Eating To Lower Your Cholesterol

Cholesterol-lowering foods

Eating certain foods can actually help lower your cholesterol.

Soluble fiber
In addition to providing vitamins and nutrients that you need, some fruits, vegetables, and grains are good sources of soluble fiber. Five to 10 grams of soluble fiber may be able to help lower your "bad" cholesterol (LDL) up to 5%.
Good sources of soluble fiber include oats, certain fruits (such as oranges and pears), certain vegetables (such as Brussels sprouts and carrots), and dried peas and beans. One apple or a half of a cup of oatmeal contains 1 gram of soluble fiber.

Plant stanols and sterols

Corn, wheat, pine-tree oils, and soybeans contain substances called stanols and sterols, which have been shown to work with your body to help lower cholesterol levels. Today, some margarine products contain stanols and sterols.

Soy protein

Early studies show that soy protein foods (tofu, soybeans, soy milk) may help lower your total cholesterol and bad cholesterol (LDL) levels when you use them to replace the foods in your diet that are high in saturated fat.

Omega-3 fatty acids

While more research is needed, foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (tuna, mackerel, salmon, soybeans, canola oil, and walnuts) may offer added protection against heart disease.
CRESTOR has not been shown to prevent heart attacks, heart disease, or strokes.

By Crestor.com

http://www.crestor.com/c/diet/foods.asp

Moving From Visions Into Actions - Probably Britain's Best Known Entrepreneur

RICHARD BRANSON & VIRGIN

Probably Britain's best known Entrepreneur
Birth Name: Richard Charles Nicholas Branson Birthdate: 7/18/1950

In a recent interview Sir Richard was asked: "did he ever let his heart rule head." He replied: "All the time - I think that unless you do, you're not going to be a very good business person. The only really good reason for doing things in business is based on what your heart tells you, not your head."

When asked how a beginner should invest £1,000, he said: "My own opinion is to put it into an Index tracking fund and forget about it - or start a business if you have a good idea." Now, that's an idea!

At the age of 99, Sir Richard's grandmother wrote to him to suggest he read: "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, because she had liked it. Her advice, and this applies to us all,: "You've got one go in life, so make the most of it. " It would seem Sir Richard heard those words before they were said. As the head of 150 or so enterprises that carry the Virgin name, all of which make money, his personal wealth is estimated at nearly $3 billion. It seems to us he has followed that personal dream and made the most of it.

Sir Richard still holds the record as fastest to cross the Atlantic ocean in a boat called Atlantic Challenger. Another goal, was to be the first to circle the globe in a balloon, but here he was pipped at the post by the Breitling Orbiter. He took this rather well. Nevertheless, he set the standard by which others were eager to compete. Not a bad achievement for a dyslexic.

Sir Richard's talents began to show themselves during his later school years. Seeing the energy of student activism in the late 60's, he decided to start his own student newspaper. Not particularly unusual, except his paper was intended to tie many schools together. It would be focused on the students and not the schools. It would sell advertising to big business and feature articles by Ministers of Parliament, Rock Stars, and movie celebrities. That was the business plan that 17 year old Richard Branson put together with his friend, Jonny Gems. The rest is history. The headmaster of Stowe, where Richard and Jonny were students, wrote: "Congratulations, Branson. I predict that you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.“

After this Sir Richard turned his attention to music. The name "Virgin" came about when when one group member said: "they we're complete virgins at business." Virgin Airlines is very much a Richard Branson style company offering reasonable on transatlantic flights. Once again Sir Richard spotted a gap in the market and filled it spectacularly. Congratulations, and here's to your next Billion.

Sir Richard Branson, is the reserve pilot for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, is one of Britain's best known entrepreneurs who combines his enthusiasm for running the Virgin group of companies with his love for high-risk, high-adventure world record-breaking attempts.
In 1984 Richard formed Virgin Atlantic Airways and in the last two decades has grown the airline into Britain's second-largest carrier. To promote the Virgin Atlantic name, Richard became involved in a number of high-publicity record-breaking attempts throughout the 1980s and '90s. In 1986, his boat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time. A year later he flew the Virgin Atlantic Flyer balloon - the largest ever built - across the Atlantic.

In 1991 Richard's balloon crossed the Pacific from Japan to Canada breaking all existing records and he followed that with a number of attempts to circumnavigate the entire world. These were sadly thwarted by bad weather and in 1999 a Swiss team became the first to complete the trip. In 2002 Steve Fossett (Richard's partner for the earlier Virgin Global Challenger balloon project and now the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer) became the first person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the globe by balloon. Now the pair are reunited to attempt another great aviation first - a solo, non-stop flight around the world in less than 80 hours.

Richard received a knighthood for his services to entrepreneurship in 1999. He is married and lives with Joan and their two children, Holly and Sam, in London and Oxfordshire, UK.

By RICHARD BRANSON & VIRGIN

http://www.solarnavigator.net/sponsorship/richard_branson.htm

Kids & Credit Cards

Helping Kids Master Credit Cards

Send your kids out into the world without the skills to handle credit cards and you've dropped the ball as a parent. And if you think you don't have to worry because your kid doesn't have a credit card, think again. Colleges irresponsibly let credit card issuers set up tables on campus, where they offer cards without properly teaching young people how they work. Even if your kids bypass college, trust me, there's no 18-year-old out there who can't get a credit card.

Here's what every parent can do:

Set a good example.

You, no doubt, spend plenty of time imparting all your moral and ethical wisdom, but do you realize your kids are also learning the financial ropes by watching your spending habits? If you handle credit responsibly, chances are they will, too.

Start them off with a card tied to your account.

When your child is 15 or 16, consider adding them to your account. There are multiple advantages to this. They inherit your credit rating. Assuming your FICO score is good, you are setting up your kids to have great scores by the time they want to apply for their own cards when they're older. Plus, you'll see all the charges. And it's up to you to set the rules: They can spend X dollars a month for specific charges you're willing to cover, but everything else must be paid out of their own pockets. Schedule a time each month to sit down and go over the bill together. If they don't have the cash to cover their charges, then you have a great opportunity to teach them about the cost of running a balance.

If you don't want to add them to your card, start them out with a secured credit card.

It looks and feels like a card, but it is secured by money already paid to the card issuer to cover the bills, so there's no way they can spend more than they have.
Get your kids credit cards before they leave home.
That way there's no need for them to be tempted by all the card offers they will encounter at college. Request that the credit limit be kept very low, say $500 or $1,000, so there's less chance of any big problems. If you choose to cosign the application, make sure you can receive a copy of the monthly bill. But beware: You'll also be financially responsible if your child does run up a balance.

By Suze Orman

http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/200409/omag_200409_suze.jhtml

Perseverance is the Key to Success

Perseverance is the key to success

After thousands of efforts to make the electric light bulb, Thomas Edison said, “I haven’t failed, I’ve identified 10,000 ways that it doesn’t work.” Mario Lemieux, Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Marie Curie and an endless list of other great achievers found that success inevitably arrives for everyone who perseveres.

Acquiring a desired job or promotion, or succeeding at business may present difficulties. But this is part of the learning process. Ultimately, people who persevere become successful. They learn from mistakes.

Do you persevere? Or, after meeting rejection or difficulties, do you quit?

Test Your Perseverance QuotientRate yourself – on a scale of one to three, one being low and three being high – on each of the following:

I believe in myself.

I have clear career goals.

I address my limitations.

I bounce back from disappointment.

I have the stamina to persist.

My family and friends support me in my pursuit of goals.

I can adapt to change.

I focus and complete projects.

My goals are consistent with my purpose and values.

I can take unpopular actions when I believe I’m right.

Add your scores. The higher your score, the more perseverant you are.

Tips for Persevering

Clarify your goal.

Base it on your mission/passion, needs and abilities. Know why you want your goal and how you and others will benefit.State your goal in the present. Write desired outcomes, what you want to accomplish. Be detailed, specific, positive.

Intend to achieve you goal.

Outline goal, strategies and timeline. Know resources that can help you attain your goal, such as people, associations and the Internet. Break the goal into small steps, working backward form your desired outcome and achievement date.

Develop support systems.

Meet regularly with positive, encouraging people who support your goals and celebrate your achievements. Select other sources of positive reinforcement such as books or tapes with uplifting themes.

Choose productive attitudes and behaviors.

Don’t dwell in the past, worry about what might happen or view yourself as a victim.Maintain optimism. Reinforce the positive in yourself and others. Expect good things. Watch self-talk. Replace negative thoughts or statements with positive ones. Keep a diary of each day’s good experiences.Focus on what you can do. Acknowledge your accomplishments. Judge your accomplishments against personal standards of self-improvements.Have the courage of your convictions. Don’t change for others or compare yourself with others.

Develop the will to risk.

Don’t fear mistakes. Ask: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ Decide whether you could live with the worst or take steps to reduce the chance of it happening.Research your goal to reduce negative outcomes. For example, interview successful people who have achieved similar goals. Learn from their mistakes.Live in the present. Don’t worry about what might happen. View mistakes as opportunities to grow.Let go of attachments. The more attached you are to something, the greater the fear of losing it.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Care for you mind, body, emotions and spirit. Schedule quiet times to think and reassess. Practice stress relievers such as deep breathing, exercise, meditation. Get sufficient sleep, eat healthy. Take time for fun and friends.

Practice imagery.

Imagine yourself living your goal today. Hold your desired outcome firmly in your mind. See, smell, touch and hear aspects of your goal. Each morning upon rising, review your goal. Repeat the process at night.

Persist.

Focus on goals daily. With every “no” of defeat you’re closer to a “yes” of success. If you learn from set-backs and stay on course, success will follow. Every day, at regular intervals, ask yourself whether your activities are helping you attain your goal.Believe you’ll attain your goal. Persevere. When your mind, emotions and activities focus on your goal, you can achieve the extraordinary.

By Carole Kanchier

http://www.secretsofsuccess.com/article/ckperseverance.html

Financing Your Child's College Education

How to Prepare for the $100,000 Price Tag

If you're the parent of a newborn or young child, you've probably heard the depressing estimate of the cost of a college education when your child is ready to enter college 18 years from now. The cost of four years in a public college is expected to cost in excess of $100,000; a private school, over $200,000. What's a parent to do?

Start Now!

The sooner you start investing for your child's education, the better. As with any other investment goal, time is your best friend.

Have a Plan

The first step in making a plan is to estimate what the total cost of your child's education is likely to be. The average in-state tuition for a public school now averages over $10,000 per year. At five percent inflation per year, the estimated cost per year 18 years from now would be around $24,000 (10 years from now the cost would be approximately $16,000).

Private schools can be two to three times as much.

Don't let these numbers scare you into inaction. Some of your child's education can be paid for through scholarships, financial aid, and student loans. It's possible to save the rest if you start early, contribute regularly, and invest wisely.

The only thing worse than not saving at all is putting your money in a passbook savings or money market account. In order to amass enough money to finance four years of college, you need to not only start early, but invest aggressively. Stock funds historically have almost always exceeded other investments over periods of ten years or more. Look for no-load (no fee to purchase or sell) mutual funds with low expenses. Refer to Money Magazine's semi-annual mutual fund listing that includes information on expenses and performance for thousands of funds.

Don't just park your money in a fund or two and leave it. Review the performance of the funds at least annually, and make adjustments as necessary for under-performing funds. When your child is five years from starting college, begin to shift your money into growth and income stock funds and bond funds, reducing your exposure to market ups and downs while still aiming for high returns.

Two to four years before your child is due to start college, cash in enough stocks and bonds to pay for the first year, and put it somewhere safe and accessible, like a money market fund. If you wait until just before you need the money, you may be forced to take it out at a time when market performance is down, thus losing some of your earnings.

When trying to come up with the money for your child's college education, a combination of financing methods will probably work best. Be sure to take advantage of any tax-deductible methods that you're eligible for. Some of the available financing methods include:

If you'll be 59 1/2 when your child is in college, a Roth IRA may be an attractive investment vehicle, because withdrawals will be tax free (assuming you've had the account for at least five years).

Even if you'll be younger than 59 1/2 when your child is in college, there are benefits to Roth IRAs. You can still withdraw your contributions without paying taxes or penalties, and earnings can be used to pay for college expenses without a penalty, although you will have to pay taxes.

The proceeds from Education IRAs aren't taxed, but your contributions are limited. While this might help pay for some college expenses if you start when your child is very young, it will never cover the cost of a four-year degree.

The Hope Scholarship Credit allows a deduction of 100 percent of the first $1,000 of qualified tuition and fees and 50 percent of the next $1,000, up to a maximum of $1,500 per year. The credit is phased out at certain income levels. Like the Education IRA, this credit by itself will not go very far towards financing a college education.

State college savings (529) plans, on the other hand, give you the opportunity to earn stock-market returns on college savings you don't need for several years. Contributions grow tax-deferred until the money is used to pay for college, then earnings are taxed at the student's tax rate, another attractive benefit. If the money isn't used for college, however, there can be a penalty of 10% to 15% of your accumulated earnings or 1% of the account balance.

Pre-paid tuition plans, another type of 529 plan, are attractive when tuition rates are rising around 10% a year, but they limit your growth to the rate of public-college tuition increases in your state, so when tuition increases level off at 4 to 5%, these plans are no longer very attractive vehicles for financing a college education.

Life insurance policies are sometimes used to finance a college education, but some experts say this is not a good method for most people. Although variable life insurance policies include tax-deferred investment options, there are significant costs for the life insurance, sales commissions, and management fees, reducing your earnings. This option may only be viable for those in the 28% or higher tax bracket who will probably not qualify for financial aid.

If you start early, know your alternatives, develop a plan, and invest wisely and regularly, it IS possible to pay for your child's college education.

By About Financial Planning

http://financialplan.about.com/cs/college/a/FinanceCollege.htm

Kissing Facts

Some Facts of Kissing If You Are Unaware

Kissing for women helps her relax and is a good stress reducer.

It is a matter of record that Canadian porcupines kiss one another on the lips.

The world's longest kiss took place on January 28, 2002. Louisa Almodovar and Rich Langly of New Jersey kissed for a record 30 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds on a segment of "Ricki Lake".

Matrimonial pollsters' studies prove that a man who kisses his wife good-bye when he leaves for work every morning averages a higher income than does the fellow who doesn't do that thing.

In medieval Italy kisses weren't taken, or given, lightly. If a man and a woman were seen embracing in public they could be forced to marry!

Our brains have special neurons that help us locate each others lips in the dark. (It's really true too! I've tried it!)

It is estimated that the average person will spend about 20,160 minutes kissing in their lifetime.
You burn 26 calories in a 1 minute kiss.

The first kiss ever shown in a movie was in 1896. The movie, was called The Kiss.

Hershey's Kisses got their name because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

50% of all people kiss before they turn 14.

Kissing helps reduce tooth decay. Kissing increases the mouth's production of saliva, and saliva helps clean the mouth thus aides prevention of tooth decay.

It is a (scientific?) fact that the act of kissing produces the same hormone in your body that firing a gun does.

By Sheila's Kissing Booth

http://www.kissingbooth.com/kissingfacts.htm

Yoga Meditation for Spiritual Growth & Plain Relaxation

Yoga & Meditation

Introduction Quite a self contradictory statement it is: "Yoga - the new age fitness mantra", because Yoga is not new age at all. It's just that the benefits of the same are being discovered again. An ancient Indian philosophy, the principles of Yoga are timeless, holding true as much in today's time as it did centuries ago.

In Sanskrit, Yoga means "to unite". Primarily an exercise in moral and mental cultivation of poses and practices that aim towards harmonising your mind, body and soul to achieve a state of oneness with the universe. It's a spiritual practice that does not subscribe nor promote any particular faith; hence it can be practised by all. A lifestyle choice by many, the universally timeless philosophies of yoga can be incorporated into any belief system. Stress, anxiety, ill-health, unhappiness and anger can be transformed into peacefulness, vibrant health, service and love towards all creation. The techniques are important in this process but the goal should be kept firmly in mind.

The three main aspects of yoga are -

Asanas or poses

The various yogic poses that give your body flexibility, strengthen the muscles and even reduce fat build-up. More importantly many asanas or poses are aimed at improving the blood circulation and functioning of specific organs in your body. Keeping in mind your body's specific needs, you can work out a set of asanas for yourself.

Pranayama or breathing

Pranayama can be called the singular most important aspect of yoga as they are means to purify the subtle energies flowing through the body. Yogic breathing techniques are an effective tool to calm, energize, harmonise and tranquillise the body and mind. All poses are to be properly coordinated with inhalation, exhalation and holding of breath. Breathing patterns if not followed correctly could result in the asana not having its desired effect.

Meditation

Mediation is a means to still the mind's restlessness. An invaluable tool in managing stress and anxiety. Regular meditation trains the mind to be calm, centred, relaxed and detached. This is extremely helpful while responding to stressful situations. It curbs overreaction, emotional outbursts and losing temper, thus giving the mind the time to rationalise and think about practical solutions.

Pranayama and meditation have amazing capacity to reduce the stress inducing hormones. It restores calm, promotes positivism, and encourages patience and harbours compassion. It will keep you fresh and rejuvenated throughout the year both physically and mentally.

What not is Yoga?

Most people associate Yoga with mystical other worldly aura, dark rooms filed with incense and rows of men and women sitting in the lotus position and chanting in trance like unison. There are many misconceptions in people's mind about Yoga. One has to be flexible and in shape to start yoga. Thinking your self to be inflexible to start yoga is wrong. You can start practicing yoga from where you are and how you are. Everybody is different with innate strengths and weakness. Yoga makes you flexible in mind, body and soul.

Yoga is easy.

Yoga is much more than sitting in a lotus position and chanting in unison. It is challenging on many levels - physically, emotionally and mentally. Yoga helps us get in touch with our selves in many different facets. There are many different types of yoga, and depending on your personal needs, you will find the right one for you. Some are gentle and some are more strenuous but all are challenging.
Yoga is process oriented activity in which what you experience is much more important than what you achieve. So it is not a goal accomplishing mission.

Yoga is not boring.

There is nothing more interesting than watching the workings of your own mind. By awakening the beginner's mind through the practice of yoga and meditation, we learn about ourselves and our perceptions that create the world. Over time, you will gain more control of your emotions as you learn to breathe through difficult situations. Thus yoga, for many, is a way of life.

Yoga is only for stress relief.

Said to be a powerful stress buster, a single session of yoga can make you feel calmer. Stress is the most common factor in host of medical conditions. By practising Yoga, you can strengthen muscles, deepen breathing, improve balance and enhance flexibility.

Yoga is mistaken to be a religion as its origins came out of ancient India.

Not bound by any religion, yoga is happily practised by Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and many more people alike. In short, there is place for everyone with Yoga.

In the traditional sense, yoga means union. It is the practice of joining mind, body and soul that culminates into positive and perennial happiness and peace. Said to be indispensable of the ultimate accomplishment in life that affects not only the conscious self but the subconscious as well. An exercise that is accessible to everyone young and old.

By YOGAWIZ

http://www.yogawiz.com/

Global Recession Likely In 2006, Says Soros

Is real estate a risky investment?

Financial Freedom, Real Estate Reality

The incredible rise in home prices over the past few years has made real estate the "it" investment. We're looking at homes as if they're ever-rising stocks that will never decline in value. But thinking like that can land you in big trouble.

Don't get me wrong: Real estate is a terrific long-term investment, but the key is long-term. Your house is a place in which you and your family will live. Over time you should also expect its value to rise at about the rate of inflation, not at 15 percentage points above it. Even Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who fueled the current real estate mania by keeping interest rates low, has said that he expects the hyper-growth to end and that we could even see a decline in prices.

Condos are especially vulnerable. People have been buying up units they'll never live in, hoping to sell them quickly for a profit. But recent sales data shows that condo prices are already beginning to slip. Condos are also spending more time on the market than in previous months.

The only reason to buy now is if you intend to live in the condo or house for at least five years—otherwise, you're taking on a huge risk if we slide into a down market.

If you do have long-term plans and decide to buy, be very careful with the type of mortgage you choose. Steer clear of short-term adjustable rate mortgages or interest-only options. The only types of mortgages that make sense are traditional fixed-rate mortgages or longer-term adjustables (often called hybrids) with an interest rate set for five, seven, or 10 years.

If you're itching to take a risk, buy a pair of avant-garde designer shoes. But when it comes to real estate, you'd be wise to play it conservative.

By Suze Orman, Financial expert who shows you how you can start living an authentic life, control your finances and reconnect with yourself by making your financial health a priority.

http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/200601/omag_200601_suze.jhtml

Don't Buy A Stock Because It's Cheap

Buying A Stock Just Because It's Cheap

One of the mistakes Warren buffett made is to buy a stock when it'scheap. Read this article excerpted from Warren Buffett's 1989 letter to Berskshire shareholders and learn the world best renowned investor alive.

By Sean Toh

How To look Good With Makeup

Applying Makeup and Skin Conditioners

We all want to look our best before we head out the door, but we sometimes find ourselves running behind schedule and having only a few short minutes to apply our makeup. Well, here are a few quick steps that will have you ready in just minutes.Applying the skin conditioner should be the very first thing you do before applying makeup. If you know you are running late, apply the conditioner or moisturizer before you begin to get dressed.

You should not apply your makeup until the conditioner has been on for about 10 minutes. This gives the conditioner time to soak into your skin and help keep your skin fresh and moisturized. So, if you do this step before getting dressed, you will have time to apply your makeup without the wait.Now, you are ready to apply the foundation. Use a large sponge and blend the foundation over your face and neck in an upward and outward motion, never in toward your nose.

Next, is the blush, you can use a crème blush or a powder blush. Apply with the same motions up and out and accent your cheekbones.

Eye shadow is next. Lightly apply the eye shadow from the inner part of your eye outward. Now, apply the eyeliner. Just lightly start on your upper eyelid and move outward. Do the same for your lower eyelid. Mascara is next. Try to get as close as you can to the end of your eyelashes without poking your eye and move the tip outward. An easier way to apply mascara is to open and shut your eye while holding the mascara in place.

Now apply a small amount of lipstick. Be sure you are using a moisturizing kind, especially if you tend to have dry chapped lips.

Now, you are ready to go. Applying makeup is not hard. The major mistakes women make is in the products that they purchase. They usually choose the wrong colors for their skin tone.

Try to match your skin tone when you purchase foundation. If you use a darker foundation your face and neck will have a tanned look while the rest of your neck, ears and body are still pale.

For blush and lipsticks, there is a basic rule to remember blondes should use pink colors, brunettes should use peach and if you are a red head you should always use bronze.

By Alicia Caldelas

Importance Of Rest, Sleep and Relaxation

Rest, Sleep & Relaxation


Sleep, rest and relaxation are a very important part of your daily ritual. I know that in the past I have gotten reved up with many projects and before long something has to be let go and it is usually the sleep that I need for a while. Don’t do it! As your sleep and rest start dropping you lose focus and can be lured into bad habits, sugar, coffee, and bad food. The worst thing about a lack of rest is that your body will not have a chance to heal from your earlier workouts, this can be very bad as you not only will feel sore longer but it will also suck your optimism for your new lifestyle.

How much rest is enough? You probably already know this. I myself do not wake up with an alarm clock or clock radio anymore. I am fortunate to have a flexible start time and know that I will not sleep in past 8:00 in the morning. Try going to be earlier in the evening for a few nights and see when you wake up. In the fall and winter I always tape the TV shows that I watch so that I can get a chance to watch them when it is convenient to me not when it is convenient for the TV networks. Another thing that pro bodybuilders do is have a nap in the afternoon, a nap can be great in cleansing your mind and letting you learn to relax better but you will probably find as I do that it is almost impossible to do except maybe on the weekends.

You can probably see from the tone of this information that I am delivering here that you must stop treating sleep and rest as something that takes away from something and instead learn to treat it as your own personal time, something a little more sacred than just something unavoidable that has to be done.

According to leading sleep researchers, there are techniques to combat common sleep problems:

1.Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule.

2.Don’t drink or eat caffeine four to six hours before bed and minimize daytime use.

3.Don’t smoke, especially near bedtime or if you awake in the night.

4.Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep.

5.Get regular exercise.

6.Minimize noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where you sleep.

7.Develop a regular bed time and go to bed at the same time each night.

8.Try and wake up without an alarm clock.9.Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for certain period; this will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep.

According to sleep researchers, a night's sleep is divided into five continually shifting stages, defined by types of brain waves that reflect either lighter or deeper sleep. Toward morning, there is an increase in rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, when the muscles are relaxed and dreaming occurs, and recent memories may be consolidated in the brain. The experts say that hitting a snooze alarm over and over again to wake up is not the best way to feel rested. “The restorative value of rest is diminished, especially when the increments are short,” said psychologist Edward Stepanski, PhD who has studied sleep fragmentation at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. This on and off again effect of dozing and waking causes shifts in the brain-wave patterns. Sleep-deprived snooze-button addicts are likely to shorten their quota of REM sleep, impairing their mental functioning during the day. (New York Times, October 12, 2004)

Certain therapies, like cognitive behavioral therapy teach people how to recognize and change patterns of thought and behavior to solve their problems. Recently this type of therapy has been shown to be very effective in getting people to fall asleep and conquer insomnia.

According to a study published in the October 2004 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, cognitive behavior therapy is more effective and lasts longer than a widely used sleeping pill, Ambien, in reducing insomnia. The study involved 63 healthy people with insomnia who were randomly assigned to receive Ambien, the cognitive behavior therapy, both or a placebo. The patients in the therapy group received five 30-minute sessions over six weeks. They were given daily exercises to “recognize, challenge and change stress-inducing” thoughts and were taught techniques, like delaying bedtime or getting up to read if they were unable to fall asleep after 20 minutes. The patients taking Ambien were on a full dose for a month and then were weaned off the drug. At three weeks, 44 percent of the patients receiving the therapy and those receiving the combination therapy and pills fell asleep faster compared to 29 percent of the patients taking only the sleeping pills. Two weeks after all the treatment was over, the patients receiving the therapy fell asleep in half the time it took before the study and only 17 percent of the patients taking the sleeping pills fell asleep in half the time. (New York Times, October 5, 2004)

By Bill Nadraszky

http://health-fitness.xptechsupport.com/rest.htm