Aug 18

How To Fall Asleep Fast

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Here’s how to start snoozing more quickly at night   When you’re busy and on the go, you’ll naturally start getting tired as the day wears on. That’s perfectly normal — in fact, that’s how our bodies work. “We have a sleep drive that builds up the longer we’re awake,” says sleep medicine expert Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM. “By the end of the day, that sleep drive — or pressure for sleep — is high.” However, each of us has what’s called an “internal sleep rhythm,” or circadian rhythm. This rhythm varies from person to person, and represents the time when our body and mind start relaxing and winding down for the day. “This internal rhythm influences when we start to feel sleepy,” says Dr. Drerup. “Some people might identify more as night owls, meaning they don’t get sleepy until much later. Other people are more early birds.”   How long should it take you to fall asleep? You won’t typically fall asleep right away, even a couple of minutes after your head hits the pillow. And if you do conk out quickly, that’s a sign you’re probably sleep-deprived and not snoozing enough at night. “If they don’t have any […]
Aug 17

5 Awesome Abs Exercises To Sculpt Your Core

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If you don’t already have a go-to core routine, here are the five best exercises for sculpting strong abs, from trainers.   1. Plank How to: Start on the floor on hands and knees with hands directly under shoulders. Step feet back, one at a time. (For more stability, bring feet wider than hip-distance apart, and bring them closer for more of a challenge.) Maintain a straight line from the top of head through heels, gaze down just above fingertips. Now, tighten abs, quads, glutes, and hold. Think about digging through your heels, squeezing your quads, and keeping everything nice and tight. (If you feel your body shake, that’s a good sign you’re creating enough tension from head to toe.) Hold the position for 30 to 60 seconds.   2. Side Plank Lay on left side with left forearm flat on the floor, elbow lined up directly under shoulder and both legs stacked and extended out in a long line. Option to raise right arm to ceiling or rest on right side of body. Press into left forearm, lifting hips off of the floor and balancing on forearm with your opposite hip in the air. Body should make a straight […]
Aug 16

How to Start Exercising Again When It’s Been…a While

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Getting back to working out after a break isn’t as easy as dusting off your sneakers and renewing your gym membership. If you’re wondering how to start exercising again and feel overwhelmed about where to even begin, well, that’s totally valid. First things first: Know that it’s completely okay that you had to pause your exercise routine in the first place, Teddy Savage, CPT, a Baltimore-based national lead trainer for Planet Fitness, tells SELF. Life happens, and “fitness journeys can start and stop and restart again,” he says. So instead of beating yourself up because your three-times-a-week cardio habit fell by the wayside, celebrate the fact that you’re taking steps to start working out again—and yes, reading this article counts as a step. To help you navigate your re-entry into fitness, we tapped exercise pros for their advice on establishing a routine that is safe, effective, and actually enjoyable. From how to build a workout plan, to the importance of setting realistic fitness goals, to simple tips for reducing injury risk—and a whole lot more—here’s the intel you need to get back on track with a good workout groove. No matter your current fitness level or the amount of time […]
Aug 15

7 Reasons To Cycle Every Day, And Who Should Avoid It?

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Do you go out to cycle every day? Find out how this activity can benefit your mind and body, and also protect and promote the environment.   Why Should You Cycle? Cycling is said to be a must-do activity for people who want to stay physically active, but without having to go to the gym. Unlike many other exercises that can be boring, cycling is a form of cardio that is enjoyed by children and adults alike. It can release stress and tension after a long day at work by working on various muscles in the body, while also ensuring the strength of the bones. Cycling is great for the mind, body and soul. Scroll down to know more about its health and environmental benefits.   1. Improves Cardiovascular Health As mentioned earlier, regular cycling can strengthen your heart and lungs, and reduce the risk of heart diseases and stroke.   2. Boosts Mental Health Cycling releases endorphins, which can help alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression, and boost your mental health and well-being.   3. Muscle Strength, Flexibility Cycling works multiple muscle groups to improve and increase overall muscle tone and flexibility.   4. Weight Management Cycling can also keep […]
Aug 14

Maintaining health while working from home: 8 tips

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Working from home can be beneficial in many ways, but it can also present several physical, mental, and social challenges. Health tips for those working from home include wellness fundamentals, such as eating a nutritious diet and getting regular exercise. However, it is also important to address the psychological and social challenges of remote working, such as loneliness and blurred lines between a person’s job and home life. In this article, we explore how to maintain optimal wellness while working from home.   Challenges of working from home While remote working has advantages, it also comes with an array of challenges. These include: feelings of isolation trouble staying motivated having to manage disruptions finding a work-life balance avoiding burnout difficulty maintaining healthy eating habits difficulty getting the recommended level of physical activity   Importance of staying home During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of those who are able to do their job remotely are working from home. Staying at home as much as possible greatly reduces a person’s exposure to the novel coronavirus. Consequently, it is key to lowering the risk of contracting the virus and preventing it from spreading. Some people may have viewed working from home as a luxury […]
Aug 13

5 Beginner Meditations To Help You Relax & Sleep Better

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To-do lists, fears and anxieties, and general discomforts have an annoying way of showing up in our lives right when it’s time for bed. Thankfully, there are plenty of holistic remedies that can help counteract racing thoughts that just get faster when the lights go out. When relaxation is your end goal, breath becomes your most important ally. Simply taking deeper, more controlled breaths can be enough to lower your cortisol levels, since breathing into the diaphragm can stimulate the vagus nerve, which kickstarts your body’s parasympathetic response. This is known as the relaxation response, and it’s been studied pretty extensively. A 2008 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that older people with chronically high blood pressure were able to lower their SBP by an average of 9.4 points over eight weeks using mind-body relaxation techniques that employed the breath. Another in Psychoneuroendocrinology found that just 25 minutes of mindful meditation over a three-day span regulated participants’ cortisol response and reduced self-reported psychological stress. Below, an introduction to five meditation exercises that can help you use the power of the breath to relax and fall asleep more easily.   1. Use a guided meditation app If […]
Aug 12

6 chest exercises you can do at home without any equipment

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Here’s a workout tip for you: There’s no denying the appeal of a big, toned chest. Case in point: Jason Momoa’s unbelievable pectorals from Aquaman. But apart from being easy on the eye, a strong chest also helps you build overall upper body strength. Perhaps that’s why the bench at the gym is always so crowded. “By working on your chest, you will start building pushing strength, which will lead to improved functionality in day-to-day life activities like lifting a heavy bag overhead, pushing a broken-down car, etc.,” says Keerthan Naik, an internationally certified fitness and nutrition coach.   All you need to know about doing chest exercises at home, without any equipment   How effective are bodyweight chest workouts? It is possible to ditch weight training to work on your chest, although it might take longer for the results to be visible. “You should focus on doing more and more reps when performing bodyweight chest workouts,” says Naik, explaining how more repetitions can help in breaking down muscle fibre at the cellular level by taking it through a volume of work. He suggests doing a range of push up and dip variations to build a stronger chest at home. […]
Aug 11

How much should you exercise for a longer, healthier life? Study offers clues

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Many factors are involved when it comes to living a long and healthy life. Some factors like genetics and gender cannot be changed. However, many other habits, such as nutrition, physical activity, reducing stress, not smoking, and proper sleep, can be modified. A new study from researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland that is currently being peer-reviewed has found that while exercise is important to living a long life, following other healthy lifestyle habits may have an even greater impact.   Longevity: Exercise may not be a factor on its own Ms. Anna Kankaanpää, project researcher at the Gerontology Research Center in the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and lead author of this study, told Medical News Today she decided to study the correlation between leisure-time physical activity and mortality risk because a previous study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä suggested that the association may be due to genetic influences. “This finding contradicts results from a study involving Swedish twins, which found an association independent of genetic factors,” Kankaanpää continued. “I aimed to explore the reason for this discrepancy.” Also, in the study, the researchers discuss that while previous […]
Aug 10

5 Simple Ways Dance can Improve Mind, Body, and Soul

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“Little Mermaid” co-choreographer Tara Nicole Hughes helps you find your own rhythm. As we approach the end of May, also known as Mental Awareness Month, how much time have you really devoted to finding your own rhythm in the past few weeks? If you still haven’t got those endorphins flowing by taking up running, like you promised that you would, or felt the exhilaration of hitting a PR in the gym because “life” keeps taking over, then Tara Nicole Hughes may have the perfect solution for restoring harmony between your mind, body, and soul: Dance M&F Hers sat down with the co-choreographer of Disney’s new live action spectacular, “The Little Mermaid” to find out how those of us with two left feet should begin, and what benefits we can expect to receive from letting loose on the floor. We soon learned that whether it’s on the big screen, or in a safe space at home, dance is truly a gift.   Dance Is for Everyone In the same way that we take up any other form of exercise, every individual starts their dance journey from a different starting position. “I was born with pigeon toed legs,” says Hughes, who is […]
Aug 09

How to Create Your Own Muscle-Gain Workout Plan

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Trainers weigh in on how to design a weekly workout plan that promotes muscle growth.   If you’re trying to build more muscle, committing to an optimal weekly workout plan is key. For one thing, it’ll help you become more efficient at the gym since you’ll be focusing on exercises that are important to your goals. Plus, you’ll be able to avoid overworking your muscles by incorporating adequate rest, which will decrease your risk of injury and help you see real results. When it comes to building strength and gaining muscles, there are a few ways to do it. Read on for top trainers’ advice for crafting the ideal muscle-gain workout plan.   5 Days Per Week Muscle-Gain Workout Plan To encourage hypertrophy (increased muscle size), you’ll want to go with low reps of heavy weights. Rather than performing full-body strength workouts every day, follow a workout split that works different body parts on different days, suggests Autumn Calabrese, Beachbody trainer and creator of 21 Day Fix. (FYI, you won’t just build muscle: You’ll reap all the other benefits of lifting heavy weights too.)   Muscle Building Splits “When you break it up into specific body parts, it allows you […]
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