Promising new treatments are on the horizon, according to Jeffrey Glassberg, MD, MA, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology and Associate Director of The Mount Sinai Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Your emotional well-being is just as important as your physical health. According to a 2013 Work Stress Study conducted by Harris Interactive, 80 percent of U.S. workers report feeling stress on the job, making job stress one of the leading types of stress in the United States. As Americans tend to spend most of their day at work, it is important to address stress in the workplace. This can improve quality of life and prevent serious health conditions that can arise from prolonged stress.
While the body’s natural stress response is effective for short-term stress, the body cannot handle the response in the long term. Prolonged stress has been shown to increase risk of several chronic diseases, including depression, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, obesity, and diabetes. Since chronic diseases can take a long time to develop, it is not always clear that stress is a contributing factor. Unhealthy coping mechanisms like smoking, drinking, poor diet, or limited physical activity also increase risk of chronic health conditions.
These unhealthy coping mechanisms can be damaging to your health and relationships. Managing stress in a healthy way is important for mental and physical well-being. Techniques to improve emotional wellness, like mindfulness, can be used to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety.
Mindfulness is the practice of judgment-free reflection, being in the moment, and being aware of your surroundings, thoughts, and physical sensations. Practicing mindfulness slows down the heart rate, relaxes muscles, conserves energy, and reduces the damaging effects of long-term stress on the body. These techniques help identify sources of stress and strain in the body—while still or in movement—and can reduce mental exhaustion, increase job satisfaction, and encourage healthier eating habits. Mindfulness can also help improve interpersonal relationships by increasing relaxation and compassion towards oneself and others. While mindfulness may not target the source of stress directly, it manages the feeling of stress in a way that is beneficial for the body and helps refocus the mind to better deal with the stressor.
The Mount Sinai Selikoff Centers for Occupational Health are dedicated to providing cutting-edge clinical services with a focus on prevention to keep workers healthy. To learn about mindfulness programs, call us at 888-702-0630.
Check out our new infographic on Silica from the Mount Sinai Selikoff Centers for Occupational Health.
In March 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an agency within the United States Department of Labor, issued new rules to decrease exposure to silica in the workplace that will take effect June 23, 2016. (more…)
Guest post by Jennifer Markowitz MS RD, Clinical Dietitian in the Nutrition Department at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Fad diets are rarely backed by substantiated evidence, yet with grandiose claims of rapid fat loss or profound energy enhancement they talk a big game. As trendy diet plans have cycled through their fifteen minutes of fame, there is one approach to healthful eating that has curiously stayed out of the limelight despite maintaining a legitimacy few fads have known.
Front row, from left: Althea Reid, Patient Care Associate; Yazmin Navarro, Manager; Terry Altilio, LCSW, Social Work Coordinator; Hinde Nessanbaum, CI, Coordinator; and Milord Baptiste, Lead X-ray Technician. Back row, from left: Cheryl Gilmore-Hall, RN; Carzei O’Neill, CASAC, Counselor; Teisha Horton-Jordan, RN; Susan Somerville, RN; Jinquan Ye, CST, Surgical Technician; and Lakiyah Glivens, Registrar I.
Ten Mount Sinai Beth Israel employees received a 2016 Heart Award, one of the hospital’s most prestigious honors, at a lunch reception on Friday, February 26, held at Podell Auditorium. The award recognizes employees—nominated and selected by their peers—who continuously focus on patient safety, enhancing the patient experience, and making Mount Sinai Beth Israel the hospital of choice for patients, staff, and the community. Mount Sinai Beth Israel President Susan Somerville, RN, congratulated the 2016 awardees at the reception.
Mount Sinai has become the first medical center in New York State to receive advanced certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center and joins an elite group of institutions around the nation that meets The Joint Commission’s standards and requirements for complex stroke care. The announcement was made after The Joint Commission reviewed Mount Sinai’s stroke-care programs in June.
“By achieving this advanced certification, Mount Sinai has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition,” said Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH, President, The Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process and The Joint Commission commends Mount Sinai for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.”