Why Travelling is Good for Your Health

Our brains are workhorses, constantly taking in information, processing and parcelling these out into actions. Although our minds are heavy-duty processors, repetitive information eventually wears down some functions like creativity and interest. Just like a CPU on limited processing power, our brains need to switch off in some areas in order to recharge.
In other words, our brains need a vacation too. What better way to take our minds away from the burdens of stress, mundanity, and repetition of our routines and daily demands than a vacation away from work and home.
Travelling is one of the best ways to boost mental health. Vacations away from our usual habitats give us the chance to reboot. With our minds exposed to new experiences and sensations, our stress levels and boredom get a huge kick aside, making way for creativity, curiosity, and wonderment to surface and refresh our mental wirings.

Travel Reduces Stress and Anxiety

One may love his job but the day-to-day stresses can kill the joy with a burnout. With high levels of chronic stress and anxiety, people can increasingly get disconnected with what they are doing. When this happens, the enjoyment they once felt at their jobs goes quickly down the drain of discontentment, boredom, and apathy.
It is important to switch off from the stressors for some time in order to recharge with a much needed vacation. Travelling can offer novel experiences that can positively shift the mind’s focus into other interesting occupations.
According to studies by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, those who chronically worked eleven or more hours a day instead of a regular eight, stood at higher risk of developing depression, even if they do not hold a record of prior mental health problems. When the mind is not given a reprieve from dealing with sameness everyday, it eventually gets mired in a psychological rut which bogs down one’s mental health and therefore, one’s overall well-being.

Travel Strengthens Relationships

Social interaction and deep personal relationships are necessities for emotional and mental well-being. Travelling can cause families and friends to bond over new shared experiences. New activities in a novel environment can put a spin on relationships that may not be achievable in one’s usual setting. The absence of the usual daily cares during travel may also help long-time couples focus on each other and get to know one another in a new way.
The solo traveller benefits friends and family too. One may come back recharged and in high spirits, thus lending himself as a better friend, co-worker, husband, or son.

Travel Improves Brain Resiliency

As one approaches his middle to senior years, it becomes even more important to exercise the brain by subjecting it to new experiences. Much like exercise maintains muscle flexibility and endurance, travelling, and other activities that stimulate the brain maintain its resiliency. Travelling enriches one’s life experiences and in doing so, it builds new synapses in the brain to keep it healthier and functioning well longer. Seeing new things, absorbing new cultures, and getting new sensations excites the brain and contributes to its well-being. In this case, taking regular annual vacations may actually help stave off degenerative brain diseases such Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Travel Improves Cognition

Because one is faced with a new environment when travelling, one needs to tap on skills of making new friends, explore, remember many new details, and make decisions outside one’s normal routine. All these intellectual activities flex the mental muscles of focus, awareness, memory, analysis, and creativity.

Travel Encourages Emotional Flexibility

Because travelling allows the mind to regard the world from different perspectives, it can impact attitudes. Glitches in travel plans such as itinerary changes and long flight delays can help one exercise patience and tolerance. Witnessing problems up-front which other people in other cultures have to endure may also cause one evaluate their perceptions of their own situation. Suddenly one’s own personal problems may seem miniscule to others’ conditions. The teenager who bemoans the fact that he cannot have the latest Air Jordans may suddenly deem himself lucky to own his big brother’s two- year-old hand-me-down kicks when he sees poor boys in a Third World country playing ball in bare feet. Such reframing of one’s perspectives may lessen the focus on the self and perhaps encourage a more people-oriented attitude and behaviour. Less focus on the self could well reduce depression and anxiety.
Since the word health usually conjures images of physical fitness, there is a huge tendency for many people to disregard mental health as a major component of overall well-being. As such, many do not see the value in taking a mental and emotional break by indulging in a vacation. You however now know the value of getting away for awhile. Consider travelling as a good investment for your mental health if you want to significantly improve your productivity, creativity, or even your positivity in life.

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Why We Need a Digital Detox

With the thrust towards a global economy, the world is increasingly becoming wired. Unplugging from this reality is certainly a challenge. Just as cars have become an integral part of modern life, the internet has become so much part of our lifestyle that most of us really cannot do without. Our cellphones, tablets, and computers seem like appendages that, when taken away, make us feel crippled like a fish out of water. This of course holds especially true for the generation that has grown up in an era where digital technology has become an integrated part of life.
What most of the wired generation do not realize however is that there is life outside the world of screens. Unplugging from time to time is necessary for a host of physical and mental health benefits. One needs to connect to nature; spend time with people in the flesh instead of an onscreen video; and engage in outdoor activities; all for the reasons of personal growth, health, and better productivity.

The Benefits of Unplugging

More Awareness and Appreciation of Life’s Moments

When people are focused on their cellphones or tablets, they are not present. They do not seem to be living in the now. That is because they are not. Absenteeism from the real world when one is tethered to their device causes the person to disengage from things happening in his environment. The more immersed an individual is in his game or apps, the more he is unable to live in the present and appreciate life at the moment. Life with all its glorious moments is happening right in front of people and they miss out because they are too busy to spare those moments a glance.
Many real experiences do not repeat themselves but people are too caught up in their screens to even know what they are missing. Camaraderie with real people is one example; learning new skills from a person who has more to impart than a YouTube video how-to is another. Experiences are what enrich our lives and contribute to our personal growth. Technology may be changing the world, but the nature of life has not. We need to engage all our senses in the real world, not in the virtual reality of the net, to get the most out of living.

Improved Sleep and Cognitive Functions

Research has proven that blue light emitted by PC, laptop, and mobile gadget screens can impair sleep patterns. Light from electronic devices inhibits melatonin and can keep one awake for three hours longer. Sleep deprivation is a serious health issue that can impair cognitive functions such as memory, decision making, and concentration. Lack of sleep may also likely lead to low productivity in both the work and classroom setting. Giving up screen time at least an hour ahead of sleep time will help get one’s circadian rhythm back to normal.

Better Moods and Healthier Self Image

It seems like if you aren’t part of the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or social media app crowd, you are a social nobody. Be that as it may, it doesn’t help your mood nor your ego to keep checking friends’ posts every half hour or so.
We have that innate desire to evaluate ourselves based on how we live and what we own, do, feel, and think. We inevitably compare ourselves with others. Social media gives that opportunity to heavily immerse ourselves in snapshots of other people’s lives. We forget that photos and comments may not be all that it is made out to be. Those smiling faces may be contrived. After the flash has gone off, how does one know what the real score was behind the pics? A blissful twosome vacay in photos can hide the fact that things may still not be working out for the couple. Who knows? Yet, many choose to believe photo smiles validate a life better than their own.
Those who engage heavily in comparisons using social media tend to feel worse about themselves and consequently garner low self esteem. One must realize that other people’s lives are not as fantastic as they make it out to be in pictures and blogs. Stop lurking around other people’s accounts all the time and learn to appreciate what life has to offer you in the real world, not in that virtual reality you crave. Work on real relationships; smell real roses. It’s much more satisfying, you’ll see.

More Creativity, Less Consumption

Surfing, gaming, and social media addictions only fire up the consumer side of people...just taking and absorbing information but never taking the time to process these to create new ways, thoughts, or things to “give back” what one has learned. Time to unplug and power down those gadgets to get one’s creative juices flowing.
Emails, text messages, digital work hubs, and other digital related activities coupled with the modern lifestyle of multi-tasking demands much from our cognitive capacities. Powering down frees up our brain from constantly working with attention and memory and gives it space for contemplation and deep thought. It has been known that creative geniuses spawn their creative ideas by indulging in copious alone time for reflection deep thinking.

Detoxing from the Digital Addiction

Yes, our constant wired state can be an addiction. Just think...how antsy do you get when your mobile gadget is taken away from you? And just like any addiction, one needs a rehab of an unplugging from time to time to get some real bearings. The question is how to get a digital detox:
Choose a specific time in a day to power down. First hour of the morning, last hour before bedtime, an hour or two after work...you call the shots on whatever time works for you. What is important here is that you discipline yourself to get time off everyday from answering cell phone messages and calls, checking emails, playing that 30-minute game, and lurking through Facebook and Twitter. You may use this time to meditate, walk around the neighbourhood, or observe your environment. Live the moment.
Decrease the urge to go online. Instead of plugging into the net anytime you feel like it. You may choose to limit non-work related surfing or social media checkups to a specific period, once or twice a day, gradually weaning yourself to once every two days, etc.
Use apps to block non-productive sites or sites you do not need for work. Although the net may be crucial to your productivity, non-related work sites are simply a click away and are tremendous distractions. Fortunately, there are apps available that block access for a specified period to time-wasting but personally tempting sites like Facebook or your fave cooking blog.
Although many people have set the trend towards unplugging, this positive phenomenon needs to gain more ground. We owe it to ourselves to guard our self esteem, relationships, health, and career.

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Reference:

http://www.heart.org/

How Vital is Zinc?

In our quest for achieving or maintaining our ideal weight, we generally tend to think of cutting calories and counting macronutrients. Micronutrients are often relegated to the “Let’s think about these later” category so that oftentimes we tend not to realize that we short-change ourselves of these essential vitamins and minerals.

We need to shift our focus too on how much we are feeding ourselves of micronutrients. One such crucial mineral is zinc. All healthy body tissue must contain zinc in some quantity. At least 300 various enzymes need zinc to do life-sustaining chemical functions as well. These facts underscore the reliance of the human organism on zinc as an essential ingredient of healthy functioning and well-being.

The Role of Zinc

Zinc has so many crucial benefits that this article will simply highlight some:

Supporter of the Immune System

Some of the strength of an individual’s immunity relies heavily on zinc. For one, zinc has anti-microbial properties; hence, it is found in the body’s first line of defence which are the barriers thrown up by skin, lungs, throat, and the mucous membrane linings of the respiratory and digestive systems. Zinc is also present in saliva. Zinc destroys inhaled or ingested bacteria before these can do some damage.

Zinc also controls inflammation. Research on mice lacking zinc revealed a devastating inflammatory response to sepsis compared to mice with normal zinc levels. An individual with insufficient zinc levels would be susceptible to an overwrought immune system when faced with a threat. Without adequate zinc to put some brakes on, inflammation can get out of hand.

Helps in Thyroid Hormone Production>

The hypothalamus needs zinc to manufacture TRH, a stimulator hormone that signals the pituitary gland to activate the thyroid into producing its T3 and T4 hormones. Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) play roles in regulating metabolic processes, reproductive system, calcium balance, and cell production of protein. When zinc is insufficient, the thyroid gland becomes underactive and causes the condition known as hypothyroidism of which chronic weakness, tiredness, weight gain, and depression are common symptoms.

Assists in Bone Formation

The body stores 2-4 grams of zinc for enzyme, protein, and amino acid synthesis in the eyes, brain, kidney, liver, muscles, and bones. Although zinc has an indirect role in bone formation, it nevertheless plays an invaluable assistive role by being a trace mineral used to manufacture collagen and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), both important factors in bone development.

A British researcher, Dr. Ellen C.G. Grant, wrote the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2005 that the root cause of osteoporosis is not reduced oestrogen levels or calcium deficiency. She contends that the reduction in alkaline phosphatase is a major contributory factor to osteoporosis in menopausal women. When ALP enzyme activity is diminished, calcium content in bones gets depleted as well. This phenomenon may be blamed on the low levels of zinc, magnesium, and manganese.

Essential for Brain Health

Zinc plays a very active role in regulating neuronal and hippocampal communication in the areas of memory and learning. Adequate zinc intake is then important for optimal brain function and the slowing down of cognitive function deterioration as people age. Low levels of dietary zinc have shown increased risk of dementia and also a decline in sexual health.

Zinc in the brain may be found in more concentrated amounts than in any part of the body. Zinc deficiency has been found to play a key role in depression, ADHD, seizures, difficulties with learning and memory abilities, anxiety, and mental health problems such as bipolar disorder.

Supports the metabolism and roles of other nutrients

Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids require zinc to be changed into forms that support these nutrients’ anti-depressant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Vitamin B6 also needs to partner with zinc to help reduce symptoms of PMS and depression. Zinc also boosts the functions of Vitamin A in improving night vision, moisturizing skin, reducing the occurrence of frequent colds, and preventing mouth ulcers.

Getting Enough Zinc

The Australian Ministry of Health recommends that adult men consume 14 mg/day and women, 8 mg. /day. Pregnant women, however, need a much higher intake at 11 mg. / day.

Dietary zinc has its best food sources in beef, shrimp, spinach, kidney beans, oysters, flax seeds, and garlic. A lot of foods contain zinc so unless one has an absorption problem, maintaining adequate zinc levels is relatively easy.

Be aware, however, of foods, beverages, and other factors that reduce zinc benefits. These include:

• Alcohol -- puts the brakes on zinc absorption and hastens its excretion
• Refined sugar -- requires zinc to metabolize thereby depleting your stores
• Diuretics -- includes coffee, soda, and tea. These increase the elimination of zinc from your system by as much as 60%.
• Excess calcium and iron supplementation --- too much calcium or iron decreases your zinc stores
• Excess copper supplementation --- can reduce zinc levels. Copper is present in multi-vitamins, water flowing through copper pipes, copper IUDs, birth control pills, and the like.
• Vitamin D deficiency -- reduces the effectivity of zinc
• Stress -- stimulates the production of cortisol and adrenaline, the chronic presence of which diminishes the body’s stores of zinc
• Low protein intake -- prevents zinc from metabolising efficiently