11 Ways to Make Your Hair Grow Faster It's time to listen to the pros.

Do you dream of having Rapunzel-length locks? If it seems like your hair just isn't growing as quickly as you'd like, look no further than your hair care routine. And then try these pro-recommended tips to get longer, stronger hair in no time.

1. Get frequent trims — yes, really.

It may seem counterintuitive, but if you want long hair that's actually healthy, you need to get regular trims. "While haircuts don't make your hair grow any faster, they get rid of split ends that break your hair," explains celebrity hairstylist Michael Dueñas. "Eliminating the breakage gives the appearance that your hair is growing faster." After all, a split end that breaks can lead to your hair losing length — not to mention shine, volume, and smoothness. Not sure how often to trim your hair? We've got a guide for that.

2. Spread the wealth that is your hair's natural oil.

Going to bed with unbrushed hair may seem tempting when you're tired, but giving your hair a few quick strokes can be great for its health. "Starting at the scalp, use a boar bristle brush to distribute your scalp's oils evenly onto your hair so it stays naturally moisturized," recommends Eva Scrivo Salon senior colorist and hair educator Meri Kate O'Connor. Bonus: This simple step each night helps increase circulation, which helps make your scalp healthier. Which leads us to…

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Facebook is No Friend to Mental Health

Roughly a half billion people interact on Facebook every day, with many more engaging in other social networking sites. With all these friends, it would seem that social networking followers have a great support system and a happy life. New research points out, however, that Facebook may actually be undermining well-being and life satisfaction.
Researchers at the University of Michigan examined two weeks of Facebook use and concluded that the more people use Facebook, the more negative they feel about their life moment-to-moment, and the more dissatisfied they were with their life in general over time. The results were not affected by gender, self-reported loneliness, baseline symptoms of depression, the size of the social network, the motivation for using Facebook, or the perceived level of support from Facebook friends.
Several other studies have reported negative associations with social networking, including tension between romantic partners. Social networking sites foster attachment issues, uncertainty, and partner surveillance, all of which lead to negative relationship outcomes. Another study reported that the use of social networking sites leads to decreased intimacy in relationships, mostly owing to perceptions about the quality and quantity of the romantic partner’s use of social networking. Divorce and cheating has also been attributed to Facebook, especially in relationships that are less than 3 years old.
Social networking sites appear to offer a means for individuals with low self-esteem or difficulties establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships to grow relationships and share connections with other people. However, these individuals most in need of positive social relationships actually suffer from social networking sites owing to an inability to communicate appropriately and negative reactions from other people, which led to lower self-esteem and negative effects on well-being in several studies.
All of this is not to say that there are no benefits to social networking, or that all people who use it end up depressed and dissatisfied with life. Patients with chronic illnesses or rare conditions are able to find information on their diseases and gain support from others around the globe, which has led to improved disease education and clinical outcomes. And, younger people who have grown up in the digital age are living proof of the transformation of intimate relationships. For many in this demographic, larger Internet-based social networks lead to higher levels of life satisfaction and social support. The internet may offer permanent relationships in a mobile world.

Most people spend their days constantly connected to things (phones, computers, tablets) and not to other people. Growing a digital network of people who “like” you, “share” things with you, and want to be your “friend” does not, at least according to recent research, create life-sustaining, life-fulfilling friendships. Social networks can certainly be used in a healthy, appropriate way and offer a modern way to communicate. But, they cannot replace true, meaningful relationships that lead to improved overall well-being.

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Smell Your Age

You have likely been told to act your age or look your age, but can you smell your age? According to new research, you can at least smell another person’s age. Apparently, humans can correctly identify a person’s age simply by smelling their body odor.
The group of genes that makes up the olfactory (sense of smell) receptors is the largest gene family in mammals. And, it’s no wonder why humans have evolved to be able to smell millions of odorants in minute concentrations: body odor helps us identify family versus non-family members, choose a mate, and differentiate between genders. Even though all this happens subconsciously, the olfactory sense is critical to our behavioral and social cues and our evolutionary history.
For the current study, researchers asked three groups of people to sleep in shirts with under-arm pads for 5 nights. The pads collected sweat from the three groups: young (20-30 years old), middle-aged (45-55), and old-aged (75-95). Then, they placed the pads in jars and asked 41 individuals to identify the age group of the person’s scent. Almost every participant was easily able to correctly identify the age group of the person whose sweat was in the jar.
The participants reported that old-age odors were more pleasant than younger age groups. Old-age odors were also less intense. In the young and middle-aged groups, participants were able to differentiate between genders. Middle-aged men were rated as having the most intense and most unpleasant odor.

Body odor results from a complex interaction among the skin, secretions from glands, and bacterial activity. Plus, diet and lifestyle habits influence body odor. As humans age, the composition of skin and of the body’s secretions change, along with a myriad of other factors, which likely results in smells identifiable with old age. Though these findings are interesting, the authors report little consequence for our daily lives. Olfaction is associated with memory, relational signals, food decisions, and overall health. But, is the ability to discriminate age or gender based solely on smell going to change the way we go about our daily olfactory activities? It conjures up visions of greeting people like my dog greets people, and that would stink.

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Physician Sleep Deprivation – Potential Effects on Patient Care

It is well understood that resident, intern and attending physicians do not receive an adequate amount of sleep at night. Long on call hours, 24-hour shifts within the hospital and limited time off all contribute to poor quantity and quality of sleep. Research seems to suggest a potential effect on the quality of patient care as a result of such sleep deprivation.
A 2011 study that took place in Korea scored a number of residents and interns on sleep deprivation. Nearly 71% of participants were sleep deprived with a mean of only 5 (+/- 1.2) hours of sleep per night while working an average of 14.9 (+/- 2.7) hours a day. Among the most sleep deprived of participants, scores for attention deficit were higher than average, suggesting a potential difficulty in focusing on treatment and diagnoses of patient condition. Additionally, sleep deprivation made it more difficult for participants to learn new information, which may make the continuing education of such physicians more difficult.
Further research into sleep deprivation in general may also illustrate another potential barrier in professional performance. A literature analysis by Kamphuis illustrates that there is significant evidence to support a relationship between sleep deprivation and increased levels of aggression. In numerous studies, participants who reported a low quantity and/or quality of sleep also scored higher on indexes of anger, hostility and impulsivity compared to control groups. Interestingly, there appears to be a physiological component to such increased anger.
Prefrontal cortical functioning is impaired in sleep deprived individuals. This functioning is responsible for a person’s ability to regulate emotional and behavioral responses to stimuli. In one particular study, subjects with an average sleep deprivation of 30 hours were less likely to be able to recognize human facial emotions for moderate happiness or anger, suggesting an inability to empathize from sheer lack of recognition alone.
This link between sleep deprivation and aggression could be helpful in explaining the reasons why some physicians are considered short-tempered by non-physician healthcare staff. The inability to empathize could certainly be to blame for this phenomenon; however, this author was unable to find current research attempting to test such a correlation, suggesting a need for further investigation into this specific area.

As the physician shortage in America continues to worsen, the effects of sleep deprivation on physicians could become more marked. To mitigate this potential barrier to quality patient care, healthcare institutions must find ways of filling gaps with more mid-level providers, interns, and residents to spread the workload among a larger group of individuals. Sleep deprivation is linked with a wide range of physical and emotional health problems and may be directly affecting patient care. There is much work still to be done to identify the specific risks to patients as well as strategies to reduce such risks.

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