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• Beat the Fatigue: The Impact o Beat the Fatigue: The Impact of Work Stress on Exercise

  • From: PMichaelPetersonEdD
  • Description:

    A recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that people who did a mentally tiresome task just before exercising reached exhaustion much more quickly than those who were mentally rested before working out. The researchers go on to state that 'our study provides experimental evidence that mental fatigue limits exercise tolerance in humans through higher perception of effort…[and] it provides strong evidence that brain function can limit short-term endurance performance.'
    
    If you have ever had that end of workday exhaustion, you can identify with what this research suggests. It is no surprise that the average person who has had an emotionally or mentally taxing day does not have a great motivation to exercise. The daily stress and strains at work often make us want to go home, lay down, watch television, and eat whatever is easy, convenient, and pleasurable (in other words, think sweet, high-calorie, and high-fat comfort foods).  Exercise is the last thing we want to do because exercise itself is a physical stress. Why heap more discomfort and strain on ourselves when we can just relax?
    
    A Swedish work stress study a few years ago found that when workers had emotionally stressful days they were less inclined to engage in any healthy behaviors after work. However, when the researchers worked to help create a work environment in which workers had greater control over their work demands and a fairer effort-reward balance, employees were more likely to want to exercise, were less emotionally and mentally tired, and were more likely to engage in healthy pursuits after work.
    
    Further research has shown that work stress is directly linked to abdominal obesity in both men and women, so not only do we feel tired and exhausted, we are more apt to build fat stores (due to the increased cortisol secretion) and eat more high-caloric foods (stress-induced eating), and less likely to engage in calorie burning activities that would both metabolize the fat and the cortisol. Too much work stress hurts our health both by increasing our risk factors for chronic disease and decreasing our motivation and desire to engage in healthy behaviors that would reduce those risks.
    
    The authors of the initial study want to further look into why people with mental fatigue perceive exercise to be more difficult. I'm going to step out on a limb here and suggest that 'they're tired!' The average person on the street can tell you that when you are tired, even easy tasks become more difficult and are perceived as more laborious. The body wants to rest, and exercise is the antithesis of that. Burdens of the day weigh you down mentally, and exercise is often just another burden.
    
    Since BeWell is also about solutions, here are some things to consider to help you deal with the work stress and exercise problem:
    
    1.  Identify why you are stressed at work. By identifying the source of the problem, you can begin to address ways to cope or reduce that stress.

    2.  Recognize that work stress effects your after work behaviors by promoting sedentary activities and unhealthy eating, while simultaneously discouraging exercise. Find ways to motivate yourself. 

    3. Understand that work stress can lead to increased fat storage and eventual obesity if you do not take steps to counter that storage with sound eating and regular physical activity.

    4.  Think of 'activities' rather than exercise. Exercise has a negative connotation while activity does not. Also, activity means just moving -- so walking, dancing, gardening, and the like are all acceptable and pleasurable ways to burn calories. You don't have to kill yourself to be active. You can enjoy a stroll, walk the mall, spend time in your garden, or boogey on the dance floor. All of these activities allow you to ease your stress and improve your health at the same time.

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  • 1 year ago
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• Your Boss: Vitamin or Virus? Your Boss: Vitamin or Virus?

  • From: PMichaelPetersonEdD
  • Description:

    Take this quick 10-point quiz to rate your boss.  For each item, indicate whether your answer is a 'yes' or a 'no.' At the end, total up the number of 'yes' responses to get your score.
    
    RATE MY BOSS QUIZ
    
    My Boss... 
    
    ...allows me to make decisions that directly impact the work I do.    YES     NO
    
    ...recognizes me for my job accomplishments.  YES    NO
    
    ...provides opportunities to learn and grow at work.    YES    NO
    
    ...is likeable.    YES    NO
    
    ...is honest and trustworthy.    YES    NO
    
    ...is fair.     YES    NO
    
    ...does not create unnecessary stress in my job.  YES    NO
    
    ...treats me respectfully.    YES    NO
    
    ...provides constructive feedback on the work that I do.  YES NO
    
    ...is helpful and supportive.    YES    NO
    
    Score (each 'yes' equals one point):
    
    8-10 You have a health-promoting boss. S/he is definitely a multi-vitamin.
    
    6-7 Your boss has room for improvement. S/he is like a placebo; if you believe your boss is healthy for you, then he or she will be.
    
    3-5 Your boss is like a bad cold or flu. You can function, albeit barely, but you will be miserable.
    
    0-2 Your boss is the bubonic plague. S/he needs to be quarantined.
    
    Research has long indicated that our relationships at work have a tremendous impact on our health and well-being. This is especially true of our relationship with our boss. For those of you who have a good relationship with a well-adjusted and mature supervisor, congratulations! You can count it as a blessing. He or she is a social multivitamin that will enable you to work better, handle stress more productively, and feel good about the work and job you do. On the other hand, for those of you who have a boss that makes your workday difficult, s/he is like a social virus that weakens your immune system, spreads anxiety and worry, inhibits productivity, creates stress, and generally makes your work life miserable.
    
    For years I have been talking, consulting, and teaching about the role management plays in promoting both the health of the employee (in terms of absenteeism, illness, and health care costs) and the three 'P's' of health for a business (productivity, profit, and performance). When bosses act and treat their employees in a way that negatively impacts their health, it also hurts the health and ability of the corporate body to respond to ever-changing market demands. What employee will work the extra hour, display initiative, or find creative solutions to pressing problems when there's a millstone of oppression around his or her neck? Unfortunately, some managers believe that they must bully or control their employees in order to get them to do what they want. They use tactics and behaviors that literally create a toxic work environment, and (as many researchers have reported) eventually create a workforce that is dependent, infantile, and emotionally distraught. From a health perspective, this type of management style leads to both employee and organizational illness.
    
    In contrast, a boss that treats employees with respect, fairness, and competence will create a positive work environment that is both health promoting to the employees, as well as to the organization itself. A manager who understands that the work context he or she creates is as important as the profit margin is one that acts like a vitamin to the workforce, and will reap the organizational health benefits. This means that they epitomize the positive attributes in the short quiz at the beginning of this blog.  
    
    Throughout my adult life I have talked with many individuals about the work they do and the context in which they do it. And, I have learned that there are as many good bosses as bad out there. I myself have worked for some of the best individuals, as well as the worst. With those on the top of my list, we still keep in contact and continue to support each other through all areas of our lives. For those on the bottom of my list, I can only say 'good riddance.' They not only have hurt and destroyed many people's careers and work, they have also prevented a once healthy group of workers to benefit the organization they work for.  
    
    Since work is so central to our lives and is the means by which we obtain financial as well as emotional security, good managers will appreciate the tremendous impact they have on the quality of life of their subordinates, and the role they play in creating a healthy work culture and environment. As General Douglas MacCarther well understood, when a boss is perceived as having the best interests of employees at heart, they will follow him or her anywhere. We are now just beginning to recognize that creating a successful and healthy business is based on the ability of managers to create healthy employees and support healthy work cultures. It is not just about a healthy bottom line, because a profit based on an unhealthy work culture will not be repeated for long. Eventually, the business will become sick, and will not be able to weather the diseases that come and go in the marketplace.  
    
    Corporation comes from the Latin word 'corpus' or 'body.' Just like a human body, a corporation can suffer both illness and health. It acts like a biological entity that depends on the ability of each individual system to perform. Bosses that do their jobs properly will make sure that each unit (employee) within that system is performing well, is being appropriately nurtured and fed, and is free of disease or injury (whether physical, mental, or emotional). However, bosses that do not protect and promote the health of the corporate system they manage will not only impact the functioning of their own unit, but every unit they interact with. Many managers create neurological and musculoskeletal disorders within the corporate body. In some cases they can even be carcinogenic.
    
    I would love to hear from you about your boss. How have they been a vitamin or a virus in your life? What kind of disease or healthy condition do they create? Without mentioning names, explain what you have experienced and how it has affected you and post it as a comment. There is a lot we can learn from our shared experiences, both good and bad.

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  • 1 year ago
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• "What If...?" "What If...?"

  • From: PMichaelPetersonEdD
  • Description:

    Many people ask “What if…”

    •    What if the stock market plummets another 3,000 points?
    •    What if I don’t save enough for retirement?
    •    What if I get sick?
    •    What if my child gets in an accident, or gets hurt?
    
    In each question there is a concern about the future, about whether or not things will be better, the same, or worse.  We all have these questions, and we all wonder about the future.  It is a common human trait.  The problem comes when our simple questions become obsessive stressful scenarios that rob us of the joy, contentment, and pleasures of the present.  This problem is called the “What If” syndrome.   If you follow the news at all today you can’t help but become dragged into this mindset.  We hear about health problems, nuclear bombs, terrorists, bailouts, crime, economic distress, layoffs, stock market crashes, depression, global warming.  The media plays a big part in focusing our minds on what could be, rather than what actually is. It is called the media effect—the technological ability to make our molehills into mountains.  I don’t know about you, but if I really analyze this, I can say that the bird flu never came, we just experienced one of the coldest Novembers on record, and unemployment and interest rates are nothing like what we experienced in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  I’m not trying to be a Pollyanna, but I am trying to have some perspective.
    
    The “what if” syndrome doesn’t just apply to the future.  Some of us also apply it to the past…

    “What if I hadn’t said…”?

    “What if I only had done…”?

    This practice is called rumination.  Like a cow that ruminates and chews its cud, we psychologically regurgitate our past mistakes, embarrassments, or humiliations and relive them again, and again, and again.  Each time re-experiencing the unpleasant emotions associated with the event.  Sometimes cringing, sometimes self-loathing, and sometimes feeling just plain bad.  Although women tend to do this more then men, it is widespread.
    
    The point is that all of this worrying about the future, and ruminating about the past focuses our thoughts on what has already been, and what may never occur.  What are lost are the pleasures, joys, experiences, feelings, and loves of today.  We simply miss out on the joy of living.  Our daughters’ smiles and laughter become lost in the fog of anxiety.  Our son’s heroic efforts at learning a new skill go unnoticed in the static of an event that already has past.  Our enjoyment in relating to others, working at something we enjoy, and spending time with people we love is compromised.  The “what if” syndrome robs us of this present.   
    
    So what can we do?
    
    1. Realize everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect.  Not even you.  Forgive yourself, and move on.  No one else really pays attention to what you may have done –we all tend to focus on ourselves anyways.  As my father use to say with a smile, don’t take yourself so seriously, no one else is.

    2. Plan for the future, but don’t worry about it.  Planning involves an active, conscious effort to reach a goal or objective.  It is proactive, and involves creating the steps and actions to help you move forward.  In contrast, worrying only causes us to become less active, and more emotionally shackled.  It’s hard to move forward when you have a 100 pounds of anxiety hanging around your neck.

    3. You can’t predict the future so why bother asking all these what if questions.  Who is to say that the future won’t be good?  Who is to say that you won’t have a better job, or better opportunities?  Realize the future is what makes life interesting and mysterious—or as some have said, an adventure.  Take it as it comes, and do your best.  That is all anyone can ask of you.

    4. Be thankful for what you have been given.  Many people that I have talked with that suffer from the “what if” syndrome, have jobs, have good health, have friends and family, have a roof over their heads, and plenty of food in the cupboard.  They are not starving, they are not suffering, and they are not unemployed.  The only reason they are stressed out is because they are worrying about things that have never occurred, or may not happen.  They are literally living in a story of their own making—and it is more a tragedy than a comedy. What kind of story are you writing?

    5. Talk to someone much older than you.  Many have lived and experienced a wide variety of life events and have come through it just fine.  Wars, depression, sickness, deaths, loss, as well as joys, loves, achievement, and success.  You may gain a whole new perspective and some encouragement.  

    6. There is a saying that “the reed can’t tell the wind what to do.”  It means that if you try to be a stiff reed and try to control the wind, you will break.  But if you are a flexible reed, and bend with the wind, you will eventually stand tall again.  Don’t try to control everything.  Loosen up, relax, and enjoy the ride.
    
    Seize the day, enjoy every minute of it.  Don’t worry about the future, you can’t predict what will be, and don’t ruminate about the past—it’s done and forgotten.

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
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• Does Your Job Make You Sick? Does Your Job Make You Sick?

  • From: PMichaelPetersonEdD
  • Description:

    Does your job make you sick?  Or are you sick of your job?  For many people its one in the same.  But research has a lot to say about what makes one job healthier than another, and the facts are worth noting.
    
    What makes a job unhealthy?
    Four factors play a major role in determining whether your job will make you ill and increase your health care costs.  These include having a job that has too much to do in too short a period of time over a long duration (High Demand); not having enough influence over the way your job is done on a daily basis (Low Control); having to exert to much mental energy over a long duration (High Effort); and, not receiving adequate feedback on your performance, or being recognized for work well done (Low Reward).
    
    The combination of a High Demand-Low Control job condition compared with a high demand/high control, or low demand/high control doubles the rate of heart and cardiovascular problems; increases anxiety, depression, and demoralization; increases alcohol and prescription drug use; and significantly increases susceptibility to infectious diseases.
    The combination of High Effort-Low Reward compared with high effort/high reward conditions more than triples the rate of cardiovascular problems; and, significantly increases the incidence of anxiety, depression, and conflict-related problems.
    
    When you combine High Demand- Low Control with High Effort-Low Reward conditions there is an increase in back pain and repetitive strain injuries in addition to the other problems mentioned.  Workers who experienced this type of job environment also had over five times the rate of colorectal cancer.
    
    According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the American Psychological Association, improved training, better job design, and reduction of stress in the workplace are important tasks that can contribute significantly to the promotion of health and well-being, the prevention of work-related psychological disorders, and reduction of health care costs.
    
    It is in the best interest of every employer to insure that every job is designed in a way that allows workers enough control over the demands placed upon them, and provides sufficient rewards for the effort expended.  When there is an imbalance in Demand and Control, or Effort and Reward it creates conditions that lead to increased stress and eventual illness.   By making sure these conditions are in balance employers and managers are provided a powerful ability to enhance worker health, control health care costs, decrease absenteeism, and promote productivity, quality, and performance.
    
    What can you do if you have a job design imbalance that is causing you undue stress and illness?
    
    1.  Talk to your supervisor about the situation.  Make them aware of the problem, and use the above information as support.  Approach them in a manner that works to improve the situation rather than cast blame.  It’s about making conditions better so that you will do better for the organization—not a whining session.  Most managers are unaware of the relationship between health and work, and how these work conditions can impact not only your health, but the health of the organization in terms of profit, productivity, and performance.
    
    2.  Look for ways to increase control or decrease demand.  For example, can you be more involved in the decisions that affect your job responsibilities?  Can you have more flexibility in your work time or due dates? Do you need to hire another person?  Can you get assistance from someone else?  Is the job process inefficient and in need of modification?
    
    3.  Look for ways to increase reward for your efforts.  This is not always possible since rewards are often distributed by others.  However, can you find ways to negotiate rewards that are of value to you?  Rewards are not always monetary, they also include time, resources, opportunity, and autonomy.  
    
    4.  Look for alternative employment.  Although easier said than done, if your job is causing you excess stress and illness it may be better to work somewhere else. If you do look for another job, during the hiring process ask questions about the amount of control you will have over your work demands, and what are the rewards or opportunities for your efforts.

    Work is central in our lives, so efforts we take to improve the conditions of our work can only improve our health, our quality of life, and the health of the businesses we work in.

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  • 2 years ago
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• What is Health? What is Health?

  • From: PMichaelPetersonEdD
  • Description:
    How we define health says a lot about what we will do or won’t do to achieve it.  Many people define health as being free from disease, pain, and disability—the premise is that “as long has I am not sick I am healthy.”  But this approach—also called a negative view of health—is all about avoiding pain, injury and illness.  In theory this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does promote a fear of disease mindset that governs our behavior.  Much like the story of Ichabod Crane who feared the mythical headless horseman, this mindset promotes a constant “looking over your shoulder” mentality that increases worry, anxiety, and second-guessing.  “Am I at risk for this disease?” “Should I eat this cake?”  “What will it do to my cholesterol?”  Life can become one worry after another, which of course leads to additional worries about worrying too much.
    
    An alternative definition of health is a positive, based on performance, potential, and optimal well-being.   This definition promotes a mindset of what can I become?  What can I do?  What do I want to be?  The focus is on doing, being, and becoming.  You engage in behaviors and run towards a goal of optimal health, rather than run away from disease.  Health becomes something that you obtain, and improve upon.
    
    To illustrate, a person with a negative definition of health would exercise so that they didn’t get heart disease, or to lower their cholesterol; whereas a person with a positive definition of health would exercise so that they could become stronger and more energetic.   The negative definition of health promotes a “worried well” mentality; the positive definition a feeling of “optimal well-being.”
    
    Although both a negative and positive views of health can reduce risk for disease, the positive view makes life more fun, and encourages more long-term healthy behaviors.  
    
    How do you have a positive view of health?
    
    First, set an achievable and realistic goal of what you want to do in life.  For example, setting a goal to walk one mile every day without stopping is positive.  Trying to lose 10 lbs so that you can reduce your risk for heart disease is negative.  If you actually walk a mile per day, you will become more energetic, burn more calories, increase your capacity to do more physical activity, and could ultimately lose 10 lbs. (reducing your risk for heart disease while not even thinking about it).
    
    Second, identify things you want to do or accomplish that are not health related but require healthy behaviors.  I worked with a woman who wanted to hike with her grand kids down into the Grand Canyon.  Her focus was all about her relationship with her grand children. Getting in shape was for the greater purpose of being able to share an experience with them.  Getting back into shape was about relationships and future opportunities, not disease risk reduction.
    
    Third, stop measuring your self.  Overly focusing on size, weight, measures, and metrics puts the emphasis on our bodies and totally omits the way we think and feel (you figuratively become the headless horseman—dead from the neck up).  If you exercise, focus on how you feel, how energetic you are becoming, the enjoyment of movement and being able to move more.  Can you do more today than you did yesterday or last week?—great! Keep it up. It’s about the splendor of being healthy, not the avoidance of disease.
    
    So, when it comes to health, be all that you can be, and stop worrying about the headless horseman.
    
    
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  • 2 years ago
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• Stop the Madness of Health Mis Stop the Madness of Health Misinformation

  • From: PMichaelPetersonEdD
  • Description:

    Scientists say “Smiling can hurt your health” (UPI 5/16/08).

    Study says “Obesity contributes to global warming” (Reuters 5/15/08).

    Study says “Voting may be hazardous to your health” (AP 9/30/08).

     

    With health news titles like these, is it any wonder that many of us are generally anxious and worried not only about our health, but just about how we are going to survive the day unscathed?  Don’t smile, don’t vote, and take a long look at that Dunkin Donut, because you could be contributing to some polar bear being stranded on an iceberg somewhere above the Arctic Circle.  The message is clear (according to many): being healthy is serious business, and if you are enjoying life, just you wait—something is going to get you.

    There is a lot of health information in the media, and especially on the Internet.  Just about anyone can exercise their freedom of speech and spread misinformation and hyperbole that makes you think twice about whether you are doing the right thing. Welcome to the world of the worried well, a growing class of people that will soon rival the middle class in size.  They are a class that often has its emotions targeted by the news business and makers of health products, to get them to tune in, buy, or become dissatisfied with how they look, feel, and act. This is so that they will take them up on their promises, products, and propaganda.

     

    BeWell has been formed to help stop the madness of health misinformation, and to provide you an opportunity to intelligently share your thoughts and feelings about the health issues that concern you.  You can hear from leading experts in the medical and health fields as we share our expertise about what you care about most—sometimes with humor and fun, sometimes with seriousness and backed by evidence. 

     

    I am excited about being a part of the BeWell social health network because it allows me to meet some of you, and to share what I have learned over the past 20 years as a professor, researcher, consultant, and teacher in the area of health promotion and behavioral medicine.  I look forward to our future conversations, and your insights and thoughts about health, work, stress, and life.  I have much to share with you about work and stress, health and the media, and general lifestyle issues.  So stay tuned, it is going to be fun, and healthy.

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  • 2 years ago
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