- A new study (Tel Aviv University) says that the excessive time spent on social media or on phones leads to an increased chance of pain in jaw and mouth-muscles, teeth-grinding, problems sleeping, fatigue and drowsiness during the day.
- Feeling groggy after the Daylight Saving Time switch? Scientists say you better watch out for “microsleeps,” tiny lapses in attention that can create problems at work and accidents on the road. The microsleeps apparently account for extra car crashes and workplace injuries that follow our lost hour each March.
- The next time your spouse hides out in front of the TV instead of helping with chores, you might want to share this with him or her. Researchers (University of Missouri, Brigham Young University, Utah State University) found that married couples are happier if they share household responsibilities. The researchers surveyed 160 couples married for an average of five years with at least one child under age five. The more wives perceived that their husbands were participating in family work tasks, the better the relationships were for both spouses. Couples’ relationships also improved when wives felt that their husbands were close with their children. Couples don’t need to divide chores exactly equally in order to see benefits.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: DIET PUSHES MAN TO DUMP GIRLFRIEND _ A man in China ended his relationship because his girlfriend’s stringent control of his eating habits and lifestyle drove him to the edge. Among other things, the girlfriend made the man chew each mouthful of food 32 times.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: GUNSHOTS AT WEDDING _ A groom in Cambodia survived after being accidentally shot at his own wedding after he tried to intervene in an argument between a drunken police officer and a slow waitress. The waitress apparently didn’t bring the drunken officer lemon juice. The officer pulled his handgun on her to speed her up and then the groom stepped in. The groom was wounded.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN DIALS PHONE WITH TONGUE _ A 73-year-old woman in Russia who’d been bound with duct tape by robbers had to improvise to reach the police. The woman said three men knocked on her door and then forced their way into her home, demanding drugs and money. They shoved her onto a couch, bound her and ransacked the house, stealing money and some valuables. After the robbers left, she rolled to the living room, pulled the phone off a table with her feet, and dialed using her tongue.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: HIGH SCHOOL SEGREGATES CAFETERIA _ A high school in China segregated students at lunchtime as a way to prevent them from developing romantic relationships. In particular, school officials wanted to prevent boys and girls from “feeding each other” — a public display of affection often practiced among young couples in China.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BURGLAR GETS STUCK IN HAMPER _ A would-be burglar in Poland climbed through a window but became stuck in a laundry hamper that was sitting beneath it. The home owner heard the racket, tackled the suspect and held him until police arrived.
WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MAN DROVE DEALERSHIP CAR TO ROB BANK, TRIED TO USE LOOT TO BUY BMW _ Prosecutors in Texas say a man drove a vehicle loaned to him by a car dealership to rob a bank — then brought the money back to try and use for a down payment on a BMW. Now Eric Dion Warren is headed to prison.
Fun Facts
✓60% say they are willing to tolerate pain for fashion, basically buying shoes that hurt because they look great.
✓ 51% of women notice what others have on their feet
ST. PATRICK’S DAY IS COMING
According to a survey:
• 60 percent of us “love” St. Patrick’s Day. 36 percent “like it”; 3 percent “don’t really like it”; 0 percent “hate it”.
• 90 percent of us plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in some way, which includes ‘celebrating’ by having a green beer at lunch or dinner, or a Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s.
• 85 percent of us will try to wear the color green on St. Patrick’s Day.
WOMEN AND SHOES
Women in the U.S. own an average of 17 pairs of shoes but wear only three pairs regularly.
• Women buy about four pairs a year.
• More than a third (39%) consider themselves “a shoe person.”
• 60% say they are willing to tolerate pain for fashion, basically buying shoes that hurt because they look great.
• 51% of women notice what others have on their feet
• 59% have gotten blisters from their shoes; 46%, foot pain.
• 35% have had a day ruined by uncomfortable shoes.
• 86% are honest with their spouse or significant other about their shoe purchases; 14% admit hiding at least one purchase
6 THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHEN YOU DON’T DRINK ENOUGH WATER
Are you getting enough water? Here are some things that happen when you don’t drink enough.
1. You’re more likely to have health problems. Higher water intake has been linked to decreased chances of kidney stones, urinary and colon cancer, and heart attacks.
2. Your metabolism stagnates. In independent studies a person’s basal metabolic rate (the calories burned while at rest) speeds up as the body becomes more hydrated.
3. You’ll have to think harder to complete the same tasks. Scientists (Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London) found that the brains of dehydrated teenagers had shrunk away from their skulls, and that when asked to play a problem-solving game, they performed just as well as those who drank enough, but engaged more of their brains to do so.
4. You’ll eat more. A study (Institute for Public Health and Water Research) found that those who drank two eight-ounce glasses of water before each meal consumed 75 to 90 fewer calories while eating. Over three months, water-drinkers lost an average of five pounds more than the dieters who were parched.
5. You’ll look more wrinkled. Water plumps skin, fills in fine lines and wrinkles, and enlivens a dull complexion.
6. You’ll suffer from bad moods. Researchers (Tufts University) asked members of the men’s and women’s crew teams to engage in 60 to 75 minutes of high-impact aerobic exercise without drinking enough water first. Others were properly hydrated. The dehydrated group was more likely to report feeling fatigued, confused, angry, depressed, or tense.
Water cooler question
What do Orange County, California, and Orange County, Florida, have in common? (Purely by coincidence, Disneyland and Walt Disney World amusement parks are in counties with the same name — Disneyland in Orange Country, California, and Disney World in Orange Country, Florida.)
