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Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

Stress Headaches – The Causes & Remedies by Darlyn Burkle

Headaches come in a variety of forms, and plague millions of people on a daily basis. Sometimes they can be caused by lack of food, or tiredness, sometimes they are a symptom of a virus or other illness, and sometimes they are caused by stress.

Stress headaches are a very common ailment, and while taking medicines can alleviate the symptoms of a stress, or ‘tension’ headache, the best way to treat them is to treat the causes of them. Almost 80% of adults experience stress headaches occasionally, but some people suffer from them on an almost daily basis.

In Search of Relief

Stress headaches are not believed to be hereditary. They are usually accompanied by tensed muscles in the neck – sometimes the tension in the neck can make the headache worse. Stress headaches are usually tied to something going on around the sufferer – from work or school related stress, to family issues or relationship breakups. When stresses mount up daily, the occasional acute headache can turn into a chronic problem.

Stress headaches can last for anything between half an hour to a full day. The headache usually feels like a constant, painful pressure, unlike migraines which are more likely to be a throbbing feeling, with other symptoms such as nausea and sensitivity to light. Tension headaches are usually not as severe as migraines, but they are still incapacitating in many cases, especially if associated symptoms such as aching muscles, fatigue, insomnia, or dizziness are present too. Usually the onset of a stress headache is experienced during the day, but in some cases, individuals report waking up with one.

Help For Tension Headache Sufferers

If you suffer from regular tension headaches you may find yourself in a situation where the headaches and other symptoms lead to an inability to concentrate, irritability, and more stress. This leads to a cycle of more headaches, and this can be difficult to break out of.

Pain relievers can help with occasional stress headaches, but should not be taken frequently. The best treatment is to prevent the headaches by learning stress management techniques. If a cycle of chronic stress headache is allowed to develop then this can be detrimental to the health of the sufferer. The headache themselves do not cause any damage, but other symptoms, such as insomnia, can lead to tiredness, irritability, and more stress. Breaking the cycle of tension headaches can vastly improve your health and your quality of life.

I Choose Us.com is an exclusive website for women that provides resources on how to achieve lasting stress relief. The six-month membership program helps women identify the physical symptoms of anxiety and stress and manage their stress levels more effectively. Members receive one new lesson every week for six months.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

As busy mothers, we often spend all of our time taking care of the children, doing household chores and running the family errands. When was the last time that you scheduled in some personal ‘me’ time? If you had to stop and think about your answer, it has been too long.

Here is a fact that you should know. If you take 30 minutes of ‘me’ time every day for yourself, you can eliminate symptoms of depression and increase your ability to have fun. Scientific studies show that if you allow some time for yourself every day, you will lead a healthier and happier life.

When it comes to spending some ‘me’ time, here are a few ideas of things you can do.

1. Sit down and read a good book.
2. Take a hot shower.
3. Take a nice bubble bath.
4. Give yourself a manicure or pedicure.
5. Soak your feet and then follow up with a foot massage.
6. Give yourself a homemade facial.
7. Enjoy a cup of coffee or hot tea in a quiet area of your home.
8. Spend a few minutes writing in your journal
9. Do some deep breathing exercises and meditate.
10. Do Pilate’s or Yoga
11. Sit down and write a letter to a friend or family member.
12. Spend some time working on a craft project.
13. Take a 30 minute walk outdoors.
14. Take a small power nap.
15. Spend a few minutes reading your bible or saying a prayer.

The most important thing that you can do for yourself and your family is to take a few minutes every day and spend that time on yourself. You will find that you will get more things accomplished and you will be physically and mentally healthier.

This article is copyright 2009 by Shelly Hill, All Rights Reserved.

A friend of mine came to me a few days ago concerned about her child’s obesity problem. Finally, she is seeing that there is a problem!

In the past I have tried to tactfully address this issue with her but my words and concern fell upon deaf ears so I backed off. Now that a few weeks have passed, she has approached me about the issue.

History: My friends daughter is a minimum of 35 lbs over weight for her age and she is 11 years old. This problem didn’t happen over night, it has been going on for several years. I will refer to the child as Jessica for the purpose of this blog post.

My friend Jane Doe was made aware of this problem a few years ago but totally got defensive when their doctor, family or friends tried to talk with her about the issue. Most of us got frustrated with her and eventually just backed off.

Now that she has brought up the subject with me, I was more than ready to give her some advice…advice I know she wasn’t ready to hear.

I have firmly told her that this problem with Jessica is her fault. Why am I saying it’s her fault you might ask? Because…she has continually purchased junk food and high fat foods for her to eat the past several years and furthermore, they are fast food drive-thru junkies and visit fast food places a minimum of 3 times a week.

Jessica’s bad eating habits are a learned behavior from her mother’s poor grocery shopping and eating out choices. Yes, I know some readers of this blog post are going to disagree with my opinion and that is fine…however I know this family very well and I am 100% positive that this is the problem.

When Jessica comes to visit me (which is often) all she wants to eat is chips, ice cream, candy, baked pastries, french fries and other junk style food. When I would offer her healthier choices, I would get a reply from her such as, “I don’t like that, I want ______.” Everything she wanted was junk food! I don’t eat like that nor do I feed my family like that.

Another issue that has compounded this problem is that fact that Jessica sits in front of the TV watching TV shows, movies and playing video games for hours during the evenings and the weekends instead of engaging in any type of physical activity. You need physical activity to burn calories and to build a strong body.

My advice to my friend was the following:

1. Purchase healthier food choices at the grocery store. Quit buying the junk food…if it’s not in the house, she won’t be able to eat it.

2. Quit eating out at fast food joints 3-4 times a week. When you do eat out…it should be an ocassional treat and order healthier choices.

3. Enroll Jessica in some physical activities such as a swim club, sports team or even a gym membership for children and as her mother, get involved and participate with her.

4. Turn off the TV. Invest in some outdoor games, bicycles, roller blades and other things to get outdoors and some physical activity going.

If you are truly interested in helping your child lose weight and obtain better health, you will find the time to make the changes. Talk to your doctor and a nutritionist for ideas and come up with a plan. Involve your child in the decision making so that they become part of the plan as it will yield better results.

The time to make the change is NOW!

~ Shelly ~

I can’t believe we’re a few days passed the middle of June. Where has the year gone? Didn’t we just welcome 2009? Time is passing us by very quickly. Days becomes months and months become years.

Everyone is busy, busy, busy and go, go, go and time waits for no one, but it’s important to take a breather and enjoy what you have in front of you. When was the last time you stopped and actually smelled the flowers or smelled the first raindrops hitting the pavement?

For our well-being find the time for you even if it’s only 30 minutes. Whether you enjoy walking, catchng up on a great book, doing yoga, baking, swimming, kickboxing or having coffee with a friend make time to unwind and refocus.

A re-energized body and an uncluttered mind works more efficiently. Take care of you today for a better and healthier you tomorrow.

We all know the health benefits of being active and getting outdoors for fitness. Did you know one of the most beneficial exercises that you can do for yourself is outdoor walking?

A few years ago, my mother and I organized a neighborhood fitness walking group. We decided that it would be safer for us to walk in small groups, plus it was a great way to meet some new women in our neighborhood.

We drafted up some fliers and put them on our neighbors doors about our new walking group. Within days, we had seven new women joining us on our walks.

Our group has steadily increased in membership over the past 4 years.

Things to consider:

1. Members. How many members do you want to allow to join your walking group?

I suggest keeping your walking group to around ten members. If you decide to have more than ten members, then you should consider breaking your group down into two smaller groups, each with its own organizer.

2. Walking Schedule. Select the days and times and make up a schedule.

When starting out, its best to pick three days a week and walk for 45 minutes per day. As your group gets more active, you can add a day or increase your walking time to 60 minutes.

With our group, we rotate our walking schedule according to the seasons.

In the winter time, we walk during the later afternoon hours because its warmer outside. In the summer time, we walk during the early morning hours or early evening hours when its cooler outside.

3. Safety. After we formed our walking group, we notified our local police department. We gave them a copy of our walking schedule and a copy of our walking route.

The police officers will now make several patrol runs along our walking route on the days and times that we are out walking. I have also arranged for one of the police officers to come talk to our group once a year about safety when we are out walking and they will usually do this for free. You can never be too safe.

This article is copyright 2009 by Shelly Hill, All Rights Reserved.