Intelligence is Value

Christmas is the jolliest time of the year for Singaporeans . Family and friends convene in the house with foods, laughter and booze. Eliminate the merriment, studies found out that Christmas is one of the most dangerous times of the year. With this, it is important that we know some risks associated with Christmas and how to deal with it.

To speak about dangers this Christmas is horribly wrong but we have to be aware of the dangers lurking so we will not be caught off-guard. Here are some dangers and how to keep safe:

• Drunk driving: There is no denying that some people drink during the festive season. The most common reason for death is caused by drunk driving and it rises suddenly at Christmas. Drugs during Christmas on the other hand are uncommon here in Singapore but you may have heard one or two cases that involved it. It is therefore important not to drink or take drugs when driving. If drinking is unavoidable, the least thing that you can do is look for a designated driver or a taxi.
• Home accidents: Accidents can happen even in the house and during Christmas. During the festive season, hospitals see numerous cases of injuries like cuts, falls and burns. The most serious hazard during Christmas is fire caused by handles, cigarettes or overheated lights or appliances. Knowing this, you have to be vigilant for the safety of the family.

• Food poisoning: Christmas offers tons of food and it is not a surprise to hear a person confined for food poisoning. To prevent this from happening, you have to exercise maximum tolerance when it comes to food safety. Remember that keeping your workstation clean is the best way to eliminate food poisoning bacteria. You should also know how to deal with leftovers so you can still consume it without risking the health of the family.
• Illnesses: Any time of the year, illnesses arise but Christmas seems to encourage it. Many people get sick during Christmas from headache to flu, constipation and stomach aches. For those who have extreme weather conditions, pneumonia and asthma is common during the winter season.

This article is not meant to scare us in celebrating Christmas. This is meant to stress the precautions that we have to take for Christmas to be uneventful. Many people ignore the chances of these things happening and end up regretting their actions. Your safety and the family should be the priority so do your best to keep them from harm and not cause it.

Singapore is making another first in history. The Asian Civilizations Museum (ACM) will embark on an unchartered territory but it doesn’t mean that it will not be the best. The doors of the museum will be open for 24 hours. This is to draw more attention and patronization amongst Singaporeans.

What about spending a night at the ACM? You might think of the movie ‘Night at the Museum’ but unfortunately, as much as we want for the things to come to life and get the real story from them, it is just the director’s figment of imagination.

What will really happen at ACM is more of learning the fun way. The museum will open its doors for 24 hours in celebration of their new galleries. The party will start from 7pm on Saturday and will end 7pm the next day. The admission is free and since you are encouraged to spend the whole night there, you are allowed to bring the family and your nightwear – after all it is a pyjama party. Here are the scheduled highlights of the event:

• Party: It was mentioned earlier that there will be a pyjama party. It would not be a party without performances. There will be performances from Singapore Chinese Girl’s School as well as Nanyang Polytechnic. This will be from 7pm till midnight. DJ TINC will also be present while we join the tour to Asian beats which will happen from 12.01 am till 7am.

• Exercise and Picnic: The new day waits. You will have an exercise – tai chi in this case and after that, breakfast at the lawn. This will be from 7am till 10am.

• Tours: If you want to examine the museum thoroughly the next day, you can spend your Sunday afternoon with curators to tell you more about the galleries.

There is no doubt that mobile phones are beneficial in the conduct of your everyday life but it can be in the way for most of your relationships. When you are together with family or with friends, you discreetly stash your mobile phones in arm’s length so you can get it right away.

Constant checking of phone has become your habit. You have to know that constant checking of phone can say a lot about you. In fact, there is a research suggesting that one can draw inferences about other people’s personality based on his/her relationship with their phone.

The study was headed by James Roberts of Baylor University. In his study, he gathered and assessed the personality of 346 students through questionnaires. The questions were gauged to determine if the students are addicted to their mobile phones.

Here are some of his findings:

• The key predictor of addiction: The results revealed that the key predictor of mobile phone addiction is emotional instability. The ceaseless checking of texts, emails, feeds and tweeting are seen as pacifiers for individuals in unstable environment. Mobile phones are seen as a distraction from worries and thereby providing solace –even temporary.

• Introverts are less likely addicted: The study showed that introverts were less likely inclined to get addicted to their mobile phones.
• Materialism: Since mobile phones are used in public as status symbols, there is no surprise that addiction to mobile phones mirror materialism.
• Difficulties in concentration: The research also implied that individuals who are addicted to their mobile phones have difficulties in concentrating.

The researcher does not imply that you need to panic if you are fixated with your mobile phones. The study merely wanted to explore the connections between personality and mobile phone use.

Working out is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. We try our best to exercise regularly in order to achieve great physique and a healthy body.

Alarmingly, there are things we unconsciously do that are sabotaging the good progress our workout will give our body. Here are some ways we are unknowingly ruining our own workout.

No warm up.

Warm-ups are essential in order to regulate the proper flow of blood throughout the body. It warms and loosens up the muscles so that they are prepared for the grueling exercise they will go through. Prepping the muscles will improve your workout and prevent tears and damages to the muscles. Slow jogging and walking warm-ups are excellent examples you can do.

No cool down.

An abrupt stop to a workout session can lead to the feeling of dizziness. Cooling down helps the blood pressure and heart rate to gradually go down. Slow stretches are a good example of a cool down method to prevent workout injuries.

Not resting.

After a strenuous workout, the body needs time to recover. During down time, the formation of toned muscles can be seen

Not enough sleep.

Exercising too much without getting sleep can hinder body hormones from regenerating the muscles and burning down fat.  These hormones cannot get to work when we are awake hence, sleep is needed.

No hydration.

Drinking a lot of water and taking in hydrating foods before a workout keeps you from being tired so you can perform better.

No proper nutrition.

Food is the fuel our body needs to have an ample amount of energy to stay in shape. Eat the right ones before and after a workout session for added energy and muscle repair.

Overtraining.

Doing too much of something is not good. This is also the case when it comes to fitness. Long-term heavy duty workout can cause serious damage to the heart.

Repeating the same workout every time.

Your body can get used to a kind of workout, especially if this is the only thing you do. Gradually, the body exerts less effort in doing a workout routine, making it harder for you to burn calories and tone muscles.

Motherhood is a wonderful blessing. It feels marvelous to know that you are growing a human life inside of you. Unfortunately, pregnancy is not a breeze to go through. The first three months are a complete nightmare.

Morning sickness is the first hurdle soon-to-be moms have to go through. All the nausea, vertigo, fatigue and vomiting can take a toll on our health and mood. Luckily, there are easy and safe morning sickness remedies easily accessible to use. Here are just some of the following:

Ginger

Ginger contains properties that fight off the feeling of nausea. You can consume it in any form you prefer. Sip it as a hot tea, enjoy it in candied form or simply take it as pills. It doesn’t matter in what form because the effectiveness is still intact.

Ginger was first used by the Chinese to fight off indigestion and other digestive illnesses. A study recently suggests that drinking ginger tea reduces the symptoms of nausea and morning sickness in pregnant women.

Lemon

Lemon’s zesty flavor can wake up your taste buds. Sucking on a lemon wedge cleanses the palate and helps the body feel refreshed. Its scent is also an effective tool in reducing nausea and vomiting symptoms during pregnancy.

Lemon’s strong flavor can turn off some people. If this is too much, you can enjoy lemon-flavored lozenges or simply make lemon water to be taken daily.

Acupressure band

There is an acupressure wristband available in the market today. It is originally created for sea crew members who have a terrible case of sea sickness but now nauseated pregnant women can experience its benefits.

The band is designed to stimulate the P6 pressure point in the body. However, this is a bit expensive so if you don’t want to splurge for this acupressure equipment, simply press the insides of your wrists to relieve the feeling of nausea.

Child’s pose

Contrary to others’ beliefs, doing yoga is safe for pregnant women. The child’s pose, a basic yoga pose, promotes the circulation of blood so it eases nausea symptoms. Yoga practitioners usually do this to relax before going to bed.

We now realized that cutting our hair short is a big mistake. We cannot do anything to bring it back but we can ease up on growing our hair out with simple techniques. The challenge is how we execute it. If we are really serious about growing our hairs out and reclaim our crowning glory, we should consider the following:

• Commit to change: Once we decided to grow our hairs out, we have to commit and not give in to impatience. The secret here is to focus on the end result and everything will follow.
• Think of our game plan: It always help if we know what we want and how to achieve it – this is where our game plan comes in. It is crucial that we know what works and doesn’t work for us so we can stick with our plan.

• Cutting corners: We should consider cutting corners or in layman’s term – trimming. Ironic as it may sound, trimming is good for us. We should consider trimming at least once every six months. Trimming can help remove the split ends as well as the dry ones.
• Style test: While waiting for our hairs to grow, there is nothing wrong if we reinvent our style. We can do many things to our hair regardless of the length.
• Be gentle: More importantly, we should handle our hair properly by being gentle. When combing it, we have to be delicate and avoid pulling or tugging it.

We have to remember that perfect hair doesn’t happen overnight. We have to be patient and we will be rewarded at the end of the day. If we want the help of hair experts, we can always look for one here in Singapore. That should not be a problem.