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Almonds help in skin rejuvenation and are great memory boosters as well. So, let us delve deeper into their amazing benefits, and soak in the goodness of these crackling nuts

1. Clear your bowels
The way our skin looks and feels is directly related to how well our digestive system functions. A weak digestive system can lead to constipation, which in turn would cause pimples and acne. Eating almonds on a regular basis helps to increase the levels of gut bacteria in your stomach. And, it is these gut bacteria which are responsible for a healthy digestion, thus giving you a clear and healthy skin

2. A rich source of Vitamin E
If you have ever visited a skin specialist for acne, dark spots, blemishes or pimples, you would have noticed the doctor prescribing you vitamin E supplements and capsules. Vitamin E contains Alpha-Tocopherol, which nourishes your skin and gives you a radiant glow. And, almonds are a rich source of vitamin E. So, eating almonds will keep all skin ailments at bay.

3. Anti-ageing properties
It is a much proven fact that almonds have anti-ageing properties in them. Massaging pure almond oil on the entire face, especially under the eyes, helps in delaying wrinkles. A regular application of it also lightens dark spots and under eye dark circles, thereby giving you a beautiful and even skin tone.

4. Heart-friendly nuts
Well, let’s put it in simple words- almonds protect your heart. The fibre in almonds blocks the body’s ability to absorb fat. Also, these nuts are a very rich source of vitamin E, monounsaturated fat, magnesium, and antioxidants that increase blood flow. Moreover, their cholesterol-lowering effect helps in maintaining a healthy heart.

5. Memory and energy booster
Almonds help in boosting the power and capacity of your brain. All the essential nutrients that they contain boost your memory, and also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (loss of memory in old age). They have riboflavin and magnesium, which are great energy boosters that allow you to stay fresh the entire day. Not to forget, almonds increase your productivity at the workplace as well.

6. Get rid of that flab
Almonds can also help you shed kilos. These nuts have a variety of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, which are needed to curb your cravings for carbohydrates. And, it is these cravings, which lead to weight gain. So, having them is a good idea if you want to get rid of that extra flab.

Sleeping in a room with too much light can cause depression, psychologists claim.
Even just the glow from leaving the television on while you sleep can be enough to trigger the effect, say scientists.
Lack of darkness during sleeping hours can cause changes to the brain and depressive symptoms, according to animal studies.
Researchers believe staying up late to watch TV or go online might have the same impact on humans.
But the evidence also suggests the effects can be reversed by switching the lights off at night.

Hamsters used in the studies were exposed to dim light at night for four weeks.
The amount of lighting was equivalent to having a TV on in a darkened room.
Behavioural tests showed that hamsters exposed to light at night lacked energy and motivation.
They showed depressive symptoms, such as having less interest in sugary water which they normally enjoy.
Within two weeks of returning to a standard light-dark cycle, the hamsters appeared to have made a full recovery.

The findings, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, point to a link with rising rates of depression in humans over the past 50 years.

‘The results we found in hamsters are consistent with what we know about depression in humans,’ said neuroscientist Tracy Bedrosian, from Ohio State University in the US.

She added: ‘The good news is that people who stay up late in front of the television and computer may be able to undo some of the harmful effects just by going back to a regular light-dark cycle and minimising their exposure to artificial light at night. That’s what the results we found in hamsters would suggest.’

Hamsters exposed to round-the-clock dim light produced more of an immune system molecule in their brains called TNF, which is linked to inflammation.

Previous studies have shown a strong association between chronic inflammation and depression.
The animals also had fewer dendritic spines, hair-like growths on neurons used to send chemical messages from one cell to another.

In one experiment, hamsters were given a drug that suppresses TNF’s inflammatory effects.
Even when exposed to light at night, those animals remained free of depressive symptoms. However, the drug did not prevent the reduction of dendritic spine density.

Stack of ideas and opinions pop into our minds but they create a filter between what we comprehend to be true and what actually exists. Without a proper architecture of our imagination and observation, our psychological biases would always overpower our determinations. Go ahead and make an attempt to ‘catch’ yourself and moreover, avoid the dramatic anecdotes of skeptics.

1. Just-World Hypothesis:

The world is just and people get what they deserve. By all accounts of this phenomenon, people are well-situated with this world and its whimsicality. People love to achieve consistency either by manipulating the reality or by modifying their own beliefs. This hypothesis focuses on the dark side of our society because when any evidence suggests that it’s the time to overrule the policy of ‘just’, people quickly restore the initial state. They lack the courage to look behind the curtain.

2. Status Quo Bias:

In this cognitive bias, you are stuck with ‘familiar’ and prefer things to stay same as they were earlier. Status quo creates a comfort zone in your life which is inhabited by your same daily routine without no extra changes. The so far best explanation of this psychological state is that potential for gain is always underestimated and potential for loss is overrated. No doubt, this bias stop you from making courageous choices and later it becomes hard to break-out your restricted domain.


3. Reactivity:

You are not what you are. This psychological bias germinates when your behaviour is changed in the presence of others. It’ so because you thing you are being observed by other person and thus, prioritize your characteristics according to the environment. The change could be either positive or negative.

4. Illusory Superiority:

One of the most freakishly bothering tendency of humans, the illusory superiority occurs when people consider themselves far better and superior than others. According to a global research, about 90% of college students consider themselves to be intelligent than other students. This description is enough to justify that almost people possess the tendency to underestimate their negative qualities and overestimate the positive one.






5. Gambler’s Fallacy:

Better known as the Monte Carlo Fallacy, this truism of probability states that people always predict future’s scenario on the basis of current state but future deviations can impact adversely on their anticipation. If you follow the policy of ”I can’t quit now, my luck’s about to change,” then beware, because when the odd stuck, it suddenly vanishes your lucky patch.

6. Halo Effect:

World follows this rule. This psychological tendency occurs when a specific characteristics of an individual propels various traits with the similar influence. Talking conveniently, if a person “A” is a notorious criminal but he wants to change his job, change his soul. Now he is all set to do social-work with full dedication. But world knows that a criminal can’t ever do such type of humanistic job. His shadow of past will always trespass his new role in the eyes of world.

7. Pareidolia:

This cognitive bias is a psychological phenomenon in which brain of a human interprets purposeful patterns. Understanding this condition with examples, whenever we gaze at clouds with full concentration, we can see some fanciful shapes of humans or animals. Moreover, we can listen a song or voice which is being played far away from from our physical location. Ironically, there exists nothing.

8. Semmelweis Reflex:

Counted among one of the most common cognitive biases, Semmelweis Reflex is defined as the automatic rejection of new concepts, considering them as a contradiction over conventional norms. Here in this case, there arises a situation when innovation and ideas are surprisingly banned from germination. However, it is a matter of fact that later objections are answered satisfactorily.



9. Egocentric Effect:

It’s tendency of human to avoid the responsibility of failure and to take credit of success because we have an uncanny habit to experience our life via a self-centered filter. We have our own imaginary universe. In a joint action, people view their performance more salient than others. The spirit of who-did-how-much is perished and we tend to create our own illusion to defend our contribution. We lack the courage to look after our weak points. This statement can be justified by following illustration — If we get high marks in our examination then we feel proud to say everyone that I really worked hard but if we fail or get less marks then our accountability switches to the rotten pattern of examination.

10. Framing Effect:

This cognitive bias states that an option, represented in different forms can change the conclusion of an individual to opt it. Here, the word “different” connotes the presentation of an option in terms of gains which requires minimum cognitive effort. Talking practically, you deposited 1000 bucks for the membership of a club. According to some policy of the club, you’ll get back your 400 bucks after one week of joining. Now, this offer is presented in two different formats:

(A) – Join the club in only 1000 bucks and you’ll get back your 400 after one week.
(B) – Join the club in only 1000 bucks and after one week we’ll return you an amount after deducing 600 bucks.
Apparently, you will go for option “A” because it dwells in the gain frame.

Life in Victorian times was arguably considerably more dangerous than now, if the newspaper reports of the time are anything to go by, writes Jeremy Clay.

A recent BBC News Magazine piece set out the dangers within the Victorian or Edwardian home. But there were plenty of ways to come a cropper outside the home.

1. Killed by a mouse

An equation familiar to anyone who's sat through a few old episodes of Tom and Jerry. Women + Mice = localised uproar. It's a sexist old TV trope, of course, but it played out for real in England in 1875, when a mouse dashed suddenly on to a work table in a south London factory.

Into the general commotion which followed, a gallant young man stepped forward and seized the rodent. For a glorious moment, he was the saviour of the women who'd scattered. It didn't last. The mouse slipped out of his grasp, ran up his sleeve and scurried out again at the open neck of his shirt. In his surprise, his mouth was agape. In its surprise, the mouse dashed in. In his continued surprise, the man swallowed.

"That a mouse can exist for a considerable time without much air has long been a popular belief and was unfortunately proved to be a fact in the present instance," noted the Manchester Evening News, "for the mouse began to tear and bite inside the man's throat and chest, and the result was that the unfortunate fellow died after a little time in horrible agony."

2. Crushed by his own invention

Sam Wardell couldn't afford to oversleep. He was the lamplighter in the New York town of Flatbush in the mid-1880s. He lit the streetlights in the evening, and needed to be up early to put them out again at dawn. It wasn't a job for slobs.

And so, with the boundless ingenuity of the age, he hit on a neat failsafe. He took a standard alarm clock and supercharged it, adding a Wallace and Gromit-style embellishment to ensure he woke in time. First he connected the clock by a wire to a catch he fitted to a shelf in his room. Then he placed a 10lb stone on the shelf. When the alarm struck, the shelf fell and the stone crashed to the floor. Ta-da!

It worked perfectly, and perhaps would have carried on doing so, if Wardell hadn't toyed with the configuration. One Christmas Eve he invited some friends round for a party and cleared his room of furniture to make space. When they left, he dragged his bed back into the room. He was tired, and didn't pay much attention to where he put it.

At 05:00 the next morning, the alarm sounded. The shelf fell. The stone dropped straight onto the sleeping Wardell's head.

3. Killed by a coffin

Henry Taylor died an ironic death. He was a pall bearer in London's Kensal Green Cemetery, and was midway through a funeral when he caught his foot on a stone and stumbled. As he fell to the ground, the other bearers let go of the coffin, which fell on poor, prone Henry.

"The greatest confusion was created amongst the mourners who witnessed the accident," said the Illustrated Police News in November 1872, "and the widow of the person about to be buried nearly went into hysterics."

4. Killed by eating her own hair

The doctors were baffled. The patient was seriously ill, that much was clear, but they couldn't fathom the cause. So when the 30-year-old died, in a village in the English county of Lincolnshire, they asked her grieving relatives for permission to carry out a post-mortem. Whatever they imagined they might find, it can't possibly have been what they actually discovered - a solid lump, made up of human hair, weighing two pounds and looking for all the world like a black duck with a very long neck.

"This remarkable concretion had caused great thickening and ulceration of the stomach, and was the remote cause of her death," said the Liverpool Daily Post in 1869. "On inquiry, a sister stated that during the last twelve years she had known the deceased to be in the habit of eating her own hair."

5. Killed as a zombie

The funeral was in full swing when the lid of the coffin lifted, and the corpse began to climb out.

This was, needless to say, an unexpected turn of events. White-faced with fear, the priest and the mourners alike ran from the church of their Russian village and scattered to their homes, bolting their doors. The ghoul lurched after them, bursting into the house of an old woman who had not been quite so nimble with her lock. As the priest collected his senses, he realised the rampaging corpse was actually a coma patient who'd regained consciousness. Too late. The peasants in his parish had plucked up their nerve, armed themselves with guns and stakes and set off for an exorcism. By the time the priest arrived on the scene, the zombie had been successfully returned to the other side, and the body thrown into a marsh.

Read More at bbc.co.uk

Show that you value your independence.
Let your children know -- by your words and your actions -- that you don't have to "follow the crowd" but prefer to make your own decisions.

Set a good example when using medications.
Be cautious about how you use prescription drugs and even over-the-counter medicines. Show that you can deal with mild pain or tension without turning to medications. Instruct your child never to take any medication without your permission.

Demonstrate your own sense of self-respect and self-esteem.
Take good care of yourself by following a healthful diet, exercising regularly and making time for relaxation. You'll provide valuable behaviors for your children to imitate (and you'll feel better, too!).

If you drink alcohol, demonstrate responsibility.
Use alcohol in moderation and avoid using excuses for drinking, like having a rough day. How you use alcohol will influence your children, and they will tend to have the same drinking habits you do when they grow up. Never allow children to mix drinks or serve them to guests, and never serve alcohol to children, not even beer or wine.

Share your values with your children.
Don't assume your children know your family's values about drug use and other subjects -- talk about these topics often. Offer guidance to teach your children other important values such as being honest, reliable and responsible.

Be Reliable
Be someone kids can count on. Unfortunately, many kids have experienced being let down by adults. Don't be one of them. If you say you'll do something, do it. No excuses. You'll earn respect and admiration.

Behave ethically
We all have expectations for kid's behavior. Make sure you're holding yourself to the same standard. In your everyday actions, are you honest, fair, compassionate, and tolerant? If not, make a conscious decision to show your kids something better.

Show Kindness and Respect
Kids will notice how you treat other people. Don't use derogatory names or terms, even in fun. That kind of behavior gives kids the idea that it's okay to disrespect others. Go out of your way to model helpful and kind behavior, especially to the elderly, disabled, or others who may need it.

Take Responsibility for Yourself
Don't blame your problems on external factors or other people. When you make a mistake, admit it, and work on fixing it. Kids see too many "role models" in the media who can't take responsibility for what they do wrong. Show them a better option.

Use Good Problem Solving Skills
When dealing with a problem, handle it maturely. Kids watch how you respond to difficult situations, and they take their cues from what they see. They also imitate emotional intensity levels, so keep stress to a minimum by responding to tough times in a calm fashion.

You've probably considered a yoga class once or twice—maybe your girlfriend tried to convince you—but for one reason or another it never stuck and you're still skeptical. Consider, then, one huge bonus of the practice you may not be aware of: it can improve your sex life. Here's how it works: the key to yoga's claim on your sex drive is in the breathing technique used during yoga, pranayama. It releases the same chemicals in the brain as sex does, meaning you can leave the studio post-yoga with enhanced sexual desire. Plus, during your practice, certain postures increase blood flow to the pelvic region, lighting up your sexual response. The heart rate of yogis in deep meditative states can even mirror that of frenzied lovers. Maybe that's why Diplo, Colin Ferrell, and Sting are spotted with yoga mats slung over their shoulders. But the benefits are for everyone: regular yoga is linked to longer erections and doubled testosterone. You don't even need to go to a class to reap the benefits, either. Here are five poses you can do anywhere to get you started—in more ways than one.
VIA msn.com

1. Chair Pose



Chair pose engages your pelvic region by forcing you to lift your pelvic floor as you lower your tailbone. It's the same muscles that are used in Kegel exercises and it leads to more intense control of sexual organs.

Do it:

Start with your feet together, toes touching. Sit your hips back and reach your arms alongside your years, like you are about to sit in a chair. Lengthen your tailbone down to keep from crunching in the low back, lifting the pelvic floor to elongate the spine.


2. Squat Pose

© pixdeluxe/Getty Images



This deep squatting pose keeps pelvic joints healthy by forcing you to work your inner thigh muscles, pull up the pelvic floor, and engage your abdominals. It's also thought to stimulate your sex glands and spleen.

Do it:

From a standing position, place your feet hips-width distance apart with the toes turned out. Bring palms together in front of your heart, and slowly lower down toward the mat to come to hover just above the floor. Place your biceps just behind your knees to spread them wider and to help lengthen your spine, reaching your chest up to the sky.

3. Cobra Pose



© iStock/Getty Images



Cobra pose stretches out your sex organs and increases blood circulation to the reproductive organs.

Do it:

Lie on your stomach, feet together and pointed to the back of the room. Place your hands alongside your ribs for stability, press your pelvis into the mat, and use your back muscles to lift your chest off the mat. Gaze just six inches in front of you to keep from crunching your cervical spine in your neck. Try lifting your hands off of the mat to lift higher. Lower slowly.

4. Seated Wide-Legged Straddle

© amriphoto/Getty Images



This wide-legged forward fold increases libido by releasing tension in the groin muscles and heightening energy levels by signaling blood flow to the pelvic region.

Do it:

Extend each leg to a 45-degree angle from your hip joint and flex your feet. Take a deep breath in, lengthening the torso. On the exhale, fold forward, reaching for your toes. Keep the spine lengthened as if someone is pulling the crown of your head forward. Breath deeply into the crease created at your pelvis

CANADIAN researchers claim to have successfully used an electrical surgical technique to relieve severe mental depression in chronic cases.

A team of researchers at Toronto Western Hospital subjected 20 patients with severe depression to what they call deep brain stimulation (DBS).
The technique involved using electrical current to relieve depression.
By planting electrodes on the brain of these patients, the researchers passed current through them to jolt an area known as the sub-callosal cingulated gyrus (SCG) in the brain.
In the brains of those suffering from Major Depressant Disorder, the SCG has been found to be overactive.
The researchers found that deep brain stimulation (DBS), induced by the electrical current, relieved symptoms of depression in 60 per cent of their patients.

One month after the DBS, when these patients were subjected to depression tests, 35 per cent showed reduction in their depression symptoms.

But six months after the DBS, 60 per cent of them showed reduction in their depression symptoms even as 35 per cent suffered remission of symptoms.
The researchers found that patients on the mend showed marked improvement in their sleep and mood patterns.
Their appetite also returned as their anxiety symptoms eased.
The findings, published in the current issue of online journal Biological Psychiatry, estimate that 10 to 20 per cent of people suffer from Major Depressant Disorder.
Research shows that while some people are born with this disorder (caused by heightened brain activity or the SCG condition), others develop it later in life.

The new deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgical technique offers fresh hope for patients with Major Depressant Disorder as conventional medical and psychiatric treatment has failed to relieve their symptoms.
The Toronto hospital will continue its research in this area to know why some patients don't respond to the electrical surgical treatment