FEELING GOOD

THE NEFF ZONE -- BY JIM NEFF

CADILLAC NEWS - DECEMBER 14, 2024

During the holiday season everyone wants to feel hale and hearty. Feeling good makes the holidays more enjoyable and less daunting. Employing some simple strategies can help us accomplish this goal. 

 

Daily exercise is a way to relieve stress, but finding the time to work out is difficult this time of year. However, it might not require as much time as you think. “You might have heard that 10,000 steps is the daily goal you should shoot for. In fact,  there’s little scientific evidence that walking 10,000 steps should be your target.”

 

The optimum is far less. “On the low end, anything above 2,200 steps was associated with lower mortality and cardiovascular disease, according to a 2024 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.” Depending on your health goals, varying step totals can be tailored to your time constraints. More at: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a63021061/how-many-miles-should-you-walk-a-day/. 

 

This fits in with another study dealing with incremental exercise. “You might be surprised by the exercise snacks hidden in your daily routines — and their benefits. In other words, exercise that happens incidentally throughout the day, including walking up stairs or walking your dog.” 

 

The benefits are clear. “For women who got between one-and-a-half and four minutes of incidental exercise, the risks of heart attacks and other severe cardiovascular problems were nearly fifty percent lower compared to those who said they never did these kinds of activities. Men who got 5.6 minutes of daily incidental activity  saw a sixteen percent reduction in their major cardiovascular event risks compared to those who reported doing no exercise, incidental or otherwise.” (https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/why-stairs-few-minutes-incidental-233051580.html)

 

It turns out that even the elbow grease it takes to make cookies qualifies as incremental exercise. To help, the Food Network has some suggestions. “Waited until the last minute to bake your holiday cookies? Don't worry! These festive treats are easy to make—and will spread plenty of Yuletide cheer.”

 

The cookies and recipes include: Sweet Potato Snickerdoodles, M&M Magic Bars, Marshmallow-Stuffed Blizzard Cookies, and thirty-seven more. For all the recipes go to: https://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/photos/easy-holiday-cookie-recipes.

 

Keeping mentally sharp is important, but even that can be a fun activity during the holidays. For example, who does not like solving a riddle? “Easy riddles give you something to think about during the day or quickly solve during game night that doesn't require too much brain power.” 

 

BuzzFeed has fifty-five of these dandies, plus clickable buttons that reveal the answers. “What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn’t alive? What has to be broken before you can use it? What tastes better than it smells? How many bananas can you eat on an empty stomach?” Go to: https://www.buzzfeed.com/carleysuthers/easy-riddles. 

 

As guessing games go, have you ever wondered how many people share your first name? An interesting way to determine this involves artificial intelligence. There's a website that has you type in your name and then shows your name's popularity over the last sixty years. Check it out at: https://baby-names.jetpack.ai/. 

 

Another thing good for your mental well being is a good laugh. Here's where animals are up to the task. “If you’re in the mood for a good chuckle, the winners of the 2024 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are in and they’re sure to make you smile at the very least.” 

 

The photos include a squirrel stuck in a tree, a crash landing tern, a frog stuck in a balloon, and smooching owlets. All the hilarity is at: https://nicenews.com/culture/top-comedy-wildlife-pics-2024/.

 

Sometimes you need to just unwind. There's nothing better during the winter than plunking down in front of a fireplace and zoning out. If you want a modern version of this, how about adding a rocket? “This glowing mood-setter is brought to you by the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that launched Artemis I on its mission around the Moon and back on Nov. 16, 2022. 8.8 million pounds of total thrust – and a couple glasses of eggnog – might just be enough to make your holidays merry.”

 

This is on YouTube. “The illustration includes stone tiling, a pillow, a basket of firewood, and contains elements generated with AI. The audio features the roar of the rockets at a low level, with the addition of the sounds of a crackling wood fire.” 

See it at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cgTVTwu4nw.

 

Finally, don't forget the Neff Zone Holidays page at: https://www.neffzone.com/holidays/. This time of year there are a lot of Christmas specials on television. Take the Charlie Brown Christmas Quiz to see how much you know about this classic program.

 

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Read Neff Zone columns online at CadillacNews.com and NeffZone.com/cadillacnews.