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Scientists Explain What Makes You Feel Sleepy (And 4 Ways To Fix It)

January 21, 2021 by Lakeisha Ethans

Do you always feel sleepy? You think you’ve slept well, but when you go about your day, you feel your eyelids drooping and start getting more and more tired. Soon, you can barely stay awake at all.

Why does this happen? How can you stop it? There are several potential reasons, and knowing them will help you solve the issue.

5 Reasons Why You Always Feel Sleepy

Here’s how experts reveal 5 reasons why you always feel sleepy and 4 ways to fix it.

1. High Levels Of Stress

Did you know that the stress you’re experiencing could be the cause of your constant sleepiness? It can lead to fatigue, exhaustion, and general drowsiness, and these all work together to make you much sleepier. In general, a lack of positive thinking, whether from depression or a bad mood, can also add to that.

Mental health can play a bigger role in your ability to stay awake than you might imagine! According to registered dietician and certified diabetes educator Franziska Spritzler, chronic stress can play a significant role in one’s energy levels. It can make you feel sleepy during the day. Here are some studies that have expanded on these links:

“Stress and coping styles are associated with severe fatigue in medical students,” published in Behavioral Medicine (2009). This study found that stress can contribute to fatigue but that failing to cope with adequately and address stress can make it worse!
“Do sleep, stress, and illness explain daily variations in fatigue? A prospective study” published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research (2014). This study linked stress levels and illness to fatigue and sleepiness while also drawing links that show this tiredness can lead to lower perceived health overall.
“Reciprocal relationship between acute stress and acute fatigue in everyday life in a sample of university students” published in Biological Psychology (2015). This paper uncovered that stress and fatigue have a reciprocal relationship, requiring both to be positive for optimal health. In fact, they affect each other more than specific cortisol levels!

2. Bad Sleep Habits

Of course, the no-brainer with sleepiness is that the problem may lie in your sleeping habits. After all, there is a difference between feeling sleepy and feeling tired, and in most cases, sleepiness can be traced back to your bedtime schedule. Here are some ways that the way you sleep could affect your ability to stay awake the next day:

· Low-Quality Sleep

Just the act of being asleep isn’t truly enough to make you feel rested! A sleep cycle has five stages, and for high-quality sleep, says Spritzler, you need to have all of them, with the most crucial one taking the longest to get to. That crucial stage is called “deep sleep” in layman’s terms and is when you get restorative rest. Without enough of this deep sleep, you’ll lose many of the positive benefits that are supposed to come from resting.

· Lack Of Sleep

You need a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night, and if that’s not cutting it, you can sleep up to 10. The Royal College of Psychiatrists’s Sleep Working Group chair Hugh Selsick says that even just half an hour can make a difference. This means that 30 minutes of sleep more can lead to 16 hours of feeling more alert and awake the next day, he says – which is a great tradeoff!

· Sleeping At Incorrect Times

When you sleep at uneven and inconsistent times, your body can become confused as your natural circadian rhythm gets off-kilter, says Spritzler. If you sleep at weird times that don’t coincide with that natural rhythm, studies indicate that you can feel like you haven’t slept at all!

· Sleep Disorders

It’s obvious and easy to spot when you have insomnia, but other sleep disorders are harder to discern. Remember when we talked about getting deep sleep? Some sleep disorders can disrupt your ability to enter that stage, such as sleep apnea, says Baptist Sleep Institute’s former medical director Dr. Roseanne S. Barker. If you’re concerned that you may have a sleep disorder, speak to a doctor for advice and diagnosis.

3. A Sedentary Lifestyle

It can sound counterproductive to exercise and be active to reduce exhaustion or sleepiness. But what many don’t realize is that exercise makes you tired in the short term but increases your energy levels and sleep quality in the long term.

Studies have long shown links between individuals with inactive lifestyles and increased fatigue levels, more difficulty falling asleep, and overall worsened physical condition. Of course, the problem is that if you’re already in a state of sleepiness, you might feel like you don’t have the energy to be active.

Spritzler recommends trying to replace certain sedentary activities with active ones in subtle ways. This adds to your activity levels without sending you crashing from the get-go. For example, you can use the stairs instead of the lift or ride a bike instead of driving on short travel.

4. What You Eat

· Too Few Calories

Calories are energy. They’re what we need to function and run as normal. Too few calories in one’s diet, therefore, easily can be linked to sleepiness, tiredness, and general lack of energy as the metabolism slows down to try and preserve strength, says Spritzler. Even at an older age or with a lower metabolism, most research suggests that people need to eat at the peak of their calorie requirement range.

· Insufficient B12

Vitamin B12 does a lot for your body and is crucial for metabolism, immunity, and plenty of other functions that can help you stay awake and energized. Registered dietitian Lisa Cimperman states that tiredness and low energy are among the first signs of a deficiency in this vitamin.

· Too Many Refined Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are a great source of energy for the body, and you do need to eat enough of them to function well. But it would be best if you were aiming for whole carbohydrates, not refined ones. Refined carbs include white rice, bread, and pasta, and most junk foods. These kinds of carbs can tire you out quickly, say studies.

· Too Little Protein

Protein is crucial for energy, satiety, and feelings of alertness, says Spritzler. A lack of it can quickly lead to fatigue, and new studies have indicated that protein’s very building blocks may play a role in regulating tiredness and energy levels.

5. Medical Issues

Lots of common medical issues can present themselves via sleepiness and general fatigue. In fact, this is such a big norm that internal medicine doctor Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer recommends you speak to a doctor if you can’t discern the source of your fatigue. Here are some common medical issues that may include sleepiness as a symptom:

· Diabetes Type 2

People with diabetes can’t properly process glucose or sugars, which leads to an inability to convert it into energy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that around 7.2 million Americans may have this condition without realizing it!

· Thyroid Disease

When the thyroid is hyperactive or underactive, it fails to balance its hormone production and makes you tired. New York Thyroid Center co-director Dr. Robert J. McConnell explains that people of any age can have thyroid disease and that fatigue is one of its common symptoms.

· Anemia

Anemia occurs due to low red blood cell levels, meaning oxygen can’t properly be transported throughout the body, causing you to feel more tired. It can be a result of mineral or vitamin deficiency. The University of California’s adjunct professor of laboratory medicine, Dr. Laurence Corash, explains that this is especially common during menstruation or breastfeeding mothers.

4 Ways To Fix Always Feeling Sleepy

1. Determine The Difference Between Tiredness and Sleepiness

Before you begin to try and fix feelings of sleepiness, make sure that it’s actually sleepiness you’re feeling. These two states may feel similar, but the methods needed to address them are quite varied.

Selsick illustrates the difference between the two. Tiredness involves:

Irritability
Lack of motivation
Difficulty concentrating
Low energy levels
Sleepiness, on the other hand, involves:
Drowsiness
Nodding off constantly
Fighting to keep your eyes open
Yawning throughout the day

2. Make Better Food Choices

Eating healthier, more nutritious, and less damaging foods can work wonders for your health, and with all those positive sides comes the fact that you’ll have more energy and be less sleepy. It’s imperative to eat well if you want to avoid feeling sleepy in the middle of the day, says Jackie Lynch, a registered nutritional therapist and author.

Here are some tips for making better food choices:

Eat more whole grains; over half of your consumed grains should be whole!
Eat more vegetables and whole fruits and try to opt for a wide variety of them.
Opt for healthy protein options, like lean meats, unsalted nuts, and omega-3 rich sources.
Reduce your intake of saturated fats.
Stay hydrated.
Always eat breakfast.
Eat the right amount of calories for your activity level, age, sex, and weight.
Eat at regular times and intervals.

3. Get Enough Good Sleep

If you’re feeling too sleepy, it’s a no brainer that you should try to work on getting better quality sleep. A lack of sleep can reduce your positive thinking, impact health and immunity, and make you more prone to accidents and mistakes. Here are some tips for getting better sleep, including those from Royal College of GPs chair Prof Martin Marshall:

Have a consistent bedtime routine
Sleep and wake at the same time daily
Avoid stimulants like nicotine and caffeine close to bedtime
Reduce exposure to light at night
Try not to nap during the day unless you need it
Exercise during the day, but not too close to bedtime
Don’t eat heavy meals late at night
Optimize your bedroom environment for comfort, silence, light exposure, and temperature
Keep your phone silent

4. Get Checked For Medical Issues

We’ve already discussed, at length, the different health conditions that may contribute to daytime sleepiness. It’s a good idea, then, to speak to a doctor if you’re really concerned. Here are some possible medical causes of excessive sleepiness:

Anemia
Anxiety
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Depression
Diabetes
Food Intolerance
Glandular Fever
Heart Disease
Pregnancy
Underactive Thyroid
Urinary Tract Infection
Vitamin And Mineral Deficiencies

Final Thoughts On Some Reasons You Always Feel Sleepy And Effective Ways To Fix It

It goes without saying that being constantly sleepy is not healthy. If you’re drowsy all the time, even after you think you’ve had a good amount of sleep, try thinking about the rest of your lifestyle and what may be influencing that state.

7 Ways Gardening Can Improve Your Health

January 21, 2021 by Lakeisha Ethans

Gardening is often considered a boring activity, but those who have had the privilege of giving it a try may have found that it is anything but. Countless people fall in love with gardening every day, and those that do are doing their minds and bodies a favor.

You see, gardening has many benefits that it can provide to you, so it’s a hobby that gives as much as it gets! Here are 7 ways gardening can boost your well being and improve your mental health.

1. It’s Exercise

Lots of people have the incorrect perception of gardening that it’s an easy, lazy task. Far from it! Gardening can be a real workout that burns plenty of calories while strengthening specific muscles. Try it, and you’ll see how tired you can be after a morning spent tending to your flora.

Better yet, gardening provides all sorts of benefits that you can find in more conventional kinds of exercise. This includes:

· Muscle Usage

When you cut grass, rake the ground, bend down to plant seeds, carry heavy watering cans, shovel or dig, and more, what you’re doing is exercising your muscles. In fact, most yard work or gardening uses all the major muscle groups that the body has!

· Weight Management or Loss

Working in a garden is a huge kind of physical exertion. Studies suggest that this exertion has positive effects on weight, helping to offset obesity, reduce the risk of weight gain due to age, and help with general weight loss efforts and desires.

· Better Sleep

When you garden, you’re likely to tire yourself out enough that sleep comes easier later. You may be able to fall asleep more quickly and will also likely enjoy longer and deeper sleep, just like with more common forms of exercise!

2. It Teaches Valuable Lessons

Gardening is a unique activity. It involves doing the best you can to nourish what you grow and hoping that the world and soil return the favor. There’s a lot you can learn from this process beyond just the standard gardening knowledge, and all those lessons can work together to boost your positive thinking and make you a brighter person. Here are some examples:

· Acceptance

You are not truly in control of your garden. You can influence many of its aspects, but Mother Nature wins the day at the end of the day. Gardening means coming to terms with the fact that your carefully planted flora can become damaged by passersby, animals, the weather… anything, really! And at the end of the day, however, your plants turn out, it’s okay, and you can love them regardless!

· Growth Mindsets

A fixed mindset refers to the act of being “fixed” in your desires, knowledge, and perspectives, meaning a wrench in those plans can derail you. A growth mindset, on the other hand, involves constant growing, learning, and adapting. It means taking things in stride and seeing how to build on them. Gardening is a great way to do this. You learn from your “mistakes” and begin to understand the subtleties in the weather and soil that dictate your plants’ health. Most of all, you learn to find uses for all your plants, no matter how they turn out!

· No Perfectionism

As aforementioned, you don’t have full control over the way your garden turns out. The concept of a perfect garden doesn’t exist. Some plants are going to have imperfections, and some leaves are going to get a little damaged. That’s just how it is, and that’s how life is! Gardening is a great way to teach yourself to let go of the desire for endless perfection, as it’s impossible to achieve that in this practice. Positive thinking is all you have.

3. It Can Help Ward Off Disease

Gardening typically means you’ll be out in the sun, and much like the plants you tend, you’ll be getting a rather interesting benefit by absorbing sunlight. The name of this benefit is simple: vitamin D!

Just spending 30 minutes in the sun can lead to your body’s production of 8,000 to 50,000 IU of vitamin D, according to studies, with the large variation depending on the amount of clothing cover you have and how much melanin is in your skin naturally.

But how does this help you with the disease? Vitamin D is a crucial part of a huge number of bodily functions, including strengthening the immune system and maintaining bone health. Further research had indicated the many disease possibilities that vitamin D impacts positively by reducing their development risk:

Bladder Cancer
Breast Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Dementia
Metabolic Syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Prediabetes Condition
Prostate Cancer
Psoriasis Flares
Stroke
Type 2 Diabetes

Of course, overexposure to the sun can increase your risk of skin cancer, so be sure to soak up those rays in moderation!

4. Eating Better Unintentionally

Growing a garden means planting vegetables, fruits, or other similar edible plants that you’ll likely want to find a way to use. This will subconsciously encourage you to cook more and will ensure that you’re using fresh ingredients without toxic pesticides or additives.

Nothing you grow in a garden is processed or pre-packaged. They’re not stuffed with preservatives and hidden calories. Instead, they’re simple whole foods that you’ll want to add to dishes. Even if you still don’t want to cook, using what you’ve planted in snacks or quick bits means you’re eating healthier options than common snack foods.

5. It’s Therapeutic

If you enjoy gardening, you’re likely to find it pretty therapeutic. The natural process of growing plants and caring for them can work wonders for the brain. Here are some common ways that gardening can be immensely therapeutic and beneficial:

· Anger Management

People often underestimate the amount of effort, sweat, and physicality that goes into gardening. Performing tasks in a garden, especially involving pruning, digging, or doing other similar activities, will help you work off tension. You’ll get to take your anger out on the soil and do no harm to anyone else!

· Stress Relief

When you’re stressed out, going out to the garden can help to calm you down. You’ll work off that excess tension and nervous energy and will benefit from the release of positive hormones called endorphins. This can help calm you down and relax you, even in the most stressful times.

· Addiction Recovery

It’s not unusual for horticultural therapy to be used in the process of addiction recovery. Studies have shown that gardening is a better rehabilitative tool than art for addiction recovery, often leading to more positive feelings and higher self-satisfaction levels.

· Consciousness Alteration

This is a bit of a spiritual thing, but if you’re into that, this is a great benefit you can get for your positive thinking and mental state. If you’ve ever gardened before, you know that the specific kind of focus it needs is one that puts you in a new state of mind. You’re basically “in the zone,” so to speak, and it changes the way you feel and how you experience the world in that time. For many people, this is incredibly therapeutic and helps them stay grounded and mindful in the moment.

6. It Forces Self-Care

If you often struggle with self-care, gardening may be able to help you in surprising ways. You see, the fact is that the act of gardening requires that you take care of yourself – no ifs, and, or buts about it.

If you don’t practice certain acts of caution and self-care, you can’t garden properly at all. For health and safety – often of both you and those around you – certain steps must be taken. For example, when you garden, you must:

Dress appropriately in closed clothing and safety fear, sometimes even with goggles, to protect yourself from the elements, tools, and dirt
Listen carefully to what your body is telling you so you can avoid injury.
Choose the type of fertilizer to use in your garden. Be aware of directions on chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, weed killers, and other similar products that you use for your plants in the garden.
Drink enough water to avoid dehydration from the exertion and the sun
Ensure that you are properly using and storing sharp tools and toxic objects, especially if you have kids or pets roaming around
Use sunscreen, bug repellant, or similar products to avoid discomfort or difficulties later.
Ensure that your tetanus shots are up to date because tetanus can be found in soil

But what does this have to do with mental health? Well, for those who don’t practice self-care, having no choice but to do so for a hobby can help them get into the habit of taking care of themselves. So if you struggle with treating yourself kindly, gardening can help you get used to doing so, eventually allowing you to practice self-care unprompted outside of the garden.

7. It Promotes Connection

Gardening can be an extraordinary activity because it helps you foster connections with many different life facets. For whatever reason, this simple hobby has a way of bringing you closer to many things at once. This sense of being connected is great for your mental health, as it can make you feel a sense of purpose or as if you are no alone – which you aren’t! Here are some ways that gardening promotes connection and feelings of togetherness:

You can connect with the food that you grow and the seeds that you sow, and you may even feel more connected with nature and the earth
You can connect more with the world around you, as gardening requires that you pay attention to factors like weather, temperature, and sunlight
You’ll connect with your nurturing side and may even feel like a bit of a parent to the plants that you grow
You can connect with others who enjoy gardening, and the connection can be formed quickly due to the novelty of the hobby and the inherent way it touches people
You can join community or family gardens to work on something collaborative with others who have found joy and peace in gardening, often leading to better personal wellbeing, according to studies
You’ll connect with people from all walks of life and different backgrounds and cultures, thus expanding your horizons.

Final Thoughts On How Gardening Can Boost Your Well-Being And Improve Your Mental Health

Thinking of starting a garden? Do your research and start small! You’ll learn as you go and pick up all sorts of benefits to your mental health and wellbeing along the way!

8 Reasons You Feel Sleepy After Eating (And How To Prevent It)

January 21, 2021 by Lakeisha Ethans

Feeling drowsy after you eat is a common experience, especially after lunch. It can make it difficult to stay awake and stay focused when you have a long day left ahead of you and need to concentrate.

So why does this happen? And how can you work around or reduce this sudden onslaught of tiredness?

8 Reasons You Feel Sleepy After Eating

Here are 8 reasons you feel sleepy after eating and how to prevent it in 7 ways.

1. Your Sleep Habits

Feeling sleepy can sometimes be traced back to a very simple root: not sleeping well enough in a no-brainer sort of way. If you normally feel a little drowsy throughout the day and find it exacerbated after meals, the first thing you may want to do is take a look at your sleep habits. Your problems may be caused by:

Not getting enough sleep the day before
Having poor quality sleep (sleep without sufficient restorative deep sleep)
Maintaining an uneven sleep schedule

2. Eating a Lot of Carbs

Carbohydrates give you energy and are good for you. But eating too much can contribute to many health issues, and at the tip of the iceberg is the sleepiness you likely feel after stuffing yourself with too many carbs in one sitting.

Why does this happen? Well, carbohydrates help the body to produce higher levels of serotonin. On the one hand, serotonin can boost positive thinking and regulate mood. On the other, it balances sleep cycles, so eating too much will make you feel sleepy.

While all carbs can make you sleepy, refined ones tend to be the worst, so try to opt for whole foods instead. Carbohydrates that may cause sleepiness, including the following:

Rice
Baked goods
Rice
White bread
Sugary foods and drinks

3. Eating a Lot of Tryptophan

Tryptophan is a kind of amino acid found in certain kinds of protein-rich foods. You might associate the sleepiness you feel after a Thanksgiving dinner with positive memories. Still, it’s much less convenient when it’s getting in the way of your everyday life, not your relaxing holiday!

Like carbohydrates, tryptophan facilitates serotonin production, which is why it likely makes you feel sleepy after you eat it. Regulating your consumption of these foods should reduce the severity of its effects somewhat. Here are some examples of foods rich in this amino acid:

Cheese
Eggs
Fish
Pork
Soy
Spinach
Spirulina
Tofu
Turkey

4. Your Physical Activity Levels

Do you tend to feel tired throughout the day, only to have it come to a head after meals? You might want to blame your activity levels instead of your food!

Exercise may be tiring when you perform it, but regular exercise makes you stronger, allowing you to enjoy more positive days and higher energy levels. This can help stave off the worst of post-meal tiredness.

If you live a sedentary lifestyle, try to squeeze in at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. This means half an hour of exercise five times a week!

5. High Food Consumption

Have you ever noticed that you feel sleepiest after a large meal? This is due to the sudden upshoot of blood sugar from big meals. This spike in glucose levels means your energy dives shortly after.

This happens twofold when those heavy meals involve carbohydrates or the protein tryptophan. Since most heavy meals tend to have many carbs, you’re essentially making it so sleepiness, after you’re done, is almost inevitable!

6. Eating Specific Sleep-Promoting Foods

Lots of foods unintentionally promote sleepiness. The Sleep Foundation lists some of the following as their recommendations for helping you get more sleep – so it goes without saying that they’re also likely to make you sleepy when you don’t want to be!

· Tart Cherries

Tart cherries are a little different from typical sweet cherries, and while both can make you sleepy, tart cherries are especially potent. Juice of these cherries can help you sleep quicker and for longer, say studies, thanks to the high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin contained in them.

· Nuts

Nuts have a variety of minerals and components in them that are conducive to sleep. Zinc, magnesium, and even melatonin are found in different amounts across nuts like pistachios, walnuts, cashews, and almonds. This combination has been found to have positive effects on insomnia and can make you feel sleepy.

· Kiwi

The kiwifruit is rich in minerals and vitamins, including folate, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin E. They are also packed with antioxidants. It is believed that some combination of these components helps people feel sleepy more quickly, whether due to serotonin promotion or correcting deficiencies, but more research is needed.

7. Medical Issues

It’s rare, but sometimes post-meal sleepiness can be a symptom of a medical condition. Usually, this is accompanied by general fatigue on a chronic or constant scale. Some examples of these medical issues are:

Anemia
Celiac disease
Diabetes
Food intolerance or food allergy
Sleep apnea
Underactive thyroid

If you’re concerned about these issues, you should speak to a doctor, especially if you have other symptoms of those diseases and disorders.

8. The Natural Cycle of Digestion

The natural digestive cycle is such that it’s almost natural to feel a little drowsy after eating. To better understand this, let’s go through each step of that process quickly and simply.

Step 1: You consume food to get energy.
Step 2: The digestive system breaks down food into glucose, which fuels the body.
Step 3: Individual macronutrients are singled out and provide different benefits to the body. For example, protein’s calories can be used as energy.
Step 4: As blood sugar or blood glucose goes up in the body, the body produces insulin to aid the cells’ absorption of glucose. When this process is over, blood sugar dips, reducing energy levels.
Step 5: The process of digestion triggers other bodily responses. Hormones are released in the body that promote satiety, or fullness, such as glucagon, amylin, and cholecystokinin. Another hormone released is serotonin, which regulates sleep and causes drowsiness, especially when combined with foods that contain the sleep hormone melatonin.

As you can see, the digestive process results in hormones that can make you feel sleepy, and glucose shifts in the body add to that tiredness. Basically, if you feel sleepy after eating, it might just be because that’s how your body handles its digestive process!

How To Prevent Feeling Sleepy After Eating

1. Control Your Portions

Eating smaller meals does a few things, namely:

Slows digestion, reducing the resulting sluggishness
It stops you from feeling bloated and uncomfortable, which may make you drowsy
It makes you hungry more often, leading to more frequent meals, which balances blood sugar highs and lows

In other words, by controlling your portions, you’re helping your body to manage the digestive process more positively, preventing the associated sleepiness that may arise from it.

2. Take a Walk

Taking a walk helps you feel more energized because it boosts oxygen levels within your bloodstream. It also helps facilitate circulation, which in turn speeds up the digestive process.

A short ten-minute walk can also boost your positive thinking, so you’re more likely to feel capable of powering through drowsiness after meals.

3. Drink Enough Water

Did you know that even very mild dehydration can negatively affect your positive thinking, ability to focus, and energy levels? That’s why you need to make sure you’re getting enough hydration.

You should be consuming about eight glasses, or two liters, or water daily, but on the whole, you should also drink whenever you feel thirsty. Drinking enough fluids can help your body overcome the slump after meals, especially since water is crucial in almost all of the body’s functions, including digestion.

4. Chew Gum

Chewing a moderate amount of gum for a reasonable amount of time may help facilitate wakefulness, alertness, mood, and memory, according to studies.

This happens because chewing is an activity that helps your body feel like it is in the middle of an action. This allows you to maintain energy levels or regain them if you’ve lost some. Mint-flavored gum is beneficial, thanks to its refreshing taste.

5. Avoid Unhealthy Foods

Junk food, sugar-rich food, and food high in bad fats can increase drowsiness. This is because they often facilitate a higher and sharper blood sugar spike, making the drop later much more drastic and noticeable.

Stick to healthy, lean meats, whole foods, vegetables, healthy fats, and other nutritious options to feel more awake and energized after meals.

Do note that alcohol is also considered an “unhealthy” option in most cases. While some alcohol is fine in moderation, you should limit how much of it you consume if you’re trying to avoid sleepiness.

6. Spend Time In Bright Light

The light dictates the body’s natural circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycles. When you’re in dim lighting, the body begins to produce the sleep hormone melatonin, making you more tired.

Conversely, exposing yourself to bright light – especially bright natural light – will help you feel more alert and awake if you can get some.

7. If All Else Fails, Take A Nap

As a general rule, you should try your best not to take naps in the middle of the day, especially if you have trouble sleeping at night. But when it comes down to it, if you truly can’t keep your eyes open after a midday meal, a quick nap might be your best solution.

Studies have indicated that a nap after lunch can positively affect performance, both physical and mental, while helping you stay more alert. If that’s how you’re going to survive the day, then it’s as good a bet as any!

Final Thoughts On Some Reasons Why You Feel Sleepy After Eating And Ways To Prevent It

After eating, feeling sleepy can be a big inconvenience when you’ve got work to do and several hours of daylight left ahead of you. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can prevent this or help to perk yourself back up again if it happens. So all you need to do is understand if your eating habits may be causing it and work your way through from there!

10 Signs Muscle Spasms May Mean Something Worse

January 20, 2021 by Power of Positivity

Have you ever been at home or work and suddenly felt a painful cramp in a muscle? It’s something that happens to everyone, and it usually isn’t severe. However, how do you know when you should seek medical attention for a muscle spasm?

If you’ve experienced cramps in your muscles, you know that they can be sudden and painful. They occur when one of your muscles or a group contract involuntarily. Muscle spasms are common anywhere in your body, from the minute ones in your eyelids to your large calf and glute muscles.

How many times have you awoken in the middle of the night with an excruciating spasm in one of your calves? You probably hopped out of bed to walk and massage away the kinks. These “Charley horses” are some of the most common muscle cramps people experience.

Usually, muscle cramps are felt in the core, but the spasms can be strong enough to affect surrounding bones. The concern is that if this happens, a spasm can cause bone or joint damage.

Whether your spasms are small or significant, they can be painful, even after they’ve subsided. Some cramps can affect your internal organs, as in the case of an overactive bladder. When the bladder has contractions, you may experience embarrassing urine leakage.

What Causes Muscle Spasms?

There are a lot of issues that can cause your muscles to spasm. Fortunately, most of them aren’t serious enough to require medical attention. If you want to prevent these occurrences in the future, you may need to take some action. Here are some common reasons that you may experience spasms in your muscles:

1. Stress and fatigue

Your muscles work hard for you every day, so it stands to reason that they can feel tired and achy. According to guidelines published by the American Institute of Stress, chronic stress can cause your muscles to be tense and spasmodic. You may also notice painful muscle cramps when you haven’t had enough rest.

2. Overusing your muscles

Yes, your muscles are strong, but they can only endure so much. If you perform overly strenuous exercises, you may pay later with muscle cramps. Also, it’s easy to overdo it at work, or even if you must hold a certain position for a while.

3. Medication

Did you know that the side effect of some medications is muscle cramps? Talk to your primary healthcare provider if you think your medication may be affecting your muscles. Remember never to stop or change your dosage without medical advice.

4. Caffeine

If you enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning, the caffeine probably gives you the energy boost you need. However, caffeine is a drug, and it can also cause your muscles to cramp or spasm. You may notice these small spasms as an eyelid twitch or a little shakiness in your hands.

5. Dehydration

Have you been experiencing painful spasms in your muscles lately? It could be that you haven’t been drinking enough. Your muscles need water to stay toned and work optimally.

6. Electrolyte Imbalances

A book synopsis published by The National Library of Medicine explains that your body needs electrolytes for cell health and interaction between your nerves and muscles. When these essential vitamin and mineral levels are imbalanced, your muscles can spasm.

7. Incorrect Body Mechanics

Your posture and how you move your body are called body mechanics. When you hold your body in unnatural positions, it affects your muscles. Also, repetitive motions, constant bending, and lifting are a major source of muscle cramps.

8. Pregnancy and Childbirth

When you are pregnant, your entire body is in limbo for nine months. The extra stress of the baby and pregnancy weight is hard on your back and leg muscles. It’s common for expectant mothers and even those who just had a baby to have painful muscle cramps.

9. Underlying Spinal Conditions

Your backbone (spine) protects your spinal cord and all its branching nerves. When you have an injury or a spinal disorder, it can pinch these nerves and cause painful spasms in your muscles. A medical specialist best addresses these spasms.

10. Other Serious Medical Conditions

In rare cases, muscle cramps are caused by underlying neurological conditions. However, these spasms tend to be more intense and coexist with other muscular and nervous symptoms. They are also chronic rather than acute.

Most of these risk factors cause muscle cramps that are acute and will resolve with self-care. Others may linger and will require more time to get back to normal. You can successfully treat minor muscle cramps at home.

Self-Help for Muscle Spasms

Although most muscle cramps are painful, they usually aren’t severe enough to seek emergency care. You may already know your risk factors before you even experience the spasms. Here are some helpful ways to ease your spastic muscles yourself:

•If you feel a spasm during exercise or while moving a certain way, stop the movement immediately and rest the sore muscle.

•Drink some fluids for hydration and to replenish your electrolytes

•Massage and stretch the affected muscle gently until it relaxes

•Use a combination of heat and cold to soothe the achy muscles

Ten Reasons to Seek Medical Attention for Muscle Spasms

These self-care suggestions listed above can help with minor spasms, and you should notice a difference in a day or two. However, these are ten cases where you should consult a healthcare professional for your spastic muscles.

1. If Your Muscle Spasms Are Frequently Happening

It’s normal for people of all ages to have an occasional muscle cramp. You can bet on having them at some time if you are physically active. But if your spasms are chronic and intensify over time, it’s time to see a medical professional.

2. If You’re Experiencing Mental Changes, Weakness, or Loss of Balance

When these symptoms accompany spastic muscles, it may be a sign of a more serious condition. It could be a spinal or neurological issue. See your primary healthcare provider as soon as possible.

3. If the Spasms Cause Other Pain Issues, Such As Back Pain or Spasms

Usually, muscle cramps are confined internally to one muscle or a small group. Stronger spasms can not only affect your muscles, but they can affect other parts of your body. This condition is common for those who have back or neck issues.

4. If the Spasms Won’t Resolve Despite Trying Remedies at Home

Most of your muscle cramps and Charley horses are acute, don’t last long, and will resolve with care at home. You may find relief from heating pads, ice packs, massage, or stretching. If your cramps continue past a week or two, you may consider a medical consultation.

5. If You Notice Skin Discoloration, Redness, or Swelling

Spastic muscles usually don’t leave their mark. They hurt for a while, and then they’re gone. However, you should be concerned if you notice inflammation or any bruising around the cramping muscle. Report these symptoms to your healthcare provider immediately.

6. If You’re Having Trouble Breathing

Have you ever had spasms in your chest accompanied by shortness of breath? An article published by the Integrated Physiological and Behavioral Science Journal states the diaphragm often causes it. This muscle separates your chest from your abdominal cavity, and you can experience painful spasms that affect your breathing.

7. If the Spasms Began When You Started or Increased a Medication

As noted, certain medications can make you more prone to having spasms in your muscles. If you’ve just started medication or your healthcare provider increased the dosage, watch for spasms. Report these to your provider as soon as possible, but don’t discontinue or change the dosage without medical advice.

8. If You’re Also Experiencing Burning or Tingling Down Your Leg

If your job requires you to be on your feet a lot or if you stay physically active, leg muscle cramps aren’t unusual. However, if these spasms produce a burning or tingling sensation down one or both of your legs, talk to your healthcare provider. It could be a sign of a back or nerve condition.

9. If You’re Experiencing Spasms After Trauma

Often, it may be the next day or later before you feel the full effects of trauma. First, you must seek emergency treatment after a severe injury. If you notice spasms in your muscles later, it could be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

10. If You’re a Senior

As you get older, those simple aches and pains aren’t so simple anymore. You may have conditions that cause muscle weakness or joint inflammation (arthritis). If you’re a senior and experiencing chronic muscle spasms, it’s essential to talk to your healthcare provider about them.

Final Thoughts on Medical Treatment for Spastic Muscles

When you overuse and overextend your muscles, their painful cramps are a constant reminder. Most of the time, you can take care of simple muscle spasms at home. However, if they become chronic and the pain increases, you should seek medical attention.

15 Signs Someone is Trying to Gaslight You

January 20, 2021 by Power of Positivity

Is someone trying to gaslight you? The phrase came from a play made back in 1938 by Patrick Hamilton. The theme of this thriller was that a man tried to make his wife doubt her sanity so that she could be placed in an asylum.

Once his wife was safely locked away, he could get away with murder. He had murdered a woman earlier and took her beloved jewels. He wanted to find and keep these precious gemstones, but he needed his wife out of his way to get his hands on this wealth.

During the time of the movie, in the 19th century, gaslights were used to illuminate both buildings and streets. So, these people didn’t flip a switch to turn the lights on. The male character made his wife doubt her sanity, and he was able to weaken her view of herself and the world around her by playing cruel tricks.

He falsely portrays the victim of her insanity; eventually, the lady can no longer trust her judgment. The play got its name from the event that happened each night as part of his master plan. When the lady would go into her bedroom, the light in her room would grow dim.

This phenomenon happened with the old-style lights when someone else turned on another light in the house. Though she thought there was another presence with her, or she was going mad; secretly, it was her husband and his tricks.

Either he or a house staff member would manipulate the lights to make her think she was losing her mind. The deceptions caused by her husband are quite manipulative, but in the end, she is saved by a kind stranger who realized what is happening.

So, while gaslighting has recently become a common psychological catchphrase, it’s a problem that’s been around for a long time. Indeed, men and women have used such manipulative tactics to further their agenda, which is commonly seen in narcissistic personality.

Fifteen Signs You’re Being Gaslighted

Times have certainly changed since this play hit theaters in the 1940s. There are no asylums, and people have become savvier to manipulative relationships. Since the famous play, the medical community has dubbed the term gaslight syndrome.

Still, some individuals are attracted to abusive relationships more than others. Here are some signs that you might be a victim of gaslighting.

1. You Feel Stressed or Threatened

A relationship should make you feel better and at ease. If you think that you’re being stressed out just being in this person’s presence, or they make you feel threatened, then something isn’t right.

2. You Feel Confused

You often feel confused when you’re with your partner and can’t recall things correctly. They may continuously have to correct you and set you straight on details you’ve supposedly forgotten.

3. You Apologize When It Isn’t Your Fault

Do you find yourself always apologizing to your partner? Guilt is one of the most powerful forms of control, and if you feel the need to say sorry often, it’s a sign that something is off.

4. You’re Second-Guessing Your Sanity

Do you have moments when you think you’re going mad? Did these feelings start shortly after you started dating your current partner? While it may not be jewels that your significant other is after, they could use you for a part of their master plot.

5. You Must Constantly Defend Yourself Against Ridiculous Accusations

Have you ever heard the saying that when you point the finger at someone else four more are pointing back at you? When someone is eager to blame you for stuff, it’s usually because they have something to hide.

A classic case is a man who is having an affair will often accuse his girlfriend/wife of cheating, which is a way for him to ease his guilt by making the other person appear as the guilty party.

6. You Begin Lying Because You Live in Fear

Do you feel fearful and feel that you need to lie to protect yourself or your relationship? Are people telling you stuff about your partner that you find hard to comprehend? If you must lie to or about your relationship or events, you should run the other way.

7. You’ve Lost All Self-Confidence

One sign that gaslighting is occurring is that a person will begin to lose the self-confidence they once had. If you had a personality that you could tackle the world and now find yourself isolating and crying a lot, you need to reevaluate your life. Something has significantly changed, and it could have everything to do with your toxic relationship.

8. Your Intuitive Side Says Something is Off

Do you feel that something isn’t right, but you just can’t put your finger on it? You were born with an intuitive side that helps to keep you from danger. Trust this instinct because it may be what saves your life.

9. You Second Guess Your Memories

Are your memories becoming hard to remember? Is your partner continually correcting you about times, places, dates, and events? It could be a sign that someone with ulterior motives is manipulating you.

If you never had an issue recalling events before, it’s a sign that something is off. Now, granted, you could be under great stress or have something medically wrong that could cause this occurrence. However, if all medical tests are clear, then it’s a sign that you need to look a little deeper into your relationship.

10. You’re Told That You’re Too Sensitive or Jealous

One way that a manipulator will try to control you is by making you think that you’re the problem. If you’re constantly being told that you’re jealous or too sensitive, then there’s reason to guess that accusation second. If you are generally not sensitive or jealous, then why would you start being all of the sudden?

11. You Are Told You’re Too Demanding

Are you made to feel that any request or things you want from the relationship are out of the question? Another tactic to invalidate your feelings or needs is to say that you are demanding too much. A relationship is 50/50, requiring both parties to put 100 percent into it.

12. You Constantly Feel Sad, Isolated, Powerless, Hopeless, Misread

Has your whole mood changed since you started dating this new person? Do you find yourself feeling depressed, sad, and crying a lot, and even powerless in many situations in your life? If these feelings seemed to come on suddenly, you need to question the circumstances in your life.

Depression can be circumstantial rather than from a chemical imbalance, so you need to make sure that it’s not your current relationship that has you down.

13. You Don’t Trust Your Judgment Anymore

Maybe you’ve always had impeccable taste and could make good decisions. However, through a series of events, it seems you don’t trust your judgment anymore. You feel like you all thumbs, and everything you touch turn to rubbish. Is there a mastermind behind the scenes working to make you doubt yourself?

14. You Don’t Know Who You Are Anymore

When some people are under severe manipulation, they may lose a sense of themselves. They may look in the mirror and not even know who they’re anymore. A relationship should change you for the better and not the worse. If you feel a loss of self, then it’s something you need to evaluate.

15. You’re Always Being Blamed for Everything That Happens

Lastly, one significant sign that you are in a manipulative relationship is you’re always the fall guy. No matter what happens in life, you’re always to blame. If the dog has an accident in the house, it will somehow be turned around and made your fault.

You walk around with the world’s weight on your shoulders because you feel like you don’t do anything right. You can’t cook right, you don’t dress well enough, and your life has become one big cluster of disappointments.

Final Thoughts on How To Tell Someone Is Trying to Gaslight You

While the term came from an old movie set in the 1930s, manipulative partners have been a problem since the world began. While men tend to be the ones who are often thought of as selfish and controlling, women can gaslight too.

Someone who has the power to manipulate you into questioning your memory, perception, and sanity has too much control over your life. Will a kind stranger save you from this toxic relationship like in the movie, or will you have the power to send them packing?

Some too many men and women want to have good, healthy relationships, and they will be with you for all the right reasons. You don’t need to waste your time on someone who uses you to further their agenda and does everything in their power to destroy who you are as a person. Love yourself enough to say goodbye.

20 Things That Clutter Your Home and Mind To Get Rid Of Right Now

January 20, 2021 by Power of Positivity

You decide to take charge of your life. Your first step is to get rid of the excess stuff around your house. But where do you begin? Just the thought of decluttering can be overwhelming. Chances are, at least twenty useless things are cluttering your house and mind. Here’s how to find the clutter and get rid of it.

Why is clutter bad?

What’s the problem with clutter? A study in Japan looked at 450 undergrads’ living space. They found those students who had a problem with decluttering and organizing lived in disorganized homes and had low self-esteem. Researchers found that a cluttered environment hinders your ability to focus completely. Your attention is distracted, so you can’t process information as well. In another study, researchers used an MRI to measure a person’s brain response to organized and disorganized things during a task. Every test showed that an individual could process information and focus better when less clutter was involved. They also found that people tend to be less irritable and less stressed in an uncluttered environment.

What other ways can an uncluttered home and environment help you?

Of course, there are many benefits to decluttering your home. Here are just a few.

You save money because you’re not buying things you already own
Save time, not laundering, organizing, or looking for your things.
You’ll have more confidence since you know where everything is when you need it.
No more lost things.
You suddenly have more space in your house.
You‘ll have more energy since you aren’t taking care of stuff all the time.
You’ll want to invite people over to your home without embarrassment.

How do I know it’s time to declutter?

You may wonder if you should declutter. Here is a foolproof method to tell if you need to declutter your home.

Clothes are lying all over your bedroom or bathroom floor.
You have duplicates and triplicates of most things.
You are considering renting a storage unit for all your stuff.
Every closet in your house is overflowing with stuff.
There are a lot of things sitting around.
Your desk, nightstand, and kitchen table are covered with stuff.
Before you sit down, you need to move stuff off a chair.

Here are twenty useless things that clutter your home and mind

Clear unnecessary stuff out of your home to clear your mind.

1 – Hangers from stores

It’s easy to ignore things we use daily, like hangers. Over time, they accumulate. The free clothes hangers you get at stores aren’t even that great for your clothes. They’re usually made of wire or a thin plastic that breaks easily. The free hangers aren’t usually big enough for your clothes to hang properly. The best thing to do is get rid of all those cheap freebies and purchase better-quality hangers. You can give the clerk the hangers when you buy clothes at stores. They are usually happy to get the hangers back, and more importantly, it frees your home of clutter.

2 – Mismatched items

Do you have that one sock you love so much that you keep it, hoping that someday you’ll find its match? It could be a favorite earring or glove, but in reality, you may never find its match. Keeping these things only adds to the clutter in your drawers or jewelry box. Why not turn it into a necklace if you have a precious earring? Or, if you have a mismatched gold earring, you could sell it for cash. There are some reputable places online with good reviews that will pay well. But you may need to take the plunge and throw away those lonely socks, gloves, and earrings.

3 – Old underwear

Old bras or underwear can pile up in your drawers. You may be so used to digging through the pile. You don’t think twice about it. If you have many older underthings, it’s probably time to let them go. Old bras lose their shape over time, and underwear gets stretched out. Having good-fitting underwear can change the way your clothes hang on you. So, take a deep dive into your underwear drawer and sort out the old and new. While looking through your underwear, check out your shapewear and other underpinnings to see if they need repaired, replaced, or thrown out entirely.

4 – Old linens

It’s easy to accumulate sheets, pillowcases, and blankets over the years. You may not even notice how fuzzy the sheets feel or that tear in the corner of the blanket on your bed. But when you stop and take a good look, you may be surprised at how dog-eared your linens look. It may be time to throw out old linens and purchase new ones. You may be able to donate your old linens and towels to an animal shelter. You can also cut up some old towels to clean your car.

5 – Boxes

Are you a box collector? Do you love keeping things in their original box? These boxes take up extra space, and when you think about it, they don’t add any value to the item. Take a look around. If you have boxes, you can easily recycle them. Plus, you may find out that you aren’t using the item inside the box either, so that you can recycle or donate it, too.

And exploring flexible storage options can be the key to keeping your home or office clutter-free, especially when space is at a premium. Croydon self storage facilities offer secure and convenient access, perfect for anyone moving home or downsizing. It’s worth visiting this page on Croydon self storage solutions for practical and cost-effective options.

6 – Clothing or shoes that don’t fit your lifestyle

Over the years, your tastes and lifestyles change. What you wore in college doesn’t cut it for today’s job. You may love some of your old clothes. It’s easy to get emotionally attached to clothing or shoes with sentimental attachments, but you need to move on from them at some point. When you insist on wearing your old things, you look disheveled, out of style, and older. It may be time for a serious assessment of your clothing. Set up four boxes:

Throw out: Worn-out, frayed, or faded clothing should go in the trash can.
Donate: Donate to charity organizations or shelters where they need clothing.
Sell: If you have clothing that doesn’t fit your lifestyle but is in good condition, you can sell it. There are several good online sites where you can easily sell clothing.
Keep: Only keep what you will really wear. Be sure you aren’t giving in to sentimentality but need the piece to help your wardrobe.

Once you look at your empty closet, you’ll be surprised by how light you feel. It’s like your brain is suddenly free from the clutter of your closet.

7 – Phone cases, cords, chargers

Smartphone cases, chargers, and cords quickly accumulate over the years. If you aren’t using these things, ask yourself which ones you could get rid of. It may be a good idea to keep the chargers if you’ll use the same brand later; otherwise, throw them away, donate them, or give them to someone else who needs them.

8 – Jewelry you don’t wear

If you enjoy jewelry styles and trends, stick with cheaper jewelry to get rid of when the trend is over. If you have more expensive jewelry that you don’t wear, find someone in your family who will love it or sell it, or you can have it melted down and made into another piece of jewelry. You could also consider bringing it to a jewelry pawn shop if you’re looking for a quick way to turn it into cash.

9 – Paper

Do you have old warranty papers, notes, or cards lying around? Even if you have these papers neatly filed in your file cabinet, you should sort through them and get rid of them. If some cards have sentimental worth, scan them to save them digitally.

10 – Expired items

It’s incredible how many things in your house are past their expiration date. Not just food that expires, but spices, cleaning products, makeup, and medications all have dates when they shouldn’t be used anymore. Go from room to room, pull out products, and check to see if they’re expired. Even if it’s something you’re using, throw it out. Using these products could pose a health risk.

11 – Broken toys

Face it. Toys don’t last long. Either they break, or your child loses interest in them over time. Take stock of your kid’s toys. If a toy is broken, throw it out. If it still works, you can donate it or sell it. Encourage your child to help you if they’re old enough to understand. Your child can buy a new toy with the money you get from selling the toy. While at it, reorganize the bedroom or toy room with them. Make organizing and decluttering a fun experience that you do together. This can teach your child to enjoy decluttering themselves as they get older.

12 – Dishes, plates, and cups you dislike

Perhaps you dislike the old multi-colored plates from your great aunt, but you feel bad getting rid of them. You may think that someday you’ll love these dishes, but it’s not likely. You can try to find someone in your family who wants them, but it’s probably best to sell or donate old dishes to charity. The same goes for old chipped dishes, cups, and mugs. All those things in your kitchen cabinets take up space in your house. Don’t linger over them. Throw them out right away.

13 – Old muffin tins, saucepans, or bakeware

Old bakeware that’s turned dark and ugly isn’t worth keeping. If you have a favorite saucepan or muffin tin, you may want to keep it. But old bakeware should be thrown out and replaced with new ones. Perhaps you have two of every kind of baking dish. It’s time to donate or throw out one and keep one. Unless you’re a professional baker, there’s no need for two or three of every piece of bakeware in your kitchen.

14 – Books you aren’t going to read

Some people love to keep books. If you re-read your books, it’s a good idea to keep them, but if you’ve never read the book or you won’t reread it, then say goodbye to them. Many libraries are looking for books. They sell them to get money for the library. Charities, nursing homes, and some schools love books, too. They’ll be happy to take them off your hands.

15 – Trinkets, souvenirs you don’t like

Maybe that cute little souvenir you got at a theme park when you were a kid is now cracked and faded. Cheap little things you got from vacations, friends, or relatives can pile up. They are dust catchers. If you want to keep them, find a way to display them by hanging them on the wall or displaying them in a case. Otherwise, throw them out, donate them, or sell them because they’re taking up space.

16 – Stuff you plan to get “fixed” someday

Everyone hangs on to things they plan to fix someday. Whether it’s your old watch or tea kettle from your grandma that quit working years ago, these things take up space in your closets, garage, or basement. If you really want it, take it to get it fixed immediately. Otherwise, through it out.

17 – Dried up nail polish, old perfume, empty pens

Look through your nail polish, pens, and perfume. If they look dried out, throw them out immediately. These things are easy to replace.

18 – Old emails

Your computer needs decluttering as much as your house. Old contact lists, emails from people you don’t know, and email notifications can build up over time. One person found they had 25,000 emails they needed to sort through. You may be surprised to find an email you missed. Try to declutter your emails at least twice a year to keep on top of them.

19 – Storage containers with missing lids

The elusive lid to a storage container has gone missing again. Time to sort through all your plastic and glass storage containers. If they don’t have a matching lid, get rid of it. Who knows what happens to those missing lids, but you probably need to declutter your storage containers at least every six months.

20 – Junk drawer items

If your junk drawer is taking on a life of its own, it’s probably time to sort through it. Find a home for things that have landed in the junk drawer. You can buy convenient organizers for your junk drawer so it doesn’t get too full.

How to know if you have a hoarding problem?

If you have a tough time letting go of everything, and your house is proof of it, you may have a hoarding disorder. It’s a growing problem in the United States. Getting help with this disorder can improve your life and reduce the clutter in your home. If you think you may have a hoarding problem, get help right away.

Final thoughts on freeing your home from clutter

Clutter is detrimental to your mind and body. It makes you feel stressed as well as disrupts your focus. Everyone has useless things lying around their house that need to be thrown out or donated. Why not get started decluttering today? Start small. You don’t need to go through everything on this list, but you can work down the list over time. You’ll be surprised how good it feels to have less stuff. Plus, you’ll find space you didn’t know you had in your home so you can enjoy your clutter-free home.

Experts Reveal 4 Reasons Someone Gets Addicted

January 20, 2021 by Lakeisha Ethans

Addiction is a complex and difficult subject to broach. It can cause significant distress, harm the people close to the addict, ruin lives, and even kill.

But if everyone knows how awful addiction can be, why do so many fall victim to it? And is there any real way out? Here’s how experts reveal 4 reasons why we get addicted and 3 ways to break an addiction.

4 Reasons Why Someone Might Get Addicted

Experts share the causes of addiction.

1. Dependency On Prescriptions

One of the most common causes of substance abuse is a little surprising: over-prescription. In the United States, many people become overly dependent on their prescriptions, resulting in them feeling like they need those prescriptions to survive. This is, according to Brenda Munnerlyn, a registered nurse.

While doctors lose their licenses due to providing excess medication to their patients, patients themselves often also perform dangerous behaviors. They may lie about conditions to receive more prescriptions, take medications from others, or even turn to street medications to gain access to more and more.

Worse still, taking too many of these types of drugs causes the body to build up a tolerance to it, resulting in the need for higher and higher doses each time. It’s a dangerous spiral.

2. Genetics

If your parents were addicts or easily became addicted to things, there’s a chance that you may inherit that tendency. A significant number of children of addicts wing up becoming dependent on similar addictions, says Munnerlyn.

Worse still, many genetic addicts will be able to engage in more extreme addictive behaviors due to a higher tolerance, which means they can unknowingly endanger themselves. They may also have an easier time becoming addicted to substances.

3. Poor Mental Health

A bad mental state can contribute to the desire to use addiction as a coping mechanism, Munnerlyn states. Here are some ways that this may happen:

· Mental Illness

For many, having a pre-existing mental disorder, such as OCD, anxiety, or depression, can be a catalyst for falling into addiction. Poor management of disorders is the key reason that this may happen.

· Stress

With all the life stressors, certain addictive substances can have a calming or distracting effect, allowing you to push aside or dismiss the stress.

· Trauma

Someone with unresolved and unaddressed trauma may be more susceptible to triggers that cause them to turn to addictive habits to cope. Repressed trauma can also unknowingly cause someone to seek unhealthy coping mechanisms.

4. Brain Adaptation

When you repeatedly engage in addictive habits, your brain begins to change and adapt, attempting to balance out the surges in dopamine with the substance levels it is used to receiving. This results in the decreased production of dopamine, or lowered dopamine receptor totals, says University of Texas professor of neuroscience Dr. Hitoshi Morikawa.

What does this mean? Well, it means the body has lost its ability to maintain normal dopamine levels, requiring the repeated use of the addictive product to be at “normal” levels. The lack of dopamine means decreased positive thinking and a higher susceptibility to negative emotions, which need even more of that addictive product to cope!

Over time, the “reward” provided from continuing the addiction is entirely replaced with only a desire for it. The need for this addiction becomes the brain’s new normal, and without it, functioning is often lost. This need is then hardwired in, resulting in a dangerous susceptibility to addiction triggers.

3 Ways To Break Addiction

1. Write Things Down

If you have any goal, writing down its details is a good place to start. Research has found that this is a crucial and positive step that better solidifies your mind’s goal, allowing you to achieve it in better and more effective ways.

Substance Abuse Treatment Specialist Tiffany Douglass recommends multiple different steps to write things down when overcoming serious addiction. To begin with, you should start by noting down some of the ways your addiction harms you and those around you. It can be difficult to stare in the face of the harmful effects of what are, essentially, your actions. But seeing this list will better motivate you and help you confront reality.

Here are some ideas on how to go about this:

Begin by focusing on what originally led to the addiction; what issues were you avoiding or coping with through this addiction?
Consider the ways your addiction has impacted your mental health; do you feel shame for your addiction, do you have symptoms of mental disorders, or do you generally feel bad all the time?
Consider the ways your addiction has impacted your physical health; are you at greater risk for certain diseases, or have you begun to notice some negative physical effects?
Consider the ways your addiction has impacted your financial situation; how much money do you spend on your addiction, and what has that prevented you from financing?
Think about everyday problems resulting from your addiction; does it take a lot of time out of your day, do you feel judged for it, or are you struggling to focus without it?

Next, Douglass states that you should begin writing down what you imagine your life can be like once you overcome your addiction or what you want it to resemble.

Here are some ideas:

You will be able to finance your hobbies and other big things.
You will be in a fitter, healthier shape.
You’ll be happier with your friends and family, and they will be less worried about you.
You will feel freer and more in control.
You will have a stronger sense of self-esteem and confidence.
You’ll feel proud of yourself for overcoming all odds.

Finally, Douglass says you should add one more thing to your written list: your commitment to quitting. These commitments involve writing clear reasons that you’re quitting in a motivational way. Overcoming your addiction to work towards those commitments will be even harder if you’re not writing them down.

Here are some examples of motivational reasons to kick an addiction:

Live your life to its fullest, without fear or shame.
Be a better friend, child, sibling, spouse, partner, or worker.
Survive for a long time so you can see the things you want to see in the future, such as your grandchildren.
Live long enough to fulfill your dreams.
Save more money so you can move away from the things that cause you pain.

2. Prepare To Handle The Difficulties

Temptation, withdrawal symptoms, and other similar problems can create setbacks that lead to relapses. If you’re not prepared and aren’t brutally honest with yourself about how difficult the journey to beating addiction can be, you may fall quickly the first time you face trouble. Here are some tips for managing difficulties, according to Douglass:

· Stay Occupied

Addiction often robs you of time and energy. Now that you’re trying to quit, you’ll have so much more open time. If you don’t fill it properly, you may wind up falling back into old patterns. Find distractions and new hobbies like exercising, socializing, cooking, or taking classes. The best options will be those that give you a boost in your positive thinking through feel-good hormones and the activation of your brain’s reward systems. Exercising, singing, and dancing are among some activities that do this.

· Keep Triggers At A Distance

Try and take note of things that trigger your addictive behaviors or increase your urges to give in to them. These triggers should be kept at arm’s length and beyond. Remove all memories of your addiction from your home, enlisting help from others if need be. Avoid places that encourage the actions of your addiction or remind you of them. Distance yourself from people who remain deep in addiction and disinterested in recovering. It seems like a lot to do, but it often pays off.

· Know That Relapses Aren’t The End

Relapse is commonly viewed as a form of “failure” by recovering addicts. The truth is that it’s often part of the journey. The longer you stay caught up in guilt and shame over a relapse, the less time you’ll have to focus on your renewed efforts to recover. After a relapse, you come away stronger and wiser, with more knowledge of your limits, danger periods, and what works best for you. It’s not starting back at square one. It’s a part of your progress. Remember, progress is not linear, so maintain positive thinking!

3. Get Help

Addiction is no joke. The very concept of trying to break an addiction on your own is already an almost impossible battle – and there is no shame in that! Addiction is a dragon that is difficult to defeat. Still, the aid of a professional is not only valuable but often a safer way to go about besting your inner demons.

Certified Personal Trainer Tiffany Stafford highly recommends seeking support, both on a professional and a personal level, if you truly want to overcome your addictions. Thankfully, many people struggle with addiction because many institutions and organizations offer aid for fighting these battles. Here are some tips:

Seek out local mental health professionals and therapists who are qualified and can create a workable treatment plan for you
Seek local support groups that meet or communicate regularly; you will feel less alone and have others fighting the same battle as you.
Do your research to find the best professionals, groups, and resources for the problems you struggle with
Find free resources that offer aid and assistance to those trying to quit addictions.
Talk to a doctor or similar healthcare professional about possible withdrawal symptoms before you begin trying to kick the habit, so you know what to prepare for
Confide in the people you love and trust who care about you in return and ask for their support to positively impact your chances of success; make sure you maintain and abide by healthy boundaries from all sides.

Final Thoughts On Some Reasons Why We Get Addicted And Ways To Break Addictions

Fighting addiction is frightening and difficult, but it’s also brave. If you are struggling with overcoming an addiction of any kind, whether it is related to substances, activities, or lesser-known conditions, know that you are capable of breaking free from its chains.

New Brain Imaging Technology Helps Reveal PTSD

January 20, 2021 by Power of Positivity

Post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly called PTSD, is a significant problem throughout the world. While it’s commonly associated with veterans, brain imaging shows it can affect anyone who has experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a traumatic event. It affects all ages, races, and genders, although some groups may have a higher risk than others.

PTSD is a psychological disorder in which a person experiences lasting stress or fear from a traumatic event that happened to them or that they witnessed. While it’s natural for a person to experience anxiety from trauma, this fear would typically subside after a short period. When it doesn’t, it’s considered chronic and then is classified as a disorder.

One of the biggest problems with PTSD is that scientists haven’t been able to identify who will develop PTSD and who won’t. However, new research may be the key to solving this problem. Scientists at the University of California San Diego may have found brain biomarkers that can indicate PTSD after a TBI.

Details of the Study

The lead researcher of the study was Dr. Murray B. Stein, MD, MPH, a practicing psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Other researchers on the project included Dr. Esther Yuh, MD, Dr. Sonia Jain, MD, Ph.D., Dr. David O. Okonkwo, MD, Ph.D., and more. It was published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging in December of 2020.

TRACK-TBI

The study involved using data from brain imaging and a clinical analysis known a Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI). TRACK-TBI is a more extensive national study. This study aims to create a comprehensive database – a TBI Information Commons that the best scientists can access TBI patients in the United States.

TRACK-TBI was started because out of all the data collected from TBI cases over the last few decades. There hasn’t been one successful or lucrative clinical trial. The idea is that if there is a central database for scientists to pull brain imaging data from, it will allow for more comfortable and more effective collaborations, which should lead to useful results from scientific research.

Currently, the TRACK-TBI database contains data from over 2700 TBI patients, gathered from 18 U.S. sites. It’s open to scientists all over the world to collect and use the information for studies. That’s exactly what the UCSD researchers did.

The UCSD researchers pulled data from 421 patients in the TRACK-TBI database. The study’s requirements for inclusion were that the patients had to have been analyzed in the emergency department for a TBI, including brain imaging. These patients also had to have been evaluated two weeks after, three months after, and six months after the injury.

Three Tesla MRI Machines

The researchers analyzed the volume of multiple brain sections using T2-weighted brain imaging at 3 Teslas. This is significant because most MRI machines use 1.5 Teslas.

Although these new 3 Tesla MRI machines present some challenges in the medical industry right now, using twice the power leads to higher resolution images. They are more accurate, so there is a significantly lower risk of the patient needing to be rescanned due to flawed imaging. However, brain imaging’s total time may be increased because the FDA limits the amount of heat that human tissue can accumulate in scanning sessions. This means that patients must wait longer for their tissue to cool down between scans.

For the UCSD study, the 3 Tesla MRI scans allowed researchers to thoroughly analyze specific areas of TBI patients’ brains in greater detail than ever before. They could identify smaller lesions and anatomical structures, and other information that may not have been noticed with older, 1.5 Tesla machines. The brain areas that were analyzed were:

Insula
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Superior frontal cortex
Rostral anterior cingulate
Caudal anterior cingulate
Lateral orbitofrontal cortex
Medial orbitofrontal cortex

They used volumetric analysis to analyze these areas. According to scientists, these areas can shrink in people suffering from a TBI.

What the Results Mean

Researchers observed patients’ decreased brain volumes at the time of their TBI or up to two weeks after. With the theory that this is the predictor for people who will have PTSD, they observed these patients at the 3-month mark. Around 77% of these patients had PTSD at that time. The data was less forthcoming for determination around the 6-month mark. However, approximately 70% of participants were found to have PTSD at that time.

This is one study, and to solidify the results, it must be replicated. However, this study’s results shine a light on the possibility of more specific preventative treatment for people who might have PTSD from TBIs. It gives researchers and scientists a starting point. As Dr. Stein said, “it does pave the way for future studies to look even more closely at how these brain regions may contribute to (or protect against) mental health problems such as PTSD.”

How Bad is PTSD?

To understand why this study is so important, it helps to know how bad PTSD is. As stated before, it’s commonly associated with veterans, and PTSD statistics are scary. However, the statistics among non-veterans suffering from PTSD is equally as shocking.

First, the number of traumatic events must be realized. According to the National Center for PTSD, 60% of men and 50% of women will experience at least one traumatic event. Traumatic events include:

Domestic violence
Community violence
Serious car accident
Sexual abuse
Physical abuse
Child abuse
Some serious injury
The unexpected violent death of a loved one
A serious natural disaster
War and terrorism

With so many traumatic events that can happen, it’s no surprise that almost 60% of the population will experience it at least once.

Not everyone who suffers from a traumatic event will develop PTSD. Based on statistics from the United States, an average of 8 percent of the population will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. However, the percentage is higher for women. Ten percent of women will develop it while only about 4% of men will create it.

TBI Statistics

This article and the research it discusses specifically focuses on TBI from traumatic events. Not all traumatic events result in a TBI – for example, the person may be a witness rather than a victim. However, studies have found that people with a TBI have a higher chance of developing PTSD than those who experienced a traumatic event with no TBI.

TBI has expected in the United States it’s a leading cause of death and disability. It’s estimated that 2.87 million people in the U.S. suffer from a TBI each year.

Of all the TBI-related emergency room visits, almost half of them were due to falls. Over 80% of adults 65 years of age or older suffered their TBI from a fall. For the age range of 0 to 17, 49% of their TBIs were from falls.

Motor vehicle accidents were the second-highest cause of TBIs at 20%, while self-harm was the first leading cause of TBI-related deaths at 33%.

The Effect of TBIs on PTSD

While the event that cause a TBI is to blame for PTSD, it goes a little deeper than that. TBIs affect the brain on a cellular level, leading to a plethora of neurological disorders and diseases. PTSD just happens to be one of the most common.

As evidenced by the study discussed in this article, scientists link a shrinking brain to the development of PTSD (and other neurological issues). The amygdala is an area of popular focus with the shrinking brain theory. It could be that TBIs damage brain cells, causing them to die in the process. This can lead to a shrinking brain.

It’s almost like a catch-22. A shrinking brain can lead to the development of PTSD, but severe PTSD can also cause the brain to shrink.

It seems that a plausible short-term solution to PTSD would be to figure out how to reduce TBIs. That’s a task that’s easier said than done. It would take a significant effort to make this happen.

Final Thoughts About Brain Imaging, TBIs, and PTSD

Science is continually evolving, and this is good news for the neuroscience discipline. There is a massive lack of understanding when it comes to neurological disorders like TBIs and PTSD, so any breakthrough can make a huge difference. The researchers at the University of California San Diego have made a significant contribution to the scientific community.

The hope is that this research will pave the way to preventative care for one of the worst neurological disorders that humans face. Perhaps people can also find a way to cut back on TBIs in the first place. These two combined efforts could be the key to improving the overall mental health of the world on a significant scale.

Urban Man Gets Fed Up With Fast Paced Life To Be A Farmer and Save Animals

January 20, 2021 by Kristen Lawrence

Joar Berge, otherwise known as the “mustache farmer,” decided to leave his fast-paced city life to reconnect with nature. He grew up in a small village in Germany, where he spent most of his childhood on farms surrounded by animals. As much as he loved the simple life, he moved to the city as soon as he was old enough. The connection to nature and his dream of being a farmer never left him, though.

Joar’s love for animals started early.

On his own farm as a child, he had goats, geese, chickens, ducks, and ostriches. However, he formed the closest bond with a cow named Rexi on a nearby farm. He considered Rexi his “foster calf” since he spent so much time with her. They maintained a close relationship, but unfortunately, the calf was taken away after a few years, and he had no way of rescuing her.

His love for cows began with this bond he had formed with Rexi. Because of her, he had big dreams of becoming a farmer and having his own cows someday. He had moved around Europe, living in Mannheim, Berlin, and Cologne in Germany, as well as Côte d’Azur in France. However, one day he finally got fed up with the fast-paced urban lifestyle and wanted to fulfill his dream of being a farmer.

He decided to return to his roots and invest in his passion for farming. Setting his sights on establishing a sustainable dairy farm, he immersed himself in agricultural courses and hands-on training, honing his skills in livestock management and sustainable farming practices. His journey led him to explore various farming communities across Europe, where he gained invaluable insights into modern agricultural techniques and local farming traditions. Amidst his travels, his bond with cows remained steadfast, driving his determination to create a thriving dairy operation that prioritized animal welfare and environmental stewardship.

As he embarked on this new chapter, his enthusiasm for agriculture attracted the attention of agribusiness recruiters seeking innovative minds committed to advancing the industry. Recognizing his unique blend of international experience and passion for sustainable farming, they saw him as a potential catalyst for their own agricultural enterprises. His story underscores the importance of nurturing talent in agribusiness recruitment to cultivate the next generation of agricultural leaders. If your organization is looking to harness the passion and expertise of individuals like him, consider partnering with Agri Talent. We specialize in connecting visionary professionals with forward-thinking agribusinesses, ensuring a synergy that drives success and sustainability. Contact Agri Talent today to explore how we can support your recruitment efforts and help you achieve your agricultural ambitions.

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At this point, he decided to get back to his roots and move back to the small village in Germany. Of course, he knew a long road awaited him, but he would do whatever it took to reach his goals. He says that patience never came naturally to him, but farming taught him this important virtue. Since he was just starting out, he decided to rescue two cattle to get things moving.

The mustache farmer finally reunites with his favorite animal

“I came back to the area where I grew up, talked to my parents and got the cows, Emma and Dagi, in the beginning, and this really changed my life completely.” Joar says. “It changed its direction, I would say.”

He named them Emma and Dagi, and says “this step was the best thing that could ever happen to me.” Emma is a Tyrolean Grey from an organic farm. Dagi is a White Galloway, which are originally from Scotland. Dagi is the short name of Dagros, which almost every cow in Norway is named (and Joar is Norwegian).

Since he bought the farm, he enjoys each day communing with nature and his animals. He has many moments of bliss since he’s left the city live and embraced his heart’s true calling. After getting off work, he looks forward to changing into his farm clothes and caring for the cows. He enjoys the smell of the stable, seeing hundreds of birds fly overhead, and discovering new plants or animals.

His two cows have very different personalities, but he loves them both just the same. On his website, he says they “are such beautiful animals that deserve to be met at eye level.” By becoming a farmer, he’s learned a lot about himself in a short time, both professionally and personally.

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Not only does having a farm reconnect you to nature, but cuddling with the farm animals does wonders for the nervous system! Joar highly recommends it for anyone suffering from stress or anxiety. Joar says he often gets asked whether farm life is as beautiful as he imagined it being. He says, “No, it is not. It is more beautiful.”

Joar falls in love with farm life and starts a new venture

On his website, he goes on to say that the nature, animals and experiences continue to impress him. He learns patience, attentiveness, and sees things from new perspectives each day. Sometimes, he feels totally in awe of what life in nature has given him, mentally and spiritually.

He calls himself a cow whisperer, as it seems so easy for him to communicate and connect with the beautiful animals. He thoroughly enjoys the farm community both online and in real life. He’s made friends with cow farmers all over the globe, and continues to be inspired by the lifestyle. Joar is thankful for the opportunities, inspiration, and connection he’s received from social media.

“Now in the meantime I founded a farm animal sanctuary together with friends on a lovely farm in my old home area. There we now have 7 cows, 1 pony, 2 pigs, 1 dog, 4 rabbits 10 chickens and 2 baby deers.”

He founded the animal sanctuary in a beautiful area of Germany called ‘Odenwald’ back in May 2020. There, he and his friends offer the animals a place to live without asking anything of them in return. They lovingly care for the animals according to their specific needs and with the resources they have available.

Joar says he loves to share his life with people on social media because of the beauty and peace he’s found from it. He went on to say he wishes everyone had a cow at home because this would make the world a better place. We would have to agree with that!

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Of course, starting a farm comes with a lot of challenges, but the rewards far outweigh the setbacks. Not only can you grow or produce your own food, but you get to connect with animals and nature. In our modern world, many of us would benefit from embracing a more natural lifestyle.

Final thoughts: being a farmer is hard work, but it can totally change your life

Joar grew up on a farm surrounded by many beautiful animals, but he lost this connection when he moved to the city. However, he always knew he would eventually return and become a cow farmer. Luckily, he got to achieve his dream and now owns a sanctuary for many types of farm animals. People like Joar give us hope and remind us that we can all contribute in some way to a more peaceful world.

“Saving one animal does not change the whole world, but the whole world changes for this one animal.” – Foundation Hof Butenland

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