The Friday Health Beat
December 9, 2011
Focus more to ease stress
Traffic jams. Job woes. Visits from the in-laws. Life is full of stress, and more often than not, people
feel it physically as well as mentally.
Although the stress response begins in the brain, it is a full-body phenomenon. When someone
encounters a threat — real or imagined — the brain triggers a cascade of stress hormones. The
heart pounds, muscles tense, and breathing quickens.
One of the best ways to counter stress is to pay attention to what is going on. That may sound
counterintuitive, but paying attention is the first step toward cultivating mindfulness — a therapeutic
technique for a range of mental health problems (and physical ones).
The opposite of multitasking
Multitasking has become a way of life. People talk on a cell phone while commuting to work, or scan
the news while returning emails. But in the rush to accomplish necessary tasks, people often lose
connection with the present moment. They stop being truly attentive to what they are doing or
feeling.
Mindfulness is the opposite of multitasking. The practice of mindfulness, which has its roots in
Buddhism, teaches people to live each moment as it unfolds. The idea is to focus attention on what
is happening in the present and accept it without judgment.
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical
School, developed a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for people with major depression
(since adapted for other disorders). Another adaptation of mindfulness to clinical practice is
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, which combines mindfulness techniques with cognitive
behavioral therapy.
However it is practiced, mindfulness is a powerful therapeutic tool. Studies have found, for example,
that mindfulness techniques can help prevent relapse in people who have had several past episodes
of major depression. Other research suggests that mindfulness techniques can help alleviate anxiety
and reduce physical symptoms such as pain or hot flashes.
Do-it-yourself methods
One of the best things about mindfulness is that it is something people can try on their own. Here’s
how to get started:
Center down. Sit on a straight-backed chair or cross-legged on the floor. Focus on an aspect of
your breathing, such as the sensations of air flowing into your nostrils and out of your mouth, or your
belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale.
Open up. Once you’ve narrowed your concentration, begin to widen your focus. Become aware of
sounds, sensations, and ideas. Embrace and consider each without judgment. If your mind starts to
race, return your focus to your breathing.
Observe. You may notice external sensations such as sounds and sights that make up your
moment-to-moment experience. The challenge is not to latch onto a particular idea, emotion, or
sensation, or to get caught up in thinking about the past or the future. Instead you watch what comes
and goes in your mind, and discover which mental habits produce a feeling of suffering or well-being.
Stay with it. At times, this process may not seem relaxing at all, but over time it provides a key to
greater happiness and self-awareness as you become comfortable with a wider and wider range of
your experiences.
You can also try less formal approaches to mindfulness by trying to become more aware while you
are doing activities that you enjoy. Playing the piano, juggling, walking — all can become part of your
mindfulness practice as long as you pay attention to what is happening in the moment. Listen to the
sounds of the music, feel the weight of the balls as they fall into your hand, or really look at what you
are walking past.
Practice makes perfect
Mindfulness is something to cultivate and practice, on a regular basis.
Make a commitment. Aim for doing 20 to 45 minutes of mindfulness practice, most days of the
week. (If that sounds like a lot, remember that a key part of mindfulness means letting go of
expectations. Just commit to trying to become more mindful, and do the best you can.)
Make small changes. It’s hard to make big changes. It’s better to start slow and build gradually. The
famous Alcoholics Anonymous motto is “one day at a time.” Mindfulness involves taking it less than
one day at a time — aim for one moment at a time.
Mindfulness really does not have to be more complicated than learning to pay attention to what is
going on around you. But this “simple” advice is often hard to sustain in a busy world. Try making the
effort to become more mindful — and you may find the results make it worth it.
http://view.mail.health.harvard.edu
High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries.
Each time your heart beats, it pumps out blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is
highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure.
When your heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is the
diastolic pressure.
Your blood pressure reading uses these two numbers, the systolic and diastolic
pressures. Usually they are written one above or before the other. A reading of
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120/80 or lower is normal blood pressure
140/90 or higher is high blood pressure
Between 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom
number is prehypertension
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it can cause serious problems such
asstroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. You can control high blood
pressure through healthy lifestyle habits and taking medicines, if needed.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
www.medlineplus.com
Diabetes Prevention
If you're like most people, you think that heart disease is a problem for other folks. But
heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. It is also a major cause of disability.
There are many different forms of heart disease. The most common cause of heart
disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply
blood to the heart itself. This is called coronary artery disease and happens slowly over
time. It's the major reason people have heart attacks.
Other kinds of heart problems may happen to the valves in the heart, or the heart may
not pump well and cause heart failure. Some people are born with heart disease.
You can help reduce your risk of heart disease by taking steps to control factors that
put you at greater risk:
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Control your blood pressure
Lower your cholesterol
Don't smoke
Get enough exercise
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
www.medlineplus.com
Loneliness May Disrupt Sleep
Study Shows That People Who Feel Lonely Are
More Likely to Wake Up During the Night
Nov. 1, 2011 -- Feeling lonely may make it harder to get a good night's sleep.
A new study shows that people who feel lonely are more likely to wake up
during the night and have fragmented sleep. Study results may help explain
why loneliness is associated with ill health effects.
"Loneliness," says Lianne Kurina, PhD, "has been associated with adverse
effects on health. We wanted to explore one potential pathway for this."
Kurina is an assistant professor in the department of health studies at the
University of Chicago.
In a news release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Kurina says
that sleep is a key behavior for staying healthy. So researchers wanted to
explore the effect feeling lonely could have on sleep.
What they found, Kurina says, is that loneliness does not appear to change
how much sleep a person gets. It does, though, wake them more often during
the night.
Loneliness and Quality of Sleep
The study was published in the journal Sleep. In it, researchers evaluated the
effect loneliness has on both the quality and the amount of sleep people get.
The participants -- 95 adults living in South Dakota -- wore a wristband that
measured their sleep patterns for one week. In particular, the band recorded
sleep fragmentation and duration.
People with higher levels of loneliness, the study shows, are more likely to
wake frequently during the night. As the loneliness score increases, so does
the amount of fragmented sleep.
There was no association between loneliness and total sleep or daytime
sleepiness.
People in the study were part of a close-knit farming community.
Consequently, the study highlights that loneliness and social isolation are two
different concepts. The difference between them is perception.
Feelings of loneliness come from a perception of isolation and lack of
connections with people.
The effect that loneliness has on sleep, Kurina says, seems to hold true across
the range of "perceived connectedness." She concludes that studies such as
this one can further the understanding of how social and psychological factors
can "get under the skin and affect health."
www.webmd.com
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