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Article 1
Are you having fun?
Research shows that having fun increase morale and creativity. As a life skill it is hugely understimated. Life isn’t perfect but you don’t have to be miserable. Success, achievement and performance are serious focus. So is having fun along the way.
This sometimes creates a dilemma to act on impulse or to conform to “normal” conditioned behavior. The enjoyment of playing and just having fun can almost be an uncomfortable experience.
Play allows the mind to be free. Children giggle about 400 times a day; as adults we are lucky if we laugh about 10 times per day. Playfulness is a forgotten art.
We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.
WHY LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR YOU?
Every time you laugh, endorphins and enkephalins are released which give you a natural high.
- Laughing increases oxygen levels in the blood, improves circulation. It’s an inner body workout.
- Chuckling produces T-cells, which strengthen the immune system.
- Laughter activates the creative right side of the brain.
- Laugh and solve problems or design strategies.
- Laughter gives everyone a great lift. Happiness has a positive effect on health.
- Laughter establishes bonds between people.
- Laughter reinforces the good feelings for ourselves and for those around us.
The use of fun at work can create an enthusiast and supportive work environment. It can be a positive force in service, morale and loyalty. It impacts on stress management and wellness. If people enjoy their job and are passionate about their work, it shows!
Once you have incorporated fun into your work, you discover that it helps create a genuine sense of job satisfaction for yourself as well as for others. Having fun at the workplace should be just as important as productivity and profitability. It puts primary value on the people.
Article 2
6 Stretches for a Stronger Back
Recommended by Osteopaths
These stretches and exercises are designed to help relieve tension and strengthen your back. For best results, do these exercises when you are warm, perhaps after a shower, because that is when your muscles are most responsive.
1. Lie flat on your back and using your hands, bring one knee up to your chest. Hold your knee in a position whilst you breathe in out and three times and then change legs.
2. Lie on your back with your arms out to the side, bend your knees and gently rock them from side to side in the mid range (i.e. from 90 degrees to 45 degrees - not to the floor). Do three sets of three to five.
3. Lie on your back and with your arms out, bend your knees and gently drop them over to one side of your body. Hold position whilst you breathe in and out three times and then change to opposite side.
4. Lie flat on your back, and stretch out your entire body. Reach as far as you can with your toes and stretch up as far as you can with your hands. Hold position whilst you breathe in and out three times.
5. Stand tall, then carefully bend forward and place your hands behind your knees, then stretch up through your shoulders and into the middle of the back. Hold this position whilst you breathe in and out three times.
6. Lie flat on your back, put your hands underneath your bottom and bend your knees. Keep your knees together and slowly lift them off the ground, gently bringing your knees into your chest. Keep your lower abdominal muscles tight. Do three sets of three to five.
If at any time, these exercises cause you discomfort or aggravate symptoms consult your health care practitioner.
'Six stretches for a stronger back' released by the Australian Osteopathic Association Visit www.osteopathic.com.au or call the Australian Osteopathic Association on 1800-4-OSTEO (1800 467 836).
These techniques should be used as a guide only.
Please consult your health care practitioner for further information.
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Article 3
RELAX FOR OPTIMUM HEALTH
We all lead hectic lives with pressing commitments and responsibilities. Sometimes keeping up this regime places us at risk of high stress levels and potential burnout. Here are some basic ways of assessing whether you are experiencing stress, possible causes and strategies you can implement to ensure a well-balanced life.
According to Weinberg & Gould (1995) stress is when there is a substantial imbalance between physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and their response capability, under conditions where failure to meet the demand has important consequences.
Burnout generally results after experiencing extended periods of stress, with little or no improvement.
CAUSES OF STRESS
There are many contributing factors to general and/or exercise-related stress.
Some of the most common causes of stress include:
• extreme physical fatigue
• inadequate recovery time
• severe training conditions |
• emotional exhaustion
•
intensive training schedule
• excessive pressure |
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT
Both physical and psychological characteristics occur in burnout. The most common of these characteristics are listed below:
• emotional and physical exhaustion
• headaches
• sleep disturbance
• loss of appetite
•
weight loss
• increased susceptibility to illness. |
• low self-esteem
• loss of desire to participate
• mood changes
• apathy
• depression (low productivity and
decreased performance level). |
TREATMENT AND PREVENTION
There are simple strategies that can significantly reduce your likelihood of suffering from stress and/or burnout.
• Ask your trainer to create a new training schedule/ exercises to inject
variety in your sessions to enhance your motivation and enthusiasm.
• Maintaining an adequate diet can contribute to a greater sense of
overall
health.
• Taking time out for a holiday will rejuvenate your mind and body.
• Seek out the social support of peers. |
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One of the most effective methods for avoiding and coping with stress or burnout is relaxation training.
RELAXATION
Being relaxed ensures greater precision in your skills, clearer decision making and greater concentration levels. Individuals who can learn to relax and control their stress levels tend to enjoy life, maximise their potential and achieve desired goals more often and more easily. Relaxation breaks can be undertaken between other activities (e.g., going from work to your fitness club) and can contribute to increased levels of confidence and a healthier lifestyle. The benefits of relaxation are both physical and psychological and include:
• increases and conversation of energy over extended periods of time
• general health benefits allow for a happier and healthier life
• illness and injuries have a greater ability to heal faster when the body and
mind are relaxed and stress free.
• allows you to cope better in pressure situations in sport, life, and work
• assists in avoiding panic
• clearer decision making ability, increasing better decision making
• minimises distractions, thus increasing your ability to concentrate
• enhances memory
• increases confidence levels. |
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TECHNIQUES
Here are some easy techniques you can integrate into your every day life that can help avoid and/or reduce the effects of stress or burnout.
1. Sit or lie in a quiet place that is free from distractions and concentrate
on your breathing or visualise yourself in pleasant, calm surroundings.
2. Take a brisk walk / exercise.
3. Massage.
4. Listen to relaxation music and/ or muscle relaxation tapes.
5. Learn and practice breathing exercises.
By Jacqui Louder, MAPS
Jacqui is a clinical and sport psychologist at Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre in Melbourne. |
