Quotes of the Day

The cost of an uninsurable mortgage can be as much as 25 basis point (0.25%) higher than that of an insurable mortgage, or even higher. I've seen the difference as high as 50 basis points. [2018] - Paul Meredith

As you age, your risk of developing and dying from cancer grows every year--until you hit eighty-five or ninety, when, interestingly, your cancer risk begins to drop. In deed, if you don't get cancer by a certain age, you may never get it. What accounts for this relative resistance to cancer among centenarians? It may have to do with a cancer-promoting growth hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The release of IGF-1 appears to be triggered by the consumption of animal protein. Vegetarians who include eggs and dairy in their diets don't seem to achieve a significant reduction in IGF-1. Only men and women who limit their intake of all animal proteins appear able to significantly drop their levels of the cancer-promoting hormone and raise their levels of the protective binding proteins. [2015] - Michael Greger

Incidental touching is done with the hand and is brief, gentle, natural, and nonthreatening. You may touch the person's arm or shoulder but never anywhere that's overtly sexual (the breast, the butt, the inner thigh). Your first incidental touch should come around the time you are comfortable with medium-risk self-disclosure--preferably after you have laughed together and learned in to each other. If your well-timed and brief touch on the arm prompts a warm response, you can follow it with an appropriately-timed, incidental touch to the hand. [2004] - Nicholas Boothman

Currently, the most effective method for improving your sleep is called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I: (1) establish a regular bedtime and wake-up time, even on weekends, (2) go to bed only when sleepy and avoid sleeping on the couch early/mid-evenings, (3) never lie awake in bed for a significant time period; rather, get out of bed and do something quiet and relaxing until the urge to sleep returns, (4) avoid daytime napping if you are having difficulty sleeping at night, (5) reduce anxiety-provoking thoughts and worries by learning to mentally decelerate before bed, and (6) remove visible clock-faces from view in the bedroom, preventing clock-watching anxiety at night. [2017] - Matthew Walker

Sleep doctors have a saying: An early nap adds to the previous night of sleep but a late nap subtracts from the upcoming night of sleep. It's vitally important that the nap be scheduled. Shortly after lunchtime is the time when we experience a natural increase in our daytime sleepiness. Many sleep researchers and many cultures believe this is not only a great time to nap, but that we were evolutionarily designed to nap at this time. The duration of your nap is important. A 20-30 minute nap is an ideal duration to provide a boost to your wakefulness without leading to post-nap funk (PNF). [2017] - W. Chris Winter