Z. Altug, PT, DPT, MS, DipACLM, OCS's Blog: Lifestyle Medicine Toolbox, page 3

Seven Reasons to Choose This Book

• Written for busy professionals and gets straight to the point.
• Easy to read with quick, digestible content.
• Practical workbook to supplement the other lifestyle medicine textbooks.
• Ideal for smartphone users needing quick information.
• Great for evidence-informed practice.
• Offers self-care handouts to download for patients/clients.
• Good gift for healthcare, wellness, and fitness professionals and students.

Tip #6: Workplace Wellness

Bring small plants to brighten up your workspace.

A study in the HortTechnology journal (2020) concluded, “Our study indicates that having opportunities to gaze intentionally at nearby plants on a daily basis in the work environment can reduce the psychological and physiological stress of office workers.”

Source: Toyoda M, Yokota Y, Barnes M, & Kaneko M. (2020). Potential of a small indoor plant on the desk for reducing office workers’ stress. HortTechnology. 2020; 30(1):55-63.

🌱What type of plants do you have in your office?

Tip #5: Workplace Wellness

Include some nature time before and after office work.

NATURE ADVOCATE SPOTLIGHT:
@Michael VJ Jones is a “Green Time between Screen Time Nature Connection Enthusiast.”
🌞https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelvj...
🚵https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelVJJones
🚣https://twitter.com/michaelvjjones
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A review article in PLOS One concluded, “Few studies considered screen time and green time together, and possible reciprocal psychological effects. However, there is preliminary evidence that green time could buffer consequences of high screen time, therefore nature may be an under-utilised public health resource for youth psychological well-being in a high-tech era.”

Source: Oswald TK, Rumbold AR, Kedzior SGE, Moore VM. Psychological impacts of "screen time" and "green time" for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0237725.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

#natureconnection #naturetherapy #greentimebetweenscreentime

New Blog: Lifestyle Medicine

Check out the new blog about lifestyle medicine in the Academy of Orthopaedic of Physical Therapy.

https://www.orthopt.org/blog/lifestyl...

#PhysicalTherapy #PhysicalTherapist #Physiotherapy

Creating Your Lifestyle Medicine Toolbox

Jessica Kingsley Publishers Blog
March 22, 2024

https://blog.jkp.com/

#TheLifestyleMedicineToolbox
#LifestyleMedicineToolbox
#lifestylemedicine

Tip #4: Workplace Wellness

If your job involves mostly computer work, consider taking an active rest break by getting up and walking or stretching at least every 45 to 60 minutes.

A study in the Musculoskeletal Science and Practice journal (2021) found that “Active break and postural shift interventions shortened recovery time and reduced recurrence of neck and low back pain among high-risk [individuals with neck or low back pain] office workers.”

A review in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2023) concluded, “Multicomponent intervention, sit-stand workstation + promotion, treadmill workstation + promotion, and sit-stand workstation appear to be effective in reducing work-specific sedentary time for office workers. Furthermore, multicomponent interventions and active workstations + promotion better reduced work-specific sedentary time than active workstation alone. However, the overall certainty of the evidence was low.”

Sources:
➡️Akkarakittichoke N, Waongenngarm P, Janwantanakul P. The effects of active break and postural shift interventions on recovery from and recurrence of neck and low back pain in office workers: A 3-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2021;56:102451.
➡️Zhou L, Deng X, Xu M, et al. The effects of active workstations on reducing work-specific sedentary time in office workers: a network meta-analysis of 23 randomized controlled trials. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2023;20(1):92.

The ideal work rest break activity, frequency and length depends on the individual, work task and job. Consult with the ergonomics department for customized strategies.

💡What are your work rest break strategies?

Tip #3: Workplace Wellness

Make sure your workspace has a good ergonomic setup.

A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, & Health (2019) concluded, “A workplace intervention combining ergonomics and neck-specific exercise offers possible benefits for sickness presenteeism and health-related productivity loss among a general population of office workers and sickness absenteeism for office workers with neck pain in the longer-term.”

Source: Pereira M, Comans T, Sjøgaard G, et al. The impact of workplace ergonomics and neck-specific exercise versus ergonomics and health promotion interventions on office worker productivity: A cluster-randomized trial. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2019;45(1):42-52.

💡What are your ergonomic strategies?

Tip #2: Workplace Wellness

Get natural outdoor light while eating your lunch.

An article in the Lighting Research & Technology journal (2018) states, “Light can also elicit an acute alerting effect on people, similar to a ‘cup of coffee.’”

Source: Figueiro MG, Nagare R, Price L. Non-visual effects of light: how to use light to promote circadian entrainment and elicit alertness. Light Res Technol. 2018;50(1):38-62.

💡What are your strategies to increase outdoor light exposure at work?

Tip #1: Workplace Wellness

Bring a nutritious lunch to work.

Also, remember to bring easy-to-eat snacks like a banana, a bowl of berries, or a small bag of nuts/seeds.

An interesting study in the American Journal of Health Promotion (2018) found that “Increasing the proportion of healthier options in vending machines from 20% to 80% significantly lowered the amount of calories, sodium, fat, and sugar vended, while not reducing units vended or having a negative financial impact.”

Source: Grivois-Shah R, Gonzalez JR, Khandekar SP, Howerter AL, O'Connor PA, Edwards BA. Impact of healthy vending machine options in a large community health organization. Am J Health Promot. 2018;32(6):1425-1430.

💡What are your favorite nutrition strategies?

March Newsletter

Hello Readers! Here is the next installment of my LinkedIn newsletter. Every month, I'll share some lifestyle medicine research tips to help improve health, happiness, and performance.

In this newsletter, I will explore:
➡️ Just Published – The Lifestyle Medicine Toolbox
➡️ Happiness
➡️ Nutrition
➡️ Physical Activity
➡️ Stress
➡️ Sleep
➡️ Risky Substances
➡️ Social Connections
➡️ Nature
➡️ Art Based Therapy

Consider subscribing to this informative LinkedIn newsletter.

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