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Get Healthy De Soto

…having a long-lasting positive impact on the health and safety of the De Soto community by encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, through programs promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition, community involvement, and disease and injury prevention.

Go Red for Women

February 7, 2020 is Go Red for Women Day. You are encouraged to wear red as a reminder about women’s increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The day is also used to educate others about the real risk to women’s health. The fact is: cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. That’s approximately one woman every minute!

But it doesn’t affect all women alike, and the warning signs for women aren’t the same as in men. The truth is that 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease but rarely speak to their doctor about it.

Go Red for Women isn’t just about wearing red either. There an advocacy piece that is trying to raise funds for research, find out why there is an ever-widening gap between men and women’s survival of heart disease, and discover why there is such an increased risk in certain populations.

While 1 in 31 American women dies from breast cancer each year, 1 in 3 dies of heart disease.

Please use the links below to educate yourself about how to reduce your risk and wear red on February 7th!

Here are recommendations from the American Heart Association about changes you should make to decrease your risk:

We Won the Stanley Cup Baby!

I took my daughter to see Wicked at the Fox Theater in December. We enjoyed it, and the theater was packed! During intermission, we spent most of our time walking around inside looking at the building. We also spent a few minutes waiting in line for the restroom, and while in line, I realized something profound: the reason that it seemed nearly all the women of child-bearing age were pregnant fit perfectly with the Stanley Cup Baby Boom!

That’s right. The Blues finished off the Bruins on June 12, 2019, so 40 weeks after that puts us right around Valentine’s Day for a new crop of infants in the region. All those pregnant ladies at the theater were already showing (and probably starting to have problems sleeping if they weren’t plagued with those issues earlier). All these new babies in the world mean some of you are about to be mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and godmothers all over again. It’s an exciting time…and a good time to be reminded about safe sleep practices for infants. Here are some guidelines:

Grandmother warning: do NOT use the line: “I didn’t do that with my children, and they turned out just fine”. That gives your daughter-in-law a reason to limit access to that beautiful new grand baby, and for family members to question whether Aunt Ruth is really “fine”.
  1. Always place baby on his or her back to sleep, for naps and at night, to reduce the risk of SIDS.
  2. Use a firm and flat sleep surface, such as a mattress in a safety-approved crib, covered by a fitted sheet with no other bedding or soft items in the sleep area. (Yes, that crib bumper received at a baby shower might be so cute, but it is very unsafe to actually use. See number 3.)
  3. Do not put soft objects, toys, crib bumpers, or loose bedding under baby, over baby, or anywhere in baby’s sleep area. This is hardly easy to do with all of the lovely, hand-made baby blankets. Don’t worry about it. Those blankets get used when the child gets older.
  4. Do not let your baby get too hot during sleep. If you are worried about your baby getting cold, you can use infant sleep clothing, such as a wearable blanket. In general, your baby should be dressed with only one layer more than you are wearing.
  5. Only bring your baby into your bed to feed or comfort. Place your baby back in his or her own sleep space when you are ready to go to sleep.
  6. Never place your baby to sleep on a couch, sofa, or armchair. This is an extremely dangerous place for your baby to sleep.
  7. Bed-sharing is not recommended for any babies.
  8. It is fine to swaddle your baby. You should discontinue swaddling after the baby begins to try to turn over.

From all the Get Healthy DeSoto crew, enjoy those new babies and tiny family members! For more resources about infant sleep, please check out HealthyChildren.org.

Winter Flakes

We’re blaming the cold weather!

We can’t really remember how many years we’ve been holding the Winter Flakes Race, but we determined that it doesn’t really matter because we’re okay with our eccentricities and poor memory. You won’t want to miss the 2020 edition though. We’re slated to run on February 29, 2020.

The race still offers a 5K, 10K, and 1 mile course. Most of the course is fairly flat, with the 10K being the most challenging. The registration fee is still just $20 for the 5K and 10K and $10 for the 1 mile. Fees increase on February 12, and you’re only guaranteed one of the long-sleeved t-shirts if you register early.

Shirt design photo
Shirt design sample!

Winter is a challenging time to stay motivated, so perhaps this race is a good impetus to stay moving this winter. Yes, it will likely be cold; even very cold. The real beauty of it is that you get to see all the other members of our crazy tribe. (They’ll start assembling around 7 am on February 29, 2020.)

Planning your physical activities and doing things to break up the monotony are both good strategies for staying active during these cold months. You can find more strategies here, in an article about staying motivated during the cold.

New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year 2020

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. The changing of a calendar has never inspired me to assess my personal goals and aspirations. (I save that for the time around my birthday when I look back over the past year and take stock of my existence.) For me, New Year’s Day is just one day in the celebration of Christmas on the way to Epiphany (January 6th). It has always amazed me that so many people use that date as a jumping-off point for making changes in their lives.

…and we do such a poor job at it! By February, most people have given up on their resolutions all together or are scaling back. I’m not saying to set the bar low and go for an easy win, but perhaps it is time to create resolutions that we can live with and that will create actual good in the world.

Here are my top three:

  1. In 2020, read 12 books for no other reason than enjoyment. You might learn something, and heaven forbid it should be an outlet for relaxation!
  2. Stop with the rampant screen time. This is for you but especially for any children in your presence. Every shred of evidence points to screen time being a negative thing for kids under 2 years of age, and yet we still allow infants to commandeer our phones and play games or watch videos on them. Kids of all ages are sucked into video games, phones, and other technology in a way that tends to be unhealthy. In 2020, let’s all try to grow a backbone and tell them “no”.

For children under 2, substitute unstructured play and human interaction for screen time. The opportunity to think creatively, problem solve and develop reasoning and motor skills is more valuable for the developing brain than passive media intake.

-HealthyChildren.org (American Academy of Pediatrics)

In case you aren’t sold on the benefits of unstructured play for kids, go to the Mayo Clinic’s website and see for yourself. In fact, too much screen time is linked to obesity, irregular sleep patterns, violence, behavior problems, and poor social skills. Make 2020 the year to begin curbing this trend.

  1. Go outside. Yes, it is winter, but there is so much to do outside. I visited the Ozarks a few days before Christmas, and the girls and I took a walk through the woods with my mother. We found interesting rocks, water, fungi, birds, and as a bonus, Grandma fell into the creek and got wet feet because she hadn’t worn her rubber boots like we had. They burned off some energy, Grandma took nice pictures of them, and I got to point out quartz and a lone pine tree in the hardwood forest around where I grew up. It was also fodder for a scavenger hunt that I assigned the 8-year old. I knew what she might find in the woods around the farm, and before the excitement of a house full of people and smells of good food drove her to hyperactivity and everyone else to insanity, I sent her outside to find a crawdad hole, a black feather, a spot where 3 spider webs can be seen at once, a fence charger, five acorns, etc. (When she found four items on the list with relative ease, I did modify the other items and added a few too.)

I’m not the most imaginative person, but if we’re just going to abandon our resolutions in a few weeks anyway, why not pick some that will at least bring us some joy in the meantime.

Living with Anxiety

This time of year can be difficult for everyone, even those who don’t suffer from diagnosed anxiety. Some quick ways of coping with anxiety are handy tools to have. Here are some tips:

  • breath. That’s right, take a deep breath and release it slowly. You can use the 4-7-8 method if that’s something you’re comfortable doing. If not, use visualization to go to your “happy place” while taking slow even breaths.
  • evaluate your negative thoughts. Are they real or grounded in reality? Just because your aunt said nasty things to your husband 15 years ago doesn’t mean she’ll do that this year. She’s medicated, right? All kidding aside, negative thoughts breed like rabbits, and if you can evaluate your fear or negative thought as being highly unlikely, you’ll be able to eliminate them growing beyond your control.
  • write things down. This means different things to different people. For me, it means making lists of things that I have to do and even creating a spreadsheet with recipe ingredients, quantities, and totals. That way I purchase enough flaked coconut, chocolate chips, pounds of butter, etc. That eliminates a lot of stress for me. I hate worrying about having enough of all the supplies I need. That sort of writing absolutely does nothing for my sister. She needs to write anything that isn’t related to her anxiety; usually short stories or poems. They divert her attention for the 15 minutes she needs to get back on track.
  • be active. Physical activity is important, and can’t be stressed enough. You don’t have to go visit your rowing machine or assault bike for 20 minutes. Fifteen minutes of stretching or walking outside might be enough.
  • try aromatherapy. It doesn’t have to be fancy and doesn’t require any expensive diffusers or oils. Try lighting a candle with a scent you find pleasant. Lavender and chamomile can be soothing, and if you dried some from the herb garden, now might be the time to pull some out of the freezer or pantry. Scents are often tied to memories, and if you have one that you know to be positive, use that too. Smelling sheets that have hung on the line to dry reminds me of summers spent with my grandparents. Even during the winter, I try to hang out sheets because I find the smell (and crispness, I won’t lie) comforting.

Anxiety can lead to very real physical maladies, so minimizing the effects is important. However, if you have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), quick fixes should only be a part of your treatment plan. You can find more information on long-term strategies for dealing with anxiety here.

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