Tip of the week:
1. How important is posture?
Well.. VERY! Where the head goes the body follows..
A Kaiser family
Foundation survey found that 8-18 year olds spend more than 7.7 hours per day
using mobile media. That’s more than 53 hours per week!
A study performed by the Mayo clinic in 2000
found that long term forward neck posture leads to long term muscle strain,
disc herniations and pinched nerves (Mayo Clinic Health Letter, March 2000)
§ "Loss of the cervical
curve stretches the spinal cord 5-7 cm and causes disease." (Dr. Alf
Breig, neurosurgeon and Nobel Prize recipient)
Your Mother was
right.. Sit up straight and and be mindful of your body’s position in space. It
will save you money and You won’t walk into a stop sign…
2.
Be aware of your seat..We talked last time about
the importance of the position of your head in posture. Well, what about the
other end? If your head is too far forward, chances are you’re also rounding
your shoulders and tucking your pelvis.. Not good…
"90% of the
stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the
spine," says Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize recipient for brain research.
Only 10 percent has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing, so when you
have forward head posture, your brain will rob energy from your thinking,
metabolism, and immune function to deal with abnormal gravity/posture
relationships and processing.
So, Don’t sit with
your legs crossed and gents, get the wallet out of your back pocket. Hitting
the road this summer? Try keeping your hands lower on the steering when to
avoid tightening your traps. This will keep your neck more relaxed so you don’t
look like the hunch back of notre dame by the time you reach your destination!
3.
Workplace Ergo
"For every inch of
forward head posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an
additional 10 pounds." (Kapandji, Physiology of the Joints, Volume 3)
So.. Get your monitor up and move the height of
your seat if possible so that you have no strain in your wrist or shoulder.
Plant your feet on the floor or prop your toes up on a box. Don’t perch on the
edge of your seat and for Heaven’s sake.. Don’t cradle the phone between your
neck and shoulder
4. SLEEP TIGHT!
We spend on average 3285 hours per year sleeping..
If we are lucky enough to get 8 hrs a night..so do it right!
*Sleep with a pillow between your knees if you
lay on your side and under your knees if on your back to reduce undue strain on
the spine.
*Never sleep on your stomach!
If you are a side sleeper, have someone check
you out to ensure that your head is in line with your spine.
If you are a back sleeper use a pillow that
places a gentle curve in your neck. Don’t use a pillow that pushes your head
above your body or one that allows your head to sink too low.
Pillows are not good family heirlooms, if its
old and broken down, trash it and get one that works for you.
Not sleeping well.. Consider Magnesium.
Magnesium is one of the most important basic nutrients that power our bodies
and it is required for more than 300 biomechanical reactions. But, we don’t
produce it, so we need to replenish it. It is estimated that less than one in 5
of us get sufficient magnesium in our diets leaving us deficient. One of the
symptoms of Magnesium deficiency is
Fatigue and inability to sleep.Magnesium is found in dark green leafy
veggies often like Kale. So, try Kale chips or Kale Salad and if that’s not
enough try Natural Calm Magnesium Citrate powder. It is in expensive and works
great! Happy Sleeping…
