The Power of Power Naps!

I've never been a big believer in power naps until yesterday. I always thought that power naps would just make your more sleepy, or not at all help you rejuvenate. WRONG!!

I discovered the power of power naps yesterday while attempting to read the oh, not-so-interesting novel, Huckleberry Finn. (sorry to all those fans out there.) It was 9 pm, you know, way past my bedtime, and I couldn't stop yawning. So I decided to take a 15 minute power nap. It's funny how deep of a slumber you can fall into for just 15 minutes. And when I woke up, voila! I'm fresh and alert.

I usually take 1 hour or 2 hour naps after school if I'm exhausted from the day. But often I find that I wake up feeling even more drowsy. I've asked around, and this seems to be the case with a lot of people. I'm interested in the science behind it.

My advice is to try a power nap! These REALLY work! If you are/were a skeptic like me, just try it.

15 minutes minimum, 25 minutes maximum, up to three times during your homework time could really improve your efficiency!
That's it for now, folks!


photo credit: prevention magazine

Inhale, Exhale

Recently, I've had this problem where I'm running short of breath. This happens even if I'm just talking casually, studying, or even while watching TV. It's made me focus my attention a lot on my breathing, and I made an eerie discovery: we hardly breathe.

I noticed that when we take breaths, they're very shallow. Our chest hardly rises, whereas our chest and our stomach area should expand (if you fill most of your lungs with air.)
Going about our daily business we dont pay much attention to our breathing.

Next time you're fortunate enough to spend time with a baby, watch him/her sleep. Notice that babies take deep, slow, breaths and that their entire body expands with each inhalation. As we grow older, we get distracted by more "important" things and forget to focus on the very basic necessity of breathing.

Take a few moments right now to notice your breath. Are you breathing deeply, or just superficially?

I urge you guys to take notice of your breathing. Every once in a while, check up on yourself. Improving the way you inhale and exhale is a simple way to improving your health.

That's it for now, folks.

SAD

Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'm 99% sure I have it.
Symptoms (during cold, gloomy weather):
- Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious (CHECK!)
- Lose interest in your usual activities (CHECK!)
- Eat more and crave carbs (CHECK)
- Gain weight (CHECK!)
- Sleep more and feel drowsy during the day time (CHECK CHECK!)

It's really unfortunate that weather controls me like this. According to the article I got this information from, SAD is caused by a lack of sunlight. But isn't everyone deprived of sunlight during the winter? So why do only a few people get affected so much?

Anyways, if I have this so called disorder, I just have to learn to cope with it. If you have it too, here are some tips!

-Listen to music that's fast paced. Even if you aren't a fan of fast paced songs, it will make you feel more energized.
-EXERCISE. Definitely gives you more energy and gets produces happy hormones, or endorphins. :)
- Try especially hard not to procrastinate so you can get more time with friends and family.
- Before you go to sleep, spend 5 minutes taking deep, long, breaths.
-Come up with a mantra, no matter how cheesy it sounds, and repeat it to yourself once at night and once when you wake up.
-Take 20 minutes out of your day to read a book that you like.

I know its sunny and hot out right now, but if we have a rainy spell coming up soon, try these tricks out!

That's it for now folks.

20/20 anyone?

How many of you wear contacts or glasses? It feels like hardly anyone these days has perfect vision. We all blame it on pollution, or the excessive amount of hours spent before a computer screen. But unfortunately, we can't change that. What we can change, is the way we take care of our eyes. Check this article out.

I love the sunglasses tip! It's an excuse for a great fashion accessory.

What I found SUPER surprising though was the fact that carrots aren't as good for your eyes as leafy greens like kale and spinach! I guess bunnies' eyes aren't as sharp as we thought they were.

As I mentioned before, it's crucial that we take care of our eyes now. Sure, we poke in our contacts in the morning and we can't feel a thing all day. But we can't afford to abuse our eyes now; the repercussions are dangerous and terrifying.

A tip: when you're studying or doing homework, take a break to "stretch your eyes". Look to a point far in the distance, then shift your focus to something nearer; alternate between the two, roll your eyes around, and then go back to studying. Exercising your eye muscles is a great way to "keep them in shape"

That's it for now, folks.

Tell The Truth

so you don't have to remember anything. I think this proverb is incredibly powerful; partly because it is not such a hackneyed expression, but mostly because the expression is there for your protection rather than to dictate how you should live your life.

It came to my mind today while we were discussing Huckleberry Finn, the oh so repetitive satire by Mark Twain. Huck lies continuously, and always forgets what he has lied about. He eventually realizes the difficulty in lying, and reaches an epiphany where he resolves only to tell white lies.

But enough of the lit analysis. What I mean to convey is that adhering to this piece of advice will radically change your life. We all lie, its human nature. Telling the truth 24/7 is incredibly difficult. But imagine if all of us tried. The world would become a much safer place for our emotions.

(This post was for 3/17 -- it didnt post for some reason)

That's it for now folks.

Olive Oil -

This is an extra post, to make up for Friday, March 13th, because I was sick. (Ha! How ironic!)

Anyways, about a month ago a family friend from New York was visiting. I sat on the bed chattering away, complaining about high school pressure and drama etc., when I noticed that she only had a toothbrush, toothpaste, hair supplies, and a bar of Neutrogena soap in her vanity case. No moisturizer, I thought? When I asked her about it, she said that she likes to limit her use of commercial products and replace them with natural substances as much as possible. Her replacement moisturizer? Olive Oil.

Shocking, huh! Most of us would automatically assume that any type of oil used as a moisturizer would cause us to break out. Not true! The family friend I mentioned earlier has acne prone skin, yet she has no breakouts with regular use of olive oil.

I took a risk of following her advice about 3 weeks ago, and now I'm completely addicted to it. Just a drop or two massaged into the face at night keeps your skin soft and clear.

Now that I think about it, it's funny how all these commercial products claim to use natural ingredients like shea butter, and coconut oil, etc. Why don't we just use the actual natural stuff and skip over all the chemicals?

Guilt-Free Snacking?

I saw this article on msn health today. The tips are great, but the title is misleading. These aren't snacks. Most people would consider snacks to be, well, at the very least, palatable. The so called "snacks" listed in this article aren't exactly what I'd call scrumptious. And the one thing I do find yummy on the list, dark chocolate, is limited to 1-2 ounces. Yay.

Unfortunately, in our hectic world where a Special K bar has replaced a proper breakfast and Drive-Thru Taco Bell has replaced both lunch and dinner, advice such as this is necessary. Almost once a week on msn I come across health articles with new tips on how to make healthy foods quickly. Emphasis on the quickly. The majority of people don't have time to cook their own meals, so naturally they opt for fast-foods and finger-foods.
Our fast paced world takes control of every aspect of our health: physical, mental, and perhaps even social?

Perhaps if we stopped compromising our health, we could be more successful.

That's it for now, folks.

A Tangible Goal

It would be a little presumptuous for someone to claim to have no goals. Obviously, everyone has an ambition. Now whether that be aiming to cure cancer, getting a 2400 on the SAT, or simply getting a minimum of 8 hours a sleep a night, is not the point of this post. It's how you approach your goal.

Most of us make a mental goal. That's great, but unfortunately, not quite sufficient. With experience I can say that physically writing down a goal, whether it be on a piece of paper or your computer, is a lot more conducive to success. Understandably, mental goals tend to be overshadowed by other, more pressing and imminent things. Writing it down and keeping it in a location that you frequently visit will not only remind you, but instill drive and motivation.

So the next time you're dying of acedia, try writing down your goals. Comment back to share whether this method works!

A tip: set your goals a little higher than what you think is possible. you'll be amazed at what you can achieve.

That's it for now, folks.

The Chicken / Brain Yoga

My mom recently forwarded me this chain email she had going on with her friends that linked her to the following video: Superbrain Yoga.
Captivating, no? Well, get this: apparently, my mom and her friends are so excited about this discovery because this exercise was a form of punishment when they were in school in India. Except instead of calling it "brain yoga", they called it moorgi (the chicken pose.)

Accustomed to detentions and Saturday 5's, our generation probably finds it difficult to fathom that physical exercise was used to castigate students for inappropriate behavior or for negligence towards their schoolwork. Humiliating as it must have been back then, this practice has clearly engendered interest and has provided amazing results. Fascinating.

This segues nicely to what I would like to share today. In our youth, we often take not only our body but our mind for granted. Yet nevertheless, diseases such as Alzheimer's show that our brain is also subject to atrophy. I am not attempting to sound wise; I find myself carelessly devouring junk food quite frequently, and it has only come to my attention today that I should make sure that my brain stays healthy as well. We should take action now to ensure that our bodies and our minds stay healthy and active in the future.

Regardless of how silly this Superbrain Yoga may seem (I could not restrain from laughing at the video), I hope to incorporate it into my weekly, if not daily, routine. I invite you to join me on this endeavor. A fit body and an acute mind are wonderful incentives, don't you think?

That's it for now, folks.

Dihydrogen Monoxide

I came upon this website recently, http://www.dhmo.org/. It explained all the reasons why dhmo is harmful. Seeing that it was a .org website, I instinctively trusted the information and read on: "dhmo is linked to gun violence"; "some call dhmo the invisible killer"; "dihydrogen monoxide can be deadly." What is this stuff?


It took me about 15 minutes to realize that dhmo, was none other than our very own, H2O. Being an AP Chemistry student, I was naturally embarrased to not have realized this at the outset. I heartily congratulate anyone who was not fooled by the scientific-aura of the website. (If you guessed by recognizing that the beautiful bottle to the left is a water bottle, then I dont.)

Back to the point. After realizing that dhmo was water, I reflected back on one of the warnings: "some people think that dhmo should be banned." I honestly think that some of my friends and family agree with this statement and think that water is toxic; these people probably drink a glass of water a week, and it irks me. Here begins my rant/reasons why water is necessary for a body to function well physically and mentally :

The Importance of Dihydrogen Monoxide

• Water washes away all the gunk stuck to the lining of our intestines (this is especially important if you tend to eat a less fibrous diet).


• Water makes your skin glow. It's not a myth that drinking water helps prevent acne. It washes away toxins that lead to pimples and helps our kidneys filter those toxins out.


• Water keeps your skin and lips moist. Drinkng enough water may help you relieve your chapstick addiction. (I have a severe addiction, so I understand.)


• Water prevents you from consuming unnecessary calories. I'm not saying that water supresses hunger, or it'll make you lose weight. But it will prevent you from reaching for snacks when you're not even hungry.


• Water is good for digestion. In fact, drinking a cup of water as soon as you wake up in the morning is probably the best way to start your day.

• Water helps to replenish the water you've lost through perspiration. If you have a very active lifestyle, drinking water is a must. Many people recommend drinking beverages with electrolytes; however, many of these sport drinks are loaded with sugar and do not hydrate you nor replenish your energy. Stick to drinking water, and if electrolytes are needed, at a pinch of salt and lemon and sugar: lemonade!

• Water helps you concentrate in class. Sugary drinks may provide you a burst of energy, but you'll crash sooner or later and won't be able to function. Water keeps you going throughout the day. Invest in a reusable water bottle for convenience! I just got a new Sigg water bottle (pictured to the left) that I'm currently obsessed with. :) visit http://www.mysigg.com/
  

That's it for now, folks.