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Information on Gold’s Gym Express in Texarkana.
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When should you stay home sick because you are contagious?
If you’re an average worker, you take a few minutes every hour to accomplish something besides what you’re paid to do. This was true as far back as 1940, workers were slipping away for three precious personal minutes an hour. The latest estimate, with the Internet era in full effect, is closer to seven minutes and change. Taking 10 percent of the paid day for your own pleasure might seem like a gross violation of employer trust. But pacing yourself is key in a connected age that extends the work day far beyond the proverbial punch card, and brings greater risk of burnout. So the key question isn’t really whether or not breaks are a good idea, but what types of breaks do the best job restoring an employee’s capacity to handle the tasks ahead.
Twenty-one tiny tasks seemed to improve wellbeing. Virginia Commonwealth University doctoral candidate Andrew Bennett reached a similar conclusion in a 2015 dissertation. Using an experimental approach, Bennett simulated work fatigue in a lab, then gave test participants a one-, five-, or nineminute break that involved watching a funny video, watching a meditation video, or doing a new task. Across the board, with few exceptions, he found that the minute-long break offered comparable benefits to the longer breaks in terms of reducing fatigue, increasing vigor, or sharpening attention.
1. The Earlier The Break, The Better
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Cold and Flu Season
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How To Take The Most Refreshing Work Break
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Around Texarka- 2 na: Gold’s Gym Express Parkinson’s Dis- 3 ease: Understanding A Complicated Condition Pesto Baked Chicken
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Conducting Regular Self-Care Check-Ins
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Many of our cognitive resources diminish as the day goes on. On one hand, that might seem like a reason to do as 5-Hour Energy suggests and take a late break to avoid That 2:30 Feeling. On the other hand, if there is a steady decline in our abilities, it could make sense to break early and stay near the top of the performance chart as long as possible. To test that question (among several others), management scholars Emily Hunter and Cindy Wu of Baylor University recently asked 95 employees to record their break activity every day for a work week. They also collected data on levels of concentration, physical and emotional fatigue, and job satisfaction. Their results show pretty clearly that breaks taken earlier in the shift led to better outcomes than those taken later. The findings align with previous conceptual work arguing for the "front-loading of rest breaks" over a schedule that spaced out breaks evenly throughout the day. The general idea is that breaking early keeps your faculties near the high settings they had when the day began, so by the time the work day is done, they won’t have dipped so drastically.
3. What You Do Is Less Important Than What You Want To Do
The instinct during a break is to do anything but work. Sure enough, in his experiment, Bennett found that people who detached from work during their break by watching a funny video reported less fatigue, higher vigor, and increased attention. But zoning out isn’t the only refreshing break option. Bennett found that, for some people, doing another work-related task has its own benefits, namely, increased attention and reduced fatigue. A 2011 study of 214 professional and clerical workers found that eight common work-related tasks gave them a boost of post-break vitality without making them more tired. These tasks tended to fall under the categories of learning something work-related, reflecting on job performance or meaning, or improving relationships with colleagues, in other works, taking a bit of down time to get better at the job they do the rest of the time. What both types of breaks share is that they give the person some enjoyment. 4. Walks Can Boost Creativity
If you’re looking for tips on what to do during a break, you could do a lot worse than a walk 2. Short Breaks Can Be Just As Powerful around the block or pacing around the office, especially if your job requires a good deal of As Long Ones A natural worry with an early break schedule is creativity. that it will prevent you from getting into a work In one recent experiment, part of a larger study groove. But breaks need not be long to be effecon the creative impact of walking, researchers tive. The past two years have produced research gathered 40 test participants and put them in four on the undersized might of micro-breaks, typically different situations. Some sat inside, some walked defined as a break that’s less than 10 minutes. In on a treadmill inside, some sat outside, and some fact, even 60 seconds away from a task can do walked outside. Afterwards, the participants generthe trick. ated analogies for a series of prompts. Whether A survey of 124 full-time office workers found that outdoor or indoor, the people who had walked micro-breaks reduced self-reported fatigue and around came up with responses judged as being increased vitality over the course of a work day. higher quality or especially novel.
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5. And Nature Walks Can Boost Attention
While you’re up and about on break, take a stroll through a nearby park if possible. It will do wonders for your attention. The restorative power of nature on the tired mind is one of the strongest findings in modern psychology. Time and again, test participants who walked through a tree-filled landscape performed better on cognitive attention tasks than others who took a walk through a common city environment. If you can’t get out of the office, find yourself some trees on the street or a neighboring roof. Writing in the Journal of Environmental Psychology earlier this year, Australia-based researchers report that a 40-second glimpse of an image of a flowering green roof gave test participants a boost on an attention task, compared with participants who looked at a picture of a plain old concrete roof. 6. Don’t Get Pressured Into Lunch Plans
Lunch is the longest break of the day, but that doesn’t automatically make it the most refreshing one. What matters most, according to one new study, is whether or not you decide for yourself how to spend that time. For the study, 100 workers completed questionnaires about their lunch breaks for 10 straight work days. These participants reported what they did for lunch (did they socialize, relax, or even work a little?), how much autonomy they had over the break, and how tired they felt at the end of the day. Generally speaking, the researchers found that as autonomy increased, fatigue declined. For employees who spent their lunch socializing or working, that outcome makes sense: If you spend all of lunch chatting or doing tasks you didn’t pick for yourself, it might be just as tiring as regular work. The lesson here is that workers who got to choose how they spent lunch found themselves more energized afterward. 7. The Perfect Nap Is 10 To 20 Minutes
Should you be lucky enough to have a rest area in your office you might be tempted to catch some shuteye during a break. But make sure you get the timing right: Snooze too long, and you’ll be even more tired than before. A 2006 study in the journal Sleep found 10 minutes to be the ideal nap length. Ten minutes led to immediate improvements in fatigue, vigor, and cognitive performance lasting more than two hours. Research found a 20-minute nap to be productive, too, once you got past a groggy period of a half hour or so. Source: Fast Company
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Taking sick time isn't an easy decision.
'Am I Contagious?' When to Stay Home Sick Taking sick time isn't an easy decision, but you don't want to infect others around you. If you have the flu: If you’ve determined that you have the flu, there’s only one thing to do: Stay in bed. You will probably lack the energy to do much else, and you can infect others if you are among them. Lie down, drink plenty of non-alcoholic, caffeine-free beverages, and wait it out. You’ll probably want to return
to work when your symptoms have abated somewhat, but you might still be contagious. To protect your coworkers, wash your hands rigorously and regularly. Warn others that you’ve been sick so they can remember to wash their hands. Sneeze or cough into your elbow, not your hands. You may also consider wearing a respiratory mask. If you have a cold: Very few of us are able to stay home as
Flu and Cold Season
There are many ways to help prevent the spreading of the cold and flu.
It’s that time of the year again. Flu season typically starts in the fall and runs through the winter. A study published in the medical journal PLOS Pathogens suggested that flu viruses are most easily transmitted in winter, when the air is cold and dry. Colds tend to be more common in the fall and winter because that’s when people are indoors. The virus comes out in the droplets of sneezes and coughs. Those droplets land on a door knob or other public surface, and if you touch the surface and then touch your own eyes or nose, you can catch the cold too. As you may have guessed, your best defense is the flu shot—but
that’s not all you can do. Other ways to avoid getting sick are: Going Green: Green, leafy vegetables are rich in vitamins that help you maintain a balanced diet—and support a healthy immune system. Vitamin D: Deficiencies in vitamin D may lead to poor bone growth, cardiovascular problems, and a weak immune system. Keep Moving: Regular exercise keeps inflammation and chronic disease at bay. Stay in Bed: Getting adequate sleep is extremely important if you’ve been exposed to a virus. Skip the Alcohol: New research shows that drinking alcohol can
long as colds last, but try to take a couple of days off. One of the reasons colds spread so easily is because while people might not feel great and are still contagious, they feel well enough to return to regular activities. If you do go back to work during the contagious period, the same rules apply as if you had the flu. Source: HealthLine
damage the body’s dendritic cells, a vital component of the immune system. Wash Regularly: Infectious disease expert, Dr. Frank Esper, advises limiting your exposure to illness by avoiding germs by washing hands before eating, preparing foods, inserting contact lenses, or any activity that will have your hands in contact with your eyes or mouth. Keep it Personal: To avoid sharing germs, especially among kids, keep personal items such as toothbrushes, towels, utensils, and drinking glasses separate. Source: HealthLine
Around Texarkana: Gold’s Gym Express
Here is what Gold’s Gym website says about their facilities and why they should be your go-to to workout.
Gold’s Gym Express is located on Richmond Road.
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WHY GOLD’S GYM EXPRESS? Because with every rep, every set, every time you walk through that door, you get stronger. And when that stronger person, that stronger you, steps back out into the world, well, the world had better be ready.
AFFORDABLE MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS NO CONTRACT JUST WHAT YOU NEED GET IN & GET OUT!
GROUP FITNESS CLASSES In the Express gym, you can enjoy any of our 30-minute group fitness classes UPPER BODY LOWER BODY & ABS EXPRESS CIRCUIT
DESIGN YOUR OWN PROGRAM
2700 Richmond Rd, Texarkana, TX 75503 (903) 255-7424 Gym Hours Monday - Friday 5:00 am - 11:00 pm Saturday & Sunday 7:00 am - 7:00 pm https://express.goldsgym.com/gym/ TX/Texarkana/5115
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Parkinson’s Disease: Understanding A Complicated Condition It affects about 600,000 people nationwide. We rely on our brains for every movement we make, whether writing, walking, talking, or even sleeping. But a serious brain disorder like Parkinson’s disease can rob a person of the ability to do everyday tasks that many of us take for granted. There’s no cure, but treatment can help. And researchers continue to seek new understanding to improve medical care. Parkinson’s disease evolves gradually over time. The early signs may be barely noticeable. A person’s movements may change slightly. You might notice slowness, rigidity, or difficulty balancing or walking. The person’s face may lack expression, or handwriting may become small and cramped. Eventually, these changes can become more severe and interfere with daily life. It might become harder to sleep, think, eat, speak, smell, and make decisions. As the disease worsens, symptoms may become
difficult to control. Parkinson’s disease usually arises after age 50, but can also appear earlier in life. It affects about 600,000 people nationwide. As Americans age, the number of people with Parkinson’s disease is expected to rise dramatically. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, which means that brain cells gradually malfunction and die. The disease damages brain cells that make a chemical called dopamine. The resulting dopamine shortage causes the movement problems that mark Parkinson’s disease. Although researchers don’t yet understand what causes Parkinson’s disease, the body’s genes likely play some role. A number of genes have been linked to the risk of developing Parkinson’s. “Diving deeper into the genetics of the disease is providing us with hints about the underlying biology,” says Dr. Beth-Anne Sieber, an NIH expert on Parkinson’s disease. But genes are only part of the picture. NIHfunded scientists are searching for other factors that might lead to the disease. One goal of this research is to discover new targets for drugs that can slow disease progression.
If you notice any of the common signs of Parkinson’s disease, see a health care provider. Your doctor may refer you to a neurologist, a physician specializing in the nervous system. A careful exam and certain tests can help with diagnosis. To treat Parkinson’s, doctors prescribe combinations of medicines that work to regulate dopamine in the brain. “This helps free up people to move better and lessens the troubling movement problems of Parkinson’s,” Sieber says. Research suggests that eating right and exercising may help reduce or delay symptoms. Scientists are studying how much and what kinds of exercise can most help improve patient health and quality of life. Many potential new treatments for Parkinson’s disease are now being studied in NIH-funded clinical trials. “There’s a great need for people with Parkinson’s and their families to participate in clinical research,” says Sieber. “Participation is key.” Parkinson’s disease affects everyone differently. Source: WELCOA bulletin
Pesto Baked Chicken Ingredients: 4 (about 1 lb.) boneless skinless chicken breasts, flattened 4 teaspoons prepared or homemade basil pesto 4 tablespoons mozzarella cheese, shredded 3-4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
Per Serving: 150 Calories 150mg Sodium 3g Carbs 4g Fat 1.5g Saturated Fat 25g Protein
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Flatten chicken breasts (about 1-inch thickness) and place in casserole dish (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray). 2. Spread 1 teaspoon basil pesto sauce on each chicken breast. Bake (uncovered) for about 15 minutes. 3. Remove chicken from oven, add thinly sliced
tomato and 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese to each chicken breast. Place back in oven for about 5-7 minutes (until cheese is melted). Source: SHAPE Side Note: If you want to make homemade basil pesto, here is the recipe for that.
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Texas A&M University-Texarkana cares about its employees health and well-being. We are here to provide you knowledge and information to help you live a healthy life.
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E-mail: abaldwin@tamut.edu Healthy You. Better You.
Conducting Regular Self-Care Check-Ins In order to respond to our needs, we must know them in the first place. We must tune into ourselves and ask and listen. That’s where doing a regular check-in comes in. This simply involves asking ourselves a variety of questions to see how we’re doing and what kinds of tweaks we need to make.
How am I doing? How has this day/week/month been for me? What’s exhausting me right now? What, if anything, am I missing or grieving? What’s bringing me inner peace? What am I curious about — whether it’s about myself or my world? Where do I feel tension in my body? It’s one way we can reconnect to ourselves. If I’m waking up in the middle of the night, what thoughts am I thinking? Because it doesn’t take much to get disconnect- What’s been on my mind? ed. For instance, we might not even realize the What do I need in my closest relationships that I’m feelings we’re feeling, because they’re buried not getting right now? beneath daily routines and responsibilities. Some- What parts of my life do I feel connected to? times, we’re just too busy, too consumed, too What parts of my life do I feel disconnected from? pressed for time, too something. It happens. What movement is my body craving? That’s understandable and OK. What am I excited about? But this is why checking in with ourselves is so What am I unsure about? important. We move away from ourselves, and In what area of my life do I need to ask for help? then we find a way to move back. Conducting What two or three things have I learned about regular check-ins gives us the opportunity to myself? pause, to self-reflect, to wonder, to identify our wants and needs. In May I shared this list of questions, which you can include in your check-in. Today, I’m sharing additional questions you can ask yourself and explore. It’s one way we can reconnect to ourselves.
What two or three things have I learned in general that I can incorporate into my life? What have I seen that’s wowed me? How am I having fun? What kinds of activities have been replenishing me lately? Where have I been hard on myself? How can I be a bit more self-compassionate instead? What’s been inspiring me lately? Pick the questions that you like. Jot them down on a sticky note. Write them in your journal. Put them in your phone. Ask yourself these questions daily, weekly and/or monthly (even if you only have five minutes). Record your responses. Discuss them with a loved one you deeply trust. Then make the changes you need to make. Focus on what makes you feel good and contributes to your health and well-being. In other words, reconnect to your needs, and then respond to them with care and compassion. Source: PsychCentral