There are millions of people who are known to work those long days and sleep very little. Have you ever thought about what you are actually doing to your hearts health? Maybe it is time that you do.
Prevent over working yourself and stay healthy
Interestingly, he told me that an individual’s perception of the importance of the task and whether or not it is actually possible to get it done are key factors to the impact on health. “Our work suggests that under conditions where a fatigued person is presented with a task — and when success seems to be both possible and worthwhile — the harder he or she strives to meet the performance standards,” said Dr. Wright. “The result is an exaggerated cardiovascular response, which over time can lead to hypertension and heart disease.” Both the perception of stress (deadline pressure) and psychological accommodation (committing yourself to meeting it, no matter what) figure prominently in modulation of blood pressure and may impact vulnerability to cardiovascular disease.
WHEN YOU REALLY CARE
In a recent study, 80 subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire that measured their level of fatigue, then were given the opportunity to win a small prize by memorizing, in two minutes, two or six nonsense trigrams (meaningless, three-letter sequences, such as AED). While they worked at memorizing, investigators monitored their heart rate and blood pressure. The subjects who reported “moderate” fatigue had stronger blood pressure increases even when trying to memorize the shorter sequences than subjects who reported “low” fatigue in the two-trigram condition. The study was published in the July 2008 issue of the International Journal of Psychophysiology.
Of course, few of us have the luxury of being able to stop working when we feel tired. Indeed, for some, pushing beyond fatigue is a way of life — single mothers, caregivers and people in high-stress jobs come to mind. Doing this day after day, week after week can lead to trouble and is potentially associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis (plaque build-up) and/or dementia.
FIT FOR THE TASK
It should come as no surprise that being young and healthy offers some protection — as does being physically fit. “While we have not studied this directly, I can say with near certainty that the more fit a person is, the less likely he or she is to suffer from these fatigue effects,” said Dr. Wright. On the flip side, individuals who are in vulnerable health groups are at greater risk. Our culture may celebrate hard work, but our bodies celebrate balance and appropriate rest. Get enough and your body will work better and longer.
Source(s):
Rex Wright, PhD, is a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.
Reprinted with the permission of:
Bottom Line Publications/Daily Health News
Boardroom Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 8th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
www.BottomLineSecrets.com
Related posts:
