The NRG Tribe

Love this…..

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

                                                  –Thomas Edison

 

Summer time got me thinking about children.  With school ending the calender fills up as we seek activities to keep our kids happily busy during their break from regular class.

Sorting through the various options I began wondering about how to define “Healthy” in children.

Is health merely the absence of disease or more?

Health in my opinion implies balanced physical, mental, and emotional states.  I further believe health implies a general sense of wellbeing, stable energy, quality sleep, and a absence of ailments which limit growth, exploration, curiosity and learning.

Read on to explore the pillars of health for children and ways to encourage “Health.” [continue reading…]

Spring and summer seasonally means re-growth and renewal.  Rebirth, vigor, vitality, hope, and abundance come to mind.  New Year’s resolutions come in the dead of winter.  Some resolutions stick and many  do not.  I find spring and summer seasons the best time to work on oneself.

The warmer weather and energy from the sun naturally compel us change–hopefully grow.

Periodically I re-set myself by focusing on my general purpose in life.  I re-define goals and overall take stock of my mental, physical, and spiritual health. Modern life has so many complications and distractions that years can pass without attention to rebooting.

Spiritual Renewal

In my experience whether one is “Religious” or not, spirituality plays a role in not just our health but the quality of our existence.  Finding a peaceful, centered place within one’s own mind can pay huge dividends.

Do you know what you want?  Does your current direction in life fit with what your inner voice requests?  How often do you stop and focus on which way your going at all?  Do you have a purpose/mission?

Many never contemplate these deeper questions.  We often blindly make the coffee, drop off the kids at school, and punch the clock but never stop to ponder the bigger picture.

I find solace in refocusing my efforts and reconnecting with my spiritual side.  I feel more balanced, creative, and energetic when I keep a steady connection with my inner voice.

Prayer, meditation, studying philosophy, and goal-setting are my primary tools.  A focused, happy spirit is the first important step to health, productivity, and quality in my daily life.

Renewing the Mind

I love bookstores and learning.  Every Spring/summer I find myself searching out new areas of interest.  This behavior reminded me of a huge factor in maintaining health–keeping the mind active and engaged.

Renewing the mind means constantly exploring new concepts and expanding our understanding.  Of course as a physician I explore medical, health, and nutrition topics a great deal, but I also enjoy history, current events, and agricultural topics.

Having interests and hobbies allows the mind to creatively work problems, gain greater skill, and generally make us more interesting people.  I am surprised by how many of my patients never read.    Even those who don’t like to read can still renew the mind through audio/video podcasts, cable/television documentaries and free educational programs.

But renewing the mind need not center on academic approaches.  Engaging with interesting people, traveling, and participating in community activities can serve the same purpose.  From the dawn of time we learned through oral tradition–that means talking to each other!

Now more than ever society is both more connected but simultaneously disconnected.

I think renewing the mind, charting new areas of learning, and continual growth are important ways to maintain vitality.  Social connectivity (Not FACEBOOK) can spur us to new heights of understanding and growth.

Spring is a great time to explore.

Physical Renewal

Like checking the oil and tire pressure during a long trip, the physical body deserves a check-up periodically.  I think spring also reminds us to take inventory of our physical reserve.  Energy, mobility, strength, flexibility, appetite, mood, and libido all give us indicators of our current physical status.

Waning energy?  Gaining weight? Poor stamina or flexibility? Low sex drive?

Answering yes to any of the above can indicate advancing disease or at least serious warning signals underscoring the need for correction.

The human body was meant to move 12 miles daily.  For optimal health, aging, mental function and immunity our physical body requires activity.

Regardless of limitation, some activity is better than none.

I enjoy resetting physical goals each spring.  All ages and levels of ability can make new goals.  Examples might  include:  eating healthier, increasing my hydration, beginning a strength or flexibility program, eliminating extra stressors,  completing a detoxification program and improving sleep habits.

A couple years back I went all out pushing myself through a brutal exercise regimen to determine how far my body would progress (Olympus Project).  One doesn’t have to go that far…but our body demands renewal, proper fuel (food), and consistent activity for optimal performance.

Conclusion

Mind, body, spirit.  The triad of being.  The trinity of health.  Ignore one and unbalance the others.

What have you done to renew any or all of the three?  Are you making the most of your ability?  Have you taken the time to plan where you’re going, what you want in life, and how you will maintain your physical vehicle?

I look forward to learning how others renew.  Feel free to submit comments and encourage others…I think that’s why we’re all here.

Insomnia affects millions.  Sometimes the ineffective sleep occurs temporarily and sometimes problem lasts life-times.

Poor sleep robs vitality, sensibility, and creativity.  Poor sleep causes cascades of medical problems that sometimes seem remote and unrelated.

Sleep quality and insomnia research is an active field.  A quick google search for current insomnia research reveals numerous very current avenues of ongoing study.

Key areas of research include looking at the relationship between quantity and quality of sleep and several degenerative brain disorders such as: alzheimers, general dementia, parkinsons disease, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.

Insomnia Negatives

First off, poor sleep affects immune function.  Poor immune function has a myriad of affects throughout the body.

Insomnia suffers have more illnesses, hypertension, weight problems, and cancer.

It’s no wonder our body craves sleep when we’re sick according to this latest research. Insomnia affects memory later in life too.

Recent studies show clear relationships between memory decline and individuals getting either TOO MUCH or TOO LITTLE sleep.  In fact, routinely getting less than 6 hours or greater than 8 hours nightly appear to trigger greater memory deficits as we age.

These observations likely stem from some of the latest theories on memory which suggest memories require processing that occurs during specific portions of sleep.  Insomnia leads to limited “processing” windows and therefore a progression of perceived memory decline. When we experience disease, insomnia can have a dramatic effect on outcomes.

In the May 2nd, 2014 edition of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine research reported a dramatic improvement in advanced breast cancer survival in women with “Efficient” sleep ratios.  (Sleep Ratio = Effective sleep / Time in bed)  The improved mortality numbers were dramatic (68.9 months survival vs 33.2 months for insomniacs!!) Overall sleep doesn’t simply represent “off” time, but rather repair, processing, and a constellation of immune related behaviors. If you lose sleep…your health loses big time.

Natural Insomnia Cures:

The following items represent the pareto’s principle approach to insomnia.  (In other words, THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO TRY BEFORE SUPPLEMENTS OR MEDICATIONS.)

• Eliminate Alcohol:  Alcohol triggers sleep, but ineffective and fragmented sleep.  Elimination x 4 weeks will insure an adequate trial.  If you sleep better…Avoid it!
• Eliminate Caffeine:  (Soda, Tea, Monster Drinks, chocolate)  Caffeine has variable metabolism. Even coffee in the morning can affect sleep at night….in some people.  Consider elimination trial.
• Limit sugar/processed sweets:  Sugar laden diets trigger wild swings in insulin at night.  These swings lead to relative hypoglycemia (low sugar in the blood) and a stress response.  This causes waking episodes.
• Relax!:  Hot, Hot showers/bath followed by a brief cold water exposure can relax the body.  Tai chi, Yoga, or focused meditation can reap benefits.  How to relieve stress

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