Stress is a part of our lives. There’s no way around it. Some of us wish there were a few extra hours in each day. We’re stressed out by the demands at work and at home. Family members may cause unnecessary tension. All of us experience the harmful effects of stress on a daily basis. Stress has become a serious health hazard and over time, stress can take a high toll on our mental and physical well-being. 

 

Seven Substance Free Stress Reducers: 

1. Take timeouts: Take time out each day, devoting at least twenty minutes to activities that bring you pleasure. Such activities may include gardening, exercising, reading, listening to music or playing with your kids. 

2. Breathe deeply: Practice deep breathing prior to and during a stressful situation. When most adults become stressed they stop breathing completely or practice shallow, rapid breathing patterns. The healthiest method of breathing is deep, diaphragmatic breathing because this sends an impulse to the brain to relax. 

3. Reduce or eliminate caffeine: Concentrate on eating mostly whole foods that provide the body with sustained energy. 

4. Practice staying calm in stressful situations: Our stress response is programmed into our nerve system. When we feel stress we automatically go into stress mode and react inappropriately. Practice everyday to re-program the nerve system with a new, positive response to stress. 

5. Get enough sleep: Your body needs enough sleep to renew and repair itself and increase its defenses against stress. 

6. Laugh it off: Five minutes of laughter each day greatly reduces stress. The more you laugh, the easier and more contagious it becomes. 

7. Chiropractic Care: Chiropractic care is the quickest and most effective way to release stress in your nerve system. Removing interference and stress in your nerve system gives your body the ability to heal and regulate and its optimal level. Prevent stress by getting adjusted regularly and by living a healthier lifestyle. 

Top 7 Tips to Boost Your Immune System…Naturally 

   Everyone today realizes that it is not the germ that makes someone sick but rather a poor immune system that prevents their body from effectively fighting off that germ. So, smart players in the “staying healthy game” are making sure their immune system is working effectively and optimally. Here’s what you can do to be a “smart player” and boost your immune system function…naturally:  

1. Regular chiropractic care is first and foremost. Research indicates that a healthy nervous system contributes to a healthy immune system.  

2. The next major consideration is, as we have repeatedly recommended, your lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle = healthy life.  

3. How you deal with mental/emotional stress contributes your overall health and vitality. Where you choose to put your attention is, indeed, your choice.  

         4. How able are you to properly adapt to physical stress? It is well known       that a regular exercise program boosts immune system function.  

     5. You are what you eat. Are you taking in foods and other substances known to deplete health (caffeine, fast food, etc.)? 

          6. Are you using nutritional supplements wisely? Vitamin C is an old standby. Today there are other potent immune system builders like anti-oxidants too.  

          7. Be proactive and build your natural immunity rather than trying to fortify it after a health challenge develops.

Backpacks Affect The Spine

Improper backpack use can lead to a lifetime of health problems. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, backpack and book bag injuries account for an estimated 4,928 emergency room visits each year. With regular chiropractic check-ups and some simple preventive measures, your child can be injury free.  The Backpack Safety America program has come up with 4 Steps to Preventing Backpack Related Injuries:

1.)     Choose Right:  Choosing the right size backpack is the most important step to safe backpack use.  Some manufacturers offer special child-sized versions for children ages five to ten.  These backpacks weigh less and have shorter back lengths and widths to prevent slippage.

2.)     Pack Right:  The maximum weight of the loaded backpack should not exceed 15% of your child’s body weight.  Pack only what is needed.  If the backpack forces the child to move forward to carry, it is overloaded and creates stress on the spine.

3.)     Lift Right:  Face the backpack, bend at the knees, use both hands and check the weight of the backpack.  Lift with the legs and apply one shoulder strap at a time.  DO NOT sling the backpack onto one shoulder.  Wearing a backpack improperly over one shoulder can cause permanent misalignment of the spine, muscle fatigue and a lowered state of health.

4.)     Wear Right:  Use both shoulder straps snug, but not too tight.  When the backpack has a waist strap – use it.

(Courtesy of Backpack Safety America)

POSTURE       

      Going back to school means bringing home homework. And how and where your child does his/her homework can have consequences on your childs performance. Have you ever watched your child do homework? Are they doing it on the bed, the floor, the couch or sitting at a desk? If your child is head down and shoulders hunched forward it’s time for a change. 

      If you were to spend five minutes in the same position that your child is in I’m sure you would say you were sore and uncomfortable. While you are experiencing this soreness do you think you would be able to give 100 %

concentration to the task at hand? In this state of soreness and stiffness are you at your peak learning state? 

      Our brain controls our entire body by sending messages through the spinal cord and nerves. If there is no interference to these messages everything runs smoothly. As your child sits with his or her head looking down, tension is placed on the spinal cord and nerves. Is it possible that your childs homework posture could be causing interference to how body parts communicate with each other? 

      An adult has no problem recognizing this soreness, however, a child doesn’t. The child will often work right through this in a quest to get their homework done. The longer they sit in this poor posture the more interference they are creating with the pathways of communication

between the brain and the body. Is the student losing concentration, causing homework to take longer? Yes. Is the productivity decreased? Yes. Inefficient learning? Most definitely. Easily distracted? No doubt.  

SO WHERE SHOULD HOMEWORK BE DONE?             

-Homework should be done at a table or desk,

-Elbows and knees should be bent at 90 degrees.

-Most children cannot touch the floor when sitting in a chair so add a footstool if their feet are dangling.

-The child’s back should be straight, not rounded forward and the head should be up. Place pillows behind their back if they cannot reach the back

of the chair.

-Prop up books to have your child avoid looking down

-If at a computer make sure the screen is at eye level. 

      In the long-term, bones can grow abnormally if they have too much pressure put on them in one direction, in other words, BAD POSTURE! As the bones change their shape it becomes much more difficult to correct the problem.¼br>  

We hope everyone enjoyed our October 2008 newsletter!  We hope everyone has a very safe & Happy Halloween!!   

Sincerely,  

Dr. Nicole & Dr. Anthony