Category: Conversation Starters

We may have suspected it already, but now the science backs it up: unmarried and childless women are the happiest subgroup in the population. And they are more likely to live longer than their married and child-rearing peers, according to a leading expert in happiness.

Speaking at the Hay festival on Saturday, Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, said the latest evidence showed that the traditional markers used to measure success did not correlate with happiness – particularly marriage and raising children.

“Married people are happier than other population subgroups, but only when their spouse is in the room when they’re asked how happy they are. When the spouse is not present: fucking miserable,” he said.

“We do have some good longitudinal data following the same people over time, but I am going to do a massive disservice to that science and just say: if you’re a man, you should probably get married; if you’re a woman, don’t bother.”

Men benefited from marriage because they “calmed down”, he said. “You take less risks, you earn more money at work, and you live a little longer. She, on the other hand, has to put up with that, and dies sooner than if she never married. The healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children,” he said.

Dolan’s latest book, Happy Ever After, cites evidence from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which compared levels of pleasure and misery in unmarried, married, divorced, separated and widowed individuals. The study found that levels of happiness reported by those who were married was higher than the unmarried, but only when their spouse was in the room. Unmarried individuals reported lower levels of misery than married individuals who were asked when their spouse was not present.

Other studies have measured some financial and health benefits in being married for both men and women on average, which Dolan said could be attributed to higher incomes and emotional support, allowing married people to take risks and seek medical help.

However, Dolan said men showed more health benefits from tying the knot, as they took fewer risks. Women’s health was mostly unaffected by marriage, with middle-aged married women even being at higher risk of physical and mental conditions than their single counterparts.

Despite the benefits of a single, childless lifestyle for women, Dolan said that the existing narrative that marriage and children were signs of success meant that the stigma could lead some single women to feel unhappy.

“You see a single woman of 40, who has never had children – ‘Bless, that’s a shame, isn’t it? Maybe one day you’ll meet the right guy and that’ll change.’ No, maybe she’ll meet the wrong guy and that’ll change. Maybe she’ll meet a guy who makes her less happy and healthy, and die sooner.”

Binge-watching, otherwise known as the act of streaming many television episodes in one sitting, is more common and doable than ever.  New and buzzy series are constantly added to Netflix, etc. You can stream the entire multi-season backlog of shows such as Game of Thrones, Billions and Big Little Lies anytime you’d like. Though that might sound glorious to TV fans, it’s a bit worrisome to health experts. With so much content available, and so much screen time becoming the norm – replacing hours devoted to fitness, socialising and sleeping – the potential health implications of binge-watching are becoming more obvious.

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Everyone loves puppies, whether they are playing, posing for photos or even just sleeping. Shih Tzu puppy, Paningning, is one of the latest adorable canines to steal the heart of the internet, not for teddy bear face – but for her hilarious sleeping positions.

Owner Janess Cua uploaded photos of Paningning to the Facebook group Dog Lovers Philippines, which showed the animal sleeping on her back in a human-like position, with an exposed belly. The photos quickly spread across platforms and now Paningning is a viral sensation with 55.5k followers on her official Instagram page. Cua told Bored Panda “That is her sleeping position since birth because it’s the way she feels most comfortable.” Even though many of her photos feature the dog sleeping, her owner said Paningning is very playful and enjoys romping around with her siblings. Scroll down below to check out some photos of this sleepy pup and don’t forget to upvote your favs!

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Sunlight is a crucial aspect when it comes to our health, good mood, and overall well-being. Cities across the world that lack direct sunlight throughout the year have many inhabitants that are in desperate need of vitamin D which is vital for our health. Besides that, living in constant darkness just seems so melancholic. Because of this, most people strive to live in countries where it is always warm but there are still many people across the globe that get used to not seeing direct sunlight for months. It does not mean they don’t need it, they just get used to patiently waiting for a brighter tomorrow.

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The plain and simple truth is date nights make relationships.

You’re probably thinking, that sounds great and in a perfect world date nights are doable, but who has the time, the money, or the childcare (if applicable) to go on dates?

As we explain in our new book, Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, date nights are always doable, even if it means getting a little creative in carving your time out together.

It also helps to define what a date night is and what a date night isn’t. Watching Netflix on the couch together while scrolling through your Instagram feed is not a date night.

A date night (or date afternoon or morning) is a pre-planned time where the two of you leave your work life and work-in-the-home life, and spend a set amount of time focusing on each other, and really talking and listening to each other.

Here are the most common date night obstacles and how to overcome them.

Time
Life can feel so incredibly busy that the thought of finding time for yet one more obligation feels overwhelming. But a date night is more than an obligation—it’s a commitment to your relationship. It helps to carve out a specific and regular time each week and make this “appointment” a priority.

Unless someone is in the emergency room, make date night a “no matter what” event. Set aside time like you would for a birthday, or church, or an anniversary, or any other special event you celebrate in your life together.

Date nights should be sacred times to honor your relationship. Think of them as such, schedule them in your calendars for as much time as possible—even if it’s just for an hour, show up no matter what.

Money
Dates don’t have to be expensive. In fact, they don’t have to cost anything at all. Pack a picnic, go for a walk, sit in a park. There are endless ways to spend time together without breaking the bank. In each of the Eight Dates, we make suggestions about where best to go on your date depending on the topic of conversation. These are only suggestions.

We used to have a cheap date by getting dressed up and going to the beautiful Hotel Sorrento in Seattle, and pretending that we were hotel guests. We would sit in the beautiful lobby in front of a fire and nurse one drink all evening. We would answer each other’s open-ended questions for hours.

Childcare
Childcare is often the stickler for couples who want to go on date nights but have young children at home. Childcare does not have to be expensive or stressful. At times, we would trade childcare with other couples, so both couples could enjoy date nights. If that’s not possible, see if a trusted family member or close friend will help you in your quest to spend sacred time together.

Look for inexpensive babysitters in your neighborhood, or ask friends for recommendations. Some parents worry about leaving their children with other people, but if you find a safe and reliable person to watch your children, you’re helping them learn that other people, besides their parents, are trustworthy and reliable.

Children are incredibly resilient, and by showing your commitment to your relationship with your partner, you’re nurturing your children by ensuring that they will be raised by parents in a healthy and stable relationship.

Too often, especially after couples have children, date night becomes a random, freak act of nature. Don’t let it. If you’re too busy for date night, you’re too busy.

Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love is available everywhere now. Click here to order your copy today.

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Good news: researchers are saying that relaxing in a hot bath and doing absolutely nothing may be just as beneficial for your body as a 30-minute walk. A group at Loughborough University did the strenuous job of tracking this theory with 14 men who were put through two tests: a one-hour bicycle ride and a one-hour bath in 104-degree-Fahrenheit water.

The goal was to raise the body’s core temperature by one degree. All in all, the cycling burned many more calories, but the researchers did come across something somewhat surprising: Relaxing in the hot bath did burn 130 calories, which is about the amount you’ll burn on a half-hour walk.

The Conversation shared some additional findings from the study. The blood sugar of all participants was also tracked for 24 hours after the tests, and it was discovered that peak blood sugar was around 10 percent lower when a bath was taken in place of the bike ride. The bath also seemed to have the same effect as exercise when it came to the anti-inflammatory response post-activity for each of the participants.

The study suggests that passive heating — exactly what it sounds like, relaxing in a hot bath for an hour — can help reduce inflammation. The idea of passive heating as a medical treatment is relatively new, and popular with one country in particular: Finland. A study in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal from 2015 suggests that spending time in saunas — another act of passive heating — may help ward off cardiovascular diseases.

One thing to note: All of these study participants were men, and given that the male and female bodies can act in drastically different ways, there may be some variety in the results. But even if it doesn’t replace a day’s exercise, soaking in a warm tub can only do good things for your mental health.

Summer time means pool time for pretty much everyone I know, but finding a pool you want to go to or getting your own pool can be a pain.  Oh yeah. This is what I am talking about.  Think of the pool parties.

Finally a pool big enough to fit you, your hub AND the kids in.  All at the same time.

While the US Air Force facility known as Area 51 has already become the staple of conspiracy theories regarding extraterrestrial spacecraft and alien lifeforms, famous UFO hunter Scott C. Waring now claims that a new underground installation is being constructed in the vicinity.  According to Waring, who had apparently stumbled upon this discovery while studying satellite maps, the new facility is located 55 miles to the north-east of Area 51’s perimeter. One YouTuber, however, claimed that Waring’s discovery is merely “an artwork allegedly being made by a single artist” who has been given continuous grants to build these mounds for years. In response, Waring argued that no artist would be allowed to do their art inside Area 51, dubbing this sort of explanation as an “expert way to cover it up, by leaving calling it something different”.

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