Bad Posture?

This week I read a blog by Julianne Hough, that was about improving the way people sit while on the computer. Also the way people slouch over while looking at a phone.  A lot of us have terrible posture when it comes to those things. The reason for the author of posting this blog was because her friend was experiencing neck and back pain. Her friend found out it was due to years of sitting hunched over the laptop. It changed her posture and caused all kinds of problems. Isn't that scary to think about? I know it is for me because I sit like that all of the time and I even try to sit up straight if I pay enough attention to it.

Apparently your head weighs eight pounds and when you're slouched over, that can create 18 pounds of pressure coming down on your neck and shoulders. Her friend was given these three options: 1) Visit the doctor regularly to correct her body. 2) Take prescription medicine to heal the discomfort. 3) Create a better working environment and to train her body to self correct. She chose the third one.

In this article, it included helpful tips of how to prevent this from happening to you. Which are:

• When looking at your phone, hold it at eye level rather than holding it down towards your lap.

• Invest in a Stand Desk
• Which is a desk for people who spend a lot of time on the computer. These desks allow you to a sitting position as well. But standing allows your body to be in its natural state.

• Get an Anti Fatigue Mat
• These are helpful for people standing in one place for an extended time. They are a soft and squishy mat that relieves pressure on your heels, back legs, and shoulders.

                                       

• An Adjustable Monitor Mount
• This lets you adjust your monitor so it'll force you to sit in a better position because you'll be looking eye to eye (screen) with the monitor, instead of looking down at it.

• A Kneeling Chair
• These chairs promote good posture and relieve existing back pain

I thought the author made very valid points and they were helpful. When I sit in a chair, a lot of times I don't use the chair's back to my advantage. What I mean is, most chairs are made to help your back stand straight while sitting, but I lean forward a lot of time, especially if the work I'm doing is frustrating, what I'm reading is boring or I'm tired. I know that can't be good because sometimes after doing homework, my back hurts. So I'm glad I found this blog because I'll think more about my posture than before and I hope this blog can help others as well.

With that being said, I feel the author used enlightenment and education. I think she used enlightenment because she brought awareness to an important issue and made me think more about it. She used education by backing up her information. She provided facts about a heads weight, how much pounds of pressure it will be when sitting incorrectly, and the items that we can use to help our posture problems and habits.

Check out this article at:

http://juliannehough.com/stand-up-for-your-health/





"Did Too Many Energy Drinks Trigger Man's Liver Problems?"

This article was about a 50 year old man that "developed a condition called acute hepatitis after consuming energy drinks regularly for three weeks." The author mentions an Acute Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver and can be caused by a wide range of things. It's so serious that it can lead to liver failure, which can lead to death.



The man went into the hospital in the first place because he had been feeling sick for a couple of weeks, dealing with abdominal pain, no appetite, nausea and vomiting. He also developed dark urine and yellowing of the skin. This all was because the man "had been drinking four to five energy drinks a day for the past three weeks." Along with acute hepatitis, he also had chronic Hepatitis C, which is a different type of liver infection.



The energy drinks contain an ingredient, Vitamin B3. The particular one he was drinking had 40 milligrams of Vitamin B3, which is double the amount people are recommended to get daily. So with him having this drink four to five a day, "his total daily intake of Vitamin B3 was between 160 mg and 200 mg."


After being treated, he had to stay in the hospital for six days but his symptoms went away the third day. He plans to see a liver doctor for his Hepatitis C treatment.



I found this article interesting, informing, and alarming. I drink energy drinks sometimes but not nearly as much as he did. I notice a speed in my heart rate sometimes, depending on the ones I drink, so that's one main reason why I limit myself to them. But I thought it could be helpful for others to read on and know about because as college students, I see a lot drinking things that can help keep them awake. I know someone personally that drinks an energy drink everyday. Not sure how many a day, but I just want people to be aware of the serious harmful affects energy drinks can have.



I think the author used enlightenment, education and even emotion. She used all three in one to me because she wrote this to inform people of what could happen and listed facts about what the drink contains and what it can do to your body. She used emotion, to me, through education and enlightenment. I feel that way because she evoked emotion out of me through the whole article. She didn't show any of her emotions or her intake on the topic but it made me feel aware and it was an eye opener. I couldn't see myself drinking that many a day but it definitely does make me think more than twice about how often I may drink them. Just by having one is a little too much because it can contain more of the milligrams you're supposed to receive a day.



To check this article out, go to:
http://www.livescience.com/56730-energy-drinks-hepatitis.html

"Parenting: When to Cut Off Adult Children"

This article was about millenials still living with their parents and also living off of them. The article mentions, "Nearly half of American Millenials have received some kind of financial assistance from their parents since leaving home, according to a study released last month by Fidelity Investments." It also says the most commonly bill paid by mom and dad is the cellphone and clothing. The parents may feel it's their "parent duty" but it's also disabling themselves and their pockets. So much money is going towards their "adult children", the parents aren't able to save for retirement. In a Merrill Lynch survey, it found that 60% of parents say they would continue to work longer to support their adult children. This article says parents should at least give their kids a time period of how long it'll last. Such as cutting them off, when they graduate or get a new job. Even though cutting off financial ties with their adult kids will save them money, it can help the parents at the same time. It can help because a family plan on a phone bill is cheaper than an individual plan.


The author used enlightenment and education. The author enlightened me because I am one of those "adult children" that still lives at home and still receive money from my parents. I have a job but I only work seasonally, so when I'm not taking classes. But before reading this article, I already planned on getting an on campus job in between while I'm not working at my other job. So this article was confirmation and will make me really think and consider spending my own money from now on. The author used education because there was a lot of facts thrown in there that I definitely didn't know before.


To check out this article:
The Week Magazine
Volume 16 Number 796
November 11, 2016
Page 33.

"Kill Chivalry, not Kindness"

This article was about the difference between chivalry and the act of kindness. The author expressed how today, women expect guys to pay their dinner bill and open the door and guys also believe that's their responsibility. She said the reason why we think that is because historically, women didn't work a lot and men were considered the breadwinner, so they bought women drinks and dinner. With that being said, the author feels that the people who think that way should get out of that mind frame because it's pretty selfish and inconsiderate. She says that her and her boyfriend run a cycle where he pays, then she pays, then they split. When the guy is always paying, he's most likely taking a chance on going broke. This doesn't have to go for just couples, this goes for anyone encountering these situations. If you're out to eat with a friend, you can offer to pay for both or even hold the door for strangers, men and women.

I feel the author used enlightenment in this article. I felt enlightened after reading it because it made sense and she made a point. She's basically saying, do things out of kindness, because you want to, not because you feel it's right because of the "gender roles". I haven't put too much thought in this topic before I read this but I do things out of kindness from habit. Yeah my boyfriend opens the door for me but we take turns with the bill. I don't expect him to pay for everything all of the time and I understand there will be times one of us is short that day. So I thought this was a pretty interesting article to read about because it gives you something to think about.

It's interesting to know how some people think.

To check this article out:
The Clarion
Volume 40 Issue 11 November 15-21, 2016
Page 5
By: Hannah Hamlin

Forgetting Things Quickly?

The article starts by saying, "We all experience occasional mental blips. The brain's wires cross and drop a name or forget a detail." Reading that definitely caught my attention because I certainly have dealt with that, so I wanted to know why that was and to find out what I can do about it. A lot of us had the situations this article listed happen to us before such as; walking into the kitchen forgetting what you needed once you got there, you forget a persons name, or even leaving your phone at home. In the, How The Brain Ages section it says, "Memory relies on our capacity to sustain attention and acquire and process information." So even though some of us have these forgetful situations at our ages now, it's not until 40 that we notice the impact on our ability to recall conversations or remember names. When we get older, our brain is still able to get "fixed." In the, Why You Forget Things section, I learned we forget things because a lack of sleep, because sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep "tends to impair normal memory consolidation."  Multitasking plays a part too, because by trying to remember multiple things at once, can "weaken our ability to retain information." Technology too, because looking at a screen for too long, "becomes a distraction that interferes with focus, attention, and ability to remember." Last but not least, Alcohol. Having too many drinks can affect your memory as you get older. In the section, What Helps Boosts The Brain, having a healthy diet such as, eating vegetables including green varieties, beans, whole grains, mixed nuts, omega 3 containing seafood, poultry, extra-virgin olive oil, and one daily glass of wine. Also by taking out red meat, cheese, butter and stick margarine, sweets, fried and fast foods. Another tip is to exercise. Exercising "is a proven way to boost brain health." I learned that if you do an intense workout four hours after learning something, it'll help you remember it more likely. Yoga is another way and by staying busy. "Researchers at the University of Texas Center for Vital Longevity discovered that busyness was associated with better processing speed, working memory, episodic memory, reasoning and crystallized knowledge."

I clearly learned a lot from reading this article and I hope the same for you. I thought this author used education and enlightenment. She educated me by mentioning facts and quotes from people that understood the healthy and unhealthy habits we create for the brain. She also enlightened me by writing this article as a whole. Without it, besides if I wanted to randomly look up the causes on Google one day, I wouldn't have the knowledge I now have on this topic.

If you would like to check this article out:
Martha Stewarts: Living Magazine No.269 Nov.2016 Pg.62
Health: Good Living
By: Sally Wadyka