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Naptime BenefitsEat More to Lose More?Sweat More to Sleep BetterStop Punching Your Pillow!

THIS EDITION FEATURES:

July 2015

Sports Drinks: Hooray or No Way?

Wouldn’t it be great if we still had naptime every day? Back in kindergarten, we didn’t know how great naps were for us. Turns out that naps, depending on their length, can increase brain function and lead to more productive days.

Use this guide to nap strategically, based on your needs.

• 10 – 20 minutes. This is considered the perfect power nap. You can immediately get back to work with no grogginess, and it will not affect your sleep schedule at night.

• 30 minutes. Napping for 30 minutes can lead to grogginess for up to 30 minutes after waking up, delaying the benefits of napping.

• 60 minutes. This length of time works best to increase memory, however, it is a deep sleep, so you may have trouble waking and may experience grogginess.

• 90 minutes. In a nap this length, you will move through deeper stages of sleep, so you will not be groggy. Your creativity and procedural memory (driving a car, playing guitar) may be greatly improved.

Naptime Benefits:Everything you need to know, you learned in kindergarten

We’ve all been there: You finish a long game or aerobic exercise feeling lightheaded and tired. You want to reach for a sports drink, but you’ve heard they aren’t always good for you. So, when do you opt for sports drinks, and which ones should you choose?

Drinking carbohydrate- and electrolyte-infused drinks when exercising 60 minutes or more can greatly increase your performance. Complex carbohydrates in these drinks travel to your muscles and can increase endurance by up to 20 percent. If you drink plain water during an intense workout, the lack of sodium will not bring hydration to places that need it, like your muscles and blood.

Our top picksSeek out drinks with 13 – 19 grams (g) of carbohydrates and at least 80 milligrams (mg) of sodium.

Calories Carbs Sodium PotassiumGatorade G® (8 fl oz) 50 14 g 110 mg n/a

POWERADE® ION4® (8 fl oz)

50 14 g 100 mg n/a

Gatorade G® Endurance (8 fl oz)

50 14 g 200 mg 90 mg

PowerBar® Perform™ (1 scoop in 8 oz water)

70 17 g 190 mg 10 mg

Sports Drinks: Hooray or No Way?

Tip:Take little sips throughout your workout to avoid overloading on too much hydration at one time.

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Eat More to Lose More?

Ingredients:1 large eggplant, sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds 1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup balsamic vinegar Salt to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:Sprinkle garlic powder and a pinch of salt on both sides of eggplant. Stir together olive oil and vinegar in a flat dish and cover eggplant with mixture. Allow to marinate for about 15 minutes. Grill eggplant slices on medium heat for about 5 minutes per side.

Recipe of the Month: Marinated Grilled Eggplant

Many diets claim that eating less is the key to weight loss. But what if you could eat more, feel full, and still lose weight? Well, maybe you can.

Barbara J. Rolls, PhD, a professor of nutritional sciences, has developed an approach to nutrition that focuses on eating fewer “energy-dense” foods. These filling yet low-calorie choices satisfy your hunger without increasing your caloric intake.

How does it work?Drinking plenty of water is good for you, but it won’t fill you up. Water-rich foods, however, will. These foods are also rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and will reduce water retention, leaving you hydrated and refreshed. Couple them with fiber-rich foods, which take longer to digest, and you’re looking at foods that will help you to feel full without packing on the calories.

Consider adding the following foods to your diet: • Broccoli• Cucumber• Eggplant• Spinach• Tomatoes• Strawberries• Watermelon

• Blueberries• Low sodium broth or soup• Nuts, seeds, oils• Legumes and lentils• Popcorn• Whole grains

The key is to maximize health and minimize calories without feeling deprived. Try adding a few of the above foods to your meals and you might see a difference.

The benefits of exercise are seemingly endless — it lowers the risk of disease, makes us happier, de-stresses us, and much more. But did you know that exercise can also improve sleep quality? Research has shown that people who exercise just 20 minutes a day, four days a week, experience a noticeable change in both their sleep quality and their daytime functioning.

What can a better night of sleep do for you? • Increase brain function. Lack of quality sleep can result in dangerous situations

like impaired driving.

• Heal your body. Our bodies heal when we sleep. In addition, lack of sleep can create illness. Those who get fewer than six hours of sleep per night are at higher risk for heart attacks due to inflammation.

• Help with weight loss. Believe it or not, sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same part of the brain. If you are dieting and exercising, adequate sleep is the final piece of the puzzle.

Although sleep is often ignored when it comes to overall wellness, it is one of the most important things we can do for our bodies.

Sweat More to Sleep Better

Stop Punching Your Pillow!How do you express your anger and frustration? Do you punch a pillow or lash out at an inanimate object? The popular idea that a person can relieve stress by yelling, hitting, or otherwise taking out aggression, is actually a myth. Forty years of research reveals that encouraging these destructive expressions of anger can actually make a person more aggressive.

So what's the healthiest way to deal with anger? • Constructive problem-solving to address what has made us angry is the best way to

address the situation and feel better. Working through emotional turmoil without physical violence is much healthier.

• Physical exercise to alleviate stress is a healthy outlet as long as it doesn’t involve punching or kicking anything when angry.

• If you need to get your anger under control, turn to others for help, practice calming exercises, and use rational thinking rather than aggression.

Give Yourself a BreakMake sure you have some personal time or space scheduled for parts of the day that you know are particularly stressful.

1. Which of the following is likely to improve your quality of sleep?a. Taking sleeping pillsb. Exercisec. Eating cookies

2. You can eat more of these types of foods to fill up:a. Water-rich foodsb. Air-filled foodsc. Fat-filled foods

3. Choose the best answer to complete this sentence. Punching a pillow is:a. A great way to work off tensionb. Not a good way to deal with frustrationc. Better than yelling

Monthly Quiz:

Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.The information in this publication is meant to complement the advice of your health care providers, not replace it.Before making any major changes in your medications, diet, or exercise, talk to your doctor.

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ANSWERS 1.) b 2.) a 3.) b

Sun-kissed skin looks healthy, so why bother with sunblock? Well, sun exposure without protection can lead to sunburn, wrinkles, and increased risk for skin cancer. Let’s draw back the curtain on some popular myths about the sun.

Myth #1: Young people don’t have to worry about skin cancer. Skin cancer is actually the most common form of cancer in young adults.

Myth #2: A tanning bed is safer than ultraviolet rays from the sun. Tanning beds and sun lamps deliver ultraviolet light and radiation shown to damage skin.

Myth #3: My skin tans easily, and I rarely burn, so I don’t need sun protection. Any change in natural skin color is a sign of damage.

People with naturally dark skin have a lower risk of skin cancer, but they are not immune. It’s important to protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun with a high-SPF sunscreen. Reapply sunscreen every two hours when outside.

Source: The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery

Shining a Light on Tanning Myths