Insight Life Care - Blog #sleep

Insight Monthly: May 2021 Newsletter

Sat, 01 May 2021 16:40:00 +0000

Happy May everyone!

Did you know May is High Blood Pressure Education Month? Maybe not, but now you do! Tens of millions of adults in the United States have high blood pressure which when uncontrolled can increase the risk for heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death for Americans. Luckily for us, there are many steps we can take each day to keep our blood pressure in a healthy range including choosing healthy meal and snack options along with exercising regularly.

It’s important to focus on foods high in fiber, potassium, and protein and low in sodium and saturated fat. It’s okay to have unhealthy foods in moderation, but make sure the majority of your diet is nutrient focused (eat your greens!). An easy way to get a lot of nutrient rich foods in one meal is through a smoothie. An easy way to get a lot of nutrient rich foods in one meal is through a smoothie. Try adding your favorite fruits with a big handful of kale along with some milk or juice and chia/flax seeds into your blender and voila! you have a delicious and nutritious smoothie.

Some other factors that can help to keep your blood pressure levels healthy are getting enough sleep (at least 7-8 hours/night!), limiting alcoholic drinks to max 1/day, and not smoking.

Are you having trouble concentrating?

It’s normal as we age to have more difficulty filtering out stimuli that are not relevant to the task at hand, we may find our minds wandering more often or that we are easily distracted. There are also outside factors that can affect our concentration such as underlying conditions, medications, lifestyle choices, and information overload from all of the screened devices we use. Although we can’t go back in time and some factors are out of our control, there are strategies we can take to improve our attention.

Meditation: Sit still for a couple minutes each day, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing as well as the sounds and sensations around you. If you become distracted, just bring your thoughts back to your breath.
Limit Your Devices: Practice putting your phone on silent mode or shutting down your email for a couple of hours of the day. Limit notifications that trigger you to stop what you are doing and look at something else.
Take Small Steps: Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night and approximately 150 minutes of exercise, such as brisk walking. Try incorporating more vegetables into your meals, even just a handful of greens or adding one additional vegetable to each meal can make a big difference!

Getting older is something that we cannot control, but we can control the choices we make regarding what we eat, how much we sleep, what notifications we see, and what we do in our free time. With small changes, we will see improvement not only in our concentration, but in other areas as well.

Covid-19 travel tips

If you’re like many others and have been mostly staying put over the last 14 months, you may be itching to get out of your house to explore somewhere new or to visit family in a different state/country. If you’re thinking about traveling by plane, we encourage you to do so in the safest way possible!

Get Tested: Many locations require a negative PCR test result within about 72 hours of your arrival. Make sure to check for specific guidelines. If you need a PCR test for traveling, please call our office to schedule.
Mask Up: Wear a tight-fitting mask, such as an N95, and something to cover your eyes like glasses or a face shield. We recommend filling up on water and food before you head to the airport so you can avoid having to take off your mask the whole time you are traveling.
Social Distance: Try to stay spread out from others as much as possible in the airport terminal, this may be more difficult when you are actually seated on the plane, but just do the best you can.
Stay Clean: Keep an easily accessible bottle of hand sanitizer with you to use when you touch any heavily trafficked areas such as door handles, luggage bins, and escalator banisters. Try to avoid touching your face the whole time you are traveling.

For vaccinated individuals, it is still important to get tested, mask up, social distance, and practice proper hygiene because there may be people around us who are not yet vaccinated. If you have any questions about traveling safely, please reach out to us!

Doc's corner:

Your teeth and your heart are linked. Plaque disease in our mouths is associated with increased risk of heart disease. While throughout the pandemic many have delayed both routine and at times urgent medical care for fear of exposure and infection, once vaccinated I encourage a visit to a good Dentist for cleaning; they should have their entire staff and all visitors masked, hand hygiene easily available, and face shields on all technicians. Let us know if you would like a recommendation, and keep smiling!!

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Insight Monthly: January 2021 Newsletter

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

From our family to yours, Happy New Year! We hope this year is full of good health, happiness, prosperity, and more time spent with those we love near and far. 2020 has brought many challenges and with that much learning and growth as well. One year ago, who would have thought that we would experience a pandemic that would require us to stay home as much as possible and wear masks when we leave the house? We will enter 2021 in the same manner, but hopefully by the end of the year, we will have seen some positive progress towards pre-pandemic normalcy.

We hope that you spend some time reflecting on the year and making goals for the year to come. New Year, New Me? Not quite, but it’s beneficial to slow down sometimes to reflect, be present, and/or plan.

Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for trusting us to care for you this year. We are immensely grateful for our wonderful patients and all of the blessings you bring to us each and every day. We wish you nothing but the best in the year to come and we are excited to continue this journey with you.

Vaccines: now what?

If 2020 was defined by the explosion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 2021 could be about its dwindling. But how many people will fall ill, and die, as that happens is dependent on our leaders, individuals, vaccine makers, and public campaigns to encourage people to get the Covid-19 shots developed with unprecedented speed.

There are various estimates for when vaccines will be widely available to Americans. But during the first half of the year, supplies from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech will grow, and the U.S. could also see the arrival of shots from such companies as Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Novavax, depending on clinical trial data and regulatory authorization. Hopefully, most American adults will have the opportunity to get immunized in the first half of 2021—children will likely not be immunized until later. However, even the best vaccines are ineffective unless people actually get them, so, then the question becomes, how many will do so?

An end to the pandemic remains abstract, it will likely be a gradual easing of restrictions and strategies while activities we’ve rejected become safe again as the virus recedes. But when? Will the end of 2021 include the end to the pandemic lives we have been living? Maybe, if everything goes as “planned.” There is a future to look forward to, but for now, we must persist in our current state, encouraging others to remain optimistic and committed to their protective strategies.

Consume more fiber!

Fiber is a carbohydrate that is naturally found only in plant foods. Plants make fiber to structurally support their cells, allowing them to bear weight. There are two main types of fiber that we consume: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water, insoluble does not. Unlike other types of carbohydrates, our bodies do not have the enzymes to break down fiber. Instead, the bacteria in our microbiome does this for us when fiber reaches our large intestine, aka your colon. This process produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that can be absorbed by the body. SCFAs are the dominant driver of gut health, which has an enormous impact on our overall health.

Consuming more fiber results in a plethora of health benefits including regulating blood sugar, lowering cholesterol, correcting bowel irregularities, optimizing immune function, promoting healthy aging and longevity, and healing your colon. You can take advantage of all these health benefits and many more by increasing the amount and diversity of plants in your diet, eating more whole grains, legumes, and omega-3 super seeds.

Try making a smoothie with greens, fruits, and flax seeds every morning and including a salad with lots of different vegetables, chickpeas, and broccoli sprouts every day. Your body will thank you!

Get a better night's sleep

What you do during the day affects how well you sleep at night. Try these little strategies throughout the day to encourage better sleep:

Wake up at the same time every morning, including weekends and holidays. Make your bed—people who do so are more likely to sleep better at night. Eat breakfast outside or by a window—the sun helps reset your body’s circadian clock. Exercise at lunch: early workouts may sacrifice sleep and those within 3 hours of bed may keep you awake. Cut caffeine by 12-4pm depending on your sensitivity. Its effects can linger for 4+ hours. If you need to nap, take it before 3pm and only for 30 minutes or less. Use lamps and dimmers—bright overhead lights trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. Keep showers or baths warm but not hot. Also turn down the thermostat a few degrees to mimic your nighttime drop in body temperature. Turn all technology off at least 30 minutes before bed. Blue light and constant stimulation make it tough to wind down. Have a light snack before bed such as yogurt or fruit if hunger often wakes you in the night. Stick to the same bedtime or vary it by no more than an hour.

Doc's corner:

There is a saying in racing that goes like this: "La macchina va dove vanno gli occhi" - "The car goes where the eyes go." At speed, one learns to keep eyes up, look ahead to where you are traveling, both be aware of where you are and maintain focus on where you're going. It's a powerful metaphor for life as well. This year, I'm looking ahead to positive things, better news on the horizon, focused on what I hope to achieve and where I’m headed for 2021 and beyond!

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