Stress is good for you in small doses because it keeps you on your toes and it helps to remind you that you're alive and need to be careful in certain situations. Excess, pronounced, and never-ending stress typical of our modern way of living, however, kills brains cells and ages your brain faster.  To decrease your brain age, reduce your exposure to and intolerance of stress by finding ways that minimize it, ways that work for you. Some ideas include:   Meditating. Meditation is one of the more effective methods for reducing stress in your life and it can be done at home, at work and even while traveling. Taking up a physical activity that releases stress, such as yoga, martial arts, kickboxing or tennis. Learning to be more assertive and to express yourself. Assertive people are better able to state their needs and wants politely but firmly. Expressing yourself clearly and refusing to allow yourself to be used or swayed by others is a good way of keeping stress at bay. Exercising more. Exercise wards off the effects of stress by burning off the stress hormones and chasing away the cortisol that destroys brain cells. Mood improves with exercise too, as noradrenaline is secreted and endorphins enter the bloodstream. These substances give you a lift and help to ward off depression. . Your attitude affects brain activity and influences your mood and emotional state. A positive outlook that allows you to maintain a belief in your value and self-worth will allow you to live a fulfilled life in which your brain remains open to new possibilities. On the other hand, constant negative thinking can easily shut you off from continued learning and growth, which will cause your brain to age faster.  Learn to control negative thinking. The first step is to recognize negative thoughts. The second step is to change the thoughts to something more realistic and positive. Changing negative thinking is the same as changing any other bad habit. The more you practice positive thinking, the more your brain will respond. Work on your emotional intelligence. When you have emotional intelligence, you can recognize your emotions, reason with them and use them to enhance thought. You will be more creative, make better decisions and implement positive solutions to problems. The better you get at mastering your own emotions, the better you'll become at enabling constructive emotions in others as well, which will create more fruitful connections in your life.   Reframe the Past in your mind. While you cannot change the past, you can change your attitude toward it and avoid slipping into a victim mentality. Re-examine events that brought you shame, guilt, humiliation, sadness and fear so that you can let them go and move forward. You'll decrease your brain age with a better attitude because you'll remove useless, energy-sapping thoughts and replace them with healthier, forward-looking and self-forgiving thoughts that will energize you. . People who love what they're doing in life tend to experience a greater sense of purpose and happiness. You may not be in your dream job, activity or relationship, but you can find things to be grateful for in the life you're leading. Mix up work tasks every day and pursue plenty of other activities to add playfulness, interest and fun into your life. When undertaking mental workouts, be sure to focus and concentrate properly. You won't get benefits from simply going through the motions – you must really throw yourself into doing the mental workout activities with full attention.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Cope with stress. Improve your attitude Do What You Love Give mental exercises 100 percent of your effort.


Dip the test tube from a DPD kit down to a depth of 1.5 feet (0.46 m) to fill it up. Make sure the water reaches the fill line. Place a DPD #1 free chlorine tablet into the water in the tube. With the lid on, shake the tube until the tablet dissolves, then check the color of the water against the chart.  You can find these kits online or at pool supply stores; they measure how much chlorine is in the pool. They give the value in parts per million (ppm). Some kits may use drops instead of tablets. Always read the instructions for your kit. Write down the number for the free chlorine in your pool. Open the test tube. Using the same water already in the tube, add a DPD #3 total chlorine tablet. Put the lid on and shake the tube until the tablet dissolves. Compare the color to the given chart, which will give the total chlorine in ppm. Write down the total chlorine for your pool. Combined chlorines are the result of chlorine mixing with body waste like skin, oil, and urine. When the chlorine mixes like this, it's not as effective at disinfecting the water. Free chlorine is much more effective. For instance, if your total chlorine is 2.5 ppm and your free chlorine is 1.2 ppm, your combined chlorine is 2.5 - 1.2 = 1.3 ppm. The breakpoint level is when enough free chlorine is in the pool to break down the combined chlorines in your water. If you don't add enough, all the free chlorine will just convert to combined chlorines. If your combined chlorine level was 1.3, multiply that by 10 to equal 13, your breakpoint level. The desired change amount tells you how much you want the water to change in ppm. That will guide how much chlorine you add to the pool. For instance, the breakpoint level in the example is 13. Subtract the free chlorine level of 1.2 from 13 to get 11.8 ppm, the desired change amount. Typically, shock chemicals give an amount it takes to change the ppm level by 1 in 10,000 gallons (38,000 L). Therefore, divide the volume of your pool by 10,000 gallons (38,000 L).  For instance, if your pool is 60,000 gallons (230,000 L), divide by 10,000 gallons (38,000 L) to get 6. Always check your product for the correct amount. Check the back of the bottle again. It will tell you how much you need of the product to raise the chlorine level by 1 ppm in 10,000 gallons (38,000 L). For instance, you may need 2 ounces (57 g) of the product to raise the pool by 1 ppm. Multiply that number by the pool volume number you found in the last step and the desired change amount.  In the example, that would be 2 ounces (57 g) x 6 x 11.8 ppm = 141.6 ounces (4,010 g). Divide that number by 16 to get pounds: 141.6/16 = 8.85 pounds.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary --
Measure the free chlorine in the pool. Check the total chlorine in the pool. Subtract the free chlorine from the total chlorine to find the combined chlorine. Multiply the combined chlorine by 10 to find the breakpoint level. Figure out the desired change amount by subtracting the free chlorine level from the breakpoint level. Divide the volume of your pool by 10,000 gallons. Multiply the pool volume by the amount of product needed to raise the chlorine level 1 ppm.