Comment

Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on January 20, 2011 at 12:10pm

Yeah, I didn't see any solid background references to the article, mostly just baffled at the idea that shallow breathing could be seen as a good thing--even made sleep apnea seem good too! Couldn't believe it!

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on January 20, 2011 at 12:07pm

Thanks for posting this article, Rachel. I looked at the credentials of the person who wrote it, and he has no credential that is related to healthcare except a pyschology degree.  I find his premise to be unfounded.  Shallow breathing requires one to engage the secondary muscles of respiration, including the scalenes, and these muscles become hypertonic over time and cause a host of problems, from neck pain to headaches and more, and also have a negative effect on posture. The diaphragm was designed for breathing, one doesn't overuse it by breathing deeply!  Shallow breathing is often a sign of anxiety, poor posture, and can be a way to escape from painful emotions that can surface when deep breathing is engaged. Deep breathing with the diaphragm is desirable from every point of view.

Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on January 20, 2011 at 10:09am

In my search for info to help my very shallow breathing client, I came across this article: http://ezinearticles.com/?Shallow-Breathing---The-Proper-Way-to-Bre... What do you guys think? I have never seen shallow breathing presented as something of desire! Personally, I disagree.

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on December 27, 2010 at 3:01pm

Free Podcast on Injury Prevention for Massage Therapists with Lauriann Greene, CEAS, co-author of Save Your Hands! 2nd Ed.: http://ning.it/fkbFqT

Comment by Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, BCTMB on December 15, 2010 at 9:36am

YET ANOTHER REASON TO PRACTICE GOOD SELF CARE AND GET MORE SLEEP...

 

Sleep deprived? Your looks may suffer

By Amanda Gardner, Health.com

December 15, 2010 8:12 a.m. EST

People tend to look less attractive and healthy when sleep-deprived (left) than when well-rested (right), a new study finds.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Good night's sleep may make you look healthier and more attractive to others
• Sleep-deprived people looked 6% less healthy and 4% less attractive
• "Sleep is a cheap and effective 'beauty treatment,'" author says

(Health.com) -- A good night's sleep tends to leave you feeling refreshed, alert, and upbeat. According to a new study, it may also make you look healthier and more attractive to others.

To test whether there's a grain of truth in the notion of "beauty sleep," researchers in Sweden took photographs of 23 men and women ages 18 to 31 after they'd slept for eight hours.

They then repeated the process, except this time the researchers kept the volunteers up for 31 hours straight after allowing them to sleep for just five hours the previous night. (For both snapshots, participants were instructed to wear no makeup, keep their hair loose, and perform the same grooming beforehand.)

Health.com: 7 tips for the best sleep ever

When the researchers mixed up all the photos and asked 65 people to rate how attractive, tired, and healthy the study participants looked, the photographs of the well-rested people scored significantly higher.

Compared to their well-rested selves, the sleep-deprived people were judged to look 19% more tired, 6% less healthy, and 4% less attractive.

"Sleep is a cheap and effective 'beauty treatment,'" says the lead author of the study, John Axelsson, PhD, an associate professor of clinical neuroscience at the Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm. "In fact, sleep should be seen as the body's natural beauty treatment and a preferred alternative or complement to other beauty treatments."

Health.com: 15 ways to be a natural beauty

While that 4% decline in attractiveness may not seem like a lot, it can make a big difference in everyday life, Axelsson says.

Looking healthy and well-rested "improves the chances of better treatments in a wide range of social situations," he says. "It is well known that attractive people are favorably treated in many situations."

Sleep deprivation can indeed have an impact on a person's features, says Donna Arand, PhD, the clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center, in Dayton.

"People's eyes don't seem to be open quite as wide, the muscles in their face are more drawn or relaxed," Arand says. "Sleep does help restore muscle tone and repair the physiological degradation that occurs after being up for 16 hours going through your normal day."

Health.com: 8 natural remedies that may help you sleep

The study findings make sense biologically, says Donald Greenblatt, MD, director of the Strong Sleep Disorders Clinic at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in New York.

When we sleep, our perspiration "naturally moisturizes" our skin, and lying down increases "blood flow to the face, so wrinkles are going to be less apparent, at least temporarily," he says.

And the body secretes more human growth hormone (HGH) during deep sleep, which may somehow contribute to a more rested, youthful appearance.

"There's something about HGH that helps the body repair itself," Dr. Greenblatt says.

Health.com: How much sleep do you really need?

According to Axelsson, potential mates may be hard-wired to respond to these subtle changes.

Humans may have evolved "an ability to detect sleep-related cues" that "is likely to affect mate preferences," he says. "It has been proposed that facial cues perceived as attractive are signals of good health that have been selected evolutionary to guide mate choice and successful transmission of genes."

 

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on October 11, 2010 at 8:47pm

Great Rachel! I'm glad to hear you so excited about the Certified Injury Prevention Instructor program. Looking forward to meeting you in Fort Lauderdale in February!

Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on October 11, 2010 at 2:19pm

I'm going to jump on board Lauriann! Hubby and I still have lots of details to figure out, but this is something I want to do. It'll be Florida as I initially expected. Any idea if you need a passport to go to the Bahamas? ;) If we're lucky, this might turn into the honeymoon we never took. :)

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on October 11, 2010 at 2:03pm

Teach Self-Care and Earn Additional Income as a
Certified Injury Prevention Instructor (CIPI)

Hi all - wanted to let you know that we're going to be holding the workshop portion of our Certified Injury Prevention Instructor (CIPI) program at Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa (Corona, CA), Nov. 13-14, 2010, and then in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Feb. 12-13, 2011. The affordable CIPI training will give you the knowledge and skills to teach Save Your Hands!® Workshops in your region, at spas, schools, CE programs, conferences, etc. Create a new revenue stream and help your fellow MTs learn proven self-care and injury prevention techniques. In these tough times, this is a great new way to earn additional income in the massage field and give your own body a break.

You still have time to compete the online courses necessary before the CA workshop. Contact us now for more information. Visit:
http://www.saveyourhands.com/certified-injury-prevention-instructor or call us at 877-424-0994, email syhcourses@saveyourhands.com.

Looking forward to meeting you in CA or FL!

Lauriann Greene, CEAS
co-author, Save Your Hands! 2nd Edition
www.saveyourhands.com

Comment by Jason Erickson on September 8, 2010 at 3:22am

I have a Yamuna ball and book, but haven't used them much because the basic method seems to be merely a more focused version of foam rolling. It's kind of fun, but takes more time than I want to spend on it.

Comment by Jason Erickson on September 8, 2010 at 3:18am

I have used foam rollers in the past, but have largely abandoned them now. I find Active Isolated Stretching to be a far more time-efficient and overall more effective method of loosening tight spots. I can do AIS any time, any where, without equipment.

For daily maintenance, I also love the Intu-Flow program from RMAX International. It's a peerless mobility program that improves dynamic ROM, coordination, balance, breathing habits, and self-awareness. It's a good lead-in for yoga, stretching, or other athletic practices.

Strength and endurance training are critical pieces of my self-care and injury prevention. The more consistent I am, the less discomfort I experience. Massage now and then is great, too.

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