Encouraging Health

Who hasn’t had those mid-afternoon sleepies? Then guzzling coffee or glazed donuts until you’re wired and glazed. Thanks to MSN’s Health, Alicia Potter, here are 10 tips to beat fatigue at it’s own game.

See the light: Get the right light, and you’ll have lots more energy.
But that can be a challenge, given the poorly lit offices we sit in and the scant doses of daily sunlight (which contains brain-activating short-wavelength blue light) we get.

Get pumped with protein: Unless you plan to run a mar­athon, carbo-loading for energy is out. Instead, eat protein to increase mental alertness and energy.

Lend a hand: Research shows that you get a “helper’s high,” a rush of endorphins that lasts for hours.

Breathe hard—more often: That post-workout rush of energy you feel is well-documented: Movement sends oxygen through the bloodstream to invigorate cells.

Bag a new brew: Boost your energy with white tea, which has a delicate flavor that requires little sweetening, and tea has the highest concentration of L-theanine, an amino acid that, according to recent research, stimulates alpha brain waves to boost alertness while producing a calming effect.

Tackle the blahs in bursts: Shake up your routine for 15 minutes at a time to get an energy boost.

Get hands-on help: Could your energy be blocked? Hands-on therapies like acupuncture and Reiki.

Take a tech-free break: Being at the mercy of electronic devices keeps us in “fight-or-flight mode”.

Meditate for a minute: Time-crunched? Great news: You can reap the benefits of meditation—a hike in alertness and attention—in three-minute mini–breaks.

Clean up your sleep: The buzzword in sleep science these days is sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene usually includes three areas: fully darkening your bedroom (turn your alarm clock away from you if the display gives off too much light), regulating room temperature to a moderate coolness (too hot or too cold, and you’ll wake up), and using white noise (a fan or quiet music) to help induce sleepiness.

Foods That Steal Your Sleep

We’ve all had a sleepless night or two. Either failing to fall asleep or waking up during the night for a few hours, with your partner next to you. It’s tempting to smother their snores with your pillow.

Before you take drastic measures, look at what you eat.

Think about what you ate the night before, says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of The Food & Mood Cookbook. Any of the following — much less a combo platter — can leave your body on uneasy street for hours:

• Spicy foods: Garlic, chilies, cayenne, and other intense spices are yummy going down, but they can keep you up with heartburn or indigestion. Avoid MSG, too, as it can trigger dreams that are a bit too vivid.

• A big dinner: An overtaxed digestive system takes hours to settle down, and there’s nothing restful about that. When sleep’s critical, make lunch your largest meal, and enjoy a light 500-calorie dinner early in the evening.

• Raucous veggies: Eat those good-for-you-but-gassy foods — beans, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts — in the middle of the day. A tankful of gas can keep anyone up at night.

• Speed eating: Relax and enjoy meals to avoid swallowing air, another common cause of midnight tummy trouble.

• Nightcaps: Alcohol may make you drowsy at first, but later on it disturbs sleep patterns and leads to awakenings and restlessness. A 4-ounce glass of wine with dinner won’t hurt, as long as it’s not within 2 hours of bedtime.

• Coffee after breakfast: Caffeine can linger in your body for as long as 12 hours. So if you’re often wide-eyed at bedtime, make sure you’re caffeine-clean for at least 12 hours.

Anxiety and panic disorders affect an estimated 2.4 million Americans. Dr. Patricia Farrell shares information and advice about stress management and anxiety; its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and effective treatments

Winter comes this year with a promise of holidays that may not be as bright as we would like. In the middle of a pounding economic downturn with job loss and belt tightening all around, there is another spectre that is there whether the economy is good or bad and it’s Seasonal Affective Disorder, originally called the Winter Blues. Imagine how difficult it is for people with this disorder (SAD) and then add on top of that the problem of lack of money and the stress that brings. It’s a one-two punch no one wants, especially with reduced economic and psychological resources. An estimated 25% of the population suffers from a mild form of SAD and around 5% has a more severe winter depression.

SAD often affects groups who live above certain latitudes. So, it would seem, people often referred to as ’snow birds’ know what they’re doing when they head south for the winter. It may not be just the cold they’re escaping, it may be depression. The shift that takes place in our biological clocks happens in response to the light that hits our eyes and affects our internal settings.

A small structure in our brains, the pineal gland, produces a substance which can be both problematic and helpful. The substance is melatonin and it has been linked to both SAD and sleep. During the winter months, the decreased exposure to sunlight may stimulate the production of this hormone.

How do you know you have SAD and what can you do about it? First, let’s look at the usual symptoms we see with this winter variety of the disorder. Yes, there’s a summer disorder, too, for some people.

SAD Symptoms

January to February is the prime time of year in most Northern climes and we see:

Changes in sleeping and eating habits

Persistent sad, anxious or “empty” mood

Loss of pleasure in activities once enjoyed

Depression subsides in the spring and summer months.

Symptoms have occurred in the past two years, with no non-seasonal depression episodes

Seasonal episodes substantially outnumber non-seasonal depression episodes

The individual craves sugary or starchy foods probably because this increases the availability of serotonin which fights depression

As a result of the dietary changes seen, there is weight gain and that further increases depression by lowering self-esteem and intensifying feelings of helplessness. Your clothes don’t fit, you can’t buy new ones and you feel self-conscious. Double whammy there.

Steps You Can Take

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courtesy of Adrienne Dellwo of About.com: On it’s face, it might sound silly to ask if aspects of your health have improved since you became chronically ill with fibromyalgia (FMS) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS). Some of us, though, have noticed that, while we feel worse overall, some things from before have actually improved.

Some people used to get lots of headaches and periodic migraines. Typically these are symptoms of FMS or ME/CFS, especially when they’re of a new pattern, type, or severity. Well, oddly enough, there is a new pattern, type, or severity is to rarely have a headache at all, and to stop getting migraines (at least, for the past 2.5 years.)

I’ve also noticed that I don’t seem to get the colds and other common bugs that get passed around like I used to. I attributed that to all the supplements I’m taking, but a recent discussion thread in my Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome community forum made me wonder. (Thanks to Liz for starting this one!) Do the changes in our immune system make us more resistant to some things, while making us less resistant to others?

In the thread, Liz mentions Dr. Paul Cheney’s theory of ME/CFS’s effect on the immune system, and it’s a really interesting one. You’ll find it here: Dr. Cheney: Balance the Immune System (Th1/Th2).

Of course, we don’t know whether the FMS immune system is the same as the ME/CFS immune system, but we also don’t know that they’re different. I thought it was really interesting that Liz and I noticed a similar improvement in certain immunities, when she has ME/CFS and I have FMS.

Do you get sick less often than you did before FMS or ME/CFS? Or is it more often, or about the same? What about things like my headaches, that aren’t immune-system related — any changes there?

Want healthier cells in just 8 hours? Then get some solid shut-eye tonight

Your body does important things while you sleep — like healing your cells. But just one night of tossing and turning could trigger cell-damaging inflammation. So turn off the tube, slip on that sleep mask, and get your 40 winks.

Inflamed in the Membrane
In a recent study, sleep-deprived people — especially women — showed a marked increase in their levels of a protein called NF-kB. That’s bad news, because NF-kB plays an essential role in the body’s inflammation response. The study may help explain why poor sleep is associated with several inflammation-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.

Mini Mind-Body Makeovers
Need help adjusting to the end of daylight saving time? Or getting over jet lag? Or just sleeping through an average night?

Sound Sleep Advice

Want to sleep like a teenager during summer break? Try these tips from the RealAge doctors.

Get on a schedule. Your body clock runs best when, like a baby, you get yourself on a regular sleep schedule. So aim to get up at about the same time every day — whether you have a full day of work or a full day of cartoons ahead of you. On weekends, try to rise within an hour of the time you get up during the week.

Change your temperature. The ideal setting for ZZZs is a cool, dark room. If you’re having trouble sleeping, try removing a layer of clothing or lowering the thermostat.

At night, eat foods that contain melatonin, a substance that helps regulate your body clock. That means oats, sweet corn, or rice. Or try a complex carbohydrate that contains sleep-encouraging serotonin, like vegetables or whole-grain pasta. Or go with the classic remedy: warm milk. And, of course, avoid stimulants like caffeine and exercise near bedtime.

For a quick and easy boost to your brainpower this weekend, pull down the shades, close your eyes, and catch some daytime ZZZs.

People who take daytime naps outperform non-nappers on memory exercises. And, surprisingly, a mere 6 minutes of shut-eye is enough to refresh the mind.

The Shut-Eyes Have It
How does a quick catnap power up your thinker? Seems the mere act of falling asleep triggers a brain-boosting neurobiological process that remains effective regardless of how long you snooze.

Brain-Friendly Folate

Protect your brain by kicking up your folate intake.

Adequate folate intake appears to protect against hemorrhagic stroke, a condition that causes bleeding in the brain. Hemorrhagic stroke is a less common type of stroke than ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot-blocked artery. Protect your brain by packing your side dishes with folate-rich asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and artichokes.

Hemorrhagic strokes, which account for 17 percent of all stroke cases, are less common than ischemic strokes. A recent study reveals a link between high blood levels of folate and decreased risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Folate also helps protect blood vessels by lowering homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is an amino acid that increases the risk of atherosclerosis and stroke when found in high levels in the blood. Researchers speculate that folate’s favorable effects on blood vessels may extend beyond lowering homocysteine, but more research is needed to explore other potential benefits. In addition to asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and artichokes, other good sources of folate include orange juice, fortified whole-grain breads and cereals, and black-eyed peas. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate found in fortified foods and supplements. Controlling high blood pressure, getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day, and reducing your weight and cholesterol, if you need to, also may help reduce stroke risk.

When the afternoon blahs leave us slumped over our desks like an unwatered houseplant, most of us reach for a supersized vat of coffee and/or a calorie-packed sugar snack. There are much better options, whether you need a quick lift to keep you from nodding off in a meeting or something to keep you going for hours.

WATER: Sometimes what feels like fatigue is just dehydration (often made worse by too much coffee). Drink 8 ounces of water, take a quick walk around the block or the parking lot (fresh air is an energy booster, too), and then down another 8 ounces when you get back.

WATERMELON: Like cookies and candy, watermelon is high in sugar, which metabolizes quickly, which gives you a rush. But watermelon’s way healthier: Instead of guilt, you get fiber, a hit of vitamins A and C, plus all that fresh, juicy flavor for almost no calories (fewer than 50 a cup). To make your new zip last longer, eat it with some protein and a little fat — as in low-fat cottage cheese or a fistful of sunflower seeds.

BRAZIL NUTS: They’re off the charts in mood-lifting selenium and strong in fatigue-fighting magnesium. Just six of these nuts give you 4 grams of protein and some healthy plant fats, a combo that will keep you going far longer than you’d think.

A MEXICAN BAKED POTATO: Spuds are high on the glycemic index — that is, they give blood sugar a quick boost — which is bad for people with diabetes but good in moderate doses for other people in need of an energy surge. Heap on some salsa and top with a dollop of low-fat sour cream to enhance the effect. Spicy foods are stimulating, and hot peppers wake up more than your taste buds.

A FEW DRIED DATES: They were traditionally used in the Sahara to provide quick energy to camels. Like potatoes, dates are a high glycemic snack, but rich in minerals, too — especially potassium. Split the dates and fill with a tad of low-fat cream cheese to slow the sugar absorption.

PB&J ON WHOLE WHEAT: The all-American sandwich is also an all-around pick-me-up, thanks to its amazingly complete mix of carbs, good fats, protein, and whole-grain fiber. Just make it a one-slice fold-over to cut the calories down to about 200.

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