ENDURE: 9/28/15 The Difference Between "Stress" and "Load"

Spoiler summary - it's really all about the dose.

Words can be incredibly powerful. They can excite us, like in an amazing speech; they can soothe us, like when someone who we know really cares says so; and they can influence us to take action by pulling on those "strings" that seem to connect our brain to our heart and heart to our muscles. So how does that whole thing work? And what does it have to do with our health?

The answer? Nothing and everything.

The cliff's notes version is that the brain determines if something is a threat which triggers an emotional response and sets a cascade into motion. Some call it the fight or flight response, some talk about the "Sympathetic nervous response" and others simply call it stress.  Certain words, like the word stress itself, tend to trigger this response....which can cause impacts on our health.  It seems a bit strange if you think about it, but it's real. 

Can there be good stress? Of course, we know the answer is yes because when it comes to the body, we adapt to the stress we are under. Take gravity for example. It helps us to maintain a strong and healthy skeletal system by keeping it under a steady amount of stress. This is one reason why astronauts have so much deconditioning when they return from a weightless environment.  They are quite literally chronically under-stressed. So, even though it's just a "thing" (and not inherently good or bad) most tend to still think of stress as a negative thing. 

In the world of injury prevention this concept is beginning to play out.  The word "load" has started to replace the word "stress".  People are starting to understand that dialing in the right amount (the right "dose") is what really matters: not too little, not too much, just right.

In the next few weeks, I'll revisit the concept of training load: how different body areas are impacted by different loads;how we can be sure we are positively adapting to the stress we face and how we can keep the brain-heart-body strings playing the right tune.

More to come...

CONNECT: 9/17/15 Connecting with the Environment

The Law of Nature

 

Spoiler summary - Get out there...it's just so darn good for us.

This time of year can be a bit like a guessing game for the body. Is it still summer? Is it fall? Is it both?  For many people it's a favorite time of year as we get back into our routines -- even if that means more cars on the road and back to school nights to attend -- it also means that the really oppressive weather (usually) breaks, the playoff hunt in baseball is heating up and football fans everywhere feel like the world is once again spinning on its axis.  Sure, transition back to routine can be hectic, but if we play it right, it can also be a chance to rebalance...before the stress of winter rolls in.

So what does it mean to "play it right"? 

For some, it might mean downtime, a chance to decompress from a busy day/week/etc. For others it might mean some exertion, a way to nudge a too-sedentary body & mind into action. Still for others, it might just mean a breath of fresh air, literally.

And....for a little while longer.....while the conditions are welcoming....it might mean a good dose of nature, which, as it turns out includes all of the above and more.

In a recent review, researchers from the University of Illinois set out to answer what it is about being "out there" (in nature) that is so good for our health. They reviewed many studies that linked the two and came up with (what they think) is a singular pathway....and it turns out.....it's a combination of many things, all of which seem build on one another to stimulate our immune system.  

You can read about it here [http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01093/full] -- or, you can just get "out there" and enjoy it.  

I strongly recommend NJ's "Columbia Trail".

RECOVER: 9/11/15 Place Your Bets on Healthy Action

I love technology - gadgets and sensors, data and dashboards....I love the stuff.  As wearables and health data applications have become more mainstream, I've had lots of fun checking out the variety of cool new measures.  So, as you can imagine, I was excited to get an email from a doctoral student from 1/2 way around the world last week telling me about some of his research and a new app he was working on....once I got over the mental hurdle of how small things like twitter have made the world of course.  He has been working on ways to measure markers of recovery, a known predictor of injury and disease - which, of course is right in our wheelhouse.  So, for the last few days, to support his effort, I've been taking some simple measurements (heart rate, breathing rate, etc) even before getting out of bed.  Even though it's a bit of "just another thing" to do in the AM before getting out the door, it's only a minute and the data is fascinating.

 

However, now that it's been a few days, I started wondering if this new knowledge would actually be enough of a nudge to change my actions.  Would it tempt me to go to bed earlier?  Would it help me to keep a more balanced training plan?  Would it actually have an impact on my actions?

 

Of course, no one really knows yet....but plenty of people are placing big bets that it will be something that helps us all achieve a better level of health.  If we used financial investments by the biggest tech companies (google, apple, etc) in health-tech as an indicator, it's fair to say the expectations are big -- revolutionary maybe.  However, tech to date has really been focused on making us more informed; influencing our beliefs and helping us to make better decisions because THIS is what will lower our risk of injury and disease....THIS is what will help us to live out the best version of ourselves - and to that end, there's good news and bad news.

 

The bad news: no matter how we slice it or dice it, actions & environment determines risk and risk determines likelihood of an incident. Therefore, lowering risk is about choosing the best actions and creating the lowest-risk environment.  This was proven again recently when researchers showed that the health-pitfalls associated with diabetes (which unfortunately impacts as many as 50% of the US adult population in either the diagnosable or pre-diagnosable form) were significantly increased for those who smoked. This study for example showed that risk of death in smokers who had diabetes was 50% higher - YIKES!

 

The good news: even small changes in our actions can have an impact. A small, but promising study for example showed that interrupting constant sitting (a known risk factor for diabetes) with as little as 3 minutes of moderate intensity walking had an impact on blood markers associated with developing the disease in kids - COOL!

 

Avoid smoking (and quit if you're ready), get moving  - nothing earth shattering there - but the results can be.  Even though (according to the CDC) the average American "heart age" continues to be higher than actual age, maybe it doesn't have to be.

 

The formula is really pretty simple - know your risk, take action to lower it and prevent injury and disease.  ANYONE can do it -- let us know if we can help.