How to increase brain power?

Boost your brain power

Here are simple ways to stay more alert

    TAKE A BREAK Breaking your head to find a solution but failing abysmally? Step back, take a break and focus on something else. When you can’t seem to figure out the right solution, it is a good idea to pry yourself away from your laptop and cell phone and step out for some fresh air. 

    HAVE DARK CHOCOLATE Instead of munching on bars of regular chocolate, have some dark chocolate, which contains flavonoids — brain-boosting chemicals that enhance cognitive skills by creating new neurons in your brain, improves ability to make memories, and increases blood flow to brain. 

    LOOK AT NICE PICTURES Find babies or animals cute? Look at their pictures! Experts say even looking at pictures that make you feel good and bring a smile to your face can do wonders for your alertness levels. 

    CHEW SOME GUM
Experts say chewing gum not only helps reduce the formation of bacteria and improves jaw muscles, it also makes you feel more alert. Mint-flavoured gum reduces feelings of tiredness and improves memory. 

LEARN TO SING Music has long been associated with a host of benefits. And learning how to play an instrument or even singing is a challenging workout for your brain, giving it a much-needed boost. 

WORK IT OUT Doing high-energy cardio gives your brain a high. 

PLAY VIDEO GAMES While this may seem a dubious inclusion in this list, research says playing video games exercises your mind, improves memory, alertness and the ability to switch between tasks more quickly. 

 
    HAVE CONVERSATIONS When was the last time you had a really stimulating conversation? Well, here’s some news that will interest you. According to research, when you isolate yourself from people, you’re setting yourself up for declining mental function in your later years. Humans have been equipped with a range of communication skills, which need to be used. The wider your social contacts, the lesser cognitive decline they experience with ageing.

Stimulating conversations can help combat cognitive decline

MAKE YOUR FACE LOOK PERFECT WITH CONTOURING Method

MAKE YOUR FACE LOOK PERFECT WITH CONTOURING

    Want your face to look slimmer and your nose sharper? Well, contouring your face with makeup can help define your features. If properly applied, it can enhance all the strong points while downplaying a weak chin or nose. A senior makeup artist with an international makeup brand, Sonic Sarwate, says, “Contouring your face with makeup can definitely change the shape of your face — a round face can be made to look slimmer, a broad forehead can be made to look less broad and so on.” The basic trick to contouring lies in using two or more shades of makeup/foundation, reveals Sonic. With the help of the darker shades, we can get a slimming effect while the lighter shades can be used to make features prominent. Choose a foundation palette that has at least three to four shades in it or buy three separate sticks or bottles of shades and then get to work.

SQUARE FACE
    You know that you have a square face if the sides of your face are straight and your face is nearly as wide as it is in length, thereby making your jaw line the most prominent part of the face.
    To contour a square face, use a darker shade under the cheekbone, blending it downward towards the jaw line. Also contour the corners of your forehead and highlight the centre of the face to create a triangle. This will make the jaw line appear narrow.
Celebs with a square face Kareena Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Angelina Jolie and Paris Hilton

OVAL FACE
    This is the shape all other face shapes aspire to be. An oval or eggshaped face is considered to be the best — all kinds of makeup, glares, haircuts look great on this one. It is tough to go wrong with this one as an oval face can carry almost any look with elan.
    Use contour in a triangle shape just accentuating the cheekbone as you already have a perfect, classic shape. Highlight the cheekbones for defined features.
Celebs with a oval face Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Dia Mirza and Beyonce

ROUND FACE
If your jaw line is mostly round and full and your cheekbones mark the widest/most prominent part of the face, then you have a round face. People with this face shape have soft cheeks, and need to bring in an angular look. Hence, to contour a round face, take a shade darker than your skin tone and use it around the face on the hair line and jaw line to make it look more oval. Then highlight the centre of the face to make it look sharper.
Celebs with a round face Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Drew Barrymore

Dance and Music show

Dance and Music show

Cool clothes for hot summers

Cool clothes for hot summers

    The heat is on and it’s time to switch over to cool silks and cottons that allow your skin to breathe. Visit the National Silk Expo that offers an exotic collection of sarees and dress material — Lucknow chikan work from Uttar Pradesh, blockprint suits and bed sheets from Rajasthan, traditional Bandini, Kutch embroidery, Patola silk from Gujarat, Chanderi, traditional Maheshwari, and Batik prints, Kantha, Baluchari, Tangail from West Bengal.
    Tussar and Matka silk from Bihar, Kalamkari, Pochampally, Mangalgiri dress material, Upada, Dharmawaram, pure silk zari saree of Andhra Pradesh, Bandhej silk sarees, block print, Sanganeri print, cotton suits, bed sheets, cushion covers and dress material of
Rajasthan along with Jamdani and Jamavar silk sarees of Uttar Pradesh are also available.
With the wide price range of Rs 800 to Rs 25,000, the exhibition offers an array of choices including home furnishings and lifestyle accessories.
Venue: P L Deshpandey, Ravindra Natya Mandir, Behind Siddhivinayak Mandir, Prabhadevi. From: April 13 to 22 Timings: 10:30 am to 9 pm Call: 09368882225

Choose from a wide range of summer-friendly fabrics

Look hot in a cool cotton sari