Online Health Blog

Some Extreme Sports to Try on Your Summer Holiday

Part of the fun of any holiday is the opportunity to get out and try new things. The stimulation of the mind and body that is caused by new experiences helps us to respond better to the stress of our daily lives back at home and triggers endorphins that offer a natural high. One sure fire way to garner all the benefits that this type of experience has to offer is to try an extreme sport while you are away on your favourite camping trip or summer holiday. Many Devon Holiday Parks offer extreme sports and other activities.

Popular Extreme Sports

So called extreme sports really can run the gamut of physical and mental fortitude, making it possible for everyone to find something that is suited to his or her interests and abilities, even kids. Some of the most popular sporting activities offered around the country today are:

• Scuba Diving
• Pool Kayaking
• Parascending
• Quad Biking
• Mountain Boarding
• Water Skiing
• Kiddy Karts
• Combat
• Go Karts
• Surfing
• Mountain Biking
• WaterWalkerz
• Twista Bikes
• Climbing
• Bungee Jumping
• Bungee Running

And these are really just a few of the options that are out there waiting for you on your vacation.

Planning an Extreme Sports Vacation

If you are looking to get the blood pumping and the adrenaline running with some extreme sports experimentation during your next trip then try actually planning the trip around a particular type of sport or opportunity. Research the type of activity that you have in mind and then arrange your trip to take you to one of the better places to engage in it. Visit your favourite mountainous or hilly area, for example, in order to try climbing or mountain boarding activities.

If you’ve never had any experience with the activity, then you should make a point of looking for facilities or companies that can offer you guidance, supervision, or training at the site in question. Alternatively, you could pick up the necessary pointers for a beginner ahead of time. You could also consider joining a group of extreme travellers in order to get a buddy experience.

If you are an experienced practitioner of one or many extreme sports, then consider trying something new on your trip. While you may love your chosen sport, chances are that a new twist on the old pastime will offer an even better adrenaline rush.

Snoring could be making you fat

When you ask someone ‘how are you?’ how many times to you get the reply ’shattered’ or ‘tired’? for many of us this is a standard response as a worryingly large number of Brits don’t get enough sleep. We all know that lack of sleep is bad for us and can seriously affect our ability to function well, what we may not realise is that lack of sleep could also be making us fat!

A recent study suggests that the reason people are over weight or obese may not be purely down to lack of exercise or over eating it could also be sleep deprivation.

The study showed that people who sleep for less than four hours a night are 73% more likely to gain excess weight.

Lack of sleep can lead to a craving of an extra 900 calories a day. Such a huge amount of extra food a day could lead to a weight gain of up to 2lb a week.

This problem looks only set to continue as the average amount of sleep has fallen from 9 hours to 7 hours a night during the past 50 years.

Unfortunately, the fairer sex seem to suffer more from sleep deprivation than men and this is in part due to their partners. Women are far more easily disturbed by men during the night than the other way round, this is in part due to the simple fact that men are bigger, heavier and louder than women. One of the most common causes of sleep deprivation is snoring, not only for the snorer but for there long suffering partner. If your partner does snore its time you seriously started looking into some snoring cures to help give you that all so important nights sleep.

Serious Snoring Test

A new test is currently being devised by the University of Chicago to easily identify if someone’s snoring is serious or safe by testing a patient’s urine.

A study was conducted which looked at 90 children who were referred to a sleep clinic in order to examine their breathing problems.30 control children were also used in the study. The experiment showed that there are more proteins present in the urine of children diagnosed with serious snoring than those who suffer with safe snoring. The university team behind the findings have stressed that the experiment will have to be repeated before a simple and accurate test can be created.

It’s important that the more serious snoring conditions such as OSA can be detected as early as possible. OSA or obstructive sleep apnoea can cause a range of problems in children such as mental, behavioural, metabolic and cardiovascular problems. It is estimated that 3% of all children aged 9 and under suffer from OSA.

The scientists used a process involving fluorescent dyes in order to separate the proteins in the urine. By doing this they discovered three proteins with a high concentration in children with OSA. Researchers have stated that further work is needed to identify which proteins will work best for the test and a what time it is best to collect the urine samples.

Scientists are also looking at ways to make the appear as a colour much like a pregnancy test, which could be used by doctors and parents to easily identify the results.

Spa Treatment’s Basis: Balneotherapy

Balneotherapy is the treatment of disease by bathing, and is the basis of modern day spas (yes, even the ones that you’d enjoy on a relaxing Wales spa break. The treatments nowadays also incorporate the use of muds and clays, which is actually an element of fangotherapy, but they work alongside each other very well.

Balneotherapy can involve being submerged in water, lying in water, moving in water or having water flow over you, and whilst it was originally intended as a treatment for diseases, it is also now used for relaxation.

Part of the health benefits associated with balneotherapy is that the waters used are normally rich in minerals, and can help keep skin healthy. If the water is not already mineral water, these will often be added, along with aroma therapy oils to help with relaxation.

The treatments that balneotherapy and fangotherapy offer are also now largely used in beauty therapy, as they can smooth wrinkles and revitalise skin, though when they are used as such, they cease to be balneotherapy, as balneotherapy refers specifically to the use of these for treating disease.

Whilst all of this is interesting to know, it’s much better to experience the treatments on your own Wales spa holiday.

The Snoring Orchestra

The most unlikely Christmas song could well be blaring out of your stereo this festive season. It’s not a novelty record or an all star charity song, its something rather different.

This year musicians have asked snores from all over the country to recorded their snoring and submit it to create a new festive ’song’.

Then thanks to some very clever studio trickery and editing the nations nighttime rumblings were put together to create a new and ironic version of Silent Night quite unlike any other version you have heard before.

While it is a classic Christmas song and those who lent there vocal attributes to the record are no doubt proud it is unlike to make a cherished Christmas gift. In fact for a truly harmonious Christmas, it’s best not to play it that often, if at all!

While the idea may seem a bit of silly Christmas fun, there is a more serious purpose behind this. The record was designed to highlight the problem of snoring, which is said to affect around 15 million people in the UK alone.

If you’re loved one is a snorer and you are looking for a snoring related Christmas gift and have an iPhone then look no further than a new snoring app. The app is designed to analyse and then offer advice to the user as to whether or not surgery may be required. The app does this by recording the snoring and then comparing it to a list of pre-recorded snores.

£3 Million payout

A women who has been suffering from injuries that she sustained 37 years ago at birth has successfully won compensation.

Helen Walker has need constant care since her birth on 1972. The delivery that she experienced was prolonged and led to problems.

Until this point Ms Walkers parents had taken the task of providing for and caring for their daughter as just a matter of circumstance. It was brought to their attention that they might have a compensation claim over 10 years ago so the proceedings began.

The settlement amount was awarded to Ms Walker and the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority was required to paid the agreed amount.  Speaking on behalf of the authority Terence Coghlan QC, explained that they regretted the negligence and wished the family well.

Ms Walker is set to receive the money in periodic payments that should amount to the sum of £3 million.

This money should make life a little more comfortable for Ms Walker and should help reduce the strain and pressure put on her parents.  The settlement will help provide for Ms Walkers future and ensure that she is secure.

Although normally claims like this are only made when a child is still young there are still some cases that will enable some people to make a no win no fee compensation claim.

Snoring - the not so silent killer

Millions of us suffer from heavy snoring. But how many realise that this could be a symptom of a potentially fatal medical condition called sleep apnea. Recent statistics suggest that up to 3.6 million people in the UK could be suffering from sleep apnea. This is a sleeping disorder that consists of brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. This is caused when the muscles in the mouth, throat and nose relax during sleep. This results in restricted air flow and potentially an airway blockage by the soft palate at the back of the mouth or by the uvula. Usually these interruptions result in paused breathing for up to 20 seconds.

Recent research suggests that sleep apnea can result in carotid atherosclerosis or strokes. People at particular risk are snorers who are heavy drinkers or who are overweight or suffering from heart disease. If you are in this high risk group it is important that you seek treatment to stop snoring.

Snoring is often caused by physical features such as a large uvula, which requires oral surgery. However it is much more common for the shape of an airway to influence snoring as a result of a pronounced overbite or other facial feature such as a recessed chin or small jaw. In these instances snoring aids can help to correct the airway shape to help reduce the chances of the tongue or soft palate restricting airflow and causing snoring. A mouth piece such as this will alleviate snoring and thus reduce sleep apnea and it’s potential to induce more serious conditions.

Knee Injury Accidents

There are many things that people take for granted. Their health is one of those things. It’s true what people say, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. There is a lot of value in this statement. Once you have suffered from an injury it can be months or years until the full use of that part of the body becomes useful again, if ever.

There is one body part that once injured can prevent you living the life you currently enjoy. The knee is an essential element to everyday living and once damaged can cause you long term discomfort and restrict mobility.

Sporting injuries are usually the most common cause of long term knee damage yet road traffic accidents also have a massive impact on the long term health of the knee. A car accident can leave you disabled and the loss of the use of the knee can leave you severely disabled.

The knee allows you a vast amount of movement that over wise would make life very difficult indeed. Bending, lifting, kicking, walking and running would become a mammoth task whilst carrying out every day activities.

Damage to the bone, cartilage or ligament can leave you in substantial pain and suffering. These injuries can come in the forms of many different pains:

A sprain
this is usually caused when a ligament has been over stretched and can result in a twisting or wrenching.

Strain
an injury like this occurs when a tendon or a muscle is over stretched

A tear
this is a painful experience and will result in a torn ligament or meniscus

These then go on to cause swelling, joint pain and instability. One such example would be that of a slippery floor. How many times have you walked into a shopping centre and the floor has been wet due to rain, almost slipping up. If you had fallen then a knee injury would have more than likely followed. If there was no indication that the floor was wet you may be entitled to make a no win no fee claim.

Slippery Floors at Work

A slippery floor, as we all know, is a dangerous floor.

The typical British weather can be a contributor to hazards itself.

Whilst out and about shopping it is all too common that the floors in supermarkets and clothes shops, become engulfed with rain water making them as slippery as an ice rink.

One false move or the lack of a ‘caution sign’ could send you free-falling to the ground and injury is only seconds away. All these events can then result in medical assistance, time off work and even long term disability.

In a short space of time, you have gone from healthy-happy-go-lucky to broken-bruised-victim. Through no fault of your own you could find that regular trips to the hospital become part of your routine and you are forced to take time off from work, making that promotion a little harder to achieve.

So what can you do now?

Well, like many people that have suffered from accidents that were not their fault they have gone on to seek accident compensation. ‘Quite rightly so’, some might say, as you might feel that being without a regular income or restricted body movement would leave you entitled to compensation.

There are some experienced compensation claim companies that offer no win no fee compensation and 100% of your compensation paid out.

Making a claim is a way of making companies look at how they handle possible accident situations, and what steps that they would take to avoid them. After all ‘prevention is better than cure’. It is important that these accidents are avoided and the staff become aware of the reasons behind it, as to ensure that no one else is victim to these dangerous hazards.

Get a Good Nights Sleep

For many of millions of people getting a good night’s sleep is merely something other people have and something they long to experience. In many cases though a sleepless night can be fixed and your sleep could be improved dramatically.

Here are a few tips which may just help you get a better nights sleep.

Get Regular Exercise

Regular exercise as we all know is extremely good for, yet perhaps one benefit which doesn’t get talked about is the benefit to our sleep. Exercising for just 30 minuets during the day can help you fall asleep much easier. However it is advised that exercise be ideally carried out in the morning or during the day as exercising to close to bed time can have a negative impact.

Avoid Stimulants

There are a number of stimulants which we take throughout the day even knowingly or unknowingly which keep us up at night. Caffeine, alcohol and smoking are all stimulants which have the ability to cause a restless night. It is then a good idea to try and avoid these stimulants before you plan on heading to bed. Alcohol should be avoided at least a few hours before going to bed, Caffeine found in coffee and to a lesser extent tea and fizzy drinks should not be drunk close to bed time, and ideally coffee should be cut out of your diet after lunch. Smoking has a number of negative affect on a persons sleep, from being a contributory factor to snoring to nicotine acting as a stimulant and withdrawal symptoms during the night causing a disturbed sleep.

Stop Napping

Although many of us will feel sleepy during the day we should avoid the temptation to nap as this could have an impact on sleep later that night. If you do start feeling a bit dozy in the afternoon why not take up the fine English tradition of having an afternoon tea with some delicious cakes, if however you do decide to nap try to make sure it last no longer than 30 minutes.

Stop Snoring

Snoring can be a real disruption to a person sleep, though more often than not its not the snorer who suffers it’s the person they are sleeping with who is kept awake all night long. There are a number of different cures for snoring available which try to fix the different types of snorers (there are many different causes of snoring) so why not give one of them ago.

Sex, Sex and More Sex

Sex is another great away to get a good nights sleep and certainly the most fun!