well-being

7 Tips to Alleviate Dry Eyes

~ Yasmin ~ Leave a comment

Hey Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well!

A few weeks ago I noticed that I had developed red squiggly lines in the whites of my eyes. As the days passed I noticed that I was getting more and more of these red squiggly lines.

I became a little concerned and I scheduled an appointment with an eye doctor. Side note: I hadn’t been to an eye doctor in about 20 years.

The eye doctor performed a full medical eye exam and fortunately overall my eyes were in good health but the major problem was that I had a moderate case of dry eye.

After coming home and doing some research about dry eyes I learned that dry eyes are a very common eye concern among individuals of all ages including children. However, it is especially common among older adults.

Basically dry eyes occur when your tears are not able to properly lubricate your eyes. This can either occur if your eyes don’t produce enough tears or if they produce poor quality tears. Human tears contain water, lubricating oils, mucus and antibodies.

Symptoms:

Dry eyes usually affect both eyes and the following are some symptoms:

  • Itchy or burning feeling in your eyes
  • Mucus in or around your eyes
  • Eye redness
  • Sensitivity to Light
  • Feeling like something (like sand) is in your eye
  • Difficulty wearing contact lenses
  • Poor night vision
  • Excessively watery eyes
  • Blurry vision and fatigue

Remedies:

Warm Compress:

Simply dipping a clean washcloth in warm water, wringing out the excess water and placing it on your eyes for around ten minutes a day can really help with irritation that comes with dry eyes.

The only problem with this method is that after a minute or so the heat will evaporate from the washcloth and it won’t be as warm. In order for a warm compress to gradually reduce dry eye irritation there must be a consistently warm washcloth on the eyes.

One solution is to simply continue to dip the washcloth in warm water whenever it cools off. A slightly more costly but convenient solution is to purchase an eye mask (they usually go for around $20) and just microwave it and place it on your eyes and it will keep a consistently warm temperature.

Baby Shampoo:

Unfortunately, one common side effect of dry eyes is crusty eye lashes. In my case, it looked like I had dandruff on my eyelashes, also some people may notice particle buildup near the edges of their eyes. Over time this can lead to further inflammation so it is important to clean the eyelids and the surrounding skin. My eye doctor recommended using baby shampoo. Simply put some baby shampoo on your fingertips and massage your closed eyes especially near the base of your eye lashes.

Blink More:

One of the easiest possible remedies for dry eyes is to simply blink more. However, when we are staring at a screen for a prolonged period of time it is very easy to forget to blink. Some people swear by sticking notes with blink reminders on their laptops or computers.

Consume More Omega 3’s:

Research has shown that Omega 3’s can relieve many of the symptoms of dry eye by helping the oil glands in your eyes to work properly so that your eyes regain their natural moisture. Sardines, salmon, tuna, and mackerel all contain omega 3 fatty acids. Some other options include walnuts, flaxseed, and a variety of different vegetable oils such as canola and soybean oil.

Stay Hydrated:

This tip is also pretty obvious but what some of us may not realize is that staying hydrated can also help your eyes stay moist. The necessary water intake varies for every person but in general eight to ten glasses is a good goal to aim for. Certain water rich foods such as cucumber, oranges, and watermelon can also go a long way in helping you stay hydrated.

Wind Shield Your Eyes:

Particularly windy and dry weather can cause your tears to evaporate more quickly. If the weather is especially windy it might be helpful to wear wrap around sunglasses to give your eyes extra protection. Also, when you are at home make sure to protect your eyes from hair blow dryers, air conditioners, and fans which can all be drying to your eyes.

Use Eye Drops with Caution:

Before going to my eye doctor I had no idea that I had dry eyes. I purchased redness relieving eye drops but unfortunately these did not help much and they made the pain much worse. After doing more research on eye drops I have learned that it is best to avoid redness reducing eye drops as much as possible because these eye drops only temporarily reduce redness and in the long term the more you use these redness relieving eye drops the more your eyes will become dependent on them.

These eye drops work by temporarily relaxing the blood vessels in our eyes to hide the redness for a short period of time. Basically the more we use these redness relieving eye drops the more dependent our blood vessels will get and the more often we will need to use these eye drops.

Now, when it comes to dry eyes, not all eye drops are bad. My eye doctor recommended that I use Refresh Celluvisc eye drops which are very lubricating eye drops that help to keep the surface of the eye moist. Many people also recommend artificial tears for dry eyes. When using these types of eye drops always try to go for the preservative free eye drops to avoid any irritation and other harmful side effects of the preservatives.

Since dry eyes are amongst the most common eye concerns for many people I hope that this post will be of benefit.

With Love,

Yasmin

 

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Here’s How Your Smartphone Can Save Your Life

~ Yasmin ~ 7 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re al doing well!

I think that it is safe to say that nowadays most people carry their smartphone with them wherever they go. Although our smartphones can often be a source of distraction for us, most of them have a potentially life saving feature called Medical ID.

As its name implies, Medical ID is an especially helpful feature to have if someone is in an emergency situation. During an emergency, Medical ID, which is available on both Apple and Android phones can help first responders identify the patient, find the contact info for the family or loved ones of the patient, and especially help them learn a bit about the medical history of the patient.

The good news is that Medical ID is a free smartphone app. If you have an iPhone, the Medical ID app is called Health and it is the app with a pink heart on a white background. If you have an android phone, the Medical ID app is the one with a red star on a white background.

Regardless of what type of smartphone you have the Medical ID app will ask you to fill in your basic medical information about yourself such as your name, age, height and weight. It also asks if you have any allergies and if you are currently taking any medications.

I know that for many people, taking the time to find this app and fill in the information may sound trivial and unimportant. However, the reality is that we never know if or when an emergency may occur. As the saying goes: “its better to be safe than sorry”. I really hope that this post will convince at least some of my dear readers to take the time to find and fill out their Medical ID app.

With Love,

Yasmin

Quick Tip: Others Opinions are Not that Important

~ Yasmin ~ 16 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well!

I think its safe to say that, at least to some extent, everyone likes to gain the acceptance or approval of others.  I know I sure do.

I think that its human nature to desire to be well-liked since we humans are such social beings.

I think that this need for approval becomes problematic when we constantly think about, worry about, and stress over how other people will judge every step or action that we take.

The reason why I felt the need to briefly write about this is because I was recently spending time with a dear friend who has a normal office job but on the side she also has a very small business as well. She asked me if I had told my parents about her business and I admitted that I had (because as far as I can remember she never told me that I shouldn’t tell anyone about her business)

After my admission she briefly became very sad and I could really see the intense agony in her face and she told me that she did not want anyone to find out about it because then people would start talking about her behind her back. (As a side note, I don’t know why she was worried about people talking behind her back because I think that starting a small business is a very impressive thing to do).

The truth is that when I told my parents about my friends’ business venture they were very impressed and then they never discussed the matter again. This simple incident reminded me that sometimes we make things a bigger deal than they really are. We fear that others are judging us and talking about us behind our backs but in reality they are not doing any such thing because they are usually too busy and/or stressed with their own lives.

Lets say worst comes to worst you do something and people do start talking about you behind your back. I know that this would be a nightmarish situation for many people including myself. However, the reality is its more than likely that people are not going to talk about what you did or what happened to you forever.

More often, they might discuss you among themselves for a few minutes and then they might go to a different topic or soon afterwards things will come up in their own lives such that you are probably going to be the last thing they are worried about.

Also, please remember that people who do talk behind your back are far from perfect themselves and remember that their words do not make you any less successful, likeable, or less of a good person. Their words cannot harm you as long as you don’t let those words affect the way that you think or act.

I know that this is much easier said than done but I think that instead of worrying and agonizing about what others think about us we should instead focus on being the best version of ourselves that we can be and making sure that the decisions that we make are true to our own beliefs and values.

With Love,

Yasmin

Eat These Three Nutrients for Stronger Bones

~ Yasmin ~ 2 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

As many of you already know our bones play a very important role in our body by providing structure, protecting our organs, anchoring our muscles and storing calcium.

After age 30 our bones gradually start to weaken. Maintaining good bone health is especially important for women because as we age women are much more likely to get osteoporosis which is when our bones become very thin and brittle and much more likely to fracture.

This issue is near and dear to me because my lovely grandmother has osteoporosis and her doctor has warned her that even a small fall can be life threatening for her.

While my grandmothers osteoporosis will likely never be cured there are three important nutrients that, along with physical activity, can help you maintain strong and healthy bones.

Calcium

By now we have all heard of the importance of calcium for our bones. The fact that is that calcium is a mineral that is stored in our bones and calcium helps make our bones thick and strong.

The following foods are high in calcium:

  • Plain low fat yoghurt
  • Cheese
  • Sardines
  • Beans and Lentils
  • Almonds

Magnesium:

Just like calcium, magnesium is stored in our bones to keep them strong. Magnesium also controls the parathyroid hormone which helps control the calcium levels in our body. Unfortunately, some research shows that around 50 percent of Americans do not get enough magnesium.

Luckily, the following foods are a great source of magnesium:

  • Edamame
  • Black beans
  • Cashews
  • Peanuts
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Avocadoes
  • Dark chocolate
  • Bananas

Vitamin D

By now we wall know the importance of calcium in regards to bone health. The problem is that our body only absorbs about 30 percent of all of the calcium that we intake. This is why Vitamin D is so important. Vitamin D is the nutrient that helps our blood absorb the calcium that we consume.

Without a doubt, one of the best sources of Vitamin D is the sun. However, the following are the foods that contain Vitamin D:

  • Eggs
  • Maitake Mushrooms
  • Fortified soy milk (there are also other options such as fortified orange juice)
  • Tuna
  • Cheese
  • Yoghurt
  • Beef liver
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Soybeans

While there may not be a guaranteed way to prevent osteoporosis hopefully these tips will help keep your bones healthy and strong for many years to come.

With Love,

Yasmin

Quick Tip: Sleep But Don’t Track

~ Yasmin ~ 8 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

As many of you may know, lately certain watch like devices such as the Fitbit and the Apple Watch have become especially popular amongst people who want to track their overall fitness on a daily basis.

Many of these watches track your physical activity (such as how many steps you’ve taken), your vital signs, and the number of calories you’ve burned and even the amount of sleep you get each night.

First of all, I want to point out that I currently do not have any such device myself but I know quite a few people that either already have something like the Fitbit or they really want to buy one in the near future.

Based on the reviews that I have come across many of these devices, especially the higher end ones, are really quite good and they do for the most part, accurately track your physical activity and vital signs, etc.

However, experts recommend that the one area where these devices shouldn’t be used is during our sleep time. The problem is not that these devices may not be very reliable at tracking our sleep, although the reviews are mixed, rather the major problem with tracking our sleep is that this can lead to anxiety.

Tracking sleep can make some people obsess over their results even though these results may not even be accurate. Constantly checking and worrying about the amount of sleep that you get each night can lead to anxiety and this anxiety can end up harming your sleep rather than improving it.

And of course, this is why most experts recommend that people take off these devices at night for a more restful sleep!

With Love,

Yasmin

Quick Tip: Just Listen

~ Yasmin ~ 2 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

Normally when we are having a face to face conversation with another person we maintain eye contact and we use our eyes to guess how the other person is feeling.

Basically, most of us believe that the best way to figure out how the other person is feeling is to focus on their facial expressions.

However, the latest research from Yale University seems to refute that belief. Researchers at Yale conducted five experiments and they discovered that people who listened to what the other person said and how they said it were able to make a better judgement of the speakers emotional states as compared to people who just focused on the speakers facial cues and expressions.

Researchers concluded that perhaps the best way to figure out how someone is feeling and to empathize with them better is to simply listen to them.

With Love,

Yasmin

Tech and your Eyes: Eight Tips to Protect Your Eyes

~ Yasmin ~ 6 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

According to the research I have come across, the average person spends anywhere from six to nine hours a day behind a screen.

If we count both work and leisure many of us spend almost all of our waking hours behind some sort of screen.

All of this screen time can lead to eye strain and some symptoms of digital eye strain include:

  • red, dry, or irritated eyes
  • eye fatigue
  • blurred vision
  • tension headaches
  • pain in the neck and shoulders

I have to admit that I am personally very concerned about the effects of technology on our overall mental and physical health but especially on our vision because our eyes are key in helping us see and process the information on our screens.

Before writing this post I did a little bit of research on the effects of technology and screen time on our eyes and the general consensus seemed to be that aside from the negative effects of blue light, screens are not that damaging to our eyes because they do not emmitt the most dangerous forms of radiation such as x-ray radiation.

I am definitely taking this conclusion with a grain of salt because this type of technology is still so new. Throughout the course of human history humans have survived and thrived without these screens and just in the past ten years or so these devices have proliferated and they have become a constant fixture of our lives. Ultimately, I believe time will tell the true effects of technology on our overall health and well-being and especially on our eyes.

However, I am definitely a firm believer in prevention being better than the cure so here just a few preventive tips that can help protect your eyes from damage:

  • When you look at any screen for an extended period of time your eyes will become tired. Most experts recommend the 20-20-20 rule where you look away from the screen every 20 minutes at something around 20 feet away for about 20 seconds.
  • Keep your phone as far away from your eyes as possible but still at a distance where you can comfortably read without straining.
  • Often when we are really focusing on the screen in front of us we forget to blink and this can lead to dry and irritated eyes. In order to avoid this try to remind yourself to blink at frequent intervals. If you keep forgetting to blink, try placing a sticky note to remind yourself.
  • When you are sitting behind a computer screen, sit about an arms length away from the screen.
  • Always adjust the brightness of the screen to make it ideal for your current settings. Avoid screens that are too bright because your eyes have to work extra hard to focus on a screen that is too bright.
  • By now most of us have heard about the damaging effects of blue light. In an ideal world its just best to completely avoid screens before bed. However, if you’re like me and you still use your screen before bed consider turning on nightshift on your iPhone. This feature reduces the amount of blue light in favor of warmer tones. I think that many Android phones also have a similar feature called Night Mode.
  • When you are working in the evenings try to position yourself so that the light source, such as your light bulb or lamp, is behind you rather than behind the screen because this will put less pressure on your eyes.
  • Always try to take frequent breaks to rest your eyes. Go outside, stretch, grab a bite to eat, whatever works for you!

I really hope that you found these tips to be helpful. I do want to add that recently, about a month ago, I started taking an eye supplement with 20 mg of Lutein and 4 mg of Zeaxanthin.

Its far too early for me to recommend this product but it claims to support vision and macular health.

I am just taking this supplement as a preventative measure to help protect my eyes. I have noticed that nowadays I rarely get any tension headaches whereas I used to get them quite often before taking this supplement.

I was first introduced to this supplement by my aunt who claims that her vision has drastically improved after consistently taking this suopplement for one year.

Honestly, my vision is not the best so I would definitely be very pleased if it does improve my eyesight. I guess only time will tell.

With Love,

Yasmin

Quick Guide to Layering Your Skincare

~ Yasmin ~ 6 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

During my free time I love learning about (and then implementing)  new skincare regimens. I feel that lately the idea of layering skincare products has really been trending and I definitely think that this trend has been inspired by Korean beauty.

As a side note, the university that I attended had a large Korean population and I was always mesmerized by their flawless and glowing skin. So, late last summer after graduating, I learned about Korean skincare and I got a little too excited and I ordered a bunch of random Korean skincare products.

The products that I ordered (from Amazon) were all nice products with good quality. However, I have acne prone skin so some of the products were a little too moisturizing for me and they caused me to breakout. I know this sounds really obvious but make sure to buy products that will actually benefit your particular skin.

For those that are interested in layering their skincare products or they just use a number of different skincare products and they’re curious about the correct order of applying their products, here is a very brief guide:

  • The first and foremost step to any skincare regimen should be to wash your face with a gentle cleanser. The reason behind this is that most skincare products need to penetrate into the skin and they cannot do this if there is bacteria, natural oils, or other forms of impurities on the skin.
  • It is also a good idea to go from the thinnest to the thickest textures. Start off with liquids such as toners and then work your way up to the heavier and creamier products. If you do use a face oil, that should be applied last.
  • The exception to the above rule is products that have acids or retinol. These are active ingredients and they should be applied on clean skin so they can penetrate properly. Be sure to wait a minute or two before applying another product to allow it to penetrate.
  • Don’t forget about your eye area! The skin around our eyes is especially sensitive so it is often the first area that shows signs of aging. If your moisturizer is gentle enough you may be able to use it around the eyes as well. However, if you have a specific eye cream that is a serum or gel make sure to apply it before your general moisturizer so it can better penetrate the skin.
  • Finally, the last step to any skincare routine should be a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher.

The above guide is a very ideal skincare regimen and to be completely honest I rarely follow all the steps because I can get really lazy. However, one thing that I learned about Korean skincare is that for many people who follow the lengthy Korean skincare regimen, they view taking care of their skin as a therapeutic and almost meditative act and I admire this mindset!

With Love,

Yasmin

Here are Three Things That Won’t Make You Happier

~ Yasmin ~ 7 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

I truly believe that deep down each and every one of us wants to be happy and I believe that ultimately we make many of the decisions in our lives with the hope that someday it will bring us some form of happiness.

Most of us have certain beliefs about what will make us happy. Some of the things that we believe will make us happy may indeed increase our happiness however, other things may not.

If you are in the search for happiness here are some of the things that research has shown that will not help you reach long term happiness.

Money

I know that this sounds cliche but money really cannot buy happiness. One research study showed that high income earners are not significantly happier than middle class income earners.

Obviously, we all need money to pay for shelter and our basic needs and then having some extra money can help us live a comfortable life. However, I think that one of the problems with money is that most people who start making lots of money never reach a point when they are satisfied with the amount of money they have. This is potentially dangerous because for some people the pursuit of money and riches becomes the purpose of their life.

I think most of us know that money by itself will not make us happy. But we feel that having lots of money helps us buy or gain the things that we want and this will make us happy. The reality is that material possessions only bring short term happiness. When we first buy something we may be excited and happy but after a while we get used to the item or something even better comes out and we often take the version of the item that we have previously bought for granted.

Material possessions may not bring lasting happiness but there is one way in which money can buy happiness. A research study has shown that after people have their basic needs met if they have extra money to spend on time saving services such as a housekeeper they will be happier. The reason is that they will have more freedom to spend their time as they wish.

Too Many Choices

This may be slightly shocking to some people but research has shown that when most people are given too many options or choices to choose from they often become exhausted and unhappy. Social Psychologists often refer to this phenomenon as tyranny of freedom or choice overload.

I know personally when I am shopping online I feel overwhelmed by all the choices that I see that I have to choose from. Even when I want to sit back, relax and watch a TV show I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of shows that are available. I don’t even have traditional cable so my TV viewing options are fairly limited but still there is just too much choice on Netflix!

On a more serious note though, we humans have a cognitive reserve that is limited and we can only make so many decisions until we run out of energy and we ideally stop for the day or we continue and risk making impaired decisions. The problem with choice overload is that we can easily deplete our cognitive reserve by making trivial decisions before we make the tougher decisions.

I think that this quote from former president Obama helps to explain this idea:“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits… I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

Personally, what I like to do is every night before bed I choose my outfit for the next day and I basically get everything ready so that in the morning I don’t have to make any trivial decisions. Getting everything ready the night before really helps ease my morning routine and occasionally if I do wake up a little later I am less stressed than I would otherwise be.

Having More Friends or Followers on Social Media

I know this one is probably a pretty obvious one but having more friends or followers on social media will most likely not lead to you becoming any happier.

One particular study divided frequent Facebook users into two groups. One group continued to use Facebook as frequently as they usually did and another group was asked to take a one week break from a Facebook. The results showed that the group that took a one week break were happier and less stressed.

I think that the problem with social media is that we the social media users often tend to compare our lives with the lives of others and we often come to the conclusion that our lives are not as great as the lives of these other people. We become unappreciative of all that we do have. We often forget that most people only post the highlights or the best moments of their lives on social media.

I am a social media user myself and I would not go so far as to say that we should completely stop using social media. I believe that social media has many benefits as well. I have family that live all across the world and social media has helped us connect in a way that may not have been possible without it.

Also, social media has played a role in many positive movements across the world as well and I often see images and videos of people that are going through such difficult times and while these images are extremely hard to see I become aware of their struggles and I become immensely grateful for everything that I do have.

My humble piece of advice would be to first of all try to establish or strengthen relationships that you have in real life outside of social media because these are the people that are more likely going to come to your aid during difficult times.

Also, go through your social media accounts and simply unfollow accounts or people that make you feel bad about yourself or they just don’t add value to your life.

Always remember that social media is just a means of connecting and interacting with others but ideally it should not be the only way that we interact with each other.

A Final Note on Happiness

Life definitely consists of many ups and downs and it’s impossible to always feel content or happy. It turns out that accepting the fact that we are not always going to be happy is actually good for our overall well-being.

Research has shown that the pursuit of happiness does not lead to more joy. An Australian research study asked participants to what extent is being happy important to them. Then they were asked to keep a journal of all the stressful events that occur in their lives and and write how it made them feel.

The results showed that those who highly valued happiness felt more lonely during these stressful times.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the desire to feel happy and joyous however, if the desire for these positive feelings and emotions becomes obsessive then it will lead to more emotional pain rather than joy and happiness.

With Love,

Yasmin

Simple Steps are Key

~ Yasmin ~ 15 Comments

Hey Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well!

I wanted to write this post as a reminder to myself and hopefully as a reminder to you my dear readers as well that success, well-being, and any other goal that we may have can be achieved by taking small (and consistent) steps towards the goal.

I know many people, including myself, who feel that in order to reach a goal they need to go all in and put an incredible amount of energy into reaching their goal. For some people, it is all or nothing. In some cases this type of mindset is definitely necessary.

However, most of us humans have multi-faceted lives. Each of us has several different roles and responsibilities that we have to care for and handle. Often times, we simply cannot afford (in terms of time) to put all of our energy towards achieving our goal.

I personally think that instead of trying to find a balance most of us just give up or postpone reaching our goals. This is why I believe that rather than pushing ourselves too much and then giving up it might be better to take small and consistent steps towards reaching our goals.

Here is a very basic personal example:

As some of you may know from a previous post, I always try to go out every day for a half hour walk outside in order to move and hopefully stay healthy. However, for the past few days, due to unforeseen circumstances I have been stuck inside (I have been helping to care for an ill family member. I will hopefully address this in a future post) and I haven’t been able to go outside for my daily walks.

Recently, I was feeling very out of shape and I started feeling sorry for myself. The next day, I decided to put on the radio and power walk at home for about ten minutes. Afterwards, I felt so much better and I truly felt that I had reaped most of the benefits of my daily outdoor walks. It was then that I decided to repeat this three times a day (10 minutes each). I even added going up and down a flight of stairs to include some cardio as well.

I definitely know that this was a very simple and “no-brainer” example but sometimes we are just so stuck on doing things one way that we fail to see other similar and simple ways towards reaching a goal.

With Love,

Yasmin