Here is the latest news and research regarding your health.
When You Snooze, You Lose
Now there is another reason to make sure that you get enough sleep. Researchers have found a direct correlation to the amount of sleep you get and how many pounds you can drop. It all has to do with a hormone called ghrelin that stimulates appetite. After a University of Chicago study, scientists believe that getting less sleep than you need causes a surge in the amount of ghrelin that is produced by your body.
So, the next time someone wants you to stay out late, just tell them, “Sorry, I have to get my skinny sleep.”
Blushing Gets You Ahead
Being able to blush may just be a good way to save face. Researchers have found that if someone blushes after making a mistake, other people will judge them more positively than if they didn’t blush. People who blush are also seen as more trustworthy. The study was published in the April edition of the journal, Emotion.
A couple of interesting facts: humans are the only ones who blush, and most scientists agree that we cannot control whether or not we blush.
New Screening for Autism
The results are in. Many doctors have had success with identifying children with autism when they are as young as one year old. A simple checklist that can be filled out by parents seems to do the trick with screening for signs of autism. While there is still some work to be done on early autism screening, the news is promising. The earlier a child with autism is identified, the earlier intervention and therapy can begin.
Current data suggest that about one in 100 children have some form of autism. The number of children diagnosed is growing, although scientists and doctors cannot give a definitive answer why this is the case.