Increase Your Odds of Living to 100

From Rodale Publishing: Would you like to live to be 100? Here are a few ways to increase your odds:

• Live at a higher altitude. Researchers in Switzerland found that people living at high altitude had a 22 percent lower risk of dying of heart disease. That's because thinner air at higher elevations means more UV rays from the sun, which boost the production of heart-healthy vitamin D. Most experts point out that 77 percent of North Americans are vitamin-D deficient, which can lead to bone disorders and heart disease. So, eat more D-rich foods, like tuna and wild salmon, and talk to your doctor about taking a supplement.
  
  
• Another tip for living to 100: Breathe cleaner air. People living in cities with relatively good air quality live about one year longer than people in more-polluted areas. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that dirty air can trigger inflammatory reactions, and even mild inflammation can contribute to heart disease. So, avoid exercising near streets. You’ll be exposed to extra pollution from passing vehicles, and you’ll inhale more of it because you’re breathing deeply.
  
  
• Lastly: Accept your age. Researchers in Germany asked people how they felt about their age. Those who were comfortable with it lived about two years longer than those who were bothered by it. Partly because people who are content are more likely to exhibit healthy behavior, and people who compare themselves with their younger selves are often disappointed and stressed by the changes. Instead: Compare yourself with your contemporaries. Plenty of them will be worse off than you – and those who are better off will provide inspiration.

Here Are a Few Things That Kids Born Today Will Never Use

Bob Dylan was right - the times they are a-changin.’ Here are a few things we’re very familiar with that kids born today will never use – or even know about. This comes from Money Talks News.

- First: Videotape. Movies are released on DVD, most news-cameras and home-use cameras are digital, and a majority of homes no longer even have videotape machines.

- Today’s kids will also never wear a watch. Most people under 55 don’t wear one except as a fashion statement, and they often have dead batteries, or aren’t even wound up. Most people don’t need a watch because they’ve got a phone with a clock in their hands all day long.

- Then there are paper maps. They used to be available free at every gas station. Today, with in-car GPS gadgets, and smart phones with turn-by-turn directions, paper maps – and the ability to read them – are becoming obsolete.

- Another thing today’s kids won’t use: Phone books and encyclopedias. Who needs huge, outdated books to look up addresses, phone numbers, or world facts when you can just Google it?

- Forget catalogs and newspaper classifieds. You can see everything that’s available in your area – or via delivery – by hopping on company websites or Craigslist.

- Also: Wired phones and long-distance phone bills. In 10 years, nobody will be paying for a phone that has to stay attached to the wall, and with live, FREE computer video chat, who’d bother to pay for long distance phone calls?

- Finally, today’s kids will never have unanswered questions. Whether it’s remembering which actor was in that movie you loved, or finding the source of the Nile – with smart phones and Wi-Fi Internet connections, every debate can already be settled in seconds no matter where you are.

There’s a New Internet Security Threat to Worry About

If you use public wi-fi at your local coffee shop or library know this: There’s a new and very serious threat to your online security. A new program – that anyone can download – allows people to see any and everything that’s going on on your computer. Things like passwords, emails, everything. The program is called “firesheep,” and it was created by a software developer named David Butler, who posted it for free on his website. Butler says he didn’t create firesheep so bad guys could steal your password and hack your accounts – he created it to point out just how vulnerable we all are on when we use public internet services.

Here’s the deal: big sites like Amazon and Facebook have a problem, and it’s one they all know about and haven’t bothered to fix. When you first log on to Facebook and enter your password, it’s encrypted. No one can see it. However, AFTER you log on, Facebook and your computer exchange a little piece of code, called a cookie, that allows them to recognize each other so you don’t have to keep logging on. That’s fine if you’re on a private network, but on public wi-fi it’s broadcast over the network for all to see. Firesheep grabs that piece of code and allows anyone with the program complete access to your computer. David Butler’s goal here was to force major companies to fix this issue. Only time will tell if his plan worked, but in the meantime here’s how to keep your information safe:

Don’t do anything that requires a password when you’re on public Wi-Fi. If you have no choice, only enter financial information on sites that have full end-to-end encryption. You can tell you’re on a secure site if the address starts with HTTPS. It’s got to have that S on the end; otherwise your data is flapping in the wind.

Negative Thoughts Are Literally Bad For Your Health

From LiveScience.com:

It’s official: The way you think has as much impact on your health as the food you eat, and the amount of exercise you get! Need proof? Here’s a list of negative thoughts that are literally bad for your health:

- Negative thought #1: Cynicism. Scientists often define cynicism as “hostility,” because cynical people tend to be suspicious and mistrustful of others. The problem is that when you’re always second-guessing other people’s actions, you’re always feeling stressed. A study found that people who showed the greatest levels of cynicism were 25% more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease.

- Negative thought #2: Predicting doom and gloom. People who constantly fear the worst are said to have a “Type D personality.” Type D people tend to have fewer friends, because they bottle emotions and feel depressed. Research has shown that depression raises stress levels, which increases deadly plaque buildup in arteries.

- Another negative thought: Feeling like your life is out of control. Like when you’re frequently late for appointments, or disorganized. In a study involving more than 9,000 people, researchers found that organized, self-disciplined people live at least three years longer than those who lead more unstable lives. Why? Experts say it’s because people who take control of their lives tend to feel less stressed – so they’re less likely to smoke or drink.

Are you noticing a theme here? Most negative thoughts tend to be linked to higher stress. Since prolonged stress both weakens your immune system and raises your blood pressure, experts say negative thinking raises your risk of being killed by anything from a heart-attack to a common cold.

Cell Phones and Your Health

Holding a Cell Phone Against Your Ear May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Holding a cell phone against your ear may be hazardous to your health. So may stuffing it in your pocket. According to The New York Times, every cell phone comes with a printed warning to keep it away from your body. Like the manufacturers of iPhones and BlackBerries, who say your cell should never be closer than about one inch, but judging by the number of people with their phone glued to their ear, nobody notices the warnings.
The International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry insists that all FCC-approved phones are perfectly safe, but Dr. Henry Lai is a professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington. He points out that radiation from cell phones is the same radiation that heats food in a microwave.
The largest study of cell phone use and brain cancer was conducted in 13 developed countries – including Israel, France, Sweden and Finland. The result: People who were cell phone users for more than 10 years doubled their risk of developing a type of malignant brain tumor, and heavy users quadrupled their risk of benign tumors. Even worse, 10 years ago, most people didn’t even have a cell phone. Today – people talk on a cell an average of 12 hours a month – which makes all of us heavy users, and raises our risk for cancer. Children are more vulnerable. Radiation reaches much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are eight times thinner than an adult’s. Their brains also contain more fluid – making them absorb radiation more easily. So, how can you protect yourself and your family?
- Keep your phone away from your head or body, and used the phone’s speaker, or a wired headset.
- Also, since most radiation comes out of the back of your phone, keep the keypad toward you if it’s in your pocket or handbag.
- Finally, children under age 16 should text instead of calling, and pregnant women should keep their cell phone away from their abdomen.

Common Household Items You Need to Recycle

From Yahoo Green:

Should you trash it or recycle? Beware! It’s illegal to toss some items because they can harm the environment. So, here’s a list of common household items that need special treatment – and where to dispose of them.

- First, batteries and electronics must be recycled. That's because they contain toxic metals and other pollutants. In fact, throwing away rechargeable batteries – including car batteries - is illegal in 41 states. Retailers like Staples, Best Buy and Radio Shack will take them back for free. They’ll also usually take old computers, cameras, televisions, and cell phones – but charge fees depending on the brand.

- You also need to recycle oil-based paint, which can be taken to your local household hazardous waste center. You can use latex paint as primer. Or donate it to a charity like Habitat for Humanity, or a school theatre group. If it’s completely dried up, you can just toss the can.

- Florescent bulbs should be recycled because they contain tiny amounts of mercury that can leak out if broken. Any Home Depot or Ikea will recycle them for free. If you absolutely have no way to recycle, the EPA suggests sealing the light bulbs in two plastic bags before tossing them in the trash.

- Aerosol cans should also be recycled in your curbside bins, because pressurized cans sent to a landfill can explode in a fire.

- Finally, don’t flush bacon grease or cooking oils down the sink, because it can clog up your pipes and back up sewer systems even if you use hot water. Your best bet: Absorb the grease in shredded paper or kitty litter before tossing it in the trash. Or pour bacon grease in a coffee can and toss it once it solidifies.

If you’d like to go further, visit EPA.gov, and click the section for Household Hazardous Waste.

Perception of Time Can Increase Stress

By Selena Chavis:

In the driven U.S. social scene of full-time jobs, after-school children’s activities, volunteer obligations and just managing the day-to-day, many find that they are under increased stress.
Research conducted by a faculty member at New Jersey-based Rowan University suggests that the way people perceive time can either increase or decrease that stress.
Dr. Tejinder Billing, assistant professor of management in the Rohrer College of Business has studied the correlation between stress, time and work-family conflict in three different countries: the U.S., her native India and Venezuela.
Through her research, she has determined that while objective workload may represent a certain reality, the perception of that workload by an individual is more important.
“Individuals have a threshold level for workload, beyond which work is perceived as overload. When an individual’s workload exceeds the optimal level that he or she is comfortable with on a daily basis in the work situation, then psychological strain is the likely outcome,” she said
A silent variable in this equation of work and perception of work, according to Billing, is time.
“The essence of work overload is to do too much work in given amount of ‘time.’ Although we all continually refer to time, we quite easily forget about it when reflecting on stressful events,” she said.
Billings’ studies into time and workload commenced while she was studying at the University of Memphis and realized that people in the U.S. are “driven by the clock.”
“I actually didn’t find one single room in my school that didn’t have a clock. In India, clocks are not of such importance,” she noted, adding that cultural differences and attitudes toward time affect the way people manage time and deal with stress.
While Latin American and Asian cultures view time as an abundant resource, their Western counterparts are much more sensitive to the boundaries of time, Billings said, adding that people need to be aware of these differences when dealing with other cultures.
“If I’m not sensitive toward time like in Western countries, I can be in trouble when everyone is sensitive,” Billing said. “If I’m time-driven and you’re taking me to Latin America where perception of time is abundant, I’ll be stressed out.”
Billings said that people in the U.S. who put high emphasis on planning are better able to deal with work overload than those who do not emphasize planning and scheduling of activities in both their work and non-work lives.
In both the Indian and Venezuelan cultures, though, planning did not produce the same positive impact, which points to impact of perception of time across cultures.
Billings suggested that a key finding of the research is that people in the U.S. can manage and reduce stress more effectively by planning. “For individuals who emphasize planning and scheduling, the strength of the relationship between stressors and psychological strain is weaker than for individuals who do not emphasize planning and scheduling,” she said.
Research indicates that other factors influence our perception of time such as whether we were brought up to do things in sequential order or multi-task.
“We all have different attitudes toward time. We have different senses of time. And as a result we perceive and use time differently,” Billings noted.
One concept about time and perception rang true for all three cultures. Research revealed that people in the United States, India and Venezuela all feel stress when they perceive themselves as having too much work and too little time in which to get it done.
The differences are revealed in how they experience stress.