Krishna Satyan Of Dallas Neurosurgical & Spine: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

If you need to be on your phone, tablet or computer for extended periods of time, take regular breaks to stretch and move around. Also, holding your device at eye level, instead of constantly looking down, can be a big help. Use larger devices, such as a computer instead of a smart-phone, when possible, and set the computer up so that you are looking straight ahead at the screen, not at an angle.

As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Krishna Satyan, MD.

Krishna Satyan, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with Dallas Neurosurgical & Spine and the director of skull base surgery at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center — Plano. He has more than 20 years of experience treating patients, with more than a decade focused on spine and brain health. He is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University in Mechanical Engineering and obtained his MD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and a fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness/wellness?

I started getting involved with community service in high school and was volunteering at a hospital before I graduated. While I was at Stanford completing my master’s degree, I looked at potential opportunities for entering the work force. I realized that I would not be content as an engineer or consultant and would rather pursue an occupation where I could help people through service. I had taken my pre-med courses and, at this time, could only see myself going into medicine.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

This is a tough question to answer, mainly because of patient privacy constraints. The best stories in medicine are the patients themselves, when they are able to overcome and persevere. This could be a patient with a brain tumor, who makes a remarkable recovery and leads a long, very functional and happy life; or it could be a spine patient with chronic pain, who is able to regain their lifestyle, become more active, and significantly decrease their pain. Although I can’t talk about these stories in detail, they are the stories that mean the most to me. This is why I got into medicine in the first place — to help people.

Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

I vividly remember as an intern, rounding in the hospital, after a night of call. The interns were “pre-rounding,” assessing the patients and gathering data before rounding with our chief residents. Some of our patients didn’t speak English, and we would try to use our limited language skills. This lasted until we discovered we were telling patients, “We are passing gas,” instead of, “Are you passing gas?” The looks the patients gave us are embedded in my memory permanently! After that, I have always made sure that my patients and I communicated well together, and if not, that a good translator was available! It was a very important lesson, although humorous at the time.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

My entire practice focuses on brain and spine health, and encouraging non-surgical methods when possible. Although I am a neurosurgeon, I have found that up to 80% of patients with back and spine issues are able to improve without surgical treatment. In certain cases, surgery is necessary, and I am well versed in brain and spine surgery. I have been in practice for 13 years and have found that, in general, patients are happy with this approach.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I would not have been able to complete my training and reach my goals without the efforts of my family and mentors. My parents constantly pushed and encouraged me, and sacrificed their time and money, for my sake. My wife married me when I was a resident and took care of our children while I was completing my training and starting my practice. There are still many times when my family cannot expect me to be around because of the priority patient care takes. I also have a lot of gratitude toward my mentors at Baylor College of Medicine (residency) and Oregon Health and Sciences University (fellowship), some of whom took special interest in me, pushed me, advised me, and whom I consider close friends to this day.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

The answer to the question is a key word within the question: “blockage.” The most common barriers to good health are mental constraints, time restrictions, and/or financial blockages. Being healthy can many times be financially harder, but not always so. You do not have to go to a gym to exercise — in fact, walking is one of the best activities, with low stress on the body. Additionally, bodyweight exercises like squats, planks, and pushups are excellent for the health, as long as done properly and with good form.

In our society today, people are always operating at a fast pace, running from one activity to the next, one social function to another. Finding time to be healthy can be difficult, but necessary. I personally can relate to this, as I only started to consciously make an effort to “take the time” four years ago, despite the fact that I’m a doctor and I know how important it is! It can be a constant battle to maintain the effort. Sometimes the answer is cutting down on social functions or activities for children (which is obviously a difficult choice to make). Sometimes you might have to sacrifice a little sleep, which is a tradeoff, as sleep also is critical to health.

I believe the mental aspect is the most difficult. With our fast-paced lives and increasing responsibilities, making the conscious decision to be healthy is difficult. It is easier to get takeout or fast food than to cook and clean up after a healthy, home-cooked meal. It is easier to destress by watching a movie than it is to exercise. Not everyone can always make the time and effort to be constantly healthy, but making the mental choice to focus on it, whenever possible, is important.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”?

Each of us can find aspects within our own lifestyles that are not conducive to optimal health. Many times, after making our choices, we realize that making a healthier choice would have been simple to begin with. Many of these important lifestyle tweaks are from my personal experience, as well as from my patients’ stories, and they focus on spine and brain health, since that is my specialty.

We currently live in the “Device Age.” Everyone has a smart-phone, tablet, and/or sits at a computer for hours on end. The incidence of neck and back pain in children has increased. Much of this is related to poor posture and inactivity. One of the most important tweaks to make is in posture. If you watch children walking to the bus stop, half of them are walking while bent over their phones, not paying attention to where they are going, and putting increased stress on the muscles in their neck and upper back. Having a good, erect posture when walking can alleviate some of this stress. And focusing on our posture and mechanics, when sitting at a computer or while using a tablet/device, can also decrease strain on the neck and back.

If you need to be on your phone, tablet or computer for extended periods of time, take regular breaks to stretch and move around. Also, holding your device at eye level, instead of constantly looking down, can be a big help. Use larger devices, such as a computer instead of a smart-phone, when possible, and set the computer up so that you are looking straight ahead at the screen, not at an angle.

Many people suffer from inactivity. This can be hard to address, especially with busy lifestyles, children, multiple jobs, etc. Trying to take the time to exercise is easy to say but can be difficult to implement. Sometimes just making a conscious decision to take the stairs instead of an elevator can provide a good number of steps and exercise. This does not have to be done all the time, either. Start today by taking more steps than you did yesterday, and make a conscious effort to take more steps three or more days a week. Walking to a nearby store or a friend’s place, instead of driving, is an easy way to increase your daily steps. If you’re serious about wanting to start exercising more but have trouble feeling motivated, consider asking a friend or family member to exercise with you — even if it’s just taking a walk. It will help keep you motivated and can be more fun than exercising alone.

Sleep is extremely important for mental, emotional, and physical health. And this is not always as simple as making sure you get more hours. It is about the quality of sleep. Making sure you have good support for your neck or back with an adequate pillow or mattress can make a large difference in terms of how restful your sleep is, and how much neck and back pain you wake up with. I can personally attest to this, as a proper pillow is extremely important to how rested I am in the morning and can keep me from waking up from discomfort during the night.

Using a pillow that supports your neck and keeps it in a neutral position can help maintain the natural curve of your spine. Depending on your sleeping position, you may want to look at different types of pillows to ensure proper alignment. It’s also essential to set yourself up for a good night of sleep. There are many things that can derail a restful night. Too much stimulation, including devices such as smart-phones, tablets, and TV, right before bedtime can hamper sleep. Alcohol and caffeine consumption are also known to disrupt sleep patterns. Not everyone has the same triggers, so doing research and general reflection on what hinders your sleep patterns is important. In addition, making the conscious effort to avoid any hindrances to a good night’s rest is key.

Most patients with neck and back pain will respond to therapy and conservative treatment, thereby avoiding surgery. One of the keys to therapy is flexibility and range of motion, along with core strength. Being active helps with all of this, but so does the conscious effort to stretch before and after exercise, or just routinely, even if you’re not exercising. If you have ever gone to therapy and been taught exercises that helped your back and neck symptoms, keep doing them! These exercises can help the rest of your life. In general, most people should focus on the extensor muscles, the muscles that hold the body upright, to maximize back and neck health. Start out small, and don’t overdo it. If you aren’t sure where to begin or how much is too much, ask your doctor or personal trainer.

Another key to long-term physical, emotional, and mental health is taking care of your brain. This is a multi-factorial endeavor, with no perfect answer. However, healthy diet, regular exercise, rest/sleep, decreasing stress, and staying mentally active have all been shown to be beneficial. Of these, staying mentally active is often disregarded in our “Device Age.” This can be as simple as doing crossword puzzles (a commonly used example), learning new activities/games (such as chess), staying socially engaged or reading a newspaper or book.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

Weight loss is an obvious direct benefit to exercise, but there are several others. Exercise has been shown to help treat or avoid chronic conditions, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, etc. It can help with sleep patterns, both in terms of your ability to fall asleep and quality of sleep. It has been correlated with mental sharpness/acuity. People who regularly exercise have been shown to have more energy in general. In addition, exercise strengthens bones and muscles and helps increase both blood flow and oxygen throughout your body. Most importantly, in my opinion, exercise can help improve your state of mind.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

Walking is one of the easiest exercises to add to a routine and it is very low impact. This is an exercise that can be done at almost all stages of life. As a neurosurgeon, I also like exercises that help with flexibility, range of motion, and core strength. Working toward being able to do regular push-ups is a good goal, and planks are an excellent core exercise. Swimming is another low impact exercise that works the entire body and is a good cardiovascular regimen. I personally have dealt with knee injuries and have found that an exercise bike is great for getting exercise without causing unnecessary strain on my knees.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Cranial Anatomy and Surgical Approaches by Dr. Al Rhoton, Jr., has been instrumental in my career. Reading this during residency, made me extremely interested in microsurgery and pushed me toward a fellowship in complex brain surgery. It’s also one that I read while my wife and I were in the hospital, awaiting the birth of our baby, so it has sentimental value to me, too.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be to encourage people — on a large scale — to make small changes in their lives. Often times, it’s the small changes in our everyday lives that make the most difference to our overall health and wellbeing, and sometimes they’re easier to implement, too, because they aren’t major changes. Things like staying mentally active, adding in more walks, replacing one sugary beverage a day with ice water, regular stretching — these are all small steps that can have a tremendous impact. If we could all make one small change today and stick to it, we could all have a healthier tomorrow.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

Many of us have learned valuable life lessons that are probably similar, but we tend to learn through our mistakes, so the exact circumstances and experiences that provide these lessons are different. One of the most important lessons I was taught was: try not to learn just by your mistakes, but by other people’s mistakes. This does not mean watching other people flounder. It means learning the lessons others have learned over time, so that you do not have to repeat them. This way, your starting point is farther ahead of those that came before you. I feel this is a strong basis of practicing good medicine, especially in spine surgery. Most of the advice we give to patients is to help them avoid issues others have had and minimize their need for surgery or the extent of surgery they might need in the future.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

If I could have breakfast or lunch with anyone in the world, I would choose my patients — former, current and future. They mean the world to me. When patients come in with a problem and I’m able to fix it, to correct what’s bothering them, that’s the best feeling. I can’t imagine anything better.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

You can connect with me through my practice website: https://www.dallasneurosurgical.com/. In general, I prefer to avoid social media. This allows me to spend what time I have with family and friends, or for personal rest, exercise, and mental health — without added distractions. This also allows me to minimize time on a device or computer, thereby decreasing stress on my neck and back!

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!