Meditation is sleep’s most natural partner. It mirrors the brain’s activity during the initial phase of rest (non-REM sleep), which appears to be critical for brain restoration. During waking life, neurons fire intermittently in different parts of the brain. In non-REM sleep, this variable pattern becomes more unison: Neurons synchronize and fire en masse. “This synchronicity may reset neurons and reduce information overload,” says Bruce O’Hara, PhD, a University of Kentucky researcher....

The research: Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles tracked 6,381 adults ages 50 and older for 18 years using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Depending on their protein consumption, subjects were placed in high protein (more than 20% of calories from protein), moderate protein (11% to 19%), or low protein (10% or less) categories. Adults under age 65 who ate a high-protein diet were four times more likely to die from cancer or diabetes and twice as likely to die from other causes....

Researchers from Osaka University in Japan examined nearly 8,000 university employees with normal kidney function. The participants were divided into three groups: those who drank one soda a day, those who enjoyed two, and those who abstained from the fizzy stuff. After a 3-year follow-up, more than 10% of the group that drank two sodas a day developed proteinuria—an abnormally high level of proteins in urine that’s a risk factor for end-stage kidney disease....

In the new research, Graduate student Offir Laufer and Rony Paz, PhD, both of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, looked at how people respond when they think they’re losing money. Participants were given a lump sum, and were told they could increase their cashflow by correctly identifying three different musical notes. So what happened? ID How You Express Anger When people won money, they performed better; but when they lost money, their accuracy tanked—probably due to stress....

Step 1: Apply a maskmakeupgal.comsephora.combeauty.com You’re not imagining things: When pores become congested with makeup, dead skin cells, and dirt, those little indentations can become clogged and appear larger. “Using a clay-based mask twice a week will help to draw out impurities, keeping pores clear and tight,” says Los Angeles-based makeup artist Michelle Radow of . Clay absorbs excess oil and draws out existing gunk in your pores as it dries and contracts skin....

[sidebar]When Swedish researchers tested 10 people, they found that after humming even just a single note, they exhaled 15 times more nitric oxide from their nasal passages. Scientists measure this naturally produced gas as an indicator of how well your sinuses are expanding when you breathe. “Good ventilation helps keep sinuses open and unblocked, which is vital for keeping them healthy,” says lead researcher Eddie Weitzberg, MD, PhD, of Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm....

My StoryIn January 2005, my 10-month-old daughter, Ruth Ann, died in my husband’s arms of a rare genetic disorder. We had known she most likely wouldn’t make it to her first birthday, but her death still left me utterly shocked and heart-broken. Letting go of my dreams for her was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I stopped taking care of my health and ate too much. A month later, I weighed 198 pounds–the heaviest I’d ever been....

Chances are, you started your day with a generous helping of folic acid. For more than a decade, the government has required enriched grains – most notably white flour and white rice–to be fortified with folic acid, the synthetic form of the B vitamin folate. Many food manufacturers take it further, giving breakfast cereals, nutrition bars, and beverages a folic acid boost too. The extra nutrient isn’t meant for you, though – it’s added to protect fetuses from developing rare but tragic birth defects....

Even if you’ve got the job of your dreams, you’ve probably dreaded going to work at least once—or wished halfway through the day that you were lazing around on a beach somewhere. But if the extent of your job dread is leaving you drained, you might be experiencing something more severe than a bad week: Job burnout, which can affect your happiness, your productivity, and according to new research, even your heart health....

The reason for Katie Couric’s very public push around colon cancer was once an extremely private one; as is now well known, her husband, Jay Monahan, died in late January 1998 at age 42, a casualty of colon cancer that went undetected until it had reached Stage IV. Since then, Couric has cofounded the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, an arm of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which has recruited the likes of Diane Keaton, Vanessa Williams, and Heidi Klum as PSA poster girls....

A pad of paper and a pen might very well save your marriage. According to new research from Northwestern University, a few minutes spent writing about marital strife can protect your union from discord. The NU study team recruited 120 married couples—ranging from newlyweds to longterm partners—and split them into two groups. Every four months, each person completed a questionnaire about their marital satisfaction and spent a few minutes writing about their most recent marital argument....

In the study of 3,300 Norwegian adults, this standard formula was shown to underestimate top heart rate values in 77% of the cases. In fact, the formula churned out too-low results for up to 90% of those between the ages of 40 and 60, and in 60 to 69-year-olds, the inaccuracy translated to an average under-prediction of 15 beats per minute below the rate they could actually reach. What’s the big deal?...

The new study gives us the first evidence that meditators experience rapid changes in how genes work following mindfulness meditation, says lead study author Perla Kaliman, PhD, of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona. The epigenome sits on top of our DNA sequence and acts as a sort of light switch for each of our genes. It is affected by our environment, so depending on what we do every day, genes can be turned on or off or even have their function changed....

First, some background: Our sense of taste evolved to help us distinguish between good-for-us foods and potentially toxic ones, and each individual taste gives the brain specifics on what a given food will offer, nutritionally. Salty items signal the presence of, well, salt, which is essential for maintaining water balance in the body. Umami lets us know we’re getting amino acids, or proteins. Bitter tastes are often a sign of something poisonous, and sour means you’re getting important dietary acids....

A particle qualifies as “nano” when it’s 100 nanometers wide or less (to put it into context, a strand of hair is about 80,000 nanometers in diameter). Nanotechnology is used in everything from toothpaste to tennis balls to socks (when broken down, silver has antimicrobial properties), and PEN finds there are more than 1600 nanotechnology-based consumer products on the market today. But when it comes to your food, nano-sized titanium dioxide is used as a color-enhancer to ensure dairy products like yogurt and soy milk are their traditional bright white....

Their number one fear? That microwave cooking can somehow make us sick, even give us cancer. They can’t, Bloomfield says. Although we associate microwaves with nuclear power (even the dictionary lists microwave as the second definition of nuke), they are generally safe–if you follow operating instructions, keep an eye on children around them, and always have an oven mitt handy. Microwave Oven Safety: They Don’t Cause Cancer Like the broiler on conventional stoves, microwave ovens use a type of energy called electromagnetic (EM) radiation to warm your coffee and heat your pizza....

The most promising ingredients extracted from extremophiles, as these living-on-the-edge organisms are called, include antifreeze proteins and DNA-repairing enzymes, which are just beginning to be developed for cosmetic use and are still relatively expensive. But there are other extreme flora with the innate ability to sustain the environmental pressures our skin and hair contend with every day. Here’s where they’re sourced. Arctic Organisms that can withstand freezing temperatures sometimes develop special proteins and high levels of amino acids and antioxidants....

Your Goal: Full Push-Up A. Place hands on floor directly beneath shoulders. Extend legs behind so you are balancing on hands and balls of feet. Keep head, neck, back, butt, and legs in a straight line. B. Bend elbows out to sides and lower body almost to floor. Keep abs tight and body in a line. Hold for a second, then push back up. MORE: 6 Moves That Target Stubborn Cellulite Your Push-Up Plan This is a graduated series of push-ups, progressing from easiest (plank) to toughest (full push-up)....

You Sweat Excessively Solution: Secret Clinical Strength Advanced Solid Antiperspirant ($8; drugstores) this no-sweat deodorant contains the highest amount of aluminum zirconium allowed in an OTC product; skin-softening conditioners prevent irritation. Your Skin Is Easily Irritated You Want a Natural Choice