December 2009 HealthierYou Calendar

Coping with Holiday Stress and Depression

Key to the Matching Activity

The key to the matching activity is posted on the first day of each month. Every month, you will be able to view that month's answers as well as the previous months. If you have finished the matching activity and wish to obtain the solution for all months please contact us.

Coping with Holiday Stress and Depression

See holiday season stress/depression prevention tips...

Fact or Fiction

Stress is caused by events that happen to us.

Fiction: It is not events in themselves that cause our distress, rather the views we take of the events. In other words, stress comes from the way we perceive the world, not from the way the world really is.

Often people become so accustomed to stress that they are unaware of how they are feeling. The challenge is to recognize signs of stress and to do something appropriate about them such as:

1. Intentionally step back from the event and view it with an objective eye
2. Take responsibility for your feelings and try to open the door to communication
3. Move away from you statements where others are blamed to an I statement expressing your thoughts, suggestions, and solutions

Everyone has different signs or physical symptoms of stress. Learn your early stress signs. Learn to self-monitor! Gauge your tension from a scale of 0-10 and address the issues before they move up on the scale.

Changing your outlook on life is the most reliable and effective way of reducing stress. The answer is within you.

For more information please visit these sites:

• www.utexas.edu
• www.threeminutetherapy.com

NASA in Your Life

The Personal Cabin Pressure Altitude Monitor and Warning System

The Personal Cabin Pressure Altitude Monitor and Warning System is a hand-held, personal safety device to warn pilots of potentially dangerous or deteriorating cabin pressure altitude conditions before hypoxia becomes a threat. The device was invented by a NASA Applied Research and Development engineer to give space shuttle and International Space Station crew members an additional, independent notification of any depressurization events.

The device benefits both pressurized and non-pressurized aircraft operations. Applications beyond aviation and aerospace include scuba diving, skydiving, mountain climbing, meteorology, altitude chambers, and underwater habitats.

For more information please visit www.sti.nasa.gov.

Down-To-Earth

The Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect means gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide, trap energy from the sun with-in the Earth’s atmosphere keeping the planet warmer than is healthy. This is something that we need to address by reducing our consumption of fossil fuels. In other words, we need to reduce our carbon footprint.

Before you can reduce your energy consumption you have to calculate your energy consumption. Here are two calculators to assist:

Carbon footprint calculator: Once on this site chose the appropriate tab to calculate the part of your lifestyle you are most interested in, e.g. your home or your car.

For more information please visit www.carbonfootprint.com.

Electronics: This calculator helps you see what your electronics' use means for your wallet by the minute, day, month and year. For additional information please visit www.mygreenelectronics.org .

HealthierYou by Choice

Why is it important to keep a food and activity diary?

A food and activity diary encourages you to make conscious choices about what you eat and gives you the chance to think twice before you act.

The information you record in your food diary will help you and your family design a healthier eating program. Generally, food diaries are meant to be used for a whole week, but keeping track of what you eat for even one day can be an eye-opening exercise.

When completing a food diary be as precise as you can. Include sauces and gravies, write down extras and those tiny bites you take here and there. Where did you eat? In a restaurant, while standing at the kitchen sink, or in your car? Did you eat alone or with family? Were you reading, socializing, or watching TV? How were you feeling just before you started to eat and while you were eating?

Here is a little math for motivation:

• To lose 1 pound, you must burn 3,500 calories. If you cut 250 calories from your daily diet, you could lose that pound in about two weeks.
• If you add 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily routine, you could burn another 150 calories a day.
• Walking can help you keep the weight off for good.

Choose the food diary option that suits you best:

• The At-Work-Health Journal is a perfect companion at work.
• To keep a personal record of your food and activity habits consider this log:

For more information please visit these sites:

• www.bbc.co.uk
• www.familydoctor.org