Lack of Sleep leads to Poor Performance

Do you get better sleep? well, you must.

Just right after i finished college. The first job i got was in a call center, An outbound agent. And i was on a grave yard shift. That was (9pm until 6am) It was ok at first but after just 2 months i felt that i was lacking of sleep.

Even though i knew that i was sleeping around 7 hours a day, it wasn't easy sleeping in the morning. I tried to closed the door of my bed room and pulled down my curtain, but the broad day light was just peeking at my windows.

Of all the health complains i had while i was on that job. There was one thing i learned while working in that kind of environment that up to this moment, I still apply in my daily life. That is to complete your 8 hours of sleep. Why? Because there might be dangers waiting for you especially if you are working.

So what happens when you never complete your 8-hour sleep very often.

Poor vision. this is so true to me. I got blurry vision at work, or just when I'm walking to the elevator. It sucks so much. Short term memory, People tend to lose some parts of their memories due to lack of enough sleep.

Your reaction is slow. Have you ever felt that when everyone is laughing, you seem to be just smiling? why because you don't get it. because you don't understand. Or if somebody is talking to you. You seem to be somewhere else.

Never drive yourself to work if you think you can't focus. My dad caused a very long traffic when he doze off on a green light few years ago. That was humiliating so he got his self a driver.

Moody. you switch moods so easily. Poor performance. Your work suffers because you can't concentrate. So if you feel that you are stating to see these signs. better take a goodnight sleep. or tale some power naps in the afternoon.

Add Nuts to Balance your Diet

Almonds, peanuts, pistachio, cashew, walnuts, hazelnuts etc. Who doesn't like nuts?, I only know few people who dislike nuts, Mainly because of health problems and they can't take it. but the rest just all love nuts. When you start eating, sometimes you just can't stop. It's hard to tell yourself. " okay go get 3 pieces only! " We usually end up with a handful or two handfuls or even three. There is nothing wrong with that As long as you have to know when to stop. Nuts are usually high in calories when taken in large amounts. You should at least eat 2 ounces of nuts a week.

You may want to add nuts in your diet but you have to balance it. when nuts are combined with other very healthy foods, The results can be surprisingly remarkable. You can try to switch your unhealthy snacks to nuts, such as potato chips or high calorie cookies and chocolates. Nuts may not cure any diseases directly but its a step or a way to help battle those illness.

Here are the lists of benefits you get from being nutty, i mean from eating nuts.

It has arginine, a substance that may help you improve the function of your blood vessels.

Nuts has mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which is good for the heart. So if you love your heart eat nuts.

the omega-3 usually found in walnuts, another helpful fat that helps heart problems.

And finally nuts may helps you lower cholesterol. Again, good nutrtion works best with a well balanced diet. So don't just grab some nuts and eat as much as you can. Balance it. ! happy eating!

Raspberries: One Healthy Fruit

Talking about Healthy foods. My daughter loves cherries and i knew it's healthy, but there's more nutrients behind those sweet berries. All the "berry" fruits such as cherry, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry all have anti-inflammatory compounds that reduces cell damage. we know that cell damage may lead to cancer.

Raspberries. Raspberries are high in fiber. The production of fiber is actually higher compare to other berries. It is rich in Ellagic acid and Selenium. Both helps our body to prevent and protects it from cancer. Based on research studies, Raspberry or raspberry extract may actually reduce the risk of oral and liver cancer cells. Of course it still depends on your daily consumption.

A cup of raspberries, 2 to 3 times a week will be good enough for your body.Even cherries and cherry juice are healthy too they also contain ellagic acid like those in raspberries.

Strawberries are rich in Vitamin C, Folate, Fiber and anti-oxidants which are all good for the immune system.

Blueberries are very known for so many health benefits such as reducing the bad cholesterol in our body,thus preventing strokes and other heart problems. Very high in Anti-oxidants which is very much known to neutralize free radicals that leads to cancer and other diseases.

Now i know why my mother-in-law always tell me not display my fruits on the table. Especially, if it's not going to be eaten yet, She used to tell me to leave my fruits in the fridge, Frozen berries or other fruits has small amount of water that makes the fruit high in concentration of protective compounds compared to those fresh fruits.

Asthma and Children

There are so many possibilities of asthma attacks. An asthmatic person is sensitive in many things around him. Especially if he came from a family with history of asthma. Here are some possible causes:

* Infection of upper urinary tract like allergic rhinitis.
* Dust, molds, pollen and other inhalants.
* smoke from cigarettes and vehicles.
* Cold weather or sudden change of weather.
* cat's fur
* Medicines like aspirin, beta blockers or indomethacin.
* Chemical or paint odors.
* Irritants in air passages such as: perfume, hairspray, powder and other pollutants.
* Sometimes too much exercise or workout or any tiring activities.
* foods that may cause asthma attacks such as: egg, nuts, chocolate, seafoods, milk, flour, shellfish.

The said foods that may cause asthma varies in different types of people. It is possible that a person is allergic to egg while others are allergic to seafoods. If a patient knows that he's allergic to certain foods. He should avoid it as much as possible.

Often times asthma begins at a very early age. And over half of young asthma patients become asymptomatic as they age. Or the symptoms suddenly vanish until it is totally gone.. For your information. There is no medicine that can actually cure asthma. It is actually the symptoms that are cured.

Based on studies,Teens who started to have asthma (15 years and above) for the first time, has possibilities that they will bring it as they age. There are different categories of asthma:

1. Frequent Episodic Attack- In this category, a wheezing sound can be heard every 4 to 6 weeks and there are no visible symptoms in children.
2. Chronic Asthmatic Group- These are children who has mild wheezing sound. They easily wheeze when they are tired, coughing at night only. and has limited activities.
3. Severe Chronic Asthmatic group- They are children who has daily attacks. They are usually small,underweight and barrel chested. You will hear a different squeaking sound and severe passage obstruction. That's why they are usually given steroids. that should be taken everyday and with constant monitoring.

There is what we call as Status Asthmatic's wherein it is the most severe asthma attack. that can't be treated with common medicine. This patient is having a hard time breathing. Seems like dying. This may cause death if not prevented.

Ear Infections ways to Prevent it

There are millions of children all over the world are having ear infections and visit their doctors every year. While pediatricians are doing their best to remind and advice parents on the best way to prevent ear infections. This is not only cured by taking antibiotics, It is through the simplest ways that anyone could do to prevent ear infections.

Based on studies, The ear infections are commonly accompanied with pain and it is really hard if it is children.That's why here are simple steps that can help you and your children away from ear infections that cause much pain:

1. Stay away from smokers - smokers or the smoke itself can irritate what we called the Eustachian tubes that connects the farthest part of the ear to throat to the opening of the mouth . or it is a tube that links the pharynx to the middle ear. So should avoid smoke.

2. Chew gum - Sweeteners that can be found in gum candy and mints that can reduce the production of bacteria that causes infections, Although children should chew gum with caution or they might swallow it. So children shouldn't chew gum below 3 years old.

3. Vaccines are important- Let your children have their shots or vaccines. It should be complete. Vaccines targets the bacterias that are responsible of the pain-causing infections. Vaccines can actually cut the the risk in half of having ear infections.

4. Stop the use of pacifier -yes you heard it right. babies and tots should stop using pacifiers. children who continuously use pacifiers has a possibility of an additional 33% of infections than those who don't use pacifiers. Pacifiers should be use only at night just for bed time.

Improve Mental Agility

Memory lapses are part of the normal wear and tear that goes a long with middle age. No one is exactly sure why memory goes downhill. But sometimes even though we're still young we tend to forget.Why you forget some things (and not others). Different kinds of memory are created and stored in different parts of the brain and respond differently to aging. Here are some examples:

Episodic memory- The kind that you use to recall the name of a restaurant or the plot of the of a movie you saw week ago. It starts ti decline in your early 40's.

Semantic Memory- the type that gives you the ability to collect and retain new facts and figures. It holds up pretty well, which is why you know what a blog is but forget our dentist's address.

Procedural memory- the kind we draw on for tasks we do automatically, such as driving a car or playing the piano. This is also fairly resilient so even if you can't think of your best friend's phone number, you can press the right keys on the telephone pad.


So how will you build a better brain?

With training people have improved their mental agility after just two weeks, Based on research studies in UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human behavior. These strategies can help:

1. Stretch your thinking- Crosswords puzzles have long been touted as mental strengthener. But if crosswords aren't your thing try sudoku, the new number puzzle sudoku.com. Or sign up for a class in a subject new to you.

2. Get moving- Exercise increase s blood flow, which helps nourish brain tissue. It also helps nourish brain tissue. It also helps prevent or control other health conditions that can interfere memory.

3. Eat right- yes, fish really does seem to be brain food - as do nuts and olive oil. All these food contain omega-3 fatty acids, which may slow down brain aging. Antioxidants- found in brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and green tea - also protect brain cells. Coffee boosts attention and alertness, which can enhance learning. But stop after cup or two: Too much has the opposite effect.

4.Create connections- When you need to remember something specific, such as where you parked the car, make associations. The more vivid, the better: If you left car at level 3, section c in the parking garage imagine a billboard flashing "3c" in neon lights.

5. Manage Stress- Try whatever works for you- yoga, gardening, walking. Not only does tension distract you, making it hard to learn and remember things, but it also takes a direct toll on the brain . " In studies, human injected with stress hormones can't learn and or remember" says Dr. Gary Small.

Yes Fiber helps on losing weight

There are so many ways to lose weight but you can start by proper diet and a daily dose of fiber.
Fiber is best known for it's ability to prevent or relieve constipation and promote bowel regularity. This is important because should our digestive processes go wrong. we may retain unwanted calories, fats and toxins after heavy meals. This may lead to variety of conditions-from obesity, diabetes, abnormal blood conditions to fatal coronary heart diseases or even colon cancer.

Fiber helps the digestive process by keeping food moving through the intestines- all the way to the colon or large intestine. A normal digestion lowers the risks of disorders like hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and the formation of small pouches in the colon called diverticulosis.
Weight loss is another main benefit. fiber has a filling effect, so you don't feel hungry all the time. If you don't eat too much, you don't gain as much.

Making fiber as part of your diet is a challenge in this day and age where the demands at work at home can put a strain on everything - including proper nutrition. Adults need from 20-35 grams of fiber daily. An amount you can get from fresh fruits nuts and vegetables. Fiber sources include:

• Dried beans and other legumes
• Bran cereals
• Sweet corn
• Whole wheat or whole grain
• Cereal products
• Broccoli
• Plums, pears and apples
• Raisins and prunes
• Green and leafy vegetables
• Nuts
• Bananas
• Carrots

Taking fiber not only helps you to lose weight but it actually helps you add more years to your life. There is really no-one shot solution to being healthy. But with proper diet and fiber intake can help you achieve your goal.

My Pregnancy Diary: 11th week

I'm on my 11th week now.  I'm  starting to feel some headache and dizziness at times which I've never experience before.   I'm still not gaining weight which I read is normal for some pregnant woman on their first trimester , but I really want to gain weight for my baby.  I'm still not showing but I already have a little bump that seems to get bigger after every meal which I find a little weird .   I always feel bad whenever people ask me if I'm really pregnant because I still haven't shown yet even people in the subway don't give me a seat since I don't look like pregnant  and end up standing all the way to my destination.   But I don't worry that much because I know that my bump will show after a few weeks.  I also wear dresses now instead of my usual office slacks and jeans because they don't fit me that well anymore, I think I need to go shopping for a new non-maternity clothes but still comfortable enough for my bump to wear.   I still feel nauseted sometimes especially when I smell something I don't like.  I'm going to hve my Check up next week and I'm so excited and I'm going to prepare some questions  to my GP.