Recent Blog Posts
The 17 Most Important Steps to Organize Your Office (Finally!)
The 17 Most Important Steps to Organize Your Office (Finally!) A messy office will mess with your mind, leaving you less productive and more frazzled. Considering how much time most workers spend in their office (a survey by NEC-Mitsubishi, a maker of computer monitors, found that 67 percent of office workers feel more tied to their desks than they did two years ago), we should all be "whizzes" at organizing our offices. In reality, most of us could use a little help, and who could blame us, considering that after spending a long day in the office the last thing you want to do is spend more time organizing. Yet chances are high that within the last week or certainly month you've said (or at least thought to yourself) "I've got to get this office organized!" You likely also said it through gritted teeth, with a red face, and feeling frustrated as you frantically searched for that important memo, only to find it lost amid piles of papers, business cards and post-it notes. Life does not have to [...]
Bad Posture at the Desk Can Lead to High Blood Pressure and Other Risks
Bad Posture at the Desk Can Lead to High Blood Pressure and Other Risks If you spend long hours sitting at a desk each day, listen up -- or, more precisely, straighten up. Bad posture at your desk, what has also been called "Sittosis", has been found to raise your blood pressure. The muscles in your neck are linked directly to a brain region that regulates your heart rate and blood pressure. The discovery was made by researchers at the University of Leeds, UK, who found that muscles in your neck have a direct connection to your nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) -- a part of the brainstem that helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure. "The pathway exists for bad posture to really have an effect," said researcher Ian Edwards. Of course, high blood pressure is only one of the unsavory side effects of a day-long slouch marathon. Sitting improperly at your desk can lead to: Increased risk of neck and back problems Abnormal wear and tear on your joints, which can lead to arthritis Improperly aligned bones [...]
How to Avoid SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) Starting Now How to Stay Happy Simple Ways to be Happier as the Season Changes For many, summer is filled with long, fun-filled days in the sun, but come fall and winter, sunlight gets scarce and many retreat to the warmth of their homes until the spring thaw signals that it’s time to venture back outside. When the sunny days of summer give way to the dreary days of fall and winter, many find their mood follows suit. During this time, the lack of sunlight and inactivity can lead to a common condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). About 10 percent of the U.S. population living in northern states suffer from SAD, which is characterized by a depressed mood, irritability, fatigue, anxiety, cravings for carbohydrates and weight gain. Another 30 percent suffer from a less severe form of the condition, often referred to as the winter blues. How do You Know You Have SAD? If you suffer from SAD, chances are you’re already familiar with the pattern; symptoms generally appear in [...]
Eating and Exercise: Should You Eat After Exercising? Before? How Long and What?
Eating and Exercise: Should You Eat After Exercising? Before? How Long and What? Many of us grew up with the strict advice to wait at least one hour after eating to go swimming -- or else we'd be stricken with severe cramps and inevitably sink to the bottom. Eating a small snack about an hour before your workout may help give you energy, as long as it's something high in carbs and low in fat (like a piece of fresh fruit and a mini whole-grain bagel). Now that we're grown, many of us are still holding on to the notion that we shouldn't eat anything before we exercise. Meanwhile, many of us don't take the time to stop and eat something after we workout either, but should we? Eating Before Exercise: Should You? Your body needs fuel (i.e. food) to make it through your workout, but too much of it can actually slow you down. So when it comes to eating and exercise, timing, quantity and the type of exercise you're doing make all the difference. Here are [...]
Why Most New Year’s Resolutions Fail and How to Re-Set Your Resolutions NOW For Success
Why Most New Year’s Resolutions Fail and How to Re-Set Your Resolutions NOW For Success How many times have you vowed to lose 20 pounds starting with the New Year or said that this was the year you were going to cut back on your drinking or quit smoking once and for all? After the excitement of the New Year dies down, will your New Year’s resolution survive? After celebrating on New Year’s Eve and using it as the last hurrah to overindulge, most people set out on a stringent quest of resolutions beginning the very next day. Then around the end of January, many fail to live up to their stated resolutions, give up and go back to their former lifestyle. One survey listed the top three resolution categories in order of popularity: 37% - Start exercising 13% - Eat better 7% - Reduce alcohol and caffeine consumption or quit smoking The researchers found that people who looked at self-control as a form of willpower had the tendency to make more than one resolution and those who [...]
How to Avoid Holiday Tummy Trouble
How to Avoid Holiday Tummy Trouble Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of upset stomach seems to go hand-in-hand with the holiday season. Many celebrations -- starting from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Hanukkah, Kwanza, New Year’s and for those sports fanatics, the Superbowl, all involve loads of fatty foods that are prime triggers for stomach problems like heartburn and other digestive disorders. Overindulging through the holiday season may not settle well with your stomach. Keep reading to find out several all-natural solutions to help relieve your symptoms and address the root cause of certain tummy troubles. The Heartburn Path Starts in Your Stomach Breaking down the word heartburn you might think it has something to do with your heart, but on the contrary it begins in your stomach when acid backs up into your esophagus, the narrow tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. Under ideal circumstances, once food is consumed and hits the base of your esophagus, the esophagus works to keep the food down. When heartburn strikes, [...]