9 bedtime routines for working moms

Get on board with these nine bedtime routines for working moms and change the way you sleep for good.

1. Power Down

With smartphones, tablets, and laptops looming by our bedside, it's easy to be tempted to do just one more scroll through Instagram, or send another email. But staring at those screens can cause you to stay up past your bedtime. AsWorking Mother magazine reported, you should keep all electronics out of your bedroom (and this includes TV) to promote a good night of sleep. If you need something to  help you wind down, thumb through a magazine or read a paper book.

2. Stretch

Whether you sit at a desk all day or spend much of your time on the go, your body can start to unwind with some gentle movement. Use some of these simple stretches to help you sleep better, suggested by Fitness magazine. Add more zen to your stretching routine by taking deep and steady breaths.

3. Warm Up

Since your body temperature fluctuates throughout the night, timing a warm bath right can prepare your body to fall asleep. As Joyce Walsleben, associate professor at New York University School of Medicine told Health magazine, "if you raise your temperature a degree or two with a bath, the steeper drop at bedtime is more likely to put you in a deep sleep."

4. Drop (The Temperature) Low

Creating a good sleep environment should be part of your nightly routine. To get your room ready, you'll want to click the thermostat down a few degrees. According to the website for The National Sleep Foundation, the best temperature for sleep is between 60 and 67 degrees.

5. Dry Up

Drinking too much close before bed may lead to a restless night of sleep. Consuming liquids too late can interrupt sleep, according to Mayo Clinic, no matter what you're drinking. Caffeine and alcohol can make you toss and turn, and too much fluid could wake you up for bathroom breaks. Cut yourself off a few hours before you plan to hit the sack.

6. Listen To Chillout Tunes

It's easy to get sucked into binge watching your shows, but too much TV could keep you awake later than you like. Instead, try putting on some relaxing music to wind down your day, as Very Well's website suggested.

7. Meditate

Quiet your mind for a peaceful sleep with meditation. You don't have to be an expert to meditate — try some meditations specific to sleep recommended by Mind Body Green. Let these routines guide you to your happy place where sleep is easy and plentiful.

8. Set Your Rhythm

Sleep is a natural function of the body, much like blinking or breathing. But with sleep, you have the power to train your body for rest. As the National Sleep Foundation recommended, go to bed around the same time every night to help your body get the best sleep possible.

9. Darken The Room

Maybe it goes back to Caveman roots, but the darker the room, the better the sleep. As Everyday Health pointed out, too much light interferes with sleep and can lead to bigger problems when prolonged. Creating a dark environment could help you conquer insomnia as well as boost your health.

Source: Romper

UK Warns Pregnant Women to Stay Away from Florida for Fear of Zika

Florida, a state that thrives on tourism, is on the receiving end of a warning by the British government that pregnant English women, or those who are planning to have families, ought to stay away because of the threat of the Zika virus. 

The warning, as reported by the BBC comes on the heels of the discovery by Miami-Dade County health officials of the first reported Zika cases in the U.S. where infected persons had contracted the mosquito-transmitted illness locally and not from when they were traveling abroad.

In most cases, those infected with Zika have no symptoms. However, pregnant women can pass the infection on to their infants, sometimes causing microcephaly, a severe birth defect that leaves babies with smaller-than- normal heads and brains. Florida officials reported on July 29, 2016 they had found 4 cases that had occurred locally in the state.

To read the BBC's complete article on the UK's travel warning, follow the link below.

The U.S. government does not expect major outbreaks in America, but does anticipate clusters of the disease from local infection.

For more information about mosquito-borne diseases and prevention tips, visit BiteHelper.com, where you will also learn how to make mosquito bites stop itching. If you are bitten, you can get quick mosquito bite relief by using Bite Helper™, a device that directs vibrating heat to the affected area to help neutralize the itching and irritation. Bite Helper™ can also relieve itch and discomfort from the bites of ticks, ants, wasps and bees.

For more information on Bite Helper™, click here: https://bitehelper.com/

*http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36929641

Five food-color groups

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy pregnancy diet. Here is a list of five important food color groups.

• Orange fruits and vegetables are often high in vitamin A, improve immune and reproductive health, and also have anti-cancer properties. Sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash, carrots, and apricots are all good sources of your daily dose of orange.

• Yellow fruits and veggies like squash, potatoes, bell peppers, and apples; promote skin and eye health.  They can also improve cognition.

• My favorite color, green is great for lowering the risk of cancer, improved eye health, and stronger teeth and bones.  Some of my favorite green veggies are asparagus, kale, spinach, and broccoli.

• Blue and Purple fruits and vegetables are my second favorite to eat.  Eggplant (my favorite), purple cabbage, prunes and raisins help to protect cells from being damaged and help lower the risks of heart disease, and cancer.  They also have anti-aging and brain boosting properties.
Red fruits and vegetables like cranberries, bell peppers, tomatoes, and pomegranates contain antioxidants that benefit heart health and can help prevent some cancers. 

Enjoy the rainbow!

Source: juliegreenandkeen.blogspot.com

Facebook: 4 Months Of Paid Parental Leave For All Employees

Facebook announced that global employees will receive four months of paid parental leave, in the latest in a series of signs that Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are becoming more family-friendly.

“We want to be there for our people at all stages of life, and in particular we strive to be a leading place to work for families,” wrote Lori Matloff Goler, Facebook’s Human Resources head, in a Facebook post. She said the updated policy affects primarily men and people in same-sex relationships across the world, and does not alter existing maternity leave practices.

Just last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will take two months of parental leave when his wife Priscilla Chan gives birth to their first child. In the post he cited the paternity leave time of four months for Facebook employees in the U.S., which has now been expanded to include all of the roughly 12,000 Facebook employees worldwide.

Facebook is the latest in a growing list of tech companies updating their paternity leave policies, including Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Netlix and Spotify. The updates to existing parental leave policies reflect a cultural shift within the tech industry, as many young employees in Silicon Valley reach the next stage of their lives.

Source: time.com