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6 Unique Places to Visit in Washington State

Because it’s home to both Bigfoot and the highest rate of UFO sightings in the nation, it’s no wonder Washington State is a hotbed of strange and unique travel destinations. Millions of tourists visit Washington State each year, all of them clamoring for the area’s natural beauty and diverse geography. However, some of them are looking for something more.

Whether you want to get your bearings with a leisurely hike, defy gravity, or sift through museum-like curios and curiosities, this destination delivers. Once you’re done with the top tourist attractions in Washington State, head off the beaten path to check out these six unique oddities!

1. Point Roberts

If you’re looking for an unusual gem, Point Roberts is the place to go. This town is on the southern end of Canada’s Tsawwassen peninsula, but it’s still considered part of Washington State. In other words, you’ll have to cross into Canada to get there!

2. Twin Sisters

If you’re a fan of hiking, take a trip out to Twin Sisters Rock. Popular among Washington State tourism opportunities, this one-mile round trip makes for an easy walk, but the destination itself is both beautiful and fascinating. Though erosion is what created these pillars, there are plenty of local legends that claim otherwise.

3. Beacon Rock

When you’re ready for more of a hiking challenge, Beacon Rock is the best and most unique choice. This natural monolith is located along the Columbia River Gorge, and it features a stunning panoramic view at the top. With plenty of guardrails, bridges, and switchbacks, it’s a safe hike for even beginner hikers.

4. Ye Olde Curiosity Shop

Open since 1899, this unusual shop is located on Pier 54 in Seattle. If you’re looking for souvenirs, you’re in the right place: there are plenty of shot glasses, magnets, t-shirts, and more.

However, what makes this iconic store stand out are the curiosities and curios placed around the store. From shrunken heads and mummies to fortune teller machines and four-legged hens, this shop has it all.

If you’re coming from your earlier hiking trips, make sure to find a good place to keep your RV. For reliable storage in Kitsap County, check out this article.

5. Seattle Metaphysical Library

While you’re in Seattle, you may want to see the full spectrum of tourist destinations in Washington State and get your fill of the city’s oddities. One of them is the Seattle Metaphysical Library, formerly the As You Like It Library. This independent bookseller exists in an unmarked basement in northwest Seattle, and its extensive book list includes everything from alchemy to UFOs.

6. Gravity Hill

If you want something to brag about once you’re done with your tour of Washington State, defying gravity is a safe bet! Head out to Prosser to find this strange phenomenon.

Gravity Hill allows drivers to put their car in neutral in order to roll uphill. While some say the feat is an optical illusion, testing the elevation has proven that the road does in fact incline!

Plan Your Visit to Washington State

When you visit Washington State, you get to enjoy the area’s pristine beauty, extensive history, and the curiosities scattered around the state. With this list of unusual tourist attractions, Washington State is the clear winner for any vacationer hoping to get off the beaten path. Start planning your visit today!

Want more of the fun and helpful guides you need? Check out our other posts to learn more.

5 Things Customers Can’t Stand (and How To Avoid Them)

Regardless of how perfect you might think your businesses, chances are there are places that you can make improvements. There are some things that customers just can’t stand that you might even realize you’re doing. Take a look at some of the most common things that drive customers away and how you can avoid them.

Wasting Time

Today people expect instant gratification —they want what they want when they want it. Unsurprisingly listed as one of the top reasons why customers are willing to walk away from a business is wasting time. Whether it’s waiting in line or having to find an ATM because your store only accepts cash, customers don’t like to lose time.

Make sure that your processes and methods are up to par in every area of your business. That means things like restocking products as soon as possible and having enough employees on board during busy times. If you make your customers wait too long for too often, or there’s too much friction in your checkout process, eventually, they’ll stop coming back.

Bare Minimum

As a business, it may seem straightforward. A customer pays you for something, and you give them what they paid for. However, delivering the bare minimum isn’t enough anymore. Customers expected to receive what you promise and then some. If you truly want to beat the competition, then you have to be willing to go above and beyond.

Not Getting Back To Them

Getting back to your customers should be a number one priority. However, as many as one out of three businesses take longer than 72 hours to return to client questions and concerns. This is about 36 hours too long. If you don’t have the manpower to be able to take in and reply to all of your customer messages and calls, then it’s time to start outsourcing to someone else.

Time isn’t just money for you as a business. It’s also time for your customers. Don’t waste their time and by taking too long to return their calls or emails.

Over-Selling

Don’t make the error of going overboard when it comes to trying to get your customers to buy more. There’s a fine line between trying to upsell and just plain overselling. Your customers are sick and tired of spam emails, too many calls, or not being able to get off the phone with your representatives.

Remember, clients, are people —the idea is to serve them, not try to push them into what they don’t want. Don’t be too aggressive in your sales pitches, or your customers will hate you for it.

Dishonesty

If there’s one surefire way to lose a customer forever, it’s being sneaky or dishonest. It’s important to be as transparent as possible with your customers if you hope for them to be loyal. Make sure that you are always honest in your dealings with them and answer any questions they have with total honesty.

Otherwise, you’re just one unfavorable online review away from getting a bad reputation.

THC and Serotonin: What’s the Connection?

Our brains are a delicate system of neurochemicals. Those chemicals balance with whatever we introduce into our systems. The balance of those factors can determine our sense of wellness, state of mind, and ability to function physically.

One important factor in all of that is a neurotransmitter called serotonin. People think of serotonin as the “happiness chemical,” although it’s much more than that. It also has a unique relationship with THC.

The relationship between THC and serotonin is what makes cannabis so interesting. We’re going to take a look at the combination these two chemicals, what it does in the human brain, and why it’s important to understand.

We hope the ideas below can give you a better sense of how cannabis can make you feel a little better if you use it intelligently. We’ll explore the basic ideas of serotonin and THC before we look at how they’re related.

Let’s get started.

Understanding Serotonin

Neurotransmitters are important in communication between different parts of our bodies. The nerve cells in our bodies send messages to and from our brains and allow us to function in extremely complex ways.

Most of the time, we’re not even remotely aware of the things our bodies are doing to maintain themselves. You’re not consciously telling your stomach to digest food, for example, but your brain certainly is.

At the root of those processes are neurons that run through the entirety of the body. The nervous system is the information highway of your being and neurons serve as links in the chain of messages your brain uses to help you function.

The messages that neurons send and receive are carried by neurotransmitters.

There are roughly fifty known neurotransmitters in our bodies. Each of them prompts a different chain reaction when they’re expressed. It isn’t as if serotonin just causes relaxation or happiness.

Instead, serotonin leads the nervous system to produce more of a specific hormone that causes the experience of happiness. Serotonin also helps with sleep, digestion, bone health, and more.

Difficulties with Serotonin

Many people experience issues with serotonin and the corresponding health issues that come as a result.

Serotonin is a naturally occurring chemical within the body. In a healthy person, serotonin levels should be normal and sustain themselves based on a healthy diet and regular activity.

Naturally, everyone is different and has different resting levels of serotonin. So, one person who exercises and eats healthy might have less serotonin than someone who doesn’t take care of themself very well.

The production of serotonin is based on a couple of factors. One of those is the presence of an essential amino acid called tryptophan. Essential amino acids are those that our bodies don’t produce naturally and are required through our diets.

We’re responsible for getting enough amino acids into our diets. If we don’t, we can’t produce enough serotonin. When our serotonin is low, a number of things can go wrong.

The most notable and well-known issue that comes from low serotonin is depression. It’s important to note that serotonin issues also contribute to most other mental health disorders.

Low serotonin also leads to many other bodily issues. These factors don’t necessarily cause depression or mental illness, although the effects of low serotonin can start a chain reaction that does produce depression.

Making Sense of THC

THC, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol, is the most prominent psychoactive piece of the cannabis plant.

THC is one of the hundreds of cannabinoids present in any given strain of cannabis. It’s the cannabinoids and terpenes that give different strains their flavor, mental effect, look, and general variety.

THC and CBD are the best-known cannabinoids because they’re the two most prominent in cannabis. THC operates in a way that produces mental euphoria, happiness, focus, clarity, and many other effects. The strength and presence of those effects depend on the strain, the person, and the method of use.

CBD is known for providing relaxation, pain relief, anxiety relief, and more. Both of these cannabinoids are regularly extracted and used as concentrates. These concentrates provide a much stronger effect than is found in the traditional plant.

That said, concentrating a single cannabinoid and stripping it of the other cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis might take away some of the potential benefits.

How Cannabinoids Interact with The Body

Cannabinoids engage with something called the endocannabinoid system. This system strings through our body and plays a big role in the areas of mood, memory, appetite, and pain.

You might recognize that those areas are the specific ones that cannabis is known to have an effect on. The endocannabinoid system is known to function in a similar way to the rest of the nervous system.

That means that neurons communicate different messages based on the stimulus coming in and the hormones present. The way that neurotransmitters are expressed is through little receptors in the neurons.

There are sending receptors and receiving receptors. In the case of the endocannabinoid system, these are called CB1 and CB2.

CB1 and CB2

These two receptors are integral to the way that the endocannabinoid system interacts with cannabis.

CB1 receptors are known to express themselves primarily throughout our central nervous systems and the brain. CB2 receptors express themselves through anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body. CB2 is also associated with a number of other physical effects that don’t deal so much with the mind.

THC is known to engage primarily with CB1 receptors. This is why the experience of highness and euphoria are caused by THC. When you consume THC products, that cannabinoid enters your bloodstream finds its way to the CB1 receptors throughout your endocannabinoid system.

As they make their way, most of those cannabinoids engage somewhere in or around the brain. CBD, on the other hand, binds to CB2 receptors.

That’s why CBD products are so associated with pain relief, relaxation, and physical recovery. The other cannabinoids present in cannabis products aren’t as heavily studied, and it’s thought that they’re not as important to the effects of cannabis.

The Relationship Between THC and Serotonin

So, we know that our mood is heavily affected by the neurotransmitter serotonin. We also know that THC enters our body and interacts with CB1 receptors that are present in our brains.

It’s important to note that neurons are complex little links in our chain. They’re home to a number of receptors and are able to produce and express numerous neurotransmitters. The same neurons that have CB1 receptors have serotonin receptors.

One of the interesting things about things like cannabinoids in the system is that the use of some receptors has an impact on others. The difficult thing is understanding that complex process.

There may be a few people who understand the dynamics of neurotransmitters very intimately, but an analogy will work just fine for our purposes.

Neuromarching Band

Think of a single neuron and its various chemicals as a drum corps marching band.

These bands typically play in the middle of stadiums, marching in complex patterns that always seem to weave together in confusing ways. There might be three lines of trumpeters walking in swirling circles, while eighteen tuba players weave in between them and nobody ever brushes shoulders with anyone else.

Think of these marchers as neurotransmitters moving in and out of the different receptors.

It’s a delicate system and it works in ways that the band only understands. Let’s imagine you were watching a drum corps do their performance from above. You reach down and pick up one row of trumpeters and replace them with another row of people playing different instruments.

This new group of players is like the THC you introduce to the system. They can play the same songs as the previous group, but they might play a lot differently.

Your perception can be thought of as the audience in this example. The introduction of new players might be a welcomed improvement, or it could make the performance terrible.

In some cases, drugs like THC make a person feel extremely beautiful, almost religious experiences. In other cases, it sends them into a very painful spiral that wouldn’t be possible without the addition of new neurotransmitters.

We Don’t Know The Exact Reasons

The unfortunate thing is that there isn’t a perfect explanation as to why THC produces serotonin in people.

We know that it does happen, though, and long-term use of cannabis might actually even out the levels of serotonin in a way that helps them improve health issues. Issues with sleep, depression, digestion, and more might all be benefited, even cured in some cases through the use of THC.

One theory, though, is that THC stifles neurochemicals that inhibit the production of serotonin. A normally-functioning nervous system has checks and balances that keep all of its transmitters present in healthy amounts.

The presence of some transmitters might reduce the ability of other transmitters to express themselves. We can imagine that if some people have too much or too little serotonin, they can also have too much of the transmitter that inhibits serotonin.

That would lead to a shortage of serotonin expressed throughout the person’s body. There’s a good chance that when THC binds to CB1, it effectively blocks up the chemical that keeps serotonin from expressing itself.

The result is the expression of a lot more serotonin, and a lot more happy feelings.

If we use our marching band example, it’s like the tuba players are the chemical that inhibits serotonin. The trumpets are serotonin.

Let’s say you can’t hear the trumpets over the loud tubas. When we swap out the tuba line for the new members of the band, the trumpets are able to ring out loud and clear.

It’s not that the new members (THC) are trumpet players (serotonin), it’s just that they keep the tubas (serotonin inhibitors) from playing over the trumpets.

Understanding The Lived Experience

When it comes to using THC, the experience of serotonin and numerous other neurotransmitters is evident. Almost immediately after smoking cannabis, a person feels the effects of the process coming on.

Having a little background knowledge about how your body is producing feelings of “highness” or relaxation can be helpful to you. This is especially true if you’re trying to treat an illness or fine-tune the experiences you’re having with cannabis or cannabis derivatives like Delta-8.

It might help to learn more about the processes involved in the other medicines you’re using and how they interact with your neurons. If you want to learn more about cannabis derivatives like delta-8, you can get more information from 3chi.com

Does THC Cure Depression?

The unfortunate thing about the ideas above is that they don’t really suggest that THC cures anything or makes you happy.

Sure, serotonin is produced in greater measure when a person uses THC. That said, there’s a huge network of chemicals, personal habits, and more that lead to a person’s state of mind.

Additionally, you could be booming with serotonin and still be perfectly sad, depending on who you are. The effects of THC on the brain and body follow some patterns, but they’re ultimately dependent on the person using the drug itself.

If your serotonin levels are an issue, though, cannabis or THC products might be an excellent way to get them back into balance. There are different ways to approach using cannabis in this way. It’s important that you discuss your options with a medical professional.

Everyone responds differently as well, so there’s shame in deciding that cannabis or derivatives aren’t for you.

Want to Learn More about THC and The Brain?

Hopefully, our look at THC and serotonin was useful to you. There’s a lot more to learn about how THC can help us improve our state of mind and heal the body, though, and we’re here to help.

Explore our site for more insight into cannabis, THC, the brain, and a whole lot more.

Interesting ways the pandemic has reshaped business activities

Barely a day passes without the news being hit with headlines about coronavirus. The virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, towards the end of 2019. It has since become a global health crisis, having spread to other countries, infecting millions, and killing most of its victims.

Even as governments tried their best to put in measures to protect their people, the media coverage of the virus caused a lot of anxiety. Face masks are the new walking billboards, with social gatherings becoming rare. As we knew, life has significantly changed as we try to coexist with the virus.

Businesses have not been spared either. The pandemic has brought unexpected variables that existing crisis teams and plans were not fully prepared to handle. Though many companies have now come up with effective strategies specific to the pandemic, there is no denying that the pandemic has reshaped business activities.

Workforce

The following are the five workforce areas that emerged as priorities for business leaders;-

  • Ensure the continuity of work
  • Employee protection
  • Maintain effective communication even during a global pandemic
  • Assessment of workforce costs

When the pandemic first hit, most governments imposed lockdowns restricting people’s movement. Social gatherings were prohibited, and people were advised to remain at home unless it is necessary. With most businesses have to cut down their operations or close down altogether, a majority of people found themselves jobless in the middle of a pandemic.

As for companies that continued operating, things were not as usual. Anyone who could work remotely was advised to do so from the comfort of their house. An employee could only report to the office only if it were necessary.

Furthermore, the management had to develop contingency plans to ensure their workers remained healthy. The working space has to be reorganized to ensure a distance of at least 1.5 meters was maintained between employees. Individuals at the office had to sanitize or wash their hands frequently.

Even with the pandemic, effective communication between employees and the management had to be maintained. And since meetings could not be held, teleconferencing became the norm. Office meetings were now held via Zoom, Google Meet, or any other similar app.

That forced businesses to create more technology-friendly working environments. Network connectivity had to be improved, and employees were trained on adopting technology to facilitate their work.

Though these were tough economic times, companies recruited new employees, either due to an increased workload or to replace sick workers; the recruiting team had to get creative. With physical applications being out of the question, mobile recruiting software became the trend.

Mobile recruitment involves mobile career pages, ads, and applications to find a suitable candidate for the job. Tasks such as scheduling interviews, providing feedback, and communicating with candidates can be handled remotely.

Conferences

The pandemic saw almost all significant conferences canceled due to concerns over the virus. A perfect example is the Mobile World Congress that was to take place in Barcelona in late February 2020. Facebook canceled its Global Marketing Summit and F8 developer conference, while Google shifted its Good Cloud Next event online. Likewise, IBM was forced to stream its developer’s conference, with only 30,000 attendees.

Though some of the conferences eventually took place online, there is a concern that the experience was not the same as a live one. Besides, people did not interact as they do in face-to-face meetings, making it almost impossible to network and create new opportunities for their businesses.

Operations and Supply Chain

This is perhaps the clearest and most immediate impact of the pandemic. Companies with a limited raw material inventory and heavy reliance on Asian countries experienced the highest disruption level. Tools and hardware, building materials, electronics and appliances, and auto parts were the most affected.

Having originated in China, the world’s second economy and leading manufacturer and importer of fuel, several citizens were infected and forced into quarantine. This led to the partial and full closure of major factories and plants.

Companies that depended on these industries experienced shortages in raw materials, resulting in reduced production units. For example, when Foxconn shut down most of its production in China, Apple experienced a shortage of its iPhone supply. That resulted in a 10% decline in iPhone shipments in the first quarter of 2020.

Most businesses have learned in the hard way to look beyond their first-tier suppliers. However, the pandemic has proven that having multiple suppliers may not be the solution. For example, in the light of travel bans and lockdowns, it was almost impossible for goods to cross to the neighboring country, let alone from one continent to the next.

Therefore, the best thing is for business to identify their supply chain risks and pre-emptively develop mitigation approaches. Analysts say that those with effective mitigation measures find a solution or can at least minimize the impact. However, those without a plan are left at the mercy of the pandemic and the public.

Finance and Liquidity

The pandemic saw companies report a decline in business activities, resulting in reduced revenue and cash flow. This meant that maintaining normal business operations became an uphill task.

During such times of economic uncertainty, managing funds and liquidity positions became crucial. Steps taken by most businesses include but not limited to;-

  • With the modeling of worst-case scenarios to determine the current cash position’s impact, frequent revision became mandatory.
  • Identification of the financial and operational levers that can conserve and generate money or potentially increase access to funding; for example, companies that realized they had too much office space as people continued to work remotely could lease some of the room. Austin startup office space made it easier for new and small businesses to start operations even in the middle of a pandemic.
  • Assess the financial prospects from tax reliefs and other local measures taken to help a business survive the harsh economic times
  • Comprehend and plan for the financial reporting considerations that will be a consequence of the pandemic

Strategy and Brand

In the light of the pandemic, businesses had to develop strategies to help mitigate the pandemic’s impact on their brand and operations. The ultimate goal was to ensure enterprises emerge stronger than ever before.

Admittedly, a shift to remote working revealed gaps in IT infrastructure, employee digital skills, and workforce planning. Consequently, companies have to adopt fresh strategies to accelerate these digital transformations.

Besides, companies have been forced to go back to the drawing board to develop strategies to ensure growth and profitability in the middle of a pandemic. Adequate preparedness is the new motto for most businesses, through more frequent financial modeling to boost resilience, scenario planning, and new models to incorporate the unexpected’s economic impacts.

Consumer needs, preferences, and requests changed significantly during the pandemic, probably due to a shift in income or ease of accessibility. Analysts advised companies to take customers’ pulse, considering their long-term changes in core markets and business models due to the pandemic.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the coronavirus pandemic reshaped every aspect of our lives. Businesses were not spared; either had had to either shape up or shape out. Without much of an option, most companies had to adopt new strategies.

The good news is that a vaccine has been found for the virus and is already in distribution. As economies and businesses transition into a recovery period, the biggest question lies in whether the changes adopted during the pandemic will continue or people will go back to their old ways.

Your Guide to Starting An E-Commerce Business

Did you know there are between 12 to 24 million eCommerce businesses across the internet?

Based on these numbers, there is a lot of competition among online stores. If you’re ready to get into the e-commerce game, it’s important your business can stay ahead of the competition.

If you want to create an online store, you came to the right place. Read on to learn how to start an e-commerce business.

What Is E-Commerce?

If you want to start an e-commerce business, the first thing you need to do is to become familiar with the term. Also known as electronic or internet stores, e-commerce is a business model for buying and selling products.

The purpose of e-commerce is for people to acquire goods without visiting a physical store—both the seller and consumer benefit from e-commerce businesses due to the convenience and availability of goods.

Are You Planning on Starting an E-Commerce Business?

Because e-commerce businesses don’t require you to have a physical location, it’s easier for many people to start an online store. While you might not need to rent out a physical store location, which is a big expense, you still have other significant start-up costs.

The most common start-up costs include a business license, web design, e-commerce platform, payment processing, etc.

Also, before you start an e-commerce business, ensure you have the answers to these questions.

What are you selling? How Will you source your products? Who is your target audience?

Once you have the answers to these questions and estimate your start-up costs, you can start by putting a plan in motion.

Start by making the goals for your online business SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

Steps to Take to Launch an E-Commerce Business

Now that you have a better understanding of what e-commerce is and the initial planning, you can move on to the next step. This checklist will help you in the next steps of planning.

What Is Your Niche?

E-commerce is a broad concept, so if you want to start a business, you need to narrow it down to what you want to sell. Before choosing a color scheme for your website, you need to narrow down what your niche will be.

For example, if you want to sell organic beauty products, this concept can be quite broad. However, selling organic beauty products that contain CBD is a lot more specific.

Having a clear niche will help you in the marketing process in the future.

Choose the Right Business Model

Once you have a clear niche, you need to choose the right business model for your e-commerce business. Some of the most common business models include B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C.

Business to business or B2B is a business model in which a business provides goods to another business and not to a consumer.

In a business-to-consumer or B2C business model, the business providers goods to the consumer. An example of a B2C is Amazon.

Consumer to business or C2B, on the other hand, refers to a business model in which the consumer provides a product or service to a business. Social media managers, content strategists, and content creators are examples of a C2B business model.

Consumer to consumer or C2C refers to goods or services exchanged between consumers.

Choosing the Products for Your Target Audience

When setting up an e-commerce business, the next step is to choose the products you will sell based on your target audience. Answer these questions to decide the types of products your e-commerce business will feature.

What are your company values? What does your company stand for? Who are your customers?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you will know how to market your online store. Establishing a solid brand and business concept is how you will present your business to the world.

Create an Online Store

Once you have established a niche, target audience, products, and brand concept, you’re ready for the fun part.

You cannot sell products from your website without building an online store. It’s important to add an online store to your website, or you won’t be able to sell products.

Online stores have special features that allow you to display your products, add to the cart, and help customers check out.

During this process, you will choose a template, logo, and layout of your online store. While many platforms allow you to do it yourself, you can pay a designer if you want a more complex and professional design.

You can also try sitecore and e-commerce growth if you are new to e-commerce.

Focus on Attracting Customers to Your Store

Your e-commerce business needs to attract customers to succeed, so attracting customers should be high on your list of priorities.

There are many ways to attract new customers to your online store, such as organic traffic, social media leads, and pay-per-click advertising.

The different ways you can advertise and attract customers to your e-commerce business will also depend on your budget. Although there many benefits to attracting customers organically, it also takes a lot longer.

You might be able to see results faster if you pay for ads to bring exposure to your online store.

No matter how you choose to attract customers, ensure, you can measure your results in real-time.

Market Your Products

Marketing your products is another way to create exposure and attract more traffic to your site.

Start by measuring how well your products are selling, and If you noticed sales are stagnant on some of your products, you could benefit from changing your marketing strategy.

Taking actionable steps to increase your sales will help you stay on top of your low-performing products.

Are You Ready to Start an E-Commerce Business?

Now that you know what it takes to create an e-commerce store, you’re ready to launch your online store.

If you’re ready to set up your online business, remember to start by choosing your niche, choosing the right business model, create an online store, and market your business.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more, check out the rest of our blog.

The Benefits of Telehealth and How It Transformed the Medical Field

The telehealth sector is expected to grow to a market value of over $130 billion by 2025—up from $26.5 billion in 2018.

With numbers like these, healthcare providers now choose to implement telehealth in their practices. Read on to learn more about the benefits of telehealth and its broadening effect on the medical field.

What Is Telehealth?

Telehealth sounds a lot like telemedicine, but they’re actually different in application. Telemedicine facilitates clinical services and remote doctor consultations. It also aids in managing follow-up visits and chronic conditions.

Telehealth technology is the driving force behind telemedicine. It is implemented in clinical and non-clinical scenarios. For this reason, telehealth aims to enhance the entire healthcare system.

The goals of telehealth include:

  • Making healthcare more accessible to people in rural areas
  • Making services and doctor appointments more convenient for people with limited transportation options
  • Providing easier access to medical specialists
  • Improving coordination of care among a patient and the members of their healthcare team
  • Providing support for self-managed healthcare

Telehealth technology helps people get the care they need quickly. This is through increasing patient access to healthcare specialists and physicians.

The Benefits of Telehealth

Telehealth offers several benefits to healthcare organizations. It’s a vital strategy for providers to manage the health of their patients from a high-volume but low-cost perspective.

Improved Relationships Between Doctors and Patients

By implementing telehealth practices, organizations can better respond to patient demands. This responsiveness improves the relationship between physicians and patients.

These enhanced relationships can evolve to reduce hospitalizations and readmissions. It also results in fewer overnight stays and higher patient satisfaction.

Heightened Patient Care in Rural Communities

In rural areas, patients may live hundreds of miles away from the healthcare facilities they need. In smaller communities, there may be a shortage of medical professionals.

In these situations, telehealth can save patients from travelling excessive distances. They now have convenient access to appropriate healthcare.

Increased Management of Chronic Disease

Telehealth technology can be beneficial for individuals with chronic diseases. This is crucial, as six in ten adults in the US have a chronic illness. Four in ten adults have two or more chronic conditions.

People with chronic diseases visit ERs and are admitted to hospitals more than healthy individuals. These frequent doctors visits are a substantial factor in the country’s total spend on healthcare.

To keep patients out of the hospital, physicians can implement telehealth technology. Telehealth is ideal for this, as chronic disease patients require frequent monitoring and ongoing patient contact.

As providers implement this practice, a need for effective telehealth case management arises. A case management system can ensure that relevant information stays up-to-date.

Technology Meets Healthcare

Telehealth has the potential to make healthcare accessible to more people. It can also improve the overall quality of healthcare for us all. Implementing a telehealth strategy is now crucial to the success of any healthcare organization.

The benefits of telehealth show that practicing telemedicine is now key. It leads to better-coordinated, more efficient, and closer-to-home healthcare.

For more content relating to healthcare or technology, check out the rest of the blog.

What Are the Steps to Remodeling a House?

There are plenty of reasons why people choose to remodel their homes. Some intend on adding value to the house, while others simply want to upgrade their living space.

Regardless of why you choose to do so, it is important that you understand the process. We’ve put together a quick guide that details the steps to remodeling a house.

Let’s take a look.

Set Your Goals

Before you can get started with your remodeling project, you’ll need to establish your goals. More specifically, you need to decide what rooms you want to focus on, amenities that you want to add, etc.

This will help you develop a comprehensive plan that will ensure that your needs are appropriately met. When setting your goals, it’s also important to be realistic — be extra wary of the time and resources that you have available.

Establish a Budget

Once you’ve zeroed in on what you’d like to accomplish, the need to establish a budget to help you do so.

More often than not, this is the most limiting factor when it comes to home renovation. For example, someone might want to upgrade the hardware in all of their bathrooms and kitchen but only have enough money to complete half of the project.

Additionally, it’s best to leave room for an extra 15% or 20% of the total budget so that you can handle unexpected costs. Otherwise, you may not be able to finish your intended renovations.

Get in Touch With a Professional

As you might guess, it’s imperative that you get in touch with a professional once you figured out the fine details of your housing renovation. But, you need to look for somebody who is both reliable and capable of producing high-quality work.

It’s never recommended to cut corners when hiring a contractor, as you will often get what you pay for. Instead, you’ll want to choose someone who has a proven track record of quality renovations.

You can visit this resource to learn more about what to look for in a home remodeling professional.

Acquire Necessary Permits

Depending on where you live and what your project entails, you will likely be required to secure a permit for your renovation.

Failure to do so can easily result in adverse legal consequences, such as fines. Regulations can highly vary between two separate areas, so you need to check your local laws to determine what type of permit you’re responsible for.

The contractor you work with can also help you with this responsibility.

These Steps to Remodeling a House Might Seem Complicated

But, the above information will ensure that the process goes as smoothly as it should. From here, you can follow these steps to remodeling a house so that your project turns out exactly the way you want.

Want to learn more info you should keep in mind? Be sure to explore what the rest of our blog has to offer.

How Energy-Efficient Houses Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The building and construction industry was responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions in 2018. 11% of this was directly related to not using environmentally-conscious materials during the building process.

You may think that building energy-efficient houses would be a lot of extra work. In reality, it actually doesn’t take much effort to figure out which materials and products used are going to be efficient.

Are you interested in learning more about affordable energy-efficient house plans? Do you want to find out what it takes to build a home that is energy-efficient for yourself?

Keep reading to find out more about what an energy-efficient house is and how you could build one in the future.

Why Build an Energy-Efficient House?

A lot of people want to use energy wisely since lower energy consumption leads to a smaller carbon footprint. While it is kind to the environment to build an energy-efficient house, it’s not the only reason someone may want to do it.

The main reason that you might want an energy-efficient house is that it can be cost-effective. If it’s built correctly, you’ll have a home with good insulation that lets you spend less on heating and cooling per year.

Being more eco-friendly and sustainable in your daily life is another big reason that you may want to build an energy-efficient home. You’ll be able to keep up with the latest trends, but also learn more about something that has a huge impact.

A lot of the newest appliances, fixtures, or other aspects that go into a home are going to be more energy-efficient as well.

By having a house that is already built to be efficient, there are minimal things that you’ll need to do to be more energy efficient.

Someone that lives in a home that sucks up a lot of energy and water will have to pay more attention to their lifestyle. In an energy-efficient home, the actual house will do that work for you.

An energy-efficient house means you get to have less stress while saving money and saving the environment. Instead of asking yourself why you should build an energy-efficient house, you should be asking yourself what you have to lose.

What Features Are Needed?

Clearly, an energy-efficient house has to be built differently than a standard house or it won’t have the same impact.

The United States Department of Energy has created a rating system called the Home Energy Score that informs people about where their home sits in terms of efficiency. It lets you compare energy use across the market and shows you where your home stands compared to others.

To get a better score on the rating system, you will need to pay attention to the following features as you build your home.

Windows and Doors

Windows and doors have to be sealed in order to keep the air inside the home at a consistent temperature. By using EnergyStar certified windows on a home, a homeowner can save as much as $583 per year on energy.

Make sure that you choose home builders that are experienced in sealing windows and doors properly.

Even with everything else perfectly constructed in the home, a bad seal can make all the difference.

High-Quality Insulation

Having poor insulation makes your home less comfortable and your costs higher.

Insulation that isn’t doing its job well will make your walls and floors feel colder. You may even notice with poor insulation that the temperatures between rooms are dramatically different.

Your insulation has a huge impact on your home for years to come, so choose high-quality insulation from the beginning that will last.

Let your home builders know which type of insulation you want beforehand by doing some research before the build gets started.

Efficient Plumbing

You can make your home more eco-friendly by only using the water that you really need.

The fixtures that you choose for your kitchen and bathroom can be more eco-friendly than the standard faucet. This will result in less water usage, which means a lower bill for you, but also less waste.

Another benefit of installing high-quality fixtures is that they are less likely to leak. This means there is one less thing that you have to worry about.

Also, consider the type of toilets and showers you choose.

A dual-flush toilet, for example, uses less water than your average toilet. Alternatively, a low-flow showerhead will save you gallons of water.

Light Fixtures

Choose light fixtures and lightbulbs that are energy-efficient when building an energy-efficient home. Any type of lighting you have, whether it is outdoor lighting or ceiling fan lighting, can be more efficient.

Don’t forget that you can also use natural light to your advantage when planning to build a new home. This amounts to no energy used and still gives you the light that you need during the day.

If privacy is a concern, window privacy shades are always an option to add extra style to your room at the same time as concealing the inside.

Choosing to Build Energy-Efficient Houses

There are plenty of energy-efficient houses already in existence and by focusing on the areas that they succeed, you can build the home you want.

If you’re already spending the money to build a home, you should spend a little more upfront to spend less on bills over time. Creating an energy-efficient home helps you now, but it also helps people in the future by creating less waste.

Do you want to learn more about maintaining your home? If so, check out our Home & Garden section for additional content like this.

How to Make a Smart Home: A Beginners Guide

The smart home was just a buzzword you heard thrown around a few years ago. Today, smart homes are becoming commonplace.

Studies show that at least 69% of United States households now have at least one smart device. That number is likely to go even higher in the future.

The good news is that it’s easier than ever to make a smart home. Follow the smart home guide below to get yours up and running in short order.

Determine Your Needs

There are many smart home products out there, and the chances are good that you don’t need them all. If you want to streamline your smart home setup, you’ll need to decide what’s important to you.

There are a few primary smart home device categories to consider:

  • Lighting
  • Audio
  • Blinds
  • Security
  • Climate control
  • Sensors

Determine what’s important to you and buy those smart home devices first. You can expand to other product categories later after learning how to get your smart home up and running.

Pick a Central Hub

Finding the best smart home devices isn’t worth much if it’s a hassle to manage everything. Each one of your products will have its own set of apps to control everything. Without a central hub, you’ll spend more time than necessary managing your home.

A smart home hub is a way to centralize all your smart home functions. Once you find the devices you want, look for a hub that works with your products.

Your central hub should also be able to connect with a smart assistant. Some hubs like Samsung SmartThings have their own assistant. Others connect with assistants like Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

Set Up Automation

The great thing about smart homes is that you don’t have to handle everything manually. Yes, you do have control over everything on your smartphone. However, you can also set up your home to handle tasks automatically.

Make sure you investigate the automation features available with your products and other online services. You can likely cut out most of the manual work for home management.

Manage Your Energy

Running a smart home doesn’t come without drawbacks. With all the electronic equipment you’ll add to your home, you’re going to increase your energy requirements. If you don’t want a higher power bill, you need to supplement your power sources.

One of the best ways to do this is to invest in solar energy. You don’t need to go fully solar in the beginning. You can invest slowly in solar panels to account for the added power you need.

If you’re looking for solar companies near you to help, do a quick search on Google to find local solar providers.

Now You Know How to Make a Smart Home

It doesn’t take a tech genius to set up a smart home anymore. Now that you know how to make a smart home for yourself, you’re ready to start. Research your top product choices today to find the right tech for the job.

Are you interested in learning more home improvement tips? Check our latest posts to learn more.

6 Bad Habits in Dogs and How to Stop Them

Your dog is a valued member of the family and you love him unconditionally – there’s no question about that. That should also be the very reason why you need to encourage good behaviour in your pet.

There will be times when your little four-legged bundle of happiness will test your patience. Bad dog habits are common in any breed, but that doesn’t mean you should tolerate them.

On the contrary, it is in your pup’s best interest if you make a conscious effort to correct such behaviours. After all, being a pet parent goes beyond just buying dog treats online and taking walks in the park – it’s also about making sure that your pet is doing well in a more holistic sense.

That said, you may be employing some strategies that are not working — or worse, are reinforcing unacceptable habits instead of curbing them. In this case, you should rethink your strategy.

To start, here are the six most common bad dog habits and some proven ways to stop them:

Excessive Barking

Imagine this: You’re lounging on your sofa after a long day. Suddenly, your pup breaks the silence with an eardrum-shattering bark. He continues doing so until you finally give in and pet him to stop the irritating noise.

You may be thinking that you already corrected the issue since he stopped barking. You’re wrong.

Veterinary behaviourists explained that what you just did made matters worse. You rewarded your dog with attention, sending him the message that he did a good job when you actually meant to stop him from making too much noise.

If you truly want to stop the barking, resist the urge to respond. What you can do instead is to look for the trigger and try to tone down its impact.

Here are some things you can try doing:

  • Downplay outside sounds with white noise using your TV or radio.
  • Bring your pet someplace else where he won’t hear the sounds. This is also good for preventing your neighbours from hearing his bark when you’re not around. Don’t feel bad for keeping your pet confined as they actually don’t mind this at all.
  • You can also give your dog something to do to stop him from barking, like completing food puzzles for treats or anything that can keep his mouth occupied and his mind entertained.

Stealing Food

Even if you have plenty of affordable dog supplies to spare, you must never let any incident of food stealing slide. Like petting your dog after excessive barking, this also sends your furry friend the wrong message.

More importantly, this may increase the chances of your pet gaining access to food that could harm his health, like chocolate, chicken bones, and many others. So be sure to keep human food out of reach.

You must teach your pet to never eat anything off the table. This should prevent him from munching on food that falls on the floor or gets pushed underneath furniture, which could potentially be toxic for dogs.

You can also teach him commands like “drop it,” “leave it,” or “off” and reward him for a job well done during training sessions. This way, your dog would drop or leave anything you don’t want him eating and get off the table when told to.

Begging for Food

Another big no-no for dogs is begging for food. While those puppy dog eyes have the power to tug at your heart strings, never give in.

If you fail to resist this now, you will be dealing with the begging in the long run. You must also remember that controlling the amount of food your dog gets is for his sake, as it is part of keeping him on a balanced diet.

Chewing on the Wrong Objects

Chewing is normal for dogs since this is their way of exploring their environment. It also helps relieve boredom and stress and is crucial to their dental health.

However, there are times when this is considered bad behaviour, especially when your pup decides to make things like shoes and sandals his chew toy. When you catch him doing so, redirect his attention to the right object and praise him for obeying.

If you’re not sure what kind of toy is best for chewing, consult your vet to ensure his safety.

Pulling on the Leash

Ever felt like your arms were being forcibly torn right off the socket after your pet suddenly pulled on his leash with you on the other end? If you have, then you understand why you need to correct this habit immediately.

When a dog suddenly pulls on his leash, it can mean danger for the unsuspecting handler. This could even lead to a road accident or encounters with thorny bushes.

Luckily, you can correct this by:

Reconsidering your equipment

If your pet has the tendency to tug at his leash, it may be best to use different equipment. There are plenty of options for this. The key is to choose pet accessories that:

  • Doesn’t impair your pet’s sight and ability to walk
  • Fits securely and comfortably

Both a head collar and chest lead harness will let you (or your dog walker) redirect your pet’s moving force back gently.

Learning the right techniques

Even if your dog yanks on his leash suddenly, you can successfully manoeuvre him towards your preferred direction by following these steps:

  • Stop walking if you feel that your dog is pulling ahead.
  • Wait for him to ease up before moving forward again or turn in the opposite direction.

Urinating in Inappropriate Places

Almost all pet parents have experienced dealing with cats or dogs urinating in inappropriate places in the house. This is normal for new and untrained pets, but it can be quite tricky to correct.

For starters, you must have your pet examined by a vet to remove the possibility of a health issue. Some animals experience frequent and uncontrollable urination due to certain medical conditions like urinary tract infection, kidney failure, diabetes, and others.

Another possible reason your dog is urinating in inappropriate places is that he is marking his territory. It could also be that your pup has yet to learn where to go when he feels the urge to urinate.

Don’t disregard any possibility until you’re sure. Once you’ve pinpointed the cause, correcting the issue would be much easier.

The Takeaway

Certain dog habits may seem insignificant, but a closer look will show you that some of them may lead to negative results, ranging from inconvenience to health concerns. Correct bad behaviour as soon as you pinpoint them and ask for help from a vet if needed.

AUTHOR BIO

Farah Al-Khojai is the Managing Partner of Pet’s Delight. A passionate entrepreneur, Farah holds a Bsc in Government from the London School of Economics. She is always on the lookout for new opportunities to develop and grow the pet and equestrian retail and wholesale market in the UAE and beyond, and is proud to be at the helm of the first and the largest pet care provider in the market representing world-class brands including Orijen, Applaws, Hunter, Savic, Flamingo, Ruffwear and Rogz.

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