Alcohol and Pills for Sleep “Beer and valium, that’s how I sleep. Works every time, a perfect night’s sleep.” So said an actor friend of mine, who often had trouble “coming down” after a play and used this cocktail three or four times a week. Yet often alcohol plus sleeping pills do not “work.” Thirty […]
Weight, learning and sleep – it’s all connected (11/14/11)
Less Sleep, More Weight – and Worse Learning Connections count. A few years ago people had a hard time believing that sleep time determined weight. Though physicians have long recognized that increased weight means increased sleep apnea, most of the population does not recognize that being overweight itself interferes with sleep and increases inflammation. […]
Senescent cells and the promise of human regeneration (11/7/11)
Learning From Mice Aging seems inevitable, but thoughts of reversing it propel great excitement. A group at Mayo Clinic has recently discovered that if a tiny group of cells, called senescent cells, are genetically manipulated to self-destruct, much of aging disappears – in mice. What the Study Showed The mice were a specially bred group […]
Obesity – why we can’t lose (11/4/11)
A Threat to the Nation Obesity will remain a threat to the American economy and national security for decades to come. With 17% of our GDP spent on health care, we cannot afford treating a nation that will be one third diabetic by 2030. Data argues that every pound Americans add increases national energy costs […]
Confessions of an air traffic controller (10/28/11)
Asleep in the Tower What caused a senior air traffic controller to fall asleep at Reagen Airport in Washington, D.C. this April, causing two planes to land unassisted and provoking a national transport scandal? Travel – his own. In a report by Rebecca Ruiz at MSNBC, the unnamed supervisor last remembered thinking he should splash […]