Second Trimester Screen Test

Five mintutes fitness
Today, due to the demanding professional lifestyle many working women choose to adopt dieting and various other weight loss remedies which tend to give temporary results and sometimes have an adverse effect on the mind and body.

A healthy mind and body is achieved by having right balance of proper food and regular workout. Basic alteration in the daily routine like reducing the intake of oil and fatty foods and sweets with five minutes of simple cardio exercises can bring a lot of difference and could lower the risk of health issues like breast cancer, heart problems, osteoporosis and other aliments in women.
With the increasing awareness of these and other health issues some women have managed to alter their lifestyle. But, many are still seeking a quick way to remain healthy for them; health experts have shared some quick five minute workout regimes especially for working women.

High knees: this basic and simple exercise can be done while on the move or while running in a place. 
Method: step 1) stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Step 2) bring your right knee near your chest and quickly bring it back on the floor. 
Step 3) now, bring your left knee near your chest and quickly bring it back on the floor. 
Continue to do the alternative knees at a fast pace.
Jumping jacks: jumping jack is a full body workout. This aerobic exercise can help you get a toned body at the comfort of your home. Jumping jack improves the cardiovascular fitness of the body.
Method: step 1) stand with your feet together and hands at your sides.
Step 2) slowly, raise your arms above your head and jump to spread your feet out wide.
Step 3) reverse the movement to the start position by landing gently with your knees bent a little and repeat.
Elbow plank: planks are a cardio workout as it uses your own weight it tones the core muscles of the body by burning the calories and working your abs, arms, back muscles.
Method: step 1) get down and facing the floor resting on your forearms and knees.

Step2) slowly, push your knees and place your weight entirely on your toes and elbows. Contract the abdominal muscles and keep your back flat.
Step3) hold on to this position for atleast 30 seconds initially and increase the duration as you progress.

Lunges: lunges are excellent for people who want to shed those unwanted extra kilos and boost their metabolism level as well. This exercise also strengthens the cores of the lower body and helps in toning of the muscles.
Method: step 1) step forward with your right leg and slowly lower the body bending the front knee at 90 degrees.
Step 2) push yourself back to the start position and repeat the lunges with the leg.
It is important to make sure that your back must be straight and the back knee should never touch the floor while dong the lunges 

Squats: it is an intensive and effective full body workout that can help in quick weight loss if done regularly. Squats help in toning and strengthen the thigh muscles. This cardio could integrate small jumps as that would burn more calories and reflect better results.

Method: step 1) stand tall with your back straight and your feet spread a width apart. Bend your knees and as you lower you upper body push your hips keeping your back erect. 
Step 2) hold yourself in the same position for 15-20 seconds and then slowly push yourself back to the start position.
 Increase the counts and speed as you repeat this exercise and time duration as you progress.
There are certain things to bear in mind before starting any intensive cardio exercises some of which are:
1) it is necessary to hydrate yourself with sufficient intake of water atleast an hour before starting any intensive workout as it would help in flushing out the toxins from the body and it also helps you to stay energized.
2) start with warm ups like; jogging in one place.
3) take short breaks after each exercise as it maintains the heart rate.
4) stretch your body as it helps in relaxing the body and makes it less prone to injury like muscle soreness.
Although, such intense cardio workout are good for weight loss and toning of the body. People dealing with overweight issues are advised to consult a doctor before starting any rigorous cardio exercises. Exercising is not just for those who want to lose weight. It must be adapted as a regular routine for an overall healthy living.

 

There are many common measures people take to improve their eyesight or to improve their vision, including wearing glasses, lenses, and many more. Here are some effective exercises, which can prove to be highly beneficial to improve your eye health:

1. Stretching
This is the most common and also one of the easiest to do. It requires you to just look up, hold for two seconds, look down, hold for two seconds and then repeat this procedure for each corner of your eye, which means top-left, top-right, bottom-left and bottom-right corners.

2. Flexing
This is simply rotating your eyes in circles. Roll your eyes in the clockwise direction for one minute and then roll your eyes in the anticlockwise direction for one minute.

3. Focus switching
This particular eye exercise is probably the most useful one to improve eye health. In this eye exercise, you have to hold something at a reading distance and cover the other eye. You then have to find something that is at least twenty feet away and trace its shape with one eye closed. With one eye closed, trace more shapes, which are twenty feet away.

4. Palming
This exercise is also very simple to perform. All you have to do is cover your eyes with your palms. Once you have done this, just wait and see that there are no bright flashes of light. If you see that there is a bright flash of light, just wait till they go. This is used primarily to distress the eyes.

5. Deep blinking
This is also an incredibly useful exercise for distance vision. What you have to do is to place some large letters are at a fair distance and then sit on a chair. You have to then close your eyes and tighten all your muscles for 5 seconds. After 5 seconds are over, you have to open your eyes and then you have to see the letters for a second or two. The more number of times you do this, the more clearly you will be able to see the letters after reopening your eyes. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ophthalmologist.

Headaches are probably the most commonly experienced body pain. However, for some people, this can be chronic pain that is experienced on an almost daily basis. Such headaches and migraines can affect a person’s quality of life and overall health as well. In such cases, medication is often not preferred as it can have side effects in the long run and can make the body dependent on them. Four effective alternative therapies that can ease headaches are:

1. A Massage: Massaging the temples or the neck and shoulder region can help relieve a headache temporarily. Regular massages can also help reduce the frequency of headaches and their intensity.
2. Stretching Exercises: Tensed muscles can also trigger headaches. Thus, exercising the neck muscles to relax them can help relieve this pain. An easy way to stretch your neck is to move it up and down and side to side slowly. Alternatively, you could shrug your shoulders up and down as well as forwards and backwards. When stretching your muscles, hold a position for about 5 seconds and repeat each exercise 3 to 5 times.
3. Meditation: The more you think about a headache, the more it pains. Thus by relaxing the mind through meditation, you can help relieve some of the pain. A relaxed mind can also produce more endorphins and hormones that help relieve pain. The best time to meditate is in the early morning and the simplest way is to sit cross-legged and focus on your breath as you inhale and exhale.
4. Hot and Cold Therapy: This form of therapy can be used by anyone including pregnant women. For pain in the neck region, applying a heat pack can be beneficial while an ice pack can help relieve a pulsating headache. An ice pack lowers the internal body temperature and soothes the artery that supplies blood to the lining of the brain thus relieving the throbbing sensation.

In addition making a few lifestyle changes can also help prevent headaches. These include

1. Maintaining a regular routine of eating and sleeping at the same time every day.
2. Exercising for at least half an hour on a daily basis
3. Quitting nicotine and alcohol
4. Finding an effective way to reduce stress
5. Avoiding factors that might trigger a headache. Keeping a diary can help you identify factors that trigger a headache
6. Taking only the medication prescribed by a doctor and not self-medicating

Anger is among the gamut of emotions we exhibit as a reaction to a situation, and it is a 'normal' emotion too as long as it is kept under control. Some people have the propensity to explode when pushed to the extreme. They keep swallowing their emotions until they can finally do it no more, and erupt like a volcano. Others dealing with extreme anger are like a ticking time bomb. You'll never know what you unwittingly say or do can trigger an explosion. In either case, anger that cannot be controlled comes with a physical reaction.

Your heart beats faster preparing you for both action and reaction. Your breathing quickens. You may clench your fist, tighten your shoulders and go into a defensive position. The problem arises out of the fact that it is almost impossible to feel anger and empathy at the same time. An angry person is seldom sensitive to the well being of his victim, and hence may lash out verbally and sometimes physically. Such things done in the heat of the moment mostly leaves us with regrets. So here are a few ways to deal with extreme anger.

1. Acknowledge it: The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that you have one. The fundamental problem here is that people believe they are on the right track and refuse to budge from their views. It is essential to realize that this step is not about deciding whether you are right or wrong, but acknowledging the fact that your reaction to the situation can be channeled in a better way. When getting someone to acknowledge their anger problem, be careful as to not use negative words like wrong, false and shouldn't. Instead, influence with positive words like can and should. Instead of saying 'You are wrong to react like this', you can say, 'I understand what you are feeling. Is there a way we can resolve this situation?'
2. Recognize the signs: Once you know that your problems exist, you can try devising ways that will work for you in dealing with the situation. You can count to 10 to calm yourself or simply decide to not speak until you can calm yourself. Knowing that you may enter into an argument in a situation, you can list down the points that you feel strongly about and discuss each of them one by one. Working your way through a finite list gives a better opportunity to reach closure at the end.
3. Find ways to let it go: Not all arguments end in closure. A lot of unsaid justifications cloud our mind repeatedly leaving us seething from the inside. Research has shown that the neurological anger response lasts less than two seconds. Beyond that it takes a strong will to stay angry. Once you realize how much your anger is consuming your mind, decide to free your mind with meditation and other calming exercises. Tell yourself that some people and issues simply don't deserve your anger, emotion, reaction or time.

If you or someone you know is suffering from anger management issues, consult a doctor today.

You never tend to pay a lot of attention to your eyes unless they are affected by some serious disorder or unless your vision is disrupted. But did you know that your eyes are capable of doing much more than you can imagine? here are 10 surprising facts about your eyes you didn't know about.

1. How intricate!
Your eyes take more than 2 million working parts to function. No wonder your eyes are the second most complex organ of your body after your brain.

2. A lot depends on them
As much as 80% of your memories are determined by what you see. Also, 80% of what you learn is because of your eyes.

3. Retina and security
The iris of your eyes has approximately 256 unique characteristics, which is more than even your fingerprints. This is the reason why retina scans are used so widely today for security purposes.

4. It's a colourful world
Your eyes can distinguish between approximately 10 million different colours. And women with a particular kind of genetic mutation can see millions of more colours.

5. Upside-down
The retina of your eyes receives the vision of the outside world as upside down. It is your brain, which flips the image for you so that you can see the world as it is.

6. Sunscreen for the eyes?
It is possible for your eyes to get sunburnt. Therefore, it is advisable for you to wear sunglasses in order to protect your eyes from the ultraviolet radiations.

7. Godspeed!
The eye muscle is the muscle that reacts at the fastest rate out of all the other muscles in your body. It can contract in less than even 1/100th of a second.

8. Paint it red?
The retina of your eyes cannot detect the red colour. The retinas do have green, red and blue receptors, but the red receptor can detect only the colour yellow-green and the green one can recognise blue-green. It is your brain that combines these signals to give you the impression of the colour red.

9. Dreams and sight
Even if you become blind later in life, you can see images in your dreams if you were born with sight.

10. We are blink-eyed peas
You blink approximately 17 times every minute. That makes it 5.2 million times in a year. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ophthalmologist.