Prescription for Well-Being

Helpful Hints to solve Restless Nights

Like many of you out there, I’ve had my fair share of sleepless nights where all I can really do is stare at the clock and hope the sun rises earlier than usual.  I hate those nights and the mornings are even worse, the continual BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of the alarm forcing me to move into the awaiting busy world after one heck of a night.  It’s irritating, it’s frustrating, and causes zombie-like behavior.  Luckily, you and I aren’t alone with our sleeping woes.  In an article located on CNN.com titled, Got insomnia? Here’s how to get your ZZZs back, I learned that sleeping problems affect a third of Americans in a given year and are very common thanks to the activities of our busy, busy lives.  Many of us suffer from something called ‘secondary insomnia’ where the insomnia you’re experiencing (restless nights, etc.) is  a symptom or a side-effect of some other problem.  It could be anything from not finishing that project at work to still being hyped up by that last cup of coffee you drank around 3pm.  However, there is a more serious condition known as ‘primary insomnia’ where sleeplessness lasts for more than one month and is not usually attributed to the going-ons of the everyday life – it is a disorder rather than a cause and effect like secondary insomnia.  If you have been experiencing a loss of sleep for more than one month, you should definitely speak to your doctor.  But, if you’re like me and sometimes deal with restless, sleepless nights try these methods offered by Dr. David Schulman, director of the Sleep Laboratory at Emory University in Atlanta:

1.       Don’t stay in bed for longer than 20-30 minutes if you can’t fall asleep or go back to sleep after waking up.  Why? According to Dr. Schulman, it can cause your body to become accustomed to being in bed without sleep and can be subconsciously ingrained – bad news if you’re trying to avoid becoming an insomniac.

2.       Avoid caffeine within 8-10 hours of bedtime.  There have been studies that show if you ingest caffeine (coffee, tea, or otherwise) at noon, it can remain in your system until 8 or 10 at night – this one explains a lot for me, note to self: stop drinking coffee at 3pm…

3.       Avoid alcohol before bedtime.  Alcohol can sometimes cause you to sleep lighter than usual thusly causing you to wake in the middle of the night – Hm, interesting factoid. Who knew?

4.       Find light, relaxing activities to partake in if you can’t sleep.  Try reading or listening to calm, soft music.  It might help your overactive brain to pause and stop the flood of things do to, projects to finish, worries to worry about. I find that classical or very melodic music can do the trick – try Chopin or even Bach (the more calming a song, the better). My personal favorite, Sigur Ros.

5.       Try the cool-down method. Take a warm bath or shower about 30-45 minutes before you go to bed.  This let’s your body relax and the cooling sensation is very ‘sleep-inducing’.

So you see, you’re not alone in your restless, tossing and turning, up and down, frustrating sleepless night.  We all experience nights where sleep seems to elude us, but what we do when this occurs makes the difference.  Try these steps and if the insomnia continues speak to your doctor, it may be a more serious issue than you thought.

Active Children = Healthy Children

Monday through Friday I embarked on my journey into work, and the train (as some of you know) gives me time to sit, reflect on whatever is on my mind, or observe those around me.  Lately, I’ve noticed an alarming amount of children who are entirely too heavy for their small frames and it pains me to realize that this is our future generation – those we place hope in, but will they be around to see their futures?  We are becoming increasingly more sedentary, less active, and it’s reflecting in our children.  Did you know that, noted in Keeping kids active: Ideas for parents an article found on CNN.com, that in the past 30 years childhood obesity has more than tripled? That there is an alarming increase of children with type-2 diabetes? Or that children who watch more than five hours of television (this includes video games) are eight times more likely to be obese versus the child who watches only two hours of TV a day?  Other causes for childhood obesity can also be blamed (according to some) on a multitude of things outside of the home (easy access fast food, schools with their glowing vending machines filed with sugary sweets, standard of living – the list could go on), but I’m a firm believer in taking personal responsibility as a parent when children are involved and something like childhood obesity can be avoided by making a few easy adjustments to the home-life routine. The article, “Keeping kids active: Ideas for parents,” offers suggestions as to how parents out there can help keep their child healthy and happy through keeping them active… 

1.       Setting a Good Example: If you’re active, your child will learn by example (this is, after all, how most children learn things). One suggestion is to take the stairs rather than the escalator or elevator while shopping.  Another is to park the car a distance from the entrance of the store so it causes you both to walk farther thereby burning some calories.  You could also take walks with your child in the late afternoon or evening.  If you make it into a game, like for example a treasure hunt, it makes the exercise fun rather than a chore or blatant exercise.  Also, family activities, like swimming, hiking, or camping, are highly recommended as a good way to show that exercise can be exciting and enjoyable to your child(ren).

2.       Limit the TV Time: It’s tempting to plop your child down in front of the television, the universal electronic baby-sitter, but the amount of television a child watches is directly related to childhood obesity in that the more your child watches television or playing video games, the more changes s/he has of gaining an unhealthy amount of weight.  Those are stationary activities rather than something that causes them to get up and move.  Try cutting down your child’s TV time to two hours each day and encourage them to go outside to play or if the yard isn’t available, try the local park.

3.       Promote Activity, not Exercise: What child wants to exercise? Not any that I know of.  The word ‘exercise’ is too adult and doesn’t sound fun even if you said it while smiling – if it was, wouldn’t more adults do so?  Anyhow, the idea of an activity – now that sounds promising.  A child wants to be interactive, wants to touch, see, smell, and create so by doing activities like nature hikes, or adventures to the park will keep them happy and active.  Sports isn’t thrown out as a means to keeping your child moving, but research that sport thoroughly before you dive into it with your child.  You’ll want to know how much of a commitment it will be, how much the equipment or participation in the sport of choice will cost, etc. For further information about the how you as a parent can prepare for your child’s sporting endeavors, check out the list of questions provided by “Keeping kids active: Ideas for Parents” (see link above).

4.       Start Young: Children, like most young in the animal world, are rambunctious and playful.  You will want to encourage that playfulness throughout their childhood and starting when they’re toddlers is an excellent way of continuing the habit.  Playing games like freeze tag, Red Rover, even hide and seek with your child gets them moving and gets them to exercise without knowing they’re exercising.  Plus it’s a fun way for you as their parent to get in that cardio you’ve been meaning to do for the last two months. You could also make chores (the bane of childhood) fun by creating games.  Raking the leaves becomes: how fast can you rake the leaves into a pile? The reward: jumping into the freshly made pile.  Basically, if you start them off active, the chance of a child remaining active (with your help of course) is greater than if they were left to their own devices.  Children need guidance and what better way to keep them fit than through fun activities with mom and dad?

I might be a tad preachy and totally off base (seeing how I don’t have a child of my own), but child obesity is becoming a more noticeable problem than we may want to admit.  We, as the adults, need to protect them from that which harms them, isn’t that what parenting is about?  The first step is acknowledging that “yes, this is a problem and a difficult one at that”, the second step is the willingness to change and solve that problem.  It doesn’t need to be giant advances, just the small everyday ones will do and with those changes, I know that we’ll start to see a difference in our youth.

Say ‘Hello’ to 5 Nutrient Rich Powerhouses of the Fruit World

In a world where typical fruit is consumed, five exotic Super Fruits have quietly existed, waiting for the day when the humans would take notice.  On a particularly sunny day, perfect for photosynthesis, the Super Five finally get the ‘go-ahead’ from Control.  Their mission: to save humanity from the monotony of apples, oranges, bananas, grapes (and more!) not to mention that foul beast - poor nutrition.  Charged with antioxidants, vitamins, and all around tastiness the Super Five zoom out into the world, spreading their health benefits and brightening up the typical fruit section of the local grocery store…If you’ve gotten this far, then you’re probably wondering what in the world is wrong with me.  I can hear your thoughts now, “Fruits granted superhero status, what gives? snort”  Well, I’ll tell you! Poking about on MSN Health for today’s topic, I came across a lovely little informational slideshow called The New Superfruits about these awesome exotics and thought, “Hey! These fruits benefit you and me. Why not give them some blog-love?”  So here they are, the Super Five detailed out for your pleasure and enjoyment – read, enjoy, then spread the word about these tasty treats! I know I will!

Figs – now, I’m not particularly fond of figs, but they pack a major punch of potassium in every bite (talk about a change from the old standby of Bananas).  Six figs have 891 mg of potassium–that is roughly double what you would find in a large banana (DOUBLE! awed) and nearly 20% more than your daily need for the ‘charley-horse’ fighting vitamin.  Just six of these little wonders also help out your bones by being (as far as fruit is concerned) a fantastic source of calcium.  Think of it this way – six figs contain the same amount of calcium in half a cup of milk.  My vote: Try the figs!  

Lychee – Bye-bye grapes, hello Lychee! I’ve tried Lychee before and I must say, pretty tasty! The fruit, like the fig, packs a wallop and knocks the red grape off its polyphenol pedestal.  They contain the highest levels of polyphenols (that is a heart-healthy wonder chemical found in plants) which aide in reducing cardiovascular disease and cancer.  As David Grotto, RD states, “Polyphenols act like a force field, helping to repel foreign invaders from damaging your cells” (The New Superfruits – Slide 2). Move over grapes, I’m here for the Lychee!

Guavas – mmm, guava. Love the juice, didn’t realize the health potential of the fruit!  The guava is not only good for our skin, but good for our immune systems. Guava fruit contains five times the amount of vitamin C than a medium orange – 377mg (guava) vs. 87 mg (orange).  Here’s the awesome part: the guava, thanks to its super charge of vitamin C, helps with the collagen in our skin and what does that mean? FEWER WRINKLES! So start chomping down on guavas and skip the Botox!

Asian Pears- Aw, but I’m so fond of apples…Oh well, on to the new and improved cholesterol-lowering Asian pear.  This golden beauty contains 10 grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber, a whopping 40% more than your daily need.  Want to know what an apple contains? At least half of that!  Unlike the apple eaters of the world, the Asian pear eaters (thanks to the large amount of fiber in the fruit) showed the lowest total of ‘bad’ levels of cholesterol.  Whoa now, that’s HUGE news for anyone who battles cholesterol on a daily basis.  Not only that, but the Asian pear also helps with that dastardly evil-doer, ‘creeping weight gain’ thanks to its insane amount of fiber. All I have to say is…rock on Asian pear, rock on!

Last, but definitely not least…

Papaya- mmm…Tasty and a cancer fighter!  The papaya contains a high amount of beta-crypoxanthin which, researchers suggest, help prevent lung cancer (as well as many others) and is also an excellent source of lycopene.  It’s packed with all sorts of helpful vitamins and chemicals that range from speeding up burn recovery (when used topically) to aiding digestion.  Oh yeah! Go papaya, go papaya!

So, there they are, the Super Five. Now go out and indulge on those eatable wonders of the natural world. Mmm, delish! 

Yoga Woes: Avoid Hurting Your Chi, Among Other Things

Hey all you yoga nuts out there, listen up, this could affect you and anyone you’ve brought into the world of meditation.  Flipping through the pages of Self magazine I came across an article related to yoga and the bodily injury people were suffering thanks to poor yoga instructors and competitive natures.  The article, appropriately named Bad Karma, details some of the injuries sustained by yogis (yes, that’s what they’re called) either because of their own determination to be the best yogi in the room or because the instructor lacked the proper training.  Some of the injuries  range from serious to downright scary.  One woman suffered a stroke due to some crazy posture called a “fish” pose (on a scale of 1-10, I rate this one a freaking 10 on my list of horrendous injuries thanks to exercise), another reinjured her rotator cuff (ouch), even the author of the article suffered an inflamed disc because of a “plow” pose (hello paralysis of the arm).  Who knew yoga had the potential to be so friggin’ dangerous?  I can see it now, instead of battle scars from things like football, soccer, baseball/softball, volleyball (ok, so sports in general) people will be walking (if they can) about with torn rotator cuffs thanks to a headstand done on a yoga mat. Can you strut (no pun intended) after achieving that kind of injury during that kind of exercise? 
After highlighting the horrors of incorrect poses and hand placement – not to mention convincing me that I should NEVER try yoga, “Bad Karma” offers some sage advice regarding yoga and your body’s limitations.  If you follow the steps listed you just might be able to walk away from the yoga class with a spring in your step. 

1.    Look for small classes with an instructor registered with Yoga Alliance (the website offers a listing of all registered instructors – researching your instructor is a highly recommended idea)            

2.    Inform the instructor of any physical problems you may have and ask for modified versions of the pose

a.    FYI: a good instructor will ‘teach in stages’ (Perrine 5) rather than having everyone change poses at the same time.

3.    Most important of all three: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!  Do not ignore your body’s warning signals. Those pops, pings, zings, etc. are alerts that something your doing should probably end now, rather than later.

Basically, to survive yoga class you’ll need to A) locate the proper yoga studio plus instructor and B) leave your competitive spirit (whether it’s with yourself or others) at the door along with your shoes.  It’s either that or be paralyzed because of that incorrect “Downward Dog” you attempted in last week’s class.

Are your supplements conflicting with your prescriptions?

Here’s a scary thought:  you’re taking your daily vitamins or supplements thinking you’re being healthy along with your prescription drugs, then WHAM suddenly you’re in the hospital wondering what in the world happened.  What leads to such a strange thought?  Oh wandering about a health site[1] usually does the trick. That being said, I stumbled upon a cautionary tale of sorts about combining a calcium supplement with blood pressure medications and immediately thought of my grandparents with their cabinet shelf of small plastic bottles.  How many prescriptions do they take alongside their vitamins helping to keep their bodies strong have the potential of harming them? After shaking off the horror film flashback I had, think “The Blob,” I quickly started looking up the syndrome associated with calcium supplements and blood pressure meds (both of which my grandparents take). Apparently calcium (pill or liquid form) plus blood pressure meds equals a BIG NO-NO!  Something called milk-alkali syndrome, a particularly nasty bit of evil, can occur if you combine blood pressure drugs such as, chlorothiazide with those calcium pills you ingest each morning, noon, and night.   Also, if calcium channel blockers happen to be a part of your medical treatment for blood pressure, try to avoid having calcium given to you intravenously.  The calcium actually decreases the effects of the calcium channel blockers, that is bad…very bad.  However (this is good news), the standard form of calcium supplements does not affect calcium channel blockers, so you’re good there just um…don’t mix those supplements with the Thiazide diuretics and you’ll stay your normal hydrated self rather than a chalky mess.

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[1] Information provided by: MSN Health & Fitness

Imperfect Habits Makes the Heart Feel Better

Hello! My name is Jennifer and I’m the newest blogger here at DestinationRx. Hopefully you'll find this blog entertaining and if nothing else, informative. I don’t know if many of you out there are like me, but I know that when it comes to exercise and eating right I tend to go off the proverbial beaten path and end up not eating or exercising properly.  So deterred by the stringent regime that is usually attributed to healthy eating and exercise, I do what most Americans do, I don’t do either.   But, thankfully, there are ways to improve your physique and what foods you put into your body without having to feel the strain of staunch eating and exercise methods.  While looking about on MSN Health I stumbled upon this wonderful article which made me feel like I could actually achieve a healthier lifestyle without feeling the burn of routine and monotony.

The "Good Enough" Guide to Health offers nine simple ways to improve upon your eating and exercise habits without causing you to feel as though you’re totally inadequate or rather, imperfect.  Why is this important you may ponder? It’s a simple answer really. Unless you have a personal trainer, dietitian, and happen to be a movie star, you and I alike will fall short of those “perfect” eating and exercise habits thrown at us constantly by this magazine or that health bulletin – we are, after all, human.   The article helps bring to light the small steps we can take each day to improve upon our healthy eating/exercise habits and emphasizes how the older ideals associated with a healthy lifestyle tend to be lofty.  One of my favorite aspects of this article pertains to the old adage of eating at least 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day.  This, of course, is slightly ridiculous if you factor in the busy lives of most Americans and so a more ‘doable’ option is offered - five servings a day versus the typical nine.  You’re getting the most out of your veggies and fruits without having to feel like every meal needs to include two of each. My other favorite deals with the insane notion that we need to drink at least eight glasses of water each day to stay hydrated.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but the idea of drinking eight glasses a day causes me to imagine how I’ll be a frequenter of the office restroom…every ten seconds.  Instead the article mentions the alternatives to this archaic way of thinking when it comes to hydration.  We absorb the necessary amount of liquid from the things we eat as well as what we drink.  Eating foods that contain water, such as fresh fruits and vegetables or soup, contributes to your daily intake of the ever popular H2O as do beverage favorites such as tea and coffee.  Just remember that food makes up 20% of your daily water intake, so those eight glasses can be cut down to simply drinking with meals or when you’re thirsty. 

So, if you’re anything like me and hate the idea of being stuck within a regimented diet and exercise cycle, test out these helpful hints.  It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being healthy and with these basic steps, we can all improve the conditions of our bodies and our minds.  Baby steps rather than giant leaps are the key!

Helpful Tip: If you'd like to keep track of your health, try this handy tool offered by MSN Health My Health Tracker