Our Better Health

Diet, Health, Fitness, Lifestyle & Wellness

Category Archives: smoking


by Leave a comment

Fun Fact Friday

  • A pizza that has radius “z” and height “a”
    has volume Pi × z × z × a.
  • According to psychologists, exposure to nature allows us to remember and value important things like relationships, sharing, and community.
  • Girls who mature early in life are more likely to be delinquent and emotionally aggressive later in life.

 

Eating chocolate while studying will help the brain retain new information more easily, and has been directly linked to higher test scores.
Eating chocolate while studying will help the brain retain new information more easily,
and has been directly linked to higher test scores.
  • Shy people tend have great observational skills, making it easier to recognize the core of a problem then solving it.
  • Eating chocolate while studying will help the brain retain new information more easily, and has been directly linked to higher test scores.
  • Intelligent people have the ability to enhance the intelligence of those in their social circle
  • Smoking a cigarette causes damage in minutes – not years.
Happy Friday  🙂
 
source:       factualfacts.com       https://twitter.com/Fact       @Fact


by Leave a comment

Childhood ADHD linked to secondhand smoking

BY SHEREEN LEHMAN

(Reuters) – Children exposed to tobacco smoke at home are up to three times more likely to have attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) as unexposed kids, according to a new study from Spain.

The association was stronger for kids with one or more hours of secondhand smoke exposure every day, the authors found. And the results held when researchers accounted for parents’ mental health and other factors.

“We showed a significant and substantial dose–response association between (secondhand smoke) exposure in the home and a higher frequency of global mental problems,” the authors write in Tobacco Control.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two of every five children in the US are exposed to secondhand smoke regularly.

Alicia Padron of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida and colleagues in Spain analyzed data from the 2011 to 2012 Spanish National Health Interview Survey, in which parents of 2,357 children ages four to 12 reported the amount of time their children were exposed to secondhand smoke every day.

The parents also filled out questionnaires designed to evaluate their children’s mental health. According to the results, about eight percent of the kids had a probable mental disorder.

About seven percent of the kids were exposed to secondhand smoke for less than one hour per day, and 4.5 percent were exposed for an hour or more each day.

After taking the parent’s mental health, family structure and socioeconomic status into consideration, children who were exposed to secondhand smoke for less than one hour per day were 50 percent more likely to have some mental disorder compared to kids not exposed at all.

And children who were habitually exposed to secondhand smoke for an hour or more each day were close to three times more likely to have a mental disorder.

In addition, kids exposed less than one hour per day were twice as likely to have ADHD as kids who weren’t exposed, and children exposed for an hour or more on a daily basis were over three times more likely to have ADHD.

Smoking

“The association between secondhand smoke and global mental problems was mostly due to the impact of secondhand smoke on the attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder,” the authors write.

The study looks at a single point in time and cannot prove that secondhand smoke exposure causes mental health problems, the study team cautions.

Frank Bandiera, a researcher with the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston who was not involved in the study, liked that the researchers “controlled for parents’ mental health in the new study because that could be a confounder.”

But, he added, the study might be limited because, although the questionnaires are thought to be valid, the mental disorders were not actually diagnosed by physicians.

“We’re not sure if it’s causal or not,” Bandiera told Reuters Health. “I think (the research) is still in the early stages and the findings are inconclusive.”

But, he said, since secondhand hand smoke has been related to a lot of physical diseases, parents should avoid smoking around their kids.

“We need to sort it out more, so we’re not sure yet, but just as a precaution, I don’t think parents should smoke at home – they should keep their kids away from secondhand smoke,” Bandiera said.

Lucy Popova, from the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, said there is a lot of evidence about the harms of secondhand smoke on physical wellbeing.

“But research on effects of secondhand smoke on mental health have been really just emerging and this study really contributes to this growing body of evidence that exposure to secondhand smoke in children might be responsible for cognitive and behavioral problems,” she said.

Popova, who wasn’t involved in the study, said no amount of secondhand smoke is safe – any exposure is bad.

“So parents should not expose their children – the best thing to do is quit,” she said. “And this will not only not expose their children to the secondhand smoke, but will also let them enjoy their life with their children longer.”

SOURCE: bmj.co/1ajZCX4 Tobacco Control, online March 25, 2015           Reuters.com


by Leave a comment

5 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Cancer Risk

Shubhra Krishan     September 27, 2013

Cancer is an ugly killer, but sometimes, small changes in diet and lifestyle can force it to beat a retreat. Adopt these five habits to reduce your cancer risk.

Exercise for 30 minutes a day. This will reduce your cancer risk by keeping your weight in check. According to the National Cancer Institute, obesity is associated with increased risks of cancers in the esophagus, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), colon and rectum, kidney, pancreas, thyroid, gallbladder, and possibly other cancer types.

Follow the ¾ plant, ¼ protein rule. Three-fourths of your plate should contain whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, while the rest can have animal proteins. According to Stanford’s Cancer Institute, research is discovering that the regular intake of fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains can inhibit the growth of cancer in the oral cavity, larynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, lung, prostate and rectum.


Steam, don‘t microwave. Vegetables with powerful antioxidants and flavonoids, such as broccoli, can lose some of their nutrients when microwaved. Steaming, on the other hand, helps retain their natural color and maintains their cancer-fighting superfood status.

Ditch the cigs. Did you know up to 30 percent of all cancers are related to smoking? The good news is that your cancer risk starts to plummet almost as soon as you reduce or give up smoking! If you need more convincing, simply read up the American Cancer Society’s tobacco-related cancer fact sheet.

Limit your drinking to just one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one beer a day. For men, the recommended limit is up to two glasses a day. Those who drink more are at a higher risk for cancers of the head and neck, breast, throat, mouth and colon. That’s because alcohol contains carcinogenic compounds that are introduced during fermentation and production.

source: care2.com


by Leave a comment

Healthy Lifestyle May Offset Job Stress

Risk for heart disease rises when workers drink, smoke or overeat

WebMD News from HealthDay   By Robert Preidt   HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) – Job stress increases the risk of heart disease, but living a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce that risk, a new study says.

Researchers examined data from more than 102,000 men and women, aged 17 to 70, in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Sweden and Finland. Their lifestyles were rated in one of three categories – healthy, moderately unhealthy or unhealthy – based on smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise/inactivity and obesity.

Those with a healthy lifestyle had no lifestyle risk factors, while people with a moderately unhealthy lifestyle had one risk factor. Two or more risk factors qualified as an unhealthy lifestyle.

Nearly 16 percent of the participants reported job stress, according to the study, which was published May 13 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.


Over 10 years, the rate of coronary artery disease was 18.4 per 1,000 for people with job stress and 14.7 per 1,000 for those without job stress. The rate of heart disease for people with an unhealthy lifestyle was almost 31 per 1,000 compared to 12 per 1,000 for those with a healthy lifestyle.

When lifestyle and work were factored together, the heart disease rate was 31.2 per 1,000 for people with job stress and an unhealthy lifestyle and about 15 per 1,000 for those with job stress and a healthy lifestyle.

“The risk of coronary artery disease was highest among participants who reported job strain and an unhealthy lifestyle; those with job strain and a healthy lifestyle had about half the rate of this disease,” Dr. Mika Kivimaki, of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, and colleagues wrote in a journal news release.

“These observational data suggest that a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce the risk of coronary artery disease risk among people with job strain,” they added.

Stress counseling isn’t enough, they said. “Clinicians might consider paying closer attention to lifestyle risk factors in patients who report job strain,” the researchers concluded.

source: WebMD   HealthDay


by Leave a comment

Smoke-free laws linked to drop in child asthma attacks

LONDON    Mon Jan 21, 2013 

(Reuters) – Introducing laws banning smoking in enclosed public places can lead to swift and dramatic falls in the number of children admitted to hospital suffering asthma attacks, according to a study in England published on Monday.

Researchers at Imperial College London found there was a 12.3 percent fall in hospital admissions for childhood asthma in the first year after laws against smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces came into effect in July 2007.

Similar anti-smoking legislation has been introduced in many other countries, including in the United States where it has also been linked to a reduction in childhood asthma emergencies.

“The findings are good news … and they should encourage countries where public smoking is permitted to consider introducing similar legislation,” said Christopher Millett from Imperial’s school of public health, who led the study.

Asthma affects more than 300 million people worldwide and is the world’s most common children’s chronic illness. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness. In Britain, it affects one in every 11 children.


Before the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces was implemented in England, hospital admissions for children suffering a severe asthma attacks were increasing by 2.2 percent a year, peaking at 26,969 in 2006/2007, the researchers found.

That trend reversed immediately after the law came into effect, with lower admission rates among boys and girls of all ages. There were similar reductions among children in wealthy and poor neighborhoods, both in cities and in rural areas.

The effect was equivalent to 6,802 fewer hospital admissions in the first three years after the law came into effect, the team wrote in a study in the journal Pediatrics.

“There is already evidence that eliminating smoking from public places has resulted in substantial population health benefits … and this study shows that those benefits extend to … childhood asthma,” Millett said in a statement.

A study published in 2009 also found the ban on smoking in public places in England led to a swift and significant drop in the number of heart attacks, saving the national health service 8.4 million pounds ($13.3 million) in the first year.

“Previous studies have also suggested that the smoke-free law changed people’s attitudes about exposing others to second-hand smoke and led more people to abstain from smoking voluntarily at home and in cars,” Millett said.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: Reuters


by Leave a comment

Stricter smoking bans tied to more health benefits

Hospitalizations for heart, stroke and asthma ailments decreased after smoking bans introduced

CBC News Posted: Nov 2, 2012

Smoking bans in workplaces were associated with fewer deaths and hospitalizations due to heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases, a new review finds.

The introduction of smoke-free laws were followed by a 15 per cent decrease in hospitalizations for heart attacks, a 16 per cent decrease in stroke hospitalizations and a 24 per cent decrease in hospitalizations for diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

More comprehensive smoke-free laws that covered workplaces, restaurants and bars were associated with larger declines, the researchers said after reviewing 43 studies on smoke-free laws in U.S. cities and states as well as countries ranging from Uruguay to New Zealand.

“The study provides strong evidence not only of the health benefits of smokefree laws but also of the need to enact comprehensive laws without exceptions,” Stanton Glantz, the study’s senior author and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco and his co-authors concluded in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation.

smoking

Passing smoke-free laws reflect changes in social norms that reduce smoking behaviour, they said.

Previous studies also found smoke-free laws were followed by decreases in hospital admissions for heart attacks and other heart problems.

The researchers cautioned that a cause-and-effect relationship can’t be drawn from studies comparing health effects before and after the introduction of smoking bans.

But one study in Helena, Mont. did observe a rebound in heart attack admissions after the city suspended its smoke-free law during a lawsuit, which supports a causal link, they said.

Glantz’s research was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Another study published this week in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine also found a 33 per cent decline in heart attacks when they compared the incidence 18 months before and after the introduction of smoke-free laws in workplaces, including bars, in one county in Minnesota.

Smoke-free laws are also associated with fewer hospital admissions for asthma in children and improved quality of life, the editors of a journal commentary accompanying the Minnesota study said.

“Moving forward, we should prioritize the enforcement of smoke-free policies, eliminating loopholes in existing policies as well as encouraging expansion of smoke-free policies to include multiunit housing, motor vehicles, casinos and outdoor locations,” wrote Dr. Sara Kalkhoran and Dr. Pamela Ling of the University of California, San Francisco.

source: CBC


by Leave a comment

Stricter smoking bans tied to more health benefits

Hospitalizations for heart, stroke and asthma ailments decreased after smoking bans introduced

CBC News Posted: Nov 2, 2012

Smoking bans in workplaces were associated with fewer deaths and hospitalizations due to heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases, a new review finds.

The introduction of smoke-free laws were followed by a 15 per cent decrease in hospitalizations for heart attacks, a 16 per cent decrease in stroke hospitalizations and a 24 per cent decrease in hospitalizations for diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

More comprehensive smoke-free laws that covered workplaces, restaurants and bars were associated with larger declines, the researchers said after reviewing 43 studies on smoke-free laws in U.S. cities and states as well as countries ranging from Uruguay to New Zealand.

“The study provides strong evidence not only of the health benefits of smokefree laws but also of the need to enact comprehensive laws without exceptions,” Stanton Glantz, the study’s senior author and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco and his co-authors concluded in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation.

Passing smoke-free laws reflect changes in social norms that reduce smoking behaviour, they said.

Previous studies also found smoke-free laws were followed by decreases in hospital admissions for heart attacks and other heart problems.

The researchers cautioned that a cause-and-effect relationship can’t be drawn from studies comparing health effects before and after the introduction of smoking bans.

But one study in Helena, Mont. did observe a rebound in heart attack admissions after the city suspended its smoke-free law during a lawsuit, which supports a causal link, they said.

Glantz’s research was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Another study published this week in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine also found a 33 per cent decline in heart attacks when they compared the incidence 18 months before and after the introduction of smoke-free laws in workplaces, including bars, in one county in Minnesota.

Smoke-free laws are also associated with fewer hospital admissions for asthma in children and improved quality of life, the editors of a journal commentary accompanying the Minnesota study said.

“Moving forward, we should prioritize the enforcement of smoke-free policies, eliminating loopholes in existing policies as well as encouraging expansion of smoke-free policies to include multiunit housing, motor vehicles, casinos and outdoor locations,” wrote Dr. Sara Kalkhoran and Dr. Pamela Ling of the University of California, San Francisco.

source: CBC


by 1 Comment

Exercising 10 minutes a day can boost life expectancy

Researchers pooled data on 650,000 people 40 and older in Sweden, U.S.

CBC News Posted: Nov 7, 2012

Even as little as 75 minutes a week of physical activity can extend your life by nearly two years, according to U.S. researchers who found some benefits regardless of body weight.

The study by Steven Moore of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and his co-authors also suggests that regular activity would boost life expectancy even more.

The researchers pooled data on 650,000 men and women aged 40 and older in Sweden and the U.S. who reported their activity levels.

The findings show that 75 minutes a week — or just over 10 minutes a day — was associated with 1.8 years of added life expectancy, compared to getting no leisure-time activity.

As well, brisk walking for 450 minutes a week, just over an hour a day, was associated with living 4.5 years longer.

“More leisure-time physical activity was associated with longer life expectancy across a range of activity levels and body mass index groups,” they said in the November issue of the journal PLOS Medicine, published by the Public Library of Science.

Investigators also considered weight categories:

  • Being active and at a normal weight — the best-case scenario — were associated with a gain of 7.2 years of life, compared with being inactive and in the highest obese category.
  • A normal-weight person who is inactive could face a loss of 4.7 years of life.


“This finding may help convince currently inactive persons that a modest physical activity program is ‘worth it’ for healthy benefits, even if it may not result in weight control.”

Long-term cigarette smoking reduces life expectancy by about 10 years, notes the study, which was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and U.S. National Institutes of Health.


Intensity rule of thumb
Between 2007 and 2009, only 15 per cent of adults were getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity to gain health benefits, according to Statistics Canada’s Health Measures survey.

“As a good rule of thumb, if you’re taking time and you have to think about your breathing and you feel that you’re warm and sweaty afterwards, that’s the type of activity we’re looking at to get these health benefits,” said Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of the pediatrics department at McMaster University in Hamilton, where he studies how exercise helps metabolism such as repairing age-related damage.

What this study and others suggest is that it’s the first 30 minutes of vigorous activity that gives the majority of benefits, Tarnopolsky added.

A journal editorial cautioned that participants self-reported their heights and weights and leisure-time physical activity, which may have been overestimated.

Other factors also could have influenced the findings in the observational study, although the researchers did take variables such as use of tobacco and alcohol into account.

Overcoming barriers to physical activity
“These findings reinforce the public health message that both a physically active lifestyle and a normal body weight are important for increasing longevity,” the editors wrote.

The challenge is getting people to act on the knowledge that physical activity is important for health, said Spencer Moore, an assistant professor in the school of kinesiology and health studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

“In our work, we focus on the importance of having supportive social (e.g., active peers) and built (e.g., available parks, walkable neighbourhoods) environments,” Moore said in an email.

“Individuals make the decision to be physically active or not. Having supportive environments around us, however, help to make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

Tanya Berry, Canada Research Chair in physical activity promotion at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, studies barriers to physical activity.

Time is the top reason cited for not exercising, said Berry.

In Toronto, Melissa Perugini, 20, said she gets no exercise. “Too busy with school and work. No time,” she said.

But when people fill out diaries on how they spend their day, Berry adds, most would be able to carve out 35 or 40 minutes a day to at least go for a walk.

“When you’re thinking about leisure-time physical activities, where are your priorities?” Berry said. “For a lot of people, physical activity isn’t something they enjoy and it’s not something that’s a priority for them, so motivation becomes a big, big issue.”

The immediate increases in energy levels and time spent together being active as a family can be motivating factors.

With files from CBC’s Pauline Dakin and Kelly Crowe

source: CBC


by 1 Comment

How to Reduce, prevent, and Cope with Stress

Stress Management

It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have more control than you might think. In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management. Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, and the way you deal with problems

Identify the sources of stress in your life

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.

To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:
Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?

Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”).

Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

Start a stress journal

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, keep track of it in your journal. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

  • What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure).
  • How you felt, both physically and emotionally.
  • How you acted in response.
  • What you did to make yourself feel better.
  • Look at how you currently cope with stress


Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress in your life. Your stress journal can help you identify them. Are your coping strategies healthy or unhealthy, helpful or unproductive? Unfortunately, many people cope with stress in ways that compound the problem.

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:

  • Smoking
  • Drinking too much
  • Overeating or undereating
  • Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
  • Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities Using pills or drugs to relax
  • Sleeping too much
  • Procrastinating
  • Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
  • Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)


Learning healthier ways to manage stress

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones. There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it’s helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.

Since everyone has a unique response to stress, there is no “one size fits all” solution to managing it. No single method works for everyone or in every situation, so experiment with different techniques and strategies. Focus on what makes you feel calm and in control.

Dealing with Stressful Situations: The Four A’s
=> Change the situation:
Avoid the stressor.
Alter the stressor.
=> Change your reaction:
Adapt to the stressor.
Accept the stressor.

Stress management strategy #1: Avoid unnecessary stress

Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to reaching them. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.

Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.

Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.

Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.


Stress management strategy #2: Alter the situation

If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same.

Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.

Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.

Manage your time better. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under.

Stress management strategy #3: Adapt to the stressor

If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.

Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.

Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”

Focus on the positive. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Adjusting Your Attitude

How you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical well-being. Each time you think a negative thought about yourself, your body reacts as if it were in the throes of a tension-filled situation. If you see good things about yourself, you are more likely to feel good; the reverse is also true. Eliminate words such as “always,” “never,” “should,” and “must.” These are telltale marks of self-defeating thoughts.

Stress management strategy #4: Accept the things you can’t change

Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.

Look for the upside. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.

Share your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation.

Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Stress management strategy #5: Make time for fun and relaxation

Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors when they inevitably come.

Healthy ways to relax and recharge

  • Go for a walk.
  • Spend time in nature.
  • Call a good friend.
  • Sweat out tension with a good workout.
  • Write in your journal.
  • Take a long bath.
  • Light scented candles. Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea.
  • Play with a pet.
  • Work in your garden.
  • Get a massage.
  • Curl up with a good book.
  • Listen to music.
  • Watch a comedy.


Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury.

Set aside relaxation time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.

Connect with others. Spend time with positive people who enhance your life. A strong support system will buffer you from the negative effects of stress.

Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.

Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Stress management strategy #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle

You can increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health.

Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pent-up stress and tension.

Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.

Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.


by Leave a comment

Prenatal Exposure to Common Household Chemical Linked to Eczema

WEDNESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) – Babies born to women who were exposed to the common household chemical butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP) during pregnancy are at greater risk for childhood eczema, new research suggests.
BBzP is used in vinyl flooring, artificial leather and other materials, and can be released into the air, the researchers said.
“While hereditary factors, allergens and exposure to tobacco smoke are known to contribute to the condition, our study is the first to show that prenatal exposure to BBzP is a risk factor,” study author Allan Just, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in a news release from Columbia University, where the research was conducted.
Just and his colleagues from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health measured urine concentrations of BBzP during the third trimester of pregnancy for more than 400 black and Dominican women living in New York City. None of the women smoked, and all but one had evidence of at least some exposure to BBzP.
After the birth of their babies, the mothers were asked if their children had been diagnosed with eczema, a condition characterized by dry, itchy, red skin on the face, scalp, hands or feet.
The children of mothers exposed to higher concentrations of the chemical were 52 percent more likely to develop eczema by age 2.

Researchers don’t know how BBzP might trigger eczema symptoms. To determine if allergies played a role, they tested the children for three common indoor allergens: cockroaches, dust mites and mice. The children also were tested for a specific immune response to the allergens.

The researchers noted that they found no link between BBzP exposure and allergies.
“We know allergies are a factor with some childhood eczema, but our data suggests that is not the case when BBzP is involved,” senior study author Dr. Rachel Miller, an associate professor of medicine and environmental health sciences at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, said in the news release. “However, these are important findings, given that eczema is a common and uncomfortable disease of early childhood.”
The study was published online June 26 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Although the study found an association between prenatal exposure to BBzP and eczema, it did not prove that exposure to the chemical caused the skin condition.
– Mary Elizabeth Dallas