Don't Allow the Tobacco Industry to Kill You

Smoking cigarettes continues to be the biggest contributor to diseases that cause premature death. Again, it’s the largest contributor to diseases in our country. There is certainly an elevated risk for cancers [mostly of the lung, neck, tongue, larynx, esophagus, and bladder]. However, the majority of smokers die from cardiovascular disease. I’ll bet you didn’t read that on a package of cigarettes. And I bet you also didn’t read that on your cigarette pack that passive secondhand smoke elevates the cardiovascular disease risk by 25%.

Looking at the demographics, Americans with GED’s have a 40% smoking rate compared to 24% of high school graduates and 10% of college graduates. So go to school and maybe you’ll be smart enough not to smoke or die from a cardiovascular disease. Further, the highest rates of smoking in the United States are of Native Americans were 31% of American-Indians and native Alaskans smoke. The good news is that quitting smoking reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease to the level of non-smokers in 5 to 10 years.

The tobacco industry has gotten away with murder for so many years, even though they are now paying for ads talking about the risks of smoking. But apparently, Native Americans, and/or individuals with GED’s are either not getting the message, or simply continue to engage in self-destructive behavior. Does it matter if you’re enrolled in a good health plan with no pre-existing conditions for exclusion, if you continue to smoke? Is the tobacco industry doing enough to educate the public? Or maybe the tobacco industry could do more to help deal with this health crisis in our country?

For the educational part, perhaps the tobacco industry could be more involved in traditional educational programs as well with the educational programs of Native Americans. It seems to me that this industry is able to do more than provide TV commercial advertisements. That’s not to say that the major networks, religious institutions, government agencies, sports, music, entertainment celebrities, coaches etc. should be coordinated to provide a comprehensive program to reduce the effects of this deadly drug on our citizens.

If you see someone smoking, consider talking about the risks and enter a discussion of why that individual continues to smoke. I have heard excuses such as “it reduces my nerves” or “it helps me to control my appetite.” In weighing the pros and cons, there are certainly better ways to deal with stresses. I know at one time, it was considered cool or neat as something an elite individual would do to do. It was certainly glamorized in the movies though we see it less and less. Let’s start a campaign from the ground up and do our part.

If you want my advice, keep moving, laughing, smiling, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Mental Toughness-Part 9

A second component of Mental Toughness: 2. Re-framing is substituting a word or statement with another word or statement, that conveys a different meaning with a different connotation. It’s important to have a positive emphasis or positive idea in place of a negative one. In discussing a physical procedure I eliminated the word “exercise” because for many that has too many negatives associated with it like boring, repetition, grueling, no fun, etc. and replaced it with the word “conditioning.” Conditioning conveys a level of fitness, indispensable to some result or even the state of health. It is simply a word that has an absence of any negative affect. So when I planned one of my runs, I referred to it as a conditioning run. It was nothing more nothing less, it was simply conditioning. In other words, I was always in my conditioning mode.

 Another example was taken when I was running my 100 mile trail run and I had crossed the American River at roughly the 80 mile mark. I verbalized to myself that I had completed 80 miles and “only” had 20 more miles to complete. The key ideas included what I had completed and what was left; and by employing” only “I minimized the remaining task ahead of me. I didn’t get weighed down by my discomfort [I inserted and re-framed the word discomfort for pain], the number of hours that it would take me to complete, the difficulty of the terrain or how tired and exhausted that I felt. The words “I can” were part of vocabulary and not the words “I can’t.”

Believe me, there were plenty of opportunities during that long day to re-frame my thinking. Because I know, that negative ideas and/or negative thoughts create negative emotions which can affect behavior dramatically. It’s important to keep the ideas and thoughts positive or neutral at the worst, so that thinking and emotions do not get in the way of goal attainment. We know that perceptions and thoughts create our emotions. We also know that negative thoughts create negative emotions that can become automatic and can turn into self-defeating behaviors. We don’t want to have negative thoughts that distort the reality of what we want to accomplish and unravel and sabotage behavior.  Yes, there is power in how we think, and the words we employ that accompany our behavior.

More to follow

McDonald's, Burger King, Carl's Jr., etc. Are Killing Us

 Of the 2.4 million people that die yearly in the United States, the six leading causes of death include the following: 1. Heart disease 2. Cancer 3. COPD 4. Stroke 5. Accidents and 6. Alzheimer’s disease. Not only that, two thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese and about 20% of the people continue to smoke cigarettes causing another 45,000 deaths per year. Further, nearly 11,000 people per year are killed by drunk drivers in our country. And, our own lifestyle habits are the largest cause of morbidity. Many of these risky behaviors develop in childhood and adolescent and continue to be problematic throughout adulthood.

Let me repeat, our behavior is governed by that 3.3 or so pounds of brain located between our ears. I know it’s hard to believe that fact but it’s true. The federal government publishes nutritional recommendations called “My Plate chart” in which a plate is divided into four portions. About 25% of the plate is made up of proteins, 25% grains, 25% fruits and 25% vegetables. Latest studies show that only 2% of us eat in this healthy manner roughly 70% of the time. Of course, a lot of us eat vegetables, but really not the healthy ones. Instead, the most commonly eaten vegetable in our country is a potato and it’s usually in the form of French fries, or potato chips; while, the second most commonly eaten vegetable is a tomato and that usually eaten in the form of ketchup, pasta sauce or pizza sauce. While onions are the third most consumed vegetable, the fourth is iceberg lettuce, which has little nutritional value and is mostly water. So it’s obvious that our citizens engage in poor diet and nutrition decisions that generally start at a very early age.

Not surprising is that over two thirds of Americans don’t exercise regularly and yet 75% of us distort reality by believing they we are in fair to excellent physical condition. And exercise can be 30 to 60 minutes per day attaining 60 to 90% of maximum heart rate [220 bpm] minus age. For me, the number of beats per minute would be approximately 130 at 90%; 115 at 80%; 100 at 70% and 85 at 60%. And I easily accomplish the recommended beats per minute.

More recent studies suggest that sedentary people may benefit the most by starting to exercise. In fact, one study found that exercise is about as effective as drugs in preventing death, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Another study found that inactive people who increased their physical activity by just 15 minutes per day, reduced their risk of death by 14% and increased their life expectancy by 3 years. And for each additional 50 minutes of exercise per day, the risk of death was lowered by an additional 4%. Now of course if one has a healthy lifestyle and is healthy those numbers are appealing. However, if one has an unhealthy lifestyle, poor health and is he won my advice miserable, then why would they want to increase years of misery?

Remember that the hunters and gatherers averaged about 6 to 22 miles per day in their survival mode and consumed unprocessed, vitamin filled foods without pesticides. In other words, they exercised and eat healthier than us civilized types. If you want my advice, keep moving, smiling, laughing, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Mental Toughness-Part 8

  As you can see, there are many components or aspects of this thing we call “mental toughness.” There are certainly more questions than answers to the question. In thinking and researching this topic, I decided and applied it to my 2002 Western States 100 mile one day trail run. I believe that I have elicited some of the motivational or psychological components that allowed me to be successful, while running this grueling event that summer day in June.  I refer to the following psychological ideas as principles and they are as follows:

1.       Achievement Goal. In order to accomplish a major feat, task or athletic competition, it’s important that one has a goal. With the goal, the individual is able to look ahead [to future] and plan the various steps necessary for its attainment. It’s important that the goal is concrete, as well as clearly defined. This not only means that the goal must be concrete, but it must be easily measured as well. In my case, my goal was to complete this 100 mile run. Either I completed it or I didn’t. In any case, it was clearly measurable. And, I was going to be either successful or not. There was no ambiguity regarding my task. Further, my goal had to be reasonable and attainable by me. I didn’t want to set up an unrealistic event as far as my athletic and mental abilities were concerned. Also, I had to have complete control over the outcome. The completion of this event was about my performance and my performance alone. My performance was not dependent on any one thing or anyone else. It was my brain, my lungs, my legs alone, etc.

While having a major goal, such as running 100 miles in one day, it was necessary for me to install many sub goals prior and along the way. To illustrate, that meant such tasks as  running the hills, increasing  stamina, running at night etc. or sub goals. It was also necessary for me to figure out hydration, nutrition, and electrolyte balances as well. Proper running shoes, wearing apparel, containers for water, etc. were also part of the program. I even ran a half marathon, one 50 K and two 50 mile running events as shorter or sub goals before my main event.

More to follow

Mental Toughness - Part 7

When it comes to understanding the neurobiology of pain, such elements as individual perception, activation of pain pathways, fight or flight response, neurotransmitters, opioids and hormones are involved in the process. Psychological factors such as depression, anger, grief, and loneliness are also important variables in understanding pain tolerances. Therefore, psychological health and the ability to work through these issues effectively likely play a significant part as well. Even the use of swear words help us to endure and deal with pain more effectively.  For instance, I have sworn a number of times while receiving a deep massage from the “Monster of Massage” in order to get ready for a future running event.

Many factors or explanations seem to be attributed to individuals who are successful in displaying this grit. It is my belief that I can present a model to provide understanding of this mental toughness drive, courage or perseverance. A working definition of ego strength [mental toughness] during a trail running event or some other activity is as follows: the ability of the individual to encounter and effectively deal with threat, conflict, frustration, discomfort, or stress with or without fear.

For me, there were and are plenty of times that I experienced discomfort, fatigue, or periods of exhaustion during a trail running event. Most recently, when I ran the Way Too Cool 50 K on March 7, 2015, and the temperature was higher on that date than any previous training run this past year. That along with inadequate hydration [uneven electrolyte balance] resulted in cramping of my legs and feet roughly after 18 to 20 miles in the run. Even though I loaded up on sodium and drank more water, at that point, it was too late. I did not have fun during the rest of the run. However, I was pleased that I kept on going despite painful conditions. I believed that I wasn’t going to die, and that my issue was only muscle tightening.

During that last 10 or 12 miles, I continued to persevere. I wanted to complete the 31 miles, and thought about mental toughness during the process. It was important for me to evaluate my goal, and complete this tough trail run. I knew that I would feel good and satisfied about my completion afterwards. And my prediction came true.

More to follow

Mental Toughness . Part 6

Does age or the aging process have anything to do with this particular drive [mental toughness]? Are there sex differences that differentiate between this drive? Is there a common thread between self-imposed or other imposed hardships as related to the drive? How do pain thresholds affect this drive? What about the importance of spirituality, religious conviction, or persistence as related to the drive? In other words, why is one individual, able to endure while others seem not able or capable? As you can see, their numerous questions or hypotheses that we can raise in exploring this concept that is commonly used to describe motivation as related to sports, politics or religious beliefs?

Even though my interest is primarily sports, there are certainly other examples of mental toughness outside of sports. Take a look at the countless number of returning war veterans or individuals who suffered some physical injury, loss of limbs, PTSD or other debilitating conditions. Courage or grit can be found with individuals born with congenital disease, such as poor eyesight, retardation, or some other physical impairment. We often marvel at their ability of someone with impairment or disability and their will to persevere and make the most out of their life.

An additional example regarding the mind-body connection comes from holistic psychology. Holistic bodywork practitioners hypothesize that our bodies incorporate and store ongoing psychological trauma. One way to relieve or exacerbate these stored hurts is through bodywork or deep massage. These practitioners illustrate their point when they work therapeutically on different body parts, and their patients express tears or emotional pain during this process. As a consequence, the interaction of the relationship to the mind-body cannot be overlooked in understanding the mental toughness drive.

More to follow.

Mental Toughness- Part 5

Winston Churchill’s famous quote, “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the h hills; we shall never surrender” was the inspirational and about courage, will, and hope to a British nation under siege during World War II. He also said “If you’re going through hell, keep going. Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all others.” This quote has been replayed over and over and lives on because of its imperative meaning.

Motivational concepts of conscience, guilt, or simply doing the right thing versus doing the wrong thing; heroism, being responsible or loyal for your own men; the drive for new adventure or exploration of the unknown; or way of thinking differently in fighting for your life or survival, seem important in describing man’s motivation to endure-mental toughness. But that’s not all there is to mental toughness.

What about the athlete, young or old, who decides to run 100 miles, rows or paddles in extreme water conditions, bikes across America, swims the English Channel, kicks boxes, or competes in some extreme or ultra-event? In these sporting events, these individuals, push on and on despite physical exhaustion or emotional pain. What is that allows some of us to persevere or “grind it out” in these self-imposed competitions? Do we enter these competitions for the coveted buckle; for the temporary are long-lived fame; or some other ego related notion? It is clear that we do not do it for the money. Is this drive related to a certain type of personality or character structure development? Is the competitiveness drive hardwired into our brains; is there a correlation between certain successful or unsuccessful childhood experiences and the component of will; and if so what are they? Or, as Alfred Adler hypothesized that the ability to overcome and succeed is related to some physical or mental inferiority compensation.

More to follow.

Mental Toughness -Part 4

Stephen Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage” depicted Meriwether Lewis’s, expedition in the opening of the American West. Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame, dealt with many personal demons during and after this momentous journey. As you may know, Lewis suffered from depression, and died at an early age as a result of suicide. In Laura Hillenbrand’s,  bestseller “ Unbroken” ,she depicted Lieut. Louis Zamperini’s, an Olympic runner, experiences as a POW during World War II and his ability to withstand and persevere through various unbelievable and extreme torture ordeals handed out by the “Bird” and others while in Japanese  occupation. Louis’s release, difficulty with alcohol, anxiety and mental illness going from despair, to forgiveness, finding God, and leading a productive and fulfilling life demonstrate his grit and resourcefulness.

First, it is clear there is a mind-body connection. Not only is there simply a connection, there is a powerful relationship between what happens in our mind or brain and the effects on the physiology of our body. One example that illustrates this magnificent mind-body correlation was taken from Viktor Frankel’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning-An Introduction to Logotherapy.” In this book, Dr. Frankel tells the story of a prisoner, in Auschwitz, who had lost his faith in the future and as a result, believed his life was doomed. The story goes like this: a senior block Warden, who was a well-known composer confided to Dr. Frankel when he told him about his dream “A voice told me that I could wish for something that I should say only what I wanted to know, and all my questions would be answered. What do you think I asked? That, I would like to know when the war would be over for me. You know what I mean, Dr.-for me! I wanted to know when we, when our camp would be liberated and our sufferings come to an end.” Dr. Frankel asked “and when did you have this dream?” In February, 1945 “he answered. Dr. Frankel noted that it was then the beginning of March. Dr. Frankel “what did your dream voice answer?” He whispered to me, “March 30” when the prisoner told me about his dream, he was still full of hope, and convinced that the voice of his dream would be right. But as the promised date drew near, the war news, which reached our camp made it appear very unlikely that we would be free on the promised date. On March 29, the prisoner suddenly became ill and ran high temperature. On March 30, the day his prophecy had told him the war and suffering would be over for him, he became delirious and lost consciousness. On March 31, he was dead. To all outward appearances, he had died of typhus.” This dramatic and sad example illustrates how close and powerful the connection between the state of our mind and its resulting deadly effect on the state of our body. In this case we see the dramatic effects when the individual lost all courage and hope, and died.

More to follow. Continue to keep moving, laughing, smiling, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Mental Toughness- Part 3

If learning comes into play, then we are talking about or referring to certain developmental factors, psychological principles or characteristics that likely play a significant part in the makeup of mental toughness or perseverance. However before we identify these principles, let’s take a look at some illustrations or examples of historical facts associated with perseverance or mental toughness.

There are numerous illustrations of mental toughness or perseverance found, in fairy tales, film, literature and history. Was in an unwelcome environment and was both physically and mentally abused by her envious stepsisters. She bit her lip, didn’t complain and endured anyway despite these obstacles. In the Passover story, we find the Hebrew people enduring unbelievable physical and/or mental hardships both before and then wandering in the desert during Moses’ 40 years of self-struggle. The Old Testament attributed the motivation; appear to be primarily related to removing the shackles of slavery, the drive for freedom, and the struggle to believe in one God and only one God.

Other descriptions of physical, mental hardships, like battling for independence in the American Revolution seem related to the drive for individual, economic, and religious freedom. Mental toughness or ego strength therefore seemed to have a motivational component in this process. Other examples of mental toughness found in literature include but not limited to the following: Jon Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage” illustrated politicians making difficult choices especially when confronted with disapproval by their colleagues and voters. In many cases, the politicians made decisions or choices that affected or ended their political careers. The critical choices made might be attributed to a moral conscience or more specifically Judeo-Christian principles. Kennedy’s own heroism, perseverance, loyalty, courage, and toughness are exhibited in his heartfelt PT 109 story. In the Pacific, during World War II, Kennedy was instrumental and went beyond the call of duty in saving his men during the fight with the Japanese. Kennedy, experienced mental toughness first-hand, and certainly was able to communicate about it effectively as well.

More to follow. In the meantime, keep moving, smiling, laughing, loving, bonding and appreciating.

Mental Toughness-Part 2

What was it in the individual make up of Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Marvin Haggler, or Sugar Ray Leonard that allowed them to gather up the strength and courage to succeed or win even when getting severely pummeled? Was it related to physical strength, grit, or the supportive nature of their mother, father, or both? Was this toughness inculcated in early and challenging circumstances during their childhood, or developmental years? Was this strength associated with a positive or negative history of overcoming trauma, illness or physical injury? Was this strength the result of the ability to withstand or tolerate pain? Could this inner strength be related to anxiety, and the ability to manage or deal with it effectively? Could it be related to the existence of a mental illness condition or absence thereof? Could it be that one’s perception of the circumstance affects the drive, the ability to suck it up, and to succeed during periods of extreme stress, and unthinkable conditions? Was it compensating for a physical, psychological, or emotional issue? What about the role of competitiveness, and the desire to succeed and dominate? Certainly there is a faith or belief that the present will end the future will be better. How might revenge enter in the character of the individual? Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive.

As we can see, their many questions; along with many hypotheses about this thing we call mental toughness. Is there a major artery that explains most of the story? Or, are there many veins that contribute to the enhancement to better explain or describe this idea?

More to follow. In the meantime, keep moving, smiling, laughing, loving, bonding and appreciating.

Mental Toughness-Part 1

  Have you wondered, like I do, why some individuals are able to persist, persevere, or have the ability to proceed despite various known barriers or obstacles in their path? Some might refer to this as mental toughness or just plain perseverance. Just think a moment about the world of sports and some the accomplishments by such well-known names as Peyton Manning-overcoming physical injury, Sidney Crosby-his history of concussions, Tom Brady-his age, Michael Phelps- all his Olympic gold medals and Dana Torres-swimming accomplishments at her age. Athletes illustrate being able to push through and endure pain while still continuing their sport. Time and time again we view a tired, exhausted, injured, or out of breath, athlete not giving up but still persevering, regardless of the circumstances or the impairment. Even though only a movie, the Stallone “Rocky” film story depicts and illustrates what happens in athletic competition when a beat up and bloody Rocky all of a sudden finds inner strength to conquer and eventually defeat his opponent or foe. However, in real life, we have the real McCoy with the classic Mohammed Ali-Joe Frazier, or Marvin Haggler-Sugar Ray Leonard boxing matches, where each of them gets pummeled and bloodied round after round during their many fierce battles.

Of course, others like Steve Jobs with his cancer or Oprah Winfrey with her poverty also have demonstrated mental toughness or perseverance with their highly successful careers to say the least. It’s obvious that persistence and overcoming barriers is not limited to the athlete alone. Make no mistake about it that many individuals famous or not, in many walks of life, have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments and have overcome the odds. We can certainly call them mentally tough too.

It has taken me a while to have discovered, age plays a role, in what it takes to have achieved and have accomplished at extreme levels. It is also become obvious to us that some people seem to have what it takes-mental toughness, while in others it appears to be lacking. It is also clear that mental toughness cannot be simply explained by genetics or heredity alone. Once again it’s that old nature versus nurture paradigm that comes into play. I believe the development of mental toughness or perseverance is obviously related to nature, nurture, culture and environment. It is also true, that means that learning plays a significant part and is associated with its development.

Stay tuned as more to follow. In the meantime, keep moving, smiling, laughing, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Better Anti-aging Decisions

It’s safe to say that people in the United States would not only like to feel younger, but would also like to have a terrific quality of life. What good would it be to be able to live to 100, but not to be able to fully participate either mentally and/or physically? I would like to be able to age productively while being mentally and physically engaged in life.

In order to continue to live and function productively, I must make certain decisions since there are intended or unintended consequences that correlate. This means that I have to be aware and knowledgeable of anti-aging medicine. There’s information available regarding nutrition. Aside from making a difference in aging, a diet is one cornerstone to our health. A good diet, among other things can decrease risk of cancer, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, heart disease, osteoporosis, senility and depression.

If you have trouble believing that information, it’s likely related to your character and way of thinking. If you have narcissistic character trait issues, that information can be distorted in many ways. Cognitive Dissonance theory states that we would distort the information by not believing and/or distorting the data in some way. One could also distort, downplay or deny their eating behavior could result in developing   some illness or medical condition. One might also rationalize that by “cheating” this one time won’t make a difference.

Other ways that sabotages personal behavior patterns include frequently going out to restaurants, etc. for meals. We should all know by now that the main motive of the restaurant owners is for profit, and not necessarily about whether not the food is healthy for you. Restaurant portions are large; we don’t have information about chemicals and preservatives used; the health and cleanliness of the preparers and food servicers; and when the last government kitchen inspection occurred.

We also know that diet and food is emotionally charged. It is more than a source of nutrition. It also is a source of comfort, symbol of love, recreational pastime, and a connection to family and community. It is not surprising, that individuals in this country are becoming more huge in size; that there are a variety of many diets; many people fall  off the wagon; and a great number of people  do not seem to have the will or grit. So, personality, irrational thinking, and poor decision-making, contribute to the epidemic “unhealthy” in our country.

In essence, take a good hard look in the mirror and ask, “Am I doing the best I can to ensure the likelihood of my living a full and healthy life?” If the answer is “I can do better” that would be a good start.

In the meantime, keep moving, laughing, smiling, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Better Health Can Be a Goal

   

I read in a January 17, 2014 edition of The Wall Street Journal that American diets have improved by 6.4 trillion fewer calories in 2012 than in 2007. This number breaks down to a reduction of 78 calories per person per day. However, if you wanted to lose some weight, one would need to eliminate at least 350 calories a day, from diet.

In order to improve one’s health, the following are three suggestions taken from March/April 2015 edition of Double Runner Magazine. Do you realize that Xanthohumol [found in beer] might be able to prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, act as an anti-inflammatory agent, and treat menopausal symptoms and obesity? In a 2014 study, this flavonoid actually improved a group of young mice’s ability to navigate a water maize after ingesting this compound. I’ll bet there are volunteers willing to participate in a human study to test to determine if beer can improve their cognitive functioning.  Any volunteers?

Israeli scientists studied whether or not diet sodas cause obesity. In their published study, they found that artificial sweeteners alter the composition of bacteria in the G.I. tracks of mice. This in turn altered the way mice digest food.  The mice became intolerant to glucose which lead to elevated blood glucose levels and other pre-diabetes factors linked to weight gain. Probably, we would find volunteers to participate in a diet soda human study. Personally, I would rather volunteer for the beer study than for the diet soda one.

At one time, people believed that a steady heart rate was a sign of a healthy body. However, in a more recent study, the authors believed that there should be beat variability in beat to beat time. They believe that heartbeat variability is a sign of good health and fitness and the loss of that heart variability indicates the bodies, fatigue, or stress. In their study, they had five healthy athletes exercise on stationary bikes. The researchers found that the body must make constant adjustments to maintain oxygen flow to the brain and to skeletal muscle during exercise. This means that  increased  blood pressure is good since without  increasing blood pressure, that would likely cause brain damage. So employ a heart rate monitor to determine if you have heart rate variability during exercise. The loss of heart rate durability during exercise indicates there is a problem so check it out.

If you are eating less, then that’s a good sign. You now have information about beer, diet sodas and your heart. If only having the correct information was enough for better health. Consider, having a goal of reaching better health. What comes to mind is as following quote: "The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."
– Benjamin Mays

In any event, keep moving, smiling, laughing, loving, bonding and appreciating along the way.

Cuddling Is Good

Should You Cuddle?

By now we should all know that there are problems with getting a good night’s sleep in the United States. There are many reasons given, and many suggestions as well. Briefly, one question that could be raised “Is it healthier to sleep with a loved one or to sleep by yourself?” You may have heard the following complaints: 1.You have all the sheets/covers 2. Quit snoring 3. Having hot flashes 4. Turn off the TV 5. Turn down the TV 6. Open the window, etc. etc. etc.

Historically, going back to the days of the caveman, individuals had little clothes and slept naked. So one way to stay warm was to sleep alongside someone else. So that made sense, along with providing a little more protection from predators and outsiders since two is stronger than one. Well, in our present day society, we have blankets, more sturdy sleeping dwellings, alarm detectors etc. We’re not likely to be attacked and we have additional sources for heat.

But guess what, there are some reasons to spoon. Oxytocin the so-called love hormone is released during many types of touching, including cuddling. And increased oxytocin helps the body relax, reduces blood pressure and promotes healing. Not only has that, cuddling resulted in increased emotional feelings related to affection, security and love. If you’ve ever had a fight before going to bed, I’ll bet that interfered with spooning that evening. And, I’ll bet you didn’t sleep as well that night. Every time, it’s better to make up as quickly as possible and to spoon.

In fact, a recent study demonstrated a link between the quality of sleep and the couple’s daytime interactions. For men,   better sleep resulted in smoother daytime interactions with their spouse. When a woman had less negative interactions with their husbands during the day that led to more restful sleep at night for her.

And don’t forget, that is not uncommon for people and/or families from different cultures and different countries to sleep together. And in the early part of our last century, families with many children slept together. It’s only been since the 50s and 60s, that three and four bedroom homes have been marketed to the baby boomer generation. In any event, spooning is recommended for a number of benefits including better sleep.

In addition to forget to keep moving, smiling, laughing, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Math Made Easy

"Let me listen to me and not to them."
– Gertrude Stein

As early as I can remember, there has been a concern about inner-city kids. They perform poorly in school, [Low graduation rates] become associated with drugs, alcohol, crime and poverty. Schools within our society, for many reasons, have not solved the problem. There have been many programs such as Head Start and different teaching curriculums that have not made enough significant differences. In fact, some economists have stated that schools should be more pragmatic in their educational approach. The objectives should help kids keep out of trouble and teach them practical skills [whatever that means] to help them enter the labor market. They added that launching programs towards 4 year college degrees on a large scale is costly and would be ineffective.

Recently, neuroscience research believes that adolescence is a period of tremendous neuroplasticity. This means that the brain has the potential to change through experience. That suggests that we perhaps should look at creative programs at the high school level.

There is a program in Chicago called Match. This program is designed to deal with the following problems: 1.The average reading and math scores of eighth grade black boys are barely higher than those in fourth grade white girls. Further, Latino boys scored only marginally better. 2. Only 57% of young black men and 62% of young Latino men graduate from high school in four years, compared to 79% of young white men. 3 . In Chicago, these 16-year-old teenagers were as many as 7 years behind in reading -10 years behind in math, compared to third graders. 4. Nearly a fifth of these students had arrest records.

Simply put, the Match program is a tutoring program. Each tutor, recent college graduate, works with two students by individualizing instruction and maybe more importantly, by becoming advocates, friends, role models, and, in a positive sense, big brother like. The results have been spectacular. Not only have the students improved significantly in math, but in their other subjects as well. Their grades have improved, their study habits improved and a love for learning has been nurtured.

These Match tutors are paid roughly $16,000 year plus benefits. The program costs about $3800 a year for each student. By comparison, New York City spends more than $20,000 per student, and even more in schools serving poor neighborhoods. Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to expand the program and reportedly stated “what this shows is, never throw the towel in on the kids,” and added what’s happening in Chicago shows that without breaking the bank, the lives of adolescents can be turned around.”

There is no question in my mind that learning and education are keys to success. They are not guarantees. But they do open more doors. I know we have solutions to these problems. However, the motivation or will seems to get lost. Shame on us. Article found in the February 1, 2015 edition of  The New York Times.

Are You Feeling Lonely?

How many of you are aware that loneliness is on the rise in our country? In 1980, there were perhaps 20% of Americans reported being lonely. Currently that statistic has doubled to about 40%. Further, a study done at Brigham Young University, involving 300,000 participants found that loneliness was a strong predictor of early death along with alcoholism, smoking 15 cigarettes a day, obesity, and/or a sedentary lifestyle. In other words, loneliness is detrimental to your health and well-being. Furthermore, loneliness is different from depression [which is a mood disorder]. Depression can be treated with drugs, while loneliness can’t.

 Contributing factors of the loneliness issue are likely the result of the increasing percentage of one-person households. In the 1970 US Census Bureau, there were 17% of one-person households and now in 2012 that figure has risen to 27% [it’s the baby Boomer generation]. Perhaps another contributor to loneliness is the rapid increase and easy access to electronics and computer like instruments [emails, texting, social media platforms etc.] in the old days, there was an opportunity for more face-to-face interaction. Face-to-face interaction is also a better way to communicate.

So if you’re concerned with feeling social isolation or dissatisfaction with your relationships then you likely fit this category  of feeling alone or lonely. Do you do better with face-to-face interactions or connecting with some group? Taking inventory might be a good first start to determine the next step. In addition, it’s important to possibly reframe your thoughts. Obviously thinking to yourself that “I’m alone, nobody likes me; everyone hates me” is not beneficial to your health. It’s much better to acknowledge feeling alone and then to change behavior or behaviors. And remember that certain things like reading, hiking, running, swimming, are obviously positive ways to spend alone time. Whatever you do, and I mean whatever, employing moderation strategies are appropriate. Just define moderation selectively.

Do not forget my health prescriptions include: keep moving, smiling, laughing, bonding, loving and appreciating. And if you follow that you will likely be okay. Today’s source was the November 5, 2013 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

 PS

Tony joined me in last Saturday’s Jed Smith 50 K trail run. The highlight was going to Baskin-Robbins and Starbucks for treats. This Saturday, I am joining Tony on the Western States trail run.

Tom Brady, Malcolm Butler, and Russell Wilson Might Have Contributed to a Higher Death Rate in Seattle

Did the Death Rate Rise with the Seattle Seahawks Fans?

There is research that examines what happens in the bodies of fans watching big, important sporting events [The Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2013]. The research evaluates what happens to the individual in a close loss or blowout victory. The findings so far suggests that fans tend to drive more pleasure from a close loss than from a blowout win. In other words, with less certainty, there’s greater suspense and greater enjoyment even if fans are disappointed by the outcome. The nail-biting endings make games worth watching. In other words, fans expressed disappointment when their home team lost, but there was no statistical difference in enjoyment, regardless of who won. Enjoyment comes from the close nature of the event itself.

Interestingly, in 2009 when the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl over the Arizona Cardinals, there were 25% fewer circulatory heart related deaths [in the Pittsburgh area]   than average for the next eight days. Other research found when the New York  Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl of 2008,  the number of circulatory heart related deaths in Massachusetts rose by 20% over the next eight days.

In another study, there were more auto related deaths in cities were the home college and pro football and basketball teams had just won by a close margin   [  there  could be as many as 8% of the fans legally drunk after the game]. Possibly, the fans might release more testosterone the hormone responsible for aggression during those nail biters. Afterward, the happy fans testosterone goes up, while the losers drops.

In another study individuals who identified most strongly as fans released the most cortisol and were the most stressed, partly because they had no actual control. Powerless fans may also find themselves losing self-control. After a loss, the ability to say no to a giant plate of food diminishes. After a victory fat consumption goes down by 9% and overall calorie consumption by 5%.

According to the research, when something good happens to you in your life, you’re more future oriented. So when you have good news, you are good to yourself and want to keep feeling good, and likely it will increase your motivation to follow your diet, exercise, visiting the gym etc. Feeling bad elevates short-term goals like looking for food for comfort.

The research suggests that those individuals with more positives going on in their lives are probably more likely to eat better and to exercise more efficiently. Like I say, when you keep moving, smiling, laughing, loving, bonding and appreciating you’re more likely to be future oriented and have goal like behavior ahead of you.

PS

I enjoyed the New England Patriot-Tom Brady victory so much. I think I would have enjoyed it if it was a blowout as well. Further, I’m running, the Jed Smith 50 K this coming Saturday. Tony plans to be there to pace me.  I’m looking forward to it.

Do You Have Enough Sex in Your Life ?

One economist [New York Times, January 25, 2015] looked at various sources in attempt to answer the question “How much sex are we having?” He looked at information from The General Social Survey, and Google searches. He believes that we are lacking reliable data as people tend to lie about sex. For example, this young man calculated the number of sex acts per year of both heterosexual men and heterosexual women that indicated they used a condom. According to his calculations, over 2.6 billion condoms were used. Then he went to the manufacturers and found that about 600 million condoms were sold each year. These numbers puzzled him.

Then, he looked at data from Google searches. The top complaint about marriage was related to not having sex. Googling “sexless marriage” had three and half times as many more searches    than searching for “unhappy marriage.” He also found there were 16 times more complaints about a spouse, not wanting sex than about a married partner, not willing to talk. In addition there were 5 ½ times more complaints about an unmarried partner, not wanting sex, compared to an unmarried partner refusing to text back.

This economist, then looked at fears related to sex. The data showed that men make more searches and have more questions about their sexual organs than any other body part. And, one of the most common questions that men Google pertained to penis size.  Women rarely Googled penis size. In fact, for every search a woman makes about the man’s organ, men make roughly 170 searches more. When a woman does go to the Internet, the data showed that more than 40% of the female’s complaint was about their partner’s penis size being too big and pain was most commonly googled word.

Another major concern for men was how to make their sexual encounters longer. Interestingly women most common concerns were related to their boyfriend’s orgasm and wonder why it wasn’t happening at all. Employing an anonymous, aggregate web activity, interest in beauty and fitness were 42% male; weight loss 33% male and cosmetic surgeries 39% male. There were more than 7 million searches looking into breast implants and about 300,000 women go through it annually. Beginning in 2010 bigger butts were on the minds of women. Women like men have questions about their genitals, but their concerns were more health-related. For example, women want to know how to shave it, tighten it and make it taste better.

One major problem in looking at Google searches is the attempt to generalize the findings. Clearly, this information is not gathered from a valid sample of men and women. In the universe, in order to take a random sample, one has to do just that. Google information is not just a random sample nor is it a representative universe. So if you’re reading this information, you probably have a certain motive. You are not chosen at random to take part in the study. However, the data is interesting to say the least. And maybe the economist is correct in that he can’t get reliable and valid information regarding sexual encounters.

Are you getting enough sex? If not, maybe, you need to keep moving, laughing, smiling, bonding, loving and appreciating.

Ask Paul Simon About leaving Your Lover

Self-Reflection, Emotions and Breaking Up There was an article in The New York Times, January 18, 2015 that gave an example of the best way to get over a breakup. A psychology professor and graduate student evaluated the self-reflection of 210 individuals ranging in age from 17 to 29 who had recently broke up with her partners. In one group, the individuals filled out a questionnaire pertaining to emotional feelings and then completed a four minute assignment in which they were asked to talk into a recording device and give responses to various questions that pertained to self-evaluation at intervals of 3, 6, and again at 9 weeks.

   The second group filled out the questionnaire at the beginning, as well as the end of the nine week exercise. Then, they did the speaking exercise only once after filling out their final questionnaire. Thus, the first group were given more opportunities to think and to mull over their responses regarding self on three separate occasions. It is suggested that these pertinent questions, assisted, these individuals into insights into their character.

   The researchers found that the first group experienced greater improvements in self-concept clarity [the degree to which you understand yourself as a person]. Briefly, the difference or explanation given by the researcher was that the speaking exercise helped people because it changed their thinking about their sense of self that was independent and separate of their former partner. This researcher thought that getting back a sense of self after breakup was extremely crucial.

   Perhaps another variable not measured might account for the differences in self-concept clarity. Given an opportunity to think about self might have changed an individual’s thinking. Learning, reflecting and thinking that the world is not coming to an end and that one can spend their time differently and productively can add to defining self. I agree that the sense of self is a very important variable and how thinking can change perception of self. The key is separation, individuation or a separate and independent self from partner. Otherwise, symbiotic attachments and other unhealthy components like dependency can surface and be suffocating.
 
    Thus, looking at the change [process] in thinking might provide more clues as to breakup efficiency. Further, it would be interesting to look at different character types to assess if some individuals can better utilize the self-reflection or emotional tool.

   Paul Simon’s 1975 song “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” alludes to this research. For example, let’s take a look at some of the lyrics: “the problem is all inside your head” she said to me….. I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free….. Make a new plan, Stan…… Just get yourself free…… These lines of the Simon song acknowledge that the problem is in your head, which relates to thinking and perception of self. I’ d like to help you in your struggle to be free , suggests the struggle for separation and individuation while make a new plan gets one thinking about other ways to live and do things with their life. Just get yourself free again is to remove dependency issues by becoming separate emotionally.

 While this is going on, keep smiling, laughing, bonding, loving and appreciating.