As a young girl, I loved to drink coffee.  I picked up a bad habit at a very young age.  I drank coffee just about every day.  I still drink coffee, but now I sometimes even drink it more than just once a day.  My grandparents always said that coffee was not good for me.  I have multiple state that coffee is not good for us because of all the caffeine.  This made me wonder if there were any benefits to drinking coffee other than the taste.  Can coffee have benefits for ones-self or is it all just bad for you?

After doing some research, I found that coffee does have its benefits.  One benefit is coffee can help boost the brain because coffee blocks the effects of adenosine which then increases brain activity.  Control studies have shown how the caffeine in coffee helps people’s moods and brain functions.  A study was done which had 130,000 volunteers who were studied anywhere from 18-24 years.  These individual were all between the ages of 40-50.  The researchers kept track of how much coffee each person drank and took into account each person’s life style.  They found that coffee does not increase the risk of cancer or death from anything.   By tracking each person’s life style this accounts for any possible third variables.  So what does this mean?  That coffee is not bad like everyone once thought.  Some of the people they studied even drank up to six cups per day with no increase health risks.  

Also coffee is linked to fighting depression.  The national institutes of health along with the AARP, found that people who drink coffee are 10 percent less likely to become depressed.  The only thing about this study was it was never stated how many people were tested to prove that this could be the case.  Coffee was found to protect people from trying to commit suicide.  100,000 men and women were tested and the results showed that the risk of committing suicide lowered by fifty percent for coffee drinkers.  Studies show how coffee can even help lower the risks of getting dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s by 30 to 60 percent.   People who drink around four or more cups of coffee are suspected to not have diabetes because the antioxidants in coffee helps regulate blood sugar.  Although studies suggest that decaf coffee would be even better for this.  

So are you going to continue drinking coffee?  I say why not, so far everything that was once considered bad about coffee has been looked at again.  There are many benefits to drinking coffee.  Still more studies need to be done, but I believe there are more benefits than drawbacks to drinking coffee.   Although, like anything else, drink in moderation.  Too much of anything is not good for one person. 

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/coffee/

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/why-coffee-good-you-here-are-7-reasons

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/health_reasons_to_drink_coffee_and_cons_to_consider?page=3

http://theweek.com/article/index/244468/ 

At night when I am feeling very stressed, I sometimes will take out my sketch book and draw. I always feel that drawing relaxes me.  It is something that I enjoy, but it is also very calming to me.  This made me wonder if drawing could be used not only to relax people, but to help them heal from medical conditions.  I once saw somewhere that this could be possible so I wanted to see if it was a myth or the truth. 

Art therapy is used to help people heal.  It helps those that are sick express their emotions whether it be fear, anxiety, and freedom and it reduces stress.  Art therapy is used for people dealing with eating disorders, patients who need a bone marrow transplant, patience who have been sexually abused, people who are addicts, the people taking care of a cancer patient, ill people, disabled people, and so many others.  The goal of art therapy is to get people to open up and even express unconscious thoughts.  So, does this healing process actually work?

So far, studies have shown that art therapy has helped cancer patience by helping with distress, improving their life quality, reducing the pain they feel, and helping their physical and psychological health.  Also studies revealed that cancer patiences going through chemotherapy are not as depressed and have lower fatigue with the help of art therapy.  Does this mean that art therapy is used as a cure to cancer? No, it does not serves as a cure, but only helps the patient feel less distressed and more relaxed while undergoing their journey.  The patients still need cancer treatments, but art therapy just helps make them a little more comfortable. 

Art therapy can also be used for children with asthma.  A randomized trial was conducted which showed how children with asthma had a reduced amount of anxiety and a higher quality of life just after seven weeks of art therapy. This study took 22 children and broke them up into two groups: ones that received art therapy and the control group which did not.  The children’s ages ranged from 7 to 14; the children in the art therapy group showed a big change in problem solving, communicating with each other, quality of life, and less anxiety.   Researchers believe that art therapy works because it allows for people to separate themselves from their illness.  One problem with the study,was a small group tested.  Only 22 children were tested; to make this study more legit more children would need to be tested.  Although, so far studies have shown that art therapy does not necessarily help heal patients but rather help patients deal with their illness.  More research would need to be done to prove if it helped heal patients.  

References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512141914.htm

http://cancer.stanford.edu/information/alternativeTherapy/senses.html

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/201302/yes-virginia-there-is-some-art-therapy-research

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/mindbodyandspirit/art-therapy

With the holidays coming up there is no doubt that people are very busy.  The whole point of the holidays is not only to celebrate, but to bring people together.  It is a time to be kind and helpful to others during the holiday season.  It is about being with your family and friends and enjoying your time together.  Sometimes, I feel as though people get too caught up in preparation for the holidays that they do not take time out to reflect on the important things.  Instead they sometimes become miserable during this time of year.  The holiday season is my favorite time of the year.  I love everything that comes along with the holidays, and I find that I am always in a good mood at this time of year.  I recently heard that people get very depressed during the holidays and was wondering  how this could be? So, why is it that the holiday season causes depression?

I read an article which states why people feel depressed during the holidays.  This article states that many people are unable to handle the stress of the holiday as well as being able to exercise which means that people gain weight. Another article says that a survey was done which showed that 45 percent of people dread the holidays.  Many people want the holiday season to be perfect like they are shown on television so expectations are set very high.  If people do not meet these expectations then they can become depressed.  Also, the gifts that are advertised could cause depression for some people with trying to meet the demands for the best gifts ever for family and friends.  Another factor that could cause people to be depressed during the holidays is gatherings with family, neighbors, friends, and coworkers that they do not want to meet with or even people who get seasonal depression can still be depressed during the holidays.  People who are spending there holidays alone due to a loved one passing away may also experience depression.  The symptoms of holiday blues include drinking heavily, insomnia, over eating, and headaches. 

Another article states that two-thirds of women deal with depression during the holidays.  The trigger of depression during the holidays can be just about anything; it is very hard to pinpoint.  This study did find three very plausible causes which are relationships, finances, and physical demands.  This would make sense because I know even my mother tries to make the holidays perfect.  She slaves over the perfect dinners for the holidays and if one thing goes wrong then she worries that she ruined the event.  The holidays like I stated before are about being with family and friends so stop worrying about making it perfect and just enjoy yourself.

http://www.cbn.com/health/emotionalwellness/rebeltaylor_holidaydepression.aspx

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/200912/why-people-get-depressed-christmas

http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/emotional-survival-guide-for-holidays?page=3

http://www.medicinenet.com/holiday_depression_and_stress/page3.htm

This past weekend I was canning.  My friends and I stayed at a house that happened to have three cats and a dog.  The talk of the weekend was about which pet was better.  Some people on the trip preferred the cats rather than the dog, while others liked the dog better than the cat.  Two of my friends were terrified of the cats and even made someone pick it up and take it down stairs completely away from them.  To be truthful, I do not like cats and only like dogs.  I like small little dogs, but if I am near a big dog especially one that likes to jump then, I immediately try to hide from it.  Something about the size of dogs scares me.  I decided to do some research to figure out if the majority of people preferred a cat or dog as a pet.  

A poll was taken which showed that the majority of people prefer a dog as a pet rather than a cat.  The poll was taken by the Public Policy Polling which surveyed over 600 voters; these voters were asked questions about animals over the phone.  This survey showed 52 percent of the public would rather have a dog compared to the 21 percent who chose a cat.  About 6 in every 10 people that took place in the survey owned a pet themselves.  The next question would be is if this poll is legit?  I would say that this poll is not at all legit.  First off, people were asked survey questions through the phone which means some people could have either made up the answers or answered just enough to get the surveyor to stop calling them to ask them questions.  We also do not know if people volunteered to take this survey or if the surveyor went around calling random people and kept bothering them until they did the survey.  This survey is not a very good one to show which animals people prefer.  A better way to see what people prefer would maybe be to have a group of people ones that do not own either a dog or cat and show them multiple different pictures of cats and dogs.  Then have people observe their reactions to each of the pictures to see what animal they seemed to most like. 

For those of you who prefer a dog over a cat, people claim this says a lot about the owner’s personality.  It was stated that dog people are “a little more outgoing.”  This comment was made by someone who owns a dog.  Clearly, bias is involved.  A person who owns a dog cannot make that judgement because he or she does not know what it is like to own a cat.  Another women stated that, “Cats are more independent and so are their owners.”  Again, this person clearly favors cats because she happens to own one.  The majority of the people who stated that pets say a lot about a person are completely bias.  None of this could be proven because bias is involved.  So, personality really has no connection to what pet you prefer.       

Another study states that some people prefer a dog rather than a cat or vise versa because that is what he or she grew up with.  If you had a cat when you were a little child then you may be more prone to wanting another cat when your older and the same goes for dogs.  One study even goes to state that dogs feel positive emotions much like humans which could be why more people prefer a dog as a pet. Cats were shown to be more stressed out when humans petted them.  Also, people who do not have a lot of free time may also prefer a cat because cats mostly take care of themselves while dogs require more work.  Again, this is all based off of someone’s opinion; no one knows exactly what makes people more drawn to one than the other.  So which one do you prefer? 

References:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201304/cat-people-are-more-distinctive-dog-people

http://abcnews.go.com/US/dog-people-cat-people-pet-preference/story?id=15883844

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/06/18/americans-prefer-dogs-but-dream-of-tigers-giraffes/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/09/cats-dogs-pet-studies/2952589/

As I was sitting here trying to think of a topic to write about I came across a guy with a very big tattoo on his arm.  I think tattoos are cool and have one myself.  Seeing this males tattoo made me think of when I first got mine.  I asked my parents the night before if I could get a tattoo; they were not very happy and even told me that the ink used in tattoos can harm my body.  Not listening to them, I got one anyway.  After looking back, I sometimes wonder if tattoos are harmful to the body, but nothing extreme has been discovered yet.  I decided to research the idea of tattoo ink being harmful to our bodies.

Tattoos are becoming more common in today’s world.  People get tattoos as a way to express themselves.  This idea of tattooing a part of the body became popular in the 90’s and has taken off since then.  Many are unclear on what chemicals are in the ink which gives us this beautiful body art.    The ink is made with an unknown substance of metallic salts, organic dyes, and the plastic that the ink is found in.  About 40 percent of the pigments are not approved to use on the skin, but yet they are used in the ink to create tattoos.  Tattoos are made by penetrating a needle with this ink deep into the skin.  These chemicals are in our bodies now.  Due to lack of science, the FDA does not officially monitor tattoo ink.  This means that tattoos can have any harmful chemical in them, even ones that can cause mutations, cancer, or defects.  After researching many articles state that glow in the dark tattoos are not the best choice.  The pigments can turn out to be radioactive.  A study in July showed that some of the chemicals like phthalates can cause serious long term effects which is found in the ink.  The tattoo ink can then move to people’s lymph nodes.  Although, most risks that are associated with tattoos are infections, allergic reactions, and a few other complications. Each state is responsible for deciding which chemicals can be used in the ink and which cannot be.  

Many people have side effects from getting tattoos, but are the side effects from the ink used in the tattoo or from being allergic to it? Some of the chemicals that are used are similar to ones used in car paint and printing.  It does not seem safe to be putting these chemicals into our bodies.  Another article says that it is not the tattoo that is the problem, but it is the process of getting one and having it heal correctly.  If the equipment has not been sterilized then problems will occur.   

So, is tattoo ink dangerous?  The truth is, without more studies it is hard to tell.  The few times that it was proven that the chemicals reacted negatively on people could be due to chance or another third variable like that person being allergic to tattoos.  It does not mean that everyone will have the same reaction.  Then again, the lack of good scientific studies on the subject could mean that more harm is actually being done than we would think.  When science is not being done correctly, then it can kill people.  For example, the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, blood letting, Thalidomide, brain stents, and all the others we discussed in class led to more people dying than needed due to lack of science.  So, it is up to you on whether these possible risks would be worth getting a tattoo. 

References:

http://www.alternet.org/story/152242/are_tattoos_toxic_new_research_shows_endocrine_disruptors,_metals_and_carcinogens_in_tattoo_ink

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/eco-friendly/tattoo-ink-toxic-460608

http://www.naturalnews.com/022073_tattoos_health_skin.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-and-lifestyle/tattoos-bad-for-skin.htm

Many of us have dreams of meeting someone worth marrying one day.  My friends and I joke around that we will never get married, but we all hope that is not the case.  I often think that people who are not married are not happy.  When I come across an older man or woman who is not married I think, how sad, like marriage determines someone’s happiness.  So, why do I associate marriage with being happy?  Are married people happier than single people?

Marriage has been changing in recent years.  It used to be that people would get married at a very early age.  For example, my grandparents were married at age 18.  If this were still the case then I would have already been married by now. Over time more people are waiting later in life to marry if they even decide to marry at all.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while marriage may not be considered a necessity anymore it still has its benefits.  People who are married are less likely to become smokers and alcoholics than single people.  Also, married people are less likely to experience mental and or emotional problems and continual headaches.  Married people have a longer life expectance and make more money due to the combination of each spouse’s income.  Psychologists recognize marriage as the most dependable happiness indicator having 43 percent of married people state that they were very happy in comparison to 24 percent of single people that are very happy.  Does this necessarily mean that marriage equals happiness?

One problem with marriage is the divorce rate.  Now, almost half of all marriages do not work out.  One study was done where it looked at 1,000 different married couples for a 15 year period and found that marriage only brings happiness for a short amount of time.  Married couples were most happy in the beginning of marriage following right after the actual ceremony.  After that period most people went back to their normal selves.  It was found that married people are not happier than they were when they were single.  They are happier than they would have been if they stayed single according to the Michigan State research.  Also many of these studies combine all single people in one big group not taking into account each person’s background whether they are a widow or newly divorced.  Some studies failed to include the individual friends and family each person had.  The more lifelong friends and family members then the more likely a person is to being happy single. Also, the majority of these studies are observational which means we cannot assume that correlation equals causation.  The direct causality would be that married people are more likely to be happy, but maybe this could be a reverse causality.  Could it be that happy people are more likely to get married?

This could be the case because happy people are the ones most likely to be found in a social setting which then could led to finding their spouses.  Psychologists think that married people are happier because they were already happy before they met their significant other.  Each spouse is responsible for trying to keep the relationship alive and knowing which fights are worth arguing over and which ones are not important.  It does not necessarily mean that marriage equals happiness because it is up to the couple to keep the happiness in a marriage. 

References:

http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/single-and-loving-it

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/married-people-happier-than-singles.htm

http://www.livescience.com/20649-married-people-happier.html

http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2012/marriage-may-make-people-happier/

Most of us wish to be tan year round. That may not be an option for the majority of us, but some people go to the tanning salon as an alternative to sunbathing outside. It is known that tanning beds are very bad for your health. The safer substitute to get a little more color would be a spray on tan. Many, including myself, think that spray on tans are not harmful to your health, but just to be sure I researched this topic to see if they are more harmful than one would think.

It is not a hidden fact that on days full of sunshine I am a more pleasant person than on the days where it is raining. Sun makes me happy while the rain makes me sad and sleepy. The weather seems to alter my mood. I have heard many others make the same comment on how the weather seems to affect their mood. I decided to do some research on weather and people’s moods. 

One of the many female pains I deal with every week is high heels. I like to get dressed up and go out on the weekends so yes it’s sometimes impossible to avoid wearing heels. Every weekend I find myself complaining about how bad my feet hurt from my shoes. The fact that I am still willing to torture myself to look good is beyond me. Each morning I wake up with sore feet from the high heels I wore the night before. I am starting to think that my feet are suffering permeant damage from these tortures high heels. I decided to research this topic to see if it is possible to have damage from wearing high heels too much.

When I was a little girl my family would tell me that watching TV was not good for my eyes. I never believed this myth, but as I grew older my eye sight took a turn for the worse. Each year I go to the eye doctors, and each year, I find that my eyes get worse. I even see more young children with glasses now than ever before. This made me question the idea that maybe TV could be what is damaging our eyes. Everything we do involves looking at a screen with bright lighting. Maybe it is not even just TV that can be damaging our eyes but also iPods, iPads, computers, iPhones, and so on. Could technology actually be doing harm on our eyes or is this just a myth? 

 One article goes on to say that in the olden days the so called myth of TV ruining your eyes was not really a myth. Colored television was created because of a screw up in the making of black and white TVs by General Electric Company. There first colored TVs were because they messed up and had more x rays than allowed. The company corrected the problem by covering the tubes with leaded glass, but the radiation still was a threat on eyesight. The Public Health Service warned parents to not let their children sit close to the TV or watch it for too long of a time due to the radiation coming from the TV. This is how the myth came about. This is now not the case, but Brenda Conaway states that in recent years the number of children that are near sighted has risen by almost 20 percent. So if it is not the technology that is causing bad vision, then what could be the cause for this?