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8 Infrared Technologies That Can Improve Your Health

November 11, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Infrared technology has become essential to modern healthcare and medicine, even though we don’t notice it. It is used in many ways – from detecting cancer to helping wounds heal faster.

Infrared technology is known for its ability to detect heat. It has transcended its traditional boundaries, finding applications that range from everyday conveniences to critical medical diagnostics.

Health benefits provided by infrared technologies indeed seem magical. However, the science behind them is concrete. Infrared waves, invisible to the human eye, can penetrate human tissue and produce therapeutic effects. Let’s explore some of the most promising infrared advancements that may soon improve patient outcomes globally.

Infrared Technology and Public Health

The integration of infrared technology in public health is a testament to its adaptability and potential. Professionals with a Master of Science in Public Health are at the forefront of this integration, leveraging infrared technology’s unique capabilities to enhance public health initiatives.

From thermal imaging to improving preventive healthcare strategies, the role of infrared technology in public health is increasingly pivotal. This synergy revolutionizes how we approach health and wellness broadly and underscores the importance of its continuous advancement. However, it must be noted that specialized infrared therapy should only be conducted by professionals.

An online MSPH, such as that offered by Tulane University, remotely trains professionals to assess workplace health hazards, improve safety protocols, and prevent occupational illnesses. This training ensures they know how to correctly utilize infrared technology to improve patient health outcomes.

8 Infrared Technologies

1. Infrared massagers:

Infrared massagers use light in the infrared spectrum to reach deep beneath the skin and provide targeted pain relief. The waves penetrate tight and injured muscles to reduce inflammation, stiffness, and spasms. It leads to both immediate and lasting soreness relief. Infrared massagers also quicken post-workout recovery by improving blood flow to muscle tissues to repair damage and rebuild strength.

Frequent users report consistent relief from back pain, neck tension, osteoarthritis symptoms, fibromyalgia, and sports injuries. Their straightforward, no-mess use makes them a convenient choice in many homes alongside over-the-counter pain creams.

2. Infrared light therapy for skin:

Infrared waves applied through specialized wands or panels deeply penetrate the skin without UV damage to rejuvenate tone and texture. The stimulation of collagen production reduces fine lines and wrinkles by plumping areas underneath. This process assists with wound and scar healing for conditions like burns and acne.

Specific frequencies of light delivered by infrared skin therapy also treat skin issues like psoriasis and eczema. Pain relief from arthritis and strained joints comes from infrared’s anti-inflammatory effects. Those seeking healthier, youthful skin often choose this non-invasive approach over lasers and harsh chemicals.

3. Infrared heating pads:

Heating pads containing infrared emitters provide warmth that reaches deeper tissues than traditional heating pads. It helps chronic back pain, sore muscles from overexertion, neck tension, and arthritic joint stiffness. The deep heat increases blood circulation to distressed areas, so oxygen and nutrients aid natural healing.

Infrared also reduces inflammation for immediate soothing. The boosted blood flow repairs damaged muscle and speeds up recovery. Users often fall asleep with infrared heating pads because they also relax the body for restful sleep. The comfort and simplicity make them suitable for daily home use.

4. Infrared thermography:

Infrared thermography utilizes thermal imaging to scan skin temperature patterns unseen by the naked eye. Unusual heat signatures can detect inflammatory diseases in the earliest stages before symptoms arise. These include vascular conditions like deep vein thrombosis or atherosclerosis as blood flow changes.

Most widely used for breast cancer screening, thermography identifies small tumors based on circulation differences. Because issues get detected sooner through thermography, this non-invasive approach prevents later-stage diagnoses when treatment becomes more invasive and dangerous.

5. Wearable infrared health trackers:

Wearable devices with infrared sensors constantly measure health data like respiratory rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, and skin temperature. Embedded algorithms notice when readings stray from normal baselines, indicating potential illnesses like infections or developing cardiovascular conditions.

Data transfers to apps to track vitals over time and share concerning changes with medical professionals. Those managing health issues like asthma, COPD, diabetes, or heart disease benefit greatly from 24/7 monitoring instead of periodic office visits. The earlier risks get flagged, the sooner treatment improves outcomes.

6. Infrared breath test for sepsis:

A fast, non-invasive infrared-based breath test holds promise for early sepsis detection. Patients blow into bags that collect carbon dioxide samples. Laser sensors analyze carbon 12 to carbon 13 ratios through infrared light absorption, which changes when infections trigger immune responses. Catching sepsis quickly improves chances of surviving this often deadly blood infection which causes organ damage via bodywide inflammation.

The ease of use means quick results to start treatment before patients feel significant symptoms. Avoiding intensive ICU care through early diagnosis could decrease mortality rates and significantly cut hospital costs.

7. Infrared ear thermometers:

Infrared-sensing ear thermometers offer ultra-convenient body temperature readings for home or clinical use. A quick infrared scan of the ear canal avoids discomfort from oral or rectal thermometers, making them especially useful for children. Readings appear digitally within seconds to identify fevers faster than traditional mercury thermometers.

The accuracy and simplicity of infrared ear thermometers make them the standard choice for health assessment in doctors’ offices and homes.

8. Infrared Sleep Aids:

Tucking into an infrared blanket or lying atop an infrared mattress pad may sound outlandish, but these devices help improve natural sleep. They gently warm and soothe the body using safe infrared wavelengths that can’t be felt. This penetration allows deep muscles and joints to release tension.

Users often drift easily into deep, uninterrupted sleep as the body finds its biological cues to relax. The bonus next-day effects are great, too – improved moods, sharper mental clarity, and renewed energy.

Conclusion

Overall, infrared technology is proving exceptionally helpful for many health conditions due to its ability to penetrate the body. As we keep innovating, these benefits from infrared will likely keep increasing to improve health and well-being.

It’s worth learning about and trying new infrared health tools as they come out. Harnessing infrared means realizing the potential we all have for living better lives.

The Trouble with Accusing Someone of Virtue Signaling

October 30, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The Trouble with Accusing Someone of Virtue Signaling The pejorative culture-wars phrase ‘virtue signaling’ has become an ad hominem scorn—a shoddy substitute for intelligently addressing the substance of the argument you’re purportedly discussing.

If you declare somebody is ‘virtue signaling’ when you have an ideological disagreement with them, you’re probably more interested in making groundless and unfalsifiable speculation about their motives. You’re unhesitatingly framing their intellectual or emotional foray as an act of narcissism. (Paradoxically, wielding the term sometimes serves as virtue signaling in itself. You’re pleading a moral high ground by calling out virtue signaling.)

You can’t rebut a person’s subjective position merely by discrediting that person or dismissing their opinions as grandstanding. You can’t denigrate people’s motives without speaking to their argument. Even if you think someone is likely virtue-signaling, keeping your speculation to a minimum is better.

Idea for Impact: Don’t judge the motives of others. It rarely helps to respond to a conflict by indicting them of a personal sin that is internal and, therefore, inscrutable to anyone else.

Job Crafting: Let Your Employees Shape Their Roles

October 23, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Employees invest a quarter of their lifetime in the realm of work; therefore it becomes a moral imperative to allow some of their waking hours to be a canvas upon which they paint the strokes of purpose and significance.

Isaac Getz, professor at Paris’s ESCP Europe Business School and author of the bestselling book Freedom Inc. (2012,) asserts that granting employees autonomy can tailor their learning and development and unlock the doors to realizing their full potential: “A company is liberated when the majority of employees have complete freedom and responsibility to take any action they themselves—not their boss—see as being best for the company’s vision and purpose.”

Idea for Impact: Encourage job crafting. Within reason, allow employees to take the initiative to actively and intentionally shape the contents of their jobs to better align with their skills, interests, and motivations and make them more purposeful. It’s a key talent retention strategy.

Listening is Not Just Waiting to Talk

October 19, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

In our fast-paced world, one of the most counterproductive—insidious even—listening habits is the tendency to construct our response while the other person is talking. It’s like mentally hitting the pause button on their words and drafting our own script for the moment they pause.

This habit often arises from a lack of active listening skills. Planning our responses can sometimes feel like our way of actively participating in the conversation. Additionally, societal norms can play a role; in certain contexts, rapid and assertive replies are highly valued, reinforcing this behavior.

But here’s the catch: when we’re pretending to listen while internally rehearsing our response—or even a counterargument,—we’re not truly grasping the speaker’s message. We miss the nuances and subtleties within it. Even worse, we signal to the speaker that we’re not genuinely interested in what they have to say.

To break free from this and other detrimental listening habits, cultivate self-awareness and consciously work on enhancing our listening skills. Rather than crafting a response in parallel, focus on fully comprehending the speaker’s viewpoint.

Idea for Impact: Let the other person complete their thoughts before you chime in. Allowing a brief pause to organize your thoughts. By practicing patience, active engagement, and empathy, you can transform into a more effective and attentive listener. This transformation will not only enhance your communication skills but also deepen your relationships.

Why Good Founding Stories Sell: Stories That Appeal, Stories That Relate

October 16, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

It’s the most famous “founding” story ever told. Isaac Newton often told it himself. William Stukeley first published it. Voltaire popularized it.

In 1666, Newton was strolling in a garden in Lincolnshire when he saw an apple drop from a tree. The fruit fell straight to the earth as if tugged by an invisible force. (Subsequent versions of this story had the apple striking Newton on the head.)

That mundane observation seemingly led Newton to conceive the notion of universal gravitation, which explained everything from the falling apple to the moon’s orbit. Whether it was true or not, the apple episode probably motivated Newton. But, indeed, he did not arrive at his theory of gravity at that single moment, as is commonly believed.

Most Origin Stories Make a Good Yarn

Fast-forward three and a half centuries, from England to California. Today, the “Eureka Moment” narrative is a Silicon Valley staple.

Most founding stories would rather you believe that brilliant entrepreneurs came about the outstanding idea for their startups in an almost Moses-like manner. In reality, though, that’s not the real story of how some of our iconic companies began.

When eBay launched, it gained loads of fanfare by proclaiming that Pierre Omidyar and his fiancée built the “Auction Web” to buy and collect Pez candy dispensers on the nascent internet. According to Adam Cohen’s The Perfect Store: Inside eBay (2002,) eBay’s public relations manager Mary Lou Song fabricated that founding story in 1997 to interest the media.

Netflix supposedly stemmed when co-founder Reed Hastings racked up a $40 fine with a Blockbuster store for his overdue copy of the movie Apolo 13. Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph’s That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea (2019) debunks that origin myth. Although Hastings’s $40 fine inspired the process, it wasn’t the single “spark of imagination” that cooked up Netflix.

YouTube supposedly began when founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen could not share videos of a 2005 dinner party in Chen’s San Francisco apartment. Everybody accepted the story until it was refuted by the third co-founder, Jawed Karim (who had been sidelined by Hurley and Chen.) Karim produced a prototype of YouTube inspired by HOTorNOT, a dating site that nudged users to upload photos and others to rate the looks of potential companions. Karim was particularly inspired by the concept of user-generated content versus website owners supplying the content. He set out to make a version of HOTorNOT with video. Chen later admitted that he embellished the dinner party story, which was “probably very strengthened by marketing ideas around creating a story that was very digestible.”

Facebook, first called FaceMash, was also inspired by HOTorNOT. Mark Zuckerberg and his dorm buddies created a website to post pairs of pictures from Harvard’s student community, asking users to rate the “hotter” individual.

Many Good Founding Stories are Just That—They’re Good Stories.

No company is ever founded in a single moment. Ideas evolve after assimilation and experimentation over several months, even years. It’s less interesting to say that things just develop, one idea building upon another. You won’t get as much publicity for rendering a normal-but-boring founding story.

If these mythic creation stories prove anything, it’s that people prefer a good story. People like a storyteller who’s more articulate than one who is accurate. Good stories move. Good stories lead audiences on a journey of the imagination.

Telling a Good Story is a Rehearsed Performance

Human beings are not transformed as much by statistics and facts as we are by stories. In All Marketers are Liars—The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-trust World (2005,) marketing guru Seth Godin says successful marketers don’t discuss features or benefits. They tell stories. Stories that readers want to read. And believe.

If humans were rational, we’d make judgments based on facts and statistics. But we’re not rational; we’re more convinced to act on stories, especially with emotional content. So the ability to tell a story well is a beneficial tool to add to your toolkit.

Idea for Impact: Those who can create and tell entertaining and exciting stories will have a marked advantage over others regarding persuasion. Learn to tell clear, commanding stories that make a good metaphor. Stories that appeal to emotion. Stories that relate. Stories that hold people’s attention. Stories that travel fast.

Where Empowerment Fails

September 28, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Empowerment—giving employees greater autonomy—boosts engagement and creativity. It builds job satisfaction and improves retention. However, the success of empowerment initiatives depends on the personality traits of the managers implementing them down in the trenches.

Middle managers who value behaviors like team orientation, collaboration, and respectful interactions are more likely to enable their teams to set their own goals and entrust them to complete tasks in their way. But many managers in hierarchical structures embrace a certain command-and-control reflex that gets triggered in positions of power. Empowerment means transferring power to someone else, something they loathe. The alpha dimension to the personalities of these managers ends up micromanaging and impeding the autonomy of those in their team.

Idea for Impact: Relinquishing control over others and trusting employees not to abuse that responsibility isn’t easy for most managers; it takes someone very self-confident and secure to discharge empowerment.

Think Before You Commit: Say ‘Yes’ Slowly

August 25, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

When presented with a request, avoid hastily agreeing and later regretting it. Instead, use this simple hack to prevent impulsive commitments: slow the conversation by posing questions.

Seek clarification regarding the specifics, time frame, and whether others have been approached. If you can only manage a portion of the task, inquire where your involvement would be most beneficial.

These questions allow you to gather more information and organize your thoughts. They will compel you to reconsider before biting off more than you can chew.

Undoing a default ‘yes’ is considerably more challenging than refraining from giving one initially. Revoking your commitment may result in even greater disappointment for the other person.

Idea for Impact: It’s tempting to say ‘yes’ to every demand imposed upon us by others. However, it is essential to reserve your ‘yes’for the right things. Respond with a deliberate and thoughtful ‘yes.’ Remember, every ‘no’ signifies a ‘yes’to something significant.

Avoid Trigger Words: Own Your Words with Grace and Care

August 3, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Using phrases like “you should,” “you never,” and “you’re supposed to” can immediately put the other person on the defensive.

When making statements, it’s better to begin with “I feel” or “I’d like.” By using “I” statements, nobody can argue with the fact that you feel a certain way.
Take responsibility for your words. Instead of protesting with phrases like “Don’t be late as usual,” which only reinforce complaints, try inviting positive change by saying, “It would be helpful for me if you could arrive early tonight, maybe by six.”
Saying “I don’t care” or “You choose” might not make you seem pleasant and agreeable. The other person may resent being forced to make decisions on your behalf.
Phrases like “I hate to be a pain, but…” or “I could be wrong, but…” undermine your request before you even make it.
Saying “I know” can make you appear irritating, self-important, or unreceptive. Instead, using “You’re right” doesn’t belittle something the other person may have just realized. “Yes, that’s on my mind!” acknowledges the other person’s reminder.
If someone apologizes anxiously, don’t say, “Stop saying sorry.” Instead, saying, “You have nothing to apologize for,” is more reassuring and won’t make the other person feel awkward.

Idea for Impact: Using direct and concise language strengthens the message and clarifies your needs. Be mindful of language that may unintentionally cause offense, distress, or discomfort to others. Prioritizing empathy and open-mindedness can contribute to maintaining respectful and inclusive conversations.

“Are We Fixing, Whinging, or Distracting?”

July 24, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

When a friend is upset and seeks your support, it’s essential to ask them a simple question once it’s appropriate: “Do you want to talk about it? Do you want to get your mind off it and distract yourself, or are you expecting me to give you some suggestions to help you out?”

Asking, “Are we fixing, whinging, or distracting?” can be incredibly beneficial for an upset friend. I use it often, and people respond positively to it. This question establishes boundaries and fosters trust, allowing you to be there for them the way they need.

Sometimes, people simply need to vent. Begin by providing comfort and then follow up with, “Do you want advice, or do you want me just to listen?”

It’s crucial to validate the other person’s feelings and experiences. Even if you believe there’s an easy fix, prioritize acknowledging their emotions. Let them be heard and empathize with them. Validating their emotions is truly significant. Simple statements like “Yeah, that IS terrible,” “That does suck,” “I can definitely see why you’re angry,” or “You have a right to be frustrated” can work wonders in offering solace and emotional support during challenging moments.

At times, staying quiet is what’s needed. It saves you from saying something unsuited to the situation. You can also say, “I am at a loss for words,” which is still validating. It shows that you consider the issue as crucial as they do and are also genuinely stumped by it.

However, on other occasions, they may need to share their experiences with someone outside of the conflict. This allows them to express their thoughts and emotions, which can be cathartic and aid in processing their experiences. If they wish to shift their focus and be distracted from what’s bothering them, talk about your own day, share something funny you came across, or engage in a fun activity together.

Idea for Impact: Don’t assume they’re seeking a solution when someone vents. Avoid offering advice right away in an attempt to steer them away from discussing it.

People often want to vent, grumble, and unload their troubles, even momentarily. Listen patiently and without reproach, offering a compassionate ear.

Play the Part of an Optimist

March 2, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Spontaneous Optimism: Proven Strategies for Health, Prosperity & Happiness (1998) by psychologists Mary Ann Troiani and Michael W. Mercer makes a case that optimism is a learned skill. This tome suggests three things you can do to enhance your optimism.

First, adopt a language that connotates positivity. Straighten your body before your emotions. Keep a straight body posture, take big steps, and walk quickly with your shoulders back and your head up. “Pessimistic people walk slowly with small steps and their heads down.”

Second, be on thought watch. Negative thoughts are more likely to contribute to a pessimistic view of life. Change your tone of voice to be cheerful, enthusiastic, and full of purpose. Let your voice echo these sentiments. Avoid talking to people who tend to have a pessimistic outlook—talking to someone who is also down or cynical about life can make you feel worse.

Third, use upbeat or happier words. Call a ‘problem’ a ‘challenge.’ ‘Losses’ are just ‘roadblocks.’ The authors note, “Positive thoughts and behavior have a positive impact on the brain’s biochemistry … They boost your serotonin levels and signal that you’re happy. Your brain will catch up to you.”

Idea for Impact: Deliberate practice of empowering body language can shift your mindset and moods. Optimism, imagery, and self-talk do work.

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Infrared Technology and Public Health

8 Infrared Technologies

1. Infrared massagers:

2. Infrared light therapy for skin:

3. Infrared heating pads:

4. Infrared thermography:

5. Wearable infrared health trackers:

6. Infrared breath test for sepsis:

7. Infrared ear thermometers:

8. Infrared Sleep Aids:

Conclusion

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Most Origin Stories Make a Good Yarn

Many Good Founding Stories are Just That—They’re Good Stories.

Telling a Good Story is a Rehearsed Performance

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?