Study Skills and Tips

• Apples instead of coffee: Apples give sustained energy whilst Coffee stimulates a fight or flight system.
• Cold water with lemon in the mornings: This will help you feel more awake and refreshed.
• Study with a particular scent in the background: and sleep with that same scent. Your brain will strengthen the memories with that scent better.
• Chew a certain flavour of gum whilst studying, and during your test/exam: Chew peppermint gum or a peculiar flavour you may not chew.
• Night is a great time for studying: your brain refreshes information when you sleep so spend around 10 minutes studying before you sleep, and quickly review in the morning as the brain is still absorbing some information.
• Apply meaning to the information you are studying: if you are learning certain words or phrases then try placing them into a sentence. For example: baby, tennis shoes, chicken, music -> baby in tennis shoes dancing to the chicken dance.
• Use mnemonic devices for order: rhyming, acronyms, songs, and associations.
• Study while you sleep: record your voice reading out the content you are revising and play it back when you sleep. Your body when asleep can understand the information and will work into your long-term memory.
• Reward yourself: after each little bit of studying do something nice like watch youtube videos or eat some sweets :)
• Listen to classical/instrumental music: This will help with focusing and allowing you to get some work done!
• Change your environment and have all of your materials: ensure you have your essentials so you don’t get distracted by moving to get equipment.
• Blue ink helps memorise: I always use this with English lang+lit combined since theres SO MUCH terminology to remember. Writing in blue ink (especially for vocabulary words and flashcards) helps with memorisation.
• Know what way of studying works for you: visual? auditory? kinaesthetic? read+write®?
• Flashcards are good in emergencies: but they are only good for short-term memory, so only use them as a last resort before your test.
• Take short breaks frequently: your brain retains information more easily from the beginning and end of your sessions- so take more sessions. 
• Space out your studying: this helps with long term memory, and also make sure to review throughout the time period given.
• Know your weak areas: test yourself or have somebody else test you so you can see where some extra revision may be required.
• Use active recall: helps change retaining content from short-term memory to long-term memory.

Available: http://jwstudying.tumblr.com/post/133249176355/study-hacks

How to Tie Laces for Running and Walking

Natural Beauty Remedies

Natural Beauty Remedies

Before there was a product for every imaginable beauty woe (lash conditioner, cuticle softener, lip buffer), women took a simpler approach to hair and skin care. Dry skin might merit a slathering of olive oil, while puffy eyes called for cucumber slices. Now it seems grandma was ahead of her time: Many of today’s top spa treatments take their cues from old-fashioned home remedies, and there’s science to back up the ingredients’ effectiveness.

Here are some natural skin savers which you can purchase at your local grocery store.

Oatmeal

  Use it to calm and soften skin

Why it works: Soothing and anti-inflammatory, oatmeal contains beta glucan, a soluble fiber that creates a thin, moisture-retaining film on the surface of the skin.

How-to: Place a handful of whole oats in a clean washcloth and using a rubber band to secure it. Next, immerse it in a sink full of warm water and squeeze the bag 4 or 5 times. Once the water is cloudy, splash it on your face and then air-dry. (If you must towel dry, pat as gently as possible.)

Beer

 Use it to pump up flat, dull hair

Why it works: Yeast and hops help to swell the hair shaft and plump the cuticle, adding volume. The acidity of the beer helps remove built-up product residue.

How-to: In the shower, after you’ve shampooed, pour a bottle of beer over your hair. Rinse briefly with fresh water (the idea is to avoid the beer smell while retaining the beer’s body-boosting benefits). A rich beer with a high yeast content works best. (Read: No light beer.)

Avocado Oil

 Use it to repair dry, sensitive skin

Why it works: Avocado oil’s abundant fatty acids help balance skin’s moisture levels, and the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E protect skin from further damage.

How-to: Combine equal parts avocado oil and evening-primrose oil in a sealable bottle and shake to blend.  Massage 5 or 6 drops into clean skin, and then cover your face with a warm washcloth for a minute to help the oils sink in.

Walnuts

Use it to exfoliate hands and feet

Why it works: Rich in oil, walnuts make for extra-gentle sloughing.

How-to:  Blend ¼ cup shelled walnuts, ½ cup olive oil (for extra emollients), and a tablespoon of honey (to seal moisture into your skin) in a food processor set on a slow speed, creating a fine-particle scrub. Standing in the shower (if you’re scrubbing your feet) or over a sink (if it’s for your hands), work the mixture thoroughly over your skin for a couple of minutes. Rinse with warm water.

Orange

 Use it to slough dry skin off heels, knees, & elbows.

Why it works: The fruit acid loosens dead skin cells.

How-to: Cut a fresh orange in half and squeeze the juice of one half into a bowl. Add ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup olive oil and then blend into a moisture-rich scrub. Next, rub the exposed side of the other half of the orange over knees, elbows, heels, and any other dry spots. Last, rub in the sugar mixture to slough off dead skin. Rinse with warm water and pat skin dry.

Milk

Use it to soothe and soften dry, sensitive skin

Why it works: The lactic acid in milk serves as a gentle skin exfoliant, while its natural fat content acts as a body moisturizer.

How-to: Add 1 gallon of whole milk to a tubful of warm water and soak. It’s a great alternative to sugar and salt scrubs which may be too abrasive for people who suffer from eczema, psoriasis, or sensitive skin. If you prefer a fragranced bath, add 10 to 20 drops of an essential oil such as lavender.

Eggs

Use it to add strength to damaged, weakened hair

Why it works: Eggs’ high protein content helps improve hair’s resilience and luster.

How-to: Whisk together 1 egg, 2 tablespoons coconut oil (“rich in moisturizing fats), and 2 tablespoons sesame oil. Apply the mixture to dry hair and wrap a hot, moist tow­el around your head. Relax for 5 to 10 minutes. Without wetting hair first, work in a handful of shampoo, and then rinse and condition your hair.

Apple-Cider Vinegar  Use it to fight breakouts

Why it works: Its high acid content makes skin inhospitable to blemish-causing bacteria.

How-to: Place a handful of parsley (a skin-clarifying herb) into a French press (or coffee press) and cover it with ½ cup of boiling water. Steep for 10 minutes, and then plunge and let the liquid cool. Transfer to a spray bottle along with a splash of vinegar and 4 drops of tea tree oil (an antiseptic), shake well, and spritz on a freshly cleansed face. (Store the spray bottle in the fridge.)

Available: http://merrybrides.tumblr.com/post/45917089611/natural-beauty-remedies [accessed 30/03/2018].

How to Avoid the Flu

• Wash your hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds.

• Keep your hands away from your mouth and nose.

• Avoid touching food during flu season - use utensils.

• Wash hands before eating, using the bathroom, touching public objects and surfaces (anything that has been exposed to sick people).

• regularly clean your phone with antiseptic wipes.

• Exercise to build immunity. Eating healthy and getting enough sleep helps too.

For the full article, and more information, click here.

Watson, S. n.d. Preventing Cold and Flu: How Doctors Keep Germs at Bay. WebMD.  Available: https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/preventing-cold-and-flu-how-doctors-keep-germs-at-bay#1 [Accessed 30/03/2018]. 

looking healthy does not mean:

 petite, curvy, small, large,muscular, slim, pretty, well dressed, sweating from the gym…etc

looking healthy means:

 eyes sparkling, real smiling and laughter, skin that glows, a functioning alert body and radiating contentment and positivity about yourself.

http://brightandblossom.tumblr.com/post/109517975332