Question

I'm juggling two part-time jobs, evening classes and up to five concurrent freelance projects working from home. This often means a seven-day week and 15-hour working days. I enjoy what I'm doing, but I feel I need a superhuman energy boost to get it all done. I'm healthy and fit but get very tired and sometimes can't sleep for worrying. I have a well-balanced diet which easily includes five daily fruit and veg portions, and don't have any caffeine, wheat or dairy. I am in my mid-thirties, a recent non-smoker, and moderate drinker. I try to walk as much as possible and swim once a week. I don't have a lot of spare cash for expensive supplements or therapies. How can I boost my energy levels and keep myself focused? Linda M., London

Answers:

The nutritionist

The chief organs that become activated when we exert ourselves are the adrenal glands that sit on top of the kidneys. These glands secrete a variety of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which help the body cope with the challenges we face. But the adrenal glands only have a finite capacity to cope with stress. Individuals with weakened adrenal function often suffer from fatigue (physically and mentally), and feel unable to cope with the demands they face. While a good diet (like yours seems to be) will help support you at this time, a longer-term objective might be for you to have a less demanding lifestyle. As an adjunct to this, take Siberian ginseng, a medicinal herb that is believed to help support adrenal function and, in practice, seems to enhance the body's capacity to cope with stress.

The relaxation expert

Your relentless schedule is putting your mind and body under huge stress, and you need to make time for relaxation. By unwinding, you will protect your energy levels and improve your productivity and focus. Stressed people breathe shallowly, so take your breath into your belly, rhythmically and naturally. Imagine you have a balloon filling up as your tummy expands. As you breathe in for four, fill your whole body with positive thoughts, and breathe out any toxins and negativity in a slightly longer breath. If you find it hard to still your mind, try focusing on a candle or a flower. If you prefer something more physical, try a 20-minute power walk every day, or a muscle relaxation technique - lie flat on the floor, eyes closed, and focus on ridding each part of your body of tension. Start at the toes and work up to the head, concentrating on your breathing.

The sleep specialist

Your sleep is being affected by the sheer weight of your workload, which also affects your energy levels. If you find time to do 20 minutes of cardio-activity at least three times a week, your sleeping will improve and it will help control your stress hormones. You talk of not being able to sleep because of worry. Sit down two hours before bedtime and write down what you need to do the next day, and at what time you'll address each problem. This will allow your brain to banish those thoughts until morning. Also, set aside an hour before going to bed so you can unwind, but avoid using the phone and PC. Get into the habit of doing three or four things in the same order before you go to bed, as long as they're not too stimulating. The last thing should be a muscle relaxing exercise, finishing with a cat stretch.

Here are 6 popular methods for boosting energy as rated through various sources.

1. Eat Energy Boosting Foods

Topping the list of foods found provide to an energy boost include: eggs, figs, molasses, green veggies, almonds, beets, oatmeal, lentils, bananas, sardines, yoghurt, apples, brown rice, cantaloupe and parsley. Of course lots of water should be on your menu too, as lack of it is the number one cause of fatigue.

2. A Cup Of Coffee

American researchers have found that drinking a cup of coffee one hour before you exercise or work out reduces post-exercise fatigue by up to 60 percent.

3. Herbal Boosters, Nutrients and Vitamins

Some herbs shown to increase energy include: ginger, licorice root, Siberian ginseng, carnitine, creatine, trimethylglycine, royal jelly, turmeric, green tea, and maitake. Bee pollen is another thing you can try, often referred to as a "superfood". If stress is the cause of your low energy levels, you can help counteract the effects by taking a special B-50 vitamin formula which contains more B vitamins than regular vitamin formulas.

4. Exercise and Movement

Any amount of exercise is good for you, whether it's pushups on the living room floor, or doing some stretches in the shower.

5. Eat Smarter

Smaller meals throughout the day are much healthier for you and distribute the energy from food more effectively, maintaining balanced sugar levels. Another thing to consider is eating enough. If you drop your calorie intake below 1,000 a day, your body goes into starvation mode and thus slows your metabolism. Your body essentially forces you to slow down so that it can reserve energy.

6. Deep Breathing Exercises

More oxygen means more energy and as a bonus - relaxes the mind and body. This is something you can do anywhere at any time.

to boost [bHst] поднимать, помогать подняться

routine [rH'tJn] определенный режим

stamina ['stxmInq] запас жизненных сил; внутренние резервы организма

to juggle ['GAgl] жонглировать

concurrent [kqn'kAr(q)nt] действующий, происходящий одновременно

freelance ['frJ'lRns] внештатный; свободный supplement ['sAplImqnt] добавка (к рациону)

nutritionist [nju(:)'trISqnIst] диетолог; диетврач

to exert [Ig'zWt] напрягать ( силы )

adrenal glands [qd'rJnl] надпочечные железы

to secrete [sI'krJt] выделять

finite ['faInaIt] ограниченный, имеющий предел

fatigue [fq'tJg] усталость, утомление

objective [qb'GektIv] цель; стремление

adjunct ['xGANkt] приложение, дополнение

ginseng ['GInseN] женьшень

to enhance [In'hRns] увеличивать, усиливать, улучшать

relentless [rI'lentlIs] безжалостный, жестокий, непреклонный

to unwind ['An'waInd] успокоиться

shallow ['Sxlqu] мелкий, неглубокий

tummy ['tAmI] животик, пузико ( детское слово, сокращенное и искаженное stomach)

to still [stIl] успокаивать

to rid [rId] освобождать, избавлять

sheer [SIq] абсолютный, полнейший, сущий, явный

to banish ['bxnIS] прогонять 3) отгонять (мысли )

molasses [mqu'lxsIz] меласса, черная патока

almond ['Rmqnd] миндаль

vlentil ['lentIl] чечевица

cantaloupe ['kxntqlHp] канталупа; мускусная дыня

to work out заниматься спортом, тренироваться

ginger ['GInGq] имбирь

licorice ['lIkqrIs] лакрица

royal jelly маточное молочко

turmeric ['tWmqrIk] куркума

pollen ['pOlIn] пыльца

push-up ['puS'Ap] отжимание ( в гимнастике )

The intriguing story of the boy king. The death of the teenage Pharaoh Tutankhamen leaves many unanswered questions and a very infamous curse.

The world of Pharaohs, mummies and pyramids has always been shrouded in a certain degree mystery. Layers of intrigue have been peeled off to reveal even deeper layers. One of the most interesting of them all is the one that cloaks the life and death of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamen. More than 3,300 years after his death questions are still being asked about the cause of his death and the dreaded curse that is supposed to have ensued.

Tutankhamen lived over 3,300 years ago during the period known as the New Kingdom. The powerful priesthood of the god Amun had controlled vast temples and estates. All that changed during the reign of Amenhotep IV when he renounced the multitude of gods worshipped by the Egyptians and abolished the priesthood of Amun. Amenhotep established a new order to worship the sun god Aten and changed his own name to Akhenaten, meaning "servant of the Aten." It was here that Akhenaten and his secondary wife - Kiya became the parents of Tutankhaten, as Tutankhamen was known at first. He would have spent most of his early years being tutored in many skills, including reading and writing.

After the death of Akhenaten, Tutankhaten became a boy king at the age of nine. He married one of his stepsisters. Soon after this his name was changed to Tutankhamen to indicate the return of the Amun hierarchy. The temples of Amun were restored. It was in the ninth year of Tutankhamen's tenure as king that he died. This would have been the year 1327 B.C. and he must have been in his late teens. The possibility that Tutankhamen did not die of natural causes was first raised around 3 decades ago when an X-ray analysis of his mummy was made by the anatomy department of the University of Liverpool. It revealed that the king might have died from a blow to the back of his head.

A theoretical rounding up of the usual suspects would bring Aye -Tutankhamen's vizier, Horernhab - the army officer, Ankhespaton - Tutankhamen’s wife, Tutankhamen’s cupbearer, and Tutu, a court official into the picture. All of these individuals could have had motives to kill the king. After Tutankhamen’s death it was Aye who ascended the throne and married his wife. Horernhab went on to become king after Aye died. There are rumors that inscriptions found in Tutankhamen’s tomb give clues that it was Tutu who was the murderer. He had a reputation of being a troublemaker. He is at times also credited with the murder of Tutankhamen’s father, Akhenaten. Following Tutankhamen’s death, elaborate burial ceremonies that lasted for 70 days took place.

The story of Tutankhamen’s curse began in 1922 when the British Egyptologist Howard Carter, excavated the tomb. The excavation was funded by Lord Carnarvon. On 5th April 1923, seven weeks after the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb Lord Carnarvon died. This became fodder for journalists all over the world and all kinds stories began floating around. The lights of Cairo were said to have gone out at the moment of his death. Lord Carnarvon's dog Susie was supposed to have howled and died at the same time. Five months after Carnarvon died, his younger brother died suddenly. Howard Carter’s pet canary was eaten by a cobra. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and a believer in the occult, announced that Carnarvon's death could have been the result of a "Pharaoh's curse". Newspapers began printing macabre curses that were supposed to have been derived from inscriptions on the tomb.

However even the most imaginative believers in the curse could not explain a few facts. Howard Carter, discoverer of the tomb died 17 long years after he first came across the tomb. Lord Carnarvon's daughter and one of the first into the tomb, died in 1980 at the age of about 79. Harry Burton, the official photographer for Howard Carter died in 1940. Dr. D.E. Derry conducted the autopsyon Tutankhamen's mummy. He died almost 50 years after the discovery of the tomb.

The tomb itself was a sight to behold. It took more than a decade to catalogue, remove and conserve the thousands of priceless items found inside.

curse [kWs] проклятие

infamous ['Infqmqs] печально известный

shrouded ['SraudId] скрытый; покрытый пеленой

to cloak [klquk] маскировать, прятать, скрывать

priesthood ['prJsthud] священники, служители культа

temple ['templ] храм; церковь

estate [Is'teIt] поместье, имение; имущество

reign [reIn] правление, царствование

to renounce [rI'nauns] отказываться; отвергать

multitude ['mAltItjHd] множество

to worship ['wWSIp] поклоняться, почитать

to abolish [q'bOlIS] аннулировать, отменять, упразднять

hierarchy ['haIqrRkI] иерархия

tenure ['tenjuq] срок пребывания ( в должности )

to ascend [q'send] восходить

elaborate [I'lxb(q)rIt] детально разработанный; искусный

burial ['berIql] похороны

to excavate ['ekskqveIt] производить раскопки, раскапывать

tomb [tHm] могила

fodder ['fOdq] корм, пища

to howl [haul] выть, завывать

macabre [mq'kRbr] относящийся к смерти ( от средневекового танца смерти "danse de Macabre" )

to derive [dI'raIv] происходить

autopsy ['LtqpsI] вскрытие (трупа )

to behold [bI'hquld] узреть; созерцать, рассматривать

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