Thursday, March 28, 2013

Family Dinners Are Important

Family dinners are a great way to stay connected with your kids.

Family dinners definitely fall under the category that "more is better." And a new study is showing that the more often the entire family sits down to eat dinner the better it is for the kids overall.

As a matter of fact, study after study has shown the great benefit of the family meal. Sitting down with your kids and talking about the day is a great way to keep connected and find out what's going on in their lives. It also helps in more ways than you'd probably think. Children who eat at least 3 sit-down dinners with their family every week are also less likely to smoke, drink or use drugs. They also tend to do better in school and are less likely to engage in sex at an early age.

But in this new study, researchers found that with each additional dinner added per week the children ended up having fewer emotional and behavioral problems as well. They also ended up having a higher life satisfaction overall.

Granted, we all have busy schedules and with a busy day at work, hectic after school activities and homework, it get tougher and tougher to sit down together and eat a meal. The important part isn't what's served, but what's talked about at the table. Use this as an opportunity for your children to share what "they" want to. They might not want to talk about everything that went on that day, especially if something is particularly bothering them, so don't push the issue. Just let them know you're there to listen. And when they do bring up controversial subjects, like drugs or sex --- don't judge them since that'll just cause them to shut down, but give them your beliefs and then listen some more. So tonight, sit down and enjoy a meal with the most important people in your life.

Flu Season - Lessons Learned

The flu season is winding down, but this year it hit some of us pretty hard. So, what did we learn this time around?

What we learned is that the flu shot is important, especially for those groups most likely to suffer complications because of the flu.

According to the CDC, although this flu season was what they called "moderately severe" overall it did hit the elderly hard and took its toll on children as well. This flu season started in December, a month earlier than usual. It peaked by the end of the year, but flu cases were still reported throughout the last few months.

Unfortunately, it did kill 105 children so far. That's close to the average number of children killed by the flu each year, 100. But the CDC did find out that 90% of the children who died from the flu this year and were old enough to get the flu shot, didn't.

The flu vaccine, although it doesn't give 100% protection from the flu, still keeps you and your children's chances of dying or getting hospitalized because of the flue as low as possible. So this coming fall, make sure you and your children get the one vaccine that can protect you from the flu bug that's sure to make its yearly visit.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Cutting Risk Of Getting Cancer

Want to cut your chances of getting cancer in half? There are 7 steps that can help you do just that.

And the added benefit is that not only will it cut your chances of getting cancer in half, but it'll also keep your heart healthy.

Years ago the American Heart Association came out with 7 steps that will keep your heart healthy. They are: 1. Get active; 2.Control your cholesterol; 3. Eat better by eating those things that are good for you and avoiding those that aren't; 4. Keep your blood pressure better managed; 5. Lose weight; 6. Reduce your blood sugar below 100; 7. - This is the big one - Quit smoking

Of these steps, quitting smoking is the biggest one you can take for your overall health. But now researchers have found that following these steps will also cut your chances of getting cancer and the more of them you follow the better. As a matter of fact, if you follow 4 steps you cut your chance by a third. But just upping that to 6 steps that you follow, can cut your chance of getting cancer in half.

That's a pretty good bargain, especially since these same steps started off as simple ways to keep your heart healthy. Kind of a two for one deal that will keep you going well into your senior years.

Concussion Guidelines

Concussion experts have released new guidelines for treating this type of head injury. The main thing behind these new guidelines is a more individualized approach instead of the one system of treating concussions the same for everyone.

Over the last few years we've not only found out more and more about just how damaging and long-term concussions issues can be but also about how subtle they are.

Now the American Academy of Neurology, the brain doctors group, has come out with recommended guidelines about how to treat concussions. And their overall message is to treat every athlete with a concussion on a case-by-case basis, instead of a one big approach for everyone. This starts off with the initial injury, when it can sometimes be difficult to tell if it's a concussion or not. They recommend that anyone even suspected of having a concussion be removed from play and not be allowed back in until they've been cleared by a health professional trained in treating them. This means there are no guidelines as to how long to keep someone out like there were in the past, instead it depends on the individuals own recovery. And that will be different for each person.

They also reemphasize that concussion signs can be subtle, like a sensitivity to light, changes in sleep patterns, or even just slower reaction times. All things that need to be back to normal before the athlete gets back into the game.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Keeping Our Brains Going

This is national Brain Awareness Week. That means it's a great time to learn how to keep our brains going as we get older. So, what can we do to keep our brains healthy?

Playing games might be just when the doctor ordered. At least when it comes to avoiding dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.

We're talking about mind games, things like Sudoku or chess. But even games like Angry Birds, or other smart phone apps or video games, might help keep your brain sharp as you get older.

We've known for some time that both mind games and physical activity do seem to work hand-in-hand to keep the mind sharp as we get older. But now we known that the same things might also help keep the bigger problem of Alzheimer's at bay. Recent research found those study participants who played more mind games also had less of the protein build up in the brain though to cause Alzheimer's Disease.

According to these researchers, it didn't matter what types of games or mind activities someone used, just that did them early and often. As a matter of fact, starting them in early and middle life seemed to offer the most protection from this protein buildup.

But no matter how young or old you are, it is really never too later to start picking up the game habit. So grab a puzzle or a smartphone game and start playing away. That might be one big step towards keeping your mind sharp.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Daylight Saving Time & Sleep

Are you still sleepy from the switch to Daylight Saving Time? Well, that lack of sleep might be causing you to put on some pounds.

Not getting enough sleep means more than just walking around tired all day long. It can also mean packing on some sneaky weight.

Researchers at the University of Colorado found this out in a recent experiment. They divided adult volunteers into two groups. One group got 9 hours of sleep each night over a 5-day period. The other only got 5 hours. Both groups were given access to large amounts of food and snacks. But the difference was that the ones not getting the sleep also ended up eating more calories during the day, especially by snacking after their dinner meal. And over that short 5-day period they also ended up putting on about 2 more pounds.

This study highlights just how important it is to include sleep into any diet program. The diet might get you to lose a few pounds, but the lack of sleep could be causing you to put them right back on. So, in addition to keeping you awake and alert during the day, getting enough sleep, between 7 and 9 hours a night, can also go a long way to keeping your weight under control.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Getting More Sleep

This is national Sleep Awareness Week, so here's a great way to get a bit more shuteye.

It's a great time to remember just how much sleep we need and how little we actually get.

We need between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. But plenty of us don't get that much. The problem is not enough sleep, especially over time, can take its toll on our health. This can lead to all sorts of medical problems and can even contribute to an earlier death.

Getting to sleep isn't always easy, but now a new study is showing that one method works really well at getting you to nod off. Exercise. According to the 2013 Sleep In America poll, exercise is a great way to help you get more sleep. For people who were heavy, moderate or even light exercisers ended up getting more sleep. As a matter of fact, even just walking for 10 minutes improved how good that night's sleep was.

And although there's a myth that exercising right before sleep can interfere with sleep, experts say that's simply not true. People who exercise before bedtime report sleeping as well as those who exercise earlier in the day.

So, the bottom line here is to get in a bit of exercise during the day to get better sleep at night. It's the perfect sleeping pill and comes with other benefits as well... better overall health to boot.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Sleep Week

This is national sleep week. That's something most of us don't get nearly enough of. And not getting enough sleep could take its toll on more parts of your life than you think.

Let's face it, we're a very sleep deprived nation. That means many of us go through the day tired and spend weekends trying to catch up on the sleep we lose most days of the week. But not getting enough sleep can take its toll on all parts of your body.

Even though some of us think we can get by with less sleep, we all need between 7 to 9 hours a night. That sleep time is important because it allows our mind and body to regenerate, but in different ways. Our body mostly shuts down for the night allowing it to rebuild from the day's activities. in contrast, our mind becomes more active, trying to make sense of all the things it absorbed during the day. It's roughly equivalent to a computer trying to store data in the best places possible to allow it to work better and faster.

But all this takes time and that's where the 7 to 9 hours a night comes in. Getting less than that, especially on a regular basis can take its toll on your health. It can lead to blood pressure problems, higher obesity rates and more heart problems. It can also lead to a greater chance of simply dying younger.

So your best bet is to do the best you can and get at least 7 and preferably closer to 8 or more hours of sleep most nights. Your body and mind will thank you for it.