Friday, October 8, 2010
The Yaun Chiropractic Wellness Program
Monday, September 20, 2010
How Do I Know If I Get Enough Sleep?
By now, we all should have some idea that sleep plays an important role in our everyday lives. The million dollar question is: How do I know if I get enough sleep?
This installment on the topic of sleep is devoted towards the recognition of whether or not you need to address your sleeping habits a little more closely. The average person needs roughly 7.5 hours of sleep. The problem is that you’ll get those hours a few days per week, but you may miss an hour here or there. So what happens now? Is it okay to miss those hours and just forget about them (after all, it’s just one hour and I feel fine)?
Myth or Fact: Sleep debt (the hours you build up of lost sleep) accumulates over time.
The answer is fact.
In a future post, I will go into more detail on exactly what happens to your body and the changes that are made if you accumulate sleep debt. In the meantime, here are eight questions (some are repetitive, I know) to ask yourself in order to determine if your sleeping habits need to be changed:
1. Do you find it easy to get out of bed in the morning?
2. Do you find yourself sleepy during the daytime?
3. Do you have difficulty concentrating throughout the day?
4. Are you generally in a good mood?
5. Do you struggle to get out of bed?
6. Are you frequently irritable?
7. Do you find yourself needing more than 2 cups of coffee or caffeine per day?
8. Do you nod off or come close to nodding off after lunch or dinner, at the movies, watching television, or while driving?
Truthfully answer these questions. You may begin to notice that you’ve been ignoring what your body is telling you because, “I’ve been doing this job for 10 years and I’m used to getting feeling tired in the morning. I work through it and I eventually become alert within an hour or two.” This brings me to the second:
Myth or Fact: Your body gets used to a stunted sleeping schedule.
The answer is myth.
Ten years of limiting your sleep to five hours per night predisposes your body to having symptoms of Chronic Sleep Deprivation. Some common symptoms include depression, fatigue, weakness, headaches, migraines, stomach problems, and immune disorders.
So, your sleep tip of the day is: Keep track of your alertness throughout the day and answer the eight questions above as honestly as possible. If you find yourself answering any of them reluctantly, you successfully discovered an issue that needs to be addressed. “The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that there is a problem.”
Sleep tight!
~ Andrew Yaun, D.C.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Crossfit Performance- an Introduction
I am a chiropractor. I am also an athlete and trainer at Crossfit Performance. There’s that word, “Crossfit”. This is one of the most controversial words that is discussed with regard to fitness. Some say yes and most say no. Today I will discuss the truth about what a real Crossfit facility should be and why it is the future of fitness.
People think Crossfit is:
-Crazy
-Only for "extreme people"
-Unsafe
-Only for people who enjoy pain
- etc.
The urban dictionary shows this definition:
“A bunch of rich white people paying $250/mo. to have an uncredentialed coach instruct them to have spasms with PVC pipe and seizures on pull-up bars until they vomit. They generally do this for a period of 10-30 minutes and call it a workout. Those who partake in these group activities also have the option to pay $1000 to attend a weekend course where they have an alcoholic instruct them how to better lift their PVC pipe. Some people who do these activities may also confuse being nauseous with being elite.”
Wow... This may be true if the Crossfit-style workouts were actually that high of intensity all the time (For some Crossfit gyms, that is the case. A workout is written on the board, it involves a complex olympic lift along with a decent run and pushups. The owner says, “3-2-1 go” and the members struggle through the workout, dropping weights, going passed a threshold while gasping for air, and feeling nauseated.). These types of facilities are responsible for the aforementioned image of negativity and potential injury.
Crossfit Performance (CFP) does not approve of the above definition or scenario. Led by Ben Kelly, CFP “teaches basic to advanced level classes in functional exercise, athletic conditioning, plyometrics, kettlebell training, Olympic weightlifting, medicine ball and dumbbell training, power-lifting, gymnastics, rowing, running and jumping rope. Our students are extremely diverse in their experience, conditioning, and lives; and include students, business executives, stay-at-home moms, athletes, and martial artists.”
In order to join the facility, every person must enlist in a month-long program that teaches all of the complex components in detail, focussing on proper form and safety. Our athletes are never advised to be pushed to a point of complete breakdown and nausea.
In fact, the largest emphasis at CFP is placed on ADEQUATE REST AND NUTRITION! CFP is not just another gym; we are a family that shares a common goal of looking good, feeling good, and performing well in all aspects of life.