The Keys to Loving Life As You Age

08/18/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

It’s just a fact of life that it’s easier to love existence when you’re younger, or at least that’s the case if you have a happy and supportive family. You don’t have to do anything other than eat, sleep, and play. Plus, everything’s new, which keeps life exciting. Once you’re a little bit older, however, things become more complicated. You assume more responsibilities, and it’s not uncommon for people to fall out of love with life a little, especially as they approach middle age. However, it’s important to remember that you can always enjoy life, no matter how old you are! Below, we’ll share some useful tips for doing just that.

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Retain Your Sense of Wonder

It’s easy to become a little jaded with life, especially if you’re just going through the grind. Driving through traffic, working eight hours, making dinner, and then falling asleep…it’s enough to make anyone feel a little down. It’s always important to remember that that experience doesn’t reflect reality. There’s magic everywhere; it’s just that it’s become a little more difficult to see. Make a habit of keeping things fresh and living with a sense of wonder. Even going for a long walk can show you the magic of the world.

Keep Moving Forward

A lot of people reach a comfortable stage of life and then stop pushing forward. While it’s tempting to do this, at some point, you may regret it. Humans are a bit like sharks; they have to keep moving forward. If you’ve been static for too long, then look at changing some things. You can always set yourself a little target to reach. It doesn’t matter what it is. The key thing is that you’re pushing forward. You never know where it’ll take you! You may also consider big challenges, the ones that really push you to the limit. They can show you that anything is possible, no matter how old you are.

Help Where It’s Needed

One of the reasons why being young is so much fun is because you don’t have any problems (or at least, you’re less likely to have problems). When you’re older, you do have issues. And if they’re left to develop, then eventually they can overpower you, and such the joy out of life. Never forget that no matter what issue you have, there are people and organizations that can help you to overcome them. Clinics like the Lion Health Group can help you to regain your vitality. Online therapists can help you to handle any emotional or mental distress you may be experiencing. And so on. You’ll find that once you’ve gotten the help that you need, you’re able to enjoy all that life throws your way much more.

Simple Pleasures
Finally, make a habit of enjoying the simple pleasures. Life may not always be fantastic, but it can be pretty beautiful; and not just sometimes, but daily. A person who can enjoy things like dinner with their family will always appreciate life!

Going Healthy, Health

How To Look After Your Back

08/17/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

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Each year, over 250 million workdays are lost to back pain (Source: ACTA). They also estimate that a massive 80% of people will experience back pain at some point in their lives.

For those with a diagnosed condition, it’s often a never-ending circle of doctor’s appointments, pain killers, and reduced mobility. For those of us lucky enough to be pain-free, it’s essential that we look after our backs every day, so that we can stay pain-free in the future too.

Don’t underestimate back pain

If you do start experiencing back pain, it’s important not to ignore it. See your primary care provider of a specialist at a company such as Advance Physical Therapy. They will be able to provide advice and treatment early, which often results in a better outcome.

Exercise

Getting regular exercise is a great way to keep fit and healthy. Being active and eating a balanced diet can reduce the risk of a host of conditions including Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, heart attack, stroke, and insomnia.

Exercising and keeping your weight in check, keeping your muscles supplied with blood and oxygen, and is great for keeping the pressure of the extra pounds off your joints. But in order to keep your back in tip-top shape, you need to be doing specific exercises to strengthen it too.

The key to a strong back is a strong core. Exercises such as yoga, pilates, and exercise ball workouts are all good for keeping your core strong.

Learn how to lift

Lifting too much weight, with a bad technique, can lead to serious back injuries. These can be prevented by learning some of the basis of lifting. Here are some of the basics for safer lifting.

Don’t lift more than you can handle – no correct technique is going to help you if you’re lifting something that’s far too heavy for you.
Stack your shoulders over your feet – you should be aiming for a straight line between the two. By doing this, you will find it easier to maintain your balance and not twist as you lift.
Hold the object close to you – the closer the object is to your body, the less strength you will need to hold it.
Bend at the knees – everyone knows this but few do it consistently. Use your leg muscles to lift, not your back or core.

Correct Your Posture

Bad posture can cause a lot of health problems including back pain, muscle aches, headaches, and insomnia. It’s something that most of us are guilty of, as we slouch at our desks or lounge on the sofa.

When sitting, try to use the following techniques:

Sit up straight with your shoulders back.
Keep your knees level with, or slightly higher than your hips, feet flat on the floor.
Don’t sit still for too long, try and get up every 30 minutes.

Conclusion

Though it’s a very common health problem, back pain can really affect your quality of life. We should be looking after our backs as much as any other part of our body. Your spine will thank you for it.

Life, Lifestyle, Parenting

The Best Father-Child Bonding Activities

08/17/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Forming a good relationship with their father is so important for children, but unfortunately, many dads don’t spend enough alone time with their kids when they are young. If you are a dad, it’s vital that you spend time alone with your kids, but many new parents don’t know what kind of activities they should do with their children. If you feel the same, take a look at this list of great activities for father-child bonding.

Fishing

Fishing is a very common bonding activity for fathers and sons, but there is no reason why daughters can’t get involved as well. Fishing is such a great activity to do with kids for a number of reasons. Firstly, it gives you a chance to get out into nature, which is great for their health as well as yours. There are a lot of great learning opportunities too because you can teach them all of the different fishing knots and how to bait their hook etc. Fishing is also a brilliant way to teach your child about patience because it involves a lot of waiting around before there is any payoff, and in some cases, you might not catch anything at all. Regular fishing trips will teach your child the value of hard work and patience. It’s a great bonding activity because there is plenty of time for talking and learning more about one another while you are waiting for the fish to bite.

Coaching Sports

Joining a sports team is very beneficial for children because it gets them active and teaches them valuable skills, like teamwork. If you want to turn this into another opportunity for bonding, coaching their sports team is a great idea. You get to spend some quality time with them and show them that you are invested in their hobbies. You also teach them some valuable lessons about leadership and fairness at the same time, so it’s the perfect activity to do together.

Celebrating Traditions

Traditions are an important part of family life and even though it’s good to start new traditions with your old kids, you should celebrate some of the old ones that you had with your own parents. You can also visit https://www.genealogybank.com/explore/census/all with your kids to learn about your ancestors and any traditions they had. Maybe it’s a father-son breakfast on a Saturday morning or a family game night. Whatever the traditions are, it’s a great way to involve your child in your family history and bond with them at the same time.

Let The Kids Decide

If you are stuck for ideas, you should just let the kids decide. It’s important for your child to develop their own hobbies and interests so why not ask them what they would like to do and then get involved. It shows that you support them and you are taking an interest and it will make the bonding time feel more natural. Even if the activities are completely alien to you, your child will still appreciate you giving it a go.

Father-child bonding is so important but many dads are unsure what activities they should do with their kids. These are all great options and if all else fails, ask your child what they want to do together.