Tag: Health

Tanning Bed Safety-No Rules Of Any Kind Of Tanning

No matter how much information we see about the possible dangers of too much time in the sun, there are those people who love the way they look with a tan. Some of them will even use artificial light during the off season to keep that golden glow all year long. At the minimum, follow some simple tanning bed safety guidelines if you are going to go to a tanning parlor.

We have known for many years that too much exposure to the sun can have a long term detrimental effect on our overall health and the health of our skin. While the damage may not show up for decades we can develop skin cancer and premature aging to name just two.

In order to decrease these risks in the future use these tanning bed safety rules (as well as any rules that the individual tanning parlor may have in place):

1. Limit the amount of time you spend in a bed when you are first starting out. A good salon will make it part of their policy to limit how much time you can spend when you first start out.

They will force you to increase your time incrementally over a few weeks. It may be frustrating to be able to go for only two or three minutes at a time when first starting but it is the safest way to go.

While all exposure to UV rays can be damaging to your skin, and could lead to future skin cancer, the more often you burn your skin the more likely you are for long term damage.

Avoiding getting burned is one of the best ways to make the whole process “safer”.

2. Make sure you use the eye protection provided (or bring your own). Also, keep your eyes closed. The eye protection is only your first line of defense, your eye lids are your second line of defense. Use both.

Your skin is not the only thing that is vulnerable to too many UV rays. Your eyes are too. If you don’t protect them you may find that skin cancer is the least of your concerns.

3. Allow a minimum of 24 hours between tanning sessions. Again, a well run tanning parlor will make that part of their rules and won’t let you tan more frequently.

This may seem unnecessary but your skin can actually keep tanning for a long time even after you are out of the sun. Until you know how much exposure you really got and how your skin will react you need to allow yourself plenty of time in between visits.

4. Wear sunscreen even in the tanning booth. I know this may seem counter intuitive, but you can still get a tan even while wearing sunscreen, you are just cutting down the amount of these harmful rays that are making it through to your skin and thus minimizing the damage.

5. Make sure the beds are kept clean and sanitary. You don’t want to get more than a tan when you visit your local tanning parlor.

Tanning bed safety guidelines like these are the best way to keep yourself as safe as possible when doing something that isn’t that safe. Don’t compound your risk, follow these rules.

Looking Ageless-Make The Most Of It

A new acquaintance asks, “How old are you?” You have your reasons for not wanting to answer them, but the fact is that it’s a very difficult question to answer accurately. The reason is that there are three types of age: chronological age, biological age, and psychological age. Looking ageless is about taking charge of the ages that you have control over. We will go into more detail on each age, and then give you suggestions for making the most it.

Chronological age – This is simply a function of the day you were born. If you were born 50 years ago, then your chronological age is 50, and there’s not much you can do about that. When people ask you how old you are, they usually want to know your chronological age, however, there is much more to age than dates on a calendar. That being said, your chronological age serves as a useful point of comparison for the other types of age.

Biological age – While the calendar gives you one idea of age, your body will have its own idea about how old you are. Things such as your brain function, cardiovascular system, strength, endurance , and balance fall under this category. Genetics do come into play, but there are plenty of other factors that you can do something about.

Psychological age – You could be 30 and feel like you’re 60, or vice-versa. “You’re only as old as you feel” sums up this age quite nicely. How you feel will be reflected in how you look, so don’t underestimate the power of positive thinking.

Now that you have a better understanding of the full meaning of “age” you can start doing the right things for looking ageless. We will start with your biological age, and then move on to your psychological age.

Taking care of your health is the biggest secret to keeping your biological age lower than your chronological age. Eating the right foods and getting plenty of exercise are a good start. Do your best to eat foods that are close to their natural source, and focus on eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meat, low-fat dairy, fish, and healthy fats. Be sure to get the full range of nutrients and enough fiber.

When it comes to exercise and looking ageless, the key is to vary your routine. Cardiovascular exercise should be done most days of the week, and is any form of exercise that gets your heart rate up (walking, jogging, bicycling, boxing, and so on). Resistance training, such as weight lifting, helps keep your muscles strong. Balance and flexibility exercises should also be done on a regular basis as they help your overall fitness level and quality of life.

Your psychological age is all about having the right attitude. The more happy and positive you are, the younger you will look and feel. Embrace life and all that it has to offer. Don’t forget about prayer and meditation because they also have a positive effect on how you feel.

How To Look Years Younger-Surgery Not The Only Option

No matter how hard you try to fight it, you are always growing older. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to look older. Knowing how to look years younger can give you a newfound confidence in yourself, and help you to feel better. It may not be fair, but the truth is that there are people who will judge you based on your appearance, and how they treat you will ultimately have an impact on how you feel about yourself.

Plastic surgery is one way that some people use to look younger, but it has its share of problems. Most insurance companies won’t cover elective surgeries, so you will have to pay for all of it yourself, and it’s not cheap. As with any form of surgery, there is always a risk of complications. The recovery time can take several weeks, and you won’t know how well it turned out until your recover period is complete. You can get plastic surgery if you like, but make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and that you are fully informed.

Luckily, surgery is not the only way that you can look years younger. Here are a few tips to help you erase a few years from your appearance.

1. Treat your skin well. Your skin is one of the main things people use to guess your age. If it is wrinkling, dry, cracked, blemished, and leathery, then they may guess you are much older than you really are. Taking care of your skin will work wonders for looking younger. Follow a good skin care routine, but avoid the use of harsh chemicals and abrasives.

2. Give up bad habits. If you smoke, then now is the perfect time to quit. Not only is it bad for your health in a number of ways, it will also prematurely age your skin. Excessive consumption of alcohol can also lead to longer older than you really are, but it’s okay to enjoy it in moderation.

3. Have a great attitude. The quickest way to look younger is to having a good attitude. You probably know somebody who is relatively young, but is always mean and moody. The calendar may say they’re young, but their behavior gives the opposite impression. On the other hand, you probably know somebody that is so positive and happy that they seem much younger than they are.

4. Get plenty of sleep. Your body needs sleep to rejuvenate itself. Do your best to get a full night of sleep on a regular basis. If you can get up without an alarm clock, then you know you’re getting enough sleep.

5. Stay healthy. Your level of health plays a major role in how old you are biologically. Eat right, exercise often, and drink plenty of water and you will be able to slow down the march of time.

As you can see, the question of how to look years younger is easily answered; it’s just a matter of embracing a few basic principles.

The Positives Of Sunning-Lets Talk About The Sunny Side

With all of the talk about the dangers of spending too much time out in the sun I though it might be about time for someone to talk about the positives of sunning for a change.

The entire world is always talking and dwelling in the negative side of things, why do we do that all of the time? Just trying to be careful I guess.

The first and most obvious of the positives of sunning is only cosmetic in nature, in other words, how good you look. Getting a suntan helps people with lighter skin look healthier. (I am not talking about that woman who took a good thing to the extreme and who made the news in the past month or so, she doesn’t look healthy at all.)

There is a substance in the skin, called melanin, that gets activated any time we go out in the sun. The melanin is what makes your skin darker. It is your body’s own, natural protection against the sun’s rays.

The only problem with that is that people tend to not let the melanin do it’s job in the time frame it needs to do it. They want their sun tan all at once. If they would gradually let it build up over time then the dangers of the sun would not be a problem.

Of course, letting the skin do it’s job to protect each of us up here in the northern climates is a problem. The summers just are not long enough to allow this to happen.

You know what happens, right? You work all summer on your tan and in the fall when the sun is not as strong your tan begins to fade. It continues to fade to the point that you have to start all over again in the late spring, early summer when the temperatures allow us to be outside for extended periods of time.

Of course you can elect to go to a tanning salon to maintain your tan year round if you have the budget for it.

The next positive is that the sun helps the body make Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for the health of your skin and bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium to keep bones and teeth, heart and other muscles strong and working properly.

The last of the positives of sunning I would like to discuss is the one that can help your newborn baby. Some doctors and nurses will tell you to let your newborn get some sunlight, indirectly of course, so they do not get jaundiced after they are born.

Jaundice occurs in the newborn because the new little body has to rid itself of an overabundance of bilirubin. Bilirubin is the byproduct of red blood cell breakdown. Babies have an overabundance of red blood cells in their bodies after the umbilical cord gets cut and their livers have to take over cleaning their blood.

The new little liver may take ten days to two weeks to become proficient at doing this itself so a little sunlight is needed to help breakdown the bilirubin.