This Could Vastly Improve Your Memory

The oldest mnemonic strategy is known as the method of loci. It’s based on the assumption that we can always remember places that we are familiar with, so if you can link something you need to remember with some place that you know well, the location will act as a clue that will help you remember.

Created way back during the days of the Roman Empire, the method of loci is really a sort of linking method with a twist. This method was supposedly devised by the poet Simonides of Ceos, who was the only survivor of a building collapsing during a dinner he was attending. Those who had died were crushed beyond all recognition, but Simonides was able to identify the dead by remembering where the guests had been sitting. 

 

From this horrific experience, he realized that it would be possible to remember anything by associating it with a mental image of the location. Greek and Roman orators used this technique in order to give speeches without the aid of notes – it was the most popular mnemonic system until the mid-1600s, when the phonetic and peg systems came into being.

Here’s How It Works 

 

• Think of a place that you’re extremely familiar with, such as your house. 

 

• Visualize a series of locations in the place in logical order. For example, if it’s your house, picture the path that you’d usually take in your house to get from the front door to the back door. Begin at the front door, go through your hall, enter the living room, proceed through the dining room, into the kitchen, and so on. 

 

• Place one item that you want to remember at one of the locations. 

 

• When it comes to remembering the items, simply visualize your house and go through it room by room. Each item that you associated with a specific room in your house should spring to mind as you make your way through your home in your mind. 

Here’s how this strategy would work if you wanted to remember the following shopping list: 

• Shaving Cream 

• Peaches 

• Hot Dogs 

• Ketchup 

• Ice Cream 

 

When you’re visualizing your home, imaging spraying shaving cream on the front door. Don’t just think of the word “shaving cream,” think about actually spraying shaving cream on the door. Then, open the door, and picture a giant peach rolling down the hall straight towards you. Now walk into the living room, and visualize an eight-foot-tall hot dog wearing a cowboy hat and lounging by the fire. Next, enter the dining room and imagine a bottle of ketchup, dressed in a maid’s uniform, setting the table. Finally, go to the kitchen and think of a gallon of ice cream, melting as it slaves over a hot stove. 

 

After you have visualized all of this, when you try to remember your shopping list, all you have to do is visualize your front door. You will instantly see the shaving cream in your mind; as you enter the hall, the peach will enter your mind; and so on. The more outrageous and funny you make your mental images, the easier it’ll be for you to remember them. 

 

This method can be used to remember lists, names of people at an event, things you need to do, important points in a speech, or even a thought you want to keep in mind. This mnemonic strategy works well because it changes the way you remember. Since the locations are organized in an order that you know well, one memory flows into the next very easily.

If you want, you can place more than one item in any particular location. For example, if you have 50 items on a shopping list, you could place five items in ten different locations. Each of these five items should interact at its location.

For example, you could think of your daily routine in the morning: 

• Bedroom 

• Bathroom 

• Kitchen 

• Garage 

• Car 

Now you need to link the items that you want to remember to each of these places. Of course, it’s imperative that you remember the places, but this shouldn’t be too hard, because they’re part of your daily routine. Then attach each item to a place. Using the grocery list example from above: You wake up next to a giant can of shaving cream; you find a huge peach having a bath in your bathroom; a hot dog is making you breakfast, a bottle of ketchup is blocking your car; and a gallon of ice cream, wearing sunglasses, is melting in the driver’s seat. You could then picture five more items along your route to work, five in your office, and so on. 

 

The loci method allows you to remember items on a list, but it doesn’t allow you to locate just one particular item. For example, if you wanted to find the 9th item using this system, you’d have to work your way down through the first eight items to get to it. 

 

The way around this small problem is to place a distinguishing mark at every fifth place. For example, at the fifth place, you could add a one-dollar bill to the image. At the tenth place, you could add an image of a clock. Using this added touch, there really is no limit to what you can remember.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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16 Wonderful Ways to Calm Down In Different Places

Relaxation has many advantages: It slows down breathing, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress in muscles, prevents exhaustion, increases self-confidence and improves mood, concentration, and memory, so it's no wonder that we all strive to be calm all the time. However, busy daily life often compels us to deal with stressful frustrating moments in which it is hard to keep cool.

Whether it's on the road, in the office or at home with your children, different events can harm your peace, and for that, we’ve collected 16 simple ways for you to easily relax in different situations in life.

In the car 

While driving, you can’t afford to relax. The body is alert, the eyes detect possible dangers and the brain tries to calculate the distance between your car and the other vehicles around to you. If all these reasons are not bad enough, add the traffic jams, the bus leaving the station without signaling, and the fact that you have a meeting that starts in ten minutes and the traffic light refuses to change. To stay cool while driving, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the following methods and tips. 

 

1. Do some light exercise - Light physical activity has been found to reduce stress and contribute to a sense of relaxation, even if it is a very light activity. One simple way to do this is to hold on to the wheel, tense up your muscles and release. There is also another exercise you can do while waiting by a light, which is designed to strengthen the shoulder muscles: Place two hands on the steering wheel and relax the shoulders so that your elbows bend at 90 degrees, then push your hands towards the wheel and let go. The subsequent tensing and releasing were found to soothe the muscles and the body. 

 

2. Take advantage of the waiting time at traffic lights for deep breathing - If someone cuts you off on the road and you begin to feel anxious or stressed, slowly breathe in air through your nose and then breathe out through your mouth. A deep breath lets more oxygen into the body than normal breathing and stimulates the natural relaxation mechanisms of the body.

3. Sing loudly 

– While radios have become more or less obsolete, there is still one place where everyone listens to them. While traffic jams and traffic can lead to tension and stress, if you turn up the volume of the radio and sing loudly, you will find that the trip to work is not so terrible and can even be nice.

4. Add natural smells to your car - You get a fragrance dispenser from the gas station and hang it on the front mirror, thinking that a pleasant smell won’t hurt anyone, but what you may not know is that different smells can affect your mood. Studies have found that mint, for example, helps maintain alertness and reduce stress, while coffee and lemon scents help improve concentration and contribute to lucid thinking.

At work  

Heavy traffic on the road can throw you off, but there are days where your workload is no less heavy and you may succumb to the stress of it all. However, certain methods of relaxation have been found to reduce stress and improve your functioning in the workplace! 

5. Change the background of your computer screen - If you work on a computer, sometimes a simple action like changing your desktop background from a blank screen to a picture of nature can do wonders. Looking at nature for a few minutes, even if only through a picture, may increase your ability to concentrate and contribute to the sense of calm. Choose a favorite landscape of a place where you have been or always dreamed of being and just looked at it; your cause for stress and anxiety will simply disappear. calm down

6. Concentrate on one task at a time - Even if your to-do list runs longer than one page, focusing on the whole thing will only lead you to feel stressed and depressed and will not allow you to do the tasks best. So, focus on a single task each time. While the amount of work will remain the same and the rest of the tasks won’t go away, focusing itself can lower your stress levels, increase concentration, and allow you to do your best on each task. 

 

7. Chew gum - If you feel stress and are not late for a meeting, pull out a piece of gum and start chewing. In addition to its wonderful taste, chewing gum can help reduce levels of stress and anxiety, depression and exhaustion, as found in a 2011 study.

8. Listen to music with alpha sound waves – The brains electrical activity divides into 4 frequencies: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. The brain usually works on beta waves during the day-to-day operation, the alpha frequency is the frequency characteristic of the state of relaxation. During work and intense thinking, the brain transmits beta waves, which in a high amount can lead to stress and tension. Listening to music that has alpha waves can change the frequencies in the brain, allowing it to relax and the body to renewable energies. Alpha waves also improve memory and help concentration, so if you listen to this music while you work you can also be a better employee. 

 

With the kids 

Our children are the light of our lives, but it is known that too bright a light can cause stress and headaches. The following tips will allow you to remain calm, even when your kids aren’t making it easy. 

 

9. Stop looking at the clock - One of the main causes of anger is the child's lack of listening. You want him/her to take a shower at a certain time, and he/she wants to finish watching their show and shower 15 minutes later than usual. Once you are more flexible in terms of time, you will find that your kids will listen to you more, even if it takes a few minutes longer. In addition, the less tough you are and the more freedom they are given in terms of time, the freer you will be. calm down

10. Hug your kids when you’re angry at them - Children have a special ability to make a person lose it, and often, sending your kids to their room or yelling at them only serves to increase your anger and not teach the child about his/her mistake. Instead, the next time the child argues with or raises their voice, try hugging them and so both of you will calm down and the child will learn that you can solve arguments calmly. In addition, studies show that 20 seconds of hugging may increase levels of oxytocin in the body (the love hormone), which will contribute to a sense of joy and relaxation in you and your child.

11. Exercise together - Small children need to let out a lot of energy and exercise is just the way to do it. Instead of angrily chasing after your kids around the house or at the park, try joining them and you’ll find that you (and your children) are happier and more relaxed. 

 

Let your children count - Every day, take some time out of your day to do some exercise and ask your kids to count out the number of repetitions. In addition to the sense of satisfaction that exercising will give you, your child will be happy that he/she could help, and what could be more reassuring than seeing your child smile? 

 

Take a family bike ride - Try to avoid sitting at home this weekend, especially when the weather is nice. Have your family take their bikes out for a ride, and enjoy a fun activity for the whole family which will help you be more relaxed and happy. 

 

Take the dog out for a walk- Many people choose to bring a four-legged friend home to make their children happy. However, while our kids are the ones that initially wanted them, we adults are the ones who actually take care of them. Try to avoid this situation; Take the kids with you and turn the “chore” into an enjoyable escape from home. In addition, after the dog and the children get to spend some time running around outside, they will be happy to go home and go to bed. 

 

Get in the water with them - A day at the pool doesn’t have to be a disaster, and instead of waiting impatiently in-line to buy a Popsicle, you can get into the water with the children and do some exercise. If they’re old enough, you can challenge them to a race across the pool!

12. Know your moments of weakness - Each parent learns the moments and situations of the day when they tend to be more nervous and stressed than at other times. Try to identify these moments so that you can prepare for them in advance, and neutralize the stressful factor before your children enter the picture. For example, if you get anxious about your child taking a long time to pick out their clothes in the morning, prepare the outfit together the night before. The early preparation will allow you to maintain calm and peace even in the most stressful moments.  

 

At home 

Theoretically, your home should be a haven of peace and tranquility, but in practice, this isn’t always true and at home, you may suffer from many distractions and stressors. Therefore, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the following tips. 

 

13. Create a quiet place for yourself - Sometimes it’s hard to find the energy to clean the house up after a long day, and the mess can lead to a sense of unrest. So, find a quiet corner in your house, clear it out of all distractions and make sure there’s a comfortable place to sit in it. Make it clear to the rest of the family that the space is for you only, then shut out that corner with a curtain and try to light it with soft light (open your window curtains during the day and use candles or dimmed lighting in the evening). Whenever you feel stress or anger, you can sit in this private corner and relax.

14. Disconnect all your gadgets- Choose an hour of the day (when you are at home of course), where you choose not to use electrical gadgets. Turn off the TV and the radio, turn off your phone, and cook nothing. You will soon find that you have little left to do but sit back and relax... 

 

15. Hug yourself every morning - Various stretching exercises help relax your muscles and provide a sense of relaxation. Start each morning with a stretch that will help you start the day with some fun. Lie in bed, bend your knees toward your chest and hug them close to your body (if you wish you can move from side to side). Stay in this position for about 20-50 seconds, release and do it again. This exercise helps to provide a sense of relaxation and is also highly recommended for those who suffer from back pain.

16. Solve thinking and logic games - Brain games and provide a wonderful way to escape the hardships of the day and feelings of stress and anxiety. Choose your favorite game, make sure it is challenging enough, but not too challenging, so that you don’t experience feelings of stress and despair as a result of your failure.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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How to reove coffee stains

Coffee is an extremely important and vital part of most people’s day. Over 10 million tons of coffee are consumed every year across the world. With all of its deliciousness and energy-boosting properties, there’s no getting rid of coffee from our lives. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to get rid of those nasty coffee stains that find their way into every part of our lives. A sudden brake while driving and your latte forms a pattern on the car seats. What you thought was a push door turned out to be a pull, and suddenly your white sweater is brown. Don’t worry, we have solutions for all of your coffee stain related problems. From coffee stains on your teeth to spilled coffee on your couch, these tips can make coffee stains a thing of the past.       

1. Removing coffee stains from furniture
Coffee stains on your furniture can be an undeniably irksome and persistent problem. Between guests, children and sheer bad luck, more coffee ends up on the sofa than in your stomach. Flipping the couch cushions can be a solution, but it only works once!

We have a quick fix method that will work every time on fresh spills! Start by soaking up as much of the spilled coffee as possible with paper towels. Then put a few drops of ordinary laundry detergent onto a sponge and rub the stain in a careful circular motion so the stain doesn’t spread any further. If it is an especially persistent stain, just clean the sponge and get to work with the detergent again until it’s faded. Then wipe the area down with a fresh wet sponge.  

2. Removing coffee stains from a carpet
Any kind of a stain on the carpet is a house owner's worst nightmare. Coffee stains are like the Freddie Krueger of all carpet stains. But much like Mr. Krueger, there is a way of defeating them, and it is as simple as white vinegar! White vinegar contains acetic acid, which is an excellent remover of stubborn stains.

1 tablespoon of white vinegar combined with an equal portion of liquid dish soap mixed in two cups of warm water will be your miracle solution. First, blot the spilled coffee with paper towels. If the stain has already dried out, add a little warm water and then blot with a dry cloth. Then, using a fresh cloth and the above-mentioned soap solution, rub the stain from the outside to prevent the spreading of the stain, until it is gone completely. 

3. Cleaning coffee spills from your car
Cup holders seem very convenient until that one day you push the brake pedal suddenly and you realize how loose a grip the holder actually has. Also, you get to know how sticky leather seats can get when doused with hot coffee. Nevertheless, with a quarter cup of white vinegar, a little dish-washing soap and just 1 cup of water, you can get those seats looking and feeling smooth again.

In case of dry stains, make sure to add a little warm water first, and then proceed to blot the stain with paper towels. Then you can use a dry clean cloth, dipped into the vinegar-soap solution to clean any and all affected areas of the car, from the cup-holder to the seats. In places where stains have occurred on any form of fabric, make sure to rub in a circular motion so the stain doesn’t spread outward. 

4. Removing coffee stains from mugs
The sad truth is, our coffee mugs might be the most affected items in our lives, at least when it comes to coffee. Even if you manage to avoid stains appearing on the outside, often caused by congealed coffee, it is almost impossible to stop the inside of your mug from steadily gaining a browner color over days, weeks, and months. Until one day you find yourself with a mug that is now an entirely different color than the one you purchased, and your partner, parent or friend informs you that it may be time for a new mug. You can stop the cycle from repeating itself with one simple product: table salt.

Just fill the mug with a good layer of salt and use cleaning gloves to scrub the inside of the mug. This should remove the stain completely, and if salt doesn’t work or, perhaps, you’re facing a shortage, baking soda is also known to be effective. After you’re done scrubbing the mug, make sure to put it in with the next load of dishes to avoid your next cup of coffee being a salty one! 

5. Removing coffee stains from a kitchen counter
If you’ve managed to avoid staining the outside of your mug, chances are it’s because any and all spilled coffee has ended up on your kitchen counter, where it has remained unnoticed until your return from work in the night. By then, this warm delicious liquid has become a cold, brown, and almost-solid mess, and the color has seeped into the marble, wood, glass, or any other material in question. Well, believe it or not, there’s a very simple way to restore the original color of your counter, and it’s sitting in your fridge waiting for you.

Crack an ordinary egg, very carefully into a dish, and separate the white of the egg from the yolk. Feel free to keep aside the white of the egg to use in your next healthy meal, and then beat the yolk thoroughly. Using a cloth, apply the yolk generously to the stained area and let it sit for a minute or two until it is semi-dry. Then rinse the area thoroughly, and your kitchen counter shall be stain-free!  

 6. Cleaning your teeth of coffee stains
Despite its wonderful effects on your energy levels, coffee isn’t great for your teeth. Sure, the sugar can do some serious damage, so you might think that coffee would be harmless if you remove the sugar quotient. But coffee can also severely stain your teeth, leaving them yellowish or light brown, particularly if you are a frequent and regular coffee drinker. To prevent this, you may need to up your dental hygiene routine.

For starters, use toothbrushes with slightly harsher bristles, and only toothpaste that contains hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, as the former acts as a natural whitener while the latter is an effective stain remover. Also, make a habit of brushing your teeth after consuming coffee, or at the very least, rinsing your mouth with warm water.  

7. Getting rid of fresh coffee stains from clothing
Spilling coffee on your clothes is a part of life, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with the stains forever. If you want to get rid of that stain as soon as it hits the cloth, we may be able to help. First things first, though, check the label of the clothing in question to ensure there are no special cleaning instructions or restrictions.

The main three ingredients we’ll be using are white vinegar, table salt, and laundry detergent. First, sprinkle the affected area with table salt so the stain cannot spread. After a minute or two, brush off the coffee-absorbed salt with a paper towel. Run the back of the stain under cold water for about 15 minutes, then treat with small amounts of laundry detergent. Finally, apply a little white vinegar onto the stain and scrub with a toothbrush. After that, let the garment sit for fifteen minutes and then put it in the washing machine. 

8. Getting rid of old coffee stains from clothing
Now, for older coffee stains, you will need a different solution because the coffee is likely to have seeped deep into the cloth fibers. Have no fear though, we have a quick fix for that as well. To start with, you will need either rubbing alcohol or lemon juice. Dab the part of the garment with the dried stain with an extremely small amount of rubbing alcohol or lemon juice.
Make sure the cloth does not become too saturated with the liquid, only a very small amount is required to soften the stain. After the alcohol or lemon juice has dried, rub some laundry detergent onto the affected area until the stain is removed. Then, you can rinse the garment with warm water and after it dries, it will be suitable for a normal wash in the washing machine.  

9. Removing coffee stains in a coffee maker
Nobody can afford to buy an expensive latte every morning, and if you have a particularly stressful job, having a coffee maker on hand, in an office, a study or at home, can be the best way to cut down on costs. But coffee makers are as susceptible to stains as our clothes, teeth, and furniture are. In fact, even more so, as coffee makers can be stained inside and out by spilled coffee grains and leftover coffee brew residue. To initiate the cleaning process, check the manual of your machine to see if it has any specified cleaning instructions. Keep in mind, on average, coffee makers need to be cleaned at least once every six months, if not more.
First, to clean the inside, use equal parts white vinegar and cold water poured into the pot of the machine, and hit the switch to make it brew. You can switch it off halfway through the cycle and then rinse out the container with soapy water. Then use clean cold water in a similar manner, allowing it to brew. Use clean water in the brewing cycle at least 3 times to clear out any residual soap or vinegar.
Once the inside is cleaned, you can use soap and water on a sponge, or straight vinegar on a cloth to wipe down the outside surface of the coffee maker. Clean any individual parts of the machine in a similar manner and then rinse thoroughly with cold water before leaving to dry. This will have your coffee maker looking as good as new! 

10. Removing burnt coffee from a coffee maker hot plate
Even if you’re using a hot plate designed for making coffee, it’s still likely to leave a big mess. Not including spilled coffee, which you now know the easy fixes for cleaning, with a hot plate there is the additional struggle of the stains left by burnt coffee. This, too, can be easily cleaned, though.
Start by ensuring the machine is switched off and unplugged. Then dip a cloth into a mix of dish-washing detergent and warm water, and scrub the cloth against the affected area until a majority of the burnt coffee stains are removed. You can scrub off the remaining residual stains with a sponge soaked in small amounts of white vinegar. Clean off the last of the residue as well as the white vinegar and soap with paper towels soaked in cold water. Finally, a dry paper towel will have your hot plate sparkling.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement