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Chamber discusses health, recognizes Health Care Professional of the Year

by

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

The Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce was all about health care at its Aug. 31 luncheon. The chamber’s Health Services Work Group hosted its second annual Health Care Professionals of the Year community luncheon, and health educator Neika Nix Morgan from St. Vincent’s Health System shared tips on incorporating healthy practices into a busy life.

“The last thing you want to hear is me to tell you, all right, you’re going to have to overhaul everything,” Morgan said. “You don’t need another job, you don’t need to be overwhelmed anymore, so my goal is to take the presentation and make it not so overwhelming and hopefully empower you.”

Morgan narrowed her presentation to three main focuses – sleep, diet and movement. With each category, she provided facts on the importance of that focus and ways to improve in that focus.

While sleep is a foundation of good health and well-being, most people do not or are not able to get the sleep their bodies actually need, Morgan said.

“In today’s world, it’s almost a status symbol to say, ‘I can run on three hours of sleep,’” she said. “And what I want to say to you is, ‘Bless your heart, why?’”

Sleep is a time for the body to restore itself, Morgan said, and a lack of sleep can lead to poor decision making, decreased performance levels and increase in appetite. To work toward a better night’s sleep, Morgan said individuals can start setting a specific bedtime, establishing a nighttime routine, eliminating screentime (TV, smartphone, laptop or tablet usage) in the bedroom and limiting caffeine intake after noon.

“As adults, we are the same we are as when we were infants — we like routine,” Morgan said, adding that a bedtime routine can help your body start preparing for bed, making going to sleep easier.

Diet is also a vital component of a healthy lifestyle, Morgan said. Eating the right foods helps energize you throughout the day.

“There’s no reason we should do 4-Hour Energy, Monster drinks, Red Bull. We don’t need that,” Morgan said.

Caffeine and sugar increase stress hormones, Morgan said, which can lead to health issues such as chronic diseases, cancer or colds.

“If we put more pure things in our bodies, our bodies just work better,” she said. “It’s like driving a luxury car. You have to put the higher-grade gasoline in it. You can’t put the Jet Pep, like I do, in your really nice car because it’s not going to work the way it’s designed.”

Eating six small meals a day and incorporating protein, fat and carbohydrates into each meal helps balance out eating patterns, Morgan said, and meal preparation can help keep eating habits on track. While preparing meals in advance does take time, Morgan said it can prevent an individual from turning to unhealthy options such as fast food.

Finally, Morgan discussed exercise. In a modern society, many people do not move around as much as they used to — most people will communicate via email rather than walking down the hall, they’ll text rather than walking to talk to a person — and bodies were meant to move, Morgan said. Simple steps such as stretches at a desk in the office or standing while talking on the phone, rather than sitting, can help keep the body active, Morgan said.

Exercise is also something that has to be incorporated into a daily routine, Morgan said, otherwise people find it difficult to “find time” to go to the gym. It is recommended to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, Morgan said, meaning it can be broken into 10 or 15-minute intervals of exercise.

To close out her speech, Morgan quoted John C. Maxwell.

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

The chamber also recognized all of the nominees for Health Care Professional of the Year. Nominees had to be accomplished in their discipline, show dedication to health care and achieved “outstanding status” in their health care community, said Kirk Mancer, Chamber President and CEO.

“On behalf of the Health Services Work Group, I’m pleased to say that each of our nominees today met this criteria,” Mancer said.

Dr. Richard Baxter of Shelby Pediatric Dentistry was named the winner of Health Care Professional of the year.

Nominees for Health Care Professional of the Year included:

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