
Residency 101: How to Survive a 24-Hour Call Shift
Let's talk about surviving 24-hour call shifts, because they're brutal but manageable with the right game plan. First, prep like an athlete: Hydrate the day before, eat a solid meal before your shift, and bring snacks that give real energy. Think protein and complex carbs, and not just sugar crashes.
Second, stay organized. A simple to-do list or a notes app helps you keep track of tasks when your brain gets foggy at 3:00 AM. If your hospital allows it, take strategic microbreaks. Even 10 minutes to close your eyes or stretch can help reset your system. And please, if you get a chance to sleep, take it — no guilt, no heroism, just rest.
Also, try to stay connected. A quick text to your friend or a funny meme can help lift your mood even when you're running on fumes.
And finally, after call, go home, shower, eat something comforting, and sleep. The world can wait. You made it through, and that is a win.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Study Says That 'Micro-Walks' May Be More Effective Than Longer Ones—Even For Weight Loss
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." For years, doctors have stressed the importance of being active during your day—after all, research has found that sitting for too long raises your risk of a slew of serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. But the idea of going for hour-long walks can be overwhelming. Now, new research suggests you don't need to jam in a massive stroll into each day: Instead, you can go for 'micro-walks.' That's the main takeaway from a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which found that micro-walks may be even better for you than long ones. Here's the deal. Interested in making walks part of your regular fitness routine? Check out the exclusive WH+ 4-Week Walking Plan that burns fat and builds muscle at the same time. What are 'micro-walks'? In this study, a 'micro-walk' is defined as walking between 10 and 30 seconds at a time (with breaks in between your next walk). Are 'micro-walks' more beneficial for your health? Why? It depends on how you're looking at it. In this particular study, volunteers walked on a treadmill or climbed a short flight of stairs for different periods of time, ranging from 10 seconds to four minutes. The study participants wore masks to measure their oxygen intake (which can be used to calculate energy or calorie consumption). The researchers discovered that people who walked in short bursts used up to 60 per cent more energy than longer ones, despite the walks covering the same distance. (The more energy you expend, the more calories you can burn.) Basically, you may be able to rev up your metabolism and burn more calories if you do short bursts of walking versus longer cruises around. Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, a co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab, says there's something to this. 'Getting activity throughout the day, in general, is better for people,' he says. 'It's better for circulation, mental health, and digestive health.' You're also more likely to have a faster pace when you do shorter bursts of walking than if you're going on, say, a five-mile walk, he points out. How many steps should I get per day? This is debatable, and research has shown that the often-quoted 10,000 steps a day may not be necessary. Instead, 7,500 steps or so is ideal—but everyone is different. If you've already been walking, Matheny says that aiming for 10,000 steps a day is great. But if not or if you don't have many opportunities to walk during your day, 7,500 steps may be a better goal. 'It's really about doing what you can,' he says. 'If you're not a big walker and you think, 'I don't want to walk five miles,' then just do 30-second bursts. It's more attainable.'DMX Comfort+ Sneaker $108.49 at 26 $109.95 at 2 $240.00 at You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Can You Lift Weights Instead of Taking Viagra? New Research Finds a Surprising Link Between Muscle and ED.
It can feel like you've tried everything to turn things around when you're dealing with erectile dysfunction (ED). But while the exact reason why you're having trouble getting and staying hard can be complicated, a new research review suggests there's a simple lifestyle move that can help fight ED: Building muscle. The scientific analysis, which was published in the journal Sexual Medicine Reviews, builds on previous research that has found that a gym routine that's good for your muscles and health is also good for lowering your ED risk and keeping your sexual function healthy. It also had some interesting findings on nutrition and erectile dysfunction, giving you more tools to add to your ED-fighting arsenal. You may know this, but it never hurts to repeat it: Erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability to sustain an erection that is firm enough for penetrative intercourse. It's estimated to affect 322 million men around the world and more than half of men over the age of 50. How does adding more muscle to your frame factor in? Doctors who treat ED break it down. What did the study find? For the study, researchers analyzed data from 32 studies on sexual dysfunction, muscle mass, and strength. After crunching the data, they saw that higher levels of skeletal muscle mass (the weight of the muscles in the body that are attached to your skeleton) and strength were linked to healthy sexual function, especially in men with risk factors for ED including diabetes and obesity and also in older men. The researchers also found a link between higher hand-grip strength—a common indicator of health and muscle strength—and a lower risk of erectile dysfunction. 'Maintaining skeletal muscle with nutrition and physical activity improves erectile and overall health outcomes,' the researchers wrote in the conclusion. 'Therapies that target sexual function and muscle health simultaneously—testosterone and L-carnitine—may further benefit sexual function.' There are a few things to take away. The link between ED and exercise isn't new. 'We published a paper about a year and a half ago, showing that exercise significantly reverses erectile dysfunction,' says study co-author Mohit Khera, MD, MPH, a urologist specializing in male and female sexual dysfunction at Baylor College of Medicine. And the latest findings add weight to the idea that increasing your muscle gains may help you below the belt, in addition to improving your overall health. There are a few things going on here:• Strength training can help with blood flow. 'While higher testosterone levels from strength training may play a minor role, the primary benefits are derived from improved vascular health,' Khera says. Strength training is linked with lower inflammation in the body, better function of the endothelial cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels, and more availability of nitric oxide, which widens blood vessels throughout your body (including in your penis), he explains. All of these elements support better blood flow and blood vessel health, which Khera calls 'critical' for erectile dysfunction. • Having more muscle mass also increases insulin sensitivity, which is linked with better erectile function, too, points out John Sigalos, MD, a urologist at Urology Austin. That influences how well your body uses glucose for energy. "As seen in diabetes and other metabolic syndromes, we know that poor regulation of sugar leads to dysfunction of the small blood vessels that affect erections," Sigalos says. • More muscle strength may mean you're healthier in general. That means you're less likely to have issues associated with ED, including type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol, says Philip Werthman, MD, urologist and director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Vasectomy Reversal in Los Angeles, CA. 'Doing more strength training may help you lose fat, build muscle mass, and change your overall hormonal dynamics,' he says. So will lifting more take down ED? Overall, Khera says it's not a bad idea to lift more to combat erectile dysfunction, although there's no specific prescription yet for how much and what kind of workouts you should do. 'Strength training can be an effective remedy for erectile dysfunction,' he says. Khera's past research has found that 160 minutes of exercise a week, including strength training, significantly improved erectile function in men. 'Notably, those with the most severe erectile dysfunction experienced the greatest improvements through regular exercise,' he says. Nutrients Might Matter, Too One more thing to consider: The study also found that L-carnitine, an amino acid found in red meat, poultry, and fish, may help work as a remedy for ED, too. 'L-carnitine plays a role in nitric oxide production, as it is a precursor to this crucial molecule,' Khera says. 'Nitric oxide is essential for vascular health, including penile blood flow." Werthman has also found that his patients have success with L-carnitine supplements. 'We've been using L-carnitine for male fertility for decades,' he says. 'It's an antioxidant that protects the sperm and it helps muscle recovery." Werthman points out that he's studied the impact of L-carnitine on sperm, and found that stronger erections happened, too. 'There were a number of men who came back after a couple of months on L-carnitine and said, 'Hey, my erections got better,'' he says. If you're experiencing erectile dysfunction, Werthman says it's important to see a healthcare provider for a full workup. Not only can a health professional help turn things around, they can also check in on what's going on behind the scenes that's contributing to or causing ED. 'Erectile dysfunction can be an early warning sign of cardiac dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, or other conditions,' Werthman says. 'Make sure you're OK before just getting a prescription for Viagra.' You Might Also Like The Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men to Buy Now 25 Vegetables That Are Surprising Sources of Protein
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nurse, 26, Lost 270 Pounds After Making These 3 Lifestyle Changes
When his doctor prescribed the first blood pressure medication, Kevin Goode knew his weight probably contributed to it. He was 465 pounds, but he thought his high blood pressure wasn't 'too serious.' Still, it remained high, and his doctor prescribed him a second drug to try to lower it. Soon after, he learned he had sleep apnea and his A1C was 'shooting upward.' If it didn't lower, Goode would need to add insulin to his growing list of prescriptions. Then his doctor gave him a warning. 'My doctor told me that I wouldn't live past 40 with this trend,' Goode, 28, a nurse at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, tells 'That's the moment that everything changed.' At the time, he was 26 and visited a bariatric surgeon for a consultation. The doctor advised Goode that he needed to lose weight before he qualified for surgery. He immediately headed to the gym and sat on a bench to lift some dumbbells. Soon, he started eating a moderate-fat, low-carbohydrate and high-protein diet. '(The doctor) wanted me to lose 20 pounds because that would show that I was dedicated enough for surgery,' Goode explains. 'I ended up losing 80 pounds.' In December 2023, he underwent surgery. As he recovered for six weeks, he was anxious to get back to his exercise routine. 'I was very much like, 'How soon can I get back to the gym?'' he says. 'I was sitting around doing nothing, and I'm not liking it.' Six weeks later, he was cleared to return to his regular exercise routine. Over time, he shed more weight, reaching 176 pounds. 'My goal from the beginning of this whole journey back in February of 2023 was, bluntly, to win back my life. It was never about the weight, never about the bodybuilding, never about looking good,' he says. 'It was very much about (how) I was told that I wouldn't live past 40, and that didn't sit right with me, and I wanted to get rid of all the diagnoses.' This year, Goode took his love of weight training to the next level and is working toward becoming a certified personal trainer. One of the trainers in the gym approached Goode and suggested he consider participating in a bodybuilding competition. 'He was like 'Have you ever thought about doing a show?' and I was like, 'No, I just love it here and I come for the health aspect,'' Goode recalls. 'That's when I looked into the transformation competition.' A transformation competition generally focuses on people who have lost weight. Goode will compete in October in Chicago. As part of his preparation, he has focused more on lifting and less on cardiovascular exercise. 'Instead of doing 45 minutes of strength training and 30 of cardio, it's more like an hour strength training and maybe 15 minutes cardio,' he says. This caused him to gain some weight, and he's now at 210 pounds, but it's 'more muscle.' His diet has changed, too, and he focuses on counting macronutrients. He still eats a lot of protein, but with lower-fat foods and now incorporates complex carbohydrates into his diet. Losing fat while gaining muscle has changed his outlook on calories and how important they are for energy, he says. Since losing weight and transforming his body with lifting, Goode feels he's become 'more emotionally intelligent.' 'I share a lot more about myself,' he says. 'I'm 20 times more confident than I have ever been in my life.' Ahead, Goode shares what worked for him when it came to transforming his body. 'Nutrition Is Going To Be Your Biggest Thing' Eating fewer calories than he burned, what's known as a calorie deficit, helped Goode shed the weight. 'Nutrition is going to be your biggest thing,' he says. 'The biggest advice as far as actually losing weight is just (being in) a calorie deficit.' 'Fall in Love with the Small Wins' Focusing too much on the scale can feel overwhelming. People might think they look great, but the scale shows their weight increased slightly. Instead of focusing on the numbers, Goode urges people to 'fall in love with the small wins.' Goode keeps a running list of his in his notes app. 'I don't have to pick up my foot to tie my shoe. I can just bend over,' he says. 'I always made a joke that laptops are not laptops. There's no way that is sitting on my lap. But now I'm like I got all this room.' But his 'biggest non-scale victory' has been the difference he's noticed at work. 'Being able to move around (the hospital) room a lot easier, being able to play with the kids without getting out of breath,' he says. 'I enjoy it so much more now because I'm not getting (to) the end of the 12-hour shifts completely, like, dead.' Find Support While Goode taught himself how to work out, he hasn't been entirely alone in his process. 'I had the community support from the gym. My mom has been a huge supporter. All the nurses at work, they've been fantastic,' he says. 'I can't go without mentioning my amazing girlfriend. She's just been super supportive.' This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword