BusinessVoice News Network

All food scraps don’t have to go down the garbage disposal or into the trash. Soak orange peels in a jar filled with white vinegar for two weeks to make a citrus cleaning spray. Do the same with cucumber peels soaked in water for five days to make your own cucumber water that’s great for feeding your plants. Source Link

Hearing loss can make it harder to get the job, so try these tips. Reduce room noise by placing a small rug under your chair and ask for a phone with increased volume capability. Consider using noise canceling earbuds and ask for a copy of an agenda before a meeting and get meeting notes afterwards. Source Link

The average American spends five hours a day looking down at their phone and that can cause tight muscles and serious pain known as “tech neck.” The condition may require medication, physical therapy, steroid injections, or even surgery in the worst cases. The solution is to hold your phone at eye level as much as possible. Source Link

How you lay when you sleep could have an impact on your health. Side sleeping is considered the best because you’ll reduce the risk of snoring or sleep apnea when sleeping on your back. Sleeping on your left side can help prevent stomach acid from moving up when you lie down, and sleeping on your right side may improve heart function for those with heart disease. Source Link

Many “healthy snacks” don’t live up to their name. Veggie chips can be heavy on starches and calories. Fruit snacks may be less fruit and more corn syrup, sugar and artificial flavors. And read the label on your trail mix to look out for sugary add-ins like candy or chocolate pieces. Source Link 

Many people are hard-wired to avoid idleness, but you can train yourself to do nothing. Start small and sit quietly for five minutes in a peaceful place with a view of something pleasant. Add five minutes to this routine until you can sit quietly for 20 minutes each day. And remember to turn off your phone and tablet or anything else that can send an alert. Source Link

Giving your to-do list letter grades might help you complete more assignments. An “A” item is significantly important with serious consequences if it’s not done. “B” is something you should do but has a minor downside. A “C” would be nice to accomplish but not vital. A “D” is something to delegate to others and an “E” task is one you can eliminate. Source Link

You can avoid home WiFi problems starting with your router. Update the firmware, create a strong WiFi password and change the router’s default administrator password. Turn off remote access, create a guest network to keep visitors and smart home devices away from your personal devices, and consider buying a new router if yours is more than three years old. Source Link

Teaching your child healthy eating habits when they’re young can pay lifelong dividends. Help them understand the body’s cues for hunger or fullness and not to eat because you’re bored or doing something else like watching TV. Use child-sized plates to gauge how much food they need for a meal, keep junk food out of the house to avoid temptation, and have them get 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Source Link

Why is the snooze button on an alarm clock set for nine minutes? When the feature was introduced in the 1950s the mechanics of alarm clocks made it hard to set a snooze time with two digits, so nine minutes was the next best thing. It’s been the standard ever since but you can choose a different snooze time in the settings of the clock app on your smartphone. Source Link

Want to win an argument without offending the other person? Try “reframing” the debate and show how your approach can support their beliefs. Find out what’s important to them and then explain how your reasoning lines up with their goals. Seeking common ground to win them to your side is more effective than a hard face-off. Source Link

Keeping personal online messages private to the world might take a few extra steps. Turn off cloud backups of messages and delete any past backups. Avoid using Twitter direct messages that can be seen easily if someone hacks you and keep all accounts and devices secure with two-factor authentication and face or fingerprint detection to unlock a phone. Source Link

Having the hottest smartphone isn’t a good thing when you’re talking about temperature and not popularity. If your phone feels warm to the touch, start by removing the case and don’t store it in the sun or have it directly touching your body. Some things that can overheat a phone are shooting video, playing graphically rich games, or using your phone as a mobile hotspot. Source Link

Medicare fraud is a major problem and there are ways to spot a scam before you get taken. Medicare will not make an unsolicited contact to verify your information and watch out for an offer of free medical supplies that asks you to give up your Medicare number. And never let anyone but your doctor review your medical records to recommend services. Source Link

What are some tell-tale early signs of hearing loss? You might be asking people to repeat themselves often during a conversation, or you can’t hear background noises such as birds chirping, leaves rustling or a beep from a kitchen appliance. And ringing in your ears can be a sign of hearing loss because that’s how the brain compensates for a deprivation of sound. Source Link

Online privacy is a concern and you can stop Google from tracking your searches and browser habits. Go to myactivity.google.com to delete your search history and stop tracking and then clear your browser history. To protect your privacy in the future you can switch to a search engine like DuckDuckGo that doesn’t track online activity. Source Link 

Can the formula “20 over 40” help keep you out of the hospital? In a seven-year study of people over the age of 40, those who got 20 minutes of daily exercise cut their risk of hospitalization for things like pneumonia, stroke, diabetes complications and severe urinary tract infections. The numbers line up with recommendations to get 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. Source Link

Gardening can benefit your body in three ways. Growing some of your own food gives you fresh and healthy alternatives to processed food and maintaining a garden can be good exercise. And gardening has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety, especially when you’re working with others in a community garden. Source Link