10 Tips to Improve Your Memory

Having trouble remembering appointments, items you need at the grocery store, or where you put your keys? Everyone has moments when something slips their mind. If this has been happening to you with increasing frequency, try doing a few easy brain exercises each day to help improve memory.
Luckily, mental workouts can be just as effective for your brain as physical workouts are for your body.
10 Ways to Improve Memory
Start with the first tip and then add one more idea each day to help improve your memory:

1. Focus on what you're trying to remember: Take time to think about what you need to remember, whether it's a list of names, chores, or items to buy. Spending a few moments actively processing your thoughts can make it easier to recall what you need to remember in the future.

2. Link your list: Try to remember several things or ideas at once by linking them together in your mind. If you want to memorize your grocery list, for instance, connect the items you need together with a specific image or action in your head. Imagine you're in your laundry room holding a container of detergent, then walk into your kitchen to get some bread and milk, then move to the bathroom to replenish the toilet paper.

3. Personalize your list: Organize lists into short, manageable sections, and try to connect items to something that's easier for you to remember. Improve memory by linking lists of numbers, for example, to personally relevant dates like your birthday or interesting historical dates.

4. Create a visual image: If you're trying to remember someone's name, visualize an object that will help remind you in the future. Think of summer for a woman named June or a cat for someone named Catherine.

5. Create an acronym: Train your brain to remember items in a specific sequence by creating a word to represent the objects. Try using the first letter of each item on your shopping list to form a word. For instance, MOST can stand for milk, oranges, soap, toilet paper.

6. Use all of your senses to help improve memory: Afraid you're going to forget your next hair appointment or dinner with a friend? Verbally list your appointments out loud and then think about the softness of your hair after a salon visit and the aroma of the food at your favorite restaurant to help solidify the dates in your mind.

7. Write it down.: Even if you don't actually use your list or a note to remind you of an appointment, simply writing the information down will help your brain retain it.

8. Create a rhyme: How did you learn the alphabet or the number of days in each month when you were little? You probably learned them with the help of a song or rhyme. Try doing the same thing with names, appointments, and lists.

9. Make it manageable: Organize a long list into shorter lists that are easier to remember. Instead of trying to remember a dozen different items, create four mini-lists with only three things you need to remember from each.

10. Be positive.: Don't doubt yourself , our brains can often do more than we realize. Regularly practice these tips to help improve memory, and you'll be amazed by how much more you can remember.

Brain Exercises
There are a number of other ways you can strengthen your memory. Try these strategies and exercises to keep your brain and memory sharp:

1. Be organized. Keep lists and notes, and maintain an appointment book.
2. Challenge your mind and body. Try new physical and mental activities like yoga, ballroom dancing, tai chi, or chess.
3. Play mind games. Do crossword puzzles, read as much as possible, and play games like Scrabble or sudoku.
4. Keep yourself guessing. Stimulate your brain by taking an unusual route to work or by using your opposite hand to do simple activities like placing your key in the door, putting on makeup, stirring your food, or brushing your teeth.

Forgetting things can make you feel flustered and disorganized. But regular workouts for your mind can improve memory and boost your overall brain power. Once you figure out which memory tips work best for you, it’s possible that you’ll never forget a name, birthday, or that last item on your grocery list ever again.
Try these ideas on your memory to give yourself a brain boost.

Source: Everyday Health
Have a nice day! :)

What Do Your Teeth Say About Your Health?

Though it can be very neglected at times, our mouths are connected to the rest of our bodies.
"Our teeth, gums and surrounding tissue have plenty to say"

"What we see in the mouth can have a significant effect on other organ systems and processes in the body. And the reverse is also true: things that are going on systemically in the body can manifest in the mouth."
So what are some of the thing your mouth is trying to say?

• Dental Warning: Flat, Worn Teeth & Headache

Sign of: Stress
Many people are surprised to learn they are grinding their teeth. After all, they do this in their sleep, when they're not aware of it. And they underestimate the physical toll that stress can place on the body.

"Crunching and grinding the teeth at night during sleep is a common sign of emotional or psychological stress,". You can sometimes see the flatness on your own teeth, or feel it with the tongue. Or the jaw may ache from the clenching. The reason for your headaches are spasms in the muscles that are doing the grinding. Sometimes the pain can radiate from the mouth and head down to the neck and upper back, Iacopino says. Mouth guards used at night can relieve the symptoms and protect teeth.

• Dental Warning: Cracking, Crumbling Teeth

Sign of: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Older adults, especially, are vulnerable to teeth that appear to be cracking or crumbling away. The enamel becomes thin and almost translucent. But this erosion isn't a normal consequence of aging. In fact, it can happen at any age.
Disintegrating teeth are usually caused by acid that's coming up from the stomach and dissolving them,. The cause: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD, also called acid reflux disease). GERD causes stomach acid to back up into the esophagus and from there, it's a short distance to the mouth for some of the damaging acid. GERD is a chronic disorder caused by damage or other changes to the natural barrier between the stomach and the esophagus. Dry mouth and heartburn are also related GERD symptoms that you should look out for.

Cracking or chipping teeth in a younger person is also a telltale sign of bulimia. Over time, stomach acid washes up into the mouth, disintegrating the tooth enamel.

• Dental Warning: Persistent Sores

Sign of: Oral Cancer
Suspicious oral ulcers tend to be raised sores and often have red or white (or red and white) borders. They may lurk underneath the tongue, where they're hard to see. But when an open sore in the mouth doesn't go away within a week or two, it always warrants showing to a dentist or doctor (especially if accompanied by bleeding and numbness).

"Though, sometimes the only sign is a sore that doesn't seem to go away," says Susan Hyde, an associate professor of clinical dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry. "We all injure our oral tissues, but if an area persists in being white or red rather than the normal healthy pink, this needs to be evaluated to rule out oral cancer."

More than 21,000 men and 9,000 women a year are diagnosed with oral cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Most are over age 60. Oral cancer has a survival rate of only 35 percent,  but this is mainly because cases are often detected too late. Smokers are six times more likely to develop oral cancer, but one in four oral cancers develop in non-smokers.

• Dental Warning: Gums Growing Over Teeth

Sign of: Medication Problems
If you notice your gum literally growing over your tooth, and you're taking a medication for heart disease or seizures or you take drugs to suppress your immune system (such as before a transplant), it's well worth mentioning this curious development to your prescribing doctor.

"A swelling of the gums to where it grows over the teeth is a sign the dosage or the medication need to be adjusted,". Certain drugs can stimulate the growth of gum tissue. This can make it hard to brush and floss, inviting tooth decay and periodontal disease.

• Dental warning: Dry Mouth

Sign of: Sjogren's Syndrome or Diabetes
Many things can cause dry mouth, from dehydration and allergies to smoking and new medications. But a lack of sufficient saliva is also an early warning of two autoimmune diseases unrelated to medicine use: Sjogren's syndrome and diabetes. But because its symptoms mimic other diseases (such as diabetes), people are often misdiagnosed and go several years before being properly diagnosed.

Other diabetes symptoms include excessive thirst, tingling in the hands and feet, frequent urination, blurred vision and weight loss. In Sjogren's, the eyes are dry as well as the mouth, but the entire body is affected by the disorder.

In Sjogren's, the white blood cells of the body attack their moisture-producing glands, for unknown reasons. Four million Americans have Sjogren's, 90 percent of them women. Twenty-four million people in the U.S. have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disease caused by high blood sugar.

• Dental Warning: White Webbing Inside Cheeks

Sign of: Lichen Planus
The last thing you might expect to discover while brushing your teeth is a skin disease (Lichen planus, whose cause is unknown, is a mild disorder that tends to strike both men and women ages 30 to 70. The mucus membranes in the mouth are often a first target, and not only can it occur in the mouth, but in the vagina as well.

Oral lichen planus looks like a whitish, lacy pattern on the insides of the cheeks. (The name comes from the same roots as tree lichen, a lichen that has a similar webbed, bumpy appearance). Seventy percent of lesions appear in the mouth before they strike other parts of the body, says professor Anthony Iacopino.
While Lichen planus often goes away on its own, sometimes treatment is necessary.

• Dental Warning: Crusting Dentures

Sign of: Potential Aspiration Pneumonia
Most people don't connect dentures (false teeth) with pneumonia, other than to think they're both words that often refer to the world of the elderly. And yet the two have a potentially deadly connection.
"A leading cause of death in older people is aspiration pneumonia, often from inhaling debris around the teeth and dentures, but what's amazing is that you can get a 100-percent reduction in what's otherwise a leading cause of death for denture wearers just by brushing your teeth. With proper cleaning, though, you don't have to worry about other red flags. "

In aspiration pneumonia, foreign material is breathed into the lungs and airway, causing dangerous (even fatal) inflammation. Too often, the problem stems from people in the care of others  those in nursing homes, for example who fail to clean dentures properly. Dentures need to be removed daily from the mouth, cleaned with a special brush, and stored in a cleansing solution.

So, next time you notice your mouth saying something, take the time to listen!

Have a Nice Day! :)

Top 15 Health Tips of 2011

Almost all of us have come across this adage sometimes or the other ''Health is Wealth.'' This is so true statement but we realize the worth of it only when we fade and break down.However if you want to prevent your health from reaching that state of break down, you need to follow some of the most important health tips for 2011. Various tips have been suggested by experts and consultants in the medical fields to help you achieve a sound health. Below presented are the top 15 health tips for your healthy living:

1. The faster you eat, the more weight you may gain

A Japanese study that followed more than 500 men over 8 years reported that faster eaters gained an average of 4.2 pounds during the study, while slow eaters gained only 1.5 pounds. It takes 20 minutes for your body to register how full you are. To slow yourself down, try sipping water between each bite of a meal.

2. Playing music keeps your mind sharp as you age

If you don’t want to constantly be searching for your lost keys through the years, it might be time to pick up a guitar and the sooner you do it, the better for your noggin. A University of Kansas Medical Center study showed that people who had played music for more than a decade had the best memory and cognition. Because playing music has been shown to arouse so many different sections of the brain, practicing can have broad benefits to keep you sharp.

3. Cure those nagging pains with better posture

For men: Here’s a simple trick for your brain the next time you go to the doctor for a routine but painful shot. Stand up straight and try to have a dominant pose, says a Journal of Experimental Social Psychology study. When taking dominant yoga poses over submissive ones, people could stand pain longer. By acting dominant, you’re likely releasing more testosterone to combat the pain you otherwise would feel.

4. Stay in touch with family to know if you should bump up a cancer screening

The American Cancer Society found that having a family member even extended family with cancer increased a person’s cancer risk substantially between the ages of 30 of 50, meaning that the colorectal cancer screening you thought you’d need at 50 might have to move up if your Uncle recently was diagnosed.

5. Avoid health problems other than sore thumbs with video games

Those marathon gaming nights of Madden on PS3 aren’t bad for you just because you aren’t acquiring enough sleep. Prolonged sitting can cause deep-vein thrombosis a blood clot in the lower limbs that can work its way up to the heart or lungs, triggering a heart attack. If you have to stay on the controller for several hours to crack a level or are simply stuck to your desk at work, make sure you take breaks each hour to keep your blood flowing.

6. Easy ways to avoid exercise-induced asthma

Not much is worse for an athlete than a good run or game of basketball taking a nosedive because your chest tightens up. Asthma is a disease caused by inflammation, and sadly many of us eat foods that help contribute to that inflammation. An Indiana University review found that certain foods, though, can increase or decrease your risk for an attack.

7. A simple way to cure your blues

If you’re bummed because of a recent layoff or you were dumped recently, hitting the gym for 30 to 45 minutes three to four times a week could really help your mental outlook. A University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study found that 28 percent of depressed people eliminated their symptoms of depression when they worked out that much. The results were even better for men, and it was even more effective when they worked out longer.

8. Add some light to your (morning) life

If you’re always moving like a zombie after the alarm goes off in the morning, maybe you should be a reverse vampire and seek extra light before you awake. In a study, when sleepers were exposed to gradually intensifying light a half hour before the woke up, they felt more alert than sleepers who woke up to a sudden burst of light.

9. Kick diabetes with this drink that’s available everywhere

It’s more available than coffee or tea, and we don’t mean soda. Staying hydrated with 34 ounces of water a day made people in a 9-year French study 36 percent less likely to develop high blood sugar or diabetes. Why? If you’re dehydrated, your brain tells your liver to make more glucose for the body.

10. Eliminate these common health-sabotaging toxins

*Artificial Sweeteners of all varieties :these include sucralose (Splenda), Acesulfame Potassium, saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, alitame, neotame. All have more in common chemically to pesticides than to food products.

*High fructose corn syrup and its new, more dangerous relative, crystalline fructose :Fructose, despite what the corn growers tell you in their commercials, IS different than regular sugar. It must be metabolized by the liver first and significantly increases the risk of liver problems, as well as contributing to obesity. Check out the label on Vitamin Water and Gatorade - better to take your vitamins with pure water!

*Vegetable oils of all varieties : corn, canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean, etc. All are high in omega-6 fats which promote chronic inflammation and cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other diseases. By reducing omega-6 fats and increasing omega-3 fats you reduce your risk for these diseases.

11. Daily prayer/meditation

Finding time to clear your mind and make your requests and praise to God can be a tremendous emotional cleansing process.

12. Sleep 6-8 hours per night

Some tips for improving the quality of your sleep: keep the room as dark as possible (especially important if you work nights), keep your bedroom a bedroom – get the TV, computer and all other electrical devices out, white noise machines can reduce environmental noises like traffic, barking dogs and UFOs landing in the yard, and please don’t drink coffee after 6pm.

13. Get outside!

Fresh air and, yes, even sunshine are good for you! That warm, glowing ball in the daytime sky is what has sustained life on this ball of rock for quite a few years it’s nothing to be feared. You’ll get some vitamin D along with getting in shape.

14. Start a well-rounded fitness plan

Your fitness plan should include at least these elements:

*Cardiovascular conditioning

*Strength Training

*Core stability

*Stretching and balance (yoga/Pilates)

15. Avoid Alcohol and Cigarette

This is true that alcohol and cigarette act like a silent killer for your life. Too much consumption of cigarette and alcohol disturbs the functioning of your heart, liver and kidneys and cause severe health issues in your life. Research has shown that cigarette and alcoholic drinks can reduce the life expectancy of an average individual drastically.

Happy new year & Stay Healthy! :)