Proper sleep is a must for a healthy lifestyle.
Brighten Up
Christmas is just 12 days away. If you’re feeling overwhelmed — too much to do, house is a mess, people are annoying, your pants won’t button, or you’re just plain out of sorts — check out some strategies to deploy right this minute to tame anxiety and get back to spreading cheer.
Sleep or Steps?
What if finding time for a full workout means skimping on sleep to squeeze in an early morning shift at the gym?
“That’s a terrible choice,” says sleep expert Dr. Charles Czeisler in a New York Times Q&A on the topic. He points out the numerous downsides to lack of adequate sleep — weight gain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and a weaker immune system. In addition, muscle cells also have circadian rhythms and perform much better during the body’s biological daytime than during biological night. Ill-timed workouts increase the risk for injury and are “counterproductive,” says Czeisler.
A better option for the time-strapped is to get more exercise by incorporating little bursts of activity throughout the day: run up and down the stairs a few times, pace while reading, and park farther from the front door. Read more here.
Smoke and Numbers
8,300: number of deaths each year in Washington state in which tobacco use was a contributing factor
$2.8 billion: estimated additional healthcare costs related to cancer, heart and respiratory diseases caused by tobacco use
90: Percent of adult smokers who started smoking as a teenager
21: Age to legally purchase tobacco and vaping products — instead of the current 18 — advocated in a new resolution sent to the Washington State Legislature by the Spokane Board of Health.
“When you consider the damage that a highly addictive substance like nicotine can do to kids, delaying the age when young people can first experiment with or begin using tobacco makes perfect sense,” says Mary McHale, Washington of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, in a news release concerning the resolution.
On January 1, Oregon’s law restricting tobacco products sales to those 21 and over goes into effect, and similar laws are already in place in Maine, California, Hawaii and New Jersey.
More info here and here.
