The Dangers of Self Diagnosing

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We're all guilty of it. If we fear some issue that’s lingered in our bodies for too long, we head to Doctor Google for a quick search that brings up hundreds of results, with many of them being life-threatening. However, when we rely on Google to diagnose our problems, this becomes a very dangerous cycle. But why is this and what can we do to get out of this problem that so many of us fall prey to?

The Issue Of Convenience

For some, it’s quicker to type a few words rather than go to the doctor either out of fear, previous bad experiences with medical providers, or because of a financial issues. Another reason people avoid the doctor is due to getting the run around and not having your symptoms addressed or treated properly. For example, for those with chronic pain, it can be very frustrating when a medical professional has to refer you for further tests. In the meantime this only compounds the anxieties. It's unsurprising that many go on the internet to see what the problem is.

But unfortunately, this is no replacement for a healthcare professional.

Self- diagnosing can lead you to jump to conclusions about your symptoms and you could begin improper treatment or miss more symptoms as many psychiatric and physical conditions can sometime mimic each other.

Being Hesitant To Speak To A Doctor

There is a term for people who continually search for their symptoms online and believe that they're suffering from the results that pop up. Cyberchondria is incredibly common. As the ease of access to Doctor Google means not going to the doctor, this can result in us moving away from the advice of professionally trained healthcare professionals.

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Why We Need To Keep Our Perspective

While many are continually relying on Doctor Google to provide the real answer, the fact is, we've got to nip this in the bud. We've got to keep our perspective of events. Because after all, it's unlikely we’re suffering from a rare medical condition. For example, the increase of people who went to the doctor believing they had ALS after the ice bucket challenge highlights just how much cyberchondria there is in the world. Instead, what you could do, if you believe yourself to have a psychiatric or medical condition, is to make a note of all the symptoms, and show to your doctor what this is pointing towards. The doctor can then evaluate you, which can confirm or deny your suspicions.

In conclusion, while self-diagnosing through Doctor Google can be convenient, it can be dangerous. It leads us down a path of anxiety, where we will end up afraid to go out and do anything. While hypochondriacs are suffering from a debilitating mental health condition, nowadays, with the ease of access to information, cyberchondria isn't far behind. After all, we all have access to a phone with millions of web pages. So the next time you feel you have some problem that won't go away, do yourself a favor and go to a doctor.

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Headaches: Causation, Treatment & Prevention

While the science behind headaches stems from a biochemical disorder, psychological influences can play a key role in the onset or maintenance of a headache. Research has shown that there is a comorbidity between psychiatric symptoms and headaches, particularly that of anxiety and depression. Due to biopsychosocial factors, headaches can have serious influences on a person's overall quality of life. In this post, we are going to take a look at the causation of headaches and ways you can treat/prevent them.

Primary Headaches

There are 2 types of headaches that a person can experience- primary or secondary. Primary headaches happen when there is an issue with the pain sensitivity structures or they go into overdrive. Nerve or blood vessels around the skull, head or neck muscles, or chemical activation in the brain can all play a role. One of the most common types of primary headaches is a migraine.

Migraine

Symptoms can cause intense pain or throbbing typically on one side of the head. While the verdict is still out on the causation, researchers believe that the causation is related to unstable nerve cells that overreact to different triggers. These triggers can include...

• Issues with sleep

• Depression, Anxiety or Stress

• Hormonal changes in the body (including PMS)

• Fatigue or hunger

• Alcohol Use or caffeine withdrawal

• Bodily strain related to posture

Secondary Headaches

These headaches are typically related to a secondary cause, such as a medical condition. These can include...

• Head Injury (such as a concussion)

• Infection

• Overuse of medication

• Congestion of the sinuses

• Tumor

• now COVID-19

Treatment of Headaches

As there are many ways to treat a headache, I will touch on a few common and not-so-common treatments.

Over-the-counter

Anti-inflammatory medications (such as Aspirin or ibuprofen) and acetaminophens (i.e., Tylenol) are what many individuals use for pain relief. These medications either block the production of chemicals that cause inflammation or elevate pain thresholds to relieve pain and reduce fevers (in the case of acetaminophens). If you see a primary care provider or specialist, they may recommend other types of medications which call for a prescription.

As we stated before, because there is a psychological aspect that can onset headaches, there are other forms of treatment that don't require medication (but an appointment with a psychologist or therapist). These include...

Stress management

Using learning relaxation techniques- such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation to manage stress which can reduce headaches. Additionally, Cognitive Behavior Therapy can teach coping skills to manage pain.

Acupuncture

Some research shows acupuncture to be effective in the treatment of headaches by restoring the flow of energy in the body and removing negative energy related to pain by dividing the body into zones and pressure points (typically near the nerves).

Feedback Treatment

Biofeedback is a common modality used in headache treatment. It involves sensors placed on different parts of the body that monitor physiological changes in the body (including muscle stress, heart/ respiratory rate and skin conductance). In turn, instant feedback is provided to the specialist who helps teach the individual how to gain control of these bodily processes.

Additionally, neurofeedback is another feedback modality where sensors are connected to the head to determine neural activity levels in specific brain areas. This information is relayed in real-time, and the specialist provides techniques to teach the individual ways to control brain activity responses.

These feedback modalities can decrease psychiatric symptoms like stress or anxiety, reduce pain and muscle tension, as well as strengthen brain activity.

Headache Prevention

As we've discussed, there are many things that can cause a headache and while some of these may be out of our control, there are still preventative steps that you can take to either reduce some of the characteristics of headaches (duration, intensity, frequency). These include...

• Diet changes & increase water intake

• Healthy sleep regimen

• Reducing stress

• Seeking Therapy to decrease psychiatric symptoms

• Increasing opportunities for self-care

• Talking with your doctor

As always, this post is only to provide general information. Please consult with your provider regarding treatment for your specific needs.

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How To Cut Down On Screen Time When You're Stuck At Home

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Lots of people are stuck at home right now, and this may continue for a while. To relieve boredom, it’s easy to reach for your cell or tablet to start streaming videos or watching YouTube. While devices are excellent for passing the time, you will increase your screen time if you rely on them too much. As a result, it’s not uncommon to harm your eyesight or suffer from tiredness and fatigue.

Kids are often targeted as being exposed to devices, yet grown-ups aren’t exempt from the side-effects. Your health, both physical and mental, is likely to take a hit if you stare at screens all day. So, here are four tips to help you cut back and stay healthy.

Limit Home Workouts on Your Devices

Let’s start by noting that working out at home is essential at this point. Without exercise, your immune system, among other things, could fail and leave you susceptible to diseases. However, the majority of the home-based workouts are done by staring at a screen and repeating the activities. Thanks to this step-by-step guide to meditation, there’s no reason to use a screen whatsoever. You merely sit quietly for an hour or two and try to relax. Yoga, hiking and outdoor fitness activities are an excellent alternative, also.

Choose One Device

There are lots to choose from regarding portable devices; and, there’s a healthy chance that you have the full range at home, whether it’s a smartphone, laptop, or iPad. While you’re used to using whichever is nearby, the key to help you cut back on screen time is to pick one and stick with it. By doing this, you don’t spend inordinate amounts of hours glancing between devices. Some people champion blue light lenses, yet there is no research to suggest that they work effectively.

A tip: go with your cell phone. It’s always on your person, and it’s the hardware that you use most often.

Factor In Virtual Interactions

Relying on mobile devices is inevitable when you’re stuck at home as you can’t leave the house without a decent reason. That includes seeing family and friends. The result is that you’ll speak to them via your handsets. Whether it’s a virtual date for adults or a playdate for kids, it’s incredible how creative people are when the chips are down. Still, it’s not hard to forget that it classes as screen time. If you want to cut down, then, you’ll need to factor these events into your routine. It may mean turning off the TV early to catch up with Mom or Dad.

Get Out When Allowed

The best tactic is to leave the house. Depending on the state, you may be limited on the type of outdoor activities that are available to you as cases across the country continue to rise. However, depending on your choices, you can make it work. A man has completed a marathon by running around his garden, so there aren’t any excuses for failing to get some fresh air!

How will you cut down on screen time?

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Beautiful Smile, Beautiful You!

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When it comes to beauty, confidence and even well-being, a smile can make a drastic positive difference if used in the right way. Randomly smiling and hoping things will get better doesn’t work, but the power of a smile cannot be ignored. It’s linked to many positive benefits and there’s even research to suggest that people are treated differently if they show a smile.

A smile can even help with your self-esteem, boost your confidence and even help you improve interactions with customers, colleagues and virtually everyone in your life. However, getting that perfect smile can be tricky and you might feel like it's a pointless endeavor. It does take a lot of time to build your ideal smile, but it can be achieved as long as you take the right steps.

Dental Hygiene and Smiling Go Together

One of the nice things about trying to perfect your smile is that it goes together with your dental hygiene practices. A lot of people lack the self-esteem to smile because they believe that their teeth aren’t shaped well, not white enough or embarrassing due to a lack of dental care. A trip to the dentist can help in more ways than you think, and you can easily search online for practices like www.claritydentistry.com. There’s no excuse not to visit your dentist at least twice a year for a regular checkup that will give you the confidence to smile in public and reap the benefits.

Smiling Induces Pleasure–Even If It’s Forced

Research has shown that smiling actually induces pleasure in the brain. In fact, that level of pleasure is greater than indulging on a sweet snack like chocolate. There’s a lot of science behind this, but it boils down to the facial muscles we use to smile and how they stimulate our reward system, improving our happiness levels and giving us a more positive outlook on the day. This is entirely based on the body and the muscles you use, meaning that even a forced smile can brighten up your day.

You Smile, They Smile

Smiling is contagious. Much like laughing, once you see someone do it, you’re probably going to follow their example and smile as well–especially if they’re looking directly at you! Smiling comes with many benefits and you can spread that joy by simply smiling at others. If someone smiles at you, shoot a smile back and watch that mood of yours improve almost instantly. Even if it’s a fake or forced smile, it’s better than nothing and can help you spread the joy a little. Smile in the workplace, at your barista or even your customers at work–you’ll be surprised what it can do for you.

I hope that this article has given you some inspiration and advice on how you can take your smile to the next level. Whether it’s improving your dental hygiene or making you more approachable, focusing on your smile can make a huge difference in the way that you live your life–so why not take advantage of those benefits?

3 Ways To Modify Your Environment For Your Well-being

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When people think of self-improvement, they often think of stuff that happens "internally" rather than "externally," strictly speaking. For example, they'll work on reducing their negative self talk, setting productive goals, becoming more "motivated" to perform particular tasks, and so on. Interestingly enough, some of the most significant ways to transform your life for the better, actually rely on changing your environment, rather than just your thought process.

As human beings, our internal mental and emotional domains are always liable to be impacted to a significant degree by the surroundings we find ourselves in, and since we all spend so much time in our own homes, restructuring your home can easily be one of the most effective ways of creating that kind of change.

Here are just a few ways you can modify your environment to transform your life.

Overhaul your bedroom, and bedding, to experience a new world of deep sleep

People often underestimate the incredible degree to which the quality and length of their sleep impacts everything else in their lives. The research on this topic is crystal clear, though- when you get a good night's sleep, you're simply a better person across the board. Your emotions are more well-balanced, your mind works faster, your memory is better, and you're healthier.

Many people these days experience insomnia and other sleep conditions. Often, simply overhauling your bedroom, and bedding, can radically transform the quality of your sleep. Specially designed bedding, such as Tencel bed sheets ensure your sleep is refreshingly comfortable and the less crowded your bedroom is, the more likely you are to sleep properly at night.

Reshape your space, to increase or reduce resistance, and manage your habits

Writers Charles Duhigg and James Clear, have both written very successful books on the art of habit management. One theme that both men cover is that establishing good habits, and dissolving bad ones, largely comes down to managing "resistance." In other words – since people are typically inclined to follow the path of least resistance, making it just a bit harder to engage in negative habits, and a bit easier or more rewarding to engage in positive ones, can completely transform how you behave on an everyday basis.

In many cases, this is largely a matter of restructuring your home, and office environments. Such as by removing distractions, putting healthier food in the fridge, et cetera. Our habits define us to an enormous degree – so getting this right can really turn you into a new person.

De-clutter your home to enhance your attention and focus

It's inevitable that if your home is cluttered, your attention will be perpetually drawn in different directions, and you will find it very difficult to focus and maintain your attention on one thing at a time. There's a good deal of research to suggest that this particular state of affairs leads to chronic anxiety, and underperformance in work, hobbies, etc. Decluttering your home can help you to enhance your mental clarity, and simply lead to enjoying a better life.

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Getting Into Good Teeth Care Habits

For many of us, taking care of our teeth involves just one thing, brushing them. But, as we get older, it's important that we look after our teeth as much as we do our health, our body, and our mind. This means getting into the habit of looking after your teeth better. What are the best things for you to do, not just to ensure that you have a gleaming smile, but your teeth don't provide you with problems in the future?

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It’s Not Just About Brushing

Yes, everybody knows the importance of flossing. But it's not just about getting those little bits of food out of your teeth that your toothbrush cannot reach, you have to keep on top of flossing because if you don't, these little bits of food could find their way into your bloodstream. Amazingly, dormant bits of plaque can infiltrate your bloodstream through the gums and can build up which could contribute to heart disease!

What Is Your Brushing Habit?

Some people brush soft and some people hack at their teeth like it's a tree ready to be chopped down! The sweet spot to ensure that you are giving your teeth thorough clean is somewhere in between. Here is the real test, if you have wisdom teeth, do they hurt? Believe it or not, if you have wisdom teeth and they don't cause you problems, this is a sign that your brushing habit is excellent. So, make sure that you give your teeth a thorough brush, so much so that the bristles look like they've been battered. And while it's expensive to keep buying new toothbrushes all the time, this is where a monthly toothbrush subscription will come in handy. As we get older, we can neglect our teeth and think that the habits we learned when we were children will suffice, this is far from the case.

It's Time To Kick Those Bad Habits!

The fact is, we all know the habits that give us yellow teeth, plaque, and bad breath but we aren't prepared to give them up. If this is you, and you like a drink, maybe smoke, as well as having an incredibly sugary diet, it's about limiting your vices. But getting into the habit of looking after your teeth stems from a healthy lifestyle. Cutting down on sugary foods will reduce your cavities, and if you get into the habit of drinking more water, especially after consuming acidic and sugary foods, you are saving your teeth. While we can all be a bit stubborn when it comes to those vices, if we can actively look to cut down, especially as we get older, we won't need to go to the dentist as much.

As far as our health priorities are concerned, our teeth tend to be way down the list. It's not too difficult to look after our teeth; it's just about having the right habits. And the habits are surprisingly simple. If you are making changes to your lifestyle to better your body and brain, give some consideration to your teeth as well.

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Keeping Yourself in the Best Health

With the summer going as well as it’s going at the moment, the last thing you want to be dealing with is your health. Even if you feel as though you’re in perfect health, we all know that things can change in a heartbeat. What we don’t realize is that a lot of the time, we’re the reason why our bodies cry out for help. We all want to keep ourselves in the best health, but we’re not always actively doing things that would allow for this to happen. Instead, we’re making mistakes left, right and center, and these are the mistakes that we want to try and correct in this post.

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No one likes being ill, in pain, or just generally feeling down, so have a read of the tips below, and see if you can keep yourself in the best health.

Taking A Holistic Approach

You shouldn’t just be thinking about your diet and your fitness here, you need to think about your health in general if you want to stay in top form. Of course, your diet and fitness levels are going to play a big part in your level of health, so making sure that you’re staying on top of things all of the time is obviously going to benefit you. That’s not to say that a cheeky cheat day once or twice a week is going to kill you. But, to take a holistic approach, you need to think about things such as your mental health, and how that can affect your general well-being. If you’re someone who always feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and you’re always out and about rushing around, then take some time to fully relax. Take away all of the pressures of life, and do something for you. Whether it be going for a walk, reading a book, or practicing meditation. As long as you’re focusing on you, rather than just your health, you’re going to have a much better chance of keeping yourself in the best health.

Injury Aftercare

I want to talk about this because it’s something that a lot of people seem to struggle with. Injury aftercare is so important if you want to keep yourself in the best health. All of those things that your doctor tells you to do that you usually ignore, follow! Focus on rest and relaxation, and making sure you’re keeping up with the medical aftercare side of things. Check out things such as tegaderm film if you have a wound, and always practice good personal hygiene. When people suffer a big injury, it’s so easy for everything to fall apart if proper aftercare doesn’t happen. Plus, having an injury that impacts your life for a considerable length of time isn’t hard to happen. Something so simple as breaking an arm can have a negative impact for months.

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Take Away Negative Factors

Finally, I urge that you take away all of the negatives factors that might be affecting your health. Even the people you hang around with could be seen as a negative factor. If they’re always leading you astray, eating bad, getting into bad situations, it just isn’t going to benefit you. Obviously, any negative habits that you have should also be eradicated.

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Squashing The Addictions Once And For All

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I get it, we can all find ourselves getting into bad habits when it comes to general things in life. Our lifestyle can change from one day to the next and there can be a lot of deciding factors in it. We now live in a world where technology and answers are at our fingertips, where things are more readily available to us than ever before, and with advancements in all sorts of ways, bad habits can develop. But these addictions don’t need to take over our lives.

I wanted to share with you some of the common addictions we can all face at some point,  and hopefully give you some comfort and direction on how to overcome them once and for all.

Are you addicted to drinking alcohol?

Alcohol can be the biggest issue some of us face, and it is because the addiction to it can vary so much. You have those people who just need that glass of wine at the end of each day. You have the people that can’t be out socially without a drink, and then you have the people that can’t get out of bed without a drink. All different version of addiction, but each one of them need to be handled, albeit differently. Often alcohol can be the answer after a tough day or when you are going through a tough time. But it is also known as a depressive and it can make things worse in your mind, not better. If you do think you have an issue, speak to someone regarding it.

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Do you smoke more frequently?

Smoking is a bad habit that can really affect our health. It doesn't matter whether you smoke one cigarette a day or fifty, the chance of getting cancer is high because of it. Many people looking to kick the habit have switched over to vaping. Websites like License to Vape reviews different options for you, so it might be worth doing some research. You could also speak to health professionals about other methods available to you, but often just deciding to stop is the biggest change you can make.

Do you work too hard?

Would you believe me if I said there was an addiction to work and you could be struggling with it? Workaholism is a real thing, believe it or not. People are working harder than ever, chasing the big pay brackets and the difference in lifestyle it can make. But it can also be detrimental to your health if you don’t get enough rest. Try and ensure that you take time away from work every now and again. Enjoy annual leave and don’t overdo it when you don’t need to. Life's too short.

Are you endlessly scrolling your phone?

Finally, do you find that you are on your smartphone more than you should be? There is a real addiction to your phone and the endless scrolling you can do on social media. Perhaps not even taking in what your eyes are viewing. If you think you spend more time on Instagram than you do with your family, it is time to put the phone down and enjoy the art of conversation.

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Improving Confidence Starts From Within: How You Can Boost Yours

Confidence is one thing that is learned and not something we happen to be born with. It isn’t genetic, it isn’t a gift, it is a way of life and a mindset. So if you feel that your confidence is at an all time low, then you have the power to make the change. However, when it comes to changes, you need to want to do it and have the right level of motivation to do it. I wanted to share with you some of the ways you can improve your confidence and how it starts from within you.

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Make changes to increase your self esteem

It may sound obvious, but there could be reasons why you are not feeling as confident as you would like? Perhaps there are certain aspects of you that you would like to change. Maybe it is your hair color, the condition of your skin, how straight your teeth are or your body shape. The truth is, that if these things are affecting your confidence then you can make the changes to improve the situation. You could go to Glucks Orthodontics and they can help you achieve the smile you want. You could also become more active and change your lifestyle to feel better in your own skin. You can change your hair color if you wish- cut it, style it differently, change the way you dress. These things are doable, but they must come from you, and you must have the motivation and desire to want to do them. Otherwise it just won’t work.

It might all be in your mind

The main issue people struggle with is their mindset and attitude. Confidence is mostly all about these things. How you think and the actions you take are important. So how can you boost your confidence in this way? You need to change the way you think and approach things. A positive thought process and outlook on life can make all of the difference when it comes to improving confidence. Negative thoughts can only hold you back. They can give you a distorted view on reality, and therefore affect you in other ways such as your confidence to do different things.

Step out of your comfort zone

The only way you are going to start making some changes and feeling more confident is if you step out of your comfort zone once and for all and make those changes happen. Confidence can often do with the actions you take, or a lack of confidence is the fear of not doing them right or successfully. Try not thinking about it in that way and instead see this as an adventure. Whether it is simply wearing a bright color or doing something daring like a zip lining or charity trek. Take the plunge and just go for it. Your confidence will begin to rise naturally.

Change your lifestyle

Sometimes when it comes to things like confidence levels, your thoughts about lifestyle changes can often be the key to its success. Eating the right food, and exercising regularly, can play a big part in how you feel.

I hope that these tips help you to start improving your confidence levels.

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3 Ways Your Physical Health Affects Your Emotional Health

People often put physical and mental, or emotional, health in different categories, as if they could be easily separated out from one another. This is a pretty terrible idea, because when all is said and done, the different aspects of health and wellness are intimately tied together, and it by no means is a simple matter to divide the different causes and effects of poor physical health, poor emotional health, and poor mental health.

You might be interested in an aura healing appointment in order to help regain your sense of wellbeing, but if your physical health is in turmoil, it’s likely not going to do a whole world of good.

Here are some ways that your physical health directly impacts your emotional health.

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Chronically elevated stress hormones make you more susceptible to anxiety and less able to face your challenges

Stress isn’t just a psychological thing, like people often believe it is. When you’re feeling really stressed out in your life, the answer isn’t just to “toughen up”, because stress is something that is heavily rooted in the body as well as in the mind. When we feel stressed, we are experiencing elevated levels of stress hormones in our bodies including, primarily, cortisol, and also adrenaline.

When these stress levels are chronically elevated — when they’re always high because of poor lifestyle habits — you become far more susceptible to anxiety, and you become far less psychologically and emotionally resilient. Whereas you might once have been more than up to the task of meeting your challenges head-on, and getting a ton of productive things done each day, you are likely to hit a point, after enough time spent in chronic stress, where everything just falls apart.

 “Burnouts” are physical as well as mental.

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Lack of sleep causes depression and makes it harder for you to focus

When we sleep, our brains restructure themselves in subtle ways, and we seem to store and categorized our memories and experiences from the day. When we sleep, our bodies also release various hormones, repair damaged tissue, and do many other things that we’re not entirely clear on the details of.

Because of all of these reasons, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that researchers have found that people who don’t get enough sleep each night (around 8 hours for the average person) experience shrinkage in important areas of their brains, and are significantly more prone to mood issues like depression.

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Too much intense exercise over-taxes the central nervous system

When you work out until you literally collapse on the floor, you might feel like you’re being dedicated and are getting as fit as possible, but if you don’t keep things in balance and get enough rest and the right balance of nutrients for recovery, you’re setting yourself up for real issues in the near future. Intense exercise takes a heavy toll on the central nervous system. When we do too much, we can experience Overtraining Syndrome, which wrecks our health and immune systems.

Needless to say, when this happens, we’re likely to experience severe brain fog, low mood, and have trouble feeling positive about life.

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