Editor's Blog6 mins ago
10 Ways To A Better Life ? ? ?
9 Answers
I came across this (amusing?) item on living a better life - I think it's meant to be serious, though it may not pass the new site rules regarding scientific facts so here it is under CB.
https:/
I 've tried to precis the item without losing meaning - take a dip in and then go to the link if it takes your fancy ;-)
1. Stop snacking by sniffing peppermint
A scientific theory called ‘mutual competition’ shows that a strong smell can distract our brain from the food we’re thinking about. Give it a go – drink peppermint tea or brush your teeth whenever you feel hungry.
2. Reduce screen time by turning your phone screen grey
The average Brit checks their phone every 12 minutes. Every time you look, your stress hormone levels spike. So, what would stop you looking at your phone? Turning the screen black and white.
3. Stop feeling stressed by using cold water therapy
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is the first to admit he gets stressed. So Dr Zoe Williams prescribed him an unusual treatment: a swim or soak in icy water, every day. The idea is that by regularly exposing yourself to the stress of icy water you become used to that stress — and therefore better able to deal with other stresses life throws at you.
4. Try a forest trip
Pull on your hiking boots, head to a forest and take some deep breaths in. Trees emit chemicals from phytoncides and a group of scientists think that these chemicals may actually boost our immune systems. But a key reason to spend time with those green giants is that research shows that our stress hormone cortisol dips by a huge 15% when we hang out together.
5. Keep your gut healthy by sipping an unusual drink
Professor Tim Spector from King’s College London looked at Steph McGovern’s gut ecosystem and found her community of gut bacteria was seriously lacking. He recommended eating harder-to-digest veg, fermented yogurts and cheese along with kimchi and kombucha, for happier microbes.
6. Move more by fidgeting
Over 15 million people in the UK spend half the day being sedentary. That’s sitting in a car, at a desk, or on the sofa. More than six hours of prolonged sitting increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Move a lot more by simply increasing the number of small movements you make throughout the day, including fidgeting.
7. Like the way you look by drawing
Get your pencil case out. If people have a low sense of body image, studies show that they benefit from being exposed to a naked body – in all its imperfect glory – at Life Drawing classes. The idea is that by sketching normal bodies with all our wonderful lumps and bumps, we become more accepting of our own.
8. Get fitter for free by working out at home
As we get older we lose muscle mass and strength, and this can have an impact on being able to stay flexible. A set of simple strength exercises, based around a cardio HIIT-style workout, done at home, will get you stronger in a matter of weeks.
9. Reduce pain by singing
With 50% of the UK spending the working day on their feet, aches and pains at work are extremely common. Here’s a possible painkiller – studies have found that those who sing in a choir can experience significant pain reduction, in some cases by 50%. Singing releases endorphins, reducing our perception of pain and acting in a similar way to morphine — but without the danger of addiction.
10. Banish fussy eating by letting kids play with their food
Fussiness is actually an evolutionary response to protect toddlers from putting anything that might be poisonous in their mouths. Playing with food might not be good table manners but a study involving 100 children found that those who were encouraged to play with their food - with no pressure to eat it - tried twice as much fruit and veg afterwards.
https:/
I 've tried to precis the item without losing meaning - take a dip in and then go to the link if it takes your fancy ;-)
1. Stop snacking by sniffing peppermint
A scientific theory called ‘mutual competition’ shows that a strong smell can distract our brain from the food we’re thinking about. Give it a go – drink peppermint tea or brush your teeth whenever you feel hungry.
2. Reduce screen time by turning your phone screen grey
The average Brit checks their phone every 12 minutes. Every time you look, your stress hormone levels spike. So, what would stop you looking at your phone? Turning the screen black and white.
3. Stop feeling stressed by using cold water therapy
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is the first to admit he gets stressed. So Dr Zoe Williams prescribed him an unusual treatment: a swim or soak in icy water, every day. The idea is that by regularly exposing yourself to the stress of icy water you become used to that stress — and therefore better able to deal with other stresses life throws at you.
4. Try a forest trip
Pull on your hiking boots, head to a forest and take some deep breaths in. Trees emit chemicals from phytoncides and a group of scientists think that these chemicals may actually boost our immune systems. But a key reason to spend time with those green giants is that research shows that our stress hormone cortisol dips by a huge 15% when we hang out together.
5. Keep your gut healthy by sipping an unusual drink
Professor Tim Spector from King’s College London looked at Steph McGovern’s gut ecosystem and found her community of gut bacteria was seriously lacking. He recommended eating harder-to-digest veg, fermented yogurts and cheese along with kimchi and kombucha, for happier microbes.
6. Move more by fidgeting
Over 15 million people in the UK spend half the day being sedentary. That’s sitting in a car, at a desk, or on the sofa. More than six hours of prolonged sitting increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Move a lot more by simply increasing the number of small movements you make throughout the day, including fidgeting.
7. Like the way you look by drawing
Get your pencil case out. If people have a low sense of body image, studies show that they benefit from being exposed to a naked body – in all its imperfect glory – at Life Drawing classes. The idea is that by sketching normal bodies with all our wonderful lumps and bumps, we become more accepting of our own.
8. Get fitter for free by working out at home
As we get older we lose muscle mass and strength, and this can have an impact on being able to stay flexible. A set of simple strength exercises, based around a cardio HIIT-style workout, done at home, will get you stronger in a matter of weeks.
9. Reduce pain by singing
With 50% of the UK spending the working day on their feet, aches and pains at work are extremely common. Here’s a possible painkiller – studies have found that those who sing in a choir can experience significant pain reduction, in some cases by 50%. Singing releases endorphins, reducing our perception of pain and acting in a similar way to morphine — but without the danger of addiction.
10. Banish fussy eating by letting kids play with their food
Fussiness is actually an evolutionary response to protect toddlers from putting anything that might be poisonous in their mouths. Playing with food might not be good table manners but a study involving 100 children found that those who were encouraged to play with their food - with no pressure to eat it - tried twice as much fruit and veg afterwards.
Answers
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If I start singing, I'm not sure about whether or not it will reduce any pain that I might be expeiencing myself but I know for certain that it will induce severe pain in everyone else around me ;-)
00:32 Fri 31st Jan 2020
1 to 9 of 9
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