Tag: listen

Sleep

One important way to help deal with stress is by getting enough sleep. We are all familiar with how our bodies and minds feel when our sleep was interrupted or just too short – we feel clumsy, inattentive, moody, fatigued, unable to focus or remember.

There are several stages of sleep and two types of sleep.

Image showing the four stages of sleep in a sleep cycle: light sleep (when we are just falling asleep), main sleep (body and brain least active), REM sleep (dreaming), and slow-wave sleep (memory consolidation).

Throughout the night, we go through several sleep cycles. At the beginning of the night, we have deeper sleep – more non-REM sleep. Toward the end of the night, the sleep cycles consist mainly of REM sleep.

Image showing 8 hours of sleep with alternating REM and non-REM sleep.

Studies show the many benefits, both physical, mental and emotional, of getting enough sleep.

How can you get good sleep? Avoid eating, exercising or drinking caffeine too close to bedtime. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Have a restful place to sleep – dark, quiet, and cool. Here are more ideas, from NPR – https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510336/sleepbetter .

As with everything, it is possible for sleep to be disordered. Read about sleep disorders here – https://medlineplus.gov/sleepdisorders.html

How can you eat healthier?

Over the years, dietary recommendations have changed and some people may find the rapid changes confusing.

The United States Department of Agriculture has created a simple guide to healthier eating called MyPlate – read more here https://www.choosemyplate.gov/start-simple-myplate.

My Plate graphic showing that half your plate should be fruits and vegetables, about a quarter should be grains, and another quarter proteins. There is also a place for dairy.
MyPlate.gov

The dietary guidelines are updated every year. The key recommendations about healthy eating patterns can be found here – https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/chapter-1/key-recommendations/.

Another way to eat healthy is illustrated with the Healthy Eating Plate from Harvard University’s School of Public Health – https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/.

Image of a plate with half fruits and vegetables (more vegetables than fruit), whole grains are about a quarter and healthy proteins are another quarter. In this image, there is also water, and healthy plant-based oils.

There are benefits to choosing a diet that is full of plant-based foods. In fact, vegetarian diets have been linked to better health – https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/07/digging-vegetarian-diet.

Better nutrition is linked to better health. Listen to a podcast with six simple rules for better eating here – https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676170139/6-food-rules-that-could-help-you-live-longer.

  • Eat more nuts and seeds
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables
  • Eat more healthy Omega-3 fats
  • Eat less processed meats – these have been linked to colorectal cancer
  • Eat less sodium – too much can lead to high blood pressure
  • Eat less added sugar – these are empty calories

Eating right is one part of maintaining and improving your physical health – https://www.nih.gov/health-information/physical-wellness-toolkit.

When you are shopping for food, you can make wiser choices by looking at the nutritional label. These labels contain information on the serving size, and the amount of calories and nutrients per serving. It is important to pay attention to the serving size of the food – many people will eat more than one serving at a time, this is called portion size. Portion control is important for sticking to your dietary goals. You may see one of the labels below – some have switched to a newer format.

Nutrition label showing information on calories, fats, sodium, carbohydrates, proteins and select vitamins and minerals (older format)
Older format of nutrition label
Newer format of dietary label containing information on calories, fats, sodium, carbohydrates, proteins and select vitamins and minerals.
Newer format of nutrition label

It is also important to read ingredients lists of the foods. This can give you a clue about whether the product contains some beneficial items like whole grains, or some harmful products like trans fats (these are often labeled as partially hydrogenated fats).

In general, try to have a diet that is adequate and moderate, balanced and nutrient-dense. Stay away from empty calories. As the writer Michael Pollan says, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Sexuality: Gonads extra credit assignment

Listen to any of the episodes of the Radiolab Presents: Gonads podcast series here https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/projects/radiolab-presents-gonads.

  • Summarize the episode in your own words.
  • List at least three new things you learned.
  • How did the information you heard support your previous thoughts about sex, reproduction, gender, or fertility?
  • Did the information you heard challenge any of your previously held assumptions about sex, reproduction, gender or fertility? How?
  • Write at least 2 unanswered questions you still have about this topic. Where could you find this information?
  • Try to find an answer to your questions. Cite the source you used here.

Carbohydrates

One type of macro-nutrients is carbohydrates. They are an important source of energy. They can be either simple, like sugars, or complex, like starch and fiber. Read more about them here – https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002469.htm.

In the MyPlate eating plan, carbohydrates are often found in the Grains food group, as well as Fruit, Vegetables and even Protein (mainly in the form of fiber in legumes and nuts/seeds.

You can listen to a short podcast about carbs and calories here – https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676169439/the-truth-about-carbs-and-calories.

One way that we can improve our diets is by eating fewer added sugars. Too much sugar can have a negative effect on our health. Another thing you can do is switch from refined flours to whole grain – these types of grains have many benefits to your health.

How can we move more?

Many people in the United States are not getting the recommended amount of physical activity. Studies show that even small amounts of physical activity can increase people’s health. So why is it so hard to move more?

There are individual reasons and barriers to getting more exercise or physical activity. Schedules tend to be busy, people may not know how to exercise correctly and be intimidated, or your motivation may slack when there are other things to do. What other barriers stand in your way?

There are also structural reasons why exercising may not easy for people – no gyms or affordable places to exercise in the neighborhood, poor infrastructure with no parks or playgrounds, no bike lanes, and other environmental factors can impact our ability to exercise. Read more here – https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2015/05/opportunities-abound-moving-around.

One way we can overcome our obstacles is by first understanding what they are, and then thinking of ways to overcome them. Comment below with ideas of how to increase your physical activity throughout the day that are realistic to your situation.

Here are some ideas to increasing your physical activity – listen here https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676129459/get-started-exercising. And some more ideas to make exercise into a habit, based on research – https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676142159/build-an-exercise-habit-that-sticks.

Image of BMCC community at the 5K walk/run event
BMCC 5K walk/run event

Reliable health information

In order to make educated and wise decisions about healthcare and health products and services, we must be able to get good information. With the Internet, there has never been more freely available information. But not all of that information is correct. Nevertheless, most of us reach for Dr. Google when we have a health question. How can we get the best information out there?

First, you should be skeptical of news pieces about health, especially if it’s something that sounds too good to be true. Read more or listen here – https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-health-news-edition. In particular, look to multiple news sources, try to find the original research and not just news summaries, and learn about the information in a wider context of other health information.

As you read health information, ask yourself the following questions:

Who wrote/made this?
Is there evidence provided?
Does it come from a scientific study?
Is it recent?
Who funded it?

Here are a few more questions to consider: https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2021/11/25/7-questions-to-identify-health-misinformation-in-digital-and-social-media-and-how-does-it-start/.

Second, you can always ask your doctor what source of health information they recommend. Nowadays, many doctor’s offices have a way for you to email your doctor for quick questions and answers, if you don’t have a face-to-face appointment coming up.

Third, look things up on search engines (which include Google, Bing and others), using these tips – https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2013/09/20/5-tips-for-better-searching/. An important tip is to use search terms effectively. Try different search terms and synonyms, using AND, OR and NOT when searching, using parentheses for phrases, and so on. One important thing to note is that AI tools like ChatGPT and other large language models are not the same as search engines. They provide answers to your questions based on whether something sounds like natural speech, not based on accuracy.

Some fact checking resources include: PolitiFact Health Check, FactCheck.org SciCheck, and Snopes, which has a section on science and technology.