Endurance cycling has been gaining a lot of popularity lately, and it seems as though many people have started to wake up to the huge health benefits that it holds. It’s not as difficult as it might seem to get started, and it doesn’t take a lot of experience to make those first miles. After you’ve gained some momentum, it can easily become your favorite way to stay in shape. There are many positive health effects to endurance cycling, some of which you definitely shouldn’t ignore if you’re entering the later stages of your life.
Great Cardio
Everyone needs regular cardio training. It can be annoying, but it’s important for your health, especially if you live a sedentary lifestyle in general. Running is not an attractive option for many people who dislike cardio in general, but cycling is a different story. It’s not that hard to get started with endurance cycling, and it can be a great way to keep your heart (and overall body) in great shape. A good thing about endurance cycling for cardio training is that you can easily vary the difficulty by adjusting the terrain, unlike running which usually requires you to pause for a longer period before making that switch.
Improved Stamina
As the name implies, endurance cycling is also great for improving your endurance. Stamina is an important factor for adults, especially those with young kids. If you don’t have the strength to run after your kids all day long, you won’t be able to spend as much quality time with them as you might wish. Plus, this will give you a better opportunity to apply some proper parenting when they get rowdy – can you imagine if you are physically unable to catch them in the first place? Unfortunately, many people are in that boat, and don’t even put any effort into improving their situations. Avoiding that mistake is one of the best gifts you can give to your future self, so start on that track as early as possible.
Clear Up Your Head
There’s a lot to be said about the link between regular exercise and mental wellbeing too. Many people work out simply because it helps them clear their head and works wonders for keeping their mood in check. This goes double for endurance cycling. You’re not only keeping your body active, but you’re constantly passing through various attractive landscapes, keeping your mind fresh and excited. Then there are some auxiliary benefits that people don’t even realize too often. For example, endurance cycling can predispose you to much better hydration. Monitoring your sweat rate and cycling hydration is crucial for attaining peak performance, and this will help you improve your mental wellbeing in general. Take a look at what Velosurance has to say on the subject – if you’ve never paid attention to the importance of your sweat rate and cycling hydration, you might be interested in the opinion of qualified experts like them.
Bone Health
Your bones are another part of your body that will benefit greatly from endurance cycling, especially if you try to push yourself a bit more here and there. Endurance cycling has been known for quite a while to promote good bone health and improved resilience of the body as a whole. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should be reckless about crashing your bike and potentially breaking something. But after cycling for a long time, you’re going to start noticing certain effects on your bones and overall strength. You’ll feel less rigid and livelier, and this will continue the more you keep on cycling.
A Great Workout for All Ages
Endurance cycling also works well for people of all ages. You don’t have to be at the peak of your youth to take advantage of it. In fact, it’s a popular hobby among many older folks who want to stay in shape without exposing their bodies to too much risk. Since you’re in full control over the stress level of your workout, you can easily adjust it as you grow older and keep things a bit toned down. That said, you might be amazed by how far some people are pushing their bodies at that age, especially those who’ve grown up cycling heavily.
Getting started with endurance cycling is not difficult either. You don’t need an expensive bike for a start (although you’ll definitely want to invest in a good one as you continue), and you should be able to find plenty of information on workout routines online. The only important thing is that you stay persistent and keep pushing forward. Once you’ve gained some momentum, it will be much easier to keep going, and you’ll never want to go back to living your life without getting on your bike a few times a week and exploring the area around you.
Motherhood is undoubtedly a life-changing event that is both thrilling and scary. You now have this frail bundle of joy that depends on you for everything. New mothers receive all sorts of advice, even the unsolicited ones that feel a bit invasive. However, smart advice from experts and real mothers who have gone down that road can be insightful. This article will discuss key pieces of advice you need to know as a new mom.
Take lots of pictures
Well, there is no such thing as too many pictures! Your baby will only be a certain age once, and it is important to capture the memories and milestones as they happen. You will also be able to see how far your child has come and helped them through rough patches in the future.
Ignore the pressure to bounce back
New mothers fall victim to comparing themselves to celebrities or fellow friends, who shrunk back to their pre-baby bodies. Remember that you just grew a baby and that you should pressure yourself to look like a goddess twelve weeks after giving birth. Even when given the go-ahead to exercise, ensure you keep your fitness goals realistic.
Keep yourself grounded
Many mothers assume that they always have to do the most for their children. Remember that your child needs a happy mother who is self-aware, grounded, and ready to take care of herself to be there for her kids. Let others help you where they can.
Know when to wean your child
Weaning will be one decision you will need to make as a mum. It is more or less a personal decision depending on your situation. That said, it is recommended that the baby gets 6 months of breastfeed milk. You can then start weaning the child after a year as long as it suits both of you. You should also know when should babies stop using pacifiers to avoid physical dependency. Be wary though of listening to unsolicited advice will have you questioning things like or when to stop breastfeeding. Learn to ignore unwanted advice and do what is best for your child.
Nourish your body
Your baby needs nutrients from breast milk to stay nourished. Not only do you rely on good nutrition to produce breast milk, but you also need food to fuel your body. Avoid starving yourself and consume nutrient-packed foods rich in zinc, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin B6.
Find a mother’s group
It is important to get in touch with other adults, preferably mothers in the same boat as you. Being locked up in the house with a crying baby will do you no good, especially if you were used to being out of the house.
Trust your instincts
If you have a bad gut feeling about anything to do with your child, do not hesitate to contact a doctor, no matter what anyone else says. You are your child’s mother, and you know what they might need at any point in time.
Disconnect nursing from sleeping
Establish a soothing bedtime routine for your child, such as running a warm bath, offering a bottle of milk then reading them a book. This routine will help you get your little one to sleep without having to nurse.
Final remarks
We hope that this article has provided some wisdom if you are a mum wondering if you are doing it right. As a rule of thumb, don’t be hard on yourself, and be sure to trust your instincts as you move along in the motherhood journey.
If you are planning a wedding reception, birthday bash or anniversary party, consider hiring a professional DJ to supply the music. A professional DJ offers reliability, top-quality equipment and sound, excellent musical variety and experience acting as master of ceremonies.
Reliability
As an event planner, you have enough to think about without wondering if the friend who has agreed to provide music will show up on time and be ready to go. If you hire a professional DJ, on the other hand, you can count on reliability.
Barring some uncontrollable emergency, a professional DJ will arrive on time, set up his or her equipment efficiently, and be ready to go when the event starts. Professional DJs have set up their systems many times and will not get in the way of other event preparations. Your DJ will also be available to meet with you before the event for any last-minute instructions and requests, and you can trust your DJ to remember what you say and put it into action when the time comes.
Top-quality Equipment and Sound
Professional DJs have top-quality equipment that makes your favorite music sound excellent. Your DJ will likely take a look at your venue before the event to make sure he or she uses the proper speakers for the size and layout of the room. Your DJ will also check for sound quality, making adjustments as needed so the music is crisp, clear, and just the right volume. No one at your event need be distracted by muffled lyrics, a too-heavy bass line, or ear-piercing high notes. A professional DJ knows how to use an equalizer to properly balance the sound so the music will be spot-on every time.
Musical Variety
A professional DJ can offer a wide variety of music. He or she likely has access to more artists and songs than you and all your friends put together. That said, though, you should check with your DJ before the event if you have particular requests. Make a list of wedding reception songs, for instance, that includes favorites of the bride, groom, and wedding party, or a list of birthday party songs that reflect the tastes of the guest of honor. Your DJ probably already has these songs available, but if not, he or she can work to access them before the event rather than scrambling at the last minute. Throughout the event, your DJ will provide a balance of musical styles and tempos designed to keep your guests tapping their toes and dancing the whole time.
Master of Ceremonies
Finally, hiring a professional DJ gives you the added bonus of having a master of ceremonies who can direct your guests through your event with charm and efficiency. Give your DJ a schedule beforehand, and ask him or her to take charge of announcing special dances, speeches, cake-cutting and other activities. A professional DJ is also adept at handling music requests from guests and keeping the entire event running smoothly, and this means less stress for you.
Whatever kind of party you’re hosting, then, consider hiring a professional DJ for reliability, quality, variety and peace of mind.
I recently became OBSESSED with the new site The Ann Park Collection. The page is full of vintage and modern Objets d’Art & Animalia that bring a home to life. From Antique Staffordshire to Majolica, and Paintings…The Ann Park Collection has gifts of all sorts for loved ones who love animals. Here is just a sampling of some of the fabulous items you might find when visiting the online shop HERE. And there is still time to get any of the beautiful Ann Park merchandise for Christmas via local delivery!!!!!
Winter is not just about fun and festivities. It is also the official cold and flu season, so you have to be extra conscious about your health. The pandemic makes it even more crucial as you cannot let your guard down. The best bet is to double up on safety measures to protect yourself and your family from the coronavirus and every other virus around. Make sure you take ordinary germs seriously because sickness lowers your immunity. Thankfully, you need not do a lot to survive the flu season. Here are some actionable tips you can rely on.
Bolster your immunity with the right lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle gives you a head start with beating the blues of the flu season. It begins with a balanced diet comprising warm, fresh, and nutritious foods. Pick seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and probiotics. Avoid sugar and processed foods as they can disrupt gut health and make you sick. Physical activity also boosts your immune system. Work out with thirty minutes of moderate activity at least thrice a week.
Stay warm inside and outside
Warmth is your best defense against cold and flu, so make sure you are warm inside and outside. Wear ample clothing to keep the cold wind at bay. Covering your hands, feet, and head is important. Avoid going outdoors unless it is necessary. Warm drinks like coffee, tea, and broth are good for avoiding colds. You can double up your defenses by sipping herbal teas and immunity-boosting concoctions.
Keep up with your vaccination schedules
According to experts, the single best way to avoid getting sick during the season is to get your flu shot each year. Everyone must have their vaccinations, but it is crucial for pregnant women, children, the elderly, and immuno-compromised individuals. Early autumn is the best time for vaccination, though it is not too late if you miss it. Check with your healthcare provider to ensure that you get a vaccine that covers you against the currently active strains.
Avoid stress and insomnia
Immunity does not depend only on food, exercise, and vaccines. Stress and inadequate sleep can hit it hard. Measures like meditation, deep breathing, and aromatherapy can help you steer clear of stress. The holidays coincide with the flu season, and late nights are common. Make conscious efforts to clean your sleep schedule during the season. Avoid staying up too late, ditch your gadgets, and follow optimal sleep hygiene.
Fight germs with good hand hygiene
Keeping flu at bay is also about fighting germs, and you can do it with good hand hygiene. Following the hand-hygiene rules are easier than ever as you will probably be habitual with frequent hand washing and sanitizers by now. Also, clean the surfaces and avoid high-touch zones as much as possible. The habits can double up your safety against COVID infection as well.
Surviving the flu season is not as daunting as you imagine. You have to do your bit to ditch the germs around and enhance your immunity. A strong immune system will do the rest.
Cannabis has long been rumored to support the flow of creative juices and that’s probably why you might find a number of people swarming recreational Seattle dispensaries trying to get their hands on it.
For a long while, the use of cannabis has always had some sort of stigma attached to it as it had been classified as a drug. However, with more cities legalizing its medicinal and recreational use, there has been an increase in the number of businesses supporting the adoption of the use of cannabis into the local communities.
With more acceptance of cannabis use amongst individuals and increased accessibility, a lot more newbies within the creative community have their interest piqued trying to figure out if cannabis is what they really need to get out of their funk and finally get some work done.
Famous successful individuals are on record describing that they indulged in the use of cannabis and it yielded positive results for them thus creating a need to experiment for people who look up to them. We’ll look at notable examples that have promoted the cannabis boosts creativity theory.
Steve Jobs, famous for Apple products and groundbreaking innovative technology, in his biography written by Walter Isaacson revealed that he used Marijuana as well as other drugs in the 1970s and that the effect that it brought to him was relaxation and a creativity boost. Having been considered a genius in his field, his expression of this belief created a powerful lasting impression especially on young people who felt stuck in a rut.
Another notable mention is Tara Wells, a Californian based producer that has won the coveted Emmy award for the production of The Amazing Race tv show, who in her own words described Cannabis as something that makes you feel good emotionally, physically and spiritually and that it heals people and it allows the ego to soften, so acceptance and creativity are more present in the user. Seeing her immense success throughout time, it only seems logical that more and more people buy into the creativity story that has been woven and cemented within the creative community.
Within the music sphere, cannabis has always been regarded highly with many musicians claiming that its use enables them to access a creative space that would otherwise be out of reach. Throughout generations, there have been those who have not been shy to express their love for cannabis and have candidly let the world know that they use it. Some obvious examples are Bob Marley, a famous reggae musician who was seen to smoke even during his live stage performances, and in more recent times, Snoop Dogg, a US-based rapper that has been open about his use of the drug.
Perhaps the words of Adrianigual, a US Latino musician would be able, to sum up, the feeling that cannabis evokes in musicians. He said, making music with cannabis is more fun because you lose touch with reality and are able to laugh more at yourself and therefore create with ease.
In his words, he continues to say that it allows you to get in touch with your mind and have a higher degree of concentration that would have otherwise been challenging to attain.
Even with all the goodness that is expressed about creativity and cannabis, admittedly artists attest that there are numerous occasions where they have experienced instances where they go back to a body of work that they were creating while under the influence and get completely lost and have no understanding about what it is that they were talking about at that particular moment in time.
Creative Thinking
To have a better understanding of creativity, it is important to understand what it is. Creative thinking can broadly be subdivided into two major categories, divergent thinking, and convergent thinking. Divergent thinking is a spontaneous and free-flowing process that leads to the generation of many ideas as a solution to one problem. Convergent thinking on the other hand is as you have assumed, the total opposite of divergent thinking. It focuses on the use of logical reasoning to arrive at a singular answer to an identified problem.
Whilst understanding the correlation of cannabis to creativity, the belief is that it aids greatly in divergent thinking, which creatives believe is paramount to the achievement of their success in their respective fields.
Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have also established that convergent thinking is just as important as divergent thinking in the creative process. The ability to converge all the ideas derived from divergent thinking into a specific execution-able idea to a very large extent determines the degree of creativity in a person.
The following study covered in this article seeks to define from a scientific point of view how cannabis impacts creativity so that you as a reader can make an informed decision whenever you’re thinking of leaning on it to spur your creative juices.
Seeking Creativity from Dispensaries Near Me
Those that are seeking to try out Cannabis for the first time in a bid to boost their creative juices are most likely going to get their information from the budtenders within the dispensaries. There are quite a few dispensaries near me where it is possible to definitely acquire information suitable for first-timers, but what does science really say about the correlation between cannabis use and creativity?
Studies carried out by renowned Clinical psychologist Gráinne Schafer have attempted to debunk the myth of cannabis use and its relation to creativity, and in this article, we shall explore those findings to help you our reader get a better understanding of it.
The purpose of the study was to investigate the interaction between schizotypy, divergent thinking (a measure of creativity) and cannabis use. Previous studies have shown that creative individuals have higher levels of schizotypy, so the study sought to confirm the effects of cannabis on it, and also affirm if it really boosted divergent thinking as claimed.
The study was carried out on 160 users, who were categorized into two distinct groups, those with low-level creativity and those with high-level creativity. The study consisted of a series of tests that were carried out when the participants were intoxicated and when they were not intoxicated. The tests that were carried out were;
1. Verbal fluency task, a divergent thinking related task that sought to show how many verbal responses a participant was able to give out in a span of 1 min for a given letter.
2. Category fluency task that also falls in the line of divergent thinking that sought to find out how many responses a participant was able to achieve in a span of one minute for a given category.
3. Remote associates test. This test consisted of a set of 16 triad words that were provided to the participants who were then tasked with generating a word that related to a particular task. This particular task was given a time range of 4 minutes.
After measurement of the results, these were the findings.
1. The individuals who were considered low in creativity had their performance significantly boosted in the verbal fluency task that was carried out in relation to divergent thinking when they were intoxicated to the extent that they were almost on a similar level to those with high creativity. When not intoxicated, the low-level creativity group’s performance was less than impressive when compared to the high-level creative group.
2. In terms of the category fluency task, the individuals falling under high-level creativity outperformed the low-level creativity group in both instances. This result was attributed to the fact that despite both tasks being related to divergent thinking, they were moderated by different parts of the brain. The verbal fluency tasks tap into the area of the brain that is designed to undertake individual mental tasks. The use of cannabis can trigger the release of dopamine into the mesolimbic pathway, which is a part of the frontal cortex, and this is probably the reason why intoxication creates significantly boosted results in a group of low-level creativity. The category fluency task on the other hand taps into the lower lobe of the cortex, sitting close to ear level within the skull. With this regard, it is highly likely that the high creativity group naturally has enhanced functioning in the temporal cortex in comparison to the low creativity group and this may not be affected by cannabis use, and therefore intoxication or not, they will score highly on this task.
3. The remote associate test also resulted in high-performance scores being registered by the high-level creative group in comparison to the low-level creative group in both instances. This test however also showcased an unexpected result in the high-level creative group. When the performance for before and after intoxication was measured for the high-level creative group, it became clear that the scores reduced after intoxication. Being that the remote associate test covered convergent thinking, it became evident that the use of cannabis negatively impacted convergent thinking which definitely has implications on the overall creative thinking process for an individual. Whilst divergent thinking helps one generate a number of ideas, convergent thinking ties it all together and helps one settle on the best idea.
From this study, it’s quite evident that creativity and cannabis use isn’t as simple as it has been made out to seem. There are certain aspects that the use of cannabis has been determined to positively contribute to. In terms of loosening up an individual and allowing them to let go of their inhibitions and therefore being able to relax and thus easily churn out ideas, that has been seen to be a proper advantage derived from the use of cannabis.
On the other hand, the negative impact that is experienced with regard to convergent thinking may result in the lack of connectivity between the number of generated ideas and therefore the overall ability to solve an actual problem.
Conclusion
It is important to be aware of the THC levels that are appropriate for consumption when the goal is to stimulate creative juices. The use of Delta-9 THC has very powerful effects that may lead to adverse reactions such as heightened anxiety and you may end up missing out on the actual intended effect that you had desired to experience in the first place.
Seattle dispensaries are well known for having experienced budtenders who will guide you on the appropriate cannabis that you should be consuming depending on your desired goal. If you’re looking to get your feet wet, their work will be to ensure that you don’t drown and that you actually get to enjoy the experience and decide whether it’s something that you want to do many times over, or if it was a one-time occurrence.
Everyone is different and has a different tolerance level. Ensure that you have done adequate research that involves finding out the amount that works for you professionally. Coupled with this scientifically-backed research in this article and that very important piece of advice from your experienced budtender, it is now left to you to figure out for yourself whether cannabis helps you unlock your creativity or not.
There are so many cannabis-related products that are on offer for various tolerance levels and that come in different forms. The landscape is so different from what it was a decade ago and with the internet, information is literally at your fingertips. Gone are the days that you would need to benchmark with your friend who you know is a seasoned user. You can absolutely get a tailor-made solution that works for your taste, for your tolerance, and for the type of activity that you need to use it for.
It is also important to be aware that sometimes the things that you may subject yourself to incorporating into your daily routine may eventually refuse to let you stop using them. As you slowly reap the intended effects, you should also be ready and prepared for the occurrence of unintended effects.