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MAKING TIME FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WHY IT MATTERS

Making time for your health 1-2 and why it matters

Quick Tips for Beating an Afternoon Slump 3-4

Giving Up Tobacco: 5 Tips for getting through the day

Banana Pancakes 6

IN THIS ISSUE:

Q4 HEALTH NEWSLETTER | 2016

LifeWorks Wellness

Deadlines at work. Family obligations. Chores. Caring for your child or an older relative. There seems to be little time left to care for yourself. But it is important to make the time. It’s not selfish – it’s necessary.

Some of the benefits of making time for your health may seem obvious. It just feels good to know you’ve done all you can to stay healthy for yourself and the people you love. But other benefits are more subtle. If you make the time for health, you may:

Lower your risk for certain diseases.By staying as healthy as you can, you may avoid illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, and osteoporosis. You may also avoid or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, a leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, and other complications in adults. Losing as little as 7 percent of your body weight can substantially reduce your chance of developing diabetes if you are at risk for it.

Seek treatment for illnesses early enough that they can be cured.You can greatly increase your chances of surviving some diseases by getting tested for them. For example, studies have shown that you can reduce your risk of dying from colon cancer by anywhere from 50 to 90 percent by having a colonoscopy on the schedule recommended by your doctor. That’s because the test can find the disease before it spreads to other parts of your body.

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Save money on medical and dental bills.A small investment of time can lead to big savings on health care costs. A routine dental checkup may turn up tooth problems when they can be fixed by a simple procedure, such as filling a cavity. The cost may soar if you neglect the tooth and eventually need a root canal, porcelain crown, or both.

Have more energy and less stress. Even if you have no major health problems, making time for your health can improve the quality of your life. A good example involves sleep. If you get too little sleep, you may feel tired, irritable, forgetful, and less able to cope with stress the next day. If you don’t make up the “sleep debt,” those feelings may last much longer. Research has shown people who have had too little sleep make more mistakes, so a bad night can affect everything from your work to your safety behind the wheel of a car.

Set a good example for children. If you have children, you’ve probably spent a lot of time teaching them about good health habits, such as brushing their teeth and eating healthy foods. Your children also learn by watching you. If you want them to exercise regularly, a good way to send that message is to stay as active as you’d like them to be. You’ll get a double benefit if you choose activities your children can enjoy with you, such as hiking, swimming, or bike riding.


QUICK TIPS FOR BEATING AN AFTERNOON SLUMP

Almost everyone has a time of day when it’s hard to concentrate. For many people, that time of day is the afternoon. You may start to feel tired or grouchy or find that you’re craving caffeine or sugar. If your

workday is affected by an afternoon slump, you can take steps to boost your energy and make the last part of the day more pleasant and productive.

Eat a healthy breakfast. Start the day with a solid breakfast that will help to rev up your energy. If you don’t always have time to prepare one, try eating healthy leftovers, such as lean meat and whole-grain rice or pasta with vegetables.

Make time for a satisfying lunch. Skipping lunch can cause your energy to drop in the afternoon. Avoid overly large or heavy meals that contain a lot of salt or too much sugar or other fast-burning carbohydrates.

Choose your snacks carefully. Instead of reaching for chips or a candy bar, have something more nutritious, such as fruit, yogurt, cheese and whole-grain crackers, cut-up vegetables and hummus, or unsalted nuts. Balanced snacks allow your blood-sugar levels to stay more stable and help you avoid a drop in energy.

Take short breaks to maintain your energy. If you can, get up and leave your work area for five minutes when you feel a slump coming on. Go for a walk or get a drink of water. Stretch your muscles a little and give your eyes -- and your brain -- a short rest. Stretching allows your muscles to limber up and can help you relax and improve your concentration for the rest of the day. Try to build in some exercise at lunchtime, too.

Get a good night’s sleep. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep to feel rested and energetic, according to the National Sleep Foundation. But most people don’t sleep anywhere near eight hours a night. When you don’t get enough sleep, you may just run out of energy by the afternoon. This can make it hard to concentrate, and it can even cause you to make mistakes on the job. Make getting a good night’s sleep a priority -- you may be surprised by how much better you feel in the afternoon and all day long.


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Stay focused. During an afternoon slump, many people have less ability to concentrate and fall into an even deeper slump. You may work halfheartedly at or start and stop tasks. Take a few minutes to look at your to-do list. If you don’t have one, make one. Then figure out which tasks you can realistically get done by the end of the day and focus on those.

Notice when you have less energy. Once you realize what time of day you tend to feel the slump, you can plan around it. For example, if you know that you tend to feel very tired at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, make sure that you work on a challenging project in the morning. Schedule meetings or tasks for the time of day when you feel most alert.

Listen to upbeat music. Create a playlist of lively and energizing tunes on your phone or music player. Use earbuds or headphones to listen to one or two on your break or at lunchtime. Hearing a happy, fast-paced tune can perk up your energy level.

Learn techniques to manage stress. A slump can also occur because you’re under stress and feel burned out after hours of intense work. If this is the case, practice relaxation techniques to manage feelings of stress and overload. You might also talk with your manager about ways to ease your workload.

If you pay attention to when your slumps tend to occur and take steps to feel more energetic at those times, you may be able to make your entire workday as productive as the beginning.


GIVING UP TOBACCO: TIPS FOR GETTING THROUGH THE DAY

Are you about to start life fresh as someone who doesn’t use tobacco?

Here are some tips for getting through the day.

Cut back on or stop drinking caffeine. When you quit using tobacco, caffeine stays in your body longer. If you drink your usual amount of coffee or cola, you’ll feel jittery and nervous. Drink half or less of your usual amount of caffeine.

Eat several small meals during the day. This will keep your energy level up by keeping your blood sugar level constant.

Stock up on low-calorie, fat-free snacks. Unbuttered popcorn, carrot sticks, pretzels, pickles, gum, and mints will satisfy your need to put something in your mouth without adding fat and calories.

Keep busy. If you’re not working on your quit day, go somewhere that smoking isn’t allowed, such as to a museum or to the movies.

Avoid drinking alcohol. Beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks are common triggers for tobacco use. Alcohol can also make it harder to resist tobacco.

Avoid stressful people and places. Do things that you enjoy.

Stay away from people and places that remind you of smoking or chewing. If you live with a tobacco user, ask him or her not to leave it where you’ll find it and to smoke outside or only in a certain room.

If you have smoked for a long time, it will feel strange for your hands and mouth to be empty. Eat carrot or celery sticks, or chew on flavored toothpicks. They won’t add extra calories and they can be held between your fingers like cigarettes. Or eat unshelled sunflower seeds. They’ll keep your hands and mouth busy.


BANANA PANCAKES

Do you have those last few remaining overripe bananas on your kitchen counter and don’t want them to go to waste? Try this healthy new twist on an old breakfast favorite – Banana pancakes.*

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Yield (servings): 3

Serving Size: 1/3 of recipe 1 cup blueberries

Calories: 360

Fat: 3

Sat Fat: 0

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium: 5

Total Fiber: 3

Protein: 10

Carbohydrates: 78

Potassium: 0

INGREDIENTS:

1 C unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 medium banana; mashed

1 1/4 C soy milk

1 tbsp sweetener

PREPARATION:

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.

2. In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork and add 1/4 cup of the milk, mixing together until there are no lumps. Add the banana, sweetener, and remaining soy milk to the dry mix and stir together until “just mixed.”

3. Portion out about 1 cup of batter onto a hot non-stick pan and cover with a lid. Let sit on medium heat until the center starts to bubble and become sturdy. Flip pancake over and cook other side until golden brown.

4. Repeat process until all the batter is gone.

Add some blueberries for a special healthy treat.

*Recipe from the Weight Loss Recipes page on LifeWorks.com.

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