Dr. Curtis McElroy

Author: docmac

  • Self Care Options When Working From Home

    At-Home Self-Care Options

    When you are self-isolated or quarantined at home, it is easy to just sit in front of the TV
    or Netflix all day, or constantly check the news and social media for updates, but this is
    only going to make your stress worse. Instead, you should be focusing on adding more
    self-care into your routine.

    Take Social Media and News Breaks

    The first way you can practice self-care is by giving yourself breaks from both the news
    and social media. It is a lot of information, debates, and numbers to absorb constantly.
    You should not be checking Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the news online and on
    your TV all day long. This is going to lead to stress, panic, and anxiety.

    If you feel overwhelmed by everything going on, give yourself breaks away from your
    phone and computer, or at least log out of social media and watch anything but the
    news.

    Find Fun Activities to Move Your Body

    Exercise doesn’t have to feel like work. During this time of being home, don’t make
    exercise out to be punishment for eating extra cookies or some kind of challenge to
    change your body. Instead, focus on making it fun and healthy for you and your family.
    If you have kids at home, get them involved. Do soothing exercises that are good for
    self-care, like yoga or stretching, go for walks, and try new workouts at home.

    Add in Creative Activities During Your Day

    Self-care also means doing something just for you that makes you happy. If you are a
    creative person, this might mean arts or crafts. Maybe you haven’t used for your crafts
    in a while, or you have been wanting to use those watercolors in your room, but haven’t
    had the free time. Now is the time to take advantage of being home and really let your
    creative sparks fly.

    Try Pampering at Home

    The salons and day spas are closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pamper yourself!
    This is a common form of self-care and one you shouldn’t underestimate. IT can feel
    amazing to paint your nails, use new skincare products, take a hot bath, or put on a face
    mask. It is simple inexpensive, and something to do for yourself while at home.

    Practice Meditation or Mindfulness

    Lastly, relax your mind and body with meditation or mindfulness. With meditation, you
    can practice breathing exercises that let you clear your mind and focus on positive
    energy. If you prefer mindfulness, you will appreciate what is in this moment, without
    worrying about the past or stressing about the future.

  • How To Stay Healthy Working From Home

    Stay Healthy While Working From Home

    With more people working from home, a common question has come up – how do I get
    more exercise and avoid eating too much when I am at home full-time? But don’t worry,
    it is possible to improve your physical health even while working from home, just like if
    you were working in an office.

    Here are 10 different things to focus on when it comes to staying healthy while working
    from home.

    1. Staying Active and Stretching

    One of the best things you can do when you work from home is to stay active. Even if
    you sit at a desk or work on the couch with your laptop all day, there are still plenty of
    opportunities to move your body.

    Make it a goal to move more throughout the day, not only with daily exercise, but getting
    up from your day and stretching more often.

    Here are some ideas:

    Start your day with a gentle workout session – In the morning, you can boost your
    energy and move your body with a gentle form of exercise. Yoga and Pilates are great
    for the morning, but a short walk would also be great.

    Find more reasons to walk during your day – Walking is the gentlest form of exercise,
    and the easiest to do. You can walk your dogs a little further than you normally would,
    go on a family walk around the neighborhood after dinner, or walk to run errands if it’s
    close enough to your house instead of driving.

    Add in other forms of exercise – What else do you enjoy doing? Do you want to take an
    afternoon spin class with a friend? Do you like getting out of the house to go on a hike
    or head to the gym? Find more forms of exercise that will motivate you.

    2. Nutrition While Working from Home

    Another pitfall that people often fall into when working from home is snacking or
    indulging in treats all day. If you have found that your nutrition is falling behind from
    working near your kitchen all day, here are some tips that can help:

    Have healthy snacks on hand – If you tend to reach for chips or candy often, keep
    healthier snacks within your reach. Have fruit or nuts on your desk, keep granola bars
    on the counter, make sure your fresh fruit and veggies are visible, instead of a box of
    donuts on the counter.

    Do meal prep – Meal prep works great when you work from home too! This does not
    just have to be for bringing lunch to work. The more you have prepared at home, the
    less tempted you will be to order food delivery or go out to eat.

    Designated kitchen times – A common trap when working from home is feeling like you
    can walk into the kitchen at any time and eat something. To prevent this, have
    designated kitchen and meal times just like you would if you worked in an office.

    3. Developing Healthier Habits

    Staying healthy while working from home isn’t about being on a diet or trying to be
    restrictive. It is about balance, which starts with developing some healthy habits.

    Do you eat better when you have your workout first thing in the morning? Then you
    know this can be a wonderful healthy habit for you! Habits don’t have to feel like a chore
    or something you are forcing to do. It is very small changes in your day that make the
    difference.

    Try working on your daily routines. From morning routines to what you do in the
    afternoon, you can change your routines in order to be healthier at home.

    Get your family involved. Sometimes, what you need is to focus on the health of your
    family, not just yourself. Let your kids help with meal times, exercise with the family, and
    find family-focused activities to get you up and moving throughout the day.

    4. Finding Your Health Motivation

    What is the reason you want to be healthier while working from home? This is where
    you can start, and will help with not just your health, but your happiness when you are at
    home working all day.

    Make a list of everything that is motivating you to be healthier, starting with your WHY.

    Answer this question in your journal or in a notebook:

    “Why do you want to be healthier while working from home?”

    This is important, because it helps you understand yourself a little more, and find what
    is going to motivate you the most. There is no wrong answer here, except one where
    you aren’t being honest with yourself.

    5. Creating a Healthy Morning Routine

    To start working on your healthy habits at home, begin with your morning routine. Don’t
    worry about having a perfect routine or one that you get 100% right every day. Routines
    are simply a collection of activities you do around the same time each day.

    Everything in your routine should serve some kind of purpose and be something you
    want to get done in the morning, or that will help you start your day on the right foot.

    Benefits of the Morning Routine

    Why have a morning routine? When you are working from home, you need some
    structure. Without a boss looking over your shoulder or co-workers to be accountable to,
    it requires a lot more self-motivation. This also includes your health journey while
    working from home.

    Some benefits of having a morning routine include:

    Starting your day off with healthy habits
    Incorporating healthy habits into your routine
    Setting yourself up for the day
    Getting in exercise first thing in the morning
    Changing your mindset to a healthy, balanced one

    6. Health Pitfalls to Avoid

    It is really easy to think the habits and routines you have implemented in your work-
    from-home life are for health, but many of them are about losing weight or being overly
    restrictive. Here are some pitfalls to avoid when you are on a health journey:

    Going on a restrictive diet – Many people think that to eat healthy, they need to be on a
    diet. But this is not true! Change your mindset from what you need to take away from
    your diet to what you can add in to improve the nutrients and fuel your body.

    Focusing on the wrong things – When it comes to your health, it is more about how you
    feel, not what you think you should be doing. This goes for everything you do at home,
    from your physical activity and what you eat, to the information you consume and what
    your routine looks like.

    Feeling like you aren’t doing enough – Any small change you make or healthy habit you
    incorporate into your work-from-home life is going to improve your physical health and
    wellbeing. It is enough.

    7. Taking Regular Breaks

    Make sure you have a balanced work schedule throughout the day, including taking
    enough breaks. Think of your work-from-home schedule just like a schedule if you were
    in the office still. This includes a morning and afternoon break, and a lunch break! If you
    would get up every hour to move and stretch your body in the office, then you should be
    doing that now as well.

    Do desk stretches – There are stretches you can do while sitting down or standing.
    These give you the opportunity to look somewhere other than your computer screen,
    stretch your body, and hopefully stand up to stretch out your legs as well.

    Walk around – Also use your breaks as a chance to get up and walk around your house
    or office space.

    Make adjustments – Do you feel like your neck is stiff or back is hurting? You may be
    sitting incorrectly. Check the ergonomics of your workstation, whether you are working
    at a desk or your kitchen table.

    8. Environmental Changes

    The environment where you work at home can also make a big difference in your health
    and wellbeing. Here are some things you can change in your environment for your
    health:

    Setting up your workspace – Make sure your workspace is set up for focus and
    productivity, including a desk or table that is comfortable, all the accessories you need
    to get work done, proper lighting, and a way to cancel out noise or distractions.

    Having healthy resources at home – It is also good to have resources available to you
    at home to improve your health if this is a priority. This might be nutritious food and
    snacks, home workout accessories, or just some house plants in your office to get you
    in the healthy mindset.

    Designated break areas – Taking a break at home is a little different from a traditional
    workplace, since you are already in your relaxing place. This is why having a
    designated workspace AND a designated place to take your breaks is so essential.

    9. Your Work-Life Balance

    Everyone needs a good work-life balance, whether you work from home or out of the
    home. But it tends to be a little more complicated when your home is also your office.

    One of the best things you can do for your work-life balance when you work from home
    is to have a schedule that tells you when you start work, and when you stop. Avoid
    bringing your laptop to the couch or your bed to get work done before or after your work
    day is meant to begin.

    This small change in addition to having a separate workspace will make a big difference
    in your work-life balance.

    10. Are You Ready to Be Healthier?

    Let’s summarize how to be healthier at home and make sure you are ready and on the
    right path.

    Small habits for big changes – Remember that it is not about changing your entire life if
    you want to be healthier. Just choose some smaller habits, and working from home will
    benefit you greatly.

    Find your motivation – What motivates YOU to be healthier might not motivate anyone
    else. Be honest with yourself about what you are trying to achieve.

    Set health goals – Lastly, set some goals for yourself when it comes to your health.
    What are you trying to improve? What are you struggling with right now? The more
    specific your goals are, the easier they will be to achieve.

  • Healthy Brain For Healthy Hearing

    A Healthy Brain for Healthy Hearing

    When most think of brain health, they do it in terms of retaining memories as they age. But your brain affects many processes throughout your body – not just whether or not you can recall things.

    When you think of aging and the symptoms that go along with it, you might associate it with joint pain, hair loss, becoming hard of hearing and more. Most people mistakenly believe that there’s not much they can do about hearing loss.

    Hearing is an important part of maintaining independence and youth – being able to communicate with those around you. Your ears aren’t the only part of your body that helps you be able to hear.

    Your brain also has a part to play. When it’s not healthy, this can affect your ability to hear. Luckily, there are some specific things you can do to sharpen your brain activity in an effort to boost and retain your hearing.

     

    What Role Does the Brain Play in Hearing?

    Without a healthy brain, your ability to hear will be altered. When you hear a noise, that sound first enters the outside area of your ear. From there, your eardrums are the next step.

    This is followed by a vibration, then the cells act as translators. They make the vibration signals that the nerves can grasp. These signals are then moved to the brain. The brain takes these vibrations and sorts them into sounds.

    It can do this because of the ability the brain has with auditory impulse. All of this is a multi-step process, but the brain is able to translate what your ear picks up into sounds in the blink of an eye.

    At the same time that the brain is helping these vibrations change into the sounds that you can understand, it’s also acting as a sorting machine. The brain doesn’t just allow all the sounds to hit without putting them into certain categories.

    These categories are what you want to hear versus what you want to tune out. Though you might have heard jokes about “selective hearing,” it’s true that your brain can choose what you don’t want to pay attention to.

    For example, when you’re having a conversation with someone in a crowded coffee shop or restaurant, there will be a lot of noise. There will be the clatter of dishes. Coffee machines or other machines will make noise, too.

    There can also be the buzz of nearby conversation. Maybe there’s even loud traffic on the road outside the place of business. In order to pay attention to the conversation you’re engaging in, your brain will exclude the noise you don’t want to be at the front and center of your mind.

    It puts these sounds on the back burner. You might be aware that these background sounds are going on, but your brain doesn’t focus on them, so while you hear them, you don’t listen.

    Your brain also knows how to change the sound level. It can act as both a receiver and an amplifier to project the sound level of what needs to be heard, versus what doesn’t.

    Your ear works in conjunction with the brain to make sure all the sounds you hear get processed.

    That’s why, when one or the other is out of whack, it can affect your hearing. It’s also why you need to make sure that you keep your brain’s auditory cells in good working order.

    Keep in mind that if the cells in your ears are damaged, your brain can’t compensate for this damage. It will adjust, but it can’t rebuild what’s been lost. That’s because the vibration in the ear will be altered when there’s damage.

    You might hear different levels or struggle to hear at all. This is why, when people get older, they can become hard of hearing. It’s the ear cell damage or changes that the brain can’t restore causing the issue.

     

    Signs That You’re Suffering from Brain Fatigue

    Your brain does a lot of work. Just like any other part of your body can, it can also experience fatigue. One of the most common symptoms of brain fatigue is a surge in irritability.

    You’ll find that things get under your skin when they normally wouldn’t even bother you. But there are also other symptoms associated with brain fatigue. One of these is struggling to concentrate.

    When the brain reaches the point where you feel like you just can’t handle one more thing, you’ll discover that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t keep your mind on whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish or to think about.

    You might also experience trouble recalling things. This trouble with the memory stems from the fact that your brain is overtired and the synapses are having problems passing messages.

    When brain fatigue is present, you’ll find that you don’t care about what it is that you’re doing. If this is a task, you just want to get it done without caring about the final results.  You may not be interested in doing things that you’ve always been excited to do in the past.

    When brain fatigue is present, you can lose interest in food or you might find that you’re eating more than normal. This is done subconsciously in an attempt to replenish the energy your brain doesn’t have at the moment.

    You may also find that you’re having problems falling asleep or that you can’t stay asleep once you do drift off. All of these are signs that your brain has reached the point of exhaustion.

    You may feel like you’re moving in slow motion. Everything you try to think about seems caught in a haze. The things you used to be able to perform quickly, you’re having trouble figuring out how to do.

    You might find that you can’t grasp concepts even on a child-like level. You might wonder what brain fatigue has to do with your hearing. When your brain is fatigued, it affects your hearing because you can’t concentrate.

    You’ll hear things, but you won’t really absorb them. If someone were to ask you what you just listened to, you may not be able to recall. The brain fatigue you’re experiencing will make it difficult for your brain to be able to understand the hearing vibrations.

    This may cause it to disregard sound, regardless of whether it’s important or not – such as the sound of a siren or the honk of a horn. Everything will slow down because you may feel like you’re hearing sounds, but your brain is just not able to process or comprehend the noise.

    As this happens, you can end up struggling with memory recall of what was said to you and even what you spoke about. This may be seen as memory loss, when the reality is, it was a hearing issue.

    Improving Focus and Memory Can Improve Your Hearing

    In order for your hearing to be what it needs to be, your brain has to be healthy. If you’ve experienced brain fatigue, you need to deal with that. Once you treat the symptoms, you’ll be able to restore the correct ability to hear and process information.

    The good news is that your brain is an organ that does have the ability to heal from fatigue. It also has the ability to once again retain information that was lost. It can also learn how to focus again when there’s been a struggle.

    This helps your overall hearing. If you’re wondering what the link is, it’s found in the synapses. These are the points where neurons can connect in order to be able to communicate.

    Without healthy synapses, you’ll have trouble with your hearing. You may also experience other problems communicating or in your body’s muscles when the synapses don’t work correctly.

    When your synapses are weakened, your brain is unable to hold onto memories and will struggle to form new ones. These synapses rely on signals and they travel from cell to cell.

    With your hearing, your brain processes sound using the auditory part of the brain. The brain functions here using synapses as well. If your auditory synapses aren’t healthy, your hearing ability won’t be where it needs to be.

    In order to improve your hearing, you need to work on improving focus and memory and that task isn’t as difficult as you might think. You need to make sure that you don’t overtax your brain so that it gets fatigued.

    If you have stress in your life, you need to find a way to relieve it. That might mean taking some time off if you have a tendency to overwork. If you’re busy, you have to practice shutting down throughout the day to give your brain a rest.

    Make sure that you don’t try to do more than your brain can handle. Don’t let your brain fall into a rut of doing the same thing. Like muscles in your body, your brain needs to be stimulated in order to remain healthy.

    Make sure that you exercise. This is one way to improve your focus as well as your memory function. Eat healthy meals. Your brain needs the vitamins and minerals in these foods.

    Cut out habits that negatively affect the brain, such as consuming too much alcohol or smoking. Make sure that you get the sleep that you need. When you sleep, the pathways in your brain are supported and it helps your synapses with communication.

    Look for brain supplements that can boost function. You’ll see these listed as nootropics. These supplements can promote cognitive function as well as help your focus and memory.

    The Debilitating Effects of Tinnitus

    Tinnitus is what happens when you experience ringing in your ears. You can have periods of tinnitus that are mild and more of an annoyance than anything else. But many people experience a nonstop ringing that’s not related to an external sound.

    Many people who struggle with the condition find that it can cause anxiety as well as depression when it’s chronic. Tinnitus is a condition that can interfere with your ability to live a normal life.

    You may find it’s too difficult to focus on doing something because your mind is focused on the ringing. Some people experience social withdrawal because they can’t handle trying to listen or communicate with the ringing in their ears going on simultaneously.

    This condition can cause some people to end up being unable to focus at their job and they end up having to change careers or stop working altogether. You can develop tinnitus as part of the aging process.

    As you get older and your hearing declines, you may notice that the hearing loss has resulted in this condition. Tinnitus isn’t just something that’s more common as you age. Hearing loss related to getting older isn’t the sole cause of tinnitus.

    You can develop the condition at any point in your life. Even teenagers can get the condition due to what causes it. Repeated exposure to noise that’s louder than it should be is something that can lead to tinnitus.

    An example of this is listening to loud music. If you listen to music, you’ll want to use over the ear headphones rather than in the ear ones because the in-ear ones are more likely to cause tinnitus due to the proximity and noise level of the music.

    Any time you’re exposed to loud sounds for a long period of time, you should protect your ears from hearing loss by wearing ear plugs. Some medications can lead to tinnitus and so can some diseases.

    Regardless of the reason you get it, there are certain vitamins and supplements you can take that can help deal with the stress and effects of living with tinnitus. While these supplements may not cure your tinnitus, they can help improve your daily life.

    Many of these supplements contain ingredients that can help boost the health of your ear’s inner hair. These are the inner hair cells that help with good hearing. By taking the right kind of supplement, you can protect or restore these cells.

    You might think because of this, that tinnitus is only an ear condition and isn’t linked to anything else. It’s actually caused by a problem that occurs in the brain’s processing of what happens in the ear.

    The Synapse Supplement That Could Provide Help for Your Hearing

    Because the brain is the powerful component that affects your hearing, it’s important that you make sure it’s healthy. The best way to do this is by taking the kind of supplement used by the brain to boost hearing and restore issues.

    One supplement you can take is called Synapse XT. When you have hearing problems, you can take these capsules to help improve your hearing as well as help alleviate symptoms of tinnitus.

    The supplement can also help restore cognitive issues that impact hearing. For example, when you take the supplement, it works to help improve your memory function by helping boost synapses performance.

    In addition to helping improve the memory, the supplement also works to help concentration, which allows you to be able to focus once again. Your brain works in conjunction with the ears by way of communication.

    If something gets in the way of this, it affects how and what you hear. The Synapse XT supplement works to improve the brain’s ability to have healthier hearing because it can help alleviate the fatigue your brain may experience.

    One thing your brain does when it comes to hearing is it sorts the sounds that the ears hear, such as dividing the sounds into what you actually hear versus what you filter out.

    This supplement helps the brain process auditory impulses and comprehend or interpret sound.

    By taking the supplement, you’ll be able to help your brain and in turn improve hearing.

    The ingredients in Synapse XT are all good for the brain. The product lists a variety of vitamins in the B family as well as natural ingredients like herbs.

    For example, one of the ingredients in the product is Vitamin C, which is imperative to the overall health of the brain. It also contains hibiscus extract. This herb is known for its antioxidant properties as well as its ability to boost memory function.

    Hibiscus has long been suggested in studies as a way to help relieve symptoms for those suffering from tinnitus. Synapse XT is a supplement that’s known as a nootropic. Not only does it help alleviate the symptoms of tinnitus, but it can also boost cognitive function and slow age related changes in cognitive function and hearing loss.

    There are many things you’ll want to do to improve your body as you age. Some will be cosmetic. Others for mobility or memory retention. This is just one aspect of an important anti-aging strategy you can implement into your life to secure a more youthful, more fulfilling way of life.

    Regardless of what issues you’re now facing, or how severe they are when it comes to brain health and hearing, you’ll want to be proactive when it comes to reversing symptoms you have the power to control and preventing things from worsening whenever possible.

    It’s never too late to take charge of your future and protect your health and hearing so that you can live life to its fullest and enjoy your years ahead being social and participating in conversations with others.

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy