Wellness Blog
Stop What You’re Doing and Go Outside!
“When was the last time you spent an entire day outside?”
That’s a line from a movie I saw a while ago. I can’t even remember the name of the movie, but the line has always stuck with me and I think of it often. It popped into my head again recently when I read a statistic that Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors (although our long Minnesota winters don’t help much!).
Numerous recent studies are showing that spending time in nature, parks, sunshine, and green environments are critical to our health and well-being. Researchers have shown that when our skin is exposed to the sun’s rays, a compound is released in our blood vessels that helps lower blood pressure, which in turn lowers risk of heart disease and stroke. Sunshine exposure also helps to benefit skin disorders, boost mood, reduce depression, and strengthen the immune system.
Research is also showing that children who play and explore outdoors are less stressed and may further benefit by gaining confidence and learning social skills. Spending time in any natural settings, even just 15 minutes in an urban park, can reduce stress, improve mental health, and lower blood pressure for adults Read More
Read MoreSelby Acupuncture Blood Drive, Wednesday, May 29th
We are excited to be hosting a Red Cross blood drive on Wednesday, May 29th from 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. It will be held in the St. Paul Federation of Teachers conference room, right across the hallway from our clinic. If you have time in your schedule that day, please consider signing up to give a pint and possibly help save a life. The need for donors is great right now so every person makes a difference!
Curious if you’re eligible to give blood? Common Eligibility Questions
Interested in scheduling an appointment? You can contact Lindsay by phone (651-224-6678) or e-mail (lindsay @ selbyacupuncture .com), or sign up at http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation and search for the blood drive using zip code 55102.
All are welcome to participate so please tell your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you there! Read More
Read MoreRelieving Stress Through “Stomach 36”
(written by Sara G.)
April and May are a particularly stressful months for my family. My husband owns a swimming pool maintenance company. (He is a pool boy!) You would not think this job is stressful. And for the most part it’s not, but the spring is difficult because every hotel, apartment building, water park and home wants their pool open by Memorial Day weekend. The deadline for completing the job is finite and the task can be overwhelming.
So when I saw an article a couple weeks ago about how researchers were able to find biological evidence that acupuncture can help alleviate stress in rats I sent it to my husband, my stressed out rat. I also thought I would share it with you here. (“Acupuncture Relieves Stress: New Understanding Of Why The Ancient Practice Eases Anxiety”, Huffington Post, March 16, 2013)
In summary, the article talked about how a group of researchers were able measure the level of stress in rats by measuring the level of hormones in the their bloodstream. Hormones are secreted by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands, also called the HPA axis. These hormones are a natural part of the fight and Read More
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