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In addition to physical fitness and weight management and nutrition, there are a number of other lifestyle changes you can make to improve your health.
Each year more than 400,000 people die from illnesses caused by smoking. Smokers die prematurely and smoking-related deaths are often associated with long periods of illness and suffering. Direct medical costs for smokers totaled $50 billion in 1993 and indirect expenses such as time lost from work due to smoking-related illnesses represents another $47 billion each year. By far the most important lung cancer risk factor is tobacco smoking. The longer a person has been smoking and the more packs per day smoked, the greater the risk. If a person stops smoking when pre-cancerous signs are found, the damaged lung tissue often returns to normal, usually within five years. HOOAH 4 Change: Targeting Tobacco
Alcohol
In moderate doses, alcohol has beneficial effects: relaxation, appetite stimulation, and creation of a mild sense of euphoria. Moderate daily drinking may be good for the heart, but for many the risks outweigh the benefits. Even moderate alcohol consumption affects cognitive abilities, while larger amounts interfere with the oxygen supply to the brain. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines moderate drinking as an average of not more than two drinks per day, and estimates that 15 million adults consume more than that amount. The 15% of men and 3% of women who ingest more than four drinks a day risk a serious drinking problem. Alcohol adversely affects motor ability, muscle function, reaction time, eyesight, depth perception, and night vision. As a drinker continues to drink, alcohol depresses lung and heart function, slowing breathing and circulation. Death can occur if alcohol completely paralyzes breathing. The health problems associated with alcohol include brain damage, cancer, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver. Alcoholics who do not quit drinking decrease life expectancy by 10-15 years. Caffeine
For most people, the amount of caffeine in two to four cups of coffee a day is not harmful. However, too much caffeine can make you restless, anxious and irritable. It may also keep you from sleeping well and cause headaches, abnormal heart rhythms or other problems. If you stop using caffeine, you could get withdrawal symptoms. Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others. They should limit their use of caffeine. So should pregnant and nursing women. Certain drugs and supplements may interact with caffeine. If you have questions about whether caffeine is safe for you, talk with your health care provider. Sleep
Sleep needs vary from person to person, and they change throughout the lifecycle. Most adults need 7–8 hours of sleep each night. Newborns, on the other hand, sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day, and children in preschool sleep between 10 and 12 hours a day. School-aged children and teens need at least 9 hours of sleep a night. Not only does the quantity of your sleep matter, but the quality of your sleep is important as well. People whose sleep is interrupted a lot or is cut short might not get enough of certain stages of sleep. In other words, how well rested you are and how well you function the next day depend on your total sleep time and how much of the various stages of sleep you get each night. Facts You Should Know About Sleep
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| Sponsored by the Army National Guard, and the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve. Copyright 2008 |
Smoking
Alcohol is a potent nonprescription tranquilizer and a member of the Family of sedative-hypnotic drugs. Alcohol use is involved in:
Caffeine is a bitter substance found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, some nuts and certain medicines. It has many effects on the body's metabolism, including stimulating the central nervous system. This can make you more alert and give you a boost of energy.
Sleep was long considered just a uniform block of time when you are not awake. Thanks to sleep studies done over the past several decades, it is now known that sleep has distinctive stages that cycle throughout the night. Your brain stays active throughout sleep, but different things happen during each stage. For instance, certain stages of sleep are needed for us to feel well rested and energetic the next day, and other stages help us learn or make memories.