Ending a Text Message With a Period Makes You Seem Less Sincere, Study Finds

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You may feel as if topping off your texts with a period makes you sound extra sophisticated (not to mention grammatically correct). But it turns out, you could just be coming off like you’ve got an attitude to your pal on the receiving end.

Folks do in fact interpret punctuation use in text message exchanges, according to a study recently published in Computers in Human Behavior, and text messages with periods are perceived as less sincere.

A team of researchers at Binghamton University recruited 126 undergraduate students to assess 16 non-verbal exchanges in the form of either texts or handwritten notes. In each conversation, the sender’s message kicked off with a statement, followed by an invitation in the form of a question (think, “Dave gave me his extra tickets. Wanna come?”). The receiver’s response was an abrupt, one-word response, like “Okay,” “Sure,” or “Yeah.”

They experimented with two versions of each exchange, one in which the receiver’s answer didn’t end with any punctuation, and one in which the receiver’s response ended with a period. The results? Students tended to rate text messages with periods as less sincere than those sans periods.

RELATED: Why Inappropriate Texting Is Officially Out of Control

Following the initial study, the team, led by Celia Klin, PhD, tested out whether exclamation points would sway the results. They found that the mark did in fact make texts come off as more sincere, rather than less sincere, like the period.

The findings weren’t all that surprising, Klin, who is an associate professor of psychology and the associate dean at Binghamton University’s Harpur College, said in a press release.

“Texting is lacking many of the social cues used in actual face-to-face conversations. When speaking, people easily convey social and emotional information with eye gaze, facial expressions, tone of voice, pauses, and so on,” she explained. “People obviously can’t use these mechanisms when they are texting … it makes sense that texters rely on what they have available to them—emoticons, deliberate misspellings that mimic speech sounds and, according to our data, punctuation.”

RELATED: How Texting Can Seriously Mess Up Your Spine

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Hanging Holiday Lights Holds Hidden Danger, Surgeon Warns

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Putting up holiday lights can lead to serious foot injuries from slips and falls, an expert warns.

For example, a fall from a ladder can cause a broken heel, said Dr. Pedro Cosculluela, an orthopedic surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital who specializes in foot and ankle problems.

“A heel bone fracture is a terrible, life-changing event, and I see too many of these cases around the holidays after people fall off their ladders,” he said in a hospital news release.

“Heel bone fractures are commonly associated with skin and soft tissue injuries, which need immediate medical attention because they can quickly lead to infection,” he explained.

Many people with broken heels require surgery with plates and screws to put the bone back together and hold it in place.

“The biggest complication these patients face isn’t the surgery, but wound healing, as traditional, long incisions can injure the skin’s blood supply which lengthens the healing process,” Cosculluela said. “When possible, I perform this surgery with minimally invasive techniques to help reduce the risk of wound healing issues.”

When hanging holiday lights, inspect your ladder before use, secure it to the house, and extend it at least three feet above the roof, the U.S Occupational Safety and Health Administration advises.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about winter health and safety.

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What Do Brightening Products Really Do to Your Skin?

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One of the most prolific questions I’m asked as a beauty editor pertains to the idea of “brightening.” I realized, after tons of explanation, I wasn’t completely clear on the definition myself. What exactly is a brightening product? And what does it do to your skin? I enlisted the help of both Rachel Nazarian of the Schweiger Dermatology Group and celebrity dermatologist and acne expert Whitney Bowe to get down to the bottom of it all.

The term “brightening” is used pretty loosely, and until you read the ingredients you can’t be sure what each product is doing. “‘Brightening’ might mean ‘lightening’, ‘fading’ or ‘bleaching’,” but not always, says Nazarian. Dr. Whitney Bowe adds, “Brightening products contain ingredients that act to block the production of pigment, or can actually help lift pigment out of the skin.”

Let’s start from the beginning. When someone has dark spots on their skin, it’s most commonly due to two reasons. “One is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation—that’s darkening caused by some sort of irritation or injury, such as acne or picking at your skin. It’s a result of the cells releasing pigment and staining the skin.” The second most common cause of dark spots on the skin is the sun—radiation causes darkening, leaving sun spots and freckles. Dark spots can also be caused by air pollution and even hormones because they can increase the product of melanin, leading to pigment in the skin. Depending on the type of skin you have, you may have a tendency to react more dramatically and release more pigment than others (for example, dark spots are more common among Latinas).

Brightening products have ingredients that work to treat each condition. They work to block the production of pigment, or they help to increase cell turnover so that the darker-stained uppermost layers of the skin can exfoliate away, revealing lighter healthier skin.

“Hydroquinone is a common one,” says Nazarian. “This ingredient is usually found in brightening creams and acts by bleaching the skin—or making it whiter. It’s safer for lighter skin tones, while darker skinned people need to be cautious they don’t lighten their normal skin accidentally (if they don’t apply it only to the dark spots).” Vitamin C is an antioxidant that’s safer to use because it works by decreasing pigment, and, Nazarian explains, “In this way, Vitamin C would be considered more of a ‘lightening’ or ‘fading’ cream.” Melanozyme and kojic acid are more recently used ingredients that have gained popularity because of their safety profile. They both help lighten sun spots and fade post-inflammatory stains without the risk of bleaching the skin, so they’re considered safe even on darker skin tones.

Once I fully understood exactly what dark spots were, and how brightening products help, I wondered what I should do next. In a market so massively oversaturated, how was I to pick a product that was right for me? Nazarian suggests, “Elure Advanced Brightening Lotion is best for sunspots because it uses Melanozyme. I love Ambi fade cream (with hydroquinone) for old acne stains. Vitamin C is in SkinMedica Vitamin C + E Complex, which allows for overall cell turnover.”

Though it is doable to buy a product and brighten hyperpigmentation, that’s not the first step you should take in protecting yourself. Bowe offers, “Anyone with uneven tone or brown spots can benefit, but it’s essential to use sun protective measures as well. You can undo the damage with these creams but then you are fighting an uphill battle if you don’t protection your skin from whatever is triggering the pigment production in the first place (the sun, acne, etc). That’s why it’s so essential to wear sunscreen and make sure you’re working to treat the cause of the issue.”

Follow Hallie Gould on Instagram and Twitter for more beauty-related goodness.

This article originally appeared on MIMIchatter.com.

 

 

More from MIMI:

What Every 26- to 29-Year-Old Needs to Know About Their Skin

Is an Ultrasound Facial the Answer to All of Your Skin-Care Woes?

 

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Serious Illness Affects Bone Health

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A critical illness can lead to bone loss, a new study finds.

The research included 66 seniors who spent at least 24 hours on a breathing machine in an intensive care unit (ICU). One year after their ICU stay, the patients had 1.6 percent less bone density in their lower spines and 1.2 percent less bone density in their thigh bones than would be expected.

This bone loss may increase their risk of fractures, according to study author Neil Orford, ICU director at University Hospital Geelong in Australia, and colleagues.

The researchers said critical illness may accelerate bone resorption. This is a process that occurs when bone is broken down, and calcium and other minerals are released into the bloodstream. A year after an ICU stay, the patients’ resorption had returned to normal, but they were left with lower bone density, the study showed.

The impact of this bone loss depends on a patient’s previous bone health, the study authors noted. The change in resorption is likely to have a greater effect on postmenopausal women, Orford said.

The study was published recently in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“Our study demonstrates a need to investigate the role of anti-resorptive therapies to prevent bone loss in critically ill patients during their time in the hospital and afterwards during recovery,” Orford said in a journal news release.

While the study included only ICU patients, it’s possible that other hospitalized patients might suffer similar bone loss, the researchers said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more about bone health.

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Early Chemo Less Likely to Help Black Breast Cancer Patients: Study

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Early chemotherapy is less likely to benefit black women with breast cancer than those in other racial and ethnic groups, a new study finds.

Advanced breast cancer is more common among black, Hispanic and Asian women than it is in white women. As a result, black women often receive chemotherapy before surgery in an effort to improve their outcomes, the Yale University Cancer Center researchers said.

But their study of 27,300 women with stage 1 to 3 breast cancer showed that early (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy was less effective in black patients than in other women.

“Even when we controlled for the fact that minority women often present with more advanced-stage, higher-grade tumors, and more aggressive types of breast cancer overall, our team was surprised to find that black women did not respond as well to neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared to other racial groups,” study first author Brigid Killelea, an associate professor of surgery (oncology), said in a Yale news release.

It’s not clear why early chemotherapy is less effective in black women, the researchers said, but possible factors include differences in sensitivity to chemotherapy, treatment differences or social and economic factors.

More research is required, according to study senior author Dr. Donald Lannin, a professor of surgery (oncology) at Yale.

“The next step should be to determine which drugs black women respond to and which they don’t. For future studies, it will be important to have enough black women in the trials, so that we can be certain they benefit equally from new drugs as they are developed,” Lannin said.

The findings were published recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer treatment.

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Others’ Drug, Alcohol Use May Trigger Bad Behavior in Teens

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Seeing other people drink or use drugs can trigger antisocial behavior in kids, a new study suggests.

Duke University researchers used cellphones to survey about 150 children between the ages of 11 and 15 three times a day for 30 days. The study participants completed more than 90 percent of the surveys.

On days when they saw others drink alcohol or use drugs, participants were two times more likely to engage in behaviors such as stealing, damaging property, or hitting or hurting someone.

But those with a “risk-taking” gene associated with sensitivity to substance-use exposure were six times more likely to commit such acts, according to the study published online Dec. 9 in the journal Development and Psychopathology.

“Past research has shown that children who grow up in families, schools and neighborhoods where alcohol and drugs are frequently used are at risk for behavioral problems later in life, but our findings demonstrate that these effects are immediate,” study co-author Candice Odgers said in a university news release. Odgers is an associate professor in Duke’s School of Public Policy and associate director of the Center for Child and Family Policy.

Study lead author Michael Russell, added, “Our findings support the idea that situations where others are using alcohol or drugs may serve as ‘triggering contexts’ for adolescents’ problem behavior and that some youth, by virtue of their genetics, appear more sensitive to these environmental risks than others.”

Russell, currently a research associate at the Penn State Methodology Center, conducted the study while a research associate at the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy.

“These findings provide another piece of evidence supporting the need to protect young adolescents from exposure to substances,” Odgers said.

“A series of studies has shown that consuming alcohol before age 15 predicts a wide range of later problems including substance dependency, involvement in criminal behavior and health problems. Our findings suggest that we may also need to prevent exposure to others using substances during this period,” she concluded.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about teen behavior.

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Asthma Linked to Chronic Migraines in Some People

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — People with asthma may be more than twice as likely to develop chronic migraines as those without breathing troubles, a new study suggests.

The research included about 4,500 Americans. At the start of the study in 2008, the study volunteers had fewer than 15 migraines a month. One year later, the researchers looked to see how many had chronic migraine — 15 or more migraines a month.

More than 5 percent of people with asthma developed chronic migraine. Just 2.5 percent of those without asthma ended up with chronic migraines, the study found.

“If you have asthma along with episodic or occasional migraine, then your headaches are more likely to evolve into a more disabling form known as chronic migraine,” said lead author Dr. Vincent Martin. Martin is a professor of medicine and co-director of the Headache and Facial Pain Program at the University of Cincinnati.

But, while the study found a link between asthma and chronic migraines, it wasn’t designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between these conditions.

Still, the strength of the relationship between asthma and chronic migraine was robust, Martin said in a university news release. And, he added that having asthma was an even stronger predictor of chronic migraines than depression. Other research has found depression to be a strong predictor of chronic migraine, he explained.

“Migraine and asthma are disorders that involve inflammation and activation of smooth muscle either in blood vessels or in the airways,” study co-author Dr. Richard Lipton, director of Montefiore Headache Center in New York City, said in the news release. “Therefore, asthma-related inflammation may lead to migraine progression.”

Migraine affects about 12 percent of Americans, the researchers said. About 1 percent have chronic migraine, they added.

Prescribing preventive medications at an earlier stage to people with occasional migraine may help reduce the risk of progression to chronic migraine, Martin said.

The study was published online recently in the journal Headache.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about migraine.

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Seniors Who Head Back to School May Reduce Dementia Risk

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Going back to school could help older people stave off dementia, a new study suggests.

Taking college courses may boost brain functions, such as memory, decision-making and planning, the researchers said.

The Australian investigators pointed out that their findings add to a growing body of evidence that healthy lifestyle choices — such as exercise, brain games and an active social life — may help slow age-related cognitive decline.

“The study findings are exciting because they demonstrate that it’s never too late to take action to maximize the cognitive capacity of your brain,” lead researcher Megan Lenehan from the University of Tasmania in Australia, said in a news release from the American Psychological Association.

“We plan to follow these participants as they age to see if college studies could help delay the onset or reduce the debilitating effects of dementia.”

However, the study wasn’t designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between a late-in-life education and a reduced risk of dementia.

Results from the study were published recently in the journal Neuropsychology.

The study included more than 350 adults without dementia. They were between the ages of 50 and 79. The participants took several tests on thinking and memory before completing at least one year of full-time or part-time course work at the University of Tasmania. Researchers then followed up with the older students for three years, testing them again on an annual basis.

By the end of the study, 92 percent of the participants who enrolled in college courses had an increase in brain functions, such as memory and planning. Just 56 percent in a control group who didn’t take any classes increased their brain functions, the study said.

Meanwhile, the remaining 8 percent of the college group maintained their thinking capacity, compared to only 44 percent in the control group, the study found.

The courses the participants took covered a wide variety of subjects, including history, psychology, philosophy and fine art. Although some of the students took online courses, the researchers suggested being on campus likely provided greater benefit since the participants also got new social connections.

“It is possible that any mentally stimulating activity later in life may also enhance cognitive capacity, such as other adult-education classes or programs to increase social interaction,” Lenehan said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke provides more information on dementia.

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Laser: A Breast Cancer Treatment Alternative?

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Using a laser to heat and destroy tumors — called laser ablation — may be an effective way to treat small breast cancers, potentially saving some women from a lumpectomy, new research suggests.

The laser ablation technique used in this study is called Novilase Breast Therapy. It involves placing small probes in the center of the cancer and then using heat from the laser to destroy the tumors.

“It works,” said Dr. Barbara Schwartzberg, a breast cancer surgeon at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Rose Medical Center in Denver. Schwartzberg is also the chief medical officer for Novian Health, the company behind Novilase Breast Therapy, and the sponsor of the study.

Schwartzberg predicts, if her research continues to bear out, that the new technique could replace lumpectomy for some women and be more cosmetically appealing.

Study findings on the laser technique were to be presented Thursday at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The researchers behind the new study evaluated 60 women with early stage, small breast cancers that measured up to 2 centimeters in diameter, or about three-quarters of an inch. The women were treated at various sites in the United States and the United Kingdom.

After laser ablation treatment, the tissue that was heated slowly shrinks and forms a scar, according to the Society for Interventional Radiology. The women in the study also had radiation therapy.

Four weeks after the ablation treatment, the treated tissue was removed through surgery. The researchers then examined this tissue to look for remaining cancer cells. The women also had MRIs.

The researchers found that 91 percent of the patients had complete destruction of the cancer when the laser procedure was performed according to technical guidelines. Overall, there was an 84 percent complete tumor destruction rate with the laser treatment, the study found.

The researchers also found that the MRI findings were similar to the laboratory examination of the cancer cells (pathology) findings. That suggests that in the future MRI alone could be used to track success of the laser treatment, Schwartzberg said.

Laser treatment takes a much shorter time and has a briefer recovery, she said. It’s done with local anesthesia and ultrasound to guide the doctor doing the procedure. It takes about 15 minutes. “There’s no scar, no volume loss,” Schwartzberg said.

Researchers have looked at laser treatments for breast cancer for about 15 years, she said. Lasers are used to treat prostate, pancreatic and liver tumors, she said.

Kathryn Lawrence, 51, a graphic designer in Brighton, Colo., took part in the clinical trial. In July 2013, after she found out she had early stage cancer in her left breast, she opted to join the trial. “There is no surgical cutting. I was awake,” she said, adding that there was no down time and no general anesthesia.

Lawrence was later diagnosed with cancer in her other breast. Since the laser clinical trial was completed, she had a traditional lumpectomy to treat that cancer.

“I’m looking forward to the day when this can be an option for women,” she said of the laser technique.

But more research is needed on the new procedure, Schwartzberg said. She hopes to begin another study in 2016.

Dr. Laura Kruper, head of the breast surgery service and co-director of the breast program at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Duarte, Calif., said, “This has legs.” She wasn’t involved in the current study, but reviewed the findings.

“It’s very promising,” she said, but added, “It’s not going to be for everybody.”

One strength of the study, Kruper said, is that it drew patients from 11 different sites, with both radiologists and breast surgeons as researchers.

She agreed that more research is needed. “I think this trial shows that, yes, it is feasible. You can use laser therapy to destroy the tumor.”

The details need to be worked out, she added, such as the optimal size of the tumor to treat with laser and ways to predict which women won’t respond.

More information

To learn more about minimally invasive cancer treatments, visit the Society of Interventional Radiology.

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How to Tell It’s Time to Stop Googling Your Body Issues

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We’ve all consulted Dr. Google from time to time. But when does the search for answers online go from perfectly normal to potentially problematic? Ask yourself if these experiences sound familiar.

You can’t stop after just one result

Compulsively clicking through multiple sites puts you at risk of believing info that may not be backed by science or experts. If you need a quick answer to a simple query, limit yourself to five minutes on a credible health organization’s site. Look for ones that end in .edu or .gov, meaning they’re affiliated with a university or governmental agency.

RELATED: You Can Video Call a Doctor Now, But Should You?

Searching makes you anxious

Research shows that people end up feeling even worse after seeking out medical information online. And the stress can make your symptoms feel more intense.

It interferes with your personal life

Keep a daily log to see how often you’re checking symptoms instead of doing offline activities, like exercising or hanging with friends. If you’re regularly sacrificing these things, you’re in the red zone.

RELATED: Cyberchondriacs Beware: Your Medical Searches Aren’t Private

You’re convinced you have a deadly disease

A search for information on a vague symptom, such as a headache, could lead you to everything from caffeine withdrawal to a brain tumor. If you’re fixated on the extreme results, you might end up putting yourself at risk by pursuing medication or expensive medical tests that you don’t actually need.

You trust the Internet more than your doctor

A recent study showed that the first diagnoses offered up by online symptom checkers are wrong about 66 percent of the time. Your MD is the one who can give a proper examination and make an educated diagnosis.

Health‘s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine and co-founder of Tula Skincare.

RELATED: Google Can Now Tell You When Your Gym Is Too Crowded

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