Compact Fluorescent Bulbs And Health Problems

Compact fluorescent bulbs and Migraine
The flickering of fluorescent bulbs is a known migraine trigger. Compact fluorescent bulbs have made great strides in reducing the flickering that is common in this class of light bulbs. Despite this, many individuals are finding that compact fluorescent bulbs cause migraine headaches. Migraine is not just a headache. Migraine disease is a neurological condition that not only causes pain but can impact motor function, sensory function, vision, memory, and speech. The Migraine Action Committee in the UK has growing concerns about the effects of compact fluorescent light bulbs on migraine.

Compact fluorescent bulbs and Lupus
Compact fluorescent bulbs can produce more ultraviolet light and have a different light spectrum than incandescent bulbs. This makes compact fluorescent bulbs problematic for people with Lupus or other light sensitive skin conditions.

Compact fluorescent bulbs and Photosensitive Epilepsy
One of the forms of epilepsy is triggered by light. Standard flourescents often cause seisures in these individuals.

Compact fluorescent bulbs and Ménière's Disease
One of the symptoms of Ménière's is flicker vertigo. Flicker vertigo may arise from flicker rates in the range of 4-30Hz or 4 to 30 times per second. Symptoms range from vague and non-specific feelings of unease through to nausea, dizziness, migraines, unconsciousness, and even photosensitive epileptic seizures. The flicker of CFLs is faster than the rate than typically induces flicker vertigo.

Ultra violet light emissions from compact fluorescent bulbs
Ultra violet light is responsible for skin cancer. It can also be a problem for individuals with ultra violet sensitive conditions such as Lupus.
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can cause serious damage to the all the tissues and organs in the body as well as the central nervous system and endocrine system and it disrupts functioning of crucial neurotransmitters in the brain. It is one of the most toxic substances on the planet and has been linked to a variety of serious health conditions like autism, memory problems, infertility, depression, thyroid disorders, Alzheimer’s, adrenal disorders, anxiety, Parkinson’s and MS to name a few. It is especially toxic to children, pregnant women and small pets. While the mercury is contained in the light bulb there is no risk, however if you drop the bulb on the floor of your home, then you are exposed to dangerous mercury vapors.

Spectral distributions by CFL:
• Natural daylight provides the only true full spectrum lighting. Incandescent light is closer in spectral distribution to natural daylight; fluorescent light is far different which accounts for its negative effects on the human body. There are thousands, of well documented scientific photo biological studies indicating the negative effects of fluorescent lighting.
• The effects of different light sources on the body have been researched at a long list of prestigious institutions including MIT, and Harvard University. The latest research is being done on how different colors of light (spectral distributions) affect the body’s circadian rhythms. Researchers used to think of the eye as the main organ for vision but because of the recent discovery of additional nerve connections, it is now understood that light mediates and controls a number of biochemical processes in the human body, including the production of important hormones through control of the light/dark cycle (circadian rhythms) – the body’s biological clock.
• Fluorescent light gives off a very much distorted spectrum which is very different from the natural daylight in which our bodies have evolved. Fluorescent light disrupts our circadian rhythms – our body’s regulator mechanism – and in doing so studies have shown negative health effects from minor annoyances such as headaches, eyestrain, fatigue, and weight gain, to serious effects such as insomnia and sleep disturbances, an increased risk of cancer, and a suppressed immune system.

Required Vigilant Awareness while using of CFL:
Although CFLs are considered safe to use, here are some steps you can take to further protect you and your family:
• Always handle CFLs carefully when installing and removing them.
• Buy CFLs that are marked low UV.
• Buy CFLs that have a glass cover already added, which will help further filter out UV radiation.
• Use additional glass, plastic or fabric materials in your lighting fixtures to act as UV filters.
• Increase the distance you are from the CFL, as this will reduce the level of UV exposure.
• All ENERGY STAR® qualified CFLs have less than 5 milligrams of mercury (some manufacturers are able to produce CFLs that have only about 1 milligram of mercury). Avoid purchasing non-ENERGY STAR® CFLs, as they may have much higher levels of mercury in them.
• As of September 2008, all ENERGY STAR® qualified CFLs are required to list their mercury content on the packaging. This information is not required on non-ENERGY STAR® CFL packaging.
• A CFL is a sealed unit, and no mercury is released when it is in use or as long as it is intact. Some mercury is released when a bulb breaks, and appropriate clean-up guidance should be followed.
• If the bulb breaks, make sure to clean it up properly. Also, check your local regulations to make sure that you won’t break any laws while disposing of the bulb.
• Look for recycling programs online, through local stores, or through the light bulb manufacturers. Make an informed choice. If CFLs concern you or if you have health problems do to them, switch to a LED or incandescent bulb

Conclusion:
• If we can afford the discomfort of higher electrical bills, it is OK to go back to incandescent. The Earth will be fine, it just goes through cyclical warming and cooling’s, and we humans might not have as much impact on it as we give ourselves credit for. The heat generated by incandescent is not always wasted either. In colder months the heat reduces the amount of energy drawn from household heating. In the next some year the prices of LED lighting will start to come down, and new LED lighting fixtures will be introduced. The CFLs will begin to be phased out, leaving behind a long term problem of mercury disposal, remediation, and a so far untold toll on human health.
• Instead of promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs governments around the world should be insisting that manufactures produces light bulbs that are electromagnetically clean and contain no toxic chemicals. Some of these are available (LED) but are not yet affordable. With a growing number of people developing electro hypersensitivity we have a serious emerging and newly identified health risk that is likely to get worse until regulations restricting our exposure to electromagnetic pollutants are enforced. Also, with improper disposal of these bulbs we are creating a mercury-time bomb. Since everyone uses light bulbs and since the energy inefficient incandescent light bulbs are being phased out in many countries by this is an area that requires immediate attention. “Try a CFL, but use and dispose it very carefully”

Guidelines for Cleaning Up Broken CFL Bulbs
Suggestions will vary depending on the source, but here are the most common.
• remove children, pregnant women and pets immediately
(they should not participate in or be present during the clean up process)
• ventilate the area well
• open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes
• wear gloves, a mask and safety glasses
• do not use a sweeper or a broom to clean it up
• do not turn on your heating or air conditioning system
• pick up big pieces with your fingers
• use sticky tape to get small pieces
• wipe the area with a wet rag
• place all broken materials collected as well as all materials used in the clean up process in a second sealed plastic bag (air tight) or a screw-top glass jar and remove them from the house.
• throw everything away that was used in the clean up process, including the rag and gloves.
• if the break occurs on a carpet, cut that piece of that carpet out and throw it away.
• wash your hands immediately
• call your local recycling center to see if they collect CFL bulbs, otherwise put it in the trash.
• as a preventative measure, it is suggested that compact fluorescent light bulbs should never be used in areas where there is carpeting or in sockets where a breakage is more likely to occur.

Insomnia

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder. People who have insomnia have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. As a result, they may get too little sleep or have poor-quality sleep. They may not feel refreshed when they wake up.

Types of Insomnia
• Transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress. Its consequences - sleepiness and impaired functioning.
• Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of between three weeks to six months.
• Chronic insomnia lasts for years at a time. It can be caused by another disorder, or it can be a primary disorder. They include symptoms like sleepiness, muscular fatigue, hallucinations and mental fatigue; but people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness.

Patterns of Insomnia
• Onset insomnia - difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, linked to anxiety disorders.
• Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia - difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night or waking too early.
• Middle insomnia - waking during the middle of the night, difficulty maintaining sleep. Often associated with pain disorders or medical illness.
• Terminal (or late) insomnia - early morning waking. Characteristic of clinical depression.

Causes of Insomnia
Physical Causes
• Hormonal changes in women, caused by PMS, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.
• Decreased melatonin, the hormone that helps control sleep, decreases as a person ages.
• Medical conditions, like allergies, arthritis, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, and Parkinson's disease.
• Pain, Caused by a medical illness/ injury likely to interfere with sleep.
• Genetics, Problems with insomnia do seem to run in some families, although researchers have yet to identify how genetics play a role.
• Other sleep disorders, like sleep apnoea and periodic leg and arm movements during sleep.

Psychological Causes
• Anxiety, a condition in which individuals feel increased tension, apprehension, fear, worry, feelings of helplessness and uncertainty – due to work stress, financial worries, concerns over relationships.
• Stress or how effectively a person copes with any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factors that require a response or change.
• Depression, a mood disturbance characterized by feelings of sadness, discouragement and despair, loss of loved ones.

Environmental Causes for Insomnia
• Time zone change
• Different culture
• Change of job or living situation
• Night shift or rotating shift work
• Newborn baby in the home
• Change of season

Physical Causes for Insomnia
• Change of diet
• Change of exercise or level of activity
• Menopause
• Hormonal changes, such as menstrual cycles
• Caffeine
• Illegal substances
• Many types of prescription drugs
• Some over the counter drugs, including aspirin
• Some natural supplements
• Quitting smoking etc…

Psychological Causes of Insomnia
• Stress – home, work, children, finances, all of these can gang up on you and have you unable to go to sleep at night or waking up and unable to get back to sleep.
• Anxiety – can be a real medical and psychological problem which you may have problems shaking all on your own, but anxiety can really disrupt your natural sleep cycle in all kinds of bad ways.
• Depression – is the big daddy of insomnia causes. Contrary to this affliction’s name, “depression,” the condition suppresses your body’s natural drives. One of those drives is sleep.

Emotional Insomnia Cause
• Depression
• Worrying
• Anxiety
• Anger and Resentment
• Mental Excitement and Overstimulation
• Post-Traumatic Stress

Figuring out why you can’t sleep
• Are you under a lot of stress?
• Are you depressed or feel emotionally flat or hopeless?
• Do you struggle with chronic feelings of anxiety or worry?
• Have you recently gone through a traumatic experience?
• Are you taking any medications that might be affecting your sleep?
• Do you have any health problems that may be interfering with sleep?
• Is your sleep environment quiet and comfortable?
• Are you spending enough time in sunlight during the day and in darkness at night?
• Do you try to go to bed and get up around the same time every day?

Symptoms of insomnia:
• Difficulty falling asleep despite being tired
• Waking up frequently during the night
• Trouble getting back to sleep when awakened
• Exhausting sleep
• Relying on sleeping pills or alcohol to fall asleep
• Waking up too early in the morning
• Daytime drowsiness, fatigue, or irritability
• Difficulty concentrating during the day

Coping with shift work
Working nights or irregular shifts can disrupt your sleep schedule, requiring you to sleep during daylight hours. But you may be able to limit the adverse impact by practicing the healthy bedtime habits above, and following these tips:
• Adjust your sleep-wake cycle by exposing yourself to bright light when you wake up at night, use bright lamps or daylight-simulation bulbs in your workplace, and then wear dark glasses on your journey home to block out sunlight and encourage sleepiness.
• Limit the number of night or irregular shifts you work in a row to prevent sleep deprivation mounting up.
• Avoid frequently rotating shifts so you can maintain the same sleep schedule.
• Avoid a long commute that cuts into your sleep time. The more time you spend traveling home in daylight, the more awake you’ll become and the harder you’ll find it is to get to sleep.
• Make sleep a priority at the weekends or on your days off so you can pay off your sleep debt.
• Eliminate noise and light from your bedroom during the day. Use blackout curtains or a sleep mask, turn off the phone, and use ear plugs or a soothing sound machine to block out daytime noise.

Everybody loses sleep here and there, and your body can adjust for temporary shortcomings. But if you develop a chronic pattern of sleeping less than five or six hours a night, then you're increasing your risk of a number of health conditions, including:
• Heart disease
• Autoimmune diseases
• Arthritis
• Neuro-degenerative diseases
• Cancer

One of the most common symptoms of insomnia is a condition called "cognitive popcorn:"
"Cognitive popcorn is something that occurs when you put your head down, trying to go to sleep or trying to get back to sleep in the middle of the night, and suddenly your mind starts to produce all of these thoughts.
They're unwanted thoughts, uncontrollable thoughts. It's as if the mind has a mind of its own. That's a very common complaint that keeps people awake."

In order to understand why you can't sleep, you need to understand that sleep is the outcome of an interaction between two classes of variables: sleepiness and "noise.
1. Sleepiness – Under normal conditions, your sleepiness should gradually increase throughout the day, peaking just before you go to bed at night. This is ideal, as you want your sleepiness to be high at the beginning of the night.
2. "Noise" – refers to any kind of stimulation that inhibits or disrupts sleep. If noise is conceptually greater than your level of sleepiness, you will not fall asleep.
"Noise" occurs in three zones: the mind level, body level, and the environmental level.
"If you're energized during the day, you're feeling passionate, you want to move, be productive and so on, that's great. But if that experience occurs in the middle of the night, that becomes a kind of noise."
The most common type of mind noise, however, is the "cognitive popcorn;" unstoppable thoughts running through your mind at night.
Examples of body noise include pain, discomfort, indigestion, side effects from prescription drugs, or residual caffeine from drinking coffee too late in the day.
Environmental noise is usually obvious, such as noises in your room or house, a snoring partner, music, lights, or a bedroom that's too warm.
In order to get a good night's sleep, you want your sleepiness level to be high, and the noise level to be low.
Therefore, the FIRST thing you need to ask yourself when you can't sleep is:
• "Where/What is the noise (mind/body/environmental)?"

Two Common Problems that Can Keep You Tossing and Turning
Two very important contributing factors that can make sleep elusive are:
• Light
• Temperature

Why You Need to Sleep in Complete Darkness
Having too much light in your bedroom at night can interfere with your body's production of melatonin. Melatonin is both a hormone and an important antioxidant against cancer.
Disrupted melatonin production, caused by lack of bright light during the day, and too much light in the evening and at night, can also have a significantly detrimental impact on your health, aside from "just" disrupting your sleep. There's actually strong evidence showing there is a dose-dependent relationship between exposure to light at night and a significantly increased risk for breast cancer.
When your circadian rhythms are disrupted, your body produces less melatonin (a hormone AND an antioxidant) and has less ability to fight cancer, since melatonin helps suppress free radicals that can lead to cancer. This is why tumors grow faster when you sleep poorly.

Optimizing Your Sleep Sanctuary
1. Sleep in complete darkness, or as close to it as possible. Even the tiniest bit of light in the room can disrupt your internal clock and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and serotonin. Even the tiniest glow from your clock radio could be interfering with your sleep. This will help decrease your risk of cancer. Close your bedroom door, and get rid of night-lights. Refrain from turning on any light at all during the night, even when getting up to go to the bathroom. Cover up your clock radio. Cover your windows—I recommend using blackout shades or drapes.

All life evolved in response to predictable patterns of light and darkness, called circadian rhythms. Modern day electrical lighting has significantly betrayed your inner clock by disrupting your natural rhythms. Little bits of light pass directly through your optic nerve to your hypothalamus, which controls your biological clock. Light signals your brain that it's time to wake up and starts preparing your body for ACTION.
2. Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly their upstairs bedrooms too warm. Studies show that the optimal room temperature for sleep is quite cool, between 60 to 68 degrees. Keeping your room cooler or hotter can lead to restless sleep. When you sleep, your body's internal temperature drops to its lowest level, generally about four hours after you fall asleep. Scientists believe a cooler bedroom may therefore be most conducive to sleep, since it mimics your body's natural temperature drop.
3. Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and serotonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To do this, you need a gauss meter. You can find various models online, starting around $50 to $200. Some experts even recommend pulling your circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in your house.
4. Move alarm clocks and other electrical devices away from your bed. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from your bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet. Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when you stare at it all night... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m.
5. Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on your body to be suddenly jolted awake. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, an alarm may even be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock, an alarm that combines the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc.) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, simulating sunrise.
6. Reserve your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and drift off to sleep, so avoid doing these activities in bed.
7. Consider separate bedrooms. Recent studies suggest, for many people, sharing a bed with a partner (or pets) can significantly impair sleep, especially if the partner is a restless sleeper or snores. If bedfellows are consistently interfering with your sleep, you may want to consider a separate bedroom.
Preparing for Bed
8. Get to bed as early as possible. Your body (particularly your adrenal system) does a majority of its recharging between the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into your liver, which can further disrupt your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
9. Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed and wake up at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
10. Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the tensions of the day.
11. Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom, or at least minimize the frequency.
12. Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.
13. Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan needed for your melatonin and serotonin production.
14. Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross your blood-brain barrier.
15. Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. These will raise your blood sugar and delay sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you may wake up and be unable to fall back asleep.
16. Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When your body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating slumber. The temperature drop from getting out of the bath signals your body it's time for bed.
17. Wear socks to bed. Feet often feel cold before the rest of the body because they have the poorest circulation. A study has shown that wearing socks to bed reduces night waking. As an alternative, you could place a hot water bottle near your feet at night.
18. Wear an eye mask to block out light. As discussed earlier, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can be helpful.
19. Put your work away at least one hour before bed (preferably two hours or more). This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.
20. No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even completely out of the house. It's too stimulating to the brain, preventing you from falling asleep quickly. TV disrupts your pineal gland function.
21. Listen to relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD. Another favorite is the Sleep Harmony CD, which uses a combination of advanced vibrational technology and guided meditation to help you effortlessly fall into deep delta sleep within minutes. The CD works on the principle of "sleep wave entrainment" to assist your brain in gearing down for sleep.
22. Read something spiritual or uplifting. This may help you relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, which has the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might be tempted to go on reading for hours, instead of going to sleep!
23. Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful to keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. Personally, I have been doing this for 15 years, but prefer to do it in the morning when my brain is functioning at its peak and my cortisol levels are high.
Lifestyle Suggestions That Enhance Sleep
24. Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, may adversely affect sleep. In most cases, the condition causing the drugs to be taken in the first place can be addressed by following guidelines elsewhere on my web site.
25. Avoid caffeine. At least one study has shown that, in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently, leaving you feeling its effects long after consumption. So, an afternoon cup of coffee or tea will keep some people from falling asleep at night. Be aware that some medications contain caffeine (for example, diet pills).
26. Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make you drowsy, the effect is short lived and you will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from entering the deeper stages of sleep, where your body does most of its healing.
27. Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes per day can improve your sleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can manage it.
28. Lose excess weight. Being overweight can increase your risk of sleep apnea, which can seriously impair your sleep. Please refer to mynutrition plan forrecommendations.
29. Avoid foods you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for sugar, grains, and pasteurized dairy. Sensitivity reactions can cause excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, bloating and gas, and other problems.
30. Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress.
31. If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause sleep problems if not properly addressed.

Relaxation techniques that can help you sleep
• A relaxing bedtime routine. As a start to your relaxation practice, develop a calming bedtime routine. Focus on quiet, soothing activities, such as reading, knitting, or listening to soft music. Keep the lights low.
• Abdominal breathing. Most of us don’t breathe as deeply as we should. When we breathe deeply and fully, involving not only the chest, but also the belly, lower back, and ribcage, it can actually help our parasympathetic nervous system, which controls relaxation. Close your eyes and try taking deep, slow breaths, making each breath even deeper than the last. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. You can try making each exhale a little longer than each inhale.
• Progressive muscle relaxation. Lie down or make yourself comfortable. Starting with your feet, tense the muscles as tightly as you can. Hold for a count of 10, and then relax. Continue to do this for every muscle group in your body, working your way up from your feet to the top of your head.

Ujjayi Yoga Pranayama
Ujjayi Yoga Pranayama, or the victorious breath, is a breathing technique worth having tucked away in your toolbox of valuable yoga exercises for optimum living.
Benefits of Ujjayi Pranayama:
• Relaxes the mind and calms the entire organism down.
• Promotes a sense of joy and peace.
• Prepares the mind for meditation.
• Rebalanced the internal systems, helps the body regain it’s equilibrium and promotes longevity.
• Excellent technique for those who can’t sleep and helps treat insomnia.
• Helps lower blood pressure.
Instructions for Beginner’s Ujjayi Breathing Technique:
You are welcome to do Ujjayi Pranayama, sitting, standing, lying down or even while taking a walk.
• Start by taking five long, deep, slow breaths to help relax you.
• Close your eyes if you like. Do close them if you can’t sleep and are going to use this breathing technique to help you conquer insomnia.
• Now comes the slightly tricky part. You can going to constrict the throat muscles slightly and visualize as if you are breathing through a hole in your throat. This slight constriction and visualization should lead to the air making a soft oceanic sound as it passes through your throat region. The sound should be that of the distant ocean surf. Steady and soft as you inhale and also, steady and soft as you exhale. Pretend as if you are breathing not through your nose, but your throat instead.
• Continue to breathe in this way and allow you entire mind and body to be consumed by this pleasant sound. Find a nice slow rhythm and lose yourself to it.
• Continue on for as long as you like, or until you fall asleep .
Instructions for Advanced Ujjayi Breathing Technique:
The advanced version of this technique incorporates breath retention into the cycle. Don’t use the advanced version if you are employing the technique to help you sleep. Simply use the beginner’s version and extend the time for inhalation and exhalation to a comfortable level.

For the advanced version, you are going to develop the inhalation, hold breath in, exhalation time cycle to a ratio of x-4x-2x. So if you inhale for 4 seconds, you will hold your breath in for 16 seconds and then use 8 seconds to exhale. But it is very important that you move towards this ratio slowly.
A good approach is to work up to 4-4-4 and then gently increase the hold and exhalation portion to 4-5-5 until, 4-8-8. Then work your way up to 4-9-8 and onwards to 4-16-8. Again, find an approach that suits you, but in all cases don’t strain or overdo it.
You can practice Ujjayi Pranayama for 11 minutes or more.

Buteyko holistic self-oxygenation therapy:
There is a simple breathing exercise for insomnia developed by Russian doctors practicing the Buteyko holistic self-oxygenation therapy. The exercise was used by many thousands of people in Russia and taught to them by over 200 doctors. The exercise helps to fall asleep much sooner.
In order to be successful, the following are preliminary requirements.
1. Go to sleep when you are really sleepy.
2. Before and during sleep breathe only through the nose (if you cannot, learn the breathing exercise to unblock the nose
3. Do not sleep on your back

Steps to follow
Relax all your muscles when you are lying in bed on your tummy or left side. Focus on your breathing for a minute. What do you feel? If the sensations are vague, take a deep but slow in-breath and relax to slowly exhale. Do you feel the airflow going through your nostrils? Do you have any sensations at the back of your throat? Are there any feelings about movement of air inside the chest and bronchi? What do you sense near your stomach?
Next, instead of taking your usual inhalation, take a slightly smaller inhalation (only about 5-10% less) and then immediately relax all muscles, especially upper chest and all other breathing muscles. Take another (smaller) inhalation and again completely relax.
With each breath, take a small or reduced inhalation and then completely relax. You will soon experience light air hunger. The goal is to preserve this light comfortable level of air hunger for 2-3 minutes.
The breathing can be frequent during this reduced or shallow breathing but this is OK. If you do the exercise correctly, you will notice the following signs:
- The arms and feet will get warm in about 2-3 minutes after starting the reduced breathing (this is the central sign);
- The nasal passages will become moist and the nose colder in about the same 2-3 minutes.

A more advanced version
A more advanced version of this exercise involves stress-free comfortable breath-holds for faster results. However, people who suffer from heart problems, hypertension, panic attacks, or migraine headaches should avoid any breath holds. These people can stick with the above-described version. How is this version with breath holds done?
After your usual exhalation, pinch the nose and hold your breath only until the first discomfort. Immediately release your nose, but instead of your usual inhalation, take a small inhale, and then relax for exhalation. Continue the reduced breathing as it is described above.

BREATHING EXERCISES FOR INSOMNIA
BELLY BREATHING
Belly breathing is the conscious use of the lower part of your lungs to breathe. When done properly your stomach, as opposed to your chest, will rise and lower as you breathe. In a report for NPR, Allison Aubrey likens this to baby breathing because it emulates the pattern of a sleeping infant. The article goes on to cite Jon Seskevich, a stress management educator at Duke University, who promotes this technique. The relaxing effect of proper breathing enhances calm, takes stress off of the heart and can help ease you into sleep.

COMPLETE BREATH
An article by James Kennedy on yoga breathing techniques describes another type of breathing that will enhance calm and contribute to falling asleep. The technique is called the complete breath or three-part breathing technique. The article also points out that yogic breathing has even been shown to alter brainwave patterns, improving anxiety and response to stress. In order to perform this technique, the individual expands the chest in three stages: first the lower area, then the middle and finally the top. Exhaling in the reverse order achieves a breath that makes maximum use of lung capacity. Singular focus on the task as well as the deep rhythmic breathing can help overcome nagging thoughts that may keep you awake.

LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING
Another breathing technique that can help bring on slumber and finds its roots in yoga is alternate nostril breathing. Kundalini Yoga states that the two nostrils are tied to different kinds of energy. Breathing through the right nostril causes stimulation and the left relaxation. In this technique, place a finger against the right nostril and breathe deeply though the left. If possible, slow your breathing to a rate of four breaths a minute, which is a count to seven or eight for each inhale and then again for the exhale.

QUICK RELAXATION
A method promoted by the Cleveland Clinic combines controlled breathing with a mental exercise that can help you relax. It begins with a few deep breaths after which you begin a metal exercise. Consciously scan your body for tension and lets it go one area at a time. Roll the head slowly, then the shoulders. Finally spend a few moments thinking of something pleasant. Finish with more slow controlled breaths, possibly using another relaxing breathing technique.

BREATHING DISORDERS AND INSOMNIA
Insomnia is linked to breathing patterns. A large amount of research links problems such as sleep apnea, which is when an individual stops breathing during sleep, to other health problems such as insomnia, depression and even cardiovascular disease. The University of California, San Diego even has a sleep medicine center that can help sufferers achieve normal breathing patters that allow normal, restful sleep. Consult a physician right away if you are suffering from any of these conditions.


Home Remedies For Insomnia
• An effective way to treat insomnia would be to have milk form the poppy seeds. Extract 30 grams of milk from poppy seeds and add some sugar to it. Have this mixture everyday after dinner.
• Grind four nutmegs to make a fine powder out of it. Have this powder every night before going to sleep.
• Insomnia can be treated following the same routine i.e. try to sleep at a fixed time every night and wake up at a fixed time in the morning. This would set a sleeping schedule.
• Hot fomentations help to solve the problem of insomnia. Apply hot packs to the spine and have hot footbath before going to bed.
• Intake a cup of milk with honey. This is effective in curing insomnia.
• Grind the root of pippali (Piper longum) plant to make a fine powder. Every night, have 1 tsp of this powder along with jaggery and a glass of warm milk.
• Take a ripe banana and mash it. Add roasted cumin seeds to it and mix properly. Consume this mashed mix before going to sleep.
• Extract fresh juice of valerian wallichi. Intake 1 tsp of this every night before going to sleep.
• Do regular exercise or partake in some physical activities everyday. This would /solve the problem of insomnia. Walking, jogging, skipping and swimming are the good exercises for treating insomnia.
• Mix 1 tsp each of juice of celery leaves with stalks and honey. Consume this mixture everyday.
• Consuming raw onion salad everyday can solve the problem of sleep.
• Combine 2 tsp of fenugreek leaves juice with 1 tsp of honey. Have this combination at bed times daily.
• It is advisable to have 3 cups of curd everyday for people suffering from lack of sleep.
• In a cup of boiling water, add 1 tsp each of chamomile flowers, hops and valeria. Let it steep for 45. Thereafter, strain the drink and have it an hour before sleeping.
• Combine bottle gourd juice and sesame oil in equal parts. Massage this combination on the scalp every night.
• Alternatively, cooked leaves of the bottle gourd can be taken as a vegetable. This is also helpful in curing insomnia.
• Increase in the consumption of vitamin B foods such as wholegrain cereals, pulses, and nuts. These are effective in treating insomnia.
• In half a liter of water, ad one tablespoon of lettuce seeds. Boil this concoction until it reduces to 1/3rd quantity. Have this decoction when warm.
• Boil 375 ml of water. Add a tsp of aniseed and cover the lid of the pan. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the decoction and drink when warm. Hot milk and honey can also be added to the tea.
• Mix 0.25 gm to 0.5 gm of rauwolfia with some scented substance like cardamom. If the problem is chronic, double the intake, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Homeopathy
• Aconitum -- for insomnia that occurs as a result of illness, fever, or vivid, frightening dreams; commonly used for children.
• Argentum nitricum -- for impulsive children who are restless and agitated before bedtime and cannot fall asleep if the room is too warm.
• Arsenicum album -- for insomnia that occurs after midnight due to anxiety or fear. This remedy is most appropriate for demanding individuals who are often restless, thirsty, and chilly.
• Chamomilla -- for insomnia caused by irritability or physical pains; sleep may be disturbed by twitching and moaning. This remedy is appropriate for infants who have difficulty sleeping because they are teething or colicky, and older children who may demand things, then refuse them when they are offered.
• Coffea -- for insomnia due to excitable news or sudden emotions. This remedy is most appropriate for individuals who generally have difficulty falling asleep and tend to be light sleepers. Often used to counteract the effects of caffeine, including in infants exposed to caffeine through breastfeeding.
• Ignatia -- for insomnia caused by grief or recent loss. This remedy is most appropriate for individuals who yawn frequently or sigh while awake.
• Kali phosphoricum -- for night terrors associated with insomnia. This remedy is most appropriate for individuals who are easily startled and restless, often with fidgety feet. Anxiety is often caused by both nightmares and events in the individual's life.
• Nux vomica -- for insomnia caused by anxiety, anger, irritability, or use of caffeine, alcohol, or drugs. This remedy is most appropriate for individuals who wake up early in the morning, or for children who often have dreams of school or fights and may be awakened by slight disturbances. Nux vomica may also be used to treat insomnia that occurs as a side effect of medications.
• Passiflora -- for the elderly and young children with often overactive minds.
• Pulsatilla -- for women and children who are particularly emotional and do not like sleeping alone. Also used when sleeping in a warm room tends to worsen insomnia or when the individual may cry due to the inability to fall asleep.
• Rhus toxicodendron -- for restlessness and insomnia caused by pains that occur when the individual is lying down.

How to Use Reiki for Better Sleep
1. To begin, just tell your body to relax as you take a long, deep inhalation in. Think peace as you slowly, slowly exhale out. Repeat thinking peaceful thoughts as you inhale in and releasing thoughts as you exhale out. Close your eyes and concentrate on the breath. Place both of your hands, palms down, at the top of your head. Hold your hands there for 3 minutes as you continue to breathe in peaceful thoughts and exhale tension in your body. Think of Reiki energy coming through your hands into the top of your head. Allow your worries and concerns to melt away.
2. Place the palms of your hands over your eyes and hold there for three minutes as you breathe. Feel Reiki healing energy flowing through your hands into your eyes. Feel the stress and tension leaving your body with each exhalation.
3. Place the palms of your hands over each of your ears. The left palm of your hand should be covering your left ear, and the right palm of your hand should be covering your right ear. Hold there for three minutes as you continue to breathe in peace and exhale worry or pain. Know that Reiki energy is flowing from your hands into your ears. Feel the warmth.
4. Move your hands to your chest and place the palms of your hands on your chest. Feel your breath begin to slow even more as you breathe peaceful images and loving thoughts into your body. Feel your body sink into the mattress more and more with each exhalation you take. Slow your breath and relax your body. Hold this hand position for three to five minutes.
5. Place the palms of your hands over the bottom of your ribcage. Continue your slow breathing in and out as you hold your hands in this position for three minutes. Feel the Reiki energy warm your body as you release the pain and worry of the day.
6. Move your hands to your navel and place the palms of your hands on either side of your navel with the tips of your middle fingers touching. Hold this position for three minutes as you breathe in and out. Feel your stomach rise and fall with each inhalation and exhalation. Try to slow the inhalations and exhalations down even more. Find the breaths peaceful and loving.
7. You will now move your hands into the last hand position by sliding your hands down to your 2 inches below your navel. This is your Hara, the center for the breath. Feel peace and tranquility fill your Hara center as you continue to breathe in and out for three minutes.When you have finished the hand positions, lay your arms at your sides. With your eyes closed, continued to breathe in and feel the breath as a wave of loving energy over your body. Exhale the breath down your body to your toes and inhale the breath back up to your head. Continue the breath until you are sufficiently tired to fall asleep. Some people have trouble when they first begin to practice breathing techniques. This is normal. Don’t give up; help is only a Reiki breath away.

Acupuncture point treatment for insomnia
Common causative factors are :
1. Xu of Spleen and Blood insufficiency resulting from anxiety
2. Flaring of the Heart fire due to insufficiency of yin in the Kidney causing disharmony of Heart & Kidney.
3. Upward disturbance of the Liver fire resulting from mental depression.
4. Retention of Phlegm-heat due to indigestion (Stomach excess).

Treatment Points :
DU20,11,24,H7,P6,SP6,GB12,Ex6,8,9UB62,
• Xu of Spleen & Blood insufficiency : UB20,15,SP1
• Disharmony of the Heart and kidney : U15,23,K3
• Disturbance of Liver : UB18,19,12
• Dysfunction of Stomach : UB21,St36
(Always Consult Your Doctor Before Taking Medicine)

Shift Work And Our Health

The body is synchronized to night and day by a part of the brain known as the circadian clock. A shift-worker confuses their circadian clock by working when their body is programmed to be sleeping. 

The sleep-wake cycle appears to have evolved for humans to be awake during the day and to sleep for approximately eight hours at night. There is a small part of the brain called the ‘circadian clock’, which monitors the amount of light you see, moment by moment. In the evening, when the light starts to wane, your clock notices and prompts a flood of a brain chemical called melatonin, which gives the body the signal to fall asleep. Overnight, melatonin levels remain high. They drop at daybreak and remain low during the day. Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment. They are found in most living things, including animals, plants and many tiny microbes. The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology.

During the day, other chemicals (neurotransmitters) – such as nor-adrenaline and acetylcholine – increase in the body and keep you awake. This system keeps you synchronized through the day-night cycle. Many other functions of the body – including temperature, digestion, heart rate and blood pressure – fluctuate through the day, tuned by the activity of the circadian clock. 

This changing rate of activity over each 24-hour period is known as the circadian rhythm. A person who works nights, or starts their working day before 6 am, is running counter to their circadian rhythm. This may put them at risk of health problems.

Metabolism at night
An important body function, which follows the circadian rhythm, is the internal body temperature. This temperature increases through the day. It reaches the lower level in the early hours of the morning and reaches the maximum level late in the afternoon. 

The tendency to fall asleep and stay asleep occurs during the decreasing phase of the temperature circadian rhythm (between midnight and 4 am). As the body temperature rises, it is more difficult to stay asleep. This is one of the reasons why night workers who try to fall asleep at 8 am find it very difficult and also find it difficult to remain asleep through the day.

Short-Term Health Effects of Shift Work
The short-term health effects of shift work are clear. Even if you're not a shift worker yourself, you've probably experienced the equivalent effects -- maybe after a transatlantic flight, an all-nighter in college, or a few nights with a wailing newborn. Aside from the obvious fatigue, effects include:
• Gastrointestinal symptoms like upset stomach, nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, and heartburn
• Increased risk of injuries and accidents
• Insomnia
• Decreased quality of life
• General feeling of being unwell

Long-Term Health Effects of Shift Work
The long-term effects of shift work are harder to measure. But researchers have found compelling connections between shift workers and an increased risk of serious health conditions and diseases.
• Cardiovascular disease. For decades, researchers have seen an association between shift work and the risk of heart attacks and heart disease.

One review of the research found that shift work seems to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease by 40%. In general, the risks seem to grow the longer a person continues to work nights. One analysis found that the risk of stroke increased by 5% for every five years a person performed shift work. However, the stroke risks rose only after a person performed shift work for 15 years.
• Diabetes and metabolic syndrome. A number of studies have found that shift work seems to be a risk factor for diabetes. One Japanese study found that shift workers -- specifically, those who worked 16-hour shifts -- had a 50% higher incidence of diabetes than day workers.
Shift work has also been linked with metabolic syndrome, a combination of health problems like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. It's a serious risk factor for diabetes, heart attacks, and stroke. One 2007 study followed more than 700 healthy medical workers over four years. The incidence of metabolic syndrome was more than three times as high in those who worked night shifts.
• Obesity. There are several possible reasons for the link between obesity and shift work. Poor diet and lack of exercise might be part of the problem. Hormone balance seems to be important too. The hormone leptin plays a key role in regulating our appetite; it helps make us feel full. Since shift work seems to lower the levels of leptin, it could be that night workers just feel hungrier -- and thus eat more -- than day workers.
• Depression and Mood Disorders. Some studies have found that shift workers are more likely to suffer from symptoms of depression and other mood disorders. The social isolation of shift work surely takes a psychological toll. Shift work might also affect brain chemistry directly. One 2007 study found that when compared to day workers, night workers had significantly lower levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that plays a key role in mood.
• Serious Gastrointestinal Problems. For more than 50 years, researchers have noticed that shift work seems to increase the risk of peptic ulcers. It also seems to raise the risk of general GI symptoms (like nausea, diarrhoea, and constipation) and possibly some types of functional bowel disease (like irritable bowel syndrome.) One 2008 study found evidence linking shift work with chronic heartburn or GERD.
• Problems with Fertility and Pregnancy. Research has shown that shift work can affect a woman's reproductive system. One study looked at flight attendants, who typically work in shifts. The results showed that flight attendants who worked during pregnancy were twice as likely to have a miscarriage as flight attendants who did not. Shift work also seems to be associated with an increase the risk of complications during delivery, premature and low-weight babies, fertility problems, endometriosis, irregular periods, and painful periods.
• Cancer. There is some strong evidence -- from both human and animal studies -- that shift work poses an increased risk of cancer. A 2007, a subcommittee of the World Health Organization went as far as to state that shift work is "probably carcinogenic."

Two analyses of data from different studies found that night work increased the risk of breast cancer by 50%. Working shifts on airplanes, like pilots and flight attendants do, increased the risk by 70%. There's evidence that shift work might increase the risk of colorectal and prostate cancer as well.

So far, evidence suggests that the cancer risks go up only after many years of shift work -- perhaps as many as 20 years.

If you work shifts, there are some things you can do.
• Eat well and exercise. Since many of the risks of shift work are tied to obesity and metabolic syndrome, step up your efforts to prevent them. Exercising regularly, eating well, and keeping a healthy weight could make a difference.
• Get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation has its own health risks, and studies suggest that shift workers sleep less effectively than day workers. Part of the problem is that even brief exposure to light during the day naturally wakes up your body, making it hard to sleep.
• Change your schedule. While moving to daytime shift might not be possible, making changes to how you work at night could help, too. For instance, some experts think that working stable rather than rotating shifts might be healthier.

Rotating shifts
The best rotating shift pattern is still undecided. For the most people, rotating forward through day, afternoon and night shift is better than backwards (night, afternoon then day). The frequency of rotation is also controversial. Some people advocate prolonged rotation, such as two to three weeks. Others advocate short rotations of two to three days. Both have advantages and disadvantages. 

It takes about 10 days for the body to adjust to night shift work. However, it is common for night shift workers to revert to daytime routines for a day or two during days off, which tends to make the circadian rhythm unstable.

The amount of hours (8-hour versus 12-hour shifts) is also controversial. It can be said that 12-hour shifts stretch the body’s tolerance as far as possible. It’s very important that no overtime should be allowed during a rotation of 12-hour shifts. Another risk to sleep is when a worker on seven 12-hour shifts a fortnight uses their free time for another, almost full-time job.

A proportion of shift-workers may have marked daytime sleepiness, called Shift Work Sleep Disorder. 

Prevention

DESIGN OF WORK SCHEDULE
Most of the work on minimising the deleterious effects of shift work has concentrated on the three 8 hour shift rotation. As the night shift seems to cause a disproportionate amount of the problems of shift work, night work should be reduced as much as possible, perhaps by increasing the number of crews involved. Rapid rotation of shifts (a change every few days) is preferable to slow rotation as this schedule produces less interference with circadian rhythm. Clockwise rotation (morning, afternoon, night) is preferable to counter clockwise rotation as quick changeovers—for example, the morning and the night shift in the same 24 hour period—are avoided and this rotation allows longer rest periods between shifts. Finally, a later start for the morning shift which is traditionally 0600 reduces the truncation of the previous sleep period, particularly for REM sleep. 
• On balance, the duration of shift should not be extended to 10 or 12 hours as complaints of fatigue are greater on the long shifts. However, the evidence that this translates into poorer performance and increased accidents is lacking. Many workers favour the longer shifts, not because they are longer but because the breaks between shift weeks are longer often 3–4 days. 
• Finally, there is some evidence that allowing the workers to design their own shift schedules encourages good work performance as they take responsibility for achieving the work output targets. 
• Other factors which can ameliorate shift schedules include workplace improvements in catering, supervision, health care, transportation, and recreational facilities. There is some limited evidence that bright light might be useful on the night shift to offset some of the circadian effects of the day-night changes. 

Conclusions
Work involving long hours or abnormal night-day schedules has been in existence for centuries. There is evidence to suggest that such schedules are here to stay, for one reason or another, for one in five workers. The main physiological consequence of such shift schedules is disruption of circadian rhythm which can have a deleterious effect on performance, sleep patterns, accident rates, mental health, and cardiovascular mortality. Reproductive outcome effects may be linked to disruption of menstrual cycles. Individual issues such as sex, age, and personality are also important. 
Coping with these potentially harmful work schedules involves helping people to cope and by designing workplace environments and shift scheduling schemes that lead to the least disruption to mental, physical, and social wellbeing.

Fear

Love Chemicals

Attraction, love and relationships are fueled by actual chemicals. Chemicals responsible for our behavior in love and relationships belong to the class of "neuro-chemicals", compounds forming largely in the brain and participating in neural activity. The brain, in its turn, passes them to other parts of the body, but "in the head" it all gets started.

The Science of Love
• There are three phases to falling in love and different hormones are involved at each stage.
• Events occurring in the brain when we are in love have similarities with mental illness.
• When we are attracted to somebody, it could be because subconsciously we like their genes.
• Smell could be as important as looks when it comes to the fancy ability factor. We like the look and smell of people who are most like our parents.
• Science can help determine whether a relationship will last.

Three Stages of Falling in Love
Helen Fisher of Rutgers University in the States has proposed 3 stages of love – lust, attraction and attachment. Each stage might be driven by different hormones and chemicals.

Stage 1: Lust
This is the first stage of love and is driven by the sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen – in both men and women.

Stage 2: Attraction
This is the amazing time when you are truly love-struck and can think of little else. Scientists think that three main neurotransmitters are involved in this stage; adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin.

Adrenaline
The initial stages of falling for someone activates your stress response, increasing your blood levels of adrenalin and cortisol. The hormone that makes people run or fight. But when you’re in love adrenaline causes the reaction that you’re on standby all the way. Your pupils get bigger, your heart rate goes up, your breathing gets faster and you’re not so hungry because your digestive system starts to work slower. It makes our heart race, and the palms sweat. Norepinephrine is getting released from neurons, or, simply, nerve cells in the brain, which are called noradrenergic neurons, of course. The main targets of the norepinephrine system to "ignite " are receptors in spinal cord, thalamus, phypothalamus, neocortex .etc.

Dopamine
Helen Fisher asked newly ‘love struck’ couples to have their brains examined and discovered they have high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This chemical stimulates ‘desire and reward’ by triggering an intense rush of pleasure. It has the same effect on the brain as taking cocaine!
Dopamine is the "feel-good" hormone with amazing effects: high attention, improved short-term memory, elation, boldness and a temporary desire to explore the world and take risk. It also makes people more "talkative" and excitable. It affects brain processes that control emotional response, movement, ability to express pleasure, but also pain.
Although dopamine is good, another hormone called prolactin is immediately released after dopamine wears off, causing the opposite effects: depletion, irritability and depression. Thus, when prolactin is high, dopamine is low, and vice versa. In the long run, this cycle of "highs and lows" affects the stability of the whole body, destabilizing the nervous system and lowering immunity, thus increasing vulnerability to diseases and speeding up cell aging.
Dopamine is a double-edge sword; it can turn any intense pleasure into an addiction, however rewarding or motivating it is. Pleasures are complex sometimes. A pleasure may not necessarily be caused by a known pleasing activity; but by something else happening simultaneously. Our brain then makes subconscious connections between the two, interpreting the behavior as "pleasurable and worth repeating." This is why when treating addiction or quitting a habit it's advisable to avoid people, situations and objects related to what we are addicted to. Contrarily, it's advised to cherish the things related to a "good addiction" or habit. We can't help acquiring new habits; we can only intervene and choose good ones, the earlier the better.
Dopamine is not the only hormone that causes happiness, yet it's the one that knows how to "advertise" best for itself, by constantly reminding you to repeat a certain behavior over and over, even when you see its damaging effects destabilizing your life. Recently psychologists have found that people in the advertising business use similar seductive techniques, to turn customers into addicts of their products, whether needed or not.

The last but not the least is phenylethylamine (PEA), acts as a releasing agent of norepinephrine and dopamine . The first attraction causes us to produce more PEA, which results in those dizzying feelings associated with romantic love. Large quantities of PEA increase both physical and emotional energy and at the same time release more dopamine. Your heartbeat is increasing, you start to breath faster, and the palms of your hands start to sweat, your cheeks and genitals get an extra blood flow and you start to feel happier. PEA deserves a special attention because it is famous for being found in chocolate. You've probably heard that eating chocolate makes you feel good and even happy. And mostly, all sources are saying that it is because chocolate contains PEA.
Now you know that it is mostly dopamine which makes us feel good from the tasty food, and as far as PEA is concerned, it's role, unfortunately, has been exaggerated. Phenethylamine from chocolate is getting rapidly metabolized by the different enzymes of gastrointestinal tract, preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain. So, when you eat chocolate, you feel good from a sweet taste, and not the concentration of PEA in it .

So, only when these three chemicals combine together, we feel the real "chemistry" of love. It is due to this combination that new lovers feel euphoric and energized and can talk days and nights long.

Serotonin
And finally, serotonin. One of love's most important chemicals that may explain why when you’re falling in love, your new lover keeps popping into your thoughts.

Love needs to be blind
Newly smitten lovers often idealize their partner, magnifying their virtues and explaining away their flaws says Ellen Berscheid, a leading researcher on the psychology of love. New couples also exalt the relationship itself. “It's very common to think they have a relationship that's closer and more special than anyone else's”. Psychologists think we need this rose-tinted view. It makes us want to stay together to enter the next stage of love – attachment.

Stage 3: Attachment
Attachment is the bond that keeps couples together long enough for them to have and raise children. Scientists think there might be two major hormones involved in this feeling of attachment; oxytocin and vasopressin.

Oxytocin - (The cuddle hormone)
Oxytocin is a powerful hormone released by men and women during orgasm. It probably deepens the feelings of attachment and makes couples feel much closer to one another after they have had sex. The theory goes that the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond becomes. Oxytocin is also called the mother hormone or cuddle hormone because when a mom breastfeeds her baby, this hormone is produced in large quantities. When you hug or caress this hormone is produced too. It makes you feel connected, takes away fear and makes you feel confident. That’s why a lot of people need foreplay before being able to make love all the way. It's naturally released by touching, hugging, labor, lactation, and high temperature. During sex and orgasm, it stimulates the brain to later remember the smell, voice, eye-color ... of our partner, and bond us to them. Nature did this so that a male who sleeps more frequently with one female than others, becomes attached to her, and the female attached to him, preparing them both for the years-long child-raising process. A simple hug can help break the ice between strangers, speed reconciliation between friends, and soften animosity between enemies. It eases our tension, fear and diffidence, at hard moments we have no courage to face.
There are other benefits of oxytocin:
• It increases immunity & speeds up wound healing.
• It slows down cell-aging & increases life-expectancy.
• It increases mood stability & one's sense of well-being ... etc.

Vasopressin
Vasopressin is another important hormone in the long-term commitment stage and is released after sex. Vasopressin (also called anti-diuretic hormone) works with your kidneys to control thirst. Its potential role in long-term relationships was discovered when scientists looked at the prairie vole. Prairie voles indulge in far more sex than is strictly necessary for the purposes of reproduction. They also – like humans - form fairly stable pair-bonds. When male prairie voles were given a drug that suppresses the effect of vasopressin, the bond with their partner deteriorated immediately as they lost their devotion and failed to protect their partner from new suitors.

Lady Finger(Okra): Health Benefits

• Decoction of young okra fruit is used to treat inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially of the respiratory tract, accompanied by excessive secretions. 
• Take two pieces of Lady Finger and remove/cut both ends of each Piece. Also put a small cut in the middle and put these two pieces in glass of water. Cover the glass and keep it at room temperature during night. Early morning, before breakfast simply remove two pieces of lady Finger from the glass and drink that water.
Keep doing it on daily basis. Within two weeks, you will see remarkable results in reduction of your SUGAR.
• Okra juice is used to treat sore throat associated with coughing
• Okra juice used to treat diarrhea with fever and related abdominal pains
• Okra juice used to treat skin itchiness and as skin moisturizer.
• Okra leaves used for inflammation
• Roasted okra seeds are used to promote sweating
• Decoction of okra is used to treat fever, headache and arthritis.
• Okra is rich in fiber that absorbs water and improves the bulk of stool. Very effective against diarrhea and constipation.
• Okra’s mucilage binds with cholesterol and bile acids and expelled through stool from the body.
• Okra helps in lowering the blood sugar level by blocking the absorption of sugar in the intestinal tract.
• Okra’s mucilage acts as a lubricant and a laxative for the intestinal tract facilitating the easy passage of waste.
• Okra is believed to smoothen the skin.
• Okra leaves and roots used as poultice for wounds