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• 7 Foods To Avoid Before Going To Bed
• 7 Facts About Chola Dynasty An Average Indian Should Know
• 6 Tips To Be Relieved After A Stressful Day
• 6 Exercise Moves You Can Practice In Office
• 6 Superhero Movies That Failed At The Box Office
• 6 Tasks You Can Outsource To Your Hubby

7 Foods To Avoid Before Going To Bed Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:32 AM PST Do you experience the feeling of bloated stomach accompanied by heart burn, while sleeping at night? If yes, then these are the symptoms of over eating or consuming invariably excessive quantities of high calorie foods right before sleeping. You directly go to sleep after having your dinner, without actually realizing that you have eaten more than what you should. Certain foods such as the high calorie nosh, negatively affect your body, especially if consumed at the night time. Even late night dining decisions can wreck havoc on your stomach and make you suffer from indigestion. Such bad eating habits can even disrupt your sleep, if you don't start avoiding these foods before your bed time. 7. Processed Snacks and Chips: Processed foods should not only be avoided during the night time, but all throughout the day. Snacks and chips constitute the high calorie foods that contain monosodium glutamate in very high quantities. Consumption of such foods on regular basis leads to sleeping disorders and various other problems related to stomach. 6. Alcoholic Beverages: Majority of people think that consuming copious amount of alcohol puts them into a deep daze resulting into a great sleep, but it is actually the opposite. In reality alcohol is a depressant that actually makes you drowsy, but soon after a while its effects reverses. Drinking alcohol right before bed not only causes heart burn, but also reduces sleep as it causes night sweats that wake you up repeatedly, making you feel less refreshed in the morning. Another disadvantage is that alcohol is very high in calorie content. 5. Certain Vegetables: Now, you must be wondering how consumption of vegetables right before your bed time can negatively affect your health? It is very true that vegetables are the best source of nutrition and are delicious too. But there are certain vegetables which if consumed before sleeping can cause excessive flatulence and make you feel full for a longer time. The veggies that should be avoided before sleeping include onions, cabbage and broccoli as they contain high quantities of insoluble fiber. Without much exertion, your digestive system is incapable of processing these veggies at night when you sleep. 4. Dark Chocolates: Various studies have proved dark chocolate to be a good supplement for your memory and brain. But, it is also true that dark chocolates contain very high calorie content. So eating dark chocolates right before your bed time is definitely not recommended. You can consume a very small piece as a dessert, but having rich quantities of chocolate containing caffeine and various other stimulants will turn you more active, putting your mind to work rather than sleep. 3. Red Meat: A big juicy streak or nice brisket, red meat is a great treat for anybody. But the problem lies in the fact that red meat is loaded with fats, proteins and iron, which poses a challenge for you digestive system to process the food especially at the night time when you go to sleep. To have a peaceful sleep, you ideally want your digestive system to be comfortable and meat on the other hand takes longer to get digested compared to other foods. So simply avoid meat before sleeping as your digestive system will be busy to break it down all night. 2. Ice Cream: What could be more comforting than having ice cream for dessert, but there is certainly a limit to its soothing properties. A bowl of ice cream is so laden with fats that it instantly pumps up your body to extreme energies right before you go so sleep. Plus the sugar in the ice cream gets stored and is ultimately converted into body fat, resulting into lose-lose situation overall. 1. Pasta: Pasta is an absolute "no" food for dinner. Despite the fact that it is easy to cook and is very filling, you still cannot consider it for dinner. Pasta is a storehouse of carbohydrates and as it's cooking involves lots of cheese and oil, which finally result into fats when you go to sleep, so you definitely need to keep away from it. The post 7 Foods To Avoid Before Going To Bed appeared first on TopYaps.

7 Facts About Chola Dynasty An Average Indian Should Know Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:05 AM PST The Chola dynasty was the most civilized and one of the longest ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. The Chola Empire is better known as Cholamandalam. It is often believed that the Chola dynasty was founded by Karikala. The Cholas left an ever lasting impression in South India, their zeal of building temples and patronage of Tamil literature resulted in great enhancement of Tamil architecture and literature. If you need to know more (and you should know!) about the towering dynasty of India’s past, scroll down. 7. Origin of Chola dynasty: The origin of the Cholas dynasty is marked in ancient Tamil literature and in inscriptions. It is believed that the Cholas is the name of the ruling family or clan of ancient antiquity. There are many names in history that are commonly used for the Cholaas, such as Killi, Valavan and Sembiyan. The earliest references to Choladynasty come from the inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by king of the Maurya Empire – Ashoka. 6. Early Cholas: The Sangam literature that belongs to the second or first few centuries of the common era, records the names of the earliest Chola kings and the princes. Names like king Kantaman, Karikala Chola, Kocengannanand prince Elaraare some prominent names from early Chola dynasty. The Chola king Kantaman, a supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya is known for brining river Kaveri into existence with his devotion. According to the Mahavamsa, a historical poem written in the Pali language, Chola prince known as Elara, invaded the island around 235 BCE. 5. Medieval Cholas: During the medieval period, the Chola dynasty was at the peak of its power and succeeded in expanding their territory and influence. In 885 Aditya I, the second Chola King defeated the Pandyas of Madurai and conquered large parts of the Kannada country. With his leadership and vision Parantaka I occupied Sri Lanka, while Sundara Chola, also known as Parantaka Chola II, regained territories from the Rashtrakutas and extended the Chola kingdom up to Bhatkal in Kannada country. Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola II are known to expand the Chola Empire beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom. 4. Later Cholas: In the later Chola dynasty names like Kulothunga Chola I, his son Vikrama Chola, other successors like Rajaraja Chola II, Rajadhiraja Chola II and the great Kulothunga Chola III, who conquered Kalinga, Ilam and Kataha are prevalent. The emperors between 1215 and 1218 weren't as strong as those between 850–1215 therefore theyexperienced continuous trouble. In 1279, the Pandyas (who had risen to becomevery powerful in the south) ultimately banished the Hoysalas from Malanadu, who were allies of the Cholas, leading to the departure of the Cholas. 3. Chola Territory: With their leadership, vision and power, the Chola dynasty succeeded in occupying region that includes the modern-day Tiruchirapalli District, Tiruvarur District, Nagapattinam District, Ariyalur District, Perambalur district, Pudukkottai district, PichavaramTaluk, Vridhachalam Taluk in Cuddalore District and the Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal District in Karaikal. 2. Nature of Chola government: During the Chola dynasty, for the first time the entire South India was brought under a single government. The Cholas’ system of government was monarchical, wherein the entire kingdom was divided into several provinces called Mandalams, were governed by the governors. Mandalams were divided into divisions called Kottams, which were further divided into district called Nadus. The Nadus were divided into Tehsil, which used to comprise of a group of villages. The provinces were governed by the governors. The king was the central authority, who run the entire kingdom taking help from his ministers and other officers. During the Chola era, there was provision for a local government, wherein every village was a self-governing unit. 1. Cultural contributions of Chola dynasty: The Chola period was an excellent time for Tamil country in terms of art, religion and literature. Taking the temple-building tradition a step further, the Cholas built many Siva temples using the Dravidian temple design along the banks of the river Kaveri. Built in 1009, during the time of King Rajaraja, the beautiful Siva temple of Thanjavur is the largest and tallest of all Indian temples of its time. The Great living Chola temples that have been proclaimed as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO are Brihadisvara Temple, the temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. The Cholas sculpted many bronze figures of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. The Cholas period was a golden time for literature. During this era, not only did the Saiva and Vaishnava devotional literature flourish, but also Jain and Buddhist authors got the opportunity to display their talent. The post 7 Facts About Chola Dynasty An Average Indian Should Know appeared first on TopYaps.

6 Tips To Be Relieved After A Stressful Day Posted: 27 Nov 2013 12:03 AM PST You had a tough day, which has left you worn out and stressed. Then you drive through heavy traffic, people blaring horns, not following rules and finally reach home totally upset. Your nerves are so wracked that even a minor trigger like a baby crying or dog barking can make you extremely irritable and frustrated, driving you to the edge. Do you think you can manage healthy relationships in such condition? It may not be impossible, but I am sure it is very close to it. If you are having stressful days too often than you better learn techniques that can relieve stress before it gets out of hand. All of the 6 tips mentioned below provide quick relief from stress after a rough day, so that you can continue to see the smile on the faces of your loved ones when you arrive home. 6. Listen to light music: When you are winding up your day, play some soothing light music to accompany your activities like, packing your belongings, checking for things to pick-up, walking to your car or driving back home. For a long time now, music has proven to be a great tool in stress relief. The different ways in which music alters physiology, even in plants, has led to music therapy for treating many mind related illnesses. Singing or humming your favorite tune can be quite helpful as well. 5. Remain active: When you have gone through stressful day, all you want to do is lay down on the couch, so that you can relax. That is because like many others, you do not realize that the best way to relieve stress is by being active and not lazy. Find any activity that you enjoy to relieve stress; if possible find a loving partner to enjoy your activity with. Walking, exercising, cycling or swimming can be great stress relievers, in addition, they help you get good sleep. 4. Steaming hot shower: If you are looking for a quick stress relief, without wanting to go through the trouble of preparing a bath, your shower can do the trick for you. Treat yourself to some aromatic gels, soft scrub and soothing oils before getting under the shower. Work out lots of bubbles and enjoy your shower to the fullest. As you allow the hot water to flow down, imagine your stress being washed away along with the soapy bubbles. Think of the pleasant things you will be doing after feeling fresh and clean. 3. Take yourself out for a treat: Though this cannot be done regularly, once in awhile, when the day has been extra tough on you; take yourself out for a treat. You deserve it after all you have been through the day. Buy something you have wanted for yourself for a long time, go to your favorite restaurant to enjoy your favorite dish, or visit a friend who stays so far that you have been postponing the visit due to your busy schedule. No matter what you do; it should be something that can make you smile from ear to ear and say, "Yay! I finally did it". 2. Learn Breathing Exercises: Breathing exercises can calm your nerves like a magic potion. Stress relieving breathing involves certain simple techniques which you can learn quickly without much help. Often we fill just a part of our lungs with air when we breathe. Try to fill up your whole lungs by taking a deep breath very slowly through your nostrils. Slowly let the air escape through your mouth. Do not hold breath in or pause in between. Follow the pattern with a rhythm until you feel relaxed and calm. 1. Find fun with your family: Nothing can relieve stress like your family and laughter; hence, you can imagine the wonders they can do when combined together.  Have some activities that allow you to bellow in laughter with your family. This is not just a stress reliever for you, but it is great bonding moment for all your family members. Share jokes, comedy movies, Tom & Jerry cartoon or anything that sends ripples of laughter all around. The post 6 Tips To Be Relieved After A Stressful Day appeared first on TopYaps.

6 Exercise Moves You Can Practice In Office Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:02 PM PST Gone are the days when "work" actually meant blood and sweat of the manual labor. Today we are more likely to work hour after hour, logged into our systems and permanently glued to our seats. And despite the fact that you might be a champ in creating excel sheets, and an athlete at your night gym, recent research has proved that mere 30 minutes of cardio exercise five times a week is not sufficient to undo your health risk of following a sedentary lifestyle. So how can you make up for your health while still being chained to your office deck? It's fairly simple! Short bouts of stretching exercises, aerobics and strength exercises in between your meetings and conference calls are the key for improved fitness and healthy heart too. Though performing these exercises won't guarantee you to be an Olympic athlete, but they might just help you build your stamina and burn a few extra calories to boost your energy levels. So, here's a list of 6 exercise moves you can practice in office to follow a healthier work day. 6. The Wall Sit: Stand with your back positioned right against the wall, then bend your knees slowly and slide your back down the wall till your thighs are parallel to the floor. Maintain this posture for at least one minute or till the times you can hold up, while browsing your important file or an official document. Once you get a hold of it, and then try crossing your right ankle over the left knee and try maintaining this posture for a minimum of 15 seconds, then switch. The wall sits are a great way for building endurance and physical strength. 5. The Seated Leg Raiser: This is a fairly easy exercise with astounding results and the best part is they're hardly noticeable as they're performed under the desk. While being seated, straighten one leg or both your legs and hold them in place for a minimum of 10 seconds. Then lower your leg back to its original position without making your feet touch the floor. Repeat this procedure 15-20 times with alternate legs. 4. The Lunch Break Hammy: You can strengthen your hamstrings by following the standing leg curl. Simply stand behind your chair and grasp it for support. Then kick back one foot gently and aim the heel for the top of your thigh. Bring you foot back to its normal position and repeat the procedure with the other leg. Repeat this 10 times, take a bite from your lunch and repeat another 10 reps. 3. The Cubicle Dip: You can do the triceps dips almost anywhere including your office cubicle. Take your desk or a non-rolling chair then sit at its very edge and place your hands on either side to firmly grip the edges of the chair. Plant your feet a step or two away from the chair or the desk you are using, and then straighten up your arms to lift up your body. Then bend your arms to about 90° angles such that your body dips down, hold, and re-straighten while maintain your body posture exalted above the chair. Repeat it for about 8-10 reps. 2. The Secret Handshake: This is for you to make a deal with yourself. Sit up straight with your feet firmly touching the ground. Then clasp your hands together as if you are giving yourself a handshake. Make sure your one thumb points downwards and the other pointing towards the ceiling. Then pull strongly and at the same time resist the motion of both your arms feeling the pressure in your biceps. Hold the posture for about 10 seconds or more and release and repeat it again. 1. The Stapler Curl: Whether you are standing or sitting, take the stapler in one hand with your palm facing upwards. Now bend your elbow and curl up your arm towards your chest, similar to practicing a regular dumbbell bicep curl. Hold on to that posture and then lower the stapler to the original position. Repeat the steps about 12-15 times and then switch. To increase the weight on your palm, replace the stapler with a water bottle or your heavy change purse. The post 6 Exercise Moves You Can Practice In Office appeared first on TopYaps.

6 Superhero Movies That Failed At The Box Office Posted: 26 Nov 2013 07:47 PM PST Superhero movies are the new craze world over. One day someone woke up and realized that comic books contain all the ingredients for a hit commercial movie with lots of action, drama and heroism. Every superhero is being brought on to the big screen but making a hit superhero movie is not yet an exact science. What works for one movie might not work for another. It’s never easy to tell which movie will be a hit. On the other hand there have been some really bad movies made that deserved to fail. Some of these movies could have even killed that particular superhero forever but let’s hope not. Here are 6 superhero movies that were completely rubbish. 6. Jonah Hex: Female superhero movies are not easy to make as most of the audience needs a strong manly hero. Jonah Hex of 2010 is one such movie that failed completely while trying to use Megan Fox to sell a female superhero. Sadly what Megan brought in looks she took away in acting skills and the audience didn’t appreciate that. But her acting was just one of the failures of the movie and that’s why it bombed at the box office and received two Razzies. 5. Aeon Flux: Another female superhero character that failed is Aeon Flux. Charlize Theron is a brilliant actress and she’s very hot but in this movie she failed to deliver. Combine that with a poor script about a post apocalyptic world where people are kept happy by keeping them in darkness and you’ve got a pretty bad superhero movie. The worst parts are the superhero action stuff which is pretty lame. The movie couldn’t recover it’s budget and received two Razzies. 4. The Phantom: The Phantom is a good superhero but he’s not very well known. He’s like the Batman of the jungle and rides a horse and has a pet wolf but when the movie came out very few people knew about him. So the movie failed miserably despite being not that bad a movie in itself. The lack of a proper star might have added to its doom too. This is one movie that wasn’t as bad as it performed and hopefully it hasn’t killed off the Phantom as a movie superhero as we’d like to see more of him. 3. Spawn: Spawn is another movie that wasn’t as bad as it performed at the box office. The problem again was that nobody knew who Spawn was. His comic book was very new and even though it was a hit, not many people knew much about this superhero from hell. The movie is made pretty well for its time and is visually stunning but it still didn’t manage to do well financially. Let’s hope to see another Spawn movie someday as he’s another kickass superhero. 2. Catwoman: Catwoman of 2004 starring Halle Berry was a big flop. The movie was rubbish and her acting wasn’t good either. It’s another proof that a movie can’t succeed based on just the hotness of the lead actress. There has to be a good story and good acting which was missing in Catwoman. Interestingly it helped Halle Berry make the record of winning the Oscar for best actress for Monster’s Ball and the Razzie for the worst actress for Catwoman in the same year. She was a good sport though and came to receive her Razzie in person. 1. Batman & Robin: Easily the worst superhero movie ever and probably the worst movie ever is Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin. Here’s what’s wrong with it; the story isn’t very good, too many villains and extra characters make things complicated, too many characters were introduced for the first time, the gadgets were silly and again too many, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was funny with his silly puns, Bane was reduced to a mindless piece of meat, Batgirl was unnecessary, George Clooney was dull, the batsuit had nipples etc. ad infinitum. The movie was made to act as an advertisement to the huge collection of toys they launched. The worst thing is that this movie almost killed Batman! Thanks to Christopher Nolan Batman is back and being the badass superhero that he is. The post 6 Superhero Movies That Failed At The Box Office appeared first on TopYaps.

6 Tasks You Can Outsource To Your Hubby Posted: 26 Nov 2013 07:21 PM PST As a homemaker, you have so much to do that you sometimes may feel like leaving your family and running away to some isolated place where you can find some peace. But, you know deep in your heart that you would not give up on your family for the whole world. You love them and care for them, one of the reasons why you have the ability to manage multi-tasking so effectively. Today many women manage their work (at least part-time) cooking, cleaning, bringing up children, chauffeuring, shopping, gardening, social work, and many more with a smile on their faces. Above all they tend to look good, as though they have not done much throughout the day.  Unfortunately, they are humans and not superwomen to manage everything all alone. As marriage and home is all about sharing, some of the tasks can be conveniently outsourced to hubby, so that the wife can have some free time for herself. I assure you, the hubby who allows his wife to have some alone time, by taking up few responsibilities around the house will be so well rewarded, that he will never regret his decision. Here are 6 tasks you can outsource to your hubby, so that you don't feel as though you have been run over by a bus at the end of the day. Apart from taking some burden off you, helping around the house will your husband the pride of sharing your responsibilities. 6. Dusting and cleaning: Reaching those tough spots, dusting and cleaning the house thoroughly can be handled by the hubby, if possible with help from children. You can always stroke his manly ego by telling him you are not tough enough for the job. Moving furniture, cleaning and polishing can easily turn into fun time shared by dad and children when they do it together. You can take a day off to do something which you love but have been putting off due to your busy schedule. 5. One cooks, the other cleans: Cooking dinner, serving and then cleaning after your family can tire you out in the night. Let your hubby know that you will be too tired in bed to give him any attention under such circumstances. You can divide the responsibility by one of you cooking and the other cleaning after, so that the task doesn’t become cumbersome for one person. If you have grown up children, they can share some responsibilities as well. 4. Managing extra-curricular activities of children: If you are already helping the children manage their studies and home-work, then the responsibility of their extra-curricular activities should be outsourced to your husband. This gives opportunity for the children to bond and understand both their parents. They feel secure between the love and attention given to them by both parents. 3. Garbage disposal: Let him be responsible for disposing garbage and unwanted things around the house. Those unnecessary books, useless chair or old broken clocks need not litter your home anymore. If your hubby takes the task of clearing the clutter seriously, you will have so much of extra space in your home in no time. Moreover, your home will have a neat and tidy appearance. 2. Taking care of taxes, bills and mails: You have to stop telling yourself that he is going to forget, causing trouble if you give him the responsibility of taking care of taxes, bills or mails. Trust your hubby and pass on the buck to him. You can gently remind him, if you are afraid that he will forget. 1. Baby sitting: Bringing up children with love and care is possible only when both the parents share their responsibility equally. Occasionally, allow your hubby to be alone with children so that he can have that special bonding moments with them. Let your husband be your equal counterpart in bringing up children and taking responsibility for their well being. From changing nappy to handling terrible teens, you can take turns with your hubby for sharing parenting errands. The post 6 Tasks You Can Outsource To Your Hubby appeared first on TopYaps.

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