DECATUR - Simple steps can go a long way in terms of heart health and, just as importantly, mental health, according to Susie Engle, program director of Decatur Family YMCA's wellness center.

Engle spoke to women attending the Go Red for Women seminar at the Macon County Health Department recently.

She suggested three simple things women can do to cope with stress and boost energy levels every day:

1. Look in the mirror and focus on one good spot, NOT your bad spot, such as a tummy roll or a blemish.

2. Stop doing one thing you know is bad for you. For instance, eat one less candy bar each day.

3. Add a little exercise, such as the following stretches, to your day.

Stretch to ease stress

n To stretch your hips:

Sit on a chair. Place your right ankle across your knee and sit tall, pushing your shoulders down.

Flex your foot, and take a deep breath in. Hold it. Relax.

Then, place your hands around your right knee, and draw the knee as close to your chest as possible.

Flex your right foot again.

Take a deep breath and release.

Repeat for the other side.

Engle said you should feel the stretch into your rear end.

n To stretch your chest and shoulders:

Scoot forward on your chair. Place your hands behind your back and try to interlace your fingers.

Lean forward slightly.

Raise your arms - slowly - as high as you can.

Release. Do it again.

n Practice relaxation:

Turn off the lights. Close your eyes.

Lift your right shoulder. Then your left. Then both at the same time.

Take a deep breath. Inhale loudly enough so you can hear yourself, and feel your midsection expand.

Hold it.

Slowly exhale, feeling your shoulders fall back into your chair.

Aging gracefully

Dr. Debra Babich, a dermatologist with Babich Skin Care in Decatur, offered tips to slow the process of aging skin.

1. Limit sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Babich said this is ideal and hard to do, so at least try to stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. "You can get sunburn by going out at 4:30 p.m.," she said.

2. Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor, or SPF 15 or SPF 30. "Anything less than 15 SPF is the same as doing nothing," Babich said. When choosing a sunscreen, look at the ingredients for one of the following: Parsol 1780, titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Without one of those, Babich said, you'd get minimal protection from harmful ultraviolet rays. Consider a moisturizing lotion with SPF in it. Reapply every three to four hours.

4. Avoid smoking. It leads to wrinkles around your face.

5. Drink eight glasses of water each day, eat a balanced diet, get daily exercise and get plenty of rest.

6. Do not believe products that claim to produce dramatic results in two weeks. Babich said some prescription products take as long as a year to make major changes in the skin's collagen and elasticity. She said moisturizers will make your skin softer, decrease red lines and remove dead skin cells, but they will not produce major changes immediately.

7. Use only a pea-sized amount of prescription creams. Babich said excess medicine could actual irritate your skin.

Bethany Carson can be reached at bcarson@;herald-review.com or 421-6968.