Working Towards a Stroke!

A new study shows working long hours increases your risk of stroke!

 

                   “But this is my job, my company or my career what should I do?”

 

A study published this week in the Lancet revealed that employees who work 55 or more hours a week have three times a higher risk of stroke than those working standard hours. We’ve all known a colleague, friend or relative who has had a heart attack or stroke and we may have believed that it could never happen to us.

People tell themselves it won’t happen to them because “when I get through this busy period at work or finish this project, I will take better care of my health.” Or “in the fall, I will start living a healthier life, so I’ll be fine.”  Sound familiar?

Although we tell ourselves we’ll be all right, the data does not agree. Putting in long hours at work dramatically increases the chances of having a stroke and that stroke will not wait until it’s a convenient time to start living better.

Our everyday lifestyle here in the Maritimes is also a major contributor to our risk of stroke and it increases over time. Our overeating, inactivity and excess alcohol consumption puts us at a greater risk for having a serious cardiovascular event or stroke. Half the Maritime workforce has at least 2 risk factors for cardiovascular disease and more than 70% are overweight.  

Long-term disease may be slowly developing in our bodies without us even knowing about it. The build-up of cholesterol, shrinking muscles, wearing out our pancreas, and weight gain are some of the contributing factors to the development of long-term disease.

Do you really know if you are healthy? The best way to find out is through a detailed medical, physical and fitness evaluation. From there, you can better understand your current state of health and identify any areas where changes should be made.

Making changes is not easy. However, you may be encouraged to know that small gradual changes over time will make a profound difference in your health. This can best be achieved through education and coaching from certified health experts who can guide you toward optimal health.

You may already be on board with such a program, but have you talked to your family, friends and colleagues to see how they are managing their health?

At Optimal Health, our mission is to educate and empower people to actively manage their own health, so they can significantly reduce their chances of chronic disease and improve their overall longevity and quality of life. Our team of specialists can diagnose your overall health and fitness and identify your individual risk factors. More importantly, we can then tailor-make a fitness and health program suited to your exact and unique needs.

Don’t wait until some future time when that big project is complete or the seasons change, contact us today.

Our health professionals can guide you to Optimal Health!

 

Contact us at: (506) 855-6784 or e-mail: ttoner@santeoptimalhealth.ca

 

Fitness Trackers: “What Do They Do and Do I Need One?”

Santé Optimal Health

Fitness Trackers: “What Do They Do and Do I Need One?”

Fitness trackers are growing in both number and popularity; the Fitbit, the Jawbone, the Garmin Vivofit, and the Sony Smartband are just some examples of fitness trackers, but what exactly do they do and do I need one?

What Does It Do?

If used correctly and you know what you want from it, a fitness tracker can be a useful tool in helping you achieve your fitness goals.

It can:

-          Increase your awareness - Fitness trackers can increase your awareness of how much walking and physical activity you are actually doing. Some people believe they are very active but have never truly measured their physical activity level; when using one of these devices, you might be surprised by how little or how much you actually move. Although dependent on which type of activities you participate in, fitness trackers can give you direct feedback on how much you are moving. The simple process of measuring your movement can help drive change as you become aware of your activity level.

-          Set goals - Once you have your baseline and know what you want to accomplish, you can set a goal and very easily measure your improvement.

-          Monitor change - You can track patterns regarding the type of activity you perform, when you are exercising, as well as the duration of activity.

-          Monitor sleep patterns - Most trackers monitor your sleep habits and sometimes even include the different levels of your sleeping patterns. This can be useful information used to ensure you are getting enough rest for the physical activity you want to do.

-          Other functions - Some fitness trackers can monitor your heart rate, act as alarms, can be used as stopwatches, and also alert you about inactivity or peak activity; there are even fitness trackers designed for different sports such as biking and swimming. There is substantial growth in the industry and new functions are being added every day.

 

Do I Need One?

A fitness tracker is just one of the many tools that can help you become aware of your activity patterns and this awareness may help you make changes by setting and monitoring your goals. If you believe a tool such as this will help you determine and reach your goals, it can certainly be useful for you. However, it is important to remember that the ultimate goal is to make physical activity part of your everyday life so you can reap the benefits that come along with leading a healthy lifestyle.

How Do I Choose One?

I have included the link to a short article, from The Heart and Stroke Foundation, which outlines 6 steps on how to choose a fitness tracker:

http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ikIQLcMWJtE&b=4016859&ct=14644903&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Healthline_EN_May_2015&utm_campaign=HealthlineNewsletter#.VVSfazPSxV8.email

 

 

 

Our health professionals can guide you to Optimal Health!

Contact us at: (506) 855-6784 or e-mail: ttoner@santeoptimalhealth.ca

 

Mental Health Weekend- Make the Mind/Body Connection!

Santé Optimal Health

 

Mental Health Weekend- Make the Mind/Body Connection!

As mental health awareness week draws to a close this weekend, let’s take the opportunity to experience the strong connection between the mind and body for our own mental health.

We may have had a week where we experienced instances of frustration, anger, a deadline hanging over our heads like a weight, family, friends and work pulling us in many different directions, or just the exhaustion of completing another week full of work. All of these feelings can create an actual physical response in our bodies that builds up and is commonly referred to as stress. In order to relieve this stress, our mind is trained to seek pleasure at the expense of the body. The way we deal with stress may be through indulging in some guilty pleasure that we feel we deserve; however, this is a temporary solution that only feeds the mind and does not provide an outlet for the physical build-up our bodies are experiencing.

Physical activity can serve as the pressure valve that relieves stress and restores the balance between the mind and body. Exercise will increase blood circulation, raise your heart rate as well as stimulate all kinds of chemical activity in muscles that will help repair the wear and tear from the work week. Our bodies were designed to move and work best when engaging in regular physical activity, so becoming active will help bring back the balance between the mind and body.

If you haven’t been active, start slow and listen to your body; check with your doctor if you need to but remember that it is important to start moving. Walking is the simplest and easiest way to start; get out and walk around your neighborhood, walk to the market or visit one of the many amazing parks in Atlantic Canada. If you are regularly active, try adding an extra 10-15 minutes of activity to your routine and see if you can elicit the rebound effect of the deep state of relaxation that comes after exercise. When you finish your exercise and have time to reflect; you will have felt a connection between your mind and body and taken a step toward improving your mental health!

This weekend, massage your mind through your body by moving it.

 

Our health professionals can guide you to Optimal Health!

Contact us at: (506) 855-6784 or e-mail: ttoner@santeoptimalhealth.ca

Santé Optimal Health

 

Why Do I Need to Manage My Health?

This short but impactful video highlights the importance of how our current lifestyle can dramatically affect our future health.

Check this link out for a paradigm shifting video:

http://www.viral-posts.com/2014/08/this-powerful-video-may-change-the-way-you-view-healthy-eating.html?m=1

 

Do you really know if you are healthy?

Call us today to find out.

 

 

Our health professionals can guide you to Optimal Health!

Contact us at: (506) 855-6784 or e-mail: ttoner@santeoptimalhealth.ca

 

 

Move It or Lose It! It’s Never Too Late to Start…

 

Santé Optimal Health

 

Movement plays a huge role in reducing the lifestyle diseases that we are heading toward due to the way that we currently live in New Brunswick. Some heart attacks and strokes as well as Type 2 Diabetes can be directly traced back to our present lifestyle. Although physical inactivity is a key contributing factor to this trend, it is never too late to make a change by moving!

 

Here are a few ideas to show you how to gradually work on incorporating physical activity into your life:

 

·       Perform physical activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more to accumulate at least 20 minutes of exercise per day.

·       Park your car as far as possible from the entrance at work or while doing errands.

·       When possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

·       Go for a 10 to 15 minute brisk walk or bike ride around the block after dinner, alone or with the family.

·       Make a point to be active with your family on the weekend (i.e. play soccer, go ice skating, go snowshoeing or play tag).

·       Rake the lawn or shovel the snow, and offer to do the same for your neighbour.

 

It is estimated that if you are inactive and choose to become physically active, you can reduce your risk of heart attack by 35% to 55%. (Reference — Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation)

 

Our health professionals can guide you to Optimal Health!

Contact us at: (506) 855-6784 or e-mail: info@santeoptimalhealth.ca