Life

In brief

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-05 08:08

Youngsters at risk from noise overload

MP3 players, iPods and other electronic devices are popular gifts which young people love. But Professor Benedikt Folz takes a critical view.

"Naturally I wouldn't want to forbid anyone from having fun with an iPod or some other new equipment," says the chief physician at the ear, nose and throat clinic of the medical health care center MZG in Bad Lippspringe, Germany. "But I do advise regularly taking a break so that the ear can recover."

"I now think recreational noise has become more threatening than on-the-job noise."

A pipe-fitter, for example, can protect people well against the noise because it is known that a permanent volume level of over 85 decibels is damaging.

"But in people's free time there are scarcely any limits. The volume can be well above 100 decibels because the MP3 player is connected directly to your ear," the physician notes.

Young people in particular are especially in danger of suffering hearing impairment at an early age.

"In the worst cases, they are already plugging their MP3 players in early in the morning, then at noon putting on their headphones to play games at the computer, before then watching TV with the sound turned up loud and then, at night, heading to the discotheque," Folz says.

In all, they are on the receiving end of more than eight hours of noise which can damage their hearing.

Those who do this permanently are in danger of suffering the level of hearing impairment found in the elderly.

Brief breaks help reduce work stress

Workers should take regular, brief breaks to make sure that the stress in their jobs does not become too much for them.

This is the advice of the German administration employees association VBG in Hamburg. Several breaks of short duration had a greater effect than one break lasting the same amount of time, the VBG says. There is more recuperation from several breaks per day of 10 minutes than one of 30 minutes.

Employees should also take care to see that when they are taking a break, they do something different than when they are working.

For example, if a worker uses a break to read e-mails, then the workload feeling quickly returns. A relaxing break is one which involves changing one's activity, the VBG says.

What can also help is some fitting activity during one's free time as a counter-balance to work. This does not necessarily mean going jogging every evening. Here, too, there's a need for variety.

Employees who "work with their heads" need a lot of exercise after work. But those who perform heavy physical labor, by contrast, need a quiet hobby to reduce their stress.

Be outside daily for at least 30 minutes

Too much time spent in the warm indoors, too little exercise in the fresh air and too little sunlight can make you tired and susceptible to illness.

Professor Ingo Froboese from the Center for Health at the German Sports High School in Cologne offers the following advice: "Even when it's dark and overcast all day long, you should make use of the daylight hours of the day to tank up on sunlight and get some fresh air into your lungs."

Daylight is excellent for keeping your immune system in top shape. "You should get between 15 and 20 minutes of sunlight a day so your body can develop vitamin D which is very important for our immune systems," Froboese says.

Sunlight converts the precursor form of vitamin D, which is produced in certain cells in the body, into active vitamin D. That encourages our immune cells to build anti-microbial cathelicidin which plays an important role in our body's response to bacterial infection.

"That means sunlight can help you stay healthy," Froboese says. "And it does not always have to be direct sunlight, which is in short supply at this time of year." Even on an overcast day enough scattered light penetrates the clouds to have a positive effect on our immune systems.

"You should also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day in the fresh air," Froboese advises. "It can be in the form of sport but even an extended walk can be great for filling your lungs with oxygen."

Oxygen is important for keeping the energy-generating mitochondria in our cells and organs in good condition.

Exercise also keeps our immune system in shape by ensuring that immune cells stay active and effective. Light and oxygen also help you feel good about yourself.

German Press Agency