Boosting your health and happiness – INFORUM

We know health and wellness are more important than ever, maybe especially for women and moms. Its not only your own health, but that of your children and families that you need to look out for.

We also know you are busy and dont always have time to seek out new information on health-related topics. We want to help. On the Minds of Moms has curated some Health Fusion tidbits from columnist and podcast host, Viv Williams. Viv is passionate about boosting people's health and happiness by helping them access credible, reliable and research-based health information. She is based in Rochester, Minn., where she has access to some of the top experts and sources at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.

Encouraging teens to turn down the volume

Between video conference meetings, watching videos and listening to tunes, people spend a lot of time using headphones and earbuds. Does all of that listening put your hearing at risk?

Dr. Karin Ross , an Olmsted (Minn.) Medical Center audiologist, says she's seeing more teenagers with hearing loss that's likely due to cranking up the volume on listening devices. Her recommendation is for everyone to pay attention to volume. "We have the ability to turn the volume up pretty loud on most devices," Ross says.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's website notes that 120 decibels is what you'd hear standing next to a blaring siren and it's enough to cause ear injury and pain. Ross said her kid's smartphone can put out 130 decibels at top volume, which is as loud as some military jets at takeoff.

"Turning down that volume to about half way, cuts that sound in half," says Ross. "So you're looking at about 65 decibels, which is plenty loud and causing no damage to your ears."

How does loud sound hurt your hearing? Ross says your inner ear, the cochlea, is shaped like a snail and contains hair-like cilia and fluid. Sound enters in the inner ear in waves. If the sound is really loud, the waves are strong and can bend or break the cilia, damaging hearing temporarily or permanently.

Ross has tips for keeping your hearing safe.

Is that sink full of dishes actually good for your health?

Maybe it's time to reconsider that kitchen sink full of dirty dishes. Washing and drying them may not be at the top of your list of fun things to do. But, that chore might just be good for heart health.

A new study shows simply being "up and about" doing normal, daily things can significantly benefit cardiovascular health. Yes, running or brisk walking is good for your heart health, but so are activities such as housework, gardening, cooking and even showering.

The study was done by a multi-center team led by researchers at the School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego. The researchers looked at the activity of more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 97. They found that compared to women with less than 2 hours of daily routine activities, women with at least 4 hours had a 43% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a 43% lower risk of coronary heart disease, a 30% lower risk of stroke and a 62% lower risk of cardiovascular disease death.

The study demonstrates that all movement counts toward disease prevention, said first author Dr. Steve Nguyen, a postdoctoral scholar at the School of Public Health. Spending more time in daily life movement, which includes a wide range of activities we all do while on our feet and out of our chairs, resulted in a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers say that much of our daily lives are spent doing routine activities. And it's time to consider what that type of movement does for our health. The study is published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association .

Nappuccino: What every mom needs

A study in the British Medical Journal, General psychiatry, shows napping may improve your cognitive function your mental prowess.

Dr. Chad Asplund , a Sports Medicine expert who specializes in sleep and athletics, told me that he thinks naps are underrated. He says for many people, a quick 20-minute power nap can help boost energy for the rest of the day without disrupting your sleep at night.

Asplund mentioned another type of nap that I find to be very intriguing. He calls it the "nappuccino."

"We do this with special ops in the military and with our drone pilots in the Air Force," says Asplund. "We give them a caffeine supplement or small cup of coffee, then they take a power nap."

Asplund says it takes 30 minutes for the caffeine to come on board, so when you wake up after the power nap, you experience the effects of both the caffeine and the nap. The "nappuccino" is for healthy adults who can handle the caffeine.

Time to plan that warm-weather vacation

Recently, I was lucky enough to have a short vacation in the sun. While digging my toes into the sand on the beach (after having slathered sufficient amounts of sunscreen, of course), I began to wonder about whether the sun hitting my skin would boost vitamin D levels. That thought prompted me to then dig into the recommendations and some of the research that's been published about vitamin D.

And, wow, is it confusing! Vitamin D levels seem to differ among groups of people, and depend on where you live, what you eat, the medical conditions you have and how old you are.

The Mayo Clinic News Network notes that Vitamin D boosts bone health by helping you absorb calcium and phosphorous. Too little vitamin D increases an adult's risk of osteoporosis and potentially other medical issues. And if kids don't get enough they're at increased risk of rickets.

Sunlight ultraviolet rays hitting your skin is the main source. You can get small amounts of vitamin D from foods, such as egg yolks, cheese and fatty fish. And vitamin D exists in fortified foods, such as milk, orange juice and cereal. Or you can take vitamin D supplements. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get 600 international units of vitamin D each day, with people over 70 getting 800 units.

So for those of us living in a northern climate, will a few days at a southern beach raise your vitamin D levels? A 2016 study from Edinburgh University published in the journal Plos One revealed that people who took regular vacations in the sun had higher vitamin D levels than those who didn't. They also found that farmers, who tend to work outside, also had higher levels.

Plus, at a recent visit to my healthcare provider for a regular exam, I learned that you need about 30 minutes of sun exposure a day to get enough vitamin D. But because I always wear sunscreen, which reduces the amount of ultraviolet rays that hit my skin, 30 minutes might not be enough.

Sun exposure does increase your risk of skin cancer. So if you are in the sun, be sure to wear sunscreen and sun protective clothing. And limit your time in the sun.

Viv Williams hosts the NewsMD podcast and writes the "Health Fusion" column. She is an award-winning health and medical reporter whose stories have run on TV, digital and newspaper outlets nationwide. Follow the Health Fusion podcast on Apple , Spotify and Google podcasts. For comments or other podcast episode ideas, email Viv Williams at vwilliams@newsmd.com . Or on Twitter/Instagram/FB @vivwilliamstv.

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Boosting your health and happiness - INFORUM