Health Tips Continued...

How to Unwind After Work

If you leave work and feel exhausted when you arrive at home, then you need to unwind so that you have the energy and time that a career and family require. Use these tips to help you relax in the evening.

• Try to plan your workday so that the major tasks are accomplished early and that the less stressing tasks are towards the end , this enables you to feel more relaxed for your commute home.
• Use the time when you are commuting to reflect about your day and how you can make tomorrow more organized.
• Try to make thirty minutes for exercise.
• Try to make your childrens' homework, mealtimes,bathtimes, and bedtimes a ritual to enable them to have a regular schedule and to allow you time for your exercise.
• Avoid late, heavy, fatty meals when possible as these may interfere with a good night's sleep.
• Do not fall asleep watching television.
• Try a nice warm bath after your exercise and go to bed with a clear understanding of what time you need to awake in the morning to avoid being tardy for work or school.
• Make a big effort to get eight hours of sleep so that you will operate with energy.
  

Exercise/Fitness Aerobic exercise is an excellent way to keep in shape. We recommend three to five times a week at least for thirty minutes duration. If you are not certain you can handle this level of activity you should consult your primary care physician . These activities include walking, running or jogging, cycling, swimming, and aerobic dancing. Remember to do warm-up stretches of your arms and legs before you begin your aerobic exercises. If you do acquire a sports related injury remember to (REST)----Restrict movement, (ICE)----apply a cold compresses, (COMPRESSION)----ace wrap pressure bandage, (ELEVATION)----keep the injured part raised above the heart level · If the swelling, discoloration, or pain are severe consult your primary care physician.

Nutrition

• It is very important that fruits and vegetables make up a significant portion of your diet (the very fresh ones being the best), to enable your body to acquire proper vitamins and minerals essential for good health
• Do not make fast foods, sugars, and fats the mainstay of your diet because these will lead to obesity and lack of energy when eaten in excess.
• You can enjoy complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, pasta , whole grain breads and cereals.
• Lower fat yogurt, cheese, and milk are excellent sources of calcium.
• When you need to lower your sugar intake, try to reduce it by one-half, eat fresh fruits that are naturally sweet, use recipes that substitute fruit juices for sugar and use fruit purees instead of jelly.

Tension Headaches/Stress

• Lie down in a quiet, dark room with a cool wash cloth over your eyes.
• Massage---you can do this yourself or have another person do this especially to the neck, shoulders, and scalp.
• Ice packs to the back of the neck.
• Try relaxing your muscles -first tense a muscle group then relax it then go to a different muscle group trying the same thing, now relax your whole body.

Deep Breathing

This is a great way to help relieve stress and relax-try it !
It can be done anywhere and at anytime and it is free.

Sit or lie down if possible, slowly take in a deep breath through your nostrils and feel the air as it moves in. Very slowly allow the air to leave through pursed lips and feel it move out. This should be done about two to three minutes. It is really more relaxing if you can think of a meadow with flowers, sunrise, or the ocean breeze.