5 Minute Lower Back Stretch for a Good Night's Sleep

A sedentary lifestyle is more dangerous than you might think. Apart from predisposing you to certain health conditions and making your back hurt, it can also mess up your sleep. The reason why has nothing to do with how tired or stressed you are either, as even after a happy day full of physical activity you may feel the long-term negative effects of a  sedentary lifestyle.lower back stretch exercise

The culprits behind these sleep problems are your hip flexor muscles, which can shorten dramatically if you don’t stretch them out regularly. Tight hip flexors, in turn, can cause persistent lower back pain, as well as difficulty breathing and other symptoms that can affect your sleep. To learn more about this condition and a 5-minute exercise to remedy it, continue reading.

How Can Hip Flexors Affect Our Sleep?

Hip flexor muscles do a lot more than just help us move our legs, they play an important role in maintaining good posture and supporting the spine. Apart from that, these muscles are tightly linked with other muscles and inflammation in the hip flexors may affect the entire spine, as well as the legs. The strongest and somehow also the least understood hip flexor is the Iliopsoas.

This group of deep pelvic muscles consists of two muscles: the iliacus and psoas, pictured below. These muscles play an important role in many activities, such as standing, sitting, and obviously, hip flexion. Excessive sitting can shorten and tighten the iliopsoas, commonly causing lower back pain, hip pain, and in more severe cases, herniated discs.

Unfortunately, an increasing number of people have shorter than normal hip flexors. When these muscles are tight or inflamed, they then cause any surrounding muscles to spasm as well, including the diaphragm. A tight diaphragm, in turn, will make it difficult for you to breathe deeply. Combine shortness of breath with lower back pain and muscle tension, and there have you - a sure recipe for bad sleep.

How to Stretch Out the Iliopsoas

First and foremost, note your sleeping position. Side sleeping in the fetal position will further shorten the muscle, and so it’s not a good option for people with a short iliopsoas. Next, you’ll need to stretch out the muscle to relieve any tension and pain, as well as allow normal breathing.
We offer you the following exercise you can do at home before bed to counteract the daily strain a sedentary lifestyle puts on your hip flexors. Below you’ll be able to find directions, as well as a video demonstrating the exercise: 
Directions:
1. Find an empty wall in your home and grab a mat, a large book or a yoga block.
2. Lie down on your back, supporting your pelvis with the book or block. At the same time, press your right foot against the wall.
3. Now flex your left knee and draw your left leg in towards your chest. Breathe deeply and hold this position for 1-2 minutes, and then repeat on the left side.

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These 3 Creepy Animals Can Save Human Lives

Wasps, spiders, and cockroaches may be creepy, but all 3 may soon be able to revolutionize medical research. Let’s all admit it, the majority of people have a difficult relationship with most arthropods. One of the most common phobias in the world is arachnophobia, the fear of spiders (and other arachnids such as scorpions), so that relationship has gone downhill before it had a chance to start. The story with insects is very similar: we consider a lot of them to be pests, and the rest are just some strange alien creatures that just happen to live on the same planet with us. Little did we know that these creepy-crawlies may hold the key to the medical research of the future.

1. Spiders

Although arachnid research in the field of medicine is still in the developing stages, scientists managed to isolate two main resources (spider venom and spider silk) that could potentially transform the way we treat certain conditions.
Spider venom, in particular, has been tested as an experimental treatment of pain caused by IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), as well as a substance that could potentially treat epileptic seizures.
More specifically, an Australian research team has managed to isolate a protein from the venom of a species of tarantula, Heteroscodra maculata, that can block the pain signals from the intestines to the central nervous system. The researchers then developed a treatment that was shown to inhibit IBS-related pain, at least in animal models. A different Australian research group looked at how a peptide isolated from spider venom can potentially help treat seizures in Dravet’s syndrome, a severe type of epilepsy characterized by an extreme sensitivity to high temperatures. 
Spider silk is the strongest biological material on the planet, not to mention it’s very flexible and light, no wonder researchers are looking at its potential to be used in sutures and bandages, as well as medical devices and prosthetics. A research team antiobiotic resistantpromises to come up with a new generation of spider silk-based materials that may soon transform not only medical supplies but also protective and sports equipment.

2. Cockroaches

Cockroaches may be a pest in your mind, which they definitely are, but medical science found a use even for these creepy creatures. Some researchers plan on using them as a cheaper alternative to common lab animals, like mice, in some experiments, whereas others claim the cockroach brain may hold the secret to treatment for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In fact, in China, there are entire cockroach-breeding farms, as ground-up cockroaches are believed to treat gastrointestinal problems. Also, a research team in the UK found that the brains of cockroaches and locusts contain at least 9 different compounds that could potentially kill drug-resistant bacteria.

The researchers hope one of these compounds may be the key to a cure for infections caused by such increasingly-resistant bacteria, like Escherichia coli and MRSA.

3. Wasps

A fear of wasps is completely warranted, as their stings can be not only spontaneous and extremely painful, but also commonly cause allergic reactions. But, as it often happens in medicine, toxic substances may hide a secret medical use that may save lives in the future.

In the case of wasp and hornet venom, there are at least 2 different compounds that may open the door to medical innovation. The most-studied compound is mastoparan, a peptide that can be found in the venom of different species of wasps and hornets. Mastoparan has been found to have antimicrobial, antibiotic and even anti-cancer properties, but there is a catch.

It turns out that, while mastoparan does kill the harmful bugs and makes certain tumors vanish, it is toxic to the healthy cells as well, so the next hurdle in clinical research is a more targeted treatment. Finally, a different type of peptides (ampulexins) from the venom of emerald jewel wasps, on the other hand, are currently reviewed as a potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

As you can tell, the majority of these research projects are a work in progress, but it’s fun to entertain the idea of these arthropods saving human lives nevertheless. It would be an unexpected turn of events to find yourself in a situation where you owe your health to a creature you despise, wouldn’t it?

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                      FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                    

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Wasp venom offers hope against lung diseases

Some engineers have developed new antimicrobial peptides, which can combat bacteria causing respiratory and other infections, based on a naturally occurring peptide produced by a South American wasp. The venom of insects such as wasps and bees is full of compounds that can kill bacteria. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are also toxic to humans, making it impossible to use them as antibiotic drugs.
 
However, in a study over mice, the team repurposed a toxin normally found in Polybia Paulista -- a South American wasp -- to create variants of the peptide that are potent against bacteria but non-toxic to human cells.

They found that their strongest peptide could completely eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa -- a strain of bacteria that causes respiratory and urinary tract infections and is resistant to most antibiotics.

"We've repurposed a toxic molecule into one that is a viable molecule to treat infections," said  a  researcher.

"By systematically analysing the structure and function of these peptides, we've been able to tune their properties and activity," he added.

The peptide,  is small enough --only 12 amino acids -- that the researchers believed it would be feasible to create some variants of the peptide and test them to see if they might become more potent against microbes and less harmful to humans.

The team tested the peptides against seven strains of bacteria and two of fungus, making it possible to correlate their structure and physicochemical properties with their antimicrobial potency.

To measure the peptides' toxicity, the researchers exposed them to human embryonic kidney cells grown in a lab dish. In mice infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the team found that several of the peptides could reduce the infection and could eliminate it completely.

"After four days, that compound can completely clear the infection, and that was quite surprising and exciting because we don't typically see that with other experimental antimicrobial or other antibiotics that we've tested in the past with this particular mouse model," he noted.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                                             https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                       FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com