Stay Healthy and Well Hydrated this Ramadhan !

Premium Wellness & Beauty Products for You and Your Family Many bodily changes come naturally as we pursue the holy act fasting every Ramadhan. While we observe a tranquil state both physically and spiritually, our bodies will adapt to the changes in our diet and sleep pattern. A one-stop centre for all your wellness needs, LiveLife International and Plincco.com want to help keep you healthy, happy and energized this Ramadhan as we count down the days to Aidilfitri! Feast your senses on the unique selection of wellness items and enjoy the fasting month to the fullest.

Healthy Sleep: Rilax Zzz

With waking up for sahur and adjusting to new meal times, our usual sleep pattern may differ during the holy month. This temporary interruption to your usual sleep times may cause you to find it difficult to go to sleep at a new time, or even to get enough hours of sleep every night.

Besides adjusting your sleeping pattern by going to bed early so that you can wake up for sahur and still get an adequate amount of sleep, why not also try Rilax Zzz. With over 2 million capsules sold, Rilax Zzz is Malaysia’s award-winning, best-selling sleep supplement developed by LiveLife Bio Sciences AG, Switzerland. A safe product that doesn’t cause drowsiness and is non-habit forming, the two main relax-inducing ingredients in this all-natural supplement are Latium, an extract of milk; and L-theanine, a caffeine-free extract of green tea. By taking just 1-2 capsules an hour before bed, Rilax Zzz helps set the mood for you to get a more quality night of rest. With better sleep, you’ll have better energy in the day to carry on with daily activities even though you’re fasting!

Healthy Gut - TruDtox

It’s only normal during that when it’s finally time to break your fast, most of us tend to ‘go big’ with our meals, as a well-deserved reward at the end of the day. However, with reduced water intake throughout the day, the sudden consumption of big meals at iftar can be a shock to our stomachs, leading to gas, feeling bloated and constipation

By binging at iftar, your stomach may start to feel unbalanced. By consuming a hot-brewed cup of TruDtox tea, you can support your bowel health by flushing your natural detox functions to maintain a cleaner, healthier and lighter gut. With a comprehensive and proprietory blend of imported high-quality European herbs, floras and teas, TruDtox is a botanical tea free of harsh laxatives such as senna, and is classified by the Malaysian Ministry of Health as a food product. Be sure to also take a few sachets of TruDtox with you when you balik kampong for Raya, as it would do wonders in keeping your tummy feeling healthy while you feast yourself at various open houses!

Skin Saver - Marine Elements™

Is the reduced liquid intake during Ramadhan making your skin feel dry and itchy? When not drinking enough water, everything from washing and wiping yourself can cause dry skin and even other conditions such as parched cuticles around your fingernails. Keep your skin moisturized with the hypoallergenic Marine Elements™ Body Lotion that can help soften the skin’s surface, allowing moisture and nutrients to penetrate deep down. With the patented Zonase X™ active ingredient which contains natural proteins and enzymes, your skin’s moisture will be replenished, reducing any negative effects such as inflammation or itchiness.

Marine Elements™ is great for anyone with eczema and dry skin. Marine Elements™ products are suitable for all skin types and with a range of products that include Body Wash, Body Lotion and Intensive Cream.

Skin Saver - Novexpert Booster Serum with Hyaluronic Acid

The star product and bestseller of French skincare brand Novexpert from Paris, the Booster Serum with Hyaluronic Acid is your skin’s best friend. Lack of water intake when fasting can cause the skin on your face, lips and neck to dehydrate, which can lead to other skin conditions such as sagging skin and chapped lips. Try this Booster Serum with Hyaluronic Acid to help supplement your skin with what it’s missing from your daily diet. This product works on any skin type whether man or woman with dehydrated, sensitive, oily or tired skin and leaves your skin repulped, plumper and more moisturized.

The ‘cosmeceutical’ Novexpert skincare brand takes much pride in its all-natural, 100% hypoallergenic and biodegradable formula, and this serum can be applied everywhere (face, eye contour, neck, cleavage) and in any season or climate.

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Are You Wired with MORE Stress?

Type A personality characteristics can bring an increased risk of health problems since they are more 'high strung' or always in a state of chronic stress.

Type A - Key Characteristics:

Time Urgency & Impatience So many things to do, so litte time! Hurry Up!	Aggresiveness Easily upset from having a short fuse.	Competitiveness A dire craving to win or be 'the betterman'.
Strong Achievement-Orientation The drive to excel at what you do.	Certain Physical characteristics Tense facial muscles from stress.

Here's Why
Researchers believe Type A Behavior is more of a reaction to external factors:

• Jobs with heavy time demands 'train' people to get things done quickly.
• Workplaces that penalize harshly for mistakes may make one very efficient and achievement-centric.
• Stressful jobs by nature, make people less patient, more stressed, and prone to 'Type A' behaviors.
• Some people already are naturally more intense, and it can be exacerbated by environmental stress, or mitigated by conscious effort and lifestyle changes.

 

Negative Effects of Type A Behavior:

Hypertension High blood pressure is as much as 84% more of a risk among those with "Type A" personality.	Heart Disease Some experts predict that, for those exhibiting Type A behaviors, heart disease by age 65 us a virtual certainty.
Job Stress "Type A" people usually find themselves in stressful, demanding jobs (sometimes, the jobs create the Type A behavior!), which lead to metabolic syndrome and other health problems.	Social Isolation Those with Type A behavior often alienate others, or spend too much time on work and focus too little on relationships - increasing the risk of stress that comes with social isolation.

Blood pressure, blood cholesterol and your heart rate are affected by excess chronic stress. Take time for yourself every day to breathe deeply, roll your shoulders and just "be". Do it 10 minutes before you rise in the morning and before you sleep at night. No matter what is happening in your life, work, school or family, you need to remain healthy!

 

How Type A Are You?

1. Are you always hurrying around and watching time, thinking how little of it you have to spare?
2. Is it difficult to fully listen to someone talking, because you're thinking of so many other things at the same time?
3. Do you interrupt others when they speak?
4. Do you have a significant need to be recognized by others in whatever you do?
5. Will you often 'max out' (do whatever it takes) to pursue something you want - i.e. close a sale, get a promotion or to get tickets to a hot-selling concert?
6. Do you walk much faster than most people, until you have to slow down just to keep pace with them?
7. Do you talk faster than most people, often repeating yourself before others understand what you've just said?
8. Is your face usually tense - tight lips, frowning, clenched jaws, taut cheeks, tongue clicking or teeth grinding?
9. Most of the time, do you need to 'win' at everything you do or say - be it at games, project bids or discussions?
10. Do you sweat often, especially on the forehead and upper lips, or have dark circles under your eyes?

If you have answered 'yes' to many of these questions, then it's time to challenge those habitual patterns of thought or reaction to stress. Take life easy... and take Rilax Zzz.

Rilax Zzz can help to reduce the spikes in your stress hormone levels as you work on softening levels as you work on softening your Type A tendencies. Rilax Zzz contains ingredient that moderates stress and promotes calm.

Recommended reading:

• 7 Foods to Calm You Down Fast
• Sleep Matters
• Sleep Stages: While You Were Sleeping
• How to Get the Most Out of Your Sleep
• Avoiding Dark Circles: No More Panda Eyes Please
• More of Rilax Zzz

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While You Were Sleeping

What do you notice when you watch a child sleeping?

On the surface, you see a peaceful and restful child and oh-how beautiful they look. If you look a little longer, soon you will notice movement in the eyes, coupled with some light jerks of the hands and legs. Well, verily, verily I say unto you… it’s normal. 

While all voluntary muscular activities are temporarily suspended, your brain is still somewhat active and shift into different STAGES – REM sleep & Non-REM sleep. These sleep stages can be seen with an electroencephalograph (now say it 10 times), in short, it’s just EEG! With these stages, you’ll understand sleep better and perhaps, just perhaps become more conscious of your own sleeping habit. Here are the sleep stages in a nutshell. 

When we sleep, our brains cycle from stage to stage. To understand the stages better, just imagine yourself falling asleep in your apartment located in a very busy city. 

NREM Stage 1:
In this stage, you close your eyes but you are conscious of your surroundings. You can still hear the taxis honking and the piercing sound of an ambulance. It feels like you are not sleeping yet. Some may even feel the feeling of falling at this stage.

NREM Stage 2:
Slowly, your body relaxes, your heart rate slows down and body feels a tad warmer. The hustle and bustle of the city begins to quieten down and it does not bother you as much. This stage of light sleep last only about 20 minutes and you are about to enter into deep sleep.

NREM Stage 3 & 4:

These two stages are relatively known as deep sleep. The EEG would show slow waves pattern (only 50% of brain activity). At this stage, your body repairs bones and skin, and stabilizes your hormone levels. Stage 4 is more intense and it’s also an important stage of sleep because our energy is restored in this stage. If stage 4 is deprived, you wake up in the morning still feeling physically tired.

Stages 1 to 4 sleep cycle is also known as Non-REM sleep. The NREM stages is important for us because our body repairs and regenerates tissues, strengthens our immune system and builds bones and muscles. That explains why everyone needs plenty of sleep as it is essential for growth, health and brain development.

There are notable physical changes in the body while you sleep; for example, your respiration rate becomes more rapid and irregular but shallow, your heart rate increases, and your eyes move in different directions.

REM Stage (Rapid Eye Movement) Stage 5:
Most vivid dreams occur in this stage of REM sleep as a result of the intense brain activity.  From being in your room sleeping to suddenly rescuing a princess in the "Sahara Desert", you engage your whole self in your “action-packed movie”, your body is temporarily paralyzed (called Atonia), this happens to prevent you from physically replicating the action-packed kung-fu movements in your dreams! The REM stage is the combination of heightened brain activity and muscular paralysis; hence, it’s sometimes called the paradoxical sleep! Interesting!

You must know that it sleep does not just progress through the sequence in order. The sleep cycles moves from stage to stage and it looks something like this: stage 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 3 > 2 > REM > 2. This sleep cycle happens about 4 to 5 times throughout the night. But when morning comes, most of your sleep consists of stages 1 and 2, or sometimes REM. Ideally, waking up in the early stages of sleep is best, helping you feel refreshed and less groggy in the morning.

Children and infants get most REM sleep, and as you age, the percentage of REM sleep decreases. The REM sleep is particularly important because many theories suggest with the lack of REM sleep, it causes irritability and anxiety as REM sleep aids in the development of our nervous system. Moreover, REM sleep can also help to improve memory.

Although having more hours of sleep is important, it does not necessarily meant that you have sufficient sleep. If you had eight to nine hours of sleep yet still feel tired in the morning, it would most likely mean your quality of sleep is poor. It is the quality of sleep is what we need to pay attention to.

Rilax Zzz is a natural sleep supplement formulated to help you experience a good night’s sleep, so that you wake up refreshed and ready to start your day. Rilax Zzz contains two clinically proven, award-winning all-natural ingredients (Lactium and L-Theanine) in a unique formulation that calms and promotes healthy sleep, as well as effective for relieving stress.

Rilax your way to a good night's sleep...

Recommended Reading:

• 7 Foods to Calm You Down Fast
• Sleep Matters
• Are You Wired with More Stress
• How to Get the Most Out of Your Sleep
• Avoiding Dark Circles: No More Panda Eyes Please
• More of Rilax Zzz

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7 Foods to Calm You Down Fast

When we're stressed we often turn to diet-busting goodies for comfort. Instead of soothing our frayed nerves, many of them ultimately make us feel worse.

Why? After the initial rush, the body's insulin response kicks in, causing a sudden blood-sugar drop that triggers the release of stress hormones. Soon you're feeling more jangled than you were before you wolfed down those sweet desserts.

Cheer up! True comfort foods do exist!

01 Berries, Any Berries For those tough times when tension tightens your jaw, try rolling a frozen berry around your mouth, one by one. Since the carbs in berries turn to sugar very slowly, you won't have a blood-sugar crash.	02 Guacamole Avocados are loaded with B vitamins, which stress quickly depletes and which your body needs in order to maintain nerves and brain cells. Great for creamy cravings (and it's healthy fat)!
03 Mixed Nuts Fust an ounce will do. Walnuts help replace stress-depleted B vitamins. Brazil nuts have loads of zinc (which gets drained by high anxiety), and almonds boost your E, which helps fight cellular damage linked to chronic stress.	04 Oranges They are good source of vitamin C, which helps fight a jump in cortisol, a stress hormone. People who take 1,000 milligrams of C before giving a speech have lower levels of cortisol and lower blood pressures than those who don't.
05 Asparagus Each tender stalk is a source of folic acid, a natural mood lightener. For a hit of calcium with each bite, dip the spears in fat-free yogurt or sour cream.	06 Chai Tea A warm drink is a supersoother, and curling up with a aromatic decaf chai tea can make the whole evil day go away.
07 Dark chocolate When only chocolate will do, reach for the dark, sultry kind that's at least 70% cocoa. If the antioxidant flavonoids in it are potent enough to fight cancer and heart disease, then surely they can temper tension's effects.

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