Tips for Sleeping Comfort

Generally, it has been assumed that the need for sleep does not decrease with age, but rather that other factors gradually come to interfere with our ability to sleep through the night.


Older individuals, for instance, are at greater risk not only for developing medical and psychiatric disorders but also for taking medications that can disrupt sleep. In spite of these influences, however, it may be that an actual biological deterioration of the sleep drive might also be playing a role.

A new study published in the journal Current Biology has been able to shed some light on this puzzle of sleep and aging. The researchers, who wanted to determine the maximal sleep capacity of both young and older persons, arranged for groups of younger adults (ages 18 to 32 years) and older adults (ages 60 to 76 years) to lie in bed for 12 hours during the night and for another 4 hours in the afternoon.

The subjects tended to sleep significantly longer at the beginning of the experiment, presumably because they were making up for a sleep debt accrued during their usual daily sleep routines. When the sleep patterns stabilized, however, the younger adults were capable of sleeping for much longer times — an average of 8.9 hours daily — than were the elderly people, who got only 7.4 hours daily. This 1.5-hour difference in maximal sleep capacity is impressive.

If your biological drive for sleep seems to have decreased, make sure that you are following the kinds of routines and behaviors that will give you the best chance of getting as much refreshing sleep as possible. Here are some examples of good sleep hygiene:

1. Make sure that you're going to bed early enough to allow yourself to get an adequate night's sleep.

2. As your bedtime approaches, develop a relaxing routine in the evening — don't keep busy until the moment before you expect to fall asleep.

3. Avoid watching TV in bed.

4. Sleep in a cool, relatively dark room.

5. Consider going to sleep to the sound of white noise, either from a bedside fan or
a machine that generates calming sounds.

6. Increase your exercising, but don't do it so near to bedtime that it gets your adrenaline flowing and keeps you awake.

7. Limit your daily intake of caffeinated beverages and avoid them completely after lunchtime.

8. Avoid alcoholic beverages.

The 10 Most Disappointing Treats for Halloween

On Halloween night, some houses struggle with the idea of candy. There are good houses, and there are bad houses. The best trick-or-treaters know to avoid the latter. At the food site Serious Eats, we all love Halloween, but wish certain homes would just stop handing out the classically bad "treats." They weren't good last year, the year before that, or now. Our own Erin Zimmer put together this list of our top 10 Halloween treats that nobody wants...

1. Toothbrushes

Dentists and orthodontists should not be allowed to celebrate Halloween if they're going to get all tooth doctory on us. Do not bring your work home with you, folks! We all have a personal responsibility to brush, and maybe some of us will forget, but your complimentary bristles on a stick (instead of a Snickers) will not help us remember. It will make us despise you and your trade.

2. Raisins

Little boxes of stuck-together shriveled globs are not what little kids schlep around the neighborhood for all night. When they say trick-or-treat, they want candy that will rot their teeth, not wrinkled grapes. (Using an empty box as a kazoo-like instrument, though, is kinda fun.)

3. Candy Corn

The most polarizing candy of all. The fruitcake of Halloween; it just never goes away. If you love them, fine. But don't subject the rest of us haters to the sickeningly sweet triangle that tastes like neither candy nor corn.

4. Smarties and Necco Wafers


These chalky candies are supposedly "fruit-flavored," but no fruit I know tastes like dust -- and makes everything eaten after taste like dust, too.

5. Dum Dum Lollipops

Usually, foods on a stick are yummy (corn dogs, ice pops), but Dum Dums just can't be included on that list. Not even if they were breaded and deep-fried and served at a fair.

6. Apples

Long before "poisoned candy" scares, evil people were handing out apples instead of candy on Halloween. This disappointing "treat" is the main reason to avoid unwrapped food while trick-or-treating.

7. Tootsie Rolls

It looks like chocolate and sort of smells like chocolate, but the mini brown tubes are not real chocolate. They taste like watered-down chocolate, and have a chewy texture that will strip the fillings right off your molars.

8. Miscellaneous, Wrapped Hard Candies

Halloween is supposed to be a holiday for young people, not senior citizens who suck on hard candies all day. Something about the strawberry-shaped strawberries, gold-wrapped butterscotch, and peppermint feels past the expiration date. (These usually get set aside for Granny.)

9. Laffy Taffy

I do not laffy when I get these. I sobby. I get depressedy. Because it gets all stucky to my teethy and doesn't even taste that goody.

10. Anything Fun-Sized

Who started calling it this? Since when is one bite fun?! Give us the rich houses with the sprawling driveways and full-sized candy bars any day. Portion control doesn't need to start this young.

Check out these Halloween treats you will want to eat.

Too Skinny?

My friend was recently on the "90210" set and the first thing I asked him about his visit was, "What did those girls look like in person?" He shook his head and told me, "The girl who plays Silver ... it's scary.. she's too thin!"

It is scary. Two of "90210's" stars -- 18-year-old Shenae Grimes and 21-year-old Jessica Stroup -- are significantly and horrifyingly underweight, especially when you take into consideration that what we're seeing on TV includes 10 additional "camera pounds."

The gossip from the set is that Shenae and Jessica have gotten even thinner since the show started and that some of their cast members have become so concerned that they are planning an intervention.

I hope that's true. Think about how tired and cranky you get when you haven't eaten. Now think about the extremely long hours and the intense pressure that these young women are subjected to. If Shenae and Jessica don't start taking their health more seriously, their bodies are going to react negatively.

In an LA Times piece addressing the issue, a few older and highly respected actresses (like Holly Hunter and Kyra Sedgwick) were also called out for being on the super skinny side, but there is something far more inherently wrong about casting emaciated actresses in a show targeted at young women. "Gossip Girl" may be "every parent's nightmare" and "mind-blowingly inappropriate," but at least those exceptionally hot-looking girls look like they've eaten breakfast.

Clearly the olden days of the original "Beverly Hills, 90210," which featured girls with normal teenage bodies (until Tori Spelling got implants), are long gone. An Entertainment Weekly article about this very issue made the observation that "Mad Men" is the only current show where "the exaggerated hourglass ... is the very definition of sexy. But, alas, her curves are another prop of the era."

Maybe the positive thing about all of this is that the audience has responded with an appropriate amount of shock, horror, and concern. And perhaps we're finally acknowledging the fact that someone actually can be too thin.

Secrets to Staying Inspired About Your Life

By Lucy Danziger
SELF Editor-in-Chief

Today I'm sharing favorite ways to stoke my passion, creativity and determination -- my no-fail strategies for getting and staying inspired, no matter what my aim or what’s going on in my day.
One of my favorites: I’ve created a photo collage on my bulletin board at home of beautiful, triumphant, inspiring images of women meeting all kinds of physical challenges and looking gorgeous, strong and confident. I especially love old black-and-white fashion photographs, as well as Olympians and luscious beauty shots.

The mix is key. Right now, my all-time favorite picture comes from Triathlete Magazine -- it’s of a woman biking in the Kona Ironman in Hawaii, looking glowing, focused, in control and serenely beautiful, which is exactly what I aspire to be when I am at my physical best.

Try these two other tips for inspiring yourself to greater feats, whether of physical endurance or creativity:

1. Make a wonder list. Jot down 10 experiences that have made an impact on you, whether it’s taking a hot air balloon ride or a trip to a beautiful place, or listening to a favorite writer do a reading. “Focusing on something you find inspiring rather than pressuring yourself to [perform] helps your brain shift gears for those aha moments,” says Michael J. Gelb, author of Discover Your Genius (Harper Collins).

2. Get uncomfortable. When life becomes too routine, you may find that your thinking becomes routine, too. Break out of your rut by doing at least one thing differently each day -- advice that works when you’re exercising, too! Instead of having coffee at your desk, for instance, go to a coffee shop with a colleague or sit outside and exchange ideas. The more variety you seek out, the more inspired you’ll be.

Moments of silence mark 9/11 terrorist attacks

NEW YORK - Relatives of victims killed at the World Trade Center are observing moments of silence to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The ceremony at ground zero included moments of silence at 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m. — the times that two hijacked jets slammed into the twin towers. Two more moments of silence were to be held at the times the towers fell.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the ceremony by telling the tearful audience: "Today marks the seventh anniversay of the day our world was broken."

Other ceremonies are being held throughout the day around the country, including in Washington and in Pennsylvania. Barack Obama and John McCain are due at ground zero to pay silent respects. (AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press)

Angela Merkel tops Forbes list of powerful women

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was Wednesday named the world's most powerful woman by Forbes Magazine, putting her at the top of the prestigious list for the third year in a row.

Merkel soundly beat the likes of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who fell from fourth place last year to seventh place, and former US first lady and Democratic presidential contender, Senator Hillary Clinton, who was ranked 28th by the magazine -- three places lower than last year.

Runner-up in the rankings was the little known Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the US agency that "maintains the stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system by insuring deposits, supervising financial institutions, and managing receiverships."

The third-place finisher was another unknown, Indra Nooyi, chief executive of US softdrink giant, PepsiCo, who was one of 54 business leaders on the list.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, one of 23 politicians on the list, is in 13th place.

Other notable women on the list include French Economy, Finance and Employment Minister Christine Lagarde, in 14th place; Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, head of the Indian National Congress Party, ranked 21st; and Queen Rania of Jordan, in 96th place.

Six of the top 10 women are American, with the remaining four from Germany, Australia, Singapore and France. Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines did not make it to the top 100.

7 Counterintuitive Ways to Save Money

by Jeffrey Strain

Earnest attempts to save money here and there don't always add up to much. When traditional methods fail, it's time to consider a few counterintuitive options.

Spend Money

If you want to get the most for your money, you are going to have to spend. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they are trying to get their finances in order is to stop spending money alogether.

Not all spending is the same. You should limit unnecessary purchases, but spending on essential upkeep, preventive measures and items that will save money in the long run is vital for getting and keeping your finances in order.

Scrimp now on items and services that can help prevent larger expenses in the long run--such as routine car maintenance and energy-saving bulbs--and you could pay for it later.

Don't Stay Home in Front of the TV

While staying home is certainly less expensive than going out with your friends, it isn't likely to improve your financial situation significantly. In fact, it can cost you a lot of money.

Instead of staying home and lamenting that you can't afford to go out, take the initiative. Sign up for some classes to improve your job prospects and learn new cost-cutting skills so that next year you don't have to sit at home thinking about the things that you want but still can't afford.

Don't Spend Time Learning How to Invest

When you are first starting to improve your finances, don't make learning how to invest a priority. Instead, put your investing on autopilot and follow the advice of Warren Buffett: "The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund."

Once you've mastered your finances and have saved a nice nest egg, then you'll have time to research individual stocks. Until then, your time will be much better spent on improving your finances through other means.

Don't Leave Your Investments to Experts

Do your own investment research. This research should include getting experts' opinion, but don't rely on it exclusively.

You should make the final decision for your circumstances. Giving your finances completely over to someone else to take care of, no matter how much of an expert he or she may be, is asking for financial trouble.

Don't Let Salary Determine Job Choice

One of the worst financial mistakes you can make is to base your job choice on salary alone.

Visit the Banking & Budgeting Center

For long-term earning and financial health, you're almost always better off choosing the job you will find most satisfying.

Even if the salary is lower at the outset, you'll be more productive -- and more likely to advance -- if you're engaged and motivated.

Don't Buy What Is Cheapest

"Cheap" rarely means "the best value." To get the most out of your hard-earned money, you must think value rather than price. A car that is inexpensive, but costs a lot to drive and needs frequent repairs has less value than a car with a higher price tag but costs less to run and maintain.

This concept of buying value over price can be applied to anything and will mean that you rarely buy items which are the least expensive.

Don't Buy Things That Are on Sale

Much like things that are on the cheap, things that are on sale are rarely the best value.

There are two major problems with most items on sale: They are often something that you really don't need, and even if you do need them, you can usually find an alternative with better value.

If it's not something you'd buy even if it weren't on sale, it's a purchase you shouldn't make.

When you find something on sale that you do need, don't buy it without looking at other options. If you need the item and there aren't better options, buy away.