I would like to address an issue three of our readers wrote to me about, which they all have in common. They all struggle with low back pain, and when I asked some questions, I discovered each of them sits a lot.

As we get older, we tend to sit more, whether doing work, indulging in a hobby, or just enjoying our retirement. Especially during these trying times, many of us are just at home in a seated position more frequently.

What Can You Do?

So, let’s get started on alleviating this issue. I would like you to get a chair and sit on it. Can you notice the angles going from your torso to your legs and from your upper legs to your lower legs? There are 90 degree angles in both places.

Both of those angles put a lot of compression on all of the muscle fibers running through those joint areas. That results in really tight calves, as well as hamstrings, and oftentimes, very underactive bums. Essentially, sitting for much of your day will affect your body.

You will have underactive calves and hamstrings and glute muscles. Without the benefit of those muscles, along with a tight upper body from sitting, you will likely experience some low back pain. The answer is not as simple as “strengthen your core.”

What Is the Best Position to Sit in?

First of all, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you really can’t be sitting all day long, and not have that tightness and compression happen. So, what is your best position to sit in? Answer: the next position you sit in because the lesson is not to be stationery in one position for too long.

Maybe you use a stool and a chair, maybe you have a big exercise ball. Maybe you can put your computer up on the kitchen counter and you happen to have a high one. You can move things around. Even if you don’t have a standing desk, you can figure out different desk arrangements.

Give yourself multiple options each day. Figure out ways to be standing as well as find ways to be using different heights for your seated positions. I have been known to put my computer on a low coffee table and stack up a few blocks and sit on the blocks on the ground.

The goal is to maintain a neutral spine, so you don’t get to tuck your tail. Stack up enough blocks or pillows so that you can keep a neutral pelvis.

You don’t want to be sitting on the bone at the back of your pelvis, the sacrum. What you want to do is to sit on those sitz bones (the bones that, if you search in the fleshy part of your bum, are pointing like laser beams at the floor. Yes, you want them to point at the floor.)

Sometimes in order for our sitting bones to point at the floor, we have to do things to release the tension in the back of our body.

Calf Stretch

My number one suggestion is the calf stretch. You don’t have to have a half dome foam roller as I do in the video, but you do need something to get the front of your foot up. This is preferred to any other kind of calf stretch because you can keep your body in neutral.

You can see the signposts.

The first signpost is the side of your thigh, that hard thigh bone of the lower trochanter. You want to be able to figure out if you can get that landmark over your second signpost, the side of your heel. Watch the video to see how to get the lower body in neutral regardless of what the top part of your body is doing.

You want to get your hip over your heel, and then stretch. So how do you know if you are stretching? Can you feel a sensation on the back of your leg? When I do this, I feel a moderate sensation with my non stretching leg a bit behind the stretching leg; so I hold onto something and advance my non stretching leg forward.

If you change the location of your left foot, you will feel more of a stretch. You can do this stretch standing with your legs straight. And then, you can bend that stretching leg because there are two calf muscles in there. One is deeper than the other. You’ll do both sides, of course, and they’ll probably be different.

And then you’ll move to both feet. When you do both feet, what I like to suggest is that you hinge over. You can have bent knees; they don’t have to be straight. Maybe you feel it more up in your thigh and less in your calf. It doesn’t matter where exactly; just experience it, do not force it.

Remember that you want your feet to be generally facing forward. Go for sensation, not pain! You want to be able to breathe. Keep breathing and keep your ribs in your body.

Squats

You want to strengthen the bottom that you have been sitting on all day. Squats are a great way to strengthen your bum, but your calves may still be too tight for it to be effective. I suggest you put your heels up on a rolled up mat, maybe a pillow that you’re willing to stand on.

With your heels slightly elevated it is easier to squat. A squat involves bending your knees, sending your bum backwards and your torso, in one piece. You are not changing the shape of your spine. Think about a plumb line going from your hip to the top of your head.

Your entire torso stays on the plumb line and hinges over. You send your bum back and your knees are not really going forward very much. That’s because you are trying to build a bum. There are other kinds of squats where you might allow your knees to go forward, not in this one.

As you increase the number of squats, you will start feeling your bum come alive. If you’re not feeling much, maybe you don’t need to be standing on anything. You are coming down in your squat, but you are not coming down so far that your tail starts to tuck.

Upper Body Tightness

Another piece of the sitting-and-back-pain puzzle has to do with your upper body. I suggest you find a wall to stand against with cactus arms. (Please see the video for how to make cactus arms.)

Your first goal is to have your elbows on the wall. Next, try to get your watch on the wall. And then try to get your wrist a little more on the wall. And then how about the back of the palm on the wall.

Finally, you may try to get your fingers on the wall. It’s not an easy task to get the back of your hand and fingers on the wall without lifting your ribs off the wall. Do not force it. Trying this exercise will help you gain a greater range of movement over time. Switch to the other side.

Remember that lifting your rib cage is an enticing cheat that we do not want to do. Also, remember to breathe. You may feel the line of tension running through all the fascia from your dominant hand all the way up to your shoulder. That is very normal.

Do Not Just Sit There!

My last tip is set your phone to alert you every 20 minutes, or if you must, 30 minutes. When it goes off, I want you to take a walk around your room. Walk around the house. Give yourself at least 60 seconds of walking, before you sit down, and if possible, try to find a different seat or position.

Lastly, enjoy slowly distributing the load off your low back to more places in your body!

How often do you find yourself sitting down? Is it for longer stretches of time? Have you tried putting the load off of your bum? What strategy works best for you? Do you have an adjustable desktop to use at different height settings throughout the day?? Please share your tips and thoughts in the comments below.

I do my best to keep up with the latest research about high blood pressure (hypertension) because this illness has had such an awful impact on many of my family members and friends. So, understandably, the cardiovascular risks, such as heart attacks and strokes, are all very well known to me.

Yet I was not aware of the impact high blood pressure also has on our mental health.

It appears that hypertension may accelerate the mental decline that often leads to Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, lowering our blood pressure may actually help prevent mental decline and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Given that hypertension tends to increase – and cognitive functioning tends to decrease – as we get older, the relationship between the two and what we can do about it become quite important.

Usually, the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease develop at age 60 and double every five years after age 65. A new case is diagnosed every 68 seconds in the U.S., and that’s expected to shorten to every 33 seconds by 2050.

Blood Pressure and Cognitive Performance – How Are They Related?

High blood pressure impacts our cognitive abilities because it damages our brains. This damage affects many of the mental activities that we need and use throughout our day, such as:

• Short-term and working memory as well as learning and retaining new things;
• How quickly we think, analyze and process information from the world around us;
• How well we organize our thoughts;
• Attention spans and our ability to keep focus;
• Planning and organization;
• Mental agility and flexibility;
• Response inhibition and control (the famous “mental filter”);
• Perceptual skills and problem-solving.

In light of this, what should our target blood pressure be to help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease?

Blood Pressure to Aim for

One recent study suggested that maintaining a top blood pressure reading at less than 120 instead of 140 reduced the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment by about 20 percent.

However, it is worth noting that having blood pressure that is too low (with a lower number below 70) isn’t a good thing either since it’s now clear that excessively low blood pressure – also known as hypotension – can also promote cognitive decline, especially if you’re over 80 years old.

Keeping this in mind, the best bet is to work closely with a competent healthcare professional to determine the right range for you.

Be Proactive About Managing Your Blood Pressure

It turns out that many of the things we can do to better manage our blood pressure will keep us mentally sharp as we age. As an added bonus, they also may help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.

But, no matter what steps we take, the sooner we take them, the better since hypertension may start damaging our brains way before we start to notice any mental decline.

Additionally, it’s important to incorporate the following healthier habits into our lifestyles as much as we can since being consistent brings us greater health benefits.

Nutrition

The first – and the most important – thing we can immediately do to manage our hypertension and slow down any mental decline is ensuring our body has the appropriate balance of the right nutrients that it needs.

This means getting rid of unhealthy fats, sugar and processed foods in our diets and replacing them with a diet rich in plant-based foods.

It’s also better to try and prepare more meals at home rather than dining out since this gives us better control (and knowledge) of exactly what and how much we are eating.

Yoga

There is credible evidence to suggest that regular yoga practice may reduce the blood pressure among patients with hypertension.

Other Types of Physical Activity

Physical activity, in all its forms, can also help us to better manage our weight as well as hypertension. It also has the added benefit of possibly lowering our risk for developing dementia and may even improve cognitive scores in those who already have dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

The National Institute of Health found evidence that aerobic exercise, in particular, may help in keeping our brains healthy. We should always talk to our doctor or a competent healthcare professional about what types of exercise are appropriate for us.

At-Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

Another thing that can help is making the commitment to do at-home blood pressure monitoring.

A pilot initiative by the American Heart Association suggested that adults with consistently high blood pressure were able to better control their numbers when they were given home blood pressure monitors, online and print resources for tracking their readings and regular reminders to take their blood pressure.

Their healthcare providers were also kept in the loop. So, if your doctor has not yet suggested home monitoring, you may want to discuss it with him or her. (Read here for more information about hypertension).

My takeaway from all this is that by taking care of one aspect of our health, we also may be taking care of another. If we manage our blood pressure, we may reduce the likelihood of mental decline as we age.

Are you or someone close to you struggling with mental decline or Alzheimer’s symptoms? Have you spoken with your healthcare provider about whether hypertension may be causing or making it worse? If so, what are you doing to prevent it? Tell us about it. Please join the conversation.

Lisa Barlow’s Army Green Sweatsuit on RHOSLC

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 2 Episode 4 Fashion

Of course only Lisa Barlow could make wearing a sweatsuit look like the chicest thing everrr like with the army green one she wears on this week’s episode of RHOSLC. And we’re just hoping that she didn’t end up hitting the KFC drive-thru in it for her fix, because chicken grease stains could really ruin the lewk (actually, she’d probably still be able to make it fash-un). 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her RtA Sweatshirt on Sale

Click Here For Additional Stock on Sale

Click Here to Shop Her RtA Sweatpants on Sale

Click Here For Additional Stock on Sale

And Here For More Stock on Sale

Click Here to Shop Her Louis Vuitton Sneakers

More Colours:

!function(d,s,id)
var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? ‘http’ : ‘https’;
if(!d.getElementById(id))
e = d.createElement(s);
e.id = id;
e.src = p + ‘://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js’;
d.body.appendChild(e);

if(typeof window.__stp === ‘object’) if(d.readyState === ‘complete’)
window.__stp.init();

(document, ‘script’, ‘shopthepost-script’);

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Originally posted at: Lisa Barlow’s Army Green Sweatsuit

There’s nothing in the world that means more to us than a quality TikTok find. Just this past month alone, users have inspired us to buy a shockingly affordable (and effective) pack of camel toe-preventing thongs and a wrinkle-erasing eye gel—then its dupes because, of course, it sold out. Now, we’re running to the virtual shopping aisle of Juno & Co to buy its $15 cleansing balm, because we’ve simply seen too many rave reviews not to.

It all started when @rogerwh0 posted a video using the balm all the way back in March. In in, you see just how effective the milky gel can be at removing makeup and sunscreen.

RELATED: Shoppers Swear This Volumizing Mascara Leads To ‘Fuller, Thicker, and Healthier Lashes’

Courtesy: Juno & Co.

“As someone with combo oily skin, I love how the Clean 10 balm breaks down excess oils and impurities without leaving a greasy feel or stripping the skin,” they said. Months later, the brands hashtag has over 118 million views—the majority of which are for reviews of this product.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Even TikTok sensation @Glamzilla tested this cleanser out for their million-plus followers.

@glamzilla

#stitch with @rogerwh0 Y’ALL I’M ACTUALLY SHOOK?! It’s only $15.. #skincare #junoco #fyp #makeup

♬ original sound – GLAMZILLA

In the minute-long video, you can watch as the beauty guru gently rubs the cleanser in her hands before applying it to her made-up face. As she places pressure on her face, her eye shadow, mascara, and foundation literally drip off her skin. It’s strangely satisfying to watch, tbh.

“It’s actually melting off?” she said of her makeup. “What the heck, I was not expecting this!”

This melting effect is all thanks to the oil-based cleanser’s 10 ingredients, which include vitamin-rich Japanese Barley Magic, Vitamin E, and orange peel oil. Per the brand, these enriching ingredients combine to brighten skin, reduce dark spots, and cleanse without stripping away any essential natural oils from your face.

Don’t let the idea of an oil-based cleanser scare you, especially if you have oily or acne-prone skin. A general rule of thumb in the skincare industry is that the dryer your skin is, the thicker the oil it’ll produce. So, when you cleanse it with oils and hydration, it will produce less of this acne-causing oil.

“It’s the best cleansing balm on the market,” wrote one reviewer. “I always had a hard time taking my makeup off but this is like butter”

A soothing cleanser that takes all of your makeup off without stripping your skin? Sign us up. Shop the $15 skincare essential here before, like everything else beloved on TikTok, it sells out.

There’s nothing in the world that means more to us than a quality TikTok find. Just this past month alone, users have inspired us to buy a shockingly affordable (and effective) pack of camel toe-preventing thongs and a wrinkle-erasing eye gel—then its dupes because, of course, it sold out. Now, we’re running to the virtual shopping aisle of Juno & Co to buy its $15 cleansing balm, because we’ve simply seen too many rave reviews not to.

It all started when @rogerwh0 posted a video using the balm all the way back in March. In in, you see just how effective the milky gel can be at removing makeup and sunscreen.

RELATED: Shoppers Swear This Volumizing Mascara Leads To ‘Fuller, Thicker, and Healthier Lashes’

Courtesy: Juno & Co.

“As someone with combo oily skin, I love how the Clean 10 balm breaks down excess oils and impurities without leaving a greasy feel or stripping the skin,” they said. Months later, the brands hashtag has over 118 million views—the majority of which are for reviews of this product.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Even TikTok sensation @Glamzilla tested this cleanser out for their million-plus followers.

@glamzilla

#stitch with @rogerwh0 Y’ALL I’M ACTUALLY SHOOK?! It’s only $15.. #skincare #junoco #fyp #makeup

♬ original sound – GLAMZILLA

In the minute-long video, you can watch as the beauty guru gently rubs the cleanser in her hands before applying it to her made-up face. As she places pressure on her face, her eye shadow, mascara, and foundation literally drip off her skin. It’s strangely satisfying to watch, tbh.

“It’s actually melting off?” she said of her makeup. “What the heck, I was not expecting this!”

This melting effect is all thanks to the oil-based cleanser’s 10 ingredients, which include vitamin-rich Japanese Barley Magic, Vitamin E, and orange peel oil. Per the brand, these enriching ingredients combine to brighten skin, reduce dark spots, and cleanse without stripping away any essential natural oils from your face.

Don’t let the idea of an oil-based cleanser scare you, especially if you have oily or acne-prone skin. A general rule of thumb in the skincare industry is that the dryer your skin is, the thicker the oil it’ll produce. So, when you cleanse it with oils and hydration, it will produce less of this acne-causing oil.

“It’s the best cleansing balm on the market,” wrote one reviewer. “I always had a hard time taking my makeup off but this is like butter”

A soothing cleanser that takes all of your makeup off without stripping your skin? Sign us up. Shop the $15 skincare essential here before, like everything else beloved on TikTok, it sells out.