A funny thing happened on Dr. Mike&rsquo;s way home from watching a last-second playoff victory by the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Chicago Bulls; he thought about eating a Cinnabon (didn&rsquo;t, wouldn&rsquo;t ever, but&hellip;). True Cleveland fans know that rooting for the Cavs usually elicits a heightened stress response.

Then, two days later, he noticed how exhausted he was from the stress of watching the game and yet how much he was looking forward to the next one. That made him realize how important it is to stay healthy (he exercises three days a week, walks 10K a day and eats well) if he were to keep going to these stressful games! And that made him wonder if we could come up with a similarly immersive experience that creates enthusiastic participants for Team Wellness&mdash;participants who would come back season after season for more physical activity and good nutrition, participants who would then be able to manage the stress that emotional attachments cause without resorting to the consolation of a sugary, fatty treat.&nbsp;

So we&rsquo;re asking you to join Team Wellness. You only need to play by five rules.

<ol>
	<li>Ditch: all trans and most sat fat, any added sugar or syrup and any grain that isn&rsquo;t 100% whole.</li>
	<li>Walk 10,000 steps a day.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-sleeping" target="_blank">Sleep</a> 7-8 hours nightly and meditate daily.</li>
	<li>Avoid toxins like tobacco and BPAs (wash your hands after touching receipts).</li>
	<li>Share laughter and love with friends and intimate partners.</li>
	<li>The rewards? A healthier, happier and longer life. That&rsquo;s the ticket!</li>
</ol>

Medically reviewed in March 2019.

Are You A Fan of Team Wellness?

Q: My eight-year-old daughter and I got our flu shots and then got sick anyway. I think next year we&rsquo;ll skip it. What&rsquo;s the use? 
&mdash; Carolina B., New York, NY

A: It&rsquo;s not fair to blame the flu vaccine. There are several viruses out there that are not influenza: respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV), rhinovirus, croup and the common cold. You may have had one of those common infections and your flu vaccine may be protecting you and your daughter even now. Plus, it has many remarkable benefits&mdash;including, but not limited to, preventing the flu or lessening its impact.

For example, a recent Danish study found that kids who experience a bad enough infection to require hospitalization are at an 83 percent higher risk of developing a mental disorder and a 42 percent higher risk of using psychotropic medications. The flu qualifies as one of those potentially hospital-serious infections. You want to help your child dodge those risks for sure! And we wonder&hellip; could that be related to another study from the UK that identified a rise in anxiety among British children, where many kids don&rsquo;t receive flu vaccines?

Adults are also at risk if they skip the shot&mdash;and a survey shows over half of all adults are not currently vaccinated against the flu, and four in ten don&rsquo;t intend to get vaccinated. That&rsquo;s a shame. A 2013 study of randomized clinical trials published in JAMA showed that &ldquo;influenza vaccine was associated with a lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events&hellip; The greatest treatment effect was seen among the highest-risk patients with more active coronary disease.&rdquo;

So, young and old, remember the saying: &ldquo;For want of a horseshoe nail, the kingdom was lost.&rdquo; It means if you ignore first steps, one thing leads to another, until the end result is not what you want. The same thing can be said about skipping your flu shot. It&rsquo;s not too late to get yours.

Q: My dad has a rifle, a shotgun and a few pistols. He&rsquo;s 82 and was a competitive marksman back in the day. But I just heard about a healthcare worker who was shot by an 80-year-old in her care. She&rsquo;d been with him five days a week for several months. Should I ask him if I can have his guns?&nbsp; 
&mdash; Jack K., Seattle, WA

A: As our population grows older, the problem that comes along with the combination of dementia and guns needs attention. Forty-five percent of people 65 and older have guns in their household, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, while nine percent of Americans 65 and older are diagnosed with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/dementia/article/what-need-know-about-dementia">dementia</a>&mdash;and many others suffer from reduced cognition and mobility issues. The combination has become such a problem that a non-profit Alzheimer&rsquo;s volunteer group in San Diego has decided not to send volunteers into homes with weapons after discovering that 25 to 30 percent of the households their &ldquo;helpers&rdquo; visited had guns.

Security is one of biggest reasons why people own guns. But when older people start to experience cognition and other physical challenges, imagined threats can seem all too real. Remember the episode on The Sopranos in which Junior (Dominic Chianese) walks into the kitchen and shoots his nephew Tony (James Gandolfini) while he&rsquo;s making pasta, thinking he&rsquo;s an intruder?

An article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine voiced doctors&rsquo; concerns about the risk of suicide by gun owners with dementia. According to the CDC, the suicide rate in the US is highest among those 65 and older, and firearms are the most common method.

AARP suggests families draw up an advance directive (sort of a healthcare proxy) for a firearm retirement date. Another suggestion is to put any ammunition under (your) lock and key. So, now that you&rsquo;re armed with this information, sit down with your dad and have a frank discussion about his guns.

Ask Oz and Roizen: Why You Need a Flu Shot and the Dangers of Gun Ownership With Dementia

Ready for an intensive, all-encompassing process to change your life?&nbsp;

Yeah, me neither. Kind of tough to fit in, between prepping the presentation for your boss, last-minute runs to Costco and making goodies for the bake sale you somehow signed up to chair. Besides, can I remind you that you&rsquo;re already pretty awesome? Don&rsquo;t go&nbsp;changin&rsquo; that much.&nbsp;

But, we all have improvements that we&rsquo;d like to make&ndash;-and what if I said that you could still get the impact, in barely more time than it takes to shimmy into your Spanx? Research shows that even 10 minutes a day can have a surprisingly significant effect.&nbsp;

Let&rsquo;s face it&mdash;none of us have time to waste&mdash;so here are a few of my favorite powerhouse activities.&nbsp;

Move it. If you only have 10 minutes, exercise is one of the best activities for you physically, mentally and emotionally.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/benefits-regular-exercise/article/how-two-minutes-of-walking-can-save-your-life">Walk</a>. Run. Dance. Stomp. In one study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders participants who were asked to exercise in 10-minute spurts two to four times a day, five days a week, stuck to the program and exercised more than those who were asked to exercise in single 20- to&nbsp;40-minute chunks over the same time period. I&rsquo;d love you to get&nbsp;20 to 30 minutes total, but if you&rsquo;ll start with a 10-minute workout, you&rsquo;ll notice a difference.  &nbsp;

10 minutes of meditation or mindfulness. Studies show that regular&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/meditation/article/starting-a-meditation-practice">meditation or mindfulness exercises</a> cannot only improve heart health,&nbsp;they&nbsp;cut down on mind wandering (such as obsessing over that catty remark from a coworker or how you could have handled a challenge better), and lowers levels of depression and anxiety. One study published in Psychological Science found the effect of improved focus in as little as two weeks of mindfulness practice.&nbsp;

Play. Adults don&rsquo;t get recess anymore. (We don&rsquo;t get naptime either, which is something I&rsquo;d like to address with management at a later point.) Whether with your children, your dog or your best friends, let out your inner child. Host game night. Take a friend to one of those indoor trampoline gyms. When you&rsquo;re at brunch, put the orange peel across your teeth and smile at a stranger. Let out your inner 12-year-old.&nbsp;

Prepare meals with the freshest, brightest fruits and veggies. You get home, you&rsquo;re exhausted, and you reach for whatever leftovers are in the fridge, right? Take 10 extra minutes to saut&eacute; that fresh asparagus or chop up the papaya and squeeze on a little lime. Taking a few minutes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-foods-cooking/slideshow/autumn-inspired-upgrade-morning-oatmeal">spruce up your meal</a>&nbsp;not only makes it healthier with fewer calories and higher antioxidants, it will make your veggie a little more appealing at the same time.&nbsp;

Two times a day, stop interacting and start connecting. You take your groceries from the clerk. You swipe your ID card for the security guard at work. Those are transactions. But what if you took two minutes to say hello, ask how they&rsquo;re doing and learn about them? In Talk to Strangers, author David&nbsp;Topus&nbsp;writes that replacing an &ldquo;efficient&rdquo; transaction with a true connection will not only improve your mindset and day, but the other person&rsquo;s as well.   
A successful journey needn&#39;t start with huge sweeping changes. It&rsquo;s the small, daily decisions that accumulate and forge our lives.

How 10 Minutes Can Change Your Life

We know that carrying some extra weight can increase the risks of conditions like heart disease, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and even death. But is being slightly overweight really so unhealthy? The answer might surprise you.

Excess weight and a laundry list of health concerns are not always synonymous. But, don&rsquo;t be so quick to ward off a healthy diet and exercise&mdash;this subgroup of overweight people, dubbed the metabolically healthy obese, fit some very specific criteria.

Defining the risks 
Body mass index: An individual&rsquo;s risks for these conditions don&rsquo;t depend solely on the numbers that appear on the scale, nor on any other single measure, like body mass index.&nbsp;

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure used to determine body fat based on a person&rsquo;s height and weight, and is typically used to assess the risks your weight has on your health, but even that is an imperfect measure.

&ldquo;I use risk to define everything,&rdquo; Neil McDevitt, MD, a bariatric surgeon with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/summerville-medical-center">Summerville Medical Center</a> says. &ldquo;There&#39;s a lot of social issues that go into what people feel comfortable with, so we use a BMI chart to give us an overall gestalt of what your general risk is, based on your weight,&rdquo; he adds.

By definition, overweight and obese people have a BMI greater than 25 or 30, respectively, but, &ldquo;there&#39;s a weakness inherent in BMI charts,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;It doesn&#39;t take into consideration muscle mass.&rdquo;

That&rsquo;s not all. The healthiest BMI for longevity might not fall within the normal range (18.5 to 25), although the jury is still out on the optimal BMI for lowest mortality. In fact, one study suggests the &ldquo;sweet spot&rdquo; for longevity is a BMI of 27, which you&rsquo;ll find right in the middle of the overweight range. Other studies, still, suggest the lowest rates of mortality are among those with a BMI between 20 and 24. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Waist-to-hip ratio: Concerns over weight may not be directly related to how much fat a person is carrying, but where on the body they&rsquo;re carrying it. One major risk factor of metabolic syndrome is a large midsection, often described as <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/live-to-one-hundred/article/what-your-body-shape-says-about-longevity">an &ldquo;apple-shaped&rdquo; figure</a>.

In fact, a new study suggests those with a normal BMI who tend to carry weight around their middle have an elevated risk of death from any cause compared to people who are overweight or obese, and carry weight elsewhere.

&ldquo;We look at something called the waist-to-h ratio,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;The World Health Organization says that abdominal obesity is significantly more of a risk factor than obesity of the periphery of the body.&rdquo;

The measure used to determine fat distribution is known as waist-to-hip ratio&mdash;a comparison between the smallest part of the waist and largest part of the hip. A ratio of one or greater for men and .8 or greater for women, is considered an apple shape, and thus carries a greater potential for obesity-related health risks and death. &nbsp;&nbsp;

In combination with BMI, waist circumference gives a good picture a person&rsquo;s risk of obesity-related mortality&mdash;even if you fall within a healthy BMI range.

Other factors: Exercise tolerance and genetics play a role in determining the risks of your weight on your health, as well. &ldquo;There&#39;s a huge difference between somebody who has a higher BMI, who is only able to walk one thousand steps a day, versus somebody who is capable of walking nine or ten thousand steps a day,&rdquo; McDevitt says.

Good genes can very well bless an overweight individual with normal cholesterol and blood pressure levels, thereby relieving some pressure to shed the pounds.

Extra pounds may be OK 
&ldquo;What I look at is sustainability&mdash;if somebody has a BMI of 27 or 28, but they&rsquo;re healthy, making good food choices, exercising and they&rsquo;re able to maintain that BMI, then I don&rsquo;t really foresee an issue,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;Why should we push them any harder, unless they want to be a lighter weight?&rdquo;

The bottom line? A BMI that is indicative of being overweight or obese doesn&rsquo;t innately make in individual unhealthy. &ldquo;So, it is very possible, and very acceptable, to be overweight and still be healthy,&rdquo; McDevitt says.

Before you run to the pantry, keep in mind, metabolically healthy obesity isn&rsquo;t common&mdash;about one in every seven people&mdash;and it might not last forever. Age, lack of exercise and other factors can turn that excess weight into a dangerous health concern.

One study with a 10-year follow up period found that men who started out metabolically healthy and obese were three times more likely to develop heart disease than metabolically healthy men of a normal weight. The risk doubled&nbsp;for metabolically healthy obese women when compared to healthy, normal-weight women.

Results from another study of more than 3.5 million men and women suggest a similar outcome. Obese individuals who began the study free of obesity-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol were at a higher risk of developing heart disease, stroke and heart failure than normal weight people without these initial complications.

When compared with healthy normal weight people, obese, but otherwise healthy individuals, were 49 percent more likely to develop heart disease, at a 7 percent higher risk of stroke and at a 96 percent increased risk of heart failure, after an average of 5 years and 4 months.

Although extra baggage is OK for some, excess weight is a problem for many&mdash;two out of three Americans are considered <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/obesity-overweight-condition/article/whats-the-latest-obesity">overweight or obese</a>, and many of them are unhealthy.

What if your weight is an issue? 
There are certainly some people whose bodies aren&rsquo;t built to handle excess weight. In these cases, they may develop metabolic syndrome&mdash;a group of risk factors that up your chance of developing issues like heart disease and diabetes.

Excess weight can also take a toll on your knee and hip joints, your ability to sleep and has been linked to respiratory issues and even some cancers. Don&rsquo;t sweat (or do)&mdash;many of these conditions can be managed with weight loss. In the simplest terms, losing weight is a matter of burning more calories than you consume. &nbsp; &nbsp;

The only sure fire way to assess these risks is to visit your doctor. Work with your healthcare provider to create a diet and exercise regimen that works with your lifestyle. &ldquo;Adjust your lifestyle, so that you don&#39;t have to work harder,&rdquo; McDevitt says. &ldquo;If you make better food choices consistently, you don&#39;t necessarily have to make up for it at the gym.&rdquo;

Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?

Q: My grandmother recently suffered a &ldquo;minor&rdquo; heart attack followed with a stent placement. She&rsquo;s scared about a recommended cardio rehab program. What can I say to get her to go? &mdash;Laura G., NY, NY

A: Recovering from a <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/circulatory-system-health/article/heart-attack-cardiac-arrest-heart-failure">heart attack</a> can be challenging, not just physically but emotionally. Cardio rehab helps with both aspects. Unfortunately, only about two-thirds of diagnosis-appropriate patients are referred to cardio rehab and only about a quarter of those folks enroll in a rehab program. Even at the Cleveland Clinic where everyone with an appropriate diagnosis is approached separately by a doc and a nurse, only about 22 percent of patients join rehab. This is despite the fact that the program is almost totally covered by every insurance company, Medicare and Medicaid. Clearly, patients need to better understand the enormous benefits.

Explain to your mom that cardio rehab is a wide-ranging wellness program that promotes good health and a good mental attitude by offering everything from exercise to nutritional advice, emotional counseling and stress reduction. It&rsquo;s individualized and can include help with other lifestyle changes (<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/quit-smoking/slideshow/how-quit-smoking-once-all">smoking cessation</a>?) she wants to make. Here&rsquo;s what she can expect.

Evaluation: Her program will start with a face-to-face evaluation with the professionals at her rehab center. An accompanying friend or family member would be welcome here. After that, she&rsquo;ll probably have a stress test during which her heart rate and her blood pressure will be monitored. Then, they&rsquo;ll review her medications and she and the cardio-rehab team will decide on the next steps.

Her Program: She will set up a schedule for attending lectures/discussions about healthy eating, classes in meditation or chair yoga, and workouts on exercise machines. There are also intensive cardiac rehab programs, which increase frequency and incorporate programs such as Ornish or Pritikin. They reduce the incidence of recurrence and restore a more active and normal lifestyle.

We hope you can convince your grandmother to go. We&rsquo;ve seen so many people benefit from these programs&mdash;they restore physical and emotional self-confidence along with physical strength.

Q: I tell my 16-year-old son that he&rsquo;s missing out on a lot by spending too much time on his computer and phone. What else can I say to get him to get out more? &mdash;Karin B., Tulsa, OK

A: How about making him aware of the threat to his eyesight that <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/kids-teens-health/article/how-screen-time-too-much-kids">screen time</a> poses? We remember when moms would tell kids, &ldquo;Get out of the house and don&rsquo;t come back until dinner!&rdquo; Yes, times have changed, but past generations of kids who played outside more frequently didn&rsquo;t end up nearsighted as often.

Recent studies have shown that adolescents and teens who are glued to their computer screens and phones don&rsquo;t use their long-range sight and end up developing myopia (nearsightedness). One BBC report claims that 90 percent of young people in China are currently myopic. In Seoul, South Korea, it&rsquo;s estimated that more than 95 percent of kids need glasses for distance. One study estimates that by 2050, 4.8 billion people worldwide will be affected by nearsightedness, which is 2.4 billion more than in 2010.

Theory #1: Lack of long-range focus 
Getting children outside and away from their devices changes how they use their eye muscles and how the lens in the eye focuses on objects. Whether looking down the soccer field or down the street, gazing into the distance lets eyes move from near to far and focus more easily and accurately.

Theory #2: Lack of Sunshine 
Several studies over the past seven or eight years have shown that kids who spend more time outside are less likely to develop nearsightedness both as adolescents and by the time they reach age 65. One study in China found that 40 more minutes of recess daily reduced myopia rates by 23 percent.

So tell your son it&rsquo;s shortsighted to make yourself nearsighted when there&rsquo;s so much fun to be had doing sports, hiking, walking and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-habits/slideshow/nature-keeps-you-healthy">enjoying nature</a>.

Ask Oz and Roizen: Cardio Rehabilitation and Risks of Screen Time

Have you ever suspected that actual sunlight could make you physically lighter? Your body clock responds to the daily light cycle of dawn, daylight, dusk and dark. It influences your metabolism, your hormone secretion, your brain waves, and your mood, including your interest in sex.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/vitamin-d/what-are-health-benefits-sunlight" target="_blank">Related: The Health Benefits of Sunlight</a>

Now, it seems, if you&rsquo;re regularly exposed to 20-30 minutes of sunlight between 8am and noon, your BMI will be lower than someone who misses those early rays -- even if all other variables are the same. The effects are due to light&rsquo;s influence on your <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/endocrine-system/which-hormones-affect-my-appetite" target="_blank">appetite control hormones</a>, your glucose control systems, or something we don&rsquo;t know about yet. But here&rsquo;s how decipher the quality of your light exposure:

You need exposure to light that&rsquo;s rated at 500 Lux. A cloudy day serves up more than 1,000, while direct sunlight delivers around 32,000 to 100,000 (so don&rsquo;t over do it!). A bright office only serves up around 400 Lux. Moonlight? 1 Lux. A moonless night away from city lights --you&rsquo;re out of Lux.

So take time in the early morning to go outside for 20 minutes; then take a midmorning break and head into the light for another 10 minutes or more. If you&rsquo;re also exercising in the gym or getting your 10,000 steps a day at the mall, you&rsquo;ll get double benefits -- and soon feel very en-lightened!

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/what-benefits-exercising-morning" target="_blank">Related: The Benefits of Morning Exercise</a>

Medically reviewed in May 2019.

Early Burst of Sun Can Boost Your Whole Day

NBA locker rooms are dripping with more than sweaty jerseys these days. Water-fanatics like the Sixers&rsquo; T.J. McConnell (he and his teammates favor Ph-adjusted alkaline water), Golden State&rsquo;s Steph Curry (filtered water) and LeBron James (he masks his bottled water&rsquo;s label) have embraced the health benefits of plain water over sports drinks. That&rsquo;s a good practice each of you could follow to improve your digestion and muscle function as well as your skin, heart and brain health.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, some folks need fewer than eight glasses of water daily, some more. You should always drink when thirsty (more often while exercising or in extreme weather). You can tell if you&rsquo;re hydrated by the color of your urine&mdash;pale yellow or colorless means you are doing well.

But all your hydration should not only come from water&mdash;you can rely on <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/slideshow/foods-help-stay-hydrated">water-soaked fruits and veggies</a> for around 20 percent of your daily dose:

<ul>
	<li>Cucumbers&mdash;97.9 percent water</li>
	<li>Grapefruit&mdash;91.5 percent water</li>
	<li>Celery&mdash;95.4 percent water</li>
	<li>Strawberries&mdash;90.9 percent water</li>
	<li>Summer squash&mdash;96 percent water</li>
	<li>Watermelon&mdash;91.4 percent water</li>
	<li>Tomatoes&mdash;95.2 percent water</li>
	<li>Casaba&mdash;91.8 percent water</li>
	<li>Rhubarb&mdash;93.6 percent water</li>
	<li>Lettuce&mdash;95.6 percent water</li>
</ul>

These water-soaked fruits and veggies provide moisture to lubricate your system, fiber to improve your digestion and phytonutrients that allow well-hydrated muscles to become more energetic and powerful. Your brain needs them to receive oxygen and their nutrients keep you clear-thinking. So drink in all the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/wellness-healthy-living/slideshow/ways-drink-more-water">benefits of staying hydrated</a> with water and water-enriched food.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Eat Your Water: How to Stay Effectively Hydrated

If you&#39;re looking for a healthy place to take a vacation, consider heading for the hills.

People who live in mountainous regions appear to have lower mortality rates than people living in low-lying areas, a study determined. Researchers believe this may be due to the physical demands of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/running/why-should-i-run-hills">walking on hilly terrain</a> with less oxygen. If you live in the lowlands, make your power hikes high-altitude workouts by heading for local hills.

A study of roughly 1,200 men and women who lived in either lowland or mountainous regions revealed that mountain dwellers experienced lower total and coronary mortality than people who lived closer to sea level. Researchers speculate that mountain dwelling may boost heart health because it requires people to walk on uneven, hilly terrain in high-altitude, low-oxygen conditions. Working out at a higher altitude where there&#39;s less oxygen forces your heart and lungs to work harder, strengthening them more than if you were exercising closer to sea level. If you live in the mountains or regularly exercise at high altitude, you also may increase your number of red blood cells and use oxygen more efficiently. However, if you are working out for the first time or have a medical condition, the strain of high-altitude hikes may be too much. Consult your healthcare provider first.

Head for the Hills

It was about eight years ago. I was 33 years old, with a BMI considered <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/body-mass-index-bmi/what-body-mass-index-reading">clinically obese</a> and a family history of diabetes and heart disease. I knew I was at risk. I was sedentary, I ate poorly and I was depressed with very low energy. I felt awful.

To add to the mix, my girlfriend (now my loving wife), diagnosed with brain cancer, was undergoing chemo and radiation. She had a life expectancy of three years. She really needed me to be strong for her. I knew it. And at some point the question arose in my mind&hellip;

How can I possibly take care of her if I&rsquo;m not well.

I started with a simple piece of advice from a good and healthy friend: Start by doing things you like to do and modifying things you like to eat.

So, what were my passions? Well, I knew I Ioved trail running. And hiking. And mountain biking. I started with short walks and slower rides and worked up doing more each week. As I began to get stronger, I enjoyed these things even more. Eventually I added&nbsp;bodyweight workouts,&nbsp;doing push-ups, lunges and pull-ups for more strength.

Once I started exercising more, I realized I had to eat better or I couldn&rsquo;t get through my workouts without feeling lightheaded and nauseated. I found that when I&nbsp;ate well, my workouts were better and I&nbsp;felt much better. This sparked a strong interest in nutrition. I discovered what different foods really cost in terms of calories &ndash; that I could take in half the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/calories/calories-need-per-day">calories I need in a day</a>&nbsp;with just a few slices of pepperoni pizza, without even thinking about it. That enjoying a bowl of ice cream after the pizza was pushing me to almost 75 percent of my actual need for that day. Wow.

Something had to change.

I changed my diet and just started feeling better. More energized. Less lethargic, less likely to crash. As I read about what good nutrition really is, I ate less junk food,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/protein-and-weight-loss/protein-help-me-lose-weight">more proteins</a>,&nbsp;vegetables and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-athlete-diets/why-healthy-snacks-important-athletes">healthy snacks</a>.

I drastically improved the macronutrient makeup of the foods I ate and it was easier than I thought it would be.

<ul>
	<li>I began to pack my lunches for work, favoring fresh veggies, lean protein, and brown rice.</li>
	<li>I reduced my&nbsp;white starch&nbsp;and fat intake. So, ice cream became&nbsp;light&nbsp;ice cream and eventually yogurt with fresh fruit and granola.</li>
	<li>Side orders of chips and fries became&nbsp;baked chips or baked fries.</li>
	<li>Pizzas got&nbsp;smaller and less calorie-dense&nbsp;and vegetables were added.</li>
	<li>Popcorn servings had much less butter, and eventually I used misted olive oil instead.</li>
</ul>

Over time, the foods I once loved started to taste different. Rich foods started to taste&nbsp;too rich&nbsp;and sweet foods,&nbsp;too sweet. Whole grains took on a whole new level of flavor and I started craving clean, vitamin-rich foods. It still blows my mind that now I like vegetables more than the fatty starches I used to crave.&nbsp;

I didn&rsquo;t&nbsp;try&nbsp;to force this shift in taste, it just happened.

These days, at 41, progress of my health is more evident. I have a very healthy&nbsp;BMI, I&rsquo;ve dropped many pant sizes and my cholesterol levels have improved dramatically. I run and ride further, with more energy. I embrace new challenges in my life with confidence.

Above all, I naturally climbed out of depression. I now feel useful in my relationships &ndash; and to my wife. And her cancer? It&rsquo;s been eight years of &ldquo;no change&rdquo; MRIs. We&rsquo;re both healthier than we have ever been. I have a lot to celebrate these days, and as I set new and higher goals for myself, I know I&rsquo;ll always be a work in progress &ndash; and I look forward to every minute.

Take the first steps to growing younger and healthier with the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">RealAge Test</a>.

Medically reviewed in September 2019.

Health: A Work in Progress

Within days of its U.S. release, Pokemon Go exploded in popularity, attracting players of all ages and taking social media by storm.

Pokemon Go uses your smart phone&rsquo;s GPS to locate you within an &ldquo;augmented reality,&rdquo; or a game world that drops <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stroke-and-rehabilitation/how-virtual-reality-therapy-stroke">virtual reality</a> characters into your actual surroundings&mdash;at least according to your screen.

The mobile game, available on Android and iOS smart phones, encourages you to wander and explore new areas so it can detect Pokemon nearby. When you approach one, the app accesses your phone&rsquo;s camera to reveal the Pokemon right in front of you. Users can then catch, train and battle with the Pokemon they&rsquo;ve collected.

How gaming can improve your health 
Still searching for an excuse to venture out and &ldquo;catch &lsquo;em all?&rdquo; Here are 3 science-backed ways playing games like Pokemon Go can support your mental and physical health.

It gets you moving. The social element of video games may be one reason why they&rsquo;ve helped to combat childhood obesity. Overweight children often face bullying and exclusion, but exercise-based video games may help to break down social barriers and promote active playtime.

One study found that kids who were given video games involving physical activity became more active, lost more weight and achieved lowered BMIs than those who didn&rsquo;t play the games.

Pokemon Go inspires people of all ages to get out of the house and move. In fact, players are over two times more likely to walk 10,000 steps a day, according to a study presented at the 2017 American Heart Association Scientific Session.

It boosts your mood. A mounting body of research supports the use of video games in the treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Video games can trigger the release of feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. Gaming may also help players build resilience, the ability to recover from adversity, and can create a sense of wellbeing.

Certain games, especially ones involving virtual reality or exercise, can feel like they suspend space and time. This allows players to relax and live in the moment, according to researchers.

Pokemon Go offers all of these features, along with its unique ability to draw people out of isolation and play face-to-face. &nbsp;

Gaming may keep your brain sharp. Research shows that playing video games can improve attention and processing speed. One long-term study even demonstrated that adolescents who regularly played strategic video games reported improved problem-solving skills and achieved higher grades in school.

Pokemon Go involves strategy and planning. It also exercises your visuospatial skills, or your ability to see and interact with your surroundings, by dropping virtual elements into your world and encouraging you to explore new places.

Health benefits aside, players should always take precautions to ensure their personal safety while adventuring.

What to watch out for 
Pokemon Go users in search of their next catch may be vulnerable due to distraction and unfamiliarity with new areas. Other players can drop &ldquo;lure modules,&rdquo; or Pokemon collection stops for 30-minute windows, which poses some safety concerns too.&nbsp; Stay safe by:

<ul>
	<li>Frequently reminding children about &ldquo;stranger danger&rdquo;</li>
	<li>Limiting areas where kids can wander, or play along with them</li>
	<li>Pay attention to your surroundings; watch out for cars, suspicious individuals, water and tripping hazards</li>
</ul>

As you venture out in search of magical creatures, Pokemon Go can help you achieve your health goals&mdash;just remember your personal safety and consider playing in pairs.&nbsp;

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

The Unexpected Health Benefits of Pokemon Go

As we kick off the 2021 Sharecare Awards, CNN&rsquo;s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, along with award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance and other influencers, join us to share the best health advice they wish they could give their younger selves.

Sleep more, create better habits: Dr. Sanjay Gupta and others offer their younger selves key health advice 

Social, emotional, physical and diet tweaks that really add up.

Mind, Body and More: 9 Easy Tips for Total Wellness

Most people know the basic recipe for good health: eat well, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/exercise-weight-loss/how-much-working-out">get enough exercise</a> and see your healthcare provider regularly. But where you live influences your health, too. Larger cities and communities encourage healthy habits and the well-being of residents, which help reduce chronic health problems like obesity and heart disease, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

The study examined 48 communities throughout the United States and ranked them on four metrics: how walkable they are, how bikeable they are, availability of parks and natural spaces and the strength of their public transportation systems. The researchers averaged the scores to create an Active Living score and found fascinating results.

What they learned 
The city with the highest Active Living score is the Boston, Massachusetts area, comprised of Boston, Cambridge and Newton. At the bottom: Fort Wayne, Indiana. Each of the four scores&mdash;walk score, bike score, transit score and park score&mdash;proved to be correlated to the health and well-being of community residents.

<ul>
	<li>A high transit score is associated with a lower rate of depression.</li>
	<li>Residents of communities with a high park score are associated with feelings of safety and security.</li>
	<li>A high bike score is correlated to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/high-cholesterol/article/one-third-americans-dont-control-high-cholesterol">lower cholesterol</a>.</li>
	<li>Communities with high bike and park scores seem to be related to fewer feelings of apathy in residents and lower rates of smoking.</li>
	<li>Communities with high walk, park and especially transit scores were correlated with less daily physical pain.</li>
</ul>

Reduction of chronic conditions 
There are some stark differences between the communities with the five highest Active Living scores versus the five lowest scores. The differences serve to highlight how your community can affect your health. Specifically, people in communities with the highest Active Living scores reported:

<ul>
	<li>Nearly 21 percent less obesity</li>
	<li>Almost 25 percent less diabetes</li>
	<li>20 percent less high <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/high-blood-pressure/article/know-your-numbers-blood-pressure">blood pressure</a></li>
	<li>8 percent less high cholesterol</li>
	<li>29 percent less depression</li>
</ul>

Promoting a healthy lifestyle 
The communities with the highest Active Living scores have almost 20 percent more people who are thriving in terms of physical well-being.

People in these communities also smoke less and eat more fresh produce than people in the lowest-scoring communities. People in communities with the highest Active Living scores even have cheerleaders&mdash;they&rsquo;re almost 5 percent more likely to have someone in their lives who is <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-habits/how-find-support-lifestyle-changes">encouraging them to be healthy</a>.

What you can do 
Communities like Albert Lea, Minnesota and Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo Beaches in California are actively changing their infrastructure to promote the health and wellness of their citizens. But you probably can&rsquo;t just pick up and move to one of the top Active Living cities&mdash;at least not on a whim. So, what can you do?

Start by petitioning for your neighborhood to become an Active Living community! Then, take your workouts outdoors. A 2011 review of studies found that compared to indoor exercise, exercising outside made people feel more revitalized, more energized and less tense, confused, angry and depressed. Even if you can&rsquo;t exercise outside, try to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

Where You Live Can Reduce Your Risk of 5 Chronic Conditions, Study Shows

Think back to the countless times you&rsquo;ve sat in a doctor&rsquo;s waiting room, filling out a family health history questionnaire before an appointment. Often, this is done in a rush, with little thought to the importance or accuracy of the information. Do we really have the answer to every question about our immediate family&rsquo;s medical history, let alone the questions about our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins?

&ldquo;There is no such a thing as providing too much information,&rdquo; says Ramy Sayed, MD, an internal and pediatric physician with TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center in Smyrna, Tennessee. &ldquo;It is highly encouraged to provide as much information about the family history as possible to your health provider.&rdquo;

Even among your closest relatives, there may be health risks you don&rsquo;t know about, and it can be difficult to nail those down. A report by the National Institutes of Health found that people were better able to rule out conditions their family members did not have, rather than identify those they did have. When participants had to name actual diseases of family members, the accuracy varied significantly. Reports for types of cancer ranged from 33 to 95 percent accuracy, while reporting on mental health conditions was worse, with a range between 6 and 82 percent.

If you have a family gathering on the horizon, it may be a good time to bring up any questions that you may have about your family&rsquo;s medical history. These talks don&rsquo;t have to be awkward, either. Having a genuine interest in the health of your loved ones can help you discover ways to better inform your own medical decisions.

Health history questions to ask 
A complete family history should include information about three generations of relatives and their ethnic backgrounds. Ask a wide range of questions, focusing on conditions where heredity could be a risk factor. A few examples include:

<ul>
	<li>Has anyone in our family passed away at a young age from a disease?</li>
	<li>Has a family member been diagnosed with cancer? Were they diagnosed before age 50?</li>
	<li>Does heart disease run in our family? Has anyone had a heart attack or stroke and at what age?</li>
	<li>Have any family members developed diabetes and how old were they when diagnosed?</li>
	<li>Do you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol?</li>
	<li>Is there a history of autoimmune disorders within our family?</li>
	<li>Does anyone in our family have dementia or Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease?</li>
	<li>Do any of our relatives have a mental illness?</li>
</ul>

If the answer to any of the above is yes, don&rsquo;t hesitate to follow up with further questions. Ask about age of diagnosis, whether conditions affected multiple generations or if there were noticeable signs and symptoms. If there is a history of cancer in your family, it&rsquo;s relevant to note the types, if any relatives have had multiple cancer diagnoses or if multiple family members have had the same type of cancer.

These questions are far from an exhaustive list, but they can be a start in collecting important information to share with your healthcare provider (HCP). If you are worried about a specific health issue, it&rsquo;s worth starting a conversation with other family members to see if it has been a concern for them as well.

Why it&rsquo;s important 
&ldquo;Even though a patient cannot change their genetic makeup, knowing family history can help alter that risk for a better health outcome,&rdquo; says Dr. Sayed.

Most families have a history of at least one chronic condition or disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If your HCP has this information, together you can discuss what types of conditions to screen for and how often screenings should be done. If you suspect you may have an illness, Sayed notes that family history can also &ldquo;help establish a diagnosis, which may help with a better outcome or even a cure.&rdquo;

With the help of your HCP, you can also come up with prevention techniques for certain conditions. This may include lifestyle changes through diet, exercise and stress management. This may also involve medication, regular health screenings or genetic testing.

Heredity is just one risk factor in the development of some diseases. &ldquo;Not only do family members share genes, they may also share environment, lifestyle and habits, all of which increase or decrease the risk for developing certain health problems or diseases,&rdquo; notes Sayed.

It&rsquo;s also important to remember that the genetic links between some diseases and conditions are still being researched. Even if your chance of inheriting a condition is greater, that does not mean you will definitely be diagnosed with it.

How to ask your family 
If it&rsquo;s appropriate, Sayed thinks that gatherings can be a good time to discuss family medical history. &ldquo;Try to talk to family members about their health conditions by asking about why&rsquo;s and how&rsquo;s of their disease,&rdquo; he suggests. &ldquo;Even if the family members are healthy, asking about previous medical problems could be a conversation starter for an evening.&rdquo;

Since it might not be the most lighthearted discussion to have around the dinner table, you may prefer to speak to family members in a one-on-one setting. Make loved ones feel at ease by showing a genuine concern for their health and an interest in how they manage any conditions. Many relatives might be happy to discuss, since it allows them to share information, as well any struggles and challenges.

Others, however, may be reluctant to discuss their medical issues. They may be worried about alarming other family members or prefer to keep their health concerns private. Ask questions delicately and without prying, let them know that their answers may help other family members avoid becoming ill.

Mental health may be a particularly tough topic to bring up. Although common, some families find it taboo to speak about these conditions. &ldquo;Most of the patients only know about severe mental illness in the family from hospitalizations or recurrent exacerbation of the mental illness,&rdquo; says Sayed. A thoughtful way to broach the subject may be to share a recent news story or statistic you read about mental health. If you feel comfortable, talk about your own experience to open up a dialogue.

With the popularity of at-home genetic testing, many patients feel that they can find out about health risks without any of the awkward family conversations. Sayed cautions against relying on these tests alone. &ldquo;Genetic testing can provide valuable information. However, in most cases it raises more questions for the patient than it answers, sometimes at a considerable expense,&rdquo; he notes.

Many of these direct-to-consumer genetic tests are unproven and the results could be misleading, misinterpreted or completely incorrect. Plus, unexpected information about your genetics or family could be upsetting. If you do decide to proceed with one of these tests, any results, concerns and questions should be interpreted with your HCP.

Where to store your information 
After gathering your family history, keep it accessible so you can have it for future HCP appointments.

It can be as simple as hand writing all your information on a piece of paper to keep in your wallet or in a folder to take with you to appointments. Along with your history, write out the types of medication you take and their dosages.

It may be easier to type up a document that you can email to yourself. Documents can be secured with a password if you are worried about privacy. Although less secure, you can also keep family history within a notes app on your phone.

There are a number of online resources that can be used to organize your health history, as well.

The CDC and U.S. Surgeon General have created a web-based tool called &ldquo;My Family Health Portrait&rdquo; that digitally stores all your information. You can also download an app that keeps all of your relevant health information in one place. Both of these options allow you to easily access your data anywhere.

Regardless of what method you choose, having a complete family history ready for your HCP to view will save you time and help both of you make informed decisions about your health care. Be sure to share this information within your family as well, so you can help all of your loved ones live a healthier life.

Sources:

AO Berg, MA Baird, et al. &ldquo;National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement: Family History and Improving Health.&rdquo; Annals of Internal Medicine. December 15, 2009. 151(12):872-7. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. &ldquo;Family Health History for Adults.&rdquo; November 24, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
American Medical Association. &ldquo;Collecting a family history.&rdquo; 2021. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
National Institute of Mental Health. &ldquo;Looking at My Genes: What Can They Tell Me About My Mental Health?&rdquo; 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
American Cancer Society. &ldquo;Family Cancer Syndromes.&rdquo; August 5, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. &ldquo;Family Health History: The Basics.&rdquo; November 25, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
MedlinePlus. &ldquo;Why is it important to know my family medical history?&rdquo; April 13, 2021. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
MedlinePlus. &ldquo;What are the benefits and risks of direct-to-consumer genetic testing?&rdquo; September 18, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. &ldquo;Genetic Testing.&rdquo; March 23, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
MedlinePlus. &ldquo;Can a direct-to-consumer genetic test tell me whether I will develop cancer?&rdquo; September 28, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. &ldquo;Public Health Genomics and Precision Health Knowledge: My Family Health Portrait.&rdquo; May 1, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021.

What You Need to Know About Your Family Health History

Wish you could lay off the potato chips better? Then spend more time with someone who&#39;s got excellent self-control.

Research shows that thinking about or writing about or watching people who are good at exerting self-control helps you exercise good self-control as well. Time to pick up that Gandhi biography . . .

Control Yourself 
Yep. Like a cold, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/how-stress-self-control-eating">self-control</a> is contagious. It spreads throughout social networks, and you can catch some of it from friends, coworkers, and significant others. Being around or aware of people who practice good self-control makes it easier for you to come up with thoughts and ideas on how to control your own behavior. You don&#39;t even have to share the same goals.

Bad Influence 
And the opposite end of the self-control spectrum definitely doesn&#39;t do you any favors. In other words, if you spend a lot of time with your doughnut-eating friend who&#39;d like to lose weight but just can&#39;t, that can rub off on you as well. So surround yourself with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mens-health/article/peer-pressure-and-eating-habits">positive influences</a>. And maybe someday you&#39;ll be that self-control guru that other people are drawn to.

Medically reviewed in April 2019.

These People Can Help You Reach Your Goals

Driving through Honolulu on July 20 or 21, 2018, you may have noticed something strange about Aloha Tower and the IBM Building&mdash;they were both glowing red. It wasn&rsquo;t a fire, but a celebration of people with intellectual disabilities. The Light Up for Inclusion campaign marked Special Olympics International&rsquo;s 50th anniversary by illuminating monuments around the world. It&rsquo;s one of the many Special Olympics initiatives that spotlights an often-underserved community.

50 years of changing lives 
Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is an international sports training and competition program designed for athletes of all ages and physical abilities with an intellectual disability. In 2017, Special Olympics Hawaii served over 3,400 athletes (at no cost to them) on six islands.

Through sports, Special Olympics aims to help its athletes uncover inner strengths and empowers them to grow socially, mentally and physically. As a result, according to research done by the organization, they&#39;re 200 percent more likely to be employed than non-participating individuals with intellectual disabilities. They develop improved motor skills and physical fitness, and tend to have a more positive self-image, as well.

The organization also strives to end stigmas associated with intellectual disabilities. &ldquo;Some of our athletes have had vision problems, and the assumption is that they can&rsquo;t catch a ball because they have a disability,&rdquo; says Dan Epstein, COO for Special Olympics Hawaii. &ldquo;And then all of a sudden they go through an eye exam and you realize they need glasses.&rdquo; Through working with medical professionals and the community at large, Special Olympics aims to curtail these common misconceptions.

Let the games begin 
Special Olympics Hawaii has year-round sports competitions divided into three seasons: spring, summer and fall. There are over 45 individual contests across Hawaii, including three state-wide events&mdash;Summer Games, Aukake Classic and Holiday Games.

<a href="http://www.specialolympicshawaii.org/sports/sports-offered.html" target="_blank">Sports offered</a> include:

<ul>
	<li>Basketball</li>
	<li>Bocce</li>
	<li>Bowling</li>
	<li>Flag football</li>
	<li>Golf (exhibition only)</li>
	<li>Power Lifting</li>
	<li>Soccer</li>
	<li>Softball</li>
	<li>Swimming</li>
	<li>Track and field</li>
</ul>

Any person age 8 and older with an intellectual disability can compete in Special Olympics events. For keiki aged 2 to 7, Special Olympics offers a <a href="http://www.specialolympicshawaii.org/get-involved/young-athletes-program.html" target="_blank">Young Athletes Program</a> focusing on pre-sports skills.

Athletes can also participate representing Hawaii in the Special Olympics USA Games, a national competition that welcomes thousands of athletes from all 50 states. In 2018, athletes from Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island competed in soccer, track and field and basketball at the Seattle USA Games. Costs for airfare, training, equipment and uniforms were covered by Special Olympics Hawaii through donations and local fundraising efforts.

&ldquo;Everything we provide is free of charge to our athletes and families, and all monies raised in Hawaii stay in Hawaii,&rdquo; says Healthy Communities Manager Jennifer Ernst. That includes the regular costs of flying athletes from neighbor islands to Oahu for the three annual competitions.

Focusing on health 
Special Olympics Hawaii is, at its core, a sports program, but like many nonprofits, its mission has grown over time. One of its current major initiatives is <a href="http://www.specialolympicshawaii.org/special-olympics-hawaii-initiatives/healthy-athlete-initiatives.html" target="_blank">Healthy Athletes</a>. Each year, athletes are provided free health screenings at the Summer Games held at the University of Hawai&lsquo;i, Mānoa. In 2017, over 500 exams were performed.

Health disparities are common among individuals with intellectual disabilities. According to statistics provided by Special Olympics, they&#39;re twice as likely to die before the age of 50 than those without intellectual disabilities. Many have poor or almost no access to healthcare, putting them at increased risk for medical and dental conditions. Diagnostic overshadowing is also common, where a physician may assume that physical symptoms are caused by a disability, instead of an underlying medical condition.

&ldquo;See the person, not the disability,&rdquo; says Ernst about diagnostic overshadowing. Through Healthy Athletes, Special Olympics Hawaii trains volunteer healthcare professionals who then go back to their practices with increased knowledge of and compassion for people with intellectual disabilities.

Next steps with Sharecare 
Sharecare and HMSA are working together to donate up to $100,000 to Special Olympics Hawaii, but we need your help! For each Hawaii-based new user who creates a profile and takes the RealAge Test, Sharecare will donate $5 across five Hawaii charities, including Special Olympics. From there, log your green days. Every green day earned&mdash;up to 30 days a month&mdash;is another $1 to charity through November 2018. Help your health and Special Olympics Hawaii this fall with Sharecare and HMSA.

Sharing Care With Special Olympics Hawaii

Deeply aching joints, feeling constantly exhausted and other changes that aren&rsquo;t just &ldquo;part of getting old.&rdquo;

7 Normal—And Not-So-Normal—Signs of Aging

Are you considering working with a health coach? Good for you. Health coaches take a holistic approach to helping individuals like you make important lifestyle changes to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing.

A coaching relationship requires a commitment on your part and open communication between both parties. Knowing what to expect from your health coach will go a long way towards assuring you have a successful experience.

Health coaches are non-judgmental accountability partners. A health coach helps you create long- and short-term goals based on the changes you want to make in your life, explains Addie Spaller, a Sharecare coach manager in Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, goals are meaningless unless you take steps to reach them. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re here as accountability partners to really support clients and aid them in creating healthy lifestyle behaviors so they can reach their goals, but also maintain good health for the rest of their life,&rdquo; she says.

Flavia Magoba, a Sharecare coach in Silver Spring, Maryland, says a common misconception of coaching is that a coach will tell you what to do and give you a specific plan. Not true. &ldquo;We like to empower [clients],&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Furthermore, we don&rsquo;t judge. We start [every coaching session] with a clean slate. We&rsquo;re here to be a support and another resource for individuals.&rdquo;

Health coaches provide helpful resources. Coaches don&rsquo;t direct clients, but they do offer resources, such as tips and recipes, to help them reach their goals. They also point clients to approved and vetted online sources of health information, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association, where they can learn more about their particular health challenges.

It&#39;s believed that people who have chronic conditions have better outcomes when they have disease-specific knowledge and skills. Furthermore, coaching encourages patients to take an active role in their own care.

Health coaches maintain a structured (but flexible) format. Whether your session is in-person or on the telephone, health coaches set an agenda for each appointment to respect each other&rsquo;s time constraints. Generally, the first order of business is to follow up from the last appointment, to see where the client has done well and identify areas where they can continue to improve. Then, it&rsquo;s on to discuss where the client wants to go next.

&ldquo;We hone in on successful goal-setting at the end of the call,&rdquo; says Sharecare coach Rachel Potter, based in Franklin, Tennessee. &ldquo;This is the next step you want to take, so how can we make that happen? We help set clients up for success.&rdquo;

At Sharecare, for example, most coaching calls take place about every four weeks. However, if a client needs more frequent contact (or less), that&rsquo;s okay. If they need to adjust the length of a call, which averages about 15 minutes, that&rsquo;s okay, too. Coaching should be flexible enough to accommodate clients&rsquo; specific needs.

Health coaches will listen. Coaches find that clients often want someone to vent to, says Kelsey Storey, another coaching manager at Sharecare in Franklin. She described a discouraged client who had several challenging circumstances in her life. When her coached asked her, &ldquo;If your friends gave you a medal for something, what would it be?&rdquo; the client reflected and then listed several of her strengths. That simple exercise gave her a new perspective and something to feel good about. Sometimes, a simple mindset change can be just as life changing&mdash;and good for your health&mdash;as a tangible goal, such as losing weight.

Health coaches ask the right questions. &ldquo;When we talk about weight loss, healthy eating and such, we also talk about all the lifestyle factors that might be [roadblocks to] behavior change,&rdquo; says Magoba. Often, clients are surprised to find that stress or lack of sleep (or both) is getting in the way of them achieving other goals. Coaches help you uncover obstacles you might not have been aware of. Once you&rsquo;ve identified these road blocks, your coach can help you identify steps to overcome them.

&ldquo;People just don&rsquo;t know how much lack of sleep affects their physical and mental awareness,&rdquo; Magoba says. It&rsquo;s the same with stress. She adds that a little bit of stress is good, but if you have a lot of consistent stress, it can contribute to chronic illnesses, like heart disease and diabetes.

Health coaches have intangible benefits. Losing weight, eating right and quitting smoking are among coaching clients&rsquo; most common goals, and they can make a profound difference in your overall health. However, individuals get other, less tangible benefits as well.

&ldquo;Having open communication with a coach is really important,&rdquo; says Potter. &ldquo;You can tune into the benefits from behavioral changes that aren&rsquo;t visible, such as number on a scale. [We find that] clients become happier, they have more confidence, they&rsquo;re more outgoing and willing to try new and different things. It can be life changing.&rdquo;

Medically reviewed in June 2018.

What to Expect From a Health Coach

Improving your health may be as easy as a walk in the park.

Researchers across the globe have been looking closely at how being surrounded by plants, trees, and flowers can help humans thrive. Interest in this topic is spiking as increasing urbanization has made it harder than ever for desk-bound men and women to take advantage of nature&rsquo;s healing powers. Right now, in fact, about half of the world&rsquo;s population lives in urban areas, and that number is expected to reach 70 percent by 2050.

It&rsquo;s in this context that trends such as &ldquo;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mental-health/article/can-walk-woods-make-happier">forest bathing</a>&rdquo;&mdash;a Japanese practice of walking meditatively in the woods, also known as &ldquo;forest therapy&rdquo;&mdash;have found enthusiastic followers on this side of the Pacific, as well.

&ldquo;Taking walks outside in nature is good for both your physical and mental health,&rdquo; says Jeff Sarata, DO, an emergency medicine specialist at <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/fairview-park-hospital">Fairview Park Hospital</a> in Dublin, Georgia. Dr. Sarata points out that getting your muscles moving in a green setting can positively affect many parts of your body, from your heart to your lungs to your state of mind.

&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re walking or hiking in a natural setting like a forest, park, or even a greenhouse,&rdquo; he explains, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re not only getting <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/article/health-experts-urge-move-more-sit-less">physical exercise</a>, which provides the number one benefit. You&rsquo;re also surrounded by the organisms that produce the oxygen your body needs. No one ever feels worse after walking in nature!&rdquo;

Here are several ways your body can feel a whole lot better with a simple trek through the woods:

It relaxes you deeply 
&ldquo;When you go for a walk in nature, rather than on a city street, you don&rsquo;t have cars honking and people talking on their cell phones around you,&rdquo; says Sarata. In fact, reviews of research published in 2016 and 2017 in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggest that leaving the techno world behind to walk and breathe in a natural environment stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which puts you in a state of relaxation. Forest bathing has also been shown to lower levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol.

It can improve your cardiovascular health 
That slower pace and sense of peacefulness achieved by communing with nature helps slow down your heart rate and may even ease high blood pressure. One small study published in 2012 in Journal of Cardiology found that in elderly patients with hypertension, a calming seven-day sojourn in the forest led to a significant decrease in blood pressure, especially when compared to adults who spent the same time in an urban setting.

Exposure to greenspace&mdash;which can include undeveloped landscapes as well as urban parks&mdash;is also associated with decreased risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

It may boost your immune system 
One small but intriguing study out of Japan looked at the role forest therapy played in the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, which are crucial to fighting off diseases, including cancer. After three days on a forest retreat compared to days spent at the office, the men in the study saw increased levels of NK cells in their blood.

A follow-up study compared the effects of a three-day forest trip to an urban sight-seeing visit, finding that forest bathers experienced significant increases in NK activity while the city trippers did not. Although the studies suggest that walking in nature may help bolster immunity, more research will help determine any long-term effects on health.

It could help children with attention issues 
Parents of children with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/add-adhd/slideshow/adhd-facts-all-parents-should-know">attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a> (ADHD) may find nonpharmaceutical relief right outside their front door. In a national survey conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, parents indicated that their children&rsquo;s ADHD symptoms&mdash;such as impulsivity and inattention&mdash;were reduced after the kids were allowed to play in green settings, as opposed to indoors or in outdoor &ldquo;built&rdquo; spaces. Experts theorize that spending time in nature engages the mind effortlessly and easily, providing children with a break from having to deliberately focus their attention, therefore freeing up their energy to focus again when needed.

Just the sight of nature may help you heal 
Surprisingly, even just resting your eyes on a green view may have the power to aid healing. One study published in 2011 in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation found that coronary patients in a physical rehab facility who had an unobstructed view of nature from their window had a greater sense of well-being than those whose room had a view of buildings.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Getting into nature 
While these potential benefits are compelling, the body of research into the health benefits of nature is still young, and researchers don&rsquo;t yet have the kind of long-term studies to demonstrate that access to nature yields real health outcomes. Meanwhile, remember that a walk in the forest is no substitute for the care of a medical professional, particularly if you have ongoing conditions. Check with your doctor about how a regular fitness regimen in green space may help support the treatment you&rsquo;re receiving.

Meanwhile, research has also shed light on the possible <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mental-health/article/can-walk-woods-make-happier">mental health benefits of walking in nature</a>&mdash;including improved mood, fewer negative thoughts, and lower levels of stress&mdash;all of which may also positively influence your physical well-being. When your five senses are fully immersed in the natural world, the body&rsquo;s stress response is eased, which is akin to the type of benefit derived from <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/meditation/article/what-mediation-is-right-for-me">mindfulness practices and meditation</a>.

So, next time you have a choice between turning on the TV or going for a walk in the local park&mdash;or even down a tree-lined street&mdash;drop the remote and lace up your sneakers. Your mind and body may thank you for it.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.