Smile!

Smiling is a great way to make yourself stand out while helping your body to function better.
Smile to improve your health, your stress level, and your attractiveness.

Reasons to Smile

1. Smiling changes our mood
2. Smiling is contagious
3. Smiling relives stress
4. Smiling lowers your blood pressure
5. Smiling lifts the face and makes you feel younger

( adapted from: About. com ; Longetivity

Relax!

Self-esteem

What is self-esteem?

The term self-esteem comes from a Greek word meaning "reverence for self." The "self" part of self-esteem pertains to the values, beliefs and attitudes that we hold about ourselves. The "esteem" part of self-esteem describes the value and worth that one gives oneself. Simplistically self-esteem is the acceptance of ourselves for who and what we are at any given time in our lives.

Be yourself!

World No-Tobacco Day

No-Tobacco Day is celebrated tomorrow,17th November, in Portugal.

The advertising agency DDB Portugal have sponsored a series of DDB alerts, posters warning about the effects of smoking on length of life and enjoyment of life. The phrase used in each poster translated into English: “It’s not just the life you lose, but what you lose in life”. Tobacco is the third cause death in Portugal. It’s a contagious habit.

The Member States of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
The purpose of World No Tobacco Day is to encourage countries and governments to work towards strict regulation of tobacco products. It's important to raise awareness about the existence of the wide variety of deadly tobacco products. Regulation should also help people get accurate information about tobacco products – traditional, new, and future.

Although World No Tobacco Day is only one day of the year, the efforts to spread the message about the dangers of tobacco use need to continue throughout the year.

The tobacco industry catches You : learn more about its advertising, promotion and sponsorship tactics and how they are a threat to you.

Tobacco-Free Youth interactive Website click here.

Breast Cancer Prevention

Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in the cells of the breast in women and men. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer (10.4% of all cancer incidence, both sexes counted) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death.In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths). Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidences of breast cancer in men are approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.

In the month of October, breast cancer is recognized by survivors, family and friends of survivors and/or victims of the disease. A pink ribbon is worn to recognize the struggle that sufferers face when battling the cancer.

Pink for October is an initiative started by Matthew Oliphant, which asks that any sites willing to help make people aware of breast cancer, change their template or layout to include the color pink, so that when visitors view the site, they see that the majority of the site is pink. Then after reading a short amount of information about breast cancer, or being redirected to another site, they are aware of the disease itself.

Researchers are constantly seeking new methods for the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of this virulent cancer. The success of this research has played a big part in the early detection and successful treatment of more cases of breast cancer in recent years. New treatments are constantly being sought to effectively seek out any potentially cancerous cells in a woman’s body. This reduces the number of cases of breast cancer significantly.

Thanks to this continued research, many more women are surviving breast cancer than ever before. The recovery rate has steadily been increasing. Early detection and treatment is the key to this success.

Monthly breast self-examination and routine mammography help detect breast cancer early.

There are two steps to breast self-examination: inspection and palpation.

• Inspection: While standing in front of a mirror, inspect all aspect of the breasts for any changes in size, shape, contour, or symmetry. Place close attention to any skin dimpling, discoloration, or change in the nipple.
• Palpation: Examination through touching may be performed while standing in the shower, or when lying flat, with a folded towel placed behind the back on the side you are examining. Palpation is performed with the fingertips of the index, middle, and ring fingers. Systematically palpate lightly and then more deeply. Carefully knead the tissue in an attempt to detect any change in consistency or a lump. There are several approaches for examining the breast.

Free MD - your interactive medical library; Wikipedia

Stand up Take Action against Poverty

Today we have joined millions of people standing up worldwide for better health care and education. At half past nine all the teachers talked about Poverty and the students were motivated to write their message, in a paper with the shape of a foot. Among other songs, "Imagine" by John Lennon, could be heard, inside and outside school. It was really beautiful!
With our feet, we can walk and run. So, it's time too start running and do something to minimize the suffering of millions of people around the world. In the brake, a photo, with all the students holding their message, was taken. This was a global activity.

In the English class, I've told my students of the 9thB to write some messages.
I've chosen the best to share with you.

"Some problems are huge to be solved alone." So, Stand up and Take Action!"

Patrícia /Fábio

"The World needs to join hands with people in need"

João Ferreira/ Tiago

" I am a lucky girl since I've got food, access to education and a family."

Cipriana

" Don' t waste food and you're helping."

Maria / Gonçalo

"Please don't let the children starve! Do something!"

Joana

Healthy Eating

Today, 16th October, it's the World Food Day.

Time to think about Health and Nutrition.

Are you eating healthily?

Have fun and learn about healthy habits. Click here

Why laugh?

A healthy, non-ridiculing and connecting laughter provides physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits you probably never realized or imagined. We are born with the gift of laughter.

So, learn to laugh, and live, all over again. You will feel better about yourself and others, better about the world around you and better about those events that take place in your life.

Why laugh ? And how will it help you ?

Here are just three reasons to laugh.... and keep laughing:

• It strengthens your immune system.
• It makes your cheeks sore.
• It actually increases your intellectual performance

Tattooes

A tattoo, or dermal pigmentation, is a mark made by inserting pigment into the skin for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding.
Tattooing has been practiced worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, wore facial tattoos, as do some Maori of New Zealand to this day. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples, and among certain tribal groups in the Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and China. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular all over the world.

(wikipedia)

Bizarre piercing

Body piercing as become fashionable amongst youngsters (and some oldsters). It involves inserting metal objects in to places in the body that really don’t need to have metal objects in them. Some people have become so fascinated by this practice that they have “extreme” piercings. Self-piercing is very dangerous, and you should NOT do it. Using a safety pin is also even more dangerous when self-piercing. You never know what might happen. It may get infected easily, since the sterilization methods aren't present. Get it done professionally! Please don't try this at home!

Addicted to coffee?

I can’t ignore the energy boost and mental acceleration that comes from caffeine. But I do notice negative side effects when I drink coffee. Caffeine seems to make part of my brain overactive and another part underactive. If I drink a lot of coffee, I’ll often spend hours doing a bunch of low priority tasks, and I find that other unproductive habits are more likely to be done excessively. I become like a rat in a treadmill, doing more and more but not accomplishing what really matters. I also feel that caffeine blocks too much of my intuition and creativity. I miss subtle sensory input, and my thinking becomes too linear. Sometimes linear thinking is OK though. If I have a lot of menial tasks to complete, and I already have a clear to-do list to follow, drinking a cup of coffee can get me through them quickly. But if I have to sit down and do high-level work, caffeine will make a mess of my thought process and dramatically reduce my ability to concentrate. Additionally, caffeine definitely disrupts my sleep habits. Even if I have a cup of coffee in the morning and none for the rest of the day, I don’t sleep as well. I wake up in the middle of the night, or it’s hard for me to get out of bed in the morning. When I consume no caffeine, I sleep more restfully and wake up easily.

Steve Pavlina.com (abridged and adapted)

Are you getting enough sleep?

If I don't sleep between 8-9 hours a night I find that I have problems waking up in the morning and even start to fall asleep in some of my classes! Last year I didn't sleep enough and my grades went down.
Sometimes I feel tired at about 10 o'clock at night, but then if I am on the net chatting I start to feel better and don't feel at all tired. On the weekend I stay up very late and then I sleep until lunch time. I feel like a vampire! Sleeping in the day and being awake in the night.
I know that I shoud go to bed earlier and have a healthier routine. The doctor told me that sleep helps you stay healthy, concentrate better and helps you re-energize after physcal activities like sports. He said we only grow properly when we sleep. Anyway I think I need to start going to bed earlier and stop living like a vampire.

http://kidshealth.org

(abridged and adapted)

smoking

Tobacco smoking is the inhalation of smoke from burned dried or cured leaves of the tobacco plant. People smoke for pleasure, for ritualistic or social purposes, or for self-medication, as well as to satisfy a physiological dependence on nicotine. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine and harmane (a MAO inhibitor), which combined give rise to addictive stimulant and euphoriant properties. The effect of nicotine in first time or irregular users is an increase in alertness and memory, and mild euphoria. Nicotine also disturbs metabolism and suppresses appetite. This is because nicotine, like many stimulants, increases blood sugar levels.

Say no to drugs

Slogans against drugs help get the message out that using illegal substances can destroy one's life , one's health and one's relationships. If a message is repeated it can change people's minds, shore up one's beliefs and let people know that they are not alone, but rather part of a movement towards a drug free society.
Create your own drug free slogan and share it with your friends !

Addictions

Addiction is a term used to describe a devotion, attachment, dedication, inclination, etc. Nowadays, however, the term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individual's health, mental state or social life. The term is often reserved for drug addictions but it is sometimes applied to other compulsions, such as problem gambling, and compulsive overeating. Factors that have been suggested as causes of addiction include genetic, biological/pharmacological and social factors.