Call your mom to beat stress
Its common knowledge that a hug from mom can help
soothe a stressed child, but new research shows that
just hearing her voice can initiate the same biochemical
responses. Even over the phone.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin held a
focus group during which girls aged between seven and
twelve, performed a speech and solved a series of maths
problems in front of a panel of strangers. This sent the
children’s hearts racing and levels of cortisol - a hormone
associated with stress - soaring. Once stressed, a third
of the girls were comforted in person by their mother, a
third told to speak to her on the phone and a third given
a film to watch. Levels of oxytocin, which has anti-stress
effects, rose quickly in those who saw or spoke to their
mothers. To the scientists’ surprise, within an hour, the
girls who phoned their mothers were just as calm as
those who were comforted in person.
Fill a spray mister with your favourite
cooking oil
Pick up a spray mister at your local supermarket and fill it with your favourite
cooking oil. Not only does it release a miserly portion of calorie-loaded oil, it
contains no toxic hydrocarbons found in your normal cooking oil spray cans
that you buy in the supermarkets.
Drink chocolate milk for
fitness
A professor of sport and exercise nutrition
at Loughborough University says: “There are
two primary things you are trying to do after
exercise: recover and encourage the muscles
you have worked to become stronger. A bit
of protein provides the most effective way of
doing this. If you drink milk, you are getting a
consistent source of protein, along with water
and electrolytes. The chocolate provides useful
carbohydrates and even the relatively high sugar
content is an acceptable means of restoring lost
energy.”