Our modern lifestyles are confusing our circadian rhythm. Constant exposure to lights, stimulation from entertainment and the desire to squeeze more hours into the day just isn’t natural.

We evolved over generations to fall asleep when it turns dark and wake with dawn. As evening falls, the alteration in light means we produce melatonin, which helps us feel tired. Just before dawn our adrenal glands push out stress hormones to wake us.

Lack of sleep greatly affects our bodies, including our mood, our cardiovascular system and our weight. Here are a few tips you can follow to ensure good sleeping patterns:

* Get up and go to bed at the same time. By following a routine you’ll long for the pillow at the same time each night. Try to stick to your routine on weekends.
* Go to bed if you feel tired. By ignoring the weary feeling, your stress hormones will battle with the sleep-inducing melatonin.
* If you’re not tired, don’t go to bed. You’ll only end up lying awake clock-watching.
* Get out in the sunshine. Nothing resets the natural circadian rhythm like the sun.
* Make your bed inviting. Your mattress should suit your body. As you sleep, your back is repairing itself from the damage caused by being active during the day. Chiropractors suggest the life of any mattress is seven years.
* Have a milky drink before bed. Milk contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is used to make up the sleep hormone melatonin and the mood hormone serotonin.
* Don’t have a daytime nap. Power naps, where you sleep for 15 to 20 minutes, can be valuable, but sleeping longer and drifting into deeper sleep works against you.
* Keep your bedroom cool. A cooling of the body is a natural part of falling asleep. Make sure your bedroom is well ventilated or have a cool shower or bath about an hour before you settle down. As your body cools, the sleep hormones will trickle into place.
* Only use your bedroom for sleeping. Watching TV in bed stimulates the wrong sort of brainwave response.
* Learn to switch off. Don’t take work problems home. Instead, write them in a diary. Evidence suggests when you put problems into your forebrain and jot them down, they tend not to drift into other parts of your brain and fuel thought-inspired insomnia.
* Avoid drugs and alcohol. Nicotine is a stimulant and is associated with an increase in pulse rate and blood pressure. Alcohol, a depressant, may help you doze off, but if consumed in excess it will disrupt the sleep cycle later in the night and wake you. Sleeping pills should only be taken for short periods because they can lead to daytime drowsiness. Also if used for more than a week they can have the opposite effect.
* Cancel caffeine after midday. Tea, coffee, cola and chocolate are stimulants and people who have a tendency towards insomnia should make midday the cut-off.
* Can’t sleep? Try again. If you’re still awake after 15 minutes, get up, keep the light low, drink warm milk and read for a while.

Be active in the morning

It only takes 30 to 60 minutes of exercise a day to encourage sleep at night, but it’s ideal to do it in the morning. Exercising too close to bedtime increases your heart rate and works against the natural rhythm.

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Healthy lifestyle changes may reduce your risk of getting breast cancer. Try these:

1. Go for a walk.

Women who spend a little more than an hour a day walking may reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by 23 per cent, compared to their non-active peers.

2. Variety is the spice of life.

Adding cruciferous vegetables such as turnips and Chinese cabbage, instead of the usual cauliflower, to your diet may help reduce your risk of breast cancer by 50 per cent. In a study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found these vegies may offer more benefits to women fitting a particular genetic profile. Other studies suggest cruciferous vegies may also cut the risk of lung, stomach, colorectal and bladder cancers. Add some to your stir-fry tonight.

3. Avoid having that last drink for the road.

Researchers recently concluded that, compared with women who abstained from drinking alcohol, the risk of breast cancer increased by as much as 51 per cent among women who consumed three or more drinks daily. It's yet another good reason to watch your intake and lessen the health impacts of alcohol.

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Here are some commonly asked questions, a few handy tips and interesting facts for getting new puppies ready for their new homes.

The right start

Q: What is puppy preschool and is it really that important?

A: Socialisation is vital to ensure a well-adjusted, even-tempered dog. The window of opportunity for imprinting good social behaviour in pups is between six and 15 weeks of age. After this, the dog's innate habits have already formed.

Puppy preschool gets dogs together at this age and teaches them social skills and basic training. Many behavioural problems, such as separation anxiety, other anxiety disorders and aggression, are compounded by poor socialisation in early life.
Protecting puppy

Q: What diseases should my puppy be vaccinated against?

A: Dogs are vaccinated against five diseases: canine distemper, canine infectious hepatitis, parvovirus, bordetella and parainfluenza. The first vaccination is carried out at six to eight weeks, followed by one or two boosters, depending on vaccine used, between 12 and 18 weeks.

Belly nuisance

Q: If a pup has a hernia what does it mean?

A: Hernias are small holes due to a separation of muscle tissue. The umbilical hernia, which occurs where the belly button would be, is the most common and can usually be fixed at desexing surgery. Larger hernias, where the tissues in the abdomen can fall through, need to be fixed promptly.

Missing Mum

Q: Our puppy still cries at night. How can we stop this?

A: Having a good routine is the best way to settle a puppy. Find a safe, private area for your pup to sleep - not on the end of your bed. Try putting a ticking clock in her bedding, which will remind her of her mother's heartbeat. A radio playing softly will also help to reassure her.

Work, rest and play

Q: How long should my puppy normally sleep for?

A: Puppies need lots of short sleeps during the day followed by short, sharp bursts of activity. They should sleep most of the night.

Pooch provisions

Q: What's the best type of food to feed our puppy?

A: At first, feed your puppy the same as they were getting at the pet shop or breeder's. If you want to change their diet, wait until your pup's settled, which is usually about two weeks, then gradually introduce a new one. Sudden changes can result in upset stomachs.

There are many options for feeding. Raw food diets or dry food alternatives are fine as long as they're balanced. Get the best food you can afford.

He's misbehaving

Q: Our puppy won't obey us and occasionally urinates in the house. What can we do?

A: Smacking or yelling at him will make him nervous and the problem will get worse, especially urinating and defecating in the house. Ignore bad behaviour and reward your dog when he's good. Create a toilet area outside and put him there regularly, praising him when he goes. After dinner, take him to his toilet so he can go.

Worm worries

Q: If our puppy gets worms are we at risk too?

A: It's possible, but very rare. Puppies contract hookworm from their mother's placenta before birth or from their milk. Hookworms can burrow deep into human skin and cause a severe itch or even intestinal inflammation. For this to happen, a human would have to have contact with heavily infested soil, which would be unlikely.

To catch the common tapeworm from your dog, you'd have to eat a flea or infested faeces. Good hygiene around the house and garden and flea control is crucial.

The bare bones

Q: I've been told that exercising our labrador puppy could cause her to have arthritis in later life - is this true?

A: Veterinary orthopaedic specialist Dr Steven Fernside recommends taking your puppy for a good run, but don't exercise her to the point of exhaustion. When this happens, her muscles will collapse and her joints will bear all the weight, which can do damage.

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Puppies are full of energy and are naturally curious, but this can lead to trouble if the bundles of joy are left unsupervised. Make sure your place is safe before you bring Fido home.

Indoors

Puppies will want to inspect indoor pot plants and have a chew on them, so keep them out of reach. Some plants such as azaleas and lily varieties are toxic to dogs.

Many pups will also enjoy snacking from the cat litter tray. Dogs love to eat cat poo, but doing so can result in worms, while litter can cause intestinal blocks. Also:

* Store medications and supplements up high. Even if they’re in plastic containers, many puppies will chew through them.
* Put all bins well out of reach. Puppies love the taste and smell of garbage.
* Put the toilet lid down. The toilet bowl is a drowning hazard and many toilet bowl fresheners are poisonous.
* Ensure curtain cords are out of reach.
* Keep your puppy away when you’re using cleaning sprays and disinfectants so they don’t get chemicals in their sensitive eyes or inhale any harmful vapours.
* Keep all tobacco products, which can be fatal, secure and out of reach.
* Place small objects out of harm’s way.
* Close doors and windows.

Outdoors

It’s important you inspect your fence well and repair any holes or loose planks so your puppy can’t jump or dig under it. Also:

* Never leave your puppy wandering around outside without supervision.
Designate an area for the puppy’s toilet and make it attractive (use sand as a substrate). Fence off areas where the kids play, so your puppy can’t use those spots to go to the toilet.
* Keep shed doors closed.
* Never use snail bait or rat poison. Instead, leave ‘beer traps’ in the soil for snails.

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If it takes your breath away during the day, watch out for its reflection in the water at night. A visit to this temple, that's resounding with gurbani, is an amazing experience

You might have read about it several times and seen it in movies as well, but when you reach the spot your reaction will still be of awe. Made of marble and enveloped in a patina of gold, glistening in the sharp sun, a mere glimpse of the Golden Temple is a stunning sight to behold.

For Sikhs there is no place as sacred as this beautiful and serene temple, also known as Harmandir Sahib, meaning House of God. It contains the Guru Granth Sahib, the holiest literature for Sikhs, which is always worshipped here.

Rising from amidst the water contained in the tank, which is believed to have been dug by Guru Ram Das, the temple has a spectacular backdrop as well. Inside the compound, there are many other shrines dedicated to Sikh gurus and martyrs. The holy book is read continuously and it is peaceful to just sit there for some time and listen to the chants. The Golden Temple is also an oasis of sharing and spirituality. The langar dishes out mouth-watering vegetarian food for thousands of devotees. Even if you don't have a sweet tooth you will develop one, after tasting the kara prasad that's oozing with ghee. It is said that anyone who comes to the temple, no matter what religion they belong to, is never turned away on an empty stomach. While you are wandering the streets of Amritsar don't forget to taste the famous kulcha chhole and Amritsari fish.

Major attractions: Baisakhi, in April, is the best time to visit the temple. It marks the beginning of a new year for Sikhs. The temple is lit up, and thousands of devotees take a holy dip and offer prayers here

Getting there: Fly to Amritsar from any metro city. From the airport it will take you about one hour to reach the temple. Plenty of trains ply to Amritsar.

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Each one wanted to look at astonishing Oscars of this year, and it was certainly a night so that the actresses honour the red carpet in red or a certain nuance with white. Some made it right, whereas others left much to be desired.

Here our selections for better and worse of the mode of Oscar:

The best

Sarah Jessica Parker: The loves of star of sex and the city to resemble a ballerina, but with it can do it right and to ensure itself seems to it sexy.

Natalie Portman: Breaking the tendency of the night of red and white, it revealed in the pink shocking. Portman seemed sophisticated and fresh.

Marion Cotillard: Sequins and Tulle can be an exposure of horror, but Marion French and is thus made its dress of part to work.

Pattinson Zac Efron and Robert: These types can work a tux and a shouted model of Hollywood of old man-school.

Angelina Jolie: It did not carry a muumuu. More, the combination of its black dress installed with these green earrings was shocking good manners.

Worst

Miley Cyrus: Decorated outside in a scintillating white dress and with steps, it looked as it auditioned for the role of Cinderella to the magic kingdom.

Kate Winslet: She likes the dress of binding-model, but in this moment, she obtains one little tired. And to detail strange lace and sequined was not an improvement.

Tilda Swinton: She never embraces traditional models and seems sometimes odd. More, its hair, the skin and the higher half of its dress very matched.

Beyonc: It resembled the couch of my large aunt!

Amy Adams: Its red dress with detailing black geometrical was strange and not flatteringly. How disappointing!

What did you think of the red-carpet mode? Are you of agreement with our choices, or we missed the mark?

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If you and your friend had dated during three months or three years, it deserves to have one marvellous present of you all the times that it celebrates his birthday.

of Well-thought the gifts outside are always a great manner of showing your affection and love for your friend. Some men cannot be as open with emotion as women, but your friend surely could not resist to give you a kiss or a pressure in the exchange of every hour and effort which you put in finding the gift of perfect birthday for him.

Here some large and romantic ideas of gift to give the special man in your life on its birthday:

1. Something romantic.

A gift of birthday should not always be something expensive. Be creator in the thought with a gift of romantic birthday
for your friend. If it always gave does flower you you front, why put 't that you return the favour by giving him dozen red roses? He will encourage it to remember to you as an only girl who to him forever given pinks for his birthday.

A little effort would go a long way, too. Make cuirele its dish preferred and invite it more for a picnic or a romantic dinner. Make it a birthday cake, invite to cook with the furnace his/her friends more and astonish it with a festival by birthday.

Pour to it with notes of love, or made its special entirety of day by giving him a different gift the morning, midday and the night. Be creator in the thought with something recreation, romantic and special to give him a birthday which it is not likely to forget.

2. Something which he wants.

If your special somebody is in instruments, give him this instrument of play or player of music about which he always speaks. If he is an enthusiast of car, obtain to him a large accessory of car. Or, rent a vehicle of sports or its r�veuse car so that it leads on its birthday. Leave and spend one day being delivered to the sport this it likes just.

3. Something unpleasant.

the Rougeoyer-in-the-dark shorts of boxer are a manner sour-fire of tickling its imagination. A intimate however the funny gift will point out it the intimate moments which you shared together like couple.

4. Something nice and traditional.

A basket of gift
with all the things which he likes on a delicious package also led to a large gift of birthday for your friend 'birthday of S. a basketful of the chocolates or wine is a gift of marvellous birthday.

If he is a director, obtain to him a expensive tie, nice bonds of cuff or an interesting wrist watch. Give him a whole of his Cologne, perfume and after-shave lotion preferred. If he likes to sail, obtain to him an ancient compass that he can use.

5. Something which indicates I love you.

You can literally give him an article with the message in the way in which you feel. Give him a keychain for his car and place the keys with a engraved message. Even the small articles as this would create your special sensation of friend.

You point out that it is not always the cost which counts when to give outside presents for your friend on his birthday.

Of well-thought a gift outside which would point out your friend the way in which the special one it is with you will send the good message on its birthday.

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How can you say if a type loves you or is interested? You noted it when you were being held and speaking with a friend. You think that it noted you, but perhaps it was your imagination or right dream. He looked at you about identical time that you saw it. Your eyes met during Juste a few seconds, and then you looked at far. When you looked at the support, he spoke with some others some. Did it observe you while you mix? Or did you make that to the top of? How can you say if a type loves you? Why types it is so difficult to read?
Here five signs which it is interested by you too. If to follow one of occurs, it probably tries to become enough narrow to ask you outside:

1. He says somebody

Is it interested? He likes you if he says to a mutual friend that he wants to know more about you, or he asks behind other people who you are and from where you 're. He tries to act as him 's to ask just but its questions state more that one occasional interest. And when he says to somebody that he finds you attracting, he probably knows that it will arrive to you behind. He 's hoping for it made.

2. The glance

It gives you a glance which betrays its calm outside. Though it is through, of part these glance has to him says it all. It is fast, of your head to your toes, and then its eyes are delayed on yours. You think that you note the beginning of an experimental smile.

3. Conversation

Do fact it love you? When he manages to become rather close to you, to ask you questions, he is interested. He seems to listen and answers so that you known as. He 's moving inside with the final question, which is: Be you conspicuous no matter who. It would raise only this question if it wanted you up to now, and it hopes that is of answer number never carry never a ring as a public. When a type is through the room, it cannot say which finger it is lit and it can suppose inaccurately that you are taken. If it doesn 't ask you the question of if you are joined, it can ask somebody that you both know.

4. It appears suddenly

He likes you much if he reveals out of nowhere. He can only make that if he had questioned people about your program, or he had paid the attention to where you go and to when. Its face can turn the red when he sees you. , Suddenly oh, hello, are its manner of saying, I put 't want to seem obvious, but I am interested by you. If you feel the same manner, do not act timid. Stop-and speak to him.

5. EACH ONE loves you

Is it interested? When are you loved and a happy person, why wouldn 't love you he? Naturally it makes. If you put 't have a good life, however, is now your time to start to work with one. Throw a glance with your possibilities of career, image of body, future, plans, and resources. You can be naturally gifted with something, but it gained the 'matter of T unless you work with your forces. The deceived or unutilised talents fade far. The school and the formation do not make.

These are the five signs that it is interested and it is on the edge to ask you outside. Make easy for him and are friendly for it. It is where the reports/ratios start.

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In today the society, the beauty, physical attraction, and sexuality all are generally badly included/understood as a certain transcendent inevitable fact; wrongfully the locking of the three the fact of seeming doubly true that in order to launch attraction between a man and a woman, the two sexes should be beautiful to be sexual.This naturally whole is not true. Definitions of beautiful, attraction, and constantly of the sexual change to serve the social order, and connection between the three ideas is a recent invention.
Some psychologists affirm that the disparity among the concepts of the beauty, attractions, and sexuality is based on the spot that the two sexes are tilted with physical or sexual attraction because the women can look at men right as the men look at women, like subjects for the sexual and aesthetic evaluation.

In an outline carried out by , volutionnaire of psychologist of 10.000 individuals who were interviewed, one discovered it that the men have high-considers with physical attraction in their sexual companions of budding, whereas the women attach importance for prominence, the goals, and the sources monetary.

No wonder why the majority of the cases of attraction all are based on attributes of sexuality and medical examination. It is because the men and the women would rather have their other significant physically and sexually able to give them their needs.

For example, of the men are attracted with the women who seem good because this indicates excellent strength and the capacity to produce babies of offspring. On the one hand, of the women are attracted with the men who seem good because this indicates abundance in the financial resources, in which, the capacity to provide the basic needs to their children are produced.

The point here is that the men and the women can have their own base for attraction but all is generally concentrated on the physical aspects and materials. It is because attraction is associated with the fact that the attributes of medical examination justify this part of the brain known under the name of hypothalamus which will produce various kinds of reactions starting from the body such as the sexual awakening, the increased heart rate, and perspiration.

Thus the question is now: How the individual can identify the clear signs of attraction?

There are many probable actions which could suggest attraction. However, truths signs include but not limited to what follows:

1. Visual contact

It is when a man and a woman looked on one the other and immediately prolonged the moment fixedly because they look at one the other longer than the typical glance.

Both are completely immersed on one the other 'anecdote of S, and each word will impress them both. All the eyes are stuck between them which send a message that they are drawn between them.

2. Smooth

To smooth means to be decorated carefully or for toiletter while referring more particularly to details. Consequently, attraction places in when both would immediately try to make a fast solution and to conquer one the other the 'space of S.
3. Flirt

The teasing could have been the limit more adapted for him. They is when the two sexes converse in a way relaxed, with body actions associated with their thoughts and feelings, where, generally that not, the sexual tensions and the awakening are the primary education results.

4. Physical contact

It is when a woman leans in the rooms the man and places a modest hand on her hand or arm. In this way, the woman tries to say to the other person whom it is attracted with him and which it is open possibilities which make take part the interested person.

All these things are pulps to the bottom with the fact that the asymmetry of the correlation among the beauty, attraction, and the sexuality which indicates men and women of the lies on the way of which they both perceive one the other 'physical attributes of S. It is inevitable because the lack of him will certainly sexually maintain alienated

Attraction is generally concentrated on the illustrated language which is exclusively on the physical attributes of the two men and women, where the company created a very important role. This will prove that the signs of attraction indicate the clear identification of the charms.

Given all what, of the men and the women should make the choice, generally, to be taken as human beings initially and not simply of only sex objects.

It should note that these signs of attraction can be confined well on the spot which the men and the women send these signs like ticket to conquer one the other the 'space of S in order to begin the obtain-with-know-each-other stage.

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It seems that even cupid works overtime in office, for according to a new survey, 40 percent of US workers have dated an office colleague, while 31 percent of them have gone ahead to tie the knot.

Harris Interactive, on behalf of job website CareerBuilder.com, conducted the online survey of 8,038 full-time adult employees between November 12 and December 1 last year.

It was found that 10 percent of office goers worked with someone they would like to date, and 18 percent had dated a co-worker twice or more at some time in their careers.

On the other hand, when it came to eyeing a co-worker, the figures were quite distorted-14 percent of men, but just five percent of women, said that they would like to date a colleague.f those who dated a co-worker in the last year, one third said that it was someone with a more senior position in the company, reports the China Daily.

And among those, 42 percent admitted to have dated their boss, said the survey.

Almost three-fourths of workers said that they never had to make an effort to keep their romance a secret, while 7 percent said that they had left a job due to an office romance.

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Chewing gum with a phosphate-binding ingredient can help treat high phosphate levels in dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study.

The results suggest that this simple step could maintain proper phosphate levels and also help prevent cardiovascular disease in these patients.

Hyperphosphatemia (high levels of phosphate in the blood) commonly occurs in CKD patients on dialysis. Even when patients take medications to reduce phosphate acquired through their diet, about half of them cannot reduce phosphate to recommended levels.

Because hyperphosphatemia patients also have high levels of phosphate in their saliva, researchers tested whether there might be a benefit to binding salivary phosphate during periods of fasting, in addition to using phosphate binders with meals.

Vincenzo Savica and Lorenzo A. Calò of the Universities of Messina and Padova, Italy, respectively, and colleagues recruited 13 dialysis patients with high blood phosphate levels to chew 20 mg of phosphate-binding chewing gum twice daily for two weeks between meals, in addition to their prescribed phosphate-binding regimen.

Savica and Calò's team found that salivary phosphate and blood phosphate levels decreased during the first week of chewing, and by a fortnight, salivary phosphate decreased 55 percent and blood phosphate decreased 31 percent from levels measured at the start of the study.

Salivary phosphate returned to its original level by day 15 after discontinuing the chewing gum, whereas blood phosphate took 30 days to return to its original value, said a Messina-Padova joint release.

While these observations are preliminary and require confirmation in a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study with more participants, the findings indicate that this chewing regimen might help control phosphate levels in patients with CKD.

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Microwave ablation is a minimally-invasive option for removing liver tumours, which has been tried out at University of California's San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center and its Cancer Centre.

'A liver tumour can be removed in many ways,' said Marquis Hart, transplant surgeon at the medical center.

'Simply put, we zap and destroy liver tumours with heat derived from microwave energy. This is an important alternative, especially since the majority of liver cancers cannot be partially removed and not all patients are transplant candidates.'

Liver cancer is on the rise in the US, linked closely with the epidemic of hepatitis and other conditions causing cirrhosis, a degenerative disease of the liver.

Current treatment options for liver cancer include transplantation, partial surgical removal of the liver, chemotherapy, radiation, or ablation - the destruction of abnormal tissue with heat from radiofrequency waves, high frequency ultrasound, freezing, or alcohol injection. Now, microwave technology removes the tumour with intense heat.

To perform the procedure, Hart accesses the tumour through the skin, or through a small laparoscopic port or open incision.

With ultrasound guidance or a computed tomography (CT) scan, the tumour is located and then pierced with a thin antenna which emits microwaves. This energy spins the water molecules in the tumour producing friction which causes heat.

Temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) cause cellular death, usually within 10 minutes.

Microwave ablation has promising potential in the treatment of lung, kidney, and bone cancer, said a UCSD release.

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It is okay to have the occasional alcoholic drink during pregnancy, that's the conclusion of a new Australian research.

The "soon-to-be" controversial study says a glass or two of wine is not harmful for expectant mothers and their unborn children.

The findings are based on a study of more than 4700 pregnant women.

The research found that low levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy - less than seven standard drinks a week and no more than two drinks at a time - were not associated with preterm birth or reduced fetal growth, reports the Herald Sun.

The study has been published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology this week.

Researchers from the Centre for Child Health Research at the University of WA (Western Australia) say moderate and high levels of drinking in early pregnancy are linked with an increased risk of preterm birth, even when women stop drinking before the second trimester.

They say the findings show the pattern and timing of drinking are important when estimating risks and suggest pregnant women be screened for binge drinking.

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Other than clothes, house and flashy cars, the socio-economic status (SES) of a person can be guessed by his or her body language, according to a study.

Psychologists Michael W. Kraus and Dacher Keltner of the University of California, Berkeley found that non-verbal cues (that is, body language) could indicate our SES.

Fro the study, the researchers videotaped participants as they got to know one another in one-on-one interview sessions.

During these taped sessions, the researchers looked for two types of behaviours: disengagement behaviours (including fidgeting with personal objects and doodling) and engagement behaviours (including head nodding, laughing and eye contact).

The results indicated that nonverbal cues can give away a person's SES.

Volunteers whose parents were from upper SES backgrounds displayed more disengagement-related behaviours compared to participants from lower SES backgrounds.

Besides, when a separate group of observers were shown 60-second clips of the videos, they were able to correctly guess the participants' SES background, based on their body language.

The researchers note that this is the first study to show a relation between SES and social engagement behaviour. They surmise that people from upper SES backgrounds who are wealthy and have access to prestigious institutions tend to be less dependent on others.

"This lack of dependence among upper SES people is displayed in their nonverbal behaviors during social interactions," concluded the psychologists.

The study is reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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I've always had a large sexual appetite. My parents divorced when I was a teenager, and I remember overhearing my mum telling her sister that at least she wouldn't have to have sex every day. Apparently, my dad had a voracious libido, so I've put mine down to genetics.

When I first started seeing John we had sex at least every day, but unlike many of my previous relationships, where the sex gradually reduced after the first year, that has never changed. One of the things I love most about John is that he enjoys sexual experimentation, which means our sex life is always evolving. I can't think of anything worse than having predictable sex.

We both have wild sexual imaginations, and we're as likely to have quick, dirty sex over the kitchen bench or in front of the bedroom mirror, as we are to indulge in bondage or a long, languorous lovemaking session. I classify sex as anything from intercourse to oral sex.

John tells me his friends complain about not getting enough sex and that many of them have to beg their partners for it. That's not the case in our relationship. The longest period we haven't had sex for was about a week when I was ill with the flu.

Our physical attraction is the glue that keeps us together. When things are tough, the fact that we fancy each other draws us back together and allows us to connect emotionally again. Sometimes, I even have sex when I'm not in the mood because I know it will make me feel better.

Advertising executive Danielle Lloyd, 34, has sex with Gary, 35, her husband of three years, every couple of weeks.

I don't feel the need to be at it like rabbits to prove Gary and I are in a great relationship. I think there's a common misconception that relationships are only valid as long as you're constantly having wild, passionate sex. But that idea can be very damaging to a relationship, especially for people with low libidos.

After four years together, sex isn't particularly high on our agenda. Of course, when Gary and I first met, we made love all the time. But we were never one of those four-times-a-night couples; I've always preferred to have sex once and then spend the night cuddling. Besides, we both work really hard during the week and usually spend the weekends renovating our house.

That isn't to say I don't fancy my husband; I still look at him and feel lust and passion, but I don't feel the need to rip off his clothes at every opportunity.

For me, sex is just part of the bigger picture, rather than the prime motivator in a relationship. I married Gary because I found somebody who was honest, and loved me despite my faults.

I know women who talk constantly about their sex lives, but it often seems as though they're just trying to prove how sexy they are. The fact that Gary and I love each other deeply is what keeps us together. There's an understanding: we are committed to making a life together and we honour that commitment by making love every couple of weeks.

It's not as though we don't have sex; we do - and I orgasm every time. I'm at ease with our sex life. Once we decide to have children, we'll probably step it up a gear ... I refuse to get paranoid about how often we have sex.

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For many pet lovers the loss of their animal is like losing a best friend. Lets looks at how some pet owners say farewell to their loyal companions.

The sun is slowly disappearing behind the gums as I arrive at the cemetery, but I can still make out the words inscribed on the plaques and headstones that nestle in the earth of the wide, open paddock.

The tiny graves belong to Mocca-chan, Squeaky, Pogi, Teena Topples, and Colonel Sam.

The Pet Cemetery and Crematorium at Greenbank, in outer Brisbane, is the resting place for dogs, cats, birds, mice, and sheep ... even a kangaroo. It is one of a handful of pet funeral businesses in south east Queensland.

James Jones, who manages the cemetery, says most pet owners form amazing bonds with their animals, bonds that can rival their attachment to people. And these bonds have prompted an increasing number of pet owners to investigate ways of immortalising their pets.

Down the road, at Pets Eternal Peace in North MacLean, Steve and Angie Gibbs have a five-acre property, where they offer individual pet cremation services using their purpose-built facilities.

"When the time comes, we collect the pet from the client or their vet," Steve says. "Within two to three days we return the pet in a handcrafted display urn, with an engraved plaque. Or some clients request a scatter box, which is similar to that used in the human industry for scattering or burying ashes."

Steve says 90 per cent of clients' pets are cats and dogs, but they have also handled birds, guinea pigs, rats, ducks and a goat.

"People tend to just think of cats and dogs, but people form a bond with absolutely any kind of pet," he says.

Steve says there are no rules when it comes to the type of people who wish to farewell their pets - clients include "big tough biker types to pensioners and everybody in between. Our clients include anyone who loves their animals or respects them.

"Some people just want to do the right thing, while others are a complete mess. Having been through the experience ourselves, we try to spend a lot of time talking to clients and helping them through the process."

Veterinarian Dr Fraser Galloway, a Brisbane-based vet who has worked extensively in animal critical care, believes most people are reluctant to admit the degree of their attachment to their pets.

"People will come in with their pets and say it's only a dog' or it's only a cat'... a lot of us are almost embarrassed by our relationship with our pets," Dr Galloway explains.

This attachment led Martin Hopp to establish a memorial garden as part of his pet cremation service, Pets in Peace, which he runs with his wife Bev.

"We were human funeral directors before starting Pets in Peace," Martin says. "We had always been pet lovers and wanted to offer something for pet owners that was the same sort of dignified farewell."

Martin says pets are mainly returned to their families in a choice of urn or memorial box. Each urn has a plaque with a paw print and lock of hair.

"The memorial gardens are somewhere that people can go to spend time alone thinking of their loved ones. It includes gardens that people can walk around and a little chapel.

"The gardens also offer a number of ways for people to remember their pets. They may wish to have their ashes returned to the gardens or they can have a plaque on a wall."

Martin says anyone who loves their pets will use the service. Clients vary from couples, for whom their pets are their children, to older people whose children have left home or who have lost a partner and their pet is the focus of their life.

"We talk to people months after their pet has passed away ... last Christmas we had nine phone calls," says Martin.

It is easy to see that these services have become an important form of closure for pet owners suffering real grief.

James says he deals with pet owners who can be so grief stricken that they sometimes need to be carried from the cemetery.

"You've got to be the strength in the situation; you can't just collapse in tears and go out with them. They need someone to lean on," he says.

"You can't tell a person to get over it ... that's not going to help. You've got to let people feel what they want to feel."

David Foote is a veterinarian and counsellor, who specialises in helping grieving pet owners come to terms with their loss and says most Australians do not understand the depth of grief pet owners can feel at the loss of an animal.

"The difference between grieving over pets and grieving over humans is that society doesn't validate [grieving over pets] particularly well," David says.

In situations where pets are euthanized due to terminal illness or injury, grief can be accompanied by feelings of guilt.

According to James, some people will go to great lengths to remain close to their pets, even to the extent that they have their own ashes interned with those of their pets.

Looking at all the flowers and tributes scattered around the deserted cemetery it is obvious that for many people, a dignified farewell is the least they can do for their loyal companions.

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Here is a collection of some cute kittens:

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Kids, who are physically fit, perform well at school, according to a new study.

The researchers found that students who were physically fit scored better on standardized math and English tests than their less fit peers.

They analysed the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in a racially and economically diverse urban public school district of children enrolled in grades 4 - 8 during the 2004 - 2005 academic year.

They found that there is a significant relationship between students' academic achievement and physical fitness.

The odds of passing both standardized math and English tests increased as the number of fitness tests passed increased, even when controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status.

"For families and schools, these results suggest investments of time and resources in physical activity and fitness training may not detract from academic achievement in core subjects, and, may even be beneficial," the authors said.

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High-school kids who spend hours in front of the TV end up with bad eating habits, warn scientists.

According to the study published in Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, television viewing times predict a poor diet in the future.

The study involved almost 2000 high- and middle-school children.

Dr Daheia Barr-Anderson worked with a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota to investigate the relationship between television and diet.

She said, "To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the association between television viewing and diet over the transition from adolescence into young adulthood. We've shown that TV viewing during adolescence predicts poorer dietary intake patterns five years later".

Stronger and more consistent patterns were seen during the transition from high school to young adulthood than during the transition from middle school to high school.

The authors found that those high-school kids who watched more than five hours of television per day had a lower intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium-rich foods; and higher intakes of snack foods, fried foods, fast food, sugar-sweetened beverages, and trans fats five years later.

According to Barr-Anderson, "These less than healthy foodstuffs are commonly advertised on television while healthy foods rarely receive the

same publicity. Although young people may be aware that many foods advertised on television are not healthy, they may chose to ignore or do not fully realize the consequences, because the actors they see advertising and eating the foods in the commercials are usually not overweight".

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While there's a rise in childhood obesity, a new study has found that preschoolers don't indulge in much of activity, even when they're playing outside.

The study, by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of South Carolina (USC), Michigan State University, and East Carolina University, looked at 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds enrolled in 24 community-based preschool programs.

Led by Professor Russell R. Pate (at USC), the researchers used information from the Children's Activity and Movement in Preschools Study (CHAMPS).

It was found that the preschoolers were inactive for much of their preschool day, with 89 percent of physical activity characterized as sedentary.

In fact, 56 percent of their activities were sedentary, even when they played outside, a time when children are expected to move around.

To top it all, teachers very rarely encouraged the children to be physically active.

However, when balls and other items were made available, especially outside, and when they had open spaces in which to play, the children were more likely to be active.

"The low levels of children's activity and the lack of adult encouragement point to a need for teachers to organize, model, and encourage physical activity," said William H. Brown, professor in the College of Education at USC and the study's lead author.

He added: "Because children's health and physical well-being are an important part of development, their physical activity needs to be increased in order to promote healthy lifestyles, particularly for preschoolers who are growing up in low-income families and who are at greater risk for poor health outcomes."

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