Bryan Simmons Chiropractic & Health Care Blog

Before gulping another cup of coffee or soda, learn first how much caffeine you are taking in everyday. Remember, too much of everything is harmful to the body!

Understanding Caffeine

Caffeine is one of the world’s most common psychoactive drugs, along with nicotine and alcohol. At this point, you might ask, psychoactive what? Classifying a substance as psychoactive simply means that it induces changes in one’s psychological state or mood. Caffeine, with its corresponding changes it induces when taken in, falls within the definition of a psychoactive drug.

Caffeine works as a stimulant directed at the sympathetic nervous system. Simply put, caffeine acts on a particular part of the body that is designed to defend us. Hence, it generates a response that is similar when we are stressed. Our salivary glands temporarily inhibit from exuding saliva, our heart beats a little faster, and we are more hyper than usual.

Medically, caffeine is used as a stimulant for the heart and a diuretic such that it induces people to urinate more. Chemically, caffeine mimics a natural substance called adenosine, which slows down nerve cell activity, corresponding to drowsiness. Nonetheless, caffeine – unlike real adenosine – doesn’t slow nerve cells down. It actually does the opposite, speeding it up.

Sources of Caffeine

Caffeine is found in many beverages and food. Most people know that coffee has caffeine, hence the liking for it especially when looking for an upper. What most people don’t know is caffeine is also found in colas, chocolate, and tea. It has a half-life of at least 6 hours, meaning that half of its level in our system stays after 6 hours.

Hence, it is important for us to keep tab with our caffeine consumption. It has been said that too much of something is bad. That goes with caffeine, as well. Too much caffeine can interfere with deep sleep and may cause headaches and even dependency. It is recommended to drink caffeinated beverages only until the afternoon, especially if you are caffeine sensitive.

Are You Taking In Too Much?

To know if you are already taking in too much caffeine in the body, learn about the levels of caffeine ordinary drinks contain:

Drip-brewed coffee in 6-ounce cup has 100 mg of caffeine. Remember that Starbucks Coffee sells coffee drinks in 12-, 14-, and 20-ounce sizes;
Brewed tea contains 70 mg of caffeine; while
Cola or carbonated drinks in 12-ounce serving have 50 mg of caffeine

Caffeine Alternatives

If you are consuming too much caffeine as a stimulant, such as coffee, to keep you awake and energetic, especially in the morning, you can eat an apple instead. Studies show that eating an apple in the morning will keep you awake. While the apple fruit is more effective in doing this, apple juice can also be a good option if you are looking for a drink substitute.

If you are drinking coffee as an anti-oxidant, you can choose a healthier alternative which is tea. It may also contain caffeine, but not as much as coffee. Additionally, it also is a good source of B vitamins and minerals.

Finally, if you are consuming too much caffeine from certain flavors of sodas, you may choose to replace it with sparkling water. The experience is the same, but you know for sure that you are drinking a healthy alternative.

Some parents tend to undervalue the amount and quality of their children’s sleep when, in fact, almost 30 to 40 percent of children lack quality sleep, contributing to their poor performance not only in school but in their daily lives. They tend to misbehave and have trouble paying attention.

Common Causes of Sleep Problems among Children

There are different reasons why children don’t get enough sleep. Physical problems like snoring and the lifestyle of the child or the family may affect the child’s sleep. Behavioral problems too like hyperactivity may affect the length and quality of sleep.

In order to find out if your child is lacking sleep, observe for signs of daytime sleepiness like rubbing the eyes, yawning, acting out and trouble paying attention. If you observe snoring, find out if it’s temporary (from a cold or flu) or if it occurs on a regular basis.

How much sleep a child needs generally depends on the age of the child. Preschoolers for example need 11 to 12 hours while elementary-age children need about 10 hours. Adolescents need nine to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep.

Snoring can disrupt a child’s trip to dreamland. Snoring may indicate that he or she has a breathing problem. Worse, this causes sleep apnea – an unhealthy condition that disrupts breathing during the night briefly, causing the child to awaken at intervals unconsciously. Blocked nasal passages from allergy and infection and adenotonsillar hypertrophy could cause snoring. Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is a condition which means the tonsils and adenoids are abnormally large. Asthma can also cause sleep apnea.

The fluid intake prior to bed actually affects your children’s sleep. Drinking too many fluids can mean frequent trips to the bathroom and diaper changes in the middle of the night. Infants should only be nursed once or two times every night while those who are five to six months old only require eight ounces of fluid every night.

How to Help Your Child Sleep Better

As a parent, you can easily monitor your child’s behavior and activities that may affect his sleeping habits. Here are some ways you can help him sleep better at night.

Remove caffeine in your child’s diet because it makes it harder for children to fall asleep. Caffeine remains in the body for eight to 12 hours. Limit TV, radio, computer and video games and large meals before bedtime. Also, ensure that your child gets plenty of exercise and keep the temperature at 65 degrees. Establish an evening routine for your child like a 30-minute quiet time before bedtime to wind down from the day’s activities. Don’t put a television in your child’s bedroom.

Give your child warm milk as this contains tryptophan, an amino acid that promotes sleep. Prepare a large breakfast, a medium lunch and a small dinner because digesting a big dinner can prevent your child from resting comfortably. Include carbohydrates in your dinner because it stimulates the body to produce serotonin- a sleep-inducing hormone.

Remember, adequate quality sleep is vital to a child’s development in as much as a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.

Do you want to get rid of those eye bags under your eyes because they usually become the center of distraction on your face? Know the basics of eye bags and how to make them less of a sight on your face.

They make you cringe. Their presence prompts you to remind a photo processing outfit to edit your photo after an anticipated pictorial, hopeful that the unsightly bags under your eyes would just be gone.

Eye bags, however, are a reality, and you only need the patience to know these facts

Why do eye bags occur in the first place? Fluid tends to collect under the eyes, and because the skin in that area is ultimately thin, eye bags become visible. Such condition, however, does not only root from this.

Eye bags may also be hereditary. Weakened muscles cause eyeball-cushioning fats to stick out. Even dark circles under the eyes are also probable family traits, and are profligated by tired eyes, menstrual cases, and even pregnancy.

So, how do you wake up from all these facial nightmares?

Generally, tired and irritated eyes make the puffiness more visible. Fluid retention is tangible around the eyes, and kidney, heart, and thyroid illnesses increase this. And do you know that by just plainly sleeping and lying flat induce more fluid to puddle in your upper and lower eye lids?

Certain medications such as cortisone should be avoided. Allergic reactions to cosmetics, smoke, and air pollution are also unfriendly to the part under your eyes, and thus should also be shunned.

Surgical operations, unfortunately, may be the only one to most efficiently solve the problem. But fret not, for one sleep technique may do the trick for milder cases.

An extra pillow can be your “eye-savior”. Sleeping with your head elevated on it allows gravity to drain the “pooled” eye area, and may reduce the puffiness as a result. And, if all else fails, the beauty shops could still save the day. Opt for a good concealer or makeup bases; they still hide the bags momentarily.

So, it’s never really hope to get rid of those bags under your eyes. With some twists and tweaks, you can make them less of a sight on your face

Tired of those hideous acnes on your face? You do not need expensive facial soaps and cleansers to get rid of them! Here are cheap and available remedies for acne found at home.

How to Get Rid of Acne

Get rid of those ugly and unsightly acnes on your face without spending so much. Here are 10 home remedies that could help you reduce the acne that keeps popping out of your skin. Don’t worry! All of these ingredients could be found in your kitchen pantry.

Try adding a part of garlic juice to three parts of water. Raw garlic, when also applied, could make pimples disappear without scars.

Honey is an old cure for acne. Mix a teaspoon of honey with some water. Added with milk and ground sesame seeds, this honey solution can help you achieve a fair and blemish-free skin.

Boil raw mangoes with its leaves and skin. This makes effective astringent that is good for breakouts.

Fresh mint juice also helps ease breakouts. It is also good for insect stings, contact dermatitis, and other skin infections.

The juice of raw papaya is good for swelling pimples or other blemishes. It is also good for making your skin fairer. To achieve this, apply raw papaya juice on your face at night before washing your face.

Ripe tomatoes also help reduce pimples. Crush tomatoes into a pulp and apply it to your face. Leave it for a while before washing it off with water and your facial wash.

Drink eight to ten glasses of water daily. This would help greatly in moisturizing your skin and clearing your pimple breakout faster.

Cucumber juice, or mixed with carrot or lettuce juices, also help in clearing your pimples. Blend them and apply the juice to your face. Grated cucumber also serves the purpose if you don’t have a blender at home.

An orange peel, grinded over the stone could help reduce pimples. Mix the resulting substance in pure or distilled water. Fresh orange peel could also be used. Just rub the peel on your face then wash it off with water.

The juice of a lime, when added to boiled milk, can also be used a facial wash that would clear pimples and blackheads.

Whatever the cause of your facial acne is, it only means that something is not right – or healthy – in your body. Thus, make sure to get rid of it immediately. By following, the abovementioned tips, you won’t need to go to your dermatologist or buy expensive facial care stuff to achieve a smooth, flawless skin.

One might think that acne refers to only one kind of phenomenon, but this is not true. There are many different types of acne, which severity can range from mild to moderate to heavy.

Common Types of Acne

The most common type of acne is termed acne vulgaris, usually involving several types of pimples. This also includes acne lesions such as whiteheads, blackheads, pustules, papules, cysts, and nodules.

The second type of acne is usually confused with the first type, and is called acne rosacea, because the two can look very similarly with each other. Rosacea is common, affecting millions of individuals, majority are women more than 30 years old. However, in the rare cases that they are found in men, they have been found to be more severe than those found in women.

Rosacea is characterized by red rashes which are normally confined to the forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin. This redness usually comes with bumps, pimples, and skin blemishes, but not blackheads. The more severe and untreated cases of rosacea involve the swelling of the nose and development of excess tissue.

While the two types of acne may look alike, treatment of one is different from that of the other; thus, it is vital to determine whether one’s condition is one of vulgaris or rosacea by consulting with a doctor.

The third type of acne is more severe and more commonly found in males. This is called acne conglobata. This type is often identified by too many large lesions accompanied with extensive blackheads. This type can be found in all places, including the face, back, chest, upper arms, buttocks, and thighs. This is a severe form of acne already, as it can cause severe and irrevocable damage to the skin, which can cause extreme scarring.

Another type of ance is called acne fulminans, which is an abrupt onset of acne conglobata. This type is usually found among young men. This type is usually involves aching of the joints, fever, and severe nodulocystic acne. This also causes disfiguring scarring, which classifies it as a severe form of acne.

There are still many other types of acne. The important thing to know is that before treating them, one should first consult a doctor in order to ensure that the patient gets the correct and proper treatment for the type of acne he has.

Role of Relaxation to Prevent Acne

Acne is caused not only by the food we eat, but also by stress and lack of sleep. This is especially so in cases of adult women. Realizing this, one should therefore take steps in reducing stress in order to also reduce the onset of acne. Thus, understanding stress, how it causes acne, and how to combat it is essential for one who experiences acne problems.

Stress releases the stress hormone called cortisol, which influences the severity of the acne. Thus, combating acne means addressing the problem of stress first. It is better to fight stress before it happens. This is accomplished simply by relaxation. A relaxed person will accomplish two things right off the bat: alleviate his stress-related acne and make living and coping with the psychological effects of acne easier for him.

Time is the easiest answer to the problem of how to relax. Taking time out from one’s busy schedule and devoting some of it doing things he enjoys doing will do wonders for his physical and mental well-being. Lounging around, doing nothing, or reading a book is just some of the things one can do to relax. Also, one can listen to music, take a long and warm bath, or watch a feel-good movie in order to take his mind off from work and problems, even for just a little while. When this is done, one will find that he is enabled to accomplish more than when he works long hours continuously.

One can also relax more scientifically, by doing breathing exercises and meditation. Breathing exercises bring about a more relaxed mind and body because they allow the mind to focus. They also allow more oxygen to flow into the blood stream. These exercise help calm a stressed mind by regulating one’s breathing.

Ideally, we need eight hours of sleep a day. However, due to work constraints, it seems that we spend more time doing our jobs than catching a wink at night. We all know this is not healthy, and spending sleepless nights will not only hamper our mood during the day, it might also cause insomnia and other sleep problems.

Because of this, we need to maximize our sleeping time. We have to make sure that we will get enough sleep to revitalize us for the next day. Sometimes though, because our body is so used to having irregular hours of sleep, we cannot seem to get ourselves to doze off even if we want to. How can you make sure you will get a worthwhile snoozing session every night?

Here are some things you must consider before you hit the sack:

Temperature: Hot or Cold?

People do not often realize that a room’s temperature is vital for a good sleep. Some prefer it cold, others warm. Find out what temperature you are comfortable with, and you’ll surely be asleep in no time.

Sound: With or Without?

This usually depends if you live in a city, where traffic noise is inevitably part of your background music, or the suburbs, where silence with just a few animal sounds lulls you to sleep. If you’re a city girl and cannot sleep with horns blasting and tires screeching outside, music is the answer. Nowadays, you can choose from a wide variety of sounds including waves rippling on rocks and birds humming.

Lights: On or Off?

While most people typically prefer darkness when asleep, some are more comfortable with the lights on. Which side of the switch are you? If you prefer it off but your roommates want it otherwise, prop a pillow over your head or cover yourself with a blanket.

Room Function and Furniture Arrangement

How your room and bed function is another thing to consider in ensuring a good sleep. Don’t use your room as an office, and your bed as your desk. Reserve it for sleeping. It may be that the reason you can’t sleep is because subconsciously, you are thinking you’re still in a work mode and should not be dozing off.

Ready to Sleep?

Lastly, assess if you’re really ready to fall asleep. Tossing and turning on the bed mean you’re still restless. Counting sheep won’t help you in this situation. Don’t force yourself to sleep – it will be frustrating, not to mention futile. Get up, walk around your room, read a book or drink a glass of warm milk. In a few minutes, you’ll find yourself yawning and yearning to go back to bed.

The nervous system controls and regulates all body functions, and normal nerve functions, through regular chiropractic care, is the key to greater levels of health and well-being. These are what the chiropractic profession promotes so that many more people will be encouraged to adopt chiropractic healthcare for their benefit.

Chiropractic treatments aim to relieve nerve pressure coming from subluxations, sprains, or partial dislocation in the body structures. It employs manipulative adjustments to the affected body structures, particularly to the spine. The human body with normal nerve functions is a complete self-healing creature.

When to Get Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is one of the leading alternatives to medical care for pain management and preventive health care.  It offers economical, safe and effective treatment strategies.

The following are some of the most common conditions when you should consider going to your chiropractor for a chiropractic treatment:

• Spinal misalignment and other skeletal and muscular disorders
• Back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, joints and muscle pains, pain in the connective tissues such as tendon, ligaments, and cartilages
• Slipped or herniated disk
• Connective tissue disorders
• Migraines and headaches
• Numbness in arms and hands
• Spasms
• Arthritis and osteoarthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Injury resulting from sports and accidents
• Carpal tunnel

You can also rely on chiropractic care to bring about improvements through correcting the following uncommon health conditions, cases of which have been confirmed and documented:

• Bell’s palsy
• Hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Therapeutic support for cancer
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Chronic sinusitis
• Premenstrual discomfort
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)
• Testicular pain
• Range of motion
• Talking sickness

Though many of these disorders are seemingly not nerve-related, it was the holistic focus of chiropractic treatment that led to the chiropractor’s successful efforts in solving them. The chiropractors took the time to understand the patients’ problems and created and implemented patient-centric treatment programs that paved the way for the successful treatment.

You can count on chiropractic care for help in treating health disorders manifested by other symptoms which chiropractors call spinal nerve interference, such as:

• Colds, runny nose, tonsillitis, sore throat, laryngitis, hoarseness, cough
• Allergies
• Dizziness, chronic fatigue, tiredness
• Asthma, bronchitis, congestion, pneumonia, shortness of breath
• Vision problems
• Heart conditions, including heartburn
• Liver conditions
• Gall bladder problems, bed wetting, hernias
• Kidney conditions, including irritable and painful urination
• Stomach disorders, indigestion, gas pains, gastritis, constipation, diarrhea
• Skin conditions, pimples, acne, jaundice skin
• Cold feet, weak arches, swollen ankles
• Hemorrhoids
• Sterility/fertility problems and many others

It need not take serious musculosketal and nervous system dysfunctions for you to consider chiropractic care. Just about any disorders of the body can be associated with the nervous system. And even when you are feeling great and not having any pain in your body, chiropractic’s holistic and preventive health care can help maintain your health and provide you with even better and healthier life.

What prevents people from being able to receive the full benefits chiropractic healthcare can offer is their hesitance to give chiropractic care a try. It is their ignorance of chiropractic care, more than anything, that makes them skeptical about it. So they prefer to stay in their comfort zones and not take action.

It is useful to know some important facts about chiropractic care to help you consider seeing a chiropractor for your health benefits.

Things to Know Before Going to a Chiropractor

Chiropractic care is complementary medicine that approaches healthcare holistically. It focuses on the health of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. It holds that the body’s general health and well being is anchored on a healthy nervous system, which controls all and every functions of the body. It also believes that a healthy body, which is free of spinal subluxations or anomalies, is a self-healing mechanism capable of correcting its dysfunctions. That is why chiropractic care does not use drugs or surgery in the treatment of health conditions.

What can you expect in the consultation?

In the initial consultation with the chiropractor, you will be asked questions to ascertain your health conditions and history. You will then be subjected to a routine physical examination to determine any nerve interference or subluxations you may have that will warrant further procedures.

Do you need x-ray check?

The results of your initial examination will lead the chiropractor to make a decision for an x-ray check or not. Should x-ray be necessary, the chiropractor will most likely take x-rays of your spine to help in the diagnosis of the problem, understand any anomalies in the spine and other details that will aid in coming up with the treatment plan.

What are subluxations?

A subluxation is an abnormality in a joint in your spine. This abnormality causes interference in your body’s nervous system, which could be wide-ranging, considering that your nervous system controls every organ, tissue and cell in your body.

What is a spinal adjustment?

Upon confirming through the full consultation that you have subluxations and there is no compelling reason to defer further treatment procedures, the chiropractor will be happy to make adjustments in your spine where subluxations exist. The chiropractor will apply specific manual force to your spine to remove the interference in the nerves. This is what is called chiropractic adjustments.

How long is a chiropractic adjustment?

The chiropractic adjustment is short and takes only a few minutes. It should be noted however, that the adjustment process is not the healing process itself. It only corrects anomalies in your nervous system that will facilitate your body’s healing. Your healthy body, which has been made free of subluxations, is responsible to heal itself. So while the adjustment takes just minutes, the actual body healing may take hours, days or even weeks to complete.

How frequent do I need to visit my chiropractor?

Your personal health goals will determine how long you need to come for chiropractic care. If your main concern is relief from acute or chronic pain, one to a few weeks of visits may be enough. If your goal is to correct the underlying causes of a health issue that you have, it may take you a few months, maybe up to a few years of chiropractor visits. If you want your level of health to be maintained at its peak level, you may opt to undergo a long-term wellness care plan.

When do I start to feel better?

Since your body does the healing, how long until you start to feel the improvements to your health depends on your body. Obviously, the severity of your initial condition and the lifestyle that you have outside of the chiropractor office play an important part on the time it takes you body to heal.

Chiropractic care opens up a new frontier in healthcare and wellness, beyond the confines of conventional medicine. It is unfortunate that people who have not had the opportunity to use chiropractic care in their healthcare needs do not know what they are missing.

Chiropractic care involves the chiropractor rendering physical treatment to the patient. The treatments may last a few or several times over a period of months, for example, depending on such factor as the patient’s conditions. And so will the chiropractor-patient interactions be. Good rapport between the two parties is essential for a pleasant experience for the patient. It is therefore important that the patient finds a chiropractor he or she will be comfortable with throughout the treatment period.

It also becomes even more challenging to find the best chiropractor to visit for examination and treatment because chiropractors have different philosophies in working with their patients and also use different chiropractic treatment techniques.

It may good to ask from people around you who they think is the best chiropractor to seek health care. You need to evaluate their response however, as different people have different standards and definitions of what a good chiropractor is. If many people recommend the same chiropractor, there is a good chance that the recommended professional is indeed good.

A telephone call to the chiropractic office or an in-office consultation with im or her is a good way to determine whether you will be comfortable and have good rapport with the chiropractor moving forward.

You should take note of the following important considerations when you talk with the chiropractor or office staff:

• The chiropractor’s qualifications including licenses, academic background and specialization or expertise. Check whether the college the chiropractor earned his or her degree from is accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education. Some chiropractors pursue post-graduate diplomat programs in specialization areas as orthopedics, pediatrics, general rehab, internal disorders, radiology, neurology, nutrition, occupational health, sports medicine, forensic sciences, although it is not necessary.
• The chiropractor’s years of practice of chiropractic profession and the treatment techniques used in the office
• The chiropractor’s willingness to answer all your questions
• The chiropractor’s listening skills – listens completely to your explanations about your conditions, complaints and symptoms and empathizes with you
• The courtesy and friendliness shown by the chiropractor, and lastly
• Your comfort level talking with the chiropractor

Information on any disciplinary actions against the chiropractor will also be valuable in your selection decision. This information is usually available from the Chiropractic Regulation and Licensing Board of each state and are posted on the state’s website.

You have no obligation nor should you be compelled to pursue chiropractic treatment with the chiropractor you  did background on and interviewed. In the final analysis, it will be you who will interact with the chiropractor and it is your health and well being that is at stake, and they are of topmost importance.