10 Steps to Keep Your Brain

1. The Alliance for Aging Research, a nonprofit organization, recommends following these 10 steps to keep your brain and your body in shape.
2. Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet. Diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fish), protein, antioxidants, fruits and vegetables, and vitamin B; low in trans fats; and with the recommended levels of carbohydrates optimize brain health.
3. Stay Mentally Active. Learning new skills or languages, working on crossword puzzles, taking classes and learning how to dance all challenge and maintain cognitive function.
4. Exercise and Keep Fit. Exercising increases circulation, improves coordination and helps prevent conditions such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes, which increase the risk of developing dementia.
5. Stay Social. Socializing with friends, volunteering, traveling and doing favorite leisure activities with others keeps the mind active and reduces stress, which can harm brain health.
6. Get Plenty of Sleep. Lack of sleep undermines brain health.
7. Manage Stress. Stress hormones may actually damage—or even kill—brain cells, resulting in loss of the ability to remember and to learn. Relieve daily stress by doing a practice such as yoga or by spending time with friends and family.
8. Protect Your Head. Studies show that the more severe the head injury, the higher the risk of developing dementia. Wear protective headgear and seat belts to prevent head injury.
9. Control Other Health Conditions. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, eating a well- balanced and nutritious diet and controlling stress can reduce the risk of diseases that affect the brain (e.g., diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure).
10. Avoid Unhealthy Habits. Smoking, heavy drinking and recreational drug use may increase the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
11. Consider Your Genes. If your family history indicates a higher risk of loss of mental functions, it’s even more important to be proactive about maintaining your brain health. 

Love Your Life
source : googling

28 Ways Stop to Start Simple Life

Life is not complicated.  We are complicated.  When we stop doing the wrong things and start doing the right things, life is simple.
 So starting today…

1. Stop berating yourself for being a work in progress. – Start embracing it!  Because being a work in progress doesn’t mean you’re not good enough today.  It means you want a better tomorrow, and you wish to love yourself completely, so you can live your life fully.  It means you’re determined to heal your heart, expand your mind and cultivate the gifts you know you’re meant to share. May we all be works in progress forever, and celebrate the fact that we are!   
2. Stop doing immoral things simply because you can. – Start being honest with yourself and everyone else.  Don’t cheat.  Be faithful.  Be kind.  Do the right thing!  It is a less complicated way to live.  Integrity is the essence of everything successful.  When you break the rules of integrity you invite serious complications into your life.  Keep life simple and enjoyable by doing what you know in your heart is right.   
3. Stop meaning what you don’t say. – Start communicating clearly.  Don’t try to read other people’s minds, and don’t make other people try to read yours.  Most problems, big and small, within a family, friendship, or business relationship, start with bad communication.  Someone isn’t being clear.   
4. Stop wasting time and money trying to acquire more of everything. – Start focusing on quality.  High quality is worth more than any quantity, in possessions, friends and experiences.  Truly ‘rich’ people need less to be happy.  Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one.  Too many people buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t know.  Do not spend to impress others.  Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.  Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you.   
5. Stop spending time with negative people. – Start spending time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded.  Relationships should help you, not hurt you.  Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be.  Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it.  Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  When you free yourself of negative people, you free yourself to be YOU – and being YOU is the simplest way to live.   
6. Stop trying to change people. – Start accepting people just the way they are.  In most cases it’s impossible to change them anyway, and it’s rude to try.  So save yourself from needless stress.  Instead of trying to change others, give them your support and lead by example.   
7. Stop being lazy and cutting corners. – Start avoiding future headaches by doing things right the first time.  Always put your best foot forward.  Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.  Why give less than 100%?  Life is too short to waste it by living below your full potential.  If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well.    
8. Stop procrastinating. – Start taking action and making changes.  Action and change are often resisted when they’re needed most.  Get a hold of yourself and have discipline.  Discipline is choosing what you really want over what you want right now.  Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.  What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow.  And there’s nothing more stressful than the perpetual lingering of an unfinished task.
9. Stop worrying and complaining. – Start focusing on the things you can control and do something about them.  Those who complain the most accomplish the least.  And when you spend time worrying, you’re simply using your imagination to create things you don’t want.  It’s usually only as good or bad as you think it is.
10. Stop being dramatic. – Start spending less time gossiping about problems and more time helping yourself and others solve them.  Stay out of people’s needless drama and don’t create your own.
11. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Start focusing on being everything to someone.  Helping or pleasing everyone is impossible.  But making one person smile can change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus and be yourself.
12. Stop making promises you can’t keep. – Starting under-promising and over-delivering on everything you do.  Period.
13. Stop blaming others. – Start accepting responsibility for everything in your life.  Blaming others accomplishes nothing and prolongs the complications you’re facing.  Either you own your problems, or they will own you.  Your choice.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give up your power over that part of your life.
14. Stop reacting without a plan. – Start planning and working toward specific goals.  Make a list of your top 3 - 5 goals.  What’s most important to you?  What do you value most?  What 3 - 5 things do you most want to do in your life?  Simplifying your life starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.  Having a plan, even a flawed one at first, is better than no plan at all.  There is good reason why you should wake each morning and mindfully consider what and who you will give your day to: Because unlike other things in life – love, money, respect, good health, hope, opportunities, etc. – time is the one thing you can never get back once it’s gone.
15. Stop confusing ‘being busy’ with ‘being productive.’ – Start tracking and measuring your progress.  Being busy and being productive are two very different things.  Results are more important than the time it takes to achieve them.
16. Stop over-committing and trying to do too much at once. – Start saying “no” more often.  If you never say “no,” you will take on too much and get nothing accomplished.  In the beginning, you need to say “yes” to a lot of things to discover and establish your goals.  Later on, you need to say “no” to a lot of things and concentrate on your goals.  Once your goals are established, focus on doing one thing at a time and doing it well.  Also, leave space around commitments in your day. Whether you have appointments, or things you need to do, don’t stack them back-to-back.  Leave a little space between things you need to do, so you will have room for contingencies, and you’ll go through your day much more relaxed.
17. Stop being inefficient simply because you’ve always done it that way. – Start opening your mind to making positive changes.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Many times we live with unplanned, complex systems in our lives simply because we haven’t given them much thought.  Instead, streamline your life by finding better ways of handling common tasks.  Focus on one system at a time (your cleaning system, your errands system, your paperwork system, your email system, etc.) and try to make it simplified, efficient, and logical.  Then, once you have it perfected, stick to it.  
18. Stop cluttering your space. – Start clearing clutter.  Get rid of stuff you don’t use and then organize what’s left.  If you have a cluttered living or working space, it can be distracting and stressful.  A clear space is like a blank canvas, available to be used to create something great.  Getting truly organized and clutter-free can vastly improve anyone’s life.
19. Stop overloading your mind by consuming useless information. – Start unsubscribing from useless e-lists and news feeds, and keep the TV off.  Limit your time on Facebook, Twitter, CNN.com and your other favorite websites, etc.
20. Stop obsessing over the past and future. – Start being present. Paying more attention to the current moment can make a huge difference in simplifying your life.  It keeps you aware of life, of what’s going on around you and within you.  It does wonders for your sanity and stress levels.
21. Stop waiting for things to be perfect. – Start thinking of how many things don’t get done in this world simply because people are waiting for the perfect time, place and circumstance.  If you’re waiting for the perfect conditions, ideas or plans to get started, you’ll never achieve anything.  A good idea without action is nothing at all.  Keep it simple and just start.  Focus on the next positive step forward.
22. Stop focusing so much energy on trying to avoid mistakes. – Start learning from your mistakes, then smile and move on.  No matter how smart you are, you will make mistakes.  Trying to avoid them will only waste time and complicate your life.  There is a lesson in every mistake you make, and learning the lesson is how you move forward.
23. Stop making emotional decisions. – Start taking a few steps back so you can think things through.  When you’re caught up in the moment and your emotions are soaring, you’re bound to make poor decisions that will lead to needless complications.  The best advice here is simple:  Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence.  Slow down and think things through before you make any big decisions.
24. Stop being unhealthy. – Start taking care of your body.  Start sleeping eight hours every night.  A tired, malnourished mind is over-stressed and rarely productive.  Your health is your life, don’t let it go.  Eat right, exercise and get an annual physical check-up.  The The 4-Hour Body is an insightful and entertaining read on this topic.
25. Stop holding on to intimate relationships that make you unhappy. – Start looking out for yourself when it comes to intimate relationships.  It’s better to WAIT, and give your hand to someone who will never let go, rather than holding on to the outside of a hand that has never fully opened for you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  Remember, anyone can come into your life and say how much they love you.  But it takes someone really special to stay in your life and show you how much they love you.  So slow it down.  True love is worth the wait.
26. Stop holding on to hate. – Start letting hate go!  Keep your sights set on the future.  Holding on to hate and anger is like grasping hot coals with the intent of throwing them at someone else – you are the one who gets burned.  If you want to forget someone, and move on, you must give up hating them.  It’s hard to forget someone you hate, because hate takes pieces of your heart – thereby keeping this person within your heart.  If you want to forget them, let go of the hate, and create peace in your heart instead.  Also, remember that whenever you hate something, it usually hates you back: people, situations, and inanimate objects alike; which will only further complicate your life.
27. Stop pretending like you know everything. – Start accepting the fact that there’s a lot you don’t know.  Nobody has it all figured out.  Nobody knows more than a minuscule fraction of what’s going on in the world.  Why?  Because the world is simply way too vast for any one person to know everything well.  And most of what we see is only what we think about what we see.  The sooner you accept this, the sooner you will stop making the same unnecessary mistakes, and the sooner new doors of opportunity will open in your life.
28. Stop giving what you don’t want to receive. – Start practicing the golden rule.  If you want love, give love.  If you want friends, be friendly.  If you want money, provide value.  It works.  It really is this simple.

   
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Love Your Life
source : googling

Life Quote Today #1

Love is Life. And if you miss love, you miss life.

The Benefits of Love

It doesn't just put a sparkle in your eye—love can fight disease, boost immunity, and lower stress

Who doesn't love being in love? A true Valentine listens to you vent about work, lets you have that last slice of pizza, and (usually) remembers to take out the trash. He doesn't expect you to watch the Super Bowl. And he always thinks you're sexy, even in thermal underwear and bunny slippers.

Scientists have long been keen to prove that love gives us health benefits, too—beyond the obvious advantage of always having a date for New Year's Eve. Researchers can't say for sure that romance trumps an affectionate family or warm friendships when it comes to wellness. But they are homing in on how sex, kinship, and caring all seem to make us stronger, with health gains that range from faster healing to living longer.

The benefits of love are explicit and measurable:

• Protects your heart A University of Pittsburgh study found that women in good marriages have a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those in high-stress relationships.

• Leads to a longer life The National Longitudinal Mortality Study, which has been tracking more than a million subjects since 1979, shows that married people live longer. Plus, they have fewer heart attacks and lower cancer rates, and even get pneumonia less frequently than singles.

• Helps beat cancer University of Iowa researchers found that ovarian cancer patients with a strong sense of connection to others and satisfying relationships had more vigorous "natural killer" cell activity at the site of the tumor than those who didn't have those social ties. (These desirable white blood cells kill cancerous cells as part of the body's immune system.)  

Some experts think it won't be long before doctors prescribe steamy sex, romantic getaways, and caring communication in addition to low-cholesterol diets and plenty of rest. If that sounds like a happy Rx, here are ways to make the emerging evidence translate into real-life advice.


Love Your Life
source : googling

Smile! Now

We smile because we are happy, and we frown because we are sad. But does the causal arrow point in the other direction, too? A spate of recent studies of botox recipients and others suggests that our emotions are reinforced—perhaps even driven—by their corresponding facial expressions.

Charles Darwin first posed the idea that emotional responses influence our feelings in 1872. “The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensi­fies it,” he wrote. The esteemed 19th-cen­tury psychologist William James went so far as to assert that if a person does not express an emotion, he has not felt it at all. Although few scientists would agree with such a statement today, there is evidence that emotions in­volve more than just the brain. The face, in particular, appears to play a big role.

This February psychologists at the University of Cardiff in Wales found that people whose ability to frown is comp­romised by cosmetic botox inject­ions are happier, on average, than people who can frown. The researchers administered an anxiety and depression questionnaire to 25 females, half of whom had received frown-inhibiting botox injections. The botox recipients reported feeling happier and less anxious in general; more important, they did not report feeling any more attractive, which suggests that the emotional effects were not driven by a psychological boost that could come from the treatment’s cosmetic nature.

“It would appear that the way we feel emotions isn’t just restricted to our brain—there are parts of our bodies that help and reinforce the feelings we’re having,” says Michael Lewis, a co-author of the study. “It’s like a feedback loop.” In a related study from March, scientists at the Technical University of Munich in Germany scanned botox recipients with fMRI machines while asking them to mimic angry faces. They found that the botox subjects had much lower activity in the brain circuits involved in emotional processing and responses—in the amygdala, hypothal­amus and parts of the brain stem—as compared with con­trols who had not received treatment.

The concept works the opposite way, too—enhancing emotions rather than suppressing them. People who frown during an unpleasant procedure report feeling more pain than those who do not, according to a study published in May 2008 in the Journal of Pain. Researchers applied heat to the forearms of 29 participants, who were asked to either make unhappy, neutral or relaxed faces during the procedure. Those who exhibited negative expressions reported being in more pain than the other two groups. Lewis, who was not involved in that study, says he plans to study the effect that botox injections have on pain perception. “It’s possible that people may feel less pain if they’re unable to express it,” he says.

But we have all heard that it is bad to repress our feelings—so what happens if a person intentionally suppresses his or her negative emotions on an ongoing basis? Work by psychologist Judith Grob of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands suggests that this suppressed negativity may “leak” into other realms of a person’s life. In a series of studies she performed for her Ph.D. thesis and has submit­ted for publication, she asked sub­jects to look at disgusting images while hiding their emotions or while holding pens in their mouths in such a way that prevented them from frowning. A third group could react as they pleased.

As expected, the subjects in both groups that did not express their emotions reported feeling less disgusted afterward than control subjects. Then she gave the subjects a series of cognitive tasks that included fill-in-the-blank exercises. She found that subjects who had repressed their emotions performed poorly on memory tasks and completed the word tasks to produce more negative words—they completed “gr_ss” as “gross” rather than “grass,” for instance—as compared with controls. “People who tend to do this regularly might start to see the world in a more negative light,” Grob says. “When the face doesn’t aid in expressing the emotion, the emotion seeks other channels to express itself through.”

Love Your Life

source : googling

Keep Your Spirit Alive

Do you remember when you were a kid when your spirit was so high, you had tons of energy and all you wanted to do is go play outside? That youthful spirit, fearlessness and active lifestyle disappears slowly as you get older. If you observe kids you will see they live in the present moment and they rely on their instincts. They aren’t concerned about tomorrow or what will happen next. This attitude towards life is how each of us are born.

So what happens to this spirit? It still exists in each one of us and there are days when you can feel it on the surface but those days are limited. When you feel this presence you know its there and you feel like you are living on a high. That’s tapping into the soul. The soul exists in each of us but it’s masked by the outer vessel called the body. We focus so much attention on the outer being when this isn’t actually who you are. I have always believed we are spiritual beings having a human experience. I have heard people like Oprah and Dr. Wayne Dyer say that verse time and time again.  I didn’t believe it at first but when you really think about it this phrase is so true.

What happens when we get older is we start to let doubt, fear, and worry become part of our lives. We live day by day “just getting by.” We get stuck in a routine. Why do we allow this to happen? We resist so much of what is going on in our lives that we are actually living unconsciously.

The first thing you can do to change your life into a more peaceful, present state is to become aware of what is going on. Once you become aware of how you are living you can begin to start living a different way. Living this way not only helps you appreciate the little things in life but you will feel a sense of aliveness that is important to your well being. Don’t ever let your youthful spirit age.  You are never too old to enjoy life and live an active lifestyle. You will tap into that part of yourself that is always there no matter what and when you do that you unleash the person you truly are and begin to live a full, rich life!

Love Your Life: 5 Simple Steps

What really makes you happy?

Mounting obligations and hectic schedules can make it all too easy to lose track. But whether it's the little things in life that make you smile, or the joy of working toward a larger goal, focusing on your happiness each day can help protect your emotional well-being and your physical health.

Follow these simple steps to rediscover your passion for life.

 

1. Value Your Daily Diversions

 
When you're adding items to your to-do list, don't forget the good stuff. If you look forward to reading in bed, going out to breakfast, taking long walks, listening to music, or just sitting quietly outside, make time for at least one of your favorite diversions every day.
Consider crossing out pesky items on your list that you keep saying you're going to do but haven't gotten to in over a year, like alphabetizing your bills or organizing your sock drawer. Or get rid of a time-consuming chore that isn't enhancing your life one bit. 

2. Build Your Strength and Independence

 
We all have low-energy days, but if you can resist the urge to skip your daily workout when you're feeling low, you'll be rewarded both now and later. Try this trick: Tell yourself that you need to do only 10 minutes of exercise. Once you're up and moving (and feeling better) you'll most likely want to finish your workout. Even if you can't push past the 10-minute mark on the occasional bad day, you'll feel good about doing at least a little something. Sticking with an exercise plan helps you feel good about yourself, strengthens your immune system, and enhances production of mood-boosting hormones.

 

3. Squash Your Stressors

 
Defuse daily hassles by practicing stress-reduction strategies. Try taking deep-breathing breaks throughout the day, inhaling through your nose and then exhaling slowly through your mouth. Repeating this action three or four times allows more oxygen to get into your bloodstream, creating a feeling of calm. Progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, and meditation also are effective ways of reducing tension, stress, depression, and anxiety. And a brisk 10-minute walk will do far more to dissipate your stress and lift your spirits than eating the bad-for-you snacks you might crave when feeling frantic.

4. Celebrate and Share Your Skills

 
Volunteer at a local school, club, or community organization. Not only will sharing your unique talents and expertise benefit others, but research shows that volunteering can make you happier and improve your well-being, too. Feeling engaged and involved in your local community is good for your emotional health. It's also an opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people. Win-win.

5. Appreciate the People Around You

 
Unwind and share a few laughs with your family or friends at least once or twice each month. The openness and trust you share with the important people in your life can help give you the perspective you need to cope with everyday challenges. These regular connections will also have a positive impact on your health, especially when you share a good laugh. Laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, and releases endorphins that can ease pain.

Also, don't neglect relationships at work. Colleagues and coworkers can provide valuable support and keep your blood pressure under control during stressful situations.

Feeling satisfied and fulfilled with your life is an essential part of your emotional and physical well-being. As you grow to appreciate your time, independence, self-assurance, skills, and relationships, you will be amazed at just how good you feel, both in body and in spirit.

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