| THE REGULARS | FEATURES |
| Stress Tip | Supplement of the Month- Improve Concentration |
| Quote | Technology: Its Part in our Downfall |
| Book Review | Exercise for Energy |
| Humour From the Past |
Dr Batmanghelidj, or Dr Batman (!) as he is known in
America, trained in St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. He went back to Iran to try to help to
improve their medical services, but was imprisoned on false charges and
threatened with death. However, the
way he helped people when he was in prison having no drugs, but curing stomach
ulcers with only water was reported later in the British Journal of
Gastroenterology. Needless to say
the guards found it more useful to keep him
alive.
Dehydration can occur frequently in the workplace. Also, the modern office environment with air conditioning drying the air, computers emitting negative ions, heat sinks in computers drying and heating the air increasing dehydration can increase dehydration.
The knowledge is simple, but is fundamental to our long-term health and fitness, giving the solution to many so called degenerative conditions. It is one of the greatest health discoveries in the world.
The following conditions all have significant localised dehydration components. If you have any of the following conditions, this book may help.
Allergies Angina Headaches Hypertension Backache Depression Pollution Renal
Calculus Dyspepsia
Obesity
It helps to keep sipping water during the day. A water intake of about eight small to medium sized glasses of good quality water in twenty-four hours is enough.
In
the 60s and 70s we were sold, and believed, the lie that this would be a golden
age, an age of leisure. Technology
would enable this utopia, and computers would solve all our problems. We would work less and play more, and
the menial jobs would all be done by machines. Humans would deal with ‘quality’
work. We wouldn’t have to worry
about ‘quantity’ at all; ‘quantity’ work would be automated,
streamlined.
How
wrong they were! We are working
much longer, sleeping shorter, and commuting further. We are becoming overloaded. Someone somewhere missed the fact that
computers are information-processing machines. Unfortunately, unlike computers, we can
only deal with one thing at a time (well, certainly us men!), so we easily
become overloaded.
I
studied, and failed miserably, Computer Science at one time. One of the few things I remember that
they taught us was ‘garbage in – garbage out’. Never have we been so inundated by
pointless, useless, irrelevant information as we are now.
The
greatest villain of the peace is email.
We see so much ‘email stress’ these days. OK it’s a great tool (you wouldn’t be
reading this without it), but make no mistake, email can cause stress,
especially within workplaces.
Apart from the overload aspect, the biggest problem is that it is
overrated as a form of communication.
Emails only contain words, and words don’t convey much. They are often misinterpreted, can
appear curt, and can easily cause stress and conflict.
Human contact, face-to-face communication, may not be as efficient, but it’s certainly more effective. You can convey humour (very risky by email) and emotion. Even on the phone you can usually tell if someone is being ironic.
Real,
human connections, social support and contact, buffer us against the effects of
stress and make us feel better and live longer. Having said all this, I don’t know
where I would be without my computer, and I use email all the time. It’s just that we should never allow
technology to disconnect us from our fellow humans. Disconnection leads to depression
and illness, while connection leads to happiness and wellbeing.
So the next time you’re about to send an email to the person sitting opposite to you, try speaking to them for a change. You might find that you like it and so might they!
By Alan Bradshaw.
We also find
that an individual’s motivation to exercise increases when they realise that the
main benefits are not physical, but are in fact mental and emotional. When consultants are asked which
individual stress management technique produces the best results, most will say
that if they had to choose only one, it would be a regular exercise
program.
So why is
regular exercise so good for stress management? The main reasons are:
· Increases physical and mental energy
·
Naturally lifts your
mood
·
Increases your self-esteem
These three
ingredients make us more confident and positive about our ability to cope with
demands and to rise to challenges, whereas one of the main causes of stress is a
perception or belief that you can’t cope.
Why is exercise so
good for managing our stress?
· Improved blood flow to the brain brings extra oxygen
and sugar, which boosts your concentration and alertness.
· The faster blood flow through the brain carries away
more toxic materials and waste products which slow you
down
· Endorphin production increases improving mood and
feelings of well-being
Remember,
these benefits stay with you at all times, not just when you are
exercising. Research
from the American Council on Exercise discovered that it is nearly impossible to
feel bad about yourself directly after working
out.
If
you are not ready to join a fitness club
here are a number of activities you can build into you daily
routine:
·
Revive an old aerobic activity
you used to enjoy such as badminton, swimming or anything else you did before
you became so busy
·
Become a ‘stair person’ instead
of using lifts all the time. You
could start by going down the stairs and progress to going
up
·
Make yourself walk more by
deliberately parking further away from your work or the shops. This usually reduces the stress of
finding a parking space as well
·
Instead of sitting down for a
coffee break encourage a colleague to go for a walk with
you
·
Learn some basic stretching
exercises and do them every morning as soon as you get
up
·
Join a dance club or get into the
habit of doing your ‘Madonna’ routine in the living
room
·
Buy a bike or retrieve your old
one from the garage
If you want a
more regular approach think about exercising 3 times a week for 15 – 20
minutes. And forget the ‘no pain,
no gain’ adage, unless you’re into that kind of thing it simply isn’t
necessary. It is best
not to leave exercise
to the end of the day. Studies show that if you do, it's less likely to
happen. Also, if you exercise too close to bedtime you may feel restless
and unable to sleep.
Always remember that if you can’t carry on a conversation with the person next to you when you are exercising, you are exercising too hard!
By Alastair Taylor.
Humour is very much in the eye of the beholder, and some Victorian humour does not seem very funny to us as it was often used to teach a social lesson.
Victorian trains usually did not have corridors so you were stuck with your travelling companions at least until the next station. This mother and her two daughters were joined in their compartment by a young man, who insisted on smoking his pipe, despite being requested not to do so, and generally behaved in a disagreeable manner.
When the man reached his station
and was standing on the platform, the mother lent out the window and said:
‘Young man, I think you have left something behind.’ ‘Indeed, madam,’ he replied, ‘I do not
recall leaving anything. Pray, what
do you think I have left behind?’
Young man,’ she said, ‘You have left behind a bad
impression.’
In reality everything we say and everything we do goes out into our environment. With modern technology it is so easy to quickly send a text message or an e-mail that we might regret later.
By Dr David Mason Brown.