4 Means In Which You May Be Harming Yourself

10/28/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

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It’s important to know just how and why we may be harming ourselves, because then we can put in practical solutions to prevent those habits from occurring again. All of us have our blind spots, and it can be somewhat frustrating to realize that we are our own worst enemy from time to time. Most people are not interested in actively harming themselves of course, but it could be that through misdirection, being misguided or simply not taking the right approach that we fail to consider how we are harming ourselves.

After all, life can be complex, and convenience, as well as practicality, are two measures by which we make many of our daily decisions. That being said, it’s not uncommon to fail to examine our lives, which may result in a few interesting insights coming to mind should we choose to apply them. In this post, we hope to explore the four means regarding how you may be harming yourself, to help you move forward and apply yourself to the best solution.

Here’s what that may look like:

A Lack Of Sleep

A lack of sleep can harm you in many ways. It can raise your stress levels, how irritable you are, how unable you are to focus on things, how difficult it is for your body to repair its vital processes, and it can open you up to illness. In fact, high levels of drowsiness or sleep impairment can affect your brain much in the same way as mild intoxication. If you need to drive, or operate machinery, or do anything that requires careful thought, planning or physical action – you are going to perform much less adequately than you could have. This is why it’s essential to ensure you have a healthy sleep schedule, and not only that, but you continue to try and improve it. Do not allow yourself to go without sleep, or to have a bad sleeping pattern, or to tolerate an uncomfortable or poorly ventilated bed and bedroom. After all, we spend almost a third of our lives asleep, and so it’s essential to ensure this is well considered.

Stress & Fear

Stress, perhaps due to a lack of rest, hard circumstances or demanding work and family obligations can be truly hard on your body. It not only makes you age more quickly, but can leave you feeling worn out, more impulsive, and high levels of cortisol can actually lead you to panic attacks and other fundamental issues that we all need to consider.

Additionally, stress can lead to fear, and that’s never a promising emotion to feel while you’re trying to live a careful and deliberate life. This is why it’s important to ensure that you are meditating, that you are eating well, that you are dealing with your stress through expression, therapy, lessening your load, sharing that load, meditation, and good sleep. Additionally, we would recommend seeing your Doctor if the stress becomes too much to bear. Additionally, if you have certain anxieties about seeing healthcare professionals, it’s important to find someone who can cater to this. The best dentists, for example, know how to help your peace of mind while getting dental work.

Lack Of Socializing

Human beings need to be social in order to flourish and thrive, the same manner in which a plant needs sunlight to bloom. It’s important to connect with your family, your friends, and those close to you. Try to withdraw from harmful social scenes, or to only steward relationships with those you respect.

Do not be afraid of visiting someone just because, or to schedule a break with your husband or wife when you can, or to try and befriend someone new in your office. We know that making friends is important as a child, but we can often feel that acting as a lone wolf in adulthood is good enough. It’s not. Sometimes, going out of your social comfort zone and reaching out to someone can be as healthy an act as going to the gym. Try it, and see for yourself.

Failing To Enjoy Nature

It’s the right of every person to enjoy nature, but failing to ever surround yourself with it can be a problem. Nature can give us a means to relax, to lower our stress levels, to lower our heart rates and blood pressure, and can be the perfect conduit to socialize or get exercise. As far as that is concerned, this is worth taking care of.

With this advice, you are sure to avoid the four means in which you may harm yourself.

Health, Life

5 Ways You Could Be Damaging Your Hearing Without Realising

10/22/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

hearing, health, ears, lifestyle — **Pixabay. CCO Licensed.**

Hearing loss can occur naturally with age, but there are many bad habits and poor life decisions that can also damage our hearing. Here are just five ways in which you may be damaging your hearing without knowing.

Listening to music too loud

Regularly listening to loud music could be causing damage to your ears. This could include listening to music loudly on speakers or on headphones. Ringing in the ears after listening to music is a clear sign that you’re listening to your music too loudly and causing damage. Turn down the volume a notch if you’ve noticed this.

Not wearing ear protection in loud environments

Certain loud environments can also cause hearing damage if you don’t wear ear protection. Rock concerts, motorsports events and construction sites are just a few examples. If you’re in this environment for work reasons, your employer may be legally entitled to supply ear protection. If it’s a leisure activity, then it’s your responsibility to wear ear protection. There are cool ear plugs on the market that can protect your hearing and ensure sound clarity (great for concerts!).

Using cotton buds to clean your ears

Many people use cotton buds to clean out their ears, but this can actually cause hearing problems in the long run. Cotton buds tend to push ear wax further into the ear canal, which can then cause blockages resulting in muffled hearing. It’s also possible to damage the ear canals and ear drum causing permanent damage. As a rule, never stick anything into your ears. It’s healthy to have some wax in your ears, but if you’ve got a large wax build-up, you’re better off using ear drops or asking your doctor to get it professionally removed.

Not wearing a hearing aid when you need one

Once hearing loss has started to occur, it could be a wise idea to see an audiologist and get yourself a hearing aid fitted. Wearing a hearing aid will ease the strain on your ear and could slow down or even stop any further hearing loss. There are lots of different hearing aids out there which you can learn more about online. Some hide behind the ear and are pretty much unnoticeable.

Ignoring an ear infection

Ear infections can occur for various reasons. While some infections will go away on their own, others can spread and cause lasting damage to your ears. An infection following a perforated eardrum can be particularly serious, possibly causing permanent and severe hearing loss. A few signs that you possibly have an ear infection include dizziness, hearing loss, earache and a sense of fullness in the ear. You should see a doctor immediately if you suspect you have an infection – they will be able to prescribe the best course of treatment.

Going Healthy, Lifestyle

Getting Older And Keeping Fit: What You Need To Do Differently

10/20/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

getting older, keep fit, aging, healthy, exercise, fitness — *Image by Michael de Groot from Pixabay*

There is no getting away from the fact that we are all ageing, there’s no way of reversing it, delaying it or stopping it. We get older each day, and our bodies get more tired, and everyday tasks become more of a challenge as we don’t have the same energy that we used to. We all know how important it is to exercise and this doesn’t change as you get older, in fact, it’s probably more important than ever to make sure your body performs as well as it possibly can. You might need to invest in new equipment such as compression socks from https://legioncompressionsocks.com/ or treat yourself to more massages or time in the jacuzzi afterwards and while exercising as you get older doesn’t require you to train much differently to how you would when you were younger, there are some factors to consider in order to make sure you get the most out of your training and stay injury-free as you get older.

Recovery Is Key

As we get older, our bodies don’t recover from intense exercise like they used to. Recovery time will vary for each person, but if you find you’re always feeling sore and low on energy, you may find that you need a longer recovery time between exercise sessions. You might also need to be more respectful of the recovery process, make sure you get enough sleep, you’re well-hydrated and have a nutritious diet as this will aid in the regeneration and recovery process.

Strength Training Is More Important Than Ever

As you get older, your muscle mass and bone density decline, so because of this weight training becomes vital. Increasing your muscle mass and strength will also improve your posture and balance, and will reduce the chances of getting injured. Also, having more muscle mass will mean you have a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR), so in terms of your body composition, you will experience changes with more lean tissue and lower body fat.

Longer Warm-Ups

Ageing unfortunately often means stiffer joints which means that you can’t get away with getting stuck straight into the workout ‘cold’. You’ll likely need a longer warm-up with more mobility at the start of the workout in order to ensure your body is ready to exercise and prevent injury. More stretching and mobility sessions outside of your regular exercise sessions will also be beneficial.

Look After Your Muscles

Muscle pain and spasms after a strenuous workout are no joke and therefore need to be checked out by a professional. For example, when you work out, your muscles contract and lengthen in different ways than they usually do with regular use. Because of this, they can get injured or fatigued more easily. Everybody experiences neck pain from time to time, especially if you are getting older. It’s a normal part of life that happens when you overexert yourself during a workout or sleep in an awkward position. Although neck pain can be incredibly annoying and painful, and it’s usually nothing to worry about, you should get it checked out by a neck pain doctor should you experience chronic or severe neck pain that doesn’t go away on its own. Most neck pain problems can be fixed with a quick adjustment by a professional or by stretching the muscles out yourself at home after consulting with a doctor.

Good Technique Is VitalGone are the days when you can get away with dodgy squats and questionable reps. The quality of your movement is paramount if you want to keep your body injury and pain-free. If you’re not nailing your technique without weight, then don’t put yourself in a comprising position where you can load the spine. However, if you have been lifting for years, and your body is robust, then go ahead and load the bar. If you’re unsure of your technique or something doesn’t feel right then make sure you speak to a professional and get them to check your technique.