10 Tips for a Good Night Sleep!!

Stick to a schedule.
Erratic bedtimes do not allow for your body to align to the proper circadian rhythms.
Mum was right when she set a time we always had to go to sleep as kids. Also, make sure you try to keep the same schedule on weekends too, otherwise the next morning, you'd wake later and feel overly tired.

Sleep only at night.
Avoid daytime sleep if possible.Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to 20-minute, power naps.

Exercise.
It's actually known to help you sleep better.Your body uses the sleep period to recover muscles and joints that have been exercised.Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise every day can help you sleep, but be sure to exercise in the morning or afternoon. Exercise stimulates the body and aerobic activity before bedtime may make falling asleep more difficult.

Taking a hot shower or bath before bed helps bring on sleep because they can relax tense muscles.

Avoid eating just before bed.
Avoid eat large meals or spicy foods before bedtime.Give yourself at least 2 hours from when you eat to when you sleep.This allows for digestion to happen (or at least start)well before you go to sleep so your body can rest well during the night, rather than churning away your food.

Avoid caffeine.
It keeps you awake and that's now what you want for a good nights sleep. We all know that.

Read a fiction book.
It takes you to a whole new world if you really get into it. And then take some time to ponder over the book as you fall asleep.I find as I read more and more, regardless of the book, I get more tired at night and so find it easier to fall asleep. Different for others?

Have the room slightly cooler.
I prefer this to a hot room. I prefer to turn off the heat and allow the coolness to circulate in and out of the windows.If I get cold, I wear warmer clothes.It also saves on the bills as you're not going to require the heat all night long.

Sleep in silence.
I find sleeping with no music or TV on more easy and restful.I guess others are different, but sleep with no distractions is best for a clearer mind.

Avoid alcohol before bedtime.
It's a depressant; although it may make it easier to fall asleep, it causes you to wake up during the night. As alcohol is digested your body goes into withdrawal from the alcohol, causing nighttime awakenings and often nightmares for some people.

Useful Article on Cancer!!

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

"Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life." - Johns Hopkins.

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental,food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to no urish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

10 Tips for Sound Sleep!!

Stick to a schedule.
Erratic bedtimes do not allow for your body to align to the proper circadian rhythms. Mum was right when she set a time we always had to go to sleep as kids. Also, make sure you try to keep the same schedule on weekends too, otherwise the next morning, you'd wake later and feel overly tired.

Sleep only at night.
Avoid daytime sleep if possible. Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to 20-minute, power naps.

Exercise.
It's actually known to help you sleep better. Your body uses the sleep period to recover muscles and joints that have been exercised. Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise every day can help you sleep, but be sure to exercise in the morning or afternoon. Exercise stimulates the body and aerobic activity before bedtime may make falling asleep more difficult.

Taking a hot shower or bath before bed helps bring on sleep becausethey can relax tense muscles.

Avoid eating just before bed.
Avoid eat large meals or spicy foods before bedtime. Give yourself at least 2 hours from when you eat to when you sleep.This allows for digestion to happen (or at least start)well before you go to sleep so your body can rest well during the night, rather than churning away your food.

Avoid caffeine.
It keeps you awake and that's now what you wantfor a good nights sleep. We all know that.

Read a fiction book.
It takes you to a whole new world if you really get into it.And then take some time to ponder over the book as you fall asleep. I find as I read more and more, regardless of the book, I get more tired at night and so find it easier to fall asleep.Different for others?

Sleep in silence.
I find sleeping with no music or TV on more easy and restful.I guess others are different, but sleep with no distractions is best for a clearer mind.

Avoid alcohol before bedtime.
It's a depressant; although it may make it easier to fall asleep, it causes you to wake up during the night. As alcohol is digested your body goes into withdrawal from the alcohol, causing nighttime awakenings and often nightmares for some people.

Leading a healthy life!!

I have never been an athlete. I have never been much interested in sports, ever since I stopped playing touch-football with the boys, when I hit puberty. I have tried tennis. I hit the ball too high, too long, and way over into left field. I have tried softball. Thank goodness that ball is "soft" and big, because it felt just awful when it hit me in the eye. I tried running, but I could not get anyone to chase me.

I tried swimming, but even though I float like a cork, and have had numerous lessons, I cannot seem to get over the idea, that I am really going to drown. Finally, I settled on walking and for a number of years, I walked 3 to 5 miles a day. I realize that there is an Olympic sport referred to as "walking," but when I tried that, all I succeeded in doing was throwing my hip out.

I am definitely NOT an athlete, but I make do, especially in my "mid-life" years. Which brings a question to my mind? When did I hit mid-life? I remember when I hit thirty. I had to visit a grief counselor, because I knew my life was over. I remember forty. I had to see a grief counselor, the day after my first child graduated from high school and moved out of the house, because I knew my life was over. I remember forty-four. For some reason I thought my life was over. Then I hit fifty, and I was all excited, because I was able to join an organization called AARP. My husband was, especially, excited because he is younger than I, and he got to join, too!

Fifty became the magic age. I knew that as long as I was in good health, in this day and age, I probably had a good fifty years ahead of me. Then came the asthma. O.K., I had that much earlier, but it only became life threatening after fifty. Then came the fibromyalgia. O.K., I had THAT earlier, but it is not life threatening. Then came the arthritis, and, more recently, at fifty-five, came the diabetes. Somewhere, along in there, I became very interested in pharmaceuticals, and, finally, one day, I became free.

I began by noticing the sunsets, and I had the time to stop and really wonder, at the beauty and the magnitude of it all. Then I moved onto the sunrises, and I quickly found out that if I wasted the early morning, I missed the loveliest part of the day. Then I began to notice how grateful I was to be able to witness the changing of the seasons. The first whisper of spring; the rustling of the leaves beneath my feet, in the fall; that first breathless covering of a winter's snow; and in the summer, all the flowers, and the buzzing of a bumblebee.

When illness would hit me, I found that I, actually, enjoyed the solitude. A time to reflect, gathers my thoughts, and prays, at leisure. I found that I was "experiencing" this mid-life season, and I was no longer missing every moment, shackled to the chains of worry, and what "might" be. I found that worrying about tomorrow, only served to make me overlook the blessings of today.

It is not always easy. A few loads of laundry, and a pile of dishes can take an entire day; but then I do not push myself a lot. So, I forget to make the bed, as I watch the rosy glow of dawn meet the rising sun. I have time to walk our little, wooded acre with my little dachshund straining at the leash. I get to read the "signs," with my Happy Dog, sniff the air, and gaze out at nowhere, studying the sky, with the same intensity that my little dog studies the ground.

I get to meet the day, every day. I get to say "good-night," to the sunsets. I have studied a lot of sunsets, in the last five years, and I have never seen two that were alike. I get to know my Creator as I never have before, and I have gotten to make MY mind up, about the mysteries of life; and I have grown certain, that all this was no accident.

I feed the birds, and I take great delight in their multicolored hues, especially in the spring. I drag a chair to stand on, so that I can fill the feeders to the brim, myself. I say a little prayer, as I wobble, a little cock-eyed on the chair, and I laugh, at myself, and all the pretensions of my younger life. I take great delight in my life. I thank God for all the precious little things of every day. Friends. Family. Neighbors. And health. A health of the soul. For I have come to understand, what real health is, and when you have REAL health, then you truly have everything.

5 rules to a lean body!!

Snack on almonds.
In a study of 65 men and women who were following a low calorie diet, California researchcers found that those who noshed on the nuts shrank their waistlines nearly 50 per cecnt more than dieters who didn't eat them, despite consuming the same number of calories. Likewise, even without increasing exercise, a diet enriched with monounsaturated fatty acids (found in foods suchc as almonds and avocados) decreased the accumulation of abdominal fat compared with a carb-heavy diet, which increased it.

Fill up on fibre
"When you slow digestion, you slow the delivery of glucose to the bloodstream" says Marie Savard, M.D., author of "The Body Shape Solution to Weight Loss and Wellness". "That means less insulin is released, and with lower insulin release comes lower visceral (belly) fat storage." Aim for atleast 25 GMs a day from such foods as vegetables, fruits, beans lentils, brown rice, and whole grain bread, and pasta.

Stay satisfied with protein
Gram for gram protein has the same number of calories as carbs (and half that of fat), but takes longer to digest, so you feel full longer. It also seems to help lower levels of the hormone ghrelin, which is known to stimulate appetite. Include a serving of lean protein with each meal and snack-eggs for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch, low-fat or fat-free yoghurt or milk for a snack, and grilled fish and vegetables for dinner.

Skip the sweetener.
Researchers believe artificial sweetners may hinder your body's ability to regulate calories based on taste, so you end up overeating. Go with natural sweetner, such as raw sugar or honey, instead.

Dum one high-cal item from your diet
By eliminating just one-high calorie item from your dialy diet, such as a large latte, or substituting cereal and low-fat milk for a bagel and cream cheese, you can easily reduce your intake by 250 calories.

Courtsey:New York Times Service

Home remedies for Conjuctivitis!!

Conjunctivitis refers to an inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin transparent membrane covering the front of the eye. This is also referred to as having 'sore eyes' and is a very common form of eye trouble. It spreads from person to person through direct Contact. Overcrowding, dirty surroundings and unhealthy living conditions can cause epidemics of this ailment.

Conjunctivitis Symptoms
Eyeball and underside of the eyelids become inflammed
The eyeball and underside of the eyelids become inflammed. At first, the eyes are red and itchy. Later, there may be a watery secretion.

Pus formation
In more serious cases, there is pus formation, which dries up during sleep, making the lashes stick together.

Causes of Conjunctivitis

Bacterial or virus infection or eyestrain
Conjunctivitis results from bacterial or a virus infection or eyestrain. Prolonged work under artificial light and excessive use of the eyes in one way or the other, no doubt, contribute towards the disease.

Catarrhal condition of the system from general toxaemia
Its real cause can be traced to a catarrhal condition of the system resulting from general toxaemia due to dietetic errors, and a faulty style of living. The patient generally suffers from colds or other ailments indicative of a general catarrhal condition.

Home Remedies for Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis treatment using Vegetable Juices
Raw juices of certain vegetables, especially carrots and spinach, have been found valuable in conjunctivitis. The combined juices of these two vegetables have proved very effective. In this combination, 200 ml of spinach juice should be mixed with 300ml of carrot juice. Raw parsley (prajmoda) juice-200 ml, mixed with 300 ml of carrot juice has also been found beneficial in the treatment of this disease.

Conjunctivitis treatment using Indian Gooseberry
The juice of the Indian gooseberry, mixed with honey, is useful in conjunctivitis. A cup of this juice should be taken mixed with two teaspoons of honey twice daily in treating this condition.

Conjunctivitis treatment using Vitamins
Vitamins A and B2 have proved useful in conjunctivitis. The patient should take liberal quantities of natural foods rich in these two vitamins. Foods rich in vitamin A are wholemilk, curds, butter, carrots, pumpkin, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, mangoes, and papaya. Foods rich in vitamin B2 are green leafy vegetables, milk, almonds, citrus fruits, bananas, and tomatoes.

Conjunctivitis treatment using Coriander
A decoction prepared with a handful of dried coriander in 60 ml of water is an excellent eye-wash in conjunctivitis. It is said to relieve burning and reduces pain and swelling. This decoction should, however, be sparingly used by persons suffering from bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Conjunctivitis diet
Take fresh fruit diet, avoid bananas
The best way to commence treatment for conjunctivitis is to adopt an exclusive fresh fruit diet for a week. In this regimen, the three meals a day should consist of fresh, juicy seasonal fruits. Bananas should, however, not be taken. Those with acute conjunctivitis should undertake a juice fast for three or four days.

All-fruit diet followed by a restricted diet of chapatis, nuts etc

The short juice fast may be followed by an all-fruit diet for a further seven days. Thereafter, the patient may adopt a restricted diet, consisting of fresh fruits, raw mixed-vegetable salad, wholemeal bread or chapatis and steamed vegetables, and nuts.
Avoid starchy and sugary foods, refined cereals, strong tea ans coffee

The patient should avoid an excessive intake of starchy and sugary foods in the form of white bread, refined cereals, potatoes, puddings, sugar, jams, confectionery, meats, fatty foods, strong tea and coffee, too much salt, condiments, and sauces which cause a general catarrhal condition as well as conjunctivitis.

Other Conjunctivitis treatments

Warm-water enema
Those taking a juice fast for the first three or four days of the treatment should take a warm-water enema daily during the fast.

Cold water fomentation of the eyes
A cold water fomentation of the eyes provides almost immediate relief. The procedure is to fold a small hand towel, saturate it with cold water, squeeze out excess water and place the towel gently over both the eyes. It should be covered with a piece of warm cloth to retain the temperature. The process should be repeated as soon as the foment becomes warm. Fomentation should be done for an hour. The eyes should then be covered with a dry towel, and the patient should lie back and relax. The damaged eye tissues will quickly return to normal. This treatment should be repeated every night for a week, even though the problem may clear up with the first treatment itself.

Relaxing, strengthening of eyes by doing eye exercises

The patient should also adopt various methods of relaxing and strengthening the eyes. These include moving the eyes gently up and down, from side to side and in a circle - clockwise and anticlockwise; rotating the neck in circles and semicircles; and briskly moving the shoulders clockwise and anticlockwise. Palming is highly beneficial in removing strain and relaxing the eyes and its surrounding tissues.

The procedure is as follows: sit in a comfortable position and relax with your eyes closed. Cover the eyes with the palms, right palm over the right eye and the left over the left eye. Do not press on the eye balls. Then allow your elbows to drop to your knees, which should be fairly close together.

Insominia!!

The term insomnia literally denotes a complete lack of sleep. It is, however, used to indicate a relative inability to sleep that consists of difficulty in falling asleep, difficulty in remaining asleep, early final awakening, or combinations of these complaints. This disease has assumed alarming proportions in the present times, specially among the upper classes in the urban set-up.

Insomnia Symptoms

Lack of sleep, emotional instability
The single symptom that most frequently marks the onset of insomnia is difficulty in falling asleep. There may he changes in the duration and quality of sleep, persistent changes in sleep patterns, lapses of memory, and lack of concentration during the day. Other symptoms are emotional instability, loss of coordination and confusion.

Insomnia Causes

Tension, anxiety, stress
The most common cause of sleeplessness is mental tension brought about by anxiety, worries, overwork, and overexcitement.

Suppressed Resentment, anger, bitterness
Suppressed feelings of resentment, anger, and bitterness may also cause insomnia.
Constipation, overeating, excessive tea/coffee/smoking
Constipation, dyspepsia, overeating at night, excessive intake of tea or coffee, smoking, and going to bed hungry are among the other causes. Often, worrying about falling asleep is enough to keep one awake.

Insomnia Home remedies

Insomnia treatment using Thiamine
Of the various food elements, thiamine or vitamin B is of special significance in the treatment of insomnia. It is vital for strong, healthy nerves. A body starved of thiamine over a long period will be unable to relax and fall asleep naturally. Valuable sources of this vitamin are wholegrain cereals, pulses, and nuts.

Insomnia treatment using Lettuce
Lettuce is beneficial in the treatment of insomnia as it contains a sleep-inducing substance, called 'lectucarium'. The juice of this plant has been likened in effect to the sedative action of opium without the accompanying excitement. Lettuce seeds taken in a decoction are also useful in insomnia. One tablespoon of seeds should be boiled in half a litre of water, till it is reduced by one-third.

Insomnia treatment using Milk
Milk is very valuable in insomnia. A glass of milk, sweetened with honey, should be taken every night before going to bed in treating this condition. It acts as a tonic and a tranquilliser. Massaging the milk over the soles of the feet has also been found effective.

Insomnia treatment using Curd
Curd is also useful in insomnia. The patient should take plenty of curd and massage it on the head. This will induce sleep.

Insomnia treatment using Bottle Gourd
The mixture of bottle gourd juice and sesame oil in 50:50 ratio acts as an effective medicine for insomnia. It should be massaged over the scalp every night. The cooked leaves of bottle gourd taken as a vegetable are also beneficial in the treatment of this disease.

Insomnia treatment using Aniseed
A tea made from aniseed is valuable in sleeplessness. This tea is prepared by boiling about 375 ml of water in a vessel and adding a teaspoon of aniseed. The water should be covered with a lid and allowed to simmer for fifteen minutes. It should then be strained and drunk hot or warm. The tea may be sweetened with honey, and hot milk may also be added to it. This tea should be taken after meals or before going to bed.

Insomnia treatment using Honey
Honey is beneficial in the treatment of insomnia. It has a hypnotic action and induces a sound sleep. It should be taken with water, before going to bed, in doses of two teaspoons in a large cup of water. Babies generally fall asleep after taking honey.

Insomnia treatment using Rauwolfia
The herb rauwolfia is a valuable medicine for insomnia because of its indisputable efficacy as a sedative. The hypnotic action of the drug appears to have been known since ancient times. The very first dose of rauwolfia will enable a patient with a phlegmatic and gouty nature to go to sleep. The powder of the root in a quantity of 0.25 gm to 0.5 gm should be mixed with some scented substance like cardamom and given to the patient The patient will have a sound sleep during the entire night. If the disease is chronic, the patient should take O.25 gm twice a day, in the morning as well as at night before retiring.

Insomnia Diet

Low salt diet
The patient should take a low-salt diet as salt is said to interfere with a restful sleep. A balanced diet with simple modifications in the eating pattern will go a long way in the treatment of insomnia.

Avoid white flour products, sugar products, tea etc.
Such a diet should exclude white flour products, sugar and its products, tea, coffee, chocolate, cola drinks, alcohol, fatty foods, fried foods, and foods containing additives.

Other Insomnia remedies

Regular active exercise
Regular active exercise during the day and mild exercise before retiring at night enhances the quantity and the quality of sleep. Yoga helps in a majority of cases. It provides physical and mental relaxation from one's disturbing problems.

Meditiate, eliminate stress, hobbies
The patient should make an all-out effort to eliminate as many stress factors as possible. The steps in this direction should include regular practice of any relaxation method or meditation technique; cultivating the art of doing things slowly, particularly activities like eating, walking and talking; limiting the working day to nine or ten hours and the working week to five and a half days; cultivating a creative hobby and spending some time daily on this; and avoiding meeting unrealistic targets.

Yogasanas
The traditional yoga asanas which are effective for insomnia patients are shirshasana, sarvangasana, paschimottanasana, uttanasana, viparit karni, and shavasana.