JOHN MIELKE TALKED ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES ON KKNX TODAY, Friday, Nov 29 (6am - 9am PST). Listen on your radio, smart phone (Free Live 365 App) or on-line at radio84 • COUNTING SHEEP TO SLEEP Supposedly counting sheep will help you fall asleep. But there is a better way. Counting sheep is one way to help you fall asleep. The theory is that it occupies your mind with something bland - such as sheep - that it allows your mind to become quiet and then you fall asleep. But sleep expert James Mass, author of Sleep For Success has a better way. He says if you think about things you are grateful for, you will fall asleep faster. And it can be gratitude toward people or things or events - it doesnt really matter. The feeling of gratitude is a great way to quiet your mind so you drift off to sleep.Source: James Maas author of Power Sleep • DECK THE HALLS WITH MOLD If you’re decking the halls – skip the mold! With Thanksgiving behind us, you may soon be buying your Christmas tree. While it is a wonderful family tradition, its important to know that after a few weeks the mold count starts to skyrocket! Researchers at the American College of Allergy put evergreen trees to the test – and found that mold counts hovered around the normal range for about two weeks. After day 14 – up they went – as much as 8 times higher! Allergist Kathleen May explains, mold is Mother Nature’s cleanup crew – it starts to grow rapidly on the needles, branches and trunk as soon as a cut tree starts to decay. If you start to experience a scratchy throat, itchy eyes or fatigue when you’re near that tree – it’s time to drag it out of there.Source: ivillage/holiday-hazard-evergreen-trees/4-b-292367 • MIND SHARPENER If you’re bilingual - you’ve got a sharper mind. If you’d like to be at the top of your mental game – learn another language. People who are bilingual actually hold on to cognitive skills better than those who are monolingual. It’s true that it’s easiest to learn a second language under the age of ten – but it can be done at any age. If it all seems a bit daunting – consider sign language. Some people pick that up a lot easier. And when you’ve mastered that, try a different sign language – it’s not universal.Source: Howard Gurr, Ph.D. &actfl.org/advocacy/discover-languages/for-parents/cognitive • RIDING BACKWARDS If you feel sick when riding backwards on a bus or train – you’re in the majority – most people opt for the front facing seats. Dr. Dan Parker from the University of Washington explains when we’re facing forward – we can see what’s coming and naturally predict and prepare our bodies to react to the changes in motion. When we sit backwards – our bodies are caught off guard for turns and speed changes which can throw our balance off.If you’re stuck with a backward seat – and don’t like it – closing your eyes might help. When we can’t see anything our bodies tend to prepare a little better for the unexpected.Source:thenakedscientists/HTML/questions/question/2783/ • SALTWATER SHIELD If you feel a cold coming on – quick – gargle with saltwater! At the height of cold and flu season we can use all the help we can get – and a recent study found that gargling with saltwater can actually help protect us. In the study, people who gargled with saltwater three times a day got sick 40% LESS than those who didn’t. That’s because saltwater reduces inflammation in the throat and flushes out allergens, bacteria and other irritants. Just add about a half teaspoon of salt to warm water – stir to dissolve – and give it a gargle.Source:nytimes/2010/09/28/health/28real.html?_r=0 • TOUCHY FEELY We touch things every day – and that has a bigger effect on us than we think. We underestimate our sense of touch. According to a study out of Yale, It can have a really big effect on how we perceive things - and on the decisions we make. Participants were asked to do two puzzles – one had pieces that were rough to the touch – the other pieces were smooth. The rough puzzle was perceived as more difficult even though it wasn’t. And it’s not just texture – weight counts too. Judges were given resumes to look at – one on a heavy clipboard and the other on a lighter one. The resumes on the heavier clipboards were rated higher than those on the lighter ones.The study also revealed that people sitting on a hard chair were much less flexible with negotiating than when seated on a soft chair – and that touching a soft blanket can actually make us feel warm and fuzzy towards someone. Source: news.yale.edu/2010/06/24/touch-how-hard-chair-creates-hard-heart
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 20:14:55 +0000
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