Category: Well-Being

Go4Life® is an exercise and physical activity campaign from the National Institute on Aging at NIH for people 50-plus. It is designed to help them fit exercise and physical activity into daily life.

Go4Life® is based on research which shows that exercise can help prevent many of the chronic conditions and disability linked with aging. Despite the benefits of exercise for people of all ages, U.S. adults tend to become less active as they age. Go4Life® provides an interactive website athttps://go4life.nia.nih.govto help older adults increase their physical activity. This includes sample exercises, success stories, and free materials to motivate them to improve their health and achieve a better quality of life. Go4Life® also works with local and national groups to provide an environment that supports these efforts.

“It’s never too late for exercise to have a positive effect on your health,” said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. “We know that exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, stroke, diabetes and other chronic conditions. One recent study found that even sedentary people in their 70s and 80s improved mobility and reduced the risk of disability through a regular program of structured physical activity.”

“The establishment of Go4Life® Month will help draw attention to the critical importance of exercise with age and the resources that we can provide to support adults who want to do more,” Hodes said.

Athttps://go4life.nia.nih.gov/event-list, find out about activities planned for Go4Life® Month.

For more information on healthy aging, accesswww.nia.nih.gov.

The painful symptoms of arthritis affect 50 million adults and 300,000 children. If arthritis symptoms interfere with your daily life, talk with your doctor about ways to manage your symptoms. A variety of options may be available to help you, including prescriptions, over-the-counter pain relievers, and natural supplements.

Though many vitamins, herbs, and other supplements claim to help arthritis, they may not be right for you. “Natural” does not always mean safe or effective. Fortunately, the following supplements have shown promise in clinical studies.

For relief of pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis:

*  Capsaicin (active part of chili peppers)

*  Boswellia serrata (Indian frankincense)

*  SAM-e (S-adenosylmethionine)

*  Tumeric/curcumin (Curcuma longa)

*  Avocado-soybean unsaponifiables (ASU)

*  Fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids)

*  Ginger

Relief of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis:

*  Cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa)

*  Fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids)

*  Gamma linolenic acid (GLA, omega-6 fatty acids)

*  Ginger

If you decide to try a natural supplement, be sure to let your doctor know. Some supplements can have bad interactions with other medicines, or may not be safe for people with certain health conditions. If your doctor has a clear picture of everything you take, he or she can help you avoid potential problems.

Source: Arthritis Foundation

Today’s office workers are expected to multitask regularly, often juggling multiple projects and priorities over the course of a day. Studies have shown that the typical employee in an office environment is interrupted up to 6 times per hour, but how does that impact the finished product?

“People don’t realize how disruptive interruptions can be,” said the researchers at George Mason University, whose study was published in Human Factors.

The researchers found significantly lower quality in essays completed by the participants who were interrupted during the outline and writing phases than in essays of those who were not interrupted. In addition, those participants who were interrupted during the writing phase wrote considerably fewer words.

Interruptions lower the quality of the work, they said, and suggested ways to reduce the number of external interruptions: Turn off your cell phone and disable dings for incoming email. Close your door. Face away from office traffic patterns.

Pregnancy is a time of big changes in a woman’s body. As hormones shift and the body works to nourish the baby, a number of uncomfortable symptoms can arise. One of the most common is nausea and vomiting, commonly called morning sickness.

Fortunately, many women find some relief with some diet and lifestyle changes. They include:

*Start taking a prenatal vitamin while trying to get pregnant.Your body may get used to taking it before you have to deal with morning sickness. Plus, some nutrients are important to have in the early stages of pregnancy.

*Take your prenatal multivitamin with food.Some nutrients, such as iron, can cause nausea if taken on an empty stomach.

*Eat dry toast or crackers in the morning before you get out of bed.This helps settle your stomach.

*Drink plenty of fluids.Dehydration isn’t good for you, and can lead to more nausea and fatigue. It may be helpful to drink fluids separately from eating foods.

*Eat small,frequent meals instead of three large meals throughout the day.

*Use ginger.This spice has been used for hundreds of years to help with nausea. Ginger capsules or tea made with real ginger are good choices.

*Avoid smellsthat bother you.

Talk to your doctor

Be sure to tell your doctor you have nausea and vomiting. Your doctor will want to monitor you and your baby, and may offer medical treatment if the problem is severe. Some medications that may help include:

*Vitamin B6 and doxylamine.Vitamin B6 alone may help with nausea. It may be combined with doxylamine, which is found in some sleep aids. Be sure to check the label and ask your doctor before taking any medicines during pregnancy.

*Prescription drugs.Some drugs, known as antiemetics, prevent vomiting. Some are considered safe during pregnancy. You and your doctor can decide what is best.

Severe nausea & vomiting

In some women, nausea and vomiting can become severe, leading to lack of nutrition and dehydration. This is known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), and it happens in about three percent of all pregnancies.

A woman with HG who cannot keep food or liquids down may need hospital care. Often, getting rehydrated with IV fluids and vitamins will help.

Though it can be miserable, most women get through morning sickness without serious complications. In most cases, nausea and vomiting that isn’t severe will not harm you or your baby. But, controlling symptoms with safe and effective home remedies can make pregnancy much more enjoyable.

Source: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists