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To assess relationship between obesity and chronic shorter sleep duration in children and to determine if lack of sleep represents an independent determinant of childhood Body Mass Index.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in all children enrolled in the fifth class (approximately 10 years of age) of all public primary schools in Catanzaro (Southern Italy). The overall response rate was 62% resulting in 542 participating children. Parents completed a questionnaire with information on their demographics and socio-economic characteristics, their health status, characteristics of their child birth and health status. The sleeping habits were investigated in the 3 months preceding the consultation and parents were asked to indicate hours of bedtime and wake-up of their children. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association between child BMI and chronic lack of sleep.
36.7% of the children surveyed were overweight or obese. A quarter of children did not routinely play sports and many of them spent more than an hour a day watching TV (60.7%) and using videogames or computer (51.1%). Widespread dietary habits were inadequate, especially concerning vegetables and fruit intake with more than 95% of children who consumed insufficient amounts. The average duration of sleep was equal to 9.4 (SD = ±0.6) hours, and the short-sleepers accounted for 38.9% of the total sample. The results of multivariate analysis showed a significant 0.77 Kg/m2 increase of BMI for children classified as short compared to normal sleepers (95%CI = 0.16–1.38, p = 0.01).
Chronic lack of sleep appears to be associated to higher BMI even in middle childhood and strongly suggests that public health strategies, focused on promoting healthy lifestyles should include an innovative approach to ensure an adequate duration of sleep at night especially in children, alongside more traditional approaches.
Citation: Pileggi C, Lotito F, Bianco A, Nobile CGA, Pavia M (2013) Relationship between Chronic Short Sleep Duration and Childhood Body Mass Index: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66680. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066680
Editor: Ralph E. Mistlberger, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Received: February 21, 2013; Accepted: May 9, 2013; Published: June 21, 2013
Copyright: © 2013 Pileggi et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: No current external funding sources for this study.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
In recent decades childhood prevalence of overweight and obesity increased worldwide from 4.2% in 1990 to 6.7% in 2010, and this trend is expected to reach 9.1% in 2020 [1]. These findings are particularly alarming since childhood obesity is strongly associated with a wide range of serious health complications and an increased risk of premature illness and death later in life [2], [3].
As well as obesity and overweight, a further "epidemic" has spread in recent years, following the progressive chronic sleep deprivation in the population. Data from the National Sleep Foundation show that, from 1998 to 2005, the number of USA adults that sleep an average of 8 hours per night has decreased from 35% to 26% [4]. Scientific debate has recently focused on the association between the reduction of sleep duration and obesity among children and several recent reviews, conducted to evaluate the consistency of evidence supporting a relationship between lack of sleep and obesity in different age groups, have shown that sleep deprivation is an independent risk factor for obesity and overweight [5], [6].
Despite several public health interventions that have been carried out for many years to try to reduce the prevalence of obesity, the phenomenon is still growing. Therefore, it is necessary to identify innovative approaches, based on a clear understanding of the emerging determinants to develop preventive strategies that should complement those already established.
Relationship between obesity and chronic shorter sleep duration has undoubted relevance in terms of public health implications, since the latter represents a potentially modifiable risk factor, and can be a target of prevention campaigns for the promotion of healthy lifestyles. To date, the link between the two conditions, even though it finds support in the results of several studies, is still controversial especially in the intermediate age. We focused our interests on this specific age group and carried out a study in a sample of Southern Italian children around 10 years old, with the aim to assess the role of characteristics of sleep as an independent determinant of BMI.
The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee ('Mater Domini' Hospital of Catanzaro, Italy, study number 2010/8).
This cross-sectional study was conducted on the children enrolled in the fifth class (approximately 10 years of age) of all public primary schools in Catanzaro (Southern Italy) during a one year period (2010–2011). The involvement of the subjects in the study took place with the written consent of their parents. Parents completed a questionnaire with information on their demographics and socio-economic characteristics, their health status (height, weight, occurrence of chronic diseases, smoking habits), characteristics of their child birth (gestational age, birth weight, breastfeeding) and health status (occurrence of diseases, surgical interventions, chronic use of drugs). For the assessment of children's sleep characteristics, according to the procedure of Iglowstein and colleagues [7], parents also answered various questions on bedtime, wake time and eventual daytime napping, distinguishing the pattern of sleep on school days and over the weekend. The sleeping habits were investigated in the 3 months preceding the consultation and parents were asked to indicate hours of bedtime and wake-up of their children. Sleep duration was calculated as the average number of hours slept on weeknights and on weekend nights. We did not include eventual napping habits because, as previously reported [7], only a negligible percentage of children over 7 years old habitually sleep during daytime. Duration of sleep was classified according to the percentiles for nighttime sleep duration for ages, defined by the Second Zurich Longitudinal Study and Generational Study [7] and "short sleepers" were defined as children that slept an average of nighttime hours/day less than or equal to the 10th percentile for age.
All students participating in the study completed a questionnaire administered by face-to-face trained interviewers focusing on health behaviours related to obesity, such as physical activity, diet, time spent watching TV and playing videogames or using computer. Frequency of sports activities was investigated as the number of times per week spent practicing sports or getting exercise in the previous 12 months; school-related activities such as physical education were included in the count. Food habits were recorded as self reported of food groups referring to the food pyramid and taking into account both school and home dietary habits. Appropriate number of daily servings of food groups was calculated according to the Nutrition Guidelines provided by the Italian Institute of Nutrition [8]. Dietary habits were considered inadequate if the number of servings of each food group consumed was higher or lower than the recommended, since each food group cannot be interchanged with those of another and none of the food group is more important than another [8].
Examinations were conducted at school by trained examiners and then calibrated. Height and weight were recorded on bare-footed subjects, and waist circumference was measured at the umbilicus level over the T-shirt.BMI was calculated by dividing weight (in kg) by the square of height (in m). Subjects were categorized as "overweight" or "obese", using the tables of BMI percentiles developed for 6 to 20 years of age subjects by the Italian Pediatrics Society of Diabetology and Endocrinology (SIEDP) [9]. These tables provide the percentiles of growth not only in relation to age and sex, but also to geographic area. We used the percentiles for Southern Italy.
Statistical Analysis
Data were summarized using frequencies and percentages for categorical data and mean and standard deviations for continuous data. In the primary analysis, we performed univariate regression models to examine the association between BMI and several explanatory variables, that are established on proposed risk factors of childhood obesity. Then we developed a multivariate linear regression analysis. Child BMI was the outcome variable in all models and the independent variables included were the following: gender (0 = male, 1 = female), age (continuous), maternal BMI (0 = low/normal weight; 1 = overweight/obesity), parental education's highest level (continuous, in years), breastfeeding at least until the 3rd month (0 = no, 1 = yes), birthweight (continuous, in kilograms); daily servings of each food group (cereal: continuous; vegetable and fruit: continuous; milk and derived: continuous; meat and fish: continuous; snack: continuous), watching TV (three categories: 1 = <1 hour/day; 2 = 1–3 hours/day; 3 = >3 hours/day), playing videogames or computer use (four categories: 0 = never; 1 = <1 hour/day; 2 = 1–3 hours/day; 3 = >3 hours/day), physical activity (three categories: 0 = never; 1 = 1–3 days/week; 2 = >3 days/week). As regards to sleep duration, it was investigated as nighttime sleep duration (0 = normal sleepers, 1 = short sleepers), nighttime sleep duration (continuous) and as the difference between weekend and weekday sleep duration (continuous). We did not include pubertal status among the variables included in the model because only 3.7% of children had onset puberty. Regression coefficient (β), standard deviations (SD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.
Finally, we also modeled overweight/obesity as the outcome variable of the logistic regression analysis, and results are presented as odds ratios (ORs) and 95%CIs. All reported P values are two-tailed. The data were analyzed using the Stata software program, version 11 (Stata Corporation. College Station, TX).
The overall response rate was 62% resulting in 542 participating children. The main characteristics of the examined sample are reported in Table 1. Students were evenly distributed among males and females, with a mean age of 9.9 (SD = ±0.4) years (range 9–11). The mean BMI of the study population was 19.45 (SD = ±3.4) and, according to the tables of percentiles, 36.7% of the children surveyed were overweight or obese with a prevalence of overweight/obesity higher in males (41.3%) than females (31.8%); moreover 65% of fathers and 30.5% of mothers showed overweight and obesity. Regarding life-style habits, a quarter of children did not routinely play sports and many of them spent more than an hour a day watching TV (60.7%) and playing videogames or using computer (51.1%). Widespread dietary habits were inadequate, especially concerning vegetables and fruit intake with more than 95% of children who consumed insufficient amounts, but also in respect to cereals and milk groups, daily consumptions were adequate only in 33.5% and 29.5% of children, respectively (data not shown).
The average duration of sleep was equal to 9.4 (SD = ±0.6) hours, and short sleepers accounted for 38.9% of the total sample. Almost 60% of the children went to sleep between about 9∶30 p.m. and 10∶00 p.m. on weeknights. Moreover, children were very likely to change their sleep pattern on weekends with a mean of hours slept during weekend nights of 10.2±0.9 compared to 9.3±0.6 hours in the weekday nights (data not shown).
The results of the univariate analysis indicated that children higher BMI was significantly associated with maternal overweight and obesity (β = 1.42, 95%CI = 0.78–2.04, p<0.001) and higher birth weight (β = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.14–1.24, p = 0.01). Highlights of the analysis of the eating behaviours and physical activity were: each additional daily serving in the cereal group was significantly associated with a 0.28 (95%CI = 0.08–0.47, p = 0.005) increase in BMI, while an inverse association was noted with snacks intake (β = −0.26, 95%CI = −0.51–0.01, p = 0.04) and physical activity performed at least three times a week (β = −1.1, 95%CI = −1.1–0.2, p = 0.02). Regarding sleep duration, univariate regression model has shown a statistically significant higher BMI (β = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.34–1.5, p = 0.002) in short compared to normal sleepers.
This statistically significant association was confirmed testing the sleep duration as continuous variable (β = −0.59, 95%CI = −1.09–0.09, p = 0.02) as showed in the Figure 1, whereas it was not confirmed when sleep deprivation was measured through the difference between weekend and weekdays mean hours of sleep (β = −0.1, 95%CI = −0.4–0.19, p = 0.51).
When the multivariate regression analysis was performed, the results basically did not change. Indeed, a significant 1.4 Kg/m2 increase of BMI was found for children whose mother was overweight or obese (95%CI = 0.75–2.06, p<0.001) and BMI raised of 0.59 Kg/m2 for each additional kilogram of child's birth weight (95%CI = 0.02–1.16, p = 0.04). Furthermore, higher BMI was significantly associated with a lower daily consumption of snacks (β = −0.29, 95%CI = −0.56–0.02, p = 0.04). Adjustment for explanatory variables did not substantially change the relation between children BMI and sleep pattern that was associated with a 0.77 Kg/m2 increase in short compared to normal sleepers (95%CI = 0.16–1.38, p = 0.01). When we introduced in the model the difference between weekend and weekday sleep duration as an additional variable, that may represent the degree of chronic lack of sleep sustained by the children (the more sleep is restricted during the week, the larger the weekend 'recovery' sleep response may be), thus trying to provide clues to the role of sleep restriction as opposed to absolute sleep duration as predictive of BMI, we did not find any significant statistical relationship (β = −0.09, 95%CI = −0.41–0.22, p = 0.55) (data not shown).
Then, we also modeled overweight/obesity as the outcome variable and we found a significant association with chronic lack of sleep both in univariate analysis (OR = 1.44; 95% CI = 1.01–2.06; p = 0.04) and after adjusting for children lifestyle habits (OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.01–2.12; p = 0.04) (data not shown).
The important new insights added by our study, concerning the association between short sleep and higher BMI, are related to the investigated age group and the objective classification of children's sleep duration by age-specific percentile curves.
Our study confirms, from a cross-sectional point of view and after adjustment for many factors influencing body weight, that chronic lack of sleep is associated with higher BMI in children around 10 years old. Several studies both cross-sectional [10]–[16] and longitudinal [17]–[23] have reached similar conclusions, some of them using overweight and obesity as the outcome variable, some measuring exposure as short/long duration of sleep with various cut-offs for number of hours of sleep [11], [12], [16], [20], [21] or as a continuous variable in number of hours of sleep [13]–[15], [17], [19], [22]. Moreover, different age groups have been taken into account as well as different methodologies in the ascertainment of hours of sleep (actigraphic measurements, diary reports, parental reports of children's sleep habits).
In regards to age, the data presented in this study provide useful insight on the relationship between insufficient sleep and BMI in a transitional stage of life, i.e. middle childhood towards adolescence. Indeed, numerous larger studies have been conducted in younger children [11], [12], [16], [18], [21], [22], whereas little is known about children with an average age of 10 years and, above all, the results in this age group are somewhat inconsistent. The few and small studies that have investigated this age have considered wider age ranges, e.g. 5/6–10 years [14], [24] or 10–20 years [25], while larger studies [16], [19] have explored the age between 3 and 17/18 years. The great interest to this transitional stage of life is related to the physical and psychological changes, typical of middle childhood, that influence sleep habits and pattern, such as the tendency to go to sleep and to wake-up later or to greatly modify weekend sleep schedules compared to weekdays.
As regards to measurement of sleep duration, differences in definitions of short sleepers varied substantially across studies, ranging from less than 8 hours [10], [15] to less than 12 hours per night [14]. This variability makes it very difficult to compare the different studies, reflects our current poor understanding of what the most effective measure scheme is and, finally, the large variability among children's sleep duration. It is necessary, therefore, to take into account the age-specific needs of the individual child and the use of percentile curves appeared to us the most appropriate tool to achieve this aim. In addition, we have chosen to use the sleep duration as a dichotomous variable rather than as a continuous, since we preferred to clearly define the population in which a significant effect of sleep duration on BMI can be expected.
As reported in previous studies using BMI as the outcome variable, the changes in BMI influenced by sleep duration do not seem so impressive as the ORs reported in studies using overweight/obesity as the outcome variable [22], [26]. However, we agree with those authors that changes in BMI are interesting from a public health point of view, since even small shifts of the BMI distribution have great impact at the population level [22], [26]. Anyway, we also modeled overweight/obesity as the outcome variable and we found a significant association with chronic lack of sleep.
Several hypothesis have been formulated on the basis of this association and it has been suggested that sleep exerts a control mechanism on the metabolic and endocrine systems and, mainly, on the ratio of ghrelin and leptin, of the profile of insulin, glucose [27] and, also, on the secretion of growth hormone (GH) [10]. Moreover, a recent study [28] on the brain activation in subjects with acute sleep deprivation in reaction to food stimuli has shown an increase of frontal cortex activity. This brain area has been found to have an higher activation in obese rather than in normal weight subjects [29].
We conducted our analysis taking into account several known factors influencing BMI. Previous studies have shown that overweight/obesity in parents, high birth weight, physical inactivity and poor eating habits are significantly related to childhood overweight and obesity, and our results are consistent with these studies [14], [16], [30].
Although this was not a main aim of our study, we found a high prevalence of short sleepers and, as expected, of overweight and obesity. Comparison with results of a survey conducted on the Italian population showed that our prevalence of overweight was aligned with that reported in the Calabria Region (26%) and higher than that in Italy (23%), while we found a lower prevalence of obesity, with a value of 7% versus 15% in Calabria and 11% in Italy [31]. Our lower obesity prevalence may be related to the age of the examined sample, which was on average older than that of the Italian monitoring system [31]. Furthermore, an international survey investigating health behaviour in school aged children has shown a tendency for older children to exhibit lower BMI with a reduction of obesity [32] and, in particular, in the area where our study was conducted, the prevalence of obesity was 4% in 11 and 2.2% in 15 years old children [33].
The mean total sleep duration reported in our study showed the presence of unhealthy sleeping habits in Italian children with 38.9% of children classified as short sleepers and a mean sleep duration of 9.4 (SD±0.6). Although comparisons with the results of previous survey on sleep behavior are difficult, since the measures adopted to evaluate sleep as well as data collection methods and sample characteristics were different, this result is consistent with values given by a multicentric study involving eight European countries on the distribution of sleep duration in children [34]. We found a later bedtime than that reported for children of the same age in different countries [7], with children included in our study who on average went to bed at 9∶55 p.m.( ±39 min), whereas our results are similar to those reported in a previous Italian survey [35].
As in most analogous research [14]–[16], [26], sleep duration in our study was obtained by parents self-reporting and there are no available sources to verify or validate this information. Although it is unlikely that this measure can provide a totally accurate account of sleep duration, it has been found that parental reports of sleep behaviours have considerable validity and reliability when compared with objective actigraphic measures [36], [37], even though parents of school-aged children are less accurate at identifying night waking in their child [37]. Therefore, information provided by parents, at worst, may have led to an underestimation of the prevalence of short-sleepers and, as a consequence, of the role of short-sleep duration on overweight and obesity. Finally, this method for detecting sleep behaviors in healthy children is non-invasive, cheap and can explore sleep for extended periods of time.
Another limit of this study is that we have not investigated the qualitative aspects of sleep disorders and the causes of the chronic lack of sleep as, for example, sleep latency, anxiety, daytime sleepiness, but these were not included among our aims.
Finally, since the study was cross-sectional in design, there was no temporal separation between explanatory variables and outcomes; therefore cause and effect relationships could not be determined. However our data have contributed to the improvement of the description of the complex link between sleep and obesity.
In conclusion, our study showed that chronic lack of sleep appears to be associated with higher BMI even in middle childhood. Therefore, considering that, as in most western countries, we also found that overweight and obesity, unhealthy food and sleep habits were broadly diffused in our population, our results strongly suggest that public health strategies, focused on promoting healthy lifestyles should include an innovative approach to ensure an adequate duration of sleep at night especially in children, alongside more traditional approaches focused on balanced diet and regular physical activity. Routine paediatric evaluation of sleep pattern is also urged as well as the use of percentile curves to classify short, normal and long sleepers.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: CP MP. Performed the experiments: CP FL AB CGAN MP. Analyzed the data: CP FL AB CGAN MP. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CP MP. Wrote the paper: CP MP.
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Are you doing a spring clean? Sometimes we can get stuck in a fashion rut and this is a great package for anyone looking to change their look. One of our stylists will come to your home and help you to go through your wardrobe. During this time we will give you hints and tips on how to mix and match your current wardrobe as well as highlight any items which we believe are no longer needed. Our stylists will also give you a personal consultation which will go over the client's body shape and skin tone to help them to improve their shopping habits.
From £170
Bridal Consultation
Our stylists will give the bride and bridesmaids tailored consultations to highlight body shape and skin tone which will help them to decide on appropriate dress styles and colours. We can also direct you to the best local bridal stores to suit your needs. An opportunity will also be given for the stylist to accompany the bride on a dress fitting if the bride wishes to get some impartial advice. However we understand bridal fittings can be very personal so if you wish to not include this part in the consultation please just contact HJCSTYLING for alternative arrangements.
Fashion Workshops
The perfect option for someone who is looking to organise a alternative birthday party, hen night or simply a girly night in with your friends! These workshops will take you though up and coming trends as well as discuss body proportions and colouring with the group.
**Please note that fashion workshops also take place via tickets events however these will be advertised**
Retail Training and Consultation
Are you a small retailer looking for help regarding styling, visual merchandising and staff training? We have the perfect package for you. Working side by side with management we will develop a training programme tailored to the needs of your store and staff to ensure that fun, informative and constructive visual training takes place. Not only will this improve the knowledge of your staff but it will also encourage growth and confidence to allow you to have a motivated workforce.
Corporate Evenings
HJC styling also offers a range of corporate evenings. These are all tailored to the individual needs of the client so please get in touch with package information.


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American Indian College Motivation Day
Join us in celebrating the 45th American Indian College Motivation Day at Humboldt State University! Approximately 400 high school students from 30 schools throughout Northern California will attend the event. This year's keynote speaker is will be announced soon. As in the past, this year's conference will be filled with a variety of campus tours, workshops, lectures, and special presentations aimed at increasing the representation and success in post-secondary education and degree completion for Indigenous People.
Date: Thursday, November 7th, 2019
Location: Humboldt State University
For more information, contact:
Molly Pucillo
(707) 826-5481
Check out photos and a video from HSU's 43rd Annual American Indian College Motivation Day (2017):


text: BUSINESS 'Speed Racer' tracking unimpressively 5:25 PM PDT 5/5/2008 by Carl DiOrio , AP FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME 'Iron Man' may repeat atop boxoffice next weekend "Speed Racer" seems stuck in the slow lane.The Wachowski siblings-directed film opens Friday in about 3,600 theaters, and it has been considered one of Warner Bros.' tentpole releases of the summer boxoffice season. But the PG-rated "Speed Racer" -- a big-screen adaptation of the Japanese cartoon of the '60s and '70s -- has been tracking unimpressively in prerelease surveys.That suddenly means that if "Iron Man" should gross even half as much as in its first Friday-Sunday frame, the Paramount/Marvel comic book adaptation likely would repeat at No. 1 next weekend. Final figures released Monday put the weekend's "Iron Man" tally at $98.6 million, with the Robert Downey Jr. starrer toting a $102.1 million cume since bowing Thursday night.So does "Speed Racer" have a shot at winning the frame?"It's too early to tell," Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman said. "But this is the first real family movie of the summer, and we're going to give it our best."At present, "Speed Racer" appears on track to gross $25 million-$35 million during the coming frame, though a late-breaking surge in must-see sentiment could produce a bigger bow. The film targets family moviegoers, a group notoriously tough to track before openings.Boxoffice derbies aside, Warners execs suggest there's no need for "Speed Racer" to open huge. Most of its splashy effects were done with relatively affordable green-screen technology. So the $100 million production will pencil into profitability roughly when its domestic gross hits a similar nine-digit sum, and even a $25 million bow could put it on track to deliver that."Iron Man" totes a negative cost of about $150 million, but its lock on a domestic run of more than $200 million means big profits already are assured for all involved. In fact, it's possible the film could write itself into the black by just its second weekend, as foreign coin also is pouring in and projections for ancillary revenue are sky high.Marvel already has greenlighted an "Iron Man" sequel, set for April 30, 2010. The film's distributor plans to sustain heavy marketing of the pic while sustaining its megawide run of 4,105 playdates, but Paramount executives declined to discuss in any detail how high "Iron Man" will fly worldwide."It sure feels like 'Iron Man' is on track for a great run," Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore said Monday.In the meantime, though the big "Iron Man" bow might have hurt Warners' shot at first-weekend bragging rights with "Speed Racer," it put smiles on the faces of Universal execs -- and for two reasons.There's a growing sense that the "Iron Man" phenom might pique moviegoers' appetite for comic book adaptations, helping Universal succeed with its June 13 release of "The Incredible Hulk." Also, exit surveys show "Iron Man" patrons responded positively to the "Hulk" trailer shown with the Paramount film. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Carl DiOrio firstname.lastname@example.com @thr AP firstname.lastname@example.com @thr


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Mad Dog McCree (DOS)
Published by
Developed by
Also For
Critic Score
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
User Score
5 point score based on user ratings.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpfulwrite a review of this game
read more reviews by Alan Chan
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SummaryNot bad if you can get it for a buck
The GoodI liked the whole western-style theme, although this is more of a personal quality than anything to do with gameplay.
The PC conversion is a faithful adaption to the arcade version, so if you liked the arcade version but were lousy with the laser-gun (like me) you might have better luck with the mouse.
There's also a save/load feature and unlimited continues, so even if you get killed a hundred times you can still keep playing right to the end (very useful considering the difficulty of some scenes).
I also liked not having to shell out 2 quarters a game. Hehehe.
Say what you will about everyone else in the game, but I thought the undertaker was damn funny. Especially when you went around gunning down innocents.
The BadThe video quality was just plain awful, making the game almost unplayable in some scenes because you couldn't see the bad guys until they actually shot you.
The shot-detection is a little flawed in some scenes, making gameplay a bit frustrating.


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We get bombarded every day. Every angle. I drove 10 minutes across town and saw (or heard) over 70 advertisements. Some not appropriate for kids—but they were still in plain view.
But let's back up a second.
Over a year ago I stopped watching the news. Call it a news "blackout."
Some of you will remember the power blackout in 2003. That night I remember walking home from work in Toronto: Strangers directing traffic, people out on their porches, and shop owners giving out water.
I distinctly remember there being no lights, T.V. or computer. That night we sat out on the porch in candlelight drinking a glass of wine. Just talking and laughing. Brilliant.
This is all a roundabout way of saying that when we turn things on, plug in or tune in, we are often subjecting ourselves to a barrage of information.
And most of it is negative.
A huge number of TV shows showcase (and normalize) violence; the internet can be an easy trap and promotion tool for unhealthy appetites… and the news can give an unrealistic perspective of what's going on out there. Not always, but often.
So I tried an experiment: I stopped watching.
And I don't miss it a bit. There's the odd exception when I tune in. I find out that something big is happening through Facebook or Twitter, and sometimes from the radio if I'm in the car. Then I'll tune in to the news for the top story (like during the Boston Marathon bombing). But then it's right back off again. Every once in a while I'll pick up a newspaper.
Here's where the "mirror neurons" come in.
Christian Keysers has an article about "mirror neurons" in a book called What's Next? Dispatches From the Future of Science. (He's a super-smart guy with a Ph.D. in neuroscience.) In it he highlights findings about how our brains operate. Ever feel happy when you see someone else laugh? Or hurt when someone's in pain? Or how about feeling hungry when you see someone wolfing down a Mars bar? Basically, things we see and take in in our senses are not "out there"—separate from us. The neurons that fire in our own brains when we see and hear someone laugh are the same ones that fire when we laugh ourselves. The body has a way of telling the difference, but the same neurons are working in us as when we see those actions in others. We are actually physically connected.
There are huge implications to this.
When we see violence and negativity all the time our brains are partially functioning as if we were participating in those things ourselves. I think of violent video games, or shows that promote adultery, or music that belittles what it means to be human… the list goes on and on. We are not neutral bystanders. We are affected.
So why not reduce the negative input and increase the positive? It's good to be intentional about this.
And we need not rely solely on the field of neurology for this insight. Didn't Jesus say something about "Do to others as you would have them do to you"? (Matthew 7: 12) Our brains seem to be "intuitively predisposed… to this maxim," says Keysers. Hmmm.
So, does my not watching the news make me unaware of what's going on out there? Naive? Of course not. I talk to people, see Facebook, get the gist. In our world if anything big happens, you find out about it.
Some of my theolog friends will say, 'But didn't Karl Barth argue that we should prepare sermons with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other?' Not really. What he did suggest in a Time Magazine article was that what happens in the world around us should be interpreted through the Bible.
But too often it's the other way around.
Try turning down the negative, and turning up the positive. It will change your outlook, and probably your life. Oh, and because of the mirroring effect of the neurons in our brains, you'll actually change somebody else's life too.
Image by Takkk.


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Three time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss has ridden on Öhlins equipment for the vast majority of his long and distinguished career through his domestic Australian series, American and British Superbikes, WSB and MotoGP. We managed to track down the likeable Aussie to a 24 hour moped enduro (!) on the Gold Coast, to find out more about his relationship with the brand and what he's up to now...
"I've been with Öhlins since '96 and only ridden with another manufacturer for a single season, and honestly I didn't get on with it at all!"
Troy didn't have the opportunity to beat the now well trodden path of small capacity lightweight bikes with steady progression through the classes, in fact as a late starter in his mid 20's he threw himself straight into the Australian Supersport followed by the Superbike series! The hard-charging rider from New South Wales had his first taste of a professional team and "something just clicked" as he rode for Team Kawasaki and Suzuki Australia. He then attracted global attention when he took a 250GP wildcard at Assen to pick up a coveted British Superbike ride on a factory Ducati.
"Britain in 1998 was a struggle – the tracks are really different, we had crashes and mechanicals... then the following year everything went right and this was the start of my relationship with Ducati."
2000 saw Troy move to the Vance and Hines team in AMA Superbike in the States, before being drafted into the factory WSB team to replace the injured Carl Fogarty. He took two race wins in his debut season and then cemented his relationship with the Bologna brand taking the 2001 World Superbike Championship. The next season would witness a titanic battle between Troy and Colin Edwards with the American having an almost perfect second half of the season to win the title. Both men then moved to MotoGP together.
Troy explains, "I had some fantastic times with Ducati and it's fair to say that there was a trio of us that really had something special – me, Ernesto Marinelli (Ducati crew chief) and Byron Draper (Öhlins technician) . We got to the point that we knew what worked for me and the bike, and they could just say to me 'Troy- it's in your head mate' and I would just get on with it! The way I see it not everyone can win but if you can supply a good base bike and have good guys around you have all the right ingredients.
"The two guys from Öhlins who I knew the best were Corndog (John Cornwell) and Byron. Byron is an ex Aussie MX rider like me so we had some mutual stuff to focus on but he was always such a switched on guy, even from an early age, and great to have around."
Bayliss moved back to WSB, taking two more crowns (in 2006 and 2008). However he may be most revered for his spectacular one-off ride at the '06 Valencia MotoGP which he won, "It was amazing. I got to take the right guys with me, in fact I took most of the Superbike crew with me… and of course we all walked away very happy!"
Troy is famous for his 'never say die' spirit but who does he consider his toughest rivals? "I've had some really hard battles with some tough characters; Britain was actually really tough, swapping paint with Chris Walker, Niall Mackenzie and Neil Hodgson. Of course everyone remembers the battles with Colin (Edwards) and Haga, but you know what- we never knocked each other off and we enjoyed a pizza together at every round. I can't imagine the current MotoGP guys doing the same thing!"
Troy was racing in a golden era for Australians with many of his countrymen both racing and working in the paddock, "I guess we're pretty easy-going folk so maybe that helps in a tense environment. Also I think it's fair to say that both riders and mechanics have to make a big effort to get to Europe, so we need to make it work once we're here."
After retiring from racing, Troy shocked the paddock with a comeback ride at the first round of the 2015 WSB series with his old team, the factory Ducati Racing squad. "It was a strange situation to be honest. I was going to Phillip Island as a spectator but when Giugliano was injured I got the chance to ride. I wasn't really ready but I thought it would be cool to get the old band back together. At the end of the day, it was just a great experience and I'm really grateful for it."
So how had things changed in the 20 years of his Superbike racing career? "Of course things have changed but so much remains the same.
This year the kit was totally different and there was a lot to take in. Suspension set up is the same black art though; lots of trial and error. When I was racing full-time, I tried to keep it simple. We had spring rate changes at the rear and just two sets of valving for the forks. The funny thing was, I had just one setting on the shock for the wet; it felt so good and I just used to leave it alone.
"Despite retiring from the tarmac Troy returned to his first love, Dirt Track, resulting in some big crashes and injuries this year, "Yeah, I've had more injuries in the last few months than in my whole racing career, three crashes and I hit the wall three times. I love Dirt Track and we have our own event in January (The Troy Bayliss Classic). It's in my home town, it's great to help the local club and bring over the top international racers.
"My son Ollie (12 years old) is riding really well and I think he'll be as fast as me in two years. I've been lucky enough to travel the world in a big circus with an air con garage but now I'm back in the dirt riding with my lad, I couldn't be happier!"


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Dear Guardian Angels, my Angels and Archangels. have chosen to program my dreams with you tonight. Please help me to get out of my own way, so that I can FEEL prosperous and abundant in the most surprising way that I will recognize. Please also make sure that my messages from you in tonight's dream journey are loud and clear, and please help me to remember them. Thank you so much. I am grateful to you my Guardian Angels, my Angels and Archangels.
In my dream, someone named Luna moved away. and so I decided that I wanted this one purse that she used to own. I was given the purse, but now the purse was an upside down purse. I did not want her upside down purse. At one point, I knocked on Luna's door and we had a discussion. She was a little standoffish. I believe that she was writing a book, so I knew that I either had a choice to finish her book or write my own book. There was a group of us who went to the grocery store together. I felt very full and uncomfortable, because I had eaten so much from the night before. At one point, Luna decided that she was not happy with where she was now living far far away, so our group decided to leave the grocery store and go get her. I was sitting in the backseat of the car. I could not find the charger for my phone in the car, so I got out of the car. The car disappeared and then turned into a beautiful brown horse who winnied and galloped off.
I feel wonderful, calm and peaceful.
I actually know someone named Luna who moved hours away recently. She was bipolar, and she had very erratic behavior. I have not communicated with her in a couple of years. I know there was a new pink moon last night, so I am wondering if Luna had to do with the moon. I have a very special blessed turkey feather sitting on my prosperity alter, and there is a spirit of a horse in the feather. I call him "The Cloud".
There was a full pink moon last night "Luna", so I wonder if my dream was influenced by the pink moon. In this dream, Luna to me represents chaos, financial and emotional instability, so the good news is that I did not go to get her when she wanted to come back. I did get her upside down purse in which the strap was on the bottom of the purse, not the top. The purse upside down represents my insecurities and fears. When I got out of the car, there was a horse there, and he winnied and galloped off. I feel like the horse represented freedom and power, and I would have gone back in time to my old thoughts and ways if I had stayed in the car. To me, being in the back seat represents not being in control in all aspects of my life I feel like the horse was saying "Good job Linda. Don't go back there!" I am keeping the lines of communication open with my spirit animal, the horse, named "The Cloud" who was with me in my dreams last night.
What exactly did the horse want me to know?
I will call in "The Cloud", my spirit horse, tonight in my dreams and my other special blessed Turkey Feather called "The Wonderer", an Indian Spirit, which sits on my Dream Alter in my bedroom. They were both blessed by Denise Linn.


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Can the Pill Give Republican Senate Challenger an Edge in Colorado?
In perhaps the strongest response to advertisements that have hammered on U.S. Senate-candidate Cory Gardner's "personhood' stance, Gardner of Colorado is now proposing in his own advertisements that birth control pills should be made available over the counter.
Depending upon whom you talk to, Gardner's proposal is perceived either as a firm assertion of the Colorado congressman's ability to moderate his politics – or as an effort to carve out some safe ground in the arena of women's reproductive rights.
Gardner and his incumbent opponent, Sen. Mark Udall (D), have dueled in a number of noteworthy areas, including those of energy ("Sen. Udall's record is littered with anti-energy policies," says Gardner) and immigration ("Congressman Gardner … even rejected his own party's modest efforts to reform our broken system," said Udall spokesman Chris Harris). But the drumbeat on the broad issue of personhood/pro-life/women's reproductive rights/health care has been particularly persistent on both sides.
One political analyst, Nathan Gonzales of Rothenberg Political Report, described the recent proposal by Gardner as "a strong defensive maneuver" and not necessarily an arena in which the Republican Gardner would normally want to be engaged.
"The Republicans realize a discussion on abortion, personhood or reproductive rights is not one they want to have," he said. He added, "I don't think he (Gardner) would have unveiled this idea if he hadn't been attacked by Udall on it."
But he did, and in a sort of one-two punch designed to solidify his position on healthcare vis-à-vis his opponent, the Gardner camp tipped off the media to an apparent contradiction by Udall in 2008. In that public statement six years ago, Udall said he was not in favor of a government-sponsored solution to the country's healthcare problems. Later, of course, Udall voted in favor of the Affordable Healthcare Act; now Gardner says Udall was "elected on a lie."
Udall's camp did not respond to questions about this election-on-a-lie, but a fact-checking group suggested to the Denver Post that there is technically no "lie," because Obamacare is not "government sponsored" in the European sense of the phrase.
Meanwhile, the new pills-over-the-counter advertisements have Gardner asserting that his solution to women's reproductive healthcare issues falls into the category of common sense, mass appeal. In those new advertisements, Gardner says, "What's the difference between me and Mark Udall on contraception? I believe the pill ought to be available over the counter, round-the-clock, without a prescription — cheaper and easier, for you."
In response to the claim that Gardner's proposal is just a "defensive maneuver," Gardner spokesperson Matt Connelly said, "Cory wants to take politics out of the issue. The plan provides more freedom and lowers cost for women."


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Prepare to have your heart stolen by a pint-sized little girl named Heaven who has pure, unadulterated talent. Oh, and charisma. And best of all -- confidence! The little girl first hit the spotlight and has racked up at least two million views on YouTube thanks to a clip of her at 2 years old dancing with her mom, dance teacher Tianne King, to Beyonce's "End of Time." It's obvious why: Not only is she outrageously adorable, but she can actually follow some serious hip-hop choreography!
No wonder that after seeing the clip, Ellen DeGeneres invited Tianne and little Heaven on her show, and the now-3-year-old completely stole the stage all over again! Ahh, so cute!
Check it out ...
Omigosh, no wonder this little diva is an overnight sensation, right? Her moves are so incredible, she's going to end up putting her fellow tots in kiddie dance classes to shaaame! Then again, she obviously has a pretty amazingly talented mama to look up to. (I almost have to wonder if even little Blue Ivy will be able to keep up with Bey the same way?! Ha, well, at not even 2 years old, she's still got some time for that ...)
Also, impressive footwork aside, I'm blown away with just how self-confident little Heaven is. How funny is she telling Ellen, "I am a dancer"?! Ha! True!! That confidence in itself is a gift ... and I wouldn't be surprised if dancing with Mom is helping to instill that in her. (Though it also doesn't hurt she was born August 8 ... what a little Leo!) Love it!
Here's the first clip if you missed it:
How adorable is Heaven?!
Image via TheEllenShow/YouTube


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Hello friends! I'm popping in today with a sneak peek at a special second release coming to Our Daily Bread designs on Oct. 13! The new release I'm sharing today is the Christmas Pennant Swag. It is designed to fit the previously released Pennant Swag Die. I also used a past release, Joy Tree. I loved this tree and decided to use some fun shades of pink, red and green to color it with SU! markers. I colored the whole stamp, then huffed a bit to make sure there was enough moisture to stamp well, and I do like how it came out. I did a little hand doodling on the larger words to outline them. (Did you do that when you were a kid? I always did!)
Anyway... I stamped the Joy to the World Pennant Swag with a Colorbox Pigment Ink, and immediately heat embossed with Diamonds and Pearls for a shimmery effect. Because that has so much shimmer, I decided to heat emboss my tree panel as well. I used clear embossing powder to which I've added Dazzling Diamonds for a little sparkle. It's hard to capture sparkle in a photo, but the little specs you see on the white panel are the dazzling diamonds. Here's a close up that hopefully shows it better.
The card base is Neenah Solar White, and the design paper is from My Minds Eye Merry Little Christmas and Tis the Season 6x6 packs.
Hope to see you back here for this second release! Eight designers will have samples for you and there will be prizes for this release too.... so come play along for a chance to win!


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You will get targeted visitors and conversion. webfeed360 help you to reach right people, so what are you waiting for? Contact us now to get flexible advertisement solution.
You can get in touch with us via email: [email protected]


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Like most war veterans, Barry Schweiger chose not to seek psychological treatment when he returned from active duty.
"We're taught in the military to endure pain and hardships, and to be incredible warriors. But many people are forced into that role," says Schweiger, and when soldiers return home, it's often difficult for them to seek help or admit they've suffered psychological and emotional trauma. "In the eyes of the military, that would be viewed as a weakness, so they just suffer through it."
Which is exactly what Schweiger did when he came home from Vietnam. As a result, over the next 25 years his anger, hostility and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused him to alienate not only his wife and children, but coworkers as well.
And then everything changed when, on a whim, he attended a beginner's yoga class at his gym.
"Yoga turned out to be exactly what I never knew I needed," he jokes. "The beauty of it was the slow process, the quietness, and the simplicity of just doing the poses. Anything faster, louder or more strenuous would have killed me. What I needed to do was slow down and learn how to be with myself, not run away from everything going on inside me."
Now, 15 years later, Schweiger is a certified yoga teacher at Yogaloft in Woodland Hills teaching a class every Friday called Yoga for PTSD. Through his practice he's been able to work through many of his issues, and hopes to help others do the same.
"I got into being a yoga teacher not just because I wanted to be a teacher, but because I wanted to be a trauma sensitive yoga teacher," he says. "Yoga is a tremendous way to restore one's soul, essence and control of the body, and my goal is to help people achieve this."
Who Gets PTSD
Veterans aren't the only people who suffer from PTSD. It is a wide-ranging anxiety disorder that may be triggered by any number of events that pose a threat of harm or death. According to a 2005 study from the Archives of General Psychiatry, approximately 7.7 million American adults ages 18 and older (or 3.5 percent of this age group) have PTSD. And while war veterans are the most likely candidates, any type of traumatic event, such as child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, natural or human-caused disasters, or a life-threatening illness can trigger it.
PTSD has traditionally been treated through psychotherapy, but recently physical approaches, such as yoga, have been studied. In his book Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga (North Atlantic), co-author David Emerson (with Elizabeth Hopper) discusses the importance of treating not only patients' minds, but also their bodies, where memories of traumatic events are stored. They write, "While talk-based therapy serves a critical role in the healing process, many are finding that it is insufficient by itself." Yoga and other forms of therapeutic physical activity may be the missing link.
Emerson has been teaching yoga classes to a broad range of students with PTSD for eight years.
"I've taught yoga to people with substance abuse and drug addiction problems, kids from abusive households or dangerous neighborhoods, rape victims, kids in gangs, ex-convicts, people who engage in self-harm, like cutting . . . you name it," he said in a phone interview. "But they all have one thing in common: they're all trying to deal with having to live in their body and feeling totally alienated from it following trauma."
This, he explained, is why you can't treat PTSD solely through talk therapy. The body can't help but have a physical response—increased heart rate, tense muscles, rapid breathing—to trauma. The emotional pain and traumatic memories of the events are then stored somatically, and although they may manifest in psychological symptoms, such as flashbacks, anxiety, hypervigilance and dissociation, they are rooted in the physical body.
"As you grow, these feelings and memories take root in your body, and any type of sensation, whether it's muscles flexing or stretching, can become associated with trauma," Emerson explains. "I'll often hear people tell me they can't feel their legs or that part of their body is numb. Or that they panic when anybody touches them and can't even let their kids touch them because it evokes too many memories of abuse."
Yoga students with PTSD may even have difficulty surrendering in savasana or relaxing in child's pose because of the feelings of vulnerability they evoke. Emerson reminds students that they should only do what feels comfortable to them. "We want people to have a safe experience, to become friendly with their bodies, and rebuild trust and comfort with the physical self," he says.
It's a very different approach from traditional talk therapy. "We're not talking about emotions or analyzing them," says Schweiger. "There's no intellectualization, you just let them happen." Indeed, when Schweiger first started doing yoga he noticed a bubbling up of anger that he'd never before recognized. "It was only when I started doing the poses, slowed down my breathing, and really just learned to deal with being still in my own body that these emotions came out," he says. "Sitting in a chair and talking to a shrink might not have done the trick."
Tangible Benefits
Even something as simple as mastering the asanas can have an empowering effect. James Fox, founder of the Prison Yoga Project, which hosts yoga and mediation classes at rehab facilities and prisons throughout Northern California, has found that yoga helps people develop qualities and skills they may not have known they had.
"They realize they can deal with the pain and learn how to control their emotions. And very soon this control and understanding of their emotions can have a direct application to their lives outside of yoga class, helping them to figure out core issues of why they're here and why they are suffering inside."
After more than a decade of practicing yoga, Schweiger reports he's a changed person. "I'm able to be in the present and I'm calmer than I can ever remember being," he says. "I don't need to control my physical environment and I'm much less reactive."
And yet, despite these improvements, this vet knows there is further to go. "I still have some of the symptoms and characteristics [of PTSD]. It's an ever-evolving process and with yoga, I can get there."


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Health Innovation
Tevosol founders Dr. Jayan Nagendran and Dr. Darren Freed have developed a portable warm perfusion device that allows organs for transplantation to preserve their function for longer periods. They have named it the Ex-Vivo Organ Support System (EVOSS). By keeping organs outside of the body, therapy can be individualized, and repairs can be made so that organs that would otherwise not be suitable for implant can be used.


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Last year when the Super Bowl was held in NJ, Justice Network created the #HTChallenge social media campaign for the NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking. The campaign reached over 3 million people via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest! (Read more about the press received.)
The Super Bowl may not be in NJ this year, but that doesn't matter. Human trafficking is still in this world and so we still fight. And, thanks to social media, our reach extends far beyond the borders of our state.
We updated the website to reflect the timelessness of this issue.
Super Bowl is less than 2 weeks away. But that's okay — for social media, 2 weeks is a lifetime. We can do this! With your help, we can reach over 4 million!
- Share the #HTChallenge with your networks: friends, family, coworkers, and your social media contacts.
- Visit www.htchallenge.net for the Game Plan and more. Download quotes, stats, and images then share them with increasing frequency to get the word out leading up to 2/1/15 :: Super Bowl Sunday.
- Be sure to use the hashtags in your comments so our posts will show up in those conversations (#HTChallenge, #HalftimeChallenge, #SB49, #SuperBowlXLIX)
- Consider using HT/halftime to share about HT/human trafficking. All the talking points you need are on the website.
- Would your organization be willing to sign on as a participant and share this initiative with others in your network of influence? See www.halftimechallenge.net/resources/for-organizations/
Please let's all work together to raise awareness and abolish human trafficking!


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Sunday, March 28, 2010
Walgreens is having photo sale.
Hurry and get all those pictures you've stored in your laptop all year. Walgreens is having a 50% off sale on any size print! Just use the coupon code: EASTER. Hurry offer ends April 3!
XOXO, Unknown
Labels: sale
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Hi guys let us start by expressing our massive thanks to all competitors and committee members the amount of congratulations and positive feedback from everyone has been overwhelming.
Well our day started a lot slower than we anticipated. With a low tide starting the tournament, we had a set of oyster leases in mind that have been really good to us in the past, but there wasn't enough water covering them, so a snap decision was made to fish the middle reef or what is also known as the carpark to start off. We fished here for about an hour as the water level raised without turning a scale. It was now we were happy with the height of the tide and proceeded excitingly to the racks earlier discussed. We spent the next 2 and a half hours casting our whole tackle bag and dodging oyster rock piles to remain with an empty live well. It was 1030 am and the old voice in the back of our heads was constantly reminding us we need a fish soon. We decided to play the percentage game and head back out to the reef. The tide was really rocketing Paul tied on a gulp shrimp and I grabbed a new heavy Cranka crab. I had not previously used one of these before but thought why not… A short time later Paul set the hooks on a nice fish, our first legal we were stoked as we started calling the new boat donut king… Another half an hour went by as the tide started slowing and finally my Crab went clunk which saw a 2nd bream make it to the live well. We had 2 at around 1130 and confidence was building. As the tide stopped Paul said "lets go hit the main bridge pylons", and off we went.
At the bridge pylons the tide had just started its run in. We both placed tight casts rite on the structure with heavy crabs, these casts were rewarded with 3 solid fish in the space of half an hour before the tide started to run hard again. We then decided to spend the last hour fishing some racks close to the weigh in. Paul managed to pull 2 upgrades out of some of the nastiest looking racks I have seen in the Clyde system. He flicked his atomic crank in muddy prawn colour over 3 sets and slow rolled it back were it would get crunched. I observed some pretty impressive angling watching him boat these fish!
Overall it was a great day on the water with a lot of luck and some really good team decisions.
Thanks heaps everyone and we can't wait to tackle the Shoalhaven river round!!
Liam and Paul.


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text: June 30, 2017 DNR Reports First Cougar in Lower Peninsula Shutterstock image On June 21, a Haslett resident took a photograph of a cougar from his vehicle in Bath Township near the DNR's Rose Lake State Wildlife Area. From Michigan Department of Natural ResourcesThe Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed the presence of a cougar -- also referred to as a mountain lion – in Bath Township, Clinton County. This is the first time the presence of a cougar has been verified by the DNR in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Shutterstock image On June 21, 2017, a Haslett resident took a photograph of an animal from his vehicle in Bath Township near the DNR's Rose Lake State Wildlife Area. The individual reported that he spotted a large cat in his headlights as the animal attempted to cross a road. He captured the photograph as the cougar turned back from the road into an area of thick vegetation. The picture was made available to the DNR June 26. A field investigation ensued. DNR biologist Chad Fedewa and biologists from the DNR's Cougar Team reviewed the photo and visited the site where it was taken, determining that the animal in the photo was a cougar."Even with this verification, questions remain, especially regarding the origins of the animal," said Kevin Swanson, DNR wildlife specialist and member of the agency's Cougar Team. "There is no way for us to know if this animal is a dispersing transient from a western state, like cougars that have been genetically tested from the Upper Peninsula, or if this cat was released locally."Cougars originally were native to Michigan, but were extirpated from Michigan around the turn of the century. The last time a wild cougar was legally taken in the state was near Newberry in 1906. Over the past few years, numerous cougar reports have been received from various locations throughout Michigan. Until this time, all confirmed sightings or tracks have been in the Upper Peninsula. Since 2008 a total of 36 cougar sightings have been documented in Michigan's U.P. To date, the DNR has not confirmed a breeding population of cougars in Michigan.Cougars are protected under the state Endangered Species Act and cannot be harmed except to protect human life. Interested landowners within the area of the recent Clinton County sighting may wish to place trail cameras on their properties. The DNR encourage citizens to submit pictures of possible sightings for verification. Observations should be reported at mi.gov/eyesinthefield. If you find physical evidence of a cougar such as scat, tracks or a carcass, do not disturb the area and keep the physical evidence intact. Please include any photos with your report.The odds of encountering a cougar in the wild are very small, and attacks on humans are extremely rare. Should you encounter a cougar: Face the animal and do not act submissive. Stand tall, wave your arms and talk in a loud voice. Never run from a cougar or other large carnivore. If children are present, pick them up so they cannot run. Do not crouch and get on all fours. If attacked, fight back with whatever is available. DO NOT play dead. Report the encounter to local authorities and the DNR as soon as possible. To learn more about cougars, visit mi.gov/cougars. GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing. Sign Me Up