IPL SESION 5 2012 - FULL MATCH SCHEDULE START FROM 4TH APRIL 2012

 Find IPL 5 2012 Full Schedule Starting From 4th April 2012

Full schedule :

Apr 4: Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians

Apr 5: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils

Apr 6: Mumbai Indians vs Pune Warriors India

Apr 6: Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab

Apr 7: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils

Apr 7: Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings

Apr 8: Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Apr 8: Pune Warriors India vs Kings XI Punjab

Apr 9: Deccan Chargers vs Mu mbai Indians

Apr 10: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Apr 10: Delhi Daredevils Chennai Super Kings

Apr 11: Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals

Apr 12: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Apr 12: Kings XI Punjab vs Pune Warriors India

Apr 13: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals

Apr 14: Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers

Apr 14: Pune Warriors India vs Chennai Super Kings

Apr 15: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab

 Apr 15: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals

Apr 16: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils

Apr 17: Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers

 Apr 17: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune War riors India

Apr 18: Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Apr 19: Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils

Apr 19: Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors India

Apr 20: Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Apr 21: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals

Apr 21: Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors India.

Apr 22: Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab

Apr 22: Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Apr 23: Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Apr 24: Pune Warriors India vs Delhi Daredevils

Apr 24: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers

Apr 25: Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians

Apr 25: :Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings

Apr 26: Pune Warriors vs India Deccan Chargers

Apr 27: Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians

Apr 28: Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab

Apr 28: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Apr 29: Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals

Apr 29: Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers

Apr 30: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders

May 1: Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors India

May 1: Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils

May 2: Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab

May 3: Pune Warriors vs India Mumbai Indians

May 4: Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers

May 5: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Pune Warriors India

May 5: Kings XI Punjab vs Raja sthan Royals

May 6: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings

May 6: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers

May 7: Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders

May 8: Pune Warriors India vs Rajasthan Royals

May 8: Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab

May 9: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

May 10: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings

May 11: Pune Warriors India vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

May 12: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians

May 12: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils.

May 13: Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors India

May 13: Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers

May 14: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians

May 14: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings

May 15: Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab

May 16: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders

May 17: Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings

May 17: Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

May 18: Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals

May 19: Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils

May 19: Pune Warriors India vs Kolkata Knight Riders

May 20: Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

May 20: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians

Play-offs:

May 22: Qualifier 1 First Placed Team vs Second Placed Team

May 23: Elminator Third Placed Team vs Fourth Placed Team

May 25: Qualifier 2 Winner of Elimi nator vs Loser of Qualifier1

May 27: Final Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2.

Different Types of Girlfriends...

There as many types of girlfriends as there are types of boyfriends.

Fortunately for you, we are not going to break them down according to their sun signs! We shall however, tell you more about the various kinds of girlfriends you are expected to come across in your dating life. Their nuances, their positives, their obvious negatives and why they could be just the one’s for you. So read on, and you might just discover your type in this list.

1. Individualistic & Indian

How to kiss a girl for the first time...

The first kiss tells a woman what the relationship is going to be like.

We don’t know if this statement is true or not, but we do know that a first kiss does play a vital role in any relationship. If good, it leaves the partners wanting more. If bad, then it raises a lot of doubts and questions. So, for obvious reasons, you need to kiss a girl right. And this is how you can nail it right the first time.

1. Flirt

You need to build the right atmosphere that will eventually lead to the first kiss. We suggest that you engage in oodles of flirting and teasing. Play around, talk dirty, and get so involved in one another that you forget the world around.

Learn the Art of Cuddling...

How many times has your girlfriend been mad at you coz you 'forgot' to cuddle her?
The chances are many. While women love very few things more than cuddling with their partners, guys somehow, always manage to not get the art of cuddling right. Either they are too sloppy, appear uninterested or rather ridiculously manage to actually doze off sometime in the middle. All these traits are hazardous (to say the least) and can definitely alter the fate of your relationship. So men, play close heed while we disclose the bare essentials about the Art of Cuddling.

1. The Hold/Touch

Gentlemen, be exactly as your title suggests: GENTLE. She is not your PSP or ipad who you clutch onto for dear life. Hold her gently, wrap her in your arms, squeeze her just the right amount. Your touch will let her know how much you love her. Yes, women are excellent at such body language reading. So let the love you feel for her seep through your gentle soft touch & hug into her skin.

2. Smell and Feel

Cuddling is not just about hugging your girlfriend as if she were a teddy bear. You need to let all your senses do the doing. Smell in her hair, and neck; move your finger (slowly) up and down her shoulders and arms. Play around with your senses, only to excite hers.

3. Talk

Cuddling, usually involves no talking. But a few sweet nothings and some sweet talk here n there would do you good. Show her your romantic side. Talk about your idea of an ideal date WITH HER, tell her how stealing a glance with her in a crowded room makes you feel at ease instantaneously and voila! she'll be yours in a jiffy.

Prepare Yourself For the First Kiss...

Have you ever considered the possibility that when you meet an attractive woman, chances of her being followed by several other potential suitors is very high?
She may also have a steady boyfriend as attractive women are rarely ever single. Most men are well aware of this fact and this gets in the way of them making their moves. To get her attention you have to be different from all your competitors.

The best way of doing this is to differentiate yourself from "the pack” and get her to chase you. To be different, you have to develop yourself -- inside and out -- so you can offer her the unique experience of being with a man who is better than all other guys she has been with. So here are some great tips to help you create that magical experience for her.

Believe that you deserve better

The fact is that when it comes to beautiful women most men simply refuse to believe that they actually deserve success. This in turn affects their confidence. Unless you believe, you can’t act with conviction. Confidence is something that can’t be feigned and women can sense a FAKE from a mile. So if you believe that you don’t deserve to enjoy the company of attractive women, you are actually psyching yourself to all the wrong things and sabotaging your chances.

What you can do
* Foster the belief that any woman should thank her stars to have got her hands on a guy like you.

* Try writing at least three reasons why you believe this is true. Keep adding something to the list everyday and watch it grow. As the number of your accomplishments increase, so will your confidence.

Work on your insecurities

To attract beautiful women you have to tide over all those deep seated insecurities that you have so lovingly nurtured during your hitherto unsuccessful dating career. Don’t try to cover them up. Because the more you try, the more obvious they will appear to women. It’s quite like seeing a woman wearing too much makeup to cover the acne on her face. The harder she tries to conceal them the more they hit the eye.

What you can do
* Instead of hiding your insecurities feature them till they stop bothering you. An excellent way of doing this is to use them to in your jokes when you flirt with women.

* If you are insecure about your hair loss say something like “This is never going to work out. You just keep looking at my gorgeous head. How would you feel if I kept staring at your gorgeous legs?”

Take charge

Like every other guy, you too must have given up innumerable chances of starting a conversation with a woman you found attractive because you didn’t want to interrupt or bother her even when it seemed that she was open to being approached. You gawked at her or kept glancing at her and looked away when she caught your eye. Most men are unconsciously seeking PERMISSION to do every little thing. It’s like you haven’t yet got out of the “May I come in, ma’am” syndrome. Asking for permission has been drilled into the psyche of Indian men. So if the girls nod or give you a smile (which they often don’t), you walk towards them tentatively and mumble something to them, with a sickly smile on your face.

What to do
* Stop looking for permission.

* Visit places like malls and parties and start conversations with girls at random. It’s really not that difficult. A man with the freedom to take action when and where he wants is rare -- and women find this kind of "bold" guy VERY attractive.

Be a Man

All women want to share their lives with a real man. So how does a woman know when she's in the presence of one? Well, a real man knows how to stay comfortable and confident around beautiful women. In addition, he’s also very relaxed around powerful, high-status people, like his boss. He is not intimidated by competition from other men and actually welcomes them.

What to do:
* Try and work on your cool quotient. A very simple way of doing this is to develop that nothing- to lose attitude.
* Don’t get intimidated by high-profile people. Be respectful but not subservient. If there is anything that you disagree with voice your opinion. This will go a long way in helping in bringing out the man in you.

By incorporating all the above mentioned tips in your daily life, getting the chick of your choice will become the easiest thing in the world. As the saying goes “Change your Vision and the world will change around you.”

Learn the Art of Kissing...

All men want to be master kissers; only a few actually manage to be one.
No man will accept the fact that he isn’t a good enough kisser and needs to work on his ability to kiss. But secretly, all men at one point in their lives have browsed articles that tell them more about how to kiss amazingly well. We believe that even the best one’s can do better, which is why we present to you, tips that will help you Learn the Art of Kissing.

1. Hold, Don’t Grab

When your girlfriend is standing/sitting very close to you, just close enough to allow you to kiss her, hold her gently. Most men make the common error of latching on to their girlfriends. Such a movement makes most women feel unsafe and uncomfortable. So, hold her tender and allow the mood to set in.

2. Lips & lick

Hold her face in your hand and kiss her lips first. Then tongue them. Please don’t shove your tongue down her throat right away. It will be the most unpleasant thing to do. Allow your tongue to feel the smoothness of her lips and allow her to feel yours. It is very important that you work your lips. Don't just leave your mouth open as if you were breathing in air. Move it and give your jaw muscles some much needed exercise. Play it slow and let the tempo build.

3. Tongue-play

Do it like the French! Play with your tongues: tongue kiss, kiss her tongue and even suck on it. Use the tongue as your foremost weapon and play with it. Along with this, engage in kissing and biting (gentle), and you are bound to get her excited and aroused. However, the most important thing here is not to smear her face & lips with saliva. Eeeeks! Let that happen, and you can be sure this would be your last kiss with her.

4. Full throttle

Once you have spent enough time kissing and tonguing and gone through with the above subtle steps, you can now completely tongue her. But again, don’t be hasty. Do it gradually and with the flow.
Armed with the knowledge of the ultimate art of kissing, you can kiss your intimacy nightmares good bye: at least till you don't jump into the next step without proper guidance from us.

Five Characteristics of Great Business Names and Five Popular Trends to Avoid

Deciding on a name is one of the most exciting parts of starting up a business.

The only problem with choosing the name of your business is that so much rides on your business name. It's a little like choosing a name for your baby. A little like? Make that a lot like! It's no easier choosing a name for your business than it is choosing a name for your baby.

What's in a business name? You want it to be everything. Sadly, many business names are nothing. Deciding on a great business name takes time. It takes thought. Moreover, getting it wrong could spell disaster for your business. Getting it right, however, will give customers a reason to hire you, connect you to your niche market, and save you thousands of marketing dollars.

You want your business name to have a big impact on people. This, in turn, will have a big effect on your market. A name that's too far out may make it difficult to brand. A name that's too generic and common is easily ignored. Naming your business "Sarah's Cookies" may make all the sense in the world to you. In most cases, however, your own name means very little to your customers because it says nothing memorable or of distinction.

The key to picking a great name for your business is to make it memorable. Make it distinctive. Don't make it silly or cute. Your name should reflect your market niche and identity and be able to reach your customer base easily. So don't mess it up!

Top Five Characteristics of a Great Business Name

1. It's short.

2. It's specific and reflects a specialized business: Jiffy Lube, Home Depot.

3. It's unique. Consider using words that are not in the dictionary: Alkamae, Google, Squidoo.

4. It's creative. Don't copy, borrow, or modify existing famous brand names. Got Milk? has its own branding. Leave Victoria's Secret to Victoria.

5. It's an easy name to say, spell, and remember. Use proper English construction so that when put in a sentence, it will work: "I just purchased a book from Amazon."

Five Popular Business Naming Trends to Avoid

1. Don't abbreviate your business name. Though it may make communication and correspondence easier, acronyms are sterile.

2. Avoid anything that ends in "global", enterprise", or "Inc." They're passé.

3. Avoid using your own name. Build your brand on your company, not on your name. That way, if you decide to sell your company one day, it will be easier to sell.

4. Don't hyphenate your business name. It makes remembering and writing it difficult. Plus, a hyphenated web name is hard to read.

5. Avoid geographical names unless you're trying to create a strong local affinity. The name "Willow Oak Center for Arts and Learning at Robertson County" works because this is a business targeted specifically for Robertson County in Tennessee.

Once you've found your name, consider trademarking it through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and registering it through the Secretary of State offices. If your business operates on the Internet, be aware that domain names are not registered through state or local government, so just registering them at domain registration sites is not enough to protect your great business name.

There is more to naming your business than just coming up with something that sounds good, is clever, or you just happen to like. Naming your business is a serious matter. Your business name reflects your image, your brand, and your position in the marketplace. Because your business name is crucial to your overall branding success and marketing efforts, make your business name count.

Make it great! 

Origin of Famous Company Names....

Origin of Famous Company Names

 

1. APPLE COMPUTERS

It was the favorite fruit of founder Steve Jobs. He was three months late in filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if the other colleagues didn’t suggest a better name by 5 O’clock! Good that his favorite fruit wasn’t a WATERMELON!

2. CISCO

It is not an acronym as popularly believed. It is short for San Francisco.

3. COMPAQ

This name was formed by using COMP, for computer, and PAQ to denote a small integral object.

4. COREL

The name was derived from the founder’s name Dr. Michael Cowpland. It stands for COwpland Research Laboratory.

5. GOOGLE

The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was originally named ‘Googol’, a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. After founders- Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor, they received a cheque made out to ‘Google’

6. HOTMAIL

Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in ‘mail’ and finally settled for hotmail as it included the letters “html” – the programming language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective uppercasing.

7. HEWLETT PACKARD

Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

8. INTEL

Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company ‘Moore Noyce’but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics.

9. LOTUS (NOTES)

Mitch Kapoor got the name for his company from ‘The Lotus Position’ or ‘Padmasana’. Kapoor used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

10. MICROSOFT

Coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the ‘-’ was removed later on.

11. MOTOROLA

Founder Paul Galvin came up with this name when his company started manufacturing radios for cars. The popular radio company at the time was called Victrola.

12. ORACLE

Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a consulting project for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). The code name for the project was called Oracle (the CIA saw this as the system to give answers to all questions or something such). The project was designed to help use the newly written SQL code by IBM. The project eventually was terminated but Larry and Bob decided to finish what they started and bring it to the world. They kept the name Oracle and created the RDBMS engine. Later they kept the same name for the company.

13. SONY

It originated from the Latin word ’sonus’ meaning sound, and ’sonny’ a slang used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster.

14. SUN

Founded by 4 Stanford University buddies, SUN is the acronym for Stanford University Network. Andreas Bechtolsheim built a microcomputer; Vinod Khosla recruited him and Scott McNealy to manufacture computers based on it, and Bill Joy to develop a UNIX-based OS for the computer.

15. YAHOO!

The word was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance and action and is barely human. Yahoo! Founders Jerry Yang and David Filo selected the name because they considered themselves yahoos.

16. MERCEDES

This was actually the financier’s daughter’s name.

17. ADOBE

This came from name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of founder John Warnock.

18. TECHPP

This name came after hours of research by founder Raju PP, “PP” being his nickname, quiet weird name for a technology blog. If you are still reading this, I am sure you are free enough to share this post on Twitter or Facebook or any other social networking/bookmarking site, isn’t it?!

CLEAN YOUR KIDNEYS IN Rs. 1.00 OR EVEN LESS

Years pass by and our kidneys are filtering the blood by removing salt, poison and any unwanted entering our body. With time, the salt accumulates and this needs to undergo cleaning treatments and how are we going to overcome this?

It is very easy, first take a bunch of parsley (MALLI Leaves) KOTHIMBIR (DHANIYA)and wash it clean

Then cut it in small pieces and put it in a pot and pour clean water and boil it for ten minutes and let it cool down and then filter it and pour in a clean bottle and keep it inside refrigerator to cool.

Drink one glass daily and you will notice all salt and other accumulated poison coming out of your kidney by urination also you will be able to notice the difference which you never felt before.

Parsley is known as best cleaning treatment for kidneys and it is natural!

Hope you will forward this toall your loved ones

Tips to help you stay young

Many of us are looking for ways to stay young and although you can’t stop the clock, you can fight the signs of aging and the aging process with a few wise moves. The following 10 tips will help you to look and feel younger for longer.

Use your brain

Although the brain isn’t a muscle, the old ‘use it or lose it’ adage still applies. Brain scans show that when people use their brains in unaccustomed ways, more blood flows into different areas of the brain, and new neural pathways form. In a study in the journal Nature in 2004, young people were taught how to juggle. After three months, MRI scans showed enlargement of the grey matter in their brains — the part responsible for higher mental functions. When the participants in the study stopped juggling, their brains shrank again, suggesting that we need to keep our brains engaged to maintain mental agility and function. So, whether it’s a crossword puzzle, Sudoku or a university degree, trying giving your brain a challenge every day and you’ll be more likely to keep your marbles! Also, another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that more frequent participation in mentally stimulating activities can lead to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Be sociable

According to US government research, social isolation is a predictor of declining mental function in older age. Experts believe this may be down to not using a wide variety of communication skills. Research shows that people who are part of a group — whether it's a church or a book club — are healthier than solitary people when they are older, and that the wider the range of relationships (family, friends, work and so on) a person has, the less cognitive decline they will experience with aging. So, as well as tackling the crossword puzzle on your lonesome, make time in your life for shared activities — and ensure you spend time with as wide a range of people as possible.

Exercise more

Many of the depressing changes once attributed to chronological aging —such as fat gain, loss of muscle, and poor posture — are now believed to be due to plain old inactivity. For example, a Fels Longitudinal Study — which investigated aging, body composition and lifestyle — found that women who do vigorous physical activity such as running, cycling or swimming several times a week weigh up to 11.8kg (26lb) less than sedentary women, and have significantly less body fat. If you are more concerned about your heart health than your dress size, though, then doing less intense activities such as walking will help to protect your vital organ. Maintaining as active a lifestyle as you can is good advice for anyone trying to hold back the years.

Eat oily fish

Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and tuna are the best source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which have been found to protect against cardiovascular disease (particularly in combination with statins), type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Also, Omega-3 is believed to help the skin stay elastic and hydrated, which means wrinkles are less likely to appear — and which is why salmon is the base of the famous anti-aging Perricone Plan. But the benefits of omega-3 aren’t just skin deep! Research by Rush University in Chicago in 2005 found that eating oily fish can slow the mental decline associated with aging. The results showed that eating oily fish at least once a week can slow the rate of cognitive decline by 10 to 13 per cent per year.

Increase your intake of antioxidants

As we age, levels of harmful free radical levels rise, while the body’s production of antioxidants — the compounds which can ‘mop up’ free radicals — declines. According to studies at the Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, antioxidant-rich foods may slow aging processes in the body and brain. Researchers found that foods such as blueberries and spinach could increase the antioxidant power of human blood by 10 to 25 per cent — so try eating more of these. The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E play a major role in protecting the body against free radicals, so aim not only to get your five-a-day, but also ensure that you take in a wide variety of fruit and veg, especially those of strong colour. Vitamin A in particular helps to keep the skin strong and healthy, which we get in our diet from foods rich in beta-carotene. Carrots are the obvious choice — but sweet potato, swede, pumpkin and melon are also good sources.

Have more sex

It’s official: getting active between the sheets can help keep you youthful. Sex enhances emotional intimacy, relaxes us, decreases stress, and makes us feel great. A study conducted by Psychology Today magazine found that the more active and satisfying a person’s sex life is, the fitter and healthier they tend to be. For example, athletes who were still competing in sport in their sixties had sex lives comparable to those 20 years younger. And it wasn’t just big talk — the researchers interviewed their spouses for verification! Also, in his book Real Age, Michael Roizen reported that women who are unsatisfied with the quality or quantity of their sexual relationships have a life expectancy half a year less than is average for their age, while women who are satisfied with both the quality and quantity have a life expectancy one and a half years longer than average. For men, having fewer than five orgasms a year shortens life expectancy by two and a half years, while a man having more than 300 orgasms a year will add three years to his life expectancy.

Eat less

You probably won’t be overjoyed to hear this, but recent research found thatreducing calorie intake has a remarkable effect on the risk of developing diseases and conditions associated with aging — including diabetes, clogged arteries, heart attacks and strokes — and can also prolong your life! The study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis put 25 volunteers aged 41 to 65 on a daily intake of between 1400 and 2000 calories for over six years. Heart function, blood pressure and inflammatory markers were compared against 25 control subjects, who had a calorie intake of between 2000 to 3000 calories — which is typical of the normal Western diet. Heart muscle elasticity, blood pressure and inflammatory markers (including cancer-related ones) were all significantly healthier in the low-calorie group. But don’t think you can get away with a meal replacement drink, as the diet, though low in calories, was highly nutritious — rich in olive oil, vegetables, whole grains, fish and fruit.

Believe in yourself

As well as being physically, mentally and socially active, people who reach old age have a high level of what’s called ‘self efficacy’. Self efficacy is a blend of self belief and confidence, and studies show that it is a major distinguishing trait in centenarians. Researchers reported that the older centenarians become, the more they make decisions on the basis of what they believe as opposed to what others expect. They place responsibility for their health with themselves and not their doctors. People with high self efficacy tend to see problems as challenges to be met, setbacks as a reason to double their efforts and failure as a learning experience for next time. Albert Bandura, the psychologist who created the concept of self efficacy, points out that while many of our physical capacities decrease as we grow older — forcing us to reappraise our capacity for certain activities — the gains in knowledge, skills, and expertise compensate. ‘When the elderly are taught to use their intellectual capabilities, their improvement in mental function more than offsets the average decrement in performance over two decades,’ he says.

Stretch and strengthen

Everyone knows about osteoporosis — the loss of bone density that sets in as our skeletons get older and less active. But a similar disease, sarcopenia, affects your muscles as you grow older. Between 30 and 80, 15 per cent of muscle mass is lost (and with it go strength and tone). But is the loss due simply to advancing years or declining levels of activity? In one study, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, 70-year-olds who had lifted weights regularly for more than 10 years had as much muscle as 28-year-olds!Adding a couple of strength training sessions to your weekly regime is a wise move if you want to preserve your muscle mass. Flexibility also begins to deteriorate with age as connective tissues stiffen, muscles shorten and joints become drier as synovial fluid dries up. While you might not care about touching your toes, not being able to do up your bra strap or bend down to tie your shoe laces soon can dent your independence! Regular mobilising and stretching (and it’s never too early to start) can help to reduce the effects of aging on joints and muscles.

Protect your skin

There are two factors affecting the way we age: intrinsic factors — caused by the genes we inherit — and extrinsic (external or environmental) factors, such as exposure to the sun’s rays and cigarette smoking. This is the area that you can take action in. If you smoke, stop — and if you don’t wear a sun protection factor on your skin, start! Without protection from the sun’s rays, just a few minutes of exposure each day over the years can add up to cause noticeable changes and damage to the skin, such as freckles, age spots, spider veins and fine wrinkles. Also, a 2002 study showed that facial wrinkles not yet visible to the naked eye could be seen under a microscope in smokers as young as 20.Cigarette smoking causes biochemical changes in our bodies that accelerate aging. A person who smokes 10 or more cigarettes a day for a minimum of 10 years is statistically more likely to develop deeply wrinkled, leathery skin than a non-smoker.