Sloooooooow Down

If you work with any of the staff at our clinic you know that we encourage families to slow down your lives in order to work on remediation with your children. Here are some stats about our current fast-paced culture:
1) The average workweek is 47 hours, up from 34 hours twenty years ago.
2) We aren’t eating home-cooked meals anymore – children consumed 300% more fast food in 1996 than in 1977.
3) Most of us are getting 90 minutes less of sleep each night as compared to our great-grandparents.
4) Many fewer families are taking vacations now than two decades ago.
5) The speed limit nationally in 1995 was 55 mph – and is now 65-75 mph in most states.

Obviously as a society we have gotten much more fast-paced compared to previous generations While it may feel like we continually have to get more and more done in less and less time, there are definite hazards to a continually hectic lifestyle. The October 2007 issue of Redbook magazine provides some valuable reasons for all of us to slow down in our lives:
1) Slowing down helps you lose weight by not consuming fast food calories or messing up body metabolism by postponing meals.
2) Slowing down allows us to be better moms and dads because we take time to really connect with our kids in quality activities Plus, research shows that the more time we spend with our kids during childhood the fewer conflicts and problems occur during adolescence.
3) Slowing down and not getting overly frustrated when waiting reduces risk of high blood pressure.
4) Slowing down boosts energy because we breathe more deeply, thus taking in more oxygen and increasing energy.
5) Slowing down improves our performance at work because we are more reflective and attentive to detail.
6) Slowing down while exercising through resistance training and slow weights builds more strength, endurance, and burns more calories than exercising quickly.
7) Slowly down helps us travel more safely – one third of all fatal car crashes are due to speeding!

This week I’m encouraging you all to slow down for long enough to consider the pacing of your life and your family’s life. Is the pace of life creating physical, mental, and emotional hazards for you? I challenge you to find one way to slow down in some aspect of your life – think of it as an investment in better health for you and your family!

Until next week,
Nicole