Growing old is one of those aspects of life that a lot of people like to rebel against. And it is understandable why they would. Humans are uniquely gifted in the fact that we are aware of our own mortality. We can perceive the changes happening to our body and contextualize it against what it means in the long run. And that is a scary prospect for some.

But growing old is also a privilege. One that many people aren’t lucky enough to have. The average life expectancy used to be a lot younger. It was only a century ago that the average life expectancy sat around age 40-50. Whereas it now sits nearer 70-80. Thanks to the advancements made in the world of medicine and the higher living standards we now enjoy.

Even though growing old is a privilege we can’t ignore the fact that it comes with a wealth of new challenges. Both physical and mental. Our bodies start to deteriorate slowly but surely. But these changes don’t need to be as pronounced as you might fear they will be. The first thing to go is usually our minds. We become more forgetful. Unable to process information at the same speed we used to. Which is why it is important to try to keep your mind sharp as you enter into your golden years. And this guide will show you how.

Journaling

Human memory is a fickle thing. Even in our prime years our memory isn’t as reliable as we might think. Something that happened to you yesterday will already have become slightly twisted in your mind. It is why court cases can’t always rely on witness testimony alone. As we grow older our memory gets far worse.

Long-term and short-term memories are stored and processed in different sections of the brain. We don’t fully understand the processes involved. But what we do know is that one type of memory can become more affected by the ravages of age than the other. It is why a lot of seniors have amazing long-term recollection but often fail to recall events from a few hours before.

Journaling is a great way to combat this on two fronts. Writing down your daily activities will help strengthen your memory recollection skills. Because the brain is a muscle. And doing this is a form of working out that muscle. Studies have shown that after a month of consistent journaling people have better memory recollection.

This will also help you consolidate your short-term memories into long-term ones. Rereading your journal entries regularly will bolster the memories. And then the brain will be able to migrate them to long-term storage. We believe that this process occurs while we sleep. Which is why it is also important to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Ensuring you are getting consistent quality sleep every night.

Playing Puzzle Games

We briefly touched on the importance of working out your brain. But how do you go about this in a more rigorous manner? If you wanted your arms to get stronger you would lift weights. Want healthier lungs? Take up running. So what strengthens your brain?

One answer is puzzles. Our brains are a miracle of evolution. More complex than even the most advanced computers. So it stands to reason that, if you want your mind to stay sharp, you need to push it to its limits.

It doesn’t matter what types of puzzle games you play.. Anything that makes you think is going to be helpful. A wordsearch will help your pattern recognition and information recall skills. A game like solitaire will sharpen your logical thinking and problem solving skills. A jigsaw puzzle will improve your spatial reasoning and image processing skills. Logical puzzles will engage your creativity while also testing your cognitive reasoning.

Spending even as little as ten minutes a day doing a puzzle is enough to help keep your brain sharp. Puzzles are also a great way to help elevate your mood and help deal with stress and anxiety. The dopamine release we experience when solving a puzzle is a great way to start or end your day.

Change Your Diet

This is perhaps the most important part of keeping your mind healthy. Different parts of our body need different things to help sustain them. And the brain is no exception. The most obvious thing you need to be eating more of is leafy greens. But you also need to ensure you are getting a good balance of nuts, berries, and fish. The main thing you will be getting from these is Omega-3. While also being great for your body overall, Omega-3 has been shown to help prevent cognitive decline and can stem off symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Allergies are a relatively widespread disease that millions of people worldwide are diagnosed with. They are more commonly known as seasonal allergies, food allergies resulting from contact with pet dander, pollens, and many more. Allergies can be rather disturbing and often interfere with one’s everyday life. Management is very important since allergies can severely affect an individual’s health and quality of life.

Let’s discuss how to better understand allergies and some simple but best ways to control them.

What Are Allergies?

Individuals develop allergic reactions when the body’s immune system produces an exaggerated response to an unrecognized harmless substance. These substances are called Allergens, and they cause a reaction in the immune system that may result in a sneeze, an itch, coughing, or even breathing problems at their worst.

Grass, tree, and weed pollens are the most common allergens that cause seasonal allergic reactions in the spring and fall. Mites abound in the house, and dust can also cause allergies, especially in asthmatic patients. Additionally, some foods that may cause allergic reactions include peanuts, tree nuts, fish, some kinds of seafood, and eggs.

How to Better Manage Allergies

You need to know what causes the allergy to avoid the causes or take precautions against them. There are also treatments for allergy symptoms. Here are some essential tips for managing allergies better:

Identify and Avoid Triggers

The best approach to dealing with allergies is to avoid coming across the allergens that cause allergic reactions. That may be achieved by an allergy test, which reveals what in particular triggers your allergy. Hence, you may try to avoid them where possible.

For instance, if you are affected by pollen and dust, avoid going outside during the day when pollen counts are high, use air filtering machines while keeping the windows shut, wash your bed linens frequently at high temperatures, use dust-proof covers for your pillows and mattresses, and vacuum the rugs or sofa often.

Maintain a Clean Environment

Maintaining the cleanliness of the rooms where you spend most of your time at work reduces your chances of coming into contact with allergens. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to remove dust and allergens. Wash bed sheets, pillowcases, curtains, and any textile that may harbor the allergens at least once a week. Buy air purifiers with HEPA filters capable of filtering dust and pollen from the air to reduce their concentration indoors.

Take Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medications

Many nonprescription drugs can alleviate allergic symptoms and are available in over-the-counter shops. Antihistamines like Cetirizine (Zyrtec), loratadine (Claritin), and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) help reduce symptoms such as sneezing, itching, and a runny nose.

Nasal washing with saline drops can help flush the allergens and institute a friable nasal septum. However, Sudafed, which belongs to the group of decongestant agents, should not be taken for more than three days because of the possibility of developing rebound congestion.

Steroid Prescription for Serious Allergies

If simple over-the-counter pain relievers do not help, your physician may recommend other therapies, like medical steroids. Steroids are legal in Canada and may well effectively help or even treat severe signs of allergies. As long as you have a prescription, you can buy steroids in Canada at Canadapeds or any other authorized online pharmacy and have them delivered to your home or workplace. They are available in various forms, such as Nasal sprays for nasal allergy, which work by shrinking the swollen nasal tissue. Oral steroids are used in severe allergic reactions. A doctor may prescribe oral corticosteroids, such as prednisone.

These medications minimize inflammation and decrease the immune system’s reaction to allergens. They can also be used to manage the symptoms when allergies are worse or other drugs are ineffective. Adults with asthma or respiratory allergies may use inhaled steroids to prevent airway inflammation and breathing problems.

Try Natural Remedies

Some patients prefer to treat the symptoms of allergies with natural products. These do not form part of conventional therapy, but they can assist in managing allergies. For instance, Quercetin is a naturally occurring flavonoid found in foods such as apples and onions. It seems to possess antihistamine and Anti-Inflammatory properties.

Butterbur is also an herbal supplement used to treat hay fever and has been rated fairly well in several allergy studies. However, it is always recommended that you talk to your doctor before using natural remedies, especially if you are taking other medications.

Prepare for Allergy Seasons

People with allergies are most likely troubled in spring and fall when pollen concentrations are high. To avoid worsening symptoms, start taking allergy medicines at least two weeks before the season begins. When high-pollen days are inevitable, wearing a mask when stepping out of the house can also be helpful.

Physical Activity

When it comes to dealing with stress and anxiety one of the best ways to reduce it is by doing physical activity. Physical activity is also recommended one dealing with depressive symptoms because as your body goes through intense physical effort it releases chemicals to make you feel better. Chemicals such as endorphins will make you sleepier which will make you feel more relaxed another chemical like dopamine will make you feel more at ease and positive. This is why even if you don’t feel like doing it finding some small windows in your week to make time for physical activity is always a positive.

Diet

As the saying goes a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. While obviously, physical activity is part of it your diet still has a lot of impact on our you feel daily and can exacerbate feelings of anxiety over time. This is why for example when you’re trying to better your lifestyle you should try to avoid a large intake of salt or fatty foods like fast food. One thing that’s very important as well is to avoid things like alcohol which can worsen some of the worst symptoms of anxiety disorders especially if consumed regularly. This might seem like a given, but the reality is that many people might not know or understand that their diet affects their anxious states.

Therapy

If you have a problem with your car, you go see a mechanic and if you have a problem with your brain, you should go see a therapist it’s as simple as this. Going through therapy is a great way to find out what might be the cause of your recurring anxieties but can also be a very positive way to get a plan to help you deal with your anxiety daily as you go through life. After all, as you know life doesn’t stop simply because you have anxiety, so you need to find ways to cope. Whether you’re worried about your mortgage payments or how much is storage insurance for your business, don’t wait and book an appointment.

Medication

One of the best and most direct ways to interact with your anxieties of course to take medication. While many people remain skeptical about anxiety pills the reality is that over the past few decades, there has been a lot of progress when it comes to finding the right compounds for the right people. If you suffer from anxiety, you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of putting you on SSRIs to potentially reduce your anxiety symptoms and make daily life more enjoyable and easier to cope with.

Lifestyle Changes

Is your job putting you down? Do you have a negative relationship in your life that causes you a lot of anxiety? Sometimes the best solution is the most obvious one. This of course means that perhaps you are due for a change in career or cutting off ties with people who make your life worse. Talking through these potential changes to your life with a therapist is of course ideal but sometimes simply changing things is the best way forward. So don’t be afraid to take those leaps that could potentially make your life better in the long run.

Confront the source of your anxiety

When we talk about anxiety many people think of generalized anxiety but one of the most common causes of anxiety is social interaction and social anxiety. If you suffer from a case of social anxiety one of the best ways to get through it is of course to force yourself into social situations. We are of course not talking about putting yourself alone in a crowd of people but being able to go out with friends who can support you through your process of reintegrating into society is the best way forward.

Schedule

If you’re dealing with a lot of anxiety one of the best ways to avoid it is of course to make sure that your day is planned out, so nothing surprises you. This is a great way to avoid forgetting to do things while also making sure that you do everything that you need to do without putting additional stress on yourself worrying about things you need to do. If you see a therapist this is one of the first things, they will mention to you so getting it at the start is always a good thing.

The UK is home to some of the most amazing healthcare facilities, specifically medical clinics. Clinics are a smaller version of hospitals, and though their services are limited, they offer a wide range of important services.

There are different medical clinics in the UK, and some of them offer specific services. In this article, we will focus on the London medical clinics. London is the capital of the UK so it doesn’t come as a surprise that it has some of the best clinics in the UK.

Amongst the many amazing medical clinics in London, we have listed 8 of the best of them. The list mainly includes clinics specialized in a particular area of medicine. However, we will also add one GP clinic to the list. Read on to learn about these special medical clinics and the unique services they offer.

TKC – The Kensington Clinic

As we mentioned earlier, some clinics offer specific services, and TKC is one of them. TKC is a dental clinic that offers several unique dental services, and most importantly, they have some of the best dentists and hygienists in the UK. Some of the services they offer are dentistry, aesthetic dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics (gum problems), and dental implants. If you are looking for a trusted dental clinic, the Kensington Clinic will make a great choice for you.

One Heart Clinic Marylebone

One Heart Clinic Marylebone is a cardiac centre that offers non-invasive cardiology diagnostic. This clinic uses high-quality equipment to attend to its patients, and the best part is that they have access to more advanced equipment if needed. One of the most important factors to look out for in every medical clinic is their health practitioners. One Heart Clinic Marylebone has a strong team of cardiologists. This clinic specialises in cardiology, cardiovascular diseases, palpitations, preventive cardiology, chest pain, etc.

Integro Medical Clinics

The London based Integro medical clinics are unique and different from traditional clinics. This is a medical cannabis clinic that offers unique solutions to various health issues. Integro Medical Clinics consists of professional health consultants and nurses. They specialize in psychiatry, oncology, women’s health, spinal pain, etc.

Surrey Orthopaedic Clinic

This clinic made it to this list for many reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that it is packed with some of the best orthopaedic surgeons in the country. Secondly, they have quality equipment and facilities. Surrey Orthopaedic Clinic specializes in foot, an ankle, shoulder and elbow, hand and wrist, kneep, hip, spine, etc.

London Squint Clinic

London Squint Clinic is an eye clinic that specializes exclusively in adult squint surgery. What makes this clinic unique is the widely recognized eye surgeon, Mr Nadeem Ali, who spearheads the place. London Squint Clinic specializes in dry eye, ophthalmology, complex eye condition, etc.

Brain Health Clinic

Brain Health Clinic is a neuropsychiatry clinic that deals only with adults. The clinic consists of professional psychiatrists, neuropsychiatrists, and health consultants. Brain Health Clinic specializes in ADHD, autism, psychosis, dementia, neuropsychiatry, bipolar disorder, sleep disorder, depression, etc.

My Health and Wellbeing Clinic

This is the only GP clinic that made it to this list. GP is the acronym for general practitioners. What this means is that the clinic does not specialize in a particular area of medicine, like the others on this list. Rather, it specializes in all types of illnesses. Some of their areas of specialization include general practices, chronic diseases, diagnostics, dermatology, women’s health, men’s health, joint pains, cancer screening blood tests, etc. My Health and Wellbeing Clinic is packed with professional health practitioners. if you have more than one health issue and you prefer running all the necessary tests and taking all the treatments in one clinic, My Health and Wellbeing Clinic is a good option for you.

Octopus Clinic

Octopus Clinic is an outstanding physiotherapy and osteopathy clinic in London. The clinic consists of an excellent tean of physiotherapists and an osteopath available to attend to any type of case that requires physiotherapy. They attend to different types of pain and tension related cases. Some of the cases they specialize in are sports medicine, physiotherapy, osteopathy, back pain, knee arthritis, osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal pain,

Conclusion

There are several outstanding clinics in London ranging from dental, physiotherapy, neuropsychiatry,ophthalmology, medical cannabis, orthopedic to general practitioner clinics. If you are looking for the best clinic with experienced and trusted health practitioners and cutting-edge technologies, you can go for any of the clinics on the list.

There are several factors to consider when choosing a clinic for your treatments. You need to especially consider its proximity and service charge. Picking a trusted clinic, close you, and one that aligns with your budget.

On a general note, ensure that you do thorough research on any clinic you plan on visiting. As much as there are hundreds of clinics in the UK, they are not all trusted.

Sleep has always been one of the great mysteries of our species. It is as necessary to us as eating and breathing. Yet, for the longest time, we never really knew why our bodies needed sleep. From an evolutionary standpoint, sleep is not a beneficial survival tool for any species. It leaves you open to attack from predators and essentially renders you unproductive for a large period of time.

Despite the glaring drawbacks of sleep nearly every species on the planet still needs it. And the few that don’t sleep in the traditional sense still require some form of rest. So what is it that makes sleep so vital to existence that we never evolved beyond it? What happens within our mind and body while we sleep?

For the longest time these questions remained unanswered. We knew the benefits of sleep from first hand experience. But now, thanks to modern medical technology, we have a better understanding of how sleep benefits us.

What We Get From Sleep

You are most likely aware of what it feels like to get a good night’s sleep. Your mind is sharper and more focused. You have more energy. Your mood is elevated and you just generally feel ready to face the day. Whereas when we don’t get enough sleep we are grumpy, fatigued, more prone to stress, and generally physically weaker.

We also get a lot of emotional benefits from sleep. The subconscious mind is most actively accessed during sleep. The moments when we are about to fall asleep and the minutes after we wake up are when we can best access the subconscious. It is where a lot of creatives get their best ideas. But it is also a tool that is used in a lot of therapy courses as well. Dream therapy is a powerful tool for better understanding the issues someone is facing.

Sleep And Growth

Sleep plays a pivotal role in the growth of our bodies. It is why babies sleep so much throughout the day. This is because the growth hormones in our body are released while we sleep. Recent studies have also suggested that this is the reason teenagers are often depicted as being lazy. When our bodies go through puberty it undergoes the most radical changes since the transition into being a toddler. So it makes sense that we would need more sleep during our teenage years.

And this is also why sleep deprivation and insomnia are so dangerous during our most developmental years. A severe lack of sleep can seriously impede our growth. But what exactly is insomnia?

Insomnia

The term insomnia is often misunderstood. People will use it if they have had a few restless nights of sleep. But Insomnia is a far more serious problem that affects millions of people. Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. And the ramifications of it are serious. Because without sleep our brains cannot form the neural pathways that allow us to function.

Insomnia can lead to depression, weight loss, chronic fatigue, and a number of other serious health issues. It can also be a symptom of a wide range of issues as well. So, if you are suffering from Insomnia, it should not be ignored. Most cases of insomnia can be fixed by adjusting your sleeping habits. But more serious cases will often require a sleep study to find the root issue.

There are numerous locations throughout the United States that offer sleep studies. You can get a sleep study at Michigan sleep center that can narrow down exactly what you need to adjust within your lifestyle to ensure you are getting enough sleep. During these studies they will check your diet and exercise habits as well as monitoring your brain while you sleep.

Getting Good Sleep

So how can we improve the quality of our sleep? There are a lot of things most people do during the day that can negatively affect their sleep. One of the biggest culprits is technology. The blue light produced by most modern screens has a direct impact on the brain’s ability to fall asleep. So it is recommended that you avoid looking at any screens at least an hour before you plan on falling asleep.

Nicotine and caffeine are also two of the biggest offenders. Both of these chemicals are stimulants that will either stop you falling asleep or drastically reduce the quality of your sleep. So it is also recommended that you avoid consuming either of these chemicals for at least a few hours before you are planning to sleep.

From a young age, you are told that there are just some things that you should expect as you get older. You should expect to get a little less flexible, you should expect gray hairs and you should expect to get wrinkles.

Many people simply believe that some things are inevitable and you have to accept that they will eventually happen. However, the world is changing. Thanks to new medical, technological and cosmetic advancements, you don’t just have to accept your body deteriorating with age.

There are things that you can do to stop age from taking a toll on your body, from exercising to having a good routine. Above all, wrinkles are not something that you just have to deal with anymore. For decades, men and women all around the world have been working hard to fight against wrinkles and even if you look back one hundred years in history, you can see that there were methods that people used to try and avoid wrinkles.

Though these methods were not very effective, we have had time to learn and research since then, which means that we now have methods to avoid wrinkles that actually work. Here is a rundown of why you don’t need to just deal with wrinkles anymore.

We Understand Preventative Measures

In the past, many people didn’t think to treat their wrinkles until they were already present. This just didn’t work and since then we have discovered that the best way to avoid wrinkles is by taking preventative measures.

Once wrinkles have set in, you have limits on what you can do in order to fix them. However, there are steps that you can take to prevent them from happening at all. For example, having an in-depth moisturizing routine is a fantastic way to prevent the development of wrinkles. Introducing habits in your life will also prevent the development of wrinkles, such as avoiding smoking and drinking plenty of water.

Now that the research has been done to discover what may cause wrinkles, you can make changes to your lifestyle to ensure that you do not develop wrinkles prematurely.

Surgery

If you are someone that does not understand preventative measures and already have wrinkles, you do not need to continue to have wrinkles. Thanks to the magical world of surgery and cosmetic treatments, even if you have already developed wrinkles, you don’t have to be stuck with them.

There are many companies out there that provide cosmetic treatment for already developed wrinkles, such as laser treatment or filler. When I first started to notice fine lines around my eyes at a young age, I quickly decided that getting filler would be the best solution for ridding me of my current wrinkles and ensuring that I would not develop any new ones. I decided to get treatment from aesthetik first lounge, which offered a filling treatment for fine lines. I know that having this treatment really boosted my confidence and also made me adjust some of my day-to-day habits in order to prevent myself from developing any more premature fine lines.

Something that people tend to do is go for surgery before they even get wrinkles. Procedures such as botox make the development of wrinkles much more difficult, so you don’t have to worry too much if you have a habit that causes wrinkles that you can’t quite kick.

As well as being a great way to prevent wrinkles, botox has also been used to combat other issues such as migraines and hypertension, so if this is something that you deal with frequently, then botox may be a good solution.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Many people believe that wrinkles are caused purely by old age, but this is not the case. In fact, wrinkles start to develop in old age, after years of practicing poor habits and lifestyle choices. So it is not necessarily your age that causes it, but it takes time for you to start to see the impact of your choices.

By changing your lifestyle, you can start to see immediate changes in the way that your body is getting older. Cutting down on things like alcohol and even processed foods could make the world of difference, so if you start to notice that you are beginning to age prematurely, really look into how you’re living.

Vaping is considered by many to be a harmful pastime that can lead to serious medical conditions in the future, however, when you look at the benefits it can have for full-time smokers who need their nicotine fix it can have a number of positive effects on the body especially when you consider the damage that is done by regular smoking. In my opinion vaping should be used as a means to quit smoking and nothing else, nicotine consumption is highly addictive and shouldn’t be done unless you are trying to gradually wean yourself off smoking by reducing your nicotine intake and switching to an E-cigarette over traditional tobacco.  

It may seem like a strange thought for something as harmful as vaping and smoking E-cigarettes to be recommended for its medical benefits but the fact that most quality E liquids contain significantly less harmful chemicals and substances than what is found in cigarettes you should see a huge improvement to your health if you decide to go ahead with the switch. The end goal for those of you that are trying to quit smoking should be to complete your journey by quitting all nicotine products completely and vaping has the potential to do this as you can slowly reduce the nicotine concentration of the e liquids you are using. As you are in more control of what you are putting into your body when you vape, many medical professionals and institutions have been endorsing vaping as a treatment and means to quit smoking and eventually improve your health and quality of life.  

Doctor Recommendations

 The information from the professionals and those who work in the medical industry is that vaping should be used to help you quit smoking, vaping can still be harmful and it is unnecessary for someone to start vaping if they do not have a prior nicotine addiction. The only people that are going to benefit from using an E-cigarette are those who are currently smoking the more harmful tobacco products and cigarettes.  

Many hospitals are trialing the use of vapes within their premises as well as educating those who need it on how to effectively glower the nicotine concentration of what you are smoking as well as the time frames you should give yourself to do it, this is a very personal thing and can change depending on your situation and how much you are already smoking, so if you are considering making the huge steps in your life to quit smoking permanently I would highly recommend that you speak to your doctor who will be able to advise you on the best methods to do so as well as answering any queries you may have.  

The Importance of Buying a Quality Kit

If you are a beginner in the vaping world looking to buy your first E-cigarette then one of the most important things to remember is that you should buy a quality kit and E liquids to ensure you are not inhaling any unnecessary substances. If you are unsure whether vaping is for you then it could be a good idea to try a disposable vape to save you some money, with this in mind the common question is raised of ‘what are the best disposable vapes?’ In my opinion, the puff bar is one of the most effective, giving you a clean and tasty smoke that is comparable to the real thing. 

How to Effectively Use Vaping as a Treatment for Quitting

One of the most important things that the hospitals that are trialing vaping as a treatment want to get out of this new scheme is to educate smokers on how to effectively quit. Quitting smoking is a very difficult task, but one that is worth it if you work hard and make the effort to improve your health and reduce the risk of developing a more serious condition later in life as a result of smoking. One of the most effective ways to use vaping as a treatment for your nicotine addiction would have to be to start off with a higher concentration of e-liquid so that you can curb your cravings effectively, it is my recommendation that you should give yourself a week to transition from traditional smoking to vaping as it can be a very different experience for you.  

When you feel ready and used to vaping you can then begin gradually lowering the concentration of nicotine in the vapes you use, I would recommend that you give yourself a week after you have lowered your dosage to allow your body to get used to the lower amount of nicotine that is being inhaled, if you do this you will find that sticking with your new nicotine-free life is much easier as you have slowly decreased the concentration rather than going cold turkey.  

Medical professionals recommend this method as it is more likely that you will quit for good after doing it, when using other methods to quit smoking it is often the case that people will relapse and turn back to cigarettes which is why it is so important that you seek professional guidance when you are trying to quit. In any case, where you are going through a form of medical treatment such as combatting your nicotine addiction, it is always best to contact an industry professional who can offer guidance that is specific to your mind, body, and overall health.