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This content was originally created for audio. Some elements such as tone, sound effects, and music can be hard to translate to text. As such, the following is a summary of the episode and has been edited for clarity. For the full experience, we encourage you to subscribe and listen— it's more fun that way.

As many as 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. are dealing with a mental illness including depression. Depression and anxiety can be very difficult to identify. Feelings of sadness and anxiousness can be healthy, normal emotional responses to events in your life. Depression can be both a symptom of another illness or an illness in and of itself, so it can be difficult to draw the line.

Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones experienced the struggle firsthand. He experienced a lot of pressure and anxiety during his time and medical school. He had long hours without sleep, poor eating habits, no exercise and, as a physician, dealt with the decisions of life and death. It was a slow build over many years that led to his clinical depression.

He eventually reached his turning point after experiencing a serious panic attack. The "awful, terrifying" experience led him to seek professional help and eventually take medication to help work through his depression. Medication Can Help Get You Out of the Rough

Often, a positive change in diet, sleep, and exercise can help a person through a run of mild depression. But sometimes, the symptoms of depression can be a major hurdle to improving one's lifestyle. Many patients may benefit from a short-term prescription that can help get those habits back in place.

"It's night and day," says Dr. Jones, explaining how much his life has improved after starting medication to treat his mental health. He explains that he was able to get his desire, passion, and drive back. "It's not just getting back to the way things were; it's about being your most successful, best self."

For most patients, medications to help treat depression and anxiety are not long-term. Many patients are on medications for only a short time. Also, recognize that finding the right type and dosage of medications can take time before you start feeling the positive effects. When You Should Get Help

There is a fine line between the negative emotions of anxiety or depression, and clinical diagnosis of clinical depression. Your primary care physician should have the tools and training to make a professional diagnosis and make further recommendations as needed.

If your relationships are being impacted by a chronic emotional state, or if your feelings are acting as an impediment to living your life, it's worth reaching out to get help.

Common symptoms of depression include:

• Lack of enjoyment in things you used to enjoy
• Sleep too much, or sleep too little
• Feeling guilty about the inability to function normally
• Lack of energy or motivation to complete tasks
• Suicidal thoughts

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, consider reaching out to your doctor for a diagnosis.

If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide and need immediate help, call the Utah Crisis Intervention Hotline, 801-587-3000 ER or Not: Rolled Your Ankle

Producer Mitch recently rolled his ankle badly during a run. It hurts and is very swollen. Should he be running to the emergency room for treatment?

According to Dr. Madsen, most rolled ankles hurt and can look pretty bad, but do not require emergency attention. Unless there is a bone sticking out the ankle is seriously misshapen to, an urgent care can provide all the treatment necessary. Another option is a walk-in orthopedic clinic like the one at University of Utah Health.

There's a protocol used to identify whether or not an x-ray is necessary for your injury called The Ottowa Ankle Rules:

1. Can the ankle bear weight?
2. Is there tenderness on the ankle bones themselves?

If you are unable to stand on the ankle, or if there is tenderness in the two bones that stick out on either side of the ankle, it's time to get an x-ray at an Urgent Care.

Otherwise, you can treat the injury at home with ice, elevation, and an ace bandage compress. Odds and Ends

The Who Cares About Men's Health 5K has been moved to June 20. We encourage anyone who wants to join this virtual race and show support for Mitch as he gets closer to his goal of going from couch to 5K. The virtual race can be completed any way you'd like, whether it be running, biking, walking, skipping, whatever you can do to get in your physical activity that day. Stay tuned for our updates for the event.

This week you can visit our Facebook to get your 5k race bib. Download and print the file so you're ready for race day. Take a photo of yourself in the bib and post them to the Who Cares Facebook page or using the hashtag #WCAMH5k to show your support. Just Going to Leave This Here

On this episode's Just Going to Leave This Here, Troy finally was able to go for a run without snowshoes, which - as far as he is concerned - marks the end of winter.

Meanwhile, Scot finds himself looking at his phone while he's walking. It's happening much more frequently lately. He's thinking that humanity will have to come up with some way to make sure we don't bump into something. Talk to Us

If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, email us at hello@thescoperadio.com.

This content was originally created for audio. Some elements such as tone, sound effects, and music can be hard to translate to text. As such, the following is a summary of the episode and has been edited for clarity. For the full experience, we encourage you to subscribe and listen— it's more fun that way.

Stress can have a significant impact on a person's health. According to the Mayo Clinic, burnout can lead to:

• Headaches
• Less likelihood of exercise
• High blood pressure
• Weight gain/obesity
• Sleep problems

These conditions can be a real detriment to all of the Core 4 areas of health. So it's important to make sure burnout is kept under controlled and managed.

Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones understands the difficulty of burnout personally. He first experienced the stressful condition during his residency. Between thirty-hour days, not seeing the sun for weeks at a time, and constantly dealing with life and death, Dr. Jones experienced an amount of stress he had never had before, and soon he started experiencing the signs of burnout.

Burnout doesn't only affect the doctors of the world. Burnout can happen to anybody, with any job. Nobody is immune to burnout.

"I saw one stat that said 45% of all workers in the United States experience some level of burnout," says Dr. Jones. What is Burnout?

Clinical burnout is a "physical, emotional, mental, and/or psychological exhaustion from work." The condition usually begins with a feeling of emotional detachment from your job. You may have originally been successful and high performing in your position, but you may start experiencing a slip in quality or satisfaction with your work.

For most people, there can be an overlap in symptoms of burnout and depression. Because of the similarity in symptoms, a person may need a physician or mental health specialist to help discern the difference.

In general, curing burnout is more of a personal journey of finding coping skills and finding the right fit for what works best for you. Whether it be figuring out how to find satisfaction and a sense of worthiness in the job you have or - in more extreme cases - changing jobs.

It's important to be careful when self-diagnosing burnout. Everyone has bad days, bad weeks, and even bad months at work. This doesn't necessarily mean you're experiencing burnout. It could just mean you're human and having a rough run of things.

Burnout is a distinct type of emotional exhaustion and detachment, often ongoing and constant. But if you're finding that you're losing your motivation in work, it may be time to seek professional help.

Additionally, it's important to realize that depression and burnout are not always separate.

"That can be a chicken and the egg situation," says Dr. Jones. Depression symptoms can sometimes feed into burnout, and vice versa.

There's a certain amount of stress that's kind of needed to drive you to do your best. Once that stress gets to a point where it becomes the opposite and keeps you from doing your best you should be concerned about burnout and seek professional help. Fight Burnout by Finding The Right Coping Mechanism For You

One of the best ways to minimize the chance of burnout is to take time off from your work. Research has found that burnout tends to get better with time away from work. If your job allows for time off, consider taking those vacation days. But for a lot of people in the U.S., taking an extended time away from work is sometimes not possible. For those situations, the best solution is to find some coping skills to help alleviate the stress that comes from your job.

These "coping mechanisms" can be anything that helps you destress in as little as five minutes. These are not mere distractions, but instead, activities that allow for a mental and emotional release. These mechanisms actually allow for alleviation of stress by allowing the mind and body a moment to process the mental and physical effects of high stress.

These coping mechanisms can be just about anything that helps you feel a little better. For Dr. Jones, he likes to do puzzles. Every week he finds an hour or two to work on a puzzle. These little breaks help him destress from the stress of work.

Dr. Jones also explains that it is vital to find more than one coping mechanism that you can do to relax. It's important to recognize that for one reason or another, you may not have the time or ability to do a single activity, like exercise. As such, it's important to have a variety of different things you can do in a week.

Some examples of good coping mechanisms are:

• Woodworking
• Going for a walk
• Exercise
• Jogging/running
• Arts and crafts
• Puzzles
• Short mobile games
• Watching or reading about your favorite sports team
• Getting outdoors

It's important to remember to make sure your activities are generally beneficial or constructive. It can be tempting to slip into bad coping mechanisms like drinking too much, overeating, or substance abuse. What to Do If Burnout Won't Go Away

If you're still feeling the effects of burnout from your job after trying out different hobbies and coping mechanisms, it may be time to involve your physician.

Burnout can lead to depression. Or in some cases, burnout may be misdiagnosed as depression. Seek help before the condition gets worse. It may seem trivial to see a doctor for stress related to work, but your mental health should be a priority. Just because stress isn't an illness or a broken bone, it does impact your life and your health. Don't be afraid to seek help.

It's not an illness or a broken bone, but it DOES impact your life, so get it looked at. ER or Not: Really Badly Stubbed Toe

You've stubbed your toe pretty badly; It's bruised and hurts to put weight on it.. Should you go to the ER?

Even if your toe is broken, you do not need to go to the emergency room. Or even an urgent care. That's because the treatment they'll give you is the same as you could do at home.

If you go to the physician, they'll do an x-ray to diagnose if it's broken. After getting back the results, they'll tape the broken toe to the toe next to it and tell you it'll heal in four weeks.

If your toe has a normal alignment and bones aren't sticking out, you can tape your broken toe on your own and save yourself the time and expense of going to the doctor. Housekeeping - Who Cares About Their DNA Giveaway

Scot received two at home genetics test kits over the holiday and is looking for someone to take the test with him. Troy doesn't want to do it. Mitch has already done it. So he's giving one away to a listener.

Over the last few episodes, the guys at Who Cares have been looking deeper into at-home genetic testing and there's a lot more involved with these tests than they originally realized.

Stay tuned as we look deeper into the complex issues surrounding these tests and interview a professional genetics counselor about these direct to consumer tests.

If you'd like to participate in the discussion feel free to comment on Facebook or enter to win a chance to win the test and take it with Scot. Just Going to Leave This Here

On this episode's Just Going to Leave This Here, Troy explains what kama muta means and why we all should look for more of it in our lives. Meanwhile, Scot is fascinated by the peculiarities of corgi owner groups on the internet. Talk to Us

If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, email us at hello@thescoperadio.com.

Dr. Jones: Both sexting and Internet safety are increasing concerns for parents of adolescents. I'm Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, a Family Physician at the University of Utah. We'll find out why, coming up next on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical News and Research, from the University Utah Physicians and Specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Dr. Jones: Every year, the CS Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor performs a poll of adults on the biggest concerns they have for children in the United States. The results of the survey this year showed that there are two topics that increased in rankings much more than any other: sexting and Internet safety. So what is sexting? This is basically sending any sexually explicit messages, which may or may not include sexually related photos, over text or over the Internet. So you can see how this adds a new element to the sexual experience for adolescents.

Now, there have been multiple studies that have looked at this. From a public health perspective, it's estimated from 7-31% of adolescents engage in sexting. But many of the studies have found multiple negatives from this. First of all, adolescents are more likely to engage in riskier sexual behaviors if they participate in sexting. This means more partners, more unprotected sex, which leads to more sexually transmitted infections and unwanted teen pregnancies. It also decreases the age at which they become sexually active, which can then worsen the other risky behaviors that we just mentioned.

Another negative about sexting is that it increases the likelihood of an adolescent using both legal and illegal substances, such as alcohol, drugs, etc. There is also the increased likelihood that adolescents will have low self-esteem and this contributes to emotional confusion in relationships, not only in the short term but can set them up for that for the rest of their lives. There's also the risk that any explicit pictures or messages can make it online in a public forum if a relationship goes poorly.

Now, sexting goes right along with Internet safety, which has many of the same concerns. So a lot of this concern over Internet safety has to do with inappropriate relationships, whether sexual or otherwise. Adolescents then spend too much time on other things on the computer, which can lead to poor socialization and even an increase in obesity.

A few things to watch for in your adolescent. Maybe lots of computer use in a private place, such as their bedroom and when you go to talk to them or check in on them, they might be trying to hide something. Another thing is poor social relationships with friends. So that they mainly have connections with Internet acquaintances they may be more willing to share personal info with. Another thing is obsessions with certain celebrities that may provide a poor example of sexuality and what is considered normal and so that is one thing to keep an eye on, on whom their role models are.

So in summary, sexting and Internet safety are increasing worries for parents and have many public health consequences. The best ways to get help and to get around this are to talk with your children about this so they understand your concerns and know that they can come to you when needed.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Dr. Jones: Adults with autism are prone to certain medical conditions. This is Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at the University of Utah on The Scope Radio.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Dr. Jones: The Journal of Autism has recently published a paper from the University of Utah that I participated in that looked at what medical conditions adults with autism tend to have. Now a little bit of background with this, this project started in the 1980s. Researchers from the University of Utah led by Bill McMahon as well as some researchers from UCLA tried to find every child in Utah that had autism.

Now since this was the 1980s it was difficult to diagnose. There weren't a ton. They ended up finding a couple of hundred people and they've followed them since then. And so a follow-up that was done a few years ago provided medical questionnaires to either the individual or their caregiver and asked a lot about their medical problems, their hospitalizations, their surgeries.

We ended up finding about 92 people of the original 200 some odd people, 11 of which had passed away, so we were able to find their caregivers that were able to provide some information. They filled out these medical questionnaires and gave us the information. And let me tell you a little bit about the population itself.

Most were in their 30s so they were originally found when they were small children and now are adults. Sixty-two percent have intellectual disabilities which is what we used to call mental retardation. And that's higher than the typical population with autism. Around the United States it's actually about 40% of people with autism have intellectual disabilities.

But like we said because of the way they were originally found in the 1980s, it's expected they'd be a little more severe. Seventy-five percent were male, which actually goes along with what we know currently in autism. It's much more common in males and most of the individuals took over four medicines a day, so they had lots of different problems they were being treated.

So some of the common problems we found, a big one, number one, seizures. This is very common among individuals with autism. In a lot of the studies of children with autism this isn't seen as much mainly because the seizures tend to start in adolescence and so this is something that often times will carry into adulthood. And sometimes they have one or two seizures and that's it. But if it's recurrent, it usually starts in adolescence.

Number two, obesity is a big one. When you look at studies in Europe they don't see that as much, so this tends to be a little bit more of American culture fitting in. But at the same time it's important to keep in mind because individuals with autism have a lot of sensory issues and tend to be a little more picky eaters. And so because of that it's something to pay close attention to.

Number three, sleep problems. Individuals with autism tend to make a little bit less melatonin in their brains which is what helps us regulate our sleep. And so because of that a lot of them have difficulty sleeping and that's actually one of the first things we try to tackle as clinicians is to try to get them to sleep if they're having behaviors, if they're having depression and anxiety. Because if they're not sleeping, they're not really able to deal with the other problems.

Number four, constipation. Now this sounds a little silly like, "Okay, that's not a big deal." For this population it can be a huge deal. If they are a little irregular with their bowel movements it can cause lots of problems in other areas. They don't eat as well, again they don't sleep as well, they're more likely to have poor behaviors. And so this is something to keep a very close eye on.

Number five, balance problems. A lot of falls, a lot of lack of coordination, and this is something to watch out for. Once it starts there are little things you can do to try to optimize their balance such as physical therapy or determining if they need a cane or a walker. But for the most part it's mostly about keeping them safe. And there isn't a whole lot that you can do to stop the progression except to optimize those things as best we can.

Now with the 11 individuals who had died but we still got information from their caregivers there wasn't any difference among their medical conditions. They had the same as the individuals who survived. Looking at hospitalizations, about a fourth had a hospitalization for a life threatening condition. The vast majority of the time it was pneumonia, that was a really big one. And that seemed to be the biggest one that caused death and so that's something that as a caregiver, as someone in the community, as a clinician to really watch out for and be careful with, pneumonia.

Almost one in five had had a major surgery. So that's a little bit higher than you would expect, so definitely lots of medical problems that are causing issues. The females among the group even though there were fewer of them, they tend to be sicker. They had more problems. Probably the most interesting finding here there was no difference between the individuals who had intellectual disabilities and those who didn't in terms of their medical conditions.

A lot of other studies have shown that the worse your intellectual disability, the more medical problems you're going to have. But we didn't find that in this group. Which is interesting and is something to keep an eye on as further research goes along.

In summary, adults with autism experience lots of common medical problems. The main ones being number one, seizures. Number two, obesity. Number three, sleep problems. Number four, constipation. Number five, balance problems. This is all research from a recent study we did here at the University of Utah that was published in the Journal Autism and is important information for anyone who interacts with these people in the community.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Dr. Jones: The United States has an increasing rate of childhood obesity, so why can't we seem to improve on this problem? I'm Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at the University of Utah. We'll talk about this next, coming up on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Dr. Jones: Childhood obesity has long been a significant concern in the United States. The rate of childhood obesity has increased three to four times in the last 30 years. Approximately one-third of kids are either overweight or obese.

So this impacts multiple areas of health, both short-term and long-term, for these children such as impacting their heart, their lungs, their joints, and the possibility of developing diseases such as diabetes. It impacts their mental health as well as many other things.

Now, over the last few years there has been shown to be some mild improvement in the rate of obesity among young children age two to five years, so there is some bright side coming with hope on the horizon. However, a recent evaluation shows that the United States has the fifth highest rate of childhood obesity in the world. Now, in markers like this we tend to be number one in the world. However, I think this really underscores the problem. If we are number five that means this is a really big issue across the world and it's not just us.

So why is our rate so high? There are multiple factors. We're going to touch just on three.

Number one, our culture. It's changed a lot in the last 30 years. Our kids and adolescents and us as adults participate in a lot of screen time; so television, computers, video games, phones. Many households have more screens than people. So spending so much time in front of a screen leads us to be more sedentary and leads our kids to be more sedentary and not getting the activity they need.

When you combine this with concerns about safety outdoors, as well as the availability and cost of healthy fresh food, this can be a very important thing that leads to obesity. Soda and junk food tend to be ubiquitous and extremely damaging to our health. They are all over.

Number two, and this can be a little more controversial, but advertising to children for junk food. Young children cannot tell the difference between an advertisement and a show, and small children are often unable to understand good food choices. Now, advertisers have been shown to very carefully study what are the most effective ways to target children to get them to take these products and that seems to be having a big impact on childhood obesity.

Number three, school lunches. This is something that we're getting improvements very slowly but are getting some improvements, big efforts by people such as Michelle Obama to continually improve the health of school lunches. Now, this can include many different forms such as eliminating vending machines, decreasing the amount of fatty food, increasing options that are healthy. But this is a big contributor to the problem of childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity continues to rise in the United States, making us one of the worst in the world in this marker. Our culture, certain advertising methods, and food exposures at school among many other factors all contribute to the problem. So let's hope we can make some changes as a society to improve the health of our children.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Dr. Jones: About 10% of US adults experience mental illness such as depression or anxiety every year. How to overcome that stigma? This is Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at University of Utah, coming up next on The Scope.

Announcer: Health information from expects, supported by research. From University of Utah Health, this is TheScopeRadio.com.

Dr. Jones: So lots of people, particularly adults in the US, suffer from depression or anxiety but have difficulty overcoming the stigma of having that. A lot of people think, "Hey, am I crazy if I'm depressed? I can buck up. I can do this on my own." The culture in the United States tends to revolve around being the cowboy, "I am independent. I can do this on my own. I do not need your help," but depression and anxiety is more than that. This is something that is a real illness that you cannot simply overcome on your own.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. This is more than just being sad. That's kind of the first thought that most people have. Depression can be an emotion, it can be a symptom of something else, or it can be a diagnosis. The emotion is feeling sad. It is having a bad hair day. It's going through something tough. That's completely normal. It can also be a symptom of something else, such as thyroid disease or something like that.

But the diagnosis of depression, you feel a little bit more sad, you feel guilt, you have trouble concentrating, you have less energy. You no longer take pleasure in things that are normally fun and entertaining for you, and it leads to decreased function. And so having that thought of, "Hey, I can overcome this on my own," is actually going to be detrimental if you have the diagnosis of clinical depression.

So what things can you do? First of all, go see your physician. This is something I can start with your primary care physician. Talk to them about what you are experiencing. They can give you some guidance on how severe it is, if it is the diagnosis versus if it's an emotion, a symptom, they can offer some different things for you.

A lot of people think that therapy is just talking to someone and that's it. But that's not the purpose of it. So certainly that helps a little bit, but there are therapeutic methods that have been proven to give you better coping skills, to help you better deal with the things that you're experiencing.

Now, the best way to deal with depression is a combination of therapy and medication. A lot of people are worried, "Hey, if I go on medication, I'm going to be on this for the rest of my life. It shows that I am crazy and I'm going to feel like a zombie. It's going to completely take away my ability to feel." It's actually the opposite on all those accounts.

The vast majority of people who are on medication for depression or anxiety take it for about 6 to 12 months, and then they're okay without it after that. It's actually not something that's going to make you feel like a zombie and keep you from feeling. It actually quiets the depression and anxiety so that you can get back to your normal self, to your normal feelings, your normal activities. Less than 50% of adult men get treatment for their depression or anxiety. Obviously, that's a big deal.

Now, how do we get rid of this stigma? The first step is understanding it, understanding that this is a medical condition. It's caused by a decrease of chemicals in your brain. This is not a moral weakness. Oftentimes this can be brought on by a stressful life event and it can just be a short-term thing. Like we said, you don't need to have treatment long-term for most people. Also, understanding that as a society we just need to talk about it more. It's okay.

There are actually a significant amount of people that struggle with this from time to time and that's okay. Treatment helps because if you don't get it treated, it actually worsens your relationships, it worsens other health problems that you have and overall can simply make things worse. So seeking treatment and seeking the appropriate diagnosis can really make a big difference.

In summary, if you feel like you may be suffering from depression or anxiety, you are not crazy. Seek therapy. Go see your physician. Don't be afraid of it, because denying it only further ruins everything else going on in your life.

Announcer: Have a question about a medical procedure? Want to learn more about a health condition? With over 2,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find what you want to know. Check it out at TheScopeRadio.com.

Interviewer: Yesterday, Mom remembered exactly who you were, and today, she doesn't even remember your name. How to deal with a parent's memory loss, coming up next on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: We're talking today with Kyle Bradford Jones, a family physician at the University of Utah. The topic of memory loss in a parent is something that not many people talk about because it's really emotionally difficult when your mom or your dad suddenly just doesn't remember who you are and you're kind of a stranger to them. Emotionally, how stressful is that, do you think?

Dr. Jones: Oh, that's huge. Like you mentioned, that's really hard for all of us to handle that. And with memory loss in our parents or in the elderly, it's kind of what you expect, what's called cognitive aging.

Interviewer: So are there specific signs or symptoms to look for in Mom or Dad as they are losing their memory? Are there emotional signs? Are there physical signs? What can you look out for?

Dr. Jones: As we age, like you said, we tend to lose a little bit of our memory. Sometimes, we lose what's called executive function, so our organizational skills, handling finances, losing our train of thought, and this is fairly common. Now, this tends to be worse in stressful or uncomfortable situations or even situations where it's fast-paced, things like getting on the freeway while driving.

One of the other ways that memory loss comes on is through delirium, which basically is an abrupt onset of confusion, behavioral outbursts and sometimes what's called sundowning, where this tends to get worse at night. As you get more disoriented, it's darker. And these are usually caused by things that can be reversed, so medications, infection, very commonly, a urinary tract infection or a change in environment.

Now, the one that we're all scared of is dementia. Alzheimer's is one form of dementia, but there are multiple ones. How dementia is different from these is it's very similar to cognitive aging, but you also add that you lose some of what's called your activities of daily living. So you lose the hygiene ability to shower or brush your teeth. You lose basic housekeeping. Sometimes, you become disoriented. Like you say, you may not recognize people because you think it's a different time in your life.

One of the biggest things to watch for and one of the first things that you can notice, look at their finger and their toenails. Are they able to trim their nails? If it's your mother and she always painted her nails, has that changed? That's one of the first things to go and so that's a big one that you can just keep an eye on.

Interviewer: So, obviously, as a caregiver, I'm seeing the frustration in her eyes when she doesn't remember who I am. Obviously, I am emotional and distressed, but how do I help her through that?

Dr. Jones: It can be very difficult. Offering some of that emotional support is a big thing. Coming frequently, if they see you once and can't quite remember you, it does better if you come multiple times and kind of get that repetition. Now, if they're not quite to that extent, different supports you can do, as we age and lose some of our memory are reminders of appointments or different things that you need to do, whether that's in person or over the phone or setting alarms to help remind them to do things.

Making lists so that they can refer back to that makes a big difference. They feel a little bit more independent and in control and are able to kind of overcome some of these changes in their memory. Other things, exercise and diet are huge. That increases the blood flow to your brain and makes a big difference with how your brain is functioning and how well you can handle your memory as well as some of this functional loss. But also controlling any health problems they have. If they have high blood pressure, if they have diabetes, making sure these are controlled makes a big difference.

Interviewer: You mentioned earlier that coming in to see your parent as they're losing their memory really helps them remember you better. Is it a good idea to maybe have Mom or Dad stay with you then at that point? When you see them on a regular basis, on a daily basis, does that help or is it just safer to have them with a health expert at that point?

Dr. Jones: It certainly can help. Obviously, many children are caring for their parents as they age and go through dementia and different things. And that takes a huge toll on the caregivers because it's basically a full-time job. And so that definitely can help in terms of orienting them and trying to bring them back to the time that they're in.

However, once the disease progresses, it won't necessarily do much. Basically, in terms of deciding when they should go to a nursing home or other assisted living type of situation, it's almost based more on the caregiver or the child. If you get to the point where you simply cannot do this anymore, whether it's physically, emotionally, financially, it's a good time to try to get them into a more controlled environment.

Interviewer: So coping with a parent's memory loss obviously is not an easy thing to do. Does it ever get better?

Dr. Jones: In some ways, that burden is never quite lifted off the children because you're concerned about your parents. Obviously, they did so much to raise you that you feel that obligation to care for them. And especially if you move them to someplace like a nursing home. Sometimes, that feels like failure, but there's only so much you can do. It is not a failure, and sometimes they need that extra support, and so once it gets to that point, even though it's emotionally difficult, it can be very important for them to get the care that they need.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Announcer: Five things for better sleep that you're probably not doing. That's coming up next on The Scope. Medical news and research from University Utah specialists and physicians you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: We're in the studio today with Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at the University of Utah. First of all, let's explain to the audience how important sleep is. We know that sleep is important because we all need it, but exactly how important is the amount of sleep that we get?

Dr. Jones: It's huge both from an issue of quantity as well as quality. Making sure that you're sleeping long enough but also making sure that you're doing the things that you get good quality sleep. So getting adequate sleep improves your thinking, it allows us to better handle stress. Getting too little or too much actually can cause us to die prematurely. It can cause heart disease, it can cause obesity, and if we're trying to lose weight, it keeps us from losing weight. It just kind of affects everything and when you think about little kids in school, if they get adequate sleep they're going to do much better. They're going to do better in school, they're going to be better behaved and they're going to be smarter overall.

Interviewer: So in a nutshell it's pretty important.

Dr. Jones: Exactly. And especially as a nation, we're basically all sleep deprived and so this becomes a huge issue to make sure we're doing the best we can to kind of optimize our body.

Interviewer: So five things to better sleep then, to increase that amount of people getting the right amount of sleep and the quality of it as well. So number one?

Dr. Jones: Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol four to six hours before sleep. So some people think that some of these things kind of calm them down and help them get to sleep, but it actually decreases the quality of your sleep. And so you're not getting as much rest and it actually can be detrimental for you.

Interviewer: So no coffee before bed?

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: All right. Number two?

Dr. Jones: Next one, set a comfortable environment. You want it to be dark; you want it to have a comfortable temperature and things like turning off the TV, turning off the radio. Those types of things can actually keep your mind working a little bit more then actually decreases the quality of your sleep.

Interviewer: But turn off the radio is a little bit surprising to me personally because I always sleep with my iPod on with music kind of low. Is that not good then?

Dr. Jones: Some people do better with a small amount of noise, whether it's typically . . . white noise can actually help a lot of people. Having the music or something that's constantly changing, your mind wants to focus on that and so it can actually kind of detract your mind from getting the quality of sleep you need.

Interviewer: That's probably why I'm not falling asleep as fast as I could be. All right. It makes sense.

Dr. Jones: Maybe.

Interviewer: Number three?

Dr. Jones: Turn off your screens. So cell phone, TV, computers, try to avoid using them for an hour before you go to bed. Now, I realize that's very difficult and this may be the most difficult thing for all of us.

Interviewer: I'm thinking in my head too. I'm failing at all of these but especially this one.

Dr. Jones: Exactly, most of us do. But again, it disrupts sleep quality. It makes it harder to fall asleep. It actually increases depression, decreases your attention span, lots of things that are attached with using these too much, especially right before bedtime.

Interviewer: Okay. Well, number four?

Dr. Jones: Number four is getting exercise during the day. So especially cardiovascular exercise.

Interviewer: Like walking and jogging?

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: Making sure your body is moving, making sure you're increasing the blood flow, especially to your brain. That then helps your body to be able to get a better rest and fall asleep quicker, but also try to avoid exercise a couple of hours before bedtime because that can actually ramp up your body and make your sleep a little worse.

Interviewer: All right. Five things for better sleep. The last one, number five?

Dr. Jones: The last one is consistency. So making sure you're going to bed the same time each night, making sure you're waking up the same time each morning, and making sure you're having the same rituals before you go to bed, kind of doing things in the same order because that helps structure your mind and your body and prepare you to go to sleep.

Interviewer: Seems like I'm just failing at all five of these and they're so simple. I feel like a lot of Americans or people in the world in general, I want to say, don't really do these. And they're so simple and they're so easy and they lead to better health, but we're not doing them.

Dr. Jones: And that seems to be a lot of things that optimize our health. But you're right, we're all sleep deprived and doing some of these things with them being fairly simple can really improve our sleep. So again, focusing on these things even though they seem very simple, they're kind of hard for a lot of us to do. So make sure we're doing those to improve our sleep, which actually makes us happier as well as can make us more productive and improve our wellbeing.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Interviewer: We all know STDs are extremely dangerous but, if you're under 25 years of age, you might be at higher risk for Chlamydia. That's coming up next on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: We're talking today with Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at the University of Utah. Chlamydia, Dr. Jones, we all know it is extremely dangerous and from what I've learned on the internet from my few minutes of research, it is a bacterial disease that is transferred through sexual interactions.

Dr. Jones: Right.

Interviewer: Are there any symptoms that people might find in case they are at risk for it.

Dr. Jones: Unfortunately no, that's kind of the one of the big problems with it. Eight-five percent of people who have it don't have any symptoms. So that means no discharge, no pain, no fevers, no rashes, nothing. And so that is one of the reasons why it is so dangerous. We just don't know that we have it.

Interviewer: So if you don't know that you have it, does it affect you health wise?

Dr. Jones: Absolutely, so there's both short term and long term consequences from this. So sometimes short term, you can develop urine infections and things like that. But, the long term, the really scary stuff is what is called pelvic inflammatory disease, which is a severe infection in your pelvis. So it causes lots of pain, fevers, chills. And the reason that is such a big deal is, that can keep you from getting pregnant for the rest of your life and you can end up with chronic pain.

You can often times end up with what's called an ectopic pregnancy where you get pregnant but the egg doesn't move, can't get to the right spot because all the tubes are scarred down. So it starts to grow where it shouldn't, and if it's not caught early that's something that can lead to death.

Interviewer: How early is early?

Dr. Jones: It kind of depends but, once you start, once you have an ectopic pregnancy you start to have pain. You can have lots of different localized symptoms like that. So if it's not acted on immediately, like I said you can have bad consequences.

Interviewer: Is it a dead end at that point, or is there anything you can do?

Dr. Jones: I mean you can definitely offer treatment and oftentimes you can prevent some of these really bad outcomes, especially if you treat shortly after you been infected. Considering that both men and women have it. Men have fewer long term consequences unfortunately in terms of women getting the brunt of it, but they can pass it along very easily. So if you're under 25, if you have multiple partners, you're at much higher risk of getting Chlamydia.

Interviewer: So with the symptoms of Chlamydia being almost impossible to find out and discovered, how do we prevent it from happening in the first place?

Dr. Jones: Absolutely with safe sex practices, so using condoms, all the things that we've been taught.

Interviewer: So I'm assuming Chlamydia is a disease that you can get screened for.

Dr. Jones: Absolutely, it's very important to get screened for this. You can do that at your primary care physician's office, you can do it at the local health department. It's recommended by the National Center for Disease Control that you get screened once a year. But it's very important to keep on top of that.

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is the University Utah's Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you've heard, be sure to get our latest content by following us on Facebook. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.

Interviewer: Healthiest nation by 2030. That's coming up next, on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical News and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: The American Public Health Association has announced for this year's National Public Health week, the emphasis is healthiest nation by 2030. We're talking to Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at the University of Utah. So Dr. Jones, is that even a realistic goal?

Dr. Jones: You know, it's definitely an ambitious goal and it's the type of thing we should be shooting for. But we do face an uphill battle, it's going to take a lot of work. A number of studies have shown that when you look at developed countries, we're the lowest in infant mortality, obesity, heart disease, and what's called Healthy Life Expectancy at age 60, so the number of healthy years you can expect once you're age 60.

When the Commonwealth Fund did a study of 11 developed nations, we came in 11th. When the World Health Organization did a study, which has become quite famous, a number of years ago, we ranked 37th in the world in terms of our health. So we've got a long ways to go.

Interviewer: Even though, I feel like in the minds of most people, that the U.S. is just so high in ranking according to some of our health stats, I mean people come to the United States for health treatments, but that might not actually be the best idea, from the stats you're telling us. We're not doing a very good job.

Dr. Jones: Well we certainly have the best physicians in the world, and a lot of the best hospitals, and the best innovations. The problem is, that doesn't make it to all of our citizens. And part of the reason we're in this position, is because we're not focusing on the right things. So as a family physician, I can only do so much. So we've found that when you look at an individual's entire health, only about 10% of it is impacted by their health care.

Now obviously that's an important 10%, so over about 50% of what goes in towards a person's health has to do with their environment, and that's kind of the element of public health. Of focusing on those things that go around us both culturally as well as things like pollution, that really are the biggest impactors of our health.

Interviewer: So what are some of the methods and ways that we can actually improve our public health care system to reach that healthiest nation goal by 2030?

Dr. Jones: So there are a number of different avenues to do this. Basically it's going to take participation from everyone. If you look at it from the perspective of the health care system, there has been a lot of talk in the last few years about how do you properly bring together primary care and public health because obviously we have very complementary goals. But we each have different ways of going about those goals. So better working together can make a much bigger impact.

If you look at it from the perspective of as our society, we need some policies that focus a little more on health. So, for example, tackling pollution, tackling some of those things that greater impact us. Encouraging, on a local level, exercise and healthy food. So things like putting in bike lanes on local streets that encourage more exercise by citizens.

When you look at it from a business standpoint, a lot of employers are offering wellness plans which encourages better eating, better exercise, encourages people to take better care of themselves. Which leads us to individuals.

What can we do personally, and basically it's all the things that our mothers taught us. Eat your vegetables, have a healthy diet, get your exercise, get as much activity as you can, drink lots of water, avoid junk food. And even things like avoiding distracted driving. So don't text while driving, don't use your phone at all while driving; don't eat. All those things will take us away from that.

So if we're following some of these goals, if we're working towards becoming the healthiest nation by 2030, we're going to have to go about it by many different avenues.

Interviewer: This sounds like a lot of work, but if it's a lot of individual work coming together, like a team.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: From what you've described so far about the methods and the goals to get there, it seems pretty simple. It seems like we're actually, supposedly, in that state right now but we've been kind of stuck. Why do you think that is?

Dr. Jones: That's true. The answers seem relatively simple, but there's so many cultural changes that we are kind of behind on in addressing some of these health issues. You know, as we know, politically it's hard to get anything done, whether it's logical or not. Individually it's hard to change our behaviors. So it's important for us to try to and work towards that but it's not an easy thing.

Interviewer: So what are some of the things then that we can take away, or we can learn from some of the other developed countries that are actually in higher ranking than we are in relations to public health.

Dr. Jones: It's a great question and something we should be focusing more on. A lot of it has to do with more emphasis by the society and culture on public health, and like we mentioned, more than half of our health has to do with our environment.

A lot of this is cultural. With cultural things in America, we follow a lot of fast food, we do things like that. Whereas in many other countries, they focus a little bit more on eating at home, cooking their food which is obviously a lot healthier. So those are different things we can move towards, here, to help us be healthier.

Interviewer: So do you think this is realistic? Realistically talking, by 2030?

Dr. Jones: Maybe. Like I said, it's going to take a lot of work, but it's an appropriate goal. It's what we should be shooting for.

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is The Scope, University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

Interviewer: The general perception is that we all need eight hours of sleep. True or false? That's coming up next on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialist you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: We're talking today with Kyle Bradford Jones family physician at the University Utah. How important exactly is sleep?

Dr. Jones: Boy, sleep is huge. You know, if you get too much, too little, it severely impacts your health for the negative. It's been a big debate for years. How much sleep do we need? Currently the average American gets a little bit less than 7 hours. And so the question is, is that enough? Is that too much? Is that too little? So the National Sleep Foundation got together a bunch of sleep experts. They reviewed all of the scientific literature on sleep and came up with some recommendations for certain age groups.

Interviewer: And what are those guidelines?

Dr. Jones: So first of all for adults 18 and over. They give the range of seven to nine hours. So I mean that kind of fits the perception that we've had of roughly eight hours. But the nice thing is they give a little bit more of a range, because sometimes we need more sometimes we need a little less.

Interviewer: Right so there's that seven to nine buffer zone.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: How about elderly people?

Dr. Jones: It's a similar amount. However with the elderly they tend to sleep a little bit less at night and nap a little bit more during the day. And that's okay. That's more of a natural rhythm for them. And so that's healthy for them.

Interviewer: So my grandma, bless her heart, always comes up with these crazy myths in the world. She always told me that the older you get, the less you need. I guess her way of saying that you can't sleep as much as you used to. That seems to be the case with this review.

Dr. Jones: Absolutely. As you get more into those elderly years like we said, it's a little bit less at night and then a little more napping during the day.

Interviewer: My grandma is not that crazy then.

Dr. Jones: Not on this aspect anyway.

Interviewer: And what about school age children? How much sleep do they need?

Dr. Jones: So this has been a big topic for years as well. How much do they need? We're talking about nine to 11 hours a night. Many kids don't get that. But it really impacts how they do in school. If they get that amount of sleep, they're going to do better, they're going to behave better and they're going to learn it better.

Interviewer: Does bedtime and waking up time have a difference or does that matter?

Dr. Jones: As long as it's consistent and you're getting the adequate amount, that's the most important thing.

Interviewer: Does school age children also include teenagers?

Dr. Jones: No. So for teenagers it's slightly different. We're looking at 8 to 10 hours. Parents of teenagers know that they like to sleep in. They like to do those things. Getting 8 to 10 hours is important because they are growing their bodies are changing, they need that rest in order to optimize their physical health.

Interviewer: What if you are a mother caring for a newborn, let's say?

Dr. Jones: So with a newborn its 14 to 17 hours a day.

Interviewer: More than half the day.

Dr. Jones: Exactly. They are growing so rapidly. Their brain is developing so rapidly. They really need that much rest in order for their body to grow.

Interviewer: So I'm not a mother yet, so I don't really know the answer to this, but is that in one nap or is it separated?

Dr. Jones: It's separated. So getting as much sleep during the night as you can which is easier said than done as any parent knows. But also includes a few naps during the day and letting them get their rest as much as they can really.

Interviewer: Does that also apply to adults as well, like little naps in the afternoons or something like that when we're free. Does that add up to the seven to nine buffer zone?

Dr. Jones: Actually for adults naps can be detrimental because it actually can worsen your sleep during the night. So ideally you want the seven to nine hours all in one chunk overnight.

Interviewer: Any final thoughts?

Dr. Jones: Just try to individualize this to yourself. So some people do better with seven some might do better with nine. You know you want to try to get within that range as much as possible to optimize your health. But the most important thing is making sure you get enough rest.

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is The Scope. University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

Interviewer: As winter is approaching there might be things that you want to put in your car that you didn't really think about. Coming up next, we're going to tell you what those five things are, on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: Today we're talking with Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, a family physician with the University of Utah, and he's going to tell us the five things that you should keep in your car with you during the winter time. So, Dr. Jones, Number 5?

Dr. Jones: A first aid kit. Just a small one. It doesn't have to include a lot of stuff, but some basic bandages, some basic antibiotic ointment. If you have problems with your car in the winter and you get stuck in the snow, sometimes you get some of those minor injuries that the first aid kit can really help out with.

Interviewer: Really quickly, what is included in those first aid kits?

Dr. Jones: Mostly small bandages, some antibiotic ointment, maybe some Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Just some very basic things that you can address, small things that you need to.

Interviewer: Okay, Number 4?

Dr. Jones: Number 4 is lights, whether it's flash lights, whether it's something you can put on the road around your car. If you're broken down or you're stuck in a snow bank and it's at night, oftentimes passing motorists won't be able to see you. So it's for your safety, as well as to try to flag them down to get some help.

Interviewer: Kind of like the SOS sign.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: All right. Number 3?

Dr. Jones: Including some water, some snacks, especially if you have kids in the car that are traveling with you, you want to make sure that you have something like that if you're stuck for a while.

Interviewer: All right. Five things to keep in your car. Number 2?

Dr. Jones: One of the most important things, a shovel, obviously. If you get stuck in a snow bank, you want to be able to shovel out. Another thing along those lines is maybe considering having a sandbag in your trunk. Two reasons for that. If you have a front wheel drive car, putting that weight in the back can help you get out of the snow easier.

Interviewer: Oh, okay.

Dr. Jones: But also, if you need to, you can pour some of that sand on the snow which gives a little more friction to help you drive out.

Interviewer: I did not think about that. This is good that we're having this conversation. All right. Number 1?

Dr. Jones: Something to keep warm. Obviously coats, blankets, hats, gloves, anything. If you're stuck out there, you obviously want to make sure that you're staying warm.

Interviewer: Any other final tips about preparing for winter in case your car breaks down?

Dr. Jones: Just remember that happens a lot in Utah with the snow bank. There are a few things you can keep in your car that can really help you out if you're in a pinch like that.

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is The Scope. University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

Interviewer: There's a misconception out there that lice is a result of bad hygiene and just being dirty. But that's actually not the case. We're talking about head lice and how to fix the family next on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: We have Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician from the University of Utah here talking to us about lice as a family, actually. Dr. Jones, you have an interesting story to tell us, so let's start with your story.

Dr. Jones: I did. So, over the Thanksgiving holiday, my family and I were affected with lice. It started with my son, who got it from school. We had received many notifications from the school that there had been many kids who had had lice. Honestly, we didn't think much about it, until we started seeing some of these small insects in his hair. It's one of those things where, we are a clean family, we bathe him every day, doesn't matter. You still get it from kids and it's hard because you feel a little violated. You've got these tiny bugs, you don't know exactly . . .

Interviewer: Where they came from.

Dr. Jones: Exactly. Where they are, even if you go through everything to get ride of them, you're still not completely sure they're gone. So it's a hard experience, not only for the person who initially gets infected, but they very commonly affect everyone in the family. So it's a big deal.

Interviewer: As a family, how do you overcome this problem? The source of the situation is somebody else's kid, but once it affects your family it's your problem. So how do you deal with it as a family?

Dr. Jones: Yeah. I mean there are a couple of things. You really got to help each other out. There is some medicine known as permethrin. Some of the brand names are Nix or Rid. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you wash your hair with it and repeat in one week, which kills any of the lice that's in there.
And then from there, this is the part where you need a lot of help from your family, is wet combing the nits out. So the nits are kind of the small eggs that attach to your hair, and they're pretty sticky. They're kind of hard to get out. So there are some special fine-toothed combs that you can use to go through and try to get rid of those nits. It's recommended that you do that every three days for a couple of weeks to make sure that you get all of them. And, you know, it's time consuming. It's not easy, so you need a lot of help from your family and friends.

Interviewer: And you said before that it is a myth that dirty hygiene and just being dirty in general is not the cause of lice.

Dr. Jones: Exactly, it's very common, especially in schools. It's estimated that the majority of kids are going to have lice some point in their lives. You know, it's one of those things where you can do the best you can and you can still get it. So don't feel bad about that. It doesn't mean you're dirty or have poor hygiene.

Interviewer: How long does it take for the whole family to kind of overcome this issue?

Dr. Jones: It's recommended to do these things for about two weeks. It's also recommended that you wash all bedding and clothing in hot water to try to kill everything.

Interviewer: You wash the pets too?

Dr. Jones: Absolutely. And there are a couple other things you can try. These things have not been studied, but some people say that washing your hair with vinegar helps, mostly because it's an acid and so of course it's going to kill something.

Interviewer: So these are like the home remedies that . . .

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: But it's also a little caustic to your hair and your scalp, so you can consider that if you want. Also coconut oil, for some reason there's something . . .

Interviewer: And it's healthy, healthy smooth hair too.

Dr. Jones: Exactly. There's something about the coconut oil that the lice doesn't like. So there are many things to try to get rid of it. But the thing is you have to be persistent for a couple weeks.

Interviewer: Do you actually have to close out your self and not go to work, not go to school, because that's two whole weeks of your life just stuck at home?

Dr. Jones: Yeah. Thankfully, not for the full two weeks. If you have live lice in your hair, then that's easy to transmit to others. If you don't and you just have the nits or the eggs, it's okay to be around others. So it's not going to pass on. You can go back to school, you can go back to work. But, again, you still need to go through the combing every few days for a couple of weeks and some of these other things to make sure that this doesn't come back.

Interviewer: How young does lice affect? Because it's obviously a family issue, but is there an age limit, an age maximum, minimum?

Dr. Jones: You know there's not really any age limit but in my family, I have three kids, my youngest is three years old. She got it. My son that got it at school is nine and it passed on to my wife. Thankfully I didn't get it, but it's taken a lot of work to help get rid of it in all the rest of the family.

Interviewer: Any final thoughts about dealing with head lice as a family?

Dr. Jones: It's a hard thing because it takes a lot of work. Again, you feel kind of violated. But if you stick to it, you help each other out, you can get rid of it. And again, don't feel bad. It's not your fault. It's not because you have poor hygiene. It's just one of those things that happens to kids.

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is the Scope, University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

Interviewer: One of the three keys to healthy aging, Dr. Kyle Bradford Jones, family physician at the University of Utah will tell you, coming up next on The Scope.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: All right Dr. Jones, so first of all before we get to the three keys to healthy aging, what are the things that can happen to a person as they get older?

Dr. Jones: As we live in the United States, there are specific things that seem to affect our population more. The biggest thing, cardiovascular disease. So, basically, what that means is any disease of the heart or blood vessels. So that's things like heat attacks, strokes, heart failure, things like that. To help prevent those, that's why your doctor is always checking on your weight, your blood pressure, your cholesterol, trying to encourage you to quit smoking. All of those things so that you help prevent the cardiovascular disease.
Another big thing that causes both morbidity and mortality, what we mean by that is morbidity means significant decrease in quality of life; mortality means something that can kill you, is Alzheimer's disease. That's a big one that seems to be rising.

Interviewer: Alzheimer's can kill you?

Dr. Jones: It certainly can, absolutely.

Interviewer: I didn't know that, that's interesting. Okay.

Dr. Jones: It's a form of dementia, but it also comes along with decrease in functioning. So, you're not able to care for yourself as well. But, it has the same risks as cardiovascular disease. So, smoking, diabetes, cardiovascular disease itself puts you at risk for Alzheimer's disease. One thing that worsens all of these things is depression. That's a big one where if you have that, you have worse outcomes with all of the other chronic diseases.

Interviewer: What are the ways to actually prevent all of these health risks from happening to your body? Let's start with number three.

Dr. Jones: So, number three is keeping your relationships active.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: Basically, making sure you have healthy relationships with your significant other, your spouse, children, friends, all of those things, because that, having a good social health really makes a positive impact on any other illnesses that you may have. So, that is a huge key to keep in mind.

Interviewer: Okay, so number two.

Dr. Jones: Number two is keeping your mind active. So, specifically, this can help avoid Alzheimer's disease, but it can also help with other things. So, things that, what we would call cognitive engagement which are basically keeping involved with different puzzles like Sudoku, crossword puzzles, jig saw puzzles. But even just learning something, making sure that you are stimulating your brain just try to learn something new everyday.

Interviewer: Is there something that might be too much for your brain like, I don't know, learning a second language?

Dr. Jones: Not at all.

Interviewer: No, not at all.

Dr. Jones: Not at all. Those are great things that can help keep your mind active.

Interviewer: All right and what is the number one key in keeping yourself healthy as you age?

Dr. Jones: Keeping your body active.

Interviewer: Of course.

Dr. Jones: So, that seems pretty easy, but that is so important. So that's exercise, that's proper diet, making sure that you are eating the right things, drinking lots of water, trying to avoid junk food, soda, things like that. That is the biggest thing that's going to help prevent cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, depression as well as other things.

Interviewer: All right, to summarize it up the three keys to aging healthy, number three...

Dr. Jones: Keep your relationships active.

Interviewer: Number two is your brain and your mind active as well.

Dr. Jones: Absolutely.

Interviewer: And, the top key, obviously, is to keep your body healthy.

Dr. Jones: Yes, focus on the exercise and diet.

Interviewer: All right, any other thoughts?

Dr. Jones: So, if you are keeping those things in mind, you're going to age more healthfully. You're going to feel a lot better and you're also going to be happier.

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is the Scope. University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

Interviewer: The happy and healthy family isn't something that just happens. We're talking with Dr. Kyle Bradford-Jones, the family physician from the University of Utah about the top three components of a healthy family. And the top reason just might surprise you.

Announcer: Medical news and research from University Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: So Dr. Jones, exactly what are the top three components? Let's go with number three.

Dr. Jones: So number three is getting plenty of sleep.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: Now this is something that obviously is hard with our busy schedules. However, for the adults making sure you're getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep. For the kids, even more than that, sometimes nine to ten hours of sleep a night. It's huge to making sure that you are functioning well both physically, emotionally, and socially.
A lot of families let their children go to bed later and then sleep in a little bit. Even if they're getting the same amount of sleep, it's actually not quite as good as if they go to bed a little bit earlier. So if they go to bed closer to maybe 8 or 9:00 as opposed to 10:00 and get the same amount of sleep, it's going to be better for them.

Interviewer: So like a regular sleeping schedule.

Dr. Jones: Yes, it's huge.

Interviewer: Okay, all right. And it doesn't have to be like a strict one, like you have to go here, to bed at this time. And if you don't, then we're going to punish you.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: Just stick them on a regular schedule. Right?

Dr. Jones: Exactly, yes.

Interviewer: Okay, all right. Number two.

Dr. Jones: So number two. Active activities together.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: So obviously families like to have activities together and do things, and spend time, things to do that's keeping you active. So obviously during the summer, going swimming, going for a hike, just going to the park and playing around together as a family so that you're moving around and getting some exercise, but also that you're doing it together. So it's not that you take your kids to the park and you sit on the side and look at your phone.

Interviewer: Right.

Dr. Jones: But making sure that you're interacting with them and playing games with them to help you guys be active as well as develop more emotionally.

Interviewer: Okay. So like family sports day, a family game day, those are the things. Right?

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: Okay. And what is the top component of a healthy family?

Dr. Jones: So the number one component has a lot of research behind it and its actually eating meals together as a family at home.

Interviewer: That's simple.

Dr. Jones: It exactly. Now, there is a lot of research that the more meals you have together as a family, you're much less likely to be obese. You make healthier food choices.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: The children have better social skills. The marriages are stronger. And it basically helps to strengthen those emotional bonds in the family as well as, obviously, the physical health. So things like turning off the TV and just spending a little bit of time together as much as possible. Now, this is easier said than done obviously because with time and with schedules it's not possible to do this probably every day for most families. However, the more you do it the better off you and your family are going to be both physically and emotionally.

Interviewer: Now, is there a right or a wrong way to do this? So say if a family, parents working all day, kids out of schools doing studying, and then they come home and there is not really much time to prepare a good healthy family meal, and then so just kind of do a little take-out, and then maybe a movie on the couch. Does that count?

Dr. Jones: Kind of. I would say before the movie on the couch, yes.

Interviewer: Okay. It doesn't really matter what you eat as long as you eat it together.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: Okay. Healthy though.

Dr. Jones. That's right.

Dr. Jones: It is. A lot of research has been done on this to kind of show these things where you'd have to lower obesity rate [inaudible 00:03:44] social skills.

Interviewer: So it's not just talk.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Jones: Exactly.

Interviewer: All right.

Dr. Jones: Now, all three of these components as we mentioned take time and so that's something that's difficult for all of us. However, implementing them as much as you can even if it's less than the ideal is going to help you and your family.

Interviewer: I'm just thinking about in my family where my parents are always out all the time and we're never really home together because either somebody is working or somebody is doing something.

Dr. Jones: Yeah.

Interviewer: How does that work? Should somebody change their work schedule or what do you suggest? Is breakfast a good meal to have together?

Dr. Jones: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Okay. So it's not just dinner.

Dr. Jones: Exactly. If there is one meal that works better than another, that's just fine. And even if one family member is missing due to work or an activity or whatnot and everyone else gets together, that's still a positive.

Interviewer: That's still fine.

Dr. Jones: Yes.

Interviewer: Okay. Any final thoughts? Anything we left out?

Dr. Jones: Just to keep in mind to focus on both physical and emotional health. All three of these things with getting better sleep, active activities together as a family, and eating meals together at home all help contribute to both of those aspects.

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is the Scope, University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.