Life is Good

1. Drink Warm Milk – Drinking warm milk 15 minutes before bed has been known to soothe your nervous system.

2. Take a Warm Bath – Taking a warm bath can be a great way to relax your body. Don’t exhaust it however. Staying too long in hot water can drain your body of vitality. Throw in a cup of baking soda or bath salts to drive the toxins out of your body.

3. Eat a Bedtime Snack – Foods with large amounts of the amino acid L-tryptophan helps us sleep better, according to a study. This includes eggs, cottage cheese, chicken, turkey, cashews and warm milk as I talked about before.

4. Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol and Tobacco in General – Most people think coffee is the only beverage which contains caffeine. Wrong. Non-herbal tea such as black tea, Cola beverages and even chocolate are high in caffeine. Research has shown that alcohol upsets sleep. This is the same with Tobacco.

5. Sleep on Your Back – Some people sleep the opposite way. Sleeping on your stomach causes pressure on all of your internal organs. This can also cause a stiff neck. Try sleeping on Your Back. It is the best sleeping position to allow your internal organs to rest properly. If you are used to sleeping on your side though, sleep on your right side and not your left.

6. Sleep in a Well Ventilated Room -  A room temperature between 60-65 degrees in Fahrenheit is the optimum temperature for sleeping. Use more or fewer blankets to adjust your body to the room temperature.

7. Drink Herb Tea – If you have to avoid drinking Warm milk or any other dairy products, try a cup of herb tea (camomile, catnip, anise or fennel tea). This will help you sleep better.

8. Get Some Exercise During The Day – White collar workers (office workers, non-manual workers) are more known to have insomnia than blue-collar workers, who get physical exercise during their work. 15 Minutes of exercise or at least 30 minutes before going to bed will give your body work and oxygen it needs to get your body to relax and sleep better.

9. Avoid Naps – Skip naps if you take them. If you can’t get yourself to sleep at night, naps will stop you from sleeping properly. By skipping naps your body will be tired to fall asleep at night.

10. A Reflexology Technique : Toe Wiggling – Lie on your back, and wiggle your toes up and down for about 12 times. This will relax your body, both inside and out. “Meridians” are channels of energy treated by acupuncture. The meridians in your feet connect with every organ and every part of your body. Toe wiggling helps to bring about a relaxing energy within your body.

Now there they are, 10 ways to fight insomnia. Have a good night’s sleep!

Kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle in Ireland is said grant you the ability to make coversation the gift of eloquence and, given the abilities of the Irish to talk, who are we to question tradition?

Conversation skills are something many of us wish we had but travelling to Blarney Castle might not work for everyone.

Here are a few tips to help anyone improve their conversation skills.

1. Speak about what you know

In conversation our words betray our knowledge. There is a well known saying “put your brain into gear before opening your mouth” and all of us, at some time, have wished we’d done exactly that. Conversations on subjects we know something about are always much safer.

If you don’t know about a subject, listen and learn, and if you are asked your opinion preface it with “this is something I know little about..” then give an honest opinion. We all have our limitations, and you will be respected for your honesty.

2. Actively Listen

Active listening is one of the main conversation skills. Concentrate on what others say and how they say it. As you listen to the words listen to the variation in the pitch of their voice. See how it changes depending on mood and how the tone and pitch change what’s being said.
3. Watch their Body Language

Watch how others communicate is another major conversation skill. Don’t just listen to what others say, watch their body language and their gestures. If all you do is listen to the words you will miss most of what they are saying.

4. Acknowledge your Errors

One conversation skill often overlooked is admitting an error. We all make mistakes, and if you realize you’ve made a mistake acknowledge it. If you are usnure about a word check if you pronounced it correctly or ask if you used the word in the right context. People accept honest mistakes, however if you are always using long words just to show off they will quickly lose interest.

5. Make Eye Contact with your Audience

An essential conversation skill when listening and speaking is to use eye contact to maintain a connection. It doesn’t matter if you have an audience of one or one hundred, maintaining eye contact keeps them involved. Practice eye contact in a mirror and note what makes you uncomfortable as it probably has a similar effect on others.

6. Smile and Inject a Little Humor

When done well it can lift the tension, or recapture those individuals whos thoughts have drifted away. You will retain the attention of the majority of the group or audience and they will feel more comfortable.

Unless you are a stand up comedian don’t crack jokes. It is much better to tell humorous stories based on your experiences but don’t laugh hysterically at your own stories. Allow others to appreciate them without being embarrassed at your behaviour.

7. Me, Myself, and I

Admit it, there are times you sing to yourself in the shower or the bath and you think of yourself as the next Frank Sinatra or Eva Cassidy. Leave those dreams and opinions in the bathroom! In conversation don’t inflate your own ego by continually talking about yourself.

One often overlooked conversation skill is to involve others, by asking them their opinion and give them a chance to talk. Don’t belittle their opinions, give others the respect you like others to give to you.

8. Get Involved in Social Groups.

Whether that’s a night school drama course, a course to improve your public speaking, salsa lessons or a group or society related to a hobby or your work. Get out there and talk to lots of different people and you will pick up all the conversation skills you need.

9. Practice, practice, practice

Think of a few anecdotes and stories and write them out before you go out. If you have a tape recorder record your stories and listen to them again. Think of the questions you would like to ask others and your answers to the same questions. Now if you are asked you will be able to deliver a more relaxed answer.

Being confident in the company of others is difficult for many. Few have excellent conversation skill and the majority just about cope. As with anything else conversation skills and confident speaking are all about knowledge and experience.

Homework is at best a chore for most children and, unless they are very committed, They find homework difficult, often because they are not motivated. Consider the following questions.

When your child does homework to what degree is he or she comfortable, focused and relaxed or is doing homework a battle and a struggle every night?

If so:

Do you have to give homework help regularly?

Have you spoken to his or her teachers?

Have you tried gentle pep talks?

Do you resort to harsh reprimands?

Rarely will any or these work in isolation and pep talks and reprimands are the last things you should use as they will simply build up resistence to school and homework.
The struggle with homework can, however, be eased by “re-programming” your childs attitude and approach to homework.

Here is a seven step approach to curing the homework struggle:

Step 1. Stop discussing doing homework with your child.

Instead discuss how he or she is approaching homework. As part of this solution guide your child to step back and really explore the way they are approaching their studies.

Step 2. Find out what pressure you child is under with regard to homework. Ask him or her:

Are you worried what your friends will think if you do or don’t do your homework?

Do you find the homework difficult and believe that you are not clever enough?

Do you enjoy struggling with your homework, or do you want to end this struggle?

Step 3. Discuss their answers openly.

Never dismiss their opinions or feelings – even if you strongly disagree with them. These feeling are theirs and are valid whatever you think. Dismissing them only reinforces them.

Step 4. Acknowledge that homework is not easy.

Show your child that resisting it makes it a bigger problem and creates an obstacle to enjoying the rest of their free time.

When you change their negative attitude they will work more positively and creatively and with less pressure. Positively approaching homework gets it out of the way quicker and removes the stress.

Step 5. Make yourself available as a tutor:

Offer assistance on how to approach problems but don’t give the answers. If you don’t know something say so and work with them so you learn. Praise them for the level of work they are achieving.

Don’t be afraid to make yourself look foolish – it provides motivation for them to see the work is difficult, and when thay have completed it they get a greater sense of achievement.

Step 6. “Reprogramming” should be done while your child is doing homework, but not when there is any time pressure.

They should be able to stop and start the studying many times to discuss any problems. Initially try it at the weekend but not when they are rushing to go out.

Don’t introduce it as a special time. Your child should just regard it as a normal homework session. You should, talk to them and focus on their resistance to homework. It may not work immediately. It is a process and eventually they will drop or reduce their resistance and find a more positive attitude towards their homework.

Step 7. Be aware that “getting work done” is not the main focus of your time using this approach.

There will be many purposeful stops and starts, as you both explore the best way to approach homework.Let your child express his or her feelings.  Discuss and expose all their limiting beliefs and feelings and encourage them to find their own solution.

Children and homework is a difficult mix at the best of times but tackling the real cause of their resistance will lead the a more positive approach and better grades.

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