Concerns About Health Survey

[Jonnusthegreat]

I took an online health survey today and I was quite surprised by what is currently considered "healthy." I am a public school teacher, so I'm assuming (that might be my problem) that this company is reputable and has a background in health. Here are a few topics in the survey:

Sleep

Having good sleep habits means doing things like: getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night; maintaining a regular bed and wake time; exercising regularly, but not within 4 hours of bedtime; avoiding caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, spicy foods, and heavy meals within 4 hours of bedtime; creating a sleep environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable, and cool; and reserving your bed for sleep. Do you have good sleep habits according to the previous definition?

According to this definition of healthy sleep, I have to exercise, not eat spicy food for dinner, and never have sex in my bed? WTF? Only having sex in bed really relates to sleeping in my mind, and I understand that, but can you really go so far as to say having sex in bed makes sleep unhealthy?

Alcohol

A standard drink is any drink that contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol (about 0.6 oz. or 1.2 Tbsp.). While different brands and types of beverages vary in their actual alcohol content, a standard drink is approximately 12 oz. of beer or wine cooler, 5 oz. of wine, or 1.5 oz. of 80 proof alcohol in a shot or mixed drink. Low-risk drinking is defined as limiting yourself to:
-No more than 14 drinks per week AND no more than 4 drinks in one day for men under age 65
-No more than 7 drinks per week AND no more than 3 drinks in one day for women and anyone 65 or over

I was actually delighted about this question. 14 beers per week is still considered low-risk drinking! I would have thought that was heavy drinking. I wonder though if light beer affects this number?

Stress

How would you describe your overall mental stress level?
Low Medium High

Stress management includes regular relaxation, physical activity, talking with others, and/or making time for social activities.
Do you effectively practice stress management in your daily life?

This question really depends on how the assessment is graded... but for real, is stress management a requirement now for healthy living? I have 0 stress (I don't believe that stress exists) so therefore I don't manage it because I have none. Am I considered at-risk for living a stress-free life?

Depression

Depression prevention means using effective methods to keep depression from occurring, or if it does occur, to keep it as mild and brief as possible. The effective methods for preventing depression are:
-Controlling negative thinking every day
-Engaging in healthy, pleasant activities on most days
-Practicing stress management on most days
-Exercising for 30 minutes or more on most days
-Getting professional help when needed

So again, stress management is key for depression prevention. What I'm more concerned about is the exercising note. If I don't exercise, I am not at-risk for depression? Those two activities are not related in any way.



So I don't know if I'm reading into this too much, but if I'm right, I am kind of concerned as to why some of these topics are considered factors of a 'healthy lifestyle.' I really just want to hear more opinions about this before I jump the gun on anything.

[I Push Buttons]

I took an online health survey today and I was quite surprised by what is currently considered "healthy." I am a public school teacher, so I'm assuming (that might be my problem) that this company is reputable and has a background in health. Here are a few topics in the survey:



According to this definition of healthy sleep, I have to exercise, not eat spicy food for dinner, and never have sex in my bed? WTF? Only having sex in bed really relates to sleeping in my mind, and I understand that, but can you really go so far as to say having sex in bed makes sleep unhealthy?



I was actually delighted about this question. 14 beers per week is still considered low-risk drinking! I would have thought that was heavy drinking. I wonder though if light beer affects this number?



This question really depends on how the assessment is graded... but for real, is stress management a requirement now for healthy living? I have 0 stress (I don't believe that stress exists) so therefore I don't manage it because I have none. Am I considered at-risk for living a stress-free life?



So again, stress management is key for depression prevention. What I'm more concerned about is the exercising note. If I don't exercise, I am not at-risk for depression? Those two activities are not related in any way.



So I don't know if I'm reading into this too much, but if I'm right, I am kind of concerned as to why some of these topics are considered factors of a 'healthy lifestyle.' I really just want to hear more opinions about this before I jump the gun on anything.

- By reserve the bed for sleep I assume they mean don't lay around playing games and watching TV in bed, etc... If the only times you get in your bed are to sleep, I guess that would make it easier for your autonomic systems to go to sleep.

- Spicy food can cause inflammation and gastrointestinal distress I would assume (once again :P).

- Exercise is pretty obvious, and not doing it near when you are about to sleep is pretty straightforward, by that point you have already expended most of your energy and what not for the day.

- If you aren't stressed then you don't need to practice relieving stress now do you bro :P

- Stagnation and what not can lead to being unhealthy, which leads to depression... If you are fit and active, less likely to become depressed. They obviously aren't one to one correlations... It isn't exercise or you definitely will become depressed... But it is a risk factor.

[Jonnusthegreat]

My concern isn't that some of these CAN lead to unhealthy lifestyle... rather they are ASSUMING it?