Perfect Posture?

Good morning one and all, what a lovely warm weekend we've had.  I've been back working in shorts and going on walks in just a t shirt, long may it continue.  In fact I hope it does as have some major painting work to do at home in preparation for (drum roll please).....the long anticipated new stair carpet leading to my treatment room at home.  And, the garage is finally being cleared so I'll be able to make that look at bit more welcoming too!

Now, as a kid were your parents or grandparents always berating you to sit up straight and not to slouch.  I know mine did and I'm aware at times my posture is still not the best when I catch myself in the mirror so I've put together 9 simple ways we can all work on getting that "perfect posture position".

PERFECT POSTURE POSITION

Stand up straight! How many times have we heard this? Yet we still go on typing messages with our neck folded forward. It's time to give up on this bad habit, and we have plenty good reasons to do so.
Physiotherapist Murat Dalkilinc claims that bad posture has serious negative affects on the body. While standing or seated, body posture is a sign of our body's adaptation to stress.

Bad posture could be the main reason behind all soreness and pain. This is caused by the pressure you put on your vertebra. This pressure affects your mood and mental health significantly. According to 2014 Issue of Health Psychology, bad posture can make you sad, angry, irritated, fearful or even sleepy. A small change in your posture could make you feel more energetic and less tired. Definitely worth trying!

If you're standing, your vertebra needs to be supported. Imagine an invisible cross in your body that aligns your shoulders, hips, knees and feet. Hold your head straight and make sure your chin is parallel to the ground.  Move around your arms and shoulders naturally while you're on the go.

If you're seated your neck should be straight. Try not to bend it forward. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your arms close to your body. Adjust your knees to reach the right angle and your feet should touch to the ground.

9 things to try to improve your posture

1. Adjust your computer screen to be at eye level
2. Make sure every part of your body is supported, using ergonomic aids to support elbows & ankles
3. Sleeping on your side is god for your posture, supporting the body with a pillow under the neck and between the legs.
4. Wear flat shoes that have a bit of bounce in them when you walk such as cushion soled trainers
5. Use headphones when using your mobile
6. Move about as much as you can during the day, trying to not stay in one position for extended periods.
7. Carry your stuff around that you need daily in a rucksack that is hung off your back with straps over both shoulders
8. Similar to no.6, don't sit around all day, MOVE.  Even short 5 minute walks several times a day can be beneficial
9. Perform some sort of exercise everyday.

That's it for another week
Michael B

Grab some beauty sleep

Morning folks, not long now til we have to turn the clocks back an hour whereby the only benefit to me is, for one night only, we get an extra hour in bed.  Apart from that, how many hours a night do you actually get and do you notice the difference if this amount is increased or decreased for whatever reason?
It's a known fact that sleep can have a major impact on everything from your weight and mood to your ability to function like a normal human being. Now, a new study  suggests that lack of sleep can, in fact, have an effect on your appearance—beyond the obvious dark Alice Cooper-esque black circles.
For the study, researchers from The Karolinska Institute recruited 25 students (male and female) to participate in a sleep experiment. Each person was given a kit to check how much they slept through the night and was instructed to monitor two good nights of sleep (sleeping 7-9 hours) and two bad nights of sleep (sleeping no longer than 4 hours max).
After each recorded night, researchers took pictures of the students and showed them to another group of people who were asked to analyse the photos and rate each student based on attractiveness, health, sleepiness, and trustworthiness. As expected, people who were sleep-deprived ranked lower on all counts. The group also said they'd be less likely to socialise with the students who got less sleep.
"Findings show that acute sleep deprivation and looking tired are related to decreased attractiveness and health, as perceived by others," the study authors conclude. And the fact that one might want to avoid contact with a "sleep-deprived, or sleepy-looking individuals" is a strategy that makes sense, evolutionary speaking, the researchers explain, since "an unhealthy-looking face, whether due to sleep deprivation or otherwise" signals a health risk.
As Gayle Brewer, Ph.D., a psychology expert not associated with the study explained to the BBC, "Judgement of attractiveness is often unconscious, but we all do it, and we are able to pick up on even small cues like whether someone looks tired or unhealthy."
Of course, "most people can cope just fine if they miss out on a bit of sleep now and again," lead researcher Tina Sundelin, Ph.D., told BBC. "I don't want to worry people or make them lose sleep over these findings."
The study sample size was small and there's still a lot more research to be done when it comes to determining how important those 7-8 hours of sleep really are, but we can always get behind another reason to catch up on some much-needed zzz's. So for now, try your best to avoid those lost hours of mind-numbing Instagram scrolling before bed—and get some damn beauty sleep.
Til next week, take care
MB

Embrace getting older

Morning, what a great response I received after last week's edition regarding scented candles and their potential to harm our health, thanks to everyone who responded.

I am writing this on a beautiful Sunday morning, the patio doors are open, in the distance I can here the tannoys as the marathon begins down the Embankment.  Due to the road closures for it and the fact I am as stiff as a board after a fitness convention yesterday in Sheffield, I'm spending the day catching up on stuff.  No I'm not feeling my age, just being sensible after a pretty full on week of classes, I was stiffened up before I even hit the road to Sheffield hahaha, which segue ways nicely to todays topic of embracing getting older.  If you're like me, you're determined to keep going like you're still 18!  

The realisation that you are getting older can come in waves.

You watch movies and point to the actors, saying: “She’s dead. Oh, he’s dead, too.”

Your parents move to a retirement complex they call God’s waiting room.

You hear more snap, crackle and pop in your joints than in your breakfast cereal.

In society, youthfulness is glorified and getting older is cast as something to avoid, but as your age increases, your quality of life does not necessarily have to decrease.

What is ‘old’?

Most people wouldn’t say that a 38-year-old qualifies, but once you pass the median age of 37.8, you may statistically be considered “old"! OMG!!!

Studies show that people start feeling old in their 60s, and a survey found that nearly 3,000 respondents said 68 was the average age at which old age begins.

Daniel B Kaplan, an assistant professor of social work at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., said in an email that living to an advanced age was a relatively recent achievement.

“The average human life span gained more years during the 20th century than in all prior millennia combined,” he wrote, adding that the average life expectancy in the United States is 79.1.

Neurologist Dr Devi says your outlook on life can make all the difference, by being more positive will increase your chances of living longer.  

Dr. Devi said a patient who died at 101 had told her to try to have a friend “from every decade of life.” He had befriended an array of people, including Dr. Devi’s daughter, who was 12 at the time.

Having friends from multiple generations can help head off the loneliness that can come when others move, die, get sick or are no longer mobile.

“It speaks to an antisegregation of the aged, maintenance of community, as well as keeping in touch with modern advances to prevent being accused of being an old fogey,” she said.  

Many of the problems that adults face as they get older are unrelated to the normal part of ageing. The quality of your later life is partly under your control. Choices about lifestyles and behaviours can influence the effects of so-called secondary ageing.

Exercise and proper sleeping and eating habits will help your physical health, which will benefit your mental and cognitive health.  

We should prepare for the later stages of our lives as we would starting a family or helping a child gain independence.

Seek financial advice to help adapt to changes in income and plan for the costs of health care or for having to go into a home.  With recent changes by the government into how much money people are allowed to retain before receiving free care home places, this might be the time to look into it.  Discuss with your family and friends what you expect from old age and what type of lifestyle you desire.  

Embrace the positives

Older adults are generally happier and less stressed and worried than middle-aged and young adults, Mr. Kaplan wrote.

Although there can be declines in health and income, “the vast majority of older adults enjoy improvements in the emotional aspects of life” because they are more focused on positive information, he wrote.

The reality of ageing was not as bad as stereotypes would suggest.

While you might not be able to do all the things you once did when you were younger — he advises against playing tackle football with teenagers, for instance — there are ways you can compensate by finding other activities that are rewarding.

Find something to embrace in improving whether it’s golf, cycling, cookery. Mr. Ludwig suggested focusing on helping others, especially younger people.

Remember, too, that you are not the only one feeling sore or slowing down, he said.

“There are millions of people waking up with those aches and pains,” Mr. Ludwig said. “What is the alternative to ageing? It’s dying young.”

Reject ageist attitudes

Though it is true that as we age, we may gain some weight and lose some of our faculties, become forgetful at times, it is no reason to give in to stereotypes about older adults.

Myths about older people — that they are disconnected or grumpy (me haha) — are perpetuated in the news media and our culture. Advancements in technology have accelerated the stereotype that older people can’t keep up, Mr. Ludwig said.

Leslie K. Hasche, an associate professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, said she supported AARP’s “Disrupt Aging” initiative, which seeks to counter social and cultural myths about what it means to be old.

“Too often, the myths create barriers or limits, which get in the way of older adults staying connected or pursuing what is meaningful to them,” she wrote in an email.

Various milestones — birthdays, changes in careers and the deaths of siblings and peers — are reminders of the passage of time, but you should not lose focus on finding meaning and quality in life, Mr. Kaplan wrote.

“For many people, old age creeps up slowly and sometimes without fanfare or acknowledgment,” he wrote. “While most people enjoy relative continuity over the decades, being able to adapt to the changing context of our lives is the key to success throughout life.”

Definitely plenty there to digest

MB

HOW HEALTHY ARE YOUR CANDLES?

Good Morning one & all,

Hands up, who uses scented candles?  What do you use them for?  A nicely scented room?  For relaxation?  Have you even considered potentially damaging to health?  A candle?  Come on!!!! That's what I thought until hearing someone at the gym explain that she'd had to take her doctor to her gp with very laboured breathing, coughing and sore throat.  The child was given medication to help alleviate the problem.  The mother considered what could have set this condition off.  She noticed that her daughter only started to have problems when she was sat in the front room and when the Yankee candles were lit.  After a bit of research she discovered that she was in fact making her daughter's health poor by lighting them.  And why was this?  The production of formaldehyde!!!



New research has discovered that an ingredient called limonene that helps give the candles their scent is to blame.  Now limonene in its natural state is very safe, it is found in cleaning products and added to foods but when it comes into contact with the air alters and becomes formaldehyde.  Research showed that levels of limonene in candles was 100 times greater than had been previously thought.  add to this the fact that our homes are now more airtight, what with double glazing etc, there is a lesser chance of the gas escaping our homes.  The longterm effects of being exposed to high levels of formaldehyde is unknown.  What is known that it can be formaldehyde by itself can be a cause of cancer.

Aside from opening a window when the candles are lit (defeats the object I agree) is to introduce some plants into the home that reduce formaldehyde levels.  These include Ivy, Geranium, Lavender, & ferns.

til next week

ARE YOU A BRUISER?

I'm not sure if any of you have ever noticed but I am regularly covered in multiple bruises due in part to my general clumsiness and also having a very strong and equally clumsy playmate aka Xena the Staffy.  If you find you're discovering lots of bruises on your person and you're not clumsy or a dog owner, here are some reasons as to why this might be happening.  Firstly, and it's always the one we hate the most, yes AGE!!  We bruise more as we get older as we lose the protective fatty layer beneath the skin (so the fatter we are the more protected we are?) as well as thinning of the skin as the production of collagen reduces.  In short it takes less force to get a bruise than when we were younger.

The presence of a blood disorder can explain increases in bruises as your blood fails to clot.  If you experience frequent & severe bruising it's best you go and see your GP.

Although not bruising but can look like it, diabetes causes discolouration of areas of the skin that regularly touches another area of skin.  These fake bruises are a result of resistance to insulin.

If you're at the gym and you push yourself  to try and lift an over heavy weight and you end up with a bruise, well this is due to microscopic tears in the muscle fibres.  In addition, you could be really going for it and not remember actually bashing yourself (Done that loads of times too).

If you're taking aspirin or other anticoagulants as advised by your doctor these will lead you to be more prone to bruising as the bloods clotting capability is being impaired.  Taking oral contraceptives can also lead to increased bruising as the blood vessels are in a weakened state.

A family history of easily bruising will no doubt result in you too being more likely to bruise.  Also if you are naturally pale in a Wednesday Addams kind of way, then any bruise is going to be more noticeable.

And finally, although we all need to expose ourselves to the sun to bump up our Vitamin D levels, prolonged exposure to the sun over some years can result in the skin becoming less pliable and resilient and so again makes the skin more likely to bruise.

To help prevent bruising it's worth looking at your diet and ensuring it contains plenty of Vitamin C and flavonoids found in fruit and veg.  If you do find yourself with a plethora of bruises some simple measures can help them to heal speedily and include Arnica Oil applied topically, cold compresses, Aloe Vera, Calendula, a raw onion placed onto the bruise, or a hot or cold apple cider vinegar poultice onto the bruise too.

til next week

MB

Can you hear me Mother?

I guess we've all read that the quality of our diet can affect eye health, but until this week I'd never considered that it may also affect ear health.  Age related hearing loss is not totally due to something wrong mechanically with the ears but how the brain processes information that gets passed t the ears, a process that begins to degrade during our 40's & 50's.This type of hearing loss may be reversible and conditions such as tinnitus could be improved.

Nutrients that have been found to aid hearing include Vitamin A, magnesium, folic acid, and zinc.  These nutrients collectively support our hearing by protecting against oxidative stress in the cochlear, preventing damage by free radicals, improve blood flow to the ear.
For tinnitus, folic acid/B9 has proven to be beneficial more so if taken from fresh foods such as dark green leafy veg & lentils rather than from supplements.  

As well as eating right, there are other ways we can protect our hearing that are very simple to accommodate into our lives; 

Turn down the volume on audio devices

Wear ear plugs if visiting or working in noisy environments

Take regular breaks from listening to devices with earphones  or limit to an hour a day  

til next week

MB

My melons are wonderful

Where has the summer gone?  The other day I seemed to spend the time running to put the washing out or running out to bring the damn stuff back in again.  Had a wander down to the Riverside Festival on Saturday in blazing sunshine, I arrive then within minutes I was sodden when the skies literally dropped an ocean in a matter of minutes.  Yesterday I went up to The Arboretum for Pagan Pride festival dressed in t shirt and shorts, I had to come back early as I was freezing.

Whilst I was up there I was snacking on some watermelon when I friend said this to me "Eat melon alone or leave it alone because it'll make your stomach groan".  At first I thought she wanted me go away and eat it as I'd never ever heard that phrase before, but apparently if you eat something 30 or so minutes before and after eating melon it can affect you!?!?!? Anyone else heard of that?  So here I am back at home wondering what else don't I know about the humble melon. 

Watermelon has more lycopene than raw tomatoes, lycopene being a powerful antioxidant as well as giving foods their red/pink colour.  Watermelon juice may help reduce/relieve muscle soreness if taken before a work out but beware this also contains high levels of the sugar fructose.

The watermelon rind is edible.  Placed into a blender with some lime it becomes a refreshing treat.  The rind contains more nutrition in some respects than the flesh, particularly citrulline which is an amino acid beneficial for a healthy immune system.  I hate the pips in watermelon but they contain protein & zinc.

As a watermelon is 91% water it is a good way to stay cool & hydrated on hot days(if they ever return).  Watermelon derived supplements namely citrulline & arginine have been shown to reduce blood pressure, inflammation, promote sexual health as well as being called "Nature's Viagra".  I'm hot footing down to Sainsbury's fruit section.....

til next week

MB