Already an Adult Yet Still Afraid of the Dark

A young version of us won’t sleep in darkness. We’re afraid of an entity that lurks in the shadows and could attack us while we’re unaware. Children’s imagination usually crosses their reality. But this fear fades out as we mature because brows are raised to those adults who are still paralyzed in the dark. But it is not unheard of.

A 2012 survey of Go Glow found that “40% of us are scared when walking around the house with the lights off”.

Our body needs the dark to prepare itself for sleeping mode; but for people with insomnia, the dark is the problem. A study in Ryerson University Sleep & Depression Lab in Toronto asked 93 undergraduates about their sleeping patterns. Half of them admitted to be poor sleepers and has a fear of the dark. A cause for this difficulty of sleeping is anticipation of a bad occurrence, which increases their arousal while in bed.

Humans have a heightened visual acuity. Most people take up to 30 min to adapt to darkness. And from thereon, they are more sensitive to movement.

There are two types of photoreceptors in our eyes’ retina – cones and rods. Cones detect color and function best in light while rods rule at night. Rods are more sensitive than cones. They also outnumber the cones, with 120 million rods to 7 million cones. This is the reason why we have a decent resolution at night; and since rods are savvy motion sensors, we are notice the slightest movement like a bump in the cabinet’s door.

It gets even better. Evolution helped primates like humans to be aware of predators paroling at night. Humans need to cope against predators like snakes that have superior visual system. Show a picture of a snake to an eight month old baby and they’ll recognize it faster than any other objects shown. Neurological studies also found that the visual system is connected to a group of brain structures responsible for “fear”.

Fear is normal. We feel it in danger so we can fight or flight and thus, increasing our survival. And along with our response of fear, there is dark. Darkness cannot be avoided. The sun has to retire and so does the lights.

With unalterable fear and darkness, the only way to avert it is to accept it. The person should learn how to calm themselves even in the darkness. Turning the lights on at night won’t help since it only reinforces the association of fear with dark and relief with light.

Are you still afraid of the dark?

Body Wrapping: A Temporary Solution for Weight-loss

I’ve blogged about a lot of the newer fad diets and programs that people are implementing to try and reach a goal size or weight. This morning my friend Ariene asked me what I think about “body wraps.” Being unfamiliar I did a little research on this new weight loss idea, so I could understand its premise.

Like almost everything out there, it promises maximum results in a short period of time. Simplyslender.com argues that you’ll lose 6-20 inches in only an hour’s time. I’ve also talked about fitspo and thinspo and the pros and cons of those trends and what they advocate for. Body Wraps are a system of releasing toxins from the body through sweat and compression for a specified amount of time. The results are said to last for up to 1 to 2 months. Nothing is permanent if you’re not willing to make permanent changes. No amount of body wraps, is going to get you thin and KEEP you thin.

Ariene asked me “If body wraps don’t keep you thin, why would people want to do it.” The answer to me seemed simple. Some people have short term weight loss goals that they want to accomplish and need quick results, such as prom, weddings, going on a cruise, or wanting to lose some weight for bikini season. After they reached their desired outcome and the event is over, a lot of people gain the weight back (sometimes even extra weight) and are okay with it. They’ll just move on to the next fad diet for the next event they want to look good for. A lot of women are systematic fad dieters like this, and depending upon what is going on in their life, will only work to lose weight when desired, rather than maintaining and sticking with it year round to keep the results permanent.

I’ve said it before and I”ll say it again, if you want to get skinny and keep the weight off, then you need to make permanent changes into your lifestyle in order to achieve permanent results. If you’re tired of fluctuating and having a yo-yo waist line, then stop doing temporary fad diets. They are designed to make you fail. No diet is permanent, therefore results are only temporary.

If you are looking for a quick fix to solve your weight loss problems, you will never be happy with the results because you will constantly be struggling. Stick with a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and implement portion control. I don’t know a single person who does all 3 of those things, and is still overweight, but I know plenty of people who go on and off diets, and who are continuously struggling with weight in addition to a plethora of other problems. If you are serious about losing weight, get serious about your plan of attack. You earn the body you have.

Yawning – What For?

Air is coming in, it’s coming in, it’s coming in. Now it’s in the highest of high stretching my fully expanded mouth. I closed my eyes, stretched my arms and exhaled air back out. Yaaaaawwnnn. Ah, that’s satisfying.

We’re told guesses on why we yawn. It is a response when the brain needs oxygen. People think that it preludes sleep. But contradictories dismissed them. We don’t yawn while we’re exercising – the time when oxygen use is expeditious. Singers yawn before taking the stage – which doesn’t sound like a drowsy person.

But yawning has an alerting effect. It keeps us wake and more responsive. And it just felt damn good.

It may cool our brain as it sends air towards our headspace. Albany researchers found that those with cold packs in their foreheads are less likely to yawn than those with warmer packs. Since our brains burns a third of our calorie intake, it’s hot enough. It needs some cooling mechanism and yawning is some sort of our ventilation.

Yaaaaaaaaawwwnnnn. That’s a long one, really passionate. Writing YAWN couple of times won’t keep my mouth closed.

Everybody yawns. A growing 11 weeks old fetus already knows how to yawn. 50% of those who’ve seen other people yawning did the same. Probability is higher when we have a closer relationship with the yawner, says University of Pisa’s Elisabetta Palagi. Even dogs yawn with their owners, says Lund University’s Elainie Madsen. Many called this an evidence of empathy.

An interesting theory thinks yawning is a threat. Since it opens the mouth and exposes the sharp teeth, it may be considered as an aggressive behavior among certain species. The alpha primates yawn more frequently than the beta population. The leader is thought to yawn first while the rest follows to keep them alert in the wild. Thus, yawn is associated with dominance.

Even more intriguing, yawning is claimed to be a sign of sexual attraction. I don’t know but perhaps these scientists are bored.

How many times did you yawn while reading this?

Modern Punishment for the Modern Teen

A 16 year old was grounded for the weekend. He can’t go out and see his gang because of his attitudes. His parents thought he needed to mold his personality early than deal with it later.

But the dude has access to Facebook and he can know what’s up with his group. He can video call his girlfriend and see her live. He can still reach the outside world through the social networking sites.

Corporal punishment is another option many parents resort. It is also widely controversial and studied. Among them, the research of Murray Straus in the University of New Hampshire claimed that children who are spanked have slower mental ability development.

What are you gonna do? What is the best punishment for a child’s misbehavior?

What matters to children most in this modern day is connectivity to the internet. Banning social media sites, along with a period of prohibited outside presence, will fold their network with friends. This is a real punishment that hurts. Various software solutions like K9 web protection will aid internet parenting at home.

Another option is cutting their phone’s bill. With that, their expensive smartphones won’t have any purpose but an added carry-on. They won’t like that either.

Since nearly everybody has a profile in the internet, tell your teen that you’ll chat with his/her friends. This is the ultimate embarrassment for them. They’ll probably hate you but it’s a good threat nonetheless.

What other modern punishment do you think will work for the modern day child?

People in Amusement Parks

I recently returned from a 10 day vacation, where I went to Disney World, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando Florida. On my trip I participated in one of my favorite activities – People Watching. In an environment where you are surrounded by people, from all over the world and of all age groups you can’t help but notice the way people behave at amusement parks.

Whether it be Disney, Universal, or Islands of Adventure, the types of people in these parks are similar, and everyone fits a sort of character type. There are the parents that brought the kids that are too young to ride anything and got stuck pushing them around in the stroller while trying to dodge the kids running around without supervision. You have the group of people that are visiting as a team for some sport or event, that all wear matching t-shirts and ride everything as a group, usually clapping and chanting their slogans or mantras as they embark on each new ride. There’s the couple you are stuck behind in line, that can’t seem to keep their hands off each other and the closer you get to the ride, the heavier the couple gets with the PDAs.

Roller Coaster Loop, Disneyland

One of my favorites is the father who is trying to get his kid to face his/her fears by riding one of the most intense roller coasters in the park, meanwhile the kid has nearly pissed his/herself in fear, and will resent their father in the future for making them do this. There’s the overly enthusiastic growth spurt kids, who this year get to ride the coasters that their height wouldn’t allow the year before. There is the young group of adolescent boys whose only interest is riding the girls who are dressed inappropriately for a family oriented amusement park.

“Honeydukes” Candy shop in Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure

There’s the guy who has has already invested time and far too much money to win the large stuffed animal in hopes of carrying the bulky thing around to impress onlookers. Let’s not forget the incessant photo takers, who stop dead in their tracks nearly causing you to collide into them, just so they can take a picture, and these are the same people that spend more of their time exploring the souvenir shops while taking photos of the scenery. And of course there are the people that only seem to come to amusement parks for the food, and who you never see ride rides, but you can see them throughout the park sitting on a bench devouring a turkey leg or inhaling ice-cream before it melts; meanwhile they stare on at the kids walking around who are actually surprised at how soaked they got after going on a water ride even though they saw beforehand the results of the people that rode before them.

Rip Saw Falls Water Ride, Islands of Adventure

The Juicing Debate: To Drink or Not to Drink?

There has been a lot of talk recently about clean eating and juicing. Most people hear the word “juicing” and think of one of two things: (a) steroids, and (b) the sugary beverages you buy in the soda isle at the grocery store.

Juicing has been around for a long time; since at least the 1930s when the Gerson Therapy was first suggested as an alternate treatment plan for serious medical ailments. Gerson Therapy is basically a treatment plan where juicing raw fruits and vegetables (15 – 20 pounds per day) is used to treat and reverse cancer causing carcinogens and diabetes.

While there are medicines used to treat the symptoms of an illness, more times than not, these medicines comes with their own list of side affects. There are no serious side affects of juicing, with the exception of withdraws, but those typically dissipate after the initial 72 hours of starting. Juicing is a natural way for the body to heal itself without using more chemicals that could add other unwanted problems.

I personally have been on a juice fast for 23 days, and I am an advocate of the body healing itself naturally. Before I started juicing I suffered from migraines, I was lethargic all the time, I was overweight, suffered from insomnia, and how I felt inwardly and looked outwardly, was a direct reflection of the substances and foods I was putting into my body. The first 3 days I felt awful, withdrawing from the foods that got me in trouble in the first place; but after day 3, I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My energy levels increased dramatically, giving me the energy to exercise. I no longer have trouble sleeping through the night; I wake up feeling energized, and I maintain a steady level of energy throughout the day.

Getting adequate nutrition is essential when juicing (for any duration of time) and needs to be taken seriously. Part of the problem with the American diet is that we are increasingly becoming overweight, yet we are starving on a nutritional level. Have you ever eaten a bag full of chips, or a bowl of sugary cereal, and been hungry an hour later? It’s because nutritionally your body is not getting what it needs. With juicing you are maximizing your nutritional and enzymatic intake by ingesting all that goodness in a liquid form allowing it to get into your system faster.

A lot of people say, “Well why don’t you just eat those fruits and vegetables?”. It’s simple – you would have to eat nonstop in order to get the same benefits as you would in juicing. Your body is going to convert those foods into juices anyway, so you’re maximizing your intake by drinking more fruits and vegetables than you could by eating them. And for those of you concerned about protein (nobody cares about protein until you tell them you’re a vegetarian or you’re on a diet), throw in a couple almonds into the blender. The rewards of juicing speak for themselves, and I challenge anyone to try it for at least 5 days. Allow your body the opportunity to heal itself and cleanse.

What is Your Earliest Money Memory?

I can remember when I was nine I had my own paper route. I delivered the evening paper, which meant that after school I would come home, roll and rubber band each newspaper, load them onto my bike and begin delivering them. Rain, shine, snow, and slush. There were gross snow days where my dad would come home early and we would load up my papers in the back of his truck with the tailgate down. I would sit on the tailgate with my legs dangling and he would take me on my route, stop at each house, and I would jump off and throw the newspaper to its spot on the subscriber’s porch.

I sometimes loved those snowy days, as cold as they may have been, just for the chance to hang out on the tailgate, and know my dad was there with me driving along. My money memory is from my paper route. I cannot remember if I actually got paid for delivering papers, or if the only payment was through tips. Each month I would take my collection book to each subscriber’s house and collect the amount they owed for the newspaper. Often I would get a tip. Tips ranged widely in amounts and really depended on who answered the door that day. The generous wife, the miserly husband, the kid who would just pay me the exact amount. Usually the best tips were around Christmas time.

It was a tough time for my family, my mom often worked many jobs to help ensure there was food on the table. I would give my parents my tip money so they could put it in my savings account, and many years later I found out that my parents were not putting it in my savings account, but that my tips were being spent. Maybe it was for the electric or phone bills, or maybe for the food on the table. It does not matter now, I will always remember that as my first money memory. Not the best lesson to learn, but maybe that is what has made me so careful with my money now.

What is your earliest money memory?

Milan and the Perfect Wrong Choice

This photo was taken from the so called Old City of Bergamo, Milan, as we looked down at the New City. Most things to do with getting here had gone wrong. I mean from flight to where we stood, this was a mistake… and I was extremely happy about it.

I was on this trip with my girlfriend. A well-planned weekend away to celebrate our anniversary, of course it was, everything I do is well-planned (hmm). Everything was packed, tickets ready, passports ready, map ready, we were to go to Milan.

Our flight landed on time, so I’ll admit, it didn’t all go wrong. Whilst the sun was still up we got a cab from the airport for a fair price, and ended up at our hotel, which was surprisingly swish considering a budget. Soon after we were unpacked, out the door we are and wandering the streets to take in Milan.

The streets were not bustling, even though it was mid-afternoon, we assumed maybe they had a siesta like Spain. Wondering around, we saw few cafes and embraced the stunning architecture whilst it was quiet. It stayed quiet, and while the buildings were impressive, there seemed to be a severe lack of anything particularly remarkable or anything attracting attention. We assumed we were out of the centre a bit. A quick look at the map confirmed that were far from the Old City from which I took that photo.

Up the steep hill we went to the fortress of the Old City. We decided to grab a coffee before finding the way up. Classic good old coffee shop had Wi-Fi – I needed to know the shortest way to the top of that bridge. Google search Milan. I was struck by a remarkably unfamiliar map on my phone, this was not Milan, this is not where we were.

We had flown into Bergamo, after deciding it was clearly the most prominent airport for Milan. Turns out it’s a 50 minute train ride from the true Milan and we were staying in a city of financial banks nearby. Seems we made the wrong choice.

When we walked up to the Old Town, and looked over this view, however, everything was right and I knew it. It was beautiful, the Old Town was beautiful, the hotel was lush. We visited Milan too and it was a storming trip.

One mistake, one awesome mistake.

Why the Paradox of Choice?

Well choice experts believe that too much choice will mean you are less likely to enjoy the end result. That is due to the hypothetical choices you could’ve made. So you must limit your choices.

Paradoxically, too little choice and you want have the option for the best result in the first place. What side do you lean to? I can tell you too much choice is most common. So bear in mind that limiting choices will make you happier anyway.

We limited the choice to Italy, Milan, and a choice of two airports… picked the wrong one… had a great time and the rest is history…

Don’t worry about making the choice; you have to make it first anyway.

“I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday, For a Hamburger Today”

I recently watched an older episode of “Parks and Recreation.” It’s the episode where Ron Swanson and Chris Traeger have a competition to see who makes the better hamburger. Chris pulls out all the stops with seasoning, toppings, and sides to please the palate, whereas Ron simply cooks a plain ground beef burger and puts it on a bun – and wins. Sometimes less is more. Jimmy Buffet captured his love for the cheeseburger in his famous song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and Wimpy’s catch phrase from Popeye quickly caught on as “I”ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” So what is it about this food that has us salivating and including it on menus of virtually every American restaurant around?

I think part of the appeal of hamburgers is that they are familiar to everyone. When you go to a restaurant and you look at all the options, it makes choosing more difficult. However, with picking the Hamburger, you already know its a dependable option and will leave you feeling full and satisfied. It’s also the more economical choice when comparing it to say, seafood options or steak. Hamburgers are often paired with a heaping serving of chips or fries that will leave you feeling that you got your money’s worth in food. Hamburgers are also easy to eat. They don’t require you to cut into them, you just simply pick them up and shove them into your mouth.

The hamburger is a timeless meal. Restaurants are always competing to try and remaster the hamburger, adding fancier toppings, changing the meat from ground beef, to sirloin, Angus, and turkey. Even the vegetarians and vegans have their own meat-free options like the garden burgers and boca burgers which tried to emulate the familiar taste that you get when biting into a juicy hamburger. The hamburger and bun also serve as a template for anyone wishing to be innovative with their toppings and sides. You can add pretty much anything to it, and you still know its going to taste good.

Among the biggest reasons why hamburgers are America’s national food are because they are social and nostalgic food. They bring community in the sense that people often serve them at neighborhood barbeques and parties. They remind us of summertime, pool parties, and conversation with friends. They go great with beer, and they’re a crowd pleaser because everyone likes them. It also helps that they’re relatively inexpensive to make and can accommodate a plethora of people. People tend to stick with foods they already know they like; and as Americans, we know we can always count on the hamburger.

What’s your favorite hamburger restaurant?

“What is Beautiful is Good” Stereotype

Everyday life imposes the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype. The appealing character in TV is the good guy, while the unpleasing face is the villain. The gorgeous lady was offered the first-in-line position while the rest will have to endure the wait. The nice looking guy earns respect without any act.

Businesses desire beautiful people to be the face of products and services. Sales people, flight attendants, news anchors are attractive because they interact with the public. Stunning is a common feature of models in advertisements.

Physically attractive people are perceived as “more sociable, happier and more successful than unattractive people”. And the reason why they are more successful is because they are attractive! Attractive applicants are rated as more qualified. And once hired, they are more likely to get promotion and increase in salary.

In court, attractive defendants have better odds. They don’t look like guilty. And if they are, these people get more lenient sentences, lower bails and reduced fines.

Attractive people have perks even in the simplest situations. They are desired, looked up and have a better treatment in numerous everyday circumstances. People associate the “good” characteristics with beauty without experiential evidence with the person.

The painful aspect of beauty is that they are sometimes thought to be unintelligent lucky breed. But then, jealousy is a manageable other side of the stereotype.

Is this a wretched world to live for the attractive ones? Thankfully not. Undoubtedly, there is more challenge to them; but they are more persevering people who deserve every bit of successful footing. Earning their better life based on hardwork is a felicity undeserving lucky people can’t reap.

Do you have the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype?

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