Finally here! 6 Ultimate Solutions To Snoring!

Snoring can be very irritating sometimes. Imagine when sleeping and a weird noise is sounding from a hotel room. It is so loud that you think it is a bomb and this happens whenever the person sleeps. Unfortunately, when you tell your friend or your partner that they are snoring, they will vehemently deny it. I don’t snore, they will say. But how will you know if you snore except someone tells you? Anyway, when next you snore, your friend can just record it for you to believe. This said if you are a habitual snorer, and your friends have told you several times about it. 

Clear your nostrils

If your nostrils or nasal passages are blocked, it is 90% definite that you are going to snore. You should always clear your nostrils if it is blocked before you sleep.

Sleep on your side

Sleeping on your back will make you snore. When you recline on your back, it will force the base of your tongue and soft palate to crash to the back wall of your throat, causing you to snore during sleep. Sleeping on your side will prevent this.

Stay hydrated

The more you are dehydrated, the more susceptible you are to snoring. So, drink several cups of water daily to chase snoring away.

Lose weight

Both slim and chubby individuals snore. But over time, studies have shown that if you are overweight, your neck will gather too much tissue which can affect your breathing. So, shed some weight to deal with snoring.

Use an anti-snoring mouthpiece or guard

If you snore, then you should buy anti-snoring guard to prevent snoring whenever you sleep. However, know that using this guard doesn’t necessarily mean that you do not snore. You should use the anti-snoring guard when you want to sleep and on a doctor’s recommendation.

Avoid bedtime alcohol and smoking

Drinking alcohol or smoking few hours before you sleep is a recipe for snoring because it won’t allow you muscles to relax. You will be surprised that even people who do not snore will, after drinking alcohol or smoking.

5 WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING

The advent of social media has helped to introduce the concept of ‘social media for professional networking’. Slowly, ‘in-person’ networking is being overpowered by simply connecting to social networking sites. It’s all part of the phenomenon of social media that engages tens of millions of internet users per day.

In today’s ‘networking space’, it is thus important to know how to use social media for your professional networking. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 ways to help you do this.

START WITH CONNECTION SITES

Use connection sites like LinkedIn or Xing to look for quality contacts or high-level networkers (HLN) to network with. A quality contact or HLN, according to Entrepreneur.com, are people who are active online, have at least 500 connections and powerful profiles. You should make sure the HLNs you choose to network with are decision makers, executives, media, influencers etc. who are relevant to your field.

Don’t let the fact that you don’t know these people hold you back, simply be transparent when sending them a request or invite and let them know why you would like to connect with them. Try to make the request or invite more about how you can help them and not how they can help you. The more of these people you successfully connect with, the more your visibility increases and the better for you. Increased visibility puts you and your work or brand out there, and this can be especially useful when seeking job opportunities because when headhunters browse through LinkedIn profiles looking for suitable candidates to fill business positions, you’ll be more visible to them.

TARGET MARKET CONNECTIONS (TMC)

There are two types of people who market online – posters and seekers. You are a poster when you actively post valuable information, resources, tips and offers. Posters are mostly businesses, firms or companies. Seekers are mostly consumers, actively seeking for products and services. TMCs are mostly used by posters. Posters aim their products and services at these TMCs (groups of seekers actively sourcing for information about products and services).

A keyword search on social sites will take you to the groups and discussion areas of these TMCs. You can then join in the groups and discussions where your target market is active and engage with them. Joining these groups and discussions can also give you information on places your target market goes when looking for something in your industry.

GROUPS, COMMUNITIES AND DISCUSSION AREAS

There are community areas on most social networking sites for people who have the same interests to gather and connect. You can join and monitor these groups, communities or discussion areas, be active there and engage in their conversations with thoughtful and relevant questions and contributions. This helps you establish a relationship with members in the group and thus expand your professional network by exposing you to and giving you a chance to connect with the right people. When members of your group are familiar with you, they will be more willing to connect with you.

Groups, communities and discussions areas can also give you information on relevant events happening in your field that can present an opportunity for in-person networking, or present a platform to showcase your talents or whatever it is you have to offer.

BLOGS AND FAN PAGES

Blogs and fan pages are two of the best ways to engage with your target market, especially if you are a poster (business, firm or company). You can connect or partner with relevant blogs in your field, create your own blog, create and launch a Facebook fan page or Twitter Profile or do all of these together to reach out to fans and enthusiasts in your field. Once you are able to connect with them through your information, resources, tips and offers, and they like they what they see, you can through this, build a loyal following. Consequently, these loyal followers will be happy to tell their families, friends and peers about you, and your word-of-mouth will grow.

SHARE YOUR CONTENT

Whether you are a poster or seeker, it is important to share your professional content or achievements on your social media profiles so your connections, followers or friends can see your professional achievements. If you have a blog or one you contribute to, share your post and links to your post on your social media profile. If you are an artiste and have written or sang songs, made dance videos etc., share them on your profile. By doing this, you increase your visibility in your field especially when your connections or friends or followers re-share your content. Increasing your visibility helps you to make new social network connections, and thus expands your professional network.

6 COMMON SMARTPHONE PROBLEMS AND HOW TO FIX THEM

These days, it seems like as the sales of smartphones rise, the issues found on these devices rise. Thankfully, some of these common problems can be fixed without having to take it to a technician; all you need is the knowledge of how to fix them. To help with the acquisition of this knowledge, These are  6 common smartphone problems and how they can be fixed.

Smartphone is Running Slowly

This is the most common smartphone problem. This problem is most of the time caused by keeping apps running when not in use, installing unnecessary apps that choke your device’s RAM storage and saving numerous files on your device which congest your internal storage.

Solution: Close apps that are not in use, uninstall and disable unnecessary apps, free up your device’s storage and clear your cached data. If the issue still isn’t resolved you can download diagnostic apps like Phone Doctor Plus and Z-Device Test to help pinpoint the problem. You can also perform a factory data reset to wipe your device clean, leaving the software of your phone the way it was when it was first turned on.

Bluetooth Issues

Most Bluetooth issues are either pairing or interference issues. These can occur over time, sometimes due to the build of cached data in the ‘Bluetooth share’ system app or due to interference from sources like microwaves, wireless speakers, certain external monitors and LCD displays, Direct Satellite Service (DSS), power sources like power lines or stations, 2.4GHz or 5GHz phones or wireless RF video.

Solution: You can try switching off and switching on on your Bluetooth, if it is malfunctioning. If it still doesn’t work, go to Settings> Apps> Systems Apps> Select Bluetooth Share> Clear Cache. The steps vary for different smartphone brands, but the important thing to know is that ‘Bluetooth Share’ is a system app and should be sourced from the system apps of your phone.

For interference issues, either switch off the source of interference or take your device away from it. For pairing issues, you should make sure your device’s discoverable mood is on, get away from or power down likely interferers and make sure the devices you are attempting to pair are in close proximity to each other. If these don’t work, you can try powering your phone off and back on and limiting the data shared between the devices, before trying the above suggestions again.

Cracked Screen or Immersion in Water

We all know water and electronics are not a good mix, but unfortunately accidents happen and devices suddenly get immersed in water or have a hard impact with the floor when they mistakenly slip.

Solution: To avoid such accidents, a sturdy mobile phone case and screen protector can help to protect your phone. Though relatively expensive, it’s a worthy investment because they can help prevent cracked screens and water entering the phone’s ports.

Battery Problems

Battery problems are also fairly common in smartphones. The common battery problems are battery drain, slow charging and ‘system-hogging’ apps. They are mostly caused by users’ abuse.

Solution: To solve this issue you should start by stopping unnecessary apps from running and desist from using defective or wrong chargers to charge your phone. Google Play Service is a feature on most Android phones that drains a lot of battery, so you should clear the cache at least once a month to stop it from draining your battery. Also, you can reduce your screen’s brightness; shorten your screen timeout; and reduce the frequency your widgets and background apps update.

Phone or Apps Crashes

This is indeed a frustrating problem. It can be caused by bugs in your apps, too many apps open at a time, too little memory on the phone etc.

Solution: If your apps crash, you can clear the app data from ‘App Info’ or ‘App Manager’ (depending on how it’s named on your device). Also, learn to clear your cached data and avoid opening too many apps at a time.

For phone crashes, you can try troubleshooting your device for random restarts, troubleshooting apps on your device for random restarts, remove the case and external battery of your device for a short while, or performing a factory data reset on your device.

MicroSD Card Not Working On Your Smartphone

There are a lot of microSD cards in the market, but unfortunately not all of them will work on your smartphone. That can be frustrating.

Solution: There are mostly two types of microSD cards that you’ll come across – SDHC and SDXC. Before you buy any of them, you need to confirm the one which your smartphone supports. In terms of speed, most smartphones support these three primary speed classes of microSD cards: Class 10, UHS-1 Class 1, and UHS-1 Class 3. There are also UH-2 cards but only a limited number of mobile devices support them.

You should watch out for these labels when buying microSD cards for your smartphones. MicroSD card type (SDHC or SDXC) and capacity (GB or TB) are labeled on the card. The three speed classes above also have logos to signify their minimum speed. Class 10 is the letter C with the number 10 inside. UHS-1 Class 1 and Class 3 are the letter U with a 1 or 3 inside, respectively. Finally, you may also see a I or II label on the card, which references a UHS bus speed.

7 Ways To Increase Your Blog’s Traffic

We create blogs for people to visit and read our content. But most times, we find this is not the case and it seems like our blogs are not visible to our target audience. These are 7 ways to help increase your blog’s traffic.

BE STRATEGIC WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING EFFORTS

Increasing your blog traffic is not just about creating quality content, it’s largely about being strategic about your content. This means you should ensure your content meets a specific need. It should be centered on your audience, what they love and what they want to read.

For ideas on this, you can check out Quora or any popular question-and-answer site to know the questions people want answered that relate to your blog’s focus. You can also try blog topic generators, keyword search tools or content marketing tools like Buzzsumo to learn more about what your target audience reads and what gets their attention. In all, be sure to incorporate appealing infographics and visual aids for your posts, to create content that people will want to read and share.

Also, to help your content marketing efforts you should ensure you post evergreen content on your blog, one that will remain relevant even after a long while. You should also ensure your headlines are catchy and useful enough to your target audience to get clicked.

TAILOR YOUR CONTENT TO AN AUDIENCE LIKELY TO SHARE

Try to tailor your content to and target communities that are active with content sharing. For example, great and useful infographics, interesting videos and remarkable collection of facts and articles that contain interesting information should be targeted at audiences who are potential content distributors (people who are sure to have accounts on multiple social networks) and heavy content sharers (people who are extremely active users that run blogs, sites or are growing their social network to influencer level).

FIND OUT WHERE A LARGE PORTION OF YOUR AUDIENCE IS

Google search can help you with this. You basically need to identify blogs, forums, websites and social media communities where active discussions and content about subjects within your blog’s focus are shared. A web-based tool like Google’s Display Planner can help you expand and be more definitive with your search. Once you’ve identified the communities, you can start participating in them. But be careful not to rush into this participation, first attempt to understand the nature of the community and what is and isn’t appropriate in the community, to avoid mistakes when commenting and contributing.

INSTALL AN ANALYTICS SOFTWARE

One of the best and free analytics software to install is Google Analytics. This tool will help you see where visits originate, the sources that drive quality traffic and what others are saying about you and your content when they link over. The great insights gotten from this tool will help to define your marketing path and help you put more effort into effective marketing paths. It will also help you know where you are succeeding and where you have an opportunity.

JOIN SOCIAL SHARING COMMUNITIES

Social sharing sites present a great way to share your content. Aside the fact that they provide excellent inspiration for your blog posts, they also provide a platform that engages with other social sharing platforms and increase the likelihood of getting more fans and developing more links and traffic. You should be sure to be active on these platforms and engage with others, don’t just drop-by to simply leave links and upload posts and go.

GUEST BLOG (AND ALLOW OTHERS TO GUEST BLOG ON YOUR BLOG TOO)

No man is an island. You should entertain the idea of guest blogging on other blogs and allowing others to guest blog on yours. Friends and professional connections can help with this, especially if you are just starting out with your blog and don’t have much bloggers interesting in guest blogging on your blog or allowing you guest blog on theirs.

Guest blogging is a great way to spread your reach and increase your traffic. You should ensure you do not get discouraged when you get multiple ‘no’ responses. You should also send samples of your work along with your request to guest blog. In addition, rather than asking for a fresh contribution from someone with a ‘significant industry profile’, ask them for specific pieces they have written before that apply to your area.

OPTIMIZE YOUR BLOG FOR SPEED AND MOBILE

If your blog takes forever to load, it can discourage readers from visiting your blog. Google’s Page Speed Insight tool can help you analyze the speed of your blog site and give you tips on how to improve it.

Most people who visit your blog are likely to do so with their mobile devices; you should therefore seek for ways to optimize your blog site for mobile. Consider using plugins like WordPress plugins to execute this.

Things to do when hit with sudden stomach pains

At one point or the other in their daily lives, most people will experience abdominal pains. However, the unfortunate thing is that the pain will most of the time be experienced in situations most are unprepared for. To help prepare for even a hint of this occurrence, Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 things you can do when hit with such unexpected stomach pains.

You should however note that, if the pain lasts for more than six hours and continues to worsen, if the pain is experienced immediately after eating, if the pain starts all over and settles in one area of your abdomen, if the pain comes with bleeding, or if it’s accompanied with fever, vomiting, and worsens when you try to move around or touch your stomach, you should immediately call or go and see a doctor.

APPLY SOME HEAT

If you find yourself suffering from stomach pains, applying some heat to the area can go a long way in relieving the stomach pain. This is because the heat will help to loosen and relax your muscles.

To apply, a hot pack, hot water bottle or a warm cloth or towel is suitable. Find a place to lie down or recline yourself, and then apply the heat on your belly (the area you feel the pain). The temperature should be comfortable for you, but compulsorily warm. Do it for at least 15 minutes (for as long as you need to). You can re-heat along the way if necessary.

TAKE SOME MINT

Peppermint tea, or mint sweets can help relax your muscles. The tea is especially useful in improving the flow of bile which helps in proper digestion. Also, if you can find fresh peppermint leaves (you can try to find these at supermarkets), you can chew on them to ease your stomach pain.

WARM LEMON OR LIME WATER

Try to get some lemons or lime. When you get them, cut and squeeze them into warm water. If you have access to a juicer, you can use a juicer to extract the juice from the lemon or lime. Lemon water especially helps when your stomach pain is caused by indigestion. This is because the high acidity level of lemon water stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which helps to breakdown food in the stomach.

WARM GINGER TEA

Ginger contains naturally occurring chemicals that help relax smooth muscles like the muscles that line the intestinal tract. This therefore, helps to relieve stomach pains, especially colicky stomach aches. The tea also helps to relieve the nausea that sometimes accompanies stomach pains.

You can either prepare the tea by buying ginger tea bags from a supermarket, or by washing, peeling and grating or chopping fresh ginger root. You should then boil the grated or chopped ginger root for about 3 minutes, let simmer for 2 more minutes, remove from heat and strain. You can add honey to taste. The honey should be added in moderation, and should not be overdone.

A GLASS OF WARM MILK

Milk helps to neutralize stomach acids that cause stomach pains. A glass of milk can therefore do wonders and help ease your stomach pain, especially if the pain feels like a burn in your belly.

5 WAYS TO CONTROL EMOTIONS OF EMBARRASSMENT, ANGER, ANXIETY AND FEAR

Emotions can be very fickle. One moment you are feeling this way and the next you aren’t. They can also be extremely powerful and forceful, to the point that you feel you have no choice but to cave in. Emotions of embarrassment, anger, anxiety and fear are some of the most difficult to control. These are  5 ways to be strong, take the wheel and control these emotions without giving in to them.

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE EMOTION

One of the ways to deal with these emotions is to accept responsibility for their existence, says Joseph Grenny in his article for the Harvard Business Review. You should understand and accept that the emotions are about you, and are not the effect or cause of any external factor.

For example, if you have been scolded by your boss and are angry at his criticism you should consider that based on his personality, his scolding could either have resulted from feelings of curiosity, surprise and compassion, or they could have been from prejudice, resentment and anger. The fact that you chose to believe it was out of the later is more about you, than about your boss. This is what you have to take responsibility for, understand and deal with.

WHICH STORY DO YOU TELL YOURSELF?

When faced with emotions of embarrassment, anger, anxiety and fear, which story do you tell yourself? Is it the victim’s story – one that upholds your virtues and absolves you of responsibility? Is it the villain’s story – one that exaggerates the faults of others and attributes the situation or incident to their evil prejudicial motives? Or is it the helpless story – one that concludes that healthy courses of action like humbly listening, speaking up honestly etc., are pointless? Identifying the story you tell yourself will better help you detach enough from the situation to reflect, take control of your emotions and face the truth of the situation. Then, you can react to it better.

ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS

Ask yourself questions about the event, situation or incident that made you feel the emotions of embarrassment, anger, anxiety and fear. Ask yourself difficult questions to get to the root of the matter and be brave enough to answer truthfully.

One of the best ways to do this is by asking questions like “What am I pretending not to know about my role or fault in this situation?” (This question will attack your victim story). “Would a reasonable, rational and decent person say or do this?” Why would a reasonable, rational and decent person say or do this?” (This question attacks your villain story), and “What’s the right thing to do to achieve what I really want?” (This question attacks your helpless story).

Pondering on these questions will help you better see your faults, the faults of the other person and will help you release the emotions of embarrassment, anger, anxiety and fear as you determine the right thing to do. Remember, ask questions rather than present your defense.

UNDERSTAND WHY YOU THINK AND REACT THE WAY YOU DO

As we grow, we learn to tell ourselves certain stories to protect our ‘safety’ and ‘self-worth’. For example, being bullied when you were younger or having parents that criticized more than they commended you, tends to make your brain code conditions or situations like this or related to this as threatening. You thus begin to react to these conditions or situations defensively, unable to see it objectively.

To control your reactions to these situations and conditions, you need to do some soul searching and identify these triggers. After identifying them, it is easier to be more objective and challenge the perception that your safety and self-worth are at risk in these situations and conditions.

To help with this, you can develop a mantra and recite it in times or situations that seem to threaten your safety and self-worth. Mantras like “Be logical, be objective”, “Be humble. Be calm. I won’t let this hurt me” can help. It also helps to keep in mind the personality of the person or people criticizing you. It is easier to listen to them if you know and respect them.

FORGIVE YOUR EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS AND BE KIND TO YOURSELF

Even after understanding your emotional triggers for thinking and reacting the way you do, chances are you are occasionally going to lose control and give into them without realizing. You shouldn’t beat yourself up for this and give into self-loathing. You also shouldn’t start to wonder about the problem with yourself and personality. The fact that certain things happened to you in the past is not your fault, and they certainly don’t make you weird or abnormal. Everyone has a past and ‘things’ have happened to everybody, you’re not the only one, you should therefore be strong, forgive yourself and work on moving on from it so you are no longer controlled by it. As you forgive, you will find yourself dissociating from the harsh feelings.

10 Valentine Gift Ideas For The Nigerian Man You Love

Valentine’s Day is only a few days away and, of course, the girls can’t wait to see what gifts they’ll get – roses, chocolate, cakes, lingerie, jewelry, cars, etc.

Some have even dreamt of how their man would propose and what photo angles of the engagement ring look best on Instagram.

But you see Valentine’s Day wasn’t only made for women. Saint Valentine did not die for women to use February 14 as a day to get gifts and give back nothing.
So for those ladies who’ve made it a habit to only receive but never ever give back, this is for you. You need to change.
However, don’t go buying your lover, boyfriend, fiancé or husband cheap boxers and singlets. Have some class, please.

In the spirit of love, Campari shared these simple sweet gift ideas with us, so you can relax and make an easy choice for your man.

1 – Watches
Statement watches always make men look classy.

2 – Shoes
What do you want people to think when your man walks into the room? Also, don’t forget comfort is important.

3 – Coloured Socks
Get some really good patterned socks with those shoes.

4 – Ties
Sprinkle some Justin Timberlake and JayZ on your man.

5 – Perfumes
Pick a scent you’ll never want him to wash off.

6 – Video games
His friends will love you for this. No doubt.

7 – Underwear
There’s some excitement that comes with owning brand new premium underwear. Even men know this. However, be sure to ask him if he prefers briefs or boxers. Or maybe you already know *ahem*

8 – Shirts
Nothing looks more delicious than a man in a crisp dress shirt or a cool tee shirt to show the broad chest and screaming biceps. Yummy.

9 – Belts
The rarer the leather, the better.

10 – Agbada
Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Idoma … Nigerian men always look great in Agbadas, no matter the tribe.

If you cannot afford any of the items listed above, it’s absolutely ok to stay indoor, prepare a really good home cooked meal, light some scented candles, laugh over a bottle of Campari and have fun the best way you know how. *wink*