Category: Health/Money

Smart Investments – A Home Sauna?

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A recent purchase that I’ve made that I didn’t quite know whether it was smart or not was an infrared sauna. I opted to buy a 4 person infrared sauna so that I can share it with my husband as well as friends when they come over. It was an expensive purchase and after a few months of owning it, I am quite confident that it is a very nice investment towards your health.

While it can be very expensive, the benefits that you will enjoy when using an infrared sauna very much outweighs the price because there are tons of them and they really make you feel and look great.

Buying an infrared sauna can be a difficult process especially if you don’t know where to begin. This is totally normal because it’s not everyday that anyone will be buying an infrared sauna. However, if you are truly interested, you should definitely read some reviews as well as guides such as the one at choicesaunas.com so that you will be able to make an informed decision when it’s time to purchase.

Why Should You Buy an Infrared Sauna?

There are a lot of reasons as to why I recommend buying your own infrared sauna but to make it short, the benefits that you will enjoy can really make a difference in your quality of life. Here are some of the benefits that will definitely have an impact on your daily life.

Relaxation after a long day

Saunas are great when it comes to letting you relax after a long day. The stress hormone cortisol is regulated when you use an infrared sauna and this will help you relax and be stress free.

Muscle and Joint Pain Relief

Muscle and joint pain is very common and one of the ways to alleviate them fast is through the use of saunas. One of the reasons why we experience these pains is due to inflammation and since infrared saunas can promote better blood flow and increased circulation, the pain that you feel will be gone faster. Your muscles will be relaxed and joint pain will not be an issue any longer.

Detoxification

You will be exposed to heavy metals, toxins and other harmful substances everyday, no two ways about it. If you aren’t able to get rid of them, you will be prone to developing ailments and illnesses

When you use an infrared sauna, or any type of saunas really, you will sweat profusely and you will be able to get rid of these substances more efficiently.

Weight Loss and Maintenance

When you are inside the sauna, you will experience high temperatures and as a result, your heart rate will rise. This is very similar to when you are exercising and this allows you to burn calories while relaxing.

Improved Blood Circulation

Increased blood flow brings a lot of good benefits to the body. When your blood circulation improves, the body’s ability to heal itself is greatly enhanced.

Sauna Tips

If you are sure about buying an infrared sauna, and I recommend that you do, here are some tips that will make the sauna experience better.

Take everything off – clothes, jewelry, accessories and everything else. This is for safety reasons, if you are wearing clothes, you might overheat faster and if you are wearing any type of jewelry or accessories, the temperature inside the sauna room may cause them to heat up and actually cause burns to your skin.

Alternate hot and cold. By this, I mean you should cool down after the sauna and then once you’ve cooled down, return to the sauna. This gives the best results for your body when using the sauna.

Don’t stay in too long. If you stay in too long, you are at risk of overheating or getting dehydrated. Limit your sessions to a max of 15-20 mins per session

Category: Money

Smart Investments – A Mattress?

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I started a series of posts called “smart investments” wherein I write about purchases that I made that I think are investments that will have very good returns. I’m not talking about investments that will have financial returns, more on quality of life – health-wise returns.

The first one is about adjustable beds so in keeping with the theme, this time, the topic is about mattresses and why I think buying a good one is a good investment for you.

Mattresses are underrated, at least when it comes to overall importance of getting a great quality one. When you think about it, the most time that you spend when you are at home is laying on your mattress. If you sleep regular hours, it will take a third of your day and ultimately, a third of your life.

With that realization, it’s obvious that the mattress that you should be using should be of great quality that offers the very best in comfort and support that you can afford.

How to Choose a Mattress

Buying the best possible mattress can be a daunting task if you don’t know what to look for and you don’t know squat about the terminologies used in the industry. I’m not claiming to be an expert in this field but I did some research before buying my latest mattress, a Dynasty mattress, and here are some tips that I can give out to help others that have no idea where to start.

By the way, the Dynasty Mattress Cool Breeze that I bought is excellent. It’s the best mattress that I’ve owned to date and I can recommend it to anyone that is on the market for an excellent and budget friendly memory foam.

On to the topic.

When Should You Buy a New Mattress?

You will want to buy a new mattress when you are currently experiencing the following:

  • Waking up with aches and pain that can be attributed to your current mattress
  • You toss and turn constantly when trying to sleep
  • Wear and tear on your mattress that can’t be fixed with your warranty
  • Sagging
  • You sleep hot even with the AC on
  • If your mattress is around 8-10 years

Types of Mattresses

There are a lot of different types of mattresses but ultimately, it comes down to two types: spring or foam. Any mattress that has a spring system in it is classified as an innerspring mattress and foam mattresses are all foam.

You can also opt for air beds but the ones that are considered to be good enough for everyday use costs thousands of dollars so I can’t really recommend them.

Spring

Spring mattresses are considered traditional mattresses, at least in the US, because this is the oldest type of mattress and it is the most used type. It has advantages over foam but there are also disadvantages.

Pros

  • Cheaper, generally speaking
  • More widely available at different price points
  • Familiarity is an advantage
  • Offers very good bounce, great for sexual activities
  • Sleeps cool

Cons

  • Can become noise over time as the springs weaken
  • Prone to sagging

Foam

Foam mattresses are all the rage now, it seems. I know, I got one myself and in my opinion, it is better than spring mattresses but don’t take my word for it.

There are a lot of different foams such as latex, memory foam, standard foam and some proprietary foams from different manufacturers. I won’t talk about each and every one of them as I don’t know everything there is to know so I will be speaking in general terms only.

Pros

  • Superior comfort
  • A lot of different options to choose from
  • Great for couples because foam is better in isolating movements
  • More durable than springs, if you get a good quality mattress
  • Some models can be flipped, improving longevity

Cons

  • Can be hot when you sleep
  • Edge support is inferior
  • Off gassing or the “new” smell can be oft-putting

Knowing your Sleeping Style

Your sleeping style or your position should certainly be factored in when you are buying a new mattress. There are three sleeping styles: side, stomach and back. However, it is also common to sleep in different positions.

Side

Sleeping on your side means that you are putting pressure on your shoulder and hips. For this style of sleeping, the best mattress should be one that is on the softer side so that the pressure on the shoulder and hips are not as intense.

Front or Stomach

For stomach sleepers, the best mattress should be one that is on the medium side so that the stomach won’t feel too much pressure. The knees will also feel pressure here but with a medium mattress, it won’t be too much that it will cause knee pain.

Back

Sleeping on your back will cause pressure on your buttocks and upper back so the best is a firm mattress.

If your sleeping style is a combination of two or all three of them, the best mattress is a medium rated one. This is the best compromise so that you won’t feel too much pressure in certain parts of your body.

Getting the Best Mattress

So far, these are my tips on how to get the best mattress. Ultimately, the mattress that you buy will strongly depend on your preferences and this article should only be treated as a guide. If you like a particular mattress, just make sure that you factor your sleeping position and get the firmness rating that is recommended for it. Other than that, it’s your choice as to which type or how much you are willing to spend.

Category: Parenting

Potty Training Guide

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Potty training can be a nightmare if you are doing it wrong. This is especially true if you are training a child that is not really ready to be potty trained. This can be very frustrating and ultimately, you are only wasting your time and causing trauma to the kid.

Before potty training, there are signs that you should look out for to see if your child is ready. Here they are:

  • When your child shows some interest in using the toilet
  • When your child shows some sign when he or she is about to go number 1 or 2
  • When your child doesn’t like it when he/she’s wearing a soiled diaper
  • When your child can speak tries his hardest to communicate to you that he wants to use the toilet

How to Start Potty Training

When your child is ready, the first thing that you have to do is to buy a potty chair. These chairs will help your child when they are using the toilet so that they won’t fall in. This will make them comfortable and take away any anxiety that they might fall in.

You have to be patient as potty training will require a lot of time and patience. Don’t get frustrated with your child as this will not help and will only hinder the training process.

Have your child sit on the potty chair regularly so that they will get used to it. Do it during the times that they are likely to urinate or have a bowel movement so that they can remember. At first, and even long after you started the training, there are times where they may sit on there for a long time but will show no result. This is normal and you should expect this.

If sitting on the potty is not fruitful, don’t worry about and more importantly, don’t scold or show disappointment towards your child. This can have negative effects on their psyche.

If, however, they urinate or go number 2 using the potty, do everything that you can to show your child that you are proud. Hugging or kissing, praising them, giving them treats, etc. is an effective way of encouraging them to use the potty regularly.

Consider buying training pants

Training pants are very useful during the potty training process. These pants are used during daytime and diapers are used when they are asleep. Training pants can encourage the child to use the potty and because they have plastic covers, they will prevent accidents from spilling all over your house.

Category: Money

Smart Investments – An Adjustable Bed?

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Is an adjustable bed a smart investment? They can be very expensive, especially for top of the line models, but are they worth it?

Adjustable beds have been growing in popularity in recent years and this due to the superior level of comfort that they can provide when you sleep. A couple of decades ago, you can only find adjustable beds in hospitals or health institutions but now, availability is widespread. Anyone can buy an adjustable bed and if you can afford it, I suggest that you at least take a look and consider buying one.

We’ve had an adjustable bed for over 3 years now and I must say, it is one of the best purchases that we have ever made. It made the whole sleeping experience better in all areas. We no longer wake up with back pain, or any pain in any area of the body. We sleep soundly due to how comfortable the bed is and any other activity like watching TV, reading a book, etc., have been easier by adjusting the bed to our liking.

Pros and Cons

Adjustable beds will have advantages and disadvantages when compared to traditional beds. Here are some of my personal findings regarding the pros and cons.

Pros

  • Superior Comfort

One of the biggest advantages of having an adjustable bed is the ability to adjust the bed to your liking in order to get the most comfortable sleeping position. Having an adjustable bed allows you to improve your sleeping position so that you won’t have any aches and pain when you wake up. It also relieves pressure off pressure areas while you sleep so that your muscles are relaxed while you sleep.

  • Health Benefits

If you have health issues that are sleep related such as heartburn/GERD, chronic back pain, snoring, sleep apnea and other problems, an adjustable bed can be of great help. Me, personally, I have back pain. Upon consulting with my doctor, he recommended to change our mattress and if we can afford it, get an adjustable bed. Ever since then, my condition improved.

Of course, this will not be the case for other people that suffer back pain because the cause of their health problem may be different from mine. However, if we do have the same problem, then an adjustable bed can help you just like it did me.

  • Chilling Out

Relaxation has been phenomenal since getting an adjustable bed. Watching TV or reading just before going to sleep has been very relaxing and it can all be attributed to the bed that easily adjusts position to whatever activity you are doing.

  • Marriage/Partnership Effect

One of the things that we (my husband and I) found out once we were married was that we have very different preferences when it comes to mattresses. I like my mattress to be firm while my husband likes it soft because he mostly sleeps on his side. This was an issue, albeit a minor one, the whole time we were married and we just compromised by getting a medium firm bed.

Once we got an adjustable bed, the issue that we had with differing preferences just vanished and I wish we could have just had an adjustable bed right from the start. Being able to have different positions while we sleep has been great and I believe that it actually strengthened our marriage.

Cons

  • Price

Well, this is not surprising. An adjustable bed is very expensive and with the way it is constructed and the comfort that it will give you, this should be expected. We paid around $2,000 for ours and if I am being perfectly honest, I would gladly pay double if I needed to buy one again.

  • Mechanical

Since these are mechanical with a lot of parts that are moving, failure can be an issue. A lot of moving parts mean that some of them will give out someday and this can be very frustrating and costly. Fortunately for us, we haven’t had issues yet and I’m hoping that it will stay that way for a very long time. However, I am also not naive to think that this bed will be in perfect condition forever. I expect that it will fail sometime in the future and we are prepared for it.

Category: Marriage and Relationships

Strengthening your Marriage

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Marriage, long lasting ones, are becoming a myth. When you hear that someone you know, whether a close relative or a friend, is getting married, you can’t help but think to yourself, “how long ’til the divorce?

This is due in fact to the rising divorce rates in the country, last time I checked, it was around 70%. I am saddened by this because I’ve been married to a wonderful husband for around 14 years now and while we’ve certainly hit rough patches, we are still going strong.

Marriage is not a fairy tale where you expect everyday to be a lovey-dovey day. It’s a partnership where both parties are expected to provide something of value for the other. Marriage should not be a thing where one expects everything to be done for him/her as this will ultimately cause the partnership to fail.

My husband and I have had problems in the past, and we expect to have them in the future, but, we’ve worked on them together and any problems that will arise in the future, we’ll handle the same way. I believe that we’ve been successful because we communicate a lot and we both know that we are equals that should bring equal amount of value to the relationship.

 Ways to Strengthen your Marriage

  • Seek Out Other Couples and Make Friends

Making friends with other couples can be a very good idea to strengthen your own marriage. This is especially true if you happen to befriend a long time married couple that have had their share of ups and downs and worked through it. They can guide you along the way and you can learn a lot from them.

  • Talk Every Day and Be Each Other’s Encouragement

Communication is the most important part of being in a relationship. If you can’t communicate properly, the relationship is doomed. You should make it a point to talk with each other every day, even about unimportant or simple things. Talk before going to bed, when you wake up, during mealtime and pretty much anytime you can.

You should also try to encourage each other as long as they are being reasonable. Comforting one another and cheering them up when they need it goes a very long way in making a marriage last long.

  • When Arguing, Stay on Point

Arguments will happen and when they do, always try to stay on point and don’t bring up irrelevant stuff that happened ages ago. Also, don’t start name calling, being petty or blaming each other. You should try to find resolutions in an adult and proper way. Be mature and argue like adults.

  • Plan for the Long Term

Living in the moment is fine, however, when you are married, the long term is more important. Discuss long term goals and plans with each other and help each other achieve them. This could be a planned vacation, retirement plans, planning a family and financial goals. These are very important and will have a huge impact on the staying power of your marriage.

  • Compromise with Small Issues

The little things that can be annoying can become big problems down the line if ignored. However, don’t make too much of a big deal out of them and find compromises where both parties are satisfied.

These little things can be food preferences, what to watch, snoring when sleeping, your bed and mattress preferences, eating habits and more. If these are ignored and not talked about, it can build up and become a big problem down the line.

  • Expect Each Other to Change

If you think that both of you will never change during the course of your married life, you are in for a surprise!

People change and when you are married, you have to accept the fact that both of you will become different in different areas. Your interests may differ, your physical appearance will change, a certain situation such as job loss or a health problem may change either parties and the list goes on. You just have to accept the person that your significant other will change into, as long as there no physical or emotional abuse. Being able to accept each other no matter how much they change is one of the compromises of being married and being able to do so will strengthen your lifelong partnership.

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