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Category: Health and Wellness

Can Loosing Sleep Make You Fat?

Raise your hand if you got a solid 8 hours of sleep last night.  I thought so.  If you are typically logging 6 or so hours of sleep each night you are not alone. Between 1960 and 2010, the average night’s sleep for adults in the United States dropped to six and a half hours from more than eight. According to this N.Y. Times article the benefits of a good nights sleep include improved concentration, productivity, mood, immune function and less sensitivity to pain.

Here’s the bad news – loosing sleep can make you fat.

As the average hours American sleep each night has declined our average weight has increased. A 16 year long  Harvard sleep study showed women who slept for 5 hours per night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain and 15% more likely to become obese compared with women who slept 7 hours.

Several factors can affect your shuteye, from medications, your exercise and activity level during the day, stress, diet,  alcohol consumption and the amount of sunlight you receive. What can you do?  Here are some great recommendations for getting a more restful nights sleep.  They include establishing a regular sleep schedule and getting plenty of exercise. If you have trouble turning of your thoughts, to do list etc.. keep a journal and pen by your bed make a quick note about it and let it go.  If you drink coffee have a cup in the morning then cut yourself off.  Love your glass of wine in the evening?  Have one glass with dinner then stop drinking at least an hour before bedtime.

Did you know massage can help you sleep?  I receive (and suggest to my clients) at lease one massage per month.  If you are in need of a more structured movement + massage program call me today and together we will craft a customized exercise, stretching and self care program that will leave you looking and feeling your best!

Three Acupressure Points to Improve Digestion

Eggnog, sugar cookies, holiday cocktail parties… Are you suffering from post holiday belly blues? Here are three acupressure points that may help ease your digestive distress.

In this article Author Donna Gates quotes Yu Jia Yan a medical doctor from the 16th century:

If the Stomach is strong, life will be healthy; if the Stomach is weak, life will be unhealthy.

Good digestion is the key to a long, healthy life. Traditional Chinese medicine uses acupressure to help stimulate good digestion.

You can perform acupressure on yourself using the right essential oils to receive similar results to professional acupuncture. Stimulating specific points will improve your digestion, boost your immune system, and even improve your overall energy!

If you are suffering from major abdominal pains seek medical care.  If you suffer from the occasional upset stomach try stimulating these points and see if they bring you relief.

 

 

Ten Tips for Staying Healthy Over the Holidays

I just came across this Huffington Post article on ten tips for staying healthy over the holidays.  Great suggestions!

The author suggests setting realistic goals – say two workouts per week, keeping a food and workout journal to track your success and hold yourself accountable, enlisting a workout buddy, limiting your alcohol consumption, and finding healthy stress management techniques.   What are you doing to stay active and stress free over the holidays?

Looking for some new moves?  Check out this month’s “Fluid Five”.

Six Tips For Healthy Winter Skin

Six Tips For Healthy Winter Skin

  • Avoid super hot baths. Long hot showers or baths can dry out your skin.  Shorten your bath time, or try ending your shower with a shot of cold water.  This hot and cold contrast helps to boost your immune system.
  • Hydrate! After your bath slather on shea butter or jojoba oil.  I primarily use jojoba in my massage treatments.  It is suitable even for sensitive or oily skin.  Drink up! – water I mean.  Aim for half your body weight in ounces of water each day.  (So 70 ounces of water per day for a 140 pound person).
  • Feed your skin. Eat foods high in heart-healthy oils like avocados and walnuts to lubricate you from the inside out.
  • Buy a humidifier.  I know here in the rainy Northwest we get plenty of “moisture” but indoor heat dries out your skin and nasal passages.  Humidifiers send small molecules of moisture into the air, which helps to prevent and relieve dry skin.
  • Exfoliate. Dry Brushing is one of the easiest ways to slough off dead skin cells and improve your skin’s texture as well as encourage lymph flow which boosts your immune system.  Start with your hands and feet and move up your arms and legs brushing towards your heart.  I am happy to show you how to do this at your next massage appointment.
  • Get a Massage! I receive at least one massage a month.  This not only reminds me of how good my body can feel, but is part of my health maintenance plan.  Massage increases circulation, improves lymph flow, stimulates nerve endings and leaves your skin with a rosy glow.

Massage Therapy for Better Sleep

According to this article from Massage magazine, insomnia costs you more than a good night’s rest:

New research shows insomnia is costing the U.S. workforce more than $63 billion a year in lost productivity. Insomnia is costing the average U.S. worker 11.3 days, or $2,280 in lost productivity every year, according to a study in a recent issue of the journal Sleep. As a nation, the total cost is 252.7 days and $63.2 billion.

The study was conducted via phone interview and more women than men report suffering from insomnia. The study’s lead author Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D. says “It’s an under appreciated problem. Americans are not missing work because of insomnia. They are still going to their jobs but accomplishing less because they’re tired. In an information-based economy, it’s difficult to find a condition that has a greater effect on productivity.”

Do you have trouble falling asleep at night or staying asleep? Want to be more productive at work or have a higher quality of life?  Massage therapy can help! Massage promotes rest and relaxation—two crucial components of good sleep.