Health – Page 8 – Andrea Arthur Owan

3 Potential Benefits of Working Standing Up

I recently splurged and treated myself to a pricey item, one that, supposedly, is going to help improve my health and reduce my risk of heart disease, help me lose weight and drop my cholesterol numbers, AND boost my productivity.

I bought myself a fancy work desk (more like a pretty sizable work counter) that raises and lowers at the tap of a finger. It also has USB cable ports. And it has a black glass surface, so, instead of using post-it notes, I can write notes on it with special wax pencils and then wipe then erase the notes.

Potential dangers of sitting down while working—

According to the insert shipped in the box with the desk, the Journal of Physical Activity and Health found that, on average, people spend 5.8 hours sitting at their desk at work.

I cringed when I read that, since I was putting in longer hours sitting at my desk a little over a year ago. And I paid for it. Am still paying for it, actually, with tighter muscles that scream in protest when I try to re-lengthen them; in stiff knees that are still giving me trouble; and in weight gain I’m still battling to shed.

And I always feel sorry for the receptionists at companies or doctors’ offices who seem to be glued to their chairs, parked before their computers as they check in patients and answer the persistent phone calls.

The insert also sited a Nielsen study that found we spend 58 minutes on a PC or Internet. I don’t know where they got that statistic, but most people I know, who are working, spend a lot more time than that on their computers.

In addition, we spend 1.39 hours on the Internet on our smart phones. And that’s probably spent in the sitting position.

I’ve returned to using my phone way too much for Internet perusing and have laid down some personal rules for myself: I shut down my computer and phone by 7:00 PM (or soon after), and I try to make myself leave the phone alone in the morning, before I’ve spent quality time with the Lord in Bible study, devotion time, and prayer.

Benefits of standing while working—

Productivity:

According to the insert, standing while working can boost your productivity by 46%.

(Daily Science covered the results of a standing-up productivity study published in IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors.)

I’m going to guess that’s one of the reasons it’s true is because most people hunch over their computers, pecking away at their computers with their necks lurching forward and down, their shoulders rounded over, and their eyeballs at the wrong level to really see the screen well. Sitting like that compromises your breathing, tending to make it shallow and unproductive. You don’t get as much oxygen into and through the system, and you tire faster and throw your body alignment out of whack.

Just perching a separate monitor from your laptop on your desk, one that sits up at eye level with you, helps immensely in correcting this.

But standing while working can help circulation. But standing all day to work also comes with vascular risks, so don’t overdo a good thing!

Weight Loss:

Another potential plus is that you can lose weight, up to 20 pounds per year by standing two hours a day, if the insert is correct. The research sited is found on the livestrong.com site.

Improve your cardiovascular system:

Spending less time sitting also helps lower your blood sugar (decrease your risk of acquiring diabetes) and cholesterol (reduce your risk of heart disease). This “fact” was taken from Harvard Health.

I’m already enjoying my desk, and it’s got a great support bar as part of the legs/support system that I can rest my feet on while sitting down, and prop one foot on while standing up. Raising your knees a little higher than your hips also helps circulation while you’re sitting down and working. It certainly makes the sitting position much for comfortable, and I’m less likely to scrunch my legs backward, entwine my feet, and jam my big toes into the ground!

I certainly don’t feel as stiff or pinched up when I rise to take a break, which you should do every forty minutes, at the minimum. Which returns me to the standing up article that says people started feeling physically better after one month of standing up while working. They complained less of physical issues or discomfort.

I’ll keep you posted on the effects. Can’t tell yet if I’m more productive, but I certainly enjoy my time spent at the computer more. And I’m trying to incorporate what I can to improve my health with the goal of making life more enjoyable and being able to perform my work as well as I possibly can.

And the desk looks really sleek in my newly painted study where I work. Now my husband wants one. And I’m considering buying a couple for my sons for Christmas presents.

Standup desk options—

If you can’t buy a fancy desk, consider purchasing a low-cost, hundred-dollar model to set on the dining room table or a card table. The one I got for Christmas a couple of years ago is rated as one of the top stand-up work desks. It’s large enough to spread some papers out on, and it has an easily adjusted height. Having a desk like that gives you the added benefit of changing work scenery, which can also increase productivity.

Do your homework, though. Mobile desks can get REALLY pricey; and some users complain that the electronics on them fizzles out pretty quickly.

But Buyer Beware!

Take note that there is no specific, science-backed research data on how long you should spend sitting versus how long you should spend standing while working. And don’t convince yourself that your standing at work replaces outdoor activity—like walking—or general exercise to raise your heart rate. It’s just one more piece of the health puzzle to consider.

Until next week, sit down less, stand up and move around more, and work healthy! To feel better physically.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Positive (Productive) Solitude—How Being Alone Can Make You Happy

A recent Greater Good Science Center on-line magazine article really caught my attention. Although the post’s title, “Three Emerging Insights About Happiness,” could have been a ho-hum trigger, the email subject line snagged me:

“How Being Alone Can Make You Happy.”

I perked up and quickly clicked through.

Why?

Because I tend to like being alone, even though I extol the virtues of socializing.

I know. That sounds disingenuous and a little dishonest. But it’s true.

Let me explain.

Although many people would swear on a Bible that I’m a total extrovert, I’m not. In fact, I’ve taken several personality tests—including one when I entered graduate school eons ago, and another one maybe a handful of years ago—that indicated I was borderline sometimes-extrovert, sometimes-introvert. It just depended upon my mood and the social situation. And it still does.

Maybe my initial college introversion came more from being insecure about whether or not I actually deserved to be attending graduate school where I was; and being downright terrified about whether I had the brains to actually be successful in graduate school.

I loved socializing and could chat up a storm (still can) and can easily and comfortably work my way around and through groups of people. But I grew up an only child and learned to spend a lot of time alone. Spending hours in a gym, working out alone (with just my dad or another coach) simply re-enforced my aloneness. I didn’t always like it, (I often loathed the isolation); and it made it difficult to develop friendships, but I learned and adapted.

As a writer, I spend hours alone in a VERY quiet house every day, except when my Shetland sheepdog Dolly ruins my eardrums barking.

So with all of that in mind, I read the article with tremendous interest, trying to glean insights for those of you who would like to spend time alone, learn to spend time alone, need time alone, and would love to know what benefits you can get from that alone time.

Greater Good Magazine managing editor, Kira Newman, highlighted three main (revelations-to-her) takeaways from her recent excursion to Melbourne, where researchers from over 60 countries gathered for the International Positive Psychology Association’s 6^th World Congress. She said that the findings the researchers shared “added depth and complexity to our understanding of major keys to a flourishing life.”

Newman went on to say that attendees heard about when kindness makes you happier, and when it doesn’t. Now the latter part of that statement in itself—especially with the “Be Kind” movement in full swing—is a revelation for many.

She also noted:

“Researchers also addressed modern obstacles to happiness—from the way we’re hooked on technology to a widespread sense of disconnection and loneliness.”

**Defining positive solitude—**

It is well known that social connection is one of the keys to happiness and longevity. For many, feelings of being separated from others—on the outside or forgotten—equals loneliness and disconnection.

But a group of researchers—Martin Lynch, Sergeyt Ishanov, and Dmitry Leontiev—at Russia’s National Research University Higher School of Economics—have investigated “the phenomenon of positive or ‘productive solitude.’”

Newman asks,

“Does solitude have to be a negative experience? Can time alone feed our well-being?”

She explains that positive, or productive solitude is in contrast with the more unpleasant experience of being alone.

“Productive solitude doesn’t occur because we fell disconnected from others; it’s something that we deliberately seek out.”

Productive or positive solitude is when we use the solitary time not for negative ruminating or feeling sorry for ourselves because we’re alone, but using the time for

Contemplation
Reflection, or
Creativity

In other words, it’s time spent being intentionally productive engaging in something that will enrich your life physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.

The benefits of productive (positive) solitude—

Researchers note that people who practice periods or times of positive solitude tend to feel more positive emotions, like:

Relaxation
Calm
Greater pleasure
Greater meaning
Less of a sense of void in their lives.

Who benefits most from productive (positive) solitude?

It’s not surprising to learn that introverts tend to benefit most from practicing productive solitude. After all, introverts easily tire from too much social stimulation, or having to socialize with large groups of people, and get re-energize with alone time.

But another group also benefits:

Those who enjoy emotional and psychological maturity.

Would you count yourself in that category—an emotionally and psychologically mature person?

That’s one of the primary goals of my website, which hosts this blog—for all of us to grow into emotional, psychological (and spiritual) maturity.

Tips for achieving positive solitude effects—

Deliberately schedule alone time to do something you enjoy, without interruption.
Spend solitary time in a peaceful setting, like nature.
Disconnect from social media, turn off your phone and computer, tuck them away and focus on something else—like prayer, drawing, meditating, stretching, thinking, daydreaming, doodling, coloring. Even cleaning out a room or closet can reap positive solitude rewards, especially if that chaotic space makes it difficult for you to feel peace and tranquility or achieve any type of productivity.

What positive/productive solitude isn’t—

Positive solitude isn’t time spent alone doing regular work or trying to catch up on office demands.

Deterrents to positive solitude—

If you aren’t used to practicing positive solitude, you may find your normally busy or over-stimulated brain challenged, and rebelling. The brain loathes change and habit-correction.

But persevere! It may take you a few attempts (or many) to discover what you’d like to do during your alone time, or determining what activity gives you the most bang-for-your-time buck.

If you must, set up a positive solitude reward. Your choice.
Deliberately schedule alone time for doing something you enjoy.
Think of it as time spent cultivating new attitudes, and growing happier!

Again, persevere!

Happiness gained from positive solitude awaits you!

NEXT WEEK: What does “feeling active” have to do with your happiness factor?

If you have any tips for other readers on how you spend positive solitude time, please share them, so we can grow and explore together!

Until next week, enjoy your solitude.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The Important of Daily Stretching: Reducing Injury and the Effects of Aging

A lot of folks think stretching is just for athletes, young people, or yoga and Pilates devotees.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Stretching is important at all stages of life to maintain healthy, fluid and well-oiled joints, functioning muscles, balance and flexibility. It also helps reaction time.

Stretching should be a part of everyone’s daily wellness routine.

As gymnasts, we usually stretched as a group, before and following practice. Sometimes we helped each other stretch. The encouragement and aid helped.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a buddy, or guide, take you through a dedicated stretching routine?

Stretch help is on the way!

It turns out that a big massage chain has done just that—developed a dedicated stretching program.

Experts, who, between them, have 85 collective years of studying the functional movements of professional athletes and performers, have developed it through extensive research.

The method consists of ten targeted stretches that work from your top down. The stretches are designed to help your muscles reach their maximum flexibility.

The stretches are designed to be to be slow and deliberate traction techniques. The stretch “providers” take you through this guided stretching, which gently moves you beyond your resistance points. The goal is to increase circulation, reduce tension from the head down to your toes and improved muscle function.

The providers—who are knowledgeable in kinesiology (study of human movement) and anatomy—are all professionally trained and certified in the technique.

Sessions can be enjoyed in thirty or sixty-minute increments.

My opinion—

I haven’t given it a go yet. I’ll need to wait for my knee injury to calm down (since one of the stretches involves kneeling and leaning back on your heals) before trying it out. But I’m excited about the possibilities.

It’s a lot more fun and effective to have a “coach” guiding you through movements and workouts. And I’m going to guess that includes stretching!

Until next Wednesday, keep stretching and flexing that body! Ease and joy of movement can make life so much more enjoyable.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The Importance of Daily Stretching—Reducing the Effects of Aging Part II

I’ve been doing an extra amount of stretching lately. It wasn’t planned. It’s just become a necessity.

Just as my right knee was beginning to show signs of returning to normal post-arthroscopy, I somehow managed to muck up my left knee.

So, now I’m dealing with a severe hamstring strain, severe lower leg pain, and knee instability, which leads me to believe that there’s something going on internally, structure-wise.

But since I know there’s a hamstring involved, that means extra, daily, MILD stretching to keep the muscle and tendon elongated for healing. If I don’t do that, then I run the risk of scar tissue healing in a shortened muscle state, which means whenever I stress it in the future, the scar tissue will likely tear again, I’ll get more bleeding in the muscle and subsequent re-injury. It will be a never-ending, ugly cycle of tear, bleed, repeat.

The reason that happens is that muscle doesn’t heal well. If you have a decent muscle strain, which involves tearing and a void in the muscle belly, you will usually get scar tissue replacing the muscle—hard, tough, non-elastic scar tissue. That’s why you want that muscle on a stretch during healing, so the scar tissue formed will be long and less likely to tear again with muscle contraction.

Get yourself a helpful stretching reference—

To help me in my recovery, I’ve pulled a book off my library shelf to help me in my efforts, one we considered to be the gold standard for stretching.

Stretching by Bob Anderson. He even does the illustrations, which are simple, straightforward, and easy to comprehend. It’s a fabulous book that I had to purchase as a textbook in college. It really is stretching 101 for beginners to advanced athletic participants and exercisers.

You can pick up the 30^th anniversary edition, which has been expanded for home office and computer users as well as wheelchair athletes. It’s still the one recommended by sports professionals.

Here’s what the back cover blurb says,

“This is the book that people tell their friends about, that trainers suggest for virtually every sport and activity, and that medical professionals recommend to people just starting to get back in shape. Stretching first appeared in 1980 as a new generation of Americans became committed to running, cycling, aerobic training, and workouts in the gym — all of which are commonplace now.

It features stretching routines specific to a variety of people, including sports enthusiasts, travelers, children, gardeners, and people in wheelchairs. There is also an abbreviated version of each routine for people in a hurry, new information on the stretching vs. warming up debate, and new and improved drawings. This 30th anniversary edition features two-color inks to better define the muscle groups helped by each stretching exercise. A new section focuses on office fitness exercises, helpful for both home and office computer users.”

If you’re up against a muscle injury, make sure you add ice treatment to the stretching regimen. I often ice while stretching or ice afterward. And you really want to make sure you’re doing static, not bounce stretching for an injury. You don’t want little microscopic tears adding to the problem.

Stretching is a must for injury recovery, as long as you aren’t too eager and end up doing more damage. But it’s important at any age and stage of life to keep your muscles, tendons and joints healthy, lubricated, and working at their peak for you.

I can’t stress that enough. Get up and get out and stretch that body! All of it. Consider getting a buddy to stretch with. Teammates help each other stretch all of the time. Do you remember sitting toe-to-toe with a classmate in gym class and stretching each other back and forth?

I have a stretch buddy, myself. Although she hinders my stretching efforts more than helps them. She’s so adorable I can’t refuse her. And she gets my day going with a good belly laugh!

Every time I lean over to do leg stretches, my Shetland sheepdog, Dolly, thinks I’m leaning over to play with her. She doesn’t give up or relent, either. So I often pick her up and swing her back and forth while I’m doing side-to-side stretching. Her legs motor mid-air at a mile-a-minute, and she tries to lick me to death.

If I really want to concentrate and focus, I have to put her outside or seal myself in my bedroom. Our cat, Tibbs, used to help my younger son stretch—by strolling over and parking himself on Cory’s chest when he lay down on the floor to stretch. Cory said stretching never was the same after that precious tabby of ours died.

Good stretching memories!

Whatever age and stage of activity (or injury recovery) you’re in, you WILL benefit immensely from daily stretching. And you will benefit from Bob Anderson’s book. I promise. (I do not make any money from referrals or promotions of his book.)

NEXT WEEK I’ll tell you about a new stretching program being offered at my massage therapy facility. Sounds interesting, and evidently it’s been developed after a lot of research and professional input. I’m excited to give it a test run, but I’ll need to wait until I can completely bend this left knee to participate.

Hopefully I won’t need to recover from yet another surgery first!

Until then, keep those limbs and joints moving,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

How to Make the Most Out of Life: Building Friendships

Want to broaden and strengthen your friendships and relationships? It could be one of the most important things you do to make you physically, emotionally and spiritually healthier.

Last month we started a series on developing and building friendships, something all of us need. Even the most righteous and Spirit-filled believer needs someone with skin on her. Even our Lord had His special twelve, and his intimate three. Why would we think we could go it alone?

Last week we looked at taking the first step on that journey: taking your whole person into account. Rather than take a shotgun or dart-throwing approach to friendship building, we need to know ourselves—our strengths, weaknesses, desires and needs—as we embark on friendship finding and building. In a nutshell, we need to discriminate based on that list.

Getting practical and proactive in friendship building—

After you’ve taken your whole person into account and made a thorough personal assessment, you can move forward. Today we’ll look at two suggestions for friendship building.

Get yourself out there!

You won’t make too many friends, or strengthen old friendships, if you don’t get busy and get visible. Some of the best ways are to:

Try something new—a painting or drawing class, taking music lessons, joining an exercise class that gives you the opportunity to interact with others.
Volunteer—join a board that works to achieve something you hold near and dear to your heart. When I volunteered at the local food bank, I had the pleasure of meeting all sorts of interesting people and even having the opportunity to interact with some of them outside of the volunteer setting.
A friend of mine who recently moved to another state got busy joining the local Newcomers Club, a church and one of its small groups, and Bible study. She also has a knack for talking to nearly every new person she meets, so she quickly racked up new friends and opportunities.
Join a hobby group—our younger son, who is 24, recently commented to my husband that he realized the one thing that was missing from his life was a hobby. My husband laughed, probably because he has too many hobbies going. “I really need a hobby,” Cory said. He correctly views a healthy hobby as one that helps him release work stress and engage his mind in different ways than his work does. It’s a win-win physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Find a place to gather with others.

People tend to like having a place to go to meet others, and it needs to be a comfortable place. Your local Mexican restaurant is likely not it. Why? That type of environment is too noisy and too busy to be able to focus on others and share your heart. Some places that make gathering locales are:

Library activity rooms—a writers group I belong to meets every Friday in a nearby library. It has been a fabulous place to meet others and make some new friends.
Quiet coffee shops
Parks
Community Centers
Meet-up Groups
Church rooms available for meetings
House rotation—have others over for tea, lunch or dinner and then ask others to host at their homes, if they are able. That way one person doesn’t feel burdened with hosting every time. We rotate between homes in one of my writing groups. And if someone needs to bow out at the last minute for some reason, another member quickly jumps in to fill that roll. There are only five of us, so it’s a close-knit group.

Think of other places you can meet, or groups you might want to start.

In response to a prompting I felt from the Lord, I started a small women’s group about a decade ago. We met at my home the second Saturday of every month and arranged occasional get-togethers with the family members in our backyard. Grilling, swimming and dining on S’mores made over an outdoor fire pit are quick ways to form friendships! The group last seven to eight years, and we opened our hearts to one another and formed special bonds. We studied the Bible together and prayed fervently for one another. When one of us had family issues or faced illnesses or death, we circled the wagons around one another for support.

As you read this post, does anything come to mind that you’d enjoy or think you’d like to start? Pray about it and about the people you think the Lord would like you to be-friend or gather with.

He knows best what your needs are.

Next week we’ll look at two more ways to bolster friendship building.

Until then, check library bulletin boards, community center activities pages, and Google search for meet-up groups in your area. You’ll probably be surprised to find the number of activities that will spark your interest.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.