Modern times give people ‘instant’ everything. It gives them ‘instant’ convenience, ‘instant’ solutions and ‘instant’ results among so many others. But, amidst all the advantages it gives to people, it also brings a lot of stress that hinders them to get better sleep.

Studies show that the most common cause of today’s health problems lack of sleep that can be caused by too much stress. Aside from improper diet, and unhealthy life style, prolonged periods of stress subconsciously affect many systems of the human body, lack of sleep may lead to possible health problems such as gastrointestinal disorders, heart disease, memory loss, and decreased immune function.

One of the most popular stress-reduction techniques being practice nowadays is massage therapy apart from using stress-relieving tablets and capsules. By definition, massage therapy is a hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues that include muscle, skin, tendons, and associated fascia, ligaments. Massage therapy also concentrates in treating joint capsules in the body. Apart from decreasing muscular tension and increasing the removal of metabolic waste, massage therapy also promotes nutrient delivery to healing tissue caused by extended periods of stress and will eventually help a person to get better sleep.

The wonders of massage therapy

Indeed, massage therapy has become a significant part of general health care for many people living in today’s stressful world. Numerous professionals and even traditional healthcare systems throughout the world recognizes that massage therapy can play an important role in treating chronic ailments can and contribute to a higher sense of general well-being since it greatly helps people get better sleep.

Considered as the modern antidote for stress, massage therapy helps combat stress by trying to reduce the tension build up in the muscles. Aside from boosting the body’s immune system, massage therapy prevents the decrease in circulation and nutrient delivery to tissues. Known as one of the ultimate “stress reducers,” more professionals are advising their patients to include massage therapy in their health care treatment plans.

People, especially those who live by the rule of stress and don’t have enough sleep, find massage therapy very helpful in so many ways. Among the extensive benefits of massage therapy, most people consider the therapeutic affect of the treatment on their bodies. Since massage therapy causes diverse physiological effects due to the therapist’s hands moving over the body, its therapeutic affect is proven to improve health by acting directly on the muscular, nervous, circulatory and immune systems.

Aside from aiming to develop, maintain, rehabilitate, or augment physical function, massage therapy also relieves or prevents physical dysfunction and pain. Massage therapy also relaxes tight and tense muscles while improve circulation, recovery time, and immune system function, which reduce overall stress. And with the continuing research on the beneficial effects of massage therapy, its effectivity was also discovered in controlling chronic or acute pain.

Concentrated in creating different movements that can physically stretch muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia, massage therapy also encourages the circulation through the tissue, inhibit muscular spasms, and be either sedating or stimulating to the nervous system.

But, far from the common conception, elementary knowledge of massage therapy is not enough for ordinary individuals to practice it. Being a regulated health profession, massage therapy requires professionals who have completed hours of education at accredited schools and have extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology, assessment, bodywork techniques, and pathology to know when massage therapy is or is not suitable.

With the array benefits massage therapy offers to people-specially in stress reduction and in helping them get better sleep-it is no wonder that a wide patronage of it will increase energy and will improve people’s outlook on life.

When one is sick, everything is hard. From eating to sleeping, the illness really affects the overall function of the person. But since these two, especially sleeping is a must, one should think of ways to get better sleep even if he or she is sick.

The major consideration in this case is the severity of the condition. If you are sick due to fever, there are certain medications that should be taken in before bedtime. But if you are undergoing a terminal illness, it is best to seek the help of doctors on how you can sleep better.

Tips for a good sleep despite sickness

The best set up for people who are sick but who wants to get better sleep is to have somebody to help him or her with her needs. This is very ideal since the sick person doesn’t have to worry over things anymore. Having somebody to do the things that are you supposed to do is ideal since worrying aggravates the condition of a person who is sick. Other tips for sick people to get better sleep include:

1. If you can, try staying awake during daytime. Although people that are sick would crave sleeping almost all the time, this may not be the best because it means lesser sleep at night. Remember that sleeping at night is very crucial since it has longer hours compared to daytime. If you can try to stay awake at daytime, it would be the best so you would not disrupt your sleeping cycle.

2. Try to insert exercise during daytime. It may sound absurd to ask a sick person to exercise but in reality, the right amount of physical activity may help them to get better. Studies show that people who are sick have greater chances of getting better sleep at night if they do some simple exercises during the day because their bodies will be somehow “tired” and will “crave” for sleep at nighttime.

3. Ensure that the temperature is at comfortable levels. If you are a person who is not used to hot rooms, then it would be ideal to keep your bedroom on the cool side of it. Studies show that people who are sick have better chances of sleeping well if their room has mid-to-high 60’s fahrenheit.

4. Eliminate unnecessary noises. It is best to keep the room of a sick person as quiet as possible so his or her sleep is not disrupted. Experts say that people who are sick have greater chances of getting better if they are able to rest well. So, to ensure that the person who is sick will have a peaceful sleep, noises should be eliminated. If it is not possible to totally eliminate these, try other methods of minimizing them such as putting soft earplugs to the ears of the person or using a white noise machine.

5. Just the right amount of light. To get better sleep, people who are sick must try to sleep in a room that it either dark or with minimal amount of lights. Why? Because this setting will not only help them get better sleep but can also help them to relax and get well easily. You can keep the room dark by drawing the shades or pulling the curtains down. If you are not the type of person who is not used to totally dark room, try turning on the lamp shade so there will be enough light to get you by.

In many cases cancer is something that develops because of certain lifestyle choices. Of course smoking or sunning yourself can lead to cancer. So can exposure to certain toxins and just in general an unhealthy lifestyle. However, there are steps you can take to help prevent cancer. This doesn’t mean you won’t ever get some form of cancer; sometimes you’re just predisposed to cancer. But, it means that you are doing all you can to stay healthy.

How You Can Prevent Cancer from Happening to You

If you do have a family history of cancer, then you probably don’t want to do things which raise your chances even higher of getting cancer. Here’s what you can do to hopefully prevent it.

1. Reduce your sugar intake. It has been proven that cancer develops in an environment that is rich in glucose.
Less oxygen and more sugar raises your risk of getting cancer.

2. Maintain a proper pH (potential Hydrogen) in your body. A nice high pH level is more oxygen rich and an environment which cancers do not do well in. So keep your pH above 7.0. To do this, drink a lot of water, eliminate soda, reduce the amount of meat you eat, minimize your consumption of sweets, and eat a lot of raw vegetables.

3. Exercise regularly. It doesn’t really matter what kind of exercise – just keep moving.

4. Get enough sleep. Your body needs that time or rest to rejuvenate cells, so make sure you’re getting the right amount of sleep.

5. Vitamin and mineral supplements will help maintain a healthy body chemistry.

6. Don’t use tobacco products. This goes for smoking or chewing. Tobacco products are linked to many different types of Cancer including lung, bladder, cervix, kidney, oral cavity, and pancreas. Avoid tobacco products at all costs and you’ll decrease your risks of developing cancer greatly.

7. Protect yourself in the sun. Use a sunscreen with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of at least 15. Reapply frequently. Cover yourself with clothing. Wear dark colors. Wear a hat. Avoid midday sun. Stay in the shade. Avoid tanning beds and lights.

8. Stay up to date on your immunizations. Protecting yourself from certain types of viruses will limit your chances of getting some cancers. Hepatitis B and HPV (Human Papillomavirus) are two vaccines you should be sure you have.

9. Avoid risky behavior which can lead to infections. This means practice safe sex and don’t share needles. HIV or AIDS increases a person’s chance of getting cancer of the anus, liver, or lungs. HPV like mentioned above is associated with cervical cancer. This is a sexually transmitted disease. Sharing needles increases your chances of Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. So this is all stuff you want to avoid.

10. Stay on top of your medical care. Seeing your doctor regularly and screening for cancers will help you diagnose a problem early, possibly preventing it from turning into cancer.

These ten things are just some ways you can take cancer into your own hands and reduce your risk of getting it. Nothing is guaranteed in life, but you will feel much better if you follow these tips.

How good do you really think of yourself mentally? If you ask yourself if you are intelligent, do you answer with a nod and a smile, or with an ashamed “maybe”? In answering this question, you should know that there are a lot of things to consider, and your IQ score is just one of those. The reality is that if you think of yourself as better, your brain will perform better.

Your outlook and perspective on things like this will definitely influence the performance of your brain. If you really believe that you are good enough, then your brain may just start performing to level with your expectation. Some may say that basic intelligence would never change after the childhood stage of your life, but then there are still some who believe that psychology has an influence in this.

The Influential Psychology in Brain Function

You may have heard of stories wherein the protagonist, who never even stepped into high school, was able to work his way from rags to riches. He just used his guts and determination as he climbs his way to the top. His childhood may have shown him that he can be as rich as his friends if he would only work hard for it. Because of this, he followed what he knew, and because he knew that he too can be rich, he did work hard for it. His outlook was that he can do if others were able to do it.

He never received any money from his rich friends, and he never received any assistance as he worked his way. But what he got from his friends was his expectation. If he never met his rich friends, if he never knew that it is possible to be rich, he would not have worked hard to be where he is right now. He had a goal when he met them, and all he had to do was to just work hard to reach that goal – and so he did.

See, expectations of yourself can play a big role in your life. It serves as your motivation. It makes you feel that you are on to something possible, something that is just within your reach if you just work hard enough. This is the influence of psychology. Don’t you think that it is possible that by just thinking that you can think harder and learn faster, your brain might just do the same thing for you?

Experiential and Evidential Learning

After you have viewed yourself with better perspective, then it is time for you to be more attentive to the things around you which can serve as an evidence that you are about to reach your goal. After you have done all the affirmations, you need hard proof. Take note of your progress regardless of whether they are too small or too big. Focus on these developments. You will soon realize that the more you appreciate your small developments, more of them would soon follow.

So, in applying to your brain development, if you think hard enough that you can improve your brain performance, and then your brain would soon perform better. The improvements may not be as drastic as you expect, but there will surely be some changes. Take note of these changes, and soon you will realize that the cumulative effect of these small changes will amount to a big alteration to your brain functioning. Think of yourself as better, your brain will soon live up to your expectations.

Cancer affects men and women, but there are some cancers which affect men more than women. Also, many times these cancers are more deadly in men than they are in women. Men can lower their risk of getting these varying types of cancer by avoiding smoking and receiving screening tests at an earlier age.

Here are ten cancers which commonly affect men.

1. Prostate cancer – This is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. Prostate cancer is found more commonly in African-American men than any other racial or ethnic group. It is unknown why it affects African-American men more. It is recommended that you talk to your doctor about screening options for prostate cancer, though, generally at around the age of 50.

2. Lung cancer – This is the number one cancer that kills men. Again, more African-American men are affected by lung cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. A large majority of instances of lung cancer arise from smoking. The best way to prevent lung cancer is to never start smoking at all, but to quit immediately if you do smoke.

3. Colorectal cancer – This is the third most common cancer found in men. It affects all ethnic groups and men and women about the same. It is found most often in people age fifty and older. Screening for colorectal cancer is of utmost importance in finding and treating this cancer and saving men and women.

4. Bladder cancer – This is much more common in men than in women, three times more likely in fact. Caucasian men have a higher chance of getting bladder cancer than any other ethnic or racial group. It generally affects men over the age of sixty. The older you are, the greater your chances of getting bladder cancer.

5. Skin cancer – This is more prevalent in men past the age of forty in the United States. However, before the age of forty it’s found more in women.

6. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – This is a cancer which attacks the lymph nodes. It is more common in men than in women, especially white men. It mostly affects adults with a compromised immune system like from HIV. There are forms which can affect children as well. Certain types of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can be found in women more than men for an unknown reason.

7. Kidney cancer – Men are twice as likely as women to get kidney cancer. However, it is still amongst the top ten cancers women get as well. This is a cancer that generally is not seen by men or women until later in life, after age 64 and usually not before age 45.

8. Throat or mouth cancer – Cancers of the mouth are twice as common in men as they are in women. This can be caused from smoking and even from oral sex.

9. Leukemia – This is only slightly more prevalent in men than it is in women. It also affects Caucasians more than any other race. It’s a cancer of the blood which affects older people more often than it does younger people.

10. Pancreatic cancer – Another cancer that affects only slightly more men more than it does women. This cancer has been slowly increasing over the last ten years or so. It’s also more common in African-Americans than Caucasians.

So if you’re a man, these are the cancers you have to most worry about. Many of them can be prevented with simply lifestyle changes like not smoking and eating a healthy diet. Screenings go a long way to saving your life when diagnosed with any of these cancers.