Could napping at work actually increase productivity?
A NASA study backs up the claim. The study shows that a nap of just 26 minutes can boost performance by as much as 34 percent.
The average American gets 6.7 hours sleep a night; the recommended amount is eight hours a night.
Some companies are starting to respond to sleep-deprived workers by providing the time and space to nap during work hours. Studies show tired workers cost business about $150 billion a year in lost productivity.

Once you lay your head down for a nap, the worst thing to do is start stressing — this will waste time and defeats the purpose of getting the most rest in the least amount of time. To help you get the most of your power naptime, we suggest trying a few of the following tips:

• Announce your nap to yourself and your colleagues
  Just closing your eyes for a few guilty moments will not cut it - you have to give yourself permission to nap to get the most out of it
  

• Get comfortable
  Most sleeping difficulties are psychosomatic, not physical, so if you are having trouble falling asleep, consider revaluating the environment you’re sleeping in. An environment conducive to napping is quiet, dark and free from interruptions. If you sleep on a floor at work, keep a mat (like a yoga mat that rolls up) at work, and possibly a pillow and blanket, if that makes you more comfortable. Other tools of the trade to consider – eyeshades, ipod or walkman with restful music, or specific MP3 files designed to help you wind down and fall asleep.

• Collect your equipment
  Blankets, pillows and, where possible, a foldout bed will ensure you get the most out of the rest, and help you separate naptime from the rest of the day Read more

It is human nature to lie. Lies are spoken everyday, by the people you see at work, your family and your friends. The following techniques to telling if someone is lying are often used by police, and security experts. This knowledge is also useful for managers, employers, and for anyone to use in everyday situations where telling the truth from a lie can help prevent you from being a victim of fraud/scams and other deceptions.

• A person who is lying to you will avoid making eye contact. If they won’t look you in the eye’s or if they look you in the eye’s while saying “I’m looking you in the eye’s, so I’m not lying.” They are probably lying. They will normally raise their voice, get defensive and will totally want to change the subject. Go with your first gut feeling that feeling is normally right.

• Hands touching their face, throat & mouth. Touching or scratching the nose or behind their ear. Not likely to touch his chest/heart with an open hand.

• The guilty person may speak more than natural, adding unnecessary details to convince you… they are not comfortable with silence or pauses in the conversation. Also, the guilty person use humor or sarcasm to avoid a subject.

• Timing and duration of emotional gestures and emotions are off a normal pace. The display of emotion is delayed, stays longer it would naturally, and then stops suddenly. Timing is off between emotions gestures/expressions and words. Example: Someone says “I love it!” when receiving a gift, and then smile after making that statement, rather then at the same time the statement is made.                                           Read more

Does the full moon affect our sleep? How about the cycles of the moon? Many disorders seem to follow the phases of the moon. Cluster eadaches and epilepsy often follow this cycle. Women’s menstrual cycles tend to be very cyclic.

• In fact, just 8 percent of those surveyed had problems sleeping while there was a full moon, compared to 25 percent who said they had a particularly good night’s sleep on the night of a full moon. Good night, moon.

• Reuters reports that researchers with the Austrian Society for Sleep Medicine & Sleep Research examined the sleep patterns of 391 people in several European countries. About half the subjects had sleeping disorders, but no one knew the researchers were interested in the effect of the moon. “When I deal with patients with sleep problems, so many say that the full moon stopped them (from) sleeping, that even I was expecting some small difference to show up in the study,” Gerhardt Kloesch, the Vienna University psychologist who led the current research, told Reuters.
  

• Each morning when they woke up, the participants wrote in a diary an assessment of the previous night’s sleep, including quality of slumber and the length of time they slept. They were also equipped with movement detectors so the researchers could independently measure whether their sleep was restless or peaceful. Read more

You don’t need a Porche, yacht, guitar, rock-hard abs, or even a full head of hair to make a great impression on a woman. Follow these tips, and she will want to hear from you again real soon:

- Listen more, talk less. I’m not suggesting that you let her do all the talking, but some guys meet a woman and then never shut up. Do not try to impress her! Don’t brag about your GPA at Harvard, the Jag in your driveway, or the fact that you’re CEO of a tuna fish conglomerate. You will get precisely the kind of woman you do not want, the one who is only into you for your achievements and possessions, rather than for who you really are. Instead, ask questions and listen for the answers. Give your opinions. Get to know the woman. Let her get to know you.

         - Donate your time or money. Find a glitzy nonprofit—something involving art, music, or theater. It’ll add more events to your social calendar, more clout to your character, and more valid opportunities to meet professional

- Go out with another woman. If you are going out to a club or a bar, take a female friend or your sister with you. Women are often more amenable to talking to men who are with other women. It gives them the feeling that you actually like women, and that is attractive. If your female friend is outgoing, see if she will make small talk with somebody you would like to meet. She can say something along the lines of, “I love your necklace!” and that should do it. After a little back-and-forth, your friend can say, “Oh, how rude of me. This is my friend Andy,” and you are in business.                                                                                                                                       Read more

Most people think that it is only necessary to protect their eyes from the sun during the summer. But the Sun’s influence does not diminish during the rest of the year so the eyes need to be protected during the winter too. Exposure to UV rays during winter can temporarily harm the eyes as well as increase the risk of developing sunlight-related eye disorders, including cataracts. The sun is not winter’s only eye hazard. Its cool winds and drier air can irritate the eyes while outdoors.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology — the Eye M.D. Association — offers the following tips:

•Indoor heat used during winter months tends to rid the air of moisture which can dry out and irritate eyes. Use a humidifier in the bedroom during months with low humidity. This helps moisten dry eyes, especially when exposed to forced air heating.

•Wear sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of UV light, especially when the ground is covered in snow. People forget the sun is just as bright when reflected by the snow as it is when glinting off the ocean and beach, leading to sunburned eyes. High-quality, UV-blocking sunglasses can prevent this and reduce exposure to the wind and cold. Later in life cataract formation and retina problems may occur caused by the UV light. Overexposure to the winter sun’s powerful ultraviolet (UV) rays without proper eye protection can temporarily harm the eyes or even cause photokeratitis, a condition comparable to a sunburn except sensitive tissues of the eyeball are the ones receiving the burn. Although photokeratitis may heal with time, the best way to preserve your vision is to avoid excess UV ray exposure. Read more

A traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can have more than 2,000 calories ( on average). We often put our focus on what not to eat, but there are still many nutritional goodies in our traditional dinner that we should not ignore.

Here are just ten healthy holiday foods that you can set your sights on when the buffet table demands your attention:

1. Roasted and fresh vegetables. Grazing on fresh vegetables is a great way to load up your holiday plate with tasty and healthy food, and can prevent overeating over the course of the day. Roasted squash, carrots, and potatoes also offer some healthier options if you’re limited in choices.
2. Chocolate dipped strawberries. A great way to satisfy a sweet tooth at the gourmet dessert table, and you can count on dark chocolate for even more health-friendly eating
3. Roast Turkey: Serve up three ounces of skinless turkey breast and you get a whopping 20 grams of protein with practically no fat. All that and only 100 calories. Plus you fill 25 percent of your daily need for niacin and vitamin B6.
4. Pumpkin pie. Eating only the pumpkin portion of the pie by ignoring the crust will help you enjoy the rich pumpkin dessert without extra fat and calories. Most pumpkin pies are made with whole milk and cream in the batter, so it’s still an indulgence; however, you can bring your own low-fat version by using evaporated skim milk and egg whites instead.
5. Potatoes: Whether mashed or in latkes, potatoes are good food. They contain loads of vitamin C and potassium, plus fiber, iron, copper and plenty of B vitamins. Boiling potatoes will destroy some of the vitamin C and dissolve some of the rest of it into the cooking water. To help preserve the vitamin C content, use some of the cooking water instead of milk or cream when mashing them.                                                            Read more