Ways to Reduce Stress at Work

Work can be stressful. Utilize some of these stress-reducing strategies to get things back under control.
Image: Shutterstock

Work can be stressful, no matter what you do or what industry you’re in. There are deadlines, expectations, and a lot of things to get done. We all are pushing ourselves more and more each day, doing things like responding to the never ending emails, helping clients and customers, and always having the right answer. When confronted with all of these daily tasks, how does one remain stress-free? Here are some stress-busting solutions:

First off, stop killing yourself over made up deadlines. If you are the deadline maker, give people some breathing room so when those really urgent tasks come (or things don’t go as planned), you are able to get things done without having to pull an all-nighter. Set realistic deadlines for others and yourself, and make sure those deadlines are clearly stated so everyone is on the same page. Remember that the world won’t end if you don’t get that final email off at 2 a.m.—and likely no one will respond until morning anyway.  

Use these handy tips to reduce stress at work!
Image: Shutterstock (text added)

Second, learn to prioritize. As you go through your day, there may be many different people coming at you with different needs. If you create checklists and to-do lists comprised of these items in order of high to low priority, it can make everything seem much more manageable. This way, you aren’t missing anything and know when you need to have everything out the door. Prioritization doesn’t have to be difficult, but you do have to make time for it. On Monday morning, take time to plan out your week—roughly—so that you know what to expect. You can (and should) review that list each morning and reorganize things if needed. The important thing is that it exists and you pay attention to it!

Third, remember to breathe. Work should not always be thecenter of your life. You do it to make a living and to continue growing and learning each day, but it doesn’t have to be everything. Work out, read a book, have a hobby. Don’t let work consume you because that can lead to losing your sense of self. Also remember that often times, you’re not the only one who is stressed out – far from it. Take stock of the expectations you have set for yourself and others, and know that you can only accomplish so much in a day.

The Best Workouts For Variety and Intensity

Like intense workouts? Try a spinning class to get your sweat on!
Image: Shutterstock

There are so many workouts out there nowadays, sometimes it’s hard to decide which one is best for you. Do I take a class or join a gym? If so, where? What if I just want to try them all? Below is a general guide to popular workouts that are ideal for both intensity and variety.

Traditional Gym – Variety

A traditional gym like Equinox or Gold’s Gym provides you with plenty of options, and sometimes the fee you pay for your membership will allow you to take all the classes you want for free. There are many machines to try out, and classes you can take at times that are flexible for most schedules. Traditional gyms work best for individuals who are self-motivated and like their workouts to sometimes be intense in either a class or individual weightlifting scenario. Traditional gyms don’t seem to be as social as alternative workouts, as most people either come with workout friends or tend to work out alone.

Spin Classes – Intensity (Cardio)

Spin classes are a great way to get in some sweat-dripping cardio. The classes are filled with fast moving legs and beat pumping tunes. Usually 45 minutes to an hour, the class goes through cycles of speed and power on an indoor bike. You’ll never leave NOT drenched in sweat and ready for the day. Though intense, classes like this are often a bit more social than a traditional gym setting, as many people go to the same class times on a regular basis—so you get to know others. You can find this great workout at places like SoulCycle or FlyWheel.

Crossfit – Variety and Intensity

Crossfit is seen as the most intense of all workouts these days. The classes are a combination of gymnastics skills, weight lifting and cardio. Most Crossfit gyms require a week of training to teach new members how to properly weightlift and correct their form. Often referred to as something of a “cult,” Crossfit gyms are also very social in nature. A lot of the workouts require partners or “spotters,” so you get to know those around you very well. Each class, coaches customize the workouts making every workout different and ideal of those who like variety.  Some great locations in Seattle include The LAB or Crossfit Seattle, but Crossfit gyms can be found all across the country.

Stay tuned for another guide to more specific workout options coming soon!

New Study Finds that 9/10 American Kids Eat Too Much Salt

A CDC study found that 9/10 American kids eat too much salt.
Image: Shutterstock

As young students across the country head back to school this month, parents and guardians should be mindful about what they are packing in school lunches, and cooking at home for dinner. According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an astonishing nine out of 10 American kids eat more salt than they should, which raises their lifetime risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.

Many grown adults have a complicated relationship with salt. Home cooking encourages the use of spices and seasonings when preparing meals with local, nutritious ingredients, but many Americans don’t have the time or the budget to cook every meal from scratch. Chips, packaged snacks, and ready-to-make meals like frozen pizza and boxed macaroni and cheese are affordable for larger families and fast and easy to make. Unfortunately, they are also loaded with sodium and processed ingredients. 

I’ve talked before about my own personal experiences unpeeling myself from the processed food salt craze. Moving away from packaged food and cooking more at home can be a hassle—especially if you’re not used to it—and sometimes our palates take a while to adjust to less salt. In my experience, though, once my body did adjust to less salt, I stopped feeling like it needed to be added. Nowadays, I only infrequently use salt while cooking – and really only a dash or two when I do decide to use it.

But I didn’t make the choice to use less salt—in fact, I didn’t even think about it until we just had to cut it out of the family diet because of my dad’s health issues. Many adults and children don’t realize just how prevalent salt is in the foods we eat—and it’s becoming a huge problem.

Based on the CDC’s findings, about 43 percent of the salt ingested by children comes from the ten foods they eat most often. According to WebMD, “these foods include pizza, bread and rolls, cold cuts and cured meats, savory snacks, sandwiches, cheese, chicken patties and nuggets, pasta dishes, Mexican dishes, and soups.” For busy families, many of these foods are ideal because they are appealing to children and easy to make.

One of the most important takeaways from the CDC study is that the high ingestion of salt a child can affect health later on.

Explains Dr. Erica Brody, “Though kids do not have the same short-term risks from high-salt diets that adults do, as with all aspects of childhood nutrition, the foods our children eat now affect the choices they will go on to make as adults.” Dr. Brody works in the department of pediatrics at the Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mt. Sinai in New York. Named for prominent hospital donor Henry R. Kravis, the Children’s Hospital is ranked among the top medical institutions in the world.

Dr. Brody and many other childhood nutrition specialists, including CDC Deputy Principal Directory Ileana Arias, agree that it is vital for young people to start learning about healthy, nourishing foods early, to prevent bad habits down the road. “This includes excessive sugars, fats, and, of course, salt as well,” Dr. Brody says, of the unhealthy ingredients that are heavily marketed towards children. 

Sarah Sproule, artisan salt maker and owner of Urban Sproule in NYC recently told Kinfolk, “Now we see convenience food companies […] loading their chips and crackers with enough salt to make them shelf-stable for years. People are concerned about salt intake—I like to call it the “sodium craze.” But health conditions related to sodium intake haven’t come out of garnishing with your favorite artisanal flake salt: They’ve come from consuming packaged foods loaded with overly processed sodium,” of the difference between garnishing meals at home with salt and exclusively eating heavily salted, processed foods. Arias agrees, noting that families can serve more fresh fruits and vegetables and by preparing foods that contain less salt, rather than opting for ready-made meals like pizza, when possible.

Learn more about the CDC’s findings by visiting WebMD.

Choose Your Produce Wisely with This Handy Infographic

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Gerrick Dee, who was kind enough to pass along an infographic  he created, which goes more in depth on the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen, which I've talked about on this blog before.

It can be frustrating to buy produce, and if you're anything like me, you often feel the pressure to buy everything organic. The problem is, organic produce can be very pricey. Certainly, this depends on where you do your shopping, but for many people, the cost of buying all organic produce just becomes too much of a burden.

But don't worry! Garrick's handy infographic outlines the items that are categorized as the Dirty Dozen--or the most likely to be contaminated with pesticides--and those that are considered a part of the Clean Fifteen--or the least likely to be contaminated. Plus, it's got some great basic information on pesticides, GMOs, and where to look for organic produce when you need it.

So, take a look - and let me know what you think. Do you buy into the blanket organic and GMO-free model? Or do you shop for produce with a more discerning and price-conscious eye?

Thanks again to Gerrick Dee at Juicing with G for the infographic! ;)

Artificial Sweeteners 101

Maple syrup is one of my favorite sugar alternatives.
Image: Chiot's Run / Flickr CC

If you’re a sweets fiend trying to live healthy, then it’s probably a constant battle to cut down on sugar intake. I, for one, didn’t have any idea how many processed foods contain high levels of sugar—until I started paying it special attention. Its packed into things you’d expect it to be in (though in larger amounts than necessary), like juice. But it’s also often in plenty of places you might not expect it—ketchup, pasta sauce, salsa, pasta or macaroni salad, baked beans, crackers, and even processed meats.

Even as someone that’s never been a sugar junkie, it has been hard to cut out those little white granules. It started with switching from flavored CoffeeMate creamer to half and half with just a little sugar added, and eventually no sugar at all. I used to think coffee without sugar was, well, gross, but to my surprise, as soon as I started cutting the sugar out, I didn’t even want to add it back in. I also started noticing that unsweetened food (like vegetables) started to taste sweeter to my un-inundated palate.

I’ve come to love savory foods more than I ever thought I would. But still there are times when I want a little extra sweetness that’s not sugar. Why not sugar? It’s earned quite the bad reputation among health experts, and has been linked to problems like obesity, heart disease, cancer, raised blood pressure, insulin resistance, blood sugar level spikes, increased glycosylated hemoglobin, and even impaired brain function. Yikes!

I’m certainly not perfect and I do still consume regular ‘ol sugar at times, but if I have an active role in choosing the sweetener, I generally try to go for something different. There are a lot of options, some of which are better than others. None are perfect, and some even contain higher levels of fructose than table sugar does—so keep that in mind when choosing which ones to use.

My favorite alternative sweeteners include maple syrup, honey, and coconut sugar. Maple syrup is high in sucrose, contains antioxidants, and has low fructose levels. Honey (raw, not processed) is rich in nutrients but still contains high levels of fructose, which is one of table sugar’s main downfalls. Coconut palm sugar is fairly low in fructose content, but it’s still just as full of carbs and calories as regular sugar.

Other options for natural sweeteners include agave, which is incredibly sweet but also has very high levels of fructose (75-90 percent, or more than high fructose corn syrup), making hit hard to metabolize. Molasses is another more nutrient-rich option, though also high in fructose.

Brown rice syrup is a fructose-free option, but could possibly contain arsenic (just as brown rice can). Sweeteners such as Lo Han (monkfruit) and Stevia are options as well, though they both still perpetuate the desire for sweets—meaning you’ll continue to crave sugary foods. Yahoo! Shine has a great article that outlines the different types of natural sugar alternatives, with pros and cons for each.

Do you use sugar alternatives at home? Please share with me which sweeteners you do (and don’t!) use in the comments.

How Many ZZZs Do You Really Need?

What's the purrrrfect amount of sleep?
Image: Shutterstock

How many hours of sleep do you get each night? How much would you get if you didn’t have to set your alarm clock each morning? As a society, we’ve come to believe the ideal amount of sleep per night is 8 hours for adults. I’ll be the first to say that if I sleep without interruption, I tend to go for nine hours, meaning my sleep cycles are likely each 3 hours long or 4.5 hours long.

“Everyone is different,” is the phrase I generally go to when talking about how much sleep people “need” to get on average each night. But there’s some interesting new research being done that is suggesting the “eight hours” rule might not actually be the ideal amount of sleep.

In general, Americans these days are getting fewer hours of shuteye than in the past, and several studies over the past few decades have suggested that seven hours is the optimal amount of sleep for cognitive and physical health.

For example, the University of California San Diego conducted a six-year-long study involving over a million people and concluded that the optimal amount of sleep per night is between 6.5 and 7.4 hours. The researchers say that those who tended to sleep between those amounts had a lower mortality rate than those who got either more or less sleep on average. The study controlled for 32 different health factors and was published in 2002.

Of course, many experts have pointed out potential flaws in the research, such as whether it factored in illnesses, human error in self-monitoring for sleep times, and genetic differences and predispositions. One study found that skipping out on even a little extra sleep (20 minutes) could impair memory and overall performance. Too much sleep, however, has been associated with a wide variety of health problems—like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and higher mortality rates.

“The problem with these studies is that they give you good information about association but not causation,” says Timothy Morgenthaler, who is president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He recommends seven to eight hours of sleep per night, with an evaluation of how you feel individually—because optimal sleep times can vary largely.

One thing is for sure: there’s certainly more research to be done. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has agreed to fund a panel to review and report on all existing sleep research. The panel will be made up of researchers and medical specialists, who are to deliver new recommendations on sleep by 2015.

What do you think about this new research? Are you a tried-and-true 8-hours believer, or do you have a different optimal sleep time? 

22 CEOs Join Up With American Heart Association Initiative

Make healthier choices!
Image: EpSos.de via Flickr

I’ve talked before about how close to home heart disease is for me. With a history of it in my family, and with a (for now) harmless heart murmer myself, heart problems are a very real, and very scary thing. It’s the biggest killer in America, and quite frankly, we often don’t do nearly enough to prevent it—often waiting until our lives are in grave danger to realize we should have made smarter, healthier choices.

I think that we are living in rapidly changing times, however. It feels like we’re finally moving past the era where we buy all our meals pre-packaged and processed, and more into an era where we’re getting back to the basics and trying to be healthier. I know this isn’t true for many people, but I’ve noticed a general shift in attitude in recent years—especially since obesity has become such a prevalent problem in our society. I hope I’m right and that we’re collectively making this change for the better.

I wanted to share with you a story I read in the news that really cheered me – an announcement that 22 CEOs of major companies are partnering up with the American Heart Association to help employees lead healthier lives. The initiative is called the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable, and addresses a common problem—our tendency to over-estimate how healthy we really are, which can lead to problems like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and a myriad other problems.

CEOs like Henry R. Kravis (KKR), Nancy Brown (AHA), and Terry Lundgren (Macy’s) have stepped up to the plate in regards to employee health. The most exciting part? The initiative aims to “make healthy choices the default choices,” which I whole-heartedly believe is integral to leading a healthy life. Enough with the extreme diets, the constant battle—we need a complete shift in mindset, where we’re leading a healthy lifestyle, not just picking and choosing.

"The AHA CEO Roundtable is uniquely positioned to create real changes in health and wellness by engaging more than 2 million people where they spend most of their day—at work," said Henry R. Kravis, co-CEO of KKR. "We are taking what we know—from the CEO Roundtable companies, leading doctors and scientists, and this new data—and combining it with the expertise of the AHA to make a meaningful impact on our employees' health."

It’s estimated that about 200,000 lives could be saved every year from heart disease—simply by making healthier lifestyle choices. Now that’s something worth fighting for.