9 Health Benefits Gardening Can Have On Children 

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Jane Wilson shared with Healthy Lombard that a lot of research shows that outdoor social activities and fresh air benefit children’s health. Since they love digging in the soil and getting dirty, what better for the purpose than gardening? It promotes well-rounded cognitive and physical development and puts the learned skills that connect them to nature into practice while they’re having fun. These skills can help them in other areas of their lives as well. 

Even if it’s not in an outside garden, pots on the windowsill or the balcony can offer your kid more than just food and flower supply. Read on to find out the 9 main health benefits of gardening for children. 

Boosted Cognitive Development

Gardening strengthens all children’s senses – touch, sight, hearing, and smell. The best of all is that, in the end, they can taste the results of their work. This helps children better understand and appreciate the process of gardening and boosts their cognitive development. 

If your child is at the age of learning, gardening is the perfect creative opportunity to start teaching them different color names, for example. Growing edible flowers and plants can also develop your child’s taste and help if you’re dealing with a picky eater. Children become more than willing to try new foods when they’re involved in growing and cooking them. 

To support your child’s intellectual and cognitive development while gardening together, ask them what steps they undertook the last time they gardened. They’ll describe what they did using the vocabulary they’ve learned, and you can introduce new words to them. Read more 

7 ways to make this your summer of fitness 

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EEHealth shared in its Healthy Driven Blog that when summer arrives, everything seems to slow down a bit.

As the days lengthen and sunshine becomes a staple, it’s easy to let your fitness routine slip away. Resist! It’s important to continue with a routine, even a modified one, in order to avoid regression through the summer months.

There are many ways to accomplish this. Take a look at some simple and effective methods to meet your summer fitness goals.

Smarter time spent in the gym

As outdoor obligations pick up during the summer, take advantage of the time you can spend in the gym.

  • Focus on strength training. Build muscle while you’re in the gym. Outdoor activities like walking, or even yard work, have a significant cardiovascular benefit and could supplement or replace your normal cardiovascular routine.
  • Perform compound (multijoint) exercises at the gym. Think squats, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups, rows, and overhead presses. These movements have a greater demand on larger muscle groups.
  • Cut down on rest periods. This is an issue many people struggle with. It is important that you get the maximum amount of work done with the time you spend. Bring a stopwatch to make sure you’re resting for a prescribed amount of time between exercises.

Read more 

Exercising With Chronic Conditions 

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The National Institute for Aging shared that almost anyone, at any age, can do some type of physical activity. You can still exercise even if you have a health condition like heart disease, arthritis, chronic pain, high blood pressure, or diabetes. In fact, physical activity may help. For most older adults, physical activities like brisk walking, riding a bike, swimming, weightlifting, and gardening are safe, especially if you build up slowly. You may want to talk with your doctor about how your health condition might affect your ability to be active.

Staying physically active: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Researchers are assessing the benefit of exercise to delay mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults and improve brain function in older adults who may be at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Older adults with MCI may be able to safely do more vigorous forms of exercise, similar to older adults without MCI, provided there are no other underlying health concerns.

Being active and getting exercise may help people with Alzheimer’s or other dementia feel better and can help them maintain a healthy weight and have regular toilet and sleep habits. If you are a caregiver, you can exercise together to make it more fun. Read more 

How to Increase Mobility After Having a Stroke 

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There’s no doubt that a stroke can be quite debilitating. The good thing is you aren’t powerless. You have the power to improve your life. The following are a few tips to help improve mobility after having a stroke.

●    Transportation Arrangements

The first thing to do is to make travel arrangements. Some folks can help you get around, and public transportation services may be of some assistance. This may not be the first thing you think about, but you might not be able to drive like before, yet you still have the same needs. You need food and clothes. Some things can be purchased and delivered but other things can’t, so figure out what options you have.

●    Use the Tools

The next thing you have to do is address your specific impairments. Stroke victims deal with all sorts of impairments, and there are helpful tools. For example, wheelchairs assist folks who can’t walk, while something like an AFO brace can help those that are diagnosed with foot drop. There are a lot of tools available, so be sure that you read reviews so that you get the best tools you can. Don’t forget to choose mobility aids that you can afford. You don’t want to burn through your cash, especially now that you need medical attention.

●    Scheduling Specialists

You’ll need more than mobility tools. Those can help you be more mobile, but you can’t allow your body and brain to get used to them. You want to force your body to regain mobility. This only happens if you work on your mobility by putting pressure on your body. The best way to do this is to work with a mobility expert. Find one that works for you. You need someone who motivates you to do the work. The work is intense, so the person must be able to motivate you.

Read more 

You, The Pandemic, And Working Out 

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Written by Andrew Gutman
Two years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic upended everyone’s lives, including how people exercised. At-home workouts increased during lockdowns and quarantine, as people turned to the comfort of their homes to stay in shape.

But now that pandemic mandates are lifting and life begins to return to a semblance of normality, how are people adapting their fitness routines?

We surveyed over 1,000 Americans to better understand how fitness habits evolved over the past 24 months, and what 2022 may hold in terms of fitness goals.

More than 8 in 10 Americans say the pandemic impacted their workout habits, and for nearly half of them (47%), it was a negative impact.

During the pandemic, 54% of Americans said they started working out more while 41% said they exercised less. Of those that began working out less, 15% said they stopped working out altogether.

After a few days of being stuck indoors during the initial quarantine, Americans everywhere were itching to just get outside. Over half (56%) said they began taking daily “pandemic walks,” and it wasn’t just to enjoy nice weather. They went on walks for their mental health, as a form of daily exercise, to walk their dogs, or to spend time with their kids outside.

Read more 

Strength Training by Dr. Jim 

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How to Increase Your Life Expectancy 

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The Ultimate Noob’s Guide to an Amazing Strength Training Journey 

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Fitness Solitude shared a guide with Healthy Lombard that begins by saying that when it comes to strength training, the question of what equipment to use may come up.

The good news is you do not need any equipment to train strength. Check out the article on body weight exercises to learn more about how to incorporate them into your strength training program.

If you do have the equipment to use, great! Free weights and machines are most often used to strength train.

If you’re just starting out, dumbbells are a great and versatile piece of equipment for training just about any part of your body.

Personal Trainers

Whether you’re just starting out or have been training for a long time, it never hurts to consult a fitness professional.

Hiring a personal trainer can help you set up a workout plan or evaluate an existing one you already have. If you’re a complete beginner and have no idea how to even do any exercises, a personal trainer can show you how to do them. Read more 

WINTER OUTDOOR AND TRAVEL SAFETY TIPS 

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Safe Kids District of Columbia ,a nonprofit organization working to help families and communities keep kids safe from injuries shared in the Rise and Shine Blog that if you and your loved ones are planning to spend time outside in the cold or traveling in the snow this winter, here are a few tips to help everyone stay safe.

Playing outdoors

  • Wear clothing that works for the cold!
  • Playing outside? Do a check-in every 30 minutes to look for signs of frostbite.
  • Shivering is a dangerous sign! It’s time to end outdoor play for today and get inside to warm up.

Winter coats and car seats

Before road travel with children, it’s always a good idea to check your car seats to ensure they are installed properly. If you are unable to make it to an in-person inspection, you can always schedule a virtual one with a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST). For more information on local car seat inspection services, click here.

  • Remove bulky coats before getting in the car seat, so they can be buckled in snugly.
  • Use a blanket or put their coat on after buckling them in.
  • Kids that use wheelchairs may need extra blankets for their legs in the car.

Read more