Travel Fitness: How to Incorporate More Active-ities

When you go travelling, on holiday or take a business trip, fitness and wellness are probably the last two things on your mind. However, while travel fitness can feel like a chore, making it part of your trip can help you to feel more vibrant and energetic, and take care of your wellbeing, so that you actually enjoy your travels. Let’s be clear: I’m not saying you need to hit the hotel gym after a long day of seeing the sights; you simply need to follow a few practical, realistic options for taking care of your body when you’re far from home.

 

1. Get out of the car: When you’re in new and unfamiliar territory, it can be tempting to drive everywhere as you don’t know how safe or far away the destination is. However, if you’re searching for a nice place to eat dinner, setting out on foot and wandering around the area – instead of driving – can help you to get a bit of exercise and really experience the place you’re visiting. You can also try parking five minutes further away from places you’re visiting, and this will help you to burn more calories, increase your cardiovascular stamina, and promote relaxation, all without forcing you to break an embarrassing sweat.

 

2. Make time for yourself in the morning: If you’re travelling with friends, colleagues or children, it can be difficult to work in your travel fitness regime. However, you can reap lots of benefits –and have a nice breather from difficult travelling companions – by setting aside even just twenty minutes or half an hour as solo time. In the morning before the day’s activities begin, use the peace and quiet to go for a walk or a run. If you’ve got your own hotel room, lock the door and do some jumping jacks, knee lifts or have a bit of a boogie and shake off that family holiday stress. Starting your day with a quick bout of independent travel fitness enables you to mentally reflect and relax while also giving your energy levels a boost. This can brighten up your whole trip and prepare you for a day spent with other travellers.

 

3. Use the toilet: By the phrase “use the toilet,” I’m not talking about that natural thing that everyone needs to do, I’m talking about making use of those time in which nature calls for travel fitness. Every time you head to use the toilet, take a few minutes and turn the facilities into your temporary personal travel fitness station! Try having a quick burst of fast movement to get your heart rate going a little bit. Even a quick session of jumping up and down can help you to give your metabolism a quick jolt so that you burn more calories throughout the day. This tip is great because it allows you the privacy of getting your travel fitness party on without the embarrassment of other people seeing. Moreover, as you’ll be using the loo a few times a day anyway, so you don’t need to worry about remembering to find the time to fit travel fitness into your schedule.

 

4. Plan activities: Making exercise part of the day’s fun is a great way to trick yourself, and your travelling companions, into getting some extra fitness under your belt. If there’s a natural landmark nearby, check out some hiking trails. If you’re staying in a town or city, there’s always sight-seeing, bowling or miniature golf. Anything that gets you moving counts, so try to incorporate as many active-ities as possible.

Categories: active ities, fitness, Me Time, nbsp, time, toilet, Travel, travel fitness, travelling, travelling companions

How to Deal With the Difficult Problem of Waking at Night

Nocturia is one of the most unsettling health concerns experienced by men and women as they get older. Nocturia means waking in the night to go to the toilet. As you get older, the wellness and wellbeing of your bladder deteriorates, and your body becomes less able to hold fluids for a long period of time. This is due to a decline in antidiuretic hormones within the human body. Even drinking the same amount as you did before, you may find that you are waking more often to go to the loo.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, around 65 percent of older people suffer from sleep deprivation as a result of having to wake up frequently in the night to go to the bathroom. Ironically, aging also makes it more difficult to fall asleep, so waking up in the night is doubly problematic. The best solution to the problem is, therefore, to attempt to not wake up in the night at all.

The best way to help achieve this is to not drink any liquids for around three hours before you go to bed. You should also cut down on tea and coffee, both of which irritate the bladder and make you feel like you need to go to the toilet more often. Bear in mind that some foods contain a high liquid content, too, such as fruits and soups, so it is best to avoid these in the evenings. You should also consider not eating for three hours before bed, as this can lead to digestive problems such as heartburn and reflux.

You can also get a prescription of anti-diuretic from your doctor, which may help cut down on night time urination. It is worth bearing in mind, though, that there are other problems which may be causing night time urination. In men, this may be a sign of inflammation of the prostate or a tumour in the prostate, so it is worth going in for a prostate exam if you are suffering from this. Going to the toilet frequently can also signal a urinary issue in women, such as an infection.

Categories: nbsp, night, Night time, nocturia, time, time urination, toilet, waking

Haemorrhoids: How can you prevent them?

Haemorrhoids affect people for a variety of reasons and are commonly associated with pregnancy – they are small, blood-filled swellings which are caused by dilated varicose veins. They begin developing inside the anus, referred to as internal haemorrhoids, but they can sometimes protrude to become external haemorrhoids. They aren’t dangerous to your health in any way, but may have some unpleasant side effects. Constipation and prolonged straining when going to the toilet can contribute to them, as this increases the pressure in the veins. They can be present for years without you noticing, as they can remain within the body for a long time undetected, but they can also cause anal bleeding, itching, pain and discomfort. Usually, the bleeding is limited to small quantities of fresh blood on the toilet paper, but when stools are passed this may result in larger and more severe bleeding. You may also feel a lump in the anus which gives you a sensation that you haven’t had a full bowel movement. You should visit your GP if you find blood in your stools, as they can advise if you have haemorrhoids or another health problem which may require treatment. Your GP will test for haemorrhoids with a digital rectal examination and may go on to inspect the mucus membrane of the rectum, and the lower part of the large intestine, using a tube called a proctoscope or sigmoidoscope.

 

Haemorrhoids do sometimes heal themselves without treatment, and this can happen if they are caused by constipation. Your GP may suggest a change of diet which is higher in fibre and roughage, particularly green vegetables, fresh fruit and wholegrain cereals. You should also up your intake of water – experts recommend around eight to ten glasses each day. Although you may feel the need to, try not to strain when you go to the toilet as this is a sign that you need more fibre in your diet – no-one should need to strain to go the toilet. Some people find it beneficial to place their feet on a low footstool to aid the bowel movement if they’re struggling. You can sit in a shallow bath of hot water for 15 minutes several minutes a day to help relieve the pain from constipation. If you have piles which are protruding and painful, a day’s bed rest with an ice pack on the anal area could help. You may find a pack of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel to be useful for this, though you should be careful that the ice doesn’t come into direct contact with the skin – do this for just 20 minutes and limit it to just three times a day.

 

Minor haemorrhoids can be treated with topical creams which you can buy from the pharmacy or have a prescription from your GP. They generally heal within a few days with this, and it will help with irritation as well. Rubber band ligation can also be carried out at your GP surgery or an outpatient clinic, and won’t require a hospital visit – it involves placing a small rubber band at the base of the haemorrhoid to cut off the blood supply, which will help it to fall off of its own accord after a few days. After your haemorrhoids have been removed, you will have small skin tags which develop beside the anus. These may be painful or itchy, and if they cause difficulty with your persona hygiene they can also be removed with a minor surgical operation. You should maintain a fibre-rich diet to avoid constipation, as this can cause it to recur.

Categories: Blood, bowel movement, constipation, diet, haemorrhoids, piles, rubber band, small, toilet