The winter and holiday seasons can be stressful and wear us down, especially during the pandemic. We tend to spend more time indoors. To help out, we have some suggestions that will not only help with stress management but can also boost your immunity.
Walking outside in nature and drinking in an “oxygen cocktail” feels good, but does it benefit our immunity?
You might be familiar with the term “Forest bathing” or shinrin-yoku. In Japanese, Shinrin means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” Shinrin-yoku means bathing in a forest atmosphere or taking in the forest through our senses.
Research has demonstrated that trips to the forest can not only make us feel better by lowering muscle tension, boosting sleep, and reducing blood pressure. It turns out being in nature also enhances our immune systems by increasing the number and activity of our lympocytes and killer T cells.
When we walk among trees and plants, we breathe in airborne chemicals from plants called phytoncides.
Plants produce these chemicals to protect themselves from insects, bacterial and fungal infections. Phytoncides help plants fight disease.
These cells kill tumor and virus-infected cells in our bodies. In one study, increased NK activity from a 3-day, 2-night forest bathing trip lasted for more than 30 days.
According to Dr. Qing Li, author of the book, Forest Bathing, the key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses:
To read more, click here.
The holiday season can also be stressful and throw us off our normal routine. This can compromise our sleep and our overall eating habits.
To help everyone feel their best during this holiday season, we have ten strategies for you and your patients. And even if you can’t do all ten, just pick one or a few that you feel you can commit to and succeed with most of the time.
We have created a 10 Steps to Survive the Holidays PDF – a handout that includes the info below to print and share with your friends, patients, and colleagues!
Recorded & Ready for Viewing
Coach Beverly Thomassian, RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM, has completely updated this critical presentation, to bring health care professionals up-to-date on the current state of COVID and its impact on diabetes care. She summarizes key information including critical teaching points and management strategies for people with diabetes who develop a COVID-19 infection.
Topics Include:
Join us to learn critical information about Diabetes and COVID Management
Instructor: Beverly Thomassian RN, MPH, CDCES, has been Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management for over 20 years. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF and Touro University and a nationally recognized diabetes expert.
See Full Free Resource Catalog
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.