All posts by yanfeiwu

advice from my friends I am the type of person who worries a lot, and stays worried most of the time. What can I do?

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Advice from Linda:
You can’t just stop worrying. Worrying has been a huge positive in my life.
There is lots of evidence that worriers are better prepared for life’s challenges and so tend to do better in the long run. I wouldn’t give it up at all.
But, it is possible to live better with worry. Mediation and mindfulness (tons of articles and books on how), even for just 10 minutes a day, makes a huge difference. There you learn to worry without fear for one thing.
Estimates I’ve seen of personality types suggests there might be about 10% of the population that does what we do. That seven hundred million people on the planet presently. You’re in good company.
From Jeny
Keep on telling this to yourself. I read this quote somewhere and kept it saved on my phone to remind myself – ‘Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but, takes you nowhere.’
Divert your mind
Detach yourself from the chain of thoughts that worry you. Go out. Do something. Keep yourself busy.
Talk it out
This works for a lot of people. Talk to somebody who really understands you. If they are unavailable, get online. There are many anxiety forums where people are there to listen.
Take a break from your schedule
Get a holiday with your family, your friends or just tour a new city alone. You will return rejuvenated.
Write a journal
I experienced that writing your worries gives better clarity, reduces the convolution in your head and decreases the frequency of worrisome thoughts.
Watch something motivating
A good Ted talk, inspiring movie, or video sometimes gives us the confidence and courage to do something, moving past our worries.
All in all, don’t take life that seriously. Remember that you have only one life to live. It’s almost no use wasting it over a lot of things we worry about. Breathe. It will get better.

sleep difficulities

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Sleep difficulties are a common problem for millions of adults. Even if you can get to sleep, you might have trouble staying asleep. Does this sound familiar? You drift off to dreamland, but find yourself wide awake at 3 a.m., or maybe you wake up every few hours throughout the night. Adequate sleep is supposed to leave you feeling refreshed and ready to start your day. But if your sleep is interrupted, you’re likely to feel fatigued and sleepy the next day. So what gives? There are several factors that mayinterfere with getting your zzz’s including the following:
1. Too much caffeine:
You probably already know caffeine is a stimulant and can affect your ability to fall asleep. But it can also lead to poor quality sleep including waking up in the middle of the night. Caffeine has a three to five-hour half-life, which means it takes your body that many hours to get rid of half the caffeine you consumed. The bottom line is you may feel the effects of caffeine several hours after you consume it. Keep in mind, energy drinks, cola, chocolate and certain teas also contain caffeine. Your best bet is to avoid caffeine about six hours before bed.
2. Stress:
Stress and lack of sleep seem to go hand in hand. If you’re stressed, it can be hard to sleep well and may lead to middle of the night insomnia. When you don’t get enough sleep, that can also lead to more stress and it becomes a vicious cycle. According to the American Psychological Association, adults who get less than eight hours of sleep each night report higher levels of stress symptoms than those who sleep longer. Although it can be easier said than done, it’s important to unwind and unplugbefore bed.
3. Sleep environment:
Your sleep environment can contribute to poor sleep. For example, loud noises can jolt you from a sound sleep or light peeking through the shades can wake you. Fortunately, there are ways to make your bedroom more sleep-friendly. Invest in a quality mattress and comfy bedding and consider keeping your bedroom cool, which most people find helps sleep. Make sure your curtains are heavy enough to block out sunlight and use a white noise machine or earplugs to block sounds from outside.
4. An aching back:
Back pain can disrupt sleep and leave you struggling to find a comfortable position. If you have chronic back pain, it’s important to treat the underlying cause. Also, your sleep position can make a big difference in your comfort level. The right position for you may depend on whether your upper or lower back ache. To take the pressure off your back, the Mayo Clinic recommends sleeping on your side with your knees slightly pulled up towards your chest with a pillow between your knees.
5. Hormones:
Your hormones play a role in several functions including sleep. When there is an imbalance or afluctuation, shifting hormones can contribute to sleep disturbances. A woman’s menstrual cycle,pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause often cause hormonal changes that may affect their quality of sleep. For example, decreased estrogen can lead to hot flashes, which wake you up at 2 a.m. You can’t always control your hormones, but you can make your environment conducive for sleep, unwind before bed and stick to the same sleep schedule. If those strategies don’t help, talk with your doctor. Hormonal replacement therapy or additional treatment may be an option.
6. Alcohol:
If you enjoy a cocktail before bedtime, you know alcohol may help you get to sleep. But the bad news is it actually can interfere with your quality of sleep. As the alcohol metabolizes and the effects wear off, it prevents deep sleep, which causes restless sleep throughout the night. Consider limiting alcohol a few hours before you hit the sack.
7. Eating too late:
A light midnight snack may be fine, but a heavy meal too close to bedtime may leave you tossing and turning during the night. Eating large portions before you turn in for the night can lead to indigestionand acid reflux. If you want a snack before bed, keep it light and stay away from spicy and greasyfoods.

9 Ways To Bounce Back The Day After A Crappy Night’s Sleep

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1. Eat right away.

 

Sleep deprivation can mess with your hunger signals in a number of ways: 
It can make you feel hungrier all day, and it can make it harder to keep cravings in check if you indulge in a little bit of junk food.
Stay away from the candy and start your day with a healthy breakfast to keep the good vibes going all day. 
Eating something with protein will help keep you energized throughout the day, says registered dietician Megan Faletra.

 

2. Go out in the sun.

 

Bright light helps wake you up, says Cathy Goldstein, M.D., a neurologist at Michigan Medicine’s Sleep Disorders Center.
So try to get outside and turn on as many lights as you can — don’t cower in your room under your phone’s glow even if you feel groggy.

 

3. Get moving.

 

Exercise might be the last thing you want to do when you’re short on rest, but even just a few stretches or jumping jacks can help get you going, says Courtney Bancroft, Psy.D., a licensed clinical health psychologist specializing in insomnia and sleep wellness. 
One caveat: Some trainers say they don’t like it when their clients train on a poor night’s sleep, so your best bet here is light exercise — nothing too strenuous, please!

 

4. Do some deep breathing.

 

Breathing exercises can wake you up in a way similar to exercise, says Bancroft. 
Try sticking your tongue out and panting for 30 seconds, breathing in deeply, and repeating. 
Or try alternate nostril breathing: Cover your right nostril with your thumb and breath in through your left nostril for four to eight seconds; cover the left with your pinkie and exhale out of your right for the same amount of time. Then breathe in on the right side, covering the left. Keep alternating for one minute.

 

5. Get chilly.

 

Heat can make you feel even sleepier. 
Bancroft recommends taking a cold shower, turning down your thermostat, or even just running your hands under cool water to keep alert.

 

6. Try not to nap.

 

Stay awake all day after a bad night, and you’ll be able to fall asleep easier the next time, Bancroft says. “This keeps the sleep drive — one of the major systems that affects our ability to fall asleep — ’hungry,’ so to speak, for sleep,” she explains. If you can’t resist napping, avoid going more than 45 minutes, or you may be vulnerable to sleep inertia, “persistent grogginess after awakening,” says Dr. Goldstein. It’s also best to nap before 2:00 or 3:00 P.M. so your circadian rhythm can reset and you don’t experience yet another night of tossing and turning.

 

7. Drink tons of water.

 

Dehydration can make you even more tired, so Faletra recommends drinking two to three liters of water over the course of the day.

 

8. Avoid your devices once it gets dark.

 

Since grogginess can make you less productive, you might be tempted to work later than usual. 
But the light coming from your screen could keep you up late too, so force yourself to stop two hours before bedtime, says Dr. Goldstein.

 

9. Drink coffee. (Bet you thought we weren’t going to say that!)

 

Coffee really does help keep you going, says Dr. Goldstein, since it reduces adenosine, a neurotransmitter your brain releases when you’re sleep-deprived. 
Just try not to have a cup after 2:00 P.M., since misuse of coffee can make sleeplessness a self-perpetuating cycle.
Really, the most important thing is that next night — it’s what will keep one bad day from becoming a pattern of sleeplessness.

What are some psychological tricks, useful in daily life?

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You can change your eating behavior by redesigning your environment.
Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, describes how our environment influences how we eat:
“If you use a big spoon, you’ll eat more. If you serve yourself on a big plate, you’ll eat more. If you move the small bowl of chocolates on your desk six feet away you’ll eat half as much. If you eat chicken wings and remove the bones from the table, you’ll forget how much you ate and you’ll eat more.”
Well, you can use your environment to help you eat less without starving yourself.
You do this by eating your food in smaller plates/ bowls.
When you use a large plate, you have to add a lot of food on it to make it look full. If your brain thinks you’re eating less, the more likely it’ll be to want a second serving. (Thanks survival mode).
However, if you put that same amount of food on a small plate, your mind will tell you that you are eating a large portion and you’ll stop adding food. That visual cue will trick your brain into thinking it’s had enough to eat.
Either way, you are eating the same amount of food.
This is known as the Delboeuf Illusion.
Delboeuf was a 19th-century Belgian philosopher, and he discovered if you surround two identical circles with different amounts of “white space,” people think they’re looking at two different circles.
The more “white space” around the circle, the smaller the circle appears.
This is why the black circle on the left in the image above looks smaller than the one on the right.
And it’s why the bowl of cereal on the left below looks less full than the one on the right. And that’s why the small plate feels fuller and more filling.
Downsizing your plates will reduce the number of calories you are eating and allow you to feel satisfied at the same time.
A study shows that eating from a 10-inch plate instead of a 12–inch one cuts your calories by a whooping 22%! That means this small change could result in an estimated 10 pounds in weight loss over the course of one year!
Another study followed 200 homes in Syracuse over 4 months, and found that people randomly assigned to use smaller plates lost three pounds more than those given larger plates.
“It is easier to change your food environment than to change your mind.” – Brian Wansink
Hope you found this helpful!

flower personality

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My friend send me an interesting article about testing people’s personanlities by choosing the flowers.
There are nine different flowers. Which one is your favor flower? Do you think the explaination  in accordance with your personalities?

 

Tulip
Rose
Tulip
Daisy
Poppy
Violet
Peony
Iris
Daffodil

Tulip

Your motto? “The early bird gets the worm!” Other people wonder at your mellow temperament and seemingly-endless energy, and they’re happy to come to you for solutions to problems they’re overwhelmed by.

You have a knack for empathy, and can often be found taking care of others.

Rose
You’re a traditionalist through and through. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have plenty of fresh ideas, but your taste is classic-chic to a tee! You love history and tradition, and can often be found poring over biographies of fascinating historical women.
You also have a deeply passionate romantic side, but you’re very private. Only a select few ever get to see that aspect of your personality.

Daisy
You’ve never cared much about the opinions of others. You live a wholly original life, entirely on your own terms.
You might share your life with someone else, but you’re fiercely independent, and you like it that way. You might be an artist or creative, or simply have an unquenchable creative spirit. And you put your passions before everything else!

Poppy
At first glance, you seem whimsical and ethereal, but when people get to know you, they quickly realize that you have an inner wild-child. If you’re under the age of 30, you may still be living out the hard-partying youth of a bright young thing.
If you’re a bit older, you may have reinvented yourself into an Earth mama, with a tattoo or two leftover from the bad old days, and a pocketful of wacky and hilarious memories!

Violet
You can be quiet, and you can be subtle, but there’s nothing mousy or awkward about you. You prefer a mellow life of understated charm.
You make your home out in the countryside, or hope to one day, where you can pursue your passionate love for green things.

Peony
You’re a dyed-in-the-wool romantic, and you’re proud of it! You’ve had your heart bruised a time or two, but it’s all worth it for the fairy tale ending.
When you finally found your Mr. or Mrs. Right — or if you’re still looking — they weren’t what you were expecting at all, but you couldn’t be happier. And you have every intention of living happily ever after!

Iris
You’re elegant and striking, to the point that you sometimes intimidate people who don’t know you well.
You’re a born leader in the workplace and in your select friend group, but once people get to know you, they quickly realize you have a soft side, and would do anything for a friend or loved one in need.

Daffodil
Busy as a bee, you always have a project in the works! You move fast and talk faster, but no one minds because they’re hanging on your every word waiting for the next punchline!
Your sense of humor is legendary, and your tongue is notoriously sharp. You love to be in charge, always spearheading the next big thing, and your fashion sense is, in a word, outrageous. But in a good way.

how many pens would you need to get through a semester

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My cousin who prepared for his national college entrance examination in China last semester. He asked me an amazing and an interesting question in the weekend. He said he use 117 ball pens, that’s the number of pens likely required to get through a semester. The personal experience illustrate the countless hours of writing a student needs to invest to get through senior year of high school and also prepare for the important exam. Luckily, his hard work paid off and he’s now attending one of the famous universities in China.

“No Paid NO Gain”. He also told me the thick calluses on his hands might even make he cry.
Success does not come easily. Fighting and Cheer up!

How do you think feminisam?

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Recently I know that US is the only industrialized nation not to mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns. American women are currently entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave. American men are entitled to noting.#he for she# #she for he#

I like this sentence of Emma Watson ” Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality.”

Hot year

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2016 is the hottest year on record for the third consecutive year. There is an article in New York Time introduce the weather change and influence on our lives.
We should continue to focus on the weather issue and environmental problem.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/science/earth-highest-temperature-record.html

challenge

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I am Yanfei Wu. It is my second semester in Citytech. It is brand new for me to write some in Openlab as a blog. This is an interesting learning style to me , Because I am a new immigrate here, I have to learn different kinds of new study ways, and how to connect the class and online stuff. It is a good way to know more information not only the class.