Life Journal

In the fast paced world that we live in it can be easy to neglect our health and wellness. We’re so busy racing through our day to day lives – family, friends, work, social engagements – that we don’t take the time to look after ourselves. It’s really no wonder that so many of us are tired and run down. What are some simple things that we can do to improve our quality of life?

Drink Drink Drink…

You’ve heard it a million times and you’ll probably hear it a million more – drink more water!

Think about it: The human body is 72% water. A 5% drop in fluids creates a 25-30% loss in energy. A 15% drop in fluids causes death! At this point in time 66% of us aren’t drinking enough water, so over half the population isn’t running on all six cylinders to begin with – before things like bad air, bad food and stress take their toll.

It’s not really a difficult thing to remedy. Just drink one glass of water every half hour or so – or 10-12 glasses of water per day – and you’ll notice a huge jump in your energy levels.

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Asthma, characterized by difficulty in breathing, is a chronic lung condition. Asthma patients have hyper responsive airways that narrow down when irritated. This makes air movement difficult and cause wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. The two factors that provoke asthma are –

· Triggers – They irritate the airways and result in Bronchoconstriction. The common triggers of Bronchoconstriction are cold air, dust, strong fumes, inhaled irritants, emotional upsets and smoke.

· Causes or Inducers – They result in symptoms which may last longer. Allergies in the form of pollen, animal secretion and molds, and Respiratory viral infections are the most common inducers.

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There is one word to describe the current housing market: optimistic. Despite months of hearing about a housing bubble and rising mortgage rates, the outlook for real estate is good.

The worries of a bursting real estate bubble actually seem to be low among homeowners. In a national survey conducted by ING Direct, most individuals experienced some growth in their home value in the past 12 months. The average increase was approximately 6%, with owners in New England and Pacific states having the largest growth. The values of homes in south central states remained about the same.

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