June 08, 2006

Wine and Tea May Protect Hearing

My hearing is high on the list of things I'd like to keep, in spite of owning a loud rock club in the past and going to bed with ringing ears during my teenage years spent drumming. According to the Scottsman, antioxidants in red wine, green tea and aspirin may help protect hearing from damage and prolong hearing into the years where loss due to age becomes more likely. Dr. Jochen Schacht of University of Michigan is quoted in the article as saying, " I wouldn't say it is proof for antioxidants, the jury's still out on that. But it certainly can't hurt to increase the amount of green vegetables, red wine or green tea that you consume." So do as the good doctor ordered and enjoy a glass of wine.

Posted by Jake at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

May 29, 2006

Nightowl to Morning Person the 12 Step Program

When I lived in Iowa, I often stayed up until 2 or 3am every night because that's when I got sleepy. Living in Seattle, that's switched to Midnight or 1am most nights, which is pretty consistent considering the timezone shift. Steve Pavlina has been doing some experiments with sleeping and also getting out of bed earlier. I'm not entirely convinced getting up early leads to more productivity, but he might be on to something. Steve's not a specialist in the area of sleep, but I think he still may be on to something. He's also got tips about getting up when the alarm goes off. One tip for early rising he fails to note is having kids. There's nothing like a four-year-old standing next to your head saying, "Wake up" to prompt you to get out of bed.

Posted by Jake at 06:26 PM | Comments (0)