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Newsletters >
NIHE NEWS 1st Quarter 2010
NIHE NEWS 1st Quarter 2010
Jan 20, 2010
Guidelines Changes Coming Soon.
As soon as they are released we will send you a summary of the AHA Guidelines Changes for BLS, ACLS, and PALS for 2010. If you know of anyone who would like to be added to our email list to receive this summary please send them to our website www.nationalhearted.com to signup for our newsletter. http://www.nationalhearted.com/page/page/4989149.htm
AHA ACLS ONLINE AND BLS ONLINE ARE HERE, PALS ONLINE COMING SOON!!
AHA now has an online ACLS and online BLS which allow the student to do the didactice portion online. After successful completion of the online components the student must complete the practice and skills testing. You will receive your AHA course completion card the day the course is completed. Register at www.nationalhearted.com or call 800-773-8895. These courses are open to new, expired and recert students. PALS online will be available shortly with the same requirements.
ACLS and PALS Prep courses now offered on our website. Check out the Online CE courses webpage: http://www.nationalhearted.com/onlinece.html
Let's Get Healthy in 2010!!
New Year's resolutions come and go and by the time you get this newsletter most of you will have already given up on the one’s you made at the first of this year. That’s ok. If you were resolved a few days ago to make healthy changes that will reduce your risk of heart disease, the number one killer of Americans, you can start again today to make some simple changes that can change your life. One of the easiest ways to drastically reduce your risk of heart disease is a technique called Mindful Walking.
90 percent of us say that the strain of everyday life is at an all-time high, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association. That’s bad news for our bodies, says researcher Shawn Talbott, Ph.D. author of The Cortisol Connection. The reason is even slight increases in levels of the stress hormone cortisol signal the body to store fat in the abdominal region rather than burn if for energy. Even worse, when cortisol stays elevated, the overexposure can increase the accumulation of belly fat by 50 percent in as little at 14 days. “Cortisol also, interferes with the release of the appetite controlling hormones ghrelin and leptin prompting an increase in hunger and cravings” adds Talbot.
The truly wonderful news is that there’s a surefire cure for stress and the waistline havoc that it wreaks: Mindful Walking. Mindful walking immediately eases anxiety, plus rewires how the body responds to stress so you’ll be better able to handle everything that comes yours way. Mindful Walking calms the amygdale (the brain’s stress command center), reducing cortisol levels by 40 percent for five hours, according to Japanese research. Plus using the muscles increases circulation, allowing blood to more quickly transport cortisol to the kidneys, where it can be flushed from the body. Secondly, Mindful Walking improves the connection between the anterior cingulated (the region of the brain that regulates emotions) and the autonomic nervous system (which controls subconscious bodily functions such a the release of cortisol). Within five days of beginning Mindful Walking, the body’s total cortisol output is 33 percent lower around the clock—which helped subjects in a study at the University of Oregon respond more calmly to stressors throughout the day.
Women who reduce their cortisol levels by just 20 percent lose nine times more weight and at least 30 percent more belly fat than those who don’t keep stress in check, according to Talbott’s research at the University of Utah. Plus Mindful Walkers enjoy a 60 percent drop in appetite, a 47 percent boost in levels of the metabolism-revving hormone DHEA, a 65 percent rise in energy levels and a 90 percent improvement in body confidence. Add in the calorie-burning and muscle-toning perks of walking and it’s hard to imagine a better habit to incorporate into our lives for the rest of our lives.
The easiest way for beginners to get into a meditative state while they are walking is to employ slow focused breathing, says neurologist Andrew Newberg, MD. “This decreases activity in the brain’s frontal lobes to reduce cognitive activity. That’s crucial to achieving the clear, calm mental state that enhances relaxation.” To do this, concentrate on taking deep breaths in and out through the nose, paying attention to the air’s journey down the lungs and the temperature of the air as you exhale. There’s an added bonus to doing this: focusing on the breath maximizes intake of oxygen, the essential element that cells utilize to break down fat into usable energy. This can double the amount of fat the body oxidizes each day, report researchers at the Breath Institute of Boulder, Colorado.
Focusing on our muscles as they move doubles the amount of weight lost, according to a Harvard University study. Also, walking outdoors, not only allows us to get in touch with nature but exposes us to sunlight which increases our vitamin D production, a nutrient that slows the growth of fat cells. In addition, studies suggest that outdoor strolls increase the production of the feel-good neuro-transmitter serotonin, delivering a mood boost that lasts 12 hours post-exercise.
"Praying while walking deeply engges the anterior cingulate" says Andrew newberg, M.D. This cultivates empathy and generates feelings of love. Research at Atlanta's Emory University found that prayer meditation greatly reduces stress-related inflammation. That's vital because inflammatory compounds like TNF-alpha disrupts blood sugar balance and interfere with the body's response to the metabolism revving hormone leptin.
Mindful Walking can change your life. Do it by yourself or with a group. Anytime and anywhere you can go for a Mindful Walk. Concentrate on your breathing and feel your muscles move and flex. If you didn’t get a walk in this morning it is not too late you can do it at lunch or this evening. Missed a few days? Just take a walk today. That’s the key to making changes. Don’t beat yourself up for past failures, just today take a Mindful Walk and let yesterday and tomorrow take care of themselves. If you will commit to doing that, you will be a whole lot healthier at the end of this year than you started it.
800-773-8895
*The American Heart Association strongly promotes knowledge & proficiency in BLS, ACLS, & PALS & has developed instructional materials for this purpose. Use of these materials in an educational course does not represent course sponsorship by the American Heart Association. Any fees charged for such a course, except for a portion of fees needed for AHA course material, do not represent income to the Association.
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