Exercise Afterburn - Intensity Maybe The Key

Whether the metabolism speeds up for hours after exercise an old question, first studied a century ago, and over the years, study after study has been carried out, with decidedly mixed results. Some investigators found no post-exercise effect. Others reported effects so small they were almost unnoticeable — one found male triathletes burned just 12 to 30 extra calories after a workout. Others found as many as 700 additional calories were burned after a long and exhausting exercise session. Depending on whom you ask, the answer to this question is either one of the great myths of exercise or one of the great unappreciated truths: Is there an afterburn effect from a workout?

The latest sally comes in a recent paper in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Its lead author, Amy A. Knab of Appalachian State University, says it trumps studies that preceded it because of its careful design. And its results are good news — sort of.

Dr. Knab and her colleagues recruited 10 men, ages 22 to 33, who agreed to spend two periods of 24 hours each in a metabolic chamber, a small room that measures the calories people burn while they are inside. The men were not all athletes, but they did have to be able to ride a bike vigorously.

On the first visit to the chamber, the subjects had to stay perfectly still, sitting in a chair and moving only to eat meals, which were sent in through an air lock. In the afternoon, they were permitted a two-minute stretch every hour. Bedtime was 10:30 p.m. At 6:30 the next morning, the subjects were awakened and allowed to leave. They burned, on average, 2,400 calories on this totally sedentary day.

The second visit to the chamber came two days later. Everything was the same, with one exception. At 11 a.m., the subjects rode a stationary bicycle at a high intensity for 45 minutes.

The exercise itself burned about 420 calories, Dr. Knab and her colleagues reported. But what was most interesting was the calories burned afterward. Over the next 14 hours, the men burned an extra 190 calories, increasing the total calories burned by 37 percent.

“We were surprised,” Dr. Knab said. She thought there might be extra calories burned, but she did not expect so many, nor did she expect the effect to last so long.

She suspects one reason she saw such a pronounced effect was that the exercise was so intense. The subjects had had to cycle at 70 percent of their so-called VO2 max, the maximum amount of oxygen a person’s body can take in during exercise — an effort that made them breathe too heavily to carry on a conversation. And they had to keep it up for 45 minutes.

A different study, also using a metabolic chamber, tested the effects of moderate exercise and found no afterburn. Those subjects exercised at 50 percent of their VO2 max, a level that still allows conversation.

Claude Bouchard, a scientist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., along with other researchers, investigated the exercise effect with conventional methods using a mouthpiece and nose clip or a ventilated hood to determine oxygen used and carbon dioxide exhaled. From those measures, researchers can calculate calories burned.

They find, he says, that when studies are done properly (many are not), extra calories are burned in the hours after exercise — but only if subjects exercise at least as hard and long as Dr. Knab’s subjects. And if they exercise even harder, they burn even more calories afterward.

A recent book that Dr. Bouchard and a colleague edited notes two studies that found this effect. The researchers found that if subjects ran at 70 percent of their VO2 max or cycled at 75 percent of it, they could burn 300 to 700 extra calories after the exercise was over, though 700 calories was unusual.

It is not clear why extra calories should be burned after a bout of intense exercise, Dr. Bouchard says. Part of the effect may be due to post-exercise energy metabolism: the body starts using more fat and less carbohydrate after a hard exercise session. Several hormones that are released during exercise remain elevated in the blood afterward, increasing metabolism. And extra calories may be burned when the body replenishes glycogen, the sugar stored in muscles. But for the most part, the effect remains a mystery.

Whatever the cause, researchers say, the extra calories burned after exercise can help people lose weight. Unfortunately, those who may have the most to lose may have the hardest time doing the sort of exercise that gives them a calorie-burning bonus.

The usual guideline for general health is 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week. That’s doable for most people and should increase heart health, even if it provides no calorie bonus.

But that sort of moderate exercise, Dr. Bouchard said, “is what we recommend — that’s the target.”

Source : NewYorkTimes.com

Switch Your Brain To Happy

Being content in the here and now starts with targeting your negative thinking habits


You think mostly in black and white


Your thinking is based on polar opposites, such as good/bad and right/wrong.  Your thoughts swing from one extreme to another, your moods swinging with them.  When you stick to the rules, you feel virtuous and strong, but break them, even just a little, and self- loathing kicks in.   A black and white thinker will feel a "complete" failure for snacking on Reese's instead of grapes.

• Replace your rules with guidelines - rules get broken, but guidelines are flexible.  Instead of "I must not eat chocolate this week", think, "I aim to eat healthily for most of the week".
• Consider all possibilities.  In a tricky situation, it's good for you to see grey areas too.  "It's about bringing your conscious-awareness to all the information you have.

You Catastrophise


You tend to jump to the worst-possible conclusions in any circumstances.  You often live in a state of low-lying anxiety and fixate about health, over things that were hard-earned and about things that mean alot to you.  Catastrophising is a big drain on mental energy - your whole focus is on something that hasn't happened and in most cases, will never happen.  It also breeds anxiety and can lead to panic attacks.

• Reset your oxygen level.  Having too much oxygen in the bloodstream can trigger catastrophic thinking.  Classic signs are feeling a bit sick and dizzy, and having tingly feelings in the fingers.  Reset the balance with slow breathing in through the nose for a count of eight, out through the mouth.  Repeat 30 times.

You think with a negative bias


If you're constantly negative around people, they're more likely to be negative, too - especially around children.

• Have a complaint detox.  Wear a bracelet for 3 weeks and swap it from one wrist to the other each time you hear yourself complaining.
• Break the cycle.  Re-running past negative events actually lowers your mood and strengthens your negative bias. Break the cycle by asking yourself what did you learn from that experience?  In what way are you stronger as a result?

Your Intellectualise

You have a rational explanation for everything and rarely let anything upset you.  Intellectualising stems from a dislike of intense emotions and is a way of keeping your life on an even keel. Emotions are there for a reason.  They're sending you a message. You can alienate those around you by coming across as detached.

• Use the friend test - how would my friend feel in such a situation?
• Reconnect with your feelings.  Be honest, even if the emotions are difficult to own up to, such as jealousy, anger or guilt.

You Overthink


People who over-think can't let go of past events, and constantly rework them, trying to understand their meaning and the implication for their lives.  They also fret about things that haven't yet happened.  Over-thinkers are intolerant of uncertainty and want everything to be crystal clear.  Over-thinkers can find themselves stuck.  It is hard to generate good solutions to problems and you can alienate people by coming across as self-obsessed.  

• Think "here and now".  Mindfulness exercises can be especially useful.  Sit down, shut your eyes, and let your thoughts and feelings flow.   Try to respond to yourself with acceptance and compassion.
• Schedule a worry time, a 60-minute slot later in the day to ruminate on what's bothering you.  The problem will seem more manageable, because you've broken the grip over-thinking has on your mind.

Source :  Elle Singapore

Love Remains The Same

Get Spiritual Together

In a University of Chicago survey, this one of married couples, 75 percent of the Americans who pray with their spouses reported that their marriages are "very happy" (compared to 57 percent of those who don't). Those who pray together are also more likely to say they respect each other, discuss their marriage together, and — stop the presses — rate their spouses as skilled lovers.

Not to say that prayer is a cure for all that ails you (were that the case, my beloved Oakland Raiders would have won the Super Bowl years ago). But whether they're talking about a simple grace at dinnertime or some soul-searching meditation, couples routinely say that a shared spiritual life helps keep them close. And as Doug and Beth say, even couples who are on different sides of the theological fence can benefit from praying together daily.

"We have been married for seven years, but praying together is something we didn't start doing until about a year ago," says Doug, a 32-year-old Salt Lake City biochemist. "In the past, whenever we faced big decisions, we'd have discussion after discussion about them, but we'd never really come to a resolution."

After two 1,000-mile moves, the birth of three children, and two job changes, all in the past four years, those difficult decisions had begun to take a toll. So when Beth asked Doug, a nonreligious and self-proclaimed man of science, to try praying with her, he figured they had nothing to lose.

"I soon found that praying together brings out a real sense of selflessness and humility," Doug says. "When you're praying for each other, not yourself, you're focused together and speaking from the heart on a whole different level. I would never have predicted this for us, but it really works."

"As bad as any problem may seem at that moment," agrees Beth, "prayer always helps us see beyond it. It doesn't have to be a long-drawn-out scripture reading, just a few minutes a day. When we pray, it brings another level of honesty to our conversations. I think it's the most intimate thing you can do with another person."

Now they pray together every night, once the "urchins" are in bed, which puts them in the company of the 32 percent of American married couples who say they pray together regularly. It also puts them in the company of Julie and Thom, when the other couple isn't holed up in their igloo, of course.

"It's pretty short and not at all scripted," says Julie about their giving thanks before each meal. "We just join hands and let it rip. Whether we're asking for forgiveness or giving thanks, saying it out loud holds a lot of power.

"Besides, regardless of religion or spiritual preference, I think that most marriages require a ton of faith," Julie sums up. "You've got to believe that somehow the two of you are going to make it through things. You've got to believe that you're being blessed with this person. And even if the power we feel just comes from the strength of our love, even if we don't believe that it's God who is helping us, I still think that it's good to acknowledge that there's a force between the two of us that's helping us out."

Source - 5 Things Super Happy Couples Do Everyday - MSN Lifestyle

Communication is 70% Non-Verbal

How To Lose Abdominal Fat

Who doesn't want to lose abdominal fat? Whether it's to reveal a flat stomach or razor-sharp six-pack abs, it helps us all on the way to our best body.

So, the general consensus is abdominal fat must go, but how? See the problem is you cannot spot reduce fat. This means that no matter how many sit-ups you do you cannot remove fat from your abs by just by working them. As a wise man once said; abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. Your diet is the difference that makes the difference. Your abdominal program is your nutrition plan.

Think of an iceberg: you see the tip yet 80% of its mass is beneath the surface. It is the same as exercise to diet: sure it looks impressive to exercise but it isn't where the action is.

Combining an effective diet with the right exercise will help you lose fat at the fastest rate possible, just remember: diet comes first and it's not as complicated as you may have been led to believe.

1) Focus on creating an energy deficit

Eat fewer calories than you use. This is that "beneath the surface" bit, and it's the key to losing fat. Deprivation diets don't work, so the easier you can make the process the better. The following tips will help you with that....

2) Cut out processed food

They come loaded with preservatives in numbers and toxins in your body has to deal with before you can get on with the business of burning fat. Thought it was processed when he bought it? That's nothing compared to the work your body has to do to clean up the mess it makes of you.

3) Drink water

It helps flush toxins keep your organs with optimal fat melting condition

4) Eat less food but feel more satisfied

Lots of people fear the hunger pangs of eating less food. However, you can get around this by eating lots of bulky high-volume low-calorie foods such as salads and vegetables they give you that full feeling, keeping you on track for a fat burning calorie deficit.

5) Eat a nutrient dense diet

Cravings are often more about our need for nutrients not energy. Get enough of these and the hunger goes away. Eat foods rich in nutrients and consider supplements such as cod liver oil. Your grandmother was right all along.

Following these 5 tips will help you get on track to lose abdominal fast and make sure it stays lost.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6286853

Yoga and Healing

Yoga is a light that once lit, will never dim.  The better your practice, the brighter the flame. B.K.S. Iyengar.


The primary aim of yoga is to restore the mind to simplicity and peace.  Yoga frees you from confusion and stress.  Other forms of exercise strain muscles and bones, but yoga rejuvenates the body.  By restoring the body, yoga frees the mind from the negative feelings caused by the fast pace of our modern lives.  We are all going a mile a minute.  We have lists in our heads, we walk down the street with cell phones, multitasking.  We are a generation of superwomen and supermen, and it is making us sick.  We have to find something to counter-balance the insanity, and for me the answer is yoga.


Yoga can heal parts of our bodies that have been injured, traumatized, or simply ignored and neglected.  Western medicine can accelerate the healing process but all too often cannot tackle the source of the problem.  Yoga is wonderful for ailments because it stimulates injured parts of the body by increasing the blood supply to those areas.  The body is a complex piece of machinery, a finely connected network of muscles, joints, nerves, veins, arteries and capillaries.  The science of yoga classifies ailments that afflict the body and mind into three basic categories :

• self-inflicted ailments, caused by neglect or abuse of the body
• congenital ailments, present from birth
• ailments caused by the imbalance of any of the five elements of ether, air, fire, water, and earth in our system

Yoga can treat all three categories, but it requires a commitment to the treatment.


Yoga is good for people with cold extremities, which is caused by a slowdown in circulation when blood collects in the torso and fails to correctly reach the extremities.  It gives rise to ailments of the chest and of the intestinal and abdominal organs.  It is often the result of a sluggish thyroid, stress, or nervousness.  Headstands and/or shoulder stands are great for the thyroid with fresh blood.


Yoga is great for the heart and circulation, varicose veins, high blood pressure, blocked arteries, angina, heart attack, colds, breathlessness, sinusitis, bronchitis, asthma, indigestion, acidity, and constipation.


Yoga is also great for diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, duodenal ulcers, gastric ulcers, ulcerative colitis, incontinence, obesity, diabetes, low immune system, physical fatigue, muscle cramps, lower, middle and upper backache, osteoarthritis, skin conditions and skin health, the brain and nervous systems, the mind and emotions, women's health, men's health, and the balancing of the hormonal system.  Need I say more? And you'll get thin and flexible.


Suzanne Somers

Adaptive Perfectionism

Psychologist Mel Schwartz explains in his post called “The Problem of Perfectionism”:

In our culture we move relentlessly toward greater emphasis on achievement and goal attainment. We ask our children what their grade was, not what they learned. We tend to measure our lives in terms of success and achievement and lose perspective on what it may mean to live well. This ruptures any sense of balance in our lives. We seem to lose the capacity for wonder and awe. Could you imagine looking at a magnificent rainbow and complaining that the width of one color was imperfect because it was narrower than the other colors? Not only would that be ridiculous, we’d also be ruining the splendor of the moment. And yet that is exactly what we do when we judge ourselves for our imperfections. We forget that as humans we’re part of nature, as well. As such, we would benefit if we came into acceptance of the natural flow of life, which by the way, happens to be imperfect.

In her book, Better By Mistake, author Alina Tugend offers a helpful distinction between good perfectionism and bad perfectionism:

Being a perfectionist isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it may mean you have very high standards and you often meet those standards. Those who have perfectionist tendencies without having those tendencies rule — or ruin — their lives are what psychiatrists call “adaptive” perfectionists. They find it very important to do certain things in the right way, but this need doesn’t hinder their lives and can actually help them achieve great success….On the other hand, what psychiatrists call maladaptive perfectionists need to be the best at everything, and if they make a mistake, it’s a crisis. It’s also not just about how they perceive themselves, but about how others perceive them: they believe they will lose the respect of friends and colleagues if they fail. They have to hit all their marks all the time. Their need for perfectionism can sabotage their own success. 

THERESE J. BORCHARD 
Psychcentral.com

Anyway, The Paradoxical Commandments

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

People favour underdogs but follow top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs, anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

People who become "successful" learn that they have "personal" friends and "positional" friends.  A personal friend is with you through thick and thin, high position, low position, or no position.  A personal friend truly cares about you and enjoys your company.

A positional friend is a friend of your position of power or influence.  He was the friend of the last person to have your position, and he will be the friend of the next person to have your position.  This is good for business.  There is nothing wrong with this.  You just have to remember not to confuse positional friends with personal ones.

Then, of course, there are the really false friends - people who want to use you and your position for their own ends.  Unlike positional friends, who want to maintain a good relationship while you have your position, false friends are just pretending, waiting for the right moment to make use of you and then turn and run.

Even worse, when you are successful, you win true enemies.  Somebody else wanted your success.  Somebody else lost when you won.  Somebody doesn't want your star to rise because he sees himself as your rival.  Somebody is embittered by anyone who succeeds and is looking for ways to attack or at least embarrass the successful.  The higher you go in your organisation or field of work, the easier a target you become.

Kent M Keith

Anti-Gravity Yoga

Christian Yoga

The Principle Behind Christian Yoga

BY TAKAHASHI


Christian yoga is a spiritual practice of Christians most common in the Eastern and Western countries.  It is a discipline that one practises to be much closer to God.  Taking the path of Christian Yoga can lead to healing of the mind and body.  But perhaps even more important than that, it can lead to the discovery of what at the moment is only a potential within you.

Many classes in the U.S teach the practice of yoga as a the physical discipline that focuses on postures or asana, and employ no religious teaching at all. Other yoga teachers have training in yoga schools.

Practitioners say that Christian yoga fills a need for believers who want the health benefits of yoga but are put off by the practice’s ancient Hindu roots. With this, it brings together the wonderful physical benefits of yoga within their spiritual beliefs.

The doctrines and practices of yoga date from the period of the Upanishads. The word yoga originated from Hindus, it is a religious practice of Hinduism that through the practice of certain disciplines one may achieve liberation from the limitations of flesh, the delusions of sense, and the pitfalls of thought and thus attain union with the object of knowledge.

Though developed in the ancient Hindu tradition, the movements of Christian yoga are so universal that they can adapt to or be adopted by any culture or spiritual path.

The yoga has been known for many years, and was practised by some of the Early Christians during the persecution. The spirit and love that touched the Early Christians have been inherent from the men and women today. Christian yoga is about unfolding some of these wonderful possibilities each hold latent. It is about possibilities so amazing that many early Christians were willing to die in support of keeping a doorway open for other people to claim them. Go into it and be transformed by following the Christian pathway, the Christian yoga.

In the Eastern belief, Christian yoga is not on Eastern postures or breathing techniques, rather the aim is to open to an influence that can transform and heal. Eastern yoga attempts to drop the ego, the Christian path aims at transforming the personality. Christian yoga is described absolutely in the New Testament in the story of Jesus life as an allegory. It is a step-by-step way of transformation and the finding of a new life. As Jesus promised, this heaven, this new awareness of your life, is not far away. It is already yours if you know how to find it.

In Western, Christian yoga, from its very beginning, women played an important role in its practice and teachings. It is about universal processes of life, of mind and heart.

Christian yoga has garnered criticism, despite its prevalence.

Many Christians say that Christian yoga is incompatible with Christianity, and emphasize that it is not a religion in itself. Others say that there is no such thing as Christian yoga because it blends two different belief structure. Catholic priests in Mexico City instructed their parishioners not to attend Yoga classes because this practice would lead to other gods and Eastern religious beliefs.

Though critics have charged that yoga’s ancient Hindu origins are incompatible with Christian faith, practitioners say the exercise is an ideal vehicle for spiritual reflection.


(With minor editing.  Source : www.a2zarticlesbox.com)

Love Languages

With more than 30 years of experience as a marriage counselor, Dr. Gary Chapman has heard it all. He has helped couples at every stage of marriage and at pivotal points in their relationships—from those just discovering the joys and trial of marriage to those who are ready to call it quits.

After many years of counseling, Dr. Chapman noticed a pattern: everyone he had ever counseled had a “love language,” a primary way of expressing and interpreting love. He also discovered that, for whatever reason, people are usually drawn to those who speak a different love language than their own.

Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

The 5 Love Languages^®

What if you could say or do just the right thing guaranteed to make that special someone feel loved? The secret is learning the right love language! Millions of couples have learned the simple way to express their feelings and bring joy back into marriage: The 5 Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman’s New York Times bestseller!

• Words of Affirmation

  Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

• Quality Time

  In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

• Receiving Gifts

  Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

• Acts of Service

  Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

• Physical Touch

  This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.
  
  
  

  www.5lovelanguages.com

You Gotta Let Me Inside

Singapore's Unremarkable Happiness Index

(Note : Singapore's ranking dropped to 81st in a survey of 155 countries last year. http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html)
An old article - nevertheless still relevant !

Pursuing perfection to our perennial peril
Radha Basu, Straits Times 5 Aug 09;


A RECENT article in this newspaper on how Singapore was placed an unremarkable 49th out of 140 countries in a 'happiness index' has unleashed much soul-searching.


One reader wrote to The Straits Times' Forum Online to dub the results 'disturbing'.


'By all counts, we are a materially wealthy nation, so why are Singaporeans not happy with their lot,' he asked.

Nearly 20 people weighed in with answers. One said Singaporeans aren't happy because 'we are slaves to $$$'.

Another cited the complaints that appear regularly in ST Forum - 'noisy neighbours, cats pooing, MRT eating, queuing, noise, ticketing, waiting...even Ms Singapore also not spared' (sic) - before philosophising: 'Like that how to be happy? Live and let live la!'

A third blamed the lack of 'social safety nets' like a national pension scheme for our high stress levels.

I should point out that the so-called 'Happy Planet Index' - the subject of the Forum angst - is not a particularly good gauge of happiness. It considers not just personal satisfaction and life expectancy, but also how environmentally friendly we are. Singapore, together with other developed countries, stumbled on that score.

Carbon dioxide-spewing SUVs and air-conditioners, after all, may make for happy individuals but not a happy planet. Not surprisingly, Latin American and Caribbean countries with their dense jungles, pristine beaches and laid-back people bagged nine of the top 10 spots in the Happy Planet Index.

But Singapore also doesn't do particularly well in other happiness barometers, such as the World Map of Happiness drawn up by Britain's University of Leicester in 2006. The project culled data from the United Nations Human Development Report, the World Health Organisation, Unesco and the Central Intelligence Agency, and polled 80,000 people, to come up with a 'happiness map' covering 178 countries.

Singapore ranked 53rd, lower than Denmark (1st), Bhutan (8th), Luxembourg (12th), Malaysia (17th), the United States (23th) and Britain (41th), but higher than China (82nd) and Japan (90th).

Internal surveys also have presented a rather dire picture. One by consulting firm Grey Group found that nine in 10 people polled acknowledged being stressed.

So what makes us appear unhappy to all these chroniclers of good cheer?

Engineer Andy Goh, 36, who beat more than 200 nominees to be dubbed the 'Happiest Singaporean' last year, believes that Singaporeans are generally happy - they just don't know it. 'It's easier (for us to) complain than to appreciate something,' he says.

Global Leadership Academy CEO Philip Merry, who organised the Happiest Singaporean contest as well as a congress on happiness last year, agrees.

'If you have people who love you, good health, can put food on the table and a stable job, you are already happier than nine in 10 people on earth,' he says. 'But not too many people here realise that.'

Singaporeans' drive helped transform this nation from a backwater into a global city within a generation. But that may have come at the cost of making many of us chronic worry warts.

The stresses of living in a society that focuses on materialism have made Singaporeans less happy than their peers in many other countries, says trainer Zaibun Siraj, who conducts workshops on happiness and laughter therapy.

'We spend much of our time on our work and on achieving success. We do not play enough. We do not laugh enough,' says Ms Zaibun,who was a second runner-up in the Happiest Singaporean contest.

Mr Goh concurs that the frenetic pursuit of success or status has made some lose sight of what really matters: family, friends, faith, even food.

The usual challenges life hurls at us from time to time have left Mr Goh unfazed. The secret to his sunny side? Spending 40 hours a week at work and 50 hours with his scientist wife and baby daughter, as well as family and friends.

Recent research on the science of happiness indicates that Mr Goh's instincts are correct.

American psychologist Ed Diener of the University of Illinois has shown that once our basic needs are met, additional wealth does little to increase our sense of satisfaction. High education, IQ or even youth are not prerequisites for happiness.

A 2002 study by Dr Diener and his collaborator Martin Seligman found that the common trait shared by the happiest 10 per cent of their respondents was strong ties to family and friends.

'Word needs to be spread,' Dr Diener said. 'It is important to work on social skills, close interpersonal ties and social support in order to be happy.'

Attitude is also important. Indeed, research is bearing out what the Dalai Lama has long held: 'If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you will feel happy.'

Journalist Eric Weiner, who has travelled to different countries to study happiness, reported in The New York Times on July 19 that attitude was the key reason Denmark is the 'happiness superpower'.

Like the Swedes and the Finns, Danes tend to be healthy, married and active - all hallmarks of a happy heart. But unlike their fellow Scandinavians, Danes also have lower expectations of life, reported Mr Weiner, quoting demographic studies.

'They live their life as the Buddha advised - in the present, not grasping some future happiness jackpot.'

So are happiness, ambition and the drive to excel incompatible? In a new book, The Pursuit Of Perfect, psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar argues that the pursuit of perfection is the biggest obstacle to happiness. Perfectionists, he says, reject anything that is less than flawless and suffer because they often cannot meet their own high standards. If we wish to be happy, we should aim to be 'optimalists' instead - 'good enough', rather than perfect, in our studies, work and love, he says.

Much of what is Dr Ben-Shahar's book formed the basis of a class on 'positive psychology' that he taught at Harvard in 2006 - one of the most popular courses ever taught at the university. He is scheduled to speak in Singapore in January next year, when he will undoubtedly make the case that you don't have to be perfect to be happy.

That's a message we should all take to heart.

Sleep And Weight Loss

Sleep .. glorious sleep.  You never appreciate the fact that sleeping is a daily function until you can't sleep.  Without sleep, prolactin, which is a pituitary hormone that induces lactation and prevents ovulation, keeps escalating.  Going to sleep early caused cortisol levels to drop, and insulin levels lowered.  


Wonderful things happen in the night if you go to sleep early enough.  Early is between 9 to 10 p.m.  I know, I know, nobody goes to sleep that early; it is one of the reasons we are in such poor health in our country.  As a nation we're sick because we don't sleep.  We are dying from cancer and heart disease from lack of sleep.  Our healing hormones have no chance to do their work without sleep.  When you lose sleep, you really can't catch up.  Sleeping less than you need affects at least ten different hormones, not just melatonin.  It changes appetite, fertility, and mental and cardiac health.


I tried this experiment on myself.  I do eat correctly almost all the time,  I do exercise in moderation regularly, my hormones are balanced, but there was some extra weight hanging around through the middle that I just couldn't shed.  So for the past year, I have been going to bed at 9 and 10 in the evening most nights. Guess what? Without trying, without changing my eating program or changing my exercise routine, I lost ten pounds ... from sleeping!


And one more thing - you must sleep in complete darkness.  Even the smallest bit of light keeps your cortisol from lowering.  Plenty of sleep, increased vitality and energy, controlled weight because the lowered insulin at night helped to keep the weight at optimum. This is the way it is supposed to work.


Suzanne Somers

Emotional Effects of Colours

Colors have different psychological effects, positive as well as negative.  Various colors convey varied meanings.

Red

Red is the color of energy, it’s bold, it’s powerful, it’s vibrant. It has the longest wavelength (the distance over which the wave’s shape repeats). It’s the color of effectiveness, excitement and liveliness. All over the world we follow red traffic light to stop, its visibility is the strongest amongst all other colors because of its highest wavelength. On the other hand its negative impacts can be aggression, visual disturbance and strain. You live in a red room for a day and you will go crazy, it has to be complimented with other colors to make it subtle.

Yellow

Yellow is a very emotional color, it is the color of self esteem, confidence and optimism. After red yellow has the longest wave length, appearing to be strong from a distance. World over yellow cabs can easily be seen, sunflowers, daffodils appear to be friendly. Contrary to this it also communicates few negative values like depression, hatred and anxiety.

Blue

Blue is the color of intelligence, vastness, royalty, serenity, coolness and tranquility. Sky appears blue and gives calm effect, water appears blue and gives peace of mind. Blue appears to be the favorite color of most of the people but on the other hand it is also a color of coldness, unfriendliness and unemotional.

Green

Green is the most refreshing and cool color. Green is the color of life, fertility, reassurance, peace, harmony, balance. Nature is green and how soothing it is to our eyes. Not a single tree in this world is of the same green tint or shade, yet it appears to be so full of life and create environmental beauty.  As for its negative traits it is the color of Boredom, stagnation, blandness and enervation.

Violet

Violet is color of truth, luxury and spiritual awareness. It has the shortest wavelength therefore it is considered to be weak also. A color of introversion and suppression. It is associated with deep contemplation and royalty, meditation and quality.

Orange

Orange gives warmth, comfort, security, passion, fun and frolic. Due to the mixture of red and yellow it gives stimulation and sensuality. Use of too much orange gives a feeling of no serious attitude and gives a feeling of deprivation if used with black.

Pink

Pink is a cute color, very feminine, love and tranquility. Though pink is a tint of red but it soothes rather than stimulates. It gives comfort and suggests grace and elegance. Sometimes too much pink looks physically weak and appears full of flaws. It creates impact of inhibition.

Grey

Grey is a neutral color, not giving a direct psychological effect. It may represent emptiness and dullness. It gives impression of dampness and right tone of grey must be used otherwise it may make your composition depressive.

Black

All colors are absorbed in black. Black is glamorous, graceful, efficient and security. Women wear black to attract, they look sophisticated. Black creates hindrance since there’s no light no reflection. It works perfectly with white thus the co relation is either alternation or repetition. Black is the color of mourning also. Too much black creates heaviness and scary look.

White

White is pure, clean, hygienic, innocent and simple. White is total reflection. It gives perception of space, too much clutter in a design can be overcome by using spaces of white. The negative effect of white is that it makes other colors used with it cold and unfriendly. Can create a diminishing effect.

Brown

Brown is the color of earth, rugged, serious, old, and ancient. Rustic look can very well be created with this color. Since brown is the combination of red and yellow with much larger percentage of black, it also gives the same seriousness as black but in a warmer way. It is natural and supportive but at the same time it is too non humorous and appears heavy.

Yellow is warm and friendly:

Blue is cool…very well explained in the head line:

Red is bold, warm, energetic and powerful:

Pink is feminine and graceful:

Violet is true and spiritual:

Green is color of nature, serene, calm and fresh:

Orange is fun and frolic and stimulating:

Grey is adorned with brown, very earthy effect and making a serious composition:

Black background behind pink serves as very strong glamorous elegant base:

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