MOONWALKING

On the night of the full moon……. it is providential to have cardiac surgery,  your favourite dish will run away with the spoon, but sleep will elude all but a lucky few………….of course, insomniacs won't care, their brain's are always in a scramble. On nights with no moon, you should use a red light to protect your kids from the boogeyman and be sure they go to bed at the SAME TIME every night, to help them grow up SMART. Join the dung beetles tonight and do a little moon walking under the glow of this celestial night light.

The E-spoons E-zine is a monthly compilation of stories appearing on Better Body Chemistry blog.  The stories are based on the latest science tit bits and will help you become a little healthier, wealthier and wiser by explaining the why.  As a friend of Spoonful of Science you have been included on our mailing list – should you wish to unsubscribe follow the link at the bottom of the E-zine.

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Heart plumbing should be fixed in the moonlight
You need to go under the knife.  Eish !  Any kind of surgery is risky. Sometimes you get to decide the details, more often than not – it is DO or DIE.

When you get to “choose” - the WHEN is a critical factor.  Ideally you try to fit it in to your schedule, working around family and work commitments.  But research from Rhode Island Hospital suggests if you’re having cardiac surgery, then you need to be considering what the moon is up to.

The team discovered the moon’s behaviour was a  risk factor. 

Full moon surgery was a winner.
New moon surgery was a killer.

Okay, I am being a bit melodramatic. Hey, winner and killer rhyme – I couldn’t resist.  But rhymes aside,  the size of the moon did impact the overall success of the procedure.   The team defined as success as not leaving the hospital in a body bag.  Read more…..      A  bigger moon was better.
 
Now, a  full moon can light up the sky, but  improved lighting is unlikely to explain the full moon effect, since surgery is not done in the moonlight.  The researchers speculate it has something to do with gravity.
 
The point…….the moon might be your lucky charm during cardiac surgery.  
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Looking for more than a lucky charm to beat heart disease ?  Complete a body audit to discover how small lifestyle changes can improve your health, so you create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY.
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Why did the dish run away with the spoon ?
Hey diddle diddle,
The Cat and the fiddle,
The Cow jumped over the moon.
The little Dog laughed,
To see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon…..

Why ?

We ALL KNOW…the moon can influence the heart,  but the moonlight just magnifies the inherent attraction.  So on this fateful night, what create the sparked between the dish and the spoon ?

Scientists from the University of Oxford believe the magic happened because in the moonlight the spoon took on a different hue.

The altered colour of the spoon….. created the attraction. Find out how the colour, size and weight of the spoon you use changes your appetite.

If you have a sugar gremlin…………… you might want to eat everything,   your cereal, your yoghurt and your chocolate mousse, with a teaspoon.  It seems our brain is wired to believe bites from a teaspoon taste sweeter.  
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 Need some help cutting your LOVE OF SUGAR.   You need to Trick or Treat your SUGAR GREMLIN. 

  
Enrol in our FREE e-course to outwit it before it creates too much mischief
 

Bad Night's Sleep?  Blame it on the moon
You climbed into bed timeously BUT…. sleep was elusive.  Why ?   You work through the list of usual suspects ….

You need to add a new troublemaker to the list of dream stealers.
 
Scientists from the University of Basel have discovered, problems sleeping can be attributed to the moon.   Read more….

It seems humans are not just subject to the sun’s rhythm i.e. the circadian rhythm, we’re also subject to the moon’s bidding too ?

Maybe this is not such a radical idea, just something modern man has “forgotten”.  After all, we run our calendar around the cycles of the moon.  Each year is divided into 12 months, which  correspond to the lunar cycles (more-or-less).  

And folklore tells of individuals with especially strange behaviours around the time of the full moon.  Maybe brought on by lack of sleep ?  Watch out it’s THAT TIME OF THE MONTH  !
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Insomnia is a perpetual brain scramble
Another freight train night….. you know the kind, random thoughts, crossed your mind ALL NIGHT.   The haphazard  notions, flitted around your brain denying you entry into the world of dreams.  It felt like the night would go on forever.

Suddenly the alarm clock shrills ………….. jolting you awake,  it’s time to get up. You’re exhausted.  You look awful and feel really GRUMPY.   You’re on course for a LONG DAY.  

Why can’t you sleep ?   Why ?  NEWSFLASH……..It is not a problem that is only happening in the middle of the night, the freight train runs 24/7.   Read more…I know, I know… this is not especially comforting.  A run away train is not an easy thing to STOP, at any time.

But realizing the train runs all day, as well as all night, opens up new avenues to tackle the problem.   Could a morning meditation or a walk in the park, work just as well as a sleeping tablet ?   Maybe it is time to take the battle into the day light

Maybe……
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Only red light nights can protect kids from the boogeyman
It was a dark and stormy night…..and I was PETRIFIED.

Actually, as a child,  I didn’t need much storm to be terrified.  Being left alone in a dark room, stirred up fear and trembling. I was convinced that the shadows and creaking sounds were all signs that the boogeyman was on his way, to eat me. I knew he lived in the cupboard at the end of my bed, which is why the cupboard door had to be bolted shut, before I climbed into bed.   Ideally, I needed an adult in the room too…. 

Something that was not all that practical for the adults in my life.

So…………. my Mom enlisted the help of a guardian angel.   A real one – in the form of a night light.

My guardian angel night light,  was a pale blue being, who smelled like plastic and baby powder,  he beamed out light all night, keeping the boogyeman stuck in the cupboard.

In retrospect……….. my guardian angel night light may not have been protecting me as much as I thought, in fact, my night light may have been aligned with the health boogeyman
 
If you or someone you love is afraid of the boogeyman – you do NEED a nigh light.   Find out what kind of night light will keep the boogeyman away, without compromising body chemistry.
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Bright sparks go to bed at the same time every night
RRRRRRRRRRing, RRRRRRRring….. your alarm clock signals it’s time to start your day.  Even if it is rather reluctantly, the piercing scream forces you to get moving.  It is standard practise to employ an alarm to signal the start of your day.  Do you have an alarm to signal your bedtime ?   I am guessing not. 

Bedtime is flexible

For most of us, the time you go to bed varies………. for the most part, you climb into bed, when everything that needs to be done, is done.  The same tenet, is frequently applied to the kids. 

But going to bed at different times everynight throughout early childhood, is tiring on the brain.

Irregular bed times curb young kids’ brain power.  Read more…

It is not just early to bed, early to rise, that makes a man healthy and wise.
It’s consistently to bed that gives a man a powerful head.
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Striving to create Better Body Chemistry in your child ?

Enrol in our free e-course for Tips and Strategies that will help improve your little one’s body chemistry or book a session with Dr Sandy.  E-mail drsandy@spoonfulofscience.com  or phone 083 262 5023.

Dung beetles are moon walkers
Michael Jackson made the moon walk famous, when he strutted his stuff in a performance of Billie Jean, but moon walking is the way dung beetles hustle out of the poop pile in the evening.    In this week’s Neurotechnology tip we’re moon walking our way out of the mire……. Dung beetle style.

For dung beetles to “succeed”, they need to be able to roll their dung ball, AWAY from the pile.  Any deviations from STRAIGHT, could see the beetle back at the dung pile, fighting for possession.   To move away in a straight line,  it helps to know where you are. 

So once a dung beetle has secured it’s little piece of the dung pie, it takes a moment to orientate itself to the heavens, by climbing on top of the pile.  From the top, it marks its position.  During daytime escapades the sun acts as its guide, at night the beetles, use the moon and stars as their positioning guide.  The star gazing  abilities of dung beetles has recently been uncovered by a team of South African researchers.
Read more…  
 
It is not just dung beetles that find themselves knee deep in poop.   All of us face difficulties and challenges………. manoeuvring out of the dung pile requires pushing in a straight line.  Follow the example of the little dung beetle, take a moment to take a big picture view. And then moonwalk your way - out of the poop.
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Be sure to check out the latest episode of  BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY TV.

Other stories from the blog this month..............

• Everyone should have a chocolate eating ceremony
• Diabetic guts don’t taste sugar

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Next month we will be DANCING TO A LITTLE HEAVY METAL,  look out for the next edition of E-spoons in your inbox on 6 November  2013 (the first Wednesday of the month). 

Yours scientifically

Dr Sandy
Phone :       +27 (0)11 452 2207
Cell :           083 262 5023
E-mail :       drsandy@spoonfulofscience.com
 

The cartoons were drawn by Guy Alain Ngangob – drop him an e-mail if you need a cartoon or two. If you want to access the science articles used to compile the newsletter, visit the relevant pages on the blog and follow the link.     
 
Copyright © 2013 by Sandra Evans.  YOU ARE WELCOME TO COPY the e-Zine's contents for use in your own  newsletter, company or club publication, BLOG or website.  Please give proper credit and a link back to http://www.betterbodychemistry.com.
 
Disclaimer : The e-zine is provided as a service.  Dr Sandy’s reports and opinions are for information only, and are not intended to diagnose or prescribe.  For your specific diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.