Tag: Levels Of Stress

Fitness And Health In The Corporate World

Many businesses have begun to understand that investing in the health and fitness of their employees is a wise move. They are also beginning to realize the effects that it has on their bottom lines. Because of this they have begun to teach their employees the concepts and practices of overall fitness and health. Teaching employees good health and safety principles and practices will not only give them an edge on success but also reductions in healthcare payouts for their employees in sick days. The benefit of health and fitness education for employees is two fold. The employee will gain lower levels of stress, an increase level of self esteem and improved physical fitness with increased stamina. The employer gains employee productivity increases, decreased rates of illness, and develops employee leadership skills. There is one other benefactor in this whole processthe community. The community will become or stay a competitive player in the market place.

Today companies look to including worksite health care facilities or health and wellness programs to help them to alleviate their profit margin. This has proven a successful investment with the return being healthier longer working employees, less turnover, and protection of the most important asset in any company, which is the employees. Employers want to keep the people who can do their job as good as possible, and these people need to have healthy minds and bodies to be able to get everything done. While everyone should take initiative on their own to stay healthy, unfortunately many people dont.

When your employees get wrapped up in the day to day life of work, children, and other chores and tasks they forget to take time for fitness and health care concerns themselves. An employer who handles reminders and consultations of health related information is an employer that quality employees will want to work for and stay with for a very long time.
As we all age physical and mental fitness is sometimes taken for granted and before we know it there is a problem that possibly could have been rectified in a proactive manner instead of a reactive manner. Using a proactive approach could prevent loss of income of the employer and the employee and family if handled with care and respect for the wishes of both parties. Encouraging employees to live a healthier lifestyle outside of work is a behavior that will transfer into the workplace and make for a good or better environment for all concerned.

Some companies have bought into this idea by including memberships to gyms as incentive bonuses, or even as new hire bonuses. They are using fitness and health as a motivating factor to get promotions and raises. So if you are a company, large, small, or otherwise, it will be to your benefit to incorporate a health and fitness education plan. Maybe a health and fitness program, or incentive for your employees to better care for them and your bottom line in business is the answer. Find a plan that fits your company needs and watch out for your return on your investment. Even if it does not improve your bottom line noticeably, it is still a good idea to keep the plan around for general morale and well-being in your business.

Alcohol Abuse And Depression

Research has shown that up to ten percent of depressed people also abuse alcohol. Many people abuse alcohol when depressed because it makes the sad feelings go away. However this is only a temporary fix. People abusing alcohol think they are treating their depression when in fact large amounts of alcohol can actually worsen the illness.

Depressed people do not realize that the more times they drink alcohol, the more they are increasing their tolerance levels to alcohol. This then requires even more alcohol to induce the same feelings of relative happiness that the first few drinks used to achieve. This is how alcohol can become addictive and gets to the abuse stage.

Unfortunately both depression and alcohol abuse are more common than ever before. While 10% of depressed people also abuse alcohol, up to 40% of alcohol abusers show signs of depression. These numbers are growing every day. These numbers keep growing as more and more people become addicted to alcohol and/ or become depressed due to the increasing levels of stress in todays world.

Often the symptoms of alcohol abuse and depression can be interchanged. Both illnesses show changes in behavior such as becoming increasingly impulsive, increasing acts of violence and aggression, increasing isolating tendencies, and impaired judgment. Both illnesses can lead to problems in the marriage and result in the breakdown of the family. One must also be concerned with the fact that depressed people are more likely to cause accidents within the home. There is also an increased link between alcohol abuse, depression and suicide. This is really a cause for concern for these individuals.

Research also indicates that the abuse of alcohol can be genetic. Children of alcoholic parents are much more likely to suffer from alcoholism themselves. Their alcohol tolerance levels are much higher than the average child the same age. The same research indicates that alcohol abuse affects chemicals in the brain. These chemicals affect the way the brain processes information. Depression is also immediately inherited from parents to child, as well as from relatives.

Trying to determine if an individual is depressed, abusing alcohol or both is difficult. Many of the symptoms are the same for each illness. Insomnia, waking up frequently, poor appetite, sleepiness, and feelings of disorientation are symptoms of both illnesses. To complicate the situation, many people who abuse alcohol become depressed over time. Doctors will first treat the alcoholism and see if the persons mood improves; if it does not then they will treat the depression.

Alcohol is in a set of drugs known as sedative hypnotics. Other drugs in this category are tranquilizers. Many depressed people, especially young adults, abuse other drugs as well as alcohol. Some of the antidepressant medications on the market today also contain a sedative. Thus if combined with alcohol, the person becomes severely sedated and can even stop breathing.

The danger of combining alcohol with drug treatment for depression is one doctors know well. This is why they tend to treat the alcoholism before the depression.

Walking Offers Great Benefits for your Brain Activities

Walking is a way to get the daily exercise you need and it is also great for your brain activities. Research shows that people who walk are doing a huge service for their brains. As a person walks the blood circulates faster. At the same time more glucose and oxygen are sent to the brain. This is possible because walking is a very low impact type of exercise. When you exercise with fast paced movements your body is going to absorb that extra glucose and oxygen so it isnt available for the brain to receive.

The additional oxygen that goes to your brain is a great way to help you reduce levels of stress. This is why a brisk walk a couple of times each day can help a person to see pressing situations in new ways. Individuals that walk on a regular basis have better concentration and they seem to be more receptive to learning new things. It is estimated that they risk of a stroke is reduced by more than 50% when you walk each day. Since a stroke can have severe consequences for the brain activities this is good news.

There have been many studies with women and their walking habits. Those that walk at least 20 minutes each day seem to be able to remember things that have occurred more than others. The fact that they arent suffering from memory loss as they get older could be due to the amount of walking they have done in the past.

Start out by walking at least 20 minutes a day. Try to work up to at least 30 minutes. As you are able to get this time frame in without any problem offer yourself a new challenge. Try to walk further in those 30 minutes than you did before. This can be accomplished by picking up the pace and by focusing your attention on the size of your stride. Try to make them longer and with a purpose rather than just going for a leisurely stroll.

Dont use the excuse that you dont have enough energy to walk. If you have aches and pains you may be afraid to engage in such activities. However, walking releases more endorphins that are produced by the body naturally. This means you will have more energy than before when you walk. You will also have a sense of happiness that you didnt before thanks to those endorphins being released in the brain. Those endorphins can also help to relieve various types of pain your body may have.

It is understandable that people are very different when it comes to their fitness levels. Walking is low impact so just about anyone can take part in it. This is the perfect activity to engage in so that your body gets the physical exercise it needs. At the same time our brain gets a workout that keeps it youthful and vital as well. You can walk alone or with a friend to keep yourself motivated. If you are alone the use of an MP3 player can help make it more interesting.

If you have children, take them along for the walk as well. Children are never too young to work on their physical and mental well being. In fact, children that have been doing so from a young age will accept it as a part of what they need to do. They will be more likely to continue such efforts as they become adults themselves. This means that their brain activities will be very strong and healthy. They will stay that way too instead of slipping as they get older.

You can get them a stroller or a wagon to help keep the pace rapid until they are old enough to keep up with you. Many parents walk at tracks around playgrounds too. This is perfect because the children get to play while you walk. Yet you can still keep a close eye on them while you do so.

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Overview

With no known definite cause, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a popular name for a disorder or group of disorders with varying debilitating effects on the individual which persist for at least 6 months. According to some sources, the syndrome results from an infection. As of yet though, the syndrome is not yet fully understood although it is quite a common disorder.

Onset
The onset of CFS is usually characterized by sudden occurrence of symptoms which are somewhat similar to the symptoms accompanying flu. It is believed to begin with an infection caused by non-viral and viral pathogens which trigger subsequent symptoms. In a smaller fraction of patients, the onset begins after exposure to prolonged extreme levels of stress. Thus, it is believed that CFS can begin either from high levels of stress or infection. Current studies are focused on investigating on these causation models.

Causes
Although there are no definite causes to chronic fatigue syndrome, there are however, known conditions that are closely related to the development of the syndrome. They are as follows:

1. Chlamydia pneumoniae, a bacterium which causes pneumonia and related illness.

2. EBV or Epstein-Barr virus which causes mononucleosis or the kissing disease, a very common respiratory disease that has symptoms resembling flu.

3. Onset of serious case of bronchitis and diarrhea.

4. Continuous subjection to stress, both physical and mental.

Symptoms
There are two criteria in determining the presence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. They are as follows:

1. Unexplainable chronic fatigue is experienced for more than 6 months and all other diseases and disorders that can lead to long term experience of fatigue have been ruled out by your health care provider. This fatigue does not root from physical exertion and cannot be relieved by rest.

2. The presence of four of the following symptoms: a) decreased cognitive function or chronic impairment of short-term memory, b) fatigue that is not relieved through rest, c) muscle pains or myalgia, d) severe headaches, e) prolonged sickness and exhaustion, f) recurring and frequent sore throat, g) joint pains without redness or inflammation, and f) abnormal lymph nodes with notable tenderness.

Treatment Options
There are several ways of managing the disorder but there is no one universal treatment option that is recommended for all patients. For some patients, dietary changes, changes in lifestyle, use of pain killers, physiotherapy, medications and Complementary and Alternative Medicine work. The most common unconventional treatment modalities are CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Graded Exercise Therapy.

Prognosis
The average recovery rate of untreated patients is pegged at 5%. On the other hand, those patients who have received a number of treatments are 40% more likely to benefit from full recovery.

Occurrence
Due to the absence of concrete and definite parameters for identifying people with CFS, it is quite hard to determine the exact number of people who are affected by this disorder. Estimates range from 75-420 people in every 100,000 people have this disorder. Women are more susceptible to developing this disorder by 20% although there are strong indications that this disparity is due to unreported cases among men.

The syndrome occurs across all ages but is more common among people aged 40 to 59 years old. It is found across genders and ethnic backgrounds. It is also seen to run in the family.