How to keep your mind in good shape?

• Just getting educated does not mean that you have a sharp brain. In order keep our brain sharp we need to take time out of our busy schedule to read and keep ourselves abreast of the latest developments around us. Here are a few ways to keep your brain in good shape.
• Become a frequent reader: Make it a habit to read articles that differ from your view. Listen to people of different opinions how frrustrated you may feel. 
• Learn something new: Learn something new that interests you irrespective of your age.Further playing an instrument also helps to exercise some parts of the brain especially while listening and reading.
• Teach someone: Every one of us is good at something or other. Teach your expertise to others. While teaching your students are bound to have doubts and shall ask questions. This will make you think and improve your analysing ability.
• Get some sleep: Sleeping for 7 to 8 hours a day is a must. Research has shown that neural connections are made in the brain while you are in your deepest phase of sleep.
• Mind games: Don't think that games are just for kids. Playing games like solving a jigsaw puzzle,tackling a crossword can do wonder for your brain. These will help your mind to concentrate on work. Further these games help you to de-stress.

can long hours on internet cause depression?

• A report in a journal witnessed that people who took part in an online survey were internet addicts who suffered from depression.
• It found out that long hours of browsing on the internet is linked to depression.
• So next time you think time you are feeling blue, get off the internet who knows, it might make you better.
• So the best bet would be to reduce the hours on the net and fight depression.

Your diet,the secret of your health.

• For the modern youth of today it is a great challenge to maintain a good health and sharp mind amidst prolonged working hours, less sleep and social imbalances. To meet this challenge today's youth need additional doses of vitamins and minerals in their diet. The food need to be nutritious, simple and attractive. At the same time care need to be taken ti see that chemicals are not used to make the foods to look attractive.
• It is recommended that the youth need to consume variety of 5 half cups of fruits and vegetables a day for a healthy body. Please see to it that your salad is a mis of different fruits and vegetables instead of the same carrots or apples daily.
• The diet must contain small quantity of variety of fruits and vegetables instead of large quantity of a few fruits and vegetables. This will help the youth to absorb the required quantum of vitamins and minerals in proper proportion.
• See to it that your daily diet consist of fibre content, potassium and vitamins A and C.
• Do not use chemical colours to make the food look attractive as they will cause serious health disorders. Instead use various fruits and vegetables of different  colours.
• Further eat for living a healthy life and do not live for eating. The logic is eat less food which contains all the required carbohydrates, proetins, vitamins and minerals in the required proportion.

A few tips to parents as to how to handle their chilsren.

• Parents generally tend to grow their children in the way they were grown by their parents. This has both desirable and undesirable effects. Studies have shown that the effection shown by the parents on their children has a possitive effect. The reason is that the child becomes emotionally dependent and the parents can use this successive tool to grow the children in the right way.
• You should be the stimulus: The parents should be the stimulus and not the response to the actions of the children whether possitive or negative. Most parents tend to be stimulus in respect of possessiveness, diecting and controlling which can result in a withdrawal feeling in the children.
• Regulate moods: Avoid regulating your childrren depending on your moods. Try to understand what the children want to express to you. Otherwise the children will start reacting negative.
• Let your child decide: When a child wants to talk to you to decide something listen to him pateintly. Allow the clild to talk to you when he wants to and not when you desire. Keep away all the other things as nothing else is important than your child. Allowing him to talk and decide will increase his confidence and decission making ability.
• Generally we parents control the children from childhood as to what and what not to do and as to what is right and wrong. But as the children grow they become cognitive and inquisitive and want to have a proper reasoning to accept the parent's regulations. So, the parents need to realise this fact and try to be freinds with their children rather than regulating parents and I am sure you will be able to lead your children in the right direction.
  

Find, create and work on the right strategy to make our life meaningful.

• Life is a gift of God. The success in our life depends on how we control and manage it. If we succeed in our life, it means that the strategies have been well thought and executed. If we fail, we must acknowledge the fact that something went wrong with our strategies. It is imperative that we find, create and work on the strategies which makes our life meaningful.
• Potent intention:
• If you think you are a child or divine, then you should have big dreams and expectations in life. If you don't have them it means that you are not optimally using the divine gifts which come in the form of myriad resources like mind, body, potential, talent etc. Actually this is the time when strategy comes into play.
• Thinking - An intangible action:
• Many people spend lot of their time in action believing that they think too much and they will end up doing nothing. One need to think properly and sufficiently before transforming that thought into action to acheive the goal.
• Evaluate resources:
• One must first find out all available resources, whether small or insignifrcant. Then evaluate their importance before working on any opportunity. We must also try to fit all the available resources in our preparation.
• Take minute information seriously:
• Collect minute details which are useful for your preparation. Give importance to even the minuest details. Never be incongruent or incomplete in your information . Please note that an ill informed action is bound to fail as success doesn't come accidentally.
• Share and discuss:
• Share your thoughts only with people who are better informed than you as otherwise you are speaking to a wrong person and will seek wrong guidance resulting  in wrong strategies in your life and ultimately a failure.
  

Women are the worst hit in dry and flooded village

• The women of Kamlawati's Campierganj village, Gorakhpur, Eastern U.P. are the worst hit due to the climatic changes. What is it that affects the womenfolk of the village so much and why?
• Limited access to resources and livelyhood has a harmful effect on their health.
• Even in these modern times they have to walk longer distances in search of drinking water, fire wood etc. What a pity?
• With the men migrating to cities for work, the women are even ploughing the fields out of compulsion.
• The women literally starve giving up their portion of food to feed other family members.
• Severe stress on women leading to premature deliveries.
• Dalits and adivasi women are the worst hit.
• What they need from the government?
• Recognition as farmers so that they can avail credits and other benefits.
• 
  

Want to stop ageing and look younger, go dieting.

• Every one wants to look younger and avoid ageing.Isn't it? Then go dieting.
• Don't you wish to know how does diet help to fight ageing?
• According to research there are anti ageing molecules in our body that get activated by a low calorie diet. So the message is eat low calorie food to look younger and to avoid ageing.
• Charles Mobs, professor of Neuro sciences and geriatrics, Mount School of Medicine have unravelled that low caloeie diet brings down the development of molecules that promote ageing.
• It does not matter how the diet is restricted. It can be in terms of carbohydrates,fats or proetins. What matters is the diet should be of low calorie. This brings about a change in the CBP proteins that control the genes related to cellular functions.
  

Can you taste names?

• Generally we say what is there in a name? But it does matter to James Wannerton in Blackpoolsynaesthesia who lives with a condition called synaesthesia due to which his sense of taste is connected to his sense of hearing.
• As a result all sorts of noise triggers this fifty year old man's taste sensation. 
• Different names trigger different taste buds to this person. On hearing the name of Tony Blair he gets the taste of coconut in his mouth whereas on hearing the name of Christina he gets the taste of salt in his mouth.
• I feel this person is lucky as he need not have different variety of foods to enjoy different tastes as he has just to hear different names for this purpose. Alas! but one issue is he may not be in a possition to choose the noise or name suiting his taste.
  

How to keep your skin gowing and smooth.

• Every one of us want our skin to be smooth and glowing. With the onset of minsoon and winte our skin becomes dry. Here are a few thiings to do to keep our skin smooth and glowing for ever.
• Cleanse skin with gel based cleanser.
• Massage with a nourishing cream. Leave it for 15 minutes and then wipe it off with a moist cotton wool.
• Use a good sun screen.
• Use a light moisturiser.
• Keep your body warm and dry especially you feet to avoid fungal infection.
• Drink plenty of water as high humidity levels tend to damage your skin and also cause dehydration.
• Use a good night cream.
  

Tips on how to meditate blissfully.

• We have succumbed or surendered life to hurry and haste. Is it not so? Our day begins with hurrying up to the workplace or college, hasty eating of food, hurrying up to catch the bus or trainn Have you ever thought what would be the ultimate of surrendering ourself to haste. The result is that we loose all our life pleasures, get ourselves strained and over stressed resulting in blood pressure and other undesired ailments at a very early age. I kept thinking to myself where does the solution fie for this problem/ The solution that came to my mind is meditation.
• I have also observed many people complaining that meditation did not give them possitive results. On analysing I realised that peoople become over enthusiastic and succumb to haste as usual even while meditating. Here are a few tips as to how to meditate blissfully.
• Practice meditation as a potent spiritual activity irrespective of any religion that benefits and enhancees your life dramatically.
• Keep thinking and saying in your mind that you are practising meditation as a tool to transcend you to eternity and that you continue to enjoy it without becoming addicted to it.
• Be like a child during meditation. Remove all notions and ideas that you heard from others as otherwise expectations and hopes will make you overenthusiastic making you hurry or haste durinf meditation. 
• Avoid comparing the benefits that you gained in the previous days with the meditation that you are performing today as this will you slow yor down in the process.
• While meditating keep saying to yourself that "I have the whole tine of the world  available to me for meditation. I am born in this world just to meditate and realise myselt. Request to the God to reveal himself before you".
• Breathe as slowly as you can. Take 5 to 7 seconds to inhale, 5 seconds to hold and 5 to 7 seconds to exhale. If you are doing this in 2 to 4 seconds it is an indication of haste overtaking.you in meditation.
• Consider meditation as a karma yoga that every one needs to perform to promote one's health.
  

 th

Tips for maintenance of healthy nails.

• Add more grains to your diet to have strong nails.
• Never cut the cuticles and calluses as the cuticles protect the nails from infection and the calluses will grow back harder giving you discomfort.
• Even if you don't like applying a nail polish, try and apply a clear coat occasionally as it will protect your nails.
• Wearing rubber gloves while doing the house work is advisable. This will protect your nails from the harsh chemicals used in detergents.
• Wearing closed shoes for a longer time creates sweating which can cause fungal infection to your nails. To avoid this use cotton socks instead of socks made of synthetiics. Further make your legs free of the shoes when and where ever possible.
• Consume foods which are rich in zinc like boiled eggs and milk. You will observe them doing wonders to your nails.
• Avoid filing the nails just after a bath as at this time they tend to be weaker and break easily.
• Buffing your nails regularly increases the blood supply and makes them grow faster.
  

How to avoid stomach bloating.

Abdominal bloating is a real struggle to avoid. Stomach bloating is easy oto avoid by followung the brlow mentioned steps.

• Avoid constipation. Too less of fibre, liquids and physical activity causes constipation resulting in stomach bloating. To avoid this include lot of fibre food lile grams, beans, fruits etc in your diet. Women need at least 35 gms and men need 50 gms of fibre consumption daily. Drink atleast 6 to 8 glasses of fluids a day. Perform physical activity of 30 minutes a day 5 times a week.
• Avoid allergens. Food allergens and intollerances can cause stomach bloating. Identify them with the help of your doctor and avoid them.
• Avoid sugary or carbonated drinks. Instead have lot of water flavored with lemon, lime or cucumber. Also try pepermint tea which can reduce stomach bloating.
• Limit salty and processed foods as they contain lot of sodirm and less of fibre both of which aids stomach bloating. Cultivate the habit of reading the wrappers of the processed foods and vonsume only those which have less than 500 mgs of sodium per serving.
  
• Go slow on beans and gassy vegetables if you are not accustomed to their consumption. Do not avoid them as they are higlly nutritious and have lot of fibre content. Include them in small quantities in your diet until you get adjusted to it
• Practise eating smaller meals 5 to 6 times a day instead of having 3 big meals a day as stomach bloating generally follows a big meal. This also helps to reduce bloof sugar and manage hunger.
  
• Avoid eating fast. If you eat fast without chewing the food properly, you also swallow air resulting in stomach bloating. Further please remember that digestion starts in your mouth. So take atleast 30 minutes for a meal. Also when you eat slowly you are satisfied in enjoying the taste of the meal and end up eating less.
  

Chemical in milk fights diabetes.

• A chemical found in milk can combat a disorder that increases risk of heart disease and diabetes, says a new study.
• The disorder, called metabolic syndrome, is a combination of high blood pressure, high glucose and obesity.
• Researchers from Victoria's department of primary industries and MG Nutritionals found that a compound, known as Regeneration inducing peptide for tissues and cells, when given daily to mice, caused them not only to build more muscles but also want to exercise.
  

How to avoid being lonely and be healthy?

When you are missing friends and family, blood pressure may soar and your immune system weakens. People with a good network of friends tend to live longer than those without friends. They are also less likely to fall victim to depression. However, loneliness is more common these days. We live longer, have fewer children and are more likely to move away from our home towns and often, we are no longer part of close-knit communities.
Health effects:

• Raises blood pressure: The most lonely people had blood pressure readings 30 points higher than the most sociable, making them 3 times more likely to get heart disease or have a stroke, as compared to those with normal blood pressure.
  
• Lowers immunity: High levels of the stress hormone cortisol is found to be more common in lonely people. It can suppress the ability to fight off infection.
• Interferes with sleep: Loneliness interferes with sleep and poor sleep is linked to obesity and depression.
  
• Encourages bad habits: The lonelier you are, the more likely you are to eat fatty, sugary foods and the less likely you are to exercise.
  
• Faster progression of alzheimer's: It is not known why loneliness affects Alzheimer's, but it is true that it could be the result of a lack of mental stimulation.

How you can get connected:

• Make the effort with family: Ask your family to stay in touch and try to plan regular meetings. If you have more spare time than them, accept that and you may have to do more of the running around. Meanwhile, stay in touch with them through phone calls, texts and e-mails.
• Go out of the house daily: Even if it is just to go to the shop, make an effort to go out. Smile at people and make conversation with someone you see regularly. Smiling not only releases feel good chemicals, but it also attracts people.
  
• Learn a new skill: Learning something new keeps your brain active. Sometimes, it could open up a whole new world.
  
• Exercise: Not only does regular exercise help prevent heart disease and chances of stroke. It can also slow the progression of Alzhelimer's.
• Join a group: If you choose something you are really interested in-whether it is walking, reading or music-you will instantly find that you are with like minded people.
  
• Be a volunteer: People who do voluntary work for 2 hours a week have lower depression rates and better health than those who don't.
  
• Get a pet: Owning a pet helps lower blood pressure, boost immunity and ease depression. Walking a dog every day is a great way to get out and meet people.
  

Watch your life blossoming

• In every one's life 3Ts to control - Tongue, Temper and Temptation.
• 3 H to have - Honesty, Hard work and Health.
• 3 B to have - Beauty, Behaviour and Bravery.
• 3 A to avoid - Anger, Arrogance and Addiction.
• Follow these and watch your life blossoming.
  

Walking for excercise and pleasure

Image by chooyutshing via Flickr

• Walking is the easiest and most popular form of exercise.
• Walking has been widely practised as a recreational and fitness activity since ancient times.
• Walking is the slower and surest way to fitness.
• People walk for many reasons: for pleasure, to rid themselves of tensions, to find solitude, or to go from one place to another.
• Everyone who walk regularly does so on the view that it is a good excercise.
• Walking is an easy way improving physical fitness when done briskly on a regular schedule, it improves the body's ability to absorb more oxygen during exertion, reduces blood pressure, increases the efficiency of the heart and lungs and helps to burn excess calories.
• Walking offers protection against obesity and high blood pressure, the leading rish factors for heart attack and stroke.
• Brisk walking one mile in 15 minutes burns just about the same number of calories as jogging an equal distance in 8 1/2 minutes.
• Although increasing walking speed does not burn significantly more calories per mile, a more vigorous walking pace will produce more dramatic conditioning effects.
• Walking appears to have a substantial psychological payoff. Beginning walkers almost invariably report that they feel better and sleep better, and that their mental outlook improves.
• Walking also can exert a favorable influence on personal habits. For example, smokers who begin walking often cut down or quit. There are two reasons for this. One, it is difficult to exercise vigorously if you smoke, and two, better physical condition encourages a desire to improve other aspects of one's life.
• Walking has several uniquc advantages. Everyone can do it. No lessons or training required. The only thing one need to do is to slowly increase the pace and the distance and walk very often. It can be done any where and at any time. It can be done even alone. It can be done in all seasons and climates. It involves no cost.
  
• With so many advantages attributed to walking why should not enjoy walking regularly and pave a way to good health.