energetics

We have heard it many times before -- regular exercise is good for you, and it can help you manage your weight. But if you are like many people, you are busy, you sit most of the day at your job, and you haven't yet changed your exercise habits. The good news is that it's never too late to start. You can start slowly and find ways to fit more physical activity into your life. To get the most benefit, you should try to get the recommended amount of physical activity for your age. If you can do that, the payoff is that you will feel better, may help prevent or control many diseases, and will likely even live longer.

What are the health benefits of exercise?

Regular exercise and physical activity may:

• Help you get to and stay at a healthy weight. Along with diet, exercise plays an important role in maintaining a healthy weight and preventing obesity. If you are at a healthy weight, you can maintain it if the calories you eat and drink are equal to the amount of energy you burn. To lose weight, you need to use more calories than you eat and drink.
• Reduce your risk of heart diseases. Exercise strengthens your heart and improves your circulation. The increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels in your body. This helps lower your risk of heart diseases such as coronary artery disease and heart attack. Regular exercise can also lower high blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, all of which are risk factors for heart disease.
• Help your body manage blood glucose (blood sugar) and insulin levels. Exercise can lower your blood glucose levels and help your insulin work better. This can reduce your risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. And if you already have one of these diseases, exercise can help you manage it.
• Help you manage a chronic health condition. For example, regular physical activity may help reduce pain and improve function in adults with arthritis. It can also help support daily living activities for people with disabilities. This may help them be more independent.
• Help you quit smoking. Exercise may make it easier to quit smoking by reducing your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It can also help limit the weight you might gain when you stop smoking.
• Improve your mental health and mood. During exercise, your body releases chemicals that can improve your mood and make you feel more relaxed. This can help you deal with stress, manage anxiety, and reduce your risk of depression.
• Help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. Exercise stimulates your body to release proteins and other chemicals that improve the structure and function of your brain.
• Strengthen your bones and muscles. Regular exercise can help kids and teens build strong bones. Later in life, it can also slow the loss of bone density that comes with age. Doing muscle-strengthening activities can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength. For older adults, this can mean staying independent, like being able to get in and out of a chair or bed without help.
• Reduce your risk of some cancers, including colon, breast, uterine, bladder, esophageal, kidney, stomach, and lung cancer. There are different ways that physical activity may lower the risk of these cancers. For example, it can strengthen your immune system and reduce inflammation in your body. It also helps prevent obesity, which is a risk factor for many cancers.
• Reduce your risk of falls. For older adults, doing balance and muscle-strengthening activities can help reduce your risk of falling.
• Improve your sleep. Exercise can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
• Boost your energy. Exercise helps your heart and lungs work better, which can leave you feeling more energetic throughout the day.
• Improve your sexual health. Regular exercise may lower the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. For those who already have ED, exercise may help improve their sexual function. In women, exercise may increase sexual arousal.
• Increase your chances of living longer. Studies show that physical activity can reduce your risk of dying early from the leading causes of death, like heart disease and certain cancers.

How can I make exercise a part of my regular routine?

Here are some tips to help you make exercise part of your daily routine:

• Make everyday activities more active. Even small changes can help. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk down the hall to a coworker's office instead of sending an email. Wash the car yourself. Park further away from your destination.
• Be active with friends and family. Having a workout partner may make you more likely to enjoy exercise. You can also plan social activities that involve exercise. Consider joining an exercise group or class, such as a dance class, hiking club, or volleyball team.
• Keep track of your progress. Keeping a log of your activity or using a fitness tracker may help you set goals and stay motivated.
• Make exercise more fun. Try listening to music or watching TV while you exercise. Also, mix things up a little bit - if you stick with just one type of exercise, you might get bored. Try doing a combination of activities.
• Find activities that you can do even when the weather is bad. You can walk in a mall, climb stairs, or work out in a gym even if the weather stops you from exercising outside.
• Remember that some physical activity is better than none. Do what you can! Even 5 minutes of physical activity has real health benefits.

What are drugs?

Drugs are chemical substances that can change how your body and mind work. They include prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.

What is drug use?

Drug use, or misuse, includes:

• Using illegal substances, such as:
  • Anabolic steroids
  • Club drugs
  • Cocaine
  • Heroin
  • Inhalants
  • Marijuana
  • Methamphetamines
• Misusing prescription medicines, including opioids. This means taking the medicines in a different way than your health care provider prescribed. This includes
  • Taking a medicine that was prescribed for someone else.
  • Taking a larger dose than you are supposed to.
  • Using the medicine in a different way than you are supposed to. For example, instead of swallowing your tablets, you might crush and then snort or inject them.
  • Using the medicine for another purpose, such as getting high.
• Misusing over-the-counter medicines, including using them for another purpose or in a different way than you are supposed to.

Drug use is dangerous. It can harm your brain and body, sometimes permanently. It can hurt the people around you, including friends, families, and kids. If you are pregnant, it can harm your fetus. Drug use can also lead to mild, moderate, or severe substance use disorders. Substance use disorders are sometimes called addiction.

What is drug addiction?

Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease. It causes a person to take drugs repeatedly, despite the harm they cause. Repeated drug use can change the brain and lead to addiction.

The brain changes from addiction can be lasting, so drug addiction is considered a "relapsing" disease. This means that people in recovery are at risk for taking drugs again, even after years of not taking them.

Does everyone who takes drugs become addicted?

Not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted. Everyone's bodies and brains are different, so their reactions to drugs can also be different. Some people may become addicted quickly, or it may happen over time. Other people never become addicted. Whether or not someone becomes addicted depends on many factors. They include genetic, environmental, and developmental factors.

Who is at risk for drug addiction?

Various risk factors can make you more likely to become addicted to drugs, including:

• Your biology. People can react to drugs differently. Some people like the feeling the first time they try a drug and want more. Others hate how it feels and never try it again.
• Mental health problems. People who have untreated mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to become addicted. This can happen because drug use and mental health problems affect the same parts of the brain. Also, people with these problems may use drugs to try to feel better.
• Trouble at home. If your home is an unhappy place or was when you were growing up, you might be more likely to have a drug problem.
• Trouble in school, at work, or with making friends. You might use drugs to get your mind off these problems.
• Hanging around other people who use drugs. They might encourage you to try drugs.
• Starting drug use when you're young. When kids use drugs, it affects how their bodies and brains finish growing. This increases your chances of becoming addicted when you're an adult.

What are the signs that someone has a drug problem?

Signs that someone has a drug problem include:

• Changing friends a lot
• Spending a lot of time alone
• Losing interest in favorite things
• Not taking care of themselves - for example, not taking showers, changing clothes, or brushing their teeth
• Being very energetic, talking fast, or saying things that don't make sense
• Quickly changing between feeling bad and feeling good
• Having different eating or sleeping habits
• Missing important appointments
• Having problems at work or at school
• Having problems in personal or family relationships

What are the treatments for drug addiction?

Treatments for drug addiction include counseling, medicines, or both. Research shows that combining medicines with counseling gives most people the best chance of success.

The counseling may be individual, family, and/or group therapy. It can help you:

• Understand why the drug addiction began
• See how drugs changed your behavior
• Learn how to manage personal problems
• Learn to avoid places, people, and situations where drugs are accessible

If you stop or cut back on drugs you've used for a while, you may display different symptoms for different drugs. This is called withdrawal. Medicines can help with the symptoms of withdrawal. For addiction to certain drugs, there are also medicines that can help you re-establish normal brain function and decrease your cravings.

If you have a mental disorder along with an addiction, it is known as a dual diagnosis. It is important to treat both problems. This will increase your chance of success.

If you have a severe addiction, you may need hospital-based or residential treatment. Residential treatment programs combine housing and treatment services.

Can drug use and addiction be prevented?

Drug use and addiction are preventable. Prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media may prevent or reduce drug use and addiction. These programs include education and outreach to help people understand the risks of drug use.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

What is drug use?

Drug use, or misuse, includes:

• Using illegal substances, such as
  • Anabolic steroids
  • Club drugs
  • Cocaine
  • Heroin
  • Inhalants
  • Marijuana
  • Methamphetamines
• Misusing prescription medicines, including opioids. This means taking the medicines in a different way than the health care provider prescribed. This includes
• Taking a medicine that was prescribed for someone else
• Taking a larger dose than you are supposed to
• Using the medicine in a different way than you are supposed to. For example, instead of swallowing your tablets, you might crush and then snort or inject them.
• Using the medicine for another purpose, such as getting high
• Misusing over-the-counter medicines, including using them for another purpose and using them in a different way than you are supposed to.

Why are drugs especially dangerous for young people?

Young people's brains are growing and developing until they are their mid-20's. This is especially true of the prefrontal cortex, which is used to make decisions. Taking drugs when young can interfere with developmental processes occurring in the brain. It can also affect their decision-making. They may be more likely to do risky things, such as unsafe sex and dangerous driving.

The earlier young people start using drugs, the greater their chances of continuing to use them and become addicted later in life.Taking drugs when you are young can contribute to the development of adult health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and sleep disorders.

Which drugs most commonly used by young people?

The drugs that are most commonly used by young people are alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Recently, more young people have started vaping tobacco and marijuana. There is still a lot we don't know about the dangers of vaping. Some people have unexpectedly gotten very ill or have even died after vaping. Because of this, young people should stay away from vaping.

Why do young people take drugs?

There are many different reasons why a young person may take drugs, including:

• To fit in. Young people may do drugs because they want to be accepted by friends or peers who are doing drugs.
• To feel good. Abused drugs can produce feelings of pleasure.
• To feel better. Some young people suffer from depression, anxiety, stress-related disorders, and physical pain. They may do drugs to try to get some relief.
• To do better in academics or sports. Some young people may take stimulants for studying or anabolic steroids to improve their athletic performance.
• To experiment. Young people often want to try new experiences, especially ones that they think are thrilling or daring.

Which young people are at risk for drug use?

Different factors may raise a young person's risk for drug use, including:

• Stressful early life experiences, such child abuse, child sexual abuse, and other forms of trauma
• Genetics
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol or other drugs
• Lack of parental supervision or monitoring
• Having peers and/or friends who use drugs

What are the signs that a young person has a drug problem?

• Changing friends a lot
• Spending a lot of time alone
• Losing interest in favorite things
• Not taking care of themselves - for example, not taking showers, changing clothes, or brushing their teeth
• Being really tired and sad
• Eating more or eating less than usual
• Being very energetic, talking fast, or saying things that don't make sense
• Being in a bad mood
• Quickly changing between feeling bad and feeling good
• Missing important appointments
• Having problems at school - missing class, getting bad grades
• Having problems in personal or family relationships
• Lying and stealing
• Memory lapses, poor concentration, lack of coordination, slurred speech, etc.

Can drug use in young people be prevented?

Drug use and addiction are preventable. Prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media may prevent or reduce drug use and addiction. These programs include education and outreach to help people understand the risks of drug use.

You can help prevent your children from using drugs through:

• Good communication with your children
• Encouragement, so your children can build confidence and a strong sense of self. It also helps parents promote cooperation and reduce conflict.
• Teaching your children problem-solving skills
• Setting limits, to teach your children self-control and responsibility, provide safe boundaries, and show them that you care
• Supervision, which helps parents recognize developing problems, promote safety, and stay involved
• Knowing your children's friends

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

What is sleep?

While you are sleeping your brain and body functions are still active. Sleep is a natural process that helps your body restore energy, supports learning and memory, and keeps you healthy.

During sleep, your brain cycles through different stages of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Non-REM sleep has three stages that range from light to deep sleep, while REM sleep is when most dreaming occurs. During each stage, your brain waves, breathing, heart rate, and body temperature change throughout the night. Certain phases of sleep help you:

• Feel rested and energetic the next day.
• Learn new information, get insight, and form memories.
• Give your heart and blood vessels a rest.
• Release growth hormone, which helps children grow and assists in muscle repair and tissue healing for everyone.
• Release sex hormones, which contribute to puberty and fertility.
• Maintain a healthy balance of hormones that control hunger and fullness.
• Strengthen your immune system by producing cytokines (hormones that help the body fight infection).

You need all the stages to get a healthy sleep.

How much sleep do I need?

The amount of sleep you need depends on your age, lifestyle, health, and sleep patterns. The general recommendations for sleep are:

• Babies (4-12 months): 12-16 hours a day (including naps)
• Children (1-2 years): 11-14 hours a day (including naps)
• Children (3-5 years): 10-13 hours a day (including naps)
• Children (6-12 years): 9-12 hours a day
• Teens (13-18 years): 8-10 hours a day
• Adults (18 years and older): 7-9 hours a day

During puberty, teenagers' biological clocks shift. They tend to fall asleep later and wake up later, which can conflict with the early school start times. This is one reason many teenagers don't get enough sleep.

Some people think adults need less sleep as they age, but there is no evidence to support this. However, older adults often get less sleep or spend less time in the deep, restful stages of sleep. They also wake up more easily.

It's not just the number of hours of sleep you get that matters. The quality of the sleep you get is also important. People whose sleep is frequently interrupted might not get enough of certain stages of sleep. If you are wondering whether you are getting enough sleep, including quality sleep, ask yourself:

• Do I have trouble getting up in the morning?
• Do I have trouble focusing during the day?
• Do I doze off during the day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may need to improve your sleep habits.

What are the health effects of not getting enough sleep?

Sleep is important for overall health. When you don't get enough sleep (sleep deprivation), it does more than just make you feel tired. It can impair your ability to think clearly, react quickly, and form memories. This increases your risk of making mistakes, taking risks, or getting into accidents.

Sleep deprivation can also affect your mood, leading to:

• Irritability
• Problems with relationships, especially for children and teenagers
• Depression
• Anxiety

It can also affect your physical health. Not getting enough sleep, or getting poor-quality sleep, increases your risk of:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Kidney disease
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes

Not getting enough sleep can also lower your levels of hormones that help children grow and help the body build muscle, repair tissue, and fight infections.

Sleep deprivation also magnifies the effect of alcohol. A tired person who drinks too much alcohol will be more impaired than a well-rested person who drinks the same amount.

How can I get better sleep?

You can take steps to improve your sleep habits. First, make sure that you allow yourself enough time for sleep. Getting enough sleep each night may help you feel happier and more productive during the day.

To improve your sleep habits, it also may help to:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Avoid caffeine, especially in the afternoon and evening.
• Avoid nicotine.
• Exercise regularly, but not too close to bedtime.
• Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed.
• Avoid large meals and drinks late at night.
• Don't take a nap after 3 p.m.
• Relax before bed by taking a bath, reading or listening to calm music.
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
• Get rid of distractions such as TVs, computers, and phones.
• Get enough sunlight exposure during the day.
• If you can't fall asleep for 20 minutes, get up and do something relaxing.
• See a health care provider if you have continued trouble sleeping. You may have a sleep disorder, such as insomnia or sleep apnea. In some cases, your provider may suggest trying a sleep study or other treatments.

If you are a shift worker, getting good sleep can be more challenging. You may also want to:

• Take naps and extend your total sleep time
• Keep the lights bright at work
• Limit shift changes to help your body adjust
• Limit caffeine to the first part of your shift
• Remove sound and light distractions in your bedroom during daytime sleep (for example, use light-blocking curtains or earplugs)