While recliners are often used for comfort and medical recovery, prolonged or improper use is increasingly linked to several long-term health risks. Let’s examine some of the possible negative side effects:

1. Cardiovascular Strain and Poor Circulation 

Sitting in a recliner for extended periods can negatively impact your heart and blood vessels: 

• Reduced Circulation: Prolonged sitting with bent knees can restrict blood flow, particularly in the popliteal artery behind the knee. This may lead to Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)—blood clots that can be fatal if they travel to the lungs or heart.
• Cardiac Overload: Transitioning to a reclined position can cause fluid from the lower extremities to redistribute toward the chest, which may overwhelm the heart and lead to cardiac strain, especially in those with pre-existing heart failure.
• Increased Heart Risk: Recent 2025 research indicates that spending more than 10.6 hours a day in sedentary behavior—including reclining—is a threshold linked to higher risks of heart failure and cardiovascular mortality. 

2. Musculoskeletal and Postural Issues

Recliners often prioritize softness over structural support, leading to: 

• Muscle Atrophy: Relying on a recliner’s mechanical assist to stand or sit can lead to decreased muscle tone and functional capacity over time.
• Joint Stiffness and Contractures: Keeping knees and hips in a flexed (bent) position for long hours can lead to shortened hip flexors, permanent joint tightness (contractures), and a loss of balance that increases fall risks.
• Spinal Misalignment: Many recliners lack adequate lumbar support, encouraging a “slouched” posture that strains spinal ligaments and discs, potentially causing long-term back pain or nerve impingement. 

3. Impaired Metabolism and Organ Function 

• Metabolic Slowdown: In a reclined, inactive state, the body’s calorie-burning rate drops significantly, and enzymes that break down fats (lipids) can decrease by up to 90%, leading to weight gain and increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Digestive Interference: The slumped posture common in recliners can compress internal organs, potentially slowing digestion and leading to issues like constipation or bowel irritability.
• Respiratory Restriction: A hunched upper back in a recliner can block airflow to the lungs and cause blood congestion in the chest, reducing oxygen intake. 

To improve your physical health, aim to sit less and move more throughout the day, and when you do sit, try spending some of that time on the floor to engage your core and improve flexibility

Yes! Mushroom pizza anyone?

Eating shiitake mushrooms regularly is strongly linked to improved health and potential longevity because they support heart health. They promote wellness and longevity by lowering cholesterol, reducing inflammation, providing vital vitamin D, and protecting against age-related cognitive decline. 

Key health benefits and longevity factors associated with shiitake mushrooms include: 

• Immune System Enhancement: Compounds like lentinan and beta-glucans in shiitake enhance the activity of immune cells, helping the body fight infections and diseases.
• Heart Health Support: Shiitake mushrooms contain eritadenine and soluble fiber, which help control cholesterol levels. They are also a source of potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure.
• Rich in Nutrients: They are an excellent source of vitamin D2 (when exposed to sunlight), copper, selenium, and B vitamins.
• Anti-Aging and Cognitive Protection: Studies suggest that eating mushrooms, including shiitake, may protect against cognitive decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease due to high antioxidant content.
• Cancer Fighting Potential: Components in shiitake mushrooms, such as beta-glucans, have been shown to help stop the growth of certain types of cancer and mitigate side effects from treatments.
• Reduced Mortality Risk: Long-term consumption of mushrooms is associated with lower all-cause mortality, contributing to overall longevity. 

Considerations: While beneficial, some individuals may experience skin irritation or gastrointestinal discomfort (shiitake dermatitis) if eaten raw or in excessive amounts. It is recommended to consume them cooked. 

Are the people in your life that you are closest to you helping or hurting your health and wellness?

Having healthy friends enhances wellness and longevity by fostering positive behavioral, emotional, and physical changes, reducing premature death risk by up to 50%. They encourage healthier lifestyles, better diets, increased exercise, less smoking—and provide emotional support that lowers stress, reduces inflammation, and strengthens immune responses, ultimately leading to a lower biological age. 

Research into “social contagion” supports the idea that health habits spread through networks similarly to viruses: 

• Obesity: A landmark study from the Framingham Heart Study found that if a friend becomes obese, your own risk of obesity increases by 45%.
• Smoking: If a close friend smokes, you are 61% more likely to be a smoker yourself.
• Happiness: Happiness is also contagious; having a happy friend increases your own likelihood of happiness by roughly 9%, whereas an unhappy friend only drags it down by about 7%.
• Exercise: Large-scale studies show that when your friends exercise more, you are significantly more likely to increase your own activity levels.

Key Ways Healthy Friends Improve Wellness and Longevity:

• Behavioral Influence (Social Contagion): Friends with healthy habits encourage similar behaviors. People with fit social circles are more likely to exercise, maintain a healthy body mass index, and avoid smoking or excessive alcohol consumption.
• Reduced Stress and Better Physiology: Positive social interactions lower stress hormones like cortisol and reduce inflammation, which protects against heart disease and dementia.
• Enhanced Immune Function: Strong social bonds increase the production of antibodies and boost immune cells, helping the body fight diseases more effectively.
• Mental and Emotional Resilience: Friends provide companionship that acts as a buffer against depression, anxiety, and loneliness, fostering a sense of purpose and self-worth.
• Faster Recovery and Survival: Studies show that individuals with strong social networks have higher survival rates for serious illnesses, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
• Longer Lifespan: A meta-analysis revealed that weak social connections are as detrimental to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making strong friendships a significant factor in longevity. 

Essentially, being surrounded by healthy, supportive, and active people creates a “social scaffolding” that makes sustaining a healthy lifestyle easier and more enjoyable. 

Have you ever practiced the tree pose? It has many vaulable benefits!

The tree pose (Vrksasana) enhances wellness and longevity by improving balance, strengthening core and leg muscles (ankles, calves, thighs), and increasing mental focus. It promotes longevity by combating age-related decline in stability, which is a key predictor of life expectancy, and helps prevent falls. 

Key Benefits for Wellness and Longevity:

• Improved Balance and Stability: As a single-leg pose, it strengthens the muscles and joints of the feet and ankles, crucial for maintaining stability as you age.
• Physical Strength: It tones and strengthens the entire lower body and engages the core, promoting better posture and spinal alignment.
• Mental Focus and Calm: The pose requires focusing on a single point (drishti) and steady breathing, which reduces stress and enhances mental concentration.
• Flexibility: It gently opens the hips, groin, and shoulders, improving overall mobility.
• Longevity Link: Research indicates that the ability to stand on one leg is strongly linked to reduced mortality risk, with inability to do so correlating with a higher risk of death. 

Tips for Practice:

• Modify: Use a wall for support and keep the foot on the calf or ankle instead of the inner thigh to begin.
• Focus: Fix your gaze on a non-moving object to enhance balance and concentration.
• Engage: Press the standing foot firmly into the ground to build a solid foundation. 

Shutting off social media a few hours before bedtime is highly beneficial for wellness and longevity because it mitigates the negative impacts of blue light on sleep cycles, reduces psychological stimulation (stress/anxiety), and allows the brain to enter a state of restful, restorative calm. By fostering better sleep quality, which is essential for immune function, cognitive repair, and mental health, this habit helps prevent chronic illnesses and contributes to overall longevity. 

Let’s look deeper at why this practice supports wellness and longevity:

1. Protects Sleep Quality and Circadian Rhythms (Biological Health) 

• Melatonin Regulation: Screens on smartphones and tablets emit blue light that mimics daylight, which signals the brain to suppress the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep-wake cycles.
• Combating “Biological Insomnia”: Studies show that using screens within 2 hours of bedtime can significantly reduce the melatonin surge needed to fall asleep, with one study indicating this creates a form of biological insomnia.
• Better Sleep Architecture: Limiting blue light exposure, particularly 30–60 minutes before bed, improves sleep quality, specifically increasing the ratio of deep, restorative sleep. 

2. Reduces Mental Stimulation and “Doomscrolling” (Psychological Health) 

• Lowers Cortisol and Anxiety: Social media feeds often contain distressing news or curated images that trigger negative emotions, such as social comparison, fear of missing out (FOMO), or anxiety, which directly hinder the ability to fall asleep.
• Stops Cognitive Arousal: Engaging with interactive content keeps the brain alert, while cutting it off allows for the necessary mental downshift. Passive activities, like reading a book, are less likely to keep the mind buzzing, say experts.
• Reverses “Brain Rot”: A break allows the brain’s dopamine system, often overstimulated by endless scrolling and notifications, to reset, which is crucial for reducing chronic stress. 

3. Fosters Long-Term Physical Health and Longevity 

• Reduces Chronic Illness Risk: Poor sleep is linked to serious, long-term health problems, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and cognitive decline.
• Improved Cognitive Function: Short-term digital detoxes, including limiting nighttime use, can improve attention spans and reverse some aspects of age-related cognitive decline.
• Lowered Inflammation: Better sleep hygiene reduces the need for pharmaceutical sleep aids and lowers the oxidative stress and inflammation that impair immune function. 

4. Improves Mental Well-being 

• Reduced Anxiety and Depression: Studies have found that a short-term reduction in social media use (specifically, a detox) resulted in a 16% reduction in anxiety symptoms, 24% decrease in depression, and 14.5% decrease in insomnia.
• Increased Mindfulness: Removing the compulsion to check social media allows the mind to enter a state of relaxation and mental clarity. 

Recommendations for Implementation

• One-to-Two Hour Buffer: Experts suggest turning off all screens at least 30–60 minutes before bed, and ideally two hours if you struggle with sleep.
• Charge Outside the Bedroom: Keep phones and tablets out of the bedroom to remove the temptation to scroll in bed, which is a common cause of insomnia.
• Replace with Low-Stimulation Activities: Swap the phone for a book, light stretching, yoga, or a warm bath.