(USA Today)The World Series is upon us, which means fans of the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals[1] are about to go on a roller coaster ride of emotions that will either end in the ultimate thrill or heartbreak.
It’s actually a lot of stress to put yourself through in the name of sports, especially if the series extends to seven games. According to Michael Craig Miller, M.D., a senior editor for Harvard’s Health Publications, it’s something the body and mind has to be prepared to deal with. And it’s with that in mind that ahead of Wednesday’s Game 1, Dr. Miller published a few helpful tips that he says will help fans of both teams get through the series both mentally and physically.[2]
Here’s a look at a few of his suggestions.
Sleep: All seven games are scheduled to start around 8:00 pm Eastern Time. That could make for some late nights. If you have a chance to take a nap on game day, go ahead and do it.
As anyone who’s experienced their favorite team making the World Series probably knows, sleep leading up to the game is nearly impossible. Even sleep the night before a game is difficult, and winding down afterwards may be the most difficult task. There will be several walking zombies in both cities over the next week, and it will have little to do with Halloween. It’s unavoidable, even if unhealthy.
(USA Today)
Exercise: Physical activityand Im not talking about adjusting the La-Z-Boy or opening a bottle of beeris a good way to get rid of pre-game jitters. A 20- or 30-minute walk, run, swim, or whatever can help you relax. Its also good for blood pressure, which can climb high during a stressful game.
For those who don’t have time to exercise during the day, you should have plenty of time in the seventh and eighth innings when multiple pitching changes are taking place. If you don’t have a treadmill at home, pacing back and forth works, too.
Alcohol: If you drink, keep it moderate. Being sleep deprived and hung over for up to nine days isnt good for your health, and certainly wont endear you to your family members or coworkers (although some of them may be in the same boat).
Some? Does he know which fan bases we’re dealing with? In this regard, both sides should have enough postseason experience to know when to say when. Of course, that experience will likely be ignored by the fourth inning, so all that we really ask is that you’re smart and safe.
Emotions: Some people can watch a World Series game dispassionately. Im not one of them. As a Red Sox fan, my mood goes up and down with the teams success. The anxiety that fans like me have is actually rooted in evolution. The human body reacts to a threatphysical or emotionalwith the fight or flight response. The adrenal glands pump the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into the bloodstream. It causes the heart to beat faster than normal. Blood pressure rises. Extra oxygen is sent to the brain, increasing alertness. Sight, hearing, and other senses become sharper. Blood sugar (glucose) and fats are released into the bloodstream from storage sites in the body.
That makes sense when the threat is short-lived. But when it lasts for several hours, or several days, this stress response can be harmful. If you find yourself getting stressed, breathing deeply and slowly for a minute or two while saying a relaxing word like win can help.
“Win.” “Win! “
That might work the first time. Later in the game, it will be replaced with four-letter words and specific names. Game flow always determines the relaxation word.
For example, “Wacha.” Or “bunting!?”
(JoeSportsFan)
That aside, there’s some really good advice here, and there’s even more in Dr. Miller’s post[3]. It’s an educational read, and for some it may even prove to be a survival guide.
Stay healthy, our friends.
BLS H/N: For The Win[4]
Looking for more baseball chatter?
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend[5] is a writer for Big League Stew[6] on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com[7] or follow him on Twitter!
References
- ^ St. Louis Cardinals (sports.yahoo.com)
- ^ According to Michael Craig Miller, M.D., a senior editor for Harvard’s Health Publications (www.health.harvard.edu)
- ^ Dr. Miller’s post (www.health.harvard.edu)
- ^ For The Win (ftw.usatoday.com)
- ^ Mark Townsend (sports.yahoo.com)
- ^ Big League Stew (www.bigleaguestew.com)
- ^ bigleaguestew@yahoo.com (sports.yahoo.com)
Resources:
Healthy Living (Fit to 100: Secrets to Health and Longevity) (Kindle Edition) tagged “health tips” 8 times
Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:22:02 GMT
Healthy Living (Fit to 100: Secrets to Health and Longevity) (Kindle Edition)By C.D. Shelton Buy new: $0.99 Customer Rating:
Healthy Living (Fit to 100: Secrets to Health and Longevity) (Kindle Edition)By C.D. Shelton Buy new: $0.99 Customer Rating: 
Customer tags: long life(8), healthy living(8), health tips(8), live long(8), health and wellness(7), longevity(7), live longer(7), healthy lifestyle(7), health(7), health and fitness(7), healthy aging(7) Weight Loss Tips: Concise Advices For Losing Weight And Prevent It From Coming Back Again (Kindle Edition) tagged “health tips” 6 times
Thu, 6 Dec 2012 09:45:00 GMT
Weight Loss Tips: Concise Advices For Losing Weight And Prevent It From Coming Back Again (Kindle Edition)By Stephen Williams Buy new: $4.99 Customer Rating: 6 tips from ONC pilots for implementing a community health texting …
Care4Life The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Beacon Community program, established under the HITECH act, gives grants to local communities to explore health IT innovations. http://mobihealthnews.com/26493/6-tips-from-onc-pilots-for-implementing-a-community-health-texting-initiative/
Diet Detective's top 7 Halloween tips | Health | Eugene News …
It's Halloween time — here are some of my latest tips to be and stay healthy (as well as have fun and feel good)! http://www.kval.com/news/health/Diet-Detectives-top-7-Halloween-tips–228960941.html
Christy Turlington, Prevention Magazine, health tips
2013-10-19T19:06:40.000Z
End Date: Saturday Oct-26-2013 12:05:39 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list
Everyday Health Tips by Prevention Magazine – 1988 – Hardcover
2013-10-16T18:45:30.000Z
End Date: Friday Nov-15-2013 10:44:29 PST
Buy It Now for only: $5.95
Buy It Now | Add to watch list
You Can Help Your Child Get More Exercise By Following These 5 Tips
Does your child get enough exercise? You can get your children more active with these 5 fun parenting tips.
Better Health in Four Steps
In just four steps, you can improve your health for the better and this article will show you how. The steps below are bite-sized nuggets of health information you can actually use to live a healthy life. Here we go… Nutritional supplements are the first step As far as I’m concerned, they are very important […]
Top 4 Nutrition Predictions in the New Year
Several food and nutrition trends were in the spotlight this year, including the continued rise of plant-based diets, non-dairy ice creams and superfoods that are blasts from the past — legumes, apples and cabbage. It can be easy to experience nutrition whiplash in the New Year, but don’t be a victim. Get a jump-start on […]
5 Ways to Feel Good While Getting Fit
Setting intentions is a powerful thing. Then when you have that shiny new gym membership in hand, you feel like nothing stands between you and your goals to get in shape once and for all. Trouble is, lack of motivation, unpreparedness and busy schedules have a way of interfering with our plans. If you find […]
Health Diet Tips To Keep Myself Skinny And Healthy? I am 115lbs and I am 13. I was wondering if anyone had any health tips to keep myself healthy.
I was looking into this diet where I would start with eating protein and gradually work my way into eating my fruits and vegetables. Does anyone know what this diet is called?
(Please, No comments with additude. Any other comments will be appreciated. Thanks so much!)
Also, I don’t want to be on a diet plan (Such as Weight Watchers). Thanks!
Water
Do These Health Tips Actually Work? 1 apple / day – no doctor
1 lemon / day – no fat
1 cup of milk / day – no bone problems
3 ltrs water / day – no diseases…
Also what are some losing weight health tips?
No, these health ‘tips’ are actually myths. It’s all very healthy to do that, but no.
To lose weight, all you can really do is exercise more and eat healthy and try to keep your calories at around 1600 a day. It’s good to drink homemade lemonade that tastes pretty sour and not sweetened very much- it’s good for your metabolism. Tea is good, fruits and vegetables are good. It’s a great time to get active because it’s summer and you’ll sweat more, which is awesome for your body to flush out toxins and such. I like making fruit smoothies and adding spinach or kale (you can’t taste it and it’s so good for your body- not to mention filling). When you snack during the day, only snack on ‘raw’ foods like fruits and vegetables, or maybe a few almonds.
Good luck!