My Digital Online Diary

While sheets and mattresses get all the attention, it turns out that pillows (with their puffiness and construction) have an even bigger impact on your sleep. A pillow that doesn’t keep your head aligned with your spine can contribute to neck pain, muscle tension, snoring, and interrupted sleep. So, here’s a guide to choosing the pillow that’s just right for you.

• If you’re a stomach sleeper You want fairly flat pillow so your head doesn’t arch up.
• If you’re a back sleeper A puffy pillow will push your head upward, leading to stiff neck. Look for a medium-fill pillow instead.
• If you have allergies Choose a hypoallergenic synthetic pillow, and add a densely woven barrier cover. If you often wake up feeling stuffy, you’re probably allergic to dust mites.
• If you’re a sweaty sleeper A pillow made with cooling, temperature-sensitive foam can actually help reduce night sweats.
• If you’re a side sleeper A puffy pillow with dense fill keeps your head in line with your spine. Try a leg spacer pillow too, for alignment.

Romantic Choice!

If you’re alone right now, there’s a healthier way of thinking that will better prepare you to make fulfilling romantic choices. It involves working on yourself and letting the rest take care of itself. It’s based on four key principles:

• Confront your fear of being alone. Do whatever it takes – talk to friends, exercise, read self-help books, go to therapy, do volunteer work – to know if it’s okay to be alone. Live your life doing the things you love and you’ll find compatible love interests while you’re doing those things. Forget “you complete me.” It’s a tear-jerking movie line that has no practical application in life. Besides, who do you want to be with — half a person or someone with whom you share in common a sense of self-fulfillment and connection?
• Believe you are the prize. Live as if a great relationship is coming your way and it will find you. Quality people are attracted to confidence, not neediness.
• Improve your dumping skills. Do an inventory and get rid of all the negative influences in your life. Tops on your dumping list should be toxic friends. It’s good practice for future dating so you don’t waste time with people who aren’t good for you.
• Look at reality and not fantasy. Especially on a first date, listen carefully to what the other side of the table is saying. People are less defended on first dates because they’re not sure yet what the other person is looking for and there’s less at stake emotionally. Whether it’s the first or fifth date, in their words and actions, the people you’re with tell you exactly who they are all the time. All you have to do is watch, listen and accept what’s being presented to you.

A new discovery on the technique using tiny bubbles to detect cancer has been developed by clinicians at a hospital in Kent. Fifty-four patients were tested in the “microbubble” study at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

The results, which were published in the British Journal of Surgery, suggested that breast cancer patients could avoid repeat surgery. Dr Ali Sever, consultant radiologist, who led the study, said the tests transform the way they treat patients. He said: “This is a world first. The test only takes a few minutes to perform and has transformed the way we care for patients.”

Basically, while undergoing surgery to remove breast cancer, surgeons routinely recommend that patients also have an operation to remove glands in their armpit to check if they are cancerous. It is found during the operation with the aid of a coloured dye and is removed for testing. If the nodes are found to be cancerous a second operation is required to remove all the remaining glands in the armpit.

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Cellulite has been a misery of every women’s existence since the dawn of time. We all have it to varying degrees and it seems to get worse as we get older in many cases. So, should we just resign ourselves to the fact that it is here to stay, or is there a way to fight and get rid of cellulite?

Luckily, the answer is yes, we can fight cellulite, or at least the appearance of cellulite, through several therapeutic treatments that are available on the market today. It is not, however, a one-time deal. Once you stop the treatments, the cellulite will inevitably return. So, the treatment of cellulite is an ongoing commitment, and it should be incorporated as part of your daily beauty regimen for consistent and lasting reduction in its appearance.

Some of the over-the-counter cellulite treatments actually do quite a good job of significantly reducing the appearance of cellulite. In order to achieve maximum effectiveness with these products, it is imperative that you massage the affected areas vigorously for a few minutes when applying the treatment. In addition to the smoothing and tightening ingredients in the treatment, the massaging stimulates circulation and helps break the collagen bands that have constricted and resulted in the “puckered” look of the affected areas. The most effective ingredients, and what gives these products their smoothing effects, are caffeine and aminophylline. Many also add seaweed extract as well, but this is not the most effective ingredient in the product.

Whatever ingredient it is, if you want to minimize these unsightly dimples, there are options out there for you that are effective and affordable. New breakthroughs are being made every day in the field of cosmetic enhancement products, so we may soon see another product that blows them all away. It may be tomorrow, for all we know!

Having a hard time organizing your closet? Here’s a smart storage tips that might be very helpful:

You can maximize your sartorial space without spending a fortune on a custom closet. Use labelled see-through or otherwise easy-to-scan boxes and bins to hold accessories like scarves, shoes, and more, on the floor as well as on the higher shelves. Your pieces will stay dust and damage free and ready to wear at the drop of a hat.

And, then make a good list as you try on clothes, document which item make flattering ensembles, and create lists for different seasons and occasions. It will pay off the next time you are packing for a vacation or preparing a big meeting and don’t have to play dress-up.

Malapascua is a silver of an island fortuitously blessed with beauty. On its southeast coast – facing Cebu, Leyte and Biliran – is a Bounty beach, a glorious stretch of white sand. The northwest side, near the lighthouse, sports a craggy, rocky coastline. Coconut trees are everywhere with secluded covers all around. Life is simple here. There are no roads, no cars, and no traffic. Everyone knows everyone else. Fishing is the main livelihood, and when the tide is low, it is not rare to see little boys just walking a few meters from the beach to catch a fish or two for dinner.

Tourist were brought to the island because of thresher sharks. In the early 90s divers discovered the beauty of Malapascua under the sea. Thresher sharks, solitary creatures with long tails that could account for up to a third of their bodies, where seen with great frequency around Monad Shoal. The thresher is one of the few shark species that could jump out of the water like dolphins and could grow for up to 20 feet. And Malapascua, is one of the few places in the world where they are seen with regularity.

Just a couple of meters down the ocean are full grown puffer, butterfly fishes, lionfishes, and frogfishes. Dive in the afternoon and come face to face with a manta; at night, swim with mandarin fishes and seahorses by the lighthouse. Hammerhead sharks have also been seen at Kimud Shoal and white tip reefs in Gato Island.

But one need not be a diver to enjoy Malapascua. Soak under the sun, sleep on a hammock. Snorkel for visual delights; hike up craggy hills for a glimpse of a most fantastic sunset. Read book quietly by the shade; drink yourself to dizziness. Malapascua offers the kind of heaven where one can revel in the joys of suspended animation. And in the evenings, because there is no electricity, the island is blanketed by darkness with only the moo, the stars and a couple of oil lamps to light the lonely wanderer’s way.

photo credit: hushbaby22