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How Can i Get My Energy Back?

10.05.2020 - Melissa Price

How can I get my Energy Back?

Hands up if you have ever experienced the 3pm slump where you are fighting the desire to nap or grab a coffee just to keep you going? This is highlighting our body’s adrenal function or actually lack of…

The hack is to try and add in natural ways to reduce our energy levels because we don’t just want to keep masking the problem because that is when we step into dangerous territory of actually getting full blown exhaustion or “adrenal fatigue”.

There are simple things that we can start putting in place in our daily routines to help sustain energy levels instead of draining our bodies.

So here are the five top tips I have researched;

1.Improve your Sleep Quality; Are you tossing and turning throughout the night or not even able to relax to go to sleep in the first place? While you sleep our bodies are internal healing and repairing the previous days damage to our system. Try and keep a consistent sleep routine to help your body wind down, whether this is a cup of calming herbal tea or a bath with some lavender oil. There has been research to suggest that the blue light emitted from our mobile/Ipad devices can disturb the hormonal pattern especially “melatonin balance” which is crucial in having restful deep sleep; So try and have a hour away before bed. Some of us find that as soon as our heads hit the pillow, our minds are filled with unending questions and we simply just cannot switch off. Many professionals being interviewed said that they started to “mind-dump” before bed and journaled everything that was in their head so they could concentrate on getting a good night’s sleep.

2.Adaptogenic Herbs; A natural way to counter balance our adrenal system is through adaptogenic herbs like – Rhodiola, Holy Basil or Ashwagandha (always consult a medical professional before administering) They are healing plants which balance and restore our bodies ability to cope with stress by regulating the adrenal system, which is responsible for controlling the hormones in our bodies which respond to stress.

3.Eat Chia Seeds – These little black seeds can be thrown together with raspberry and honey to make a homemade jam, tossed into a smoothie or you can hunt through the web and find a huge amount of chia pudding recipes. The benefit is that they are filled with fatty acids – Omega 3 and 6 to be precise. Dr Axe blogs that they have been shown to “enhance sleep quality, boost brain power and combat inflammation which keeps our bodies feeling fresh”

4.Stay Hydrated – Are you getting the recommend 1.5litres – 2 litres a day of pure water? One of the first signs our bodies are experiencing dehydration is feeling tired and exhausted! Our bodies are mainly made up of water so if that level drops even slightly it can have an impact on our metabolism. The Natural Academy of Medicine recommends “9 cups of water for a woman and 13 cups for men”. If you have a fairly active lifestyle or exercise regularly it make be beneficial to add in some coconut water into your routine which will help replace the minerals and salts lost in your body because it is a natural isotonic.

5.B Vitamins – Vitamin B12 is one of the best vitamins to boost energy, and if you are deficient in this particular vitamin the first side effect is fatigue! B12 is a water- soluble vitamin and our bodies cannot store it so that is why it relies on us substituting it in our diets.

There you have it, five simple steps to help naturally boost your energy levels. I don’t think that they are too extreme that all of us could implement some if not all of them.

Is a desk job affecting our health?

10.05.2020 - Melissa Price

Is a desk job affecting our health?

Is sitting too long over a vast period of time actually affecting our health? The NHS and studies show that it can increase risks to a number of chronic health problems, be bad for our mental health and even impact metabolism putting us at risk of obesity.

There are many adults in the UK who have a 9-5 job sitting at a desk for a shift of eight hours, but the sitting doesn’t stop there, the inactivity follows them home and research is suggesting that it could be impacting people’s health.

To reduce our risk of inactivity, the NHS specifically recommends at least “150 minutes of activity a week and reduce sitting time” The NHS website actually state that with age the time of sitting increases from seven hours a day to ten hours or more. This is including traveling by car, sitting at a desk, watching tv or reading a book but does not include time sleeping.

Humans are made to be stood upright and our bodies perform at their best in that way. Our cardiovascular system is not strained, our stomachs aren’t kinked in the middle, our shoulders aren’t stooped over sitting over a desk. It is common when people are bed ridden at hospital that they can experience constipation because bowels function at their best when we are walking around increasing blood flow to our entire bodies. When we are physically active our physical and mental wellbeing is better, our energy and endurance levels improve and our bones maintain strength.

Our legs and gluteal muscles (bum muscles) can be negatively impacted by sitting down for long periods of time and can lead to weakening of our large leg muscle. Posture can also be impacted by sitting for a long period of time, at a desk we are at risk of overstraining, our shoulders can hunch over which can lead to back ache after a long day at work. Weak posture can cause poor spine health such as compressions in the discs, leading to premature degeneration which can be painful. It is beneficial to visit your Chiropractor to maintain your posture and stay clear of any negative health impacts you could be experiencing.

The start active, stay active report recommends;

“breaking up long periods of sitting time with shorter bouts of activity for just one to two minutes”

Read the complete report here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/216370/dh_128210.pdf

Get Britain Standing list their Top 10 Health risks that grow the higher your hours of sitting in the day are.

1.Cardiovascular Disease

2.Cancer

3.Diabetes – Type 2

4.Weight Gain

5.Metabolic Syndrome

6.Mental Health

7.Back/Neck Pain

8.Muscle Degeneration

9.Osteoeporosis

10.Early Mortality

Our top tips to get active during a busy working day:

•Take up a physical hobby – could be a fitness class, a dance class, walking your kids to school instead of driving or even gardening!

•Want to watch TV at night? Get up in the breaks and have a walk around

•Do you take public transport? Opt for standing over sitting on a seat

•When you’re on the phone try and walk around

•Encourage the kids to get active, help around with chores throughout the house, playing sports and playing outside.

Sitting is a part of life and something that cannot be avoided but it is something that if we are mindful about that we could limit and avoid it excessively. Preventative measures are a lot easier to introduce in our lives than an unwanted diagnosis in the future.

Why not try regular sessions with our chiropractor - Luke Ramsay - to keep you limber and mobile. Stiff muscles? Have you considered a sports massage to clear those aches and pains? Introducing fitness after a long period of time? Do your due diligence and make sure that you are visiting an insured and qualified professional that can cater to your needs but also your health problems.

The Triangle Of Health

10.10.2020 - Luke Ramsay

There is never just one factor in a problem regarding your health. In my experience, as a chiropractor for 32 years, I am a firm believer in the triangle of health. One part of the triangle is your biochemical health, in other words, what you eat what you drink and your surrounding environment and how this influences the biochemical reactions in your body.

The second part of the triangle, I believe, is your emotional wellbeing. This is not just illnesses which are psychosomatic but the changes in your body which happen with things like chronic stress. Stress causes an increase in the hormone cortisol in your body which then can impact your metabolism making you gain weight, it can cause tension in your tendon and ligaments and general fatigue due to blood sugar being affected in the body.

The third part of the triangle is structure. It’s easier to understand that pinching a nerve because of a herniated disc or a displaced joint could cause pain like sciatica or pain down your arm. 80 percent of the nerves in your body have automatic responses and do not sense pain, hot or cold or touch like sensation. There are two sorts of nerves which control the automatic response of your body (you don’t have to think to focus your eyes or to sweat) the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system has nerve endings in the spinal column and the neck. Whereas the parasympathetic system has nerve endings in the cranium and sacrum. In simple terms the sympathetic system speeds things up and the parasympathetic does contrary. So a simple problem with your structure can affect your general wellbeing without producing pain.

As a whole someone is more likely to get a bad back if they have a bad diet or chronic stress. Another person with digestive problems might have a problem with their structure and insomnia. Somebody with an emotional problem, may be eating too much sugar to compensate and then experience dizziness because of neck problem from a previous car accident. In each scenario you can clearly see that each part of the triangle has a direct impact to each face of health.

After years of experience I have seen that a health problem cannot be treated in isolation it always needs to be looked at as a whole.