Why Do We Have Relaxation Drinks? Americans are pretty wired up these days, and getting enough sleep is tough. Close to 40% complain of insomnia making them too tired to fully function (http://www.jhsph.edu/healthymonday/2011/03072011_sleep.html), perhaps 5-10% of the population is presently suffering significant depression (http://userpages.umbc.edu/~marcotte/depression%20prevalence.pdf), and many millions more complain of high levels of anxiety – […]
Is controlling electronic media a way to have less fat young kids? (7/5/11)
Electric Weight Gain – Kids, Obesity, and Media Both the National Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics last week said the same thing – keep young kids away from much electronic media and protect their rest – to aid their development and prevent obesity. And we should listen to that advice. Why […]
Electronic Insomnia Part I
When Humans and Machines Collide When human evolution and technology collide billions of us became experimental subjects. The results include new behaviors, new diseases, and new versions of old disorders. So prepare now for the future – the new world of electronic insomnia. But first a very short look at the past. We’ve Even Got […]
Cool yourself to sleep (6/20/11)
Cooling Off Insomnia Can cooling your head treat insomnia? That’s the promise of a new device coming out of Daniel Buysse’s research group at the University of Pittsburgh. What Did They Do? Put a cooling cap at night on the front of insomniac’s heads, which lowered the temperature near the top of their head – […]
The looming Chinese debt (6/10/11)
An Unacknowledged Debt China’s US trade and treasury security surplus remains legendary. At least two trillion dollars of Treasury debt is held by Chinese banks and government entities; each month many billions of dollars flows into Chinese coffers, as we buy far more than what we sell to them. The Chinese government then buys […]