That's Fit

When my girls decided they were happier sharing a bedroom than having their own, we decided to invest in a bunk bed. I take comfort in its sturdiness and safety railings, but health experts say that -- despite regulation changes that have made them safer -- bunk beds are still a common cause of childhood injury.

The most common reason for bunk bed injuries, obviously, is falls. Researchers found that boys get hurt more often than girls. The most common injuries are cuts, bruises, and bone fractures, most often to the head and neck. They also found that over 93% of falls happen at home.

However, researchers discovered something interesting. Young adults -- age 18 to 21 -- are particularly at risk for bunk bed injuries when away from home (dorms, military facilities, etc.), so the risk doesn't end with childhood. That said, kids under the age of 6 make up half of all bunk bed injuries, so keep those little ones off the top bunk. Visit CBS News for more on bunk bed safety.

Statistics say lack of sleep is one major cause of car accidents. Do heavy eyes ever plague you on the road? If so, try these three remedies for staying awake and alert.

• Suck on a mint. Researchers report that the scents of peppermint and cinnamon boost altertness and cut down on fatigue. Pop a mint in your mouth on your next road trip and see if it works.

• Crank up the tunes. Fast music with high frequency sounds -- high voices, violins, saxophones -- may cause your brain waves, heart rate, and breath to speed up to match the rhythm of the music.

• Grab a cup of Joe. One recent study found that drinking coffee might be more effective than a power nap. Good reason to swing by that roadside Starbucks.
  
  

Source: Woman's Day magazine, April 2008

According to research by insurers, chatting on the phone when you're driving makes you four times more likely to have a serious accident. And the Centers for Disease Control reports that accidents are the leading cause of death for people 44 and under.

On the flip side, The New York Times has a story that claims there's no link between talking on your cell phone and crashing your car.

With more motorists dialing and driving than ever, we should really try to find ways to reduce driver distractions. Personally, talking on the phone hasn't really been an issue for me, but that said, I have clearly been distracted trying to find the phone while receiving a call in the car -- in fact, I've probably made the people behind me a little nervous.

There's always been a general consensus when it comes to safe vehicles that bigger is safer, but that's really not the case. Not only is bigger not safer, in some cases it's actually more dangerous to drive a larger vehicle. The Ford Excursion, for example, had 3 times the death rate of the smaller Excursion and twice that of the mid-sized Explorer (it's now a discontinued model). To help us all figure this out Forbes has compiled all the data from crash test ratings, available electronic stability control, and accident avoidance statistics to come up with a list of the 15 safest SUVs, and here are the top 5:

That's exactly what the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is saying. According to the UK organization, parents need to let their kids go outside to play and let them discover the risks by themselves. By doing so, children are exposed to the natural world where they learn "what hurts, what is slippery, what you can trip over or fall from."

This is sure to cause a controversy among protective parents, especially in an age when you have to watch their every move due to criminal activity. However, they may be on to something. After all, I was turned loose every day in the morning and wasn't expected back until dinner, and I turned out alright (famous last words). The society says that if you keep your kids under thumb for so long, there is a greater likelihood of them getting hurt quicker and more often as a teenager. Aren't minor scrapes, bumps and bruises just part of growing up? Compare that with the major breaks they could sustain later on from not acquiring these lessons.

Children need to know where boundaries are, and how to push those boundaries outdoors. Accidents are a part of life and I believe this is the core of what the organization is conveying. They are not condoning unbridled access to anything that could land your 8-year-old in the emergency room though. Watch them closely from a distance and let them discover things on their own. Many parents are going to disagree with this mentality, but read on for more information about the royal society's stance on safety.

I'm training for the the Hood-to-Coast relay along with a group of my best mama friends. The Hood-to-Coast is an epic race: the very most elite of road relays, run from near the top of Mt. Hood to the beach, 197 miles in all. The top runners in the world will be there, along with, well, us. Even amongst our team, we have different approaches: I come from a very competitive running background. In high school and college, I was a jumper/sprinter, and I'm the sort of person who tries to catch other runners when she's out on the streets. It's terrible and silly and probably bad for my karma but when I see someone else running more slowly than me? It only makes me go faster.

That said, I'm a lot slower than some of the other women on our team. We all ran a half-marathon together back in October and I struggled in at just over 10-minute miles. When I started training in earnest for the Hood-to-Coast, I decided my goal was to get back to my post-college speed of 8-minute miles, partially so I could run in the same league as some of my fearsome running mama buddies, and partially so I could regain that feeling I used to have when I was 23 and in awesome shape, when I used to get to the four-mile mark of a 10K and feel great.

I'm very into the mental aspect of running; I've had some "Psych-K" training and more than your average dose of quantum physics "create your day" philosophy, and lots of yoga, soaking into my brain. So last night when I ran I stepped it up a few hundred percent. I ran uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back, negative splits, you know. I crushed my previous time heading into a three-block uphill that's usually the end of my run. And I visualized myself running fast, high knees, clear lungs, energy energy energy and I laid it out. I was as fast as one can be at the end of a 4.5-mile run. I was thoroughly in the zone.