In this month’s newsletter:

Video: Work Station Set Up
Research: Text Neck Syndrome in Children and Adolescents
Article: An Extra 1.2 Hours of Sleep May Help You Eat Fewer Calories
Book: Sacred Cow- The Case for (Better) Meat
Recipe: Strawberry Mango Spinach Salad

Video: Work Station Set-Up

Watch this video to get some tips on your home office workstation. We go over ideas on standing desks, exercise balls, floor mats, wobble discs.

Do you think you ‘move’ more when standing or sitting while working?

Text Neck Syndrome in Children and Adolescents

Attribution: Kenneth Hansraj

Most of realize screens and devices are driving our heads forward and changing our posture, breathing, physiology, mood and more. Kids also suffer, as this new study reveals. Some key points from the article:

The improper use of personal computers and especially cellphones might be related to the development of a complex cluster of clinical symptoms commonly defined as “text neck syndrome.”
Children and adolescents spend 5 to 7 hours a day on their smartphones and handheld devices with their heads flexed forward to read and text.
“It is estimated that 75% of the worlds population is hunched over their handheld devices for hours daily with their heads flexed forward.”
The intervertebral discs, ligaments, muscles, facet joints, dura, and nerve roots may all generate neck pain.
The 1-year incidence of neck pain can be as high as 40% for the total population.
“The weight of the head on the spine is dramatically increased when it is flexed forward, and the effects and amount of weight are strongly and progressively enhanced by varying the degrees.”
Complications of text-neck syndrome can involve the eyes, the heart and lungs, the head, and the mental health field.
“Adolescents are increasingly exposed to screen-based activities at home and also at school.”
Chronic forward head posture increases muscle tension in the shoulders, neck, scalp, and jaw.
“Children who use more than 1-2 h per day of technology (the limit that experts recommend) have and increase of almost 60% in psychological disorders.”
“When someone looks at a smart phone or a tablet, he drops his head and rounds his shoulders while looking down, so there is a restriction of the muscles of the ribs and impeachment in movement that make it harder to take a full breath.”
Authors suggestions for prevention of text neck:
- Avoid excessive device usage and take frequent breaks.
- Position the device so that it reduces stress on both the head and neck.
- Avoid repetitions of movements such as prolonged typing or swiping.
- Children < 2 years should have no time watching TV or using other electronic media(DVDs, computer, and other electronic games).
- Children 2-5 years should have no more than 1 hour a day sitting and watching television and other electronic media (DVDs, computer, and electronic games).
- Limit the time of use of smartphones, tablets, and PCs during the day or on weekends.
- Parents should be the first to limit the use of smartphones when they are with the family and during meals.
- “Young people should strive to perform their activities by keeping the spine neutral and avoiding excessive neck flexion for hours on end everyday.”
The increased stress on the cervical spine is due to the continuous flexion movements of the head and neck on mobile devices used daily.

Article: An Extra 1.2 Hours of Sleep May Help You Eat Fewer Calories

It should come as no surprise that getting more sleep can help us lose weight since getting more sleep helps just about everything!. Check this article for more details.

Prior research has found that sleep restriction causes people to eat more.
In the new study, obese people who increased their sleep ate fewer calories overall.

Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat

I recently listened to a podcast with the authors of this book.

What are your thoughts about eating beef as it relates to human health and the environment at large?

Here is a summary from the authors…

We’re told that if we care about our health—or our planet—eliminating red meat from our diets is crucial. That beef is bad for us and cattle farming is horrible for the environment. But science says otherwise.

Beef is framed as the most environmentally destructive and least healthy of meats. We’re often told that the only solution is to reduce or quit red meat entirely. But despite what anti-meat groups, vegan celebrities, and some health experts say, plant-based agriculture is far from a perfect solution. In Sacred Cow, registered dietitian Diana Rodgers and former research biochemist and New York Times bestselling author Robb Wolf explore the quandaries we face in raising and eating animals—focusing on the largest (and most maligned) of farmed animals, the cow.

Taking a critical look at the assumptions and misinformation about meat, Sacred Cow points out the flaws in our current food system and in the proposed “solutions.” Inside, Rodgers and Wolf reveal contrarian but science-based findings, such as:

• Meat and animal fat are essential for our bodies.
• A sustainable food system cannot exist without animals.
• A vegan diet may destroy more life than sustainable cattle farming.
• Regenerative cattle ranching is one of our best tools at mitigating climate change.

You’ll also find practical guidance on how to support sustainable farms and a 30-day challenge to help you transition to a healthful and conscientious diet. With scientific rigor, deep compassion, and wit, Rodgers and Wolf argue unequivocally that meat (done right) should have a place on the table.