You only get one set of teeth, and fixing them is more expensive than keeping them healthy. So treat your teeth well. Here are some mistakes you might not even be aware of but that you could easily accidentally be making.
Do you feel like stress and anxiety are ruling your life? If so, you're not alone. Millions of people around the world suffer from these conditions on a daily basis. While there are many medications available to help treat stress and anxiety, they often come with unwanted side effects. This blog post will discuss four natural ways to beat your stress and anxiety without using medication. These techniques have been shown to be effective for many people and can help you get your life back under control!
Imagine if your home blended naturally into the surrounding environment. Not only would you have more space, but you’d be able to live in a more natural way. You wouldn’t be cooped up indoors all day long. Instead, you’d be out in the open air, catching a few rays and listening to the sound of birds.
For this reason, indoor-outdoor spaces have become tremendously more popular. These days, hardly a single luxury home neglects them.
The form they take can be quite different. Some are, for all intents and purposes, outdoor living rooms, equipped with fireplaces, chairs, recliners, sofas and coffee tables. Others are dining rooms, usually under some sort of shade, while the most extravagant attempts to bring the kitchen outside as well.
If you’re on the fence about indoor-outdoor living, then this post may help to change your mind. We discuss some of the benefits that such arrangements bring and how they can help you live a better, more fulfilling life at home. Here’s what you need to know:
It Makes It Easier To Have a Staycation
Getting away on vacation is not only expensive, but it can be physically difficult as well, thanks to all the international restrictions in place. For that reason, many people are turning to their own backyard, often quite literally, to make the most of their time off from work.
There are many ways that you could give your outdoor spaces more of a vacation feel. One obvious idea is to add a pool. Here, you can mimic what it would be like to be sitting around a hotel pool, enjoying the sunshine and warm air.
Some people turn their outdoor spaces into spas. These are over under cover, just next to their sliding patio doors.
You could also invest in a sunroom. These allow you to experience the warmth of the sun but, at the same time, protect you against the cool breeze. They’re similar to greenhouses.
It Gives You More Options When Entertaining Guests
Standing around with your guests in the kitchen or sitting with them in the living room is okay in the depths of winter. But when the summer arrives, people want to be outside, enjoying themselves in the fresh air.
While a patio will suffice, having a bespoke indoor-outdoor area can make the whole experience so much more enjoyable for your guests. First, you can physically accommodate more people. You might only be able to fit twenty guests into your home itself, but you might have space to entertain fifty outside.
You can also take advantage of outdoor kitchens. These allow you to prepare food and service drinks to guests outside, without having to run in every five minutes to check on your cooking.
Modern outdoor kitchens actually rival those you find on the inside of your home. These days, they’re much more than just BBQs built into a countertop with a few cabinets. Instead, they come with running water, sink with plumbing, dedicated gas lines, and even pizza ovens. What’s more, they’re all protected by suitable roofing and come with options that let you batten down the hatches when the weather turns bad.
It Increases The Value Of Your Home
As discussed in the introduction, indoor-outdoor living is in high demand. Everyone wants to experience it.
Because of this, homes that offer functional exterior spaces are worth more than equivalent properties that don’t. Buyers want opportunities to go outside and enjoy being in nature because they know that it’s good for their health and wellbeing.
Buyers are also looking for properties that offer space. Therefore, if your home doesn’t have much interior square footage, you can add to it in a practical sense by expanding into your garden. What’s more, creating outdoor space is a significantly less costly way to increase your home’s value than adding a conventional extension.
Remember, when it comes to buying a new home, buyers want you to wow them. It doesn’t actually matter how you do this, whether with giant interior rooms at your property, or by increasing the space available to you outside. Remember, something as simple as adding a patio or veranda could be the difference between a buyer choosing your property and the next-best alternative.
It Is Good For Your Health
The average person only spends around 15 minutes per day outside in the open air. Unfortunately, that’s bad for our individual and collective wellbeing. If we’re constantly in built environments, it separates us from nature which is so beneficial.
For instance, NIH studies show that being in nature may help improve your cognition and memory. You may be able to think more clearly and better recall what people have said to you.
Being outside may also reduce stress, something that researchers refer to as “biophilia.” Our natural love of the outdoors appears to have a powerful effect on how our secretory hormones in the brain work, reducing the level of cortisol in the body. It’s one of the reasons why most people feel better after a weekend of camping, even if they’ve been sleeping on the uncomfortable ground.
It Expands Your Living Space
We’ve already alluded to this perk above, but it’s worth repeating. Building an indoor-outdoor area expands your living space. It gives your home more square footage and can make even a small chalet feel considerably larger.
The current trend is towards “multi-use” spaces. Homeowners, for instance, are trying to create “rooms” outdoors that can fulfill all the functions of spaces inside their homes.
With some clever architectural tricks, outdoor living areas can also blend effortlessly into the rest of the home. Creating a common theme between the indoor and outdoor space creates unity and ensures that everything makes visual sense.
Some property owners, for instance, keep the indoor and outdoor floor heights the same, eliminating any need to step down. Others use sliding glass panels for doors that make it feel like indoor and outdoor spaces are one and the same. When there are minimal visual boundaries, outdoors areas feel like a natural expansion of your home.
Try Guided Imagery
The great thing about guided imagery is that it is a vacation for your mind. You need to try and imagine yourself somewhere happy, whether it is being on a beach or even listening to the sound of the waves as they crash against the shore. You can do guided imagery with a recording, and if you do this someone will be talking you through the steps you can take to get to your happy place. You can also do it alone and with your own thoughts. Either way, if you can do things like this, then you will soon find that it is easier for you to achieve a true sense of peace. Guided imagery can also help you to become more present and in the moment, and this is very good to say the least.
Meditate and Focus on Yourself
Meditation is ideal if you want to try and take advantage of short-term stress relief. It can also provide you with a ton of benefits. There are many types of meditation out there and each type can give you many benefits. It may be that you develop a mantra where you take slow and deep breaths or that you simply take a few minutes to practice mindfulness every day. Either way, if you can pay attention to what you can hear, see and smell, then this will help you to get into the right mindset. When you are focused on the here and now you may find that you become less focused on what is going on all around you, and this can work in your favour more than you realise.
Learn the Technique of Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation helps you with every muscle in your body. If you want to practice this kind of relaxation, then you will start by taking a couple of deep breaths. You can then focus on relaxing every muscle group in your body. You will need to start with your forehead and then you will need to move right down to your toes. If you follow this practice, then you will need to learn how to recognise the tension that you feel, and you will also need to take steps to counter this. If you can do this, then you will soon find that things end up working out for you and that the stress melts away. Although steps like this can help you to unwind, it’s also important that you deal with the source of your stress. If you have a family member who you are looking after, and this is too hard for you, look into long-term senior care. If you have a child who is ill, consider seeking external support.
Take a Walk
Exercise is a brilliant way for you to relieve stress and the best thing about it is that it only takes a few minutes to reap the benefits. Taking a walk gives you the chance to enjoy a range of scenery and this can get you in a good frame of mind. It doesn’t matter whether you take a stroll around your office or whether you are just seeking a break from an infuriating task because walking is one of the best ways for you to rejuvenate your mind and your body. It also gives you the chance to soak up your surroundings as well, so keep that in mind.
Give a Hug
Physical touch can work wonders if you want to relieve stress. Giving a hug, or receiving one from a loved one can help you to feel the stress melt away. When you hug someone, you will get a boost of oxytocin, this is known as the cuddle hormone. This is associated with way higher levels of happiness, and you may find that you experience less stress as a result. This also causes a huge reduction in blood pressure, so if this is something that you tend to struggle with, it’s wise for you to keep this in mind.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is one of the best ways for you to feel energised. You may even find that it helps you to feel more relaxed and that it helps you to feel in the present moment more. Emerging research has shown that certain scents can change your brain wave activity and it can also help you to dramatically decrease stress. It doesn’t matter whether you enjoy candles or body products because good smells are certainly one of the best ways for you to get the biggest benefits.
Get Creative
Getting in touch with your more creative side might have been easy when you were a child, but if you don’t feel as though that is the case anymore, then now is the time for you to change that. If you feel as though you have lost your penchant for art, then it is never too late for you to try and pick it up again. If you do not feel into drawing or painting then you should consider picking up an adult colouring book. Colouring is one of the greatest stress relievers out there and you may find that it helps you to move past the stress you are experiencing. Try and find something that appeals to you and then use it to your advantage. If you can do this, then you will soon find that things work in your favour.
Eat a Good Diet
A good diet can help you to have a lower reaction to stress overall. Emotional eating and choosing to go for foods that are high in both fat and sugar might give you a temporary sense of relief, but it will do nothing but cause you more stress in the long term. Consuming a good diet can help you to eliminate stress as well. Some of the best foods out there can include eggs, avocado and even walnuts. This will help you to support mood regulation and it can also help you with balancing your energy more. If you need some help with your diet, then you might want to consult a dietician. When you do this, you can then count on them to give you the help and advice you need to make good decisions.
Make Time for Fun
Leisure activities can be a very good way for you to eliminate stress. That being said, some people feel as though they are just far too busy to have fun through hobbies or even games. If you can build it into your routine however, then you may find that you are able to reap the benefits in no time at all. You should try and get your family involved in your fun as well if you can because if you do, then you may be able to help them to unwind and you can also support their mental health. If you can, find something that interests everyone so you can make a really good day out of it. This is a fantastic way for you to reap the benefits.
What Are The Best Ways To Practise Self-Care?
Self-care offers many benefits, making it important to prioritize. Indeed, it helps to improve your physical health while reducing stress and the risks of developing anxiety and depression. What's more, it boosts your confidence and self-esteem, leading to happier relationships and increased daily productivity. It's no wonder that WHO considers self-care as an effective aspect of national health systems. Here are some helpful ways you can prioritize self-care.
Prioritize exercise
An inexpensive yet effective way to practice self-care is to exercise daily. Regular exercise comes with many perks that improve your life significantly. It triggers changes in the brain parts that regulate anxiety and stress, for starters. Besides, it boosts the production of endorphins that induces positive feelings while increasing your brain's sensitivity to norepinephrine and serotonin, which combats depression. Furthermore, it increases your energy levels, tones your muscles, and aids weight loss. That said, you'd want to include working out in your daily routine if you haven't already.
Fortunately, several workouts are specifically designed to address certain areas, so keep this in mind. For instance, exercises like walking, gardening, dancing, pilates, and circuit training effectively reduce stress. Likewise, push-ups, lunges, sit-ups, arm raises, etc., are effective at toning your muscles. As a tip, choose the activities that you're comfortable with to prevent working out from becoming a chore. You can also get a workout partner to make the experience more enjoyable.
Don’t skip sleep
Sleep is a crucial aspect of daily life that helps your mind and body recharge. This leaves you feeling refreshed and mentally alert for the day. Besides, people who have enough sleep are less prone to illnesses and chronic diseases and can maintain a healthy weight. What's more, good sleep helps you make better decisions, as your mind is more active. Therefore, you might be doing yourself more harm if you haven't been sleeping well. The CDC recommends that adults sleep for at least seven hours nightly.
Fortunately, you can take practical steps to ensure that you don't skip sleep. For instance, it's best to avoid consuming caffeine late in the day, as it can stimulate your nervous system, preventing your body from relaxing. You also want to avoid taking long daytime naps if it constantly messes with your night sleep. As a tip, prepare your room by decluttering and reducing noise. By all means, avoid using your smart devices before sleeping, as they emit blue light that prevents you from falling asleep.
Go for regular check-ups
Your health is paramount, and going for regular check-ups is a sure way of ensuring your wellbeing. Regular check-ups help you detect and treat potentially life-threatening diseases earlier. Moreover, it limits complication risks by constantly monitoring existing conditions, increasing your lifespan ultimately. Routine check-ups depend on your age; people aged 19-21 can go once every two to three years, while those aged 22-64 can go once every one to three years. Adults aged 65 and above can go once annually for the best results. Therefore, it's best to consult with your OBGYN and other health providers to create a suitable check-up routine for you.
Daily Routines of Successful People
If you want to become more successful, daily routines can help. Just
look at some of the most successful people in the world and you’ll see the one
thing they have in common is they follow a strict routine.
The question is, what does a daily routine of a successful person look like? To give you inspiration, below you’ll discover some great examples of what successful people include in their routines.
Start With a Morning Routine
One of the main things that successful people have in common, is that they all have a morning routine, as well as afternoon routines, and evening routines. It might not be the exact same routine, but they do have one that they follow religiously.
Interestingly, you’ll also find that successful people tend to wake up earlier than most. It isn’t uncommon for them to start their day anywhere from 3.30am to 5am. This gives them time to carry out their routines and it is also the time they feel most productive.
Limit Social Media
Prioritize Important Tasks First
Successful people know how to work smarter. They take care of the important tasks first, ensuring they aren’t as stressed out throughout the day. When you get the important tasks done first, you will feel much more relaxed and more proud of your accomplishments.
Practice Gratitude
A lot of successful people regularly practice gratitude. I know what you’re thinking “it’s easy to practice gratitude when you are already successful.” However, these people were also practicing gratitude before they made it big. By focusing on the things that you are grateful for, it creates positivity. This in turn helps to boost productivity, helping you to achieve much more in your day.
Exercise Daily
Exercise is another key factor to success. When you exercise regularly, it keeps your brain more focused and alert. You’ll have much more energy helping you to deal with whatever your day throws at you. Many people choose to exercise early in the morning to get it out of the way, and to get a great energy boost.
These are just a few of the things you’ll find included in the daily routines of successful people. By looking at how you spend your time, you can figure out what your daily routine should include and you will begin the journey to success, just as the most successful people did.
