Lifestyle

A neuroscientist from the University of Oxford says that lack of sleep is just as bad as smoking. Professor Russell Foster blames lack of sleep for a number of health problems, and he compares the brain activity of early risers to that of inebriated people. Foster is the director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, which has called for more people to get to bed early. Not only does lack of sleep do damage to the brain, he says, but working at night can cause premature aging and is linked to an increased risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and Type II diabetes. Claims like that are backed up by French research out of the University of Toulouse, which showed that workers who had been on the night shift for 10 years aged by an extra six-and-a-half years compared with ...

Most people have heard about the mess that beloved comedian Bill Cosby has found himself in within the past year or so. But a new development has Cosby and his lawyer lashing out not only at the court system, but at the media as well. A court reporter released a deposition from a 2005 case involving one of his accusers, and Cosby says that the contents of the deposition are being misinterpreted thanks to recent events. Cosby and his lawyer, Patrick O’Connor, have since filed a lawsuit, saying that the deposition shouldn’t have been released, and that it skews the rest of his cases. The deposition is about a woman who said that Cosby drugged her and later sexually assaulted her. Also in the deposition, Cosby does admit that he was sexually involved with no fewer than five women outside of...

A bridge located on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Los Angeles has recently been washed out, becoming a huge traffic disruption. This comes as an addition to a break in highway 89 due to a landslide, and flooding throughout the southern states. Extreme weather is becoming more and more common, and to say that it’s disconcerting may be an understatement. The I-10 bridge has been partially reopened after a week, though drivers will still deal with half hour delays while crews begin rebuilding the bridge. It will be months before it’s fully reopened. The bridge’s demise came after the region was hit with six inches of heavy rain, which weakened the supporting pillars. Some of those affected say that highway engineers likely did not expect a storm surge of that magnitude, but others say t...

It's common knowledge by now that bottled water is not good for the environment. Each year, only 23% of all plastic is recycled, which means that 38 billion water bottles -- more than $1 billion worth of plastic -- gets wasted. In one year, the bottled water industry uses up about 17 million barrels of oil, which is enough to fuel 1.3 million vehicles for a full year. In addition, the energy used to create bottled water could power 190,000 homes. In order to fight the unsustainable bottled water industry, many places have begun banning them. However, a new study has found that there are unintended consequences of banning bottled water, including an increase in the consumption of sugary beverages without a reduction in plastic waste. The University of Vermont study, which has been publish...

Women, especially those who are overweight, are often told that they should dress for their body types. Sometimes larger girls are even publicly shamed for wearing revealing clothing. And YouTube vlogger Loey Lane thinks that's completely unfair. In her video "Why Fat Girls Shouldn't Wear Bikinis," the 22-year-old raises four arguments that she and other girls like her have been told about wearing skimpy beachwear -- and then smashes them all. To those who say that they don't like seeing a larger person in a bathing suit, Lane says, "Why is it that someone else can dictate that you are not allowed to put something on your body that makes them uncomfortable?" And Lane says that this kind of criticism extends to people of all sizes, and it needs to be shut down. "It is really scary to think ...

Though 81% of retirees credit good health as the key ingredient to a happy retirement, it's likely that 100% of retirees would agree that it doesn't hurt to have money, too. According to a recent TIME magazine report, millennials are even better prepared for retirement than the baby boomers were. A survey conducted by T. Rowe Price revealed that millennials are already saving 8% of their paychecks for retirement. Millennials would be saving even more if they had better paying jobs, and/or didn't have student loans to pay, according to Anne Coveney, T. Rowe Price's senior manager of retirement thought leadership. With a median personal income of $57,000, nearly 67% of millennials have a budget, and stick to it. (Compared to the 55% of baby boomers who do the same.) Millennials, as a whole...

Childhood obesity is a more critical issue than many people realize, but a new study has found a possible way to help turn the tide and put kids on a healthier track. Right now, about one-third of children and adolescents between the ages of six and 19 are considered to be overweight or obese. According to the World Health Organization, the number of overweight or obese infants and young children increased from 1990's global count of 32 million to 2013's 42 million. If current trends persist, the WHO warns that the number of overweight or obese infants and young children globally will increase to 70 million by 2025. "Childhood obesity must be accepted as a significant and urgent threat to health that is relevant in all countries. Governments must take the lead," said WHO Director General...

Safety-related technology is one of the major factors making owners of new cars happier than ever with their purchases, a new report from J.D. Power has found. “Not only are models increasingly offering systems that improve safety and visibility, but owners are also using them on a regular basis,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power. “This can go a long way toward generating positive feelings about their vehicle overall.” This is the 20th year that J.D. Power has released its U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. It is an industry benchmark for how gratifying to own and drive new vehicles are. Participants evaluate new car purchases based on 77 factors that are then combined into a total index score measured on a 1,000-p...

According to a recent report from Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, new fertility testing methods are being developed to test the RNA of sperm. This could mean great strides in the field of infertility, and help for those who are experiencing it. Until now, there have been fewer developments in male infertility than female infertility. The main factors examined when determining infertile sperm are usually concentration, motility, and morphology. But now, researchers are reaching into the very makeup of the sperm to determine the molecular causes of infertility. The authors of the study presented their findings in an article entitled, "Absence of sperm RNA elements correlates with idiopathic male infertility." In it, they stated: “We assessed spermatozoal RNAs from 96 couples p...

This summer, your home is at risk of being damaged. During this time of year, a phenomenon called solar distortion happens -- and it could be ruining your home's vinyl siding as you read this article. According to a July 3 WDTV article, solar distortion is what happens when one home's windows reflect sunlight onto the home next door's siding, causing the siding to melt and costing the homeowner thousands of dollars in siding repairs. Vinyl siding is the most popular siding choice for American homeowners, and it's not hard to see why. This siding is durable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing -- just not when it's located within the "hot zone" of a neighbor's energy-efficient windows. Energy-efficient windows, or Low-E windows, essentially act like a magnifying glass, multiplying the...