Like any solid relationship, a healthy relationship with food takes work, respect, appreciation, and trust. If you’re struggling to eat healthily, consider that it’s not about what foods you’re eating but why you’re eating these foods. There is a strong mental health and attitude component.
Tag: stress
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3 Sneaky Ways Cortisol Causes Weight Gain & How To Manage It
In addition to sodium, minerals like magnesium, zinc, and potassium are essential for managing cortisol. These minerals directly regulate cortisol production and metabolism. To balance cortisol, be sure to consume a varied diet filled with densely nutritious, high-mineral foods like shellfish, organ meats, pumpkin seeds, beef, spinach, salmon, almonds, and sweet potatoes to replenish electrolytes (especially after stressful events).
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Visiting the vet – why your role as a dog or cat parent is so essential to optimal care | Animal Wellness Magazine
As a dog or cat parent, you play a vital role for your veterinarian when you take your four-legged friend in for a check-up. Your participation in the appointment isn’t just helpful – it’s crucial for providing the best care for your animal companion. Let’s explore how you can be the perfect partner to your vet on your dog or cat’s healthcare journey.
Before the Visit: Be Prepared
Your responsibilities begin before you even step into the clinic. Keep a record of your dog or cat’s behavior, appetite, and any symptoms you’ve noticed. If you have specific concerns, write them down to ensure you don’t forget anything important. Gather any medications your furry friend is taking, and if possible, bring a fresh stool sample – this can be incredibly helpful for routine check-ups or if digestive issues are a concern.
In the Waiting Room: Create a Calm Environment
Your role in the waiting room is crucial for setting the tone of the visit. Keep your dog on a leash or your cat in a secure carrier. If your animal is anxious, speak to them calmly and reassuringly. Your demeanor can significantly influence their stress levels. If your dog or cat is particularly nervous around other animals, inform the reception staff – they may be able to arrange for you to wait in a quieter area.
During the Examination: Be Your Dog or Cat’s Voice and Source of Comfort
Once in the exam room, your job is twofold: to provide information to the vet and offer comfort to your animal. Answer the vet’s questions as accurately and completely as possible. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you don’t understand something – there’s no such thing as a silly question when it comes to your best friend’s health. If your dog or cat is nervous, your presence and gentle reassurance can make a world of difference.
Discussing Diagnosis and Treatment: Listen Actively and Ask Questions
When the vet discusses their findings and recommends a treatment plan, listen carefully and take notes if necessary. This is your chance to ask questions about the diagnosis, treatment options, potential side effects, and prognosis. If you’re unsure about anything, speak up! Your understanding is crucial for providing proper care at home.
After the Visit: Implement the Care Plan
Your responsibilities continue after you leave the clinic. Ensure you understand all instructions for medications or remedies, follow-up care, or lifestyle changes. If you’re given medication, supplements or remedies, confirm the dosage, frequency, and any special instructions for administration. Don’t hesitate to call the clinic if you have questions once you’re home.
Ongoing Care: Become a Proactive Health Partner
Remember, your role extends beyond individual vet visits. Continue observing your dog or cat’s behavior and health between check-ups. Keep up with preventive care such as dental cleaning. Your ongoing attention and care are invaluable for catching potential health issues early.
You’re the MVP on Your Animal’s Healthcare Team
You play an irreplaceable part in your dog or cat’s health care. By being prepared, attentive, and proactive, you become an essential partner to your veterinarian. Together, you form a powerful team dedicated to ensuring your dog or cat lives their healthiest, happiest life. Remember, your vet is always there to support you in this important role. Here’s to many years of tail wags and purrs with your beloved companion!
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Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
Animal Wellness
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Tips For Guys To Get A Dating App Response
Anxiety is a struggle for many – and Gen Z especially. But this fun habit can make a difference.
Dating can be tough, and not everyone is an expert. While Gen Z is drifting away from apps, most of the rest of the population is still strong. In fact, 349 million people worldwide using dating apps. The vast majority of matchmaking is done on mobile devices. Over 50% of individuals who met someone on a dating app said it led to a romantic, exclusive relationship.
We interviewed the founders of Konvo Dating and discovered the number one complaint from men is frustration over not getting responses to their messages to women. It’s hard to get noticed, especially when most men swipe indiscriminately at women they find attractive. This strategy partly explains why women are inundated with matches, and a man’s message is easily missed. Here are their tips for guys to get a dating app response. Here are tips for for guys to get a dating app response.
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Personalize Your First Message
A generic “Hey” or “What’s up?” will likely go unnoticed in a sea of similar messages. Women on dating apps receive many such messages, and the key to catching her attention is personalizing your approach. Take the time to read through her profile and find something unique to mention. Maybe she’s passionate about a particular hobby or traveled somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit. Referencing something specific shows that you’ve paid attention and that your message isn’t just a copy-paste.
Why It Works: Personalizing your message makes her feel seen and appreciated for more than just her appearance. It tells her you’re genuinely interested in who she is, not just looking for a casual match.
Example: “I noticed you love hiking—have you been to [local trail]? I’ve been looking for new places to explore!”
Photo by Westend61/Getty Images Keep It Light and Playful
When starting a conversation, being lighthearted can help ease any initial awkwardness. Humor is an excellent tool for breaking the ice and creating a relaxed atmosphere. A playful comment or a light joke can set the tone for a fun conversation she wants to engage in. Just be mindful of your humor—keep it respectful and avoid anything that could be misinterpreted.
Why It Works: Playful conversations stand out because they’re enjoyable and easygoing. Women are more likely to respond to someone who can make them smile, especially in the often-serious world of online dating.
Example: “Your profile says you love dogs—does that mean you’ve mastered the art of the perfect dog selfie?”
Compliment Her Interests, Not Just Her Looks
Complimenting a woman’s appearance is fine, but leading with or only focusing on her looks might make it seem like you’re more interested in the surface-level aspects of who she is. To stand out, shift the focus to her hobbies, personality, or achievements. Compliment her based on her passion and show genuine curiosity about those interests.
Why It Works: Complimenting her interests makes her feel valued beyond her appearance, highlighting your interest in a deeper connection. It also allows her to talk more about something she cares about, making it easier to continue the conversation.
Example: “I’m impressed by your photography skills—how you captured [location] is incredible. How long have you been doing photography?”
RELATED: 5 Morning Activities To Help You Feel Happier
Instead of Talking About Your Ex, Talk About How You’ve Grown
Bringing up past relationships, especially in a negative light, can be a big red flag in early conversations. It signals unresolved issues and can create an uncomfortable dynamic. Instead of focusing on what went wrong in the past, share how you’ve grown and learned from those experiences. If the topic arises, frame your response positively, highlighting personal growth and looking forward to new opportunities.
Why It Works: Talking about personal growth rather than past drama shows emotional maturity and self-awareness, both attractive qualities. It shifts the focus away from the baggage and toward future possibilities.
Example: “I’ve learned a lot from my past relationships, especially about communication and understanding. I look forward to finding a fresh start and building something meaningful.”
Stay Positive and Optimistic
A positive attitude is incredibly appealing. Women are more likely to respond to someone who seems upbeat and optimistic about dating. Avoid complaining about your previous experiences with dating apps or expressing negativity. Instead, show excitement and a lighthearted attitude toward meeting new people. Positive energy is contagious and makes the conversation feel more enjoyable for both of you.
Why It Works: Positivity sets a welcoming tone and creates a comfortable space for conversation. Women are more inclined to engage with someone who radiates enthusiasm and doesn’t take things too seriously.
Example: “I’m new to this app and excited to meet interesting people. How’s your experience been so far?”
Navigating the world of dating apps can be tricky, but using these five tips from Konvo can set you apart and increase your chances of making a genuine connection. Personalizing your messages, staying playful, complimenting her interests, focusing on growth rather than baggage, and maintaining a positive attitude will improve your chances of a reply and set the stage for meaningful interaction.
Patience and understanding is a essential, KONVOdating.com has more tips.
Sarah Johns
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A Fun Habit Can Help Calm Anxiety
Anxiety is a struggle for many – and Gen Z especially. But this fun habit can make a difference.
Everyone has anxiety at times, but having it longer term can cause more issues. Insomnia, depression, gastrointestinal issues and more can result. Gen Z is seeing higher stress levels than older generations. 18 to 34-year-olds say their average stress level is a 6 out of 10, compared with a 3.4 among people ages 65 and older. APA’s 2023 Stress in America survey found. Last year, the younger generation shared their average stress was a 5.8. But a fun habit can help calm anxiety and can be done in most places.
RELATED: Hanging Around Dogs For This Amount Of Time Is Enough For Pain Relief
Listening to music can relax you and calm you down. Research confirms these personal experiences with music. Current findings indicate that music around 60 beats per minute can cause the brain to synchronize with the beat causing alpha brainwaves (frequencies from 8 – 14 hertz or cycles per second). This alpha brainwave is what is present when we are relaxed and conscious.
Photo by Malte Wingen via Unsplash Another study, published in the journal Plos One and conducted by a group of Canadian researchers from Ryerson University, utilized music and Auditory Beat Stimulation (ABS), a sound combines tones and plays them in one ear or another, stimulating the brain. ABS is an interesting method, one which seeks to provide anxiety relief in the least invasive form possible, disregarding medications.
The research examined 163 patients who were already taking anti-anxiety medication. They were instructed to listen to relaxing music, ABS sessions, both, or “pink noise,” a sound similar to white noise. Participants listened to these sessions for 24 minutes, with an artificial intelligence device selecting the music depending on the participant’s mood.
RELATED: 5 Morning Activities To Help You Feel Happier
Researchers found that participants with moderate levels of anxiety experienced the most benefits after listening to music and ABS. Participants who had high levels of anxiety reaped more benefits from listening to music only when compared to the group who listened to ABS.
“The findings from this research are exciting as they indicate personalized music shows great promise in effectively reducing anxiety in specific segments of the population that suffer from anxiety,” wrote the researchers.
Music has long been associated with anxiety-relieving properties, but there haven’t been many studies that look at it through a scientific lens. Nowadays, when there are so many options for remote and digital treatment, the exploration of auditory stress-relieving tools sounds like something worth investigating, that could provide relief to large amounts of people.
Sarah Johns
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Philadelphia airport celebrates its brigade of stress-busting therapy dogs
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A pack of four-legged therapists got a break of their own on Monday when they were honored at the airport where they dutifully work to ease stress and calm travelers.
The event at Philadelphia International Airport marked five years since the 23 members of the Wagging Tails Brigade began greeting people and serving as therapy dogs.
Several of them were presented with birthday presents and a customized cake while passersby were invited to eat cupcakes and sign an oversized birthday card.
Members of the brigade and their volunteer human handlers are at the airport for at least two hours a week, impressing people with their tricks and doing what they can to raise the spirits of road-weary passengers. Dogs wear vests asking people to “pet me.”
Alan Gurvitz, a volunteer with Hope, a Labrador retriever, said their goal is to make travel a bit more pleasant.
“I like to refer to the airport as the land of cancellations and delays. So people tend to be very stressed out here,” Gurvitz said.
Jamie and Victoria Hill, on their way to their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, turned to pet Bella while trying to stay positive after their flight was delayed.
“It’s reminded us of our dog back at home,” Jamie Hill said. “We miss him.”
Back in June, Nancy Mittleman recalled, she was at the airport with her German shepherd Tarik while bad weather snarled air traffic. The two of them spent several hours entertaining stranded children and their parents.
“Soon enough, I had an entire crowd around me,” Mittleman said. “There must have been 10 kids sitting around him and they were talking to each other. And the beauty of it was before that, there were a lot of stressed out parents and a lot of unhappy children.”
Volunteers try to coordinate to have at least one brigade member at the airport to greet travelers, especially on days with significant delays or disruptions.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of a volunteer’s first name to Alan Gurvitz, not Allan.
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This Psychologist's Secret For Boosting Mental Health? Structured Leisure Time
Leisure is absolutely not a waste of time.
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How Stress Can Cause Relationship Dissatisfaction
The Role of Flooding in Conflict
Even happy couples fight – and sometimes they do it in a way that doesn’t align with their integrity or intentions. Yelling, stomping out of the room, or acting like a “stone wall” during upsetting conversations can occur with even the most loving couples. Often, after these upsetting events, couples will say something like “I don’t know why I say those things when I’m mad… I don’t mean it” or “I wish I was a better listener, I don’t know what happens to me when we argue…it’s like I blackout” or “Of course I want to be able to have these conversations but whenever I try, I get so frustrated that I just have to leave the room”.
Diffuse Physiological Arousal
When Gottman Method Couples therapists hear of these types of interactions occurring between partners, they begin to consider that something called “diffuse physiological arousal” (DPA), often referred to as “flooding”, might be at play. Flooding is the body’s response to a threat. When someone is flooded, their body begins to release stress hormones. These stress hormones change the way the body and mind operate. When it comes to the body, breathing begins to change, muscle might tense up, the heart races (on average above 100 BPM), and we might experience dry mouth or a need to urinate more frequently.
At the same time, the mind is also changing. We become more self focused in an attempt to protect ourselves. This means we are more likely to utilize some of Gottman’s Four Horsemen – saying critical things instead of discussing topics with kindness, becoming defensive instead of being able to lead with curiosity, stonewalling instead of showing openness, and becoming contemptuous instead of discussing our own pain.In a flooded state, it becomes more difficult to act in a way that promotes relational wellbeing – showing affection, humor, curiosity, or problem solving.
Internal and External Causes of Flooding
In relationships, you might become flooded due to external or internal stressors. An external stressor is a stressful experience that originates outside of the relationship. This includes being worried about losing your job, facing traffic on the way home, or learning that one of your parents needs to be put into hospice care. An internal stressor originates from within the relationship – perhaps you and your partner have been distant recently, have been having less sex, or are arguing more frequently.
When either internal or external stressors go beyond our ability to regulate them we experience what’s called “self regulation depletion” which results in a flooded state. When people are experiencing high levels of stress outside or inside of the home, they are more likely to be snappy with each other and less likely to solve their problems effectively.
How to Navigate Stress + Flooding
When John Gottman conducted research on couples, he found that when someone is flooded it takes approximately 20 minutes (on average) away from the stressor for the stress hormones to leave the bloodstream. When you are experiencing a flooded state with your partner, it’s important to take a break and do a self soothing activity.If you notice your partner is experiencing a flooded state, it can be helpful to allow them to take space, to be calm and reassuring with them, and to recognize they are in a stressed state and that their difficult talking with you is not “purposeful” rather it is driven by a physiological state.Most of us have difficulty doing this which is why I wrote my book Til Stress Do Us Part.
If you’re in an argument and one of both of you is checked out, yelling, or stomping out of the room, try to follow this plan instead:
- Ask for a break. Take at least 20 minutes for a break so that you can move out of the state of diffuse physiological arousal. Agree to a time when you will come back and discuss.
- During the break do a stress relieving activity like taking a walk, writing in a journal, or taking a shower. Avoid texting your partner, calling someone on the phone to talk about how mad you are, or googling about whatever topic initiated the argument. You need to take space from the stressor.
- When you return to each other, take a moment to reassure the other person you’d like to try to have the conversation again. Offer some repair, like apologizing for your part. It is crucial you come back together after a disagreement. This builds trust and safety.
- During your conversation, use gentle start up, by expressing your feelings and needs and talking for yourself using “I” statements.
If you’re experiencing a lot of stress in your lives and you’ve noticed it has impacted the way in which you connect at home, it’s important to work to reduce stress spillover by:
- Making a list of your stressors to review so you can consider how to navigate them differently as a couple
- Consider what you can shed, what you can prevent, and what you must adapt to.
- Create a plan together to reduce stress by shedding obligations and tasks that are not necessary, preventing issues that can be prevented, and adapting through utilizing stress reduction techniques to the things you cannot change.
As you and your partner work to navigate stress together, you will build stronger “muscles” for managing flooded states and protecting your relationship from stress.
Elizabeth Earnshaw
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Sensors can read your sweat and predict overheating. Here’s why privacy advocates care
On a hot summer day in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, dozens of men removed pipes, asbestos and hazardous waste while working to decontaminate a nuclear facility and prepare it for demolition.
Dressed in head-to-toe coveralls and fitted with respirators, the crew members toiling in a building without power had no obvious respite from the heat. Instead, they wore armbands that recorded their heart rates, movements and exertion levels for signs of heat stress.
Stephanie Miller, a safety and health manager for a U.S. government contractor doing cleanup work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, watched a computer screen nearby. A color-coding system with little bubbles showing each worker’s physiological data alerted her if anyone was in danger of overheating.
“Heat is one of the greatest risks that we have in this work, even though we deal with high radiation, hazardous chemicals and heavy metals,” Miller said.
As the world experiences more record high temperatures, employers are exploring wearable technologies to keep workers safe. New devices collect biometric data to estimate core body temperature – an elevated one is a symptom of heat exhaustion – and prompt workers to take cool-down breaks.
The devices, which were originally developed for athletes, firefighters and military personnel, are getting adopted at a time when the Atlantic Council estimates heat-induced losses in labor productivity could cost the U.S. approximately $100 billion annually.
This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.
But there are concerns about how the medical information collected on employees will be safeguarded. Some labor groups worry managers could use it to penalize people for taking needed breaks.
“Any time you put any device on a worker, they’re very concerned about tracking, privacy, and how are you going to use this against me,” said Travis Parsons, director of occupational safety and health at the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America. “There’s a lot of exciting stuff out there, but there’s no guardrails around it.”
VULNERABLE TO HEAT
At the Tennessee cleanup site, the workers wearing heat stress monitors made by Atlanta company SlateSafety are employed by United Cleanup Oak Ridge. The company is a contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy, which has rules to prevent on-the-job overheating.
But most U.S. workers lack protections from extreme heat because there are no federal regulations requiring them, and many vulnerable workers don’t speak up or seek medical attention. In July, the Biden administration proposed a rule to protect 36 million workers from heat-related illnesses.
From 1992 to 2022, 986 workers died from heat exposure in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Experts suspect the number is higher because a coroner might not list heat as the cause of death if a sweltering roofer takes a fatal fall.
Setting occupational safety standards can be tricky because individuals respond differently to heat. That’s where the makers of wearable devices hope to come in.
HOW WEARABLE HEAT TECH WORKS
Employers have observed workers for heat-related distress by checking their temperatures with thermometers, sometimes rectally. More recently, firefighters and military personnel swallowed thermometer capsules.
“That just was not going to work in our work environment,” Rob Somers, global environment, health and safety director at consumer product company Perrigo, said.
Instead, more than 100 employees at the company’s infant formula plants were outfitted with SlateSafety armbands. The devices estimate a wearer’s core body temperature, and a reading of 101.3 degrees triggers an alert.
Another SlateSafety customer is a Cardinal Glass factory in Wisconsin, where four masons maintain a furnace that reaches 3000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“They’re right up against the face of the wall. So it’s them and fire,” Jeff Bechel, the company’s safety manager, said.
Cardinal Glass paid $5,000 for five armbands, software and air-monitoring hardware. Bechel thinks the investment will pay off; an employee’s two heat-related emergency room visits cost the company $15,000.
Another wearable, made by Massachusetts company Epicore Biosystems, analyzes sweat to determine when workers are at risk of dehydration and overheating.
“Until a few years ago, you just sort of wiped (sweat) off with a towel,” CEO Rooz Ghaffari said. “Turns out there’s all this information packed away that we’ve been missing.”
Research has shown some devices successfully predict core body temperature in controlled environments, but their accuracy remains unproven in dynamic workplaces, according to experts. A 2022 research review said factors such as age, gender and ambient humidity make it challenging to reliably gauge body temperature with the technology.
The United Cleanup Oak Ridge workers swathed in protective gear can get sweaty even before they begin demolition. Managers see dozens of sensor alerts daily.
Laborer Xavier Allison, 33, was removing heavy pieces of ductwork during a recent heat wave when his device vibrated. Since he was working with radioactive materials and asbestos, he couldn’t walk outside to rest without going through a decontamination process, so he spent about 15 minutes in a nearby room which was just as hot.
“You just sit by yourself and do your best to cool off,” Allison said.
The armband notifies workers when they’ve cooled down enough to resume work.
“Ever since we implemented it, we have seen a significant decrease in the number of people who need to get medical attention,” Miller said.
COLLECTING PERSONAL DATA
United Cleanup Oak Ridge uses the sensor data and an annual medical exam to determine work assignments, Miller said. After noticing patterns, the company sent a few employees to see their personal physicians, who found heart issues the employees hadn’t known about, she said.
At Perrigo, managers analyze the data to find people with multiple alerts and speak to them to see if there’s “a reason why they’re not able to work in the environment,” Somers said. The information is organized by identification numbers, not names, when it goes into the company’s software system, he said.
Companies keeping years of medical data raises concerns about privacy and whether bosses may use the information to kick an employee off a health plan or fire them, said Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“The device could hurt, frankly, because you could raise your hand and say ‘I need a break,’ and the boss could say, ‘No, your heart rate is not elevated, go back to work,’” Schwartz said.
To minimize such risks, employers should allow workers to opt in or out of wearing monitoring devices, only process strictly necessary data and delete the information within 24 hours, he said.
Wearing such devices also may expose workers to unwanted marketing, Ikusei Misaka, a professor at Tokyo’s Musashino University, said.
A PARTIAL SOLUTION
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health advises employers to institute a plan to help workers adjust to hot conditions and to train them to recognize signs of heat-related illness and to administer first aid. Wearable devices can be part of efforts to reduce heat stress, but more work needs to be done to determine their accuracy, said Doug Trout, the agency’s medical officer.
The technology also needs to be paired with access to breaks, shade and cool water, since many workers, especially in agriculture, fear retaliation for pausing to cool off or hydrate.
“If they don’t have water to drink, and the time to do it, it doesn’t mean much,” Juanita Constible, senior advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said. “It’s just something extra they have to carry when they’re in the hot fields.”
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This story corrects the spelling of Natural Resources Defense Council in last paragraph.
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Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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Anxiety Landed Me In The Hospital: This Spiritual Tool Helped Me Cope
I knew I needed to change my lifestyle and stop obsessing about things I couldn’t control.
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Sensors can read your sweat and predict overheating. Why privacy advocates care
On a hot summer day in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, dozens of men removed pipes, asbestos and hazardous waste while working to decontaminate a nuclear facility and prepare it for demolition.
Dressed in head-to-toe coveralls and fitted with respirators, the crew members toiling in a building without power had no obvious respite from the heat. Instead, they wore armbands that recorded their heart rates, movements and exertion levels for signs of heat stress.
Stephanie Miller, a safety and health manager for a U.S. government contractor doing cleanup work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, watched a computer screen nearby. A color-coding system with little bubbles showing each worker’s physiological data alerted her if anyone was in danger of overheating.
“Heat is one of the greatest risks that we have in this work, even though we deal with high radiation, hazardous chemicals and heavy metals,” Miller said.
As the world experiences more record high temperatures, employers are exploring wearable technologies to keep workers safe. New devices collect biometric data to estimate core body temperature – an elevated one is a symptom of heat exhaustion – and prompt workers to take cool-down breaks.
The devices, which were originally developed for athletes, firefighters and military personnel, are getting adopted at a time when the Atlantic Council estimates heat-induced losses in labor productivity could cost the U.S. approximately $100 billion annually.
But there are concerns about how the medical information collected on employees will be safeguarded. Some labor groups worry managers could use it to penalize people for taking needed breaks.
“Any time you put any device on a worker, they’re very concerned about tracking, privacy, and how are you going to use this against me,” said Travis Parsons, director of occupational safety and health at the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America. “There’s a lot of exciting stuff out there, but there’s no guardrails around it.”
At the Tennessee cleanup site, the workers wearing heat stress monitors made by Atlanta company SlateSafety are employed by United Cleanup Oak Ridge. The company is a contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy, which has rules to prevent on-the-job overheating.
But most U.S. workers lack protections from extreme heat because there are no federal regulations requiring them, and many vulnerable workers don’t speak up or seek medical attention. In July, the Biden administration proposed a rule to protect 36 million workers from heat-related illnesses.
From 1992 to 2022, 986 workers died from heat exposure in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Experts suspect the number is higher because a coroner might not list heat as the cause of death if a sweltering roofer takes a fatal fall.
Setting occupational safety standards can be tricky because individuals respond differently to heat. That’s where the makers of wearable devices hope to come in.
Employers have observed workers for heat-related distress by checking their temperatures with thermometers, sometimes rectally. More recently, firefighters and military personnel swallowed thermometer capsules.
“That just was not going to work in our work environment,” Rob Somers, global environment, health and safety director at consumer product company Perrigo, said.
Instead, more than 100 employees at the company’s infant formula plants were outfitted with SlateSafety armbands. The devices estimate a wearer’s core body temperature, and a reading of 101.3 degrees triggers an alert.
Another SlateSafety customer is a Cardinal Glass factory in Wisconsin, where four masons maintain a furnace that reaches 3000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“They’re right up against the face of the wall. So it’s them and fire,” Jeff Bechel, the company’s safety manager, said.
Cardinal Glass paid $5,000 for five armbands, software and air-monitoring hardware. Bechel thinks the investment will pay off; an employee’s two heat-related emergency room visits cost the company $15,000.
Another wearable, made by Massachusetts company Epicore Biosystems, analyzes sweat to determine when workers are at risk of dehydration and overheating.
“Until a few years ago, you just sort of wiped (sweat) off with a towel,” CEO Rooz Ghaffari said. “Turns out there’s all this information packed away that we’ve been missing.”
Research has shown some devices successfully predict core body temperature in controlled environments, but their accuracy remains unproven in dynamic workplaces, according to experts. A 2022 research review said factors such as age, gender and ambient humidity make it challenging to reliably gauge body temperature with the technology.
The United Cleanup Oak Ridge workers swathed in protective gear can get sweaty even before they begin demolition. Managers see dozens of sensor alerts daily.
Laborer Xavier Allison, 33, was removing heavy pieces of ductwork during a recent heat wave when his device vibrated. Since he was working with radioactive materials and asbestos, he couldn’t walk outside to rest without going through a decontamination process, so he spent about 15 minutes in a nearby room which was just as hot.
“You just sit by yourself and do your best to cool off,” Allison said.
The armband notifies workers when they’ve cooled down enough to resume work.
“Ever since we implemented it, we have seen a significant decrease in the number of people who need to get medical attention,” Miller said.
United Cleanup Oak Ridge uses the sensor data and an annual medical exam to determine work assignments, Miller said. After noticing patterns, the company sent a few employees to see their personal physicians, who found heart issues the employees hadn’t known about, she said.
At Perrigo, managers analyze the data to find people with multiple alerts and speak to them to see if there’s “a reason why they’re not able to work in the environment,” Somers said. The information is organized by identification numbers, not names, when it goes into the company’s software system, he said.
Companies keeping years of medical data raises concerns about privacy and whether bosses may use the information to kick an employee off a health plan or fire them, said Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“The device could hurt, frankly, because you could raise your hand and say ‘I need a break,’ and the boss could say, ‘No, your heart rate is not elevated, go back to work,’” Schwartz said.
To minimize such risks, employers should allow workers to opt in or out of wearing monitoring devices, only process strictly necessary data and delete the information within 24 hours, he said.
Wearing such devices also may expose workers to unwanted marketing, Ikusei Misaka, a professor at Tokyo’s Musashino University, said.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health advises employers to institute a plan to help workers adjust to hot conditions and to train them to recognize signs of heat-related illness and to administer first aid. Wearable devices can be part of efforts to reduce heat stress, but more work needs to be done to determine their accuracy, said Doug Trout, the agency’s medical officer.
The technology also needs to be paired with access to breaks, shade and cool water, since many workers, especially in agriculture, fear retaliation for pausing to cool off or hydrate.
“If they don’t have water to drink, and the time to do it, it doesn’t mean much,” Juanita Constible, senior advocate at the National Resources Defense Council, said. “It’s just something extra they have to carry when they’re in the hot fields.”
___
Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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How to Support Your Senior Dog with Ashwagandha | Animal Wellness Magazine
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. We call BS (Bad Science) on that! There are ways to help your aging dog go energetically (and pain- and fog-free) into their senior years, with plenty of new – or at the very least revived – tricks to boot. Starting with all-natural, all-healing, 100% safe ashwagandha.
Senior dogs, like senior people, face a unique set of health challenges. These include things like reduced mobility, aching joints, cognitive decline, and decreased energy levels, to name but a few. But it does not have to be this way: Ashwagandha to the rescue!
This adaptogenic herb has been helping humans thumb their noses at so-called geriatric decrepitude for more than 4,000 years. Now it’s increasingly gaining a reputation for doing the same for our furry best friends. KSM-66 Ashwagandha pure root extract, in particular, has shown enormous promise as a safe, natural remedy to support the health of our fur babies as they enter their sweet senior years – and improve their quality of life for longer.
Benefits of KSM-66 Ashwagandha for Senior Dogs
Enhanced Mobility
It comes as no surprise that one of the key issues with aging lies in achy, breaky joint health. Arthritis and joint pain are extremely common issues in older companion animals, significantly impacting their mobility and comfort. KSM-66 Ashwagandha’s anti-inflammatory properties can help manage these symptoms:
- By reducing inflammation and pain in the joints, it can improve flexibility and movement.
- This, in turn, improves your senior’s ability to once again enjoy their daily walks and playtime.
- And this, in its turn, helps your dog stay active and engaged, which can only but improve their brain health.
It’s a veritable chain reaction of health benefits.
Boosted Energy and Vitality
As our beloved furballs age, they also often experience a decline in energy levels, leading to reduced activity and engagement. KSM-66 Ashwagandha tackles this by:
- Regulating cortisol levels,
- thereby promoting a balanced response to physical and emotional stressors.
- Once that is under control, the knock-on effect is:
- a natural boost in energy and vitality,
- improved stamina, and even
- a renewed, puppy-like zest for life.
Reduced Stress and Anxiety
The aging process, undoubtedly, has the potential to be a stressful one. Things don’t work like they used to, and your dog is not immune to the feelings of confusion and frustration that arise from this. The end result? Added stress and anxiety to an already increased pain-load. (Thanks creaky joints.)
Here, too, KSM-66 can help, being clinically proven to help reduce both stress and pain! In a recent study, dogs who received KSM-66 showed a 27% reduction in anxiety, and a 44% reduction in pain severity!
Less stress, less pain; happier, healthier fur kids with a liveliness that belies their years. (Say hello, once more, to the zoomies!)
Supercharged Immune Function
A robust immune system is crucial for maintaining health in senior companion animals. (You don’t need eight plus years of veterinarian school to know this!)
KSM-66 Ashwagandha’s recognized immunomodulatory effects can help enhance the body’s natural defenses. By supporting immune function in this way it works to help protect your aging dog or cat from infections and illnesses, contributing to their overall well-being.
Improved Cognitive Function
One of the most significant challenges faced by any senior – pooch or person – is cognitive decline. This often manifests as confusion, disorientation, and changes in behavior. Help is, however, at hand.
KSM-66 Ashwagandha has antioxidant and neuroprotective properties that can support brain health and cognitive function by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. This translates to the potential for your dog to maintain mental clarity and alertness as they enter their golden years. All of which adds up to one thing: better quality of life for longer.
Need more convincing? A completed study, currently under peer review, presented conclusive proof that KSM-66 Ashwagandha can play a significant role in improved cognitive and emotional well-being in geriatric dogs. The study showed that when geriatric dogs were given KSM-66 supplementation, the following happened:
- A significant improvement in Canine Dementia scale scores for sleep, anxiety altered activity, and disorientation.
- A significant increase in Serotonin and Dopamine.
- No adverse reactions occurred during the study period, which shows that ashwagandha is not only effective, but also safe!
None of us wants to see our beloved fur kids suffer; but all of us would like to keep them with us for longer! KSM-66 Ashwagandha offers us a natural ally to achieve the impossible: both quality of life and improved longevity for aging dogs. How’s that for a new trick?
Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
Animal Wellness
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Feeling Uninspired & Disconnected? Do This On Your Next Walk
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science.”
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Best Ways To Make The First Part Of The Week Positive
The first part of the is filled with work, to-do things and prepping for 5 days of jobs stuff. Going into the work week, some people experience sadness, anxiety, or lack of motivation which can be a routine, which is not healthy. While Boomers and Gen X were raised in a world with fewer life options and work was just a thing you had to do, younger Millennials and Gen Z’ers were given a somewhat different take. Gap Years, working abroad, flex schedules and work at home gave them an option to craft a work environment suited to their needs. But as that falls away, stress and anxiety have increased. Some 39% of Gen Z feel regular anxiety. And roughly half of Gen Zs (52%) and millennials (49%) feel burned out by their job. So what are the best ways to make the first part of the week positive?
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Food
Weekends are made for fun, indulgences and treats. Each week decide Monday or Tuesday will be fun or favorite food night. It can be something easy like Sloppy Joes, a speciality salad, a great steak, but something to look forward to and enjoy. Also, make it something easy but transforms Tuesday into something special. Food also releases mood-boosting serotonin and dopamine, which can brighten the earlier part of the week. Food especially rich in those two include fish, grains, lean meats, olive oil and fruits and vegetables.
Summer Lifestyle Photos 2023 Swap beer for marijuana
All studies show marijuana is healthier for the body than beer. Fewer calories, less boating, no hangover. While California Sober has become a thing, more people are drinking less beer Monday-Wednesday and just having a couple of hits of a vape or a gummy. They get the chill without the extra weight or hangover. Canada did a study on the trend, but ultimately it helps you maintain energy for the rest of the week.Plan something fun
Everyone looks forward to the weekend as a chance to relax and do fun things. Why not put Monday or Tuesday night as a special activity night. Anything from bing watch 3 favorite shows, trying a new video game, a long soak in the tub, or an early dinner with friend. Transform Monday or Tuesday into “Fun Day” by either planning or spontaneously doing something enjoyable for 1-3 hours?
RELATED: This Natural Cannabinoid Makes You Feel Happy
Sleep
Think about reversing the weekend sleeping in to sleeping early. Think about listening to calming music, read a book and just soak up snuggling in the bed. Avoid your phone and just relax and allow your body to unwind for a solid night’s rest.
Hopefully these tips will transform the first part of the week into a self care enjoyable time…and give you the energy and a positive outlook for the rest of the week.
Sarah Johns
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Middle-Aged Women: Thriving Through Emotional and Relationship Transitions | Love And Life Toolbox
Middle age, often defined as the years between 40 and 65, is a time of significant transition for many women. It’s a period marked by physical, emotional, and social changes, which can ripple through all aspects of life, particularly emotional health and relationships. I am a middle-aged women (funny that it is still hard to say that aloud), and I can fully attest to the surge of introspection, questions about priorities, life direction, who I choose to give my time to and preoccupation with my son launching in the next year.
We are particularly susceptible to emotional challenges, with factors such as hormonal fluctuations, empty nest syndrome, caregiving responsibilities, and career changes all contributing to increased stress and emotional turmoil. Additionally, relationship dynamics may shift during this time, with marital satisfaction often declining and shifts in friendships.
While these transitions can be challenging, they also present incredible opportunities for growth and self-discovery. By understanding the common emotional and relationship challenges we face and adopting effective coping strategies, women can navigate this phase of life with greater resilience and emotional well-being.
Emotional Challenges & Strategies:
- Hormonal fluctuations: The perimenopause and menopause transition can trigger a range of emotional symptoms, including mood swings, anxiety, and depression. Lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep can help manage these symptoms. Seeking medical professionals with a focus on this time of life is also an option.
- Empty nest syndrome: When children leave home, it can leave parents feeling a sense of loss and sadness. It’s important to acknowledge these feelings and find new ways to fill the void, such as pursuing hobbies, volunteering, or reconnecting with friends.
- Caregiving responsibilities: Many middle-aged women find themselves caring for aging parents or other family members. This can be emotionally and physically draining. Seeking support from other family members, friends, or professional caregivers can help ease the burden.
- Career changes: Some women may experience career transitions in middle age, whether due to retirement, downsizing, or a desire for a change. It’s important to explore new opportunities and set new goals to maintain a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Relationship Challenges & Strategies
- Marital satisfaction: Studies have shown that marital satisfaction can declines in middle age, as reflected in communication problems, unmet emotional needs, intimacy/sexual issues and changes in roles. All of this can be improved with adequate attention to the issues (rather than sweeping them under the rug), spending quality time together, and seeking couples counseling if needed.
- Evolving friendships: As life circumstances change, friendships may also evolve. It’s important to nurture existing friendships while also being open to making new connections. In this phase of life, it’s not uncommon to feel moved to re-evaluate friendships for more quality over quantity.
- Dating after divorce or widowhood: For women who find themselves single in middle age, dating can be daunting. It’s important to work through any unresolved grief or loss to be emotionally available and ready. Take things slow.
Additional Strategies for Emotional Well-being:
- Mindfulness and meditation: These practices can help manage stress, anxiety, and depression by promoting self-awareness and emotional regulation.
- Therapy or counseling: Talking to a therapist can provide a safe space to explore feelings, work through any emotional wounds, develop coping strategies and get support.
- Social connections: Maintaining strong social connections is an integral part of emotional health. Make an effort to spend time with friends and family, join social groups, or volunteer in your community.
- Self-care: Prioritize activities that bring you joy and relaxation, such as reading, listening to music, taking a bath, or spending time in nature. Identify what self-care is for you and make it a part of your routine.
Middle age is a time of significant transition, but it doesn’t have to be a time of emotional turmoil. By understanding the common challenges and adopting effective coping strategies, women can navigate this phase of life with grace and resilience. One of the most important things I’m doing to help navigate this time is to form a team of my most beloved and trusted allies. Consider who might be on your team. It’s never too late to prioritize your emotional health and cultivate fulfilling relationships.
Lastly, it’s also never too late to do work through unresolved wounds stemming from childhood via family of origin work in therapy. You’ll be in the best shape possible to successfully transition through this phase if you are as baggage-free as possible.
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Work with Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT via California Online Therapy and Counseling or ask Lisa a question via her Ask Lisa Consultations service available by chat on this website.
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
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Best Types of Marijuana To Help Be More Optimistic
Everyone has a stress and anxiety, but optimists tend to see things somewhat differently. Optimism tends to help us be happy more often and can help with health. Optimism can protect against depression even if there is a history. An optimistic outlook makes people more resistant to stress. Optimism may even help people live longer.
Studies show 18- to 34-year-olds saying their average stress level is a 6 out of 10, compared with a 3.4 among people ages 65 and older. So a little help can be useful. Here are the best types of marijuana to help be more optimistic and hopefully have a healthier, happy mindset.
Consuming marijuana can be done by smoking, vaping or eating via gummies or other edibles. You can also use creams, oils and tinctures…but also start slow with dosage until you get to the right spot.
Lamb’s Bread
Also known as Lamb’s Breath (ew), this sativa strain gives huge amounts of energy and positive introspection, allowing you to chill out and feel the stress slip away. This strain is popular amongst people who suffer from depression and rumour has it that even Bob Marley was a fan of it.
Alien Sour Apple
This type of marijuana gets its name from its sweet and sour flavor, which is similar to that of a Granny Smith green apple. It will leave you feeling energized, with a positive and bright euphoria.
RELATED: 8 Ways to Enjoy Marijuana Without Smoking It
Light Of Jah
This marijuana hybrid is sativa dominant and, as such, affects your creativity and uplifts your positive mood. Light Of Jah’s flavor is the perfect mix between fruity and spicy.
Alpha Cow
This strain smells incredible, like a perfect mix of blueberry and sweet toffee. This sativa blend gives you a calming high leaving you with mellow cerebral sensations making you feel uplifted and happy.
Cinex
Mixing strong flavors like sweet citrus and earthiness, this strain clears your head and brightens your mood, perfect for stimulating your creativity and giving you a super positive mindset. It’s also popular amongst patients that suffer from pain and depression.
PCV OG
This strain allows you to focus on your work or whatever it is you’re doing without any haziness, allowing you to be productive, brightening your mood and keeping your brain in top form.
NY Cheese
This smelly strain is great for consuming during the day time, giving you a spark of energy that will have you feeling creative, social and just flat out amazing.
Papa’s OG
This type of marijuana gives you positive cerebral effects while also relaxing your body, offering you the best of both worlds whenever you’re looking for some time to relax.
Blue Wreck
Contrary to its name, this strain gives you a positive attitude for your day while at the same time maintaining an active and clear head.
RELATED: Herbal Bliss: 10 Perfect Moments To Smoke Marijuana
Mission Kush
This type of marijuana is perfect for long conversations, mood elevations and productivity. Whenever you’re feeling like you’re not in your best mood, Mission Kush is there to right that wrong.
Hopefully, the best types of marijuana to help be more optimistic will help you reframe situation and bring some lightness to your life.
Anthony Washington
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Best Ways To Add CBD To Your Wellness Routine
A wellness routine is essential for the mind and body…adding CBD might give it an extra boost.
In the last 10 years, CBD has surged into the market, putting it on par with super foods and other ways to help the body and mind. While more research needs to be done, CBD has grown to almost an $8 billion global market. There is scientific data CBD helps some things, including sleep disorders, fibromyalgia pain, muscle spasticity, inflammation, some pain and anxiety.
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Science will unlock more benefits from CBD in future, but for now, it can be an add to make life more enjoyable. While CBD is a chemical found in cannabis, it doesn’t contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient producing a high. So you can blend it into your daily life without having to worry about catching a buzz. To help, here are the best ways to add CBD to your wellness routine.
Meditating
No matter gender and age, meditation is a skill anyone can be developed and honed, providing more relief as you become adept. Some are better at concentrating and meditating than others, which is why CBD might provide some assistance to calm the brain and concentrate.
Yoga
Photo by Rima Kruciene via Unsplash Yoga is another practice, like meditation, encourages mindfulness and staying in the present moment. It also helps stretch the body, expand flexibility, increase endorphins and encourages the production of dopamine. The consistent use of CBD can help the body stay limber and relaxed and it can also make it easier for the brain to connect with the present moment.
RELATED: A Beginner’s Guide To Buying CBD Products
Anxiety
Anxiety is common, even if it affects people to different degrees. While for some anxiety can be paralyzing and incredibly difficult, for others, it can be managed with regular exercise and meditation. For these people, CBD could help manage emotions and feelings while reducing the odds of experiencing stress. It can improve the daily quality of life.
Acne
Stress and hot weather are some causes for acne. CBD may reduce both inflammation and the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Reliable and tested CBD skincare products may help manage skin and prevent bumps and blemishes. And for people who are suffering from acne, some CBD oil might help cope with inflamed skin and pain of infection.
Skincare
Other forms of skin irritations, like the ones produced by wearing masks and face coverings, or simply the products you use to care for your skin on a day to day basis, can include CBD. There’s plenty of oils, balms and creams that prevent the development of zits, skin damages, and more, even when it comes to people with sensitive skin.
Sore muscles
Photo by Tetra Images/Getty Images RELATED: What Is The Functionality Of CBD In Skincare Products?
CBD lotions and products can treat topical physical pains and aches including some forms of arthritis or more common ones, like the ones you get after you workout. CBD is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, providing relief for muscles that have been overused.
Recreation
If you’re looking for a different kind of sensation than marijuana or alcohol, try to look for products that contain large amounts of CBD instead. These can be found in vapes, edibles, and tinctures and oil. It should leave you feeling light and relaxed, ready to do activities and stay productive.
Maria Loreto
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The Best Tips To Stay Calm And Avoid An Anxiety Spiral
Anxiety and stress is a factor of life, but for some, anxiety can be more frequent and last longer. It can disrupt day to day life and cause issues long past the actual reason for the anxiety. Roughly 40 million adults in North America have an anxiety disorder. And for the first time, the new generation of Gen Z is suffering higher anxiety even though all studies show we live in a safer world. There are way to help prevent it, but sometimes it creeps up and wham, you are in the moment and don’t know what to do. Here are the best tips to stay calm and avoid an anxiety spiral.
RELATED: 5 Common Morning Habits That Aren’t That Great
It can be hard to pinpoint the moment when anxiety gets of out control, which is why anxious people sometimes find themselves going through different scenarios in their heads, each one more unlikely than the next, yet all equally distressing. There are certain actions to take to minimize the stress level.
Deep breaths
Deep breathing — or diaphragmatic breathing — can help manage anxiety since an early symptom of spiraling is shallow breathing. Deep breaths, especially ones pulled from the diaphragm, will oxygenate the body and ground you in the present.
To learn how to use your diaphragm for breathing, put a hand on your chest and a hand on the stomach and start taking deep breaths. The hand on your stomach should move with each breath, while the hand on your chest should remain relatively static. Try these breathing techniques whenever you’re anxious.
Do a physical chore
If you’re feeling anxious and jittery, try completing a physical chore, like cleaning the dishes, mowing the lawn or organizing your closet. These tasks allow a brief escape from your thoughts, creating some distance between yourself and the story that your brain is working so hard to tell you. Additionally, the actual act of cleaning and decluttering can boost your mood, help you move your body more, improve focus, and help you feel more in control of your surroundings.
Photo by Pinho . via Unsplash Distract yourself
Depending on the type of anxiety, try other types of distractions, like watching a movie or listening to music. If you need something more engaging to keep your thoughts from running away from you, try playing a video game with headphones on. Video games require the use of the you to use your body and your brain simultaneously, which is why so many people find them as ideal distractions.
RELATED: Anxious About Seeing A Therapist? CBD Could Help
CBD
CBD has greater anti-inflammatory properties than THC, so CBD-dominant products could reduce anxiety by quelling inflammation in the brain and nerves. While more research needs to be done, there is evidence pointing towards a calming effect for CBD in the central nervous system.
Try staying present
Experiment with different methods that help you stay in the moment, whether that’s closing your eyes or contracting and releasing your muscles. These techniques are very common for keeping you grounded and in the moment, something that can put a stop to anxious thoughts that are keen to distance you from what’s going on right now.
Photo by Thomas Martinsen via Unsplash Monitor your thoughts
Keeping track of your thoughts can help prevent anxiety spirals by learning what your trigger points are. Try to pay attention to your moods. Are you feeling irritated? Did someone else’s behavior stress you out? Noticing how you’re feeling in the moment will allow you to find what triggers your anxiety. Tracking behaviors is a very common and helpful thing to practice, allowing you to know yourself better and to avoid any sneak attacks by your feelings.
Amy Hansen
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Research Suggests Unresolved Anxiety Could Lead To This
If you struggle with anxiety, you don’t need us to tell you that it can be incredibly difficult to manage. But according to new research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, unresolved anxiety could cause even more issues down the road. Here’s what they found.
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Social Support Database (PDF)
This worksheet will show you how to create a “Social Support Database” to serve as a positive reminder of all the people in your life who have your back, including family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, therapists, and support groups.
Steven Handel
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