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SEPTEMBER 2023
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BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOU Celebrate Self-Improvement Month With New Goals!
September is Self-Improvement Month, and while striving for growth, development, and positive change is something everyone should do year-round, it’s a good reminder to set some new goals if you haven’t done so already. You may be wondering, “Why should I try to change? I like how I am already!” I want to stress that setting self- improvement goals doesn’t mean that who you are or where you’re at now is bad or that you’re failing in some way. It just means you want to take hold of your incredible potential to develop new skills, improve your mental or physical well-being, or even live a happier life. Constantly aiming to improve is what allows all of us to grow. In fact, it’s why we seek out things like physical therapy. I also understand that picking a self-improvement goal can feel challenging. I recommend starting with a goal in one of the following categories. When you accomplish that objective, create a new one in a different area and continue rotating through the categories. Doing this will help keep your growth goals fresh and well-rounded. Physical Health A goal in this category can be anything related to your physical body. This includes things like committing to a regular exercise routine, eating healthier, standing straighter, or taking more walks. It also includes seeking help from a physical therapist when dealing with pain or discomfort.
Mental Wellness A mental wellness goal pertains to any improvement you’d like to make to your thoughts or feelings. Examples include setting a goal to meditate every day to reduce stress, spending time outside to boost your mood, or limiting negative self-talk to less than three times a day. Learning A learning goal is one you set any time you’d like to acquire new knowledge on a subject or develop a new skill. You can set goals to read a specific number of books per month or year, or enroll in a course for a topic that interests you. It’s important to remember that a learning goal is never something you must do for work or school; it’s an education toward something you want to achieve. Personal Relationships This category is all about strengthening your relationships with others. Perhaps you’d like to spend more quality time with your loved ones, work on clear communication, or practice being present while someone else is speaking — then focus on something that brings you closer to someone. Career Growth Finally, this category encompasses any goal pertaining to your current job or overall career. This may include attending
SEPT. 8 IS WORLD PHYSICAL THERAPY DAY! Reach out and send your warm wishes to your physical therapist. A quick call to say “Happy World PT Day” will brighten their day!
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THE BEST SLEEPING POSITION for Preventing Neck and Back Pain
Have you ever awoken from a night’s sleep, ready to take on the day, but instead of feeling rested, you notice your neck or back is killing you? Then, for the next few days, you try to avoid turning your head or bending over, resulting in funny stares from coworkers or strangers. While this happens to everyone now and again, it’s not normal and should be a cause for concern if it occurs often. More likely than not, how you sleep is the culprit. Most of us sleep in whatever position feels most comfortable when we lie down, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best position for our bodies. So, if you frequently start your morning with neck or back pain, here are the sleeping positions you should avoid and the position most likely to provide much-needed relief. Sleeping Positions That Cause Neck or Back Pain No. 1: Sleeping on Your Stomach By sleeping on your stomach, you extend and compress your spine abnormally, leading
This causes the muscles and tendons that connect to your top side (the side of your body pointing toward the ceiling) to become shortened. Meanwhile, the connections to the side of your body against the bed become lengthened. This can leave you feeling imbalanced and tight, especially near the anterior or oblique muscles on the side of your stomach. How to Sleep to Prevent Neck and Back Pain If you want to avoid waking up with neck or back pain, the best way to sleep is on your back. By sleeping flat on your back, you promote the natural curve of your spine and avoid putting excess pressure on your organs. Sleeping on your back also allows the muscles and tendons on each side of your spine to balance appropriately without one side becoming longer or shorter than the other due to compression. Tips for Changing Your Sleep Position If you’ve slept on your stomach or side for many years, it may be difficult to adjust to back sleeping, even though it’s the healthier option. Fortunately, you can easily retrain your body using pillows. When you’re ready to try back sleeping, grab four pillows before you crawl into bed and place them in these four positions.
to pain and tightness in your lower back. If you can picture it, sleeping on your stomach forces your spine into a “U” shape, with your lower back (where your spine attaches to your pelvis) at the bottom of the “U.” When you hold this position for hours while asleep, the muscles at the junction of the “U” become incredibly tight, irritating the nerves in that area. On top of that, sleeping on your stomach also puts significant pressure on the abdomen and internal organs.
• Pillow 1: Under your knees.
• Pillow 2: Beneath your lower back.
• Pillow 3: On your left side, against your hips and stomach.
• Pillow 4: On your right side, against your hips and stomach.
These cushions should help make back sleeping more comfortable and prevent you from rolling into your previously preferred position while you sleep. If you have trouble dozing off, try different pillow sizes and densities until you find the best fit. After sleeping this way for a while, back sleeping will become a habit!
No. 2: Sleeping on Your Side When you sleep on your side, you still force your spine into that same “U” shape, but instead of the lower part of your back being at the bottom of the “U,” the middle of your back sags toward the floor.
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PASTA MAKER TURNS VEGETABLES INTO NUTRITIOUS, DELICIOUS PASTA
Do you want to eat healthier, but vegetables just aren’t your thing? What about pasta? Does that sound more like your style? If so, healthy eating just got a little easier — and more fun. Yes, we said fun! Philips has created an artisan pasta maker that lets you make pasta from any liquid. While there are many videos
online of people adding strawberry milk or root beer to their pasta makers, this product actually offers a really easy way for people to incorporate full servings of veggies into their lives without having to suffer through a plate full of steamed broccoli or spinach. All you need to do is add flour and slowly pour your chosen liquid into the top of the machine, and voilà ! The pasta squeezes out the front into your preferred form, ready to boil and enjoy! The recommended daily amount of vegetables for Americans is approximately 2 1/2 cups a day, which can seem like a lot if you’re trying to force them down. Of course, eating whole veggies with every meal is always best, but if you or your child is a picky eater, pasta isn’t a bad way to get that minimum amount in. But how do you turn a vegetable into a pasta? You blend it! Simply add your desired amount of veggies to a blender with
enough water to make it easy to pour into the machine, and you’re done!
So, if you decide to go the pasta route, here are a few vegetables we recommend blending up:
• Spinach • Tomatoes • Kale • Avocados
• Beets • Peas
• Zucchini • Carrots
If you want to mix it up, you can always blend multiple vegetables together!
Also, you don’t need the pasta maker to make your vegetable pasta dreams a reality — you can use this same method to make it by hand, too! But, if you’re interested in the pasta-maker route, you can find it online by looking up “Philips Artisan Pasta & Noodle Maker.”
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WALNUT AND BLUE CHEESE
a certain number of workshops or seminars every year, finally asking for a raise, or maybe even finding a new job. Remember to be patient with yourself once you set a goal in one of these categories. You won’t learn Spanish or run a 5K in a week after trying, but you’ll get there little by little. And finally, if you ever face any difficulty accomplishing your objectives due to pain, discomfort, or limited mobility, our Active Kare Physical Therapy team is here to support you. Call us at 248-432-1618 and let us know your goals so we can help you reach them!
TOMATO SALAD Inspired by FeastingAtHome.com
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
• 1/2 cup walnuts • 2 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes • Kosher salt, to taste • Black pepper, to taste • 1/4 cup smoked blue cheese, thinly sliced • 1 tbsp fresh dill • Chopped fresh Italian parsley, to taste • 3 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. On a baking sheet, toast the walnuts in the oven for 12–14 minutes. 2. Wash and slice the tomatoes. Place slices on a platter, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 3. Scatter toasted walnuts and blue cheese on top, followed by dill and preferred amount of parsley. 4. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, wine or vinegar, and garlic to make the dressing. 5. Spoon dressing evenly over salad and serve.
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CONTACT US TODAY! 248-432-1618 www.ActiveKarePT.com
43200 Dequindre Road, Suite #109 Sterling Heights, MI 48314
1. Set Self-Improvement Goals for a Happier, Healthier Life 2. Stop Waking Up in Pain: The Right Way to Sleep 3. Pasta Maker Turns Vegetables Into Nutritious, Delicious Pasta Walnut and Blue Cheese Tomato Salad 4. Can’t Fall Asleep? Try This Brain Tapping Technique INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Say Goodbye to Insomnia: DISCOVER THE BRAIN TAPPING TECHNIQUE
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14.5% of Americans have trouble falling asleep every night — that’s more than 48 million people! If you’re part of this sleepless group, we’re pretty sure counting sheep isn’t cutting it. That’s why we’re sharing a sleep strategy that works naturally with your brain and can help you to fall asleep in less time than it would take to eat a bowl of cereal.
The strategy is called “brain tapping,” and it involves using your hands to create “repeated rhythmic patterns,” which our brains naturally love .
thighs lightly using your hands with palms facing down four times, with about one second between each tap and alternating between each hand. You don’t have to hit your legs hard, just loud enough to hear the sound. Do this for 30 seconds. Then, after following the four-tap rhythm for 30 seconds, you’ll slow the taps even further to just two taps with about two seconds between each tap. Do this for about a minute or a minute and a half. Finally, you will slow the tapping to almost three seconds between each tap. You’ll do this for about four minutes, and during this phase, you also close your eyes and take slow deep breaths. After those final four minutes, you’ll be surprised how tired you feel and how quickly you can fall asleep. Sweet dreams!
The auditory rhythm will trigger the brain to “switch over” to the
parasympathetic nervous system. If this sounds familiar, you’ve likely heard of it before. Evolutionarily, our bodies have two states: fight or flight and rest and digest. The sympathetic nervous system controls our body during a fight or flight situation, and the parasympathetic nervous system controls rest and digestion. So, to fall asleep more quickly, we want to “trick” our bodies into activating our parasympathetic nervous system, or the rest and digest state.
So, how do you do it?
To start the brain-tapping process, sit on your bed or a chair. Then, tap your
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