How Sleep Gives You a Healthy Mind and Healthy Body

November 11, 2021 by 2 Comments

In a world where incomes no longer match expenses, working part-time for more income can make spending time in bed feel like a lost opportunity. It is becoming routine for people to take naps during travels or skip sleep altogether to have fun or accomplish a task. This can cause significant detriment to their health. It is essential to weigh the short-term benefits and long-term effects on your health before skipping your sleep.

Sleep is a vital function that allows your mind and body to recharge and remain refreshed and alert during the day. Quality sleep keeps your body healthy and strong enough to fend off diseases. Without adequate sleep, your brain may fail to function appropriately, impairing your ability to process memories, concentrate, and think clearly.

What to know about sleep?

People in different age groups require different amounts of sleep per day, with the adults requiring less time in bed. Children below three months require 14 to 17 hours of sleep while those between four and eleven months need 12 to 15 hours daily. This is almost double the seven to nine hours suitable for adults. Failure to get adequate sleep can lead to attention lapses, delayed reactions, reduced cognition, and mood shifts.

Your body regulates the sleep cycle through circadian rhythm. This informs the brain of the actions to take throughout the day. Light also plays a role in informing your brain if it is day or night. As the sun rises, the body releases cortisol hormones, which promote alertness and energy. In the evening, the body produces melatonin, which causes drowsiness.

A few changes in your diet and lifestyle can help you enjoy quality sleep. Taking CBD for sleep can help you spend more quality time in bed by reducing anxiety and easing chronic pain. You may also enjoy better sleep if you make your bedroom a comfortable sleeping environment and abstain from caffeine before bed.

Quality sleep in creating a healthy mind and body

Quality sleep goes through four stages: three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) cycles and a rapid eye movement (REM) stage. The first NREM stage takes you from wakefulness to sleep. The second stage consists of deeper sleep with eye movements ceasing and body temperature decreasing. The third stage will see your brain wave activity, breathing, and heartbeat, reach their lowest levels. The REM stage is the deepest level of your sleep. Dreaming occurs at the REM stage. If you are struggling with sleeping disorders, you may need to revamp your bedroom for better sleep. The reasons why you should ensure quality, adequate sleep every night include:

It can help you avoid weight gain

Poor sleeping habits may cause weight gain due to changes in hormones that control appetite, leptin, and ghrelin. You are likely to avoid overeating or indulging in unhealthy food if you spend adequate time in bed. Your body gets refreshed and alert, helping you avoid snacks and energy boosters that can make you gain weight.

It can improve concentration and productivity

Sleep deprivation is not good for your health and mind, and sleepy people are likely to cause accidents on the road as they struggle to remain alert for prolonged periods. Quality sleep is necessary for proper brain function, including productivity, concentration, cognition, and performance. In extreme cases, sleep deprivation can affect brain function to a similar degree to alcohol intoxication.

It maximizes athletic performance

Adequate sleep is fundamental for all athletics as it helps in body recovery and muscle relaxation. Most body growth functions occur during sleep. Working out without taking sufficient sleep can make you fail to attain your maximum potential. Athletes with adequate sleep tend to have improved accuracy, speed, mental well-being, and reaction times.

Reduces risk of diseases

Get enough sleep to stay healthy and happier. A sleep disorder can impair your immune function, putting you at risk of various diseases like a cold. Inadequate sleep may cause cell inflammation, which may trigger inflammatory bowel disease and other disorders. Your sleeping habits can affect glucose metabolism and put you at risk of type 2 diabetes.

Getting enough sleep may mean you make a few sacrifices like minimizing social night outings, but it can help you remain healthy and happier. People who enjoy adequate sleep get sick less often and stay at a healthy weight. They also think more clearly and perform better in their duties.

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Defeating Midlife Stress: 4 Key Tactics

November 11, 2021 by Leave a Comment

The concept of stress in life is not the same as what it was 20 or 30 years ago. Entering the middle of our lives can be a challenging time. Women can start to undergo menopause, but also the fact that life appears to be more pressurizing now than at any point over the last few decades. While is debatable, the fact that increased communication has resulted in increased anxiety cannot be ignored. What can we do if we are feeling the pressures of middle-age, whether it is parental duties, career malaise, or just the midlife slump? 

Do Not Underestimate Nourishment

It sounds so obvious, but so many of us are swept away by the power of intermittent fasting or having one meal a day, but if we are undergoing a lot of stress, depriving our body is not the best approach. We have to nourish our bodies, and this will help us to feel more grounded. But additionally, look at your natural peaks and troughs when you are living your daily life. Many people find that anxiety just creeps upon them, which is why CBD products have helped many (you can click here for CBD products). If you can nourish yourself, you are giving yourself a stronger foundation to thrive. 

Reducing Your Commitments

We feel that we’ve got to be sociable when we don’t want to. Sometimes our social obligations exceed our obligations to ourselves. If the commitments and responsibilities do not reward you, you should not feel guilty for ending any relationships that don’t meet your needs. 

Recognizing Your Feelings

It is easier than ever to put off any negative thoughts because we are inundated with things that over-stimulate our senses. It is so important to learn how to recognize our feelings while also paying attention to our body’s signals. If your body is telling you something you need to listen to it. So few of us trust our instincts, but if we begin to recognize our feelings, we can give our bodies and brains the right resources to thrive.

Develop New Interests

As we approach the middle of our lives, we can look back on our past with regrets, or we can look to the future with trepidation. But it is the here-and-now that matters. Developing new interests is a great way to nourish our spirit. Because this gives us a feeling of mattering in a world where we could start to feel obsolete. The middle of our lives is a very precarious time because we can worry about getting older. But there are so many people that have understood that getting older is about learning to relax. While learning de-stressing techniques are so important so we can go past this midlife point with excitement we have to re-discover our passion for life. This is why it is so important to have a combination of methods, while also realizing that you haven’t lost anything by getting older, but in fact, you have a lot more to gain.

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3 Ways To Find Your Lost Confidence

November 11, 2021 by Leave a Comment

You might be struggling with your confidence and self-esteem levels at the moment. Fear not, you are not alone in this. Many people are struggling for all different reasons. The sooner you can find the source of your loss of confidence the sooner you can get back to your happy self. Be aware that if left alone your lack of confidence could turn into anxiety or even depression.

selfie pose

Here are two things that could be causing your lack of confidence and how to resolve it. 

Teeth

You might think that you don’t have nice teeth or a nice smile. There are thousands of people who along with you may not like their smile but they are all unique. There are many things you can do to fix your smile if you dislike it. The first thing to do is go to the dentist, they will take a look at your teeth and see if anything needs doing. They may simply clean them for you which could give you an instant boost in confidence. 

They may discover that you have crooked teeth or an overbite. This can easily be resolved with the use of braces. You might worry about how much braces cost, they can be expensive but you could be eligible to spread the cost each month to make things easier. 

Hair

You may be worried that you are having a bad hair day constantly, making it a bad hair year. Your hair could be the be-all and end-all of your appearance. You may even panic that your hair looks greasy if you fail to wash it every single day. To fix this you can change up your hair at home, for example, you could curl it rather than having it straight. Instantly lifting you up as you view yourself in a different light. 

You could also take a visit to a hair salon. A hairdresser will make you look and feel like a million dollars. You could completely change your look and even be daring and get your hair coloured. You will leave feeling like a new woman. 

Talk about it

It is important you get to the root cause of your confidence problems before they develop into something more serious. If you can’t place your finger on it or the problem is deeper rooted then you could benefit from talking to a professional. If you feel like you can’t talk to your friends or family about it then consider the option of a therapist. A counsellor or therapist is trained in talking therapies. They will help you understand where your confidence problems stem from and how to resolve them. It may take some time, depending on your situation but you will get to the bottom of it and once you do it will make you feel so much better. Like the weight has been lifted off your shoulders. 

We hope you found this article helpful and it helped you understand that you are not alone. Remember, everyone has something that they don’t like about themselves, yes even the ones you think are perfect. 

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Getting Your Health Back On Track In Three Simple Steps

November 10, 2021 by 1 Comment

healthy activities

Have you lost track of your health recently? No matter what the reason is, if you have been taking your health down the wrong path, it’s time for change. You cannot just sit and wait for things to get worse, you need to take action. Some people don’t know what they need to do in order to gain back this control of their life, but luckily for you that’s exactly what we’re going to be looking at. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Tie Up Loose Ends

The first thing that we are going to suggest is that you tie up any loose ends related to your health. What we mean by this is that if you were in an accident of some description or you were injured somehow, make sure that you have gotten closure on this subject. This might mean hiring a personal injury lawyer and getting the settlement that you deserve depending on how you were injured. Or, it might mean that you simply learn to come to terms with what happened, you acknowledge that it was an accident and you stop living in the past rather than the future.

Tackle The Physical

Then comes tackling physical health. This can be tricky depending on where things have gone wrong. If it’s a simple case of changing your diet and exercise routine to optimize your health, the only thing that you are going to need for this is the motivation to stick to it. If you think that it will help, set yourself a strict schedule and after a while, following it will feel like second nature.

If there is more to it though, this could be more difficult. For example, if you have an injury or a health condition then you are going to have to work around it. Almost everything can be worked around to keep your health in the best possible condition, so it’s just a case of wanting to do it. Try getting yourself a fitness and health partner if you feel as though this is something you are going to struggle with.

Work On The Mental

Your brain might be asking what the point is. It might tell you that eating a cookie means you’ve completely messed up so why not eat 4 more. The mental side of things can be difficult, but you can overcome whatever it says. The important thing to note is that you should only ever work on getting your health back on track if you actually want to, otherwise you will never succeed. If you are doing this for someone else, or you don’t actually care about your health, then don’t bother because you won’t be in the right mindset to see success.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the simple steps that you can take to get your health back on track. It’s important to do this as soon as you can, before you allow yourself to get to a point of no return. People are always saying that it is never too late to make some changes in your life, and while this is true to an extent, it is certainly possible for it to be too late for some irreparable damage. We wish you the very best of luck.

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Creating a Safe and Soothing Space for Your Children

November 3, 2021 by 1 Comment

vase of flowers

As soon as you had children, you always wanted to create a home environment that felt safe, secure and calming. As little ones grow up, their surroundings can have a huge impact on their development and overall well-being. This means that you may want to focus on making a few changes around your house sooner rather than later. Whether you’re trying to deter pests or improve the quality of the air in your home, there are a number of techniques that you can adopt. Creating a safe and soothing space for your children will not only help them to feel comfortable at home, but it will also allow them to adapt to new environments successfully. As a parent, you will always want what’s best for your little ones and the first step towards happiness is creating a safe space for your child. Use some of the following ideas to take action on your home environment and you will soon feel confident that your house is the perfect place to raise healthy and happy children for years to come.

Secure Your Windows and Doors

When you’re worried about security in your home the main thing that springs to mind is your children. No matter what, you want to make sure they’re kept safe whilst they’re sleeping, playing and relaxing at home. Replacing any broken doors or windows is your first step to creating the calming environment you have always wanted for your children. If there are any gaps in your current windows it’s likely they’ll be able to hear whistling from the wind, and they may even feel cold draughts at night time. This is why you may want to consider aluminum window installation to create a higher level of insulation and security for your property. Although it may seem like a small change to your home, having new windows brings a sense of freshness and safety that your family will appreciate for the years to come.

Reduce Toxins and Chemicals

Keeping your home clean and tidy is something you will always battle as a parent. You want to maintain spotless surfaces and rigorously clean the highchairs so that they’re always sparkling clean, however your cleaning products could be creating a toxic environment. Now is the ideal time to take a look at the labels of your washing detergent, sprays and kitchen cleaning products. Switching to eco-friendly, natural solutions can help to create a safer environment for your little ones. You can even have a go at making your own at home cleaning products using some of the items you already have in your cupboards. White wine vinegar can be used as a surface spray to kill any unwanted bacteria. You can also use bi-carbonate of soda to get rid of any staines on your white dishes, cups and plates.

Create a Routine

Structure and routine can allow your children to thrive at home. Even if you want to create a fairly relaxed and calm home environment, a gentle routine is extremely beneficial to your children. Try eating at the same time each morning for breakfast and having a routine for getting ready in the morning. During the weekends it can be trickier to stick to a set routine as you may have plans outside the house. You can maintain a level of calm by sticking to your bedtime routine so that the start and end of their day is always the same. When your children know what to expect in the mornings and the evenings it becomes much easier to create a calming routine that works for everyone in the household.

Ask for Help With Chores

Structure and routine in your household should go hand in hand with chores. From a young age your children should be able to help you with age-appropriate tasks around the house. Whether they’re making their own bed or feeding the family dog, this creates a sense of responsibility and respect. When your children feel trusted at home it can help to build their self confidence when they’re at school or playing with friends. Offering this level of independence will greatly improve their development over the years as they will always know what is expected of them in the house.

Think About Your Color Schemes

If you’re looking to create a relaxing home environment, then the color schemes you choose are very important. Bright, dark and brash colors can be overstimulating to little children so make sure you take this into consideration when you’re decorating their bedrooms. Opt for cool, soothing shades such as dusky pinks, light creams and baby blues. With a calming bedroom, your child will always feel safe when they’re playing or going to bed at night.

Build a Safe Environment

Overall, your home can be the safest and most calming environment possible for your children, but do they have a dedicated space to relax and unwind? Even small children need a safe space to escape to when they’re feeling tired or stressed. You probably run yourself a hot bubble bath or you curl up in your favourite chair with a book. Creating a similar type of space for your children can create a sense of safety for them. Whether you use comfortable cushions and cuddly toys to create a quiet corner or they have a dedicated playhouse to take time out to themselves, there are so many ways to create a safe environment for your little ones.

Choose Child Friendly Storage

Have you ever found your child emptying out the kitchen cupboards or tearing your bedroom drawers apart whilst you weren’t watching? Not only do you want to keep your child safe, but you also want to ensure a level of independence for your children. Preventing them from getting inside every drawer and cupboard is almost impossible, which is why you should aim to adopt two simple strategies. The first one is securing all dangerous cleaning items, medicines and small parts into high cupboards with a lock. Even if your children manage to sneak into the kitchen when you’re not looking, you can have peace of mind that your hazardous substances are locked away and out of reach from little hands. Next of all, you may want to consider creating a child safe cupboard. Allowing your children to easily access their favorite toys, cups, plates or shoes can give them a level of independence whilst keeping them safe at home. When they have a dedicated cupboard that they can call their own, they will be much less likely to cause mayhem in the other areas of your home!

Every home environment is completely different, so it’s up to you to make the most of the space you have. Whether you’re working with minimal outdoor space and a large living area, or you have small bedrooms and an expansive communal space, you need to play to the strengths of your home. Most importantly, you need to consider the needs of your child or children first and foremost. Whether you want to create a special reading corner to encourage your little one to pick up a book more often or you need to pay special attention to the cleaning products you use, it’s time to create your own version of a safe space. Ultimately, as long as your child feels happy and content when they come home you have done your job as a parent perfectly. Start making small and simple changes today and your child will start to reap the benefits quicker than you know!

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Tried-And-Tested Techniques For Combating The Flu

October 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Flu is a serious condition and it looks like the disease is probably going to be doing the rounds this winter, thanks to a “snap back” after the disruption of the last 18 months.

There is no way to cure the flu once you get it. Instead, you will need to rely on your body’s immune system to fight it off.

However, there are ways that you can accelerate your recovery. Here are some of the techniques you can use to combat the flu.

 

Keep Humidity Levels High

 

Running your humidifier might sound like a strange way to fight the flu, but it’s an excellent option after you get the disease. Warm moist air is excellent at easing congestion and soothing coughs. Try breathing in moist air for a couple of hours per day during the worst of the infection to see if it helps. Don’t leave the humidifier on all day, as excess damp can lead to bacteria and mold buildup in your home.

 

Use A Saline Nose Drop

 

Saline is just a salt solution. It’s one of the oldest medications and something that physicians have been using for thousands of years to prevent infection.

 

Salt is naturally antiseptic. That’s why food manufacturers use so much of it to extend the life of their products.

 

You can harness the same antiviral powers by using a saline nose drop. These solutions help to unblock your nose and leave you feeling fresher.

 

Use An Antiviral

 

If your flu becomes more serious and you require urgent care, they may provide you with an antiviral. These are essentially drugs that enhance the immune response to the virus and shorten the time that it spends in your body. People with chronic heart or liver conditions benefit from this class of medications the most.

 

Drink More Fluids

 

Did your doctor ever tell you to drink fluids when sick? Well, there’s a good reason for that: fluids actually help the body flush out viruses, keeping you healthy. Fluids are particularly important for creating the mucus membrane that lines the respiratory system. The more of this you have, the more easily you can transport harmful viruses out of your body.

 

Don’t Work

 

In the current high-pressure work environment, many people suffer from presenteeism. This is the idea that they must show up to work every day in order to get ahead.

 

Working all the time is bad for you in general, but it’s particularly harmful if you have flu. You’re much more likely to get run down and experience more severe symptoms. You’re also more likely to spread infection to other people in the office if you go in with active symptoms.

 

Use the flu as an opportunity to give yourself time off. Try curling up on the couch, watching a few DVDs and generally pampering yourself.

 

Sleep More

 

Lastly, your body fights the flu the best while you sleep. Try going to bed early and sleeping for at least seven hours per night. Don’t spend time on your laptop responding to emails from your boss.

 

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How To Find The Best Healthcare Providers

October 19, 2021 by 1 Comment

Whenever you are in need of healthcare of any kind, you need to make sure that you know what you are looking for. There are certainly many different kinds of healthcare that you might be in need of at different times, and no matter which you are currently looking for, it is important to make sure that you are doing all you can to find the best possible option for yourself and your health needs. Let’s take a look right now at how you might be able to achieve that more easily.

best doctors

One of the most important things that you need to look into is what people have been saying about a particular healthcare provider. You can usually find this out pretty easily online by just searching for reviews of the place in question. Alternatively, you might want to ask around with people in your local area, especially your friends and family, as they are going to know a lot about which places to go and which to avoid. Make sure you seek out these testimonials early on to ensure that you can find the best providers much more easily.

Know What To Look For

It’s also a huge help if you have some strong idea of the kinds of qualities that you are going to want to look out for in your healthcare provider. As long as you have a strong idea of this, you should find that you are much more likely to come across only the very best, as you know which ones not to go for as well. For instance, you certainly want to avoid any practice where you are likely to need a medical malpractice attorney in the future at some point. Knowing what to look out for is always important, so don’t overlook it.

Be Clear About Your Needs

If you are finding a healthcare provider for a specific issue that you might have, then you are going to want to make sure that you are being clear about what’s wrong and what kind of help you are likely to need. That way, it is going to be a much simpler and easier thing to find the right team to help you out, and to weed out those who are unlikely to be very helpful for you at all. This is an important part of the process, albeit one which can be difficult for some people at first.

Look Further Afield

Unfortunately, sometimes you will simply need to look a little further afield in order to find the best healthcare provider you would hope for. It’s generally worth doing so, of course, if it means that you end up with the kind of healthcare that you are looking for, but you should be prepared for it as it can take quite a long time and make things a lot more difficult. Bear that in mind from the start, and you should be able to improve your chances of finding the right kind of healthcare for your needs.

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6 Side Hustle Ideas To Keep Yourself Fit and Your Finances in Order

October 14, 2021 by Leave a Comment

side jobs

You don’t need to be a finance expert to know that having multiple income streams is essential to look after your finances. And yet, cultivating your work-life balance has never been as important as it is in the time of Covid-19 lockdowns and remote working. So, how can you earn extra money while looking after your health and pursuing your passions? Here are some fitness side hustle ideas to try today. 

Become a Yoga Teacher

In 2021, over 36 million people in the US practiced yoga regularly – a significant increase of 50% since 2012! So, it does not come as a surprise that the industry behind yoga and other mindful practices continues to boom. So, if you are already interested in yoga, signing up for a yoga teacher training course and getting the qualifications you need to teach might be a great way to combine your passion and your desire to start a side hustle. 

Consider Dog Walking

According to recent statistics, 1-in-5 households in America adopted a pet during the pandemic. And the benefits that a furry friend has brought to their life are undeniable. However, now that professionals have started to return to the office, they might be looking for someone looking after their dog. Consider applying for the position to earn while enjoying your evening walk.

Become a Tour Guide

If you have always loved the history, landscaping, and architecture of your city or town, you might consider becoming a tour guide. Today, you can find associations that allow you to conduct your tours and earn a considerable income from it, while also receiving all the benefits of an employee. 

While this can be an excellent side hustle idea for those who love exploring and learning, make sure you get all the certifications you need to continue growing your audience.  

Consider Gardening as a Side Hustle

Have you ever thought that your passion for gardening could be your best tool to save up for your next family vacation? Well, think again! Our gardens have proved themselves to be a safe retreat and the only place to get a breath of fresh air throughout the months of lockdowns and social distancing measures. 

Now, more and more people have committed to looking after their private outside area. If you have always loved gardening and landscaping this could be the best time to get started in a thriving industry. 

Become an Online Personal Trainer

It is undeniable that Covid-19 has forever changed the personal training industry. And yet, the whole wellness and fitness sector is thriving! So, if you have been thinking of transforming your passion into a career, you could consider becoming an online personal trainer and help people pursue their health and fitness goals – no matter where they are in the world!

Get Your Water Aerobics Certification

Love being immersed in water? Getting a water aerobics certification to teach this discipline can help you improve your fitness level, help you spend more time in the water, and refine your swimming skills. This sport is ideal for all age groups, and can truly help you build up functional strength and flexibility – learn the basics of teaching water aerobics and share the secrets of this sport with your friends.

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