Mobile Phones – Potential Health Risks and Safety Tips

Widespread use and importance of wireless telecommunications has made us fully dependent on mobile phones. No doubt mobile phones provide unmatchable utility and 24x7 connectivity across the globe, but have we ever thought about the dangerous health risks offered by excessive use of mobile phones?

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Since the advent of wireless technology, mobile phone industry has grown leaps and bounds. The mobile phone users are expected to cross over 5 billion numbers by end of 2019. This means that approx. 70% of the world population owns the mobile phone. This clearly means that practically every house-hold across the world owns a mobile phone.

The connectivity and other benefits offered by mobile phones have made us use them mindlessly. In fact, not having our mobile phones with us just for few minutes can make us really anxious.

The excessive use of mobile phones offers health risks which have been identified by the modern medical science. Though many of these potential risks like cancer, blood brain barrier, male fertility, electromagnetic hypersensitivity etc are still to be scientifically proven yet doctors across the world agree not to ignore these risks till they are fully proved or disapproved.

Mobile phones use radio waves for transmitting communication signals from one place to another. These waves are of varying frequencies and energies and have potential to penetrate in biological tissues thus causing heating of tissues and other potential effects which are being studied currently.

Given the high risks, it is prudent to take certain precautions to protect our health. The below tips will come handy for everyone –      

1. Talking on mobile – This poses a great risk given that we keep our phone very close to our ear and forehead while talking on it. Apart from any potential harmful hazards that we really don’t know, the visible effects include heating of skin, head-ache, pain in ears etc.

Tip – To avoid any potential and visible risks, it’s always better to use hands-free or ear-phones to stay away from the radio-waves emitted by mobile phones. Alternatively, use speak-phone as far as possible.

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2. Keeping mobile phone in pockets – This could be really risky given that your mobile phone periodically emits radio signals even when it is not being used. Keeping phone in pocket get the vital organs our body exposed to these radiations.

Tip – Keep your mobile on table while at office or home. Place it in the bag if you are travelling

3. Using mobile in car or any enclosed areas – Using mobile phone in car or any enclosed areas generally amplify its signal which increases the strength of radiations many-fold.

Tip – Avoid use of mobile phones at such places. Tell people that you will revert back shortly in case you are travelling in car.

4. Giving mobile phone to kids – This is really serious. Children should never be giving regular access of mobile phones. Given that the children’s bones are thin, there is high chances of radiations to penetrate in tissues and cause potential damage.

Tip – Don’t allow Children to make use of your mobile phones at all unless absolutely necessary. Make them to develop habits to spend their time somewhere else including outdoor sports, reading etc

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5. Using mobile when signal is low – The weaker the signal indicated on the cell phone, the stronger your cell phone will try to reach to that weak signal. In this process, your body will be exposed to highest level of radiations which may be extremely dangerous.

Tip – Simply try avoid using your mobile phone if you are in a place where signals are weak

6. Keeping mobile near while sleeping – Most of us keep our mobile near our bed while sleeping. This could be risky given mobile periodically receives and emits radiations even if it is not in use. It is also placed nearby for purpose of giving morning alarm.

Tip – Keep the mobile in some corner and away from your bed. If you want to use it for morning alarm purpose, keep it in the flight mode to avoid radiation effects.  

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Apart from using the above tips, it may be a great idea to identify certain times/tasks during the day when you don’t carry your mobile with you. Depending on your convenience, you may decide not to carry it with you during walk/jogging, going to gym, doing shopping etc.

The idea is to stay away from the radiations in order to avoid any health risks associated with it.

It would be great to hear your ideas to minimize the exposure of mobile phones. Post your feedback in the comments section.

Happy Reading!!

Natural Ways to Stop Hair Loss

Hair loss is the problem impacting large proportion of population across the globe. Despite hair loss being such a common problem and many practitioners claiming to offer remedies, it is actually difficult to find the effective solution to control the same.

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It is normal to have some ongoing hair loss by most of the people. This type of hair loss is generally replaced by growth of new hair in its place.

There are other type of hair losses which are not normal but have specific causes.

Hair loss could be due to reasons like genetic factors, hormonal imbalances (including thyroid imbalance), stress, certain medications, and nutritional deficiencies etc.

Of all the reasons listed above, one of the most common reasons for the hair loss is nutritional deficiencies. No medicines, treatments or shampoos generally help to control this kind of hair loss.

The key nutritional deficiencies causing hair loss is the deficiency of Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Proteins and Iron.

The first step is to get your hormones and nutritional levels measured. Get your Thyroid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and Iron levels checked. The most common cause of hair fall is the imbalance and deficiency of any one of these or more.

Below-mentioned are some of the effective natural ways to control the hair loss. In many cases regrowth of hair is also possible. Try them and see the results yourself.

Take supplements of Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and Iron after consulting your doctor (given that you are deficient in these). Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Eggs, Walnuts, Almonds, Pomegranates and Apples etc are good natural sources of Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B7, Zinc, Calcium, Iron etc.

Include sprouted beans (veg) or 2 boiled eggs (Non Veg) in your breakfast. These provide necessary proteins which are building blocks for the hair.

Eat 1 to 2 Amlas (gooseberry) every day. Along with Vitamin C, Amla is extremely rich in anti-oxidants which helps to keep hair and follicles healthy by fighting of damage causing free radicals.

Consume 2 to 3 Dates every day. Being rich in iron, dates improve blood circulation to the scalp thus helping in faster hair growth.

Eat Citrus fruits and include Lemon in your daily diet. Vitamin C from these food help in production of Collagen which strengthens capillaries that supply to the hair shafts

Apply fresh Aloe Vera gel from the plants to your scalp. Wash it after 15-30 minutes. Aloe Vera repairs dead skin cells on the scalp. It is a natural conditioner which makes your hair smooth & shiny and reduces dandruff.

Roast Fenugreek Seeds, crush them and mix with Coconut oil. Massage it on the scalp. Wash after 1-2 hours.  Fenugreek seeds kill bacteria and fungus on the scalp. These seeds contain Lecithin and Nicotinic acid which strengthens hair follicles and promote hair growth respectively.

Include one table spoon of flax-seeds to your diet daily. Flax-seeds are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for hair growth. These fatty acids ensure healthy growth of new hair.

Avoid stress at any cost. Try Yoga, Meditation, Music or whatever means that suit you to control stress. Stress impacts our digestive system and changes hormone levels in the body leading to hair loss.

The key is to be persistent in your efforts till you start seeing the results. 

It generally takes minimum one month of regular diet and discipline for reversal of hair loss and start getting healthy hair back. 

Once you start getting the results, incorporate the above disciplines regularly (with intermittent breaks) in your daily routines. 

Happy Reading!!

Post your feedback in the comments..

8 Skills For Achieving Success In Professional Life

Getting success in life is a function of skills we acquire over a period of time. Education alone can’t guarantee success. If education is the platform that keeps us afloat, skills are the foot-steps of the ladder that takes us to Success in our professional life.

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Success itself has many definitions, but in the materialistic/real world we generally measure it in terms of our growth in our professions, careers or businesses.

Sticking to the above definition of success, we see so many people who despite being well educated, don’t grow professionally and financially in their lives. On the other hand, there are people who despite having humble education background, are highly successful in their professions, careers or businesses.

Today, I would like to list down few very useful skills to be acquired by youngsters for achieving early success in their professions/careers/businesses in the today’s competitive world.

1. Time Management – This is probably the most important skill to be developed to get success in any sphere of life. One of the most critical challenges faced by most of us is procrastination. If we are able to prioritize our tasks and complete them without procrastination, we will be on our way to achieve success in anything we do.

2. Communication – Communication is about making others understand what we precisely want to tell them. Speaking, Writing and even Listening are different modes of communication. Developing skills on these fronts will be very useful to convince others and making them agree to what we want. Public speaking and effective writing skills are must for getting success in so many careers.

3. Computers – Computers have become a basic necessity of life in today’s world. A person without basic knowledge of computing has to struggle in all spheres of life. From paying bills to banking to booking cabs to buying anything online, computers have become necessity and an important basic skill to develop.

4. Networking – Networking is about reaching out to more and more like minded people and building relations with them. Networking can help you becoming successful in multiple ways by getting new customers, employees and job references to mention a few. This is a truly universal skill which can be helpful in each and every profession.

5. Digital Marketing – Digital marketing is about reaching out to people across the world. Internet has made the world really boundless in 21^st century. Digital Marketing gives an opportunity to reach out to prospective customers all across the world with just the click of a button. Developing this skill will make you useful for any kind of business.   

6. MS Excel – MS Excel is one of the most useful applications for any professional or businessman. This is one of the most important skills to be developed in the computer age. Being expert in MS excel will give you a significant mileage over your competitors in any business or Industry.

7. English Language – Given the use of this language, English has become a truly global language across the world. Given its prevalence, lacking skills in English is a big threat to success and usually leads to loss of important growth opportunities for people who are not proficient in this.   

8. Self Management – Last but not the least, self management is an important skill to develop to be successful in professional lives. By self management, I mean being adaptable and able to manage small and simple chores by yourself. From cooking for yourself, to washing/ironing your clothes etc are important skills to survive in any situation under any circumstances. The idea here is to develop simple yet useful skills that will make you less dependent on others.

Developing above-mentioned skills can bring significant positive change to anyone’s life and help him getting success in his professional life much easily.

Just try out the above and let us know your experiences in the comments section!!

18 Money Saving Ideas Worth Exploring

Money plays a key role for all of us. It surely makes our lives comfortable if not perfect. Having money helps us getting most of what we desire in our life.

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Wealth can be created by three fundamental means – Earning, Investing and Saving. If any of these three means is lacking, it can significantly impact our wealth creation objectives.

Saving money is an attitude or a habit which can be inculcated. Anyone can develop this attitude given that he or she consciously works towards it.

Today, I would like to highlight some money saving ideas worth exploring by anyone. Many of them are just reminders. You may choose which ones are suitable to your life-style.

Let us have a look!!

Choose your travel mode wisely - Each travel mode has its own pros and cons.

1. As far as time permits, travel by public transport. Not just it is highly economical, but in big cities it also saves the challenge of finding a parking for your vehicle and a probable expense for parking.

2. Limit number of personal vehicles you own. Owning and travelling by personal vehicle is convenient but at a significant cost. Apart from the purchase cost, it also incorporates regular expenses in form of insurance renewal, regular maintenance & service expenses and fuel cost.

3. Travelling by taxi could be cheaper than using your personal car in the long run. Anyone can do the math and find this out easily. Further, it is less tiring and more convenient travelling by a taxi as you can utilize your time better in the comfort of your seat.      

Seize the money saving opportunities at home – Your home is a great place to start looking for money saving opportunities. Let us look at some of them.

4. Judicious use & consumption of electricity can save good money. Go for energy efficient CFL bulbs/tube-lights/other appliances. They not only consume less electricity (as low as 20%-30% of normal in case of CFL) but also have longer life.  Develop a habit of switching off fans, lights and other appliances when not in use.

5. Relook your cable TV needs. Now-a-days, we are not just dependent on TV for entertainment needs. Depending on your needs, customize your cable TV plans. Pay only for the channels that you view regularly. There is no need to subscribe to standard cable channels plans. This way you can save a good amount of money.

6. Re-evaluate your telephone/mobile requirements. In the current time, everyone has their own mobile phones. Given that, do you really need a land-line at home? This is mostly redundant for which we need to pay the bill regularly. If you have multiple mobile sim-cards, re-think and justify the need of it.

7. Subscribe to news-papers only if required. In this online world with over-flow of news and information, do you really need to subscribe to the newspaper? Most of the time, we subscribe for multiple newspapers but we don’t have the time to read anyone of them. Look at your requirements and then decide.

8. Sell stuff you don’t need. There are many options of selling your redundant stuff online without any hassles. This way you not only get some money but also get some space freed up in your home.

Size of your apartment determines your expenses – If you are really serious about money savings, this is an important area where you can reduce your expenses. However, depending on your needs, take mindful decision for yourself.  

9. Rent/maintenance expenses for large house is significantly higher than smaller house

10. You require more maids/servants for a larger house.   Even, maid/servant charges are more for bigger apartments.

11. You need more fans, tube-lights, electrical appliances for a larger home

Need for furniture and other stuff are higher if you have larger space availability.

Plan well for your shopping needs–

12. Plan in advance for your major shopping needs. Planning in advance and buying in bulk help you getting good discounts.

13. Look for any deals & Offers. There are so many promotional offers especially when you are buying in bulk. Look at them and take benefit wherever you feel so.

14. Look for generic options especially medicines. Medicine expenses are really high now-a-days. Understand the concept of generic medicines. These medicines are generally equally effective but come at very low costs (as low as 10% of non-generic versions). Go for them after consulting with your doctor.

15. Go credit-card less. This is more psychology linked. Paying cash hurts more than paying via cards. Using this trick controls your desire for unnecessary shopping.

Save money by learning things for free – Yes, this is true. Just check it out.

16. Learn from each other. One of my friend’s sons used to go to a music class to learn Keyboard. After coming back home, the kid used to teach the same to his brother and father. Isn’t it a wonderful way of learning a new skill by paying just for one?

17. Learn online. You can learn literally anything online. From web development, yoga to content writing to almost anything. There are numerous free courses available at platforms like Coursera etc. You just need to identify what you want to learn and you can find courses online to learn it for free.

Take good care of things you own –

18. Take good care of all things you own – A famous quote says – “A stitch in time saves nine”. Use this advice for the things you own. Take good care of your vehicles, AC, Washing machine, TV, refrigerator etc. Go for regular service of these items. This will save a lot of money in terms of unnecessary repairs, in case of break-down in the long term. Not just this, this will also increase the life of the items you own so that there will be less need for replacement.

Try some of the money saving ideas as mentioned above and let us know in comments if any of them worked for you. 

Happy reading!! 

7 Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Busy Life

In our busy lives, we find it really challenging to spare quality time towards our health. Here are few amazing healthy lifestyle tips which can be easily squeezed in your busy lives.

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Everyone is too busy now-a-days. If we look at our daily schedule, the top priorities for us are generally work, kids and home. Most of us spend our entire day on these priorities. Though everyone feels the need to spare some time for health, but only few of us are able to achieve this.

Every task requires time.

The general belief is that any health related activity including Gym, Yoga etc may require sparing at least 1-2 hours per day.

In contrary to the general belief, I want to share some amazing health lifestyle tips which can be easily incorporated in your busy schedule without using too much of your time. Not just this, implementing these tips will also make you feel great the entire day.

Here you go!!  

1. Drink lots of water/fluids – This is no secret. Water is required for smooth running of majority of our bodily functions. For the same, we require to drink at least 7-8 glasses of water/fluids every-day.

Tip – Drink at least 2 glasses of water when you wake up. Make a habit to drink some water whenever you return from toilet. Keep a water bottle handy at your working table. Drink 1-2 glasses of water before going to bed.

2. Eat healthy – Everyone knows this. Never skip breakfast as it is the most important meal of the day. Eat small portions of food at regular intervals. Focus on balanced diet with mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat rich foods.

Tip – Keep roasted cereals with you near your working desk. Have them whenever you have an urge to eat something. They are not only tasty but also very healthy. Carry fruits (like apple, banana, pears etc) or salads to work and use them as fillers between meals.   

3. Keep track of your nutrient levels – This is really important. The key ones are calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B12. Majority of body pains (including pain in bones, muscles), neurological symptoms (like weak memory, brain fog); body weakness and tiredness are due to deficiency of these three.

Tip – Keep track of these nutrients by doing blood tests every six months. Supplement any deficiencies if required after consulting with your family doctor.

4. Run regularly – This is most basic. Running has tremendous health benefits. It keeps heart, lungs and bones healthy. It keeps stress levels to the minimum and helps in reducing weight. It makes you strong and energetic.

Tip – Try to incorporate running in your morning schedule if possible. You need not spend much time here. Running for only 12-15 minutes in a day will give you all the benefits mentioned above. Just inculcate this habit  in your routine.

5. Stretch to have great health – This one is interesting. Stretching provides your body overall flexibility, your joints range of motion and releases tightness from all areas in your body. Stretching is a kind of ‘semi-yoga’ with very little time commitments, yet with huge health benefits. Stretching routines generally take 5-10 minutes every day and can be done very easily at home.  

Tip – Read and learn about stretching for initial kick-start. Spare 5-10 minutes daily for this health routine. You may also download and use some wonderful free ‘stretching apps’ on your mobile to do regular stretching sessions.  

6. Avoid late night meals – This is must for maintaining a healthy digestive system. If you frequently encounter poor digestion and acid reflux problems, following this routine will reduce the episodes of your problems. This one habit will also help you with a sound sleep.    

Tip – As far as possible, have your dinner early and at a fixed time every day. Having fennel seeds after food is a great way to boost digestion. Brush your teeth after dinner in order to suppress any further desire to eat in night. Take a small walk after dinner and before retiring to bed.

7. Don’t compromise on sleep – This is obvious. Sleeping keeps us sane. We require minimum 7-8 hours of sleep for healthy life. It is interesting to note that during the sleep our brain flushes out toxic chemicals which get produced when we are awake. During the sleep only, our brain re-structures our thoughts & memories and makes their impressions stronger, which boosts our long term memory and improves our effectiveness & productivity.

Tip – Don’t consider sleeping as a waste of time. Sleep enhances our creativity and capacity to think. Even small naps during any time of the day can help us in the similar way.

Value your health. It is really important to you. Use the above healthy lifestyle tips to make most of it!!

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How To Job Search If You Get Laid Off – 9 Practical Tips

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For many of us, job is not just a source of income but it is much more than that. Job gives us an identity and a purpose in life as our entire productive time during the day revolves around it.

Losing a job can never be easy. No one ever imagined that this can happen with any one of us. A sudden job loss can be really shocking, frustrating, de-motivating and it has the capacity to hit our self esteem in a negative way.

Companies doing lay-offs is not very uncommon, however, not every lay off is linked to employee performance. People are laid off due to multiple reasons including industry down-turn, organizational restructuring, personality issues, ethical issues, department closures etc to mention a few. What-ever could be the reason, the person getting laid off always has an opportunity to move ahead, start again and look for newer paths. 

Let us look at some of the practical tips that will not only help you to re-evaluate yourself but also help you to get a new job at the earliest possible.

1. Take a break to discover you – While working on a job you just keep on running, trying to meet your targets and calendar deadlines. This is probably the first time in your career you need-not have to get ready to go to the office.  I suggest you not to rush for finding a new job (if possible). Take a small break. Sit at home or plan a trip. Have some personal time to discover yourself. Deliberate if you are on the right track and working on the job you really love? This is the most important question to be answered for a happy, rewarding career.

2. Update your cover letter/CV and Online profiles – Once you are ready for the job search, prepare a brief yet comprehensive ‘cover letter’ and update your ‘CV’. The importance of cover letter/CV can’t be ignored. They are the instruments that will help you getting interview calls. Take professional help if you are not really confident about them.   

3. Talk to your family & close friends – Your family and close friends are the most trusted companions. They are the ones who fully support you in your difficult times. Take this opportunity to get close to your near & dear ones. Talking to them will help you to come back to the normal quickly so that you can focus on your job search with a positive frame of mind. 

4. Re-ignite your old network/colleagues – Now since you have initiated your job search, the first set of people you should reach out are your colleagues/friends from your old network. They are the ones who know you well and are aware of your capabilities. They can recommend your credentials in their network and help you getting some relevant interview calls. Now-a-days, most of the companies are recruiting new candidates through references as it makes their job easier. They get recommended candidates who can easily fit in their company culture.     

5. Reach out to your previous companies – If you have worked with some other companies in the past and had built a great reputation there, this is the time for you to reconsider them and reach out to them for any newer opportunities. Given that you have done some good work for them earlier, they will be more than happy to relook at you for any relevant opportunities with them.

6. Make best use of internet/social media – Internet has really made our life easy. Job search portals are helping us to identify and reach out to relevant jobs in the shortest possible time. Apart from traditional job portals, make use of portals like ‘linked-in’ to reach out to professionals/job consultants in your industry. Don’t shy asking for help show-casing your competencies/experience. Reaching out to people from your industry is a great source of getting new leads for your job search.

7. Don’t just spend entire day on job search – To be frank, job search can be a really stressful task. Don’t overdo it; make a routine for your day. Don’t focus on job search for more than 2 hours in a day. Given that you have time on hand, use it to focus on your hobbies, improving health and developing new skills in your field. This will indirectly support you in your job search by keeping you calm, sane and updated.

8. Keep a record of all advance stage interview leads – In case your job search drags for long, you will be having a big number of potential job leads for employment which you may need to follow up after regular intervals. Keeping a record of all advance stage leads with relevant details will simplify your job search process.  

9. Be open for part time/temporary/other jobs till you get the right fit – This can be a personal call for each individual however I recommend you to be open for all kinds of jobs till you get your best fit job. A relevant job search for an experienced individual may take up to 6 months or sometimes more. A make-shift job will not only help you paying your bills but also help you to be in touch with the market. This will also tell a lot about your adaptive qualities and create a positive reputation for you in front of your future employers.    

The journey to job search may be tough but you will be able to overcome this if you keep a positive frame of mind all along the way. Just get in and give your best.

It would be great if you share your job search experiences in the comments section!!