Can cocoa help to improve mental agility?
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Illinois recently found that cocoa, or the flavanols in cocoa beans can boost mental agility. They conducted a study with 18 healthy male volunteers, aged 18 to 45. The participants had to adhere to a set of rules to ensure their diets will not affect the study.
The participants were examined before and after consuming cacao flavanols on two occasions: one was a cocoa drink enriched with flavanols and the other was non- enriched cocoa. The researchers then had the volunteers undertake some tests and tasks.
The researchers found that the volunteers who consumed the flavanol-enriched cocoa did better in the more complex cognitive tasks before they consumed the cocoa and to volunteers who consumed less flavanols. Nevertheless, the study had its limitations such as all volunteers being able to complete the easier cognitive tasks and volunteers who did the harder tasks before the study not seeing their scores improve from before.
The question remains - can cocoa truly help to improve mental agility? The answer is yes and no. Although cocoa may contain nutrients like flavanols and polyphenols that may boost certain brain functions, most chocolate bars are also laden with sugar, milk and other additives. Rather than mindlessly binging on chocolate bars, perhaps it’s best to consume dark chocolate in moderation to reap the benefits of cocoa.
Public speaking skills: the bright side in a pandemic
The pandemic has changed a number of things in our lives and one of them is speaking in public. As public events are getting rarer and moving to digital platforms, speakers for conferences and forums must now adapt their public speaking skills to the webcam on their laptops. Here are some of the bright sides to presenting virtually in this pandemic.
Can challenge to be more engaging
Now, more than ever, grabbing and holding the attention of your listeners is at an all-time necessity. Virtual conferences or forums with a lot of participants that aren’t engaging can tempt the audience to ‘leave the meeting’. Speakers must be more creative and engaging when interacting with their listeners in the digital space. This skill will also be useful once we move forums and conferences to big halls once again.
Less focus on your nerves, more on your content
The biggest bright side is that your listeners won’t see if you’re shaking your legs due to your nerves acting up. In fact, other than your head, upper body and screen background, the audience won’t be looking at anything else which is a good thing. Speakers can now concentrate more on the depth of their content and deliver them in the best way possible.
Provide new opportunities to polish skills
For those of you who love to hype up your audience when you present, have no fear - now is the time for you to polish your skills. Get that energy from your online audience by utilizing a virtual call-and-response technique or making use of your voice when you present. Polishing the audience-hyping skills you already possess is also a way to make yourself more engaging as a speaker.
Practicing with your webcams is more effective than using the mirror
Remember the days where your Communications instructor would tell you to practice speaking in front of a mirror to improve your skills? Well, those days are over because recording yourself through your webcams or solo Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams sessions are a lot more helpful. Not only can you immediately fix your postures or tone and volume of your voice, you can also watch the recordings to check on how you delivered your content.
Women leaders in Malaysia - Leong Shir Mein, Founder of DeliverEat
Do you know who Leong Shir Mein is? She is the co-founder of DeliverEat, a homegrown food delivery service. Along with fellow co-founder Tan Suan Sear, DeliverEat was established in 2012 and was the pioneer of food delivery service in Penang.
Shir Mein holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Corporate Finance from the University of Adelaide and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).
Prior to her founding the food delivery service company, Leong Shir Mein had some experience as an accounts payable administrator at Renesas Electronics in Penang. She also worked as a senior advertising executive at Star Publications (M) Bhd.
DeliverEat’s mission is “to enable everyone to eat and live better through technology.” When they first started out, the company delivered food by partnering with different platforms. Fast forward a few years later, their business has expanded to the point that diners can pick from over 1,500 restaurants when ordering from them.
DeliverEat has also expanded its service from Penang to Klang Valley and they’re not stopping anytime soon! Kudos to you, Shir Mein! We hope there will be more female leaders like yourself to inspire us to become leaders in society as well.
Let’s Talk About Christmas History and 2020!
People celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God according to Christianity and usually Christians partake in this celebration. Although people question the significance of December 25th, there are two popular theories as to why people celebrate Christmas on the date.
The first is that plenty of other religions had a form of celebration around the same time (i.e the Jewish Hanukah, the Pagan Winter Solstice, Germanic Yule, Roman Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) and Christians added the birth of Jesus as a counter- cultural event.
The second theory is due to the fact that the Western Church accepted March 25th as the Immaculate Conception of Jesus in Mary’s Womb. By logical calculations, it would make sense that nine months later or December 25th is the day that Jesus was born, yes?
Christmas, coming from the word ‘Christ mass’, has a few symbolic items that have their own meanings. For example, the evergreen trees symbolise eternal life, candles showing that Christ is the Light of the World, the red colour symbolising the blood and death of Christ and the gifts remind Christians of the gifts of the Magi to Baby Jesus. There are other holiday traditions like mistletoes, bells and the Yule log, but they may vary depending on the region that celebrates it.
Celebrating Christmas in 2020 will be different as authorities everywhere limit public gatherings to curb the spread of the pandemic. Let’s take this time to connect with family members and friends under the same roof and afar alike. You can organise virtual Christmas eve dinners, partake in fun family activities or deliver Christmas presents to your friends’ doorstep. After all, it is a blessing that you, your friends and family have made it this far into the year - so remember to celebrate it safely!
Fun facts: Fairy tale edition
Fun Fact #1
Did you know that the original Beauty and the Beast was written to help young women back then cope with arranged marriages? The earliest version of the tale written by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve was published in 1740. Not only was the text intended for adults, French women back then had few legal rights and arranged marriages for young ladies were common. Although the tale was rewritten much later to be more child-friendly, those aware of the original context come up with theories like the tale showing a young bride’s fear of her groom being beastly or the story being a guideline for men when they enter marriages.
Fun Fact #2
Over the years, researchers came up with a lot of theories speculating the Evil Stepmother trope in famous tales like Cinderella, Hansel &Gretel and Snow White. One popular reason is because the first published version of Hansel & Gretel from the Grimm Brothers featured an evil mother who threw the siblings out of the house.
It was only later that they released a rewritten version with the evil stepmother to make it easier for the audience to stomach. Another reason is that experts believed her father to be the antagonist, either being the father who lusted after Cinderella or a neglectful father.
Fun Fact #3
Have you ever watched the Sleeping Beauty animated film by Disney and thought, ‘Why do they call her Aurora and Briar Rose?’ Which one is her real name? The answer is they’re both her names! Disney made references to different versions of the story written by Charles Perrault, who called the princess Aurora and the Brothers Grimm who referred to the princess as Little Briar Rose. Why choose one when you can pick both, eh Disney?
Fun Fact #4
Did you know that the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White tale possibly featured an accidental Heimlich maneuver? In popular versions of the tale, Snow White awakes after true love’s kiss that was so powerful that she came back to life after consuming the poisoned apple. In the version by the Brothers Grimm, the prince’s men were carrying the gold-laden coffin with the presumably dead Snow White made by the dwarves. As the coffin was too heavy for them, they stumbled and - lo and behold! - the piece of apple lodged in Snow White’s throat popped out. Talk about Heimlich maneuver 101 in fairy tales!
Cabin Fever 101
Cabin fever refers to feeling a series of negative emotions and distressing sensations after being isolated or cut off from the outside world. During these unprecedented times where social distancing and working from home are the new norms, the feeling of isolation and loneliness are bound to happen to individuals from all walks of life.
Contrary to popular belief, the symptoms of cabin fever aren’t just feeling bored at home. The symptoms almost always stem from a deeper, stronger feeling of isolation and they can include various symptoms: restlessness, reduced motivation, irritability, hopelessness, difficulty to concentrate, irregular sleep patterns, difficulty to wake up in the mornings, lethargy, distrust for people around you, lacking patience and constant sadness and depression.
The fortunate part about cabin fever not recognized as an official health disorder is that there is no standard one-way treatment for it. Nevertheless, mental health experts still acknowledge the severity of cabin fever symptoms. If you are experiencing cabin fever, you can formulate your own solutions by reflecting on your own personalities, needs and the reason you are isolated.
You can start by spending time outdoors, establish a healthy daily routine and keep socializing with your circle of friends. It also helps if you relieve stress by having a creative hobby and setting aside some ‘me time’ for yourself.
Read on more about it here: https://malaysianwaw.wixsite.com/mwaw/post/cabin-fever-101
The impacts of domestic violence
Nowadays more people are taking the time to educate themselves about social issues, including domestic or family violence. As more people are more aware of the severity of the issue, more organisations are doing their part to help victims of domestic violence. While this progress is a cause for celebration, we must remember that domestic violence affects not only the victim but their families as well. Here are some of the impacts of domestic violence that we must learn so we understand why
we need to stop domestic violence once and for all:-
On the victims (often, the women):-
● Death, sickness, injury and disability
● Emotional and psychological trauma
● Homelessness
● Substance or alcohol use to get over the pain
On the children:-
● Ongoing anxiety and depression
● Emotional distress
● Eating and sleeping disturbances
● Unexplained physical pain (stomachaches, headaches)
● Difficulty to manage stress
● Low self-esteem
● Self-harming tendencies
● Struggling to manage daily activities
On the affected family:-
● Disrupted family environments, can breakup families
● Frequent moving to avoid the abuser
● Constant household conflict
● Child protection or police involvement
Recognising signs of mental illness
Recently, the nation was shaken by the news of a man who reportedly threw his step-grandson from the fourth floor of an apartment building. Later reports showed that the man is on medication and his friends and family testified that he had mental health issues. The incident is truly devastating. If indeed mental illness is the problem, then we must take the right measures to stop this incident from repeating to ourselves, our friends and the community.
Here are a few signs of mental illness that you can recognize from family members or friends from earlier on:-
● Confused thinking
● Prolonged depression (sadness or irritability)
● Feelings of extreme highs and lows
● Excessive fears, worries and anxieties
● Social withdrawal
● Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
● Strong feelings of anger
● Strange thoughts (delusions)
● Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there (hallucinations)
● Growing inability to cope with daily problems and activities
● Suicidal thoughts
● Numerous unexplained physical illnesses
● Substance use
These are some of the common signs that may be present across all age groups and if they are present, you must be sure to seek help from the right institutions.
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