Posted by Editor | Comments Off on Everything You Need to Know About Placebo Sleep

Everything You Need to Know About Placebo Sleep

Having a hectic schedule and a really stressful routine can easily impact your sleep, the lack of which can lead to sleep deprivation and take a toll on your health. But here’s something that will change the way you go about your routine: if you haven’t slept a wink, you might just get through the day by convincing yourself that you rested well the night before.

This is known as “placebo sleep”, which a recent study has shown can improve the cognitive functions of participants regardless of whether they actually had enough rest.

What is the placebo effect?

The placebo effect is simply believing that something is effective, even when it isn’t, can actually have an effect. One case for this is with ordinary sugar pills and gel caps administered to patients who are told that it’s medicine, and their symptoms are shown to improve after some time.

A similar effect can be applied to sleep. You can convince yourself that you’re better rested by simply focusing on the hours of rest that you’ve actually had rather than the ones you missed.  There are other ways you can focus on the placebo effect with, like the following:  

• Changing your outlook – Adopting a positive attitude towards life can improve your overall health, since it encourages you to take better care of yourself.
• Staying active – Just like positive thinking, simply convincing yourself that you have

But while the placebo effect is real, and have positive effects, the question is: should you do it regularly or use it to go on less sleep for an extended period? Probably not.

Simply counting on the placebo effect to substitute for sleep doesn’t guarantee that your body will shrug off stress. In fact, it’s more likely that the effects of deprivation will continue to mount and have a negative impact not just on your body, but also on your overall routine.  

Improving your sleep quality

The best way to make sure you have the energy is simply getting the rest your body needs. Instead of relying only on the placebo effect and tricking yourself about being well-rested, try these tips to make sure you’re definitely well-rested:

• Be consistent. Being in sync with your body’s circadian rhythm makes it easier for you to fall asleep and wake up.
• Sleep at an earlier time. If you’re used to staying up late, sleeping fifteen minutes earlier is a good way to start.
• Stay hydrated. Drinking enough water reduces fatigue and gives you a much-needed boost for brain power and energy.
• Keep your room dark. Bright lights can interfere with the natural sleep cycle, and makes it take longer for you to sleep.

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Posted by Editor | Comments Off on Five Surprising Things You Need to Know About Your Food

Five Surprising Things You Need to Know About Your Food

Everyone is eating or has eaten a certain amount of processed food at some point in their lives, and that’s because processed food is everywhere, even if it’s something as a biscuit or a cookie. You can even find that the “healthy” food isn’t as healthy as it seems. Even if you think your fridge is loaded with all-natural food options, you can bet that there are a lot of things food manufacturers don’t tell you about their products.  

Here are a few things you seriously need to know about your food to get you started:

1.  Processed foods contain more sugar than you think

While you already know that many foods you see on the grocery shelf contain a lot of sugar, you probably don’t know exactly how much – and that’s because food manufacturers can get around the label by disguising the sugar.

These are just some of the names manufacturers use to hide the sugar:

• Dextrose
• Cane crystals
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Fruit juice concentrate

2.  Manufacturers also pack foods with lots of salt

Two things food manufacturers love are sugar and salt for the same reason: they’re a cheap way to make cheap, tasteless food instantly palatable. But unlike sugar, salt is a miracle ingredient that not only serves as a seasoning, but also acts as a preservative that makes food items last longer and substitute for otherwise expensive herbs and spices.

3.  Food has an ideal sound

It doesn’t seem as important now, but some foods have an “ideal” sound you need to look for ensure maximum freshness. For instance, in the case of potato chips, people tend to buy them more if they have a louder crunch. The average potato chips snaps at about two kilos of pressure for every 2.25 square inch, or which is about 12 to 14 psi.

4.  “Healthy” cereal isn’t as healthy as you think

Cereal contains more sugar and carbs than you would think, and it doesn’t help that it says “multigrain” on the label. Even if the cereal is made from whole grain, much of the extra vitamins and minerals are destroyed in the process of making the cereal.

However, the good news is that you can still enjoy your bowl of healthy cereal in the morning – as long as your cereal contains less than eight grams of sugar per serving.

5.  There’s no need to worry about synthetic flavoring

Ever since artificial sweeteners started to become really popular, the use of synthetic flavoring has stuck around, and it’s likely to stay in your pantry for a long time. But that synthetic vanilla extract isn’t necessarily bad for you – in fact, it’s just as good as the original.

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Posted by Editor | Comments Off on Why You Should Get Started at Yoga at Any Age (Especially in Your Forties)

Why You Should Get Started at Yoga at Any Age (Especially in Your Forties)

When you’ve reached the midway of your life or your golden years, regular exercise promises serious benefits. However, not all workouts are for everyone.

As we age, high-impact exercises can seriously strain the joints, so it’s really important to find a type of exercise that can improve both our physical and mental health while still adjusted to have as little risk as possible.

This is where yoga comes in as the exercise that anyone can appreciate and start doing as a routine at any age, and you’ll be surprised at the following benefits that yoga has:

Strength Training
Most people don’t think of strength training when they think of yoga, but you’ll be surprised at how much time you’ll be spending doing different bodyweight exercises and holding them for extended periods.

Flexibility
Yoga has a lot of exercises that allow you to stretch your arms, legs, hips, back, and even shoulders without straining them too much. As you continue with these exercises, you’ll find that your flexibility improves each session.

Mental Health Training
The emphasis on breathing and holding poses for certain lengths of time means that yoga was originally developed to prepare for meditation. For those dealing with a significant lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, and even depression, this is good news.

Getting started in yoga doesn’t take up too much time – all you need are a few minutes in your day alone.
This means that you have a lot of control in how you can get started. You can enroll in a class, look up different poses and breathing techniques on your own time at home, or even hire a private instructor.

Yoga comes in different types with their own purposes, intensities, and pose sets, such as the following:

• Hatha – The slow pace and the general introduction to basic poses and breathing techniques make this type of yoga great for beginners who are just starting out.

• Bikram – Also for beginners, this type of yoga is both meant to improve flexibility using a predictable routine and an environment with high humidity.

• Ashtanga – For those looking for a more intense routine, Ashtanga is based in ancient yoga and uses a more difficult set of poses, each connected to a certain breathing technique.

• Iyengar – This type of yoga uses different props to help you achieve certain poses and forms more accurately, and is best for those recovering from injuries.

You’ll also find that there are different breathing techniques and sequences that you can use outside of yoga (and as a precursor to daily meditation routines), from basic breath retention, to the Conqueror breath, and even the Deer Seal.

Perhaps the best thing about yoga isn’t just that it’s a great low-impact exercise with a lot of health benefits, but that you don’t need any equipment to get started – all you need is an exercise mat and comfortable clothes that have enough room for you to stretch in.

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Posted by Editor | Comments Off on How to Give Gifts Anyone Would Love to Receive

How to Give Gifts Anyone Would Love to Receive

Whether it’s Christmas, a birthday, an important occasion, or an anniversary, you’ve most likely seen what it’s like to be disappointed in receiving a gift, and you don’t want that to happen to the next person you give a present to.

So how do you make sure you give people amazing gifts every occasion? No need to fret – this guide is here to help you pick the best gift for the person or people on your list.

What Makes a Great Gift?
To know exactly what you should get for whoever is on your list, you have to know what makes a great gift in the first place.

A great gift is anything that meets the following criteria:
• It reflects the person’s interests. What does that person like? What’s that person’s hobby? Do a little bit of research. Pay close attention to their interests – they’ll always drop hints if not say it outright.

You might find that it’s easier to give gifts to someone you know well than a person you don’t. If you’re looking for a gift for the latter, the safest bet is always providing a way for that person to get what he/she wants, such as a gift card, or even cash.

• It has a personal touch. The magic of gift-giving is that it’s personalized from you rather than specifically for the person you’re giving the gift to.
In other words, it’s including a bit of yourself, whether it’s a piece of art, a knitted scarf, or even a hand-written note.

• It’s what that person needs or is looking for. It’s often said that the best gift you can get a person is the exact thing that that person needs at the moment or has been meaning to get for a while.

Don’t Forget the Packaging!
Once you finally got the gift you think that person would appreciate the most, it’s time to think about what you should place the gift in.

The packaging is just as important as the gift itself, so be sure to place or wrap it in something that the recipient actually wants to open. It also has to be enough to actually cover the gift and keep the person guessing.

While it does have to be well-thought out, you don’t have to wrack your head trying to think of the perfect gift to give a person. You don’t need to break your wallet if you can’t afford it, either – gifts aren’t all about the price tag, but about the thought and care put into them.

At the end of the day, the whole point of giving gifts is about the latter two, and as long as the person acknowledges this, it’s good enough.

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Posted by Editor | Comments Off on What is CRM and How Can You Benefit from It?

What is CRM and How Can You Benefit from It?

In Singapore, well any place in the world really, a lot of businesses tend to do better than others. A lot of that comes from maintaining healthy relationships with customers. In our time today, you can do just that if you utilize technology to your advantage. To make your business last, it will be a good idea to make use of a CRM software.

What is CRM?

Customer relationship management or CRM refers to strategies or technology used by companies to manage their relationships with clients and potential customers. They can be used to improve business connections with current customers and also analyze data to manage prospects for the company.

Utilizing an application for tracking client opportunities for your Singapore company will not only help strengthen ties with existing clients, but also make it easier for your sales team to generate profit from prospects. With a CRM software, you can perform account management and sales tracking in a single database, reducing your workload and streamlining your business processes.

Benefits of CRM

Save and process information easily

Through the CRM system, you’ll be able to keep track of all the data coming from your sales department, your customer service team, your marketing team and etc. You will easily get lost in all the information if you do not have a reliable way to save and process all of these data. Having a CRM software helps you stay up-to-date with consumer contacts and info, your targets for sales, and many more.

Consequently, sales management tools are great additions to your system if you need help to manage sales people in your office that is based in Singapore. This application can contribute greatly for providing sales coaching tips as the software can show you a clear summary of your business’ operations, productivity and current status.

The ERP

An ERP software can work collectively with the CRM to increase profitability. Both allow for immediate sharing of sales management tools and other information to all departments. What makes the ERP different though, is that it focuses more to on the company rather than the customers. It can be used to share sales reports with relative ease, saving much time and energy for employees.

Flexibility

All the data and information regarding the customers is stored and delivered through the cloud. Cloud CRM basically makes Customer relationship management flexible which then results in the improved scalability of a company. In simple terms, this means that you can access the cloud anywhere and be able to check information across different platforms through the internet.

For example, you can connect to the cloud CRM through your computer and your mobile device. If you go out and forget something, you can use a mobile app of the cloud instead of going back to your computer. A customer might also talk to you in a social media site but then suddenly switch to a call or email. With the cloud, you’ll be able to switch through platforms easily.

Moreover, a good customer database software can be incorporated into an existing structure in a hassle-free manner. This means that it’s possible to configure system with existing work flow without—or at least minimal—downtime of your business in Singapore. CRM configuration does not have to cause your operation to shut down, but instead be able to adapt to your work flow seamlessly.

In summary, the CRM software is a great tool to improve your client relations while also keeping the work efficient for your staff. It helps in attracting potential customers simply because of lead management strategies and the overall quality of services you can provide for the clients.

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Posted by Editor | Comments Off on How to Protect Your Trademark

How to Protect Your Trademark

A registered mark is a graphical representation of the company’s logo or name that distinguishes its products and/or services from others. Like most type of intellectual property, it can be protected by the national laws in Singapore where the trademark registration has been approved.

Having a brand name registry is different from having just an unregistered logo or name. Any business can create the latter, but other entrepreneurs can take advantage of the reputation and make a similar brand to confuse your customers.

Registration Process
The solution for avoiding infringement, if you accidentally copy a logo, and being taken advantage by copycats is to register trademark or to apply for exclusive rights to use your trade name. Since intellectual property is territorial in nature, it means that you should apply for copyright registration at the country or other territories outside Singapore where you wish to have your brand protected. There is a slight difference in the national and international registration process, but these are the basic trademark application steps:

1. First, create a TM that can be graphically represented and distinguishable from other existing trademarks. Submit this along with the name of the owner, complete address, list of goods and/services represented by the trademark, classification of the goods and/services included in the list, declaration of intent to use trademark, and payment for the application fee based on the class of goods and/or services.

2. IPOS, the bureau that will handle all cases involving IP, will examine the application. If there is a missing document or if the trademark cannot be registered, the applicant will be given time to amend or complete the application. If the owner needs to amend the application, the following are required: amendment form, amendment fee, and payment for service bureau charges. The trademark will be compared through a trade mark search to look for similar brands or logos.

3. Next, the trademark will then be published on the Trade Marks journal so that the public can scrutinize it. The public is given two months to file an opposition to the application. If there is a contesting party, a proceeding will be scheduled.

4. If there are no objections to the trademark application, the owner will then receive a registration certificate from IPOS. This registration grants the owner and the brand protection of the laws for the next 10 years. As for the business mark renewal process, you can still renew trademark in Singapore after expiration.

5. Once the trademark has been registered and approved in the country of origin, the owner can now apply for international registration through the Madrid Protocol. It will also undergo examination and publication in the designated countries before it can be granted protection.

Rights and Protection
The time, effort, and cost of filing a trademark are less than having to pay for damages or pursuing an infringement case against a copycat without having proof that you’re the original owner. Not to mention the delays and loss of sales that it will cost your business. Below is a list of rights that will help you understand further the benefits of trademark registration.

1. The owner has the exclusive right to use and profit from the trademark
2. Authorized parties may be able to enjoy exclusive rights and profits of the trademark if they have been assigned or licensed by the owner
3. Enjoy laws that protect your brand from copycats
4. The owner has the right to obtain relief if the trademark is copied
5. The burden of proof will no longer be on the owner during an infringement claim
6. Laws also protect instances of infringement of goods registered under the trademark

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Posted by Editor | Comments Off on What You Need to Know About Crohn’s Disease

What You Need to Know About Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s disease was not described until 1932 by Dr. Burrill Crohn, who classified it as one of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that affect the gastrointestinal tract. The description of Crohn’s disease can be confusing to some, because it overlaps the symptoms with ulcerative colitis, part of irritable bowel syndrome and not IBD, and affects only specific parts of the gut.

What Causes Crohn’s Disease?
Doctors aren’t clear about the cause of this disease. Some agree that it is an autoimmune illness, but it is known as a chronic disease with symptoms that range from mild to severe and can even change over time. Others point to genes, the use of NSAIDs, frequent consumption of high-fat food, and smoking as risk factors for developing Crohn’s disease. Given all these information, it’s not surprising that the treatment of the disease gets complicated, especially if the doctor is not familiar with the disease.

What are the Symptoms?
The severity and range of the symptoms will vary from person to person and could also flare up when certain types of food are consumed. The symptoms might also change depending on which part of the gastrointestinal tract is affected, that is why most patients are asked to gauge the intensity of the symptoms by themselves.

Symptoms may include the following:
1. Recurring diarrhea
2. Constipation (if you’re not having diarrhea)
3. Rectal bleeding
4. Abdominal cramps and pain
5. Changes in appetite
6. Changes in weight
7. Fatigue
8. Anemia
9. Fever, vomiting and/or nausea
10. Eye pain and redness
11. Joint pain
12. Changes in the skin
13. Mouth ulcers

It’s important to be frank about the symptoms you have observed when you’re consulting a specialist in Singapore, because the doctor will determine the best treatment plan based on the symptoms. Fever, weight loss, vomiting, and blockages or infections in the intestine are all signs of moderate to very severe Crohn’s disease that need immediate treatment.

What are the Treatments?
The treatment of Crohn’s disease will depend on the symptoms and the location of the inflammation in your gut. There are six types of Crohn’s disease based on the inflammation, such as; ileocolitis (affects the ilium and colon), ileitis (affects the small intestine), gastroduodenal Crohn’s disease (affects the stomach and duodenum), jejunoileitis (affects the jejunum), Crohn’s or granulomatous colitis (affects the colon), and Perianal Crohn’s (affects the anus).

The doctor will perform the following tests during the check-up: physical exam (check for bloating, pain or tenderness in the abdomen), upper GI series, intestinal endoscopy, CT scan, blood tests (to check for anemia and inflammation), and stool test.

You might be prescribed medications such as corticosteroids, aminosalicylates, immunomodulators, and biologic therapies. Bowel rest, or limiting your food and drink, is also important, but some patients might need surgery to remove obstructions, fistulas, or if the symptoms don’t improve even with medication.

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