Hold The Colas - Scrap the Sports Drinks

We all need our daily dose of caffeine to wake us up in the morning, but it turns out that, thanks to us, our kids may be getting a caffeine habit too.

Seventy-five percent of children surveyed consumed caffeine on a daily basis, and the more they consumed, the less they slept, according to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

More reason for watching the kids’ caffeine intake:

·         Caffeine blocks a calming chemical in the brain, heightening stress hormones, which can increase 

           fat storage.

·         Caffeine inhibits impulse control.

·         Caffeine has no nutrients.

·         1,200 cases of caffeine poisoning were reported in kids under six in 2009.

Worth Reading

Does Having Choices Make Us Happy? 6 Studies That Suggest It Doesn’t AlwaysBy TED blog

Making decisions for yourself might not be all it’s cracked up to be. According to an amazing talk by marketing professor Baba Shiv, sometimes it’s a good idea to give up the driver’s seat. Shiv’s seemingly counterintuitive thoughts have led to a number of studies and research on choice, all trying to answer the question “Does having choices really make us happy?”

More: http://tinyurl.com/c3lwjwq

True Secret to Success (It’s Not What You Think)
By Geoffrey James
www.inc.com

Flexing this important emotional muscle is a key to lifelong success – but it’s probably not what you’re thinking. Gratitude is the answer to all your problems when it comes to success. It’s important to program your brain to be grateful, even if you’ve had a bad day. That means training your brain to look for more reasons to feel grateful. Try flexing this muscle to see how it affects your life.
More: http://tinyurl.com/cnzdxuy

How Being Polite Can Hurt Your Health
By Leslie Quander Wooldridge

We’ve always been told by our parents to respect our elders, keep our elbows off the table, and most of all…to be polite! But the final warning may not hold value any longer, at least not when it comes to our health. Being polite has been shown to cause harm in a number of ways – from forcing you to give in to peer pressure to overeating to please a host. Are you guilty of these polite faux-pas?
More: http://tinyurl.com/cvmf6tu

Are Words Losing Their Magic?

The most powerful ideas in human history have one thing in common – they’re all based on words. From religious doctrines to political constitutions to famous speeches that have broken down walls and created worlds, words have a long history of forging futures.

So, what is it about words that give them the ability to shape perspectives?

Rooted in oral tradition, words have always communicated importance. From oral traditions to the written word, words were luxuries available only to the elite. That is, until the printing press made it possible for them to be distributed almost as soon as they were written.

Today, words are shared as they’re conceived, and technology has made it possible to fire these “thought-rockets” around the world at devastating speeds.

That same technology has quickened the pace of the world. We do more, say more, share more – but does that mean we’re thinking more?

Among social media, digital media and broadcast media, words are hurled randomly into cyberspace with meanings twisted and distorted. Indeed, we’re littered with words, but how many of them actually matter?

Ironically, even though we’re exposed to more words today than ever before, fewer move us as did the words and works of the great orators of the past. Are words losing their magic?