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Could not getting enough sleep increase your risk of type 2 diabetes?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/giuliana-murfet-1517219">Giuliana Murfet</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shanshan-lin-1005236">ShanShan Lin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a> Not getting enough sleep is a common affliction in the modern age. If you don’t always get as many hours of shut-eye as you’d like, perhaps you were concerned by news of a <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2815684">recent study</a> that found people who sleep less than six hours a night are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. So what can we make of these findings? It turns out the relationship between sleep and diabetes is complex. <h2>The study</h2> Researchers analysed data from the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a>, a large biomedical database which serves as a global resource for health and medical research. They looked at information from 247,867 adults, following their health outcomes for more than a decade. The researchers wanted to understand the associations between sleep duration and type 2 diabetes, and whether a healthy diet reduced the effects of short sleep on diabetes risk. As part of their involvement in the UK Biobank, participants had been asked roughly how much sleep they get in 24 hours. Seven to eight hours was the average and considered normal sleep. Short sleep duration was broken up into three categories: mild (six hours), moderate (five hours) and extreme (three to four hours). The researchers analysed sleep data alongside information about people’s diets. Some 3.2% of participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the follow-up period. Although healthy eating habits were associated with a lower overall risk of diabetes, when people ate healthily but slept less than six hours a day, their risk of type 2 diabetes increased compared to people in the normal sleep category. The researchers found sleep duration of five hours was linked with a 16% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while the risk for people who slept three to four hours was 41% higher, compared to people who slept seven to eight hours. One limitation is the study defined a healthy diet based on the number of servings of fruit, vegetables, red meat and fish a person consumed over a day or a week. In doing so, it didn’t consider how dietary patterns such as time-restricted eating or the Mediterranean diet may modify the risk of diabetes among those who slept less. Also, information on participants’ sleep quantity and diet was only captured at recruitment and may have changed over the course of the study. The authors acknowledge these limitations. <h2>Why might short sleep increase diabetes risk?</h2> In people with <a href="https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/about-diabetes/type-2-diabetes/">type 2 diabetes</a>, the body becomes resistant to the effects of a hormone called insulin, and slowly loses the capacity to produce enough of it in the pancreas. Insulin is important because it regulates glucose (sugar) in our blood that comes from the food we eat by helping move it to cells throughout the body. We don’t know the precise reasons why people who sleep less may be at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.23501">previous research</a> has shown sleep-deprived people often have increased <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-511X-9-125">inflammatory markers</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-015-3500-4">free fatty acids</a> in their blood, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-018-1055-8">impair insulin sensitivity</a>, leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.23501">insulin resistance</a>. This means the body struggles to use insulin properly to regulate blood glucose levels, and therefore increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Further, people who don’t sleep enough, as well as people who sleep in irregular patterns (such as shift workers), experience disruptions to their body’s natural rhythm, known as the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5995632/">circadian rhythm</a>. This can interfere with the release of hormones like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/edrv.18.5.0317">cortisol, glucagon and growth hormones</a>. These hormones are released through the day to meet the body’s changing energy needs, and normally keep blood glucose levels nicely balanced. If they’re compromised, this may reduce the body’s ability to handle glucose as the day progresses. These factors, and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aar8590">others</a>, may contribute to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes seen among people sleeping less than six hours. While this study primarily focused on people who sleep eight hours or less, it’s possible longer sleepers may also face an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Research has previously shown a U-shaped correlation between sleep duration and type 2 diabetes risk. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc14-2073">review</a> of multiple studies found getting between seven to eight hours of sleep daily was associated with the lowest risk. When people got less than seven hours sleep, or more than eight hours, the risk began to increase. The reason sleeping longer is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes may be linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc15-0186">weight gain</a>, which is also correlated with longer sleep. Likewise, people who don’t sleep enough are more likely to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2017.07.013">overweight or obese</a>. <h2>Good sleep, healthy diet</h2> Getting enough sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Based on this study and other evidence, it seems that when it comes to diabetes risk, seven to eight hours of sleep may be the sweet spot. However, other factors could influence the relationship between sleep duration and diabetes risk, such as individual differences in sleep quality and lifestyle. While this study’s findings question whether a healthy diet can mitigate the effects of a lack of sleep on diabetes risk, a wide range of evidence points to the benefits of <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/healthy-diet">healthy eating</a> for overall health. The <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2815684">authors of the study</a> acknowledge it’s not always possible to get enough sleep, and suggest doing <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33137489/">high-intensity interval exercise</a> during the day may offset some of the potential effects of short sleep on diabetes risk. In fact, exercise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2023.03.001">at any intensity</a> can improve blood glucose levels.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225179/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/giuliana-murfet-1517219">Giuliana Murfet</a>, Casual Academic, Faculty of Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shanshan-lin-1005236">ShanShan Lin</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-not-getting-enough-sleep-increase-your-risk-of-type-2-diabetes-225179">original article</a>.

Body

Mothers’ dieting habits and self-talk have profound impact on daughters − 2 psychologists explain how to cultivate healthy behaviors and body image

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/janet-j-boseovski-451496">Janet J. Boseovski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-2069">University of North Carolina – Greensboro</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ashleigh-gallagher-1505989">Ashleigh Gallagher</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-2069">University of North Carolina – Greensboro</a> Weight loss is one of the most common health and appearance-related goals. Women and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db340.htm">teen girls</a> are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db313.htm">especially likely to pursue dieting</a> to achieve weight loss goals even though a great deal of research shows that <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-thin-people-dont-understand-about-dieting-86604">dieting doesn’t work over the long term</a>. We are a <a href="https://www.duck-lab.com/people">developmental psychologist</a> and a <a href="https://psy.uncg.edu/directory/ashleigh-gallagher/">social psychologist</a> who together wrote a forthcoming book, “Beyond Body Positive: A Mother’s Evidence-Based Guide for Helping Girls Build a Healthy Body Image.” In the book, we address topics such as the effects of maternal dieting behaviors on daughters’ health and well-being. We provide information on how to build a foundation for healthy body image beginning in girlhood. <h2>Culturally defined body ideals</h2> Given the strong influence of social media and other cultural influences on body ideals, it’s understandable that so many people pursue diets aimed at weight loss. <a href="https://communityhealth.mayoclinic.org/featured-stories/tiktok-diets">TikTok</a>, YouTube, Instagram and celebrity websites feature slim influencers and “how-tos” for achieving those same results in no time. For example, women and teens are engaging in rigid and extreme forms of exercise such as 54D, a program to <a href="https://54d.com/">achieve body transformation in 54 days</a>, or the <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/75-hard-challenge-and-rules">75 Hard Challenge</a>, which is to follow five strict rules for 75 days. For teens, these pursuits are likely fueled by trendy body preoccupations such as the desire for “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/well/move/tiktok-legging-legs-eating-disorders.html">legging legs</a>.” Women and teens have also been been inundated with recent messaging around <a href="https://theconversation.com/drugs-that-melt-away-pounds-still-present-more-questions-than-answers-but-ozempic-wegovy-and-mounjaro-could-be-key-tools-in-reducing-the-obesity-epidemic-205549">quick-fix weight loss drugs</a>, which come with a lot of caveats. Dieting and weight loss goals are highly individual, and when people are intensely self-focused, it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2000.19.1.70">possible to lose sight of the bigger picture</a>. Although women might wonder what the harm is in trying the latest diet, science shows that dieting behavior doesn’t just affect the dieter. In particular, for women who are mothers or who have other girls in their lives, these behaviors affect girls’ emerging body image and their health and well-being. <h2>The profound effect of maternal role models</h2> Research shows that mothers and maternal figures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2017.11.001">have a profound influence on their daughters’ body image</a>. The opportunity to influence girls’ body image comes far earlier than adolescence. In fact, research shows that these influences on body image <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-toxic-diet-culture-is-passed-from-moms-to-daughters">begin very early in life</a> – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2016.10.006">during the preschool years</a>. Mothers may feel that they are being discreet about their dieting behavior, but little girls are watching and listening, and they are far more observant of us than many might think. For example, one study revealed that compared with daughters of nondieting women, 5-year-old girls whose mothers dieted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(00)00339-4">were aware of the connection between dieting and thinness</a>. Mothers’ eating behavior does not just affect girls’ ideas about dieting, but also their daughters’ eating behavior. The amount of food that mothers eat <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.018">predicts how much their daughters will eat</a>. In addition, daughters whose mothers are dieters are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.018">more likely to become dieters themselves</a> and are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.03.001">more likely to have a negative body image</a>. Negative body image is <a href="https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-documents-the-harmful-effects-of-social-media-use-on-mental-health-including-body-image-and-development-of-eating-disorders-206170">not a trivial matter</a>. It affects girls’ and women’s mental and physical well-being in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317710815">host of ways</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011.06.009">can predict the emergence of eating disorders</a>. <h2>Avoiding ‘fat talk’</h2> What can moms do, then, to serve their daughters’ and their own health? They can focus on small steps. And although it is best to begin these efforts early in life – in girlhood – it is never too late to do so. For example, mothers can consider how they think about and talk about themselves around their daughters. Engaging in “fat talk” may inadvertently send their daughters the message that larger bodies are bad, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.07.004">contributing to weight bias</a> and negative self-image. Mothers’ fat talk also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2021.1908294">predicts later body dissatisfaction in daughters</a>. And negative self-talk isn’t good for mothers, either; it is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318781943">lower motivation and unhealthful eating</a>. Mothers can instead practice and model self-compassion, which involves treating oneself the way <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.03.003">a loving friend might treat you</a>. In discussions about food and eating behavior, it is important to avoid moralizing certain kinds of food by labeling them as “good” or “bad,” as girls may extend these labels to their personal worth. For example, a young girl may feel that she is being “bad” if she eats dessert, if that is what she has learned from observing the women around her. In contrast, she may feel that she has to eat a salad to be “good.” Moms and other female role models can make sure that the dinner plate sends a healthy message to their daughters by showing instead that all foods can fit into a balanced diet when the time is right. Intuitive eating, which emphasizes paying attention to hunger and satiety and allows flexibility in eating behavior, is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00852-4">better physical and mental health in adolescence</a>. Another way that women and especially moms can buffer girls’ body image is by helping their daughters <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.12.009">to develop media literacy</a> and to think critically about the nature and purpose of media. For example, moms can discuss the misrepresentation and distortion of bodies, such as the use of filters to enhance physical appearance, on social media. <h2>Focusing on healthful behaviors</h2> One way to begin to focus on health behaviors rather than dieting behaviors is to develop respect for the body and to <a href="https://theconversation.com/body-neutrality-what-it-is-and-how-it-can-help-lead-to-more-positive-body-image-191799">consider body neutrality</a>. In other words, prize body function rather than appearance and spend less time thinking about your body’s appearance. Accept that there are times when you may not feel great about your body, and that this is OK. To feel and look their best, mothers can aim to stick to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-diet-for-healthy-sleep-a-nutritional-epidemiologist-explains-what-food-choices-will-help-you-get-more-restful-zs-219955">healthy sleep schedule</a>, manage their stress levels, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fiber-is-your-bodys-natural-guide-to-weight-management-rather-than-cutting-carbs-out-of-your-diet-eat-them-in-their-original-fiber-packaging-instead-205159">eat a varied diet</a> that includes all of the foods that they enjoy, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-runners-high-may-result-from-molecules-called-cannabinoids-the-bodys-own-version-of-thc-and-cbd-170796">move and exercise their bodies regularly</a> as lifelong practices, rather than engaging in quick-fix trends. Although many of these tips sound familiar, and perhaps even simple, they become effective when we recognize their importance and begin acting on them. Mothers can work toward modeling these behaviors and tailor each of them to their daughter’s developmental level. It’s never too early to start. <h2>Promoting healthy body image</h2> Science shows that several personal characteristics are associated with body image concerns among women. For example, research shows that women who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.001">higher in neuroticism</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/2050-2974-1-2">and perfectionism</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.983534">lower in self-compassion</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.08.001">lower in self-efficacy</a> are all more likely to struggle with negative body image. Personality is frequently defined as a person’s characteristic pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But if they wish, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/per.1945">mothers can change personality characteristics</a> that they feel aren’t serving them well. For example, perfectionist tendencies – such as setting unrealistic, inflexible goals – can be examined, challenged and replaced with more rational thoughts and behaviors. A woman who believes she must work out every day can practice being more flexible in her thinking. One who thinks of dessert as “cheating” can practice resisting moral judgments about food. Changing habitual ways of thinking, feeling and behaving certainly takes effort and time, but it is far more likely than diet trends to bring about sustainable, long-term change. And taking the first steps to modify even a few of these habits can positively affect daughters. In spite of all the noise from media and other cultural influences, mothers can feel empowered knowing that they have a significant influence on their daughters’ feelings about, and treatment of, their bodies. In this way, mothers’ modeling of healthier attitudes and behaviors is a sound investment – for both their own body image and that of the girls they love.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221968/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/janet-j-boseovski-451496">Janet J. Boseovski</a>, Professor of Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-2069">University of North Carolina – Greensboro</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ashleigh-gallagher-1505989">Ashleigh Gallagher</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-2069">University of North Carolina – Greensboro</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/mothers-dieting-habits-and-self-talk-have-profound-impact-on-daughters-2-psychologists-explain-how-to-cultivate-healthy-behaviors-and-body-image-221968">original article</a>.

Mind

The types of insurance that aren’t worth your while

While it’s important to make sure you’ve been covered, some forms of insurance aren’t really worth your while in the long run. We’ve taken a look at several types of insurance you shouldn’t really bother with, why they’re not worth your money and how you can find an alternative. Yes, it’s essential to make sure you’re covered, but at the same time you don’t need to waste any money. Extended warranties Many a salesperson has made a customer fork out that little bit extra for an “extended warranty” to go with a major electronic purchase. The thing is though, in many cases the period of time covered by the warranty is actually exactly the level you’re automatically entitled to under consumer law. Credit protection insurance While this type of insurance can be useful and a way to insure yourself against the possibility of something happening to your income as the result of an injury or a condition, credit protection insurance has tendency to be pretty expensive. A more cost effective way to ensure your payments to your credit card, personal loans or mortgages are fulfilled would be to take out a life insurance or total and permanent disability insurance policy through your individual superannuation fund. Funeral insurance Many people see this as a good way to ease the financial burden on their family that comes with their passing, but in reality funeral insurance is quite expensive and the premiums add up every year. A far better option is a prepaid funeral, funeral bonds life insurance or even a special savings account with money set aside. Just make sure you let your family know! ID theft insurance This is one of those types of insurance that isn’t really protecting your from becoming a victim, rather helping you deal with the costs once it’s already happened. And what’s more, you bank is usually willing to cover the costs of credit card fraud, which is one of the major problems to be associated with ID theft. Instead of spending money on a policy you can protect yourself from ID theft by simply keeping your personal documents safe, shredding documents such as bank account statements before throwing them away, and using antivirus software that is up to date. You can also check your credit file each year to make sure nobody’s using your identity for fake accounts. Image credits: Getty Images

Money & Banking

8 reasons everyone should know their blood type

Why you should know your blood type What’s in a blood type? Potentially a lot, according to research, including a review of studies published in the Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Systems Biology and Medicine, that connects different blood groups to everything from risk of heart disease and dementia to urinary tract infections and the norovirus. While none of the studies are conclusive about cause and effect (they can’t say X blood type causes Y disease) and any increased risks are still pretty small, the research does highlight the importance of knowing your type – A, B, AB, or O – and how it could affect your wellbeing. Blood clots: Type AB, A, and B increases risk Danish researchers studied how blood type interacts with a genetic predisposition for deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), or blood clots in the lower legs that can travel to the lungs and become life-threatening. After analysing data on about 66,000 people over more than 30 years, they found that those with type AB, A, or B had a 40 per cent higher risk of DVT than people with type O, the most common type. When the scientists did further analysis to see which factors have the biggest impact on DVT risk on a population level, they found that an AB blood type contributed to about 20 per cent of blood clots; genetic mutations accounted for 11 per cent, being overweight accounted for 16 per cent, and smoking accounted for six per cent. Heart disease: Type AB, B, and A all increase risk People whose blood type is A, B, or AB have an increased risk of heart disease and shorter life spans than people who have type O blood, according to a large study published in BMC Medicine. After following more than 50,000 middle-age and elderly people for seven years, on average, researchers found that as many as nine per cent of cardiovascular deaths were attributed to having non-O blood types. However, as any doctor will tell you, lifestyle factors like weight, smoking and diet, which, unlike blood type, are modifiable, have a much greater impact on heart disease. Stomach cancer: Types A and AB increases risk Researchers have known for a while that people with blood type A are at risk for stomach cancer. But research published in BMC Cancer shows that people with blood type AB are also at risk. Using genetic data from a large number of cases and controls, researchers found a link between both blood types and gastric cancer in Chinese populations. A review of 39 previous studies confirmed their findings. Fertility: Type O reduces it Women with this blood type were twice as likely to have blood levels of the hormone FSH high enough to indicate low ovarian reserve, a measure of fertility, according to a study published in Human Reproduction. Researchers couldn’t say for sure why, though. Given that type O blood is the most prevalent, it doesn’t pay to worry too much about it. Age is a far more important risk factor for fertility problems. Pregnancy risks This has nothing to do with your “letter” blood type or the type determined by the ABO grouping system. This has to do with what’s known as the Rhesus (Rh) factor, which determines whether your blood type is positive or negative. This could cause complications in pregnant women if the baby’s Rh blood type is different from the mother’s. For instance, if the mother has a negative blood type and the baby has a positive one, the mother’s body can actually build up antibodies against the baby’s blood type. Luckily, this doesn’t affect the baby, but it could have a negative effect on future pregnancies. Fortunately, doctors can give pregnant women a shot early in their pregnancy that can prevent Rh-incompatibility problems. Dementia and memory loss: Type AB increases risk People with type AB blood have an 82 per cent greater risk for cognitive decline later in life, according to a study published in Neurology. That’s likely because they have larger amounts of what’s known as the Factor VIII protein, which helps with blood clotting. Study participants with higher levels of this protein were 24 per cent more likely to develop memory problems – regardless of their blood type – than people with lower levels. Blood type, however, is far from the only, or even most important, factor that affects your risk for cognitive decline. Stroke: Type O has the lowest risk People with a blood type other than O (the most common) have a higher risk of cardiovascular issues such as stroke, according to a study published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Biologists are still investigating why this might be; one possible explanation is that non-O blood types contain more of the Von Willebrand factor, a protein that has been connected to blood clotting and stroke in the past. Mosquitos like Type O blood If you find yourself scratching bug bites all summer long, your blood type might be to blame. In a one small study, researchers found that type Os are up to twice as attractive to mosquitoes as type As, with type Bs falling somewhere in the middle. Image credits: Shutterstock This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/healthsmart/8-reasons-everyone-should-know-their-blood-type" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Body

Mum slammed for being "stingy" after refusing to buy $2 snack for daughter's playdate

A mum has come under fire for being "selfish" and "stingy" after refusing to buy a $2 snack for her 11-year-old daughter’s best friend. The woman, believed to be from the US, and her daughter Ellie were invited for a playdate at an indoor playground with 12-year-old Sophie and her mum. Sophie's mum offered to put them on her membership card so that Ellie and her mum could go to the indoor playground for free. “Sophie’s mum called me... and Sophie wanted to know if Ellie could come and play," she began in a Reddit thread called Am I the a****** . "She offered to put me on her membership card so it would be free for me so I got Ellie in the car and we met them at the playground.” Trouble started when the girls got hungry after an hour of playing, and Ellie's mum only packed a snack for her daughter. “Sophie’s mum didn’t have any snacks on her,” she said. “I told her they sell snacks in the front but she claimed that she didn’t have any money on her and asked me to buy Sophie some Goldfish." Ellie's mum agreed to grab the crackers on one condition - Sophie's mum had to transfer the money to her. “She says she paid for my kid to get in so I could cover the $2 for the Goldfish. I said no, I took care of my kid and it’s not my job to take care of hers too. “I told her if she wanted me to bring snacks she should’ve told me when she invited me but I won’t be wasting $2 for a 50 cent bag of Goldfish because she was unprepared.” She added that Sophie's mum eventually managed to get snacks for her own daughter, and wondered "if she lied about not having money". She then accused Sophie's mum of being "petty" for asking her to pay back for “all the times” she's used her membership to get a guest pass at the indoor playground, adding that "they regularly pay for us to join them on outings.” Her post was met with over 2500 comments slamming her for being “selfish”, “stingy” and “ungrateful”. “You were invited to a place for free that you would otherwise have had to pay for. You only packed snacks for your child? Why didn’t you also take snacks for the other child?" one wrote. “Yes, you did not have to do so, and that child is not your responsibility, but if I was meeting someone for a playdate for my child, not paying to get in, knowing, at some point both girls were going to be hungry, I would have packed snacks for both, as a thank you for the invitation and just because," the commenter continued. “If someone asked me to transfer them $2, I’m rolling my eyes big time. It’s petty, especially when someone gave you something likely far more valuable," another added. “Seriously. I don’t even think I could tell a stranger no when it comes to feeding their hungry child, much less a person I know and spend time with," a third commented. Others called the mum a "fool", for potentially causing Ellie to lose her best friend. “Don’t be an idiot. Apologise. You might care about 50 cents. But your daughter will lose her best friend. And that is worth a lot more. Your daughter might never get a friend like that... And the fact that universe gift wrapped a friend for your daughter. And you choose to throw it in the trash. Wow, you are truly a fool," they said. Image: Getty

Family & Pets

We found 3 types of food wasters, which one are you?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/trang-nguyen-1454838">Trang Nguyen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/patrick-oconnor-109973">Patrick O'Connor</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> Each year, Australian households discard about <a href="https://workdrive.zohopublic.com.au/external/06152b9ff5971843391f39fc4d32a847e56fb907c167a4a645887b0a4bc43000">2.5 million tonnes of food</a>. Most (73%) of this food waste <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622042081">ends up in landfill</a>. This is costly and contributes to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37118273/">escalating greenhouse gas emissions</a>, because food waste rotting in landfill produces methane. So reducing household food waste and diverting it from landfill saves money, improves food security and benefits the environment. To address the problem, we need to understand how people generate and dispose of food waste. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.105000">our new study</a>, we found households fell into three categories – based on the amount of food wasted, how much of that waste was avoidable and how it was sorted. These insights into consumer behaviour point to where the most worthwhile improvements can be made. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JvAFaD5f1Lo?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <h2>Three types of households</h2> We conducted an online survey of 939 households in metropolitan Adelaide between April and May 2021. The sample closely matched the national Australian population in terms of gender, age and income. We asked about the types of food waste produced, the amount of food waste typically discarded in a week and motivations towards reducing and sorting food waste. We identified three distinct types of households: Warriors are typically older and highly motivated to reduce and sort food waste. They generate minimal waste (9.6 litres per week), such as bones and vegetable peels, that is mostly unavoidable. This group comprised 39.6% of the sample. Strugglers mainly consist of families with children who produce the largest amount of food waste (33.1 litres per week). They produce the highest proportion of avoidable food waste, such as uneaten fruits and vegetables, bread and cereals. They are moderately motivated to reduce and sort food waste, but more than half of their food waste still ends up in landfill. This group made up 19.6% of the sample. Slackers are generally younger. They show little concern about reducing or sorting food waste. Slackers produce the smallest amount of food waste overall (9 litres a week), but the proportion of avoidable food waste (such as mixed leftovers) is significantly higher (38.9%) compared to warriors (24.5%). They are more than twice as likely to live in units, with 17.2% doing so, compared to just 7.8% of warriors. This group was 40.8% of the sample. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Graphic explainer showing the three types of households with their typical characteristics and food waste behaviours." /></a><figcaption>The three types of households with their typical characteristics and food waste behaviours. <a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.105000">Trang Nguyen using Canva.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></figcaption></figure> <h2>What can households do about their food waste?</h2> Reducing household food waste involves changing behaviours in both food management (“upstream”) and waste management (“downstream”). Upstream measures aim to prevent food waste in the first place. For example, households can avoid buying or cooking too much food. Supporting households to plan and buy just the right amount of food is a great starting point. Once food waste has been produced, downstream measures come into play. The focus shifts to how we handle and dispose of this waste. When households engage in food waste recycling they <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su131911099">start thinking more</a> about their behaviour including purchasing and cooking. In Australia, food waste management is mainly the responsibility of local councils. There are three ways to target household food waste management and drive behavioural change: <ul> <li> providing kerbside collection of food organics and garden organics, also known as “FOGO” </li> <li> changing social norms around food waste </li> <li> offering economic incentives and disincentives. </li> </ul> <h2>1. Providing a FOGO system</h2> Councils should provide this option at a minimum. This ensures sufficient infrastructure is available to support motivated households to sort food waste. Unfortunately <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e6b5c78e1dac47f88e7e475ffacfc49b">fewer than half of Australian councils</a> provide a garden organics system and only a quarter of councils provide a FOGO system. You can explore <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e6b5c78e1dac47f88e7e475ffacfc49b">the FOGO interactive map</a> to see how your area stacks up. <a href="https://www.greenindustries.sa.gov.au/resources/adelaide-metro-kerbside-waste-performance-report-2021-22">Most councils in metropolitan Adelaide</a> provide access to food waste recycling through the FOGO bin. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134636">our research</a> indicates more than half of household food waste still ends up in landfill. So we need additional programs to promote more sustainable behaviours. <h2>2. Changing social norms</h2> Social norms, the unspoken rules about what behaviours are deemed appropriate, can drive behavioural change. Examples of promoting social norms around food waste reduction include a <a href="https://www.stopfoodwaste.com.au/stop-food-waste-nationwide-consumer-campaign-summit-communique/">nationwide consumer campaign</a> on stopping food waste and the <a href="https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/resident/recycling-waste/kitchen-caddies/">kitchen caddy</a> for benches to increase convenience for collecting food waste. But our research suggests some groups, like slackers, remain unmotivated without additional incentives. Economic incentives might motivate this group to engage in more sustainable behaviours. <h2>3. Economic incentives</h2> Currently, Australians pay for waste management through their council rates. This is a “pay-as-you-own” system. The cost is determined by the property’s value, regardless of the amount of waste generated. Renters indirectly contribute to this cost by paying rent. Neither owner-occupiers nor renters have any incentive to reduce waste generation when the cost is levied on property value rather than the amount of waste. An alternative approach gaining momentum in other parts of the world is the “pay-as-you-throw” approach, such as <a href="https://www.collectors2020.eu/wcs-ppw/stockholm-se/">Stockholm</a> and <a href="https://pocacito.eu/sites/default/files/WasteCharging_Taipei.pdf">Taipei</a>. This system charges households based on the weight of their waste, usually the general waste that needs to be discarded in landfill, while the collection of food waste and other recyclables remains free to encourage waste sorting. Recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137363">research</a> in Italy shows pay-as-you-throw schemes result in significant reductions in both the quantity of waste and costs associated with waste disposal in many Italian municipalities. The reduced costs flow on to savings for councils that could potentially reduce waste management fees passed on to homeowners and renters through council rates. Giving households incentives to reduce waste and find alternatives to disposal encourages residents to place a higher value on food that may otherwise be sent to landfill. <h2>Reducing food waste is a win-win</h2> Tackling food waste is a win-win for people and the planet. It’s worth using various approaches to encourage people to change their behaviour. Our findings can help inform the design of interventions aimed at reducing and sorting food waste in specific segments of the Australian population.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214482/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dx7RWtfgbVw?wmode=transparent&start=11" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>No time to waste: Halving Australia’s food waste by 2030 (Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre)</figcaption></figure> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/trang-nguyen-1454838">Trang Nguyen</a>, Postdoctoral Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/patrick-oconnor-109973">Patrick O'Connor</a>, Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-found-3-types-of-food-wasters-which-one-are-you-214482">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

What happens in our body when we encounter and fight off a virus like the flu, SARS-CoV-2 or RSV?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lara-herrero-1166059">Lara Herrero</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wesley-freppel-1408971">Wesley Freppel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> <a href="https://www.labcorp.com/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/covid-news-education/covid-19-vs-flu-vs-rsv-how-tell-difference">Respiratory viruses</a> like influenza virus (flu), SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can make us sick by infecting our respiratory system, including the nose, upper airways and lungs. They spread from person to person through respiratory droplets when someone coughs, sneezes, or talks and can cause death in serious cases. But what happens in our body when we first encounter these viruses? Our immune system uses a number of strategies to fight off viral infections. Let’s look at how it does this. <h2>First line of defence</h2> When we encounter respiratory viruses, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S193131281600038X?via%3Dihub/">first line of defence</a> is the physical and chemical barriers in our nose, upper airways, and lungs. Barriers like the mucus lining and hair-like structures on the surface of cells, work together to trap and remove viruses before they can reach deeper into our respiratory system. Our defence also includes our behaviours such as coughing or sneezing. When we blow our nose, the mucus, viruses, and any other pathogens that are caught within it are expelled. But sometimes, viruses manage to evade these initial barriers and sneak into our respiratory system. This activates the cells of our innate immune system. <h2>Patrolling for potential invaders</h2> While our acquired immune system develops over time, our innate immune system is present at birth. It generates “non-specific” immunity by identifying what’s foreign. The cells of innate immunity act like a patrol system, searching for any invaders. These innate cells patrol almost every part of our body, from our skin to our nose, lungs and even internal organs. Our respiratory system has different type of innate cells such – as macrophages, neutrophils and natural killer cells – which patrol in our body looking for intruders. If they recognise anything foreign, in this case a virus, they will initiate an attack response. Each cell type plays a slightly different role. Macrophages, for example, will not only engulf and digest viruses (phagocytosis) but also release a cocktail of different molecules (cytokines) that will warn and recruit other cells to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cmi.12580">fight against the danger</a>. In the meantime, natural killer cells, aptly named, attack infected cells, and stop viruses from multiplying and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-021-00558-3">invading our body further</a>. Natural killer cells also promote inflammation, a <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/2018/1467538/">crucial part of the immune response</a>. It helps to recruit more immune cells to the site of infection, enhances blood flow, and increases the permeability of blood vessels, allowing immune cells to reach the infected tissues. At this stage, our immune system is fighting a war against viruses and the result can cause inflammation, fevers, coughs and congestion. <h2>Launching a specific attack</h2> As the innate immune response begins, another branch of the immune system called the adaptive immune system is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21070/">activated</a>. The adaptive immune system is more specific than the innate immune system, and it decides on the correct tools and strategy to fight off the viral invaders. This system plays a vital role in eliminating the virus and providing long-term protection against future infections. Specialised cells called T cells and B cells are key players in acquired immunity. T cells (specifically, helper T cells and cytotoxic T cells) recognise viral proteins on the surface of infected cells: <ul> <li> helper T cells release molecules that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3764486/">further activate immune cells</a> </li> <li> cytotoxic T cells directly kill infected cells with a very great precision, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.00678/full">avoiding any healthy cells around</a>. </li> </ul> B cells produce antibodies, which are proteins that can bind to viruses, neutralise them, and mark them for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7247032/">destruction by other immune cells</a>. B cells are a critical part of memory in our immune system. They will remember what happened and won’t forget for years. When the same virus attacks again, B cells will be ready to fight it off and will neutralise it faster and better. Thanks to the adaptive immune system, vaccines for respiratory viruses such as the COVID mRNA vaccine keep us protected from <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccines/our-vaccines/how-they-work">being sick or severely ill</a>. However, if the same virus became mutated, our immune system will act as if it was a new virus and will have to fight in a war again. <h2>Neutralising the threat</h2> As the immune response progresses, the combined efforts of the innate and adaptive immune systems helps control the virus. Infected cells are cleared, and the virus is neutralised and eliminated from the body. As the infection subsides, symptoms gradually improve, and we begin to feel better and to recover. But recovery varies depending on the specific virus and us as individuals. Some respiratory viruses, like rhinoviruses which cause the common cold, may cause relatively mild symptoms and a quick recovery. Others, like the flu, SARS-CoV-2 or severe cases of RSV, may lead to more severe symptoms and a longer recovery time. Some viruses are very strong and too fast sometimes so that our immune system does not have the time to develop a proper immune response to fight them off. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207023/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lara-herrero-1166059">Lara Herrero</a>, Research Leader in Virology and Infectious Disease, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wesley-freppel-1408971">Wesley Freppel</a>, Research Fellow, Institute for Glycomics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happens-in-our-body-when-we-encounter-and-fight-off-a-virus-like-the-flu-sars-cov-2-or-rsv-207023">original article</a>.

Body

The best cruise cabin for every type of need

So many options Cruise accommodations – also known as staterooms or cabins – are your home away from home while at sea. Far from a one-size-fits-all decision, there are numerous factors to consider when determining the best rooms on a cruise ship to fit your and your companions’ needs. From size to location to view and beyond, there are many things to keep in mind when selecting your stateroom, says Gianluca Corneli, hotel director at Royal Caribbean International. “How many will stay in the room? Is your room a place to hang out or just where you sleep?” Also, think about what you’d like to be near on the ship. “For example, consider if you would like to be near the elevator for convenience or prefer a location down the hallway with fewer guests passing by,” she says. Also factor in any ways you’d like to elevate your stay, like maybe a balcony or a suite for your next Caribbean cruise. It’s no wonder that some of the best cruise lines offer up to 28 different types of rooms on a single ship – they want to ensure there’s an ideal solution for every guest. Let’s focus on upgrading your room choice to the perfect fit for your specific needs. Best for avoiding seasickness Choose: the middle of the ship, on a low deck Picture a ship like a seesaw – the most movement will be felt on either end, while the middle stays fairly even-keel. “Middle and low, that’s where you want to be,” says cruise expert Dori Saltzman, senior editor with trade publication Travel Market Report. “While you don’t need to be on the absolute lowest passenger deck, you don’t want to go above the middle of the ship (vertical wise). You also want to try to be as middle (horizontal wise) as possible. If cabins in the middle of the ship aren’t available, she says to choose aft over forward, because the more forward a cabin is, the more you’ll feel the motion of the ocean. And while this may seem counter-intuitive, be sure to book a cabin with a window or balcony, so you can keep your eyes on the horizon if you start feeling queasy. Best for great views Choose: a cabin with a balcony, preferably at the back of the ship While you can always go to the upper decks of any ship for 360-degree views of your surroundings, there’s no greater cruise ship luxury than enjoying the scenery from your own private balcony. They may also be called verandah cabins. Balconies are the perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning or glass of champagne during a spectacular sunset and pretend you’re all alone at sea. And some of the absolute best rooms on a cruise ship are located at the rear, where you’ll also be treated to the photo-worthy wake left behind, which is a fun way to mark your ship’s progress. Balconies are also nice for having access to fresh air when you want it, it can be very soothing to listen to the sounds of the ocean from your stateroom, and you’ll have a better chance of spotting wildlife along your cruise too. Best for light sleepers Choose: a deck filled with other guest cabins and away from elevators Finding the best rooms on a cruise ship for light sleepers usually takes a little research, but that due diligence will pay off come bedtime. “You need your cabin to be located away from any bank of elevators, but also away from crew entrances,” says Saltzman. So being surrounded by other cabins of people who want to sleep too is a safe bet. “You also don’t want your cabin to be located above the ship’s main theatre, underneath any restaurants where you can hear the chairs scraping on the floor or under/over any of the lounges that have music late into the night.” Finally, you don’t want to be on a low deck that’s too aft or too forward, as you may end up above the engines or the anchor, which makes a lot of noise when it’s lowered and raised. You may feel a bit like Goldilocks trying to choose that perfect cabin on your next romantic cruise, but the reward of peace and quiet will be priceless. Best for a little more space Choose: a forward-facing cabin While you aren’t likely to find a balcony on a forward-facing cabin, you may find more interior space than similarly priced mid-ship cabins. Why? There are some odd angles in forward-facing cabins that the designers had to work around, thanks to the slanted style of the front of a ship. Those odd angles may work in your favour when it comes to square footage. It’s important to note that while these are some of the best rooms on a cruise ship for extra space, you will experience the most movement in a front-facing cabin, so this choice is not an ideal position for anyone prone to motion sickness. Best for cruising with little kids Most cruise lines offer family-friendly cruises and specific cabins suited for kids, which can be a mix of in-room amenities and proximity to other areas of the ship children will love. “On Disney’s ships, all cabins have two bathrooms, one with a sink and toilet and the other with a shower/bath combo (a small minority of rooms do not have the tub) for families that need the little one to be able to take a bath, while everyone else is still able to wash up,” says Saltzman. “Another good option is the Family Harbour cabins on Carnival’s Vista-class ships (Vista, Horizon, Panorama) and Excel-class ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration). Similar to the Disney cabins, these have two bathrooms, one a full one with a shower, sink and toilet, and the other with a sink and shower/tub combo.” Best for staying on a budget Choose: an interior cabin Unless you’re worried about feeling claustrophobic – since there will be no porthole or window to the outside world – an interior cabin is a nice option for saving money (we’re talking $300 for 7-day cruises). Not only is it the lowest-priced cabin type, which means you’ll have more funds to put toward excursions, a drink package or souvenirs, but you’ll also be able to take midday naps or sleep in later because there won’t be any light sneaking in. Another positive is that an interior cabin might encourage you to spend more of your free time roaming around the ship, meeting other people and getting more involved in activities, since you may not find it desirable to spend your time beyond sleeping and showering in a windowless box. Best for mobility disabilities Choose: an accessible stateroom For passengers with limited mobility or no mobility, most major cruise lines offer accessible staterooms in a variety of room types (inside cabin, ocean view and balcony). These options do vary based on the cruise line and the age of the ship, so it’s best to research this in advance and factor the accessible options available into your cruise planning process. Accessible rooms tend to be larger than standard cabins to accommodate wheelchair or scooter users, and they also feature larger bathrooms. Additionally, some rooms will have emergency-call buttons or specific amenities for hearing or vision-impaired guests. For instance, the fully accessible rooms on Holland America Line provide adequate turning space, accessibility routes throughout the room, roll-in showers, wheelchair access on both sides of the bed, handlebars in the shower and hand-held shower heads, says Sissel Bergersen, director of rooms division, Holland America Line. Before you lock in a booking, it may be best to call the cruise line and explain your needs so they can help steer you toward the perfect cabin. Best for being spoiled rotten Choose: a cabin with butler service or a spa cabin For travellers who like adult-only cruises or who are yearning for a little extra pampering, the best rooms on a cruise ship fall into one of two categories. The first is a suite that comes with butler service, where you’ll have someone helping with all the details you don’t want to spend your precious holiday time tending to – like reserving prime-time dinner slots at specialty restaurants, booking shore excursions, packing and unpacking and even drawing rose petal bubble baths. Rooms at this level may also come with exclusive access to private pools, clubs and lounges with more luxurious touches and solitude than you’ll find elsewhere on the ship. The other category that’s becoming increasingly popular is spa suites. On Norwegian Cruise Line, the Haven Spa Suite, Spa Club Balcony Suites and Spa Balcony (available on the Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Epic) have varying amenities that range from more tranquil room décor with an oversized shower and body spray jets to priority access to Mandara Spa. And on Celebrity Cruises, the AquaClass staterooms are focused on wellness, with a pillow menu, complimentary fitness pass, preferential rates on spa packages, healthy room-service menu options, an exclusive restaurant, a spa concierge, access to the SEA Thermal Suite and a yoga mat for use onboard. Best for solo cruisers Choose: a cruise line that offers single rooms or waives single supplements Solo cruises are a wonderful experience, yet so many cruise lines penalise single cruisers by forcing them to pay a ‘single supplement.’ This surcharge is added to the fare of a solo passenger, since cruise room pricing is generally based on double occupancy. This fee can be an additional 10 per cent all the way up to a full 100 per cent of the rate, making solo cruising unaffordable for many travellers. Instead, look for cruise lines that offer single staterooms, like Celebrity, which has the Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda (available on Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Beyond and Celebrity Ascent) and the Single Inside Stateroom on Celebrity Silhouette. Other cruise lines, including Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, also offer single cabins – these special solo and studio cabins aren’t subject to single supplements. Occasionally, you may even find cruise lines running special promotions and waiving their single supplement for a regular-size room. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/travel/cruising/the-best-cruise-cabin-for-every-type-of-need" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Cruising

The best skin-care routine for oily skin, according to dermatologists

What is oily skin? Oily skin is exactly what it sounds like: skin characterised by the production of a lot of oil. If you’re constantly dealing with shininess, always feel like your face has been hit by an oil slick by the end of the day or tend to notice a bit of oil buildup across your nose and forehead, it may be time to invest in a skin-care routine for oily skin. Need another reason to target oily skin with your daily regimen? Because it produces so much oil (also known as sebum), this skin type often goes hand in hand with acne. But take heart: if you’re battling breakouts, you’re in good company. According to the Australasian College of Dermatologists, acne is the most common of skin diseases and up to 85 per cent of Australians will develop it during their lifetime. Luckily, there are great skin-care formulations that can help oily skin avoid acne and stay healthy, and some formulas may even help curb oil production. Finding the best skin-care routine for oily skin just takes a little know-how, so we reached out to board-certified dermatologists Dr Corey L. Hartman and Dr David Kim to find out what makes a great oily-skin routine. What causes oily skin? “Oily skin is genetic, and it has to do with the size and activity of the oil glands that are associated with the hair follicles,” Dr Hartman explains. “That means if you have thicker hair, you may have thicker or larger oil glands.” Another thing that can impact the amount of oil your skin produces? Hormones. That’s why acne, which is so often associated with oily skin, commonly shows up during puberty, and for those who menstruate, around their periods. Now that you know what triggers oiliness, it’s time to put together your ideal skin-care routine for oily skin – and it’s simpler than it sounds. As Dr Kim notes, when it comes to oily skin types, less is more. “It’s best not to add too many layers for oily skin,” he says. “Otherwise, it can clog your pores and cause acne flares.” If you’re ready to get glowing (but not shiny!) skin, follow the regimen below. Trust us: skin care for oily skin has never been easier. Skin-care routine for oily skin The heart of a good skin-care routine for oily skin has four main daily steps: Cleanser Toner Moisturiser Sunscreen There are additional steps you can add in if necessary or as needed: Exfoliator Acne treatment If hitting all those steps sounds intimidating, don’t worry. We have everything you need to know, including product recommendations. 1. Cleanser Every good skin-care routine – including one for oily skin – begins with a good cleanser. You want to use it twice a day: once in the morning to prep your skin to apply your products, and again at night to take off any debris you’ve collected throughout the day. You might’ve heard that you can skip a morning cleansing, but rinsing without washing is better suited to a skin-care routine for dry skin. If yours is oily, go ahead and use a cleanser in the morning and at night. Dr Hartman says that for oily skin, the best face wash is likely “something a little astringent” that uses hydroxy acids or benzoyl peroxide. “You don’t want to do so much that it pushes you in the direction of overly drying,” he explains. That can lead your skin to produce more oil, a process called rebound oiliness. As for the best face wash formulations, Dr Hartman recommends staying away from oils, which can sometimes be comedogenic. (In other words, they can clog your pores.) Instead, look for gel, foam or cream cleansers. 2. Toner Toner is technically an optional skin-care step, but many dermatologists recommend it for oily skin because it can help regulate sebum. These watery formulas are meant to eliminate any leftover makeup and grime left after cleansing, while treating the skin with helpful ingredients. What’s the best way to use them? “Once or twice a day on a cotton pad,” says Dr Kim. “Apply to [your] full face.” The best toner for you depends on your goals: Are you aiming for better skin texture? Regulated oil production? A combination of both? According to Dr Kim, if you have oily skin, look for gentle exfoliating acids, such as glycolic or lactic acid, to gently resurface the skin. Or go with salicylic acid to help with sebum control. You’ll know you’ve found the right one when your skin feels soft and smooth after use, not tight or dry. Luckily, unlike the harsh toners of the past, today’s formulas are much gentler and more foolproof. 3. Moisturiser Yes, oily skin needs moisturiser. It may sound counterintuitive, but keeping your skin moisturised means it won’t have to work as hard to keep hydration levels up! In fact, Dr Hartman says it’s one of the keys to holding off rebound oiliness. You want to use it morning and night, after cleansing. When looking for the best moisturiser for oily skin, the formula is everything. “I like things that are less creamy and more like a serum or gel base,” says Dr Hartman. “You want something light, nothing too heavy, nothing too emollient,” he explains. In other words, look for terms like daily or sheer, and skip thicker formulas – night creams and bottles marked intense may be too heavy for oily skin. One thing to stay away from: oils, as they can be comedogenic, meaning they may clog pores. 4. Sunscreen Sun damage impacts every skin type, including oily skin, so having SPF in your morning routine is non-negotiable. And, yes, that means you need to use it year-round, even on cloudy days and in the winter. (And don’t forget the scalp sunscreen!) Admittedly, sunscreen can make your skin look a little oily, so finding a nongreasy sunscreen is essential (more on that in a second). But Dr Kim reassures us that’s not impossible. “If you’re using good skin care that helps exfoliate and regulate sebum production, you should be able to wear sunscreen without feeling too greasy,” he says. When it comes to the best face sunscreens for oily types, lightweight daily formulas win. Just be sure yours has an SPF of 30 or higher. Whether you reach for a mineral or chemical sunscreen is a matter of personal preference, and it often comes down to how they wear on your skin (mineral sunscreens can sometimes leave a white cast). “The goal is to find your favourite sunscreen – chemical or mineral – and actually use it every day,” says Dr Kim. Powder sunscreens are a good option for touching up oily skin – they allow you to reapply SPF on the go while soaking up oil. Sunscreen oils, on the other hand, are best avoided. “These can clog the pores,” he says. Exfoliant Exfoliators help remove the dead skin cells that can mix with sebum and clog pores, which is why exfoliating can be an important step in your routine. There are two categories of exfoliants: chemical (like glycolic and salicylic acid or retinols, which increases cell turnover) and physical (scrubs that use friction). Dr Hartman recommends starting with chemical exfoliators, as “they’re a more controlled way of exfoliation,” he says. Apply an exfoliator once or twice a week – or more if your skin can handle it – either in the morning or at night. You may need to start slow, only using it more often if you don’t experience irritation. Beyond that, exfoliate only for very special events, when you really want a glow. That way, you won’t trigger irritation. Dr Hartman’s go-to products for oily skin are prescription retinoids or over-the-counter retinols – not surprising, as these vitamin A derivatives are darlings of the dermatology world. But retinoids are harsh chemicals. “For retinol, start using a pea-size [amount] only twice weekly, and let your skin develop tolerance,” says Dr Kim. You’ll want to apply retinol at night and be extra careful about wearing sunscreen during the day. For people who don’t tolerate them well, Dr Hartman says an alpha hydroxy acid (like glycolic acid) or beta hydroxy acid (like salicylic acid) is a great alternative. If you prefer a physical facial scrub, remember: the finer the particles, the better. Acne treatment First, forget about spot-treating blemishes – if you’re dealing with acne, Dr Kim insists it’s best to treat your whole face. That way, you prevent breakouts before they have a chance to form. And if you’re struggling with breakouts, he says, “you should use at least one prescription cream on your full face to treat existing pimples and prevent new ones.” Heads up: retinoids don’t just aid exfoliation; they can treat acne too. If you’re using a retinoid for acne control and have sensitive skin, you may want to consider this your combo acne and exfoliating treatment. It covers both needs, and including an additional exfoliant in your skin-care routine may cause irritation, especially if your skin is sensitive. If acne is something you grapple with more than occasionally, see your dermatologist for a prescription cream – your doctor will pick the formula that’s best for your skin. If it’s a retinoid, you’ll use this at night. But if you only experience the occasional pimple and would rather go for an over-the-counter option, you’ve got some choices. First things first: you’re going to want a cream rather than a medicated face wash. Sure, face washes offer some acne-fighting ingredients, but you wash them away almost immediately. “Acne wash stays on your face for five seconds, so you need something that will stay on your skin the whole day or night,” Dr Kim explains. While you may see a few other ingredients (like azelaic acid) pop up in the acne world, when it comes to OTC options, there are two all-star ingredients: salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Both are effective, but of the two, benzoyl peroxide tends to get a little more love – it’s especially effective when combined with antibiotics (under a doctor’s care), according to the Mayo Clinic. Just be aware that it can bleach fabrics, so make sure to let it really soak in before getting dressed. And, again, make sure to apply it to your whole face, not just one pimple. Remember, your goal is to avoid pimples in the first place. Skin-care tips experts swear by Armed with our dermatologist-approved skin-care routine for oily skin, you’re well on your way to a less-greasy face. But there are a couple more things to consider as you follow this regimen. Skin care and exercise You know you need to wash your face in the morning and at night. But what if you’re feeling particularly grimy midday? If you work out in the middle of the day, for instance, should you wash your face if you have oily skin? “You probably don’t need to do that,” says Dr Hartman. “Twice a day is enough.” Adding an additional cleansing session may dry your skin out, causing more oiliness. You do want to rinse your face, however. That’ll prevent the sweat, debris and oil from mixing and clogging your pores. And it has the added bonus of leaving you refreshed after a gruelling workout. Smart product use Take your time when introducing ingredients. Before slathering a new product all over your face, do a spot test to make sure your skin can handle it. And when dealing with ingredients like benzoyl peroxide and retinoids, which some people find irritating, start slow to acclimate your face, building to more frequent use as your skin adjusts to the ingredient. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/healthsmart/the-best-skin-care-routine-for-oily-skin-according-to-dermatologists?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Beauty & Style

Adorable reason behind Chris Hemsworth’s red carpet cheat notes

Chris Hemsworth has been married to Spanish actress Elsa Pataky for almost 13 years, and while she speaks fluent English, Hemsworth is yet to master her native tongue. On June 8, he was at the premiere of his Netflix film Extraction 2 and was caught with some Spanish words scrawled on the palm of his hand. The 39-year-old was then photographed with what appeared to be a cheat sheet, which he personally found hilarious. “After years of coming to Spain and being asked ‘has my Spanish improved’ I can safely say it’s in the palm of my hand,” he wrote on Instagram alongside the photo. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CtOqVmTJ1sx/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CtOqVmTJ1sx/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth)</a> </div> </blockquote> The actor revealed what was written on his hand during a guest appearance on local TV program El Hormiguero (Spanish for The Anthill). In the interview, Hemsworth also shared that his three children with Pataky - daughter India, 10, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, 9 - find it funny that he doesn’t speak nor understand the language. “I try, but I can’t. My children laugh at me when I try to have a conversation with them in Spanish,” he admitted. “Sh*t, f**k, what happened? … I know that, that’s what my wife yells at me. The more she gets angry, the more she speaks Spanish.” Speaking to Today in 2017, Pataky said she had pretty much given up on teaching Hemsworth her native language, focusing on teaching their children instead. “He promised me, he said, ‘I’ll be speaking Spanish in two months.’ There we go, we have been together for six years,” Pataky – who speaks five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French and Romanian - told Today. “That’s important, that’s what my mum did to me, talked in Romanian. I start to speak in English, I’m like, ‘I don’t express myself great.’ I got used to making an effort to speak to [the kids] in Spanish.” Image credit: Instagram

Movies

“Lunch-box-mum queen”: Woman goes viral over 2 ingredient cake mix

One Coles shopper has taken the internet by storm, revealing a “snack hack” with just two ingredients. Aussie mum-of-three Claudia creates content on TikTok on cheap Kmart buys, a day in the life of her family, and her most popular videos, her “snack hacks”. For her most recent hack, only two ingredients are required. “Snack hack! Again!” she said in the video, which has attracted more than 70,000 views on TikTok. “So, this one, I’m looking forward to. “This is not healthy. This is two ingredients — Nutella and eggs — and it’s supposed to make the gooiest, chocolatiest, yummiest cake ever. “I have not tried this before so let’s get to it.” Claudia didn’t have Nutella in her pantry, but she bought the Coles version, which she claims tastes very similar. “I’m a big believer in using what you have, but a few people said ‘check this out, make this, it’s delicious’ so I just had to,” she continued. “I did go and buy the Coles one, and it was very cheap, and I’m sure a lot of people do have Nutella in their cupboard.” For the snack hack, Claudia used one cup of the chocolate spread and four eggs to create a gooey cake mix. “If ‘trust the process’ had a cover photo, it would be this,” she said, visibly grossed out by the gooey batter. “It is safe to say I won’t be trying any of this cake mix.” Claudia instructed viewers to put the cake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. “Do you know how good this smells?” she said as she took the cake tin out of the oven. She was even more excited by the time she tried it. “That is so good. So, so good. Like no exaggeration. So freaking good,” she said. People flooded the comments, applauding Claudia for another great “snack hack”. “I’m soooo trying this,” one person wrote. “Thank you, lunch-box-mum queen,” another added. “I honestly thought it was going to come out looking like chocolate scrambled eggs,” a third said. Claudia is renowned on TikTok for making snacks that are easy on household budgets, so people were grateful she used the cheaper Coles chocolate spread. “The Coles Nutella is just as good in my opinion,” one wrote. Image credit: TikTok

Food & Wine

ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and the collapse of the creative process

In 2022, OpenAI – one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence research laboratories – released the text generator <a href="https://chat.openai.com/chat">ChatGPT</a> and the image generator <a href="https://openai.com/dall-e-2/">DALL-E 2</a>. While both programs represent monumental leaps in natural language processing and image generation, they’ve also been met with apprehension. Some critics have <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-ai-writing-college-student-essays/672371/">eulogized the college essay</a>, while others have even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html">proclaimed the death of art</a>. But to what extent does this technology really interfere with creativity? After all, for the technology to generate an image or essay, a human still has to describe the task to be completed. The better that description – the more accurate, the more detailed – the better the results. After a result is generated, some further human tweaking and feedback may be needed – touching up the art, editing the text or asking the technology to create a new draft in response to revised specifications. Even the DALL-E 2 art piece that recently won first prize in the Colorado State Fair’s digital arts competition <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/artificial-intelligence-art-wins-colorado-state-fair-180980703/">required a great deal of human “help”</a> – approximately 80 hours’ worth of tweaking and refining the descriptive task needed to produce the desired result. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Today's moody <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AIart?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AIart</a> style is... 🖤 deep blacks ↘️ angular light 🧼 clean lines 🌅 long shadows More in thread, full prompts in [ALT] text! <a href="https://t.co/tUV0ZfQyYb">pic.twitter.com/tUV0ZfQyYb</a> — Guy Parsons (@GuyP) <a href="https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1612539185214234624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote> It could be argued that by being freed from the tedious execution of our ideas – by focusing on just having ideas and describing them well to a machine – people can let the technology do the dirty work and can spend more time inventing. But in our work as philosophers at <a href="https://www.umb.edu/ethics">the Applied Ethics Center at University of Massachusetts Boston</a>, we have written about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/mopp-2021-0026">the effects of AI on our everyday decision-making</a>, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429470325-28/owning-future-work-alec-stubbs">the future of work</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00245-6">worker attitudes toward automation</a>. Leaving aside the very real ramifications of <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-12-21/artificial-intelligence-artists-stability-ai-digital-images">robots displacing artists who are already underpaid</a>, we believe that AI art devalues the act of artistic creation for both the artist and the public. <h2>Skill and practice become superfluous</h2> In our view, the desire to close the gap between ideation and execution is a chimera: There’s no separating ideas and execution. It is the work of making something real and working through its details that carries value, not simply that moment of imagining it. Artistic works are lauded not merely for the finished product, but for the struggle, the playful interaction and the skillful engagement with the artistic task, all of which carry the artist from the moment of inception to the end result. The focus on the idea and the framing of the artistic task amounts to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-paul-mccartneys-the-lyrics-can-teach-us-about-harnessing-our-creativity-170987">the fetishization of the creative moment</a>. Novelists write and rewrite the chapters of their manuscripts. Comedians “write on stage” in response to the laughs and groans of their audience. Musicians tweak their work in response to a discordant melody as they compose a piece. In fact, the process of execution is a gift, allowing artists to become fully immersed in a task and a practice. It allows them to enter <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/flow-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi?variant=32118048686114">what some psychologists call the “flow” state</a>, where they are wholly attuned to something that they are doing, unaware of the passage of time and momentarily freed from the boredom or anxieties of everyday life. This playful state is something that would be a shame to miss out on. <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p073182">Play tends to be understood as an autotelic activity</a> – a term derived from the Greek words auto, meaning “self,” and telos meaning “goal” or “end.” As an autotelic activity, play is done for itself – it is self-contained and requires no external validation. For the artist, the process of artistic creation is an integral part, maybe even the greatest part, of their vocation. But there is no flow state, no playfulness, without engaging in skill and practice. And the point of ChatGPT and DALL-E is to make this stage superfluous. <h2>A cheapened experience for the viewer</h2> But what about the perspective of those experiencing the art? Does it really matter how the art is produced if the finished product elicits delight? We think that it does matter, particularly because the process of creation adds to the value of art for the people experiencing it as much as it does for the artists themselves. Part of the experience of art is knowing that human effort and labor has gone into the work. Flow states and playfulness notwithstanding, art is the result of skillful and rigorous expression of human capabilities. Recall <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUOlnvGpcbs">the famous scene</a> from the 1997 film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/">Gattaca</a>,” in which a pianist plays a haunting piece. At the conclusion of his performance, he throws his gloves into the admiring audience, which sees that the pianist has 12 fingers. They now understand that he was genetically engineered to play the transcendent piece they just heard – and that he could not play it with the 10 fingers of a mere mortal. Does that realization retroactively change the experience of listening? Does it take away any of the awe? <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-perfection/302927/">As the philosopher Michael Sandel notes</a>: Part of what gives art and athletic achievement its power is the process of witnessing natural gifts playing out. People enjoy and celebrate this talent because, in a fundamental way, it represents the paragon of human achievement – the amalgam of talent and work, human gifts and human sweat. <h2>Is it all doom and gloom?</h2> Might ChatGPT and DALL-E be worth keeping around? Perhaps. These technologies could serve as catalysts for creativity. It’s possible that the link between ideation and execution can be sustained if these AI applications are simply viewed as mechanisms for creative imagining – <a href="https://openai.com/blog/dall-e-2-extending-creativity/">what OpenAI calls</a> “extending creativity.” They can generate stimuli that allow artists to engage in more imaginative thinking about their own process of conceiving an art piece. Put differently, if ChatGPT and DALL-E are the end results of the artistic process, something meaningful will be lost. But if they are merely tools for fomenting creative thinking, this might be less of a concern. For example, a game designer could ask DALL-E to provide some images about what a Renaissance town with a steampunk twist might look like. A writer might ask about descriptors that capture how a restrained, shy person expresses surprise. Both creators could then incorporate these suggestions into their work. But in order for what they are doing to still count as art – in order for it to feel like art to the artists and to those taking in what they have made – the artists would still have to do the bulk of the artistic work themselves. Art requires makers to keep making. <h2>The warped incentives of the internet</h2> Even if AI systems are used as catalysts for creative imaging, we believe that people should be skeptical of what these systems are drawing from. It’s important to pay close attention to the incentives that underpin and reward artistic creation, particularly online. Consider the generation of AI art. These works draw on images and video that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/12/when-ai-can-make-art-what-does-it-mean-for-creativity-dall-e-midjourney">already exist</a> online. But the AI is not sophisticated enough – nor is it incentivized – to consider whether works evoke a sense of wonder, sadness, anxiety and so on. They are not capable of factoring in aesthetic considerations of novelty and cross-cultural influence. Rather, training ChatGPT and DALL-E on preexisting measurements of artistic success online will tend to replicate the dominant incentives of the internet’s largest platforms: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josp.12489">grabbing and retaining attention</a> for the sake of data collection and user engagement. The catalyst for creative imagining therefore can easily become subject to an addictiveness and attention-seeking imperative rather than more transcendent artistic values. It’s possible that artificial intelligence is at a precipice, one that evokes a sense of “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-perfection/302927/">moral vertigo</a>” – the uneasy dizziness people feel when scientific and technological developments outpace moral understanding. Such vertigo can lead to apathy and detachment from creative expression. If human labor is removed from the process, what value does creative expression hold? Or perhaps, having opened Pandora’s box, this is an indispensable opportunity for humanity to reassert the value of art – and to push back against a technology that may prevent many real human artists from thriving. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-dall-e-2-and-the-collapse-of-the-creative-process-196461" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

Why certain types of music make our brains sing, and others don’t

A few years ago, Spotify published an online <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/musique/spotify-devoile-une-cartographie-des-gouts-musicaux_3320877.html">interactive map</a> of musical tastes, sorted by city. At the time, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/5TEGxYftTkeKmLXkZjHNUE">Jeanne Added</a> prevailed in Paris and Nantes, and London was partial to local hip hop duo <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/31lnFZEM6ysvjOx59VyxRE">Krept and Kronan</a>. It is well established that music tastes vary over time, by region and even by social group. However, most brains look alike at birth, so what happens in them that causes us to end up with such disparate music tastes? <h2>Emotions – a story of prediction</h2> If one presented you with a unknown melody and suddenly stopped it, you could be able to sing the note you think fit the best. At least, professional musicians could! In a <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/41/35/7449">study</a> published in the Journal of Neuroscience in September 2021, we show that similar prediction mechanisms are happening in the brain every time we listen to music, whithout us being necessarly conscious of it. Those predictions are generated in the auditory cortex and merged with the note that was actually heard, resulting in a “prediction error”. We used this prediction error as a sort of neural score to measure how well the brain could predict the next note in a melody. Back in <a href="https://books.google.fr/books/about/Emotion_and_Meaning_in_Music.html?id=HuWCVGKhwy0C&redir_esc=y">1956</a>, the US composer and musicologist Leonard Meyer theorised that emotion could be induced in music by a sense of satisfaction or frustration derived from the listener’s expectations. Since then, academic advances have helped identify a link between musical expectations and other more complex feelings. For instance, participants in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cogs.12477">one study</a> were able to memorize tone sequences much better if they could first accurately predict the notes within. Now, basic emotions (e.g., joy, sadness or annoyance) can be broken down into two fundamental dimensions, valence and psychological activation, which measure, respectively, how positive an emotion is (e.g., sadness versus joy) and how exciting it is (boredom versus anger). Combining the two helps us define these basic emotions. Two studies from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-013-0161-y">2013</a> and <a href="http://webprojects.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/marcusp/papers/SauveEtAl2018.pdf">2018</a> showed that when participants were asked to rank these two dimensions on a sliding scale, there was a clear relationship between prediction error and emotion. For instance, in those studies, music notes that were less accurately predicted led to emotions with greater psychological activation. Throughout the history of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn1406">cognitive neuroscience</a>, pleasure has often been linked to the reward system, particularly with regard to learning processes. <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(14)01207-X.pdf">Studies</a> have shown that there are particular dopaminergic neurons that react to prediction error. Among other functions, this process enables us to learn about and predict the world around us. It is not yet clear whether pleasure drives learning or vice versa, but the two processes are undoubtedly connected. This also applies to music. When we listen to music, the greatest amount of pleasure stems from events predicted with only a moderate level of accuracy. In other words, overly simple and predictable events – or, indeed, overly complex ones – do not necessarily induce new learning and thus generate only a small amount of pleasure. Most pleasure comes from the events falling in between – those that are complex enough to arouse interest but consistent enough with our predictions to form a pattern. <h2>Predictions dependent on our culture</h2> Nevertheless, our prediction of musical events remains inexorably bound to our musical upbringing. To explore this phenomenon, a group of researchers met with the Sámi people, who inhabit the region stretching between the northernmost reaches of Sweden and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Their traditional singing, known as yoik, differs vastly from Western tonal music due to limited exposure to Western culture. For a <a href="http://users.jyu.fi/%7Eptoiviai/pdf/Cognition.Yoiks.pdf">study</a> published in 2000, musicians from Sámi regions, Finland and the rest of Europe (the latter coming from various countries unfamiliar with yoik singing) were asked to listen to excerpts of yoiks that they had never heard before. They were then asked to sing the next note in the song, which had been intentionally left out. Interestingly, the spread of data varied greatly between groups; not all participants gave the same response, but certain notes were more prevalent than others within each group. Those who most accurately predicted the next note in the song were the Sámi musicians, followed by the Finnish musicians, who had had more exposure to Sámi music than those from elsewhere in Europe. <h2>Learning new cultures through passive exposure</h2> This brings us to the question of how we learn about cultures, a process known as enculturation. For example, <a href="https://www.musicnotes.com/now/tips/a-complete-guide-to-time-signatures-in-music/">musical time</a> can be divided in different ways. Western musical traditions generally use <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-CEd6xrRQc">four-time signatures</a> (as often heard in classic rock ‘n’ roll) or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tn2S3kJlyU">three-time signatures</a> (as heard in waltzes). However, other cultures use what Western musical theory calls an asymmetrical meter. Balkan music, for instance, is known for asymmetrical meters like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b65FN-X3OkA">nine-time</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhVzrqvAsZI">seven-time signatures</a>. To explore these differences, a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00779.x">2005 study</a> looked at folk melodies with either symmetrical or asymmetrical meters. In each one, beats were added or removed at a specific moment – something referred to as an “accident” – and then participants of various ages listened to them. Regardless of whether the piece had a symmetrical or asymmetrical meter, infants aged six months or less listened for the same amount of time. However, 12-month-olds spent considerably more time watching the screen when the “accidents” were introduced into the symmetrical meters compared to the asymmetrical ones. We could infer from this that the subjects were more surprised by an accident in a symmetrical meter because they interpreted it as a disruption to a familiar pattern. To test this hypothesis, the researchers had a CD of Balkan music (with asymmetrical metres) played to the infants in their homes. The experiment was repeated after one week of listening, and the infants spent an equal amount of time watching the screen when the accidents were introduced, regardless of whether the meter was symmetrical or asymmetrical. This means that through passive listening to the Balkan music, they were able to build an internal representation of the musical metric, which allowed them to predict the pattern and detect accidents in both meter types. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2927013/pdf/nihms225442.pdf">2010 study</a> found a strikingly similar effect among adults – in this case, not for rhythm but for pitch. These experiments show that passive exposure to music can help us learn the specific musical patterns of a given culture – formally known as the process of enculturation. Throughout this article, we have seen how passive music listening can change the way we predict musical patterns when presented with a new piece. We have also looked at the myriad ways in which listeners predict such patterns, depending on their culture and how it distorts perception by making them feel pleasure and emotions differently. While more research is needed, these studies have opened new avenues toward understanding why there is such diversity in our music tastes. What we know for now is that our musical culture (that is, the music we have listened to throughout life) warps our perception and causes our preference for certain pieces over others, whether by similarity or by contrast to pieces that we have already heard. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-certain-types-of-music-make-our-brains-sing-and-others-dont-194100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

The 10 “types” of grandparents

In his book, The Grandparent Guide: The Definitive Guide to Coping with the Challenges of Modern Grandparenting, Dr. Arthur Kornhaber, a psychiatrist and founder of a non-profit organisation that promotes the importance of grandparenting identified 10 special roles grandparents play in the lives of grandchildren, all showing the profound impact grandparents can have on children’s lives. Which role, or roles, do you most identify with? Ancestor – “You function as an ambassador to the past, a powerful figure in the present, and a role model for the future.” Buddy – “You’re a pal, secret confidante, and at times, even a light-hearted conspirator.” Hero – “The fact that you have lived in times and places so far removed from your grandchild’s everyday experiences imbues you with heroic qualities.” Historian – “Sharing your own life experiences as well as those of your ancestors will give your grandchild a sense of continuity and belonging.” Mentor – “You are a cheerleader firing her imagination, inspiring her dreams, nurturing her spirit, and encouraging her intellectual growth while giving her a sense of self-worth.” Role model – “Your actions show your children and grandchildren how they should behave as grandparents of the future.” Spiritual guide – “Acting as a spiritual guide involves teaching your grandchild to harvest such fruits of the spirit as love, tolerance, compassion, reverence, joy, peace, gentleness, faith, and kindness.” Teacher – “As a grandparent, you have the right and the responsibility to run your own classroom about life, to develop your own curriculum, and to pass on your wisdom, knowledge, and life experience.” Student – “Just as you teach and inspire your grandchild with your knowledge, she can teach and inspire you with her knowledge of contemporary times across generations and motivate you to jumpstart your capacity to grow and change.” Wizard – “Activate your own wizardry and be your grandchild’s companion in the preternatural world of make-believe and illusion, of dreams and surprises. Fly together on the wings of fancy and enjoy the flight!” Image: Getty Images

Family & Pets

Is just 4.5 kg of weight loss really going to help stop type 2 diabetes?

A new study has found that losing just 4.5 kg of weight could be the difference between getting type 2 diabetes and not. That’s the headline on some of the publicity surrounding the research, except like all these studies, it’s significantly more complicated than that. So, let’s talk about it. The study looked at around 100,000 nurses and other health professionals from a few different US cohort studies that started in the late 1980s. The team looked at up to 10 years of weight changes and tracked the participants for 24 years to see if they developed type 2 diabetes. They also looked at the way that those who lost more than 4.5 kg, dieted. They split them into seven categories – low-calorie diet; exercise; low-calorie diet plus exercise; fasting; commercial weight loss program; diet pills; and a combination of fasting, commercial and diet pills. When the team looked at the original results, they found something surprising: In the overall population, those who lost more than 4.5 kilograms had a higher risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than those that didn’t diet or try and lose weight. This was particularly striking for those that lost the weight due to limiting calories, diet pills, fasting, or weight loss programs. The researchers then split the data into BMI categories – those who were ‘normal’ weight or underweight, those who were overweight and those who were obese. The findings of a higher risk of type 2 diabetes after trying to lose weight broadly held in both the ‘underweight’ and ‘normal’ as well as the ‘overweight’ categories. “We were a bit surprised when we first saw the positive associations of weight loss attempts with faster weight gain and higher type 2 diabetes risk among lean individuals,” says Qi Sun, a nutrition researcher at the TH Chan Harvard School of Public Health. As you can see in this figure below, the risk of type 2 diabetes only reduced a little – significantly less than the increased risk of type 2 diabetes if you lost over 4.5 kilograms while at a normal BMI. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/figures.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> As noted in the paper, the vast majority of people try and diet at some point or another – in 2013 to 2016 almost half of US adults reported trying to lose weight. But almost everyone either doesn’t succeed or puts all the weight back on, normally within a few months. This study backs that up. After 10 years, those who tried to lose weight (known as the weight loss strategies group) gained more weight than those that hadn’t. “Participants who lost 4.5+ kg were likely to gain more weight and have higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who did not attempt to lose weight,” the team writes in their paper. “By 10 years of follow-up, all weight loss strategy groups were associated with more weight gain than the reference group (ranging from 1.7% for exercise to 6.6% for fasting, commercial weight loss program and pills).” It’s important to note here that exercise and eating well is not bad for you. Exercise has been shown time and time again to help us live longer, and eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed food is better for us. However, this study is a good reminder that just losing weight – particularly in ways like weight loss pills, calorie restriction and weight loss programs are not a silver bullet for keeping us healthy. In fact, depending on who you are, it seems it might make it worse. The conclusion from the study is worth reading in full: In conclusion, in individuals with obesity, losing 4.5+ kg of body weight intentionally was associated with less weight gain and lower T2D risk, regardless of the methods used to achieve the weight loss. However, for individuals who were lean, losing 4.5+ kg was not associated with these health benefits. Of all WLSs, exercise was optimal for long-term weight control and T2D prevention. Our data support current guidelines for body weight management, such as that issued by the Obesity Society, which recommend a weight loss of 5% to 10% of baseline weight for individuals who are overweight or obese and exercise of 200 to 300 minutes per week to maintain the weight loss. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/diabetes-type-2-weight-loss-4-5-diet-pills-exercise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Jacinta Bowler. Image: Shutterstock

Body

The 5 worst types of people on cruises

There is so much for you to enjoy on a cruise – state of the art facilities, sunshine, an escape from normal life and the food. However, just like anywhere else you go in the world, you can never anticipate the type of people you will be surrounded by when you cruise. To save you wasting any unnecessary time and energy, here are the <a href="../Find%20out%20about%20the%20five%20types%20of%20people%20you%20may%20encounter%20on%20a%20cruise." target="_blank" rel="noopener">types of people you need to be wary</a> of during your cruise. 1. The deckchair hog Despite there being a limited amount of deckchairs on board, some cruisers think it is acceptable to lay their sunscreen, towels, hats and books over a deckchair in a bid to communicate that it is “taken". Although it is common courtesy to remove your belongings if you won’t be needing the chair, unfortunately this seldom happens. If you are looking to enjoy lying by the pool, be ready to wake up early to get yourself a deckchair. 2. The buffet over-eater These travellers think it is fine to pile up their plates with all the best food, leaving everyone else waiting for the mains to be restocked. After their meal, they are back again for as many more rounds as their stomachs can handle. There is nothing wrong with eating big portions to satisfy your hunger, however, often these people are only taking excessive amounts of food to get their money’s worth. 3. The cruise “expert” Sometimes you can find seasoned cruisers who will share great hints about the ship and activities worth trying. Other times, you will meet a know-it-all who will criticise various elements of the cruise due to their “experience”. It is better to be surrounded by the optimistic when trying to enjoy a relaxing cruise getaway. 4. The spa dominator Although there is only a select amount of space to be enjoyed in the spa, some travellers will go there day in and day out, not caring about whether anyone else wants to use it. It is even worse when a whole group of people are committed to using the spa for most of the trip, ignoring all their fellow cruisers who are patiently waiting to use it. 5. The entitled cruiser You will see this kind of traveller clicking their fingers at staff or making another complaint about something that wasn’t up to their standard. If things go wrong it is definitely necessary to get staff to fix the issue, however, no matter the situation you can still be kind. What kind of people have you noticed on cruises? Let us know in the comments below. Image: Getty

Cruising

10 tips to find the perfect style for your body type

Whether we are 30 or 60, we all want to look like the best version of ourselves by wearing clothing that accentuates our silhouette in a positive manner. Fashion should be fun and a thing which boosts our confidence, not something that causes us stress and hits us with a dose of low self-esteem. No matter what your body shape is, you can always take your everyday style to an elegant and sophisticated state, that is always timeless but also modern. Here are 10 tips to help you find the perfect style for your body shape. Hourglass If your bust and hips are full and your waist is smaller, then you have an hourglass figure. The best way to flatter this body shape to your advantage is by wearing fit and flare dresses which will accentuate your tiny waist and leave room for the fuller areas of your body. Other design silhouettes like peplum tops or body hugging pieces will also help to flatter your body shape. Apple shape When your silhouette is fuller throughout, just like the shape of an apple, but your legs are slim, then you need tunic tops to give the upper part of your bodya flowy shape and sheath dresses (which are very much like a T shirt in design but longer) to straighten your apple shaped body. To balance the bottom area of your body, you can wear slim pants, preferably tailored pieces to accentuate the tiniest area on your body. Heavy bust When your bust area is quite large and the rest of your body is smaller, then you might want to minimise this feature. One way of balancing your heavy bust and make it appear smaller than it is, is by wearing V-neck tops and knitwear, as well as buttoned up shirts with the top three buttons left open. You can also use the timeless design of a wrap dress with this kind of body shape. Pear shape One of the most common body shapes out there, a pear shaped body, with a tiny top part and a larger bottom area needs boxy shaped tops to make the bust area look bigger and A-line dresses to hide the wider hips and thighs. Bootleg pants can also help to balance the wide hips by widening the area around your ankles. Rectangle shape When your body is quite straight, with relatively no curves, then you have a rectangle shape and you need clothing to help you create the idea of curves. High neck tops like polo necks and collared blouses, as well as statement jewelry to add more volume to your neck area are all ways you can use clothing to add the suggestion of curves on your body. Carrot shape A relatively unknown definition for a body shape, a carrot shape is when you have a broad shoulder area but the rest of your silhouette is quite tiny. There are two ways you can work this body shape. You can either use your bottom area to create volume there by wearing skirts and trousers with pleats or you can accentuate the shoulder area with embellishment and keep the rest of your body tiny by wearing body hugging pieces. Accessories Choosing accessories that are not unproportioned to your body is how you will continue to flatter your body shape, so if you have a full bust, don’t wear a dainty necklace that will appear very small in that area. Use colour We tend to steer clear of color when we are older but using color to highlight the best areas of your body is another way of playing up your shape. Be wary of prints While prints are great to bring that bold touch to your everyday look, try to avoid wearing prints on those areas of your body which you want to minimize. Shoes always help You may not like wearing heels as much as you did in earlier decades but even a pair of comfortable shoes with a small heel can really help to elongate your body and help to make you look slimmer. Image credits: Getty Images

Beauty & Style

Every type of wedding guest attire, explained

Deciphering wedding dress codes Even if you’re well versed in wedding traditions, there’s a good chance that one bit of wedding etiquette gives you pause: exactly how to decipher wedding dress codes. After all, is it really a big deal if you wear black-tie clothing to a white-tie wedding? It’s all formal…but is ‘formal’ a different category altogether? And on a completely different note, how casual is casual? It’s enough to give anyone a headache, but don’t worry – this primer on proper wedding guest attire will tell you everything you need to know. The first thing you should do to figure things out? Check your invitation. It will often tell you what type of wedding you’ll be attending. If not, or if the language is vague, check the couple’s website. While you can always fall back on classic dresses, some weddings do have strict dress codes that you’ll definitely want to follow. What is the normal dress code for a wedding? There isn’t one official dress code for every wedding, but you should always keep the following advice in mind when figuring out what to wear: “I want to look nice but not take away focus from the couple I’m celebrating,” says bridal stylist, Kennedy Bingham. That means sticking to styles and colours that aren’t too bold or too sexy – and certainly never wearing white. Beyond that, if the invitation doesn’t specify a dress code, you should take into consideration the time of day the wedding is being held, along with the venue. “I think the later [in the day] the wedding is, the more formally it should be treated,” says Bingham. “A nice summer sundress might be fine for a breakfast wedding, but it would look out of place at a dinner party.” That line of thinking follows logically to the venue. For example, if a wedding is being held outdoors in a park or beach, you might want to opt for something a little more casual. While we’re on the subject, make sure you’re wearing comfortable wedding shoes that work for the setting. What colours are not appropriate for a wedding? The days of not being allowed to wear black to a wedding are over. In fact, bridal boutique manager, Ashley Grape, recommends wearing a classic little black dress (long or short) to black-tie weddings. However, unless specifically requested by the bride, there are a few colours that should never be worn by a wedding guest: white, cream, off-white, or ivory. You also shouldn’t wear a dress that looks even vaguely bridal. Other no-nos? Neon shades, bright red from head to toe, and anything overly sequined or bedazzled. White tie White-tie weddings are the most formal type of weddings, and they have a strict dress code. Partially due to their high costs, white-tie weddings tend to be observed by royal families and members of high society. The name is derived from the man’s tuxedo, which consists of a black tail coat (the back of the coat – that is, the ‘tails’ – hang below a man’s knees) worn over a white tuxedo shirt that has a pointed wing collar, a white pique waistcoat, white bow tie, matching black trousers, and either black patent leather opera pumps or black patent lace-up oxfords. The perfect accessories for a man’s white-tie tuxedo are cuff links and a good watch. And women get to dress like princesses for the night. “Women can wear a grand ball gown with rich jewels,” states Deborah Van Cleve, owner of Van Cleve Bridal. Accessory options include full-length white gloves, jewelled clutches, and, if married, a tiara. “If you are lucky enough to be invited to one, don’t let the rules intimidate you,” says Van Cleve. “Dress for the occasion, and revel in the Britishness of it all.” Most white-tie weddings are adult-only affairs. If a teen makes the guest list, the dress code is the same as it is for the adult guests. Black tie One step down from white-tie weddings, black-tie weddings also require that all male guests wear a tuxedo, but men have some sartorial options within that category. “While black tuxedos are a mainstay for men, there are also deep navy tuxedos and lush velvet jackets for the winter months,” says Linda Della Rocco, a tuxedo and custom suiting specialist, saying, “I think a fun colour could be fine for a black-tie wedding, as long as it adheres to the traditional tux cuts and elements.” If there’s any doubt, though, check with the couple. For women, fancy dresses are the way to go for this type of wedding guest attire. If you have only one black-tie wedding to attend this season, invest in a sleekly tailored formal gown in a seasonal colour: jewel tones for fall and winter, and paler hues for spring and summer. “If it’s a summer full of weddings, try investing in one or two full-length skirts and coordinating tops,” suggests Grape. By mixing and matching formal separates, it will appear as if the guest has a closet full of gowns instead of four different pieces. When it comes to choosing jewellery and accessories for tuxedos and gowns, follow the protocol for white-tie weddings. Men’s tuxedo shirts should have cuff links, and men’s jewellery should be minimal – a wedding band or signet ring and a watch. Women can try pearl jewellery for a daytime wedding, and semiprecious jewellery for an evening event. Skip the tiara for a black-tie wedding…unless you’re the bride. Teens should follow the adult guests’ dress code. As for tweens and children, girls should opt for knee-length party dresses, and if the boys can tolerate it, tuxedos. If they’re wigglers, a boy’s formal suit is completely acceptable. Casual Confused as to how casual you should go when the wedding calls for casual attire? You’re not alone. “It’s one of the hardest [weddings] to dress for,” says Bingham. Still, leave the jeans at home, she says, no matter what. “[If it’s a] backyard wedding, I’d dress the way I would for a birthday brunch – a nice dress, possibly a maxi dress, and accessories. For guys, a suit with no tie, or khakis instead of dress pants.” Both men and women can accessorise with a hat, especially if it’s an outdoor wedding. Guys can try a straw boater, pork pie, or fedora, and women can opt for a casual fascinator or full-brimmed straw hat. The dress code for teens would be the same as for any quasi-formal event: a button-down shirt and khakis for boys, and either a knee- or ankle-length dress for girls, or a pair of dressy trousers with a pretty top. For tweens and younger kids, unfussy birthday-style dresses, pants, and button-up shirts fit the bill. Cocktail Cocktail attire is the marriage (so to speak) of formal and casual wedding guest attire. Women can opt for a cocktail dress that hits at the knee or below, or a dressy beaded suit dress. One classic option for a cocktail wedding is the classic little black dress, paired with either a diamond or pearl necklace, and black pumps or black dressy heeled sandals. Men can wear a suit and tie. For teens and children, girls can go with a classic party dress or dressy trousers and a shirt, while boys should wear a suit. These are good guidelines for children attending other types of formal events as well. Formal Formal and black-tie weddings are very similar. Sartorially speaking, a formal wedding is wedged in between cocktail and black tie. What to wear? For men, it’s a tuxedo or dark suit. If they’re feeling daring, and they’ve checked in with the bride, they may wear a brocade or print tuxedo. Women, on the other hand, have a plethora of dress choices that include full-length dresses, cocktail dresses and suits, beaded pantsuits, jumpsuits, or even gowns. Children should follow the dress code for a cocktail wedding – essentially, party dresses and suits. Semiformal OK, last one! Wedding guest attire for a semiformal wedding is less formal than a formal wedding…but dressier than a company dinner. Women can wear anything from a floor-length dress to a beaded cocktail suit. For men, a dark suit is the way to go. If a semiformal wedding is any time before cocktail hour (aka 5pm), women’s dresses should have less (if any) beaded embellishments. Footwear should suit the location, and jewellery can range from pearls to gold and semiprecious stones. Save the statement jewellery for night-time events. If teens and children are invited to a semiformal wedding, they should follow the dress code for a cocktail wedding. Quick tips when trying on your outfit Now that you’ve found the perfect wedding guest attire for your event, you’re ready to go. Well, almost. When your delivery arrives, don’t just look in the mirror to see how it looks on you. Take it for a walk – as in, really walk around in it, and then bend, sit, raise your hands, and even dance a little. By moving around, you’ll see how the outfit moves when you do and, most important, how comfortable you are in it. If you’re also buying new shoes for a wedding, make sure to break them in well before the event. After all, fabulous shoes don’t just look great – they feel great when you’re on your feet all day. And blisters are the last thing you want to deal with after (or, worse, during) a wedding. And finally, because the weather can change over the course of a day, bring a lightweight wrap with you. Depending on the season and event, go with cashmere, wool, or silk. A fancy spring jacket can also work over certain ensembles for in-transit moments. Written by PJ Gach. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/every-type-of-wedding-guest-attire-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> Image: Getty Images

Beauty & Style

This $2 fix will save your feet next time you wear heels

Heels might make us look great and feel confident, but they can come at a cost to our hardworking feet, namely aches, pains, and even blisters. Rachel Clinkard, who works at family-run shoe retailer Charles Clinkard, is all too familiar with this situation - and she’s got an easy fix she swears works wonders. She says that all you need is a $2 roll-on deodorant, as reported by <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/bargain-29p-hack-stop-your-27221303" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Mirror</a>. Clinkard claims that by applying some deodorant to the areas of your feet you think will rub while in heels, it will create a barrier between your skin and the shoe and help to prevent chafing. This hack can replace bandaids, plasters and other products like gel inserts. With deodorant going a long way, each application will be significantly cheaper than many of the alternatives too. Plus they smell great too! Image: Getty Images

Beauty & Style

New type of gel helps the medicine go down

Swallowing tablets can be a challenge for most children and some adults, but scientists have come to the rescue with a new drug-delivering oleogel that can make it easier to consume a variety of medicines. According to a <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm8478" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new study</a>, the gels are made from plant-based oils and can be prepared in a variety of textures – from a thickened drink to a gel with yogurt-like consistency. This could help adults who have difficulty swallowing pills, such as older people or those who have suffered a stroke. The gels have also been designed to remain stable at 40°C for two weeks, and even up to 60°C for one week. This could make them especially helpful for children in developing nations, where the gels might be transported in vehicles without refrigeration. “Given the simplicity of the system and its low cost, it could have a tremendous impact on making it easier for patients to take medications,” says senior author Giovanni Traverso, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, US. Existing strategies for people unable to swallow pills have relied on dissolving drugs in water, but this requires a water-soluble medicine, as well as access to clean water and refrigeration. It can also be difficult to achieve the right dosage for children if the pills used are meant for adults. To avoid these issues, the interdisciplinary research team focused on the potential of oil-based gels, also known as oleogels, for drug delivery. The researchers explored several different types of plant-derived oils, including sesame, cottonseed and flaxseed oil. By combining these oils with edible gelling ingredients – such as beeswax and rice bran wax – they found they could control the texture depending on the type of oil and gelling agent, and their concentrations. <div class="newsletter-box spai-bg-prepared"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p193139-o1" class="wpcf7 spai-bg-prepared" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> To identify the most palatable oleogels, the researchers worked with a consulting firm specialising in consumer sensory experiences to narrow down the oleogels to those made from oils with a neutral or slightly nutty flavour. “That approach gave us the capacity to deliver very hydrophobic drugs that cannot be delivered through water-based systems,” says lead author Ameya Kirtane, former MIT postdoctoral researcher and current instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It also allowed us to make these formulations with a really wide range of textures.” They then tested delivering three oil-soluble (hydrophobic) drugs from the World Health Organization’s (<a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.who.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHO</a>) list of <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-MHP-HPS-EML-2021.03" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">essential medicines for children</a>: praziquantel, used to treat parasitic infections; lumefantrine, used to treat malaria; and azithromycin, used to treat bacterial infections. The tests showed that in pigs the oleogels were able to deliver doses of these medicines equal to or greater than the amounts absorbed from tablets, and that a water-soluble <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/antibiotic-resistance-millions-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antibiotic</a> (moxifloxacin hydrochloride) could also be successfully delivered. “Based on that list, infectious diseases really stood out in terms of what a country needs to protect its children,” Kirtane says. “A lot of the work that we did in this study was focused on infectious-disease medications, but from a formulation standpoint, it doesn’t matter what drug we put into these systems.” A phase I clinical trial of the oleogel formulation of azithromycin should be underway within the next few months. <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" class="spai-bg-prepared" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=193139&title=New+type+of+gel+helps+the+medicine+go+down" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/oleogels-alternative-medicine-delivery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/imma-perfetto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Imma Perfetto</a>. Imma Perfetto is a science writer at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Science Communication from the University of Adelaide. Image: Getty Images </div>

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Could not getting enough sleep increase your risk of type 2 diabetes?

Mothers’ dieting habits and self-talk have profound impact on daughters − 2 psychologists explain how to cultivate healthy behaviors and body image

The types of insurance that aren’t worth your while

8 reasons everyone should know their blood type

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The best cruise cabin for every type of need

The best skin-care routine for oily skin, according to dermatologists

Adorable reason behind Chris Hemsworth’s red carpet cheat notes

“Lunch-box-mum queen”: Woman goes viral over 2 ingredient cake mix

ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and the collapse of the creative process

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The 5 worst types of people on cruises

10 tips to find the perfect style for your body type

Every type of wedding guest attire, explained

This $2 fix will save your feet next time you wear heels

New type of gel helps the medicine go down

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