Health Blog

A healthy body and a sound mind

Fitness For Your Mind, Body, And Soul

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If you aren’t integrating fitness into each and every day you are missing out on something that can make you feel great inside and out. Fitness isn’t just something that helps you build muscles or lose weight, it can do great things for your mind, help you be more focused, give you more energy, and strengthen your entire body.

It depends on what type of workouts you do on what it can do for you. If you are doing cardio, not only will you start to lose weight and gain muscle tone, but you will also be helping your heart and lungs be more healthy. If you are doing yoga, you are giving your mind and soul a workout while also building muscle and strengthening your core, among other things. [Read more…]

Health Benefits To Being A Pet Owner

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Portrait of a woman with her beautiful dog lying outdoors

If you already have a furry companion you know how much happiness your pet brings to your daily life.  No matter how bad your day was you know that when you get home your pet will always greet you with a smile and unconditional love as soon as you enter the door.  Besides making a bad day a little better, owning a pet has health benefits too.  From decreasing stress to improving your mood, your pet can improve your health.

Lowers Blood Pressure And Reduces Stress

Have you ever noticed that just being around your pet makes you feel better?  Lisa Fields, a contributor for WebMD, notes that petting your animal makes you feel good and “It can lower your blood pressure, helps your body release a relaxation hormone, and cuts down on levels of a stress hormone.”

Eases Pain

Pets can be a great medicine when a person is dealing with chronic pain such as migraines or arthritis.  One study found that people who use some form of pet therapy while recovering from surgery need significantly less pain medication than those who do not.

Mood Booster

Many of the health benefits of owning a pet may stem from the mental and emotional benefits.  Pets are used in various forms of therapy for this very reason.  Dogs are used to help people with anxiety issues as well as helping veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Helps People Socialize And Exercise

Owning a dog can actually increase a person’s opportunities to socialize and be more active.  Since dogs need to be walked to reduce certain behavioral issues (like digging) the simple act of getting some fresh air and walking your dog can be a great opportunity to socialize with your neighbors as well as get active yourself.

Helps With Childhood Development

Children who grow up with pets can benefit in many ways.  Having an emotional attachment to a pet along with the responsibility of taking care of a pet can help a child develop an emotional connection with animals as well as teach them about responsibilities.  Pets can also be beneficial to children who have autism and ADHD.

Monitor Blood Sugar Levels And Prevent Strokes

According to the American Diabetes Association, a study found that one-third of pets (dogs, cats, bird and rabbits) living with diabetics would change their behavior when their owner’s blood sugar level dropped.  Also owning a pet, particularly a cat can be beneficially in cardiovascular health.  Studies have shown that if you own a cat, you are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack and 40 percent less likely to have a stroke.

So make sure you are taking care of that pet of yours.  Make sure to give your animal lots of love and exercise and keep that pet healthy.  Look for a great vet and pet insurance to keep your furry friend healthy, because they are keeping you healthy too.

5 Cases Where Mental and Physical Mindfulness Help With Recovery

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When there’s a drastic event in your life, often regardless of whether it’s a negative one or not, there’s often a period of stress and recovery involved. And if you only do the things that you normally do, there isn’t a way to really push for the balance that you’re going to need in order to get back to your physical and mental center. And that’s where a certain additional type of mindfulness can help you out.

Five cases where this type of mindfulness can help out, in particular, would be with addiction recovery, the loss of a loved one, getting a new job, moving to a new area, or even dealing with empty nest syndrome after your kids have moved out of your house, for instance.

Addiction Recovery

You’ll often notice that when it comes to addiction recovery, mindfulness exercises are often advertised as a cornerstone of the process of rehabilitation. Part of the reason behind this is that mindfulness can be associated with almost any activity, and deepens the experience and it’s impact. Additionally, mindfulness can both be mental (focusing on one thing at a time) and physical (focusing on the breath or the body).

The Loss of a Loved One

When you love a loved one, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll go through the grieving process. During this process, if you remain mentally and physically mindful, by paying close attention to real time sensory input, it can be a huge help in terms of efficiently moving through all of the stages. Every person is going to go through them differently, but the simply act of focus will help out in almost all cases.

Getting a New Job

Getting a new job, though often a great step forward in life, can be extremely stressful. There are new people, new expectations, and new habits that you’ll be expected to absorb. Using physical and mental mindfulness will help you keep stress at a manageable levels, often through variations on the idea of walking meditations

Moving To a New Area

When you’re moving your primary residence, especially if it’s to a new state or a new cultural area, it’s important to be mindful of several things. In particular, you want to make sure that you pay attention to the social norms of your new neighbors. The last things you want to do is commit some social faux pas because you simply weren’t paying attention!

Empty Nest Syndrome

If you’re a parent and your kids have finally all left the house, there’s going to be a feeling of emptiness that immediately follows. The point of mindfulness during that stage is going to be reassessing who you are as a person, and it can be both incredibly stressful and incredibly satisfying in the end.

Five Things You Should Be Doing To Keep Your Brain Happy And Healthy

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While you can do almost anything you want to ensure you’re smart and you keep your head safe, like wearing helmets when you ride motorcycles or bicycles, there are things that can happen to damage your brain, or your spine, and cause you permanent issues. Things happen, but rather than dwell on what might be, do what you can right now to keep your brain healthy and happy.

Eating Brain Healthy Foods

The first step to keeping your brain healthy is to eat foods that help promote brain health. Think healthy eating and you’ll pretty much come across an array of foods that are great for your brain. [Read more…]

Five Ways To Beat Stress And Anger

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Stress and anger can live together in your mind and body, and, together or apart, they can cause loads of issues, internally and externally. In fact, stress can literally kill you. Chronic stress can lead to heart disease and other health problems.

For some people, stress is simply a daily occurrence. They may be stressed at work, where they feel like they are always putting more in than they are getting out. They could be feeling stress at home, because there never seems to be enough money to pay the bills. There are a million things to stress about, and to make anyone angry on a daily basis. [Read more…]

How to Set Goals by Future Self Journaling

When you think of your future self, you may imagine someone that has it all. They may have the house, the car, the savings account, and the job you’ve always wanted. Even though imagined goals you’ve set may be down the line, you don’t have to act like it. Future self journaling is writing to […]