Recliners and lift chairs: Are they the same thing?
September 18, 2019Maybe you are here because you walked into a furniture store and saw some cozy chairs referred to as recliners and others lift chair and were not able to distinguish the two types. Or perhaps you’ve heard the two types from your buddies but can’t really tell which is which. Whether you want to buy one of them soon or are just curious to know the difference for the sake of it, you are at the right place. In the next couple of minutes of your time here, you’ll see if the two terms refer to the same thing or different things.
Let’s get to the kitty gritty; starting with the definition of a recliner.
What is a recliner?
A recliner is a chair that features a reclining back and an integral footrest. When you come home after a long day at work, you look forward to catching up with the latest TV news or movie in a relaxed position. A recliner seat or chair comes in handy to give you the most comfortable posture. You can incline it to an upright or flat position, depending on its respective design. All in all, any incliner can be adjusted to various positions.
Recliner chairs and sofas were originally mechanically operated using a lever system but with time, electricity-powered recliners weAppliancere innovated. Some electrically powered recliners can lift from the seating position to a vertical position by just button push. Such recliners are called lift chairs. Therefore, all lift chairs are recliners but all recliners are lift chairs.
What differentiates lift chairs from ordinary recliners?
Lifting capability
In addition to being used in upright or reclined sitting position, a lifting chair goes out of its way to turn its seating surface to vertical position within a press of a button, enabling its occupant to wake up quickly and easily without engaging the leg muscles. Basically, a lift chair has more positions and settings as compared to a regular recliner. Different parts of the chair can move separately for more customized positions.
Operation
As earlier mentioned, some recliners are operated mechanically through a lever system. On the other hand, as for lift chairs, all of them are operated using buttons and electrical movements instead of traditional lever adjustment. As such, a lift chair must be connected to a power source for you to reposition it. Therefore, lift chairs are easier to operate as compared to the ordinary recliner chairs.
Physician recommendation
Ordinary recliners are suitable for every one as their sole aim is to provide comfort. On the other hand, it is not advisable to use lift chair, especially the lifting function as it reduces the activity of your leg muscles. It is important to keep your muscles active, by standing or sitting on your own if you can because such exercises promote your health.
Lift chairs are primarily designed to offer sitting comfort to people with mobility problems resulting from old age and health issues like arthritis. Besides offering the comfort, the recliner chair enables these people to get up easily without escalating their leg, back pain or disorder.
We’ve already seen than power recliners, including lift chairs, are easier to use than the traditional recliners, and this their another plus for people with disabilities and the seniors with mobility challenges. They already have physical issues and so, adjusting levers is sort of a struggle to them. Lift chairs favor them as they don’t have to exert physical strength to operate them. Instead, they need to just press button to adjust the chairs to their ideal positions of comfort to get out of them hassle-free.
Insurance coverage
Lift chairs for people with mobility-affecting health concerns are treated as a medical necessity. As such, a portion of their acquisition costs can be reimbursed by an insurance cover, especially if bought after doctor’s recommendation. On the other hand, regular recliners are like any other ordinary furniture in your home or office. As such, there are not covered by medical insurance policies.
Price
Due to their additional features and benefits, lift chairs are more expensive than normal recliners. Besides, the electrical components in the chair are more expensive to repair/replace in case they break or get worn out.
Mobility
Unlike mechanically-operated recliner chairs, lift chairs are heavier and so, difficult to move from one place to another as compared to mechanically-operated recliner chairs. This is because the levers in the latter are lighter than the mechanical parts and motor within a lift chair.
Since a lift chair must be a power source for it to respond to button commands, it is normally restricted to specific places. In contrast, a lever recliner can be used anywhere because it doesn’t need electrical power.
Lifespan
Because of their mechanical operation, lever recliners experience more wear and tear as compared to lift chairs, thus a shorter lifespan.
Seat capacity
A recliner can be designed to accommodate one or more people. When it comes to a lift chair, it accommodates only one person.
Therefore, if you are having a medical condition that’s making it difficult for you to stand from a sitting position, a lift chair will be the better deal as compared to other incliners. However, it is important to consult your doctor to confirm if it’ll help in the improvement of your well-being or otherwise. Nevertheless, if you have to use a lift chair just for fun, avoid using the lift function to avoid making your legs less active as this might turn to be harmful than good.
If you just want a comfortable seat with leg support, even a regular incliner will be fine. However, having an electrically powered one is better as it will give you more settings for more customized postures.
Hopefully, you’ve now realized that a lift chair is a recliner chair with additional features. Therefore, depending on your needs, you’ll be able to make an informed decision when you start shopping for your ideal one. All the best!
How to Sleep with Noise
These days, noise is a common thing in people lives. Industrialization and urbanization have increased levels of noise emission into the environment. Among other types of pollution, noise is categorized as one of the most harmful pollutants alongside water and land pollution.
What makes noise pollution more dangerous than other types of pollution is that it is unnoticeable which makes the detection of its effects difficult. Despite the increased levels of noise emission, people have come up with ways of existing with the noise.
Quality sleep is an integral part of good health and life as a whole. Sleep is a haven of peace people retreat to after long, stressful days of work. Therefore, people have gone to great lengths to maintain the quality of their sleep by learning how to sleep with noise.
This piece will focus on how people have been able to pull out this feat.
Insulate Yourself
Wrapping your entire body with soundproofing materials can be difficult. Insulating yourself from the noise does not mean the words literally.
Noise prevention equipment such earplugs have been used successfully to put noise at bay during traveling successfully. Traveling companies offer them to clients to assist with sleeping. Travels can be noisy when you take into account other vehicles sharing the same roads.
Fellow passengers are also a significant source of noise during travels. Therefore, earplugs have become a part of long distance traveling.
When at home, it is advisable to wear eye masks and earplugs. They act as a barrier between you and the noisy surrounding. The equipment helps cultivate a peaceful environment to sleep in.
It is advisable that if you are in a position to reinforce your house by making it more soundproof, it can go a long way to help you learn how to sleep with noise.
Wear Yourself Physically
It may sound like a bad thing at first but engaging in physical activities before going to bed is an excellent way of ensuring you maintain a steady night of sleep without disturbances.
If you have noticed, sleep is always of high quality and quantity after doing something physically taxing. An example of an exhausting activity includes jogging or skipping a rope. People with jobs that require a lot of heavy lifting can attest to this. It is common to see a gym instructor to drift faster than someone who works in an office.
According to studies, working the body physically can enhance the quality of sleep. Research indicates that exhausting the body helps in triggering prolonged cycles of slow-wave sleep. Slow-wave sleep is a phase where the body is “under,” and its ability to recover to its normal state is enhanced.
Manage Your Senses
The brain is tasked with managing sleep. Since the brain processes a lot of information, some which can be bad and some which can be good. The things the brain processes and executes plays a part in the kind of dreams and thoughts an individual has.
The ability to visualize these thoughts as scenic view helps the brain to block noise. Meditation and yoga assist in the management of the senses.
Make A Bedtime Routine
The human body is responsive to its surroundings. The body can be trained to act in a certain way to certain conditions or situations. For example, if someone has insomnia, they are always advised to reduce the lights in their bedroom or the entire house altogether.
Such a directive is to enable the body to get used to such conditions to indicate time of sleep. Therefore, if you are seeking to learn to sleep in noisy surroundings peacefully without experiencing any disturbances, attaching some routines to sleeping trends is vital.
Sometimes, people make their hobbies routines to help them sleep. Hobbies such as reading books, swimming, listening to music are popular routines people adapt to manage stressful situations. An example of a stressful event is a noisy neighbor playing loud music.
Subscribing to a routine teaches the brain and the body to use certain cues to create an environment of stability and peace which is essential in circumventing a noisy environment.
Extreme Interventions
Confront the Problem
Noise is a byproduct of human activities which means a noisy environment is always the doing of a person. Therefore, in a bid to make your surrounding less noisy, a person should decide to confront a person that is responsible for making noise and talking about the problem over.
The process of confronting a person should be polite and candid so that both parties can understand the plight of the other person. This reduces levels of noise emission.
Quality engagement with neighbors and management team of residential estates is a swift intervention for solving noise-related sleeping problems such as sleeplessness.
How to Sleep on Your Back
Cozy sleeping significantly depends on your sleeping position, besides a comfortable mattress and bed, which directly affects your sleeping cycle. Three common sleeping positions include side, stomach and back, each being preferred by different people. Most people fancy the side sleeping position as they find it comfortable and suitable for people with conditions such as pregnancy and back pains.
Other people sleep on their stomach which we would like to dispute any presumed benefits associated with the position. Sleeping on your stomach may obstruct the stomach process as well as strain your back leading to pains.
What most people do not know is that sleeping on your back has several benefits including fostering the health of your body. Sleeping on your back ascribes to advantages such as relieving the build-up of sinus, prevents pains due to reduced tension, prevents facial skin damage, and retains the alignment of your spine.
If you are not accustomed to sleeping on your back, then you might find it difficult during your first days and more so retaining the position throughout the night. Therefore, you need to put some aspects into consideration to ensure you sleep on your back and maintain the position the whole night. In this article, we shall provide guidelines to help you attain the back-sleeping position.
The tips below guides you on how to sleep on your back; hence you should try them out.
Obtain a good pillow
Sleeping on your back requires a little elevation of the head. Otherwise, if your head lifts too high, you might end up hurting yourself. Therefore, you should invest in a soft pillow that is not too much inflated, more so if your mattress is of relatively low density. The only time you would require a raised pillow is if you are sleeping on a high-density mattress.
Elevating your head too high might cause discomfort, neck pains and headaches, and eventually, you might roll over to other position seeking comfort during your sleep. A good pillow will offer the right support to your neck throughout your sleep.
Invest in an appropriate mattress
Obtaining the right mattress is the key to comfort in your sleep. Mostly, sleeping on your back necessitates the right kind of support to your body. You cannot sleep on your back if you keep on sinking in the mattress as your back will strain, leading to pains. Therefore, you need to sleep on the right kind of a mattress to maintain the position without getting hurt.
A high-density mattress is the most appropriate for the back sleeping position. It helps keep your back aligned by offering sufficient support. Your muscles are never strained, so you expect to wake up refreshed. If you cannot afford this type of a mattress, then you can add toppers to your soft bed, and they will still serve the purpose.
Spread your legs and arms out
Unlike other sleeping positions like the side where you mostly keep your hands folded on the side, sleeping on your back requires you to stretch them out. When you spread them during your sleep, respective muscles stretch reducing pressure on them. If you regularly experience joint pains, you might consider stretching right before going to bed. You should stretch your legs, arms and hip flexors to not only prevent pains in the joints but also to avoid struggling before falling asleep which is caused by insomnia.
Place a pillow below your knees
Have you tried out these options to no avail? Well, this technique may eventually help you achieve sleeping on your back with minimal exertion. All you need to do is put a pillow under your knees while you sleep. The essence of the pillow is to raise your lower back thereby reducing chances of experiencing pains in your back.
The pillow will also prevent rolling over to the side since sleeping on your side or stomach is impractical with a raised lower back. As the pillow reduces pressure in your muscles by supporting your body curves, you can thence maintain a comfortable sleep on your back through the night.
Obtain a humidifier
Additionally, you can also get a humidifier to increase the efficiency of your sleep. While getting a humidifier may seem unconnected, it is crucial in facilitating comfort. You know that obstruction in the respiratory tract can lead to difficulty in breathing during sleep. That is the reason behind people snoring, and it is mainly caused by dry air around your sleeping place.
Sleeping on your back exposes you more to the dry air which increases chances of the obstruction. A humidifier provides regulated moisture to the air you breathe reducing irritation to the trachea.
Conclusion
However uncomfortable you might feel during your first days, you need to ensure consistency to adapt to the new sleeping position eventually. If in the middle of the night, you might find yourself having rolled to the side position. Make sure you return to the back position, and after a while, you will get comfortable.
How to Get Rid of Herbicide from Your Food
Almost every media outlet these days is preaching the need for people to adopt a vegan lifestyle.
Indeed, the dangers that eating meat and their products predisposes people to are innumerable. In this respect, diseases such as cancer, obesity, resistant worms, and many others that are attributable to meat eating are common in any locality.
But are aware of the newest killer in our kitchens that many would never think of? It is the vegetables and fruits that you and your loved ones are consuming.
You’ve heard of Glyphosate and its effects. It is deadly than what eating meat would expose you to. You might think that this is an old nanny tale meant to trash eating of healthy vegetables and instead continue with the unhealthy meat consumption. But it is the bitter truth that you have to accept.
The veggies that you eat might kill way faster than eating meat could have. Everything sounds wrong now, right? You are probably now asking yourself how does one escape from all this confusion about what to eat and what to avoid? Of cardinal importance is to understand first what the impact of consuming food that is contaminated by herbicides such as Glyphosate is.
Impact of herbicides in food
The most impactful herbicide to human health is Glyphosate, which is common in commercial sprays such as Roundup. The herbicide has a prolonged residue effect, and this makes it difficult to expel from the soil and the crops after spraying. Some of the common impacts to human health include:
- It makes one highly susceptible to attack by various allergens
- The herbicide also suppresses the immune system rendering one prone to attack by most common infections.
- The herbicide also leads to autism
- Cases have been reported of Glyphosate causing congenital disabilities in situations where the mother consumes a lot of contaminated vegetables.
The list of the negative implications of the herbicides is almost endless. This calls for a corrective action to be undertaken as quickly as possible; otherwise, many people will continue to suffer from the consumption of unhealthy vegetables. The following are some of the ways that can help you steer clear from the herbicides present in the many crops that people eat:-
Quit eating foods that are sprayed with herbicides
This is undoubtedly the primary way of avoiding consumption of the harmful toxins that are present in herbicides. Many manufacturers of the crop herbicides conduct tests on their products to ensure that they carry no health hazard to the consumers.
However, most of these manufacturers are never exhaustive in their analyses. Otherwise, the massive amounts of pesticides in food would be absent. The only safe way of staying healthy is to avoid consuming crops that have been sprayed with herbicides. Most countries have a law that mandates all sellers of fruits and vegetables to attach tags indicating the kind of pesticides that were used on the crops.
Among the kind of foods that you need to countercheck on their safety before consumption include maize, wheat, edible beans, and many other types of cereal that have been sprayed with herbicides during their growth. This doesn’t mean that all grains, fruits, and vegetables are potential health hazards. The healthy ones carry a Glyphosate free label to indicate that they were organically grown without the use of herbicides.
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Beware food stored using desiccants
You’ve come across fruits such as grapes and almonds as well as cereals such as rice being stored in desiccants to increase their shelf life. One of the ingredients found in the desiccants is Glyphosate, which is also one of the major herbicides. When fruits are stored under the desiccant media, there is a high likelihood of coming into contact with the chemical.
Once you consume such fruits even after washing them thoroughly, you directly ingest herbicides into your body. The results can be lethal if the chemicals pile up. You, therefore, need to avoid this contact. Instead of eating fruits that have been packed together with preservatives, source them directly from the farm. Also, ensure that they were grown organically.
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Avoid meat products
It sounds a misplaced idea that avoiding meat products can help you get rid of herbicides from your diet. However, it is in order given that many times, people are unaware of the kind of feeds that the slaughtered animals consumed. Many times, farmers use genetically modified crops to feed the animals. There is a high probability of the crops being sprayed with herbicides.
When the animals consume the plants, the toxins from the herbicides are retained in their bodies. Consumption of meat from such animals directly introduces the harmful chemicals to your body rendering it prone to the development of ailments such as cancer.
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Eat more probiotic foods
As much as you may try to avoid eating food contaminated with pesticides, it is almost impossible to keep off from consuming them unknowingly. Therefore, there’s a need to remove the accumulated Glyphosate from the body as its build-up weakens the system. Doing this is pretty easy. Your favorite fermented foods such as yogurt and apple cider vinegar are known probiotics that help to detoxify the accumulated herbicides such as Glyphosate from the body.
Most herbicides have an antibiotic property, and thus, the consumption of fermented products leads to a neutralizing effect of the harmful toxins in the body. Therefore, take yogurt or the probiotic product that is easily accessible to you often and your health in regard to eliminating toxins will improve.
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Consume manganese supplements
Manganese is a known chelating agent that binds to the surface of ligands such as those contained in herbicides. When you take manganese containing supplements, the metal ion combines with the Glyphosate in herbicides to form a metal complex that can be easily excreted from the body. This makes manganese a great detoxifier that can aid in minimizing the levels of the harmful chemicals in the body.
In a nutshell, the significance of the foods that you commonly consume in impacting your health cannot be overstated. What goes in your mouth determines your overall health. On this note, the consumption of vegetables is healthy for your health.
However, you need to be conscious of where the vegetables, fruits, cereals, and many other plant products that you consume are sourced. Avoid foods that are sprayed with herbicides and any other chemicals. The crops may not harm you instantly, but with time, the effects will pile up and eventually have a toll on your health. Therefore, countercheck on what you eat.
