Dr. Curtis McElroy

Tag: lifestyle

  • Making More Time for Family With Work Life Balance

    Life Balance And Making More Time For Your Family

    Balancing life and making time for your family can be a difficult task.

    With the demands of work, household responsibilities, errands and more, it can seem you have no time to give yourself let alone your family. Despite this difficulty, having time for your family is essential for both strong relationships and overall well-being.

    Setting boundaries between your responsibilities and creating a sustainable schedule can aid in achieving your life balance goals.

    Recognizing your commitments and making adjustments in order to prioritize time spent with your family is key for success.

    Carving out moments together enables you to nurture relationships with family members, providing the foundation for happy home life. The effort of creating more space for a family focus elevates the joys and experiences within any home!

    Understanding the Importance of Family Time

    Having a balanced life means different things to different people. One of the most important aspects of having a balanced life is making time for family.

    When we take time away from our normal routine and devote it to sharing moments with those closest to us, we can create long lasting memories. Not only that, but these moments become critical investments in strengthening our relationships with our families.

    Keeping up with a job, running errands, and balancing other responsibilities can often feel daunting but making more time for family is worth the commitment and effort.

    While sometimes it might feel like there simply isn’t enough time in the day, carving out quality moments for your loved ones will bring increased satisfaction and balance into your life.

     

    Identifying the Causes of Limited Family Time

     

    Life balance is essential for our well-being, and making more time for family is a critical part of that. With the challenges of work, school and all of the other things competing for our attention, it can be difficult to devote adequate time and energy to our family.

    Identifying the specific causes that are resulting in limited family time is a key step in establishing a better life balance.

    Taking an honest look at how much of our free time is being spent on unnecessary activities, such as scrolling through social media or surfing the web, and what commitments we might be able to reduce or eliminate when possible can help us prioritize quality family time. I

    If needed, creating schedule changes to accommodate traditions like regular dinners together or abolishing digital devices during meals can lead to more meaningful connections with family members.

     

    Time Management Techniques for Making More Time for Family

    When it comes to finding a balance between our hectic lives and making more time for family, time management is essential.

    It starts with understanding what tasks can be delegated or eliminated altogether to free up more of your day.

    At the same time, long-term goals should be established so that you are taking steps each day in achieving those objectives. To stay organized outside of work and at home, setting a consistent schedule helps to eliminate last-minute stress from scrambling to get everything done.

    Finally, don’t forget about the importance of making quality time for family activities by setting aside specific periods for spending quality bonding moments together as a unit without any digital devices, such as turning off all cell phones at dinners or declaring a digital media-free hour every day.

    Taking these measures can help you achieve life balance and make more precious moments with your family.

    Establishing a balanced life and making more time for family is essential for our well-being.

    By identifying the causes of limited family time and utilizing effective time management techniques, we can achieve this goal. Taking steps to reduce commitments and creating space in our schedules for meaningful moments with loved ones leads to increased satisfaction and balance in our lives.

     

  • What You Can Do To Reduce Risks For Stroke

    What You Can Do To Reduce Risks For Stroke

    Stroke is a condition that falls under the umbrella of heart disease. Most people don’t realize that there are three kinds of stroke and that there are things you can do to reduce your risk of all kinds of stroke.

    The three major kinds of stroke include the following:

    • Thrombotic stroke – This is the type of stroke in which plaques build up on the arterial walls of the arteries leading to the brain. The plaques narrow the blood vessels and clots can form in the narrowed areas, causing a reduction in oxygen and blood flow to the brain stops.

    • Embolic stroke – This is the type of stroke in which there is a blood clot somewhere in the body (usually on a heart valve) that breaks off and travels through the bloodstream so that it cuts off the circulation to an area of the brain, resulting in a stroke.

    • Hemorrhagic stroke – Rather than an area of the brain being without blood and oxygen, a blood vessel in the brain opens up, causing bleeding to occur within the brain. This can be due to areas of weakness in the blood vessels or to aneurysms in the brain that open up and bleed.

    Stroke Statistics In The United States

    • Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States
    • There are 795,000 strokes every year
    • Someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds of each and every day in the US
    • Stroke is the leading reason for serious disability overall, and those who survive are often left with paralysis and speech impairment causing long term disability, often requiring long term care
    • After the age of 55 years old, the risk for stroke doubles every decade
    • Almost ¾ of all strokes occur in people age older than 65

    (Data source: Internet Stroke Center)

    Prevention Of Stroke

    There are different ways to prevent a stroke depending on the type of stroke you are trying to prevent. There are some things you can do that prevent a certain type of stroke but that has the potential to worsen another type of stroke.

    The following are some things you can do to prevent a stroke:

    • Maintain a normal blood pressure – This holds true for all kinds of stroke. If your blood pressure is too high, it contributes to arterial spasm and increases the risk of thrombotic stroke. If the blood pressure is too high, it can push the blood clot in the heart from the heart valve into the circulatory system of the brain, resulting in an embolic stroke. In a completely different way, high blood pressure can cause hemorrhagic strokes. If there is a weakness in the walls of any part of the brain’s circulatory system, high blood pressure can cause that weak area to open up, resulting in the kind of bleeding you see in a hemorrhagic stroke.

    • Maintain a normal cholesterol – Cholesterol is what makes up part of the plaques that contribute to getting a thrombotic stroke. If you maintain a good level of cholesterol, the plaques don’t build up so much and the chance that a blood clot can form in the arteries is much less. You can keep a good cholesterol level by eating food that is low in cholesterol or by taking medications designed to lower the cholesterol level.

    • Stop smoking – Smoking has the potential to raise your blood pressure, increasing the risk of all kinds of strokes. Smoking also contributes to plaque formation in the walls of the blood vessels so that the risk of thrombotic stroke increases. The longer you smoke, the greater is the risk of developing all kinds of heart disease, including that of thrombotic stroke.

    • Take a baby aspirin – Baby aspirin is a commonly used medication used to prevent the recurrence of heart attack in a patient who has already had a heart attack. Aspirin is a platelet inhibitor, which means that it blocks platelets from sticking together and forming a blood clot. This same phenomenon can work in the prevention of both thrombotic strokes and embolic strokes. If the platelets cannot form a blood clot, it will prevent a blood clot from forming on a heart valve so that it can’t travel to an area of the brain, leading to an embolic stroke. In the same way, when platelets are blocked from forming a clot inside a narrowed area of the blood vessels leading to the brain, this thwarts the onset of a thrombotic stroke.

    Living a healthy lifestyle so that the blood pressure is reduced, smoking is not a problem, and cholesterol is kept within normal levels will go a long way toward reducing the incidence of all kinds of strokes.

    If you are concerned about stroke, or any type of heart disease it is a great idea to see your doctor and get a full physical and relevant screenings to be sure that there is not more that you can do to ensure you remain in optimal health.

  • The Most Common Causes for Childhood Obesity

    The Most Common Causes for Childhood Obesity

    Childhood obesity is a significant problem that will not just go away.

    The lifestyle your children are living today, will determine their health 10, 20, 30, 40 and more years from now.

    No parent wants that 3 am phone call from the hospital emergency room informing them their child has suffered a heart attack or some other obesity related illness and may die.

    Children as young as five are so overweight that they cannot be children.

    When your children are overweight they may lack the motivation and physical stamina to run and play. The ability of your child to stay active is one of the essential elements of getting and staying healthy.

    Children are meant to play and enjoy life.

    Childhood obesity causes a number of health issues. Children who are overweight tend to be sick more often, miss more days of school, get behind in school work, suffer poor self esteem.

    Poor self esteem can lead to your child staying in their room playing video games and being less active.

    Obesity in children becomes a vicious cycle if someone is not willing to step in and break the cycle.

    That someone has to be you, the parent.

    A better understanding of childhood obesity can help parents make decisions that will help reverse and prevent obesity so your children can start living a happier and healthier life.

    What Is Childhood Obesity?

    Childhood obesity is a health condition.

    When obesity is diagnosed, it’s generally based on a child’s BMI or body mass index.

    The Center for Disease Control defines obesity as a BMI greater than the 95th percentile. When you visit your pediatrician your child’s height and weight are ranked on a scale. The scale is then compared to the average child across the country and healthy levels.

    What Causes Childhood Obesity?

    There are actually many causes of childhood obesity. In some cases there are hereditary elements involved.

    A child may inherit a thyroid problem or another hormonal problem.

    If parents and other family members are obese, then children are more likely to be obese as well. However, there are other environmental factors that may have more significant bearing on a child’s health.

    Most commonly childhood obesity is caused by poor eating habits and inactivity.

    Many obese children live on a regular diet of starchy carbs and high fat foods.

    A fast food diet is a prime cause of obesity amongst children.

    A diet that is high in sugar, white flour and fat will quickly cause children to have imbalanced blood sugar. They’ll have blood sugar highs and lows which lead to cravings. Cravings lead to more unfortunate food choices and the cycle can quickly get out of hand.

    The problem is only further enhanced when parents are unable to or do not provide healthy options. When cupboards are stocked with junk food, children almost always choose the junk over a healthy snack.

    Couple the issues of an unhealthy diet with inactivity and you have the makings for childhood obesity.

    More and more children are left home to fend for themselves after school. When they’re home they sit on the couch and watch television. They play video or computer games.

    They’re not active outside.

    They’re not moving their body.

    They’re not playing.

    The bottom line is children are consuming way more calories than they burn.

    The calories they do consume are not providing them with the nutrients they need.

    Overweight and obese children face a life of ridicule by their peers. They face health challenges most adults cannot fathom.

    They also face a shorter lifespan.

    It’s a very sad prognosis.

    The good news is that childhood obesity can be reversed.

    Children are incredibly adaptable. They can learn hew habits. But they cannot do it alone. They need support.

    They need adults who can help them make responsible and healthy decisions.

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy