Does coughing, sneezing, or laughing too much cause you to leak urine? You might be experiencing a urinary problem which is the most common form of incontinence in women. Incontinence is defined as an involuntary loss of urine that is enough to cause a social or hygiene concern. Urine is produced by the kidneys and collected in the bladder, which expands like a balloon as the volume increases. When full, the bladder empties itself by releasing the urine via the urethra. Most people need to pass water every three to four hours during the day and up to once or twice in the night. For normal urination, the muscular wall of the bladder has to contract at the same time as a valve mechanism at the outlet of the bladder relaxes. However, urine tends to leak most when one coughs, during intense laughter, or when doing exercise such as jumping or running. In these kinds of situations, there is a sudden extra pressure within the abdomen and on the bladder. Urine leaks because the pelvic floor muscles and urethra cannot withstand the extra pressure. The incontinence develops because the pelvic floor muscles are weakened, reducing the person’s ability to hold the urine and prevent the leak. Stress incontinence is when urine leaks when there is a sudden extra pressure or “stress” on the bladder. Stress incontinence is common in women who have had children and those who are overweight and obese. It is also more common with increasing age as the muscles become weaker, particularly after the menopause. Women experience incontinence two times more often than men. Pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, and the structure of the female urinary tract account for this difference. Stress incontinence can worsen during the week before a woman’s menstrual period. During that time, low estrogen levels might lead to lower muscular pressure around the urethra, increasing chances of leakage. The incidence of stress incontinence increases following menopause. By the age of 75, at least 16% of women experience some incontinence, but younger women can also be affected. If a woman experiences stress incontinence, she may feel embarrassed and distressed by the condition. It often disrupts work, social activities, interpersonal relationships, and even sexual relations. But stress incontinence is a preventable disorder. Healthy lifestyle choices that may reduce the risk or lessen complications of the disorder include a regular exercise routine, weight management, and limited consumption of caffeine and alcohol. The main treatment which often works well is to do exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor exercises may include the use of incontinence-control devices as directed by a physician. In some cases medication may help in addition to exercises if exercises alone do not work. Surgery may also be recommended in order to tighten or support the bladder outlet. Following a doctor’s advice is important for managing overactive bladder. Talk to a doctor if the symptoms of stress incontinence interfere with the activities of daily living, such as work, interpersonal relationships, social life and general well-being.
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Many people identify the feeling of being depressed as being blue, feeling sad for no reason, or having no motivation to do anything.It occures when human endure feeling sadness or melancholy for long periods of time, it can last for several weeks to several years if left untreated. Sometimes we feel tired from working hard, or discouraged when faced with serious problems. This too, is not depression. These feelings usually pass within a few days or weeks. But, if these feelings linger and begin to interfere with work, school or family responsibilities, it may be depression. There is no single cause for depression. Many factors play a role including genetics, environment, life events, and certain thinking patterns that affect a person’s reaction to events. Research has revealed that depression runs in families and suggests that some people inherit genes that make it more likely for them to get depressed. But not everyone who has the genetic makeup for depression actually gets depression. And many people who have no family history of depression have the condition. So, although genes are one factor, they aren’t the single cause of depression. Life events – for example, the death of a close family member or friend – can go beyond normal grief and can sometimes lead to depression. Family and social environment also play a role. For some teens, a negative, stressful, or unhappy family atmosphere can affect their life and lead to depression. Social conditions like poverty, homelessness, and community violence can make it more likely for people to become depressed. We have to say that People who are depressed shouldn’t wait and hope it will go away on its own, because depression can be effectively treated. Although depression is one of the most common emotional problems, the good news is that it’s also one of the most treatable conditions.
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Stress can stop your weight loss goals about as much as eating a family size bag of Nacho chips and a 2-Liter bottle of pop can. My approach to weight loss was in gaining my health. Losing 300 pounds was not the first thing that occurred to me, but rather “what could I do to get healthy and eat right”. It was a very strange approach given that I was obviously clinically obese and immediately needed some quick weight loss. I had no idea that our body used food in a very specific manor and that we could improve our energy levels by working with the body, not against it. There were some very specific rules to follow, so being the good student I followed them. It became a religion for me and as I preached it, I made many people quite crazy. I became an outcast because I had to prepare my food differently and would not eat with the gang at meal times. My food was prepared differently, eaten differently and eventually I even came to ask food servers to use different spatulas to flip my “veggie burger” from the grill. I followed the rules and I increased my energy. I began eating better and my energy levels increased enough that my weight loss began and I started to become lean and healthy. Then the stuff hit the fan Well, it hit their fan, not mine. Friends began to talk behind my back about wanting the old Rob back. In one instance, I was held down on a couch while cola was poured into my mouth against my will. They wanted their old funny, fat, life of the party friend back, not this health nut with all these food rules. I think I first became aware of being stressed about food at a birthday party I was asked to attend. It was a time of celebration, but do you want to know what I was thinking? “Do I or don’t I have a piece of cake?” “This is totally processed, unnatural food. No fiber, no wholeness and it contained sugars, lard and all kinds of other crap”. I had a whole bunch of thoughts about how this would affect my weight loss goals, my health and my eating habits. I was weighing the thoughts of being socially acceptable against the health choice of having this one little piece of cake. I thought about losing them as friends if I did not accept the cake and weighed it against the impact this poor food choice was going to have on my body. I had already lost friends because of my food choices and I really did not want to lose more. I’m sure you’ve been there yourself, having to make a decision based on your social status vs your health. It’s a very quick thought process, but you notice that your blood pressure goes up, your heart begins to beat faster, you begin to sweat… you know what I mean? I ate the cake. I felt like crap. I felt like crap on many levels and I was stressing about this excessively. I felt bad that I had to make that choice in this manner. I felt bad because the sugar was surging into my blood and I felt bad because I “thought about this way too much” At some point, you need to let go of it all. There is energy in food; in the love and people around you that prepared the food and the circumstances in which it’s eaten. Never eat a meal when you are upset or sad because you should be enjoying the meal and taking in all the goodness in what the earth has brought to your body. Take in all that goodness and let go of all the stress. Eat naturally as much as you can and increase the amount of whole foods in your diet. Make a choice to remove processed foods and beverages such as cola’s, fruit juices, coffee and traditional teas. Eat with a smile on your face and give thanks to everyone involved in bringing the meal, the nutrition and that energy into your body. Then when the time is right, have fun and enjoy the health you’ve created. There was a very dramatic shift in my life, my health and my weight loss when I made the choice to enjoy some foods again. I began to break my own rules and live my life. I began to have fun with food and fun came back into my life. Let go.
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The health benefits of sleep extend beyond the refreshed feeling that is experienced in the morning. It not only recharges one’s energy levels, but also replenishes the major body systems. Sufficient sleep nourishes the immune system and enables it to function at its best. When people sleep, the body repairs itself, building bone, muscle, and other tissues that are needed by the body to function at its best. Improved mental well-being is also one of the health benefits that can be achieved through sufficient sleep. It allows the mind to unwind, regroup, and adjust to the stress and issues that are experienced in daily lives. Sleep is essential in keeping neurotransmitters and chemicals in the brain balanced allowing the body to promote proper well-being. However many individuals fail to gain from these health benefits because of sleep difficulties that are encountered. Nutritionists and dietitians advise these individuals to head to the kitchen and munch on foods that may relax tense muscles, calm the mind, and promote the production of serotonin and melatonin—hormones that are known to induce sleep. Here is the list of top foods that may promote sound sleep. Bananas. This fruit is said to be rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that is converted into melatonin and serotonin. This fruit also contains magnesium, a known muscle relaxant. Warm Milk. Protein naturally found in milk may improve sleep quality and alertness the next day. It contains alpha-lactobumin which is rich in tryptophan. Milk promotes sound sleep and without the side effects that are often experienced after taking sleep-inducing medications. Honey. Honey may act as a sedative because the right amount of glucose tells the brain to turn off orexin, a neurotransmitter that is linked to alertness. Oatmeal. Oats may sooth the digestive and nervous system. The easiest way to improve sleep is consume a serving of oatmeal everyday. But begin with small servings because too much oatmeal may cause gas. Turkey. This meat is probably the most abundant source of tryptophan. However, tryptophan works when the stomach contains food made up mostly of carbohydrates. Two lean slices of turkey on whole wheat bread are perfect sleep inducers. If these food choices still do not help improve one’s quality of sleep, people with sleeping problems may use over-the-counter and prescription medications as treatment for their sleep disorder. But before using them, these individuals are advised to seek the approval of health professionals. They may recommend certain medicines that are required for your health needs. Sleep is composed of distinct stages with each stage giving the body different health functions and benefits. The benefits are achieved when individuals sleep the the number of hours the body needs which is about seven to eight hours for adults and longer for teens and children. This allows the body to to go through all the stages properly and promote improved overall health. If individuals don’t get the enough sleep they may end up getting stressed, sluggish, and sickly. In addition, extreme cases of sleep deprivation may lead to depression or stroke.
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Stress has become an inevitable consequence of modern everyday life, and as we are subjected to increasing amounts of it, we experience more and more of the effects of the great rate of wear and tear we subject our bodies to. The term was originally coined by Hans Selye in 1936, and defined by him as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change.” This means that we are all subjected to stress, but its effects on our bodies differ greatly from person to person, largely dependent on the gravity of and how we handle the stressful situation. It manifests itself in any number of physical or psychological symptoms that are often ignored until it seriously affects our health. In fact, stress is currently one of the leading causes of illness worldwide, such as depression, erectile dysfunction, hypertension and heart disease. This increasing number of stress-related illnesses has raised alarm bells throughout the worldwide medical community. Stress can stem from both positive and negative experiences in our lives. Positive stressors, or eustress, are situations that are perceived to be happy or good, such as weddings, childbirth or big family holidays. Negative stressors, or distress, are situations that are traumatizing or unhappy, such as the death of a loved one or an accident. Pregnancy can be considered both a positive and negative stressor, being a time of great joy and adjustment for the expectant mother as she and her partner welcome the new addition to their family. Apart from the actual physical stress the woman’s body is subjected to during the nine months of pregnancy, the pressures of daily life are also there to put additional stress on her. Some women have to juggle the demands of their job, chores, and families along with being pregnant. In some cases, pregnant women face unhealthy situations as the break-up of their marriage, physical or emotional abuse, open infidelity or simply disinterested and uninvolved partners who prefer staying out to staying home and supporting their pregnant partners, and they experience constant stress throughout the nine month period or beyond. Extreme situations can also leave the unborn baby vulnerable to the stress the mother feels, such as malnutrition or exposure to toxins because of an unhealthy or unsanitary living conditions. Stress can have adverse effects on the unborn child, and can sometimes be the cause of birth defects, miscarriages, pre-term delivery, or result in the death of both mother and child. Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, can be too much for the bodies of both the mother and child to handle, may possibly cause high blood pressure problems. In the mother, this may increase her risk for preeclampsia, or any number of other conditions that may complicate her pregnancy. In the unborn child, the effects can range from a lifetime of high blood pressure or other physical, mental or developmental defects. Whatever is going on in a woman’s life during her pregnancy, the most important thing she should remember is that she must take care of her body and safeguard the life of her child. Whether the situation is positive or negative, how she deals with the stress is entirely in her hands.
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Stress affects health in many ways, unfortunately none of them affects well-being in a good way. Many health specialists claim, as normal human experience would confirm, that stress and depression can have negative effects on physical health. In the long run, persons under high stress can develop eating disorders and sleep disturbances. These conditions could also possibly lead to decreased physical energy, chronic pain, and sexual dysfunction. Physical illnesses are almost always present whenever a person is under extremely stressful conditions. Even the body’s internal processes respond to external difficulties experienced by a person. During stressful situations, the adrenal glands inside the body release a substance called cortisol. Cortisol is a natural steroid hormone that science experts refer to as the “stress hormone.” It is known as the“stress hormone” because large amounts of this substance are released whenever a person feels stressed out. It is an important hormone in the human body because it is involved in proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, and control of immune system functions, and inflammatory response. In general, cortisol is present in the body at elevated levels in the morning and lowest in the evening. Small increases of cortisol have some positive effects like quick bursts of energy, improved immunity, heightened memory function, and lower sensitivity to pain. In addition, moderate doses of cortisol helps maintain homeostasis in the body. Homeostasis is the property of living organisms that regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant state in terms of body temperature, acidity, and nutrient and waste balance. Health experts stress that this process is critical for survival and good health. With minimal or no thought at all, people maintain and restore homeostasis all the time. For example, people drink if they are thirsty, wear a sweater when it is cold, or take a rest after an intense physical activity. All these actions contribute to ones state of homeostasis. Dilemmas occur when the body’s cells fail to communicate properly, and cause breakdown in homeostasis. This disturbance can lead to poor health and later into serious health conditions. Sustained and prolonged levels of cortisol, however, may lead to many harmful effects like high cholesterol, suppression of the immune system, and acceleration of the aging process. Prolonged stress may lead to imbalance of cortisol in the body which causes disturbance in the components of the digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, and other major systems of the body. Medical specialists conclude that such imbalance may lead to several illness like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to these harmful effects, high levels of cortisol may lead to weight gain. When people become stressed, the adrenal glands produce more cortisol that release sugar in the blood which then leads to additional weight gain. Studies add that people who secrete higher levels of cortisol as a reaction to stress tend to eat more food that is high in carbohydrates. To keep cortisol levels under control, the body’s relaxation response is activated during stressful situations. The following methods have been proven by many health experts to be very beneficial helping the mind and the body relax and, in the process, control the body’s production of cortisol: · Journaling or keeping a diary · Self-hypnosis · Exercise · Yoga · Listening to music · Meditation · Sex Cortisol production varies from person to person. People are biologically designed to react differently to different forms and intensities of stress. There are many kinds of medication out in the market that are designed to reduce high levels of cortisol in the body. However, it is important to understand that certain illnesses are caused by too much stress. Keeping our lives as stress-free as possible and by practicing stress management techniques, living life would not be so hard as it seems.