Protecting Healthy Skin With Outdoor Shading

Incidence of melanomas and carcinomas of the skin continue to increase all over the world. Part of the reason is due to the increased proportion of elderly who are more susceptible to cancer in general. In addition, there seems to be anecdotal evidence that changing patterns of nutrition and diet contribute to increased incidence. What is not contested is that excessive exposure to the sun can drive the kinds of genetic damage thought to underlie cancer.

The chemical way of blocking cancer is to slather the surface of the skin with a sunblock agent that absorbs or reflects UV radiation. Ironically, application of these products may cause other kinds of skin-related problems especially in people with heightened sensitivity. A popular alternative is to ensure good shading either through clothing or through outdoor shading.

For the home, adding some sort of exterior shade generates three kinds of benefits. The addition of shades increases the resale value of real estate in a material way. Also, shades improve quality of life by increasing space for entertainment. Finally, exterior shades are beneficial from the health point of view for shielding against UV rays.

The diversity of possible outdoor shades means that there’s a choice for any price, labor or material requirement. Some shades are temporary, easy and cheap. Others are permanent, bulky and expensive. The trade-off naturally for cheap shades is durability and functionality. Expensive shades will tend to last longer, add more value to the home, and protect the home occupants or guests under a greater variety of conditions.

Examples of portable shades include the portable pool cabana which can be placed near a pool and provides privacy with its walls. Another popular pool accessory is the classic pool umbrella that can be erected near a table. Portable awnings and portable canopies are two further examples. One caveat is to keep in mind is that canopies do come in very large sizes and can be quite expensive.

Examples of fixed shades include awnings that can be fitted over windows to provide shade to both protect people outside but also to shield against light coming into the house. Pergolas and arbors are installed in gardens that provide incomplete shading, i.e. some light still filters through the top. Generally pergolas and arbors don’t have fabric but fabric may be added in creative ways. A gazebo is another popular free-standing structure for shade.

The lower bound on prices for outdoor shades is less than a hundred dollars, but the upper bound is really sky high. For example a gazebo system or even a motorized retractable awning with weather sensors can cost thousands or tens of thousands. In spite of the high prices, many would concur with the assessment that protecting loved ones from cancer-causing solar radiation is invaluable and can’t be priced.

Niche detail resources on outdoor shading for home are available. Readers wanting to understand more can head over to learn about awnings for homes.

End Back Pain While Working At Your Desk With A Balance Ball Chair

Does your back ache at the end of the day? Most of us, who work in offices, would say yes. In fact, sitting at our desks may be the most common reason for backaches. Many exercise gurus would advise us to keep our core muscles strong to maintain good posture and prevent backaches. But who really has time to exercise?

Lower back pain is often caused by sitting for hours, especially with a bad posture, and by having weak core muscles. Developing these muscles is the key to improving our posture and eventually getting rid of the pain in our lower backs.

The core muscles are the muscles found in our abdomen, hips, back, and pelvis. Doing crunches is not enough to develop all these muscles. So having six-packs do not, necessarily, mean we have strong cores nor does the absence of distinct six-packs mean we have weak core muscles. Most of the core muscles lie beneath the six-pack muscles so their improvement is not really seen by the naked eye.

So, does this mean we have to do lots of exercises to get rid of our back pain? The funny thing is that it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, we can do our exercises without taking time from our daily tasks and even do it without us thinking about it.

The chair is simply a balance ball with a frame to keep it from rolling away and dropping us on the floor. This still allows us to unconsciously exercise during work while providing safety that a plain yoga ball in the office cannot provide. In addition, the ball is removable so it can be used in other exercises.

In addition, the ball is removable, so it also allows us to use it like any other exercise ball to help us further improve our core.

The balanceball chair can be bought for $64.95 to $83.98 at many popular stores online.

Looking for a ball chair ergonomic style for your office? Check out our guide on how to use an exercise ball ergonomic chair before you buy one.

Myth Buster: More Motors Make a Massage Chair Better

There is a massage chair myth that has been permeated through time about the number of motors. This myth claims that the more motors contained in the massage chair, the better the massage chair. At the height of this myth, companies were claiming to have more and more motors in their massage chairs. The thought being that with more motors, the massage is greatly enhanced. Claims were made to have a massage chair with 6, 8 and even 18 motors. Of course, having more motors could enable more varied movements in the shiatsu massage chairs, but is this actually true?

The more motors the better the chair myth is going to be put to the myth buster test. Obviously, having more motors enables more massage options to be possible. Motors are not cheap, in fact they are expensive. Immediately, there is a quality versus quantity tradeoff. Having 18 motors versus 3 motors would make the cost of the 18 motor chair skyrocket, if they use the same quality motor. First concern is the quality level of motors in a massage chair with 18 motors.

Space is another constraint like in any product. Motors used in shiatsu massage chairs are not small motors and must be allocated space. As the number of motors increases, then more mechanisms must be installed around each motor taking up more space. Motors weigh from 2 lbs to 5 lbs each. A massage chair having 3 motors would have 6 lbs in motor weight, whereas, as a massage chair having 18 motors would have 36 lbs each or if 5 lbs each 90 lbs, just in motors. More motors equal more weight.

How are high end luxury massage chairs designed with motors? Most manufacturers use 3 high quality motors. One for the kneading massage, one for the tapping massage and the third motor for moving the roller unit up and down. Software synchronizes the movements of the motors and running the tapping and kneading motors together produces the shiatsu massage.

Sometimes, 2 motors are used for the kneading by having them run the left and right side independently, but synchronized. The same can be done with the tapping. This can increase the number of motors to 5 in the roller system, but does the quality of massage increase? In our experience, we have not felt a noticeable difference in massage. Again, the tradeoff is to use cheaper motors since you need to have 2 rather than one or significantly increase the price, which puts the chair at a competitive disadvantage. So are more motors better?

Some massage chair companies started this fad and some how it caught on and became perpertuated into myth. We still see massage chair companies hyping that they have 12 or 15 motors. It is obvious that these motors cannot all drive the massage mechanisms. These companies think that if it moves, we can count it as a motor. Having motors is not enough, what do they actually do? This is a myth built on hype and unsubstantiated facts. Why would someone want an overly complex chair with low quality motors? Simple is the elegant solution.