setback Archives - The Health Sessions

Spoonie Problems: How to Decide When to Push Through and When to Stop and Rest

It’s probably a familiar scenario: you’ve been looking forward to going out all week, and then your illness messes up your plans, again. One of the characteristics of chronic illness is that symptoms can flare up at any time. Of course there’s never a good moment to feel sick, but it’s especially discouraging when you have … Read more >

How to Reset Your Internal Clock | The Health Sessions

10 Natural Ways to Reset Your Internal Clock

You know how you often feel tired and groggy in the afternoon? That’s your internal clock at work.

You might be more in tune with your work schedule than your body rhythm, but all of us are governed by a biological schedule. Circadian rhythm refers to the countless changes your body experiences over a 24-hour period. From your sleep-wake cycle to hormone production and daily fluctuations of alertness, circadian rhythms affect every aspect of your functioning.

The master internal clock that controls the different clocks throughout your body is a group of nerves in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Each morning, light enters your eyes and travels along the optic nerve to signal to the SCN that it’s time to start the day’s circadian cycle.

For thousands of years, humans organized their days around their biological clock. But now that we are no longer getting up at sunrise, spending our days outdoors and going to bed when it gets dark, our body clocks get disrupted. And this can cause serious troubles. Research has linked disturbed internal clocks to anything from an increased chance at injuries and accidents to chronic health problems like obesity, heart disease and cognitive decline.

8 Natural Ways to Optimize Your Immunity

Your immune system works around the clock to ward off bacteria, viruses and other disease-causing microorganisms. But sometimes it fails: a germ slips through your defense systems and you get sick.

Or worse: in reaction to an unknown trigger, the body sometimes produces antibodies that mistakenly attack its own tissues. This type of overactive immune reaction is what happens in auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and lupus.

Although scientifically speaking “boosting your immunity” makes little sense, common habits like chronic stress, a fast food diet and sleep deprivation are known to decrease your body’s ability to fight off foreign invaders. So what can you do to keep your immune system strong – besides washing your hands and practicing good cooking hygiene?

Of course you can’t always prevent getting sick. But a healthy lifestyle does support the functioning of your immune system, keeping your defenses up and running as good as possible.

Have a look at these 8 natural ways to optimize your immunity and fight off the flu.

7 Best Tips to Use Massage Therapy as a Source of Injury Prevention

This is a guest post by Stacey Connor from Foot Massager Advisor.

Massage therapy has long been seen as an effective means to assist people who were suffering from some kind of injury, no matter what kind of injury they have. Even those who have had broken bones find that massage therapy can be beneficial in assisting them so that they can have stronger more durable muscles that are able to assist in the strengthening of the bone.

It is clear that massage therapy can have tremendous benefits for those who have already suffered an injury. But you may be unaware of the fact that it can be as equally helpful in preventing injuries from occurring at all. In fact, even if you are a fitness geek, you may find that by visiting a massage therapist on a regular basis you may prevent injuries from ever having a chance to occur.

Here are seven tips you should know about using massage therapy as a source of injury prevention.

How the Holidays Can Affect Those with Mental Disorders

This is a guest post by Mike Jones from Schiz Life.

The holiday season can be challenging for anyone, no matter the reason. But while for most people the biggest struggle this winter will be to decide on what presents to get everyone, for others the holidays can be a personal hell. Coping with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or any other mental disorder during Christmas and New Year’s Eve can be particularly hurtful due to the constant pressure of having to behave in a certain way.

Not So Merry Christmas

Unfortunately, Chrismas is not such a merry time for everyone. According to research published by Randy and Lori A. Sansone in the US National Library of Medicine, the use of emergency psychiatric services decreases during the holidays, only to be followed by a spike in activity shortly after. For people dealing with mental disorders, the holiday season can be an emotionally draining period.

What is more obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression or schizophrenia and love life just don’t seem to mix. The lack of a significant other or tensions in an existing relationship can be more emphasized during the holiday season when you suffer from a mental disorder. And due to this, you may have the tendency to blame your illness more and feel worst. This is normal, and what you can do about it is slowly learn how to cope.