Category Health

HOW CYCLING IS GOOD FOR HEALTH AND EARTH?

Among the numerous days celebrated the world over, the one that profoundly impacts the present as well as future generations is World Bicycle Day. Well, on 3 June every year, since 2018, the U.N. General Assembly dedicated this day to celebrate the joy of riding bicycles. The simple structure of a bicycle requires only air and a bit of energy to function, however, it has proved itself to be both environmentally-friendly and a friend to all mankind. Prof Leszek Sibilski, a Polish-American sociologist, along with his sociology students, was the inspirer of this cause.

Apart from being an eco-friendly and economic means of transport, bicycling also promotes good physical as well as mental health. Cycling decreases the possibility of falling prey to cardiovascular diseases, aids in building body muscle, and reduces overall fat. It strengthens bones, improves joint mobility and relieves stress. In addition, it also facilitates the regulation and maintenance of healthy blood sugar levels in our system. Thus, cycling reduces the risk of depression, obesity, arthritis, diabetes, certain cancers, strokes and heart attacks.

The bicycle symbolizes adaptability and sustainability. Governments around the world are adopting and promoting eco-friendly conveyance systems. Many countries have dedicated bicycle tracks which make commuting by bicycle safe. India, too, has introduced bicycle tracks in cities like Delhi and Bangalore.

Though daily riding to work may be an inconvenience, taking into consideration climatic conditions, either having to face the scorching sun or heavy rain, however, despite these conditions, enthusiastic riders change their cycling gear once they reach their destination. It’s a trend already prevalent in Europe.

Types of bicycles

If you are new to buying a bicycle, these guidelines will help you choose the right one.

Road bikes: Designed for normal roads.

Mountain bikes: Suited for hilly terrains.

Hybrid/commuter bikes: Combination of road bikes and mountain bikes.

Cyclocross bikes: A road bike feel for off-road trips.

Folding bikes: Commuting, leisure or touring for the short-on-space.

Electric bikes: A hybrid, mountain or road bike with a battery and a motor.

Touring bikes: Designed for carrying loads over longer distances while remaining comfortable for the rider.

Taking into consideration the multiple benefits that cycling has to offer, using a bicycle whenever possible, if not regularly, will be advantageous to both our earth and ourselves. Look for ways in which cycling can be introduced into your daily routine; maybe riding to nearby places while carrying out daily tasks, to school, work or a friend’s house. Let’s try and adopt the culture of cycling and be the change our environment and our health needs.

Fun Facts

  • The longest tandem’ bicycle seated 35 people; it was more than 20 metres long.
  • Every year, around a 100 million bicycles are manufactured worldwide.
  • The use of bicycles has conserved more than 238 gallons of gas yearly.
  • The Netherlands is the most bicycle friendly country in the world. 30 per cent of all transport is via bicycle. Seven out of eight of its residents over the age of 15 own bicycles.
  • The Tour de France, established in 1903, is the most famous bicycle race in the world. Bicycle track racing has been a sport in the Olympic Games since 1896.

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WE RUN AT THE MOST ENERGY-EFFICIENT SPEED

Be it a race during your sports day or a marathon held in your city, a common goal that most runners have is to keep getting faster. A study published in the journal Current Biology late in April 2022, however, suggests that speeding up might require defying our natural biology.

A research group consisting of scientists from Queens University in Ontario and Stanford University in California have been studying the mechanics of running in labs for 15 years. They were able to combine their lab data with data obtained from runners running in the wild.

Conserve caloric loss

For data of runners running in the wild, the scientists accessed 37,000 runs that were recorded on wearable fitness trackers. The combined data helped scientists find out that humans’ natural tendency is to run at such a speed that conserves caloric loss.

The researchers were surprised at the consistency that they found across the combined data sets. As opposed to the popular assumption that people run faster for short distances and would slow down for longer distances, the scientists were able to show that most runners who were analysed maintained the same speed, irrespective of the distance they ran for a particular activity.

Reasons for running have changed

While this technique makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, it does not in the modern world. Caloric conservation and running at a speed that uses the least amount of energy would have greatly helped our hunter-gatherer ancestors. With the link between running and survival diminishing, the reasons for running have changed dramatically in today’s world.

Even though the goal of running faster defies our natural biology, it is still achievable. Picking faster running partners gives a boost to your own running speed. Even when running alone, listening to music with faster pace speeds up stride frequency, which in turn leads to increased running speed.

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HOW CAN GARDENING IMPROVE OUR MENTAL HEALTH?

Gardening has been around for as long as humans have been growing plants for their personal needs. Through the years, gardens have served not only as places to grow plants but as spaces for people to relax, to focus, and to connect with nature and each other.

Gardening can improve many aspects of mental health, focus, and concentration and also enhance the positive well-being of an individual. Some of the ways in which gardening helps include:

1. Enhancement of mood: Gardening can make you feel more peaceful and content. It enhances a positive mood and also helps in directing your attention towards immediate tasks and details of gardening that can reduce negative thoughts and feelings.

2. Self-esteem development or boost: Self-esteem is how much you value and feel positively about yourself. When you see your work pay off with healthy plants, your sense of pride gets a boost. Many people find a sense of purpose and meaning in looking after plants and feel that plants are like children that they are rearing.

3. Improves attention and concentration: Gardening can change how well you pay attention to any activity. If you struggle with staying focused on any task, gardening can help you learn to concentrate on what’s right in front of you without getting distracted. The gardening process involves multi-tasking and improves co-ordination and attention to tasks and minute details.

4. Serves as a source of exercise: Weeding, digging and raking are good exercises. Regular exercise reduces anxiety, depression, and other mental issues, and can help prevent dementia. If you don’t like going to the gym, gardening can be an enjoyable task to still get these benefits as it includes a lot of movement and lifting of plants and pots.

5. Promotes social bonding: Gardening with others at a community garden or as a family takes teamwork to achieve shared goals. Being part of a larger group can benefit your mental health by increasing your social connections and your support systems. Appreciation from others on gardening also enhances social interactions.

Gardening reminds us of our connection to nature, and helps us focus on the bigger picture, which can alleviate symptoms of depression. Also, the physical aspect of gardening releases feel-good chemicals in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine. In short, working with soil makes us happier.

Flowers and ornamental plants increase levels of positive energy and help people feel secure and relaxed. Adding flowers to your home or work environment reduces your perceived stress levels and makes you feel more relaxed, secure and happy. Many flowers help filter out carbon dioxide pollution for oxygen (which helps keep us alive); they also eliminate chemical toxins (benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, etc.) and their effects found in our homes. Health professionals should therefore encourage their patients to make use of green spaces and to work in gardens, and should pressure local authorities to increase open spaces and the number of trees, thus also helping to counteract air pollution and climate change. Therapeutic gardens have been used in hospitals for many years, and were strongly supported by Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, as they improve the surroundings for patients, visitors and staff. Few complementary therapies have been convincingly shown to be effective, but gardening and nature, which are alternative therapies, offer a proven, cheap and nearly universally available means to improve a nation’s health.

So, get a plant and enhance your mental health today!

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CAN YOU COOL A DRINK WITH DRY ICE? IS DRY ICE POISONOUS?

Care for a soft drink? Now, have you wondered how it was chilled? Dry ice is nothing but frozen carbon dioxide. It sublimates (turns to gas without first turning into a liquid) and that is why it’s called dry ice.

There is no harm in cooling a drink with dry ice as long as it is food grade. It will turn to gas and though a little may get dissolved in the drink it won’t poison you. Don’t we drink soda? Soda is nothing but water that has carbon dioxide dissolved in it.

However one should not try to hold dry ice in the hand for too long. It is very, very cold (-78.5 degrees C) and it can cause a burn. For the same reason, one should not eat or swallow pieces of dry ice.

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IS THERE ANY RISK IN DRINKING CHLORINATED WATER?

Municipalities around the world have used chlorine to make water safe for drinking for decades. Chlorine kills deadly bacteria and viruses including those that cause life-threatening diseases like typhoid fever, dysentery and cholera.

Chlorination is not only the most effective way of making water safe for drinking; it is also the most economical method. Other methods like ozonation are far too expensive and far less effective.

The amount of chlorine used in the water treatment process is too small to pose any danger to health, even if the water smells of chlorine. However, chlorine reacts with organic matter in the water such as decaying leaves, and forms a group of chemicals known as disinfection by-products. The most common of these by-products are trihalomethanes (THMS) that include chloroform.

Some studies have found a link between long-term exposure to high levels of chlorination by-products and a higher risk of cancer.

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What is Anthophobia ?

An irrational fear of flowers is called Anthophobia. The word is a combination of two Greek words namely anthos meaning ‘flowers’ and phobos meaning ‘fear or deep aversion’.

You have probably come across many types of phobias among human beings. Some are understandable while some might seem highly irrational or unbelievable like fear of birds, fear of work or fear of feet. But most phobias are legitimate and can affect a person’s life drastically. One of the types of phobia that exist today is Anthophobia, the fear of flowers.

Fear of flowers is not the same as the fear of plants or the fear of nature. The fear of plants is known as Botanophobia and the fear of nature is called Biophobia. So Anthophobia is only specific to flowers or flowering plants. The sufferer is not afraid of other plants and trees. Most Anthophobic people will tend to stay away from nature as much as possible as there is a chance encounter of flowers and flowering plants always in the back of their minds. They will be morbidly afraid of flowers and will react rather negatively. This type of fear is extremely rare and exists in only a few people around the world.

Anthophobia symptoms will vary from person to person depending upon the degree of trauma and susceptibility to anxiety under given circumstances. However, there are specific symptoms one can look out for, such as:

Panic Attacks – Having a drastic panic attack at the mere sight or thought of flowers could be one of the main symptoms.

Sweaty palms, racing heartbeats, rapid or accelerated breathing, trembling or shivering and so on are certain factors to look out for. It is important to note that the symptoms are stimulated even by thoughts and not just by vision. Irrational amount of fear – Having a fear of impending doom along with thoughts of death and powerlessness are some of the feelings one would experience when they are placed in a situation where they are around flowers. These emotional symptoms will be directly associated with Anthophobia in the individual.

Credit :  Types of Phobia

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