Cell phones.  We all have one, and most people keep their’s within reach at all times.  Personally, mine likes to wander, so I don’t keep it on a very short leash.  My oldest daughter and my husband are sort of like me in that regard but my youngest daughters are nearly attached to their cell phones.

Because of this attachment, I read everything I can get my eyes on about cell phones and their effects. Sometimes the information is unsettling.

U.S. and European researchers report that cell phone radiation might cause insomnia, headaches, confusion and reduce the amount of deep sleep the body needs. According to online reports, it’s time to start taking these studies seriously.

“The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system,” one researcher said. The research, conducted by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and Wayne State University in Detroit, theorizes that radio-frequency radiation may also disrupt production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the body’s internal rhythms.

We all know the benefits of “winding down” before bedtime. This winding down should include turning off the cell phone and pretending it doesn’t exist for at least 30 minutes before going to sleep.

If you or someone you know is experiencing sleep problems or is showing signs of not getting enough rest - you now have a clear-cut suspect. It’s very, very rare that anything would be such an emergency that someone would HAVE to call your cell phone. If it were, they can reach you on your home phone.

Try it for a week and see if you aren’t able to get more sleep - and a better quality of sleep. I’m betting that you’ll feel so much better you’ll never invite your cell phone for a sleepover again.

Click the link for a great article on Minimizing Health Hazards from Cell Phones.

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

Here’s a great brain teaser from Braingle.com -

Which fruit comes next in this sequence:

Banana, Pear, Kiwi, Tomato

Choose from: Peach, Lemon, Plum, Guava.

For the answer, click the link below!

You should stimulate your mind daily with teasers and challenges like this. Brain games call upon parts of our minds that don’t get nearly enough stimulation. They need the wake up call!
[click to continue...]

Did you know that when you exercise, your brain gets the same benefits that your body enjoys? 

Like any self-respecting muscle, your brain craves stimulation and oxygen.  The muscles of our body (including our heart) rely on activity to keep them strong, healthy, and vital.  A lot of people are surprised to learn that the brain also benefits greatly from physical activity.

If you’ve read this blog or its main website (TMFC) before , you’re aware of the benefits of mental exercise and activity.  I’m always preaching about the importance of brain teasers, crossword puzzles, reading, and challenging your mind to go further today than it did yesterday.

But, the brain needs more than just mental stimulation - it needs physical stimulation as well.  When we exercise, our brain literally thrives on the increased oxygen and blood flow.  It rewards us with increased sharpness and focus.

While we’ll see benefits from any increase in physical activity, walking is especially good for the brain.  Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m going for a walk to clear my head.”  Without realizing it, there’s actually scientific data standing behind their words!

Walking increases blood circulation, glucose, and oxygen to the brain.  Because it isn’t as strenuous as, say, aerobics, cycling, or swimming, our leg muscles don’t take more than their fair share of the increased blood circulation, glucose, or oxygen.  The brain says, “They’re all mine!”   The extra oxygen and blood flow the brain enjoys during a walk, in fact, does “clear your head” and allow you to think more clearly.

I guess that’s why people like me, who think a little too much, love walking so much.  It supports our habit!

Make each moment count double,

~ Joi

The following is a sponsored post.  It’s been a while since I’ve done one, so let me remind you what thay means.  In a sponsored post, I’m paid to “review” a book, product, service, or website.  I’m not paid to like it or tell my readers that they’ll like it - simply to tell you what I think about it.  Fortunately for everyone involved, in my years of web publishing, I’ve noticed something - people who are willing to pay people to “see what they think” about their product or service usually have a great deal of confidence in what they’ve created.  If they didn’t, why would they risk it?!  I’ve noticed something else.  The confidence exists for a very good reason.

Tools To Life

People who are truly interested in improving their world are in a constant process of gathering information, books, and products (or tools) that will help them.  They know that the only way to improve their world is to improve themself.  After all, first things first, right?!

I’m excited to be able to tell you about one of the best Self Help Programs I’ve ever seen. Tools to Life is a completely free, online self help coaching system and support network that their publishers refer to as a labor of love.  They have been helping people loose weight, improve their relationships, resolve depression, overcome anxiety and get better careers for over 20 years!  They wanted to bring this success “online” so they could reach even more people ith Inspirational motivation  and community support.

The article archive is amazing.  The titles below are just some of the subjects covered:

• Why Go Vegetarian? - 12 highly compelling reasons are presented, and I was ready to board the train by number 5!
• Choices - Your Life is a Choice - Another one of my favorite articles is about the choices we make each day, whether or not we even realize a choice has even been made.
• Boost Your Metabolism, Lose More Inches - I don’t even have to tell you what makes this article a must-read, do I??  The title pretty much says it all.  If it’s not enough, I have another phrase to catch your eye:  Swimsuit season.  This article will tell you how you can burn calories while you sleep.  I kid you not!  It’s a great read.

The articles I listed above are just a few of the hundreds and hundreds offered on Tools to Life.  I haven’t read them all yet, but I’m working on it.  I’m giving my printer a workout, since each one makes the “worthy of being printed out” grade.

Another section of the site that you’re going to love are the Inspirational Videos.  I watched them and wished like mad there were more.  They’re as addictive as they are motivational and inspirational.

The website provides a wealth of information, inspiration, and motivation.  However, its real charm lies in the way it has built a community of people who want to not only improve their own world, but the worlds of others as well.   That sort of mindset inspires you to move in amongst them, doesn’t it?  Life Coaching Support Groups quickly become like close friends who are there for you. In this case, they just happen to be friends who can help you lose weight, improve your relationships, resolve depression, overcome anxiety and get a better career! With friends like that, who’d have enemies?!

I urge you to go (now’s as good a time as any - nudge, nudge) to Tools to Life and have a look around. Sign up and become part of the community, it’s 100 percent free. Some people honestly pay for this type of life coaching and advice! Visit Tools to Life and start a fun, exciting, and productive new journey - a journey we all like to call Self Improvement.

I love one of their sayings on the website, “Achieve your success in 15 minutes a day.” When you think of it like that, it’s as though all of our goals, hopes and dreams are on the table across the room and all we have to do is walk over there to claim them. What are we waiting for?!
 

An exciting fender bender has happened on the information highway.  One of my favorite magazines, Psychology Today, has bumped into the community of Blogging.  The result is positively traffic-stopping!

As the magazine editor, Kaja Perina, writes in her column (June 2008 issue):

Imagine a gathering where relationship gurus, experimental psychologists, and renowned writers drop by for frequent chats - and urge you to join the conversation.  They ponder whether it’s possible to love two people at once, extol Beavis and Butt-head’s unwitting grasp of human nature, and challenge you to whittle your life story down to six words.  And that’s just before appetizers.

If that sounds as intriguing to you as it does to me, I’ll see you there!
blogs.psychologytoday.com
 

We’re all familiar with endorphins and with the fact that exercising gives us a great feeling from our heads to our toes.  Working out - whether it’s walking, jogging, gardening, pilates, yoga, or just cleaning the heck out of our house - makes us feel giddy to be alive!  Add that to the health benefits of exercise and we should get our rears in gear a lot more often than we do.

But there’s more.

Something the experts refer to as “Postexercise Euphoria” seems to be the result of naturally occurring cannabinoids - from the family of chemicals that gives marijuana smokers their buzz.  A study reported in Prevention Magazine gave the following details:

Researchers asked 24 men to run, ride a bike, or sit for 50 minutes.  After the 50 minutes, the researchers took the men’s blood samples.  They found high blood levels of the cannabinoid anandamide in the exercisers but not in the sedentary men.

They say that you need at least 20 minutes of aerobic effort to feel the effects of this mood lifting boost, so don’t expect a 10 minute walk to do much for your spirits.  While it’s better than nothing, a 20 minute walk would be a much better workout as well as a much higher lift.

This is just more proof that if you’re down in the dumps, you don’t have to stay there - unless you want to.

I have a great post I’d like to throw your way.  The title is Relax: 50+ Simple 30-Second Ways to Bring Tranquility To Your Life and it’s a really wonderful compilation of things you can do to bring more peace to your world.  Read each one and, when there’s a link - check it out.  Utilizing this link and the information provided will be one of the smartest things you do this week.

 One more detour:  I wrote a book review yesterday on Self Help Daily for Maria Shriver’s wonderful new book, “Just Who Will You Be?” You should read the review, but more importantly, you should read the book.  Irregardless of your age, career, fame or fortune - this is an amazing little book that’ll leave a big impact on your world if you’ll give it the chance.

Here’s the link:  The Best Thing You Could Buy For the Graduate in Your Life

I just finished reading a really wonderful book;  in fact, I just wrote a book review for it on Self Help Daily. 

The title of the book is Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments. It was written by Dr. Keith M. Kent as a guide to his famous Paradoxical Commandments. You can find these in the post linked above as well. I’m sure you’ve seen them before, but a refresher course is always a good idea when the material’s this good.

Remember in high school when you were faced with the task of choosing subjects for the upcoming semester?  If you were planning for college, you were careful to select subjects that would meet your chosen school’s criteria.  If you had a career in business in mind, you chose classes that would prepare you for that road. 

If you went to college, you became even more expereinced in choosing subjects.

The subjects we chose in school determined our degree and shaped our education.  Good selection was of the utmost importance! However, we choose even more important subjects on a daily basis without even truly realizing it.  Yet these very choices determine far more than an education or degree - they determine our character and shape our life. 

I’m talking, of course, about our thoughts.  Our thoughts are often found woefully lacking, which sadly, rubs off onto our character.  Given the fact that our character pretty much determines the life we’ll lead, it’s easy to see why we should start paying A LOT more attention to the thoughts that we allow, and even invite, into our heads.

In a brilliant little book titled Inspiration and Ideals, from 1917, Grenville Kleiser put it this way:

If you once form the habit of selecting and dwelling upon important subjects only, you will have neither time nor inclination for the petty worries that beset so many lives.  Anxiety, irritation, despair, fear and the like, are mental, and therefore must be destroyed mentally.  As you realize the folly of these habits, you will more diligently strive to eliminate them from your life.  They are not only worthless, but a serious handicap in the face for success.  Think constructively, and doubtful and discordant elements will fall away from inanition (starvation).

I love that - starve negativity to death!

Notice how he refers to negative thoughs as “a serious handicap?”  If we were to start thinking of the following thoughts as handicaps, I’m certain we’d work harder to get rid of them:

• Worries
• Regrets
• Guilt
• Self Doubt
• Self Ridicule
• Pointless Daydreams
• Anger

Let’s vow to start recognizing these negative thoughts the very minute they show up.  Instead of inviting them to kick up their heels and get comfortable, let’s show them the door pronto. After all, if they’re invited in, they’ll invite other unsavory characters over and…well, nothing good will come from any of it.

Just as we’re careful about the people we associate with, we have to be careful about the thoughts we entertain. 

Positive, constructive thoughts will take us places!  Negative, destructive thoughts will take us nowhere.

Positive, constructive thinking will make us.  Negative, destructive thinking will break us.

The choice is ours.

Click HERE for an elaborate post detailing how you can make a difference in protecting and preserving our environment. No matter what Kermit may have told you, it IS easy being green.

Even the smallest changes add up, so if we all educate ourselves and do our part, we can make certain the beautiful world we enjoy today will be the one our children and grandchildren can enjoy tomorrow.