Health Matters
Visit here all year to learn more about the LAPD’s monthly Health Matters well-being campaigns.
2024
The Power of Sleep December
What You Need to Know:
Are racing thoughts robbing you of sleep? Find out why this happens, and what to do about.
Blue light- the kind that’s in electronic screens and newer LED lights - suppresses melatonin, our body’s hormonal cue for sleep. Find out how to mitigate the effects for better sleep.
What, when, and how much you eat and drink can affect your sleep.
Monthly Challenge & Activities:
Take the sleep hygiene challenge: Tips in this brief video for first responders will help you take advantage of the power of sleep.
Recommended Resources:
Men’s Health November
What You Need to Know:
Men’s symptoms of depression and other mental health disorders can show up differently than in women. Learn warning signs and symptoms.
Are you an “average man”? How to seek above average health.
Testosterone therapy: The risks, benefits and alternatives to TRT.
When caught early, prostate cancer has a 98% 5-year survival rate. Get the facts about risk factors, detection and treatment.
Monthly Challenges/Activities:
Schedule a physical with your primary care physician for preventive screenings and blood tests.
Participate in a “Movember” activity for men’s health.
Recommended Resources:
Women’s Health October
What You Need to Know:
What’s the leading cause of death among women? The answer may surprise you.
Symptoms of perimenopause typically start in the mid-40's, but may start earlier. Hot flashes and night sweats are among the 34+ symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
Genetics play a role in a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer as do environmental factors and lifestyle habits.
Want to support the woman in your life? Here’s how to share the mental load with your partner.
Monthly Challenge & Activities:
Keep up to date with your health screenings: download list of recommended screenings by age.
Take action: Make one of the suggested lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of breast cancer AND heart disease.
Recommended Resources:
LAWPOA Los Angeles Women Police Officers and Associates
Womenshealth.gov for resources on a wide range of women’s health topics
Suicide Awareness September
What You Need to Know:
Feeling connected to family and community helps protect against suicide. Learn about other protective factors, such as having meaning and purpose in life.
Get the stats on suicide in law enforcement.
What’s alcohol got to do with suicide? According to Psychology Today, alcohol can worsen feelings of loneliness and depression, enhance aggression, and lower inhibitions. And, alcohol misuse is associated with a 94% increase in the risk of death by suicide.
Challenge/Activities:
Register for the Heart of LAPD Walk and Resource Fair: Saturday, September 14, 2024.
CONNECT: Reach out to an old friend, a family member. Find a community around your shared interest(s) such as hobbies, religious or spiritual organizations, volunteer work, etc.
Print and post this Infographic on suicide warning signs.
Resources:
For immediate guidance on psychological concerns about a peer or colleague, visit the BSS Help Now page.
Copline, a 24/7 hotline for law enforcement.
Suicide Loss Support, a free series from reknowned grief expert, David Kessler.
Social Life & Social Media: August
What You Need to Know:
Social connections of the third kind: Find out why “third” spaces are critical to our health and well-being in this article.
"Wired to be right”. Social media sites are designed to keep you hooked, and feeling right is one of the ways we get hooked. Knowing how these sites hit our brains’ rewards center- and what to do about it- is critical to mental health, performance, and healthy relationships.
Monthly Challenge & Activities:
Set rules around social media use: such as, no social media one hour before bed or one hour after waking up. Discuss as a family and decide your plan of action.
Make it easier to cut social media: use phone settings to set screen time limits on your social media apps
Consider a social media cleanse, an extended period of time without use of social media; then, assess the effects afterward. Did your relationships, mood, or activities change?
Recommended Resources:
In depth: Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has done research on the effects of social media on kids. Check out this video interview or his recent book, The Anxious Generation.
How to Use Social Media for Better Performance, Resilience, & Mental Health: Printable infographic from the Human Performance Resources by CHAMP.
Money Matters July
What You Need to Know:
Changing the way you think about money can bring more joy and contentment, and a lot less stress around finances.
Financial strategies can differ by age and life circumstances. Find out what to do in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s & 60’s plus in this video (use timestamp to jump to the decade that interests you).
Are you, or is someone you love, a “shopaholic”? Learn the signs of when shopping becomes problematic.
Activities/Challenges:
Save or Pay Down Debt? Use this tool to find out what you should do in your situation.
Automate your finances: watch this video and take steps to simplify your personal finances.
Resources:
LAPFCU financial education, money management tools, and free educational webinars
Brain Health June
What You Need to Know:
You have the capacity to change your brain! Take control with the 6 Pillars of Brain Health, from the Cleveland Clinic.
In people over age 65, nearly 2/3 of cases of Alzheimer’s disease are women.
Use it or lose it! The brain benefits from exercise, just like the muscles and other body organs. Find out how to train your brain.
This is...Your brain on alcohol.
Monthly Challenge & Activities:
Read up on the Best Brain Exercises for your Mental Health.
Choose one of the six pillars of brain health listed in the article above, and work on brain-boosting activities to strengthen that pillar.
Recommended Resources:
Brain games: apps like Lumosity, BrainHQ, or old school puzzles and board games.
Healthybrains.org: Cleveland Clinic resources for brain health.
May
Stress & Mental Health
What You Can Do:
Avoid it...?! While avoidance may be “the worst coping strategy in general”, according to a recent article from the American Psychological Association, it can be an acceptable stress management strategy in SOME situations. Read the article to learn when and why to use this and other stress management tools.
Breathe. Stress can result in rapid, shallow breathing. By changing your breathing pattern back to slow, deep breaths, you can manage and reduce feelings of stress within minutes. Check out this video demonstration of one such technique, or use the Calm app breathing exercises (Try “Unwind” or “Relax” in the app).
Connect with others. Change how you think about stress. In this TED Talk, “How to Make Stress Your Friend”, health psychologist Dr Kelly McGonigal explains how stress can actually boost health.
Recommended Resources:
Help someone who’s going through a tough time with EMPATHY.
For LAPD employees, family members and other resources, visit our Crisis and Referrals page.
Learn more about different mental health conditions from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Drinking Habits April
What You Need to Know:
Studies find 20-30% of police officers abuse alcohol.
Alcohol abuse is a serious health and safety concern.
Irresponsible drinking can impact your health, family, career, and your reputation.
If you choose to drink, you need to know the LAPD Alcohol Safety Tactics.
Monthly Challenge & Activities:
Use the alcohol screening tool
When to seek help: checking your relationship with alcohol and thinking about your drinking.
Take a look at these tips for cutting back on alcohol.
Recommended Resources:
Officer Safety: Preventing problems before they occur.
Use this drinking calculator to know what you are drinking
Utilize the LAPPL smart ride program
Diet & Supplements March
What You Need to Know:
You are what you eat, and WHEN you eat! Meal timing can impact body weight and health. Learn more:
Protein is not the only ingredient needed to build muscle: the right of amount of calories, plus consistent resistance exercise, and sleep are all essential.
Some supplements may be beneficial, some can be harmful, and others just a waste of money. Always research a supplement before taking it to find out if it’s safe, effective, and beneficial for you.
Monthly Challenge & Activities
Experiment: try adjusting your meal timing for a few weeks.
Find out your optimal protein and calorie intake and calories to build muscle, lose weight, and more.
When purchasing a dietary supplement, look for quality products tested by one of these independent sources: USP Verified or NSF Certified for Sport
Recommended Resources:
In Depth: Want to learn even more? Check out this podcast interview with Dr Layne Norton or the book/documentary In Defense of Food.
Optimism February
What You Need to Know:
What’s OPTIMISM got to do with health?! Optimistic people take better care of themselves, sure, but there’s more to the story.
Let’s be real: Is it even possible to be optimistic as a law enforcement professional?! A bias toward negativity can be a “blessing and a curse for those in law enforcement”. Find ways to manage negativity in this article from Police1.com.
Thinking traps (cognitive distortions) can exaggerate negativity. See why we catastrophize as first responders and the toll it can take.
Monthly Challenge & Recommended Resources:
Glass half-full or half-empty? Assess your optimism with this quiz.
Did your quiz results show a need to boost optimism? How about taking a “negativity fast”, or…
Choose one or two of these 16 Ways to Boost Optimism to implement in your own life. Retake the quiz in a month, and see what works!
Fitness Goals January
What You Need to Know:
“Working out not only relieves stress, but also helps reduce chronic body pain and the possibility of being injured on duty”, according to headline article in Police1 magazine. Read full article to learn the BEST EXERCISES for police officers.
Mental and physical health are essential partners. Watch this brief video to find out How exercise helps your brain and mood.
Monthly Challenge & Recommended Resources:
For Women Over 40. Power your way through menopause, using the 3 essential types of exercise recommended by exercise physiologist Dr Stacy Sims, who focuses on female athletics and performance.
For Men Over 40. From physical therapist and pro trainer Jeff Cavaliere, watch: Exercises you must avoid in order to build muscle.
Do it the right way: Precision Nutrition’s Exercise Library a free video library demonstrating correct performance of over 400 different exercises.
2023 Archive
Healthy Holiday Habits December
What You Need to Know:
Thought: “it’s the holidays! Healthy eating and exercise can wait ‘til January.”
Fact: “The Holidays”, that 6-week or 40-day period between Thanksgiving and just after the New Year, is 10% of the year...too long of a time to completely discount healthy habits!
Your Monthly Challenge:
Quick read: how to find peace in your own life at holiday time.
Don’t overextend: it’s ok say “no” if you really don’t have time or energy to do something. Be realistic about what you can accomplish.
Find out stay on track even during the holidays in this brief interview with James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”.
Don’t wait: set physical activity goal NOW, something you want to achieve by mid-January, or that you plan to do from now until then. Examples: do 50 pushups and 50 sit-ups every day until January 1. Or register for a ride, a run, or other event in early January.
Recommended Resources:
Harvard Health: Keep your health habits on track during the holidays
Psychology Today: Healthy Holiday Boundaries
What You Need to Know:
A fork in the road: pre-diabetes is not a free pass; it’s a warning, a chance to PRE-vent type 2 diabetes by making lifestyle changes.
All in the family? Genes matter with diabetes, but for Type 2 diabetes, lifestyle choices are even more important, accounting for about 60% of the risk.
More than any other change, losing about 5-15% body weight can significantly improve Type 2 diabetes; in some cases, it can even lead to diabetes remission (ref)
Diabetes can affect the whole body, physically and mentally; in fact depression is 2-3 times higher in people with diabetes.
Your Monthly Challenge:
What’s your number? All about A1C.
Type 1, Type 2, pre-diabetes, gestational diabetes: what's the difference and what to do if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with one of these.
Low-carb, plant-based, Mediterranean diet? There’s isn’t ONE diet that fits everyone with diabetes. Find out how to eat for diabetes.
Schedule regular medical checkups to manage and prevent diabetes complications; in diabetes care, the team approach is the best approach!
Recommended Resources:
Your health insurance/health care provider: has programs and other resources for people with diabetes.
Diabetes Awareness November
What You Need to Know:
Cancer is largely preventable, and many of our daily lifestyle choices can affect cancer risk.
“...aside from not smoking, staying at a healthy weight throughout life is the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself from cancer.” -The American Institute for Cancer Research
Smokeless ≠ safe: smokeless tobacco has been linked to multiple cancers, including mouth, tongue, esophagus, and the pancreas (ref)
It’s not just about the liver: Drinking ALCOHOL increases risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, colon and rectum.
Your Monthly Challenge:
Think you know what it takes to prevent cancer? Take this quick Cancer Prevention Quiz
Take action: choose an area to work on reducing your own cancer risk: Eat a healthier diet, move more, quit tobacco, reduce alcohol.
Catch it early: Find out what cancer screenings you need for your age, and schedule a checkup.
Cancer screening got you scared? Find out ways to manage fear so you can get the checkups you need.
Recommended Resources:
Cancer Prevention October
Suicide Prevention September
What You Need to Know:
Multiple studies have proposed that more law enforcement officers die from suicide than by any other fatal incidents that occur in the line of duty.
The following risk factors may contribute to increased suicide rates in law enforcement:
Exposure to traumatic events (contributes to mental illness and substance abuse, and in turn, suicidal ideation)
Police department size (smaller ones have higher rates; possibly due to less training and support)
Demographics (still mostly comprised of working-age males; the highest risk group)
Exposure to firearms (the most accessible and lethal method)
Work stress (isolation, abnormal sleep, relationship impact, etc.)
Your Monthly Challenge:
Learn more about each of the above law enforcement-specific risk factors.
Watch brief video and read about the Top 10 things learned from research on Suicide
Sign-up for the 6th Annual Heart of LAPD Walk at Elysian Park on 9/23!
Recommended Resources:
Learn how BSS can be helpful if you think a colleague may be at risk for suicide.
Learn more about the new FBI Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act
Visit Blue Help
Watch: Project 22 documentary film about suicide among veterans.
You Are What You Eat: August
What You Need to Know:
What we eat, or don’t eat, can affect our entire body and mind: our mood, our health, our ability to enjoy life.
Despite conflicting headlines, there’s more consensus than disagreement as to what makes a healthy diet:
Eat the right amount to maintain or reach healthy weight.
Eat a diet high in vegetables and fruits.
Limit or avoid highly processed foods.
Or put simply by author Michael Pollan,
”Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Your Monthly Challenge:
Got Your Six?! That is, six cups vegetables/fruits every day! Watch this video to learn how this one diet change can make a huge difference in health and well-being.
Then, take action and works towards getting your 6 every day. Download the “Got Your Six?”4-week plan to reach the goal.
Your brain on food: Read about the connection between diet and mental health.
Recommended Resources:
Financial Well-Being July
What You Need to Know:
Financial well-being is one of the critical elements in overall well-being.
Financial well-being is not dependent on how much money you make: “Instead, it pertains to how well one is able to manage his/her finances, create a stable income, and establish a degree of stability that leads to contentment with overall lifestyle.” IACP
Your Monthly Challenge:
Find out if money can buy happiness, and if so, in what ways.
Take this (or one of your choosing) financial fitness quiz to see how you compare to your age-matched peers.
Recommended Resources:
Learn more about critical financial considerations for LAPD personnel by watching LAPD Professional Specialist Steve Getzoff, CPA.
Mental Health &
Traumatic Stress June
What You Need to Know:
Good mental and psychological health is just as essential as good physical health for law enforcement officers and professionals to be effective in keeping our country and our communities safe from crime and violence.
Police officers have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Too many law enforcement professionals suffer in silence for fear of seeming weak or not being in control.
There are many effective tools, resources, and treatments that can reduce unnecessary or prolonged suffering, including LAPD’s Behavioral Science Services (the first service of its kind in law enforcement, established in 1968).
Your Monthly Challenge:
Review this brief article on actions you can take to improve your mental health.
Reflect on how problematic alcohol can be when used to cope with job or other sources of stress.
See how effective treatments can help by hearing a police officer’s story about recovering from PTSD.
Recommended Resources:
Visit the American Psychological Association for a variety of mental health related topics.
Resilient Relationships May
What You Need to Know:
Healthy close relationships are critical to our physical and mental health.
Creating and maintaining long-lasting meaningful relationships takes effort and intention.
Your Monthly Challenge:
Boost your relationship communication skills. Read the article and choose 1-2 steps to improve your communication.
“It’s friend relationships that often make up the highs and lows of our lives…” says clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior. Take action to make and keep adult friendships
Learn what infidelity is really about by watching relationship therapist Esther Perel on “Rethinking Infidelity: A Talk for Anyone Who Has Ever Loved”.
Recommended Resources:
Marriage 911: Ingredients for a healthy marriage article by our own LAPD Police Psychologist Dr. Stephanie Barone-McKenny.
Alcohol Awareness April
What You Need to Know:
Approximately 20-25% of all police officers abuse alcohol.
Alcohol abuse is a serious health and safety concern.
Irresponsible drinking can impact your health, family, career, and your reputation.
LAPD Alcohol Safety Tactics
Your Monthly Challenge:
Take the alcohol screening tool
When to seek help: checking your relationship with alcohol and thinking about your drinking.
Take a look at these tips for cutting back on alcohol
Recommended Resources:
Officer Safety: Preventing problems before they occur.
Use this drinking calculator to know what you are drinking
Got Sleep? March
What You Need to Know:
More than half of all police officers don’t get enough sleep.
Chronic sleep deprivation is a serious health and safety concern.
You can improve quality and quantity of sleep with lifestyle changes.
Your Monthly Challenge:
Take the Sleep Awareness Quiz
Keep a Sleep Diary for a week and learn what helps or hurts your sleep.
Got Sleep?! Choose one of the tips to work on improving your sleep.
Recommended Resources:
Officer Safety: Dealing with Sleep Deprivation
Healthy Heart February
You’ve walked the beat, now keep the beat!
What You Need to Know:
Heart disease is a Number One killer of people in the United States.
Heart disease strikes law enforcement officers more often and at an earlier age than the general population.
Everyday choices can affect your risk of heart disease: from the food you eat, the amount of alcohol you drink, to the physical activity you do, and more.
Preventive physical exams can help catch risk factors and warning signs early.
Your Monthly Challenge:
Take our Heart Health Awareness Quiz! Employees who take the quiz may be eligible to enter to a prize drawing!
Manage stress by getting out from under the “Shoulds”
Check your blood pressure this month, and do it right!
Find a blood pressure monitor. Even if you are not headed to a medical office this month, or don’t have a home testing monitor, you can check blood pressure at many pharmacies and drugstores, or at various LAPD locations, such as Mission, PHF gym, Hollenbeck, West Bureau/West Traffic, and possibly others.
Get an ACCURATE blood pressure reading. Here’s how
Recommended Resources:
American Heart Association (heart.org)
Just Move January
Find ways to move more throughout the day
What You Need to Know:
If you’re someone who feels frustrated when you hear “get your daily exercise,” it’s time to understand it’s all about movement and there’s very little that needs to be involved!
That’s right. It’s time to stop thinking of daily exercise as a commitment with minimum requirements like running five miles or bench-pressing your weight. The demand can be far less taxing and should fit your fitness level.
From your brain to your joints, moving every day has the power to improve every part of your body. And it’s not just about high-impact, sweat-inducing exercise, either. It’s simple – whether you choose to implement small movements into your routine or try a new activity like cycling or yoga, increasing your daily mobility can help upgrade your overall health.
Your Monthly Challenge:
Start or join a Payday Wednesday Walk at your work location.
Host a movement activity: stair climb, hike, bike ride, yoga class, resistance training workout, etc.
Pair movement with your normal daily tasks, like standing on one leg while brushing your teeth, stretching while waiting for copy machine, a walk and talk meeting. More ideas here.
Recommended Resources:
Need help getting a movement/workout program started? LAPD has certified Lifetime Fitness instructors, and Peer Support Nutrition & Fitness Cadre, in addition to behavioral health/psychological services. Contact