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Peak Fertility and Pregnancy

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Source: Unsplash | Alexander Krivitskiy

Getting pregnant isn’t necessarily as easy as you would hope and for some people it can be a challenge that makes the efforts you go to to avoid pregnancy when it’s not wanted into a cruel irony. We also tend to see fertility as a black and white issue: either you are fertile or not. In reality, there are many graduations of fertility and even if you stand a low chance of conceiving, you can improve your odds by identifying when you’re at peak fertility in each menstrual cycle and concentrating your attempts to conceive on that period.

What is Peak Fertility?

For women, their effective fertility rises and falls over the length of their menstrual cycle. During their ‘fertile days’ or ‘fertile window’, the average lifespan of an egg after ovulation can overlap with the average lifespan of sperm after ejaculation. During this time you are at peak fertility: you stand the best chance of conceiving. If you don’t know when your fertile window is, your chances of conceiving drop dramatically.

Finding Ovulation

If you want to find your fertile day you need to find out when it’s likely you’re going to ovulate – your ‘ovulation window’.

There are two primary ways of doing this: using test strips that react with your urine in the presence of the hormone that stimulates ovulation, LH (or Luteinising Hormone). You can also chart your basal body temperature: this is the low level your body drops to overnight, during an extended rest. Minute changes at this base level can reveal when you’re going to ovulate.

Modern technology can make BBT tracking more accurate and less difficult. Automated sensors can take temperature readings overnight for more accurate data, and apps can process those into results and predictions, to reduce the risk of error.

Finding Your Fertile Window

With this information in hand, you simply need to plot it on a calendar, along with the dates your period begins. While cycles may vary between women, if yours is regular you can expect to ovulate at the same point in your cycle from month to month. Noting how long ovulation falls after your period begins in one month gives you a good indicator for when it will fall in the next and the next. This can give you the vital insight you need to improve your chances of conceiving when you want to.

How to Look After Yourself After a Workplace Injury

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Following a workplace injury, particularly an incident resulting in you needing to take extended time off work, it will be necessary to look after yourself; to both recover in body and mind, and to manage your change in circumstances on a more practical level.

This brief how-to guide will give some guidance on taking care of yourself post-injury; physically, mentally, and financially.

Physically

For physical recovery, the most important, and likely the most obvious, thing to do is make sure you follow the guidance and advice given by your medical practitioners.

  • Make sure you take any medication prescribed and avoid any strenuous activities as advised, such as heavy lifting, or sports
  • If receiving physiotherapy for injuries sustained, then be sure to complete all home exercises designated to your recovery process
  • As well as the to-do’s, make sure to abide by the do-not’s, such as avoiding alcohol, certain foods, or smoking, for example. In addition to the physical implications, this can also have legal ramifications, such as driving while on pain medication, following surgery or while incapacitated, voiding motor insurance

As well as following medical advice, it will be necessary to take your injury, and any long-term implications of it, into account when preparing to return to work:

  • Can you carry out your previous role without causing further injury, if not then a new role should be found or created to allow you to return to work safely
  • Do not return to work before you are sufficiently recovered enough to do so

This can be challenging to stick to as it can be frustrating to wait, and can also be a cause for anxiety and stress if it is having an impact on your finances.

Mentally

Being injured and restricted is likely to be an upsetting and anxiety-inducing time for you. It adds additional pressures to families and relationships and can have a detrimental effect on your mental wellbeing.

  • Seek external assistance if you find yourself struggling to cope. Therapy can be a great way to unload your emotions and is not a sign of weakness or failure.
  • Accept help from family and friends and be sure to communicate. You are not a burden to them, and they want to support you, but they cannot do this if you don’t tell them what you need.
  • Practice meditation, yoga, or other therapeutic, relaxation techniques. Find time in your schedule to be calm and focus on your breathing to reduce stress levels and boost your mental health.
  • Stay abreast of your financial circumstances, acknowledge that there may be financial implications to your injury, and seek out support and advice to manage them. Money is a leading cause of stress, and ignoring it will only make it worse.

Financially

As previously mentioned, an injury at work that puts you out of action will inevitably have financial implications for you and your family; there are many things to consider during this time, including:

  • Compensation – You may be entitled to compensation following a workplace injury, and you should not be hesitant to pursue it. Personal injury solicitors London, Washington, Paris, or wherever you are in the world, are there to help you regain financial control and support you following your accident.
  • Insurance – You may find that your employers have insurance to cover workplace accidents, you should speak to your employer and discuss your rights. Your own medical insurance cover, if applicable, may also help with any resulting medical bills.
  • Sick pay – Another one for your employer. Check your contract and see what you are entitled to for time off of work due to a work-related injury.
  • Budgeting – If you find yourself out of pocket, then it may be necessary to review your household budget while you are off work and reduce non-essentials.
  • Research other support services – You may be entitled to additional benefits or financial aid. Research what is available in your area and be sure to claim everything you are entitled to. It is what it is there for, and you should not feel guilty using it.
  • Returning to work – Know your rights for returning to work after sickness or injury. Your employer should consider alternative roles within the business if you are no longer able to carry out your original job. They should make a significant effort to facilitate your return.

Prioritize your recovery and the wellbeing of yourself, your family, and anyone that may be affected by the incident. Getting better is top priority, and this guide provides tips for ensuring that you take care of you and yours.

How to Cope With Being a Member of the Sandwich Generation

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The sandwich generation is nothing to do with tasty savory snacks. In fact it’s a term that describes the people who are at an age where they have caring responsibilities for their children on the one hand, and their parents on the other, so they’re sandwiched between the two generations.

This scenario is becoming more and more common, especially as couples have their children later in life. Many people in their forties and fifties have children who are still at home, often very young children, while their parents are heading into their eighties and nineties, and needing help themselves.

Being a caregiver for your kids is hard work, stressful, and time-consuming, and being a caregiver for one or both of your parents likewise; so if you have both to cope with it can become somewhat overwhelming. If you’re trying to juggle working as well as your caring responsibilities, your life can become a non-stop whirl of activity and stress from the moment you wake in the morning to when you drop into bed exhausted at the end of the day.

The problem is, what choice do you have? You can’t stop caring for your kids, but most people who have loving parents that cared for them and supported them when they were growing up feel they have a duty to return that care when their folks become infirm or need assistance.

First of all, remember that you must put yourself first, and that to do so is in no way a selfish act. If you push yourself so hard that you become too exhausted or unwell to care for your kids and your parents, they’ll have to manage without you altogether, at least for a little while. Making sure you get sufficient rest and relaxation, and the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle that supports your own health is the best way to stay fit and well and maintain your caring roles.

There’s also plenty of support out there for you as a caregiver. For example there are some very helpful resources published online at sites like www.inhomecare.com that have valuable advice and information for about in-home care and people who are caring for their elderly parents. There’s an abundance of online resources, but you’ll find support and information that can help at doctor’s surgeries, libraries, and other community facilities as well.

You might find there are groups your parents could attend that would enrich their lives, childcare resources for the holidays, and volunteer organizations who can lend a hand when you need it. You should also make sure you’re accessing any local or national support you’re entitled to, for example, caregiver’s respite schemes. There are caregivers organizations who can help you with all these, as well as giving you some much needed personal support.

Sometimes all you need is a little extra help, so it’s worth looking at the options for in-home care for your parents, or childcare for your children. An hour a day where your kids can play at an afterschool club, or a caregiver can come in and cook your parents a meal could be invaluable in helping you to manage.

Reducing Stress Through Meditation Online with Glo

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It is a common misconception that the benefits of meditation can only be achieved if you travel to a physical location to meditate alongside fellow practitioners in the same space. This can actually make it more difficult for some people to meditate because they are distracted by the other people in the room and the new surroundings. Glo is an online meditation service that set out to make this practice more accessible to all people and remove some of the barriers that prevent people from meditating as much as they would like to.

What Meditation Online Course Offerings are Available from Glo?

Glo provides instant access to a variety of classes for meditation online. Each class focuses on a particular theme or element of practice. Some of the most popular online class offerings from Glo are listed below.

  • Finding peace
  • Cultivating self-love
  • Balance your heart and mind
  • Simply savasana
  • PMS meditation
  • Transmute negative emotions
  • Listen to learn
  • What’s your motivation?
  • Impermanence meditation
  • Inner space of bliss
  • Meditation for frustrated parents
  • Be with what is

What is wonderful about having such a wide range of meditation online classes from Glo to choose from is that you will never become bored with your personal practice. They all have varying lengths and instruction styles so that you can experiment with what works best with your needs. Whether you are new to meditation or an experienced student, there is an online meditation class for all needs and backgrounds from Glo.

Customizing Your Online Meditation Practice with Glo

Students of meditation come away from their practice feeling more relaxed, focused and energized. They report decreased feelings of anxiety and stress and credit meditation with helping them achieve their professional, personal and health goals. Each student’s experience with meditation is unique to them, which is why Glo provides access to such a diverse range of instructors and class offerings.

The best way to know which meditation style suits you best is to check out the profiles of the skilled meditation teachers who are part of the Glo network. You can take classes from some of the most highly regarded petitioners throughout the world. These teachers have years of experience in helping students to achieve an inner peace that has helped them to stay healthy, push the limits at their careers and be more loving family members. The benefits that you may experience from online meditation classes are truly up to you and how committed you want to be to your practice. Starting with classes through Glo requires little commitment and allows you to cancel at any time.

More Information About Meditation Online with Glo

Glo was founded to help people of all ages, experiences and backgrounds achieve the inner peace and balance that comes from practicing meditation. Instead of requiring that students go to a physical studio, Glo brings all of the benefits of meditation classes directly to you through an online membership that can be accessed on your smartphone or your computer. You can now find a way to practice meditation when you have a break during the workday or even while you are traveling. All of the restrictions and challenges associated with making time for effective meditation have been eliminated thanks to this cutting-edge platform from Glo.

5 Simple Daily Habits To Adopt To Prevent UTIs

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If you have ever experienced the disappointing cycle of recurrent urinary tract infections, you know how important it is to prevent UTIs. Each time a UTI returns, you are faced with the prospect of frequent and even painful urination, the possibility of missed work and the chore of scheduling a doctor’s appointment and heading to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.

How much easier it would be to avoid the infection in the first place. The good news is that you can do this by making a few small changes to your routine.

  1. Take a Natural Remedy. Recurrent UTI prevention is easy when you take a proven natural remedy on a regular basis. The formula flushes out any disease-causing bacteria that have been introduced to your system.
  2. Stay Hydrated. This is simple and something you should be doing anyway to improve your health. The more you urinate the more likely you are to flush bad bacteria out of your system.
  3. Eat a Healthy, Balanced Diet.A poor diet can increase the PH in your system, increasing the likelihood of the presence of harmful bacteria. Choose less-processed foods and avoid an excess of sugar and caffeine.
  4. Urinate After Sex.Sexual intercourse can introduce bad bacteria into your system. To prevent UTIs after sex it is important to urinate soon after the act. It’s always important to urinate whenever you have to go.
  5. Make Urinary Health a Priority. A daily shower is better than a daily bath for urinary health. Also, wearing cotton underwear, which is breathable, is better than synthetic underwear, which can trap in moisture.

Get Serious About Urinary Health

Paying attention to your urinary health is a smart thing to do, especially if you have had UTIs in the past. It’s not all that difficult to prevent UTIs. Natural remedies have come a long way in recent years, making it easy to stay on top of infections.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!