Researchers have concluded that people who burn at least 2,000 calories in conscious physical activity a week (climbing stairs, walking and formal exercise) show vastly better health profiles and longevity than sedentary people.  To help people plan and monitor their physical activity, health experts have introduced “steps per day” as a standard unit of exercise measurement.  The new goal for exercise?  Walking 10,000 steps per day.

10,000 steps of walking burns roughly 300 to 450 calories per day.  This means a person who averages 10,000 steps a day will, over the course of a week, end up burning 2,100 to 3,100 calories by walking. 

For most people, 10,000 steps per day is around five miles worth of walking during the day.  Unless you have an active job, it would be difficult to log that by just daily activity.  Most people achieve it by one or more sustained walks or runs, equivalent to 30 to 60 minutes or more of walking per day.

10,000 steps per day

Below are suggestions on how to walk at least 10,000 steps per day:

– Buy a pedometer at a sporting goods store.  A pedometer counts how many steps you take.  The first time you wear it, count how many steps you normally take in a day.  A reasonable goal for most people is to increase your average daily steps each week by 500 per day until you can easily reach 10,000 per day.  Example: If you currently average 3,000 steps each day, your goal for week one is 3,500 steps each day.  Your week two goal is 4,000 steps each day, and so on. 

– Schedule walks on your calendar.

– Ask family members, friends or co-workers to join you.  Set goals together.

– Join a walking group or club.

– Set a goal to take part in an organized fitness walk.

– Plan family outings around walks together.  Being physically active with kids sets an example they’ll follow as they grow older.

– Add steps whenever you can: At work, walk during your breaks or lunch.  Walk up flights of stairs instead of riding the escalator or elevator.  Park your car farther away from work or store entrances.  When possible, walk to the grocery store, work, school or shopping.

NOTE: It is recommended that you see a physician prior to starting any new exercise program.

Sleep and your appetite – A study from the University of Chicago found that lack of sleep makes you want to eat more.  The reason?  Sleep loss appears to trigger changes in hormones that regulate appetite and stimulate hunger for high-calorie foods like cookies and chips.  According to another study, people who get less than the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep a night are up to 73% more likely to be obese.  Health experts now recommend adequate sleep along with diet and exercise as essential for losing weight.

Sleep and your physical health – According to the Harvard-run Nurses’ Study, failing to get enough sleep heightens the risk for a variety of major illnesses, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.  A report from the study summarizes that a sleep deficit may put the body into a state of high alert, increasing the production of stress hormones and driving up blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.  Additionally, people who are sleep-deprived have elevated levels of substances in the blood that indicate a heightened state of inflammation in the body, which is now also recognized as a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

Sleep and your mental health – It is well-known that sleep problems can be a key sign of depression.  However, the latest medical research now reports that the reverse is also true – sleep disorder can actually trigger depression or other mood disorders.  The explanation?  Sleep, mood and mental/emotional behaviors all share a complex mix of chemistry in the brain.  Disordered sleep appears to set off an array of forces in the brain and nervous system that can result in a depressed mood, major depressive episode or other mood disorder.

Sleep and your productivity – According to a Better Sleep Council survey, sleep-deprived workers reported the following as work-related consequences from lack of sleep:
– 31 percent reported a decline in quality of work
– 31 percent reported impaired thinking or judgment at work
– 30 percent reported trouble retaining information

The survey summarized that “sleep deprivation impacts your alertness, your productivity and your ability to socially interact with co-workers.”

Health experts recommend that adults manage their lives to get 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep per night.

Tips to ease financial stress

1.  Don’t let credit card debt break your back.  Consumers who run up high credit card balances and then regularly pay only the minimum amount due each month are paying very high prices for goods and services.  The key to relieving financial stress is to get out of debt.  Too much debt eats away at your take-home income and undermines your financial future.

2.  Eliminate credit card debt.  Borrowing money for an asset that accumulates value (e.g. family home) can be a good thing.  All other debt should be eliminated.  Examine the interest rates you are paying on your debts and pay off those with the highest interest rates first.    

3.  Curb your spending.  For most people, overspending and having too much debt is the cause of money problems – it is not because they are not making enough money.  Learn basic money management skills.  Commit to living within your means.

4.  Keep money in reserve for the unexpected.  Unexpected financial expenses hit all of us from time to time.  Make sure you have a reserve to cope with these out-of-the-blue expenses.  Having money in reserve will give you peace of mind.

5.  Seek professional help.  If financial pressures are getting you down seek professional help.  Call your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for information and referrals.  Your EAP counselor can help you assess what issue(s) may be contributing to your money problems and refer you to the proper resources to help you overcome the problem(s).  These resources may include a financial planner, debt consolidation agency, mental health/substance abuse assistance, or other community services.

– Practice deep breathing.  If you feel yourself getting angry, don’t let it build up until you have a violent outburst.  Try breathing deeply from your diaphragm in long, slow breaths, giving your heartbeat a chance to slow down.  Repeat a word such as “relax” or “calm” as you breathe.  Breathing deeply will ease your tension.

– Change your environment.  Get out of the situation if you need to.  The quickest way to uncouple yourself from a source of anger is to take a five-minute walk and get some fresh air.  The walk will help you calm down and the break can give you time to think about the cause of your anger.  Find someone to talk things over with – someone who can help you calm down and gain perspective.

– Count to ten.  Counting to ten is an anger management tip that has worked for centuries.  The Roman poet, Horace (65 – 8 BC), said, “When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, one hundred.”  Counting to ten (or one hundred) helps you step back from an anger-provoking situation, buys time for you to examine the problem, and then decide on an effective, rational way to express your anger.

– Do something physically exerting.  Physical activity can provide an outlet for stressful emotions.  Numerous worldwide studies have documented that exercise can dissipate stress energy and improve your mood.  If you’re about to erupt, go for a brisk walk or run, a swim, lift weights or shoot baskets.

– Ask yourself this question. Before you react in anger, ask yourself: “Will the object of my anger matter ten years from now?”  Chances are, by asking this question, you will see things from a calmer perspective.

– Let go of what is beyond your control.  You can change only yourself and your responses to others, not what others do to you.  Getting angry doesn’t fix the situation and often makes you feel worse.  If someone constantly arouses your anger, focus on the troublesome situation and brainstorm solutions.

Everyone has addictive urges and sometimes gives in to them.  An addictive disorder exists, however, when you cannot control your habit or behavior despite the fact that it is undermining your health, relationships, job performance, finances or your self-respect.

Self test – Do you have a problem?

If one of these behaviors has gotten out of control for you, review the symptom checklist below to recognize if your behavior has become an addictive disorder.  A “yes” answer to one or more statements below may indicate a problem:

1. You think about the activity a lot when you’re not doing it.
2. You seem unable to control the amount of time spent doing the activity.
3. You keep increasing the amount of time that is spent doing the activity.
4. You deny having a problem, when many things are obviously going wrong.
5. You hide the activity from family and friends.
6. When unable to do the activity, you become irritable, moody, tearful, angry, or hostile.
7. You would rather do the activity than spend time with a family member or friend.
8. You forget or ignore family events such as birthdays and visits from friends because of your involvement with the activity.
9. You have extreme mood swings that are completely unpredictable.
10. You blame other people for your troubles and do not take responsibility for your own actions.
11. You have headaches, stomach disorders, and other unexplained and ongoing physical symptoms.
12. You begin to neglect your appearance or engage in risky behavior or illegal acts.

What to do

Whether you have reached the “addiction” stage or not, recognizing and admitting that your habit is negatively impacting your life is the first step toward overcoming it.  Seeking the help of a professional counselor who is experienced in treating an addictive disorder is the next step.  You can build the strength to overcome your addiction, develop alternatives to it, and learn to live a healthy and full life.

According to the ADAA, women are twice as likely to have panic disorder than men, with two to three million women frequently experiencing panic attacks.  The most common age of onset for panic disorder varies from adolescence to mid-thirties.

What is Panic Disorder?

Imagine you’re safe at home, sitting comfortably in front of the TV when out of nowhere, you feel your heart rate accelerate, your breathing becomes erratic, and you experience true terror for no reason whatsoever.  This is the experience of the panic sufferer.

People suffering from panic disorder may not be anxious all of the time.  However, they do experience unanticipated “attacks” that recur after periods of normal functioning.  These “attacks” are sudden, overwhelming periods of intense fearthat seemingly come out of nowhere.  Quite often, a person suffering from a panic attack will believe he or she is suffering from a heart attack and dying.

Recognizing the Symptoms

Common symptoms of panic attacks include shortness of breath, dizziness, heart palpitations, nausea, numbness or tingling, chest pain, a sense of “strangeness” or being detached from one’s surrounding and fear of going “insane” or dying.  The person suffering from panic disorder often develops anticipatory anxiety, tension and worry that the panic will happen again.

What Can You Do?

Contact your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for confidential help.  Your EAP can assist you with counseling or referrals to help you understand and overcome panic disorder.

“Your subjective well-being – that is, feeling positive about your life, not stressed out, not depressed – contributes to both longevity and better health among healthy populations,” said lead study author, Ed Diener, Ph.d.

Tips to increase happiness

The good news?  Recent research reports that you can change your thoughts and actions to increase your happiness.  To increase your happiness, consider the following:

Live with purpose.  People who strive for something personally significant – whether it’s learning a new skill, raising a good family, or changing careers – are happier than those who don’t have strong dreams or aspirations.  Pick one or more significant goals and devote time and effort pursuing them.

Nurture your relationships.  A Japanese study found that contented people’s happy experiences most often involved connecting with someone.  Happy people have a strong bond with at least two out of three of these essential relationships: a partner, a friend, or a parent.  Experts say the best way to improve a relationship is to invest time and energy in it.

Count your blessings.  One way to feel happier is to recognize good things when they happen.  Express gratitude for what you have privately and also by conveying appreciation to others.  If you have trouble counting your blessings, try keeping a gratitude journal.  Write down three to five things you’re grateful for once a week.  Several studies show that people who record what they appreciate experience greater happiness and less anxiety.

Practice kindness.  Do good things for others.  Acting kind or helping others makes you feel capable, compassionate and full of purpose.  In one recent study, researchers could literally see the benefits of kindness.  Subjects were hooked up to a brain-imaging mechanism and asked to click yes or no to charity-giving opportunities.  When they donated, the machine registered a boost in blood flow to a part of the brain associated with happiness.

Cultivate optimism.  Keep a journal where you write your best possible future.  Practice seeing the bright side of every situation.  Studies show that optimistic thoughts can be self-fulfilling and that optimists are healthier, happier and live longer than pessimists.

Many people become “unwitting” addicts.  These are often individuals with no prior history of drug abuse, who begin using prescription drugs for a legitimate medical problem.  Then, at some point they start increasing the dosage on their own because the drug makes them feel better.  Gradually, the abuse becomes full-blown addiction.

How to avoid prescription drug misuse or abuse

1. Educate yourself about any prescribed or over-the-counter drug you may take, in particular the drugs that can be addictive.  The most frequent offenders are pain and nerve medications, tranquilizers, diet pills and cold medicines.  Before taking any medication ask what is in the medication and what effects can be expected.

2. Keep your doctor informed about all medications you are taking, including over-the-counter medications.

3. Be sure to use medication only as prescribed.  If you have questions or concerns, contact your doctor.

4. Get a second opinion before going on a medication for any length of time.  Long-term use for more than 27 consecutive days can be addictive (This does not apply to medications that simply provide what the body is deficient in, such as insulin, thyroid, and antidepressants).

5. Low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and feeling of isolation and detachment are the most common problems associated with drug dependency.  Seek professional help or other resources to help you solve these problems, instead of covering up the symptoms with medication.  Make yourself a priority and take care of your physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

1. Identify the biggest source of stress in your life and face it head on.  Too much stress drains your energy, undermines your mood and negatively impacts your health.  If you’re suffering from overwhelming or chronic stress ask yourself: What is the biggest problem or conflict that is troubling me and how can I deal with it more effectively?  Face the issue head on by devising ways to change or manage the aspects of the issue over which you have control.  Learn to let go of those aspects over which you have no control.

2. Commit to getting adequate, quality sleep each day.  According to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation, those who got fewer than six hours of sleep on weekdays were more likely to describe themselves as stressed, sad, angry and pessimistic.  Conversely, those getting adequate sleep reported more positive feelings.  For better energy and mood, make the quality and quantity of your sleep a priority.  Commit to getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

3. Exercise four or more days per week.  If exercise is not a regular part of your life, here’s a new perspective to consider.  The benefits of exercise are immediate.  After just 20 minutes of exercise, your mood improves, you’re less stressed and you have more energy.  Don’t overwhelm yourself with the thought that you have to exercise five days a week for the next year to improve your health.  Instead, look at 20 to 30 minutes of exercise as a way of feeling better today.

4. Adjust your diet.  What you eat and when you eat affects your energy and mood.  Choose one or more of the following to help keep your energy and mood stable throughout the day:

– Start your day with a nutritious breakfast.  The benefits include improved metabolism and better concentration and performance.

– Eat small meals and snacks every few hours.  Eating consistently throughout the day provides your brain with a constant source of fuel.

– Limit your consumption of simple sugars (soda, candy, fruit juice) and refined carbohydrates (white bread, crackers, breakfast cereals, white rice).  These can create radical spikes (and resulting drops) in your blood sugar levels and leave you feeling tired and irritable.

– Cut down on caffeine.  Too much caffeine is linked to fatigue and mood swings.

–  A 2006 study looked at nearly 7,000 students who had taken a psychological test when they enrolled at the University of North Carolina in the 1960’s.  Among the most pessimistic third of the subjects, the death rate over the next 40 years was 42% higher when compared to the most optimistic third.

–  In a study of 1,000 men and women aged 65 to 85, after nearly 10 years of follow up, those who described themselves as “highly optimistic” had a 55% lower risk of death from all causes, when compared to those who were termed “very pessimistic.”

Some may believe that optimists are unrealistic people who ignore reality, but numerous studies report otherwise.  Far from living life with blinders on, it is optimists who confront trouble head-on while pessimists bury their heads in the sands of denial.  In a 1993 study of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, the women with an optimistic disposition were more likely to acknowledge the seriousness of the disease and took more active steps to cope with it.  Several studies have shown that optimistic breast cancer patients have better health outcomes than pessimistic and hopeless patients.

Researchers say several factors may explain the link between optimism, better health and longer life.

–  Optimism is associated with living healthier – more physical activity, less smoking,     moderate use of alcohol, following their doctors advice more faithfully, etc.

–  Optimistic people tend to have more friends and a larger social network to rely on during crises.

–  Optimists handle stress better, a risk factor associated with high blood pressure, heart disease and other risk factors that adversely affect health and longevity.

Increasing optimism

No matter what your outlook is, studies show that optimism can be learned and improved.  Using a practice called “cognitive restructuring,” you can help yourself become more optimistic by consciously challenging negative, self-limiting thinking and replacing it with more optimistic and health-promoting thought patterns.