Floss every day
What do loving licorice and hating the idea of flossing have in common? Both can contribute to plaque on your teeth, which is surprisingly bad for your brain. “The plaque between teeth can cause an immune reaction that attacks arteries, which then can’t deliver vital nutrients to brain cells,” says Michael Roizen, MD, co-author of YOU—The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger. Solution? Floss every day. Can’t remember? Keep the floss where you store your morning makeup.

Multitask at the gym
Just as working out can keep your body in good shape as you age, stretching your brain can keep it in top form, too. And doing them together is double the fun: Do a crossword puzzle while riding a stationary bike or listen to language lessons on your iPod while running. Scientists say that working the body and mind at the same time revitalizes brain cells. Don’t like multitasking? Hit the crossword right after the gym, when your brain is energized.

Go fish
Look to the sea for healthy ways to feed your brain. DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid found in salmon, trout, and some fortified foods such as yogurt, is a super saver for your memory. “DHA decreases arterial inflammation and improves repair of the protective sheath around nerves,” Dr. Roizen says. “The result is less age-related memory loss, less Alzheimer’s disease, less depression, and a quicker mind.”

Read more  at Health.com

1. Exercise. Amen for endorphins. Believe me, they’ve helped me many days with my perspective. If you have to work out, then go take a brisk walk and get that blood flowing. It isn’t about working out to lose weight — it’s about being healthy and staying sane.

2. Eat the real stuff. Crappy food (fast, processed, and loaded with sugar) doesn’t help your chemical brain and body handle stress. Living food, real food, helps support your mind and body while it’s trying to deal with the million things coming its way. Every time I reach for the chocolate, I’m looking to feel something from it. Don’t get me wrong — if it’s just a little here and there because I enjoy the taste of it, great. But if I’m using it the minute I feel overwhelmed, then that’s when that food is no longer OK to eat. It doesn’t make the problem go away, and then I just feel bad about eating the food to pacify myself. Grab green food instead. Put things in your mouth that are going to support your immune function and keep you levelheaded.

3. Notice. Try not to let the stress overtake you. Recognize the situations that cause the stress and notice them coming your way. You have a better shot at fending off the full effects of the stress when you can anticipate it.

4. Get it off your chest. Talk to a friend or partner about the stress. Sometimes just getting it off your chest can help unload some of the burden.

5. Keep your sense of humor. If you do have the chance to talk about it, try to see the irony and humor in the wacky bits. I think someone is dead in the water once they lose their sense of humor.

6. Stay grateful. My daughter has large lungs and verbal skills she likes to display. Just when I start to wishfully think about her being quiet, I remind myself to be grateful that she can talk to me at all. In almost all of our problems are boatloads of blessings. “Oh, I don’t feel like going to the gym.” Well, Amen that you have the means and the health to even be able to wrestle with the idea of going to work out. Make a habit of saying thank you. You will notice the sunny spots a lot more often, and not just the gray skies and storms.

7. Ask, “What’s the hurry?” Have some fun. We’re always so busy going somewhere, we miss just enjoying the moment. If an opportunity comes your way to do something fun, take it.

8. Take a deep breath. When you feel the stress getting to you, take a moment. Get away, even if it’s just for an hour, to be with yourself and your thoughts. Some people like to take a walk, meditate, lock themselves away in a beautiful bath, or go to church. Find the peace and the silence.

9. Keep it simple. Simplify where you can. Does Junior really need to be in 78 activities at the age of 5? Do you have to go to every little party or gathering you’re invited to?

10. Turn of the TV. A lot of it is bad news anyway, and it robs us of hours that we could use to be getting other things done. Since everyone complains that they have no time, get some by unplugging from the tube.

Source: Yahoo Health

Sound therapy treatment is one among the most interesting and effective way to get peaceful sleep. As it is a fact that all of us are actually tired after working everyday. For some, it can be simple to lie down and sleep while for the others, getting sound sleep is just like a dream. Such individuals try their best to sleep but to no avail.

To adopt sound therapy effectively, the person needs to listen to some type of music like the classical music on daily basis. The treatment makes use of various sound qualities that inspire the person’s inner ear. When this music reaches the person’s brain, his or her senses are automatically soothed and brought to relaxation state.

In case you are an adult, listen to the music for about 3 hours every day but for the children it is advisable to listen to the sound music for just an hour or so. Apart from relieving from the daily stress and offering better sleep, this sound therapy also serves to be beneficial for the people who are facing some hearing problems. Also, those with the difficulty of laziness or lethargy, the sound therapy can prove to be really useful. Not just this, the treatment can even help to per up the intellectual abilities of the person thereby making him or her more creative.

With the sound therapy, you will eventually feel relaxed and get sounder sleep. Also, you will be in better physical condition to do the daily tasks in better manner.

There can be many ways to relax your body and mind out of your stressed life and you may not even need to spend bucks to do that. Stretching your body with different pose and different ways can help you shed that rigidity of your body.
Listening to a calm song before you sleep can also help you put your mind at rest and energize you for the next day.

Sharing a quality time with your family members each day after dinnertime with some favorite indoor games may also add new refreshment to your life.Visiting new places every weekend near to your place will also amuse you and help you explore your neighborhood.

There is no best exercise for your mind than meditation and learning how to stop your thoughts and emotions will help you combat your stressful life.

Often they have no energy. And when they go to sleep to recover, it doesn’t help. They wake up completely unrefreshed.

Fibromyalgia symptoms:

The variety and severity of symptoms caused by fibromyalgia vary from person to person. Widespread, chronic pain—often described as deep or burning—is the most common symptom. Pain is considered to be widespread if it is above and below your waist, and on the right and left sides of your body.

Fibromyalgia pain is more common in the trunk, neck, low back, hips, and shoulders, and it is rare in the hands and feet. It usually develops gradually and can interfere with even simple daily activities.

Other symptoms that can occur in addition to pain include:

• Fatigue that interferes with work and daily activities.
• Sleep problems (difficulty falling or staying asleep, waking up feeling tired).
• Morning stiffness lasting less than an hour.
• Headaches.
• Constipation or diarrhea related to irritable bowel syndrome.
• Memory problems and difficulty concentrating.
• Anxiety or depression.

Fibromyalgia can sometimes feel like the flu. You may experience body aches, tiredness, and intestinal problems. The pain in your joints and muscles may be especially bothersome at night, waking you from sleep, or in the morning, when you may feel very stiff and sore. You may have trouble concentrating because of fatigue. Symptoms can last from days to months or years.

People with fibromyalgia have periods when their symptoms become worse and periods when they have milder or no symptoms. Flare-ups of fatigue and muscle and joint aches are common, especially following physical or emotional stress. Many people with fibromyalgia report that cold or damp weather, poor sleep, fatigue, stress, or overexertion makes their pain worse.

Because symptoms of fibromyalgia are similar to so many other disorders, your doctor may try to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms before he or she can properly diagnose fibromyalgia. In some cases, you may have another condition in addition to fibromyalgia.

• There is an increase in epinephrine (adrenalin) production which suppresses the action of the T-cells. T-cells play a vital part in the immune function of the body.
• There is an increase in cortisol production. This is also potentially immunosuppressive.
• There is an increase in production of beta-endorphins. This tends to reduce the NK (natural killer ) cells ability to recognise and kill virally infected cells.

Indicators of Long Term Stress Exposures

As a result of the above 3 reactions the immune system is weakened and one suffers from all sorts of ailments. The bodies ability to fight bacteria and viruses gradually becomes more and more weak and therefore cannot fight the colds, flue, cancers, shingles etc. Stress causes the heart to beat faster, but with constriction of the blood vessels, therefore high blood pressure could be the result.

Depression, an abnormal emotional state, with melancholy and feelings of inadequacy, can be the result of stress. With this may come weight gain or loss, insomnia, headaches etc. Commonly depression is treated with SSRI (Selective Seratonin Re-uptake Inhibitor). These create a “dam” which stops the re-absorption of Seratonin and tricks the body into thinking all is well. The body stops producing Seratonin and becomes sluggish so when you stop taking the anti-depressant you crash.

Suggestions for Destressing

• Exercise – this expends some of the energy produced by the fight or flight response.
  - helps boost the circulation, therefore the body can flush out metabolic waste which accumulates in muscles.
  - releases endorphins which help one to feel better and more able to cope – even if ones situation is unchanged.
• Remove yourself from the stressful situations as soon as possible – if possible.
• Relax in a long hot bath.
• Get plenty of sleep – use soft soothing music, hot milk drink etc to help you get to sleep and sleep better.
• Smile and laugh as much as possible.
• Take 10 minute breaks regularly from what you are doing and do or think of something quite different (change from left to right brain – do something creative, meditate, read poetry etc)
• Practise time management.
• Supplement wisely.

Face brightener

Try this skin saver from Skinsational Skin and Body Spa in Carlsbad, California. Soak a washcloth in warm chamomile tea with three drops of lavender oil; wring dry, and press onto face. Chamomile tea contains azulene, an anti-inflammatory that calms skin.

Cavity fighter

Want healthy teeth? Sip some antioxidant-rich white tea. “Polyphenol antioxidants in tea inhibit the growth of oral bacteria, like those that cause tooth decay,”

First-aid fix

Treat minor scrapes, bug bites, and sunburn with green tea, which contains tannins that act as a natural antiseptic and relieve itching and swelling. Just apply cooled tea with a cotton ball.

Tension buster

In a British study, people who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks calmed down more quickly in stressful situations than those who didn’t drink tea. Black, green, and oolong teas all contain theanine, an amino acid that helps the brain and body relax.

The best therapy programs include these four common features.

* Providing a solid structure for each day
* Avoiding overstimulation and getting enough sleep
* Resolving any family conflicts that contribute to symptoms
* Learning to recognize the warning signs of manic and depressive episodes

Until quite recently talk therapy had a minor role to play in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Many patients describe hospitalizations combined with high doses of mood-flattening drugs, but little effort to understand the sometimes irrational thoughts of people with the disorder.

Depression on the job can show the way to missed meetings, unanswered phone calls, blankly staring at the computer screen, indecision, late arrival, leaving early and neglect deadlines. A working woman suffering from depression might not get along with colleges anymore or she may withdraw from social participation.

These are all symptoms of depression. 21 percent of the women in the workplace are affected depression through to their work performance and their everyday lives. Depression is a very human illness. Before the dealing with problem, it is important to understand the signs of depression that may affect working women.

Depression may be kicked off by satisfying a home life and be a superior working person. When the brain chemicals become uneven it will take some time to get them balanced. The depression may completely change your personality and behavior. Your colleagues and friends will notice it first. The working women may find herself becoming a wild women, spending money like crazy, hyper, drinking more, or having affairs. It is not strange to find depressed women living out of their cars or a small hotel room.

The depressed woman may notice herself alone on her birthday as her friends and family slowly discard her. Depression will also make you feel unloved. 30% of working women suffering from depression either quit or lose a job.

For a working woman, when depression goes too far she may find herself unable to function. Few women admit they have a mental problem, so they will keep struggling along danger of their careers and family relationships. Just 47% of women identify help in right away.

Depression in the workplace is the number one blockade to success. A depressed woman at work will find herself feeling constantly unsatisfied. Depression is a sickness and should be treated properly. No matter how successful the working woman is in work, the depression will cause her to feel distressing and disgruntled.

Scientific findings state that depression could lead to obesity. Appetite goes increasing if one is suffering with depression. It may be due the sufferer wants to divert his mind. Depression can decrease your rate of performing activities and bound you to sit idle and hence results in weight gain.

Second opinion states that obesity could lead to depression. People do receive negative comments and are made fun of for their extra pounds. This humiliation and heart burn can actually push them into the stage of depression. Obesity disables a person to enjoy various activities that makes him to stand away from the masses and in turn leads him to depression.

Whether the chicken came first or the egg came first may not be that important. This is an established fact that loosing your weight can be fruitful for you since it also lower down your level of anxiety and hence depression.

Thereafter you can improve the quality of your life and establish good relationships. Practicing weight loss programs do improve your inner personality as well and gives you sound confidence to stand in society. On the other hand, if you get failed in the program or the cycles of weight loss – weight gain can lead you with depression.

There is also justification where cases have been seen where people suffering with depression start loosing their health and hence body weight. Therefore resultant statement can be expressed that depression obviously does not make you fat. If it would be the reason of obesity then every body suffering with depression would have put on his body weight and vice versa can also be not ignored.