Posts by Wendy S

Discover Your Ideal Sleep Habits While Traveling

April 11, 2023 by Wendy S

Do you struggle to sleep when on the road? If you’re like most people, your answer likely is “not as well as I’d like.” It can be challenging to get a good night’s rest in an unfamiliar bed or when trying to adjust to a new time zone. In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the best sleeping habits for travelers and provide some tips for getting adequate shut-eye while away.

Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

Maintain a Schedule

One of the best ways to maximize your sleep while traveling is keeping an even schedule. Try keeping the same bedtime and wake up time that you have at home; this will help your body’s internal clock adjust more quickly when traveling between time zones, making it simpler to fall asleep in new beds.

Make Your Room Sleep-Friendly

Making the bedroom sleep-friendly can help ensure a restful environment for you and yours. Create an environment that promotes good sleep no matter where you are. Invest in some comfortable bedding or bring a special pillow from home, if possible. Furthermore, utilize blackout curtains or light-blocking shades so your room remains dark even during daylight hours.

Avoid Consuming Caffeine or Alcohol Late in the Day

Caffeine and alcohol should not be consumed late in the day. Late-night consumption of alcohol and caffeine should be avoided, as they can lead to sleep disruptions the following morning. Green tea is a better alternative than coffee if you need an energy boost throughout the day.

Be Relaxed Before Sleeping

Before going to bed, take some time for relaxation. Take a warm bath, read a book, or meditate – whatever works best for you. Ultimately, this will help you feel calmer and more prepared when bedtime finally arrives.

CBD Oil

Are you searching for a way to get some rest and relax? CBD oil could be just what you need. It has long been recognized for its sedative effects, including decreasing anxiety levels, improving sleep quality and decreasing inflammation. CBD oil may even provide natural ways to enhance your travel-related sleep habits!

Get Some Fresh Air

Getting some exercise during the day can help you sleep better at night. If your hotel or Airbnb has a balcony, take some time to sit outside and soak up some sun; this will reset your internal clock and make it easier to drift off at night.

Limit Technology Before Bed

Finally, try to limit your technology use before bed. Blue lights from screens can make it difficult for your body to relax and prepare for sleep, so turn off the TV and put away your phone so that you can get the best possible rest while traveling.

Follow these tips for getting a good night’s sleep while traveling and staying energized throughout your trip. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule, prepping your room for better rest, avoiding caffeine and alcohol late in the day, exercising during downtime, taking short naps if needed, relaxing before bedtime with CBD oil for calming effects, and getting some fresh air are all great ways to ensure adequate rest when on-the-go. With these strategies in hand, you’ll be well on your way to feeling rested and rejuvenated whenever you travel!

3 Tips To Look After Your Kids

February 23, 2023 by Wendy S

Image Credit: 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay.

First-time parents always have a lot to learn about child-rearing. Only a certain amount of this can be learned from reading books, and sometimes you’ll have to learn as you go. That, in itself, can be a stressful prospect, as you wouldn’t want to do it wrong. You’ll want to know how to look after your kids from the get-go.

Using a few practical and easy-to-use tips will help with this. With a little effort, you’ll make sure your kids are well taken care of. It’s worth looking at three of the top tips you can use for it.

How To Look After Your Kids: 3 Top Tips

1. Set Limits & Be Consistent

Sometimes, your kids will do something they shouldn’t do. For them to know they’re not supposed to do this, you’ll have to set limits with them first. Once they know it’s something they shouldn’t do, they’re less likely to do it. There could still be times when they do, however.

When this happens, you’ll need to be consistent with how you discipline them. If they think there’s a chance they won’t be disciplined – or not as much as they should be – it could work as encouragement for them to do something they shouldn’t. Avoid this by being as consistent as possible from the start.

2. Bring Them To Appointments

Your kids will have countless appointments to go to throughout their life, and you’ll be responsible for bringing them to many of them. That’ll be the case at least until adulthood. From the doctor to the dentist, make sure you don’t skip any of these.

It not only makes sure they’re healthy and safe, but gives them a great habit and example for the future. They’ll be more likely to go to their appointments in adulthood now that they’ve gotten used to it. Make sure to give them this habit.

3. Boost Their Self-Esteem

When you’re figuring out how to look after your kids, you could focus mainly on their physical health and well-being. You shouldn’t overlook their self-esteem and similar areas, however. How they feel about themselves is vital to their development, so you’ll need to put effort into boosting their self-esteem.

There are multiple ways to do this. Celebrate their achievements, no matter how small they might seem to you. The more you do this, the better your kids will feel about themselves. It’ll give them a greater sense of wellbeing while being confident in themselves. Don’t overlook this.

How To Look After Your Kids: Wrapping Up

Figuring out how to look after your kids from the start can be a stressful experience for many first-time parents. You wouldn’t want to make any mistakes, and you’ll want to do everything right. That could be more than enough to get yourself worked up about. All you’d need to do is follow the right tips.

Boosting your child’s self-esteem, setting limits and being consistent with them, and bringing your kids to all the necessary appointments are vital for this process. With a little time, you’ll find yourself doing amazing while stressing less about it.

Get More Fruit and Veg Into Your Diet

January 20, 2023 by Wendy S

It’s pretty normal for children to be picky about vegetables. But when you’re an adult, you don’t necessarily want to feel like your diet is limited by a dislike of fruits and veggies. If you feel like you don’t get enough fruit and veg, it could also be because you’ve simply fallen into a pattern of not using them in your meals. The occasional meal with no vegetables isn’t a big deal, but if you’re rarely eating them, it’s likely your diet isn’t very balanced or complete. Luckily, there are things you can do if you want to get more fruit and veg in your diet.

Image by Dominik & Frederike Schneider from Pixabay

Count Fruit as Dessert

Looking forward to your dessert at the end of a meal can be a good motivation to eat a main course that might not be that interesting. But dessert doesn’t have to be cake or something else that’s filled with sugar. Fruit can make a great dessert, or it can be included in your dessert as an ingredient. If you want to learn how to make ice cream strawberry flavored, click here for a recipe. A piece of fruit on its own can be tasty, but there are also plenty of things you can do with fruit if you want to make a more interesting dessert.

Eat Vegetables as Snacks

Snacking throughout the day can keep you going between meals. Some people even snack all day or have small meals instead of three big ones. However, many snacks can be less healthy than ideal. If you want to eat healthier snacks, both fruits and vegetables make good snacks. But fruit can be high in sugar, which means vegetables are often the better choice. They can be made more interesting with a healthy dip or combined with things like peanut butter or some seasoning to add flavor.

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

Try Out New Things

When was the last time you tried a new fruit or vegetable? We tend to stick to what we know, especially when it comes to preparing different ingredients. However, trying something new can open up a new world and allow you to explore lots of different recipes and cuisines. Next time you shop for groceries, consider getting something that you’ve never eaten before or never cooked with before. You’re sure to find plenty of ways to use it, whether it’s something you want to cook with or try raw.

Have Smoothies and Juices

Smoothies and juices are excellent for getting more fruit and veggies into your diet. You can put so many different things in them, from strawberries to spinach. You can make sweet drinks or go for a more savoury flavor profile, depending on what you prefer. They can be good for your breakfast in the morning, or they can make excellent pre- or post-workout fuel to give you the energy and hydration that you need. You can try out so many different flavors.

Getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet can help you be healthier and give you more energy too.

How to Cook Healthy Meals When You’re Short on Time

December 29, 2022 by Wendy S

Cooking healthy meals can be a challenge, especially when you’re short on time. It’s easy to resort to fast food or processed meals when you’re busy, but these options are often high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats. However, it is possible to cook healthy meals even when you’re short on time. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Plan ahead

One of the biggest time-savers when it comes to healthy cooking is planning ahead. Take some time on the weekend to plan out your meals for the week, make a shopping list, and prep ingredients in advance. This can save you a lot of time during the week, as you won’t have to spend as much time chopping vegetables, cooking grains, or portioning out protein sources. Planning ahead can also help you stay organized and ensure that you have all the ingredients you need to make healthy meals.

Keep a well-stocked pantry

Having a well-stocked pantry can be a lifesaver when you’re short on time. Keep a variety of healthy staples on hand, such as whole grains (such as quinoa and brown rice), canned beans, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables, and nuts and seeds. These ingredients can be used to create a variety of healthy meals in a pinch. For example, you can make a quick grain bowl by combining cooked grains with canned beans, frozen vegetables, and a homemade dressing. Or, you can create a healthy soup by simmering canned tomatoes and beans with frozen vegetables and spices.

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Use your slow cooker

Slow cookers are a great way to cook healthy meals when you’re short on time. Simply add ingredients to the slow cooker in the morning, and you’ll have a healthy and delicious meal ready for dinner. Slow cookers are great for making soups, stews, and braises, which are all perfect for busy weeknights. Slow cookers are also a great way to cook tough, inexpensive cuts of meat, as the long cooking time helps to tenderize the meat and make it more flavorful. This guide on how to cook white chicken chili in an instant pot is a good example of what you can do with a slow cooker.

Use convenience items

While it’s always best to cook from scratch, there are some convenience items that can help you save time without sacrificing nutrition. For example, pre-cut vegetables and fruit, rotisserie chicken, and canned tuna can all be used to create quick and healthy meals. Just be sure to read the labels and choose options that are lower in sodium and added sugars. Pre-cut vegetables, for instance, can be added to stir-fries, omelets, or grain bowls to add nutrition and flavour without requiring any prep time.

Try one-pot meals

One-pot meals are a great option when you’re short on time, as they require minimal prep and clean-up. Some examples include chili, soup, and pasta dishes. These meals can be made in advance and easily reheated for a quick and healthy dinner. One-pot meals are also a great way to use up any leftover ingredients you have in the fridge, as you can throw them all into the pot and create a delicious and nutritious meal.

3 Effects Of Childhood Stress On Health

December 21, 2022 by Wendy S

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Childhood stress is common but not easily noticed until signs, and symptoms get out of hand. It often occurs when young children feel compelled to adapt to sudden changes different from the routine such as divorce, bereavement, bullying at school, teen problems, learning difficulties, and so on. It is necessary to pay attention to the phenomenon, considering that 5% of kids aged 5 to 17 years have anxiety issues while 17% live with unmanaged mental health disorders. It all starts with parents knowing the effects of childhood stress.

Persistent complaints of upset stomach or other localized pain

When children persistently complain about pains that cannot be explained through medical means, you might be dealing with a stressed child. These vague pains may be in the stomach, lower abdominal region, head, limbs, or other body parts. As a parent or guardian, it is important to use every means to ascertain the authenticity of these pain complaints. Your stressed child may want more attention from you and feels the only way to get it is to talk about pain. This is a reality that some parents face with young kids.

Other times, however, the pain is real and not made up. It happens because cortisol (stress hormone) is released rapidly into their blood. As a result of the increased anxiety, this hormone triggers pain in the stomach or other body parts. Therefore, when your young children complain persistently of such pains, it is recommended to see the pediatrician. It is better to first rule out any medical problems before tackling the psychological and emotional side.

Nightmares and recurring fears can trigger mental health issues

The fears, doubts, and disturbing thoughts stressed kids feel in their everyday lives can be transferred into their dreams. Unfortunately, these are not sunshine and flower dreams; far from that. Nightmares become persistent and can trigger a fear of sleeping at night. A lack of quality sleep can consequently trigger headaches and eye pain. Remember that a stressed child has so much going on in their head. Therefore, if the cause of their anxiety is from recently divorced parents, their nightmares would likely be centred on being left alone with monsters chasing them.

The loneliness element is from the uncertainty they feel because of the divorce. Meanwhile, the monster in these nightmares represents the negative emotions clawing at their brains and hearts. As a parent, this can be a disturbing and difficult moment. The frequency of these nightmares may manifest in your child’s active hours. For instance, they may refuse to be left alone in their rooms. Some children may also show a disturbing, manic fear of the dark. Although most young children show nervousness in the dark, those dealing with childhood stress exhibit heightened trepidation. Fortunately, there is help as mental health institutes like The Insight Clinic have experience in dealing with child and adolescent issues. Your actions can help save your child’s mind in adulthood.

Drastic changes in what used to be a healthy eating habit

Eating habits can swing either way. A stressed child may show extreme hunger and eat everything in sight, while others lose their appetite. Naturally, children experiencing growth spurts have increased appetites and often eat more during those milestones. The concern, however, is when they eat more than necessary and do not feel satiated. Excessive hunger can be an emotional manifestation of heightened stress.

An adult living with it eats more than necessary to fill a void they perceive within. The same thing happens to young children, and it is your responsibility as a parent to make these timely observations. It would help to engage your kids in healthy conversations to get to the root cause of an over-dependence on food. Sometimes, also, the opposite happens. A persistent appetite loss means your child lacks vital nutrients to aid healthy development.

Sudden bedwetting

According to pediatric data, most children have full bladder control by age five. In others, this may be delayed until age seven. This, however, is during non-sleeping hours. It is believed that by age six, most children have matured central nervous systems that take over bladder control when asleep. There are variations, though. The problem is when your child has already gained full bladder control for at least six months and starts bedwetting. When it is not a medical problem with their bladder, it might be the effects of childhood stress.

If you haven’t yet discovered the source of their stress, it is better to seek help from a pediatric behavioural specialist. Notably, some kids can hide signs of stress from their parents or guardians. This occurs more often when they are bullied in school. As parents, it is critical to keep a keen eye on any changes in your children. The more you detect, the better the chances of offering timely help.