In general, if you are able to keep your mental balance during periods of emotional stress, you can call yourself mentally healthy. If you lose that balance you are ill, at least to some extent. The articles in this section are designed to help you recognize some of the warning signs of common forms of mental illness, not only in yourself but also in others. The arrangement of articles is based on two groupings. First, there are illnesses that arise primari1y from internal influences, such as schizophrenia, depression and compulsions. The actual causes of such disorders are not known, but personality factors and slight variations in the amount and type of chemicals in the brain may be the cause. Second, there are addictions, or illnesses triggered off by external influences such as alcohol or other drugs. Certain personality types appear to be especially susceptible to these disorders.

Some people are overwhelmed by trivial crises such as minor marital quarrels. Others retain their balance in daunting circumstances such as the break-up of a once happy home. Such mental health is not necessarily inborn. You can cultivate it in yourself and thus stand a better chance of coping well with the problems of living.

Until recently, advice to over fat persons was imprecise. For example, the suggestion simply to “cut back on calories” is an oversimplification of the truth and reinforces the misconception that diet alone is the problem. Successful weight management is rarely the result of following a diet or counting calories for a specific time period. Rather there must be a life long lifestyle change because the loss or gain of body weight, the development of fat cells, and the causes of obesity are complex issues related to the interaction of three factors-heredity, diet, and exercise.

We believe that the most reasonable interpretation of the currently available data is that

• Calorie expenditure and total time of physical activity are associated with reduced cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality
• There is a dose response relationship for this association
• Regular moderate physical activity provides substantial health benefits
• Intermittent bouts of physical activity, as short as 8 to 10 minutes, totaling 30 minutes or more on most days provide beneficial health and fitness effects.

The hope is that the new guideline will motivate that segment of society, approximately 78% of the population, who are inactive to reevaluate their status, ultimately attempting to enhance their health through a more active lifestyle. The current view is that any physical movement has the potential to contribute to health. Walking, climbing stairs, mowing the lawn (riding mowers don’t count) raking leaves, mopping and vacuuming floors, washing and waxing the car (by hand), dancing, playing with the children, and other activities may contribute to health enhancement if they are performed at an intensity level equal to a brisk walk (3 to 4 miles per hour).

The new exercise guideline was not intended to replace existing guidelines. People exercising more strenuously than suggested by the new guidelines should continue to do so. It is important to note that the new guideline represents a minimum standard for sedentary people to achieve. It is best to exceed the standard because higher levels of exertion produce lower risks of disability and death from all cause mortality and cardiovascular disease specifically. In fact, estimates indicate that physical inactivity may be implicated in as many as 250,000 deaths per year in the united states. 30 Sedentary people who begin to exercise regularly reduce their risk of a heart attack by 35% to 55%.

People who consistently exercise above the moderate level develop a high degree of  physical fitness  related benefits. Those who exercise moderately will gain about the same health benefits but not quite the same level of physical fitness.

Two major problems looming ahead for the new recommendation are -

• How will this information be disseminated to the general public
• After exposure to it, will the sedentary and marginally active audience be stimulated to act.

The first question is already being addressed. The new exercise guideline will be heavily advertised to the American public over the course of the next few years by a coalition of forces comprised of the federal government, professional exercise, health, and medical organizations, and businesses. This will be the largest initiative of its kind to entice Americans to “get off the couch.” The coalition will speak with one voice to provide consistent, accurate, and current information about exercise. We will have to wait a few years to get answers to the second question.

Static stretching involves slowly moving to desired positions that are held for 15 to 30 seconds and are then slowly released. This method of stretching does not activate the stretch reflex (automatic or reflexive contraction of a muscle being stretched), so the muscle is essentially stretched without opposition. These positions should produce a feeling of mild discomfort but not pain. Static stretching results in little or no muscle soreness, has a low incidence of injury, and requires little energy.

These guidelines should be followed for safe and effective stretching –

• Warm-up for a few minutes before stretching by walking, slow jogging, and light calisthenics.
• Stretch to the point of discomfort.
• Do not stretch to the point of pain.
• Hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.
• Move slowly from position to position.
• Perform each stretch at least twice.
• Stretch after the workout; this may actually produce the greatest benefit because the muscles are warm and more amenable to stretching.
• Perform stretching exercises daily if possible.
• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) is another effective and acceptable stretching technique. It is more complex than most methods of stretching, but it is the most effective. By combining slow passive movements (the force for passive movement is supplied by a partner) with maximal voluntary isometric contractions, you can bypass the myotatic reflex stimulation that accompanies changes in muscle and tendon length.
• All variations of PNF stretching require a partner and some combination of passive stretching and isometric contractions. Two of the common PNF methods, contract-relax (CR) and slow-reversal-hold-relax (SRHR) are presented. For comparison, both figures exemplify stretching the hamstring group (muscles in the back of the thigh). The hamstrings are the antagonist muscle group, and the quadriceps muscles (muscles in the front of the thigh) are the agonists. For example, the CR method is performed as follows.
• A partner gently pushes the upraised leg in the direction of arrow A. This movement passively stretches the antagonist (hamstrings).
• The subject follows this with a 6-second submaximal contraction of the agonist (quadriceps).
• This is followed by another passive stretch of the hamstrings.

This is repeated twice with a few seconds of rest between sequences.

• The SRHR method is performed in the following manner:
• A partner gently pushes the upraised leg in the direction of arrow A.
• The subject then performs a 6-second maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of the antagonists (hamstrings) against resistance supplied by the partner.
• The subject follows this with a 6-second submaximal contraction of the agonists (quadriceps).
• This is followed by another passive stretch of the hamstrings.
• This sequence is repeated twice with a few seconds of rest between exercises.

Although PNF appears to be the most effective stretching method for enhancing flexibility, it has some limitations. It requires a partner, it produces more pain and muscle stiffness, it requires more time, and the risk of injury is increased, particularly when novices use this technique.