“Women are more likely than men to give up sleep to care for children and others,” states Charity Brown in the Washington Post.

Women are 2 ½ times as likely as men to interrupt their sleep to care for others, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Michigan. And once they’re up, women are awake longer: 44 minutes, compared with 30 minutes for men.

For the study, which is slated to appear in the journal Social Forces, researchers analyzed data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau via the American Time Use Survey: more than 20,000 time diaries kept by working parents from 2003 to 2007.

Among dual-income couples with a child younger than 1, 32 percent of women reported sleep interruptions on a given 24-hour period, compared with 11 percent of men. For those with children ages 3 to 5, 3 percent of mothers and 1 percent of fathers experienced interrupted sleep. Overall, after controlling the data for differences in work commitment, partnership status and other factors, Burgard said, mothers took “the night shift of caretaking” about 21/2 times as often as fathers.

Previous research into women’s lack of sufficient sleep noted problems such as undiagnosed sleep apnea and depression, she said, but this study sheds light on another factor: gender-defined responsibilities.

Whether the woman was the “primary caregiver, primary breadwinner, it didn’t matter,” says Burgard. Among parents of children younger than 1, 28 percent of women who were the sole earner in the couple reported getting up in the middle of the night to take care of children, compared with 4 percent of men who were the sole breadwinner.

“The primary care responsibilities still belong to females regardless of other obligations,” says Burgard.

The brain is an astonishingly intricate and malleable mass of tissue that continues to amaze and baffle doctors and scientists with its flexibile adaptability.

This organ consists of about 100 billion densely packed nerve cells, each of which is connected to 1,000 or so other nerve cells, called neurons. Those connections form circuits that are the foundation of the brain’s activity, and a traumatic injury damages neuron connections – disrupting function. Depending on what circuits have been affected, victims may have difficulty reasoning, finding words, remembering things, recognizing faces, understanding what’s said to them, or they could have problems walking, reaching, getting dressed or feeding themselves.

It’s an open book that scientists are still unraveling, but one thing that’s clear is that the brain has the astounding ability to rewire itself, bypassing damaged circuits and strengthening existing connections. Guided by doctors and therapists, patients undergo neurological rehabilitation where they learn compensation strategies to reclaim their cognitive abilities. The road to recovery is a long haul and most people with such injuries have some level of impairment for the rest of their lives. However the most dramatic recovery usually takes place within the first year, with approximately a third of patients who survive severe injuries showing improvement by the end of that time.

As Gabby Giffords regains her voice, we wish her well and a complete recovery.

Just trying to do the right thing and checking the page ranking of clients. I log in, and am summarily stopped. Nothing doing before I successfully copy the hieroglyphics squashed in this tiny box below.

Despite myself, my heart beats a little faster; I’m stymied by a tricky squiggle that looks like a stylized Seven, but I’m just not sure.

I’m starting to wonder why I’m having such difficulty…ostensibly this stuff is easy enough for any Human, or they would be a Bot, wouldn’t they?

With trepidation I submit my best attempt at humanity. Enter

I fail. This Bot is relegated to the trash heap of humanity, as the following appears:

ERROR: You submitted a wrong anti-bot code from the verification image on the previous page. Please make sure to submit a correct code to verify that you are a human, but not a bot.

Please click here to go back and try again.

Oh, no! Not me…I’m going elsewhere. This Bot can take no more abuse!

As we grow older, we also grow wiser, however.  So we realize that things that seem too good to be true, usually are. Unfortunately, anti-aging creams now seem to fall into this infamous category.  This week, in an article published by MedPage Today, we learned that the most popular anti-aging creams do not contain much, if any, protection from UV-A1 rays–rays that, in addition to UV-B, have been directly linked to photoaging and skin cancer.

The article points out that unlike UV-B rays, UV-A can penetrate windows.  So, protection from UV-A becomes even more important for those who are indoors or driving a lot.   Just looking at SPF isn’t enough because there currently are no label laws specific to how much UV-A protection is in the product. In other words, an SPF of 50 may simply apply to UV-B rays and provide no coverage from UV-A, leaving your skin susceptible to damage whether you are indoors or out!

So, ladies…before spending upwards of $50 on your favorite anti-aging cream, it may pay to do a little research first.  If you do, you just might be one step closer to that fountain we’re all searching for.  Happy hunting!

A high-intensity exercise, snow shoveling is quite demanding on the cardiovascular system. For some people, it is more demanding than running on a treadmill at maximum speed.

Some smart shoveling techniques and safety precautions to keep in mind:

• Stay away from caffeine or smoking if you know you will soon be going outside to shovel snow. Stimulants may cause blood vessels to contract and pulse to increase.

• Layer up and drink plenty of water beforehand.

• Make sure to stretch out your back, arm, and leg muscles before clearing snow from driveways and sidewalks. March in place for a little while or do some kind of warm up exercise to loosen your muscles.

• It is important to stand with your feet spaced shoulder width apart and facing the direction in which you are shoveling.

• Lift and bend at the knees. If you feel any pain, stop shoveling immediately.

• Don’t twist at the waist or try to bend when moving snow. Instead, move and turn towards the place where the snow is supposed to go, and drop it there.

• Shovel in small sections and don’t overload your shovel.

According to a goverment safety agency, snowblowers cause hundreds of finger amputations every winter season. While newer models have better safety features, older ones don’t offer any protection to those who try to clear snow or debris from the blades.

Get out there and enjoy your snow cleanup but make sure to heed the following tips from the experts:

– Never put your hand down the chute or around the blades of a snowblower.

– Use a stick or broom handle to clear impacted snow.

– Keep all shields in place and keep hands and feet away from moving parts.

Seems there are two hormones that regulate appetite: leptin and ghrelin.

Increased ghrelin means increased appetite, and decreased leptin also results in greater appetite. After a basic exercise routine, one usually has more ghrelin and less leptin.

In a recent study conducted by Loma Linda University in California, participants watched an array of videos ranging from tear jerkers to comedies. Hormones were measured well before and immediately after viewing. After enjoying Bill Cosby, Will Ferrell and the like, the viewers showed a 15% decrease in leptin and a 9% increase in ghrelin.

These findings can be helpful for those caring for elderly who have reduced appetites and are losing weight. It can also make a significant difference to those who can’t really partake in physical activity ie. the physically handicapped or elderly.

Hearty laughter provides many benefits and has already already been linked with stress reduction and lower risk of heart disease, as well as an enhanced immune system and lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Go ahead! Laugh as if your life depends on it!

Sure, I watch what I eat – but I’ll do it on my time & my watch. Though initially appreciative of the health-care overhaul enacted in March that had restaurants post calories, resentment started creeping in on the very rare occasions I was about to succumb. One chocolate chip cookie with my Dunkin Donuts coffee would certainly not wreak havoc on this body… until, I espied the 600 plus calories affixed to that slot.

I know. An airplane is the last place you want their food offerings, but I wish Big Brother would keep its elbows out of my less than roomy aisle seat!

Health advocates say the change could be a powerful tool in fighting the obesity epidemic, a top initiative in Washington since first lady Michelle Obama made childhood obesity her signature cause in February.

Come to think of it…Michelle can stay away too!

If you are a Mad Men fan, you watched this week as two advertisers debated how best to sell Pond’s Cold Cream.  Although the client said they were interested in appealing to younger women the veteran ad guy wanted to use “dames” from the movies in their ads – Barbara Stanwyck or someone similar – utilizing the argument that young women look up to older women.  His backup plan was to promise that either a) Girls who used Pond’s would land a husband or b) Girls who didn’t wouldn’t.

The female copywriter felt strongly that he was on the wrong track.  I would have to agree.

Clearly things were a little different in the early 60s because these days, we are constantly presented with images of barely-adult girls showing us how wrinkle free, flat bellied and fabulous we could be if we only used the latest greatest youth elixir.

Or, maybe they are wrinkle free and fabulous because they are 17.  Just saying.

So do younger women want to be older? Or do older women want to be younger?

The answer is both and neither.

Younger women want to revel in their youth, even while they look forward to their adulthood.  They want more responsibility – but only the responsibilities they want.  They want to be taken seriously, but not too seriously.

Older woman look back fondly on their youth, but most don’t want to go back there.  Wouldn’t go back there on a bet.  They want to look like they did when they were younger, but keep all of the knowledge and experience they have gained along the way.  They love the richness of what they have experienced, but want to remember (at least sort of) what it was like to be wide-eyed and ready to take on the world.

They want similar things, but they want them in entirely different ways.

I recently read this fascinating article that talked about how assuming that 50 year-olds want to be 30 year-olds is a huge mistake.  Many of us may want to look and feel like 30 year-olds.  But we don’t particularly want to act or think like them.

One of my friends jokes with her 4-year-old daughter she is going to trade her in for two 2-year-olds.  Targeting 25 year-olds to appeal to 50 year-olds makes just about the same amount of sense.

The best way to reach either of these audiences is to reinforce what is great about how they are right now and how your product can make the most of that.  Don’t assume that one group aspires to be the other and that a single message will reach both

Of course, that long and healthy life comes along with a hefty price tag in terms of medical care and prescription drugs.  Alas, there is no proverbial free lunch here.  But the extra years are a nice bonus!

The report, called “Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being,” looked at 37 health indicators, including economic status, income, housing, illness, and physical activity in people over age 65.  Data for the study came from a variety of government agencies, including the National Institute on Aging, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

A few of the key findings of the report include:

• Seniors with no chronic health conditions spend about $5,000 a year on health care, while those living with multiple chronic health conditions are spending closer to $25,000 per year.
• Luckily only about 5% of seniors report that they delay getting medical care due to costs, and less than 3% report difficulty getting care.
• The largest component of healthcare costs was hospital and physician spending, following by long-term care facilities, then prescription drug cost.
• Prescription costs for seniors increased from about $600 in 1992 t o over $2000 in 2004.  By 2006 more than half of out of pocket health spending for seniors was for prescriptions.
• Seniors report slightly more hospitalizations, but shorter in-patient stays.  They also say they are visiting the doctor’s office slightly more frequently.

The good news is that a person who is 65 today can expect to live until about 83, four years longer than life expectancy in the 1960s.  And those four years are likely to be better ones as functional limitations are less problematic and health later in life is improving all the time.

All of this adds up to more motivation than ever to fund your retirement account!  Your years may be long, but those bills might be high!  Plan now and you’ll be able to make the most of the extra time later!