If you find it difficult knowing what to buy family and friends for Christmas, how about giving them a present that will help them improve their health and stay healthy?
One thing that everybody wants is good health and by now most people know, or should know, what steps are needed to promote health: take more exercise, have a good diet, relax more. We know what we are supposed to do but we don’t always do it.
Of course you can’t buy someone good health but you can give them a health promoting gift. There are lots of types available: books, CDs DVDs and various types of equipment. Below are some examples together with a few of the considerations you need to take into account before buying.
Exercise DVDs
Think carefully about who you are buying for. Some people love exercise, can’t get enough of it and others hate it – just lifting the morning cup of coffee is hard work. For the first group you simply need to add to what they’re probably doing already, they are likely to be partaking in various sports. An aerobics or boxercise DVD might suit them –suggest it as an adjunct to their existing training regime.
Those who loathe exercise are the big challenge and these are the people who need it most. Pilates is good and quite gentle. Taichi and yoga will not enable them to work up a sweat but both are excellent for helping circulation and keeping the joints and muscles flexible.
Books and CDs
There are very many of these. Stay away from those which try to teach highly physical things, this is best done via a DVD, not a book. Choose those which give sensible advice on healthy eating, giving up smoking or relaxation and suggest a program to achieve the desired outcome. Some of these books are by nature repetitive and this is no bad thing, it’s a good way to plant affirmative messages into the subconscious.
Meditation is worth a special mention: it’s an excellent way of relaxing. There are many meditative techniques and they all take a bit of practice but with perseverance they certainly pay off. Meditative techniques can help people to stay calm in everyday life, relieve anxiety and help some kinds of sleep problems.
Meditation of course has a spiritual dimension and if the person you’re buying for is inclined that way then there are many books which emphasise that aspect of the art.
Blood Pressure Monitors
Many people tend towards having high blood pressure and there are numerous drug and non-drug ways of maintaining it at a healthy level. Keeping an eye on it your own blood pressure is convenient and saves repeatedly bothering the practice nurse.
However there are two things to be remembered when monitoring your own blood pressure. Firstly, don’t become obsessed so that you are taking measurements several times a day: blood pressure normally varies greatly throughout the day and constant monitoring is not particularly useful. Ask the doctor how frequently you should check.
The other point concerns the accuracy and precision of the machines, this is quite variable so it’s a good idea to check your machine against the practice nurse’s now and then.
