Five Best Types of Exercise for Fat Loss

Can you work your way to a lower body index? Yes! Losing fat isn't exactly easy - no matter what some may say - but with a low-calorie, supplement-enhanced diet and with the right mix of exercises you can burn fat in a healthy way.

Before you learn more about the most effective fat loss exercises, let's get one thing straight. There's no single fat loss exercise that, performed to exhaustion, will help you achieve amazing results. There's no magical device that can enhance the way you exercise so amazingly that you just shed pounds every day. It's better to rely on old, proven fat loss exercises than to spend a lot of money or miracle promises.

Another thing that's good to know is that slow and steady cardio - running, cycling - isn't the magic bullet to weight loss. Three hundred hours of cardio over a 12-month period burns only around 5 pounds, according to a study published in the journal Obesity.

Things are clear - if you want to see noticeable results, you just can't go slow and steady. You have to focus on short bursts of intense training. Learn more.

1. Interval Training

Interval training is all about bursts of intense exercise followed by short periods of rest. Interval training is more effective at burning fat than jogging or running on a treadmill because it makes your body secrete more adrenaline and growth hormone. Both of these hormones burn fat. As it happens, interval training also burns more calories than steady cardio, hence another reason to make it the centerpiece of your training routine.

One of the benefits of interval training is that you can adapt it to your needs and workout style. You can do it on a treadmill in a gym, but you can also do it in the park or wherever you like to run. You can even cycle your way through interval training. Another benefit of this type of exercise is that interval training is shorter - just try to do intervals for an hour and you'll understand what we mean.

So how can you use interval training to burn fat?

·         Do a good warm-up of at least five minutes.

·         Run or pedal 20% faster than your usual running or pedaling cardio workout rate - don't push too hard

·         After 30 seconds, slow down to half of your regular cardio rate - 30 seconds is a good start for a high-intensity workout.

·         Alternate periods of 30 seconds or fast-rate exercise with 30 seconds of easy exercise.

·         Do 6 intervals.

·         Do at least 3 interval training sessions every week

You can get even better results with interval training by increasing the duration of the high-intensity / low-intensity intervals and the number of repeat intervals. But as with most types of training, you want to start slow to avoid injuries or exhaustion. It's better to do several short interval training workouts every week than to just do one amazingly intense one and fall flat after it.

2. Jumping Jacks with Pushup

Countdown workouts are another effective way to burn fat. Because of the countdown they involve, they can be a motivating way to push through to the end of the exercise. Here’s a simple but highlight effective exercise of this type.

·         Do six jumping jacks

·         Do six push-ups

·         Do five jumping jacks

·         Do five push-ups

·         Continue in the same way, alternating between the two types of exercises until you get to zero.

·         In each future workout, add one extra rep to each exercise.

3. Hurricane Workouts

A hurricane workout lasts about 16 minutes and is designed to build muscle and keep your heart rate high. For a hurricane workout you need a bike, a treadmill, or a jump rope. For our example, we'll use a bike.

·         Warm up with light pedaling for five minutes.

·         Pedal near maximum effort for 15 seconds.

·         Slow down and measure your heart rate.

·         Multiply the result by 10 to find your beats per minute rate.

·         When your heart rate drops below 120 bpm (measure it!), do another intense bout of cardio.

·         Do 9 intervals.

4. Strength Training

Strength training can also help you lose weight because bigger muscles eat more calories. The more you work your muscles, the more calories they need. Do push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, and rows. These are all straightforward exercises you can get right at home. They're simple enough that anyone can them. Do strength training at least twice a week, ideally in the gap days between your interval training. Don't expect immediate results.

5. High Intensity Strength Intervals

These are more effective than regular pushups or crunches, but they also demand more energy and strength, though, so you may want to start with basic strength training first and only later move on to them. The key to making high intensity strength intervals burn a lot of fat fast is to work opposing muscles. Here's a simple and effective exercise for that.

·         Grab dumbbells you can handle for 10 repetitions.

·         Do a dumbbell bench press.

·         Do an inverted row with.

·         Do five repetitions of each move, alternating them

·         Rest enough between sets so you can complete them all.

·         Do five sets of each.

In the end, remember that one of the common mistakes people who want to lose weight by exercising make is to work too much too fast. If you try to implement all of the five types of exercises above into your workout, you may set yourself a pace you can't keep up for long.

Choose instead one or two exercises from this list that you think you will enjoy the most and do them three times a week, pushing yourself a little harder every week. You'll lose more weight this way than if you try to do too much and end up on the sideline. In time, you can add new exercises and combine them to get even better results.

Hi! We’re Team NeuroGum, aficionados of all things brain-related, from creativity to working out. With backgrounds in art, science, and athletics, we love delving into all the potentials of the human body.

We also created the world’s first nootropic energy gum, made help you optimize your mind — anywhere, anytime. Find out more from: https://neurogum.com/

What’s the Real Deal With Energy Drinks?

There are a lot of ways to get an energy hit, but how many of us stop to consider the other effects of that sticky liquid? When we’re overtired and having a demanding day, it’s tempting to grab the nearest thing promising to do the trick; quite often that’s an energy drink or espresso, as those are available on practically every block. It’s a nootropic boost you’re looking for, but reaching for the wrong combination can equate to long-term health problems. You grab the energy drink ‘cause you know you’re going to squeeze a bit of much-needed motivation out of that can, and you might even get a little buzz to boot.

Give in to that temptation more frequently, however, and you’ve got a habit on your hands. Before you know it you can’t function without it. Some energy drinks can even feel like amphetamines, making them popular mixers in nightclubs. Vodka and Redbull was once (and possibly still is, for all I know) one of the most popular drinks in the clubs thanks to its ability to keep people feverishly body popping until the early hours. If that’s ever been you, you’ll know that the next day is a different story.

Energy drinks gave me more than I bargained for

I remember being 21 (a disturbingly long time ago) and it was around the time when energy drinks had just found their way onto the market; they were being quaffed by the gallon and I remember naively thinking, what a great idea! I can stay out even later now! Hmmm. Did I stop to consider the ingredients? You bet I didn’t.

I found out about the ridiculously high caffeine content after laying in bed sweating and wide-eyed until 8am with an anxiety to be reckoned with, and heart palpitations loud enough to match the beat of the relentless nightclub below. Not fun, but that’s what happens when you mindlessly swig back four of these as mixers in one night. Lesson learned.

These days, I’m not quite so daft – health is my number one priority, but still, life sometimes tires me out; I still need a helping hand here and there. I have an idea about how to handle this, which I’ll get to, but first of all I’m going to tell you why turning to energy drinks for ‘help’ is a bad move. They really won’t help you at all, actually. It’s not such a secret anymore, but if you missed this news, here’s the heads up:

Energy drinks are toxic and dangerous

Cardiac arrest and abnormal heart rhythms

They’ve caused cardiac arrest in unwitting consumers with underlying heart problems – it only takes a small number to push a weak heart over the edge, due to the violent contractions it brings on. This is even the case with teenagers, which might sound surprising but they’re probably the least likely to consider the dangers and the most susceptible to marketing hype - therefore they buy a lot of these drinks. As a result, abnormal heart rhythms are another common result.

High blood pressure and medicine interactions

Likewise, high blood pressure is grossly exacerbated by energy drinks, which is bad news if you already have this problem; besides, it’s not the kind of problem you want to create. Those on prescription drugs can find themselves in deep trouble when combining them with energy drinks - lots of contraindications have been recorded, especially with drugs designed to treat depression.

Headaches, migraines, anxiety, insomnia

Just as I personally experienced, headaches (or migraines) and anxiety are very common side effects, and panic attacks are far from rare thanks to the excessive caffeine content. Vomiting and other allergic reactions have been recorded, and as suffering from insomnia is yet another frequent side effect, you can see how this cycle may start to perpetuate. To make matters even worse, they’re addictive. But there’s worse to come:

Aspartame, diabetes and vitamin B3 overdose

Diabetes Type 2 is on the increase thanks to the ludicrous amount of sugar in most energy drinks; they wear out the pancreas’ insulin-producing cells. Aspartame is another common ingredient (a highly-toxic chemical sweetener) that can cause serious and irreversible health problems.

Finally, because most energy drinks are infused with Vitamin B3 (Niacin), some people have been known to overdose on it. It normally promotes good health but can be toxic in too-large amounts. One man even developed hepatitis from B3 toxicity, and typical overdose symptoms are skin flushing, increased heart rate, vomiting, itching, gout, diarrhea and dizziness.

Surely there’s a healthier way… isn’t there?

I’m assuming that if any of this is news, alarm bells have gone off and you’re wondering whether there’s a healthy way to get that much-needed energy hit. The good news is that yes, there is. Nootropics substances can be attained through much healthier means, and that’s exactly what Neurogum have brought to the table.

NeuroGum is a sugar-free and aspartame-free nootropic energy gum, and as it contains only natural ingredients in amounts that the body can use to function optimally, you don’t have any of the risks associated with sickly-sweet energy drinks. Neurogum contains a caffeine and L-theanine nootropic combination to keep you energized and mentally fresh, and it’s got a healthy dose of vitamin B6, and B12 infused into it too. 

This gum not only tastes great and works five times more quickly than energy drinks and supplements; its ingredients have been scientifically proven to enhance cognition. In other words, you’ll think clearly, be more focused, remember more, be more alert and make better decisions. When you think about it, all your energy problems can be solved by a little box sitting in your pocket.

Whether it’s a nightclub podium you’re heading for or your office desk, why would you opt for a tooth-rotting heart attack in a can over a natural, healthy, simple and flavoursome chunk of gum. I know I wouldn’t… preserve your lifespan and sanity  – ‘chews’ Neurogum! 

Fitness Goals Don’t Always Go As Planned – This Is What You Do

Whether you are already fit or only starting to get in shape, chances are that you probably have some fitness goals. You may have noticed that the enthusiasm you had when you had first set up your fitness goals started to somewhat taper off as the weeks go on. In addition, you may find yourself losing focus and failing to achieve the milestones you had envisioned for yourself. All sorts of health goals, including eating a more balanced diet, increasing muscle mass, running your first 5K or even half-marathon can be achieved if you choose the right approach to follow through on your plans. If you are stuck in a fitness slump, here are some tips and tricks to get you back on track.

1.      Track your progress

Keeping track of your progress is essential to know if your fitness routine is working for you. In addition, recording your progress helps you stay motivated and brings you closer to your goals, one step at a time. What should you be keeping track of? It is generally a good idea to keep a record of your food habits and your workouts. Taking some notes on what you are eating can be helpful to gain some perspective on your diet, and to see if there is any room for improvement.

Keeping track of the exercises you performed can help you stay focused on your fitness goals, and make it easier to remember details such as the weights you used and the number of repetitions you did. You may also find taking progress photos, or “workout selfies,” can help you visualize the changes in your body over time. Just remember that according to fitness studies, stepping on a scale won’t always give you an accurate idea of your progress. Instead, a useful technique to track your progress is to measure your thighs, hips and biceps – since muscle takes up less space than fat, this is a good way to see how you are advancing in your fitness plans. In addition, keeping a record of your waist-to-hip (WHP) ratio is another method to assess your fitness level, with the ideal ratio being 0.85 or lower.

2.      Examine your eating habits

If you have been working hard at achieving your fitness goals, but are nowhere near your desired results, it is time to get a close look at your diet. Poor eating habits will interfere with your fitness progress, and it is very important to choose the right foods. General diet recommendations for nutritionally-balanced meals include avoiding processed foods, as well as foods high in fat and sugar. In addition, it is not recommended to eat late at night, rush through your meals and eat at irregular intervals. 

On the other hand, nutritionists recommend eating a similar number of meals and snacks each day, being careful not to snack out of boredom, and paying attention to the quantity of food you eat. Keeping healthy snacks available within reach at work and at home can help to reduce unhealthy snacking in between meals. Examples of healthy snacks to stock up on include fruit, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, and whole-grain foods.

3.      Set up realistic expectations

In order to successfully reach your fitness goals, it is necessary to be realistic about your expectations. Setting up fitness goals that are overly ambitious will likely lead you to disappointment and loss of motivation. According to fitness experts, your goals need to be clear and specific. For instance, specific goals include how much you want to lift, what distance you would like to run, or exactly how much weight you would like to lose. In addition, your fitness goals need to be measurable and attainable – you need to be realistic about whether you can achieve your goal within the time period you give yourself. For instance, if you have not exercised in years, it is not reasonable to expect that you will start running for an hour every day. Setting a timeframe is equally important as setting realistic goals – it helps you organize your time better and to set up milestones to reach along the way.

4.      Analyze your obstacles

Keeping in mind the obstacles to your fitness goals is crucial when deciding and planning your fitness goals. We all have important commitments that can’t drop, and these include social, professional and personal obligations. It is, therefore, important to plan your workout routine and fitness goals around these commitments, and not the other way around. 

A recent study reveals that when its participants planned their fitness goals, they based their plans on ideal conditions, and ended up achieving less than they predicted because they didn’t factor in other important activities that distracted them from their goals. Experts’ advice? Be realistic about your distractors, and plan your fitness goals accordingly. Even if you have limited time to go to the gym, you should still make the effort, since doing a shorter session is better than doing nothing at all.

Hi! We’re Team NeuroGum, aficionados of all things brain-related, from creativity to working out. With backgrounds in art, science, and athletics, we love delving into all the potentials of the human body.

NeuroGum have created the world’s first nootropic energy gum, made help you optimize your mind — anywhere, anytime.

Seven Exercises That Will Strengthen Your Attention

With the advent of technology and increased gadget use, it is not surprising that our attention spans get shorter and shorter. We are constantly inundated with information in the form of short messages, as our brains struggle to filter out distractors and multitask. According to Apple, iPhone users unlock their phones on average 80 times a day. That is, about once every 10 minutes. Recently, Microsoft carried out a study which demonstrated that our attention span has fallen from 12 seconds to 8 seconds in the last two decades, and that we now officially have less of an attention span than a goldfish (9 seconds). With many of us toggling back and forth between our computers and smartphones, receiving hundreds of emails, text messages and social media notifications every day, it is not surprising that we are losing our ability to focus on any single task. Have our devices rewired our brains for good? Is it even possible to restore our dwindling attention spans? The answer is yes, but it takes some work. Here are some tips to help you better focus your attention:

1.      Remove the Obvious Distractors

Constantly receiving notifications in the form of emails, text messages and social media notifications can wreak havoc on your productivity when you need to focus. According to a recent British study, we switch between our devices on average 21 times an hour. In addition, research shows that even small distraction that lasts a few seconds can disrupt your work flow and significantly increase your chances of making an error. Therefore, in times when you need to focus on a project, make sure you limit your distractions. To maximize your productivity, turn off the notifications for text messages, emails and social media alerts on all your devices and concentrate on the task at hand.

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2.      Set Priorities

In order to stay focus on a task or a project, it is important to set your priorities. To do this, first make a list of all the tasks or steps you need to complete and evaluate their urgency, importance and the length of time required to complete them. Then, order them, starting from the most urgent and time-consuming tasks. This will help you get an idea of what needs to be completed first and how much time the project will take. Setting clear priorities and goals helps you to stay focused, feel less overwhelmed and manage your time better.

3.      Optimize Your Work Flow

Everyone is different, and there are no clear rules as to how long we should work before taking a break. According to studies in the domain of cognitive science, most of us work in bursts of 25-50 minutes. Finding out which rhythm works for you and using it helps you stay focused. Although there is no single consensus by scientific studies on how long to keep working before taking breaks, most studies agree on one thing: taking breaks in between helps us focus on the task at hand and maximize our attention.

4.      Optimize the Level of Background Sound

If you are someone who needs silence to work, then make sure you do your work in a quiet space or a library, or wear earplugs. However, certain music can also help us focus better and increase our productivity. Studies reveal that for repetitive tasks, music can be beneficial to prolong our attention span. On the other hand, for projects and tasks that involve thinking and analyzing, music that includes the sounds of nature has been found to enhance our focus. Another recent study found that the music we like increases our concentration. So go ahead, find the soundtrack that helps you be most focused, and go with it.

5.      Meditate

Apparently, meditation is not only helpful for reducing our levels of stress and anxiety, but also helps us increase our attention span. According to brain researchers, short-term meditation training works wonders for improving our attention capacities. Learning meditation helps our brains to learn how to stay focused better and tune out distracting thoughts and worries. In addition to helping us sustain our attention, meditation can even make us better at paying attention to small details. To help you learn to meditate, there are many free online resources, videos and even applications.

6.      Stay Hydrated

When trying to sustain your focus for long periods of time, it is quite important to stay hydrated. It is equally important to note that drinking coffee and tea while working may help your productivity and focus, but can also make your body dehydrated. The results of a recent study have revealed that mild dehydration (before you even notice it) can interfere with our concentration, block our focus, and even interfere with our mood. So make sure you drink enough water; experts suggest that we need about 2 liters a day (eight 8-ounce glasses) for optimal function.

7.      De-Stress

It is no surprise that stress interferes with our cognitive function. Studies show that increased levels of stress can cause us to perform lower on IQ tests and decrease our attention span. According to researchers, prolonged periods of stress is damaging to cognitive performance, the ability to focus our attention, and the ability to shift between tasks. When we stress, the hormone cortisol floods our bodies and causes many negative consequences for our health in the long-term. Some tips to de-stress prior to beginning the important task which requires a lot of attention include going for a brief walk or jog, deep breathing exercises, or having a quick chat with a friend or a loved one. Regular exercise and getting enough sleep also play important roles in helping you maximize your cognitive function and attention span.

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Music Supports Your Wellbeing

Each and every day, I am exhilaratingly allured by its tranquilizing essence. I inject generous tranquilizing doses of it’s medicinal sorcery into my veins. Pleasant waves of ecstasy rush through my body as I bow to its magnetic charm. The initial rush transforms my heartbeat and orchestrates a symphony of euphoria and rhapsody. Come hell or high water, it unceasingly brings to life the marriage of my fives senses. I am moved by a thrill so powerful that it sends shivers down my spine. Music, you are a drug to me.

The phenomenon of music pulls on the heartstrings of individuals all across the world. Music transcends the arbitrary boundaries that human beings devise to irrationally dissociate themselves and escalates unity amongst various cultures and encounters. The broad array of genres in the melting pot of melody builds bridges, which suggest the release of xenophobia and the curiosity of understanding between different cultures. Universally esteemed as a powerful force of expression, music conveys important messages, challenges predictability and evokes emotional realizations through stimulating the chemical and electrical impulses that power the mechanisms of the brain. Music simultaneously conjures memories and leads the minds petty cries to the evocation of influential realizations. Listening to music places cunning emphasis on the production of certain emotions an individual desires to explore along with the support of radical thought, delivery and the disavowal of societal norms. Music stimulating social movement and debate plucks the strings of fucked up corporeal villains. From records full of pumped-up, electrically enhanced studio magic to memorable explosive opening riffs on songs that have left deep-rooted legacies, music gets an individual's juices flowing and visibly exhibits the importance of humanity’s greatest driving force. Newfound clarity heralds as sensory appetites ripen toward satisfaction from any artist other than New Found Glory and lead individuals to the strengthening of interest to create an opportunity to share personal perspicacity associated with the piece of music. Vivid imaginations of fucking incredible ingenious artists (alternately categorized as space cadets, freaks of nature, weirdos, social rejects, etc.) fire up illustrious feelings and challenge the use of standard musical gadgets by generating the creation of majestic sound through the use of everyday objects. I recall the feeling I derived from witnessing the musical use of a frying pan on stage by Imogen Heap in 2006 (the only sober adventure of the decade) which sparked numerous conversations and debates pertaining to thinking outside of the box when it comes to the composition of harmonization.

Music remains the most natural and effective cognitive enhancer. It is a reputed nootropic known to help humans release a mood enhancing chemical in their brain. Neurogum also offers a nootropic which activates your mind and fuel your body.

Music has been a preeminent source of delight within my nomadic, foolhardy and downright brilliant life thus far. Music has touched me on the deepest abstruse and inmost level. The experimental sub-genre, Trip Hop, fervently carries the musical key to my heart. The artistically creative, enticingly dense, magnetically dark, and utterly captivating mature display of musical craft blithely seduces me as it seeps under my skin and has left a penetrating mark on my being. The lustrous combination of head-nodding beats, deep ambience and the erratic application of acid-house sounds with mysterious vocals dripping through my headphones aids in the creation of an abstract world of drifting smoke and wonder. The production of Massive Attack’s 1998 release, ‘Mezzanine’, is flawless. Listening to Massive Attack heartily takes over my entire body and mind. Though I will give any song in the entire world a chance, Trip Hop has metamorphosed my interest in open-ended forms of expression and serves as my personal most faithful musical mirror of reflection.

It is no surprise that crowds of thousands from worldwide walks of life collect wristbands and come together for the unique opportunity to bask in the intoxication drawn from the infusion of multiculturalism, instruments, enthusiastic vibes and distinctive musical styles at music festivals all over the globe. Human beings are immediately connected by live circulating energy and intensity of collective fury exploding into the day/night and casting spells on conventional behavior. Intricately woven tunes kick passion into high gear and bury an individual's fear of judgement. Music directly conveys the power to affect our equilibrium, physical jumpsuit, conscious thoughts and movement. Music festivals are playgrounds beaming of spontaneity and enriching interaction amongst human beings sharing the authentic feeling composed from being engulfed by noteworthy performances. Pausing to feel the music deeply penetrate your heart activates the pleasure of being fully alive and sparks the flow of flamboyant freedom.

Music has the potential to bring a listener to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Music rises above the barricades of communication and dishes out stories behind the exertion of an individual's idiosyncratic creativity. Music is a driving force. Music breeds coexistence. Music heals.

Interesting Relaxation Techniques for Better Sleep

According to the National Institute of Health, we need between seven to eight hours of sleep. In today’s fast-paced life, many people find it difficult to wind down before bedtime, which can result in difficulty falling asleep and insomnia. Fortunately, there are a number of effective relaxation techniques to help us achieve both physical and mental relaxation at bedtime. They work by reducing the physical tension of our muscles and block the flow of our thoughts that can prevent us from falling asleep. In fact, studies show that people who use relaxation techniques before sleep end up falling asleep faster and sleep longer. Sleep research studies have revealed that using the following techniques that take only 15-20 minutes of your time and can help you fall asleep faster and get more restful sleep:

1.    Imagery (Visualization Techniques)

One of the most common and effective relaxation techniques for going to sleep is visualization of peaceful imagery. This technique involves visualizing (imagining) peaceful scenes, such as calm ocean waves or mountain meadows. As you deeply inhale and exhale, use your imagination to focus your mind on the scenes of tranquility you have come up with. It is important to focus on different sensory aspects of the peaceful imagery you have conceived in your mind. For example, if you are imagining a sunset at a beach, it is recommended to also imagine what the waves would sound like, and what the warm feeling of the sunset would be like. Imagery techniques help the mind relax and focus on pleasant and peaceful sensations, helping us drift off to sleep. If you are having trouble coming up with your own imagery, there are plenty of free scripts and audio programs available online.

2.    Focus on Your Breathing

Focusing on your breathing while producing deep and slow breaths is an effective and simple way to achieve the state of tranquility necessary to go to sleep. Deep breathing helps to eliminate muscle tension, slow the heart rate and lower the blood pressure. In addition, focusing on your breath helps to clear your mind and to focus it on the sensation of your body becoming more and more relaxed. A breathing relaxation technique involves assuming a comfortable position and taking a series of deep and slow breaths while having the eyes closed. In addition to relaxing the body, deep breathing relaxation methods mimic the breathing rhythms of deep sleep and therefore prepare your body and mind to rest and fall asleep.

3.    Autogenic Training

Autogenic training is a technique originally developed by the German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich, and has been shown to be clinically effective in reducing stress and treating sleep disorders. The technique is based on the findings that simple auto-suggestive messages (or statements) can influence our bodily perceptions and help us achieve deep relaxation.  Autogenic training involves a series of several standard exercises which are aimed to make the body feel relaxed, warm and heavy. Specifically, each exercise requires you to get into a simple posture, such as sitting in a comfortable chair, and to use several visual or verbal cues to relax specific parts of the body. You can learn each exercise by reading about it or by taking a course in autogenic training. The techniques are fairly straightforward, and after a few brief courses, you can learn to do them on your own.

4.    Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation, also often referred to as Jacobson’s or deep muscle relaxation, is a technique which involves systematically contracting and then relaxing groups of muscles all over the body. The technique is a two-step process: first you need to tense specific muscle groups in your body, such as your neck and shoulders. Then, you need to relax them and release the tension you applied, and take note of how your muscles feel when you relax them. By practicing deep muscle relaxation techniques, you can learn the difference in the feeling of tense muscle and completely relaxed muscles, and you will be able to recognize if your body gets tense throughout the day. These exercises can help lower the overall muscle tension in the body, help to fight stress and anxiety, and get better sleep. It is easy to learn progressive muscle relaxation techniques by attending a course, reading about it or by listening to an audio guide. Mastering the methods of progressive muscle relaxation will allow you to both monitor and control the state of muscle tension in your body and learn to achieve the state of deep relaxation.

5.    Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a technique which can help us to become more aware of how our bodies react to tensing and relaxing. Basically, it is a mind-body technique that uses our body’s signals to teach us to modify our own physiological states in order to improve our physical, mental and emotional health, as well as our quality of sleep. Traditionally, this method used electrodes placed on the body to take measurements of muscle tension, breathing, body temperature and pulse. Following these measurements and their changes, helps us to understand how they are influenced by muscle relaxation techniques or by particular thought patterns. Recently, a variety of gadgets has become available to help us track and measure these physical functions, and thereby to track our emotions, including stress and anxiety levels, throughout the day. Tracking our body’s signs of tensing and relaxing can help us learn to implement voluntary self-awareness strategies to help us ease the tension, calm our bodies and minds and become relaxed and at ease.

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Five Bad Habits That Could Be Wrecking Your Sleep

Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. In fact, poor sleep quality and sleep disorders are among the most common, yet most frequently overlooked and readily treatable health problems today. Recent research shows that poor quality of sleep and chronic sleep deprivation can lead to problems such as daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and weight loss or weight gain. Scientific research studies have demonstrated that in addition to negatively affecting our health, sleep deprivation also causes cognitive performance and memory impairments. The good news is: it is possible to reboot bad sleeping habits and get the good night’s sleep you need. Here are some sleep-disrupting habits to avoid if you would like maximize your sleep quality:

1.    Eating too close to bedtime

It is hard to resist the temptation of finishing that leftover pizza right before going to bed. However, eating too close to your bedtime will disrupt the quality of your sleep because it increases the risk of acid reflux and overloads your stomach during a period when it should be resting. In addition, the feeling of being bloated after a big meal can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Experts suggest avoiding calorie-rich foods, such as ice cream or potato chips before going to bed, since they put a heavy workload on our digestive systems and can lead to weight gain. If you feel really hungry and need to eat something before going to sleep, try having a light but filling snack, such as a small fruit salad or a cup of fiber-rich cereal.

2.    Using technology at bedtime

Many of us have taken on the habit of casually browsing the newsfeeds of our social media accounts in bed before going to sleep. According to sleep researchers, this is a terrible habit and interferes with our ability to fall asleep. First of all, using technology devices before bedtime stimulates mental activity and promotes the state of wakefulness. In addition, artificial light sources, such as the screens of our phones, interfere with sleep by interrupting our body’s natural circadian rhythms by producing “blue” light. The circadian rhythm is the body’s 24 hour sleep/wake cycle, and interfering with it can result in health problems such as depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and insomnia. Blue light suppresses melatonin, which is a hormone that is needed to promote sleep and regulate circadian rhythms. To break the bad habit of using your smartphone before going to sleep, don’t keep it near where you sleep. In addition, you can avoid other artificial light sources by turning off your television long before you get ready for sleep, and by facing the screen of your alarm clock away from you.

3.    Drinking alcohol close to bedtime

Think twice before pouring yourself that nightcap. While it’s true that having a drink before going to sleep will make you fall asleep faster, alcohol actually has detrimental effects on the quality of your sleep. According to a recent study by sleep scientists at the University of Melbourne, having just one drink before going to bed alters our sleeping brainwave patterns, disrupting our sleep and interfering with the restorative efforts of our brain cells. Consequently, the disruption of our brainwave patterns during sleep can lead to daytime drowsiness, headaches and irritability. Sleep scientists suggest avoiding all alcohol before going to sleep, and opting for herbal teas, such as chamomile instead. Herbal teas provide a calming and sedative effect before going to sleep without interfering with our sleep’s quality.

4.    Consuming caffeine-containing drinks or snacks close to bedtime

When considering your choice of late afternoon or evening beverages and snacks, keep in mind that caffeine-containing foods and drinks will interfere with your ability to fall asleep for many hours after consuming them. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has demonstrated that caffeine consumed even as far in advance as six hours before bedtime disrupts the quality of sleep. It is also important to remember that caffeine is not only found in coffee, but is also contained in soft drinks such as soda, ice tea, and in certain foods, such as chocolate. Although caffeine does not affect everyone in the same way, with some people being more sensitive to it than others, researchers agree that it is a good idea to avoid all caffeine around dinnertime.

5.    Hitting the snooze button

Paradoxically, hitting the snooze button and trying to get those extra precious minutes of sleep will make you more tired during the day and will do you more harm than good. According to sleep researchers, we often make the mistake of thinking that those extra five minutes of sleep will give us an energy boost during the day. It turns out that the “snooze time” between the beeps of your alarm is not enough for your body to fall back into deep sleep, and will also confuse your brain about the meaning of the alarm sound, making it harder to get out of bed. As a result, the fragmented sleep will result in daytime drowsiness and fatigue. Sleep experts’ advice? Set your alarm exactly for the time you will need to get up.

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