Rest Changes Through the Life Cycle Rest is required for growth and maturation, but the requirements change over the life cycle. We need separate kinds of rest for special purposes at every stage of life – infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Recent work points out some of what’s required for growing kids: Infancy […]
Is business travel unhealthy? (5/20/11)
Business Travel May Be Hazardous to Your Health Worried about airplane safety? Thinking of air traffic controllers and pilots who fall asleep, birds flying into engine intakes, intrusive and radioactive TSA body scanners, suicide bombers with explosives knitted into their underwear? Relax. Heavy personal business travel is far more likely to lead to your early […]
Controlling weight and diabetes requires real rest (5/9/11)
It’s No Fun to Fight the System “I’m sleeping less than I ever have and that’s gonna make me gain weight? You’re kidding! I have to use more energy to stay awake, so how does that cause weight gain?” I hear similar stories most days. It’s time for people to look at how their bodies […]
Is sugar poison? (5/5/11)
Villain or Hero? We like our villains simple and singular, whether in politics or food. Our brains crave order, but seeing issues as part of larger systems is too complicated, too effortful and time consuming to seem worth it. Besides, it makes for lousy copy. Better to choose a villain. Recently, patients have been coming […]
Does sleep loss give me the munchies, or do I just get high? (4/1/11)
How to Gain Weight Without Even Trying Sleep less, weigh more. Even if might feel temporarily high from staying up all night, keep staying up and you’re going to put on weight. Quickly. Columbia University researchers rigidly controlled the life of 13 men and 13 women for six days. One group slept 8 hours, the […]