{"id":75012,"date":"2020-05-23T11:44:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-23T11:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dnllegalandstyle.com\/dnl\/?p=31835"},"modified":"2020-05-23T11:44:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-23T11:44:03","slug":"the-healthy-lawyer-four-health-hazards-all-lawyers-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dnllegalandstyle.com\/dnl\/the-healthy-lawyer-four-health-hazards-all-lawyers-face\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healthy Lawyer: Four Health Hazards All Lawyers Face"},"content":{"rendered":"

You might not work on an oil rig, but practicing\u00a0law can be pretty dangerous. All the long hours in\u00a0courts,\u00a0all that\u00a0<\/span>sitting and the stress associated with practice can become dangerous to the lawyer’s health.<\/p>\n

Below are a list of some of the health hazards faced by lawyers and tips on how to improve on or avoid them for a healthier life.<\/p>\n

Hazard 1: Maximum stress levels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being a lawyer is stressful. Every job can be stressful at times, and the adversarial nature of law practice arguably makes it one of the more stressful professions.\u00a0 Whether private law firm, government agency, large or small firm, things can get hairy at times. Everyone feels overwhelmed, overworked and underappreciated at times. With so many responsibilities vying for your attention, it\u2019s sometimes hard to remember to check in and take the time to take care of yourself.\u00a0 I have to admit, I even got a little stressed out thinking about writing this article on stress! Too much stress and a lack of stress management techniques can make daily tasks seem overwhelming, and can even be paralyzing at the exact moment when action is most needed.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get a hobby<\/strong>
    \n\u201cIt sounds kind of lame,\u201d says Dr. James Aw, chief medical officer of the Medcan Clinic, a health centre in Toronto. \u201cBut it\u2019s important to remember who you were before life got so serious as a lawyer. Otherwise you\u2019ll start to lose connection with old friends and communities.\u201d Whether it\u2019s playing an instrument, joining a sports team or writing poetry, Aw says it\u2019s important to give yourself \u201cpermission to have fun and to play.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Work fewer hours<\/strong>
    \nIf you\u2019re working more than 60 hours a week, and you know it\u2019s hurting your health or relationships, then you need to work less, says Dr. David Posen, author of Is Work Killing You?<\/em> Maybe that means working late three nights a week, rather than five. Or working Saturday, but not Sunday. And, as a bonus, Posen says you\u2019ll likely be more productive when you are working. \u201cIn close to 30 years, I\u2019ve never met an over-worked patient who couldn\u2019t get the same amount of work done in less time once they took better care of themselves.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Spend more time with family and close friends<\/strong>
    \nYour social calendar should not be crammed full with cocktail parties and outings with colleagues, says Aw. Even if you enjoy work events, he notes, an agenda hovers over each social encounter. Over time, that leads to higher levels of stress. Hanging out with family, he insists, is actually good for you. Make it a priority to have dinner with your spouse or catch up with your friends a few times each week. Aw says that those interactions give your mind a break: \u201cThere\u2019s no agenda except that you love each other.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Hazard 2: A serious lack of sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Lawyers are known to work into the night and sometimes round the clock. While you may think the only way to be on top of your schedule is to work long hours, there is also the need to ensure that you do not wear out your body. Working long hours may not be avoided but below are a few tips that may help:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Set a time when you need to abandon all that you are doing and get some sleep. On of the challenges associated with this option is that some times our minds refuses to fall asleep. Often times we find ourselves going back to work after making failed attempts at falling asleep. Experts encourage that to achieve sleep within this period, you may need to turn your gadgets off an hour before you want to sleep. To prepare your body for rest, you need to disconnect from the world, says Jaan Reitav, a Toronto psychologist certified in behavioural sleep medicine. So if you get home late, shut down all devices \u2014 phones, tablets and laptops \u2014 right away. If you read a stressful (i.e. work-related) email or answer a phone call, he explains, don\u2019t expect to nod off minutes after.<\/li>\n
    2. Avoid late night movies. \u201cThink about it: the job of a television producer is to engage the audience with a captivating narrative,\u201d says Reitav. Watching television at night is more likely to rile you up than calm you down. Instead, Reitav recommends reading a book or listening to music. \u201cPutting on beautiful music and listening quietly while practising deep breathing is an incredible way to relax the mind.\u201d<\/li>\n
    3. Listen to your body.\u00a0\u201cWe all know people who can sleep for four hours, get up and have no trouble,\u201d says Reitav. But those people are outliers \u2014 that is, genetic mutants to whom the normal rules of biology don\u2019t apply. Most of us need about seven hours of sleep each night for our bodies and minds to properly recover.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Hazard 3: Not enough exercise<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The legal profession isn\u2019t one that keeps you on your toes, at least not literally. Most of us will spend a good chunk of our days sitting behind a desk. If we\u2019re lucky, we might get a nice detour to a conference room or, on rare occasions, court \u2013 but mostly, legal brain work requires little physical stimulation.<\/p>\n

      All that sitting is terrible for you. Sitting for more than three hours a day\u00a0knocks an average of two years off your life\u00a0while easily adding an inch or two to your waste.<\/p>\n

      Below are tips that may help:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Stand up. Sitting at your desk for hours on end is truly terrible for you, says Meg Sharp, executive director of personal training at the Cambridge Group of Clubs. It causes your blood sugar levels to spike and triglycerides \u2014 better known as fat \u2014 to clog your arteries. Standing up to stretch or move around at least once an hour stimulates your blood flow and flushes out your arteries. As Sharp puts it, \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly powerful.\u201d<\/li>\n
      2. Work out in small doses. \u201cEveryone says they\u2019re short on time,\u201d says Mark Hendricks, regional group fitness manager at Equinox Fitness Clubs. \u201cI believe that is a bit lazy.\u201d Especially, he adds, when a 20-minute workout \u2014 or jog, or squash game, or bike ride \u2014 three times a week can make a huge difference in overall health.<\/li>\n
      3. Get a gym buddy. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly easy to let ourselves down,\u201d says Hendricks. \u201cBut it\u2019s not so easy to let others down.\u201d And so, if you want to make exercise a regular habit, make that commitment with a friend \u2014 or even a client. (How\u2019s that for motivation?).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Hazard 4: Eating out all the time<\/strong><\/p>\n

        It is rather very difficult to be a lawyer in active practice and avoid eating out regularly. While you may not be able to avoid eating out as a practicing lawyer, there are a few things that would help you to ensure that you stay healthy while at it.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Make smarter choices at food courts. You can eat out seven days a week; for breakfast, lunch and dinner and never gain a pound. The first step is to make a conscious effort to avoid ordering foods that are unhealthy and the next is to start learning which foods you can order. Speaking to dietitians and nutrition experts would be cheaper than paying hospital bills and the risk of dying.<\/li>\n
        2. At restaurants, always ensure to tell the chef to use the options of heathy preparation. Example; grill, rather than fry or saut\u00e9.<\/li>\n
        3. Eat breakfast. This would help to prevent your brain from releasing wave after wave of appetite-inducing hormones hours later. Experts say such release sets the stage for cravings which leads to overeating.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          References:<\/p>\n

          The Precedent Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

          Maeda Ria<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

          Ms. JD<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          You might not work on an oil rig, but practicing\u00a0law can be pretty dangerous. All the long hours in\u00a0courts,\u00a0all that\u00a0sitting and the stress associated with practice can become dangerous to the lawyer’s health. Below are a list of some of the health hazards faced by lawyers and tips on how to improve on or avoid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t