1. Get an EarlyStart

Make a habit of washing your face a few hours before bed. If youwait until you're tired, you're more likely to blow it off-- allowing "toxins and dirt to stay on there all night,"says dermatologist Laurie Polis of N.Y.C. Another consequence? Youmiss the best time to treat your skin. "At night there'smore blood flow to the skin's surface, and there's nothingelse on your face to interfere with absorption," Polissays.

Try: Neutrogena Deep Clean Relaxing nightlycleanser, $7; at drugstores.

2. Sleep on Your Back

Note to Audrey Hepburn fans: Lying on your stomach is bad for"beauty sleep." The average head weighs 7 to 8 pounds --a lot of pressure to be putting on your face every night. In fact,many dermatologists say they can tell what side of the face peoplesleep on by the number of wrinkles there.

3. Get a Lift

Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows, or put the headrestarea of your bed on 2- to 4-inch pieces of wood. Gravity helpslymph and blood flow so fluid won't accumulate, Polis says.

4. Save Money, Not Wrinkles

At night you don't need to worry about eye treatments smearingyour makeup, so slather on the richest formula you can. Polisswears by Aquaphor: "It conditions lashes and hydrates thedelicate eye skin really well."

Try: Aquaphor Healing ointment, $9; drugstore.com.

5. Sneak a Glow

Mix a drop of self-tanner into your night cream or use a cream thatcontains a bit of tan-producing DHA.

Try: Clarins Radiance-Plus self-tanning cream,$52; clarinsusa.com.

6. Avoid Carb Face

To wake with defined cheekbones, eat a high-protein, low-sugardinner (try salmon and asparagus, a natural diuretic). Skip therice, pasta and potatoes. "When our diet's high inglycemic carbohydrates, our features take on a soft, doughyappearance," says Connecticut dermatologist NicholasPerricone.

7. Wrap It Up

To minimize A.M. frizz, sleep on a satin pillowcase or put yourhair in a silk scarf. "Those fabrics are much softer thancotton, so there's less friction," says Harry Josh, a JohnFrieda stylist.

8. Find Your Inner Ballerina

Pile hair into a twist on the top of your head (use a scrunchie toavoid crimping). "In the morning you'll have major volumeand beautiful waves," Josh says.

9. Turn on the Hair Conditioning

Sleep with a moisturizing treatment in damp hair overnight. We likePhilip B. Katira Hair Masque, but any rich conditioner will do.Rinse in the morning.

Try: Philip B. Katira Hair Masque, $40; philipb.com.

10. Pop a Rooster Pill

Trust us, we were skeptical. But after swallowing two Wake Up onTime pills at 11 P.M., we found it much easier to get out of bedseven hours later. Created by a sleep-deprived single mother, thepills contain an energizing blend of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin,vitamins B6 and B12 and guarana-seed extract. It's formulatedwith a coating that releases ingredients into your bloodstreamtoward the end of your last sleep cycle, so you wake up feelingclear-headed, not fuzzy.

Source: Yahoo.Com

Assess the impact of sleepiness on your day.

Your answers indicate that excessive sleepiness may not be a major problem in your life, but it is a concern at times. Maybe you aren't getting consistently good sleep, and you'd like to increase the odds of sleeping restfully, despite your sometimes hectic schedule.

Like exercise and a proper diet, sleep is important to your health. Research shows that people who get insufficient or disrupted sleep are more prone to developing high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and depression.

Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Contrary to popular belief -- and wishful thinking -- the body doesn't learn to adjust to less sleep. If you're getting less shut-eye than you need, your thinking, work performance, reaction time, and other functions will become impaired. You may get headaches. You may also feel cranky, lethargic, and even depressed.

If you work a night shift or rotating shifts, you're particularly prone to problem sleepiness because your work schedule conflicts with strong, sleep-regulating cues, such as sunlight. You may find it hard to sleep during the day, especially when the rest of your household is awake and busy.

Sleep deprivation can be dangerous. Workplace accidents tend to increase during night shifts, and drivers who nod off at the wheel place themselves at serious risk for a crash.

Guard your health with these tips from the National Institutes of Health:

Go to bed at a set time and rise at the same time each day. It's easier to avoid insomnia if you stick to a regular sleep schedule. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Exercise 20-30 minutes a day for better sleep. For the most benefit, try to exercise five to six hours before bedtime. Working out too close to bedtime can actually interfere with good sleep.Relax before bedtime with a warm bath or reading. Maintain a comfortable room temperature. TVs, computers, and video games can distract you from sleeping, so ban them from the bedroom. If you can't sleep, don't lie awake, staring at the clock. Get up and read, watch TV, or listen to music until you feel tired. Anxiety about not falling asleep can contribute to insomnia. If your sleepiness worsens, or you find yourself developing insomnia, talk to your doctor about whether lifestyle changes might help, or whether you need medical treatment to help you feel awake when you need to be alert

Bicol Express Recipe

Estimated preparation time: 30 minutes

Estimated cooking time:        30 minutes

Bicol Express Ingredients:

* 1/4 kilo pork, thinly sliced

* 1 cup Baguio beans

* 3 cups long chili or jalapeno peppers

* 1 onion, minced

* 1 head of garlic, minced

* 1 cup coconut milk

* 1 cup coconut cream

* 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Salt to taste Bicol Express Cooking Instructions:

* In a bowl of water with salt, soak chili peppers for 30 minutes then rinse and strain.

* In a cooking pan, heat cooking oil and brown sliced pork for a few minutes.

* In another pan, sauté minced garlic and onion.

* Add to the sauté the browned pork.

* Then add the coconut milk, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

* Add the chili peppers, Baguio beans and cook until dish gets a little dry.

* Add the coconut cream and simmer until the sauce thickens.

* Salt to taste.

5 Habits to Break Before It's Too Late 

by Momlogic.com, on Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:03am PDT

by JJ Virgin

"Someday," you say, "I'm going to get myhealth back on track, after this next project," or "whenI get back from my cruise," or "when the kids get a little older" ... C'mon, you know your listof reasons -- or what I call EXCUSES -- better than I.

Look, if you're waiting for some magical day to appear, youjust may be waiting forever. These days do not "show up";you show up for THEM. I have identified five critical areas, badhabits that many people mindlessly follow. Do you realize that eachand every day of your life that you do not reverse these dangeroustrends, you get farther and farther from your ultimate goal ofliving a fulfilling life?

Take a look at each area, determine how you stack up,and then make the fix today:

1) Stealing from sleep:Studies show that a minimum of seven to nine hours of uninterruptedsleep (at night) are essential for health. Sleep is the time whenyour body repairs and recovers from all of the metabolicprocesses that your body performs every second. Sleepsupports healthy weight management, raises growthhormone, and heals the adrenals. If you are watching TV, working onyour PC, or otherwise stimulating yourself so that you are unableto go to sleep by 11 PM, then establish the Power Down Hour andturn to more relaxing activities like baths, light novels, orcuddling with a loved one (or pet!) at least an hour or two beforebedtime. Then ... retrain yourself to sleep through the night.

2) Skipping breakfast: How many times do you find yourself dashingout the door to start your day, only to discover that you forgot toeat? Listen, your body has just "fasted" overnight,and in order to fuel yourself for the day (and lower stresshormones), you must eat a balanced meal that includes proteins,fats, and carbohydrates. Otherwise, your body will turn on itselffor fuel, and it isn't fat but muscle that it's going totarget ... which will cascade into a very nasty sequence of healthconsequences that will make you fat, old, and tired before yourtime.

3) Blowing off exercise: If you think you can manage your health andweight through dietary means alone, it won't work. Period. Exercise is crucial for stimulating proper physical andhormonal response necessary for building muscle and bone, burningfat, letting you sleep, keeping you young, giving you energy -- thelist is endless. More important is the CORRECT type of exercise,which involves high-intensity interval training, along withresistance workouts. If you can't find 20-30 minutes a day toincorporate these exercises into your life (oh yeah, that is ALLyou need, by the way), then you can kiss your health goodbye.

4) Noshingat night: Strapping on the feedbag in the eveningsbasically signals your body to hold off on burning existing fatstores, raises stress hormones before bedtime, and screws up yourbody's natural digestive processes at a time when it should beready to shut down and repair. If you are eating in ahormonally-balanced way during your evening meal, there isabsolutely no need to munch afterward.

5) Not counting your beverages: One of the craziest things I encounter inmy work is the lack of consideration of high-calorie, high-sugardrinks in the diet. Yes, those healthy "Jumbo Juices,"designer coffee slurpees (hey, they may as well be, given all thesugar in them), and those harmless little cocktails every night,especially those fruit-flavored martini and tequila drinks, canreally pack on the pounds in a hurry. Make the switch to healthieroptions like iced green tea -- or, my favorite, Emergen-C -- forsome sparkling mineral replacements that not only satisfy, but alsofuel and nourish!