Managing Your Health

Take a moment to think about how you treat yourself when you make a mistake or fail to reach a goal. If you tend to beat yourself up when things go wrong, you, like most people, can use a little more self-compassion in your life. Forgiving and nurturing yourself seem to have benefits in their own right. Strong self-compassion can even set the stage for better health, relationships, and general well-being. So far, research has revealed a number of benefits of self-compassion. Lower levels of anxiety and depression have been observed in people with higher self-compassion. Self-compassion people recognize when they are suffering and are kind to themselves at these times, thereby lowering their own levels of related anxiety and depression. Learn to have self-compassion Some people come by self-compassion naturally, but not everyone does. Luckily, it is a learnable skill. Several methods have been proposed, and training programs are being developed. to help people discover and cultiv...

Many health conditions are worsened by excess weight, and the stress of extra weight on joints can lead to painful conditions, particularly of the knees and feet. It makes sense, then, that losing weight often helps to relieve some kinds of pain. Finding an eating plan that is healthful and enjoyable will help you stick with your weight loss goals for the long term and maintain any weight loss you manage to achieve. To manage your weight, follow these simple rules to cut back on calories: Keep track of how much you eat. Keeping a food diary keeps you accountable and gives you valuable feedback on your eating trouble spots. Make small changes. Change your diet slowly to ensure you will be able to stick with it. Abruptly reducing the amount and type of foods you eat will likely backfire, causing you to go back to overeating. Use mindfulness techniques. Be mindful of when, where, and how much you're eating and when you begin to feel full. One tip is to take 20 minutes to f...

Sit-ups once ruled as the way to tighter abs and a slimmer waistline, while "planks" were merely flooring. Now plank exercises, in which you assume a position and hold it, are the gold standard for working your core, while classic sit-ups and crunches have fallen out of favor. Why the shift? One reason is that sit-ups are hard on your back - they push your curved spine against the floor and work your hip flexors, the muscles that run from the thighs to the lumbar vertebrae in the lower back. When the hip flexors are too strong or too tight, they tug on the lower spine, which can create lower back discomfort. Second, plank exercises recruit a better balance of muscles on the front, sides, and back of the body during exercise than do sit-ups, which target just a few muscles. Finally, activities of daily living, as well as sports and recreational activities, call on your muscles to work together, not in isolation. Sit-ups or crunches strengthen just a few muscle groups T...

Virtually every activity you do relies on ease of motion. Stretching can help in numerous ways. It can often relieve back pain, stiff necks, and sore knees when tight muscles are to blame. It can counteract too much sitting whether you're doing it for work or a pleasurable activity. If you're a runner, a tennis player, a golfer, a hiker, or a biker, the right stretching program may set you on a path toward better performance. And as you age, stretching can help keep you active and flexible, making it easier to accomplish innumerable everyday tasks involving walking, climbing stairs, or reaching. While it's tempting to skip right to the stretches, it's best to think about safety first. These will help you make the best flexibility gains possible, while reducing your risk of injuries. 1. Warm up first. Much like taffy, muscles stretch more easily when warm. It can be as simple as marching in place with arms swinging for five minutes or dancing to a few songs. Moist h...

Stretching promotes flexibility and helps your joints maintain a healthy range of motion - and in doing so, also lowers the chances of joint and muscle strain. But how often should you stretch? How long should you hold a stretch? And how many times should you do each stretch? A panel of experts convened by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) reviewed a wide range of studies to help answer these questions. Stretching has been studied much less rigorously than other forms of exercise, so the science is not as strong. But, based on the evidence, the panel agreed that: Healthy adults should do flexibility exercises (stretches, yoga, or tai chi) for all major muscle-tendon groups -- neck, shoulders, chest, trunk, lower back, hips, legs, and ankles - at least two to three times a week. For optimal results, you should spend a lot of 60 seconds on each stretching exercise. So, if you can hold a particular stretch for 15 seconds, repeating it three more times would be ideal...

Regardless of the time of year that we decide to eat better, exercise more, or be less stressed, it can be hard to make a lifestyle change, and even harder to make it stick. But there is a way to up your chances of success. Experts say efforts to make lifestyle changes are more likely to produce results if they are SMART - that is, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. If you're thinking of making a change, see if your goal can pass the SMART test: 1. Set a very specific goal. For example: I will add one fruit serving - that's half a cup, chopped - to my current daily diet. 2. Find a way to measure progress. For example, I will log my efforts each day on my calendar. 3. Make sure it's achievable. For example, don't set a goal of daily 5 mile run if you're out of shape. If you can't safely or reasonably accomplish your goal, set a smaller, achievable one. 4. Make sure it's realistic. It may seem counterintuitive, but choos...

Maybe you plan to ring in 2020 with a new resolve to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise more, not sweat the small stuff. And maybe these resolutions sound familiar - maybe just like the ones you made a year ago! So how can you ensure that your determination to get healthier in 2020 sticks around past Valentine's Day? By creating new habits. Creating new habits takes time and energy. A new behavior won't become automatic overnight, but you may enjoy some of its benefits fairly quickly Also, as you start to take walks regularly or engage in stress-soothing practices frequently, you'll find you won't fee quite right if you stop. That's a great incentive to continue. So, keep nudging yourself in the direction you'd like to go. And try the following seven tips to help you create long-lasting change. 1. Dream big. Audacious goals are compelling. Want to compete in a marathon or triathlon? Lose 50 pounds or just enough to fit into clothes you once loved? With ...