Submission by: Farwa Feroze, OMS IV

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.” – Irish Proverb

Do you feel like you don’t get enough sleep, that there isn’t enough time in the day, or that you’re up late night just staring at the ceiling? Well, you’re not alone; it is estimated that 70% of adult Americans report insufficient sleep for least one night a month and 11% report insufficient sleep every night. (1)

Not only is insufficient sleep detrimental to your health, it can affect every aspect of your life. Many studies have shown a clear link between a lack of sleep and many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, and many more. When we don’t sleep for an average of eight quality hours every night, we decrease our body’s ability to fight pathogens, repair and heal itself, regulate our hormones and blood sugar, as well as many other essential functions. To make matters worse, when we’re sleep-deprived, we’re more likely to make mistakes, be involved in car crashes, and have poor mental health. (2)

Simply put, sleep is preventative medicine. The solution seems simple, just get enough sleep! Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it seems. But here are ten tips from the American Cancer Society to help work towards restful naturalistic sleep. (3)

• Go to sleep at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning, even on the weekends.
• Don’t take naps after 3 pm, and don’t nap longer than 20 minutes.
• Stay away from caffeine and alcohol late in the day.
• Avoid nicotine completely.
• Get regular exercise, but not within 2-3 hours of bedtime.
• Don’t eat a heavy meal late in the day. A light snack before bedtime is OK.
• Make your bedroom comfortable, dark, quiet, and not too warm or cold.
• Follow a routine to help you relax before sleep (for example, reading or listening to music). Turn off the TV and other screens at least an hour before bedtime.
• Don’t lie in bed awake. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, do something calming until you feel sleepy, like reading or listening to soft music.
• Talk with a doctor if you continue to have trouble sleeping.

References:

Image retrieved from: https://images.app.goo.gl/zPdEkzmZ79hg36mDA

(1) “The State of in America.” SleepHealth, 24 Sept. 2018, http://www.sleephealth.org/sleep-health/the-state-of-sleephealth-in-america/#:%7E:text=In%20America%2C%2070%25%20of%20adults,report%20insufficient%20sleep%20every%20night.&text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%20sleep,all%20ages%20and%20socioeconomic%20classes.

(2) “NPR Cookie Consent and Choices.” National Public Radio, 20 July 2018, choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/20/630792401/sleep-scientist-warns-against-walking-through-life-in-an-underslept-state.

(3) Simon, Stacy. “10 Tips to Get More Sleep.” American Cancer Society, 5 May 2020, http://www.cancer.org/latest-news/how-to-get-more-sleep.html.

Submission by: Priya Singh, OMS III

Image accessed from: https://www.hippopx.com/en/stones-meditation-balance-relaxation-gartendeko-garden-design-rest-98391

This breathing exercise is meant to give you a quick mindfulness break between your busy day at work or otherwise.

For this exercise, finding a quiet place would be ideal but it can be performed anywhere.

You can do this laying down, sitting or reclining. You do not need to force any breaths but just simply observe your breath with mindfulness.

A Quick and Simple Meditation Technique

● Start with closing your eyes
● Focus on each breath you take, try to not let your mind wander and refocus whenever
that happens.
● As you inhale, feel the air enter your nostrils.
● Focus on the temperature of the air entering your body.
● Feel the air inflate your lungs, and chest.
● Feel the air as it makes your stomach rise.
● As you exhale, feel your stomach flattening.
● Feel your lungs and chest deflate.
● Feel the air leaving through your nostrils.
● Focus on the warmth of the breath that you are exhaling.
● Also, as you are inhaling, feel all the positive energy, peace and calm enter your body.
● As you exhale, feel all the negative energy leave your body.
● Continue to do this for 8-10 breaths.
● Then slowly open your eyes, and go on with your day with renewed energy

Submission by: Kathleen Mak, OMS-III

I grew up in a neighborhood where homelessness, drugs, and prostitution painted the backdrop to our daily lives. My elementary school lacked a science and history curriculum, pipe leaks streaked the walls, and our free lunches frequently had mold in them. Although I yearned for an education, nothing really seemed amiss to me at the time. My peers either lived similarly or were going through worse.

Back in our one bedroom apartment, I lived with my parents and brother. On my mother’s side, she grew up in China’s Cultural Revolution. On my father’s side, his family endured the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. As a child of immigrants, I saw my parents put every ounce of effort into providing the best possible life they could for my brother and me. We lived frugally and faced the unpredictable financial cycles of a small business, but I was never short of their unwavering care. Not once did they ever take a vacation for themselves. I’ve always considered myself living in abundance in this respect. Growing up, I imagined life’s happiness was one filled with stability and time well-spent with the people who meant most to me. Part of that is still true. However, I have stumbled upon other paths that also breathe purpose into me. And since some these endeavors go against the grain and pushes against certain structures of power, this is where my parents and I differ in opinion.

Perhaps many families of immigrants can relate to this particular lesson of “keep your head down and just work hard”. So when I shared my thoughts about issues such as racism, prison reform, or my decision to give up my administrative job for a case management position, I was always met with resistance. My parents warned me about hardship. That it’ll be a troublesome path. Dangerous, even. And for years, I wondered how they could live through what they did during their youth and not want better for others. I saw it as selfish. It wasn’t until stories were told and the gift of retrospect that I was lent, not a means of justification, but rather a deeper understanding for their outlook on life.

Imagine a youth, an impressionable time, marked by unimaginable strife. Imagine if any of your words that were even remotely critical of the governing authority, spoken at any timepoint in your life, could be used against you. Interrogations that turned children against parents, husband against wife, and neighbor against neighbor. Or if you dressed, spoke, or held a profession that goes against what the government envisions society to be – you and your family could lose your lives. And perhaps they would take out your entire lineage, too, because of the need to uproot “bad blood”. Steering the middle ground and never standing out just may be the closest thing to a guarantee for survival.

In my parents’ time and circumstance, fighting against injustice could have cost them more than just their lives. However, when I looked around I saw childhood friends come to school with bruises and scars, seen and unseen, trafficking occurring in broad daylight, and needles littering every corner block. It’s a very different time and my circumstances are much more fortunate, but in my world, it is the act of not speaking up or standing up for others that will cost lives.

The work and effort put into becoming a physician has both been exciting and challenging beyond what I imagined. This, all happening alongside the injustices that take place in this country every day, sometimes running like an unseen current, deep and disturbing. Those living through these injustices or fighting against it, it sometimes drives them into the ground for it is taxing and consuming. Many of us medical students are involved in a variety of causes and this can feel draining because we also need to meet the rigorous academic criteria in order to become full-fledged physicians.
I cannot speak for anyone else than myself nor am I asking for anyone’s approval for how I build my own resilience. But reflection and perspective is where I draw my strength from when I don’t quite feel like I’m on solid ground. Seeing family survive what they did, I wonder how far my own limits go. When I sense fatigue and feel the need to step back, I realize that it is a privilege to do so. Many others do not have the luxury of choice to “take a break” from injustice because they are living it, in their past, present, and future.

Where my future paths and crossroads go, I don’t know. And personally, becoming a physician was never the end goal for me, if one even exists. Neither am I simply pursuing happiness, but I do know I seek a life of meaning and purpose. And not one that’s only for me, but also for many others, to relish in.