November 2018 Newsletter

Happy November! With the change in daylight, weather, and the upcoming holiday season, it can prove overwhelming. Notwithstanding, we must all set aside time to take care of ourselves. Here are a few ways to approach this task:

November means NEW YORK MARATHON season for some! Congratulations to all of our patients who completed the marathon in the face of or without injury. We are honored to have been a part of this process and contribute to your accomplishment! There really is something to be said for that "runner's high." A new study suggests that a 15 minute jog is better for the mind than 15 minutes of calm relaxation, as a brief jog sharpens the mind, boosting attentional control and perceptual speed, in part through a subjective sense of having more energy (in contrast to the relaxation group who felt less energetic).
If running isn't quite your exercise mode of choice, other more mellow and restorative alternatives are yoga, meditation and Tai Chi. Practicing yoga can help reduce paranoid thoughts, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and obsessive thoughts in prison inmates, according to new research published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. In addition, meditation and tai chi don't just calm the mind – they seem to positively affect DNA. There's evidence that such "mind-body practices" dampen the activity of genes associated with inflammation - essentially reversing molecular damage caused by stress.
AND, if your stress reducing strategies veer towards the atypical, then recent studies on a classic video game might be of interest: Tetris is a great distraction and coping mechanism for easing an anxious mind - Tetris players can achieve a state of blissful distraction known as "flow" whereby people in such a state become completely absorbed and lose their sense of space and time, and as a result, experience less anxiety and stress.
Ultimately, exercise and physical activity have been shown to prevent the immune system from declining, protect people against infections, combat cardiovascular disease, and improve overall mental well-being.

We here at DSPT are here to professionally manage your journey toward caring for and healing your whole self, mind and body. Give us a call to see what we and our network of specialized health care providers can do for you!

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