Sreedhara.com

1. Exfoliate Your Skin. Before you take a shower you need to remove old dead skin from your body. This allows the fresh new skin beneath to breathe and absorb moisture. Get yourself a good natural bristled body brush and use large sweeping motions to massage your skin. You’ll also be helping to stimulate blood flow and help reduce cellulite as an added bonus.

2. Use sun screen. Sun screen wasn’t just invented for summer time use. We should be protecting our skin from harmful sun rays all year long. Dangerous UV rays are actually stronger in the winter and can be far more damaging to your skin if left exposed. There are cosmetic companies now including UV ray protection in their foundations such as Cover Girl TruBlend Powder Foundation Sunscreen. It works like a sunscreen but its still make-up.

3. Apply moisturizer. The cold outdoors is not the only thing that dries out your skin. The air indoors is much drier due to heaters being run and lack of fresh outside air being circulated inside. The only way to combat that is to apply moisturizer. It’s best to apply an all-over body moisturizer at least twice a day; once in the morning and once before bed. A real good all-over moisturizer is Eucerin or Lubriderm. Both of these moisturizers are fairly cheap in price and can be found in any drugstore, Wal-Mart or Target stores. Eucerin also has a moisturizer that has added SPF sun blocking agents. If you’ve got money to spend then give the Neutrogena SPF 15 moisturizer a try as it does a great job at soaking right in to your skin without the added oils.

4. Use Carmex or other Lip Balm. It gets very easy to neglect our lips when we spend all day yacking or stuffing our faces but protecting our lips is very important. To keep your lips from getting chapped the first thing you should do is stop licking them. When you repeatedly lick your lips you are actually removing moisture and causing them to get even more chapped. To eliminate the huge red ring around your mouth rub a little Vaseline on the area before going to sleep.

5. Use sleeping time to replenish the moisture in your hands and feet by applying moisture and sleeping with socks and gloves on. You can wear socks on your hands as well as your feet but be sure they are 100% cotton. I prefer Haynes cotton socks but brand doesn’t really matter. Cu rel makes a moisturizer that works well on both hands and feet but let me tell you about a secret product I recently found at Target.

Just like your body needs vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, so does your brain.

Whole Grains: Vitamin B, which is important for many bodily functions, is also vital for brain and nerve function. Whole grains are a good source of Vitamin B1 is essential for maintaining the health of your brain and nerve cells. You could add products like rice, pasta, bread and cereals to your menu.

Meat and Vegetables: Vitamin B5 helps form a coenzyme, which is useful in the transmission of nerve impulses. It is found in abundance in poultry, meat, fish, legumes, vegetables and fruits.

Chicken and Nuts: Vitamin B6 helps produce serotonin, a brain chemical that is critical to many brain functions. Chicken, liver, kidney, nuts and legumes are some of the food items that contain Vitamin B6.

Dairy Products: Milk, eggs and dairy products help maintain healthy nervous tissues because they contain Vitamin B12.

Fruits: Folic acid is vital in the metabolism of fatty acids in the brain. Fruits like bananas, oranges, lemons, and strawberries are excellent sources of folic acid.

Fish: Fish is an excellent source of high quality protein and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals as well. Certain fish are also rich source f fatty acids, known as Omega-3 fats, which fight heart diseases. Good sources of fatty acids include sardines, tuna, herrings, salmon, mackerel and bluefish.

Good health rests on a good night’s sleep. When you wake up rested, you are ready to take on the day! Your body needs enough rest to work right. In fact, getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health, along with eating right and getting enough exercise.

Changes to our sleep patterns are a part of the normal aging process. As we age we tend to have a harder time falling asleep and more trouble staying asleep – which is a problem because research shows that our sleep needs remain constant throughout adulthood and that it is a misconception to think that sleep needs decline as we get older.

Tips to sleep better

1.Avoid watching TV, eating and discussing emotional issues in bed.

2.Minimize noise, light and temperature extremes in the bedroom.

3.Try not to drink fluids after 8 pm.

4.Avoid naps or take short ones (no more than 25 minutes).

5.Don’t smoke near bedtime.

6.Don’t drink caffeine at least four hours before bedtime.

7.Avoid eating, exercising and alcohol before bedtime.

8.Lose weight and exercise regularly to decrease snoring, sleep apnea and other chronic conditions that affect sleep.

9.Don’t ignore depression – seek help from family, friends or a professional.

10.Reduce stress by practicing meditation or performing relaxation exercises before bedtime. Look into aromatherapy,
music or yoga and how these things can help.

11.If despite your efforts nothing seems to work, talk to your doctor about other options you might consider.