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You might have heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking” and wondered if you should ditch your desk job and become a marathon runner. Remaining seated for long periods can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases and may even age people faster, according to some research.


But is it all as bad as it seems? While it's true that sitting for long periods of time can have negative effects on your health, it doesn’t mean you should avoid sitting down completely. Even gazelle take a rest from time to time, and biology evolved them to stand on their feet for twenty-plus hours per day!

Why Sitting Is Generally Bad


Sitting for extended periods is generally bad for several reasons, which is why medical and health researchers want you to stop doing it.


For instance, sitting for long periods can lead to poor posture, which can cause neck and back pain, headaches, and muscle tension.


It can also increase the risk of chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes. Generally speaking, the body needs a challenge. But when you sit for long stretches of the day, it doesn’t get it, causing it to weaken.


Some people also experience a slower metabolism. Sitting reduces muscle and increases fat mass, making it harder to burn the energy you consume. Even skinny people might be skinny-fat, which is a term that describes individuals with lots of visceral fat.


Muscle weakness is another issue, particularly among older adults. When you sit for long periods, your muscles become inactive, which can lead to weakness and loss of muscle mass. Failing to use your muscles can then increase the risk of falls considerably, which might lead to further health complications down the road.


Sitting too much can also cause various circulation issues. Extended periods of being in the same position can lead to blood clot formation, which is serious.


Therefore, sitting has some downsides. But many of these have to do with the fact that humans do too much of it. If we could somehow moderate our sitting, perspectives would change and it would become something positive again.

How Sitting Might Be Good For You

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Controversial statement of the century: “Sitting can be good for you.”


But as you’re about to read, witting down sometimes can actually be good for your health, as long as you do it right. Here are some reasons why you need to sit down sometimes to be healthy:


It Helps You Relax


For example, sitting down from time to time can help you relax and reduce stress. If you’re always on your feet rushing around, you never give your system a chance to recover and go through its normal daily cycle.


Remember, stress is a major factor that can impair your immune system, increase inflammation, and contribute to chronic diseases. Therefore, sitting down occasionally can help you calm your mind and body and get into a more peaceful state, particularly if you have a portable meditation chair.


Sitting down also lets you enjoy some hobbies that can boost your mood and creativity. Sure, you can paint or play musical instruments while standing up, but what’s better than sitting down?


It Helps You Recover From Physical Activity


Another reason sitting down could be good for you is that it can help you recover from physical activity. If you exercise regularly, which you should, you need to give your muscles and joints some rest and recovery time. Constantly moving around hampers the recovery process and makes it less likely you’ll get the results you want in the gym. Sitting improves muscle soreness and fatigue, and prevents injuries. It also gives your nervous system a break, which is essential for anyone who trains with heavy weights regularly.


It Improves Your Social Life

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Here’s another weird benefit of sitting you probably haven’t considered: it can improve your social life. Humans are social animals, and we need to interact with other people for our mental and emotional well-being. Sitting down can help you have meaningful conversations with your friends, family, or colleagues about things that are affecting your life. You can really get to the bottom of issues and learn new things.

Conclusion


So how much sitting is enough? Well, it all depends on how active you are the rest of the time. Experts say you should stand up and get some exercise every hour or so. However, if you have an active lifestyle, you might want to prioritize sitting from time to time, just to give your body a break.

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Get Organized With Your Daily House Chores and Eliminate Stress

 
When you wake up in the morning, all you can think about is how much housework you have to do throughout the day to reduce the mess in your home. It’s completely natural to feel stressed and overwhelmed about chores, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Whether you’re decluttering your home, or discovering a new way to keep your kitchen tidy, you can quickly and easily get more organized and eliminate stress by following some of these simple steps.


Cleaning the Floors


Cleaning the floors in your home always seems like a big and daunting task, but you can make it simple by finding the right equipment and gadgets for your home. You may discover that the best robot vacuum with self empty feature helps to reduce the time it takes to vacuum your floors. This will also take the stress away from you as the robot does all of the strenuous work on your behalf!


The Ultimate Laundry Plan


Getting ahead with your laundry is the ultimate way to stay organized with your daily chores and remove the stress from your life. Doing a load of laundry each day or every other day is the best way to stay on top of things and prevent unnecessary build ups over the week. You may want to focus on the people in your household rather than separating by color; this is a technique that many large households find very useful.


Daily Tidy Ups are a Must


Tidying up as you go is one of the most effective ways to stay on top of your daily chores. Instead of waiting for all of your mess to pile up, you should pick up your belongings and clear up any spillages as and when they happen. When you adopt this kind of approach you are saving yourself a lot of stress in the near future when there are many things to deal with all at the same time.


Quick Kitchen Clean Up


The kitchen in your home is probably the main hub of activity. People come and go from the kitchen on an hourly basis, so having a clean kitchen is extremely important so that everyone can make the most of this space in the house. Everytime you or anyone in your household uses anything in the kitchen it must always be put away in the same place it was found. Alternatively, dirty pots, pans, cups and plates should be placed directly into the dishwasher so that mess doesn’t accumulate throughout the day.


Hopefully, these ideas will provide you with some inspiration when it comes to mastering the art of keeping a clean and tidy home. Although this is not the be all and end all of your life, it will certainly make a huge difference and reduce your stress levels significantly. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and try not to put pressure on yourself to make everything perfect all the time. Most of all, try to enjoy the process and feel proud of everything you have achieved with regards to caring for your home!

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Take the No Spend Month Challenge

You may have seen others talking about a No Spend Month so today I'm going to explain to you what it is and how you can successfully commit to your own No Spend month.  

Basically a No Spend Month is when you commit to only shopping for the essentials you need without any recreational or extra spending.  This means your gas, groceries, medications, and anything else that's a basic essential need that you budget for each month.  This also means no eating at restaurants, no shopping for clothing, no impulse buys, and no fun purchases.

So how exactly do you do this successfully? Well...read on. 

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6 Various Reasons Why People Acquire Gold

 
Gold is an attractive yellow precious metal that has long been coveted; it is the very foundation of global wealth with the world of commerce and trade built on gold reserves. Gold (Au) has unique properties and due to its rarity, gold is the number one commodity on the planet.

Here are a few reasons people acquire gold.

 

Gold Jewellery

Both men and women love to wear elegant gold jewellery; it is estimated that 25% of all gold found was used in the making of gold jewellery. Gold purity is measured in the karat system; the system uses 24 parts, pure gold is 24k, meaning that every part of the precious metal is 99.99% pure, while 18k consists of 18 parts gold and 6 parts of alloy metal. Gold jewellery has hallmarks to determine the purity and 24k gold is very soft and malleable, making it unsuitable for jewellery.

Gold Is A Form Of Investment

Many private investors acquire gold ingots and they go to reputable gold sellers Brisbane or other cities around the world; a quick online search would lead you to a leading reputable gold bullion dealer near you. Gold is relatively stable and is used by investors as a hedge against inflation. Bar sizes range from 10g to 1000g, and it’s best to take physical possession of any gold that you purchase. Most investors have some gold in their portfolio and when the economy tanks, that is a good time to move your wealth into gold bullion. You can use Google to research gold’s performance over the past 5 years and by forging an alliance with a reputable gold bullion dealer, you have access to the real-time gold markets.

Collecting Gold Coins

Many people merge their hobby with their investment portfolio and collect gold coins. Popular coins include the American Eagle, American Buffalo, Australian Kangaroo and the Canadian Maple Leaf. If you collect gold coins for a couple of decades, you would have an impressive collection that is highly valued.

Gold For A Marriage Dowry

This is very popular in Asian cultures when the groom would present the bride with gold, cash and possibly gemstones. The gold might be presented in the form of jewellery and in some cases, the wedding dowry is returned to the couple after the ceremony to assist them in setting up a home.

Manufacturing

Certain products contain small amounts of gold; computers, smartphones, tablets and TVs all have minute amounts of this precious metal. Scientific equipment often contains gold, due to its conduction properties and many digital connectors are made from gold. You might be wondering why copper is not used, which would be much cheaper, the reason is that gold can handle higher temperatures without losing conductivity.

The Perfect Gift

Who wouldn’t love to be given some gold on their birthday? Jewellery is an obvious choice, or it might be a luxury watch. What do you buy the woman who has everything? Gold jewellery is always a winner and there are online gold jewellery retailers where you can find something suitable. Giving gold is a wise thing to do, as you are giving an asset that can be liquidated easily.

In these uncertain times when markets are volatile, it makes sense to move some of your wealth into gold bullion to protect your estate. Start by searching online for a gold bullion dealer and make an appointment to visit their offices and acquire

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Essential Maintenance Jobs to Keep Your Home Safe

 

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Owning a home is a privilege. You’re likely to pay less on your mortgage payments than you would on rent and, even better, you get a physical asset out of your payments by the end of the day.

Also, when you own your property, you have complete control over how you treat it. But this can be a double-edged sword. You can decorate your property however you like, and you can also complete renovations to increase your property value or suit your family’s needs. On the other hand, this means that you are responsible for your home’s maintenance.

When you rent a property, the landlord has to inspect and maintain the property. In an ideal world, this means that issues get repaired quickly, although some landlords aren’t as conscientious as others. If you noticed an issue in a rented property, all you can do is tell the landlord and, hopefully, they will deal with it quickly.

However, when you’re the homeowner, you have to take charge of all needed maintenance jobs and repairs. This allows your property to keep its value and, more importantly, means that your home remains a safe and enjoyable place to live.
 

Your Home Maintenance Checklist

One of the difficulties with keeping your home maintained is keeping on top of what needs doing and when. Yes, you can fix problems as and when they arise, but this isn’t the best way to maintain your home.

Rather than waiting for something to break, it’s usually far cheaper and less stressful to prevent a break in the first place. This is especially true when it comes to your plumbing, electric systems, or the structure of your home. When these things break, they often cause more damage to the rest of your home that you have to repair, and it can even be dangerous for your family. An electrical fire caused by faulty outlets is no joke.

With this in mind, one of the most effective ways to keep on top of your home maintenance needs is to come up with a home maintenance checklist. This allows you to plan ahead and regularly get your property checked out by professionals, hopefully preventing any issues from cropping up.

Some jobs are better tackled at certain times of the year, but the most important thing is that you get them checked out regularly.
 

Roof and Walls

The structural stability of your home may change over time. It can take a long time for problems to develop, but it’s always important to discover structural issues as soon as possible so you can fix them before they get any worse. In extreme cases, structural problems can lead to collapse and an unsafe living environment.

You should get your roof checked out after storms or harsh weather. A new roof should last a decade or two, but if it’s damaged, this lifespan will be decreased. Storms can damage or remove roof tiles, which can leave your home vulnerable to leaks. Even a minor leak can lead to water damage and increased utility costs over time.

Look out for cracks and damp, as these are signs of structural damage and can lead to further issues. Damp is a common issue, and if you notice it in your home, you should get it checked out to make sure it isn’t caused by issues with your walls.

As well as looking unsightly, damp can lead to mold in your home. Mold, especially once it's built up, can be dangerous to anyone living there. If you or a family member has breathing issues, such as asthma, then mold can worsen these health conditions. Even if you’re healthy, it’s never a good idea to breathe in mold. You should look into mold remediation as soon as possible to clear it up and hopefully find a way to prevent it from building up again.
 

Windows and Doors

Another potential avenue for damp and leaks are the doors and windows in your property. If the sealant around your doors and windows has failed, then cold air and water can find their way into your home. In the worst-case scenario, this can lead to damage.

However, in most cases, this will simply cause drafts and make it harder to keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. When utilities are already more expensive than you’d like, this added cost is never a good thing.

Replacing your doors and windows doesn’t just make your home look nicer, although that’s always a good added bonus, it can also cut down on your utility bills. This saves you money and helps you to do your bit for the environment, as you are using less energy.
 

Exterior Maintenance

As well as maintaining the house itself, you should also look after any land attached to your property. If you neglect your backyard, you can welcome pests onto your property, which will then cause more problems. Not only that, but you’re essentially wasting some potentially great space.

Clear out your backyard and any storage sheds during spring, so that you can use them in the summer. Consider landscaping to create an outside environment that your family will enjoy the most. Whether this involves a vegetable garden, a paved area for barbecues, or even a swimming pool, the important thing is to get the most out of your exterior space.
 

Plumbing and Electrical Systems

As well as the big jobs, you should regularly get your plumbing and electrical systems checked out by trained professionals. This isn’t something that you can just tackle yourself as, if something goes wrong, it can cause a lot of damage.

If you ever smell smoke when using an outlet or notice strange drops or surges in power, stop using your electricity and call an electrician right away. It’s inconvenient, but acting quickly can save your home from a nasty electrical fire.

Plumbing issues might not be as directly dangerous, but a flood can be incredibly damaging to your property and possessions. Act quickly and you can save yourself stress and money.

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How to Say No and Feel Powerful

No is a powerful word. No can stop something bad from happening, it can draw attention when you need help, and it can assert your power. When you say no to someone or something you’re giving them your thoughts and also a command. Unfortunately, these days it seems like everyone is hesitant to say no and we’re beginning to say yes simply for the fact that we feel bad saying no. Feel bad saying no?!?! Why should you feel bad because you make a choice!? So I wanted to talk about the power of saying no today in the hopes that you’ll feel more comfortable with it in the future.

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