It’s finals week. If you know a college student – here's some advice...

Stock up on chewing gum!

Students who are not allowed to chew gum in school could be at a real disadvantage, according to a team of psychologists at St. Lawrence University. They put gum to the test, literally – and the results are definitely worth chewing on. 160 students were given a battery of demanding cognitive tests. Half of those students were allowed to chew gum. The gum chewers significantly outperformed the other group on 5 of the 6 tests.

You might want to save that stick of gum for the hardest part of the test. The experiment also revealed that there’s a specific window to the gum-chewing advantage – 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of chewing, the performance of both groups leveled out.

If you want to lose weight, buy blue plates...

If your dinner plates are a bold color like red, orange or yellow – you might be tempted to eat more than you should...

Color can have a big impact on our appetite and how much we consume, which is exactly why fast food places use bold colors in their advertising, packaging and décor. A Boston University study found that eating from a red plate could up your calorie intake by as much as 25 percent. The appetite stimulant is actually in the contrast. The less contrast there is between the food and the plate, the more we eat. Experts sampled plate colors and found the best choice was blue, followed by white. Those are the least common food colors.

So you think you know how to eat sushi...

Eating sushi can be tricky...

Should you use chopsticks? Eat it whole or bite it? There’s even an art to the dipping. Sushi master Koji Sawada has the basics for how he prefers to savor his sushi:

• Skip the chopsticks – use the hands. Chopsticks can squish or cause you to fumble some delicately created sushi. Do use your chopsticks to pick up shared items to add to your plate.

• If you are going to dip the sushi in soy sauce – dip it fish side down. Any rice in the sushi will absorb too much of the sauce.

• Put the whole thing into your mouth, fish to tongue – and savor the flavor and texture for a moment, without chewing.

Wasabi is not traditionally served with sushi – it’s for sashimi – raw fish without rice. The wasabi is smeared on the block that the sushi is pressed on and a serious sushi master may frown upon a customer asking for more. Some sushi snobs say excessive wasabi use exposes you as a novice.

If you’d like your Christmas tree to last a little longer this year – here's some advice…

If you’ve already set up your Christmas tree – it will take a little work to keep it fresh through the end of the month...

Here are a few steps you can take to encourage those needles to hang in there with the ornaments:

• Hopefully, you made a fresh cut to the trunk before putting it up. If not, puncture a few holes below the water line of the trunk so it can have a drink.

• Most trees need to have their water topped off every day.

• Be sure to turn the lights off whenever you can. Even that low level of heat speeds up the drying-out process.

• If you can keep a humidifier going in the room, your tree will look jolly for a lot longer.

What’s with all the gluten-free choices everywhere now?

Have you noticed the phrase “gluten-free” popping up on products and menus everywhere lately?

It’s all the rage in eating healthy. But according to Dr. Daniel Leffler, of the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, gluten-fee is no guarantee that it’s healthy. He says unless you have celiac disease, an immune disorder that damages the small intestine, or have gluten intolerance, there’s really no evidence that going gluten-free will help you lose weight or beat fatigue. Gluten-free is VERY healthy for business though. Sales of products labeled gluten-free are up 16% in just one year.

Dieting doesn’t have to ruin the celebration...

If you’re watching your weight - this can be a challenging time of year...

A party here and a cocktail there can really add up. Putting a little thought into what you’ll be drinking can help keep the diet damages to a minimum:

• If wine is in order, a glass is just fine. A typical 5-oz. serving of white wine has about 110 calories. Red wine is slightly higher at about 120 calories - but the antioxidants in the red more than make up for the 10 extra calories. Whichever you prefer, having a glass of wine with dinner tends to make us slow down, savor the meal and the company - and can even help prevent us from overeating.

• If beer is on tap – it’s not a bad choice. A moderate amount of beer can even be good for your bones. Beer with high levels of malted barley and hops are the most beneficial. A standard 12-oz. bottle of beer has about 150 calories. Light beer has about 35 less than that. Just keep in mind if you’re ordering beer at a bar or restaurant, those pint glasses add about 25 percent to the totals.

• If you’re saving up for after dinner, there are a few good options – IF you skip the desert. Consider swapping out that piece of cake with a low-calorie cocktail or cup of coffee with liqueur.

Mocktails will be the best option if you’re really trying to behave. Some nice, healthy options are fruit nectars or teas mixed with soda water, garnished with some real fruit, herbs or berries for a festive touch.

If you’re worried about germy air on that flight – here are the risks...

If you seem to pick up a bug every time you fly – chances are you picked up the germs in the airport...

The air on the plane itself is actually cleaner than most of what you breathe on the ground. During the flight, air is circulated about 20 times per hour – that’s more than in most office buildings. The new air is drawn in from outside at high altitudes – and not likely to have bacteria or viruses in there.

Now for the bad news: If you’re sitting within two rows of a sick passenger for any length of time, your odds of catching whatever they have are significant, especially if they’re coughing or sneezing.

If you have a cat – I’ll tell you which kind of Christmas tree to get...

Not all Christmas trees are created equal...

For instance, if you’ve got a cat you’ll be best off with a Blue Spruce. Their needles are extra prickly and sharp – and a lot less fun to climb inside. Here are some other tree type options:

• Balsam, Canaan or Douglas Firs all have green, silvery, short needles that are long lasting. These trees are fragrant and easy to decorate.

• Scotch Pines have stiff, rigid branches that are best for heavy ornaments. The needles hang on even when dry and it’s pine scented, naturally.

• Douglas Firs have dark blue-green needles that hold well and is another fragrant choice.

• White pines have bluish-green soft needles and are very full. These trees are not fragrant and are a good choice for certain allergies. They’re a little harder to find and usually more expensive.

For a new perspective – think of yourself in the third person...

If you’d like to tap into a new train of thought – there’s a simple trick that can help you shed some new light on - yourself...

Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project,” says we should try taking the third-person approach. (Your Name) should really take better care of him/herself. (Your Name) will not be able to accept that invitation. I wonder what Your Name will be making for dinner tonight.

Gretchen points out; it might feel a little self-important at first – but taking a look at you from the outside in helps to improve focus. This new perspective might help (Your Name) envision him/herself accomplishing things he/she hadn’t thought of before.

If you’ve got an office party on your calendar this week, I’ve got some dos and don’ts for that event..

The invitation might say “party” or “celebrate” – but if the other guests are colleagues and clients you may want to keep it low key...

Anna Post, co-author of "The 18th Edition of Emily Post's Etiquette,” has a few office party rules of etiquette:


• Don’t skip the party: Even if you think your bosses or coworkers are jerks – YOU don’t need to be one. You really should go and make the best of it for one night.

• Dress appropriately. If you’re unsure, it’s better to be a little over-dressed than under-dressed. Try for something festive, yet professional. Save the crazy expressive outfit for your friend’s party.

• Don’t over consume – anything. That goes for alcohol, food and conversation. Be aware of your boundaries and use this as an opportunity to enjoy and shine among your colleagues instead of monopolizing the event or overindulging.

• Plan your intros. If you are bringing a date or spouse to the holiday party, be sure you are properly introducing him or her to your bosses and colleagues.

• Put the phone away. Looking distracted or like you can’t stop networking at a party is a real turn-off to the other guests. Take advantage of some fun face-to-face time and turn the phone off for a few hours.

• Say thank you. After you thank the host, it’s worth your while to seek out the party planner and thank him or her. That person often gets overlooked.

• Skip the gift for the boss. It’s inappropriate to give higher-ups a gift unless it’s a group thing.

Have you heard about the new hangover cure?

There are lots of home remedies for a hangover...

...but now there’s a potion that actually got approval from the FDA. It’s is called Blowfish and it claims to be a safe and effective cure for a hangover. Blowfish is a combination of caffeine, aspirin and antacid. Just drop the tablets into water, enjoy your fizzy fix - and you’ll theoretically be feeling like your old self again in about a half hour.

There is one group of people more honest than any other group...

If you need a really honest judge of character – ask a baby!

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looked into some baby behavior and found that at around 8 months of age, babies innate sense of justice is revealed. They make no secret about their preferences – and they prefer nice people. Babies even approve of someone who reprimands a third party’s antisocial behavior. By the age of 2, babies will even take it upon themselves to dole out some discipline to others.

The sidewalks and parking lots are crowded – and a little holiday ettiquette may be in order...

Do you stay to the right and pass on the left – when you’re walking?

According to Charles Purdy, author of “Urban Etiquette,” that simple rule of etiquette should apply when malls, aisles and sidewalks get crowded with shoppers. Here are some other tips to help keep holidays happy – if everyone would cooperate:

 

• When jockeying for a parking spot – it should go to the car with the blinker on first, not the closest.

• When cash register lines are disorganized – go with the flow. Huffing and puffing or trying to whip the line into shape won’t save you much time.

• If you’ve got a cart full – have a heart and let the person with one item ahead of you.

• Go ahead and hold the door for the person behind you. Even if two or three people take advantage of your courtesy, it will only eat up about 10 or 15 seconds of your day.

Have you ever measured your legs? You should...

Is one of your legs longer than the other?

It turns out 1 in 5 people with arthritis have legs that are mismatched – by 3/4 of an inch or more. Leg length can have a big impact on the rest of your body. If there’s a difference, it puts a lot of strain on your knee and hip joints which speeds the development of arthritis.

Have a doctor – or a tailor – measure your legs. If there is a difference over a half inch, you should consider wearing a simple, inexpensive heel lift to prevent undue stress on the rest of your body.

A lot of drivers take some obvious safety tips for granted...

Buckle up and don’t speed. Those simple driving tips should go without saying...

The more we drive, the more we take some basic safety tips for granted. Here are 5 no-brainers worth repeating:


• Don’t drive drunk. Over 30% of all auto fatalities in the U.S. involve alcohol. Even low blood-alcohol levels reduce reaction time and coordination and lowers inhibitions.

• Don’t speed. For every mile per hour faster you drive - the likelihood of being in an accident increases by 4 or 5 percent. Driving 10 miles per hour faster increases your crash risk by as much as 50%.

• Avoid distractions. The reaction time of a 20 year-old with a cell-phone or distracting passenger is that of a 70 year-old driver. Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel. That text or call can wait until your car is in park.

• Don’t drive drowsy. Another 20% of accidents involve sleepiness. As soon as you feel a yawn coming on, take action immediately. Dozing off at the wheel can happen with little or no warning.
• Wear your seatbelt. You may have heard stories of freak accidents where someone would have lived had they not been buckled in – but the truth is, most of those are exaggerations or urban legends. Even a low speed accident can result in disaster to an unbelted driver or passenger.