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By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
The majority of the time when I ask people, “What is your #1 priority?” they answer, “Family.” Yet most quickly admit that being together and staying connected can be a challenge in our frenetic lives. Throughout history, family mealtime was the predominant occasion to communicate and interact. These days, meals together are often infrequent and brief. One study reported that the average family mealtime lasts 20 minutes, though the benefits for children include better grades, lower body weight, lower cigarette and alcohol use, and better mental health. Kids or no kids, people who dine together have stronger relationships. One study found that adding just 3 minutes to a meal lessened the risk of family members being overweight. I found that hard to believe until I added up 3 minutes a day x 30 days and came up with 1 1/2 hours of connection time! So here are a few fun ways to make meals last longer:
Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
Reality TV shows and professional organizers attest to the amount of clutter we cram into our lives. My basement is living proof that we are accumulators. Just like my basement, our minds can become cluttered too. Mind debris gets in the way of our productivity and even our joy. You know it may be time for a brain clearing when your mind feels sluggish, you have stress overload, or you just want to numb out by staring at a TV or video screen. You can prevent the accumulation of brain garbage by setting up some filters. By screening incoming data, you can stop the insidious trash before it clutters things up. You can filter out gossip, negative political ads, stinkin’-thinkin’ conversations, and too much negative world news. Outmoded ideas, harmful thoughts, and negative feelings can be weeded out too, before they take root. Periodically, take time to sit quietly and focus within. Identify which thoughts are useful and supportive, and which are negative and a nuisance. Singer Jimmy Buffet recommends “mental floss.” Imagine your mind like your home, filled with rooms that have become cluttered. Prepare for spring cleaning. Visualize entering each room with a bucket of scrubbing supplies. Some rooms may hold thoughts and emotions; others memories; still other beliefs, attitudes and opinions. There may be a separate room for relationships. Imagine sorting which of these are good, from those that are no longer good for you. See yourself tossing out the worn and unwanted ones, and happily storing those you wish to keep. Finally, open the windows to let in fresh air and sunlight. Let this clean, bright feeling refresh you. Think how great it will be now with your new filters in place! You’ll prevent the mental garbage from accumulating and healthier happier thoughts will fill your mind. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
There is a lot in the media these days about being physically healthy, but what about mental health? And what is it really? Take a deep breath and read this definition from the World Health Organization: Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. That’s a goal we should all shoot for. Mental health doesn’t mean we’re happy all the time, but that we should be able to function well in our personal, social, and work lives. Here are 10 tips for taking care of your mental health:
Pick one of these things to do today. Do another tomorrow…then another the next day…then another… Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
What is “the good life?” It’s the name of a rock band, an old movie, a Tony Bennett song, and numerous novels. But what is the good life for you? Is it determined by you, or someone else? Most people agree with the definition of “the good life” as a sense of satisfaction, adequacy, comfort, well-being, contentment, even in the midst of disappointments and suffering. But for some, this is in contrast to the assumption that enough is never good enough. To enjoy a good life, they need more. To me, this thinking is fostered by two things: excessive goal setting and the media. Setting goals to achieve success, to fulfill dreams, to have it all, and set no limits is great and honorable, but it can suggest that enough is not satisfying. Especially when it is combined with a second feature of our society, consumerism. The media makes it hard to be satisfied with enough. There are constant pressures from producers and advertisers to purchase and possess the latest and best. Social media sites snare people into comparing themselves with others who have more things, more work, more beauty…the list goes on and on. All this can make us feel insecure, or “lacking” in some way. Mentally, there is a lot of pressure if we are always striving and never arriving. This raises the question, “How much is enough for the good life today?” If we can’t answer that question, it suggests that we can never be sure that we have enough wealth, possessions or security. Think about it. Write it down. How much is enough for you? Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
I am a big believer in the power of positive thinking. I laughed when I read that October has a “Cranky Co-worker Day.” Yet I know it’s no laughing matter. My mama used to say, “One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.” That’s what a cranky coworker does, isn’t it? So what do you do about “bad apples” who “spoil” the morale of your workplaces? One tactic is to confront them, kindly, to address what you perceive as a negative attitude, then ask what they see as the cause. Sometimes there is a stress or pain in their lives that you are unaware of and you can offer help, or at least listen. Other times, people are simply into “stinkin’ thinkin,” for no apparent good reason! And there seems to be nothing you can do to change it. That’s when it’s a challenge to maintain you own positive attitude. One way to do so is by incorporating positive thinking and visualization, and humor, into your daily life to affect your health and happiness, at home and in the workplace. You can’t change them, but you can change you. By doing so, you set an example (there’s that role modeling again) and that can create a shift in attitude for the entire workplace. We need to help each other to stay positive. Don’t let “stinkin’ thinkin’” be contagious. We have the power—yes it is a power—to influence the attitude of our coworkers. Don’t let a “rotten” attitude “spoil” your workplace. Positive thinking is contagious too. Let’s visualize—and create—a place where there are no “Cranky Co-worker Days.” 🙂 Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
More young nurses are opting to obtain advanced degrees, which will help fill gaps in primary care. But it will also take them away from the patient’s bedside. Nearly 50% of millennial nurses (ages 19-36), 35% of those in Generation X (ages 37-53), and 12% of baby boomers (ages 54-71) plan to become advanced-practice nurses, according to AMN Healthcare, a healthcare staffing agency that polled nearly 3,400 nurses in April 2017. They are predominantly aiming to become nurse practitioners, who generally have more autonomy and are well-suited to take on less acute cases and fill care gaps left by the shortage of primary-care physicians. But there is also a lack of registered nurses, and this education trend could exacerbate the current shortage. Seven states are projected to have RN shortages persist through 2030 as the aging population and need for chronic disease management will drive demand, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nurse practitioner is one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States, in part because it offers independence, a challenging work environment and educational progress. When organizations help nurses earn those higher degrees, they often leave for higher-paying jobs. Seventeen percent of millennial RNs plan to look for a new nursing job while the economy is improving, compared to 15% of Gen Xers and 10% of baby boomers, according to the AMN survey. Ten percent of millennials said they would pursue travel nursing, while only 6% of Gen Xers and 5% of boomers agreed. More than a third of millennials seek a leadership role, compared to 27% of Gen Xers and 10% of boomers. To learn how to increase recruitment and retention, visit SelfCare for HealthCare™. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
Exercise, even a little, can lengthen your life. Norwegian researchers also found that too much sitting was associated with a higher risk of early death. The study analyzed data from eight studies that included more than 36,000 adults, aged 40 and older, who were followed for an average of almost six years. During follow-up, nearly 6% of the participants died. After adjusting for other factors, the researchers concluded that any amount of physical activity, regardless of intensity, was associated with a significantly lower risk of early death. Death rates fell sharply as total activity increased to an amount that was similar to average activity levels in U.S. men and about 10% to 15% lower than activity levels in Scandinavian men and women. A similarly steep decline in death rates was associated with increasing amounts of light physical activity up to about 300 minutes (5 hours) a day, and moderate-intensity physical activity of about 24 minutes per day. The largest difference in early death risk, about 60% to 70%, was between the least and most physically active, with about five times more deaths among inactive people than among those who were most active. The researchers also found that spending 9.5 hours or more each day sitting was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of early death. Examples of light-intensity activity include slow walking or household tasks, such as cooking or washing dishes. Moderate activity includes brisk walking, vacuuming or mowing the lawn, while vigorous activity includes jogging, carrying heavy loads or digging. Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week. These findings provide important information for public health recommendations and suggest that the message might simply be “sit less and move more, and more often.” To learn about healthy habits and how they can increase your overall health, contact SelfCare for HealthCare™. Planning your virtual event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to book your healthcare speaker! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
If you’re trying to eat more healthfully or exercise regularly, researchers have a surprising tip: consider making both changes at the same time. It may seem counterintuitive. Changing diet and exercise habits both require time and motivation. But research has shown people have more success when diet and exercise are tackled simultaneously. A study at the Stanford University School of Medicine tracked groups of people trying to establish healthy habits. One group added exercise, one group improved their diets, and one group made both changes. The study showed that people who worked on both exercise and diet at the same time had more success in meeting their goals. One explanation for the success may be that the positive results build on each other. “You’re going to feel better doing both,” researchers said. “If you’re focusing on just one, you might lose motivation and never get around to the other one. But if you’re motivated to make changes and do both, you can more quickly develop this healthy lifestyle that feels so good, you’re motivated to continue.” A lot of people in the study came with low energy and low libido, and felt tired all the time. But by changing exercise and diet together, they experienced so many benefits — from weight loss to improved heart health, and from better sleep to an improved mood. The two together can make a big difference. Planning your virtual event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to book your healthcare speaker! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
People who are sleep-deprived during the week often try to make up for it on weekends. But a new study suggests the tactic may not work. Researchers found that weekday sleep loss had negative effects on people’s metabolism and “catch-up” sleep on the weekend didn’t reverse it. In fact, there were signs that the extra weekend sleep could make matters worse, said senior study author Kenneth Wright, a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The bottom line, according to Wright, is that people need to consistently get sufficient sleep. “If you want to lead a healthy lifestyle,” he said, “that has to include good sleep habits.” The study, published online in the journal Current Biology, included 36 healthy young adults who were randomly assigned to one of three groups that all spent nine nights in the sleep lab. One group was allowed to sleep for up to 9 hours each night. A second could sleep only 5 hours. The third group was allowed 5 hours of sleep for five days, then a weekend “recovery” period where they could sleep in as late as they wanted; after that, they returned to 5 hours of sleep for two nights. Researchers found that in both sleep-deprived groups, people lost some of their sensitivity to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. They also began to eat more at night and gained some weight. The group that was allowed to sleep in on the weekend saw one benefit: There was less late-night eating on those days. However, they went right back to post-dinner munching once they returned to 5-hour nights, and their insulin sensitivity remained impaired. They showed decreased insulin sensitivity in the liver and muscles, specifically. Over time, decreased insulin sensitivity can be a precursor to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Experts recommend adults get 7 or more hours of sleep each night for the sake of their overall health. Yet, studies show that more than one-third of U.S. adults fall short of that goal. What are the ‘sleep stealers’ in your life?” Wright said. “Are you up late watching TV or on your computer?” Sleep is vital for a range of body processes, not only metabolism. It can decrease alertness and mental performance, which cannot be erased with a couple of nights of catch-up sleep. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
Any amount of physical activity — even two minutes — can add up to huge benefits for your immediate and long-term health, according to the new edition of the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Previously, the guidelines stated that unless physical activity lasted 10 minutes or longer, it didn’t count toward a person’s recommended weekly activity goals. But research shows any small amount of activity provides a solid contribution to a person’s health, according to guidelines unveiled at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting. “Physical activity is about finding opportunities to add movement throughout the day as part of a bigger commitment to healthy living,” Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Inactivity causes 10 percent of premature mortality in the United States. That means if we can just get 25 percent of inactive people to be active and meet the recommendations, almost 75,000 deaths would be prevented in the United States.” Only 26 percent of men, 19 percent of women, and 20 percent of teenagers currently get their recommended weekly amount of physical activity, according to HHS. The first edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines came out a decade ago, in 2008.The new edition also highlights a broader array of short- and long-term benefits from physical activity, all based on scientific evidence:
Examples of moderate activity include brisk walking, ballroom dancing, water aerobics or pulling weeds, according to the AHA. Vigorous activity can involve running, swimming laps, bicycling fast, aerobic dancing or working a shovel or hoe in the garden. The guidelines now recommend that children aged to 5 be active throughout the day to enhance growth and development — at least three hours a day. Kids aged 6 through 17 are recommended to have at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Exercise is the best and cheapest prescription in the world, but most people don’t want to fill it. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! |
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