7 reasons you should start taking cold showers everyday

7 reasons you should start taking cold showers everyday7 reasons you should start taking cold showers everydayMost people view cold showers as a negative thing mostly used in the vein of trying to fix something (as in lack of sobriety or being overheated) as they can be rather shocking to the system. However, you may consider taking one at least once a week after you hear this information.Cold showers can actually help with your metabolism. Basically, when you get in a cold shower, it sets off your cardiovascular system as it tries to keep your body thermisch despite the cold. As a result of your body temperature lowering, you go into something called non-shiveringthermogenesis and this means you are burning more calories.A brisk cold shower can be very invigorating and give your metabolism a quick boost, Dr. Aviva Romm, a family medicine doctor, and herbalist, told Well Good. One of my daily practices is to end my hot shower with a very brief cool rinse.Follow Ladders on FlipboardF ollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and morePlus, according to holistic nutritionist Elissa Goodman when your body is in cold shower mode it activates healthy brown fat that contributes to eliminating harmful adipose (white) fat. She suggests alternating between 20 seconds of hot water and 20 seconds of cold water. Now we are not saying that just taking cold showers will lead to weight loss but a 2009studythat used exposure to cold temperatures that activated those brown fats predicted that people could lose up to nine pounds per year if they participated in this activity regularly.Not convinced yet? Here are a few other benefits of cold showers (and when it is a super hot day in the summer you have to admit they are quite refreshing.)They can help fend off infectionsAccording to MSN, cold showers help your lymphatic system by aiding in the process of exiting waste from your cells which helps ward off infections.They help with stressA cold shower actually helps you get better at dealing with stress because it helps make your nervous system more resilient. As you start to adapt to this new environment the antioxidantglutathione increases which actually helps reduce stress.They boost testosteroneListen up, guys. Hot showers can be lovely but they can have a significant lowering impact on proteins in your testes, according to Healthline. Plus, a cold shower can boost sperm count. A recent study from the University of California at San Francisco found that men who were exposed to 30 minutes of wet heat (so showers and baths) per week that they stopped this practice saw their sperm count increase by 491%. If you and your freund are trying to conceive this is pretty important information to keep in mind.They are good for your skinDid you know hot showers can actually make pre-existing skin conditionssuch as psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea worse? And they can even lead to acne breakouts. Cold showers, however, are great for your pores.They can help with depressionCold water increases the levels of beta-endorphin and noradrenaline which play a big part in depression. Additionally, due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, a cold shower is expected to send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect, researchers said.They just make you a happier personA2016 reportfound that even a 30- to 60-second hot-to-cold shower can decrease the number of sick days, help you sleep better, make you more productive and help your self-esteem.

Why Employee Retention Doesnt Matter

Why Employee Retention Doesnt MatterWhy Employee Retention Doesnt MatterWhy Employee Retention Doesnt Matter PicoultEvery geschftsleben book youve read, every guru youve heard speak theyve probably all extolled the benefits of retaining top employees.But if youve held fast to that message, Im afraid youve been misled. If your goal is to create a highly engaged workforce a gruppe of people truly committed to your business success then retaining employeesis entirely the wrong focus.Retention for the Wrong ReasonsYes, employee zurckhalten (also known as low employee turnover)does deliver many benefits lower separation costs, reduced recruiting and training expenses, more experienced staff, etc. These are very real, tangible benefits that many firms routinely underestimate, if not overlook entirely.But as good as zurckhalten is, its not the whole story. To illustrate why, consider your own experience as a consumer.Focus on Satisfaction and EngagementHave you ever patronized a business with which you werent really enamored? It happens all the time perhaps due to a lack of competition (think cable TV) or a contractual limitation (think cellular phone service).A retained customer doesnt necessarily mean they are happy the same holds true for employees. In fact, there are many reasons why an employer may retain a dissatisfied employee (e.g., family obligations, relocation obstacles, the absence of a suitable alternative job opportunity).This is where employee retention, as a metric and a goal, falls short. It fails to account for staff who are, in essence, held captive due to circumstances that are largely beyond their control.For this reason, employee retention is a poor proxy for gauging your staffs satisfaction and engagement.Knowing if your employees are truly happy requires that you look at the employee/employer relationship from an entirely different perspective.A Better AspirationWhat every business should really be striving for in its employee relationships is employee loyalty. With loyalty, you can be assured that people are sticking with you not because they have to, not because they have yet to find a better alternative but rather, because they want to.It can be tempting for business leaders to interpret low turnover as a sign of employee satisfaction and loyalty (wed all like to think that the work environment we oversee is a healthy and appealing one.) But low turnover particularly in todays tight job market might not be a cause for celebration. It could be masking other workplace issues while obscuring looming risks.Thats why its important to complement your employee retention metric with other indicators that are either direct measures of, or good proxies for, employee loyalty. In this way, you can drill into what might seem like a strong retention result and clarify if it is a truly positive signal.Where possible, assess your performance on these measures by benchmarking against similar companies in your industry. If that d ata isnt available, then benchmark against your own historical results and aim to improve your performance over time.Likelihood to recommend. If you conduct periodic employee satisfaction surveys, be sure to include a question about how likely the individual is to recommend your company to a friend or family member who is seeking employment. If an employee is willing to make such a referral, it suggests that they like your workplace enough to direct others to it. The likelihood to recommend question (with a five or eleven point response scale) is commonly embedded in customer surveys, where its been found to be a good indicator of loyalty and predictor of retention.Employment referrals. Take likelihood to recommend one step further. Calculate what percentage of your new hires in the past year came via referral from existing employees. Presuming your business practices provide some basic motivation for referrals (for example, publicizing job openings to existing staff, explicitly ask ing for referrals and rewarding/recognizing employees who refer candidates), this metric can say a lot about how pleased people are working for your company.Improvement suggestions. If youre loyal to an employer, then youre more likely to feel vested in making the firm a better place to work and a stronger competitor in the marketplace. Over the past year, how many of your employees have made suggestions to improve the business? As with employment referrals, assuming you provide some basic encouragement to staff to submit ideas (for example, by providing live, written and/or electronic avenues for suggestion submittal, responding to every suggestion put forth and rewarding/recognizing employees for innovative thinking), the volume and quality of those employee suggestions is another indicator of how engaged your staff really is.Employee behaviors. While less quantifiable than the indicators listed above, there are also behavioral cues worth monitoring. Do your employees frequently v olunteer for new assignments, or is it like pulling teeth to get them to be proactive? Do people consistently come into work on time, or do they straggle in late, trying to shave a few minutes off of their workday? Behavioral signals like these can also be a good gauge of employees interest in and loyalty towards their employer.The Power of LoyaltyFocusing on employee retention is like committing to mediocrity. Theres no question strong retention delivers very significant benefits, but they pale in comparison to the advantages of real employee loyalty.Employee loyalty results in true employee commitment. You get a workforce that sticks around, not for lack of a better alternative, but because they believe in and are passionate about what your company is trying to accomplish. As a result, these employees are more productive, they go above and beyond for your customers and they actively work to improve the organization.If your company is focused on employee retention, there is one pie ce of good news Youre one step ahead of all the firms that either ignore the impact of turnover or simply accept it as a cost of doing business.But if you really want to take your company to a new level, look beyond retention and instead platzdeckchen your sights on loyalty. The difference between the two will be significant, both to your workforce and your bottom line.Next Watch a video with Jon Picoult Competing for Top Talent Author BioJon Picoult is Founder of Watermark Consulting, a business advisory firm that helps companies impress their customers and inspire their employees. Jon is a frequent writer and speaker on workplace issues. Prior to founding Watermark, he held senior executive roles in service, technology, sales and marketing at Fortune 100 companies. Learn more, or read Jons blog, at watermarkconsult.net.

Pausing therapy reasons why and what you should consider

Pausing therapy reasons why and what you should considerPausing therapy reasons why and what you should considerTherapy is hard work - sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. Therefore, it can be tough to stop before youre ready, but sometimes life happens that way. Your therapist understands that youre busy and things come up when least expected.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard titelblatting Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreFortunately, if you have to stop or pause therapy, there are ways to make the process less painful.Why Pause Therapy?A number of things could prompt a pause, but common reasons include financial concerns, health problems, schedule conflicts, lack or time, money, or a move. Sometimes the problem isnt with you, but with your therapist. Therapists are people, too - people who may relocate, retire or take a medical leave.When you have to stoptherapybefore youre ready, you will have to consi der both the logistical and the personal sides of the change. Logistics involve the business-related stuff you will have to do to make the change. Personal matters include how to manage the emotional side of it.The Logistics of a Therapy ChangeMost logistical problems occur when its the therapist who must stop your therapy. But whether its you or your provider, there are several elements to consider.Find a new therapistIf your therapist is leaving a group practice, can you go see another provider in that same practice? If not, can your therapist recommend someone who might be a good fit? You might considerzugnglich therapyas a replacement as well as a way to get matched with a new Talkspace therapist that is right for you.Make arrangements for final payments and/or insurance claimsInsurance filing isnt always done immediately after your appointment and then the company takes even more time to pay the claim. Ask your therapist what happens if problems arise with this process.Find out how to get your recordsTherapists usually dont hand over notes the same way a doctor might give you a vaccination record. Therapists must follow certain guidelines about explaining notes, so you might have to schedule another visit and pay a copying fee. Transferring records directly to another professional is usually faster and cheaper - you only have to sign a release form.Make arrangements for referral sooner rather than laterWait times for mental health services can stretch to weeks or months, especially if your area doesnt have many providers. If youre transferring therapy, follow up on the referral as soon as possible. If youre stopping but hope to go back, keep in mind that you might need to start the process two or three months ahead of time - try not to wait until you have an emergency.The Emotional Side of Pausing TherapyTherapy is such an intensely personal experience that stopping, even when you want to, can be quite unsettling. If you have a great relationship with y our therapist, the change may affect your mood noticeably. Here are some ways to make the transition easier.Ask your therapist about the termination processOften, therapists arrange a specific number of ending sessions to allow time to discuss any feelings this change brings up. In some cases, the termination has to be faster, but its best to have at least one session identified as the end, so you can process the separation at least a little.Think about what you want to cover in the time you have leftYour therapist can help you identify priorities and plan how to address those as much as possible before the relationship ends. You probably wont be able to cover an entirely new topic in depth, but at least you can hit the high points on the work youve already begun.Decide is this just a pause or can you terminate?Any time you plan to take a break, its good to consider whether youre ready to stop altogether. Therapy has great benefits, but sometimes it becomes a comfort zone were afrai d to leave. Your therapist can help you determine whether you shouldconsider a short-term pauseor a full stop.Address feelings of loss or abandonmentThese common reactions can make the end of therapy a time of sadness or even anger. Many people are surprised by the intensity of these feelings, but your therapist should anticipate them and help you process them. This is why its especially important not to skip final sessions or end treatment abruptly if you can help it.Pausing or ending therapy isnt always ideal, especially when you dont feel ready. Nevertheless, procedures and safeguards within the profession make the process easier. Whatever you feel about it, you wont be the first person to have felt that way. With some forethought, you and your therapist can work together for a gentle end. And remember, you can always return to therapy when the time is right. And if youre interested in therapy that fits your schedule and budget, consider trying online therapy.This article first a ppeared on Talkspace.