Give Up Smoking Tips That Actually Work

For decades the world smoke cigarettes without a care in the world. Even doctors were roped into posing for adverts by big tobacco, in order to convince the public that smoking was healthy.

By the end of the 1960s, nearly 60 percent of adults smoked, taking a terrible toll on the nation’s health. But in 1969 the Surgeon General released a report on the damaging effects of smoking, and ever since then, the appeal of lighting up has been on the decline. Now a little under 20 percent of people call themselves regular smokers.

What’s more, the vast majority of those people want to quit the habit before it gives them some awful disease. But how? The advice out there is so generic and never seems to work. Here are some unusual ways to give up smoking that actually work.

Measure Victory In Small Increments

When you want to change a habit, try not to think in terms of “forever.” For instance, imagine if you were trying to improve your diet. It would be psychologically much harder to say to yourself “I’m never going to eat meat again” than it would be to say “I’m going to try a vegan diet for three weeks to see if I like it.”

When it comes to smoking, try the same tactic. Instead of telling yourself that you’re going to give up smoking forever, tell yourself that you’re going to try out going smoke-free for three weeks. There’s a good chance that once the three weeks are up, you’ll have broken the habit and won’t want to go back to cigarettes.

Use Aversion Therapy

If you’re struggling to give up smoking, consider aversion therapy to help. Aversion therapy has been shown to be an effective way to change your habits, no matter how ingrained you may think they are. The therapy uses techniques that help patients feel less averse to something in their lives - in this case, giving up smoking. It’s a type of therapy that combines chemical with sensory stimuli to try to change the patient’s perceptions.

Keep Track Of Time Distortion

When a smoker gives up smoking, the cravings can be tough to overcome through sheer willpower alone. One of the reasons for this is because when the brain is craving stimuli, our experience of time passing slows down. We may only be craving another cigarette for a few minutes in real time, but for us, it can feel more like hours. A good piece of advice, therefore, is to keep a watch nearby so that you can track how long your cravings really last.

Avoid Crutches

Quitting smoking is difficult and so many people rely on crutches to get them through. The only problem is that these crutches can end up replacing the first addiction with something else, leaving you no better off.

Beware of alcohol when you’re coming off cigarettes. Many people turn to alcohol to help themselves get rid of their cigarette cravings. But alcohol itself can have very damaging effects on your body and your overall life.

Dion's Pizza Club Read

Dion’s, the Albuquerque Isotopes, and the State of New Mexico are teaming

up to promote youth literacy for the 14th annual Club Read program. 

My boys love Dion's pizza and participate in their Club Read every year. It is a great way to encourage them to read. They read and then earn a slice of yummy Dion's pizza. Then they can read more to earn more prizes like a ticket to see the Isotopes play. 

Details about Dion's Pizza Club Read

Students can win prizes by completing a scorecard. Scorecards are available at participating Dion’s

locations, participating public libraries, and Isotopes Park. Each student that submits a completed

scorecard will earn their first “home run” and receive one slice of pizza with one topping, a

certificate of achievement from Governor Susana Martinez, and a second scorecard.

Once a student completes their second scorecard, he or she will earn a new book, a ticket to an

Isotopes home game, a free small drink at the game, and one entry for the grand prize drawing.

Four grand-prize winners will each win four Suite-Level tickets to a home game as a guest of the

Isotopes mascot, Orbit. They will also have the opportunity to participate in the ceremonial first

pitch, receive an autographed baseball, a customized Isotopes jersey, a booklet of Isotopes Baseball

Bucks, one large Dion’s pizza to enjoy during the game, and a $50.00 Dion’s gift card.

Get more details here

http://www.dions.com/community/club-read-program/

Helping Babies Sleep with Baby Oasis

Do you want your baby to sleep through the night?

  Anyone who every said "I slept like a baby" probably never had a baby. I don't know about your babies but mine never slept that well at night time for the first two years. Mine would take forever to fall asleep and then would only sleep for 4-5 hours a stretch. I may miss the days when my kids were babies but I sure don't miss the lack of sleep. I remember years ago when I would finally get into a deep sleep only to be awoken by the sound of a crying baby. Those were the days that I was so sleep deprived.

    When I discovered Baby Oasis™ Sound Machine, I knew that I just had to tell others about it. I decided to check this cool sound machine out to see if it could help my sleep problems. I may not have babies anymore but I still have problems falling asleep, especially in the winter when it is so quiet in the house. I love the summer as I can fall asleep to crickets. I especially wished I lived near the ocean to hear the sounds of the waves. I remember my trip that I took to the beach last year and how I slept so well by listening to the sound of the ocean waves. So if these sounds work wonders helping me fall asleep, I thought they would do wonders helping babies fall asleep.

 The Baby Oasis Sound Machine is a wonderful device that has eight hour long uninterrupted tracks of soothing sounds to help your baby fall asleep and hopefully stay asleep. This bedside device has many sleep sounds like White Noise, Heartbeat, Car Ride, Ocean, Crickets, and so many more! I love that you can even add your own sounds to it or connect it to your own music source. This small device recharges by a USB cord to run for eight hours or if you desire more time then just keep it plugged into a power source. Today's technology makes these sounds so authentic too. I love that this device not only helps babies to sleep but also grown ups like me. It even has a headphone jack so I can take my sound machine on long car or airplane trips!

 The first night that I used my new sound machine, my husband was not to sure that he would like the sounds but he let me use it. You see my husband likes the bedroom to be dark and quiet. So I told him that we would be listening to the sound of the ocean and to give it a chance. The sounds sounded almost so real, and it brought back memories of my trip last year to the beach. My husband did not complain one bit, I think he fell asleep within minutes. I laid in bed listening to the ocean sounds and it helped my body to relax.

    I wish I had the Baby Oasis when my kids were babies as this little gem may have helped them fall asleep and stay asleep for longer. I think my boys would have liked the sound track that has a heartbeat and soft music playing in the background. This device can even help older kids fall asleep too! They may not need the sound machine to run all night but you could turn it off after they fall asleep. Since it has 12 different sound selections on it, I am sure you will find a sound that they like. 

What sounds would help your baby fall asleep?  Go check out the different sounds that are included on the Baby Oasis Sound Machine!

https://www.soundoasis.com/products/sleep-sound-therapy-systems/baby-oasis-bluetooth-sound-machine/

"These opinions are my own and I received a Baby Oasis Sound Machine to facilitate this post."

Your Mind Is Writing Checks That Your Body Can’t Cash

It’s not easy being a writer, even at the best of times. For starters, you’re always looking at your work and thinking, ‘is this really any good’? That issue - imposter syndrome - might never go away, so you better get used to it. There is another issue, however, and that is just be being a writer you might be inadvertently causing yourself health problems. Below, we take a look at some of the more common conditions that writers can suffer from, and how they can limit the pain.

Source: Pexels.com

Repetitive Strain

If you’re a writer, there’s no better feeling that getting into the groove and writing page after page of a manuscript that you hold close to your heart. That’s definitely a good thing for your creativity and your book, but what about your poor wrists, who are typing thousands of words without a break? Repetitive Strain Injury can affect all people who have to use computers for long periods of time, including writers. If you’re beginning to feel pain in your wrist or hands, you might want to start doing some wrist exercises before you begin your writing session. Wrist strengthening devices that build muscle in the hands, wrists, and forearms will also reduce the pain.

Back Issues

A ten-hour writing session, whether you’re using a computer, typewriter, or pen and paper, will yield many thousands of words. Great! But you’ll also have been sitting there for ten hours, and if you do this often enough it won’t be a surprise if you eventually suffer from back issues. If you’re suffering from back pain and other musculoskeletal issues caused by improper sitting, then contact a company like Waconia Family Chiropractic and get back to your productive, creative best. While it’s mostly sitting that does the majority of the nasty work, some experts are beginning to think that standing might not be much better, either...darn!

Source: Pexels.com

Eye Trouble

You’re intensely focused on the task at hand, which is making sure every sentence is just about perfect. Unfortunately, that means you’ll be pushing your eyes to the limit. Staring at anything for too long isn’t good for you, but a digital screen close to your face can actively cause you troubles. If you’re feeling the need to put eye drops in or rest your eyes at the end of each day, you might be suffering from eye strain. Solution? Every twenty minutes, take a break and start at a point twenty feet away from you for twenty seconds. It’s known as the 20/20/20 rule - your eyes will thank you for it!

Mental Health

It’s extra important that you keep tabs on how long you’re spending in front of your laptop screen while you write because too much screen time can cause mental health problems that can quickly spiral out of control. Staring at a screen and clicking around the internet looking for a reference for a fact you want to include in your book can cause sleep troubles, stress (as if writing wasn’t stressful enough!), and depression. If you have any of these symptoms, go back to good old pen and paper for a while

Tips For Raising Healthy Kids That Will Eat Anything

A lot of children are fussy eaters; they will only eat certain foods. While a lot of kids go through stages of being picky about what they eat and that’s perfectly normal, some kids remain picky eaters for life, which is what you don’t want to happen. When kids are fussy eaters, it can have a big impact on their health as they aren’t always able to get all of the vitamins and nutrients that they need, which is why it’s so important that you do your best to raise kids that will eat anything. Of course, knowing how to do that can be difficult, as it’s not easy to stop kids being fussy about what they eat. However, by implementing the suggestions below, you can raise healthy kids who are happy to eat anything.

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Feed them what you eat

One of the very best pieces of advice for raising kids who will eat anything is to feed them what you eat. Don’t pander to their mealtime favorites and cook different meals for everyone, just cook one meal for the whole family. If possible, doing this from when you wean them is best, as the earlier kids are introduced to a range of tastes, the better. Whether you’re making a creamy curry, homemade pizza, or a fish pie, make it for the whole family. It might be hard at first, and there may be some tantrums and tears, but once your child knows that you’re not cooking anything else, they will soon start eating what’s on their plate.

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Cook all sorts of different things

From main meals to desserts, get creative and cook all sorts of different things. The wider variety of flavors you incorporate into your cooking, the better. Children learn to like the flavors that they are brought up on, so the wider variety of flavors you can expose them to, the better. For main meals, cooking foods that are spicy, aromatic, and herby is important, as this will ensure that your children are trying all sorts of different flavors. For desserts, don’t just cook the old classics, try various recipes, such as nut-based recipes instead of butter, vegan recipes, and dairy-free recipes. Want to try cooking a dessert with a difference? Then click here to see this recipe for vegan cupcakes. They might be made with almond milk and coconut oil instead of butter and eggs, but they’re delicious.

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Let your kids experience various world cuisines

Whenever you travel, make sure to eat out a couple of times during your trip so that your kids can try authentic dishes from the country that you’re visiting. Don’t let your kids order the basic kid’s menu hamburger and fries that every restaurant offers, encourage them to try something authentic. If you’re in Thailand, get them to try a Thai green curry. If you’re in Australia, encourage them to try kangaroo burgers. If you’re in France, get them to eat snails and frog’s legs. The wider variety of foods you can get your kids to try while they’re young, the better.

To give your kids the best start in life, it’s important to encourage them to eat anything, whether that’s a spicy curry or a burger.

Don’t Ignore These Old Wives Tales!

Pexels From: Stokpic

Our attitudes to home remedies and health, in general, are now more skeptical than they used to be. Instead of reaching for honey and lemon when we've got a cold we’re now much more likely to be found popping pills or dosing ourselves with rich cough mixtures.

Pexels From: Unsplash

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight

Who doesn’t love the thought of homemade chicken soup when they’re sick? Whether it’s feeling the comforting warmth of the bowl in your hands, the heavenly smell rising from its depths or succulent pieces of chicken surrounded by noodles and healthy veggies it just seems right. However, it’s not just our mother’s who insist that we’ll be as ‘right as rain’ after a good bowlful but also scientists who say that the salty, warm liquid not only helps rehydrate our bodies, settles our stomachs and also clears any mucus. Don’t forget that the soup itself contains a range of nutritious ingredients including potatoes, carrots, onions, leek, and various herbs and spices as well as a good portion of protein. It doesn’t have to be chicken either as this recipe from http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/asian-vegetable-broth/ shows most soups that have a large quantity of veggies in will automatically help us feel better simply because when we’re sick, it’s hard to eat so our bodies will be crying out for a decent meal.

Honey To The Bee

Pexels From: Tookapic

While you may keep a supply of cough sweets in your desk drawer to ward off any sore throats, it might be worth replacing them with a jar of honey. Why? A scratchy sore throat isn’t only incredibly irritating but coughing, although shifting mucus, makes it harder to swallow. Honey also acts as a natural coagulant, coating the roof of the mouth and throat soothing any inflammation. There are also many other natural substitutes for modern day treatments and https://www.homeremedyshop.com is the best site for home remedies although you should always speak to your doctor first before trying anything. Adding honey to tea, or lemon juice and hot water will do the job better than most medicines. Although do be aware that a severe cough or throat infection may need antibiotics. You may not know this,

but lemons themselves contain some antibacterial properties although understandably the effects are limited while scientists say honey only soothes.

Pexels From: freeimages9.com

Peppermint Patty

Remember when you were little and your mom kept a reliable supply of peppermint candies in the car? Peppermint sweets or tea contain ingredients that help soothe our stomach muscles, letting our gastric tract calm down which, in turn, relieves any feelings of nausea and sickness. Ginger will also work to combat any nausea although crystallized pieces from http://gingerpeople.com/crystallized-ginger.html are probably best as they’re small enough to pop in your handbag. Mint, thanks to its ability to grow relatively quickly, has been used to treat a range of ailments for hundreds of years. Having said that, go easy on

peppermint flavored or based products if you suffer from heartburn, as peppermint relieves gastric pain as well as settling the sphincter muscles but can also allow stomach acid to flow into the esophagus.