**J U N E 2 0 0 2**

![](media/image1.png){width="1.5006944444444446in"
height="0.9555555555555556in"}

**LET'S TALK**

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ####                                                                  |
| ##### SPRING 2004 HEALTHY BODIES ● SOUND MINDS ● A SAFE PLACE TO WORK |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**J U N E**

Are You Sitting Safely?

PEOPLE TODAY SPEND the majority of the day seated at their desks. In
fact, most people don't tend to give much thought to the act of sitting
until they can no long ignore their

chronic back or neck pain caused by poor sitting habits. Actually, the
simple act of sitting can be hard on the back. And prolonged sitting can
stress the back, shoulders and

neck, leading to chronic pain syndromes. However, you don't have to
accept a life of aches and pains. Follow these suggestions to help you
sit safely and protect your back.

The chair you use is as important as your posture. Next time you are in
the office, notice the following features about your chair:

-   The seat height from the floor is very important. When you sit in
    your chair with your lower back supported, your feet should rest
    flat on the floor, and your hips should be parallel to or slightly
    higher than your knees. If your feet dangle, or if your knees are
    bent so you feel cramped, you will be stressing your lower back, as
    well as the nerves and blood

vessels to your legs.

-   The seat pan should fit your size. While sitting with your low back
    supported, there should be a two-or three-finger wide space between
    the back of your knees and the front of the seat.

-   The backrest should be adjusted to provide support for the small of
    your back. Utilizing a rolled towel or cushion may be necessary if
    your chair does not provide for this adjustment. If the chair back
    is able to tilt, adjust it to your level of semi-upright comfort.

-   If the chair has armrests, they should be adjustable. The armrests
    should also be at least two inches wide and cushioned. You should be
    able to adjust the armrests so that your

elbows and forearms can rest comfortably without raising your shoulders.
Even with a

chair that fits properly, sitting for prolonged periods of time can be
hard on the back. This

is because prolonged sitting results in diminished nutrition to the
spinal discs, as well as

decreased blood flow to muscles. Be sure to change your position often
and take frequent

breaks. Get up, stretch and perform circulation exercises even if it's
for only a few seconds

every 15 to 20 minutes.

Movement results in improved circulation to the muscles in your lower
back and legs. A

combination of supportive sitting postures, alternating work tasks, and
frequent movement

will minimize the likelihood of musculoskeletal aches and pains. It will
also keep you

productive and feeling spiffy!

How to Think Like a Successful Person

**H E A LT H Y B O D I E S • S O U N D M I N D S • A S A F E P L AC E TO
WOR K S P R I N G 2 0**

THINKING LIKE A SUCCESSFUL PERSON ISN'T AS SIMPLE AS THINKING POSITIVE.

Success is a complicated concept that can mean different things to
different people.

Keep in mind the following wisdom from some of the world's most
successful people as you pursue your success.

**Have a Vision**

*"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they
have*

*deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision." --- Muhammad Ali*

Take your values and turn them into a vision for your life. Describe
your vision in detail, then visualize what you want. Be flexible, and
adjust your vision as you gain more knowledge and new insights.

### Feel Deserving

*"It is better to deserve honors and not have them, than to have them
and not deserve*

*them." --- Mark Twain*

Successful people believe they deserve success because they're giving
something of value to others.

### Be Willing to Work Hard

*"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard
work and learning*

*from failure." --- Colin Powell*

Not all the paths to success are filled with fun and excitement. Many
are filled with difficult or boring tasks. Be willing to do whatever is
necessary to achieve success.

### Make a Commitment

*"Eighty percent of success is showing up."*

*--- Woody Allen*

Plan your success goals using a calendar. That will give structure to
your days, weeks and months. Never give up until your vision becomes
reality.

**Create a Success Team**

*"Individual commitment to a group effort --- that is what makes a team
work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." --- Vince
Lombardi*

People don't succeed all by themselves. You'll need the cooperation of
your family, friends and coworkers. You may need to consult with
experts, take training classes to learn new skills and enlist others to
help. It's your responsibility to define what success means to you, and
then to take the steps necessary to turn your vision into reality.

2 www.vitality.com

**What's New**

**Late-Breaking Health News**

**\>\>More Americans than ever are buckling up**. A survey by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2003 found that seat
belt use in the United States was at 79 percent, four percentage points
higher than a year earlier.

The survey found that users of sport utility vehicles and vans have the
highest use rates, at 83 percent, while pickup truck drivers have the
lowest rates, at 69 percent.

Seat belt usage was highest in the West, at 84 percent, and the South,
at 80 percent. It was lowest in the Midwest, at 75 percent, and the
Northeast, at 74 percent. The survey also found belt use was 6 percent
higher in states with primary seat belt laws, which allow police to
ticket occupants solely for failing to wear a seat belt.

The 79 percent usage rate is more than five times higher than in 1983,
when seat belt surveys first began. The national rate that year was 14
percent.

**\>\>Several risk factors for prostate cancer are known,** but
scientists still aren't sure why some men develop the disease and others
don't.

Several studies are under way to explore how prostate cancer might be
prevented. These include the use of dietary supplements, such as vitamin
E and selenium. In addition, recent studies suggest a diet that
regularly includes tomato-based foods may help protect against the
disease.

Some aspects of a man's lifestyle may affect his chances of developing
prostate cancer. For example, some evidence suggests a link between diet
and this disease. Studies show prostate cancer is more common in
populations that consume a high-fat diet (particularly animal fat), and
in populations that have diets lacking certain nutrients.

**\>\>VITAMINS AND EXERCISE MAY SLOW THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF AGING.**

One study of men and women over 40 found those who exercised regularly
and took vitamin E supplements became healthier and significantly
decreased their levels of a blood marker that signals the destruction of
certain cells by free radicals. That process, known

as free radical-induced oxidative stress, contributes to aging and
disease.

Study participants who did not exercise but still took vitamin E also
showed significant decreases in oxidative stress and blood pressure,
according to the study published in the journal Biological Research for
Nursing. Good sources of vitamin E include spinach, almonds and
avocados. But most people are vitamin E deficient, because it can be
difficult to get enough of the antioxidant from diet alone.

Other studies have shown that free radicals play a role in the
development of cancer, obstructed arteries, Alzheimer's disease and some
200 other diseases.

*See your physician for guidance and advice regarding a specific health
condition.*

***Spring 2004 3***

**VITALITY-ON-DEMAND**

**A world of additional health information available via your
computer.**

You may think of this publication as just a newsletter. But would you
believe it's also an access index to one of the largest databases of
family health and personal self-care data

around? With our free Vitality-on- Demand (VOD) service, you can get all
of the information you need any time you want it!

Look for this symbol **VOD 000** throughout the newsletter for topics
you would like to learn more about.

Placing your VOD order is simple.

And it's free.

Via the Internet: Visit our home page at www.vitality.com and press the
Vitality-on-Demand button. Enter the three-digit VOD number from this
newsletter, or you can search by keyword.

**SPECIAL REPORTS**

540 How to Quit Smoking

541 Sensible Weight Loss

542 Lowering Your Cholesterol

543 Reducing Your Stress

544 Walking for Fitness

545 Workstation Comfort

546 Fixing an Aching Back

547 Start An Exercise Program

548 Controlling Allergies

549 Lowering Health-Care Costs

550 Living With Arthritis

551 Dealing With Headaches

552 High Blood Pressure

**Recognizing Postpartum Depression**

**ARE MOOD SWINGS AFTER GIVING BIRTH** merely a passing case of the
blues? Or are they a sign of something more serious, such as postpartum
depression?

"Postpartum depression is exactly the same thing as major depression; it
just happens to occur after pregnancy," says Candace Brown, Pharm.D.,
associate professor of pharmacy practice, obstetrics/gynecology and
psychiatry at the University of Tennessee.

Symptoms include lasting feelings of sadness or unworthiness, reduced
concentration or loss of memory, and listlessness. Some women also feel
guilty for not bonding instantly with their baby.

Postpartum depression can start any time in the year after birth but
often occurs between the third and sixth weeks, Dr. Brown says. It needs
treatment --- usually counseling and prescription of an antidepressant.

***Spring 2004*** 4

Fewer than a fifth of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, Dr.
Brown says, but your risk increases if you've suffered from depression
before. That risk may be compounded by poor coping skills or a strained
marriage.

Unlike postpartum depression, the postpartum blues is fairly common and
doesn't require treatment. It's a fleeting episode of sadness,
weepiness, anxiety, irritability or difficulty

in thinking clearly that occurs during the week after giving birth.
Blame it on changing levels of hormones, the demands of motherhood, the
reality of pregnancy ending, or a combination. It usually passes in a
week or so.

\>\> For more information: You can find articles on the US Department of
Health and Human Services' site for women's health: www.4woman.gov

**Paybacks for Lost Sleep**

**YOU MAY HAVE YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER**, your bills paid and your budget
on track. But if you find it hard to get out of bed in the morning, or
feel like falling asleep after lunch, or regularly look forward to the
weekend to catch up on your ZZZZs, you may be in debt up

to your eyeballs. Sleep debt, that is.

It's not as funny as it sounds. Until your body starts getting the sleep
it needs every night --- most people need 8 hours, say the experts--- it
won't function as efficiently, your health will be at risk and even your
job may be in jeopardy.

Over the last hundred years, our average nightly sleep has dropped from
9 to 7.5 hours, with a third of adults now getting an hour less than
that.

**The Downside of Staying Up**

Researchers know that a lack of deep sleep --- as opposed to irregular
or fragmented sleep --- undermines the body's ability to fight off
disease. Sleepiness also reduces the quality

and quantity of people's work by a third, says Pat Britz, program
director at NSF. Nearly one in four of those under 30 say they're
sometimes late to work because they're too sleepy to get up.

And where you find sleepiness, say experts, you find sleep debt.

In research at the University of Chicago, a group of sleep-deprived men
was found to have higher concentrations of sugar in their blood than
those fully rested. That could contribute to development of a
prediabetic condition.

Eve Van Cauter, Ph.D., a professor of medicine involved in the study,
says, "Our ongoing research suggests that the effects of semi-chronic
sleep loss may be as profound as those of physical inactivity."

**A Prescription for Better Sleep**

-   Go to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends. It keeps
    your biological clock synchronized.

-   Establish a pre-bedtime routine ---brushing your teeth or reading
    ---that lets your body know it's time for sleep.

-   Avoid caffeine six hours before bedtime.

-   Avoid alcohol and tobacco two hours before bedtime.

***Spring 2004*** 5

-   Get up at the same time every day, no matter when you went to sleep.

-   Exercise regularly. Those who do sleep better.

-   Look to your sleep environment. Sleep in a dark, cool, quiet room on
    a comfortable mattress.

\>\>For More Information Visit the National Sleep Foundation at
**www.sleepfoundation.org**

**Learning the Power of Patience**

**YOU KNOW THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR BEING IMPATIENT** --- a tightening of
the chest, rise in blood pressure and surge of irritation and anger
directed at a person or circumstance.

But have you considered the gifts that come with being patient? You make
better decisions, reduce your stress and anger and increase your peace
of mind.

"Patience with yourself, with other people and with the big and small
circumstances of life is a determining factor in your peace of mind,"
says M.J. Ryan, author of *The Power Of Patience*.

Ryan defines patience as the capacity to stop before you act so you're
clearly able to decide the best course of action or choose the right
words to say instead of simply reacting. Patience accomplishes this by
bringing these three qualities of mind and heart together:

-   **PERSISTENCE** --- patience gives you the ability to work steadily
    toward your

> goals and dreams.

-   **SERENITY** --- patience gives you calmness of spirit. Rather than
    being thrown into anger, panic or fear by circumstance, you can put
    it into perspective and keep your cool.

-   **ACCEPTANCE** --- patience gives you the ability to cope with
    obstacles graciously and respond to life's challenges with courage,
    strength and optimism.

**Patience Boosters**

"Patience is something you do, not something you have or don't have,"
says Ryan. "It's a decision you make again and again. Patience is a
quality that can be strengthened like a muscle."

To strengthen your patience:

-   **REFRAME THE SITUATION** by asking yourself one question: How else
    could I look at this situation that would increase the possibility
    of a good outcome or greater peace of mind?

-   **REMIND YOURSELF THAT CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.** When times are tough,
    it's helpful to remember that this, too, shall pass. Doing so gives
    you the strength, hope and patience needed to carry on.

-   **ASK FOR HELP.** Lots of times we're impatient because we're
    overloaded.

"There's no prize at the end of your life for doing too much,
particularly doing it in a frazzled state," says Ryan. "Perhaps you will
encourage others to be more patient as well," says Ryan.

**Most people get nervous in social situations**, such as having to
speak in public. However, these are signs you may suffer from social
anxiety disorder: You fear meeting new people; you have difficulty
asserting yourself; you worry that you'll behave in a way that might
cause embarrassment or ridicule. If this sounds like you, seek advice.

*Shape, 21100 Erwin St., Woodland Hills, CA.*

***Spring 2004*** 6

**These simple steps may help reduce your risk for colon cancer:** eat
more high-fiber cereal and other whole grains; eat nonfat dairy products
or take supplements to increase your vitamin D and calcium consumption;
stop smoking; don't drink too much alcohol; take a multivitamin daily;
exercise regularly.

*The Journal of the American Medical Association.*

**For every dollar you spend on** dental checkups, you may save up to
\$50 in emergency treatment later on.

*Academy of General Dentistry, Chicago, IL.*

**Keep a medical research file if you have a family history of a
particular medical condition**. Use the file to store copies of
magazines and newspaper articles you read about the condition, copies of
book pages dealing with it, contact information for health organizations
that specialize in it, brochures from resource organizations and support
group information.

*Daily Cornbread by Stephanie Stokes Oliver, Doubleday, 2002.*

**Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes** result in more severe injuries
because alcohol seems to reduce the body's tolerance to the forces
associated with crashes. Alcohol is linked to 41 percent of crash
fatalities and about 1 million injuries every year.

*Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.*

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ### ![](media/ima                                                     |
| ge1.png){width="1.0041666666666667in" height="0.7104166666666667in"}  |
|                                                                       |
| ###                                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| ### The Federal Consortiu                                             |
| m EAP provides assessment, counseling, referral, training and consult |
| ation to federal employees and agencies throughout the United States. |
|  For more information about our program call the number listed below. |
|                                                                       |
| *Information published in Let's Talk is the opinion of the sourced    |
| authors. Personal decisions regarding health, finance, exercise and   |
| other matters should be made after consultation with the reader's     |
| professional advisers. All models are used for illustrative purposes  |
| only.*                                                                |
|                                                                       |
| *Copyright © 2004 Health Ink & Vitality Communications. All editorial |
| rights reserved.*                                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

***Spring 2004*** 7