Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. The metabolic rate is influenced by numerous factors, including age, gender, muscle-to-fat ratio, amount of physical activity and hormone function. . A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning just 2000 calories will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.
You can do quite a lot to speed up your metabolism – the secret of burning calories lies in knowing what determines your metabolic rate and what you can do to influence it.

You can boost your rate of burning calories using some, or all, of the following tactics:

Exercise and Build Muscle Mass.  Increase the rate of burning of calories by taking on additional physical activities like aerobic exercises, walking, swimming, cycling or running. You should combine this activity schedule with some muscle strengthening exercises.  During moderately vigorous physical activity, you elevate your metabolic rate by a factor of 10 or more, expending hundreds of extra calories.
The more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you use per minute.

Increase Movement in Daily Lifestyle. The more you move, the more you burn. You can actually make a significant addition to the number of calories you burn each day by relatively minor changes in lifestyle. This can be as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator; park a distance from the mall or office; window-shop with your best friend rather than sit over coffee; walk the dog instead of just let him out; do a little gardening or clean house while you talk on the phone.
Make friends with people who are equally interested in physical activity. Having a friend while doing physical activities can keep you motivated. Read more

The eye is not only an irreplaceable part of the human body, but also one of highest importance to life. To maintain a good vision for as long as possible it is essential to take good care of eyes each day.
Presented here are a series of eye exercises and eye care tips that promote relaxation of the eye, or strengthens and conditions them.
Somebody say that vision is “90% mental and 10% physical”.
Doing these exercises can give relief for tired eyes.

General exercises:

• Palming. To rest and relax your eyes, sit comfortably in front of a table, resting your elbows on a stack of cushions high enough to bring your palms easily to your eyes without stooping forward or looking up. Close your eyes and cover them with your cupped palms to exclude light, avoiding pressure on the sockets. Breathe slowly and calmly, relaxing and imagining deep blackness. Begin by doing this for 10 minutes, two or three times a day.

• Swinging. Relax and keep the eyes mobile. Stand up and focus on a distant point, swaying gently from side to side. Repeat 100 times daily, blinking as you sway. Blinking cleans and lubricates the eyes, which is especially important if you spend a lot of time in front of a computer.

• Colour day. You may be asked to have a ‘colour day.’ Choose a colour and look out for it throughout the day. When you see it, be aware of the colour rather than the form. For example, if it is a red truck, experience the shade of red, not the truck. Read more

Each person snores occasionally but it is a problem if you are disturbing yourself, your sleep partner or your neighbors. Snoring stops sleep patterns which can cause to sleep deficit. The effects of sleep deficit can include low energy, foggy thinking and daytime sleepiness. The absence of oxygen flowing to the brain that occurs when someone snores can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.

• - No to sleeping pills - Do not take sleeping pills, tranquilizers or any anti histamine drugs to induce sleeping. These medications make your muscles relax limiting air passage and make you snore all through the night.

• - Eliminate alcohol, tobacco from your diet. These substances relax the throat, enlarging and inflaming the muscles that contribute to snoring. If this is not possible, avoid those 2 hours before going to bed.

• - Make a regular sleeping pattern - Follow a regular sleep routine so that your body sticks to it. Moreover, sleeping on your side instead of your back will definitely stop snoring for you as it positions the body for a good sleep. Prepare the surroundings clean without any congestion while you are asleep.

• - Use a thicker pillow - Try to sleep on a firmer pillow as one may experience the relaxing of throat muscles in case of soft pillows. Elevate your head by sleeping on multiple pillows to stop snoring while you sleep. Read more

What is meditation?
Meditation is really just a way of systematically tuning out mental chatter. We all meditate from time to time, but the term itself is usually used to describe an exercise in sustained concentration that you can use to calm your body and quiet your mind - in short, to reduce stress. Historically, meditation has roots in both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, but you don’t have to be Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, or religious at all to practice it. Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings, for health and wellness purposes.

In meditation, a person learns to focus his attention and suspend the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. This practice is believed to result in a state of greater physical relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance. Practicing meditation can change how a person relates to the flow of emotions and thoughts in the mind.

Most types of meditation have four elements in common:

• A quiet location. Many meditators prefer a quiet place with as few distractions as possible. This can be particularly helpful for beginners. People who have been practicing meditation for a longer period of time sometimes develop the ability to meditate in public places, like waiting rooms or buses.

• A specific, comfortable posture. Depending on the type being practiced, meditation can be done while sitting, lying down, standing, walking, or in other positions.

• A focus of attention. Focusing one’s attention is usually a part of meditation. For example, the meditator may focus on a mantra (a specially chosen word or set of words), an object, or the breath.

• An open attitude. Having an open attitude during meditation means letting distractions come and go naturally without stopping to think about them. When distracting or wandering thoughts occur, they are not suppressed; instead, the meditator gently brings attention back to the focus. In some types of meditation, the meditator learns to observe the rising and falling of thoughts and emotions as they spontaneously occur. Read more

Computer posture is important, is a key to health. You will probably spend many hours sitting at your PC and how you do this will have implications on your health as well as your productivity.
Good posture is a combination of a lifelong habit, a healthy body, and awareness. It is possible to fix bad posture, but it is a lot easier to start with good posture in the first place.

Start a new workday by following these simple suggestions for healthy computing:

1.Customize your chair. A good posture positions starts from the seated pozition. For people choosing the 90° seat pan posture adjust the chair height by lowering about one inch. Your feet will be firmly on the floor to maintain the correct posture of the normal (S curve) lordosis of the spine.
Measure from floor to top of kneecap
(This measurement should be height of chair with 2-4 degree forward tilt while you are sitting in chair) Your knees should be slightly lower than hips..
Measure length at thigh while seated
(This measurement is called popliteal) This determines the correct depth of the seat pan to fit your legs properly. Without correct seat pan depth your spine is not supported. The ideal chair would have a fist of room between the end of the chair and the back of your leg.
Back rest needs to support lumbar curve
Adjust height of backrest to accommodate curve of back. While using your computer the back rest needs to come forward to support the small of the back.
The newer ergonomic chair backs can be adjusted from the seated position on a ratchet system and have 5-7 increment height adjustments. This is ideal. Read more

A power nap is a short nap, normally between 10 and 30 minutes long, taken in the middle of the day in order to reinvigorate and refresh you for the next part of the day. Power naps are not similar to normal sleep, so you will not be groggy after taking one. While you might have “dreams”, power naps are more similar to meditation, where thoughts are allowed to move from the sub-conscious mind to the conscious mind and back again without you concentrating on them.

How to Power Nap Effectively:

- Don`t be shame - be proud of your nap, announcing your intentions in advance to workmates or family members. Napping is great for your health and productivity.
- Choose a time of the day when you are most likely to crash, such as the mid-morning or in the middle of the afternoon. Plan to nap between 10 and 30 minutes in your quiet spot during those times. The time limits may vary depending on how much sleep your body will need to renew its energy.
- Choose a quiet, location to power nap. One thing you want to make sure is that you have a silence place that you can power nap without being interrupted or distracted by environmental factors, such as cars or ground maintenance workers. If you choose to power nap in your office, then make sure that you post a sign that lets people know that you are power napping and not to disturb you.
- 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
- Eat right - Avoid caffeine and sugar. If you choose to practice power napping, then you want to make sure you avoid eating too much caffeinated or sugary products before you power nap, as these can obviously obstruct with your ability to sleep. Read more