Recover: March 6, 2015

Spoiler Summary: The human body is amazingly resilient, but like anything with as many inter-working complex systems, it requires balance and consistency to be at its best.  This time of year can be particularly important.

My mom's side of the family is very musical. I don't know if it stems from generations before my grandparents on that side, but my grandmother had a wonderful singing voice and occasionally my grandfather (at 90+) can still be found entertaining "the other old folks" (as he calls them) in the lobby of the assisted living facility where he resides.  It seems the love of music was passed down there: my mom has stayed involved in music her whole life and even though I never stuck with any formal training (it came down to sports vs. music and sports won), it's always been something I'm drawn to. Although I'm not sure when I started really enjoying it, even with an untrained ear, I find myself pulled into the sounds of a balanced symphony (resonance).....and thrown off, maybe even a little stressed, by sounds, even from a single instrument that is "out of tune", "out of sync" or don't seem to be creating a harmony (dissonance).  In a sense, our health, safety and ability to get things done is very similar.....sometimes everything "clicks" and we are able to move through the stresses of the day fluidly.....and other times, if something is even just a little off, we falter.  As strange as it seems, this is one of those times of the year for many, and worth knowing about for all.

As you've read in this blog/newsletter, we are often citing evidence that links 3 "base" actions and 2 indirect influences which come together to create 5 critical areas of health, safety and performance at any age and in any domain (workplace, home-life, community, etc);  We call theseELEMENTS.  Specifically, maintaining a finely tuned balance of MOVE (activity), FUEL (nutrition) and RECOVER (esp. sleep and smoking avoidance) allows us to ENDURE (perform on the long-term).  When done with others (socially CONNECT) we are able to perform our best, to thrive and flourish, which impacts all of those around us.

Although we don't love to talk about it (focus on the positive), we must from time to time acknowledge the alternative.  That when a body is not "in tune", that is, when a balance of MOVE, FUEL and RECOVER is not achieved, a person is far more likely to falter....to have an adverse health event or injury....the opposite of ENDURE, even when only 1 part is not helping harmonize.  There may be no truer example than a very short-lived, but incredibly important blip on the "system stress" radar that seems to consistently occur this time of year...one that points to how fragile the unbalanced system can be and how tragic the results of a poor recovery balance can become.

Although not widely known, and presumably (so say the experts) due to only 1 lost hour of sleep, there is a significant rise in heart-attacks on the Monday following daylight savings time....in some reviews, as much as a 25% increase.  Worthy of our attention.

I was reminded of this earlier in the week when my path crossed with a friend who remembered the passing of a good friend of his during this same time-frame last year and a conversation we had at the time related to this phenomenon.  Could going to bed just one hour earlier been enough to prevent this sad story? The evidence hasn't made this perfectly clear, however some signs, including a reduction by 21% of the same event in the fall when we "gain" an hour, make this a question people are trying to answer.  Perhaps, as simple as it is, it's worth doing anyway.  There are other considerations of course, but the critical message seems to be - maintaining a strong "base" (MOVE + FUEL + RECOVER), gives us the very best chance to flourish.

The human body is not a weak machine......and most of the time it functions like a symphony. If we listen closely and understand the risks we can know when we are out of tune, correct it, and continue to inch closer to our goals and the quality of life that good health and safety brings.  And if you're looking for some really great sounds (although not a symphony), I recommend Yo Yo Ma's Bach cello suites if you're wondering.