Influences Of Mindset And Routine For Healthy Aging

How you can expand your mindset as you age

As people grow older, they are often consumed with how their bodies are changing physically. What they don’t pay enough attention to is the state of their minds. While you may notice that your memory is lacking, or that you tend to be more negative and pessimistic, there doesn’t seem to be the same urgent desire to find a remedy.

It’s important to improve your mindset as you grow older so that you can focus on the things that bring you happiness and joy. Here are some mindset ideas that can help.

Begin by letting go

This can be one of the toughest parts of changing your mindset, but it’s also an important one. You must let some things go. If you have a lot of demands in your life that create huge amounts of stress and negative thoughts, it’s time to determine if it’s worth keeping them in your life or not. This could mean you jettison some career demands by delegating certain tasks or saying no to people who ask too much of you.

Or perhaps letting go for you means removing pressure from yourself thus allowing more time to practice self-care.

Look for additional clarity

When you first begin improving your mindset and being a more positive, happy person, it sometimes takes a while to figure out what that means for you. If you are still puzzled about what needs to change in the way you think and understand things in your life, it’s time to find some clarity. If you don’t already, you may want to start a journal for this, since you can write with honesty about anything you are thinking about, and over time, begin observing the patterns of your thoughts. You recognize what your goals are, what you feel like you are missing, and what situations tend to cause your mindset to shift.

Express your gratitude

Being grateful for the blessings in your life is a simple way to begin shifting your mindset. It instantly helps you to think more positively about things and people in your life, and temporarily sets aside your negative thoughts. It’s difficult to think negatively when you are being grateful and thinking about the people in your life who bring blessings and wonderful things.

Your gratitude can be for your job or your home, your pets, people you love, or simple things like how comfy your bed is or that delicious morning cup of coffee.

Positive affirmations

One last tip for improving your mindset as you age is to use positive affirmations. These might seem silly, but when used on a routine basis, they hold a lot of power. A positive affirmation is a thought or phrase that is positive, uplifting, and hopeful. It can help you maintain a good mindset throughout the day.

Positive affirmations might be “I will have a great day” or “I can achieve anything”, but they can also be more specific with something you are dealing with, such as “I am strong enough to accomplish my goals/dreams”.

The value of your daily routine

Daily routines and habits are more popular than ever before, not because they are a new concept, but because of the benefits to your physical health and mental wellbeing. As you age, no matter what age you are now, it becomes even more important to have a daily routine with habits that are designed to keep you healthy and happy. Here are some advantages of having a good daily routine.

Routines stimulate enhanced mental health

You can have a daily routine that allows you to enhance your mental health. For example, you might include a session of meditation or adding mindfulness to your morning or nighttime routine. This helps you reduce stress and can help with mental health disorders like anxiety or depression. Remember that your mental health can decline rapidly if you aren’t vigilant.

You live a healthier lifestyle

When you maintain a set routine with habits you participate in daily, it can help balance out your life and ensure you are living a healthy lifestyle. Many people choose to add certain activities that help them improve their health, such as cooking breakfast, doing yoga in the morning, writing in their journal, or having a nighttime routine that allow them to get better sleep.

To be a healthy older adult, you need to begin immediately, regardless of your age at present.

Balanced living is happier

With a daily routine, you can concentrate more on balance in your life. It helps you to schedule certain events and activities along with your responsibilities. You decide what your priorities are. Making time for reading, relaxing, creative activities, getting enough exercise, and eating right. In other words, doing everything you need to do to improve your health and wellness.

Routines that increase your sleep

Sleep is crucial for everyone, but unfortunately, older adults find that they have more difficulty sleeping. There is a joke that older adults often sleep only a few hours a night, or that they wake up early for the “Early bird special”, but this isn’t because as you age, you need less sleep. It is more that you have a tougher time sleeping soundly throughout the night.

If you have a daily routine that includes exercise as well as a restful and relaxing nighttime routine, it helps a lot to increase your quality of sleep.

My final thought

We live at a time where most of us have access to the information we need to be healthy agers. It is up to us to use it or not. As for me, I do my best every day to stay healthy and to be happy. Shouldn’t you?

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it and will share it with the people you care about.

Healthy Mind And Body Habits Increases Happiness

Improve your overall health

When you are improving your daily routine to be happier and more fulfilled as you age, you must consider your mental health. From reducing stress to changing your mindset, your mental health should be given just as much care as you give your physical health.

Consider adding these daily habits to your routine for improved mental health.

Healthy stress relief

Stress affects everyone at any age, but it can take an even bigger toll on you as you age. Stress affects your mental health just as much as your physical health, so you must get a handle on it right now. You should add some stress-relieving pursuits to your normal routine.

Several ideas for activities include:

·         Yoga or another form of exercise in the morning

·         Writing in a journal

·         Reading your favorite kind of book

·         Finding a relaxing hobby that takes your mind off your stress

·         Spending time with loved ones

Don’t isolate yourself 

It seems easy to stay indoors and keep to yourself as much as possible, especially if your mental health is struggling, but this makes it even more important that you socialize. Even if that means inviting people over to your home where you feel comfortable or meeting once a week with a friend to have coffee. You need to get out of your normal surroundings. This can help with anxiety, stress, and depression. It helps you to build a solid foundation and gives you a healthy thing to add to your routine.

Combine activity and engagement

While exercise and staying active is great for your physical health, including maintaining good cardiovascular health and even preventing certain diseases, it is also amazing for your mental health. With simple exercises like yoga or walking, you can boost your endorphins to put you in a better mood, give you more energy, and help relieve anxiety.

An active lifestyle and engaged mindset will ensure you are doing everything you can for both your body and your mind. This is going to help a lot with happy, healthy aging.

Have a helpful mental and emotional support system

Lastly, you want to have a helpful support system in your life for your mental and emotional health. This can be different for different people, but it might include having a counselor or therapist, a close group of friends you can spend time with when you need to, or a relative who understands your mental health issues and is always receptive to your needs.

Improving your physical health

It’s an uphill battle to improve your mental health if you’re physically a wreck. Your mind and body are made to work well together, however, the breakdown of one can lead to the breakdown of the other.

Introduce these habits into your routine to help improve your physical health as you age.

Eat nutritious, balanced meals

I know, I know. You need to watch what you eat. It seems that everyone is on some kind of diet these days. But this isn’t a strict diet where you are cutting out entire food groups or trying to eat a diet of kale and salmon. While those are healthy choices, eating a balanced diet is more about what you add in, not what you take out.

Start by making small changes. Adding in more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, lean protein, and drinking lots of water. When you eat a nutritious diet, you stay healthy and can help reduce the risk of certain age-related diseases.

Add movement into your life as frequently as you’re able

For your physical health, you also want to get routine exercise. Again, you don’t need to put too much pressure on yourself to spend hours at the gym or run a marathon. Regular exercise a few days a week is all that is necessary unless you have more specific fitness goals.

Consider forms of physical activity that you enjoy and will make you happy. You should be excited about your exercise, not dread it. For you, this might mean a yoga class with your friends, going for a walk or riding a bicycle, or doing workouts at home on your treadmill or with a kettlebell.

Emphasize preventive care

Remember that a lot of your physical health comes down to what you do before you get diseases or become unhealthy as an older adult. Emphasizing preventive care is crucial, so even if you’re perfectly healthy now, you still need regular doctor visits.

Your doctor can typically discover things earlier, which allow you to get proper treatment and make needed adjustments to your lifestyle. This will improve your health, and ultimately your happiness as you age.

My final thought

I am happily moving forward into some of my best years. The reasons for this are the healthy mind and body that have reliably carried me through many years. I am strong, my mind is clear, and I haven’t even had a cold in more than 5 years. From the time I was a young girl, my Gram reminded me often that your health is your wealth. It’s not too late to begin making your improvements, to have happy, healthy aging.

I hope you liked this post and will share it with your family and friends.

Can Mindfulness Improve Chronic Pain?

Mindfulness and chronic pain.

I want to talk about chronic pain. It’s inconvenient, obviously painful, often debilitating, and causes an array of other issues when conventional treatments fail. I have suffered from Migraine headaches for nearly fifty years and I am always grateful that I have days or even as many as three weeks at a pain-free time. Because I have refused to take any kind of medication, I learned early in my life to have a fallback routine for the “lost” days. While this has helped immensely it’s nothing more than a band-aid and I had continued to search for pain relief.

Chronic pain sufferers commonly experience anything from anxiety and depression to pain medication side-effects and addiction. All of this on top of excruciating pain that can’t seem to be controlled. Using the mindfulness approach for chronic pain may be just what the doctor didn’t know to order. I only discovered and began to use this for my migraine pain a couple of months ago.

Mindfulness is, simply put, paying close attention, and maintaining direct focus. Being brave enough to gracefully embrace a moment, good or bad, and know that it’s okay to let it go. Yes, it sounds terrifying to a chronic pain sufferer to pay more attention to the pain. Still, you should continue reading. I intend to make it clear how mindfulness for chronic pain can be highly beneficial and even help eliminate pain almost completely when practiced properly.

Some practical mindfulness techniques.

A common relaxation technique over the years has been to, tense up each part of the body, individually, count to 10, and then release your hold. The object is to notice exactly how tense you were, to begin with, and to physically feel the tension go away. You would typically begin at your head and gradually work your way down each body part until your entire body is completely relaxed.

For instance, you could start with your face by crinkling your forehead, squeezing your eyes together, pursing your lips, and clenching your teeth. Inhale through your nose, hold the tension as tight as you can for 10 seconds and then slowly exhale through your mouth. Feel the muscles relax in your face and head.

Feel the tension and stress leave your body. Notice how you feel the blood start to move again and how invigorated yet relaxed and calm it makes you feel. How completely aware you feel. This is the same premise as mindfulness for chronic pain.

The idea is to get closer to the pain, acknowledge it, assess it, and allow it to go. Accept that the pain is there, without judgment, which is the hardest part. Naturally, chronic pain and all that accompanies it is seen as negative.

Focus on pain relief.

But just for this exercise, try and view it neutrally. Shake hands with the pain as if it’s the first time you’re meeting a new neighbor. Visualize the pain. And when you exhale, let the pain move on.

Substantial pain relief may not be immediate, but if you are mindful and continue practicing mindfulness for chronic pain, the decrease in pain will gradually happen. It takes practice and focus, but it’s well worth the effort considering the damage other treatment measures can potentially cause to your body, mind, and spirit.

It also helps to alter your mindset on the pain itself. Your approach should be to understand your pain, individually describe the sensations you notice with and without the mindfulness exercises, and create a deeper awareness of equanimity.

If you enter this with the idea that your pain needs to be “fixed”, if you aren’t extremely successful on your first shot of meditation, your mind will interpret that as “failure”. And mindfulness for chronic pain is so much more than simple success and/or failure.

Mindfulness will help you achieve a more accurate perception of the pain. You essentially retrain your brain to calculate pain differently. Think about it; your mind doesn’t feel the pain, but it sure lets you know on a scale, how bad it might feel.

For your brain to differentiate the intensity of pain, it first had to send signals down to the core of the pain, which was then interpreted as even greater pain. It’s like poking a really bad bruise. Ouch!

Mindfulness, life, and pain connection.

Mindfulness for chronic pain isn’t about erasing pain. Mindfulness is a phenomenal and powerful method to help you live a full life even with the pain. Your focus is no longer on the outside obstacles but on accepting what’s going on inside your body and having an alternate relationship with it.

You get to choose your reactions, believe it or not, and mindfulness for chronic pain assists in just that. With practice and determination, you can and will change your pain response. Think of all the added benefits like less narcotic pain medication, less chance for addiction to medications, as well as decreased anxiety and depression symptoms.

What about the fact that you can begin again to live a meaningful, active life without spending the majority of your energy on avoiding any pain breakthrough?

Mindfulness for chronic pain has endless potential and the results can affect multiple areas of your life. There’s no reason not to give it a try.

My final thought 

My pain management is admittedly a work in progress. What pleases me is the reduction of the pain and the length of time the migraine lasts when I practice this technique. I attribute this to a lessening of the associated stress and anxiety I feel now that I have taken a more hands-on approach.

I hope you enjoyed this post and will share it with your family and friends.

Do You Get The Best Sleep?

The importance of sleep in your life

Sleep is a natural bodily function just as breathing, eating, and drinking are. What you may not realize is just how beneficial sleep is for you and why. The thought was once held that you would spend a third of your life sleeping, yet, the evidence of our own lives shows that to be no longer true.

Everyone recognizes the importance of sleep. You know you feel tired and have no energy when you miss sleep, plus your moods and general well-being change.

Much research has gone into understanding the benefits of sleep. Sleep has been shown to help improve immune function, metabolism, memory, as well as your ability to learn. Sleep is required so that your body can run and perform at optimal levels. Sleep aids your body to repair itself.

Sleep has been shown to help your learning and memory function. There are two main benefits connected with this and sleep. The first one is quite simple and that is a person who is deprived of sleep just cannot focus properly, so they will not learn effectively. The second benefit is that after learning something new your memory consolidates this information while sleeping. So, studying just before going to bed is a good thing.

Getting adequate sleep has been linked with living longer. Research shows that people who’ve slept less than 5 hours per night were more likely to die early. This does not mean that you want to oversleep either, too much sleep is also connected with a shorter life span.

Your health can also be affected by the quality of your sleep. People who sleep less than 6 hours a day often suffer from health issues such as arthritis, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.

This has been linked to them having more inflammatory protein levels in their blood. When these issues are treated, and more sleep is accomplished the protein levels have been shown to decline.

Your creativity levels, athleticism, and school grades can all improve by sleeping more. It was discovered that many children with ADHD were in fact, sleep-deprived. It is recommended that young children get more than 8 hours of sleep per night.

If you are trying to lose weight, sleep has additional benefits. Dieters who sleep more find that they can lose weight quicker. This is because your metabolism and sleep are controlled by the same areas of your brain. If losing weight is your goal, then try and get a good night's rest every night.

“A well-spent day brings happy sleep.”

— Leonardo da Vinci

How much sleep do you need?

The amount of sleep that a person requires varies as they age. Newborn babies, for example, require anywhere from 12 to 18 hours of sleep per day. While an adult can manage with only 7 hours. There are several factors that affect the number of hours you need on a regular basis.

The biggest thing to understand is that there is no magic number when it comes to sleep. Sleep patterns are as individual as your personality. The quality of your sleep is often more important than the actual number of hours.

There are two basic principles that pertain to sleep:

1.   Basal Sleep

2.   Sleep Debt

Basal sleep is the amount of sleep required by your body to keep your body functioning at an optimal point. Sleep Debt is the number of hours you lose due to either poor sleeping habits, illness, or other problems that keep you awake.

Studies show that most adults need between 7 to 8 hours of basal sleep per night. Sleep Debt is connected to those times when you are feeling sleepy and tired, even if you just slept for 7 hours.

What this research suggests is that your body needs to catch up to your sleep debt numbers. Depending on how sleep deprived you are, this may take several nights of your sleeping for 7 hours or more to catch up.

Your mood and energy levels are a good indication of sleep deprivation. People who do not sleep enough are at more risk of being involved in a car or work-related accidents. Plus, many people find that they gain weight when they do not sleep enough for extended periods of time.

As you can see, sleep truly does have a major impact on your life. The best way to determine just how much sleep you require is to pay attention to your body. Note things such as what kind of mood you are in, if you feel more hungry than usual, and how much energy you have.

Pay attention to how many nights per week that you get enough sleep. If this number is low, then you may want to appraise your sleep habits and make some changes.

Quite often something as simple as a warm bath or shower before going to bed can make a huge difference. As can passing on the coffee or alcohol too close to bedtime.

Conclusion

The benefits of sleep cannot be overstated. Nor can the deleterious effects from lack of sleep be underrated. Sleep works hand in hand with exercise and diet, increasing the effectiveness of both.

I hope you liked this post and that you will share it with your family and friends.

Get more information here.

Sleep Statistics for 2019

Too Much Good Food Is Bad For You

Gram’s Wisdom 11: Eat a little of everything in moderation

My Gram never counted a calorie in her life. She didn’t look at labels for the salt, sugar or fat content in the food she ate. It never became necessary. Healthy foods, eaten moderately is what she preached to anyone who would listen.

She was a firm believer in eating a balanced diet from all the food groups. Don’t deprive yourself of food you enjoy. Instead, eat something of everything in moderation so you don’t crave and binge on the wrong foods.

This method for eating carried her through a life of health and wellness for more than a hundred years. I have sensibly followed my Gram’s example of eating everything moderately all my life with good results, but in a way that suits me. 

Focused on the wrong thing

Many people go crazy counting calories, checking serving sizes, and ingredients. This behavior has driven everyone a bit insane. And instead of helping with weight loss, it has pushed many people closer and closer to the brink of an epidemic which is known in the medical world as obesity.

Young and old, obesity has infiltrated your life in one way or another; affecting you personally or your loved ones. And it isn’t just about the numbers seen on the scale. Obesity increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and many other types of chronic illnesses.

Serving size vs. Portion

A serving is what can be found on a food product’s food label, or Nutrition Facts, on the side of the package. It’s a suggestion of how much you should eat from that particular food product. Each product has different serving sizes and uses various measurements, such as cups, grams, ounces, slices, or pieces. There’s also a serving per container on the label which gives you an idea of how many servings are in the entire package.

A portion is the amount of food you eat per meal. It could be directly from the box, or how much food is on your plate at home or at a restaurant. More often, the portion of food you decide to consume won’t match the serving size provided for you on the food label.

Do you eat too much?

You all know what’s good for you and what isn’t; or what you should eat 80% of the time and what you can indulge in 20% of the time without feelings of guilt. The problem now, however, has become not what to eat, but how much should I eat? Even healthy foods should be eaten in moderation.

How much food you can consume at each meal is different from one person to the next based on age, gender, weight, metabolism and how active that person is. If you work out regularly, you’ll need more calories than someone who leads a sedentary lifestyle. Or if you’re in your twenties, your metabolism will be working faster than someone in their fifties, which means you can eat larger portions without worrying as much.

Here are a few tips to help you quickly figure out your portion sizes both at home and on the go:

• Use smaller dishes. It may sound simple, but you’ll be amazed at how easily your brain accepts that you’re eating less. And you won’t even feel you’re doing it.

• Use your plate as a measuring tool. For example, if you’re eating salad, that should take up ½ your plate. Protein and complex carbs should take about a quarter of your plate. And if you’re eating foods high in fats, that should only be ½ a tablespoon.

• Use your hands. It’s not an exact science, but the size of your hands usually corresponds to the size of your body. So, protein should be roughly the size of 1 palm for women and 2 palms for men; vegetables and foods rich in carbs should be about a fistful for women and 2 fistfuls for men; high-fat foods should be about the size of a thumb for women and 2 thumbs for men.

• Avoid eating straight from the container. Measure out the serving size in a bowl instead.

• Always start each meal with a glass of water.

• Avoid eating while standing up or while you’re being distracted by something, as a phone call or the TV

• Stop eating when you notice you feel full

• Always focus on how your food looks, smells, tastes as you purposefully chew each bite. Practicing mindfulness will help you reevaluate your relationship with food. It will also feel full quicker, and most importantly, satiated and content.

The bottom line is that it’s important to have a healthy relationship with food. Just like in any relationship, neither side should have the upper hand. There should be a sense of balance and respect without that negative hold that food can sometimes have on you.  

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”

— Ernestine Ulmer

Intermittent fasting

I adhere to an eating window that falls between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM most of the time.

Long before I ever knew there was a term for it, I had been intermittent fasting. I began this process as a rebellious teen who just hated eating breakfast food, at the acceptable breakfast hour. By the time I was 16 both Gram and my Mother had given up fighting the breakfast battle, and I was on my way to skipping lunch as well, most days.

Little did either of them know, but that was the beginning of a pattern of eating that I thought of as a lifestyle choice. Now that it has its own name, it’s much easier for me to describe to people and I receive fewer eye rolls and more questions about how to do it long term.

There are benefits to intermittent fasting, like weight loss and cellular repair, that make it popular. What I have always found beneficial was not having to plan, shop, cook, or clean-up after an extra meal or two every day.  

Just like any other eating regimen, intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone. But it is simple, and it usually only takes a week or two to make the transition from how you eat now. After a few short weeks, you should begin to see physical changes, greater focus, and more time in your schedule. Depending on your overall health you may want to clear this with your doctor first.

I hope you find this post beneficial and will share it with your family and friends.  

For additional information, you may want to check out this post by Mayo Oshin.

11 Lessons Learned from 4 Years of Intermittent Fasting: The Good and Bad.

How Exercise Increases Energy And Vitality

One of the most prized things among seniors and, likewise, one of the hardest things to achieve is a renewed sense and feeling of youth. Energy, vitality, and physical agility are difficult to hold on to as we age, but not impossible with exercise.

When you introduce healthy and positive habits into your regular routine, you can begin feeling younger and have greater energy in no time. By maintaining both a physically and socially active lifestyle you can greatly improve your overall quality of life during your golden years, making them feel truly golden.

Boost your confidence and mood

While exercise is just a small chunk of recovery, it provides a host of health benefits that aren't just physical. In fact, engaging in exercise on a consistent basis has been found to improve mood, increase happiness, and boost productivity! Who knew that hitting the gym a few times a week could be as effective as a therapy session?

In addition, exercise has been known to make individuals feel a sense of calm and relief. This control helps them deal with their everyday challenges without getting overwhelmed. If you're looking for ways to improve your self-development and seek happiness, check out why and how exercise is a great tool to implement into your recovery routine.

1. Get a proven mood boost with exercise 

When you exercise, your brain releases dozens of hormones that contribute to your happiness. Of those hormones, endorphins and serotonin are the primary ones. 

The hormones regulate your mood and help you to balance your emotions. In fact, healthy doses of serotonin increase your happiness! Because of this biological boost, many doctors suggest engaging in some form of physical activity to increase the production of these hormones.

2. Feel more confident

Sure, exercising on a regular basis and eating well contribute to a nice physical appearance. That's partly one of the main reasons why people exercise so often. However, did you know that regular exercise can make you feel confident, productive, and accomplished.  

Exercise isn't an easy task. If it was, more people would enjoy doing it. But, by pushing yourself to overcome your physical limitations and hit the gym, you give yourself an immediate boost of confidence. 

Tackling those heavy weights or finally being able to run a mile on the treadmill are awesome accomplishments you can be proud of. And as you continue going, your strength and stamina will increase. This will make better equipped to tackle other challenges in and out of the gym.

3. You feel better about yourself

When you aren't happy with your outward appearance, it's hard to feel confident on a regular basis. Exercise not only improves your strength; it also improves how you look physically. When you begin to see progress, you begin to feel a sense of success and confidence.

Having a healthy sense of self-confidence helps you to develop lasting relationships with others and yourself. You're automatically happier which obviously results in an increased mood. 

“Aging is not ‘Lost Youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”

— Betty Friedan

Choosing exercise that fits your abilities and lifestyle

There are countless different forms of exercise such as cycling, kickboxing, yoga, CrossFit, Zuu workouts and so many more. When it comes to choosing a type of exercise to stay active, most people think of the popular and fancy workouts like Zumba, P90X, etc.

Little thought is given to walking as a form of exercise. It is often disparaged and thought of as an activity that is reserved for senior citizens. However, there are many health benefits that can be gained from walking daily.

It’s one of the best exercises on the planet, it needs no special equipment, and our bodies have evolved over centuries to benefit from regular walks.

1.   The impact on your body is low

Walking is a low-impact activity that won’t wear out your joints. Unlike running, kickboxing or other high-impact activities that can make your joints ache, walking is a lot more forgiving on your body.

2.   The low intensity nature allows it to be done daily

It’s a low-intensity exercise that will not tax your central nervous system like CrossFit or some of the more vigorous forms of exercise. With high intensity interval training (HIIT), you may need to take a one-day break after every workout because of the demands it places on your body. Walking is much more relaxing in comparison and can be done daily.

3.   The versatility is almost endless

Walking can be applied to many different areas in your life. You could easily walk to the mall and back, if it’s within walking distance or walk in the mall on a cold or rainy day. Driving to work? Park your car a block away and walk to your office.

There are social benefits when walking with a friend and you can inject a bit of competition to rev up the walk. The more you walk, the better.

Thousands of people wear Fitbits to track the number of steps they take daily. You’d easily meet your daily quota if you walked for 30 to 45 minutes a day.

4.   Walk your weight off

Walking may seem like a humble exercise, but it can help you lose the pounds if you’re consistent. Going for a 30 to 45-minute walk daily on an empty stomach will help your body tap into its fat stores for fuel because its low on glycogen.

This is a very effective way to lose weight. Thousands of people shirk exercise because they fear the exertion and exhaustion involved. Walking is easy enough to do and help you achieve your weight loss goal. It may take longer than more rigorous training methods, but you’ll still get there.

5.   Stress be gone

Walking will help you to relieve stress. This is especially true if you walk in a park or some picturesque setting. Walking allows you time to calm yourself and get in touch with your thoughts.

You do not need to focus on good form or train to failure like you would with resistance training. Walking is a natural form of movement and therapeutic to your soul. Walking will also aid in digestion and improve your blood circulation. It will improve your cardiovascular strength and boost your immune system.

If you walk in the sun, you’ll get your daily dose of vitamin D. Thousands of people are deficient in vitamin D and it causes them to feel lethargic and depressed. Walking will lift your moods by ensuring that you get natural vitamin D in your system. Don’t forget to wear your sunblock.

Conclusion

By now you’ll realize that walking is an activity that’s so useful it can’t be neglected. Even if you focus most of your training on hardcore activities like HIIT or weightlifting, on your off days, you can have an active rest day.

What that means is that you can go for a 30-minute walk and call it a day. The walking will help to soothe sore muscles because of the increased blood circulation, and it’s also light enough to not tax your body but still burn a few calories so that it’s easier to stay lean and fit.

I hope you found some useful information in this post. I would appreciate it if you share it with someone you care about.

Male Menopause Effects And Treatments

I wrote a post on female menopause a year ago. Since then I have had requests to address the so-called male menopause. Sure, out at the pub men may lightly joke about it with their buddies and everyone nervously laughs. Yet, not surprising is the fact that men don’t want to discuss this issue seriously with the same sons they had the birds and bees talk with. It is also not surprising that we women are just as reluctant to discuss menopause with our daughters.

Women don’t have a lock on hormonal effects within their body. Males also have hormones and can develop issues related to their hormones similar to those of women. One of these conditions is male menopause, also called andropause or androgen decline or simply low testosterone. The term male menopause is not accurate for the condition since nothing really pauses, it only slows down.

Men experience a variety of symptoms during male menopause including fatigue, weakness, depression, poor sleep, and sexual dysfunction. Menopause is very different in men and women because men never stop producing sperm and testosterone even if the counts are low. While women stop their hormone and egg production entirely, a healthy man can produce sperm usually his entire life.

Diagnosis

To diagnose this condition the doctor will perform a physical, ask about symptoms, and conduct tests to rule out other contributing conditions. Most likely, the doctor will test for testosterone levels to find out if the man is suffering from low testosterone, which can be treated as long as there aren’t any underlying conditions causing it like diabetes.

Treatment

If tests come back indicating a hormonal issue that isn’t happening alongside other conditions that can cause these symptoms the doctor may offer solutions such as diet and exercise, medications, or hormone replacement therapy.

Beginning

For most men, male menopause may start as early as 45 but it can happen at any age. Any male who feels uninterested in sex, tired, moody, and even depressed should first visit their doctor to rule out hormonal issues. Once that is ruled out then other treatments can be given.

What to do

First, it’s important to pay attention to your health always. If you notice changes you can’t easily explain away, it’s important to ask your primary care physician about them at your next yearly physical. Anything you notice regardless if it seems unimportant should be brought up with your doctor. Don’t allow your doctor to ignore the symptoms either.

Male menopause physical symptoms

The hormone testosterone helps the male body build muscles, have strong bones, healthy bone marrow and red blood cells. For this reason, dropping testosterone levels, which are part of male menopause, can cause havoc with those systems.

After a man reaches the age of 30 years, testosterone levels gradually decrease, falling an average of one percent each year.

·         Low Sex Drive – Are you, or your loved one, suffering from a low sex drive? Do you feel like it’s more trouble than it’s worth to initiate sex? Do you find yourself making excuses when it gets near bedtime to stay up so that your spouse doesn’t try? If you’re experiencing that, your doctor may have the answer via hormone treatments.

·         Erectile Dysfunction – There are ranges of dysfunction when it comes to getting and keeping an erection. Some men with hormone imbalances can’t get an erection at all, but others can early in the morning, and yet others simply cannot maintain their erection to complete the sex act.

·         Low Energy – Having trouble keeping your eyes open when you need them to be open? Don’t want to do the things you need to take care of yourself and others? Can’t get through a meeting without wanting to fall asleep? You may have a hormone or vitamin deficiency.

·         Low Muscle Mass – Testosterone builds muscle easier. A man with low testosterone will have low muscle mass and be weaker than normal. If you’re trying to exercise and nothing is happening, get a blood test to find out where you stand.

·         Increased Body Fat – Low muscle mass and other characteristics of the physical symptoms of male menopause can manifest as increased body fat too. Especially fat that gathers around the belly and breasts in men.

·         Hot Flashes – Yes, even men will get hot flashes when they’re hormones are not balanced properly. If you do get hot flashes that’s a great sign to get to the doctor to get a test and find out what can be done.

If you exhibit any of these physical symptoms, get help. Don’t hesitate to see your doctor, there are many treatment options available.

Male menopause mental symptoms

Dropping testosterone levels, which are part of male menopause, can cause mental symptoms too.

·         Depression and Sadness – A vitamin D and/or a B12 shortage can cause depression and sadness if you don’t get it treated and often comes together with low testosterone. Your doctor may want to do some blood tests to find out how to treat your depression and sadness.

·         Mood Disorders – A hormone imbalance may lead to mood disorders too. A mood disorder can be characterized as having up and down moods. Sometimes he may be happy and the next he’s exploding with anger.

·         Decreased Motivation – It’s hard to be motivated if you don’t feel well. If your energy is low, and your depression is high, you may experience low motivation to get things done. You may not be able to muster the strength to get motivated to do what you need to do.

·         Lowered Self- Confidence – Suffering from a lack of self-confidence can also be a symptom of male menopause. The main reason is the low testosterone, which seems to sap the confidence out of a man.

·         Difficulty Concentrating – Feeling foggy and an inability to focus and concentrate is another symptom of male menopause. Many things can cause or factor into having problems focusing and concentrating. Talk with your doctor to rule out specific issues and find the actual cause, as well as helpful treatments.

·         Difficulty Sleeping – If you have low energy, and are tired a lot, which may cause you to nap during the day, which then creates a circular situation where you can’t sleep at night. Hormone changes can affect sleep a lot.

Most of these mental symptoms can be controlled with diet, vitamins, exercise, and possibly hormone therapy. If it turns out to be another cause, it’s worth it to be examined by your doctor who will conduct tests to find out for sure what the problem is.

“Other people get moody in their forties and fifties - men get the male menopause. I missed the whole thing. I was just really happy.”

— Rik Mayall

What you can do about sexual issues

Many men experiencing male menopause end up having a very low sex drive, but even when they want to have sex, they have issues with completing the act due to the low quality of their erections. While these things are difficult to talk about there are several things that can be done to better the situation.

See your Doctor

The first place you should go if you have any type of sexual dysfunction is to your doctor. You may have a hormonal imbalance, but you may also have a problem that is more serious such as a heart condition. ED is the first sign for heart problems or other blood flow issues that may lead to heart attack or stroke.

Exercise more

After you get a clean bill of health from your doctor, start moving more. Try to exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes every day at a moderate to vigorous rate in a cardiovascular manner. Jogging, walking fast, jump rope, and rebounding are all great choices. If you’re out of shape, try water exercises.

Change your diet

If you’re overweight, it’s important to deal with that. Try to cut your calories so that you can lose weight. Many overweight men have low testosterone and have issues with sexual function. Try a low-fat, low-calorie diet. Keep your weight at a healthy range to maximize proper hormone production in your body.

Meditation

Some men have sexual issues due to stress and anxiety. Being stressed increases the level of cortisol in your blood, which increases belly fat, which increases your chances of cardiovascular issues. This often shows up first as erectile dysfunction. Meditating daily can help you calm yourself and focus on something else other than the circular thoughts that accompany stress and anxiety. You can find guided meditations on YouTube and even some podcasts to help you succeed.

Medication

There are medications that can help you get an erection such as Viagra. These are only available by prescription and are not usually covered by health insurance. They are very expensive and may not be safe for everyone.

7 Male menopause natural remedies

Men often experience testosterone levels dropping starting in their 40’s or 50’s. If it’s this natural progression, there are natural treatments that you can pursue to treat yourself. Be sure to check with your doctor first.

·         Eat fruit and veggies – Fruit and vegetables are the best things you can eat if you’re experiencing any menopause symptoms. Produce is full of antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. They are also full of fiber, which is an important part of a healthy diet.

·         Replace fat with healthy fats – Try to keep your fat intake less than 30 percent and ensure that it’s all healthy fats. Fats that occur naturally in your food, such as those found in bananas and nuts, or from fruit like olives and coconuts are best. You can use nut oils if you’re not allergic but try to stick to fruit oils.

·         Add daily green tea – The Chinese swear by green tea so you should try it. It can’t harm you unless you find that caffeine affects you negatively. Buy a high-quality green tea and prepare it according to directions. Try to avoid using sugar for sweetening.

·         Don’t forget your Omega 3’s – Omega 3 fatty acids is a type of fat that is essential to the body. Your body cannot make them, so you must ingest them. You can get this fat from fish, vegetable oils, fruit oils, nuts, flax, and more. 

·         Avoid Additives – It’s best to avoid packaged food if you can because it has so many dangerous additives. Some of those additives are sweeteners, unhealthy fats, and preservatives. For some people, this can affect them a lot.

·         Take Specific Supplements – If you’re experiencing male menopause look into supplementing with zinc, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, vitamin B3, magnesium, Boron, and you can try Saw Palmetto Extract if you have erectile dysfunction (ED). Give it a a good six months before you give up. The effects of vitamins and minerals can be cumulative so it may take some time when you go this route. Check with your Doctor about taking more than the recommended doses.

·         Stay Hydrated – Drinking plenty of water helps your body process the vitamins and minerals that you need to be healthy. You need a minimum of 64 ounces of water each day and in some cases more if you’re exercising or live in a dry climate. 

Medical treatment options

If you’re looking for treatment options for male menopause, there are a few things that can be done. In most cases, you’re the one in complete charge of getting better. While there are some medical interventions, in most cases, lifestyle changes will produce additional results that make a significant difference.

Your doctor is your first line of information and treatment. Also, keep in mind that there is no cure for male menopause that is going to work overnight. It may take months to feel better so stick with it.

Medication therapy

There are medications that men can take that will help them overcome their issues. If they have erectile dysfunction medicines like Viagra can help. If you have other issues, the doctor may prescribe more medications to treat other conditions. Research every medication prescribed to ensure that you’re willing to live with the potential side effects first.

Testosterone replacement therapy

If you have low-T and you’ve tried other methods such as taking vitamins and minerals without success hormone replacement may be for you. However, if you have a family history of prostate cancer it may not be a good option for you. For men for whom hormone replacement therapy works they should see improvements relatively quickly compared to the other methods.

Thankfully, male menopause is treatable. It’s not something a man has to live with for a lifetime like with female menopause, which is the end of the egg and hormone production time for her. A healthy man can be treated with exercise, diet, and hormones and get back much of his vibrancy including sexual function.

If you are interested in knowing something of Female Menopause take a look at

https://www.joycearussell.com/blog/managing-your-life-and-symptoms-during-menopause

I know this is one of those topics many are squeamish about. But being too embarrassed to acknowledge and discuss a condition most of us, both men and women face in our middle years does us and our children a disservice.

I hope you found this post enlightening and valuable. Please share it with your family and friends.

How To Avoid Catching A Cold Or Flu

Much of what you will read in this new series will seem familiar. That’s because regardless of what you call her; Grandmother, Granny, Nana, Grandma, or Gram like I called mine and my Grandson calls me, she gave us similar advice. Some of it remembered and some or much is forgotten. Yes, and the truth is as the years or a generation passes by some things change, but some things don’t. What I offer here is very basic information about those things that remain the same.

Something my Gram told me

The 2 simplest and most effective ways to skip the cold and flu season:

1.     Wash your hands, a lot.

2.     Do not touch your face with your hands.

Unless you never leave your home, you have no idea who has touched the counter you picked up your coffee from or the change you received when you paid for it. Money is filthy and many unknown hands touch it. What, you used your debit card. How about that keypad you swiped and entered your pin into? Who was the last person to use it before you?

Your hands and face are the perfect vehicle to pick up cold and flu germs. Everyone should be carrying a hand sanitizer when leaving the house.

Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings.

Publius Syrus

Dress Appropriately

Keeping your head covered when you go outside and your feet dry goes a long way toward helping you maintain your wellness.

Keep surfaces at home sanitary

When you and your children come home do backpacks, handbags, or shopping bags end up on the kitchen table or island? Where have they been? If you aren’t sure or even if you are, once they are removed use a sanitizer on those surfaces before preparing or eating dinner. (I like a fifty-fifty preparation of hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle.) Don’t forget to spray Lysol on those backpacks frequently.

Our bathrooms especially a shared bathroom is another room with surfaces we all touch. Faucets, counter, drinking glass, toilet. All these surfaces need to be sanitized more often during cold and flu season. (If someone has caught a cold or the flu, replace toothbrushes.) 

Last but not least don’t forget to wipe down door knobs, remote controls for TV or games, and light switches.

Doing the laundry

If everyone in the home is healthy your laundry routine is likely to be more than adequate. When illness visits the house it is time to step up that routine. Whoever does the laundry is vulnerable to catching and passing any illness in the house. So wash those hands.

Launder the clothing and bedding of the sick person more frequently and alone if possible. Pre-wash with a laundry sanitizer before running it through a normal cycle. Use the warmest water temperature the fabric will accommodate and the same when you put it in the dryer. If you live in a climate where you are able to hang your laundry out that’s even better as the sun is a great germ killer.

If you know anyone who would benefit from the information in this post please share it.