No one likes to shower with cold water and yet it can change your life. Among its great benefits is its power against aging.  In addition, it helps you lose weight, improves depression states (as endorphins increase) and helps improve productivity. Of course, you have to do it first thing in the morning for best results.

If you want to remember that pleasant feeling we have after exercising seriously, when you feel the blood flow and the skin shine, take a good cold shower to start the day. You may think that this statement is exaggerated, but it is not, or at least that is what the supporters of "cold therapy" advocate.

How to start this morning ritual?

The first ten days of this therapy can start with 2 minutes under cold water. You will see that you will feel a feeling of happiness and adrenaline. Once past the first ten days, you will begin to enjoy this healthy torture: it is similar to when you start physical activity and, although you know that the beginning will cost you a lot of work, you continue anyway because the feeling is worth it.

Our lifestyle has made us lazy in terms of sensations, but our body is prepared to withstand the extreme cold and heat, as our ancestors did. These cold showers strengthen us. A decision like this helps us to leave behind the social control and pressure that our preferences imply, including the idea of ​​ "I like it" and "I don't like it". The cold shower is not something we like, but if you welcome the break of day with this ritual, you can learn to eliminate these obstacles, and above all, extrapolate the experience to other decisions in our lives. Here are some amazing benefits of cold showers:

1. Improves your circulation

When we expose our body to low temperatures, it begins to increase your blood flow to warm the internal organs and tissues. This will generate better blood circulation.

2. Strengthens your immune system

Before a good cold shower, our metabolism gets stimulated as a reaction and our immune system gets a kick. This boosts our immunity and helps fight infections caused by viruses.

3.  Fresh and healthy skin

A cold shower will help keep your skin smooth and healthy.

The co-founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, launched a remarkable alternative to Twitter and Facebook, called the WT. It’s a social network positioned as an alternative to Facebook and Twitter.

In WT.Social, like other social networks, you can share links and discuss them. However, on this platform there is no algorithm tape - publications are ranked by date of addition. In the future it will be possible to vote for them.

There is no advertising in WT.Social, and monetization comes from donations. For example, now you can register on social networks only by invitation, or by donating $12.99 per month or $100 per year. In the future, registration will be free.

The social network works a month, now its audience is 50,000 users. The goal of Jimmy Wales is 50-500 million registered users.

In April 2017, Jimmy Wales launched WikiTribune, a Wikipedia-style media designed to combat the spread of fake news on the Internet. WT.Social is a kind of repetition.

"This is an evolution of the concept of WikiTribune because I realized that the problem of fake news and low-quality content is as much about social networks (Facebook and Twitter in particular) as news sites", he explains.

WT.Social wants to be the opposite of Facebook and Twitter as regards the quality of the proposed content and the business model.

We will give you the means to make your own choices as to the content that is offered to you and to directly edit misleading titles or report problematic messages.

“But it will only work with your help. So, join us today and help us change the landscape of social media," reads on the platform's homepage.

So, within WT.Social there are no ads and no exploitation of personal data for commercial purposes; you only find the content that Jimmy Wales describes as rewarding for users.

Neuroscientists have provided new evidence that coffee, tea (to a lesser extent) and chocolate contribute to the healing of the brain and make it more flexible. In 2019, several amazing scientific studies were presented that were definitely worth a read.

To begin with, we analyzed the results of a joint study by the National Institute of Aging and Johns Hopkins University, published in January in the journal Neurochemical Research. Scientists, in particular, concluded that the organic compounds of methylxanthines in tea, coffee and dark chocolate (cocoa) “affect the activity of neural networks, promote stable cognitive activity and protect neurons from dysfunction and death due to stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease".

In the same study, it was found that xanthine derivatives (chemicals produced when caffeine enters the brain) "can have a beneficial effect on brain function."

Secondly, a meta-analysis of 11 studies of the effects of coffee on brain health published in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology showed that coffee, cocoa and tea reduce the risk of developing not only Alzheimer's disease, but also brain cancer.

Finally, a revolutionary study by Okayama University in Japan “showed that the components of CA and CGA coffee enhance the antioxidant properties of glial cells and prevent rotenone-induced neuronal degeneration both in the brain and in the Auerbach plexus.”

Simply put, caffeine makes your brain more flexible and resilient. If you want to maintain normal brain function, then do not give up the use of coffee, tea and cocoa.

The right dose?

Studies have shown that the daily dose of coffee can be 6-8 cups, and preferably up to 2 hours of the day, so as not to interfere with night sleep.

If this seems to you too much, replace 1-2 cups of coffee with 30 grams of dark chocolate. It is worth noting that drinking coffee and tea is recommended without the addition of sugar. In any case, you will perfectly charge your brain.

If you are a student, you’ve probably had to take notes. What’s the best way to take notes in class: handwritten notes or laptops?

In schools or universities, one of the methods we used to study is to create new notes in class is to write it manually. This trend is overshadowed by today’s digital transformation of classrooms – students use laptops to study, which sometimes also work as a distraction for them.

The handwriting process was long, tedious and sometimes took days; however, it was worth it because by the end of class the students already get to learn everything they needed to go for an exam and get good grades. This helps strengthen the brain synapses and learn better in class. The key to success in academics seems to be making the notes by hand.

For students of this generation, technology is much more available and accessible – they can take a laptop or tablet to class and take notes digitally. Sometimes, they don't even need to use a notebook and pencil. This is not bad, especially when it becomes so easy. However, this makes us confront an important scientific question: is replacing paper notes with digital notes more efficient when studying and learning?

What does science say?

Psychological Science presented the results, and these suggest that there is an advantage in taking notes with paper and pencil over digital devices – it helps us remember what we have heard better and prevents us from forgetting it easily. In the study, students met and separated into two groups in a class. The first group had to take notes in the conventional way, i.e. with pencil and paper. The second group had to take notes using a computer. In the end, everyone was given to the same exam and students who took manual notes scored better.

Taking notes on a computer is much simpler due to technology. However, when the purpose of taking notes is to learn in the process, the easiest method is not always the best.

The shopping centers are closing down in the United States, and the decline has only just begun. Recently, commercial giant JC Penney said he planned to close about 140 stores. On the other hand, the analysts of System2 LLC, an important data company, pointed to another 197 stores at risk of closing in this country. On the other hand, over 9,300 stores are closing in 2019 and the retail apocalypse drags on.

The retail apocalypse of large shopping centers, as they call it here, is a phenomenon that worries all experts. Some of the main operators in the country, such as Macy´s, JP Peney or Sears are already carrying out massive closures. Why is this happening? It’s because of the boom of online commerce.

The sales figures of online commerce increase day by day, month by month and year by year. In the United States alone, more than 15% of retail sales are made through the internet, with a growth rate close to 15% annually. The numbers are unstoppable and Amazon is largely to blame for it.

Buying online is very easy and cheaper. It is not even necessary to open the computer – you just have to have the mobile phone application installed. For a physical store it is very difficult to compete in price, convenience and speed of delivery with web portals such as Amazon, eBay or Alibaba.

Shopping centers in the United States have become obsolete. The first were built during the 50s (many of them are still open) and more than a third of the stock was built before 1978. In the next ten years they continued to open new centers. As a consequence, most of these constructions have become old and outdated.

The third reason why shopping centers are in decline in the United States is because of the excess supply that exists. The consumerist culture of the Americans and the few limits in urban policy gave rise to the proliferation of shopping centers in all corners of the country.

Leaning forward can be very relaxing and bending over becomes inevitable in our daily lives. However, it’s important that you do it right – you can pull your lower back, especially if your back thighs are poorly stretched.

There are right and wrong ways to lean forward and bend over. To protect your lower back, you need to perform the slopes correctly. For this you need to pay close attention to the mechanics of your body. The key muscles that you need to pay attention to are the muscles of the back of the thigh, especially their intersection with the pelvis.

Muscles of the posterior thigh are semi-membranous and semi-tendon. Here is the basic anatomy of leaning forward: to stretch the muscles of the back of the thigh, we stretch (straighten) the knees and bend in the hips, while bending the stomach on the hips.

Working while leaned forward with straight legs, head-to-knee is the perfect way to stretch the hamstring.

The problem is that when the muscles of the back of the thigh reach the limit of their flexibility, you begin to bend either by flexing your knees or by flexing your hip joints. The extension in the hip joints means that while sitting on the floor, your short muscles of the back of the thigh will pull the ischial tubercles towards the back of the knee. Because of this, the pelvis goes back and the spine gets bent. The natural deflection in the lumbar region disappears. Rounding of the spine is a big no and you must avoid it.

If you lean forward and the muscles of the back of your thigh are not stretched, you can seriously damage the intervertebral discs or ligaments. Compression will be subjected to internal organs, such as heart, lungs and digestive organs. The tighter your hips are, the more likely you are to compress your internal organs.

Each of us knows someone who constantly complains about everything. Whether there is really a problem or not, these people will always find a reason to victimize themselves and complain to someone about it. Other times, we may be the ones who complain about everything.

There is ample evidence that when complaining becomes a habit, the consequences can be felt on health. Here are the effects of this irritating behavior that we have or that some people around us have on our brain and its well-being.

Continually giving voice to negative thoughts and emotions has health consequences that can also have serious physiological impacts – it profoundly affects certain brain functions and psychophysical well-being.

In the long run, negative thoughts completely replace positive thoughts: this has consequences not only on social relations, but also on the functioning of the brain itself. It is as if each time we complain, the brain takes this state of mind as a reference to react to similar future situations.

Complaints can also have a direct impact on the capacity of memory – some magnetic resonances have recorded a narrowing of the hippocampus in people accustomed to complaining. This implies that the area of ​​the brain is affected which regulates many functions cognitive, including memory. A smaller size of the hippocampus leads to poorer memory and reduced ability to adapt to new situations.

When negative feelings are more important than positive feelings, more cortisol is released into the body: it is a hormone responsible for insomnia, depression, metabolic problems and heart disease. It is no coincidence that cortisol is also called "stress hormone".

So, if you have people around you who complain all day long, or if you've fallen into this vicious circle, just take your life in your hands and give it that touch of positivity that can turn things around for you! There’s always a reason to be optimistic.

The ketogenic diet is high in fat (90% of calories) and low in carbohydrates (2% of calories) and protein (8% of calories).  It was mainly used to treat epilepsy in children because with little carbohydrate in the blood, the liver transforms fat into ketone bodies as an alternative source of energy. As a result, it significantly modifies the metabolism of the brain, resulting in a decrease in seizures.

Several studies show, which is not surprising, that this diet makes the body more effective at burning fat – others show that it can cause significant reductions in blood glucose and insulin levels. A few studies also highlight that it can be beneficial for brain chemistry in other ways. It has been studied for its ability to help people lose weight, control diabetes and even reverse the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Preliminary research also shows that a ketogenic diet can stop cancer progression, inhibit metastasis and kill cancer cells. However, research to date has been limited mainly to a few animal studies. In human cancer patients, all cancers combined, the results showed both positive and mostly negative results. According to Professor Thomas Seyfried of Boston College, one of the main champions of the ketogenic diet against cancer, “there are still some defects to correct".

You must also choose your fat wisely, because with cancer, there is ample evidence that saturated fats can increase metastasis and spread cancer.

Experience shows me that during a cancer, the progression of the tumors is very often either regressed, stopped or slowed, compared to the period before it establishes. The side effects of conventional treatments are often mitigated with the help of a keto diet regime. You can make certain adjustments to the diet on a case-by-case basis for the chemotherapy days to minimize adverse effects. The energy boost is impressive – many are able to re-engage in sport or work while undergoing treatments.

128 chemical residues, including 47 carcinogenic substances would be absorbed by a child of ten years in a day – the study of the Future Generations Association points out the dangers of the pesticides, food additives and plastic residues that we absorb daily.

Pesticides

These products sprayed in the fields or put on stored fruits and vegetables are often found on our plates. Washing fruits and vegetables before eating does not guarantee their disappearance – some are resistant to water. A study has shown that washing with hot water is usually more effective than cold water, especially if you rub the vegetable with a cloth after.

Food additives

These are used by agri-food industries to preserve foods or give them a particular texture, taste or color. Additives should be mentioned in the ingredients on the package. By carefully looking at the composition of products, we can avoid E100 (dyes), E200 (preservatives), E300 (anti-oxygen agents) and E400 (texture agents).

Dioxins and PCBs

Dioxins are diffused into the environment in the form of particles and can be found all along the food chain. They are mostly found in water, which explains why the most contaminated food products are packaged fish.

Phthalates and Bisphenol A

To avoid phthalates, plasticizers are widely used for food packaging. We must look at the codification of plastics – plastics that are classified as 3 are to be avoided. For baby bottles and milk powders, you should prefer cardboard packaging and glass bottles. It is better not to heat the trays or plastic cutlery in the microwave.

The sources of chemical hazards in food can be divided into:

1. Naturally occurring chemical hazards such as mycotoxins, bacterial toxins, algal poisons, plant toxins and animal toxins
2. Chemical hazards caused by environmental pollution, such as heavy metals and organic matter in the environment
3. Chemicals that are intentionally added, such as preservatives, nutritional supplements, pigments, etc.
4. Chemicals that are not intended to be added, such as chemicals in agriculture, chemicals used in aquaculture, chemical substances used in the process of food production enterprises, etc.
5. Chemical hazards from food processing
6. Chemical hazards from containers, processing equipment and packaging materials
7. Chemical hazards caused by radioactive contamination

Being constantly busy can make us more productive, but that does not make us more creative. The best ideas come to you in the moments of leisure and contemplation when you let the spirit wander.

A recent study has analyzed how busy being does away with our creativity.

Emma from Stanford University explains that the idea is to balance linear thinking, which requires intense concentration with creative thinking – you reach that mental state during inactivity. The change between the two modes seems to be the optimal way to do a good creative job.

The overabundance of information prevents us from getting into that mental state. This undermines not only the will but also the creativity.

As Emma points out, many of the brightest minds in the world have made important discoveries while doing nothing. Nikola Tesla had an idea of ​​the rotation of magnetic fields during a quiet walk in Budapest. Albert Einstein enjoyed relaxing and listening to Mozart during intense brainstorming breaks.

But how to disconnect at a time when bosses, colleagues and friends require you to have a continuous connection? Here are some suggestions for you from the expert:

• Take a long walk without your phone as part of your daily routine.
• Get out of your comfort zone.
• Invest more time for fun and play.
• Alternate between concentrated work and less intellectually demanding activities.

Regardless of your profession, a flexible mind open to new ideas and approaches is very valuable. Just losing it to check for the latest tweet or posting an irrelevant selfie is a tragedy.

Developing your creativity has become a critical issue nowadays. Whether in the workplace or in our private life, being creative and finding original solutions to problems is a great asset.

The good news is that we are all creative. It’s just that you may have forgotten how to use this tremendous potential that each of us have in us.

The purpose of this research was to give you concrete and directly applicable ways to improve your creative mind. Remember that one of the first qualities in creativity is openness! So be open to new ideas and explore the world outside your comfort zone.