How Well Do You Know Your Heart?

Many years ago, I read an interesting novel by Rose Tremain called Restoration. Set in the mid seventeenth century England, the book's lead character Robert Merival, along with a fellow medical student, happen upon a man with an open wound on his chest that allows his beating heart to be seen, and touched by the human hand. When they reach in and touch the man's heart, the two marvel that when touched, the heart has no feeling. This organ, to which we ascribe all things relating to the most powerful of human emotions, itself has no feeling. The human heart has no feeling! Something about this "heart fact" continues to intrigue me, so I decided to look at some of the things we do, or don't know, about the complicated and much discussed human heart.

If asked to put their hand on their heart, most people would place it on the left side of their chest, but in actuality, it sits closer to the centre. The left lung is slightly smaller than the right, to accommodate the heart. The heart weighs less than one pound, with the average woman's heart weighing only 8 ounces and a man's only 10. A woman's heart beats faster than a man's. Some scientists believe that the longer the ring finger is in boys, the less chance they have of having a heart attack.

Here are more nitty gritty details about your heart. The heart is almost entirely muscle, the myocardium, and is strong enough to lift approximately 3000 pounds, close to the weight of a compact car. Your heart beats about 35 million times a year.....100,000 beats per day, 70 beats per minute, with enough strength to shoot blood a distance of 30 feet! By the time we turn 70, the heart will have beat 2.5 billion times!

The heart is the first organ to show at nineteen days and scientists believe that by eight weeks, when the embryo is only an inch long, the heart is fully developed. The heart starts beating in the unborn fetus before the brain is even formed. Scientists still don't know what makes it start beating, but know it is generated from within the heart itself and doesn't need a connection to the brain to keep beating. (1)

Working As a Night Nurse

If you have ever considered a career in nursing, you may have already looked into the many different fields that nursing encompasses. For instance, you could work in dermatology, hospice, pediatrics, nurse-midwifery, wound care, rehabilitation, plastic surgery, or radiology, among several other choices. Many of these fields require night shift work, and as undesirable as that may sound, you might want to take a second look at it. In nursing, as well as several other career fields, working nights can be extremely lucrative and may even help to push your career forward, if you are looking for a raise or a promotion.

Working the graveyard shift sounds about as exciting and attractive as working in a graveyard (unless you are actually into that kind of thing), but being a night shift worker can be very good for your bank account. Companies always pay their night shifts a great deal more - anywhere from 10 to 20 percent more than the average salaries for their positions! You may have some exhausting nights, especially working as a night nurse in any field, but the satisfaction of knowing that you are getting paid well for your time will be enough to get you through to the next shift.

Night shift nurses are also at an advantage when it comes to raises and promotions. You are not competing with the day workers, of which there are many more than the night shift, so you have more opportunities to climb the promotion ladder. It is also a disadvantage if you are not particularly good at your job, because your lack of skills will be that much more obvious in a smaller pool of nurses. If you are a hard worker, your good work will stand out, and vice versa. Nonetheless, you should be glad to have better chances for advancement in your field by working nights.

No Sweat Tips on How to Stop Sweaty Hands

Do you have those clammy, sweaty hands even though you're not nervous at all? Having sweaty hands can really be frustrating because you won't be able to properly interact with people, especially those who are most dear to you. This is also a no-no in the professional world, particularly if you are always meeting new people d eventually having to shake their hands. Just imagine how awkward that would be. Sweaty hands is a medical condition referred to as hyperhidrosis. But you don't have to hesitate anymore for there are solutions to it. Now, you'd be able to hold your partner's hands without worrying. There are actually natural remedies that you can use to be able to stop your hands from sweating too much.

Here are some of them:

    Be more conscious of your diet by limiting your intake of foods that contain iodine like onions, liver, broccoli, beef asparagus and turkey.
    You can also make use of tea, as it is considered a natural anti-perspirant because it contains tannin acid which is proven to reduce sweating. Try to soak your hands in a tea for 15 minutes for four times every day.
    Be more selective as to what food you eat-- try to include whole grains in your diet for they are good sources of fiber and vitamin B, for they are essential minerals needed to remove various toxins in the body.
    Remember that nothing beats eating healthy. So, see to it that you eat fresh fruits before each meal. You should also include vegetables in your daily menu.