Having trouble drifting off when it comes to bedtime but fed up of counting sheep? Try these alternative sleepy time tips to help you into the world of slumber:

1.     Don’t force it

Unfortunately none of us possess the power to ‘will’ ourselves to sleep, so thinking and wishing and praying for it to happen will only result in frustration. If you happen to be having a sleepless night then try not to become stressed. Thinking ahead to the next day about how tired you are going to be during your morning commute and at work will not help matters. Relax – there is plenty of time for sleep tomorrow night, and the one after that etc.

2.     Build a routine

It is all very well setting an alarm each day to wake us at the same time, but we forget that a bedtime routine in the evening is just as important. Try to pick an hour to be in bed by most nights to help your body build a routine.

3.     Shut out the light

Obviously you will turn your light off before bed but bear in mind that other light sources can be a disturbance. If your phone goes off in the middle of the night, even if it’s on silent the light may disturb you without you actually realising.

The light from your computer charger, the hallway light coming in under your door and the light of the street lights seeping through your thin curtains can all act as disturbances on an unconscious level. Turn your phone charger over, shut off the hall light and get some well-lined curtains or a blackout blind.

4.     Choose your pillow wisely

Trying to get a good night’s sleep without a good pillow is akin to trying to get a car to start without an engine, or like going to the gym in stilettos. You need the right equipment. Ensure that your pillow offers support and comfort that is suitable for your sleeping position.

5.     Banish furry friends

As much as the thought of our feline and canine friends snuggled up at the end of the bed is all very quaint – midnight meowing and barking at bumps in the night do not make for a relaxing bedtime. Pets are just as easily woken up as we are so do yourself a favour and pop their bed a little further away (i.e. in another room) from yours.

For the full list of tips please visit the original Women’s Health Magazine article.

A research team from The University of California showed a group of participants a series of emotional images and then scanned them a few hours later as they viewed the images for a second time.

Between the two showings half of the participants were allowed to sleep and half were not.

When assessing the results of the scan it was found that the participants who were allowed to sleep between the showings were less active in the amygdala – the area of the brain linked to heightened emotions, and more activite in the prefrontal cortex – a brain region linked to rational thinking.

The group who were not allowed to sleep on the other hand, experienced a much more emotional response to the second round of pictures.

Scientists who worked on the study believe that the changes that occur during the REM period of sleep could help to explain why painful memories seem to be eased by sleeping.

The scientists believe that chemical changes in the brain during REM sleep may help to explain how the body makes this change.

Study leader Dr Matthew Walker has said that during the REM stage of sleep there is a decrease in a brain chemical which is associated with stress – norepinephrine.

He commented, “By reprocessing previous emotional experiences in this neurochemically safe environment of low norepinephrine during REM sleep, we wake up the next day, and those experiences have been softened in their emotional strength.”

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

According to scientists, those of us who have a positive, happy outlook to life have a lower risk of premature death.

The research, which was conducted by scientists from the University College of London studied almost 4,000 people between the ages of 52 – 79. The results of the study showed that those with higher contentment levels stood a 35% reduced risk of premature death than those with a less sunny disposition.

Professor Andrew Steptoe who was lead researcher on the study has said that these findings provide good reasoning as to why positive well-being should be promoted as a remedy for stress.

This is also not the first study to suggest that a ‘glass-half-full’ approach’ to life could be beneficial, with scientists also revealing in the past that positive moods can reduce the production of stress hormones as well as helping to strengthen the immune system.

During the past few years, positive psychology has seen a significant increase in popularity, with therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy being made available to NHS patients in a bid to reduce the cost of depression and anxiety to the UK economy.

Many individuals find that dissatisfaction with their personal life, relationship or job role result in a downtrodden everyday approach to life. A life coach is a person who can help you to address areas of your life in which you see room for improvement, and will help you to set attainable goals so you are able to move forward with a more positive outlook.

If you would like to find out about the areas in which a life coach may be able to help you, please visit our life coaching areas page to find out more.

View and comment on the original Daily Mail article.

Bob-a-job week was a long lived scouting tradition in which our knot tying friends helped out people in their local community in exchange for a small payment.

Unfortunately, bob-a-job week came to an end back in 1992, after health and safety and child protection concerns were raised.

Two decades on and the Scout Association has decided its time to start encouraging young people to help out once again and are soon to launch Scout Job Week.

There is one minor change however, scouts can expect not to receive any payment for lending a hand, as Scout Job Week is focussing on volunteering and is designed to help youngsters develop both helpfulness and entrepreneurial skills.

A series of volunteering projects have already been developed around the country, with scout groups in Milton Keynes dedicating their weekends to building a garden for Physiotherapy patients at their local hospital, and scouts in Nottingham delivering food and medicine to local residents during bad weather.

Come next May when the project is officially launched, some scouts will be returning to the same volunteer projects, whilst others will choose to help out around their local community.

UK chief scout and TV personality Bear Grylls has said that the revamp of bob a job week will ‘put volunteering back at the heart of scouting’.

View and comment on the original Telegraph article.

A survey of ten European developed countries has ranked the UK as the worst place to live in Europe whilst France reigns supreme on the top spot.

According to the uSwitch quality of life index, the UK has the second lowest hours of sunshine per year, the forth highest retirement age, the third lowest spend on health, 5.5 fewer days holiday per year than the European average.

To add insult to injury, the UK also have the highest diesel prices in Europe, alcohol, unleaded petrol and cigarettes costing more than the European average and a below average government spend on education.

With all things considered it is no surprise that around 12% of Brits say that they would seriously consider emigrating to another country in which they could work less and live more.

The survey revealed that 59% of people are worried about living in a ‘broken society’, 49% are concerned about the cost of living, 47% are worried about crime and violence, and only a minuscule 5% of those surveyed said they were actually happy living in Britain.

16 factors were taken into consideration when determining the position of each country, including VAT, the cost of essential goods, net income, hours of sunshine, working hours, holiday entitlement and life expectancy. Despite the UK average income being among the highest in Europe, the fact that Britain scored so terribly in the majority of other areas meant it was pushed to the very bottom of the list, one place worse than last year.

Ann Robinson, a spokeswomen from uSwitch commented that even though we may have the fourth highest household income in Europe, the high cost of living means we are living to work not working to live.

View the original Guardian article.

There have been many positive outcomes of this year’s GCSE results. More students are receiving results between the levels A* and C, with 69.8% of entries obtaining this outcome. This level has risen from 22.6% last year, to 23% of entries this year. However, the overall pass rate has actually dropped slightly to 92.7%

This year’s GCSE results have also shown a growing trend in the number of students who are choosing to sit exams in individual science subjects, and a decline in those opting for subjects such as geography, history and modern language. This may be down to the fact that so many jobs these days, require a good understanding of mathematics, which is often part of science subjects.

The number of students who chose physics as a GCSE subject rose by 16.4%, chemistry saw an increase of 16.2% and biology was up by 14.2%. Worryingly, the number of students opting to take languages is also falling, with both French and German dropping by a significant 13.2%.

School Minister Nick Gibb, spoke of his concern over the gap between girls and boys, and the number of students who are turning their backs on language subjects. Christine Blower, who is the general secretary for the National Union of Teachers, also voiced her concern over the decline of those choosing modern language. Although, both did congratulate the students on the hard work in getting these great results.

View the original BBC News article.

You may find that at some point in your life, you find yourself without many true friends around you. This may be due to being in a relationship, and neglecting them to a point of no return, or you may find that all your friends have settled down, and are not as willing to do the things you once enjoyed together. If this is the case, there are many ways in which you can make new friends and widen your circle.

The workplace can be a good place to make friends. You spend so much time there, it is inevitable that you will start to make strong connections. If you don’t currently work, then it may be worthwhile looking into undertaking some part time volunteer work. Not only will this give you something to focus on, but you will be guaranteed to become more involved in the community, and meet new people.

Another way to widen your social circle, is to join social networking sites, where you can meet people you would never normally come across. Twitter, for example, offers a platform to talk to a variety of people from all over the world. You can even search by interests, so you know straight away that you will have areas of common interest. Other social networking sites such as Facebook, will allow you to re-connect with friends from the past, so you never know where it will take you. Social networking can also be used to create and attend events, so make sure you attend as many of these as possible.

According to results taken from a 20 year long study, individuals who reported having a low level of social support were 2.4 times more likely to die during that time than those who reported having supportive colleagues.

The study, which was conducted by experts at the Department of Organizational Behavior at Tel Aviv University’s Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration, followed 820 working adults aged between 25 and 65, all of whom worked an average of 8.8 hours each day.

The study participants selected were from a variety of different backgrounds so as to insure risk factors such as psychological and behavioural issues, smoking and obesity etc were covered.

In addition, experts also ensured that the participants came from a variety of different employment fields, ranging from finance right through to healthcare.

Once selected, the participants were questioned about their relationships with their colleagues at work and were asked whether they found their superiors to be friendly or approachable.

The results of the study showed that of all the participants who died during the study, the vast majority of them had reported bad social connections with co-workers

Individuals who did lack emotional support led a 140% increased risk of dying in the next twenty years compared to those who reported supportive work colleagues.

Dr Sharon Toker who worked on the study said that because we spend most of our waking life at work we often don’t have as much time as we would like to meet our friends and spend time with them.

‘Work should be a place where people can get necessary emotional support.’ She said.

View the original Daily Mail article.

It is natural for the lives of parents to be concentrated around the needs of their family, so when the last child flies the nest it is only natural for couples to feel a slight void and perhaps as though they need to reconnect.

Recent research has revealed that empty nest syndrome really isn’t as bad as its made out to be, and after an initially bumpy start, couples tend to find their feet and rediscover the pleasure of each others company within around a year.

However, if you really do feel as though you have lost touch with your other half then relationship charity Relate has come up with some simple ideas which may help you cope with this stage of your relationship:

1. Firstly, the experts over at Relate recommend that you tell your partner how you feel, as carrying on whilst you are feeling low without confiding in your partner means they are unable to offer you the support and comfort you need.

2. If you feel like you no longer know your partner very well then you could come up with a fun quiz to break the ice, a bit like a game of Mr and Mrs. Try asking some light hearted questions such as what film have you enjoyed the most in the last year? Or what is the best book you have read recently? Not only does this allow you to find out more about each other but you could also make the effort to read that book or watch that film together which will create more opportunities for conversation and interesting debate.

3. Think back to what you used to do together when you first met, or what you did on your first date. Perhaps you went dancing together or bowling or strolled along the beach eating fish and chips. Try and update and relive these moments and enjoy each others company like you used to.

4. Think about doing some things that you have always wanted to do as a couple but lacked both the time and money to do whilst you were younger. Perhaps you wanted to go on an African safari or do a trek for charity but never had the time or money. There might also be smaller things such as going to the pub during the week, owning a dog or even going out for dinner. Make an effort to try and do more of these things and if it happens to be something expensive then save for it so you both have something to look forward to.

5. Having your children around the house is undoubtedly a bit of a passion killer so take this opportunity to rediscover your sex life.

6. Lastly you should feel proud of yourselves for reaching this stage as many couples do not. Give yourselves some time to reconnect and your relationship will go from strength to strength.

View the original Relate article for the full list of tips.

Listening to one another, sharing the household chores and ‘respecting’ your mother-in-law are just a few of the many tips consistently given to those who are looking to maintain a happy and healthy relationship. However, if these old hat tips aren’t really doing the trick then read on to discover some slightly more unorthodox approaches which could help you on the road to relationship bliss:

1. Log off

According to Amanda McAlister from the solicitors Russell Jones & Walker, Facebook and Friends Reunited are cited in a third of their 5,000 divorce petitions per year. Often individuals find it difficult to resist striking up contact with their first love or an old flame so make sure you are upfront about any online contact you have and try to limit the amount of time you spend on social networking sites.

2. Stay smart

According to a US study those of below-average intelligence are 50 per cent more likely to divorce than those who have a higher IQ. With that in mind, make an effort to exercise your brain whether it is cryptic crosswords, evening classes or even paying more attention to the evening news.

3. Fight for your rights

A recent survey has revealed that women who consider themselves as ‘feminists’ are actually more likely to have both better sex lives and relationships.

4. You give up smoking together

Yes you may feel tense and irritable with one another after you’ve gone a week without a cigarette but long term it is couples who share similar habits and values who stand the test of time and are more likely to have a successful marriage. Figures show that if one partner is a smoker and the other is not, they stand a 75-91 per cent higher chance of splitting than couples with the same smoking status.

5. You have a nice sofa

Yes it is true, soft furnishings really can impact your marriage. Research from Harvard, Yale and MIT Universities has revealed that the texture, shape, weight and hardness of certain piece of furniture can have an effect on your mood. According to the researchers, if your surroundings are calm then you are likely to be calmer in yourself and in your relationships.

6. You smiled in your school photographs

A study conducted in Indiana examined the high school photographs of 650 adults and found that those who had the ‘weakest ‘ smiles were three times more likely to divorce later on in life. Though the reason for this is unknown, researchers believe it could be linked to the fact that those who are generally happier in life are more likely to work through any difficulties they encounter.

View the original All About You article.