Guide to Better Skin

I just found a nice eBook, an official Complete Idiot's Guide publication with great information for people of all ages, to get the facts straight about having great looking and healthy skin. Yeah, Proactiv(R) and systems like that are great, but there's more to it than that.

Maybe because I'm getting older do I care more about taking care of myself, but also everyone should have the information and truths to keep them looking great from kids to seniors. Hope this can help you out, or maybe at least your kids(if ya got any).

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Better Skin (2004)

Interesting Info on Midday Naps

Scientists say that a successful midday nap depends on two things:Timing, and (no kidding) caffeine consumption.

Experiments performed at Loughborough University in the UK showed that the sleep-deprived need only a cup of coffee and 15 minutes of shut-eye to feel amazingly refreshed.

1. Right before you crash, down a cup of java. The caffeine has to travel through your gastro-intestinal tract, giving you time to nap before it kicks in.


2. Close your eyes and relax. Even if you only doze, you’ll get what’s known as effective microsleep, or momentary lapses of wakefulness.


3. Limit your nap to 15 minutes. A half hour can lead to sleep inertia, or the spinning down of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which handles functions like judgment. This gray matter can take 30 minutes to reboot.

taken from Wired.com - Cheat on the Need to Sleep which has quite a few interesting and insightful things regarding sleep

Eco-friendly Bulbs Contain Toxic Mercury

By MARTIN DELGADO
from Daily Mail

Danger: The new eco-friendly light bulbs contain toxic mercury (picture posed by model)

Energy-saving light bulbs are so dangerous that everyone must leave the room for at least 15 minutes if one falls to the floor and breaks, a Government department warned yesterday.

The startling alert came as health experts also warned that toxic
mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems including migraines and dizziness.

And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause
conditions such as eczema to flare up.

The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb's mercury content.

In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump – not a normal household bin.

None of this advice, however, is printed on the packaging the new-style bulbs are sold in. There are also worries over how the bulbs will be disposed of.

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Under new regulations for hazardous waste, councils are obliged to recycle them.

At present, they should be placed in special bins also used for batteries at a council dump. But in future, councils will have to provide a collection service or install special recycling banks for the bulbs.

There are fears that without a proper disposal system, the mercury content could contaminate water supplies.

But disposing of one municipal recycling bin full of bulbs costs about $1,267/£650 each time, adding to fears of higher council tax bills.

The warnings cast a shadow over Government plans to begin phasing out traditional tungsten lights this month.

Ministers hope that using the more environmentally friendly bulbs will save at least five million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

The bulbs are due to become compulsory in homes in four years.
Campaigners are calling for an opt-out so that people with health problems can still use old-style bulbs.

Others are thinking of hoarding the familiar pear-shaped bulbs so that they can keep on using them even after they have disappeared from the shops.

Independent environmental scientist Dr David Spurgeon warned yesterday: "Because these light bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, they could cause a problem if disposed of in a normal bin.

"It is possible that the mercury could be released into the air or from land-fill when they are released into the wider environment. That is a concern, because mercury is a well-known toxic substance."

And dermatologist Dr John Hawk, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that some people already find it difficult to tolerate the fluorescent-strip lighting that is widely used in schools and offices, which works in the same way as the eco-friendly bulbs.

He said: "Fluorescent lights seem to have some sort of ionising characteristic where they affect the air around them.

"This does affect a certain number of people, probably tens of thousands, in Britain, whose ailments flare up just by being close to them.

"Certain forms of eczema – some of which are very common – do flare up badly anywhere near fluorescent lights, so these people have to just be around incandescent (old-style) lighting."

Choose Your Medicine: Laughter, Music, Optimism

11 ways to knock out stress and lower your chance of heart disease

By Therese Droste , is a freelance health and fitness writer based in Washington, DC.


Stress: The word lingers like a threatening hiss. And that's appropriate, because too much stress, over time, can cause you to acquire risk factors--diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure--that lead to heart disease.

How does stress work? It releases adrenaline from the autonomic nervous system. "This adrenaline release sets up a whole cascade of reactions, including increased heart rate and blood pressure and stimulation of blood clotting cells, called platelets. Stress hormones can damage blood vessels by altering their flexibility and making them more vulnerable to plaque disruption," explains cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, author of The Women's Healthy Heart Program.

Chronic stress can result in unhealthy habits, such as smoking, being sedentary, overusing alcohol, eating poorly, and being socially isolated, she adds.

Too stressed out to even think about taking care of yourself? Here are some tips to help you out:

Be optimistic. PollyAnna was right: Optimists live longer than pessimists, according to a study of over 1,100 people tracked for 30 years by researchers at the Mayo Clinic.And, in a separate study of 999 people, men and women ages 65 to 85, researchers in the Netherlands found that optimistic participants had lower rates of heart disease and were 77% less likely to die of cardiovascular diseases.

Switch jobs. Yes, your critical boss really can make you sick. The more your job stresses you out, the greater your chance of developing metabolic syndrome, a combination of factors that increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a study of over 10,000 British civil servants.

Turn on the tunes. Researchers found that classical music, particularly Baroque--think Pachelbel's Canon in D--works well. Music with adagio movements of 60 beats per minute produced heightened alpha brain wave activity similar to that found during deep relaxation and meditation.

Don't yo-yo diet. Is fitting into that slinky black dress worth a heart attack? A study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health showed that consistently gaining or losing weight increased the risk of cardiovascular disease due to lower levels of HDL, the good cholesterol.

Take control. "When you perceive you're not in control, that's when stress hormones come into play," says Goldberg. Know what triggers your stress, and work to lessen the feelings so the stress is not prolonged.Toast less. "Some people use alcohol to reduce stress, but it's a two-edged sword that most likely will lead to dependency," says JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Abusing alcohol raises levels of triglycerides, which are fats in the blood, and can lead to high blood pressure and heart failure.

Practice Tai Chi. Moods were raised and cortisol levels dropped in one study of tai chi practitioners. When compared to other participants in the study who walked 6 kilometers per hour, the tai chi practitioners were found to have similar heart rate and blood pressure levels."Have you heard the one about...?" Researchers at Loma Linda University Medical Center had adults view funny videos, and found that humor triggered a physiological response similar to exercise. Laughter increased endorphins and neurotransmitters, lowered stress hormone levels, and activated T-cells, which fight viruses. Too buttoned up to belly laugh? Consider joining a laughter club for some help (www.laughterclubnsw.com).

Forgive someone. Stanford researchers, in a study of 259 people who received forgiveness training, found that 70% of them had decreased feelings of hurt, 27% had reduced physical symptoms of stress, and 15% had lower emotional stress.

Make friends. "Women need each other, especially after a sudden stressful event," says Goldberg. A 2005 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that women's hearts are more vulnerable to sudden stressful events, and that highly emotional experiences cause a surge in stress hormones and temporarily weaken the heart muscle.

Meditate. In a Canadian study of 90 patients, those who meditated in a group for 7 weeks, as well as additionally at home, had lower scores of mood disturbances, stress, depression, anxiety, and anger than the group that did not meditate. So take time to center. Most experts and meditation teachers recommend 20-minute periods.

taken from Prevention.com