Acts | Health And Wellness Tips

Stop Smoking: A Friends Reminder

Smoking may lead to an addiction; one thing that is very difficult to keep away from your system. Quitting smoking is a very hard process; thus, if your friend is on the process of doing so he will need all your support to do it. Be supportive and encourage him to defeat his urge to smoke. Be there with him as he tries to stop smoking.

Proper Encouragement

As a friend, your encouragement is your best contribution to your friend’s rehabilitation. Remember, with the right words said at the right time, you are able to push your friend to reach his goal. But, how can you really give encouragement without sounding too much of a nagger?

Encouragement follows after a person finally decides to quit smoking. Once he has the determination to quit, you step in to give him words of encouragement so that he will not lose his focus. This is the time when you have to let your friend feel that you are with him throughout this process and that you will stay beside him until he finally reaches his goal. Sometimes, words are not necessary anymore your acts alone may be enough as encouragement.

You also have to remind yourself of the difficulty of the process that your friend is going through. This reminder will let you understand your friend more, and the better you understand his situation, the more helpful you can be. There may be times when your friend may not stop himself from puffing another stick, but you should not use this against him. Instead of criticizing his mistakes, try to remind him of his progress and steer him away from the said errors. You should not dwell on his mistakes, but on how he was able to correct such afterwards.

And though after quitting, addictive substances such as nicotine and tobacco still remain present within the system of someone who has recently stopped smoking. This is what causes relapse. Thus, the process still continues even after a long time, and you should continue to encourage for as long as your friends battle with smoking continues.

Process of Quitting

People have their own ways of quitting. Some say that it is better to quit all at once; however, there are still others who believe that it should be done slowly but surely. Slowly quitting would mean that nicotine exposure would be decreased moderately by consuming lesser cigarettes each day.

Really, it does not matter how one chooses to proceed with quitting. Whatever method he chooses, you should always be ready to give him the encouragement he needs. To do so, here are some things that may help you give confidence to your friend who needs to stop smoking:

1. When you talk about progress, stay positive and inspiring by pointing out the instances when he has really surpassed a trial.
2. Talk about his slip ups but refrain from dwelling on the matter.
3. You should support whatever quitting technique he may have chosen.
4. Help him avoid situations which may trigger his desire for smoking again.
5. Continue to be a friend!

You do not need to be licensed counselor to give good encouragement. All you need to be is to be loyal and one who cares for a friend. Just stay with them, back them up and make them feel that they are not alone in their attempt to stop smoking.

Strapless Heart Rate Monitor and the Conventional Heart Rate Monitor

There are two major types of heart rate monitors: the one that uses a strap and the strapless. Most of the manufactured heart rate monitors today are composed of two major parts: the chest strap and the wrist unit. The chest strap acts as the transmitter to which the heart rate is measured. The data is then transferred to the data to the wrist unit. The wrist unit on the other hand receives any data the transmitter sends.

It has the display where the person using it can read his or her heart rate count. The transmitter and the receiver work hand-in-hand to provide an accurate heart rate measurement. And the good thing about this is that the user can have the access real time. Meaning, whenever the user would wish to check his/her heart rate, he/she can have it and would not require to use the conventional manual method.

This principle of being able to access the heart rate without using the manual method still applies on the strapless heart rate monitor. But there is a great difference. Like what was said, the normal heart rate monitor can provide measurement whenever the user wishes to have it. The strapless heart rate monitor provides an on demand only heart rate measurement. Strapless heart rate monitor does not give a continuous heart rate data and the measurement is only given whenever needed.

This is because the strapless heart rate monitor requires the user to place two fingers on the monitors sensor in a specific length of time usually between 4 to 13 seconds. And the reading would only activate if this is done. The electrical stimulation provided by the fingers that is sourced from the heart gives the strapless monitor the right reading on the heart rate.

What is good about the strapless heart rate monitor is that there is no need to strap a transmitter around the chest, which might be an inconvenience for some especially on the ladies since most heart rate monitors are designed for men. And in spite needless requirement to wear a strap, the strapless heart rate monitor gives an accurate heart rate measurement just like all other heart rate monitors of any kind.

For joggers, runners, athletes, and cyclists, the strapless heart rate monitor might not be a good choice since it does not give a continuous data but for those who just want to have a clear and accurate access on their heart rate without a great demand for formal monitoring, the strapless heart rate monitor is very ideal.

Heart Rate Monitor for Training

Heart rate monitors usually come in two: the two-part heart rate monitor and the strapless heart rate monitor. The strapless heart rate monitor requires no strap to wear around the chest which in turn would provide more relaxed and comfortable feel during training. It uses only the wrist-worn device that reads the electronic signal released by the heart through the fingers pressed on the device for a given length of time.

The two-part heart rate monitor on the other hand is composed of the strap and the wrist unit. The belt strap reads the heart rate measurement and acts as a transmitter. The wrist unit serves as the receiver and displays the data sent by the transmitter.

The belt strap heart rate monitor and the strapless heart rate monitor can be used during training. Both have similarities but both present advantages and disadvantages.

The belt strap heart rate monitor and the strapless heart rate monitor both can accurately provide the user with accurate heart rate measurement which is impossible with manual method.

The main advantage of the belt strap heart rate monitor on training is that the user can have an instant access on the status of the heart anytime he/she wishes to. It provides a continuous reading on the status of the heart which is very reliable during long training duration. Higher end belt strap heart rate monitors can be computer compatible or contain high memory storage capacity that equates to larger room to save data for several days of training. Its main disadvantage on the other hand could be the inconvenience the strap provides on the user. Since most of this type is designed for male users, women who wish to have the strap belt heart rate monitor during training can have difficulty fitting the right size for them.

For the strapless heart rate monitor, the main advantage it presents is the convenience of wearing only the wrist unit. There is no need to wear the strap with transmitter. However this might not be very appealing to those who would like to have an access of their heart rate whenever they demand to. The strapless heart rate monitor might not be good for training for it interrupts the continuity. This is because to be able to have a heart rate reading, the user still has to place 2 fingers on the device for seconds. But for people who are unmindful of the destruction it creates, the strapless heart rate monitor is good for training.

Whichever the trainer uses, heart rate monitors of any kind are great tool to get the right heart rate measurement all the time.

Helpful Tips to Better Your Memory

Through time, as you grow old, you will encounter many health problems that can be countered by leading a healthy lifestyle. This will also be beneficial in the goal to better your memory. In psychology, this is defined as one’s mental ability to encode the registered information, retain and use the helpful data whenever necessary.

You must do everything necessary to keep your brain functioning well. This way, you can avoid getting numerous disorders that are associated with the brain. As people grow old, the one aspect that usually gets affected is their memory. They are having difficult time remembering valuable information, especially at times when they need to come up with an answer. The following processes of how your brain functions get affected, especially when you just let it be and you don’t act upon the problem.

1. Encoding. When your brain receives information, it processes everything and combines pieces of what has been received with the data already stored in your system.

2. Storage. Your brain acts like the hard disk of your system where you store everything. But unlike the computer system, your brain records the information permanently. And it will stay there for as long as you are healthy and you haven’t encountered serious problems that have caused your brain to malfunction.

3. Recall. In cases wherein you have to answer questions and situations based on what has already been stored in your brain, you try to recall the data that may help you arrive at the right conclusions.

Improve Your Memory

The International Longevity Center released a report in 2001 that includes vital tips in improving your brain’s performance. The more pronounced tips include actively seeking new information through learning. This can be achieved by reading and training. You should also engage yourself in physical activities that promote blood circulation on your brain. You should also learn to keep your stress levels at a low by not thinking too much about problems. It is also recommended to get enough sleep and eat right. To help you exercise your memory to improve its performance, here are some more tips that you can opt to do.

1. Make it a habit to write down notes about the things that you want to do and whatever you want to remember. This can aid you in achieving your goal until you no longer have to resort to this activity or do it less often.

2. If you are reviewing for exams and the likes, you must get enough rest after storing too much information on your brain. You can repeat the process after you have rested and before the date of the exam to help your brain absorb more information and retain most of them.

3. You should also practice visualizing things that you need to remember. For example, you need to remember too many names at a short period of time. It will help if you will associate the faces of the people and their names on images that will make you recall them easily.

4. While some people may attest that cramming work for them, this is not healthy as you try to force and overload your brain with too many information for a short period of time. If you have to study, give yourself ample time to finish everything that you have to review. Give your brain time to rest after absorbing too many data. This will help better your memory and for you to perform well on your exams.