6 Surprisingly and Simple

Between home, work, and family, you barely have time to breathe. What can you do to de-stress?

1. GAZE AT BLUE to grab a moment of instant calm, Blue is the color of the ocean and the sky, so we automatically associate it with the serene feelings that come with being out in nature, says the author of the book 101 Exercises for the Soul.
2. GRAB SOME GUM Rhythmic, repetitive actions like chewing gum trigger our body's natural relaxation response, slowing our heart rate, breathing, and brain activity. From author of Ultra longevity: The Seven-Step Program for a Younger, Healthier You.
3. FORM A FIST “Clench your fists tightly for five seconds, and then open them. You'll relax instantly, why? When a muscle tenses as much as possible, it becomes able to de-tense completely. (Stress free for Good Book)
4. SING YOUR HEART OUT “When we sing, we're breathing deeply,” say the author of Undress your Stress: 30 Curiosity Fun Ways to Take Off Tension. “And this lowers the body's Blood pressure and heart rate, decreasing stress.”
5. MAKES SOMEONE'S DAY “Being kind to others produces a rush of feel-good chemicals in the brain, creating what's known as a 'helper high' says expert. The endorphin surge in the boosts our mood, distracting us from woes that stress us out.
6. PLANT SOME CALM A little green in your environment can keep stress at bay, says expert at Kansas State University. In their study, women who kept plants at work had less anxiety. Why? They capture our attention, giving us a mental break from negative feelings that lead to stress.

So there you go another tips for stressed people out there, I recommend that you should try doing one of them because tip no.4 really worked for me... stress gone and at the same time me and my family had a great time singing.

How Smoking Burns You Down Below

You know cigarettes damage your lungs and your looks. Discover how they mess with your reproductive system.

Cervical cancer. Research shows that smokers infected with human papillomavirus have a greater risk of developing invasive cervical cancer than nonsmokers with the virus. The chemicals in cigarettes may weaken the ability of cervical cells to fight off the infection, explains Carolyn D. Runowicz, a gynecologic oncologist and member of American Cancer Society’s national board of directors.

Fertility issues. Studies indicate that smoking can make it harder to conceive. Chemicals in cigarettes may alter cervical mucus, making it toxic to sperm. What’s more, women who smoke cigarettes are at two to four times higher risk of ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus).

Period problems. Lighting up may mess with hormone levels, causing irregular menstrual cycles. And smokers appear more likely to experience killer cramps, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those couples out there who are smokers and really having a hard time to have a baby you may want to consider this advice… stop smoking and live a healthy lifestyle.

Losing Hair in the Shower

A certain amount of hair loss while showering is normal. But you notice a sudden acceleration in the amount of hair in your drain, your nutritional intake may be to blame. Women who diet excessively or don't get enough iron (present in red meat, seafood, and fortified cereals) are prone to a higher rate of hair loss. It may also be a sign of a hormonal problem, such as an under active thyroid. Luckily, a thyroid condition is easily treatable with medication. Check in with your derma or primary-care physician. She or he will run some tests and prescribe meds that will reverse the shedding.

Rx for Sprains

The next you sprain your ankle running outdoors or strain your elbow from a racquet sport, just remember this word RICE- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation- to lessen pain, bring down swelling, and hurry up healing.
Rest: Avoid using the injured part until the pain and swelling die down. If it's an injured part from running, keep your running shoes in the closet for the next 1-3 days.

Ice: The cold temperature of ice helps lessen swelling and pain. Grab some cubes from freezer or a cold pack from drugstore. Wrap them in a thin towel and keep it on the injured area for 10-30 minutes, then remove it and rest the area for the next 30-45 minutes. Repeat as often as you can. Ice the affected area for the next 3 days, or more serious cases, 7 days.

Compression: An elastic bandage wrapped on the injured area gives firm yet gentle pressure to make the swelling go down. Using an upward, spiral motion, wrap the bandage starting a few inches below the injured area. To use ice and pressure at the same time, wrap a bandage over an ice pack.

Elevation: As much as possible keep the injured area raised above the heart for the next 3 days so that any excess fluid is drained.

The Best A.M. Stretch

This Luxurious stretch feels incredible and helps your bod rid itself of toxins. Stand in a door way and raise your arms over your head, keeping elbows bent at 90 degrees angles.Grasp the sides of the door frame with each hand. Now lean forward while sticking out your chest so that you can feel the stretch in your shoulders and pecs. Hold for a few second, then repeat. "If you slouch a lot, this realigns your posture. It also releases a ton of tension in your shoulders, chest and upper back, helping you instantly feel looser and more relaxed," says Nicole Doorish, a massage therapist. Do it first thing in the morning to get over the stiff, sleepy feeling or after you've been sitting at your desk or in a car for hours.

PIERCING PERIL

Adorning your body can backfire big time.

Belly rings and tongue studs may go in and out of fashion, but one thing is constant: They carry a risk. A recent study found that 17 percent of college students with piercing suffered a medical complication such as infection or tearing. If you still feel the need to pierce a body part, be sure to follow these tips:

Pick a skilled practitioner.

Bad piercing technique can result in injury, bleeding, and even nerve damage. So choose an expert who really knows what their doing.

Insist on a sterile setup.

To avoid contracting HIV and hepatitis B and C, make sure your technician done new sterile gloves and removes a new needle from the plastic in front of you.

Keep it clean.

You’re at risk for infection until the site heals, so wash your new piercing twice a day with a mild antibacterial soap.

4 Feel-Good Tricks to Try

These caresses can relax you almost instantly. The best part? You can do most of them anytime, anywhere.

The scalp soother

Slowly run your finger through our hair and gently tug on the roots a few times. The sensation will feel amazing.

The arm tingler

Lightly trail your fingertips along the oversensitive skin between your elbow and wrist. Or tell your guy to close his eyes while you glide two fingers up the inside of his arm and have him guess when you’ve reached his elbow.

The thumb rub

Press the thumb of one hand into the base of the thumb on your other hand and knead. Because your palms are loaded with sensory receptors, this motion relaxes you.

The foot refresher

Firmly squeeze your nerve-packed feet beginning with the toes, working down to the heel, and pushing into your arch. Then use gentle pulses along your tendon. In just seconds, it melts away tension that has built up during the day.

What's putting your back out of wack?

The wrong bra could be wrecking havoc on your body.

Bras are meant to lend support and in some cases, create cleavage, but if your boulder holder is too small, it could be torturing your torso.
"Super snag bras can cause back pain and breathing problems by compressing your rib cage by more than an inch, " says Charles Hunt, head of clinical practice at the British School of Osteopathy in London. "They can also pinch some of the nerves in your shoulders and cut off some of the circulation to your spine."A recent study of 2000 British women conducted at Nottingham Trent University found that 55 percent were wearing bras that were too small. To make sure your fits properly, enlist the aid of a trained bra-fitter ( most department stores provide them), who can accurately measures you.

We don't want to put our body in danger, So let's all choose the right bra that really fits for us.

7 DONT'S AFTER A MEAL

* Don't smoke- Experiment from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher).

* Don't eat fruits immediately - Immediately eating fruits after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Therefore take fruit 1-2 hr after meal or 1hr before meal.

* Don't drink tea - Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest.

* Don't loosen your belt - Loosening the belt after a meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted & blocked.


* Don't bathe - Bathing will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amount of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.

* Don't walk about - People always say that after a meal walk a hundred steps and you will live till 99. In actual fact this is not true. Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we intake.

* Don't sleep immediately - The food we intake will not be able to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine.

Power Potato

Potato, potahto, No matter how you say it, everyone agrees that it's both healthy and delicious. It's rich in mineral, and vitamins B and C. Plus, 'tatoes are good source of fiber, low in sodium and recommended for those who have high blood pressure or suffer from kidney stones. Another plus is that potatoes are an energizing and sufficient source of carbohydrates perfect for the weight-conscious. If you can skip the sour cream and butter over your baked potato and eat the proper food on the side, then you'll be on your way to a leaner, healthier bod.

12 signs of stress addiction

How can you tell if you're genuinely pressured or are hooked on overload? I also have no idea until I've read this 12 signs on a magazine this morning and thank God because I am not that stressed out (so far...) So, how about you? read them and laugh...then reread them and see how many actually apply to you.

1. You get anxious if beach vacations last any longer than two days.
   
2. You get nervous when you don't receive any messages on you cell phone.
3. During family movie night, you curl up on the couch with junk mail to sort through.
4. Scrap booking parties? You take your photo albums much too seriously to consider compiling them at a social event.
5. You can't remember the last time you didn't eat breakfast in the car.
6. Or lunch. Or dinner.
7. Your kids know how to cram their entire day into a five-second sentence: "School was good I got a perfect score on my math quiz Sam called me the soccer game is on Sunday."
8. During sex, you never fantasize about other men- you're too busy mentally reorganizing the pantry.
9. You consider going over your calendar at night a relaxing read.
10. If you don't write "feed dog" in your appointment book, it doesn't happen.
11. Your husband got you an Ipod for Christmas, but it's still in the box because you haven't had time to download songs onto it.
12. Your philosophy is: Why just walk and chew gum when you can also make doctor's appointment on your cell and do biceps and curls with arm weights?

If you realized that you are a certified stress addict, you have all the reason now to try my stress free tips found below this post.

Peace out

Taking time to meditate gives you a chance to slow down, calm your thoughts, and tune out the stresses of the day. Even if you have only 15 minutes, find a relaxing place to settle down and concentrate on nothing but taking deep, even breaths, Where to go? Try…

Turning your bedroom into a sanctuary

According to the Chinese practice of feng shui, you can make your room more relaxing by hanging a blue tapestry, or painting a wall blue (the color will calm you). Next, straighten up your room to promote a peaceful mind. Then light a candle and breathe…

Finding an outdoor haven

Nature will help you find harmony: Bring a towel and a bottle of water to a secluded grassy area- green encourages health – where you can sit peacefully and without interruption.

Walking your way to tranquility

Pop a soothing Music into your Ipod. While you walk, swing your arms in the opposite direction of your feet (right foot, left arm/left foot, right arm) to balance your body, and breathe evenly with each step.

I hope these tips could help all stressed people out there... Happy meditating!

DRINK WATER, LOSE WEIGHT

You've heard it again and again that H2O at zero calories,is the best diet drink.

But if you're still hooked on high calories beverages, check out these numbers:

Researchers who tracked 240 over-weight women found that those who replaced sweetened drinks with water lost five more pounds, on average, than those who didn't.

Why these slips add up: A can of soft drink is 146 calories: a cup of grape juice, 154 calories.

So ladies what are we waiting for? let us all drink plenty of water and make it a habit for more sexier body. Cheers...

Strip Away Work Worries

Getting naked can start your night off right.

Wanna change your state of mind the second you come home from work? Get Naked! That’s right, take off every stitch of clothing, shake out your hair if it’s bun or ponytail, and spend at least five minutes lying flat on your bed (a soft, fuzzy comforter is a huge perk). “When you peel off your clothes after a workday, you’re symbolically stripping away responsibilities and stress,” says Diane Urso, a psychotherapist in New York City. When you get up again (that if you can get up again) you’re going to feel like a totally different person than the one who deals with deadlines and a pesky boss. Then slip into comfy clothes and enjoy the rest of your night.

Be more Ipod Aware

Listening to tunes in public can leave you vulnerable.

The coolest thing about ipod is that it allows you to tune out the world around you so you can peacefully chill in your own musical bubble. Problem is you may also end up tuned out to subtle signs of danger.

“Studies show that gadgets like this lower a person’s awareness and slow a person’s awareness and slow down their reaction time,” explains Lyn Bates, vice president of AWARE, a woman’s safety organization in the U.S. “So even though you think you’re paying enough attention, you’re actually much more likely to ignore a red light or not realize that a sketchy guy is following you.”

So guys let us all play it safe by keeping the volume low or by wearing only one ear bud.

Loose Weight When You Sleep More

Add one hour to your schedule, and you could drop up to 14 pounds this year.

New data from the University of Michigan shows that you'll likely eat six percent less if you replaced 60 minutes of awake time ( when you may snack) with an hour of shut-eye.

And a Harvard study that tracked around 68,000 women found that those who clocked only five or fewer hours of rest a night had a 32 percent greater chance of gaining more than 30 pounds over a 16 year period than those who got seven hours of sleep.

So try sleeping more and be the sexier you.

CAN’T QUIT SMOKING?

Cut back instead. A European study found that smokers who reduced their cigarette consumption by 50 percent completely stopped puffing away in one year.

One in three smokers who cut their cigarette consumption by half become a non-smoker within a year. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) also proved helpful in getting smokers to give up the habit completely.

With NRT, your body still gets the nicotine it graves, minus the harmful effects of smoking. Available in patch or gums form (like Nicorette gum). NRT can make nixing the habit easier to bear.

Don't Chill That Melon!

Watermelons stored at room temperature have much higher levels of antioxidants (beta-carotene and lycopene) than those kept in the fridge. They even outscored freshly picked melons. If you like, you can cool watermelon for a few hours before eating; once cut, it must be refrigerated.

So what are you waiting for? slice that melon and eat it fresh!

Laugh those pounds away

Here’s a reason to feel less guilty about sitting on the couch and watching sitcoms: hearty laughter burns up to 40 calories in 15 minutes, according to researchers Vanderbilt University. OK, at that rate, giggling, won’t replace a jogging as a weight-loss tool, but it’s certainly a fun way to burn about four pounds a year.

So with this, I am sharing this video for more laugh and pounds away.

DRINK TEA FOR A LONGER LIFE

Green tea has long been touted for its high levels of antioxidants and other healthy nutrients; now large study shows that drinking a couple of cups of the beverage daily might actually extend your life. Researchers tracked some 40,000 Japanese men and women for up to 11 years and found that those who drank warm green tea daily had lower death rates than those who didn’t. The lead author is a believer: Shinichi Kuriyama, M.D., Ph.D., of Tohoku University said that he drink two to three cups of green tea per day and would recommend it to his friends and family, The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefit of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.
To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

• cancer
• rheumatoid arthritis
• high cholesterol levels
• cardiovascular disease
• infection
• impaired immune function
So what are we waiting for? Let’s start drinking green tea for long life.