Empty Nest: Heart monitor

As I was Christmas shopping this year, I couldn't resist just one little present for myself. It's one of these wristband heart monitors that give you a constant readout of your pulse.

These heart monitors are used primarily by people who are exercising and want to increase their pulse to a certain rate over a period of time, but not overdo it.

For example, at my age of 59, a maximum heart rate is 160 beats per minute (bpm). The monitors are waterproof so they can be worn swimming or during a hard sweat.

After I figured the device out, which isn't that easy for someone like me who isn't all that gadget prone, I was anxious to give it a try. I wore the heart monitor to the pool and noted with satisfaction that I got my heart rate up to 144 bpm.

Not satisfied with wearing the device while exercising only, I decided to wear it all day so that I could keep track of my heart rate. This was sort of odd because I now had what looked like a wrist watch on both arms.

I noted with interest that while driving, even on the open highway with little traffic, my heart rate was in the 90s. This indicates to me that driving is a stressful occupation. While walking, it was in the 80s, and sitting at my desk, it was in the 70s.

When I got yelled at by my boss for not being on time, my pulse was back around the 90s. With Holly Dog on my lap in the evening, it was down in the 60s, and when I awoke in the morning it was clear down in the 50s.

Amazingly, and contrary to what we are told by the so-called "health experts," after my tankard of coffee in the morning, while sitting in my chair reading, my pulse was still down in the 50s.

So, for me anyway, caffeine has no adverse effect on my heart rate.

One interesting side note: While amongst other people, checking a heart monitor for your pulse is definitely not the politically correct thing to do. It looks like you're checking the time.

After several days of wearing the monitor, and almost forgetting that I had it on, I was scurrying around trying to finish up my last minute Christmas shopping-an otherwise stressful endeavor considering there are a jillion other people doing the same thing.

I noticed one of those Salvation Army bell ringers, and dropped some bills in the bucket. A strange sensation came over me. I checked the heart monitor. Even though I was on my feet, with an arm full of items, in the middle of a crowded shopping mall, my pulse was clear down in the 60s.

When I stepped aside in a busy checkout line to let an elderly gentleman with only a few items in front of me, the same thing-a low pulse.

When I helped a little old lady carry her items to her car, and put away the shopping cart for her in a slushy parking lot, once again, a pulse of 65.

Conclusion: getting out of one's self and helping others is good for your health.

And while I write this? A big six-zero.