Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

    ALL CLASSES ARE ON ZOOM AT 10:00 AM PDT

    Tuesday Gentle Yoga 

    Wednesday Nia

    Thursday Stretch

    Please see my website for details!

    I am also available for private Nia / yoga / Personal Training all virtual, of course!

  • Unknown's avatar

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • My Bloggey Past

  • ******

    Chose a month above to visit archives, or click below to visit a page.

Archive for September, 2010

Next Entries »

Sleep Is Important

Posted by terrepruitt on September 7, 2010

Ever since I started teaching Nia I think that I have gotten more sleep than when I had a job with a large company.  Do you get enough sleep?  But what is “enough” sleep?  I think some people think it is like a badge of honor if they can “get by” with a few hours sleep at night.  I think we might forget that sleep is when our bodies do their repair work.

While we sleep our bodies rebuild and repair.  Our brains, while they are busy performing these tasks actually gets its rests and gets ready for the next day.  It is believed that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours sleep a night.  Some sources say that getting even just one less hour a night can possibly affect our ability to think properly.  Also it could affect your cardiovascular health and ability to fight infections in an adverse way.  Your energy level and ability to concentrate might be less than desirable due to an inefficient amount of rest.

More and more studies are starting to point to sleep and the lack of it affecting our appetite.  There are hormones involved that are produced while we sleep and their production is reduced when we don’t get enough sleep. These hormones control the feelings of hunger and of being full.  So when we don’t get enough sleep it could result in being constantly hungry and not feeling satisfied.

Our mood is also connected to the sleep we get.  Many people feel irritable and short tempered when they do not get enough sleep.

As previously stated research has concluded that a healthy adult needs between 7 and 9 hours sleep in order to function at their optimum, but everyone is different and the exact amount varies.  Researchers at a California university found that a there is a rare gene in less than 3% of the population that allows for those people to get by on less than 6 hours sleep.  The kind of says that probably 97% of the population is not getting the sleep that their bodies require to function properly.  It is believed that most of the population survive on less than 6 hours sleep a night.

So, if you think sleeping less is something to boast about or if you think that sleep is a waste of time maybe you can try getting more sleep and see how you feel.  Then maybe all these studies that are out there will be viewed in a different brighter light, through less sleepy eyes.

How much sleep, on average do you get a night?

Posted in Just stuff | Tagged: , , , , , , | 14 Comments »

Nia is Play

Posted by terrepruitt on September 4, 2010

Nia, at one point, was called NIA or Neuromuscular Integrative Action.  Neuromuscular pertains to both nerves and muscles.  Our movements involve both muscles and nerves.   In a Nia cardio class, we stimulate and activate both during the workout.   While leading a group of elder adults in a mobility-enhancement exercise (in a job unrelated to Nia) an observer commented, “It is like kindergarten.”  My response was, “Yes, and isn’t it fun?”  As I continued to watch these 90+ year olds toss around the ball, she said, “Yeeaaaahhhh!”

Adults just lose it.  The stigma that comes with adults playing just to play is too great.  Yes, there are competitive teams that adults can join, and those that do are exercising their inner child and having fun, but what about playing just to play.

If a suited adult were to skip down the cubbed corridor they probably would be put on leave of absence.  If an adult were to be alone, without children, and were to walk down the street balancing on the curb, they would receive stares from others.  Breaking out in song is only acceptable for children and actors in musicals.  As adults society does not generally allow us to let out our inner child in everyday life without thinking we are a little off balance.

That is where Nia comes in.  In a Nia class we get to play.  Also our dance is something that allows you to release that inner child.  Nia invites and encourages you to skip, jump, run, walk, shout out, crawl, and move as you did when you were a child.  In a non-judgmental freely accepting atmosphere we get to play.

Does that sound like something you could enjoy?  Doesn’t it sound like something your body longs to participate in again?  Come to a Nia class and find out.

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Lower Salt Intake

Posted by terrepruitt on September 2, 2010

The recommended daily maximum sodium intake for Americans is 2300 to 2400 milligrams for healthy people, for people with high blood pressure and elderly people it is even less at 1500 milligrams.  Do you know how much the average American consumes per day?   A lot, more than twice the amount for a healthy person, at 5000 milligrams.  The body  needs 500 milligrams a day and we are getting about 10 times as much.

One teaspoon of salt contains 2325 milligrams of sodium.  So one teaspoon is about all we should be having per day.  It would be a lot easier if we were in complete control of the sodium we consumed and it was not added to our food.  A lot of food might not even taste salty to contain a high amount of sodium.  Most of the salt in the American diet comes from restaurant foods and processed, about 80 percent.  Foods high in sodium are the highly processed foods, canned foods, pickled foods, condiments, dressings, and sauces.

There is research predicting that more than 100,000 Ameican deaths a year could be prevented if Americans reduced their sodium intake.

It could be a matter of understanding the labeling terms, according to an article on the Mayo Clinic’s website, here is some help:

  • Sodium-free or salt-free. Each serving in this product contains less than 5 mg of sodium.
  • Very low sodium. Each serving contains 35 mg of sodium or less.
  • Low sodium. Each serving contains 140 mg of sodium or less.
  • Reduced or less sodium. The product contains at least 25 percent less sodium than the regular version.
  • Lite or light in sodium. The sodium content has been reduced by at least 50 percent from the regular version.
  • Unsalted or no salt added. No salt is added during processing of a food that normally contains salt. However, some foods with these labels may still be high in sodium.

I really love salt.  Even though I don’t eat a lot of processed foods, I do salt my food.  I am probably one of the “average Americans” that consumes sodium on the high end.  The information that I am seeing states that liking foods salty is an acquired taste so one can learn to like food less salty by just reducing the salt slowly.  I think I am going to do that.    What about you, do you eat the “average American” amount?  Is there a way you can reduce your sodium intake?

 

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Next Entries »