All Posts Tagged With: "Body Treatments"

Is Sleep Important For Stress Relief?

Are you causing your own stress in our modern world? Local and world news is bombarding us 24/7. This makes it difficult to relax and not worry so much and avoid the stress this causes. You need to develop a way to turn this information off if you want to reduce your level of stress. Many people do not sleep well and this is almost always caused by internal tension. An agitated mind will not let you drift off into easy sleep and will wake you up long before you have slept enough.

Problems with sleeping or getting to sleep can be caused by high levels of stress. Not only is it important to get enough sleep, the quality of sleep is important to decrease the stress levels in your body. It is difficult to cope with stress unless you have some quality sleep every night. 8 hours for adults has been suggested by the sleep experts. Stress can become chronic and start taking its toll on your health when you have less than optimal hours of sleep. Many medical conditions have thought to have stress as a major contributor. Panic attacks, heart disease and stroke are some of the conditions that can be influence by stress levels

An excellent night rest is essential as part of an effective stress relief activities program. Here are five top stress relieving tips to help you do just that:

1. Reading the Right Books

Book reading should be included in any stress reduction program as a good relief from stress. Good reading should help you relax, slow your breathing and fine yourself not thinking about daily stress. Books that interest you should be a priority. I have to admit that I have started to read boring textbooks and was asleep before I the second page! Keep in mind that pent up stress can be released with reading a good book. As your mind relaxes you should be able to drift easily off to sleep.

2. Water Therapy

A hot shower or bath will help bring on sleep and assist in stress relief. This is because the hot water causes increase blood flow to the surface of the body, soothes sore muscles and joints, and promotes sleep. As you get out, your temperature gradually starts to fall and sleep usually comes naturally.

Speaking of water, why not try some Chamomile tea. It is naturally de-caffienated and besides relieving indigestion it has mild relaxant and sedative properties.

3. A Bedroom Should Be Where You Escape Stress

Take everything out of your bedroom that is not directly related to bedroom activities. If you have become used to watching television in bed, or have a computer console in your bedroom, you will be tempted to engage in these activities instead of unwinding, de-stressing and going to sleep.

Have soft lighting available for use in the bedroom. And if you can, replace central ceiling lights with more restful wall lights. When you make your bedroom more suitable to sleep, you will find that you will be able to get to sleep more naturally.

4. Sleep and Sex In The Bedroom

The bedroom should be where you sleep and not a TV or computer room. It should be tranquil and your haven from the world. By using the bedroom for sex and sleep you will maximize its stress reducing potential. Remove all stress inducing activities from it and you will find a more relaxed and stressless feeling when you go into the bedroom. With less distraction, restful sleep should come easily.

5. Aim For A Routine Bed Time

If you want to promote a more restful sleep, you have to develop a restful sleeping routine. You choose when to go to bed by determining how many hours of sleep you need to be rested. Most people need eight hours but some people thrive on six and other cannot function without ten. Yes, you may have to go to bed fifteen to thirty minutes earlier in order to fall asleep.

Stick to your bedtime and wake up time every day. Your mind and body will feel rejuvenated with good quality and restful sleep.

Also check out the best stress relief activities article for some excellent tips.

Stress Relief Strategies to Get Rid of Daily Anxiety

Understanding your stress is the first step to anxiety relief

We encounter stress in our lives on a daily basis. Many things cause stress and our reaction to these external stressors is the key to whether or not we feel anxiety. For example, many people find social situations particularly unnerving and this can have a lot to do with your state of mind. If you think that meeting new people can be fun and you are excited about hearing new stories and new opinions, then a visit to a friend’s family gathering could be a source of positive stress. However, if the thought of spending time with new people puts you on edge and makes you self-conscious, nervous and hesitant, then this is a source of negative stress for you.

There are other regular and unavoidable external stressors that cause anxiety on a daily basis.

If you know that social situations are a source of stress and anxiety, you can manage to avoid them on occasion and therefore avoid the symptoms that affect you. Unfortunately, there are many regular daily stressors that cause anxiety and they cannot be avoided. These are things like financial burdens, an extremely heavy workload at your job, relationship complications, a medical condition affecting yourself or a loved one and even the death of a loved one. These stressors are real and cannot be avoided. The problem is the feeling of fear, worry, or nervousness that highlights this anxiety can lead to more serious medical conditions so it is extremely important to handle this stress effectively and avoid terrible consequences.

Stress prevention is the key to anxiety relief

There are many natural ways to successfully handle the day to day stressors that cause anxiety and provide yourself with some relief of the terrible symptoms. As mentioned above, knowing your stressors is the first step to handling them well enough to avoid anxiety. The first tip is to change the way you view these things in your life. It is proven that positive thought and a good outlook on life goes a long way to fight the effects of stress and anxiety. Think positively to lighten your mood and you will feel better almost immediately.

The second tip to handle stress and anxiety better is to manage your time to be more efficient. Proper time management will not only relieve you of the pressure you feel when your schedule is extremely tight, but it may provide you with additional free time to spend doing things you love – that in itself will go a long way towards relieving stress and therefore relieving anxiety. Organize your schedule and put your things to do in priority order. Evaluate your daily tasks and remove things that waste time. Instead of stopping for coffee on the way to work, make coffee at home. Not only will this small change help you save money, you will gain at least 10 minutes every morning. Other time wasters are things like looking for lost keys or trying to remember what you need to buy at the grocery store. Try setting a designated area for your keys and always putting them there. Also, keep a list by the refrigerator for groceries and add to it as things come to mind. This will help you avoid several trips to the grocery store each week, thus saving hours of time.

Thirdly, regular exercise is extremely important. Many say there is just not enough time in the day to add exercise to their regular schedule. But, after prioritizing your schedule and removing those things that waste time, you are surely to find there is plenty of time to exercise on a regular basis. Not only will exercise relieve stress and make you feel significantly better, it helps to alleviate and prevent many physical ailments. For instance, chronic fatigue can be a symptom of stress and anxiety as well as a lack of physical activity. Take a walk, park your car far away from your destination, ride your bicycle when you pick up the newspaper on Sunday morning. There are many things one can do to incorporate even a little exercise into an otherwise busy day.

The fourth tip, which is fairly intuitive, is to get enough sleep. A minimum of seven hours of sleep is imperative. Anything less can be extremely detrimental if performed on a regular basis. Be careful not to exceed nine hours of sleep each night as this can be counterproductive. It seems improbably that too much sleep would be a bad thing, but studies show that the optimum amount of sleep is between seven and nine hours each night.

And, lastly, laughter is the best medicine. Humor is a wonderful way to relieve stress and alleviate the anxiety that is so detrimental and can even be debilitating. Essentially, try not to take everything so seriously and you’ll do well to find the humor in everyday circumstances.

Interview With Ryan Bloch of Laser Cosmetica

Talking Makeup has caught up with Ryan Bloch, president of Laser Cosmetica in New York. He told us all about his top procedure, laser hair removal!

Q&A With Ryan Bloch, President of Laser Cosmetica in New York:

What is your premiere service?

We are known best for laser hair removal as we are the leading laser hair removal provider in New York. We have multiple lasers and can treat all skin types.

Elemis, LIERAC, ANEW

Body Refining & Cellulite Treatment Skincare. It is summer time and probably many of you are spending more time in your bathing suits. Now there is body care that targets cellulite and maintaining firmer skin. Here are the picks:

L to R: Elemis Body Sculpting Lipo-Refining Serum is a luxurious and super light gel that is easily absorbed into skin. The serum is cooling and calming. According to Elemis: “Designed with a Lipo-Refining trio of Marine and plant extracts….selected for their effectiveness to reduce the visible signs of cellulite”. LIERAC Paris Morpho-Slim Firming slimming concentrate. According to LIERAC: “Flat stomach. Refined waist”. Although I wouldn’t skip my gym, both serums feel cooling, calming and nice on the skin. I like to use them more as preventative than actual treatment, because I don’t have cellulite (please don’t hate me). I use anti-aging skincare for my face, why not my body. Just a thought:)

LaLicious Sugar Souffle Moisturizing Body Scrub

I’m a sucker for good body scrubs in the shower and bath. My latest love is LaLicious Sugar Souffle Moisturizing Body Scrub in Brown Sugar & Vanilla scent. I’m into the sweet and warm vanilla and brown sugar smell, it cheers me up (I am not a floral kinda girl!!). The other plus about this scrub is that it’s not overly oily even tough ther are e oils in it and it’s very easily to rinse. The scrub has a whipped texture which makes it spread smoothly on the skin. Here’s a closer look:


LaLicious Sugar Souffle Scrub Brown Sugar & Vanilla

Summer Body Firming & Detox Essentials from Elemis

Maintain the perfect bikini body this summer with handpicked firming and detox products from Elemis’ Director of Product and Treatment Development, Noella Gabriel.

“When warm weather hits, you want to feel comfortable enough with your body to strip down to the bare minimum. Summer is a great time to firm and detox your body, because this is when you show off the most skin.” Says Noella Gabriel “Below are my top summer must-haves to achieve the best body results”: … all available online at www.timetospa.com/elemis

Elemis Body Brush – $44

Made with the pure natural Elemis cactus bristle brush. Body brushing daily increases circulation, improves metabolism, eliminates dead skin cells and helps the body’s natural detoxification process.

Essence of Beauty Juniper & Citrus Body Lotion & Body Mist

One of the greatest things about being a beauty blogger is getting in the inside or behind the scenes of beauty products. I’m absolutely fascinated with product development. And it’s also one of the reasons why I love to interview beauty brands creators. I’m interested in the creative process and picking their brains. In February 2010, while I was in New York City covering Fashion Week I was invited by CVS/pharmacy to stop by at their Reinventing Beauty Lounge at Robert Verdi’s Luxe Laboratories and to test out or ‘sniff’ their Latest upcoming new scents for their Essence of Beauty body care line.

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Kitchen Collection

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Kitchen Collection is a collection of hand soaps, hand sanitizers and hand lotions specially designed for use in the kitchen. They are designed to give you an anti-bacterial protection with odor-eliminating technology and skin-smoothing benefits infused with fresh fragrance.

A breeding ground for bacteria and unpleasant odors, the kitchen is a place where clean hands are a must. That is why leading anti-bacterial retailer Bath and Body Works developed cleansing anti-bacterial products that not only kill germs, but also eliminate cooking smells that linger on hands. The Anti-Bacterial Kitchen Collection is formulated with Fresh Source odor eliminating technology, that goes beyond cleansing and germ-fighting to actually rid hands of unsavory odors like garlic and onion – all the while infusing hands with fresh clean fragrances such as crisp citrus, lush fruit and fresh-cut herbs.

Caswell-Massey is Introducing an All Natural Collection

Caswell-Massey is introducing an ALL NATURAL collection of Hand Lotions and Hand Wash Gels. This is the first time this LUXURY brand has launched a line of ALL NATURAL products. The elegant new pieces will debut at the opening of Caswell-Massey’s boutique at Limelight Marketplace (47 W. 20th Street) on May 7th, 2010.

The pieces are also for sale at Bergdorf Goodman and Gracious Home, NYC; Caswell-Massey, West Palm Beach, FL and Charlotte, NC; Los Angeles (Studio Beauty Mix); and Charlottesville, VA (Londons Bathecary).

Degree Women Natureffects

Degree dares you to join the forces with nature with their NEW Degree Women Natureffects, $3.99: For the longest time I was avoiding purchasing a scented deodorant until I discovered Degree (in Sexy Intrigue BTW). The Degree deodorant uses a sophisticated scent designed by world-renowned fragrance expert , Ann Gottlieb so it’s not just any perfumed deodorant. Now Degree got even ‘hotter’ introducing the Degree Natureffects deodorant collection which infuses Degree’s top odor and wetness protection with fragrances inspired by natural ingredients.

Available in Honeysuckle & Tree Oil (Marta’s pick), Olive Leaf & Pink Pepper and Orange Flower & Cranberry.