Many busy people confine their physical activities to 30 minutes of running on a treadmill, pedaling a stationary bike, or dancing inside a gym. Although these activities are good for raising your heart rate, the closed environment, sterile gym atmosphere, and the presence of so many other people does little for your peace of mind or ability to relax. For true improvements in physical and mental/emotional health, it is important to get outside into the open air.
The Benefits to Health of Exercising in the Open Air
When people first begin exercising outdoors, the first difference they usually notice is the air itself. As your rate of breathing increases, you become aware that you are pulling fresh, life-giving air into your lungs. Unlike air in a gym that is circulated within the building, the air found outdoors is relatively free of contaminants and carries all the seasonal smells of nature.
After a few weeks of exercising outdoors, people begin to notice other, more important benefits that are related more to their mental and emotional wellbeing than to their physical health. In modern society, being outdoors has become something of a novelty to many people. Regular outdoor exercise is a good way to find time to connect with nature. Exercising outdoors allows people to connect with the world around them and with their inner selves, achieving harmony and peace of mind on an instinctual, innate level.
Types of Outdoor Exercises
When looking for a type of outdoor exercise, there are many choices. Some obvious choices include running, cycling, climbing, speed walking, rock climbing, swimming, basketball, and soccer. But if you really want to maximize the mental and emotional health benefits of outdoor exercise, it is a good idea to look for a lower-impact, less intense activity that emphasizes mental, spiritual, and emotional health over (or at least as much as) physical exertion. Some examples include yoga, meditation, and tai chi. Of course, these arts can be practiced indoors in studios, but performing them outdoors brings an added dimension that makes the experience richer and more fulfilling.
Tips for Maximizing the Experience
Choosing to exercise outdoors requires some practical considerations. The most obvious is the weather. Know the weather forecast, and if anticipated weather conditions are not appropriate for your preferred activity, choose to stay indoors. If the weather does permit doing the outside, be sure to have the appropriate shoes and clothing. Wear layers so that you can adapt to changing outdoor temperatures. Also, consider where you are going to go. Trying to do yoga postures in the middle of an urban plaza with many passersby is completely different from doing those same postures on a solitary cliff overlooking the ocean. For the best health benefits, try to find a place that allow you to relax both physically and mentally.
Begin by exercising in the open air for at least a week or two, giving yourself time to become accustomed to it before making a final decision. Chances are, you will find that the time you spend outdoors is a liberating, relaxing complement to your regular gym activities.
Eye Exams for Contact Lenses
Eye exams for contact lenses involve several steps; some of these would include bright light test, visual acuity test and contact lens fitting. Contact lens fitting would also require some test including curvature and eye's surface measurement, iris and pupil measurements, tear film evaluation and biomicroscope evaluation.
Bright light test is to check whether there are physical deformities in the eye. This also covers how well the muscles functions.
Visual acuity test is the usual letter and number chart that is often seen in an eye doctor’s clinic. This is what determines the prescription lenses to be prescribed. This also checks whether vision correction lenses are necessary. Contact lens fitting is when the contact lenses are tried out for the first time. Before the actual fitting, you would need to determine your preferred combination of contact lenses. One of the choices would include soft or hard (gas-permeable) contact lenses. Your lifestyle would also dictate the type of contact lens, whether disposables (daily, weekly, monthly), extended / overnight contact lenses, or those that can last for a year.
Curvature and eye's surface measurement is part of contact lens fitting. Your eyes will be measure by an instrument called keratometer. This measures the size and how curved is your eye. This can also measure whether you require toric lens for astigmatism.
An iris and pupil measurement uses pupillometer. This uses a technology that measures the size of the iris, the colored part of the eye, and the pupil. Proper measurements would ensure that the orientation and size of the contact lens is correct.
Tear film evaluation is measuring the eye's moisture content. There are two ways of testing this: the paper strip and the fluorescein dye. Paper strip measures by inserting a small strip of paper into the eyelids and then measuring the amount of tears produced. Fluorescein dye uses dye that will be washed off by your eye; the length of time before you can wash it off is then measured.
Biomicroscope evaluation measures how the contact lens moves during wear. The instrument would evaluate the alignment of the contact lenses while on the eye and movements after each blink.
Eye exams for contact lenses does not end in one session, there will usually be two visits to the eye specialist to determine the correct contact lenses for you. Make sure that before you have the check up, you are well-rested, and it would produce the best condition of your eye.
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