31 Ways To Improve Yourself

October brings us falling leaves and pumpkins, but it also reminds all of us that it is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Here are 31 ways to improve the quality of your life....one tip for each day of the month:
1. Give yourself a self breast examination. The easiest place to do that is in the shower.
2. Add grapefruit to your breakfast. It can lower your cholesterol by as much as 15%.
3. Swap out one cup of coffee a day with a cup of decaffinated tea. Try chamomille or peppermint.
4. Floss your teeth regularly. By flossing 4-6 times a week, you can increase your life expectancy by three years.
5. Add red cherries to your diet. Cherries may help fight heart disease, cancer and arthritis.
6. Listen to music that makes you feel better. Put it on in the car to decrease road rage.
7. Add yogurt to your diet. The active cultures in yogurt are good for your digestion and may also reduce the risk of certain types of digestive cancers.
8. Add red bell peppers to your diet. They have three times the amount of vitamin C and are a great source of beta carotene.
9. Begin to cut your meal portions down in size. Reducing your calorie intake by only 20% has impressive anti-aging benefits.
10. Add garlic to your diet as it too can help lower cholesterol.
11. Keep the skins on some of your fruits and vegetables like apples and green beens as they contain insoluble fiber.
12. Add more lean protein to your diet like fish or skinless chicken and less carbohydrates like potatoes and pasta.
13. By adding more protein to your diet, you can possibly lower your blood pressure.
14. Add almonds to your diet. Almonds (raw only) are a great source of protein, fiber, calcium and iron.
15. Cut down on your coffee consumption, but not all the way. Coffee actually is a great source of anti-oxidants.
16. Start adding short walks to your routine several times a day. Try walking in intervals of 15 minutes each two to three times a day.
17. If you are experiencing hot flashes, try taking a yoga class. The deep breathing and postures may cut down on the number of hot flashes by about 40%.
18. Begin weighing yourself regularly. Do it once or twice a week, first thing in the morning to get your true weight. It's important to keep tabs on significant weight gain or loss.
19. Eat foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, trout or tuna. Adding more omega-3 fatty acids has many benefits, including improving your mood.
20. Cuddling is good for you. It releases the hormone oxytocin which is a feel-good hormone.
21. Try deep breathing several times a day to relieve stress and help you fall asleep faster. Ten to 15 minutes of deep breathing can rebalance your nervous system.
22. Want to improve your memory? Try some lemon balm tea. Steep 3 teaspoons in 3 cups of hot water and sip throughout the day.
23. Take a vacation every year. It improves the quality of your life and will make you feel happier.
24. Turn your bedside clock away from you each night. Seeing the time if you are having trouble sleeping will only make you feel more anxious.
25. Improve your social life. Join a club or volunteer your time. Getting out and helping others will not only make you feel better, you can make some new friends.
26. Try adding a flat foam or silicone support in fromt of your keyboard at work to reduce upper-body and/or wrist pain.
27. To help reverse the effects of skin damage, use four key items on a daily basis: sunscreen, an exfoliant, an antioxidant and retinol.
28. Volunteering will not only improve your social life, but by making you feel better, it may help you live longer.
29. Improve your sex life. Creams containing the amino acid L-arginine may increase your sex drive.
30. Eat a little dark chocolate a day. Recent studies show it's not only good for your heart, contains anti-oxidants, but may improve your dental health as well.
31. Add some strengh training exercise to your routine. Building muscle will help you burn more calories through out the day and will protect your bones too.
For more tips, go to Womens' Health.