still need to look at yourself and what keeps you going. Here are a few suggestions.<br />
<ul>
<li>Seeking the cooperation of friends and family in planning the holiday season, with an emphasis on real enjoyment, will direct everyone towards shared, more positive results.</li>
<li>Keep plenty of healthy snacks around the house and at work. If it’s green or an easily eaten fruit, stock it.</li>
<li>Eat some of those healthy snacks before you go to social events. It’s harder to eat 2 cookies, 4 deviled eggs and drink a glass of eggnog before dinner, if you had a banana and some almonds just before the party.</li>
<li>Factor in time to do the things that matter to you and those close to you. Read, have a quiet movie night at home (or watch holiday classics together) or play games. Or get a massage! These can all take the bite out of a seemingly never-ending schedule of obligatory activities over the holidays. My son’s favorite is going for a quick, hot soak wherever he can find one, including the bath tub. </li>
<li>Buck tradition. While you may still enjoy the cookies everywhere else, plan a sugar-lite holiday season at home. </li>
<li>Moderate your alcohol consumption (and value your sleep). Or don’t drink at all. You’ll rest and look better, connect more meaningfully with others, and be able to handle challenges as they arise. Either way, make your rest a priority as best you can. Watching "Leno" after a busy day may or may not be what you most need.</li>
<li>Commit to making the time to do some regular physical activity daily, even if you do less of it than normal. For instance, make a family walk part of your holiday events. Your dog will appreciate it too.</li>
<li>Pause regularly to reflect on what is going on at any given time, and how you are reacting to it. Take small regular time-outs, breathing deeply.</li>
<li>If you are a regular meditator or have a physical, eastern practice (like Tai Chi, Yoga or Qigong) keep it in your schedule as best you can. (Perhaps consider starting one as a resolution for the New Year).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Let It Go</b><br />
Accept that it is just fine to feel sentimental at this time of year. <br />
<br />
This is when we tend to contemplate our lives most deeply. Indeed, it is often the time of year when people may feel most grateful and peaceful, yet conversely may also feel despondent. If you have felt down or depressed in the past during the holidays, I recommend cultivating the intention to be more aware of how you feel during this coming season. It is quite common to dread the holiday season, finding it easier to withdraw. Even if you feel generally positive this time of year, there may be activities or people with whom you still have difficulty engaging. Making a sincere effort to be genuinely open to others’ feelings and situations can have a profound impact on our own state of mind and perhaps more importantly will let those close to us know that we care about them. This is what the holiday spirit is about – to extend the warmth we feel for those closest to us to include many others. <br />
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Each one of us would like to celebrate a joyous holiday season. Finding ways to minimize stress is key to experiencing times we all wish for, ones filled with love, sharing, gratitude and compassion, and ones we will recall fondly for years to come.</div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-23866824803650083692011-11-01T11:59:00.000-04:002011-11-07T13:05:56.921-05:00Improving your Wellbeing Through Health Coaching<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> <span style="font-size: small;">"I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum potential."<br />
~</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Bob Nardelli, CEO, Home Depo</span></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>t</i></span></div><br />
As a teenager in Egypt I had a swim coach who encouraged me to train when I wanted to play, to exercise when I would rather have played backgammon with the old men at the club, and managed to build my confidence and win races. All sports have coaches so that athletes put on their top performances. <br />
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Today coaching is not just for athletes. There are coaches for every imaginable issue; from personal relationships to nutrition, weight management to how to find your mate. Even some surgeons now have coaches. And in the short time since its inception life coaching no longer seems so flaky. There are TV shows featuring coaching ('Starting Over', and 'Get The Guy’), and even spoofs about coaching on the John Stewart show. Coaching is now mainstream.<br />
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<b>Why Coaching?</b><br />
Well, it’s pretty simple. We go to the doctor for a prescription or a priest for confession, a dietitian, a shrink or a counselor or even a self-help book for the answers to our problems. But no matter how good the advice, all of these tools suffer from a common weakness - they rely on the individual to take action on their own and make the commitment to act on the advice. And consider that little of the information received is customized to one’s unique situation. This is where coaching differs. The main reason - it is emerging as the way to get results. People who are serious about change know that they are responsible to make it happen themselves. They also know that they may not be able to do it on their own. <br />
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People who do turn to coaching most often benefit from improved clarity and focus around their goals, discipline, direction, guidance and understanding, and ultimately achieve things they want but couldn't on their own. Some of us might have the skill set and support to eventually get there without assistance but it can be so much more effective to let a coach help us, and often cheaper in the long run and with lasting effects because we (with the guidance of the coach) arrived at the solution. With a coach, results almost always improve – often dramatically.<br />
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<b>Why Health Coaching?</b><br />
Happiness, the enjoying of our lives, is what we all seek. Everything we do, whether wise or not, is in support of this overarching desire. Often happiness is used synonymously with “well-being” and this begins with good health and healthy habits. But there are few among us who truly prioritize our well-being, both physical and mental. <br />
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Health coaching has become more popular in the last several years in the US, especially for the treatment of particular conditions and in corporate settings where the efficacy of health coaching has been shown to be cost and productivity-effective. It generally includes a personalized program designed to improve your health and sense of wellness, while developing your ability to manage life’s curveballs as they arise. A health coach can generally help you with:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Stress management</li>
<li>Diet, nutrition and eating habits</li>
<li>Weight management</li>
<li>Sleep problems</li>
<li>Physical Fitness</li>
<li>Family and social relationships</li>
<li>Work/Life balance</li>
<li>Maintaining independence with age</li>
</ul><br />
Where traditionally education and advice directs information at you, coaching by contrast guides you to discuss what is most troubling about your health, what you most want to change, what support you have to foster change and what obstacles or difficulties must be minimized or removed to advance healthy behaviors. It does this by providing:<br />
<ul><li>Support</li>
<li>Structure</li>
<li>Accountability</li>
<li>A sense of accomplishment</li>
</ul>Over time other benefits will arise that are not anticipated, not least, the cost of your medical care.<br />
Did you know that 70% of our medical costs are due to four factors that we can control:<br />
poor stress management, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and food choices.<br />
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In the coming weeks I’ll share more about why I have become a proponent for health coaching, and how it’s influencing my activities today. <br />
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We each have the power to be well and age well, whatever our genetic make-up or specific problems. In this approach <i>you</i> become the nexus.<br />
<br />
Healing yourself, rewiring your brain, adopting new health habits, feeling good about yourself and your relationships – no one else can do it for you. But a qualified health coach can support you through the process.Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-26004122953246902672011-10-29T16:35:00.000-04:002011-10-29T16:35:39.044-04:00What Happens During Sleep?Sleep is just as active as waking. Both form part of the same pendulum of consciousness that works best when synchronized with your biological clock and the cues of day and night.<br />
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I think of it as a factory that operates during the day at full pace with hundreds of people crisscrossing the floors, stairs and elevators at incredible pace, going up and down stairs and elevators, meeting and making decisions until the end of the day when the factory shuts down and all the people go home. No sooner are they gone, than a small crew move in to aerate the place, run vacuum cleaners and mop up, dust, empty trash cans, clean out restrooms and stair wells, then begin to restore order, tidy up, water the plants, replace dead light bulbs, replenish water bottles, check out the offices, power-up machines and safety measures, until all is ready to go for the new business day.<br />
<br />
For those interested in more detail here is a summary of what happens during sleep.<br />
<br />
<strong>As night approaches</strong> body rhythms are decreasing<strong>.</strong> <br />
<div>- Lights-out increase the hormone melatonin to put you to sleep.</div><div>- You shut your eyelids to rest your eyes and take a pause from external stimuli.</div><div>- Body temperature is lowest.</div><div>-You lie down. Your body is spared the need to bear its weight.</div><div>- Blood pressure and heart rate are reduced; blood gets to your brain effortlessly.</div><div>- You breathe more slowly, regularly, getting oxygen and glucose to your brain.</div><div>- You relax muscles, joints and bones.</div><div>- Your kidney shuts down so you do not need to get up to urinate,</div><div>- Inflammation is reduced; your skin looks better in the morning.</div><div>- The stress hormone cortisol is low because there is no need to generate energy.</div><div>- Testosterone is at its lowest too.</div><div>- Appetite hormones are reduced — no need to eat; energy metabolism is at its lowest.</div><div></div><div><strong>Midway through the night</strong> your body begins to replenish, rebuild and power up.</div><div>- Growth hormone and other body building anabolic hormones increase dramatically.</div><div>- Testosterone and cortisol increase to generate energy.</div><div>- Your body is waking up even if you are not moving yet.</div><div></div><div>On the other hand, your brain becomes hyperactive. </div><div>- Your brain’s electrical activity is greater during sleep than when you are awake?</div><div>- Skills learned during the day are retained if you sleep right afterwards.</div><div>- Memories are consolidated and reorganized</div><div>- The day’s events are reviewed, restructured and sent and stored in the right place.</div><div></div><div><strong>Next day</strong> </div><div>- Your athletic performance is improved.</div><div>- You focus better and avoid accidents.</div><div>- You are better able to handle stress.</div><div>- You are calmer and happier</div><br />
We take sleep for granted as the time to rest from a busy day – like parking your body for the night. But it is much more than that.<br />
<br />
It is one third of your life. Make the most of it!Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-31637220964796387052011-09-30T19:42:00.000-04:002011-09-30T19:47:30.450-04:00Why 'What You Eat' MattersIt’s no secret that what you eat matters greatly because eating or drinking directly introduces something into your body. This can be truly nourishing or conversely has the potential of harming your well-being. And in a world of unlimited food options, it’s your choice as to what these substances are. <br />
It’s important to note here that every body is different and that as such putting better stuff in, requires your truly personal care. You can consistently consume better, and to do that I encourage you to be more aware of what you buy, choose to eat, and how you flavor and prepare it. Eating is the next best thing to sex, so enjoy it.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it makes you feel bad, don’t eat it</span></strong><br />
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Our ancestors, animals and birds chose to eat the fruit of one tree from another by trial and error. Then cultures also developed customs of what to avoid eating handed down through generations. Equally, people living around the Mediterranean who were generally poor, worked hard and enjoyed long, healthy lives through family traditions of eating local fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil. And here in the states, sitting down to a well-cooked meal was a core part of our daily activity until only a few decades ago. Then TV and other media bombarded us with messages for which cereal, soda, hot dogs, potato chips or cookies we should eat. Eating more meat became a status symbol. Fast food became a part of everyday life. And in the Mediterranean and other places, they try to imitate the U.S. and life changed there, and with it health has taken a nosedive. <br />
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If you feel bad after eating the chips or pork chile, uh, why are you eating it?<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you eat affects your body and your brain</span></strong><br />
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You know that good nutrition makes you feel your physical best. But did you know that as part of your body, feeding your brain with the right foods can help you think more clearly, stay alert, improve your concentration, reactions, decision-making and your attention span?<br />
-Simple carbohydrates provide a source of energy but do not make your body work for it. Trade sugar, soft drinks and candy for whole grains, beans, starchy vegetables and fruit and notice the difference.<br />
-Amino acids and protein in fish, nuts, beans, eggs are the building blocks of organs and stimulate the brain.<br />
-Fatty acids found in fats in fish, walnuts, corn oil are essential for the brain and nervous system.<br />
-Vitamins and minerals like magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron in beans, fruits and vegetables improve memory, concentration and mood.<br />
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But there is much to avoid as well.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to think about what you eat.</span></strong><br />
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I can give you a whole list of foods to eat or not but that’s not enough. When you reach to buy something or take a bite do you think about what is in it, where it came from or how it was prepared? When we had our chocolate shop in London we classified customers into ‘tasters’ or ‘poppers’, those who savored or those who simply ate.<br />
To help you think about what you eat, being aware helps you make better food choices.<br />
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Here are a few suggestions for how to size-up different food choices:<br />
- The less processed, the better. Avoid anything refined, processed or fortified; that goes for pretty much everything, including sugars, flours, cereal, vegetables or dairy products. <br />
-The less salt and sugar the better – they are added to kill bacteria and hook your taste buds.<br />
- Avoid products that have several ingredients that remind you of chemistry class. Get good at reading the labels.<br />
- Grass-fed beef in moderate amounts can be good for some, although a diet higher in plants is better. Learn about drugs in meat and chicken, and what they are fed. <br />
- Organic is good but home-grown is better. Support healthier practices of your local farmers. <br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Healthy eating begins with preparation</span></strong><br />
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</span></strong>Beautiful green veggies cooked in a pool of lard becomes green-flavored lard. Consider some of the following when choosing recipes and preparation:<br />
-Choose your meals for variety and satisfaction. Avoid monotony.<br />
-Spice up your plate. We tend to stick with what we know – try some different spices (especially fresh ones) and you will love what it does for your eating experience.<br />
-Put away the fryer.<br />
- Bring out the juicer. <br />
-Go for color.<br />
-Bake your own.<br />
-Count the fiber not the calories.<br />
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A little attention goes a long way in getting true nourishment. Make sexy choices. Turn your meal to food for the soul. What you eat matters a lot! Here’s to your good health and happy eating!Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-73019703707891621122011-09-09T10:53:00.000-04:002011-09-09T10:55:07.197-04:00Why 'How You Eat' Matters<div style="text-align: center;"> <i>“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” ~Luciano Pavarotti</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder" height="156" src="http://www.healthyyouthhealthyfuture.com/uploads/7/9/4/2/7942611/6721760.jpg?377" style="border-width: 1px; margin: 10px; padding: 3px;" width="200" /> </div>In my NASA days, at the start of the manned space program we got lots of scientific advice about feeding the astronauts quick energy foods that came in tidy, compact containers. So we ended up with advancements like Tang, Tootsie Rolls and high sugar fruit pastes, which worked well enough for short missions in tight living quarters, and the need to eat whenever possible. The Russians, in their larger spacecraft and with longer stays in space, had established mealtimes when they ate together as a group. We took the Russians’ lead and soon made sure our astronauts took a break to eat prepared, more nourishing food. It was important for them to feel they were taken care of. And who wants food that looks (tastes and smells) like it came off a Star Trek set!<br />
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If Napoleon was correct about “armies marching on their stomachs,” should not space ex-plorers float on theirs?<br />
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In the news media today when it comes to food and eating, <i>what</i> you eat gets all the attention. <i>How</i> you eat is rarely addressed despite its significant impact on what you end up consuming and how well nourished you feel. While I’ll cover the important subject of 'what you eat' in my next post, let’s attend here to the “how” of eating. <br />
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Consider this: after that first gasp for air, finding a source of food is the next reflex action for newborns. Your mother is your first call. Breast or bottle-fed, you start off by associating food with nurturing – warmth, physical contact, love, comfort, smell, taste, the sense of fulfillment. After weaning, and once a toddler, these psychological elements associated with eating often diminish. The relationship between family, food and nurturing may fall apart.<br />
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That being said, I offer a few key suggestions below for how you can get a lot more from your eating experiences. As a nation, our eating habits are doing us few favors. The good news is that adopting or further developing some of these practices will likely moderate the amount of food you eat, as well as increase the enjoyment of every bite on the way to a happier, healthier you.<br />
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<b>Rediscover the Joys of Eating</b> <br />
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• <b>Set aside the time for eating.</b> Yes, just like the astronauts. By pausing for meals you can again begin to touch into the enjoyment of the eating experience. If we read, text, watch TV, or drive while eating, it is impossible to fully attend to the meal. <br />
• <b>Sit down for meals at the dining table joined by your family, and even your friends whenever possible. </b>“Breaking bread” is a wonderful way to connect with the people that matter to you. Share the duties of setting the table with plates and cutlery, as well as clearing and washing up. Suddenly, it’s an occasion rather than another expedited activity. <br />
• <b>Practice giving thanks for whatever moves you.</b> Gratitude is a feel-good mechanism to bring back awareness to forgotten positives in one’s life.<br />
• <b>Pay attention to what feels right for you when eating</b>. Being active or sedentary prior to meals, or even over a period of time, will influence your real hunger. The time of day, previous consumption, and even seasonality may all affect what and how much you may truly need to eat. And appreciate that you may not know better than someone else what they need, and vice versa.<br />
• <b>Choose reasonably-sized plates</b>. Dinner plates are 30% larger today than they were 100 years ago. You can do the math. Pay special attention to plate size (and what’s on the plate) when you go out for a meal.<br />
• <b>Eat slowly, with a mindful attention.</b> Take a few breaths between bites or sips. Be aware of the colors, smells, tastes and textures of food. When you slow down, flavors burst forth. And remember that it takes the brain 20 minutes before it senses that you have eaten enough. <br />
•<b> Notice when you are tired at mealtim</b>es. Sleep deprivation is common in this busy age, and leads to over-eating, especially of fat and sugary foods. When you are particularly fatigued, practice bringing special attention to what you are eating. It may well save you from one of those chow-downs you soon regret.<br />
• <b>Beware of eating to soothe your anxiety.</b> When you grab that bag of potato chips or left-overs from the fridge, consider if it’s because your body really needs the food, or if you’re doing it just to ‘calm down.’ Eating is a common coping mechanism. <br />
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Here’s how confident I am that implementing these tips can have a significant impact on your well-being: I guarantee that if you follow most of these suggestions you’ll moderate your caloric consumption, and improve the quality of what you eat too. Let me know how it goes.Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-36381424797188876692011-08-22T21:31:00.000-04:002011-08-29T13:29:25.708-04:00Stand Up for Healthy Aging!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BaaUZbdAB6Y/TlvMDYvaXaI/AAAAAAAAABI/oVROEFhyejA/s1600/Garfield+sitting+with+Popcorn.adgr695.Lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qaa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BaaUZbdAB6Y/TlvMDYvaXaI/AAAAAAAAABI/oVROEFhyejA/s200/Garfield+sitting+with+Popcorn.adgr695.Lg.jpg" width="139" /></a></div>Sitting kills. You only have to look around to see the consequences – bigger waist circumference, higher body mass index, obesity, Type II diabetes, high blood triglycerides and cholesterol and low levels of the good cholesterol HDL. High blood pressure, risk of stroke, higher overall death rates increase as we sit longer. Not a pretty picture. <br />
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Once thought that hitting the gym was the answer, studies are now finding that sitting for many hours each day whether you exercise or not is not good for your health. Leader of the pack is Dr. James Levine, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who back in 1999 coined the term Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) when he observed that people who ate more and did not gain weight were moving more than they realized. What seemed important were “the thousands of minor movements each day” that they spontaneously made. Levine’s group found that even with intense exercise once a day health markers such as blood cholesterol, sugar and triglyceride levels remained high. Marc Hamilton, another NEAT disciple, found that standing up is the most effective NEAT activity and stimulates the enzymes that break down fat and triglycerides. The NEAT theory and these findings ran contrary to traditional exercise physiology recommendations of intense exercise once a day 3 to 5 times a week. His meticulous work is a wake-up call to the fact that once a day exercise does not replace being active all day. The importance of NEAT finally is receiving the recognition it deserves. <br />
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Levine’s work helped me interpret research I was doing at NASA. In 1992 I wondered why, despite hours of intense aerobic and resistive exercise in space, astronaut health was not fully protected. In ground studies with volunteers lying continuously in bed to induce space-like changes, I asked if the gravity vector, absent in space, was the missing link needed to make exercise effective. I had subjects stand by their bed for 15 minutes every hour throughout the day or stand and walk on a treadmill for an equal time. To my surprise, standing was at least and sometimes more effective than walking on the treadmill. It was also not how long they remained standing but how many times they changed posture.<br />
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Merely standing 16 times a day was enough in my studies to prevent the consequences of lying in bed 24 hours a day. The smaller postural change from sitting to standing would be expected to require more than that – at least twice that, 32 times a day or standing up roughly every 30 minutes. <br />
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By lying in bed or sitting for long stretches you are removing the important physiological signal that standing up provides. Standing is more than just another small movement. In an earlier blog I talked about the importance to Third Age Health of using gravity <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/03/aging-well-with-generous-daily-dose-of.html">http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/03/aging-well-with-generous-daily-dose-of.html</a>. <br />
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At one of my talks someone complained that he would be fired if he got up so many times at work. Asked if he drank water, he said he always had a bottle on his desk. In the old days you would need a trip to the water-fountain. I suggested he move the bottle away from reach. <br />
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Being able to stand up helps you remain independent. Structure your life until standing up becomes a habit again.Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-12206908548548725722011-08-22T21:19:00.000-04:002011-08-22T21:27:10.652-04:00Does Getting Older in Years Mean Getting Old?We all want to be healthy and independent.Whatever our condition, accepting it and doing whatever we can, brings us closer to being and feeling better. No setback is permanent. Anything can be changed. Hoping for things to be the way they were is unrealistic but resigning oneself to steady decline is just as wasteful. As people live longer it is a time to enjoy life. Feeling good helps but it does not just happen. It takes awareness and a personal commitment to work at staying healthy and aging well especially in these modern times.<br />
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Healthy Aging is about keeping up your health in good condition as the years go by. But, on its own, it is not all that goes into making us fit to enjoy daily life. Mental attitude, our interaction with ourselves, others and the world around us can express itself in emotions, our behavior and can impact our health both postively and negatively as we go through the journey of life.<br />
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<b>Healthy Aging</b><br />
Good health at any age is the result of applying healthy habits. These include:<br />
<ul><li>Keeping your response to stress in check.</li>
<li>Recovery and resilience. Managing your time to bounce back from stress, activities, commitments or sickness.</li>
<li>Being active all day every day such as a good walk with friends, swimming, gardening.</li>
<li>Drinking plenty of water and eating good, nourishing food in proportion to your level of activity.</li>
<li>A good night's sleep.</li>
<li>Keeping good personal hygiene habits to curb sources of infection and inflammation </li>
</ul><b>Aging Well</b><br />
Unlike Healthy Aging, being well is not about what you do but how you perceive and evaluate the world around you as well as your own feelings towards yourself and others. If you anticipate aging with apprehension or fear, like the loss of independence, memory, loved ones, your reaction will be stressful. It will emotionally drag you down, depress you, age you, and keep you awake nights. It will affect your eating habits, your desire to socialize, your sex life, health and happiness.<br />
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Studies show that those that live to 100 have learned to bounce back from stress.To age well and be healthy learn to sway with the punches. Shed bad habits, -- smoking, drinking too much alcohol, taking too many drugs, even if prescribed. Ask your doctor if you really need all of them. Feeling pain? Try alternative methods first before popping pain pills; try meditation to relax or a massage. Adapt your attitude and outlook, let go of old grudges, perceptions and fears over which you have no control. Allow yourself to accept, receive and uncritically enjoy each moment in the world around you.<br />
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Life is a game of snakes and ladders.Wherever you are, enjoy your daily awareness; be willing to improve; make a small change in habits; adopt non-medicinal, low-cost solutions. Decide to live better every day. In the process you will reduce stress and live a longer happier life.Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-65154940393039163092011-08-09T08:39:00.000-04:002011-08-12T18:50:42.363-04:00How to Take Charge of Your Health<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1sie6yd7Phc/TkEiqAsAlOI/AAAAAAAAAA8/ZsrtJ5jh64Y/s1600/s95e5251.Glenn+on+ergometer+device.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" naa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1sie6yd7Phc/TkEiqAsAlOI/AAAAAAAAAA8/ZsrtJ5jh64Y/s200/s95e5251.Glenn+on+ergometer+device.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">John Glenn at age 77 wanted to fly again in space and he did. Former President George H. Bush celebrated his 80th birthday in June 2004 by parachuting twice 13,000ft out of a plane. Bush's message "Get out and do something. Don't just sit around watching TV!" So what is it you always wanted to do? Now is your chance if you take charge of your health.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Many of us worry about having the resources to live out our years. We save and seek advice from financial brokers about how to invest the money we earn. But few of us spend as much effort to similarly assess our health, to take precautions to remain healthy, active and independent for as long as we live.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I have seen friends and relatives thrown in the depths of depression at the sight of their first grey hair or the thought of approaching a 40th or 50th birthday. For most any thoughts of health are shelved after the party is over. But whether you turn 25 or 85 is there a better time than now to begin checking out your health assets, just as you do your financial assets? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The significance of people taking age milestones seriously only hit me after I retired from NASA. I now had the time to think through the broad impact of what I had learned from space research. I knew that I held little recognized knowledge about how to hold onto vibrant good health. My mission and responsibility then became clear. It is to help you, whatever your age, be healthy and age well by sharing with you knowledge, experience and low-cost readily available solutions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">My </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">experiences have brought me greater insight into why some enjoy vibrant aging whereas those around them do not. And why many individuals, even children, now suffer from illnesses that only old people used to get. From the thousands I have talked to over the years, this is what I have learned:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">• More than death, you are worried about pain and suffering</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">• You want to keep your brain working well</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">• You want to remain healthy and independent as long as you live - </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">you do not want to live out your years in a nursing home</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> • You want to have fun, feel energized and enjoy life, love and the pursuit of happiness</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So what are the odds of success? It is a fact that people are living longer. At 50, you may have as much as another 50 years ahead of you. You have the chance to do it right and decide to adopt better health habits now. Clearly staying alive and drifting through the rest of your years watching TV is wasteful. A new approach is needed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>What do you want to be when you grow up?</b><br />
People asked you that question when you were a child. They were not expecting you to think much further than 30. Use your second chance as your landmark to begin your Health Asset Plan. Just as you started a financial portfolio, with savings habits and investments intended to see you through life, it is time to start taking a good hard look at your health habits. Are you saving, squandering or going into debt?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know that’s a lot to figure out, and you may not have an answer for yourself just yet. But help is on the way.<br />
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<b>The plan</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Living longer comes with a new sense of freedom. Your early life was spent mostly doing what you thought others told you or wanted you to do. Your children may have grown up or left the nest. Your responsibilities may be changing. But beware. This is not a call to revolt. This is about taking stock and taking action – taking responsibility for your health.<br />
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<b>Step 1.</b> Become Aware. Step back from where you are and what you’re doing – and look at yourself. Are you doing what you want to do? Are you living how you want to live? Do you have the ability to do the things you want to do, and if so, why aren’t you doing those things? <br />
<b>Step 2</b>. Decide to be Healthy. If you don’t have the ability to do the things you want to do, are you willing to begin taking action now to eventually get to that point? It is not enough to know and plan. You need to take charge of building your Health Assets step at a time.<br />
<b>Step 3.</b> Get Started. Assess. Whatever your age, get started today by completing our free Health Assets self-assessment. You can get it by signing up for our Newsletter. When you have completed it, go back and re-read the questionnaire as well as your answers. Where are your strengths and what needs work?<br />
<b>Step 4.</b> Develop your Personal Health Investment Plan. You can do whatever it is you want to do. You just have to first, know what you want, and secondly, know how to get it. If you don’t know how to get it, find out how by doing research, reading, asking questions, taking initiative, asking more questions, and learning as much as you can.<br />
<b>Step 5.</b> Set Milestones. Establish Intermediate Objectives. Break it down to manageable goals. Visualize yourself. How do you see yourself in 20 years? <br />
<b>Step 6</b>. Take Action. Focus your attention on one item that needs work. Find solutions. Take up <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/08/meditation-reminder.html">meditation</a> to relieve stress. Take a step at a time and work on it until it becomes a new health habit. Or seek help and guidance through personal health coaching.<br />
<b>Step 7.</b> Check your progress by completing the self-assessment questionnaire once more. What a difference!!<br />
<b>Step 8.</b> Reward yourself and Celebrate.<br />
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It does no good to be financially independent in your old age, in fact at any age, if you are not physically and mentally independent enough to enjoy it. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Asked about what surprised him most about humanity, the Dalai Lama answered, "Man.... Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived." </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">On your journey toward your desired lifestyle, many things will try and hold you back. Don’t let yourself be one of them.<br />
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Leave your comments, enter the conversation. We are all in this together.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">So what do you want to be when you grow up?</span><br />
<b></b>Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-43457361206872320892011-08-01T20:42:00.000-04:002011-08-12T18:29:41.368-04:00Meditation – The Reminder<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T6sZ10bJ1Lk/TjdHCbeX0xI/AAAAAAAAAA0/ZcL9cGBjocE/s1600/Japanese-Lotus-flower-Toren-Giclee-Print-C12009915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T6sZ10bJ1Lk/TjdHCbeX0xI/AAAAAAAAAA0/ZcL9cGBjocE/s1600/Japanese-Lotus-flower-Toren-Giclee-Print-C12009915.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>by George Danellis </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is a follow up for Third A<span style="font-size: small;">ge rea</span>ders to my post on how to get started with meditation. If you didn’t see that <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/05/meditation-for-average-person.html">article</a> or would like a refresher, you can check it out <a href="http://thirdagehealth.blogspot.com/2011/05/meditation-for-average-person.html">here</a>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I noted previously the benefits of a regular meditation practice are well known today, even in the West, where meditation has not been a cultural tradition: improved health and well-being, greater patience and calm (even in dealing with those perpetually “difficult” situations), heightened effectiveness in work and personal activities, and even more empathy for our fellow beings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But there is one challenge to realizing these benefits: meditation is not a push-button solution. And if there is one thing clear about 21<sup>st</sup> century western culture in general, it’s that we like our solutions quick and easy. And the messaging we get every day touts a lot of these quick and easy solutions, even while we (mostly) know better. As Dr. Joan herself emphasizes, it's up to us to become active participants in our lives. It’s no different with meditation. Luckily for us, our natural state is un-contrived awareness, which means that with only a small amount of meditation each day shifts do occur.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Please know that you are definitely not alone if at some point you started and then stopped a meditation practice, or you just can’t imagine sitting quietly with your thoughts and emotions for more than 30 seconds. I encourage you to keep trying. Because in this age of constant sensory input, the one thing that is pretty much guaranteed to improve the quality of your existence is to develop a greater awareness of what is actually going on at any given time. And in the opinion of several hundred million people worldwide a key to doing this is through meditation. So here are a few additional thoughts (no pun intended) to keep us on track:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>A dog barks, the mind thinks.</b> Thoughts are the natural product of the mind, and each of us has our own ingrained patterns. The key is to allow thoughts to come and then to pass, which they will do if you allow them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Your mind will wander.</b> When you become aware that you have strayed into planning next weekend’s activities, or have been reviewing that business meeting that went poorly, just let it go. Gently bring your attention back to your breath, without self-judgment. Consider that it’s wonderful that you are even working to develop this capability.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Not too loose, not too tight.</b> This is the classic instruction. Mindful awareness is not about stopping or blocking your stream of thoughts or emotions, regardless of what you may have heard. It is about becoming more <i>aware </i>of what’s going on. And when you are sitting quietly it can become readily apparent what is happening in your mind! So neither zone out, nor be too intense. And over time the seemingly incessant stream of thoughts will likely begin to quiet. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>It’s called practice for a reason.</b> The more you do it, the greater the benefits. Over time you will start to understand why the great meditators spend years in retreat. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Take it into the world.</b> Any time you bring your attention to what is going on you are in fact already meditating. During your everyday existence practice bringing your awareness to any situation. Quietly observe a flower, drinking in it's colors and aroma. Likewise notice when you have been hooked by a thought in the middle of a conversation, rather than actually hearing what the other person is saying, and softly return your awareness to the conversation. Notice the flavor, temperature or sensation when you drink a beverage. And when ‘negative’ emotions arise, like fear, aggression or anxiety, gently bring your attention to what’s going on, including any sensations in your body. Just notice, that's all. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Becoming more aware of what goes on with your thoughts and emotions is a key step to working with them. </div><div class="MsoNormal">By making meditation a priority in your life, even giving it just 20 minutes a day, you will see things in a whole new way. </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Nmxwkd0uco/TjgZ6Gx4mAI/AAAAAAAAAA4/17-kxs8AL74/s1600/head+shot+cirque+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><i><a href="http://www.the-vector-group.com/people.aspx">George</a> is an aspiring delusion buster, surfer and snowboarder, and advises organizations and municipalities on how to develop and act on their Sustainability Visions. </i><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Nmxwkd0uco/TjgZ6Gx4mAI/AAAAAAAAAA4/17-kxs8AL74/s1600/head+shot+cirque+small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Nmxwkd0uco/TjgZ6Gx4mAI/AAAAAAAAAA4/17-kxs8AL74/s1600/head+shot+cirque+small.jpg" /></a><i> </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-50179070421344747242011-07-12T09:03:00.000-04:002011-07-12T09:03:50.497-04:00A Love Affair with the Shuttle – Sweet Memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSF6Fcj-ugQ/ThxDNe2TSrI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Z3aIkBPyE4s/s1600/CCI07102011_00002.Columbia+Landing+at+Edwards+AF+Base.1993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSF6Fcj-ugQ/ThxDNe2TSrI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Z3aIkBPyE4s/s200/CCI07102011_00002.Columbia+Landing+at+Edwards+AF+Base.1993.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Columbia escorted to landing at Edwards Air Force Base in 1993</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>As many of you know nearly my entire working career was spent at NASA. I was very much involved with flight experiments, first on the Russian spacecraft COSMOS, then the 14-day Gemini VII missions. I proudly watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step on the Moon during the Apollo program, and followed the research on Skylab as it was happening. As the acting Deputy Director of Space Research at the NASA Ames Research Center in 1976, I was thrilled to watch the first images of Mars as the Viking spacecraft landed on the red planet. Exciting as all of these experiences were, none matched the beauty and the drama of my Shuttle years – and I did not even fly in space. <br />
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I’ll take you back to 1973, when in a board room meeting, our Director, Dr. Hans Mark, explained NASA’s decision to stop work on the space station and instead focus resources on developing the Shuttle. It was said that we could not afford both and a major selling point of the shuttle was its cost-effectiveness. The space shuttle was like a space ‘bus’ – for the first time NASA (and for that matter anyone) would have a reusable space craft that could ‘shuttle’ back and forth with both astronauts and cargo to the station when it was ultimately built. <br />
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It’s hard to forget the launch of the first Shuttle, Columbia, back in 1981 with Apollo astronaut, John Young and rookie pilot Bob Crippen. A major consideration in the selection of these pioneers was the early research of our bed-rest studies. The studies showed the likelihood that in the shuttle even older men or women might be able to handle the rigors of the 20 minute higher gravity acceleration, re-entry profile, and be able to pilot the shuttle back to earth. Never before had the astronauts needed to have their cognitive and physical abilities in place upon re-entry. <br />
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The Shuttle was primarily designed to act as a hauler. It could carry humans as well as 50,000 lbs of important cargo into orbit and then return to Earth for a soft landing. This cargo capacity is what made it possible to launch jumbo space telescopes and satellites, or to repair the ailing Hubble telescope that is still sending us back stunning images from the outer corners of the universe. <br />
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Over the years, NASA began to use the shuttle much more for scientific research, something the Shuttle had neither been designed nor equipped to do. Missions grew in length, and so too did the importance of our work to keep astronauts healthy and safe during and after their missions.<br />
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The partnership of astronaut and Shuttle saw Earth without borders, its floods and fires. <br />
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I had the benefit of getting close to Columbia when in 1993 I went to work at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. For this mission, Columbia’s cargo bay held Spacelab, a fully equipped life and microgravity research laboratory built by the Europeans. My first responsibility as Director of Life Sciences was the Space Life Sciences-2 mission. It was impossible to realize how cramped the crew quarters were until I spent a whole day with the 7 astronauts in their shuttle simulator while they trained for their 14-day mission. I ate their food and appreciated their tight timeline, as I tried to not get in their way. Shuttle astronauts train for about two years until they are drilled to respond to almost every possible scenario. The trainers throw in unexpected problems for them to overcome. Everything is orchestrated so that each knows exactly what they are doing and how to work best as a team. <br />
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Anyone who came in close contact with the Shuttle was seduced— NASA Administrators, Presidents, astronauts and ground crew. Because astronauts of all nationalities wanted to ride the Shuttle, a new era of international cooperation in space began. These partnerships did much to improve our international relations as cooperation replaced competition. <br />
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It was impossible to not gasp at Columbia’s gleaming, streamlined beauty as it launched into earth orbit. Less popular but my personal favorite was the elegant and seemingly effortless silent glide to landing that belied the firewall it had just gone through. I had not expected to see the landing of Space Life Sciences-2 but poor weather in Florida caused Columbia to be diverted to its alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This meant that there was hardly anyone at the shuttle’s landing. There I was as Columbia came to a stop on the runway. The astronauts exited, the payloads were unloaded and I found myself alone standing under Columbia, her skin slightly beat up with char marks on the tiles— not an airplane as some thought of it and not a simple machine. I stood there in awe. I told her she was beautiful anyway. I thanked her for bringing back her precious cargo. That was a magic moment I shall always cherish.<br />
<br />
A few moments later I was present when the pilot Rick Searfoss was being tested for balance on the sway platform. One of the moves required he do the test with eyes shut. As we watched, Searfoss swayed forward without putting his arms out to protect his fall. A group of us jumped in and grabbed! His 14-day flight was the longest to date and we learned that day that this length of space flight erases the sensation of falling. A moment of discovery, it opened up a whole field of understanding of how the brain and gravity work together here on Earth. This discovery was further explored on the Neurolab mission in 1998. From that point on all astronauts wore a harness during the posture test.<br />
<br />
Later in 1998 was another special moment for me as John Glenn returned to space at the age of 77. Not surprisingly, about 1,000 news media were there to report on this event. Many of us NASA folks were there busily answering questions in different languages. As the shuttle landed at Cape Canaveral in Florida, this time after nine days in space, my heart was nervously pounding until I saw Senator Glenn come safely down the shuttle steps. As I wrote in my book <em><a href="http://www.joanvernikos.com/pages/g-connection.php">The G-Connection, Harness Gravity and Reverse Aging</a></em> Senator Glenn’s triumphant return to space got real during a conversation at my desk in NASA HQ. There was much concern about his age. I had been confident that he would do fine in flight - it was the return to Earth’s gravity that I was worried about. Happily, my worries were unfounded. His data reminded us that it is not how old you are but how well you take care of yourself that determines your ability to respond to physical challenges.<br />
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One question is whether the public's love affair with the Shuttle was because it looked like an airplane? Perhaps because of that we expected it to be as safe. But going into space is a seriously risky business. The loss of Challenger in 1986 was hard for all Americans and for me because I met the crew on their visits to Ames to train on the Shuttle-landing simulator. My dear Columbia and her crew were similarly lost on reentry in 2003, reminding us just how risky this business will always be. We lost 14 of the best.<br />
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The shuttles are now 30. This may sound old but the Shuttles have a lot more flying years in them since each was designed to fly 100 times and they are nowhere near that. However, they are now done. The decision to retire them is not for safety reasons but the cost of operating both the International Space Station (ISS) and the Shuttles at the same time. Yet neither works best without the other. Without them there is no way to carry out external repair work on the ISS in the event of a system failure or accident. Loss of control of the ISS would mean catastrophic reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Commercial space developers and the Russian Soyuz are expected to fill the gap for the near term.<br />
<br />
Whatever the outcome of this debate, I feel so fortunate to have lived this amazing happy and sad Shuttle era. <br />
<br />
As they retire to museums, millions of all ages will admire, touch, explore them inside-out and dream of leaping far beyond Earth in a way that watching them on TV, could never do. The Shuttles’ new mission – to remind the next generations of last century’s daredevil creativity and to inspire them to always reach for the stars.Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-30554404565887603592011-07-09T21:35:00.000-04:002018-03-30T13:55:38.171-04:00How to Improve the Quality of Your Sleep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Why is it Americans don’t get enough sleep? Basically, because we do not fully appreciate its importance and then act accordingly. We think of sleep as just a time-out, in contrast to the emphasis <br />
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we put on each day’s waking activities. Or perhaps we have come to rely on pills to make sleep satisfactory.<br />
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Yet deprive yourself of sleep and not only will your mind be less sharp, your immune system will not protect you from diseases, your metabolism is thrown off balance, you are more likely to put on weight, and your skin and eyes will look tired. In short, you feel lousy. <br />
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But you have the solutions. Take a few actions. Create better conditions for quality sleep. Small changes can make a big difference to your sleep and your life. And limit your needlessly taking meds.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Common Sleep Problems</span></strong><br />
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• <strong>Insomnia</strong>, the inability to fall asleep, is the most common sleep problem for adult Americans; 54% experience at least one symptom of insomnia a few nights a week and 33% almost every night. These people feel constantly tired yet don’t feel the urge to sleep.<br />
• <b>Sleep-maintaining </b><strong>Insomnia</strong> - you may fall asleep but wake up and cannot go back to sleep. This may be due to several things, including needing to urinate, having inconsistent sleep patterns caused by drinking alcoholic beverages, or are worried about something. You may be awakened by restless leg syndrome, a bad dream, suffer from depression, or may be affected adversely by a medication.<br />
• <strong>Your sleep is disturbed by sleep apnea</strong>. Apnea is when you stop breathing while you are asleep, sometimes snore, gasp and go right back to sleep again without even realizing what happened. Sleep apnea is most common in overweight people and affects almost 7% of Americans. Those with untreated apnea feel tired due to their inability to get sound sleep. Because of their sleep deprivation they are 2 to 7 times more likely to have a car accident than the general population. The good news is that you can get tested, diagnosed and treated.<br />
• <strong>Sleep deprivation</strong> – getting less than 7 to 8 hours of sleep for most people – may develop as a result of general, poor sleep habits like staying up late and getting up early to go to work. Even 20 minutes less sleep per night than required results in cumulative sleep loss. And the truth is that it’s very hard to make it up just by sleeping in on weekends. <br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Sleep Solutions: A check-list of do’s and don’ts</span></strong><br />
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• <strong>Plan for sleep</strong> as you plan for your day. Be active throughout the day, but not right before bedtime, if you want to sleep at night.<br />
• <strong>Set the stage.</strong> Make your bedroom welcoming and tidy, and your bed, pillows and bedclothes comfortable. Don't skimp. Get the right mattress and rotate it often. Replace it as often as you might change your car. You spend one third of your life in it.<br />
• <strong>Get consistent with bed- and wake-up times.</strong> This is one that people underestimate. Also, don’t sleep in a chair in front of the TV. When you begin to feel sleepy, go to bed<br />
• <strong>Winding down</strong> from the day’s activities will help you relax, fall asleep and stay asleep.<br />
o Do not drink anything with caffeine after 3pm.<br />
o Do not drink anything for two hours before bedtime to avoid the need to pee.<br />
o Do not exercise in the evening. It will keep you awake. <br />
o Limit alcoholic beverages and don’t drink any within 3 hours of bedtime. <br />
o Dim lights of your sitting room two hours before bed; use reading lights if needed. Darkness allows melatonin to increase. We've all heard and experienced the impact of blue light on our sleep. Leave that tempting electronic device in the living room.<br />
o If you get up in the night, use night lights only. <br />
o Do not make or accept phone calls from anyone for one hour before bed-time Similarly, do not enter into decision-making or problem-solving discussions late in the evening. <br />
o If you watch TV before bed-time avoid disturbing programs.<br />
o Never watch TV in the bedroom.<br />
• <strong>If you want to read</strong>, use a reading lamp, aimed at the book not your face.<br />
• <strong>Turn down the thermostat</strong> before going to bed in colder months. Programmable thermostats will take care of this for you, and can be set to turn the heat back on, prior to your rising.<br />
• <strong>Apply stress-relieving techniques</strong> like breathing exercises if you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep within 20 minutes .<br />
o Ask yourself “what is worrying me?” and if you can do nothing about it at the time, make a note of it and resolve to attend to it during waking hours. <br />
o Get up and do something relaxing and satisfying like listening to quiet soothing music, until you feel sleepy again.<br />
o Keep the area dark, and use white noise to neutralize sounds.<br />
• <strong>See your doctor</strong> if you think you have apnea or restless leg syndrome get tested. For apnea, a device called CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) helps you breathe during sleep. Restless leg can be reduced with increased exercise during the day or medication during the night. Consult with your doctor.<br />
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You are the one with the ability to improve the quality of your sleep and your life. Begin by paying more attention to how you feel and why you feel this way. Take ownership of your sleep and begin to make small adjustments in the way you approach it. Sleep is the time for body and brain to reboot from the day’s work and restore. Sleep and wakefulness serve different functions. Both are needed for balanced wellbeing.</div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-52058971776592549942011-05-30T22:59:00.000-04:002011-06-01T14:18:23.789-04:00Why Sleep MattersDuring my career at NASA we allocated a lot of resources to ensure that our astronauts would be able to perform their duties safely and effectively. The quality and amount of their sleep was a crucial factor, and likewise it is for you and me. Today, 40% of Americans say they do not get enough sleep. On average, Americans get 6.9 hours of sleep each night, slightly less than the 7 to 9 hours recommended by experts. If you’re Japanese you likely get much less, but more if you are from France. So, what does it matter if we don’t get enough sleep?<br />
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• Without enough, quality sleep we cannot fully enjoy our waking hours.<br />
• Getting enough sleep comes with substantial benefits, crucial to our physical well-being, such as increased energy, fitness and improved immunity.<br />
• Without adequate, quality sleep our mental and emotional health deteriorates often evidenced by fatigue, depression, anxiety, and reduced effectiveness.<br />
• Seventy million Americans have what is considered a “sleep problem”, including insomnia or sleep apnea. In addition to the challenges suffered by the individuals, the diagnosis and treatment of sleep problems is said to translate to a direct cost of more than $15 billion per year. The additional indirect costs, like accidents, lost productivity and hospitalization, amount to more than $50 billion. Sadly, more than 100,000 automobile-related accidents per year are sleep related.<br />
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In a 24-hour day roughly one-third (8 hours) is spent sleeping while the remaining 16 hours we are awake. We do a great deal of planning and structuring of our waking hours to work, socialize, be active and so on. Often viewed as “the opposite of being awake”, we perceive sleep as an unconscious or semiconscious passive state that just happens and does not require our attention. Somehow, we believe sleep will take care of itself to provide us with much needed respite from the day’s activities. We carefully plan our day using watches, calendars and lists to organize each day. How many of us pay similar attention in planning and structuring our sleep? <br />
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Two significant events of the 20th century led to greater appreciation of the costs and benefits of sleep.<br />
First, the invention of the electric light bulb enabled the practice of work during what had for all time been normal sleeping hours. This led to the discovery that all living organisms on Earth have an internal, circadian 24-hour biological clock that is fine-tuned by daylight and night-darkness. Disturbing or reversing these rhythms comes with consequences. <br />
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Secondly, methods were developed of continuously recording the electrical activity of the brain and of imaging (MRI) its changes day and night. This has led to awareness that the brain is extremely active during sleep and that disrupting its normal pattern of activity can have disastrous consequences on emotional and physical health. Even so, much remains to be learned. <br />
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This is the first of a series of blogs on sleep where I’ll delve further into the nature of sleep and how your approach to it can help you live healthier, fuller lives. For now, here are five non-medicinal solutions to improving your sleep:<br />
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1. <b>Avoid stimulants for several hours before bed time</b>. Consume no caffeine, and this includes caffeine from foods like chocolate, after 3 pm.<br />
2. <b>Plan for sleep by powering down</b>. Ever notice how going from the computer or smart phone to the pillow doesn’t encourage nodding off? Avoid exertive physical activity after dinner.<br />
3. <b>Make your bedroom for two things only</b>: sleeping and making love. TV’s and even reading should happen elsewhere. And your beloved cell phone? Don’t even think about it.<br />
4. <b>Set and keep a consistent bed-time</b>. There’s a reason we did it for our kids.<br />
5. <b>Respect your sleep time</b>. You spend one third of your life doing it.<br />
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Sweet dreams!Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539811478932887586.post-52837948832424923372011-05-30T22:09:00.000-04:002013-01-04T11:10:45.586-05:00Meditation - Getting Started<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">by <a href="http://www.the-vector-group.com/people.aspx">George Danellis</a></span></span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ok, so “meditation”. The word itself makes most people a little bit uncomfortable, sort of like being sat at Thanksgiving dinner right next to your most obnoxious relative. Meditation often provokes images of flaky people, or figures in golden robes. Maybe you’ve tried it yourself and have memories of an uncomfortable experience where your body hurt or thoughts and emotions seemed to come in a relentless, uncontrollable stream. So you gave up, or never started. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And that’s wholly understandable. I know, because I’m human too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But maybe you’re one of those fortunate folks (like me, some of my friends, business colleagues and the more than 20 million Americans) who have gotten past these initial obstacles and are now enjoying the benefits of a regular meditation practice. If so, please let me know in the comments section below how I do at both explaining why meditation can improve the quality of your life, and how to get a practice started the easy way. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Why</b></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I</b><b>mproved Health</b>. From being able to maintain a more stable and healthy weight, to reducing blood pressure, to dealing with pain, to addressing unhealthy habits - developing a meditation practice is a winning proposition for your health. Doctors today are rapidly recognizing the benefits of meditation for their patients.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You’ll Become Less Bothered by the Small Stuff.</b> Over time a meditation practice will help you better see how things really are in any given moment, rather than how we often make them out to be. Day by day you’ll develop a bit more of a ‘No Big Deal’ attitude.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Improved Effectiveness</b>. Whether handling a work duty, a creative activity or a personal relationship, meditators report improved concentration and a general sense of awareness, with less anxiety. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Not Why You Thought</b>. You’ll have your own reasons for starting. Over time I guarantee that other benefits will arise. That’s just how it goes.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The How</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While there are many types of meditation, the one here is a secular practice that can be done by anyone, and is commonly called Mindful Awareness.</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Take Your Seat</b>. Find a comfortable, quiet place. Sit with upright posture in a chair with your palms resting naturally on your thighs. Close your eyes. Or if you prefer to leave your eyes open look slightly downwards with an unfocused gaze.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Bring Your Awareness to The Breath.</b> Take one big breath and fully let it go. Thereafter breathe normally, gently noticing the breath go in, and then out. Perhaps allow your jaw to relax and your mouth to rest slightly open -whatever feels natural.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>When Your Attention Wanders, Bring it Back To The Breath.</b> Because it will wander, over and over again - from what’s for dinner tonight, to how you might have handled “that situation” differently yesterday, to how you can’t keep your attention on your breath. It’s been said that just as a dog barks, a mind thinks. So there’s no reason to judge yourself, just let the thought go and bring your attention back to the breath. Over time you’ll get the hang of it. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Conclude with Gratitude</b>. Give thanks for whatever you want, including your new meditation practice!</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To start, I recommend doing this meditation for 5 minutes, three or four times a day, whether in your living room or car, sitting in a park or wherever it works out for you. Over time, increase the length of your meditation sessions until you are up to 15 minutes or longer. A goal to sit for thirty minutes a day is good but not necessary, and I recommend allowing yourself one day a week that you set aside to not meditate.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Enjoy your new meditation practice!</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=21890222&authType=name&authToken=Uo9d&locale=en_US&pvs=pp&trk=ppro_viewmore">George Danellis</a> is a Corporate Sustainability consultant, surfer and lover of a good meal enjoyed with friends and family. </span>He's had a sitting meditation practice since 2007.</i></div>
Dr.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05860974595632592801noreply@blogger.com4