NATURAL AIDS FOR GETTING SOME GOOD SHUT EYE

5 natural sleep aids By Leah Zerbe Published May 30, 2016.  Sleep restores us. And not getting enough of it can put us at greater risk of heart disease and cancer . Sleep even makes us smarter. Yet researchers are finding that more than 10 percent of the population is chronically sleep deprived.  If you're having trouble slipping into-and remaining in-Dreamland, don't dart straight to prescription sleep drugs, which can be habit-forming, harmful if you live with certain conditions, and even downright bizarre! (Some people develop sleep-eating and sleep-driving habits when using prescription sleeping pills.) The good news is, science has found that many foods, drinks, herbs, and other natural sleep aids can help put you to sleep...naturally. In fact, just this summer, researchers made the connection between tart cherry juice and getting adequate shut-eye. Here are some natural food- and drink-based sleep aids. Cherries In the small study, participants drank eight ounces of the tart cherry (also known as sour cherry) juice in the morning, and another eight ounces in the evening, for two weeks and reported better sleeping habits. Since all cherries are naturally high in melatonin, a compound that makes us sleepy, you can try eating a 'cup' as a snack before it's time for shut-eye if you'd rather not drink the juice.  Fish Certain fish and sea creatures contain sleep-inducing tryptophan, including shrimp, cod, tuna, and halibut. But since not all seafood choices are healthy for us (some are high in contaminants) or for the planet (many are overfished, or methods for catching them kill other species), stick to catches like Pacific cod from Alaska or pole-caught Albacore tuna from the U.S. or British Columbia. Carb/Protein Combo If keeping track of the latest safe seafood guidelines is too complicated, you can get your tryptophan fix from other things. You've probably heard that warm milk can help you sleep, since milk contains tryptophan. But the key is to combine carbs with a protein containing tryptophan to help your body better utilize the sleep inducer. Try pairing a 'cup' of whole grain cereal with organic milk before bedtime. Lemon Balm This lemon-scented member of the mint family has been a sleep-inducing superstar for ages. Other benefits include better digestion and decreased agitation. Try making lemon balm tea by steeping 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried herb in 1 'cup' of hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. (If you take thyroid meds, talk to you doctor...drinking the tea could mean you'll have to adjust your dosage.) Other Herbs If lemon balm's not your thing, another herb, sage, also works as a natural sleep aid. Just steep 4 tablespoons in a 'cup' of hot water, steep for four hours, strain, and reheat to drink. Chamomile tea and valerian teas, other sleep inducers, are also more widely available pre-bagged in natural food stores, if you don't want to fuss with the aforementioned straining herbs. 

HANGING BY A THREAD

Thursday will be our first sewing class.  We hope that many of you will come and check it out.  We will have lots of fun and fellowship.  If you are interested in coming it will be at WSB starting at 1:00 o’clock and should end sometime around 4:00 o’clock.  If you would like to attend please let Shelly know by Wednesday the 1^st.  Transportation will also be available so let Shelly know if you need that as well.  Looking forward to seeing you there.  Shelly’s contact information is:

501-664-7100  ext 233

Until tomorrow:

Bob and Johnye

 

TECHNOLOGY EVER INCREASING

Apple's Echo rival could see you with built-in camera The giant has been exploring including facial-recognition tech in its device, by Shara Tibken, May 27, 2016.    

Apple's rival to the Echo could know who you are just by looking at you. The consumer electronics giant has explored putting a camera in its device, which could come in the form of a smart speaker like Amazon's Echo , according to people familiar with Apple's plans. It would be "self aware" and detect who was in the room using facial recognition technology. That would let the device automatically bring up a person's preferences, such as the music and lighting they like, the people said. The hardware could be released by year's end, but it's more likely to be available in 2017, the people said. They cautioned that Apple could change its plans to include a camera -- or even scrap the device entirely. Apple declined to comment.  Where's Apple's answer to Amazon Echo? Apple building Amazon Echo competitor HomeKit apps: The good, the bad and the clumsy Your home is increasingly turning into a battleground for tech giants looking to sell you new, connected gadgets. It's part of an emerging area called the Internet of Things, which links together just about anything that plugs into an electrical outlet so they can talk to one another. Thanks to the Echo and its built-in voice assistant called Alexa, Amazon is already playing a central role in that transition in people's homes. Apple finds itself behind the pack even though it launched Siri before digital assistants came into vogue. Neither the Echo nor Google's recently announced device, Google Home , currently have cameras. They're both voice-activated speakers that let you control your home appliances by saying commands out loud. Apple's device also will obey voice commands through Siri, The Information reported earlier this week.  Putting intelligent cameras into devices is a risk for companies since it raises questions about privacy. Intel planned to release a TV box with a camera , but it ditched that plan for its first product. It said that was because of cost and the time it would take to build the device, but Intel also faced backlash over concerns that the box would watch you all the time (which is pretty creepy). Intel ultimately sold that business, called OnCue, to Verizon, which did away with the hardware in favor of a streaming service called Go90. . Still, proponents of smart cameras in devices say there's little privacy or security risk to consumers as long as the camera is turned off by default, and consumers have to opt-in to use it. . 

YOUR MEAT, THE FDA, AND ECOLI

Is your meat dangerous? USDA puts new warning labels on beef By Joanna Fantozzi Published May 27, 2016. 

How safe is that t-bone steak?  The USDA is looking to give e ven more nutritional information to consumers nowadays. First, the nutrition labels were overhauled and redesigned and now USDA-grade beef will come with a warning label specifying whether or not it has been mechanically tenderized. Although the tenderization process is common, it has actually been linked to the spreading of E.coli and salmonella, which might have increased foodborne pathogens over the past several years. When the mechanical blades cut into the tenderized meat, they also push in external bacteria. Meat has to be cooked to 145 degrees F or hotter in order to kill off any bacteria, or risk the transfer of E. coli or salmonella. About 11 percent of all beef is mechanically tenderized, which makes the meat less tough and easier to chew, according to an infographic from the USDA.  Now customers will be able to choose on their own, with clear labels, if they're willing to take the risk of buying beef that could be contaminated with dangerous bacteria. 

YOU MAY BE SWEET BUT YOUR BREATH MAY NOT BE

How to get rid of bad breath once and for all By Stephen J. Praetorius Published May 26, 2016. () 

nothing can put a damper on your chances at success-both romantically and professionally-like a bout of foul mouth stink. On the plus side, however, treatment's pretty easy. First off, let's talk about brushing. So you already do it when you wake up and before you go to bed. Good job. But if you've got funk regularly spewing out of your mouth, you've got to take your brushwork to the next level . Invest in a heavy-hitting electric option, like the Philips Sonicare HealthyWhite Plus, and use it after every meal to make sure that bacteria don't have any leftovers to feast on. Additionally, it also wouldn't hurt to follow that up with flossing and mouthwash, since even a good brush can miss a crumb or two between your teeth.  Now, while tooth care plays a role when it comes to fighting bad breath, if you're really looking to get down to business, then it's your tongue that deserves your undivided attention . Moist and warm, it's a veritable breeding ground for bacteria, which thrive in such environments. And as you can guess, these bacteria ain't exactly the freshest-smelling. Therefore, there's nothing more effective at taking care of a case of stinky breath than a tongue scraper; cheap and easy to use, they can help to remove unwanted bacteria, leaving your breath smelling a good bit less nasty in no time at all.  Of course, those are only temporary fixes. If you're going to get rid of bad breath for good, then you need to look at the underlying cause. And more often than not, that cause is going to be dehydration . You see, dehydration leads to a decrease in saliva production, which in turn leads to an increase in dead cells on your tongue and gums. These cells are then munched on by those same bacteria we were talking about earlier, which emit a particularly foul odor upon digestion. (Germ farts strike once again.) Fight back by making sure that your mouth is consistently moist and drinking a ton of liquids, thus shrinking your risk of game-killing halitosis. Steer clear of coffee.  It is a natural diuretic.  But what if you already drink a lot of water? Then alternatively, it might be your diet that's stinking up the joint . Pungent foods like garlic and onions are the obvious targets, but they're not the only foods that make you reek; sweets can also cause halitosis by further fueling your mouth bacteria with sugar, and low-carb, high-protein diets can make your body release ketones, which certainly don't smell great either. So keep an eye on what you're taking in, and maybe you can sort things out.  Now, if you've done all that and you're still a fire-breathing monster, then it may be high time to go see a doctor , since chronic, uncontrollable bad breath might be a sign of something clinical. And even if it's not, the doctor may be able to help. That is their job, after all. 

HOW'S YOUR BALANCE WHILE WALKING THESE DAYS

Insoles that buzz your feet could improve balance By Mindy Weisberger, Published May 25, 2016. 

Insoles generating vibrations too gentle to feel could increase sensitivity and improve balance. (Wyss Institute at Harvard University) Insoles that electrically stimulate the feet with random vibrations that are too gentle to feel can affect a person's stride, and may boost stability, offering a potential new way to decrease the risk of falls and injury from balance loss, a new study finds. Study participants undergoing strenuous activity while wearing such insoles adjusted their strides in a way that typically improves balance, the research found.  The insoles work using a process called "stochastic resonance" (SR), a method for amplifying a weak signal by adding "white noise" across a spectrum of frequencies. The vibrations produced by the insoles may be imperceptible, but they provide a type of signal upgrade to the sensitivity of the user's sole, which translates into enhanced performance while walking.  Earlier studies explored how this technique might be used to improve balance in elderly people. It's not surprising that such studies took place, said Daniel Miranda, the lead author of the new study and a Technology Development Fellow at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University in Massachusetts. "Somebody who's 65 or 70 [years old] who's generally healthy may have some sensory deficits due to the natural aging process," Miranda told Live Science. It made sense that studies would investigate how this technology could help older people with decreased sensitivity recover some of what they had lost. But, Miranda and his colleagues wondered, might there also be applications for young people?  In the years since the first experiments with this technique, the technology had progressed so that the actuators and sensors could be installed inside a thin, flexible insole made of traditional insole materials, which could fit comfortably inside a shoe. This meant the effects of SR could be tested during more dynamic activities than before, the researchers in the new study said. The scientists examined subjects walking up an incline on a treadmill, and applied SR vibration through the insoles at different times during the task: before the people reached their maximum effort, during the peak of exertion and after they admitted fatigue. This was done to see what effect the stimulation might have on the participants' performance. Since the pulses were too gentle to feel, walkers wearing the insoles had no way of knowing when they were receiving the vibrations, allowing the scientists to be certain that subjects were not consciously changing the way they walked. The researchers found that whenever they activated the insoles, there was a 10 percent improvement in a gait mechanism called step-width variability, which is related to balance. Varying step width, Miranda explained, improves stability while walking. Using the insoles to increase sensation for a more stable gait could be especially beneficial when fatigue reduces normal sensitivity to stimuli - for both recreational and profesÎsional athletes, he said. And better balance, Miranda added, could keep people from getting hurt. "Improving the balance-control mechanism has the potential to translate to reducing injury or risk of injury, but those studies still need to be done," he said. 

ALWAYS CHANGING

Apple could switch to a glass casing for upcoming iPhone  

The CEO of a Taiwan-based supplier of iPhone frames predicted the design changes in a shareholder meeting this week. by Kent German @KentGerman.  

A Taiwanese iPhone parts supplier has predicted that an upcoming variant of Apple's handset will feature glass casings. . Catcher Technology CEO Allen Horng made the prediction at a shareholder meeting on Thursday, the Nikkei Asian Review reports . Though Catcher currently builds metal frames for iPhones, Horng said he does not expect such a move to impact his business, since an iPhone with a glass casing would still need a durable metal frame inside it. . The iPhone 4 and 4S , introduced in 2010 and 2011 respectively, both had glass backings while retaining metal frames. Apple returned to using metal backs in the iPhone 5 in 2012. .