Community News
Cultivating Calm During COVID-19

Challenging times like the pandemic can bring up many different feelings like anxiety or despair. While we don’t choose our feelings, we can choose how to move through them. An option to feel calmer is to ground your body in the present moment using your 5 senses. Perhaps you could notice where you are and ask yourself: What do you feel, hear, see, smell, and taste? How would you describe those sensations to someone? Grounding yourself can slow your heart rate, calm your breathing, focus your thoughts, and improve your mood so you can return to a more positive day!

Improve Workplace Wellness with Gratitude

At work, it is easy to feel stressed, overwhelmed or confused during times of uncertainty. However, research has shown that when meetings start with intentional gratitude and a short debrief at the end, collective intelligence and productivity increase substantially. How does it work? Put a standing item of reflection/gratitude/quick win in the agenda template and assign someone to share a positive note. When the meeting is over, check-in to ensure you met your objectives, everyone was heard, and everyone is ready to move upwards and onwards. For resources to support workplace health and performance visit WellnessWorksCanada.ca.

Effects of Social Isolation

Several studies have shown social isolation can negatively affect your health. This National Institute on Aging primer notes that loneliness can lead to high blood pressure, depression, and put you at greater risk of illness. That could mean more doctor’s visits and higher health care costs. And what if you or your loved one takes a fall with no one around? Beyond the physical pain, the financial implications could be high. And then there’s the emotional toll of social isolation, which can be even more devastating. These are all things to consider when deciding whether you or your loved one spend the next chapter of life at home or in a senior living community.

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Noise-induced hearing loss can often sneak up on you, as it tends to present differently from hearing loss related to other causes. Rather than making noises seem quieter, it instead causes a distortion in hearing, making it difficult to pick up certain frequency ranges. This is caused by the degradation of the Cochlea, which occurs from repeated, long-term exposure to loud noises. Things like using a lawnmower, listening to loud music, or using noisy equipment at work can all lead to noise-induced hearing loss over time. Avoiding noisy environments and using hearing protection can help prevent this issue.

Wellness Tea of the Month

Appledream Goji Chokecherry Strawberry.
Don’t let the name fool you, this tea is sweet, smooth and delicious! With a medley of berries and citrus fruits, this tea both appeals to both the sweet and tangy flavour lovers. An explosion of fresh fruit and high in vitamin C! Enjoy this tea iced on a hot summer day! This fruit infusion contains apple bits, dragon fruit bits, sea buckthorn berries, chokeberries, goji berries, kiwi bits, pineapple bits, papaya bits, cranberry bits, blueberries, flavor, and added vitamin C.

Yearly Eye Exams Make all the Difference

Most people take their vision for granted, incorrectly assuming all is well because they can see “OK.” Trouble seeing in the distance or up close are signs of vision problems. But headaches, difficulty doing paperwork or trouble reading at any distance are also signs. If you have MS, Parkinson’s or had a stroke, a correctable eye coordination and/or eye movement problem could be contributing to low energy, double or blurry vision. Eye exams monitor your health, detect high blood pressure, diabetes and eye diseases which don’t have obvious signs. Yearly eye exams are vital to the quality of your life.

Osteoarthritis & Exercise

1 in 6 Canadian adults has arthritis, the majority being osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a disease of the joint cartilage with multiple contributing factors including genetics, previous joint injury, body weight and muscle weakness. Pain associated with OA may cause individuals to avoid physical activity which can lead to secondary complications and worsening of symptoms. Physiotherapists are experts in exercise prescription for conditions such as OA and can help you safely engage in exercise in a way that can decrease pain, increase strength, allow continued participation in activity and possibly prolong the life of your joint.

Words to Live By

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

Benefits of Resistance Training

Many people associate resistance training with strictly muscle growth, but there are many other benefits from incorporating this type of training into your exercise regimen. Resistance training builds strength and tone to help protect your joints from injury. It improves balance to help you remain independent and reduce the chance of falls. Resistance training helps with weight management, as your body will burn more calories when you gain more muscle mass. Talk to your doctor to see if you are healthy enough to begin resistance training. An exercise professional can then help you develop a safe and effective program.

Which Sunscreen is Best?

Summer is here! Have you been protecting yourself against sun exposure? When selecting a sunscreen, go for the “broad spectrum” protection. Sunscreens with this label protect against both UVA and UVB rays. Make sure your sunscreen has a sun protection factor of 30 or higher. The SPF number is the level of protection the sunscreen provides against harmful rays. Higher SPF numbers do mean more protection, but the higher you go, the smaller the difference becomes. Secondly, look at the ingredients. Physical blockers (titanium dioxide, zinc oxide) provide the best protection and cause less skin irritation than chemical sunscreens.