Chicago Chiropractor Blog

How Much Sleep is Too Much?

mkauf — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:25:07 +0000

We all know how important it is to get a good night’s sleep and the detrimental effect on our health if we get too little of it. However, it is also possible to get too much sleep, and this may be even worse than getting too little. Sleeping too much has been shown to be a possible indication of underlying health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, low thyroid and obstructive sleep apnea, and is liked to an increased risk of early death. Many people might seek help from CHIROPRACTORS to readjust their lifestyle.

Everyone’s need for sleep differs, and there are good reasons for occasionally having to sleep more, such as during periods of high stress or illness. But on average, experts suggest that the optimum amount of sleep to get on a regular basis is between 7 and 9 hours a day. One study showed that those who slept between 9 and 10 hours per night were 21% more likely to become obese over a period of 6 years than those who slept between 7 and 8 hours a night. Another study of 72,000 women found that those who slept between 9 and 11 hours a night had a 38% greater likelihood of coronary heart disease than those who slept 8 hours.
Depression and low socioeconomic status have also been linked with sleeping too much, so it may be that oversleeping is one of the symptoms of these conditions rather than being a cause of the detrimental health effects associated with oversleeping. People with these conditions are less likely to seek or be able to afford health care, so any underlying health problems may not be discovered and treated.
When underlying health and mental problems have been ruled out, people who still feel a strong need to sleep for 70 hours or more per week have what is called primary hypersomnia. Many with hypersomnia go undiagnosed, as it often develops in the teenage years and can be attributed to typical teenage behavior. A study was performed by researchers at Atlanta’s Emory University on people with this condition. The researchers found that one of the major factors implicated in hypersomnia is the presence of a certain substance in the person’s cerebrospinal fluid that acts much in the same way as a sleeping pill. Emory researcher Andrew Jenkins said, “We know why you’re sleepy-your brain is sedating itself.” It is typical for people with hypersomnia to simultaneously experience low levels of energy, anxiety and memory problems, in addition to extreme sleepiness throughout the day that is generally not relieved by napping. If you nap and have restless night contacts a chiropractor today.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition that causes the sufferer to stop breathing for short periods of time during sleep, keeping them from getting to the stage of restful, restorative sleep that is necessary for proper physical and mental functioning during the day. Some prescription medications and the overuse of alcohol can also lead to oversleeping.
If you find yourself consistently sleeping more than 9 hours a day and are also sleepy throughout the day, it is a good idea to consult with your doctor to rule out any underlying medical conditions that may be contributing to your oversleeping.

Chicago Chiropractic can help with your sleeping problems. Contact Doctor Michael Kauf today!

A Look Inside The Teenage Brain

mkauf — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:15:37 +0000

If you have ever wondered why the teenage years are so difficult for parents (and often the teens themselves) you need look no further than their brain. The brain undergoes rapid and profound development during the teen years, much more so than during most of childhood. It is a time when the areas of the brain involved in the calculation of risk, rewards and decision making go through increasingly major changes. This may explain why late adolescence (between ages 15 and 19) has a six times greater mortality rate than those in late childhood and early adolescence (between ages 10 and 14).
Research conducted by scientists using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from early childhood through adulthood has mapped the many changes that the developing brain makes as it matures. They have found that the brain continues to develop into a person’s early 20s, with the frontal lobes that are responsible for reasoning and problem-solving being developed last.
Although the teenage brain is more impulsive and willing to take risks, it is also dynamic, vulnerable and stimulated by positive feedback. The reason for this is that the reward centers in teenage brains are highly responsive, while at the same time, the region of the brain associated with self-control is still not developed fully.
Dr. Jay Giedd, Chief of Brain Imaging at the Child Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, says “The most surprising thing has been how much the teen brain is changing. By age six, the brain is already 95 percent of its adult size. But the gray matter, or thinking part of the brain, continues to thicken throughout childhood as the brain cells get extra connections, much like a tree growing extra branches, twigs and roots.”
Although the brain grows in gray matter significantly during childhood and early adolescence, the amount of gray matter actually begins to fall in mid-adolescence, which researchers say is a normal process of brain maturation.
Giedd says, “… the pruning-down phase is perhaps even more interesting, because our leading hypothesis for that is the “use it or lose it” principle. Those cells and connections that are used will survive and flourish. Those cells and connections that are not used will wither and die. So if a teen is doing music or sports or academics, those are the cells and connections that will be hard-wired. If they’re lying on the couch or playing video games or watching MTV, those are the cells and connections that are going [to] survive.”
Studies have shown that experiences early in life have a profound effect on the development of the teenage brain. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that children who received a lot of cognitive stimulation and parental nurturing had a brain with a thicker outer cortex, which is important in thinking and memory. Another long-term study from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in London discovered that there were major structural changes in the areas of the teenage brain that relate to empathy.
Adults should perhaps give teenagers more of a break. As Giedd says, “It’s sort of unfair to expect teens to have adult levels of organizational skills or decision-making before their brains are finished being built.”

For more information on how to develop your child or teenagers brain contact Chicago Chiropractic

Is it Better to Drink Tea or Coffee?

mkauf — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:11:15 +0000

Seemingly every other day another study comes out that has found some additional health benefit to tea drinking. The list of diseases and conditions tea is believed to assist or prevent seemingly grows longer by the minute. On the other hand, coffee has been vilified for a number of years, in particular the caffeine it contains. But recently, new studies have shown that coffee is actually protective against some diseases and may be good for you in moderate amounts. So what is a person to think? If you have to choose between tea and coffee, which is the healthier choice?
Tea is rich in catechins, which are antioxidant polyphenols. These have been shown to reduce the action of free radicals in the body that cause damage to our cells. Tea is one of the highest sources of this type of antioxidant in the Western diet. Both black and green tea have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, and green has the added benefit of reducing cancers such as that of the breast and ovary. Green tea has three times the catechins of black tea.
Coffee, on the other hand, reduces your likelihood of contracting type 2 diabetes, which is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the country. Studies have shown that drinking at least three cups of coffee a day can reduce inflammation in the body, lower glucose levels in the blood and improve the body’s use of insulin. This is the case with either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, so caffeine is not the active ingredient that leads to these health benefits. It is the antioxidant chlorogenic acid that is thought to be the beneficial compound in coffee.
Both tea and coffee contain caffeine, with approximately 180 mg in an 8-ounce cup of coffee, 43 mg in the same amount of black tea, and 30 mg in green tea. If you are sensitive to caffeine, then you might want to stick to tea (or limit yourself to one small cup of coffee per day). High intake of caffeine can also deplete the calcium from your bones, and should be avoided by pregnant women due to an increased risk of miscarriage.
So both are good for you in one way or another. Drinking a little of each every day seems like a good solution if you want to achieve the greatest health benefits from a warm beverage. Just try to skip the sugar, as the sugar added to either coffee or tea can largely negate the benefits. Excess consumption of sugar is one of the leading causes of diabetes, and scientific research has found it to be a contributing factor to cancer and heart disease. Whether you choose coffee or tea, by drinking each in moderation remains the best approach to your overall health.

What are your caffeine habits? Chicago Chiropractic wants to know.

How To Be a Great Fitness Buddy

mkauf — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:35:45 +0000

Studies have shown that one of the best ways to stick to your fitness regime is to have a reliable fitness partner. Being a fitness buddy means that someone else is counting on you to make them accountable for their workout, keep them inspired and ensure that they are not alone in their quest for fitness. To be a great fitness buddy you just need to keep a few basic guidelines in mind:

You should both have similar goals – If you are training for a place on the Olympic team and your fitness buddy just wants the occasional weekend workout, neither of you is likely to meet your goal. This does not mean that you have to share the same goal, but they should be relatively comparable. That way, you can encourage your partner to meet their goal while not losing sight of your own.
Find someone at a similar fitness level – Your fitness partner does not want to feel like they are being left behind if you are at a much higher level than they are. Similarly, choosing someone at a higher level may make them feel like they have to hold back. Having the same starting point is more motivating for you both.
Be reliable – Always show up when you say you are going to. Your fitness buddy will be more motivated knowing that he or she can count on you to be there for a scheduled workout. You should ideally have similar schedules so that your partner does not have to work around your previous commitments.
Don’t hesitate to push your partner – It’s natural to want to do as little work as possible to reach our goals. But encouraging your fitness buddy to push themselves a little farther than they might on their own can help them to reach their goals a little faster. Never push them beyond what they can safely do, but there is no harm in encouraging your partner to push beyond what they perceive are their limits, and they will be pleasantly surprised at how much they can accomplish that they never thought they could.
Keep focused – Help your partner to keep focused on his or her workout by ensuring that your mind does not wander off or become distracted by the cute guy or girl walking by in the gym.
Provide useful criticism – Do not hesitate to correct your workout partner if you feel he or she is using bad form or doing something unsafe. Part of the responsibility of being a great fitness buddy is ensuring that your fitness partner does not become injured during their workout and that they perform to the best of their ability.

Dehydration Nation

mkauf — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:42 +0000

Americans drink over 9 billion gallons of bottled water each year, up from 5 billion in 2001. However, most Americans still believe that they go through life chronically dehydrated. At least, that is what we have been led to believe by certain experts and bottled water companies who have suggested that everyone drink eight glasses of water a day for the sake of their health. However, that advice has no basis in scientific evidence, according to Scottish physician Dr. Margaret McCartney, who says that the need to drink that much water to prevent dehydration is “not only nonsense, but is thoroughly debunked nonsense.”
It is easy to find articles all over the Internet on the health benefits of drinking more water. From better skin to weight loss, all manner of health improvements have been attributed to drinking eight glasses of water a day. But according to Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a nephrologist at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, who looked for evidence to support these health claims, “We found that there really is no evidence that drinking more water makes you perform better. It doesn’t reduce appetite, it doesn’t lead to long-term weight loss, and it can’t possibly improve your complexion. It won’t clear your body of toxins or reduce headaches.”
The idea that if you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated has no basis in fact. The human body is well designed to manage its water needs, and if you drink when you are thirsty, then you are likely getting enough fluids. Goldfarb notes, “Thirst is a highly developed sensation, powerfully motivated. When you’re thirsty, all you want to do is drink. But being thirsty doesn’t mean you are ill at this point or dehydrated to the point that there are consequences.”
Another myth is that coffee, tea and soft drinks cannot be counted in the amount of fluids you take in each day. We get thirst-satiating fluids not only from these beverages, but also from other things we eat, such as fruits and vegetables, many of which have a relatively high water content. Excess caffeine and sugar intake from various beverages can affect health negatively, which is why physicians do not advise these in place of water, but they do contribute to the amount of fluids you get each day.
Those who should be more concerned about drinking sufficient amounts of water are athletes and those who work at jobs that require a lot of physical activity, as water is lost through sweating. But the average person who sits at a desk most of the day and commutes by car to and from work is not at high risk of dehydration. All you need to do is to drink water when you are thirsty (and tap water is just as good, despite what the bottled water companies will tell you).

For more information on dehydration visit Dr. Kauf. Receive a new patient coupon if you are a first time visitor, call us at Chicago Chiropractic for more details.

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger Calls Chiropractic Care a “Miracle”

mkauf — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:02:52 +0000

Long before his days as governor of California, and even before his acting career, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilding champion who could boast 13 world titles. And as any world-class bodybuilder can tell you, the sport is hard on your musculoskeletal system. Schwarzenegger was lucky enough to have his first encounter with chiropractic when he was training in the 1970s, and he has been a fervent supporter ever since.

Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding workout partner, Franco Columbu, began attending chiropractic college during the time they were training together. “Franco would go very intensely to chiropractic college every day,” Schwarzenegger said. “He worked on me all the time. During the course of his education he got incredibly good with both the theoretical and the practical [elements of adjusting] … every time I had an injury, I could call Franco … I would get an adjustment, three or four, and the problem would be gone. So you know, when you see that happening in your own body, that with chiropractic you will be 100 percent, it’s just fantastic.”
Schwarzenegger continued, “I am very fortunate to have, so to speak, my in-house chiropractor, Dr. Franco Colombu, as my own personal chiropractor. He adjusts my wife, my kids, me, everybody gets an adjustment. And we feel always great when Franco leaves.” And “… every time that I had a problem with an elbow injury, shoulder injury, or back injury, he was always right there with the adjustments. This is the way I found out the best way of going is to use chiropractors, not only after injuries, but also before injury.”
In relation to some people’s skepticism about chiropractic’s ability to treat pain without pain relievers, Schwarzenegger said, “They say, ‘I can’t believe that this can make me feel better just like that, without a shot, without drugs…’ It is amazing, and that is what is unbelievable for people. I have seen first-hand how it works.”
As an example of how quickly and effectively a chiropractic adjustment can treat pain, Schwarzenegger related a story about a recent skiing trip: “I was really feeling something was wrong with my back. I felt even more pain at ten o’clock that night. So I called a chiropractor. By 10:30 the [chiropractor] was over at my house adjusting me … the next day I was fine and skiing again. These are the kinds of things when you experience them you feel great about this profession.”
Schwarzenegger has benefited from chiropractic so much during his life that he encourages everyone to make chiropractic care a regular part of their health care regime. Addressing chiropractors at the International Chiropractors Association’s 7th Symposium on Natural Fitness, he said, “We’ve got to let the people know that there is a necessity, it’s not even an option, it’s a necessity to have a chiropractor. As much as it is a necessity to have a dentist, if you have a dentist for the family, you should have your CHIROPRACTOR for the family….That’s why I always will be traveling … all over the world, talking highly about the profession of chiropractic. You chiropractic doctors are really miracle workers.”

Miracle or not, chiropractic care is an amazing, natural way to heal the body. Find out yourself, what Arnold already knows, by making your appointment at Chicago Chiropractic today and experience your own miracle.

The Importance of REM Sleep

mkauf — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:22 +0000

Our sleep cycle is separated into two main components: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep (NREM). We cycle between the two all night, with four stages of NREM sleep preceding one stage of REM sleep. NREM sleep is the stage at which our body repairs itself, energy is replenished and our immune system is boosted. A complete cycle of sleep takes between 90 and 110 minutes in total, with approximately a quarter of that time being spent in REM sleep. It is also the stage during which dreaming almost always takes place. Scientists are still trying to discover the extent to which REM sleep affects our health and mental well-being, but they do know that REM sleep is important for the development of creativity and problem solving ability, and is how we learn to adapt to our world.
REM sleep was first formally observed by the scientists Aserinsky and Kleitman in the 1950s, who noted the rapid, jerky movements of the eyes through closed lids, as if the sleeper were seeing something, and noticed that breathing and heart rate increased. Another feature of REM sleep is that the voluntary muscle groups become temporarily paralyzed by the base of the brain “shutting off” the neurons in our spinal cord so we do not act out the dreams we are experiencing as we sleep. The electroencephalogram (EEG) that was attached to the sleepers showed levels of brain activity nearly identical to those who were awake. Contrary to what was previously believed about sleep as being a state in which the brain slows down, during REM sleep, the brain is actually very active. Why may this be?
According to French scientist Michel Jouvet, REM sleep is also a way of programming our brain to adapt to the world around us. Much as a computer can be reprogrammed when it is off-line, Jouvet believes our brain can take information it has received during the day and program the central nervous system to organize or maintain instinctive behavior.
The percentage of time spent in REM sleep is the greatest among babies and children. Babies can spend as much as 50% of their sleep time in the REM stage. And while it has been thought that the dreams we experience during REM sleep are a consolidation of the memories that we have experienced during the previous day, babies in the womb (who experts believe have few or no real world memories) spend most of their sleep time in a state of REM.
Professor of psychiatry emeritus at Harvard University, J. Allan Hobson, says of the purpose of REM sleep, “It’s a reinforcement of basic knowledge-knowledge that precedes any waking-state learning: how to be a person, how to be an ego, how to exist in a space, how to move in a space, how to feel. It’s not environmental memory; it’s genetic memory.”

If you are having trouble sleeping make an appointment with Chicago Chiropractic

Heavy Weight Training: Fact and Fiction

mkauf — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:08:05 +0000

One of the most common myths about heavy weight training is that it will make you less flexible. Many of us have an image in our mind of a typical bulked up bodybuilder who can barely manage to turn his head to the left or right. However, if weight training is performed correctly, incorporating a full range of motion, heavy weight training can actually enhance your flexibility.
This misconception about weight training leading to inflexibility has remained tenaciously in people’s minds, despite the fact that studies as long ago as the 1960s and 1970s proved otherwise. Later studies have confirmed that properly performed strength training exercises serve to increase flexibility rather than reduce it.
A 2002 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research evaluated the effect on flexibility of a 10-week resistance training program on a group of 11 elderly female subjects. The control group consisted of eight elderly women who were physically inactive. The women’s level of flexibility was assessed by a sit-and-reach test performed both before and after the 10-week training period. Using resistance machines, the women in the training group performed eight different strength training exercises (seated row, seated biceps curl, seated triceps press, shoulder press, chest press, calf press, abdominal crunch and leg press) without performing any flexibility exercise. The study found that the training group women had achieved an average increase of 13% more flexibility over the control group by the end of the training program.
Another study, published the following year in the same journal, found that flexibility was greater in subjects who used light weights (1-3 pounds) on their wrists and ankles during a 10-week training program than the control group who used no weights while training. They surpassed the control group in five out of ten flexibility measures, including left and right neck rotation, knee flexion, hip extension and ankle dorsiflexion.
To maintain good flexibility while training with weights, learn to vary your workouts so that you do not repeat the same actions over and over. This will encourage your muscles to keep from shortening and becoming less flexible. Weight training exercises should involve the full range of motion in order to build strength while maintaining flexibility.
Experts advise that you perform some stretches after your workout (never before, as it can temporarily weaken your muscles) in order to stretch and lengthen any muscles that may have become shortened during training. The more flexible you are, the more weight you can handle without increasing your risk of injury. Ease gradually into each stretch, being sure not to bounce, which can cause small tears in the muscle that will be replaced by scar tissue, reducing your flexibility.

For Fitness and Flexibility information and exercises contact Doctor Michael Kauf, as a former athlete, I have plenty exercises to show each person no matter their age or athletic ability.

Spring Cleaning Health Tips

mkauf — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:24:14 +0000

Spring is just around the corner, and it’s a perfect time to open up the windows in your house, let in some fresh air and give the whole place a good scrub. But you should also be aware of some of the possible health hazards involved in getting your place spic and span. You don’t want to be breathing harmful chemicals, and it’s a good idea to remove any health hazards that may be lurking in seemingly innocent areas of your house. Instead of using chemical-laden cleaning products, try to use simple non-toxic cleaners include vinegar, baking soda and water in varying combinations. They are just as effective for many jobs and will not expose you to harmful fumes. Read on for some healthy spring cleaning tips!
For sparkling windows
Far better than commercial glass cleaner, this window washing solution is non-toxic and leaves no streaks: Combine 1/4 cup of vinegar, 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent in a spray bottle, and voila! You’ve got window cleaning solution that will cut through the waxy buildup of years’ worth of cleaning products, leaving your windows crystal clear. More tips:
* Try to clean your windows on an overcast day. Sun shining directly on windows can dry the washing solution too fast and you end up with streaks.
* Use either a rubber squeegee to remove the solution, or use newspaper. Dry newspaper will not leave streaks or wipe marks the way that paper towels can.
* When removing the washing solution, use vertical strokes on one side of the window and horizontal strokes on the other. That way, if you leave a streak or two it is easier to figure out which side of the glass the streak is on.

To clean a toilet
Pour about 1/4 cup of white vinegar into the toilet bowl and put some vinegar in a spray bottle to spray the sides of the bowl. Add a sprinkling of baking soda, let it sit for 5 minutes, then scrub with a toilet brush as usual. To remove hard water marks from the bowl, add two cups of vinegar to the water in the bowl and leave it overnight to dissolve the marks.
Remove the dust
Dust is heaven for dust mites, which can trigger allergies and make life generally uncomfortable. Old wool sweaters or fabric make good dust cloths, as they will pick up dust easier than other cleaning cloths. At the same time, replace air conditioning and heating filters so they do not serve to redistribute the dust and other airborne allergens around your newly clean house.
Get rid of mold and mildew
Provoking allergic reactions and worsening asthma, mold and mildew are constant enemies in areas of your home that remain warm and damp for extended periods of time. The most effective non-toxic mold remover is tea tree oil. Mix two teaspoons of tea tree oil with two cups of water and use it in a spray bottle on any mold or mildew. The scent will dissipate in a few days, but if it is too strong for your taste, straight vinegar works almost as well, killing 84 percent of mold spores. You can add a few drops of your essential oil of choice if you do not wish your bathroom to smell like a salad for a few hours.
To clean sinks, counters and bathroom tile
A mixture of one part baking soda, two parts vinegar and four parts water makes a good scouring cream for these surfaces. One of the most germ-laden locations is your kitchen sink, so give this an extra scrub with straight vinegar every so often to kill pathogens.
To clean and polish wood surfaces
Use a solution made of equal parts lemon juice and olive oil. Rub in and let it dry.

For more tips like these stop by the office. Schedule your appointment today to receive treatment and care by Chicago Chiropractic.

How to Maintain and Improve your Memory

mkauf — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:15:11 +0000

No matter how old you are, you’ve probably already had what is commonly referred to as “a senior moment”. It’s not the least bit unusual to occasionally misplace your car keys or walk into a room and forget what you went there for.
While this sort of thing is not necessarily a sign of declining memory, some types of cognitive ability do seem to decline naturally as we age. Experts have examined how the brain’s functions change as we age and have found that practicing certain behaviors can help you maintain and improve your memory as you get older.

Similar to exercising your body on a regular basis to keep it in shape, exercising your mind appears to help maintain cognitive ability. A study conducted by Dr. Joe Verghese and published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the more cognitively stimulating leisure activities that were performed by older adults, the less their risk of dementia. Those who played board games, read, played a musical instrument or danced, for instance, were 63% less likely to develop dementia than those who did not. Other studies have found that the more time people spend learning something, the lower their risk of dementia. Those who know two or more languages develop Alzheimer’s over four years later on average than those who know only one language.
Following are some activities that may help to maintain your cognitive ability:
* Join a book club
* Do crossword puzzles
* Learn a new language
* Play new board games
* Play chess or bridge
* Take an online course
* Go to lectures in your community
* Learn how to play a musical instrument
* Learn how to dance
Studies have shown that what you eat and how much you exercise also have a lot to do with your risk of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. One study found that walking 30 minutes a day for six months significantly improves cognitive ability. And people who do weight training in addition to aerobic exercise benefit more greatly than those who only perform one type of exercise.
Certain foods feed the brain and have been shown to help improve memory and general brain function. A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants can contribute greatly to maintaining a good memory. Increase your intake of fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and herring, and add an array of colorful vegetables to your plate. Bright red, orange, purple and yellow vegetables are particularly high in antioxidants. Also, studies have found that drinking alcohol in moderation improves the brain’s ability to form and maintain memory, which was not the case for those who either abstained or drank heavily.
Not only can we maintain our cognitive ability as we age, there are ways of improving it as well. The more you use your brain, the more cognitive pathways that are developed and the better your memory becomes. Following are a few tips on how to improve your memory:
* Involve all your senses when learning. The more senses that are involved when learning a new thing, the easier it is to remember. One study found that people who were shown a series of images along with a smell were better able to remember the images, even when the smell was not present.
* Repeat what you want to remember. Speaking information out loud or writing it down helps to cement it in the brain. For example, if you are meeting a new person, repeat their name as you greet them: “So Daniel, how do you know Trish?”
* Repeat things over time. Review information you need to memorize at increasingly longer intervals: first every hour, then every several hours, then every few days. The information will stay in your memory better than if you study it intensively in a short period of time.
* Create mnemonics. Using acronyms to remember information can be helpful. For instance, RICE for acute injuries: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.