You probably hear a lot about how diet and lifestyle, like getting exercise and better sleep, can help relieve stress and anxiety. But you can’t exactly go for a run or take a power nap at a moment’s notice. When stress hits, sometimes you need to calm your nerves fast. Here are a few things
Leg cramping during vigorous exercise is one thing, but legcramping in the middle of the night is something else entirely. It’s perplexing, it’s painful, and it keeps you awake! Poor sleep causes a poor mood and low functionality the next day, so this is a no-brainer; it’s essential to figure out how to get rid of leg cramps. To
Imagine being trapped in a cave, unsure if any help will arrive. Fear and despair have begun to well up. “Is there still hope of survival?” you think to yourself. That was the situation twelve Thai boys and their football coach found themselves in, in 2018. Trapped in a flooded cave complex for over two
Most of us believe (even until now) that we only need to wear sunscreen to prevent extreme sunburn, which explains why we only apply it when we are heading to the beach or outdoor swimming pools. The fact is – that’s 100% not true! Do you know that 90% of our skin “sins” are related
I’m far from mastering this skill, but one thing I’ve been playing around with is how important mental states are to our productivity, happiness, focus, health habits and more. For example, if you’re tired or feeling down, there’s a good chance you’re not going to focus on your meaningful tasks, and instead will look for
I grew up mostly outdoors surrounded by plants. Our house sat on a hill covered with blueberry bushes, daffodils, flowering crabapple trees, and an asparagus patch. I spent those years playing in the orchard behind the house, exploring nearby brooks, and scouring the woods for salamanders and other treasures. Some of my best memories were
It’s normal to feel stressed at work from time to time. But for some people, the stress becomes all-consuming, leading to exhaustion, cynicism, and hatred towards your job. This is known as burnout. Burnout used to be classified as a problem related to life management, but last week the World Health Organisation re-labeled the syndrome as an “occupational
Qi, pronounced “chi,” is a Chinese name describing all types of human vital energies. The top part of the Chinese character of Qi, 氣, represents energies such as air, and the bottom part represents food such as rice. In ancient Chinese medicine, this character indicates two sources of Qi the human body needs to survive and
Sipping matcha daily can have a positive impact on your energy levels and overall health. Unlike coffee, matcha provides a less jittery pick-me-up. This is due to matcha’s high concentration of flavonoids and L-theanine, which increases the brain’s alpha frequency band and produces relaxing effects by raising serotonin, GABA, and dopamine levels. Research suggests that L-theanine is especially helpful for
Located just above the equator, we experience the typical tropical climate all year round, where the weather stays hot and humid. Especially when the heat wave hits, our usual cream type moisturizer might seem too heavy, leavi ng a tacky layer that sits on top of the skin. We might as well skip the skincare
You may think that staying slim and eating healthfully means no sweets, but there are natural and delicious sweeteners that won’t wreck your diet. Some even have therapeutic “side benefits.” No arena of health and wellness is more debatable than what we should be eating. Looking back through time, the foods that constitute a healthy diet have
According to the Singapore Cancer Society, about 37 Singaporeans are diagnosed with cancer every day. The World Cancer Report states that there were approximately 14 million new cases of cancer in 2012, and this is expected to rise by 70 percent over the next two decades. With this alarming trend, the fear of developing cancer
Older generations say: “Eat only until you are 70 to 80 percent full.” It sounds simple, but it may just be part of the solution to fatty liver syndrome. Fatty liver syndrome, as the name suggests, is the accumulation of fat in the cells of the liver that can sometimes damage liver cells. The damage
If you are an overweight, beer-drinking O-blood-type man or woman who wears strong-colored clothes as you dabble with exercise, beware of the pesky “mozzie” (Australian slang for “mosquito”). You may be attracting an unwanted predator who delights herself in sucking your blood. And if you happen to be pregnant, well, those insects are going to
According to the 2010 National Health Survey, about one in six (17.4 percent) Singapore residents aged 18-69 years have high cholesterol. Can traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) keep cholesterol levels down? Here’s Taiwanese physician Dr Hu Naiwen’s take on combating high cholesterol. Cholesterol is a type of fat present in our body, and it is essential
What is nutrition? The ancient Chinese understanding of “nutrition” is completely different from that of modern medicine. In ancient China, the word for nutrition, yinyang (营养), was used as a verb instead of a noun. It was used to describe how a specific drug or food nourishes or benefits (有益) the body’s qi and blood.
On the whole, the world consumes bananas at a faster rate than almost any other farmed food. They’re the fourth-most consumed agricultural product globally, with Americans alone eating an average of 11.4 pounds (approx. 5 kg) of the fruit per person each year. Over 100 billion bananas get eaten every year, and there seems to
We’ve long known it’s refreshing to spend time outside in natural environments. Being cooped up inside can feel unnatural and increase our desire to get out. Taking a walk on a wooded path, or spending an afternoon in a park can have a noticeable impact on our mood. Renowned biologist E.O. Wilson, creator of the biophilia theory, hypothesizes
Leslie and Josh came to therapy to talk about their son’s problems in school. But it soon became apparent that they had a different problem altogether—one familiar to working parents. As an experienced child and family psychologist (Anthony) and a management psychologist who works with business leaders (Paul), we were struck by how common these
When we think of powerful people from history, we often think of negative examples—like Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin. The idea that power is bad can be summed up by the saying, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But power also has a positive side, especially when it’s wielded in the service of humanity. Think of Martin
