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	<title>Healthscape Health, Medical And Fitness Blog &#187; Healthy Living</title>
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	<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog</link>
	<description>Health Medical And Fitness Blog</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:43:13 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Make Yourself Cancer Proof</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/04/23/make-yourself-cancer-proof/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/04/23/make-yourself-cancer-proof/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:29:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Medical]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[cancer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/?p=227</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The average mouse doesn&#8217;t care much about skin cancer. Outside of Disney cartoons, you won&#8217;t see one slathering on sunscreen before heading out to dodge cats and search for cheese. But Gary Stoner, Ph.D., a ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The average mouse doesn&#8217;t care much about skin cancer. Outside of Disney cartoons, you won&#8217;t see one slathering on sunscreen before heading out to dodge cats and search for cheese. But Gary Stoner, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of hematology and oncology at the Ohio State University medical center, does care about cancer. That&#8217;s why he spends his days in a lab, feeding rodents polyphenols from seaweed and learning how to shrink skin cancer–like tumors. He&#8217;s a mouse&#8217;s best friend. Maybe yours, too.</p>
<p>Stoner is just one of many researchers working to bring new weapons to the cancer battle. Some study humans to take a fresh look at existing theories. Others, like Stoner, are testing tactics so bold that, so far, their only subjects have tails and whiskers.</p>
<p>But all these approaches (seaweed included) have one very positive thing in common: They&#8217;re just plain good for you and bad for cancer cells. Here are eight strategies that just may turn the Big C into the Big See-Ya-Later. (Or, better yet, See-Ya-Never.)<br />
Drink Pomegranate Juice</p>
<p>Some say this luscious, lusty red fruit is Eve&#8217;s original apple, but what the pomegranate truly banishes is cancer risk. The fruit&#8217;s deep red juice contains polyphenols, isoflavones, and ellagic acid, elements researchers believe make up a potent anticancer combo. It&#8217;s been shown to delay the growth of prostate cancer in mice, and it stabilizes PSA levels in men who&#8217;ve been treated for prostate cancer. And now University of Wisconsin at Madison researchers have learned that pomegranate may also inhibit lung-cancer growth. If you currently smoke, have smoked in the past, or hang around in smoky places (Cleveland, for instance), the juice of the fruit could bolster your defenses.</p>
<p>Use it: The mice in the Wisconsin study received the human equivalent of 16 ounces of juice per day, so quaff accordingly.<br />
Eat Blueberries</p>
<p>Got pterostilbene? Rutgers University researchers say this compound &#8212; found in blueberries &#8212; has colon cancer-fighting properties. When rats with colon cancer were fed a diet supplemented with pterostilbene, they had 57 percent fewer precancerous lesions after 8 weeks than rats not given the compound did. Eat blueberries and you&#8217;ll also benefit from a big dose of vitamin C (14 milligrams per cup). In a study of 42,340 men, New England Research Institute scientists discovered that men with the highest dietary vitamin C intake (as opposed to supplements) were 50 percent less likely to develop premalignant oral lesions than men with the lowest intake were.</p>
<p>Use it: &#8220;About two servings daily is the human equivalent of what we fed the rats,&#8221; says Bandaru Reddy, M.D., Ph.D., a chemical-biology professor at Rutgers. Load up at breakfast: A cup and a half of blueberries over cereal, plus 8 ounces of juice and half a grapefruit (for extra vitamin C), will do the trick. If that&#8217;s too much to stomach at dawn, spread it out over the course of the day.</p>
<p><strong>Relax a Little</strong></p>
<p>Anxiety won&#8217;t only make you soil your shorts. Purdue University researchers tracked 1,600 men over 12 years and found that half of those with increasing levels of worry died during the study period. Talk about flunking the exam. Only 20 percent of the optimists died before the 12-year study was completed. More anxiety-producing news: Thirty-four percent of the neurotic men died of some type of cancer. How neurotic are we talking? &#8220;Think of the biggest worrier you know &#8212; someone who stresses out over everything,&#8221; says psychologist Daniel Mroczek, Ph.D., who conducted the study. &#8220;That man is probably above the 95th percentile in neuroticism. Then think of the most cool, calm, collected man you know. He&#8217;s probably below the fifth percentile.&#8221;</p>
<p>Use it: To develop that critical, casual Jeff Spicoli vibe, learn to slow down your fast times: &#8220;The more time you spend in the present moment, the more relaxed you&#8217;ll be, because most mental anguish occurs over stuff that&#8217;s already happened or that may or may not happen in the future,&#8221; says Claire Wheeler, M.D., Ph.D., the author of 10 Simple Solutions to Stress. &#8220;For the most part, right now is pretty damn good. If you practice being present while shaving, for example, eventually you&#8217;ll also be more present when eating, making love, and working.&#8221;<br />
Pop Selenium</p>
<p>Selenium has long been thought of as a cancer fighter, but you can have too much of a good thing, says David J. Waters, Ph.D., D.V.M., director of the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, in West Lafayette, Indiana. A study of almost 1,000 men, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that when those with the lowest initial levels of selenium in their bodies received a daily supplement over a 4 1/2- year period, they cut their prostate-cancer risk by an impressive 92 percent. But men who started out with high selenium were rewarded with an 88 percent increase in total cancer risk when they took the supplements. Moral: It pays to get your selenium level right.</p>
<p>Use it: Selenium in the body is measured through toenail clippings. Send yours to the Murphy Foundation, and for less than $100 (price varies by state), they&#8217;ll ship them to a lab and then inform you of your level 2 weeks later. If yours is out of range, the foundation will explain how to adjust your intake of Brazil nuts, tuna, meats, grains, and selenium supplements. Learn more at www.seleniumhealthtest.com.</p>
<p><strong>Order Sushi</strong></p>
<p>As mentioned, Gary Stoner is using seaweed to fight the Big C. When he fed the polyphenols from brown seaweed to mice that had been bombarded with UV rays, their incidence of skin tumors dropped 60 percent. And the polyphenols shrank existing tumors by 43 percent. Better still, the doses that produced these effects were the equivalent of only 1 or 2 tablespoons in a human being. &#8220;Seaweed is low in calories and fat, yet it provides heart-helping fiber, bone-building calcium, and iron,&#8221; says nutrition consultant Molly Morgan, R.D., C.D.N., owner of Creative Nutrition Solutions, in Vestal, New York. &#8220;Dried, roasted seaweed sheets used in making sushi also provide vitamins A and C.&#8221;</p>
<p>Use it: &#8220;Eat more sushi rolls,&#8221; says Stoner. &#8220;It&#8217;s not quite the same seaweed, but it has some of the same compounds.&#8221; As a bonus, sushi itself is a great muscle food. A typical spicy tuna roll has only 290 calories but packs 24 grams of protein. Also, look for a Korean-made, seaweed-fortified drink called EntroPower (entropower.com), which should be hitting U.S. health-food stores soon.<br />
Spend More Time Outside</p>
<p>Scientists have viewed vitamin D as a potent cancer fighter for decades, but there&#8217;s never been a gold-standard trial &#8212; until now. A Creighton University study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who supplemented their diets with 1,000 international units of vitamin D every day had a 60 percent to 77 percent lower incidence of cancer over a 4-year period than did women taking a placebo. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think the effect is limited to women,&#8221; says Joan Lappe, Ph.D., the lead study author. &#8220;Vitamin D is necessary for the best functioning of the immune system &#8212; it causes early death of cancer cells.&#8221;</p>
<p>Use it: Nature intended us to make vitamin D from the sun, but depending on where you live, the time of year, and how much of an agoraphobe you are, you may not reach the optimal level of 80 nanomoles per liter of blood that way. A blood test can give you a baseline. From there, Lappe recommends supplementing with 1,100 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D in a stand-alone pill every day. Vitamin D is also in sardines, salmon, shiitake mushrooms, and reindeer meat &#8212; which may explain Santa&#8217;s longevity, despite the odd hours and jelly belly.</p>
<p><strong>Clear Your Air</strong></p>
<p>Secondhand smoke may be even worse for you than we thought. A recent American Journal of Public Health study reveals that nonsmokers working in smoky places had three times the amount of NNK, a carcinogen, in their urine than nonsmoking workers in smoke-free joints had. And their levels of NNK rose 6 percent for every hour worked. &#8220;There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, and the greater the exposure, the higher the risk,&#8221; says the study&#8217;s lead author, Michael Stark, Ph.D., principal investigator for the Multnomah County Health Department, in Portland, Oregon.</p>
<p>Use it: Nine states have banned smoking in all workplaces, bars, and restaurants: Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington. So change locations, change professions, or change the laws. As you sip your pomegranate juice, sign up with Americans for Nonsmokers&#8217; Rights at no-smoke.org.<br />
Invest a Little Sweat Equity</p>
<p>Study after study has pointed to the cancer-beating power of exercise. Now research from Norway has found that even a tiny dose of exercise has big benefits. A study of 29,110 men published last year in the International Journal of Cancer shows that men who exercised just once a week had a 30 percent lower risk of metastatic prostate cancer than did men who didn&#8217;t work out at all. Increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercise correlated with a further, gradual reduction in risk.</p>
<p>Use it: Just one bout of weekend warriorism &#8212; a company softball game, pickup basketball, racquetball with your crusty uncle &#8212; might qualify you for inclusion in the cancer-free 30 percent.</p>
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		<title>Instantly Build Self Confidence</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/03/05/instantly-build-self-confidence/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/03/05/instantly-build-self-confidence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:36:14 +0000</pubDate>
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		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[confidence]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/?p=213</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Self confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your wits. Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Self confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your wits. Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.</p>
<p>Although many of the factors affecting self confidence are beyond your control, there are a number of things you can consciously do to build self confidence. By using these 10 strategies you can get the mental edge you need to reach your potential.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 1. Dress Sharp</span></p>
<p>Although clothes don’t make the man, they certainly affect the way he feels about himself. No one is more conscious of your physical appearance than you are. When you don’t look good, it changes the way you carry yourself and interact with other people. Use this to your advantage by taking care of your personal appearance. In most cases, significant improvements can be made by bathing and shaving frequently, wearing clean clothes, and being cognizant of the latest styles.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot on clothes. One great rule to follow is “spend twice as much, buy half as much”. Rather than buying a bunch of cheap clothes, buy half as many select, high quality items. In long run this decreases spending because expensive clothes wear out less easily and stay in style longer than cheap clothes. Buying less also helps reduce the clutter in your closet.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 2. Walk Faster</span></p>
<p>One of the easiest ways to tell how a person feels about herself is to examine her walk. Is it slow? tired? painful? Or is it energetic and purposeful? People with confidence walk quickly. They have places to go, people to see, and important work to do. Even if you aren’t in a hurry, you can increase your self confidence by putting some pep in your step. Walking 25% faster will make to you look and feel more important.<br />
<br style="font-weight: bold;" /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 3. Good Posture</span></p>
<p>Similarly, the way a person carries herself tells a story. People with slumped shoulders and lethargic movements display a lack of self confidence. They aren’t enthusiastic about what they’re doing and they don’t consider themselves important. By practicing good posture, you’ll automatically feel more confident. Stand up straight, keep your head up, and make eye contact. You’ll make a positive impression on others and instantly feel more alert and empowered.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4. Personal Commercial</span></p>
<p>One of the best ways to build confidence is listening to a motivational speech. Unfortunately, opportunities to listen to a great speaker are few and far between. You can fill this need by creating a personal commercial. Write a 30-60 second speech that highlights your strengths and goals. Then recite it in front of the mirror aloud (or inside your head if you prefer) whenever you need a confidence boost.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 5. Gratitude</span></p>
<p>When you focus too much on what you want, the mind creates reasons why you can’t have it. This leads you to dwell on your weaknesses. The best way to avoid this is consciously focusing on gratitude. Set aside time each day to mentally list everything you have to be grateful for. Recall your past successes, unique skills, loving relationships, and positive momentum. You’ll be amazed how much you have going for you and motivated to take that next step towards success.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 6. Compliment other people</span></p>
<p>When we think negatively about ourselves, we often project that feeling on to others in the form of insults and gossip. To break this cycle of negativity, get in the habit of praising other people. Refuse to engage in backstabbing gossip and make an effort to compliment those around you. In the process, you’ll become well liked and build self confidence. By looking for the best in others, you indirectly bring out the best in yourself.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 7. Sit in the front row</span><br style="font-weight: bold;" /><br />
In schools, offices, and public assemblies around the world, people constantly strive to sit at the back of the room. Most people prefer the back because they’re afraid of being noticed. This reflects a lack of self confidence. By deciding to sit in the front row, you can get over this irrational fear and build your self confidence. You’ll also be more visible to the important people talking from the front of the room.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 8. Speak up</span></p>
<p>During group discussions many people never speak up because they’re afraid that people will judge them for saying something stupid. This fear isn’t really justified. Generally, people are much more accepting than we imagine. In fact most people are dealing with the exact same fears. By making an effort to speak up at least once in every group discussion, you’ll become a better public speaker, more confident in your own thoughts, and recognized as a leader by your peers.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. Work out</span></p>
<p>Along the same lines as personal appearance, physical fitness has a huge effect on self confidence. If you’re out of shape, you’ll feel insecure, unattractive, and less energetic. By working out, you improve your physcial appearance, energize yourself, and accomplish something positive. Having the discipline to work out not only makes you feel better, it creates positive momentum that you can build on the rest of the day.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 10. Focus on contribution</span></p>
<p>Too often we get caught up in our own desires. We focus too much on ourselves and not enough on the needs of other people. If you stop thinking about yourself and concentrate on the contribution you’re making to the rest of the world, you won’t worry as much about you own flaws. This will increase self confidence and allow you to contribute with maximum efficiency. The more you contribute to the world the more you’ll be rewarded with personal success and recognition.</p>
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		<title>Shocking Anti-Smoking Ad</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/01/22/shocking-anti-smoking-ad/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/01/22/shocking-anti-smoking-ad/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:04:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[smoking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2008/01/22/shocking-anti-smoking-ad/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This anti-smoking advert cuts pretty close to the bone, comparing terrorism deaths to smoking related deaths since 2001. Whatever way you look at it though, 30,000,000 is a shocking number in 7 years. I&#8217;d love ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This anti-smoking advert cuts pretty close to the bone, comparing terrorism deaths to smoking related deaths since 2001. Whatever way you look at it though, 30,000,000 is a shocking number in 7 years. I&#8217;d love to see some other comparisons also, how about deaths from heroin and deaths from alcohol, air accidents and motorway deaths compared, and bird flu deaths and flu deaths in the third world. Sometimes a sense of perspective can be a powerful thing.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2309167983_410ce105ac.jpg?v=0" alt="" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="440" height="311" align="absmiddle" /></p>
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		<title>Falling asleep? Energy Boosting Tips</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/24/falling-asleep-energy-boosting-tips/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/24/falling-asleep-energy-boosting-tips/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:09:49 +0000</pubDate>
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		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[energy]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[sleep]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/24/falling-asleep-energy-boosting-tips/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Get Enough Iron
A deficiency of iron makes you physically tired because not enough oxygen is being carried around the body. It can also make you depressed, which in turn leaves you feeling even more tired, ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="post-content"><strong>Get Enough Iron</strong></p>
<p>A deficiency of iron makes you physically tired because not enough oxygen is being carried around the body. It can also make you depressed, which in turn leaves you feeling even more tired, so creating a vicious circle.</p>
<p>If you have vegetable sources of iron, combine them with foods high in vitamin C – which will boost the amount of iron your body absorbs.</p>
<p>Good sources include: lean red meat, eggs, fortified bran breakfast cereals, dried apricots, tinned crab and dark green leafy veg.</p>
<p><strong>Reduce Caffeine</strong></p>
<p><img title="300px-cup-o-cofee-simplesvg.png" src="http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/300px-cup-o-cofee-simplesvg.png" alt="300px-cup-o-cofee-simplesvg.png" hspace="5" vspace="5" align="left" />Avoid caffeine-rich drinks such as coffee and cola from five hours before bedtime and steer clear of energy drinks. There is evidence that artificial sweeteners speed up the rate your stomach empties, making you feel hungry.</p>
<p><strong>Drink More Water</strong></p>
<p>Countless studies have linked dehydration to poor concentration levels and fatigue.</p>
<p><strong>Boost Your Vitimin B</strong></p>
<p>THEY help release energy from food. Good sources include whole grains – wheat and oats – fish and seafood, poultry and meats, eggs, dairy products, leafy green vegetables, beans and peas, and citrus fruits.</p>
<p><strong>Protein Packed Lunch</strong></p>
<p>Eat more protein at lunchtime and more carbs in the evening. Protein will keep you mentally alert during the afternoon and the carbs will help you sleep better.</p>
<p><strong>Protein Power</strong></p>
<p>Protein has been proven to improve concentration and energy levels.</p>
<p>Opt for lean meat, chicken, turkey and tofu at lunchtime to help you beat power slumps later on.</p>
<p><strong>Carbs</strong></p>
<p>Carbs are essential energy foods. Low-GI carbs release energy slowly, giving long-lasting effects. Alternatively, high-GI carbs will give you a quick high that is soon followed by a slump.</p>
<p>Fifty per cent of your calories should come from carbs. So a 60kg woman doing an hour a day of light activity should eat 2,000 calories a day – with 1,000 coming from carbs. This is the equivalent of a bowl of muesli, a pint of milk, an apple, a pear, yogurt, baked sweet potato, pitta bread, banana and a glass of orange juice.</p>
<p><strong>Lunchbox basics</strong></p>
<p>WITH the kids back in class for the start of a new school year, what better time to ensure your packed lunch packs a punch. Follow these seven simple steps:</p>
<p>1. Start with starchy basics. Put in wholemeal bread, rolls, pitta breads, bagels, baguettes, muffins, pasta or rice.</p>
<p>2. Add a tasty protein-packed filling such as lean chicken, ham, sliced meats, peanut butter or canned fish.</p>
<p>3. Include a vegetable of some kind either in the sarnie above, or on the side, such as carrot batons.</p>
<p>4. Put in a fruit. For example an apple, pear, satsuma or grapes, or dried fruit such as apricots.</p>
<p>5. Add a dairy-based food such as a low-fat yoghurt, fromage frais, rice pud, custard or homemade milkshake.</p>
<p>6. Now add a treat. The British Dietetic Association says there is nothing wrong with giving kids a little treat. Low-fat crisps, plain popcorn, slice of fruit cake, a biscuit or cereal bar (check the sugar content), a mini fruit scone, fruit bun or fun-sized chocolate bar.</p>
<p>7. Don’t forget a drink. A bottle of water, an individual fruit juice, plain or flavoured milk or sugar-free squash drink are ideal. When the weather turns colder, pop hot drinks and soups into a flask.</p>
<p><strong>Optional Extras</strong></p>
<p>Bread sticks with a pot of humus and carrot sticks. Peeled and chopped kiwi fruit in a pot. A Mini Babybel cheese or a 30g chunk of cheddar. Slice of malt loaf.</p>
<p>Multi-coloured pasta twirls mixed with canned tuna and canned sweetcorn and peppers. Juicy pear. Greek yoghurt pot with honey corner. Mini fruit bun.</p>
<p>Wholemeal muffin with extra-lean ham with sliced cucumber. Celery sticks.</p>
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		<title>40 Facts About Sleep</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/24/40-facts-about-sleep/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/24/40-facts-about-sleep/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:05:56 +0000</pubDate>
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		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[sleep]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/24/40-facts-about-sleep/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Having trouble dropping off? Maybe our 40 sleep facts will have you snoring in no time!
-The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="post-content">Having trouble dropping off? Maybe our 40 sleep facts will have you snoring in no time!</p>
<p><img title="300px-newborn_sleep.jpg" src="http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/300px-newborn_sleep.jpg" alt="300px-newborn_sleep.jpg" hspace="5" vspace="5" align="left" />-The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.</p>
<p>- It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.</p>
<p>- Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.</p>
<p>- A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year</p>
<p>- One of the best predictors of insomnia later in life is the development of bad habits from having sleep disturbed by young children.</p>
<p>- The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.</p>
<p>- REM sleep occurs in bursts totalling about 2 hours a night, usually beginning about 90 minutes after falling asleep.</p>
<p>- Dreams, once thought to occur only during REM sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It’s possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless.</p>
<p>- REM dreams are characterised by bizarre plots, but non-REM dreams are repetitive and thought-like, with little imagery - obsessively returning to a suspicion you left your mobile phone somewhere, for example.</p>
<p>- Certain types of eye movements during REM sleep correspond to specific movements in dreams, suggesting at least part of the dreaming process is analagous to watching a film</p>
<p>- No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.</p>
<p>- Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.</p>
<p>- Some scientists believe we dream to fix experiences in long-term memory, that is, we dream about things worth remembering. Others reckon we dream about things worth forgetting - to eliminate overlapping memories that would otherwise clog up our brains.</p>
<p>- Dreams may not serve any purpose at all but be merely a meaningless byproduct of two evolutionary adaptations - sleep and consciousness.</p>
<p>- REM sleep may help developing brains mature. Premature babies have 75 per cent REM sleep, 10 per cent more than full-term bubs. Similarly, a newborn kitten puppy rat or hampster experiences only REM sleep, while a newborn guinea pig (which is much more developed at birth) has almost no REM sleep at all.</p>
<p>- Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain’s sleep-wake clock.</p>
<p>- British Ministry of Defence researchers have been able to reset soldiers’ body clocks so they can go without sleep for up to 36 hrs. Tiny optical fibres embedded in special spectacles project a ring of bright white light (with a spectrum identical to a sunrise) around the edge of soldiers’ retinas, fooling them into thinking they have just woken up. The system was first used on US pilots during the bombing of Kosovo.</p>
<p>- Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.</p>
<p>- The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.</p>
<p>- The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents.</p>
<p>- Exposure to noise at night can suppress immune function even if the sleeper doesn’t wake. Unfamiliar noise, and noise during the first and last two hours of sleep, has the greatest disruptive effect on the sleep cycle.</p>
<p>- The “natural alarm clock” which enables some people to wake up more or less when they want to is caused by a burst of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. Researchers say this reflects an unconscious anticipation of the stress of waking up.</p>
<p>- Some sleeping tablets, such as barbiturates suppress REM sleep, which can be harmful over a long period.</p>
<p>- In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving.</p>
<p>- Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a “neural switch” in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes.</p>
<p>- To drop off we must cool off; body temperature and the brain’s sleep-wake cycle are closely linked. That’s why hot summer nights can cause a restless sleep. The blood flow mechanism that transfers core body heat to the skin works best between 18 and 30 degrees. But later in life, the comfort zone shrinks to between 23 and 25 degrees - one reason why older people have more sleep disorders.</p>
<p>- A night on the grog will help you get to sleep but it will be a light slumber and you won’t dream much.</p>
<p>- After five nights of partial sleep deprivation, three drinks will have the same effect on your body as six would when you’ve slept enough.</p>
<p>- Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.</p>
<p>- Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode.</p>
<p>- Ten per cent of snorers have sleep apnoea, a disorder which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times a night and significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.</p>
<p>- Snoring occurs only in non-REM sleep</p>
<p>- Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal</p>
<p>- Some studies suggest women need up to an hour’s extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.</p>
<p>- Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days.</p>
<p>- Diaries from the pre-electric-light-globe Victorian era show adults slept nine to 10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with sunrise and sunsets.</p>
<p>- Most of what we know about sleep we’ve learned in the past 25 years.</p>
<p>- As a group, 18 to 24 year-olds deprived of sleep suffer more from impaired performance than older adults.</p>
<p>- Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.</p>
<p>- The extra-hour of sleep received when clocks are put back at the start of daylight in Canada has been found to coincide with a fall in the number of road accidents.</p>
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		<title>40 Things You Didn’t Know About Smoking</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/14/40-things-you-didn%e2%80%99t-know-about-smoking/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/14/40-things-you-didn%e2%80%99t-know-about-smoking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:55:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[smoking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/10/14/40-things-you-didn%e2%80%99t-know-about-smoking/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As an ex-smoker myself I was even surprised at some of these fact from Coopers Guns


Smoking kills half of all smokers worldwide
Smokers are at increased risk of back pain
Smoking accelerates aging
One person every five minutes ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="post-content">As an ex-smoker myself I was even surprised at some of these fact from <a href="http://www.coopersguns.com/articles/everything-else/40-things-you-didnt-know-about-smoking/" target="_blank">Coopers Guns</a></p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>Smoking kills half of all smokers worldwide</li>
<li>Smokers are at increased risk of back pain</li>
<li>Smoking accelerates aging</li>
<li>One person every five minutes dies because of smoking in the UK</li>
<li>Smokers suffer from skin problems. Most smokers have paler, dryer skin, with more wrinkles due to a reduced blood supply that allows the skin to lose its elasticity</li>
<li>Smoking depletes the body of vitamin C by 30%</li>
<li>Smoking damages the gut</li>
<li>Nicotine increases cholesterol in the blood</li>
<li>Smoking damages your teeth and gums and causes mouth ulcers</li>
<li>Smoking doubles the risk of dementia</li>
<li>Smoking causes cataracts to form in the eyes</li>
<li>There are 6000 chemicals in tobacco including cyanide, butane, ammonia and carbon monoxide</li>
<li>Smoking makes you six times more likely to suffer a stroke</li>
<li>Smoking during pregnancy kills 5000 foetuses a year, increases the risk of intellectual impairment, produces a small, underweight baby more prone to allergies and brain damage and trebles the risk of cot death after birth.</li>
<li>Smoking causes early menopause in women</li>
<li>Every system in the body is affected by smoking, including the heart and vascular system</li>
<li>Smoking weakens the immune system</li>
<li>Smoking increases the risk of diabetes</li>
<li>Smoking reduces exercise tolerance</li>
<li>Smoking increases the risk of pneumonia</li>
<li>87% of smokers deaths are due to lung cancer</li>
<li>Smoking doubles infertility in women</li>
<li>Smoking weakens bones by de-mineralising them</li>
<li>Smoking also hits your pocket. If you smoke twenty cigarettes a day of the cheapest brand you will spend at least £1500 every year</li>
<li>Nicotine is more addictive than heroin and alcohol and is delivered to the nervous system within seven seconds for a quick fix</li>
<li>Smoking increases the risk of anxiety and depressive disorders developing</li>
<li>Smoking depletes antioxidants within the body</li>
<li>Smoking raises blood pressure - a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes</li>
<li>Giving up smoking reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes within 2- 4 years of giving up</li>
<li>Smoking damages sperm and increases erectile dysfunction by 50% in men aged 30 – 40yrs</li>
<li>Smoking increases age related hearing loss</li>
<li>Smoking causes bad breath and gum disease, which can lead to teeth falling out</li>
<li>15% of childhood cancers have been attributed to the mother smoking during pregnancy</li>
<li>Smoking causes Coronary Heart Disease</li>
<li>Overall risk of mortality returns to normal after 10-15 years of non smoking</li>
<li>Smoking can cause fatigue and headaches</li>
<li>Smoking causes 80% of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases. An umbrella term for a number of conditions were breathlessness gradually increases leading to death</li>
<li>Smoking decreases your sense of smell and taste</li>
<li>Smoking reduces life expectancy by 7-8 years</li>
<li>Smoking kills around 114,000 people in the UK each year</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
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		<title>Swearing at work is officially good</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/09/03/swearing-at-work-is-officially-good/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/09/03/swearing-at-work-is-officially-good/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Sep 2007 11:27:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[swearing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/09/03/swearing-at-work-is-officially-good/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[He&#8217;ll eff and blind that he told you so, but it seems chef Gordon Ramsay is right to encourage bad language in his kitchen.
 Swearing at work can improve productivity and boost staff morale, experts ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="article">He&#8217;ll eff and blind that he told you so, but it seems chef Gordon Ramsay is right to encourage bad language in his kitchen.</p>
<p class="article"><img title="ducttapemarketingjpg.jpg" src="http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/ducttapemarketingjpg.jpg" alt="ducttapemarketingjpg.jpg" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="281" height="384" align="left" /> Swearing at work can improve productivity and boost staff morale, experts have found.</p>
<p id="intelliTXT">
<p class="article">Regular use of expletives helps relieve stress and build team spirit, they said. And employees who turn the office air blue can also express themselves more clearly.</p>
<p class="article">But mouthing off in the presence of customers, clients or senior staff is still not recommended – even if they are annoying.</p>
<p class="article">The study looked at the use of four-letter words and swearing in the workplace from a management point of view. It followed workers at a mail-order warehouse and used focus groups to monitor staff.</p>
<p class="article">The relevance and importance of using bad language at work was pinpointed and found to have a potentially positive effect.</p>
<p class="article">Regular use of profanity helped &#8216;reinforce solidarity&#8217; among staff, enabling them to express their feelings and develop relationships. It also relieved stress.</p>
<p class="article">Women were found to swear more than expected, especially among other women, and senior staff were less likely to curse.</p>
<p class="article">Prof Yehuda Baruch, of the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia, said the aim of the study was to challenge leadership styles.</p>
<p class="article">He said: &#8216;The primary issue for management is whether or not to apply a tolerant leadership culture to the workplace and deliberately allow swearing. Banning it could backfire.&#8217;</p>
<p class="article">But Prof Baruch warned that abusive swearing should be eliminated if it added to stress.</p>
<p class="article">&#8216;The challenge is to master the art of knowing when to turn a blind eye,&#8217; he added.</p>
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		<title>Staying Motivated</title>
		<link>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/07/11/staying-motivated/</link>
		<comments>http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/07/11/staying-motivated/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:21:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Exercise &amp; Fitness]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Healthy Living]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[motivation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/2007/07/11/staying-motivated/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Exercise is always a do-it-yourself venture. No other person and no machine can do it for you. Hence, it is important to have those motivating factors so that a person who is into exercise in ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Exercise is always a do-it-yourself venture. No other person and no machine can do it for you. Hence, it is important to have those motivating factors so that a person who is into exercise in order to lose weight will hang about.</p>
<p><img title="motivation" src="http://www.healthscape.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/istockmotivation.jpg" alt="motivation" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="390" height="281" align="left" />This is what people who are overweight should learn to understand. However, even if it so easy to set for instructions and easy to follow, this is not the same case for almost 35% of Americans who are unable to prevent being overweight.</p>
<p>Of course, once we are overweight, we usually want to trim down for a whole lot of reasons, some related to physical condition and fitness, while others would want to enhance their physique and appearance. And it is never too late to be fit.</p>
<p>In the past 50 to 75 years, physical activity has become the exception rather than the rule, both at home and on the job. People tend to drive where others once walked. People tend to flick a switch and machines do the hauling, lifting, pushing, and pulling for them.</p>
<p>However, people who try to lose weight tend to believe that weight gain is likely to happen if they will not take forward-looking steps to stop it.</p>
<p>The point here is that health experts believe that people lose their way, especially when it comes to dieting. They tend to go back to their old eating habits even after they learn to enjoy low-fat eating. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising.</p>
<p>But despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening, experts say. And there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds, reasons that go beyond vanity or social appearance. There are many reasons in order to keep you motivated to exercise and stay healthy for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Ways to Lose Big</p>
<p><strong>1. Have an explicit goal</strong></p>
<p>A simple statement like, “I want to lose some weight,” is an ambiguous and an indefinite statement. It will not the least motivate you to start doing exercises right away.</p>
<p>What is important is to be precise on your goals. It would be better if you will set some detailed amount of pounds that you really want to lose. Envisage yourself what you will look like after reaching your desired weight. Doing this will inspire you to lose weight. In fact, maybe even more than what you have planned in mind. The idea is to use that figure to assist you to remain resilient and dedicated.</p>
<p><strong>2. Develop a strategy</strong></p>
<p>Strength of will does not work alone! To lose weight and stay with it, your strategy must comprise of both exercise and diet, and not either of the two.</p>
<p>Try to start motivating yourself by throwing away your clothes that have bigger sizes. This will put you in a situation where you only have your sexy clothes and that you have to make a choice by staying motivated to exercise or not wear any clothes at all. Which do you prefer?</p>
<p><strong>3. Make out little, calculable measures</strong></p>
<p>Put into practice actions that will suit your lifestyle. This means you have to implement moves that you and you alone will benefit from it and not somebody else.</p>
<p>The idea here is to opt for a more positive and attainable goal and not just to shun away from being plump and chubby.</p>
<p><strong>4. Produce monitoring that has an important effect</strong></p>
<p>It would be better to have somebody willing to take note of your progress or development. This will inspire you to keep on doing what you have started. Having somebody to listen to your achievements is definitely a better prize than just achieving your goal alone.</p>
<p>Besides, having an extra hand to support you and cheer for you when things start to fall short. It is that simple way of hearing somebody believing on what you do is one of the greatest motivations to keep you exercising for more.</p>
<p><strong>5. Construct a vigorous, sensible timeline</strong></p>
<p>What do you plan to achieve in a year? Try to suit your objectives to your calendar, and do not look forward to see the results in just a snap.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that in order to stay motivated to exercise entails a lot of hard work, which is contrary to what most people tend to think. The main idea is to let people change their lifestyle because it is only through this way that they will absolutely change their weight…for the better.</p>
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