The Press-Dispatch
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C-4 Health and Wellness Wednesday, June 4, 2014 The Press-Dispatch H e alth & W e lln e ss A speciAl section for tHe press-DispAtcH 2 pAges Serving PiKe and SUrrOUnding COUnTieS WeDnesDAy, June 4, 2014 Subscribe to The Press-Dispatch Starting at just $27 for local subscribers. Call 354-8500 today! Calming your nerves relaxation techniques for Since 2007, the American Psy- chological Association has com- missioned an annual nationwide survey to examine the state of stress across the United States and understand its impact. The 2013 survey found that people continue to experience what they feel are unhealthy stress levels, with 42 percent of adult respond- ents reporting that their stress levels have increased over the past five years. In addition, 44 percent of survey respondents feel they aren't doing enough to manage their stress, painting a potentially troubling future for people who cannot find better and healthier ways to manage their stress. The picture is none the rosi- er in Canada, where data from the 2012 Canadian Communi- ty Health Survey revealed that nearly 23 percent of Canadians aged 15 and older reported that most days were "quite a bit or ex- tremely stressful." While those figures marked a slight improve- ment from the previous year's survey, it's apparent that stress is still a considerable concern for people throughout both the Unit- ed States and Canada. Though many people unfortu- nately regard stress as an inevi- table side effect of adulthood, it's important that men, women and even children avoid character- izing stress as simply a byprod- uct of a difficult and/or success- ful life and career. Even momen- tary stress, often referred to as "acute stress," like the kind that appears when stuck in a traffic jam, can have a potentially devas- tating impact on overall health. According to the American In- stitute of Stress, acute stress causes an increase in heart rate and stronger contractions of the heart muscle, and some medi- cal professionals have suggest- ed there is a link between repeat- ed episodes of acute stress and heart attack. Regular use of relaxation tech- niques to reduce stress can help to counteract the effects of long- term stress, which the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine notes can contribute to depression, diges- tive disorders, headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia. While it's always best for anyone, and especially those people with heart disease, epilepsy, certain psychiatric conditions or a histo- ry of abuse or trauma, to consult their health care provider before Continued on page C-5 How to get a better night's sleep When it is 3 a.m. and you are pacing the halls of your dark and quiet house while everyone else is sleeping soundly in their beds, it may seem like you are the on- ly person in the entire world who is not getting some much-need- ed shut-eye. However, many peo- ple struggle to get a good night's sleep. Information from the National Sleep Foundation, Better Sleep Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and sev- eral other organizations indicate that between 20 and 40 percent of the U.S. population experienc- es insomnia. Many of the people suffering from insomnia have family histories of the condition or are also experiencing depres- sion. Insomnia rates are higher for people over the age of 60, and women are twice as likely to suf- fer from insomnia than men. Among Canadians, 40 per- cent of a recently polled group of 2,000 individuals reported in- somnia symptoms at least three times per week in the preced- ing month. French-speaking Canadians were less likely to experience insomnia than Eng- lish-speaking residents, but re- searchers are unsure why. Although how much sleep a person requires varies from indi- vidual to individual, the general consensus is that adults should receive between seven and eight hours of sleep per night to feel rested. The Institute of Medicine es- timates that hundreds of bil- lions of dollars are spent annu- ally on medical costs that are di- rectly related to sleep disorders, while statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin- istration indicate that 100,000 vehicle accidents occur annual- ly as a result of drowsy drivers. These figures underscore the importance of getting a good night's rest and understanding Continued on page C-5