Readers Digest Australia May 2022

REVEALED: THE MOST TRUSTED BRANDS IN 2022 AUSTRALIA Chasing The Meet The Dogs That NORTHERN DETECT CANCER LIGHTS PAGE 120 PAGE 112 Get Your Reasons To BEST EVER STOP TV BINGEING and Start Pacing SLEEP Yourself! PAGE 32 PAGE 138 DRAMA Run Over By A Speedboat PAGE 40 AUSTRALIA’S MOST MAY 2022 $6.50 TRUSTED BRANDS Inside: The Winners of 2022! PAGE 151

NON 3RD PARTY RESEARCH GMO PURITY BACKED VERIFIED TESTED INGREDIENTS Boost Your Immunity >ÌÕÀ>Þ Classic. Sustainable. Arctic Cod Liver Oil. Arctic cod liver oil is the classic omega-3 supplement, used to keep young and old people alike healthy throughout the year. Cod are a vital source of the omega-3 fats that play a major part in the normal function of our cells, and a robust immune response to «>̅œ}i˜Ã°\"“i}>‡ÎÃ>ÃœLi˜iwÌ“>˜Þ>ëiVÌÃœv…i>Ì…Þ>}iˆ˜}]ˆŽiVœ}˜ˆÌˆœ˜]œˆ˜Ì mobility, and cardiovascular health. Nordic Naturals award-winning Arctic Cod Liver Oil™ is made exclusively from wild Arctic cod from Norway, and every bottle surpasses the ÃÌÀˆVÌ ÕÀœ«i>˜*…>À“>Vœ«œiˆ>-Ì>˜`>À`vœÀwÅœˆ«ÕÀˆÌÞ>˜`vÀiŘiÃð /œw˜`>Ã̜Ài˜i>ÀޜÕۈÈÌtherahealth.com.au/store-locator

CONTENTS 26 MAY 2022 Features PHOTOS: (COVER) VINCENT DEMERS/GETTY IMAGES; (THIS PAGE) COURTESY OF PEDRO VAZ PINTO 26 50 68 earth’s heroes food on your plate humour Saving The Pass The Peas, Please Raising Kids: To Giant Sables Coddle Or Neglect? This tiny green One man’s mission to vegetable delighted A father weighs in on save the curly-horned royals in bygone this parenting debate. antelopes. years. RICHARD GLOVER ASHLEY STIMPSON KATE LOWENSTEIN, FROM ATLAS OBSCURA DANIEL GRITZER AND 72 DIANE GODLEY 32 what it’s like to... 54 health Volunteer On An mother’s day special Archaeological Dig Get Your Best Sleep Ever Mama, This Story Opportunities for those Is For You seeking adventure. Have trouble getting to sleep or staying Showing affection is GIL DAVIS FROM THE asleep? LEAH RUMACK a mother’s simple CONVERSATION pleasure. AND MARK WITTEN 78 HELENE MELYAN 40 FROM THE OREGONIAN culture drama in real life 58 An Ancient Elixir Run Over By health A centuries-old secret A Speedboat recipe made by monks. The Promise Of A snorkelling trip left Intermittent Fasting MARION RENAULT FROM student Carter Viss THE NEW YORK TIMES maimed after a speed Could the benefits boat failed to see him. extend beyond your 86 waistline? GARY STEPHEN ROSS photo feature ROZALYNN S. FRAZIER Once Upon A Time ON THE COVER: CHASING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS – PAGE 112 Nature and decay can create treasures. DORIS KOCHANEK readersdigest.com.au 1

CONTENTS MAY 2022 94 Departments 23rd ANNIVERSARY then and now the digest SPECIAL The Gym 18 Pets 20 Health 2022 Sweating it out is not 24 News From The new. ZOË MEUNIER Trusted World Of Medicine Brands 100 133 RD Recommends Supplement 13 things... regulars CONTENTS Boredom-Busting 4 Editor’s Note 151 Cover Facts About 6 Letters 152 A Sign Of Trust Board Games 10 News Worth In Australia Spend a night in. Sharing 156 Tables: Winners 12 My Story EMILY GOODMAN 16 Smart Animals And Highly 62 Look Twice Commended 106 76 Tell Me Why 160 Featured Brands 92 Quotable Quotes 272 Trust By The quiz Numbers humour 274 Doctors, Easy Pickings Champions In 48 Life’s Like That Trust A quiz on robberies. 66 Laughter, 2022 SURVEY CAROLINE FRIEDMANN The Best Medicine RESULTS 104 All In A Day’s Work OUT NOW! 112 the genius section travel 138 Should You Press Chasing The Pause? Northern Lights 142 Puzzles 145 Trivia Nature at its primeval 146 Puzzle Answers best. SALLIE TISDALE 147 Word Power FROM HARPER’S MAGAZINE FOLLOW US @ReadersDigestAustralia 120 bonus read The Last Frontier Quirky canines that detect medical issues. ADAM PIORE 2 may 2022

Fujitsu General is honoured to be voted the most trusted air conditioning brand, 5 years in a row. We understand that our customers are investing in our brand and trusting that we will provide their families with a comfortable living environment, all year round. Fujitsu General has an extensive range of efficient air conditioning solutions to meet the cooling or heating requirements of a single room or multiple rooms within your home. So, if you're buying new or upgrading, trust an award winning brand. Fujitsu, it’s Australia's Favourite Air®. Visit fujitsugeneral.com.au for more details. AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE AIR

READER’S DIGEST ILLUSTRATION: JOHN HENDRIX EDITOR’S NOTE From Mum, With Love THIS MONTH, MY FAVOURITE ARTICLE, ‘Mama, This Story Is For You’ (page 54), beautifully captures the way an elderly mother shows her love through gift-giving. The nurturing she offers her family through random acts of decluttering (disguised as gift-giving) will ring true to many of us. While a pleasure to read, this tale is easy to relate to with our own mothers. Intermittent fasting, the 5:2 diet, alternate day fasting ... call it what you will, this dieting approach has received a lot of attention in recent years. While it sounds extreme, don’t be turned off by the fasting element because this diet is all about controlling when you eat, not necessarily eliminating the food you enjoy to eat. As Rozalynn S. Frazier reports in our health feature, ‘The Promise Of Intermittent Fasting’ (page 58), intermittent fasting offers a whole range of health benefits. This month marks the 23rd year of our annual Trusted Brands survey (page 151). We are very proud of both the survey and the widely recognised Reader’s Digest Trustmark logo. Both are among the oldest consumer awards and logos in the local and international marketplace. Today, the Reader’s Digest Trustmark logo is a powerful trust signal that continues to give consumers extra confidence that their purchasing decision is a good one. LOUISE WATERSON Editor-in-Chief 4 may 2022

AUSTRALIA Vol. 202 TH No. 1204 May 2022 EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Louise Waterson Managing Editor Zoë Meunier Chief Subeditor Melanie Egan Art Director Hugh Hanson Senior Art Designer Adele Burley Art Designer Annie Li Senior Editor Diane Godley Associate Editor Victoria Polzot DIGITAL Head of Digital Content Greg Barton ADVERTISING Group Advertising & Retail Sales Director Sheron White Sales Manager Darlene Delaney Advertising Support Manager Rebecca Zhang •All ADVERTISING and RETAIL INQUIRIES ONLY Sheron White Mobile Phone 0421 897 140 Email [email protected] PUBLISHED UNDER LICENCE BY DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD •CUSTOMER SERVICE: SUBSCRIPTION and CUSTOMER INQUIRIES ONLY Online www.readersdigest.com.au Phone 1300 300 030 Fax (02) 9004 4830 Email [email protected] Mail Reader’s Digest Magazine, PO Box 6458, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 MOVING? Please notify us of your change of address six weeks before you move. MAIL PREFERENCE We value you as a customer and trust that you enjoy our products. Occasionally, we make our mailing list available to carefully screened companies whose products we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive these mailings, please write to: Privacy Officer, Direct Publishing Pty Ltd, PO Box 6458, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 READER’S DIGEST IS PRINTED ON PEFC-CERTIFIED PAPER. THIS PROVIDES AN ASSURANCE THAT THE PAPER IS PRODUCED FROM SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FOREST AND CONTROLLED SOURCES. PRINTED BY OVATO LIMITED, 8 PRIDDLE ST, WARWICK FARM, NSW 2170, FOR DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD, 431 WARRINGAH ROAD, FRENCHS FOREST, NSW 2086. © 2022 DIRECT PUBLISHING PTY LTD (ABN 81000565471). ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. REPRODUCTION IN ANY MANNER IN WHOLE OR PART IN ENGLISH OR OTHER LANGUAGES PROHIBITED

READER’S DIGEST LETTERS Reader’s Comments And Opinions Very Best Of Friends Two wombats are better than one thanks to Anna Culliton (‘Best Of Buddies’, March). These lovable marsupials now have a fighting chance of survival due to this carer’s dedication and love. Anna’s endearing nature means that the natural world will always endure. MICHAEL WOUTERS Rescued From The Cave this story to have a happy ending. When news broke of the successful Their incredible and perilous rescue rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach from deep by real life heroes will go down in inside a flooded Thai cave, there were shock waves of disbelief and history as one of the greatest; the joy around the world (‘The Boys In The Cave’, February). After more story of a miracle rescue, and angels than two weeks lost to the outside world, and with no food and little in wetsuits. JUDITH CAINE water, few would have expected Celebrating A Century Of RD PHOTO: COURTESY ANNA CULLITON Congratulations to the staff at RD, both past and present. Having been a subscriber since 1948, I have learned Let us know if you are moved – or provoked – by any item in the magazine, share your thoughts. See page 8 for how to join the discussion. 6 may 2022

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES such a lot from your magazine and Letters been both uplifted and amused by the different sections. HAPPY FEET I was introduced to your We asked you to think up a funny magazine after starting my first caption for this photo. job after leaving school. The man I worked for surprised me with I wanted slippers not flippers. a gift subscription. After that, I continued, and expect to be able to RAJ SANEJA enjoy the RD for a few more years yet! Is 70-plus years a record? I’ll be a shoo-in this time, for sure. I was delighted to read about your CYNTHIA BRINKMAN first publication in Australia as I had been curious about that and Footloose – The Prequel. had assumed that it would have been after WWII. I have even been MICHAEL GOATHAM ‘inspired’ to write a bit of verse. Yes, I took my Digest everywhere, even The BIG problem with into the maternity ward! hand-me-downs. May your worthy magazine IVAN LIM continue for another century.   The advertisement said ‘GIANT AUDREY TWINING SALE’, but this is ridiculous! WIN A PILOT CAPLESS DAVID STEVENS FOUNTAIN PEN Congratulations to this month’s The best letter each month winner, Michael Goatham. will win a Pilot Capless Fountain Pen, valued at over WIN! $200. The Capless is the perfect combination of luxury CAPTION CONTEST and ingenious technology, featuring a one-of-a-kind Come up with the funniest caption retractable fountain pen nib, for the above photo and you could win durable metal body, beautiful rhodium accents and a 14K $100. To enter, email gold nib. Congratulations to this [email protected] month’s winner, Alice Lawrey. or see details on page 8. readersdigest.com.au 7

READER’S DIGEST A Whole Lotl Love READER’S DIGEST SHOP The axolotl story (My Story, For quality products, book sales and February) really entertained me. more, call 1300 300 030 or head to I did not know they could Readersdigest.com.au/shop procreate so fast (and so much!) like that. Congrats on 100 years CONTRIBUTE of Reader’s Digest. R E A D ER S D I G E S TAU S T R A L I A ERINA TABORA NANAGAS Anecdotes and Jokes $50–$100 Mind Your Manners Send in your real-life laugh for Life’s Like That Regarding table manners (‘What’s or All In A Day’s Work. Got a joke? Send it in for The Point Of Table Manners’, Laughter Is the Best Medicine! February), I have always told my sons that nobody notices good table Smart Animals Up to $100 manners, they only notice bad ones. Share antics of unique pets or wildlife LYN CAMPBELL in up to 300 words. What A Treat My Story $400 The recipe for soft and tender Got an inspiring or life-changing tale? coconut macaroons (I Am the Food Submissions must be true, original, On Your Plate, February) was much unpublished and 800–1000 words. appreciated. It was straightforward enough for me to follow and the Letters to the Editor macaroons actually turned out as and Reader Submissions pictured! Easy and delicious and sure to become one of my regulars. Online Follow the ‘Contribute’ link at readersdigest.com.au ALICE LAWREY Email [email protected] Mail Reader’s Digest Magazine, Advice On Back Pain PO Box 6458, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Please include your name, address, Thanks for clearing up the phone number and email. confusion around ice or heat for Letters: We may edit letters and use them in all back pain (Health, February). print and electronic media. Like many that suffer from Submissions: All submissions become our property on payment and subsequent recurring back pain, I have publication in the magazine. We may edit and fact-check submissions. For terms and been given well-intentioned but conditions, go to www.readersdigest.com.au/ terms-and-conditions/submission-guidelines. contradictory advice for many years. We cannot return or acknowledge material not accepted for publication. Your article spells out very clearly OUR PRIVACY STATEMENT what should be done, when and for Direct Publishing Pty Ltd collects your information to provide our products and services and may also use your information for the marketing purposes of RD and/or selected corporate partners. If the information is not provided you will be unable to access our products or services. Our Privacy Policy at readersdigest.com.au/privacy-policy contains full details on how your information is used (including how we may share your information with our affiliate companies in the US or other overseas entities), how you may access or correct information held and our privacy complaints process. which reasons. DON KENNARD 8 may 2022

H[Z[Á d_d]bknkho$$$ =_hW\\\\[Jh[[^eki[ WINNER - World’s 4th Top Conservation Experience (#1 in Australia) @kd]b[8kd]Wbem kI^WaWBeZ][ ůƵdžƵƌŝŽƵƐϱͲƐƚĂƌĂĐĐŽŵŵŽĚĂƟŽŶ Canberra ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞŝŶĂŶďĞƌƌĂǁŝƚŚĂůůŵĞĂůƐ͕ ĚŝŶŶĞƌďĞǀĞƌĂŐĞƐŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐDŽĞƚĂŶĚĂŶ 02 6287 8444 | www.jamala.com.au [email protected] ĞdžĐĞƉƟŽŶĂůŐƵŝĚĞĚnjŽŽƚŽƵƌ ŝŶĐůƵĚĞĚʹƉůƵƐƚŚĞĐŚĂŶĐĞƚŽŐĞƚƵƉ ĐůŽƐĞĂŶĚƉĞƌƐŽŶĂůǁŝƚŚƐŽŵĞŽĨƚŚĞ ǁŽƌůĚ͛ƐŵŽƐƚĂŵĂnjŝŶŐĂŶŝŵĂůƐ͘

READER’S DIGEST NEWS WORTH SHARING Turning Old Tyres Into New Playgrounds Brightly coloured caterpillars, Reusing some of the millions of tyres octopuses and elephants are discarded in India every year is a win- appearing on vacant blocks of win situation. As well as providing a land in dozens of Indian cities, much playground, it helps the environment to the joy of local children. Made from by reducing air pollution caused when old tyres, scrap metal and upcycled the tyres are burned. Before the tyres rope, these jungle gyms are low- are repurposed for play, they are cost, sustainable play spaces built by thoroughly cleaned, inspected and Anthill Creations of Bangalore. A new painted bright colours. So far Anthill playground can be completed in five has built 300 playgrounds across India. days at a cost of just A$3300. But Rai’s work doesn’t end there. He Anthill Creations’ CEO, architect plans to work with local governments, Pooja Rai, founded the company in donors and his team of 30 volunteers 2014 after watching children at an to convert more empty lots into orphanage play with broken pipes. community spaces. COMPILED BY VICTORIA POLZOT 10 may 2022

News Worth Sharing IMAGES: PLAYGROUND, ANTHILL CREATIONS; CAT PHONE, GETTY IMAGES; PHONE POEM, TELEPOEM BOOTH. Looking For Love? Pets Dial A Rhyme Find Homes With App In Brisbee, Arizona, there is an old Seeking a long-term phone booth with bifold doors relationship with someone and a rotary dial. If you call a single, lonely – and furry? number from the booth’s directory, In Munich, Germany, there’s an you’re connected to a lyrical voice app for that. – one of around 100 local and famous poets reading their work. Faced with an influx of Like the evocative ‘Waiting’ by Jesse animals that were adopted Sensibar: “I know what it feels like during lockdowns and then to wait so long you forget over the surrendered when owners years you were even waiting. Except returned to work, the Munich that every once in a while you catch Animal Welfare Association yourself looking out the window to teamed up with an advertising see if they have finally returned.” agency to create ‘dating’ profiles for 15 adoptable pets on the Like the verse you may hear when popular app Tinder. Complete you dial, the phone call is free. The with photos and a list of things Telepoem Booth is the brainchild the animals like and dislike (two- of artist Elizabeth Hellstern, who year-old cat Captain Kirk, for has also set up booths in Dubuque, example, enjoys cuddles but not Iowa; Santa Fe, New Mexico; at New small children), the profiles have Mexico Highlands University; and received overwhelming interest. near Penn State University. After being screened, “Hearing the poet reading prospective adopters arrange a his own poetry brings it to life,” meet-and-greet with their new Hellstern says. “It conveys a lot of match at the shelter. human emotions.” And so does a telephone call. readersdigest.com.au 11

MY STORY Finding Myself In India Life took me in a different direction from what I had planned BY Barbara Ann Briggs The year was 2001. It was London. His letter helped me get the ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES November and the weather difficult five-year visa which I was was cold and brisk, typical hoping to secure. British weather. I was about to embark on a journey After arriving at the airport, I to the Asian sub-continent. The stood in the check-in queue. As my airport was Heathrow; the plane was luggage was loaded onto the plane, scheduled to depart in four hours. I murmured a silent farewell to England, the country which had During a visit to India the sheltered me for eight years. I had previous year, a monk named Swami emigrated to England to escape Awadheshanand Giri had met me the social tensions that divided my at a religious festival and invited me native US. I had the opportunity to to come and live in his ashram. He visit India several times, and felt an wanted to help me fulfil my wish to inner calling to go back. This wish devote myself to the study of Sanskrit appeared to be fulfilled when I met and the Vedic literature. He even Swami Awadheshanand Giri, the wrote a letter which I presented orange-robed monk, and he began to the Indian High Commission in to talk about his ashram near the 12 may 2022

My Story Punjab. After expressing my desire and we set off in the direction of the to find a quiet place to focus on ashram. The taxi driver knew the spiritual knowledge, he offered his way. help. When I arrived, a young boy With complete faith in his showed me to a simple, sparsely promises, I loaded all my worldly furnished room in a courtyard. The possessions onto a ship bound for ashram itself looked charming with India. The shipping company told its pink buildings and blossoming me that in a few months I would be rose gardens surrounding well-kept able to collect my things in Delhi. lawns. It was quite a lavish entrance. Everything had gone smoothly The most ornate building belonged in the run-up to the trip. I was to the monk whom I had met; he confident that this adventure was was the head of the ashram. I was the next big step I had to take. informed that he would return soon. At 4am on “THERE IS NO I was so relieved to November 21, the have reached the plane landed at PLACE HERE FOR place safely and in Indira Gandhi YOU. YOU CAN’T a happy but totally airport. The porters, STAY HERE FOR exhausted state, I seeing that I was stretched out flat on alone, ran up to A LONG TIME.” the bed and fell fast help me with my asleep. luggage. They carried A few days later, I it to the taxi stand where I asked was summoned to the main house the driver to take me to the train to meet the head of the ashram. station. I tried to sleep on the train, “Namaste,” he said in a deep tone but couldn’t take my eyes off my of voice as he peered into my eyes. luggage which was piled up around “I’m so glad you have come.” me. “Is this really happening?” I He was tall with a shaven head asked myself. It was like a movie and broad shoulders. His long unravelling around me and yet this orange robe reached the ground, was my own life unfolding. flowing in waves around his Finally, we reached the small muscular frame. town of Ambala. A taxi driver on the I thanked him for inviting me, platform urged me to take his cab and assured him that I had enjoyed a smooth trip and was glad to have Barbara Briggs is a writer, poet and finally arrived at the ashram. journalist. She is a teacher of transcendental “I’m glad you like it,” he said. “You meditation and lives in Uttarakhand, India. may stay here for a few days. Then it readersdigest.com.au 13

READER’S DIGEST will be better to find another place. time, although I did submit articles I helped you get the five-year visa. to magazines and, occasionally, they Now that you are in India, you are on paid me for them. After my five- your own.” year visa expired, I renewed my visa I was stunned. I was so shocked three times. I travelled overland by that I couldn’t speak. I just sat there bus to Nepal twice and by train to like a frozen statue. Bangladesh once. “But – but, but you said I could stay Those years of wandering left an in your ashram ...” I whispered. indelible impression. I was searching “I wanted to help you, but now for an appropriate place to settle, things have changed. There is but only later did I realise that the no place here for you. I STOOD movement itself was You can’t stay here for PERCHED ON meant for my spiritual a long time.” development. If I had That was it. THE BRINK OF only stayed in the That was all he THE VAST ashram, I would never said. I stood up and UNKNOWN have learned many somehow reached valuable lessons. One the door. My dream such lesson was that had faded into thin air. I stood through perseverance and dedication perched on the brink of the vast to one’s highest ideals in life, any unknown, not sure of what to do. adverse situation can be overcome. I was so disappointed and later, Those years of hardship enabled me the anger surfaced. I could not to gain an unshakable trust in the go back to England as all my power that administers the universe. worldly possessions were on their The monk’s refusal to provide me way to India. a home left me no alternative except That was the first page of the new to face the vicissitudes of life with chapter of my life in India. After endurance, courage and faith. leaving the ashram, I spent the next I am writing this story from my eight years living on the equivalent home in India. I have continued of A$57 a month. Financially, it was my study of Sanskrit and continue all that was available. I traversed the to study the Vedic literature in my length of India from the bustling home. ashrams of Haridwar to the hot plains of Kerala and up to the Do you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay Himalayan heights of Almora. Since cash for any original and unpublished I didn’t have a work visa, it was not story we print. See page 8 for details really possible to earn during this on how to contribute. 14 may 2022

A LEGACY OF HOPE Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is a ProfessRr Chris O’Brien AO comprehensive cancer centre treating both public and private 3 Jan 1952 - 4 Jun 2009 patients. When Professor Chris O’Brien AO was diagnosed with Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is not only brain cancer, he used his diagnosis Chris’ legacy, but the legacy of our to advocate for his vision of bringing community of gift in Will together all elements of cancer care supporters. As a not-for-profit in one place. hospital, our model of care relies on our generous supporters, who Today, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is the enable major breakthroughs in leading referral centre in Australia world-first cancer research and for rare and complex cancers. We further advance our standards of offer every type of treatment and specialised and holistic care. service that people with cancer need under one roof. Our clinicians are By leaving a gift in your Will to Chris world-leaders in cancer research, O’Brien Lifehouse, you leave a determined to find better ways to legacy of hope for people with treat patients, improve outcomes cancer and their families, both now and deliver uncompromising, and intRWKHIXWXUH. patient-centred care. To find out more about how you can make an impact, please contact Rebecca Scott for a confidential discussion on 02 8514 0988 or [email protected].

READER’S DIGEST SMART ANIMALS Harbingers from the animal kingdom Feathered Brothers Vlad had been with us for about ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES a year when one afternoon, he came MARGARET GERTZ down the side of the shed flapping his wings and making unusual In 1987, a male Muscovy duckling drake noises. He was very excited came to live with us. Thinking about something. Muscovy ducks were a Russian breed, my 12-year-old daughter Since I couldn’t immediately Janine named him Vladimir. follow, he waddled away quickly Research later showed us that but a few minutes later returned, Muscovy ducks are actually native just as agitated. This time I went to to the Americas. investigate what might be causing the fuss. He was placed in the fowl yard in our backyard where a hen with I got up to the backyard and chickens took him under her wing. saw the reason: our valiant Black He thrived under her care and grew to be a big drake among the fowls. You could earn cash by telling us We also had a fine-looking Black about the antics of unique pets or Australorp rooster who was the wildlife. Turn to page 8 for details boss of the chicken pen. Strangely on how to contribute. enough, the two males got along. 16 may 2022

Smart Animals Australorp rooster was standing and I got lost and couldn’t find there with blood dripping from his the checkpoint marked on the comb and feathers all ruffled. A big map. Worried, we froze and, as black rooster from a neighbour’s we deliberated our next course of pen was strutting his stuff in front action, we noticed a pair of dark, of the chickens. When he saw me he medium-sized dogs approaching. flew off. It was heart-warming to see We couldn’t identify their breed but Vladimir go to our rooster as though they seemed friendly. After prancing he was inspecting his injuries and in front of us for a couple of seconds, consoling him. they moved on but regularly turned their heads back to look at Vladimir stayed with us as a us. They even slowed down, as if much-loved pet, living a long and beckoning for us to follow. Since happy life. we could not think of any other viable alternatives, we let them lead Guard Dogs us. Much to our amazement, after walking for five minutes we reached ONG SEE HAI the next checkpoint. Subsequently, the dogs led us to all our remaining In Singapore, most males aged 18 checkpoints, and even brought us serve mandatory national service. back to base camp. Occasionally, we are selected for guard duty, which entails patrolling We found out later that these dogs the perimeter of the military have been accompanying groups camp in pairs. On my first patrol of soldiers on their guard duties for last August, armed with only a some time, and as a result, were torch and a map, my buddy Justin very familiar with the route. From that day on, whenever it is my shift, I have made a point of feeding the dogs treats to show them my gratitude for their tireless efforts in guiding us soldiers around camp! brought to you by www.houseofpets.com.au readersdigest.com.au 17

READER’S DIGEST PETS Teaching Your Dog Tricks A fun and rewarding experience for you and your dog BY Dr Katrina Warren Our regular DOGS ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS who enjoy spending pet columnist, time with us, and training is a wonderful way to create Dr Katrina Warren, quality moments together. Teaching tricks not only is an established provides a great mental workout for your dog, it also and trusted improves your relationship and trust. Teaching your animal expert. dog tricks should always be fun and rewarding for you both. It’s entertaining and lets you show friends just 18 may 2022 how clever your canine pal is. Here veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren shares her expert tips to help you get underway. Start the moment you bring your puppy home. Most puppies are very enthusiastic and eager to learn, and you will be amazed at what you can achieve together if you commit to regular training. You can teach an old dog new tricks. Older dogs will also benefit from the mental stimulation of learning tricks and it can further strengthen your bond. Train when you are in a good mood. Training should be a positive experience for your dog, so only train when you are not tired or distracted. Put your mobile phone away so you can focus without distractions.  Train when your dog is alert. A dog has a short attention span, so you should train when it is alert and focused. Most dogs are eager for food before their meals, so this is usually a good time for training. Keep

Pets PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES sessions short – five to ten minutes, EASY TRICKS TO TEACH a couple of times a day, is enough to YOUR DOG AT HOME make progress. Free up your hands. Use a pouch to z Shake paw z Roll over z Spin hold your treats. This will allow you z High five z Jump through a hoop to access rewards quickly and keep your hands free for teaching. fist to try to get the treat. As soon Use ‘high value’ treats. These are as this happens, immediately say treats that smell good to your dog ‘shake’ and let it have the reward and will motivate it, for example, with lots of verbal praise, so it small pieces of cooked chicken understands that is the behaviour or meat. They’re especially useful you want. when training new tricks. Don’t forget to use verbal rewards as Practise this several times, enthusiastic praise will help keep gradually moving your hand up your pup motivated. and rewarding each time it offers its Teach the basics first. Many tricks paw. Once it has mastered this, offer will require your dog to know it your palm without the treat. As the basics such as Sit, Stay and soon as it offers its paw, quickly give Drop before you can progress. For a treat from your other hand. example, you can’t teach your dog Teach your puppy to spin. When to shake paws without it knowing your dog is standing, show it the treat how to sit, or to roll over without it in your hand. With its nose following knowing how to drop. the treat, move your hand in an arc Finish training on a happy note. so its head and body will follow your Always let your dog know when movement. Tell your dog ‘spin’ and a session has finished by using a reward with the treat when it starts release word such as ‘OK’ or ‘free’ moving in a circle. and then playing a quick game. Teach your dog to shake paws. readersdigest.com.au 19 Start by asking your dog to sit and let it watch you place a ‘high value’ treat in your hand and close your fist. Place your closed fist, palm up, in front of your dog at its chest level. Your dog will probably look at your fist and sniff it but do not open your fist for them. Your dog should then paw at your

READER’S DIGEST HEALTH or those of us who can’t live without a morning The Benefits cup (or three), the Of Coffee latest assessments of Drinking it is likely more Fthe health effects of healthy than harmful coffee are reassuring. Its consumption has been linked to a BY Jane E. Brody reduced risk of all kinds of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, heart FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES disease, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, cirrhosis, liver cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES In fact, in numerous studies conducted throughout the world, consuming four or five 250 ml cups of coffee (or about 400 to 500 milligrams of caffeine, coffee’s main active ingredient) a day has been associated with reduced death rates. Published in 2015 in Circulation, a study of more than 200,000 participants followed for up to 30 years found that those who drank three to five cups of coffee a day, with or without caffeine, were 15 per cent less likely to die early from all causes than were people who shunned coffee. As a report published in 2020 by researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health concluded, although current evidence may not warrant recommending coffee or caffeine to prevent disease, for most people drinking coffee in moderation “can be part 20 may 2022

Health of a healthy lifestyle”. They found likely increases with age. People that consumption of three to five also vary widely in how rapidly standard cups of daily coffee may in they metabolise caffeine, enabling fact reduce the risk of several chronic some to sleep well after drinking diseases, including type 2 diabetes caffeinated coffee at dinner while and cardiovascular disease. others have trouble sleeping if they It wasn’t always this way. Aside have coffee at lunch. from the many health conditions Some of coffee’s other benefits coffee has been deemed to cause, in come from polyphenols and 1991 it was even listed by the World antioxidants. Polyphenols can Health Organization as WHEN IT inhibit the growth a possible carcinogen. of cancer cells and But in some of the COMES TO lower the risk of type 2 diabetes; now-discredited DECAFFEINATED antioxidants, studies, it was smoking, which have anti- not coffee drinking COFFEE, THERE (the two often went ARE STILL SOME inflammatory effects, hand in hand), that HEALTH can counter heart was responsible for the BENEFITS disease and cancer. purported carcinogen None of this means hazard. coffee is beneficial “These periodic regardless of how it’s scares have given the public a very prepared. When brewed without distorted view,” says Dr Walter C. a paper filter, as with a French Willett, professor of nutrition and press, espresso or Turkish coffee, epidemiology at the Harvard Chan oily chemicals called diterpenes School. “Despite various concerns come through that can raise that have cropped up over the years, artery-damaging LDL cholesterol. coffee is generally remarkably safe However, these chemicals are and has a number of important virtually absent in both filtered and potential benefits.” instant coffee. That’s not to say coffee warrants a When it comes to decaf, there are totally clean bill of health. The most still some health benefits. As with common ill effect associated with caffeinated coffee, the polyphenols it is sleep disturbance. While Dr it contains have anti-inflammatory Willett says “you don’t have to get to properties that may lower the risk zero consumption to minimise the of type 2 diabetes and cancer. impact on sleep,” he acknowledges FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES (JUNE 14, 2021), ©2021 BY that a person’s sensitivity to caffeine THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY readersdigest.com.au 21

READER’S DIGEST HEALTH Honey As A Home Remedy FROM: BEST HEALTH FOR GRAZES, MINOR BURNS of honey to the skin and wash off PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES AND CUTS Slather some medical- after 20 minutes. grade honey, then cover the wound READY-MADE OPTIONS with clean gauze. Change the dressing two or three times a day. Alternatively, you can purchase ready-made honey products, FOR SORE THROATS AND TICKLY which are available from several COUGHS Honey is known as a pharmaceutical and natural health companies; these include demulcent, which means it coats the wound dressings and gels. Ask your throat as it is swallowed and so eases pharmacist for further information. irritation. The sweetness of the honey also encourages salivation, so easing a WHAT HONEY SHOULD YOU dry throat and encouraging expulsion CHOOSE? Large randomised studies of phlegm. Steep 2 tablespoons (40 ml) of grated ginger root in have shown that manuka honey is 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water for ten superior to other types of honey in minutes. Add 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of terms of its antimicrobial properties. honey and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of lemon As well as being antimicrobial, juice. Drink before bed. manuka honey aids the removal of dead tissue from wounds and FOR DRY SKIN AND ACNE moistens the affected area, making it more comfortable and easier to Bathe the face in warm water to remove and reapply dressings. open the pores, then apply a layer 22 may 2022

Gut Health is getting easier. KfibreOriginal™ Gut Health Fibre ϑ New Packaging – easy storage, resealable tub, measured scoop ϑ Unflavoured prebiotic dietary fibre ϑ Mix in drinks, yoghurts, baking and cooking ϑ Available MAY 2022 KfibrePro™ Dietary Indigestion & Bloating ϑ Scientifically & IBS dietitian formulated ϑ Targeted prebiotic & probiotic blend ϑ Ready to drink - Berry flavour ϑ Natural Ingredients ϑ Available MAY 2022 KfibrePro™ Dietary Constipation Support ϑ Scientifically & IBS dietitian formulated ϑ Targeted prebiotic & probiotic blend. ϑ Ready to drink - Orange flavour ϑ Natural Ingredients ϑ Available MAY 2022 “I recommend Kfibre™ to my patients; Kfibre™ is low Kfibre.com FODMAP certified, but more importantly, it works.” Joanna Baker APD | AN | RN Accredited Practising Dietitian | Accredited Nutritionist | Registered Nurse MDiet | Grad Cert Nutrition | BHSc

READER’S DIGEST News From the WORLD OF MEDICINE TAI CHI TRIMS BELLY FAT why some people stay mentally sharp, ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES even though their brain may show If walking on a treadmill seems signs of physical ageing or disease- monotonous, consider tai chi, which related changes. In fact, people offers a more fluid and graceful way to in the study who consistently had stay fit. A Hong Kong study found that good listeners available when they this centuries-old form of exercise needed to talk had a brain that acted – often described as ‘meditation in four years younger than would be motion’ – trims abdominal fat as expected based on their age. effectively as conventional exercise. In fact, older adults who did tai chi three While researchers don’t know times a week for 12 weeks reduced exactly why this works, they believe their waistlines as much as those it stimulates new connections in who did regular aerobic exercise and the brain. Supportive listening may strength training, while also boosting also lessen the effects of chronic their HDL, or good cholesterol. stress on the brain, such as systemic inflammation. WHY YOU NEED A SUPPORTIVE LISTENER BERRIES PROMOTE GOOD BLOOD PRESSURE You can get by with a little help from your friends, as the Beatles song goes, A German and Irish study revealed but it turns out that support might that eating foods rich in flavonoids also keep your brain in better shape, – such as berries, pears and apples – too. A JAMA Network study found creates a virtuous cycle inside your that people who had a good listener available to them body. These plant compounds throughout their adult increase the abundance and lives showed greater diversity of good bacteria cognitive resilience in the gut, which in turn and were less likely to helps your body better develop Alzheimer’s metabolise the next disease. flavonoids to come along, enhancing their Cognitive resilience is natural medicinal effects the term used to explain on blood pressure. 24 may 2022



READER’S DIGEST Saving The Biologist Pedro Vaz Pinto is on a mission to bring Angola’s A herd of giant sables in Luando Integral Nature Reserve 26 may 2022

EARTH’S HEROES Giant Sable curly-horned antelope back from the brink of extinction BY Ashley Stimpson FROM ATLAS OBSCURA readersdigest.com.au 27

READER’S DIGEST T he giant sable bull tranquillising and transporting the arrived dangling 250-kilogram bull. It would journey beneath a sun- another 100 kilometres north to Can- ny-yellow heli- gandala National Park, where it and copter, its 1.3-me- nine female giant sables would com- tre-long horns prise the world’s first captive breed- curving back to- ing programme for the nearly extinct animal. wards its flanks. “It was an absolute magical mo- As it came into view, the hundreds ment,” Vaz Pinto says with an in- credulous smile as he reflects on of people who had been waiting to that summer day in 2009. Though Vaz Pinto has enjoyed many magi- greet the massive antelope at the dry, cal moments over the course of his 20-year mission to save the distinc- grassy edge of Angola’s Luando Inte- tive ungulate, the creature’s future remains fraught. gral Nature Reserve broke into tears, song, laughter and dancing. For the Angolan people, the giant sable is a national symbol, adorn- ing everything from soccer jerseys WHEN ANGOLA’S CIVIL WAR ENDED, NO ONE KNEW IF THERE WERE ANY GIANT SABLES LEFT to postage stamps. But this particu- The giant sable is found in Angola’s lar animal represented something largely undeveloped interior, when it even greater – hope. can be found at all. No foreigner laid eyes on one until 1916 – more than After the helicopter pilot deftly de- four centuries after Portuguese ex- livered the tranquillised bull to the plorers first landed on Angola’s shore ground, a group of rangers and sci- – and not for lack of trying. entists rolled it onto a stretcher. As a dozen people hoisted the stretcher The antelope is notoriously elusive, into the belly of a second, larger hel- and also long enjoyed the cover of icopter, the crowd pushed forward. the Lwimbi and Songo peoples, who Some people tried to get one last often denied its existence to outsid- glimpse, others hoped to hug or shake ers and deliberately misled trophy hands with curly-haired biologist hunters attempting to bag a palanca Pedro Vaz Pinto, who stood nearby, negra gigante (Portuguese for giant looking a little dizzy with disbelief. sable), according to journalist John Somehow, against enormous odds, Frederick Walker in his book A Cer- he had just led a team in tracking, tain Curve of Horn. For locals, the 28 may 2022

creature was a totem, the tip of its horns a por- tal into the spirit world. Walker describes it as “almost heraldic in its stateliness, more like a proud beast from legend than one of this earth.” But even the giant sa- ble wasn’t spared the carnage of Angola’s bru- tal 27-year civil war. In the early 1970s, before the conflict, an esti- mated 2000 giant sables Biologist Pedro Vaz Pinto (left), pictured with inhabited two of the wildlife veterinarian Pete Morkel, has spent two country’s preserves, the decades tracking the endangered giant sable Luando Integral Nature Reserve and Cangandala National develop the film, the biologist mailed Park. By 2002, when the war finally each roll to his mother in Portugal. PHOTOS (PREVIOUS SPREAD AND THIS PAGE): COURTESY OF PEDRO VAZ PINTO ended, no one knew if there were any One day, about a year into the effort, left at all. she called with some promising news. “Nobody could tell me for sure,” “She said, ‘There’s a lot of brown says Vaz Pinto, who returned to his animals in this one’,” Vaz Pinto re- native Angola from Portugal at war’s members with a chuckle. He asked end. He had taken a job as an ecol- her to be more specific. “Brown, ogist at Quiçama National Park, but kind of reddish?” she tried again. He curiosity about the status of the sable had to wait an agonising week to get gnawed at him. the pictures in the mail. When they “For a biologist who likes adven- arrived, the biologist knew immedi- ture, this was too much to ignore.” ately that he was looking at the first Vaz Pinto decided to do some photograph of a giant sable in nearly reconnaissance work. In 2004, he three decades. strapped motion-activated cameras With evidence that the animal to trees in Cangandala National Park endured, Vaz Pinto secured public near termite mounds where giant sa- and private funding to establish the bles – grazing herbivores – might visit Giant Sable Conservation Project. “I to eat the sodium-rich dirt. Because thought it would be easy,” he says. “I there was nowhere nearby for him to thought there would be more.” readersdigest.com.au 29

READER’S DIGEST Instead, subsequent photos always 44-square-kilometre enclosure in showed the same nine animals, sug- Cangandala National Park. Mean- gesting that the giant sable was just while, he would begin scouting for barely holding on. More worrying- a bull in the nearby Luando Integral ly, there didn’t appear to be a bull Nature Reserve, where giant sables among the group. had historically roamed. If all went according to plan, in the summer of And something else about the pho- 2009, Vaz Pinto’s team would move tos began bothering Vaz Pinto. “Some the nine females and one yet-to-be- of the animals looked a bit funny,” found male via helicopter to the en- he says. “They had floppy ears and closure at Cangandala. clownish faces.” “I thought the chance of us finding He began tracking the herd on foot. a male was small,” says Pete Morkel, When Vaz Pinto finally caught up the wildlife veterinarian Vaz Pinto re- with them, what he saw confirmed cruited for the effort. “In fact, I told my his worst fears. Standing in the mid- wife it was probably a waste of time.” dle of a harem of females was a roan bull, a completely different species With the help of area rangers, Vaz of antelope. Left without a sable bull, Pinto began collecting and testing the female giant sables were mating dung for evidence of giant sables in with the roan and giving birth to hy- the Luando Reserve. One month be- brids. Vaz Pinto knew that with only fore the group had scheduled their “I THOUGHT THE CHANCE OF US FINDING A MALE GIANT SABLE WAS SMALL” a handful of pure sables left, hybridi- translocation mission, a sample came sation would doom the animal to ex- back positive for giant sable DNA. tinction in short order. “The sky fell on my head,” he says. Vaz Pinto was thrilled that there were still giant sables in the reserve, If the tiny sable population in Can- but locating the animals wouldn’t be gandala was going to survive, Vaz simple – it covers about 8200 square Pinto wouldn’t just need to separate kilometres, the landscape a hypnotic the pure females from the hybrids, collage of browns and tans. he would also need to deliver them a giant sable bull. And then, when he needed it, Vaz Pinto had another one of those mag- Vaz Pinto quickly devised an ical moments. On the first day of the ambitious plan. He would recruit translocation mission, without any all the help he could and build a other leads to go on, the group began 30 may 2022

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Saving The Giant Sable of several females and an aggressive bull that joined the enclosure, leading to the death of another male sable in 2011. Funding, Vaz Pinto laments, has been a constant struggle, especially during the pandemic, when longstanding corporate do- nors withdrew support. And Angola’s current economic depression has driven more people to poaching. But for the most part, the herd has thrived. Today Vaz Pinto guesses there are more than 100 sables living in Can- gandala National Park. “It’s The giant sable now has a fighting chance of survival been a spectacular success,” he says, while acknowledg- their aerial search for the sable where ing the species is still perilously en- the dung had been collected. When dangered. Between the populations at they arrived, a bull was standing in Cangandala and Luando, only about that very spot, as if he knew they were 300 remain. coming. Morkel tranquillised the For Vaz Pinto, who never meant to animal from the air and the group devote two decades of his life to the rushed to place a GPS collar on him. giant sable, his role in its survival is A couple of weeks later, after the fe- both an honour and an obligation, males had been moved to the enclo- but he admits he’s itching for a new sure one by one, the group flew back adventure. to Luando to collect the bull. Because “I want to stay linked to the giant sa- the animal could be suspended by its ble forever,” Vaz Pinto says. “But in a legs for only a short time, the crew way, I feel like a doctor in the ICU eager stopped to transfer the sable to a larg- for the patient to be discharged – not er aircraft, providing the locals time because I don’t love what I’m doing, but for their impromptu farewell party. because it will mean the job is done and In the years since, the captive popu- the patient can move on.” lation has run into several challenges, FROM ATLAS OBSCURA (JUNE 8, 2021), © 2021 including the unexpected infertility BY ASHLEY STIMPSON readersdigest.com.au 31

HEALTH Get Your BEST SLEEP Ever 32 may 2022

Your health depends on it. Here’s the latest expert advice and tips for a good night’s rest BY Leah Rumack AND Mark Witten PHOTOGRAPH BY VICKY LAM ILLUSTRATIONS BY JEFF KULAK readersdigest.com.au 33

READER’S DIGEST STEP ONE The bad news first: OPTIMISE Australians are sleeping YOUR less than they should. BEDROOM Two in five of us don’t get enough rest. Close to THE PILLOW THAT 60 per cent of Australian ADAPTS adults show at least one A good pillow will give your sleep disorder symptom. head, neck and shoulders the Of those, 15 per cent of right support. Consider have definite symptoms investing in an adjustable of insomnia. Chronic pillow. Removable foam stress and a more cubes let you customise the sedentary lifestyle – both pillow to the perfect height of which increased during and firmness for you. the pandemic – are two reasons for that. THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE If you don’t get enough sleep, the neg- A white-noise machine has ative effects on your health can be always been a must-have to profound. Once you reach your 50s, assist troubled sleepers, but if you’re sleeping less than the rec- now you can also pump ommended seven hours a night, your ambient sounds directly into risk of developing dementia jumps your ears to drown out by 30 per cent. That is, if you make it unwelcome noise. Try the to that point. Inadequate sleep also Bose Sleepbuds II, which are increases the risks of heart attack, surprisingly comfortable stroke, hypertension, obesity, diabe- earbuds that allow you to tes and other health issues. choose from a bunch of instrumental tracks that are On the flip side, a restorative sleep specifically designed to mask is good medicine, a natural elixir that the low-frequency far exceeds the benefits of any pill. disruptions – like snoring and And getting enough keeps you men- noisy neighbours – that are tally sharp during the day, better able the most common sleep to deal with life’s stresses. disturbances. The good news? We spoke to the experts and did the research to help you rest easier, starting tonight. 34 may 2022

1 Get Your Best Sleep Ever (PREVIOUS SPREAD) OFF-FIGURE STYLING BY DEE CONNOLLY; EMBROIDERY ON MASK BY BRIANNA KINNAIRD 2 THE BLANKET THAT 3 KEEPS YOU COSY Over the last few years, 4 weighted blankets have moved from a niche product used mostly in therapeutic settings to a standard bedroom item. They’re designed to feel like a nice, firm hug. The pressure from weighted blankets prepares your body for rest by calming your heart rate and breathing, thus helping your body to calm down enough to get the sleep it needs so you can wake up feeling refreshed, according to Penn Medicine. THE MATTRESS THAT’S ALWAYS COOL Waking up because you’re too hot is a common complaint, whether it’s due to the weather, medication, hormonal hot flushes or plain old human biology. When we sleep, our temperature drops by a couple of degrees, and we shed that heat into our sleeping environment. Cooling mattresses use temperature-regulating materials, such as gels and memory foams, to draw heat away from your body. This means your body remains cooler, which can improve sleep quality. readersdigest.com.au 35

STEP TWO TROUBLESHOOT YOUR SLEEP ISSUE We asked sleep expert Dr Ram Randhawa for some advice on what to do about the most common problems. YOU CAN’T GET TO SLEEP, STAY nine hours a night and are still feeling ASLEEP OR WAKE UP TOO EARLY exhausted and irritable in the These symptoms all fall under morning, Dr Randhawa says you insomnia and are usually caused by should be assessed for sleep apnoea stress, irregular sleep schedules or at a sleep-disorders clinic. This excessive use of electronic devices in condition causes people to stop the evening. Dr Randhawa suggests breathing and wake up for five to 15 three basic strategies: seconds multiple times an hour through the night. Sleep apnoea is 1. Lower your arousal level before bed often treated with a CPAP with relaxation techniques or soothing (continuous positive airway pressure) rituals and routines, such as reading a machine, which helps you breathe by book or listening to a meditation app. keeping the airway open while you 2. Re-establish the bedroom as a calm sleep. Shedding excess weight and place to sleep by going to bed only avoiding alcohol before bed may also when you’re sleepy and getting out of be effective for mild sleep apnoea. bed when you can’t sleep. Keep electronic devices out of the YOU SLEEP TOO LONG bedroom. Oversleeping can be a symptom of 3. Although it may sound depression because the same brain counterintuitive, spend less time in systems involved in causing mood bed. Go to bed later, which increases disorders can also disrupt your the pressure on your body to sleep, body’s regulation of sleep. And since and then wake up earlier. You might regularly sleeping too much – more get less sleep the first week, but than nine hours a night – is linked to Dr Randhawa says this will settle down and the quality of your sleep will health problems such as heart improve. disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, Dr Randhawa YOU DON’T FEEL suggests oversleepers RESTED speak to their GP If you’re sleeping about getting a between seven and mental-health assessment. 36 may 2022

Get Your Best Sleep Ever TIME TO REFLECT For starters, you can try writing down a list of pressing problems and worries before going to bed. Give yourself time to reflect, process and work out next steps or solutions. Then let those worries go so you don’t ruminate into the night. STEP THREE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES Once you’ve thought things through, LEARN HOW TO GET to bring down your blood pressure REST WHEN STRESSED and heart rate, neurologist Dr Andrew Lim recommends trying a Worries about work, health and finances, as well as stressful life events, such as job variety of relaxation techniques and loss, divorce, major illness or the death of rituals. Meditation, yoga, abdominal a loved one, are all common causes of breathing, soft music or taking a hot insomnia. This happens because, even if bath can all help calm your nervous your body is ready for rest, stress causes system and switch off the body’s 'fight your brain to go on high alert. That, in or flight' response. turn, triggers the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol and increases THERAPY your blood pressure and heart rate. If those strategies aren’t working, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can “It doesn’t matter how tired you are,” help with insomnia caused by stress. For says Dr Randhawa. “If you are in a room this treatment, a therapist will help you with a tiger, you won’t fall asleep.” recognise negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are contributing to Thankfully, the physiology of how insomnia, and, in six to eight sessions, stress disrupts sleep points to effective, you’ll learn to reframe them in a way that non-pharmaceutical antidotes. is conducive to sleep. TRY TO NOT WORRY Lastly, try not to add to your stress by worrying about a lack of sleep. “Paradoxically, sleep isn’t something you can achieve with effort. The harder you try to sleep, the more elusive it becomes,” says Dr Randhawa. “The best advice is to improve your stress management and let your sleep improve naturally.” readersdigest.com.au 37

READER’S DIGEST STEP FOUR your overall health. A 2019 Harvard University study found that GET ON THE RIGHT irregular bedtimes and SLEEP SCHEDULE wake-up times, and fluctuating amounts of sleep, The time that we fall asleep and wake up increased the risks of obesity, is regulated by something called a high cholesterol, high blood circadian rhythm, or internal clock, pressure and high blood sugar, that’s mainly set by visual cues of light among other health and darkness. Circadian rhythms also problems. For each hour of affect other biological processes, such sleep variability, these health as body temperature, metabolism, risks rose by up to 27 per appetite and hormone release – all of cent. which adjust so that our bodies move It also helps to know into sleep. whether you’re naturally an early bird or a night owl – The best sleep schedule is a consistent one. If your natural sleep-wake rhythm tendencies called chronotypes. gets thrown off by shift work, jet lag or Because chronotypes are genetically bedtimes that are all over the map, this influenced, it can be hard for some can seriously disrupt sleep and affect people to purposefully change them. About five to 10 per cent of people are true early birds, and 15 per cent are true night owls, with most people falling into the intermediate range of sleeping from 11pm to 7am. Naps can be either helpful or detrimental to sleep, depending on the individual, duration and specific sleep issue. If you don’t generally struggle with sleep, a short nap of less than 30 minutes, not too late in the day, can restore alertness without compromising night time sleep. “For people with insomnia, our advice is usually not to nap,” says sleep disorder expert Dr Najib Ayas, explaining that it’ll reduce the healthy pressure to sleep that builds up throughout the day. 38 may 2022

Get Your Best Sleep Ever PHOTOS: (PILLS) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/EHSTOCK; (TEA) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/SVETLANA_ANGELUS; STEP FIVE The calming effects of (MASK) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/SANTJE09; (LIGHT-THERAPY BOX) COURTESY OF VERILUX chamomile tea may be TRY THESE due to an antioxidant SLEEP AIDS called apigenin that binds to brain receptors Sleep meditation apps, like that may reduce anxiety Calm or Headspace, offer and initiate sleep. guided meditations and breathing exercises to help Artificial light at night sends the wrong you fall asleep. And a recent signal to your brain and disrupts sleep. A study showed that they really Sleep Science study found that sleep masks work if you stick with them – were an easy way to improve the quality of people with insomnia who sleep for patients hospitalised in a brightly lit used Calm for eight weeks coronary-care unit – so they’ll work for that improved their sleep quality street lamp outside your window, too. and reduced their daytime sleepiness and fatigue. Your body naturally produces A Sleep and the sleep-inducing hormone Biological Rhythms melatonin in response to study reported that darkness. But since people insomniacs slept can become melatonin better after sitting in deficient, supplements may front of a light-therapy help. There’s also emerging box for an hour each evidence that magnesium morning. As long as the can assist with sleep, as it device emits at least relaxes the muscles and has 10,000 lux of light, it’ll anti-anxiety properties. trigger your body to release melatonin, the sleepy-making hormone, later that evening to settle you into a night’s rest. readersdigest.com.au 39

DRAMA IN REAL LIFE PHOTO: ERIKA LARSEN A gruesome accident nearly killed Carter Viss. Healing from the injuries would be tough; forgiving the boat’s driver even tougher SRPUENEBYDOBAVOEART BY Gary Stephen Ross 40 may 2022

Carter Viss, near where he was snorkelling on the day of the accident readersdigest.com.au 41

READER’S DIGEST BENEATH THE OCEAN’S SURFACE WAITS A DIFFERENT WORLD – quiet, shimmering with life. Cart- A severed limb was sinking to the er Viss loved that world. It’s why he bottom – a human arm, the hand en- decided to study marine biology at closed in a black diver’s glove. This Palm Beach Atlantic University in can’t be happening, he thought. It was Florida. It’s why he got a job at the too bizarre. Loggerhead Marinelife Center on Florida’s east coast. And it’s why he Inhaling blood and seawater, Carter spent so much free time snorkelling realised he would drown if he didn’t in the reefs at Palm Beach. swim. But his right arm was gone, and both his legs were smashed, dangling This particular Thursday morn- beneath him. His remaining hand was ing – November 28, 2019 – was a damaged. Screaming for his life, he Thanksgiving holiday, and tourists slipped beneath the surface. and locals were visiting the beaches. The water was flat, the sky blue, and Andy Earl heard his friend’s mor- the underwater visibility spectac- tal terror. So did Christine Raininger, ular. Carter, 25, and his 32-year-old who was sitting on a paddleboard colleague, Andy Earl, spent a couple nearby and had yelled at the boat of hours among the sharks, eels, tur- to slow down. They reached Carter tles, octopus and angelfish. Finally, at about the same time. While Andy around noon, they headed for shore. kept Carter’s face out of the water, Christine squeezed his upper arm to Outboard motors have an un- stem the blood flow, then fashioned mistakable sound when divers are a tourniquet from the cord on her underwater. But swimming on the paddleboard. surface, Carter didn’t hear the pow- erboat until it was almost on top of Meanwhile, the 11-metre speed- him. When he saw it, he knew he had boat, named Talley Girl, was revers- just an instant. He pulled desperately ing urgently. It was powered by three to one side, getting his head and up- 400-horsepower outboard engines per torso out of the boat’s path before with five-blade propellers. On board it ran him over. were retired Goldman Sachs execu- tive Daniel Stanton, his 30-year-old He braced and tumbled. The sea- son, Daniel Jr, his son-in-law and two water around him turned crimson. grandchildren. Daniel Jr was at the 42 may 2022

Run Over By A Speedboat wheel. Horrified, in shock, he helped But the worst day of Carter’s life was Earl and Raininger load Carter onto not without things to be thankful for: the boat’s stern. Earl and Raininger being so close; the speedboat reversing so quickly; I’m not going to make it, Carter the first responders wading into the thought, pain searing through the ocean to meet Talley Girl. At St Mary’s adrenalin. No way I’m gonna make it. Medical Center, the 12-person criti- cal-care team received Carter in the Earl, too, feared his friend could trauma bay barely 20 minutes after not survive such wounds. “God is the boat struck. with us,” he reassured Viss, over and over, holding his hand as Talley Girl Dr Robert Borrego, a critical-care made for shore. surgeon and the medical director of trauma at St Mary’s, was in the mid- Carter felt his fear and panic melt dle of his shift. The son of a Cuban away. In its place came total surren- fisherman, Dr Borrego had come to der, a kind of blissful acceptance. the US at age nine. Thirty years at St Dying felt like diving down into another beautifully peaceful realm. After striking Carter Viss, the driver of the Talley Girl delivered him to the beach PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT readersdigest.com.au 43

READER’S DIGEST Mary’s and a stint at a field hospital their slow process of repair. Fractures in Iraq had acclimatised him to deal- in the left hand and wrist were also ing with trauma. Many soldiers he’d set and soft-tissue damage repaired. worked on had been devastated by Three-and-a-half hours later, infused explosive devices. with saline and eight units each of Dr Borrego did a quick assessment. red blood cells, plasma and platelets, Major open wounds in the ocean are Carter was moved to the intensive doubly perilous because the victim’s care unit (ICU). bleeding is not slowed by clotting, The next 48 to 72 hours would be and infection is very likely. Carter critical. The human body can only had lost at least 40 per cent of his fight so many battles at once before blood volume and was on the verge of shutting down. All anyone could do multi-organ failure. now was wait, and His arm had been re- CARTER HAD LOST hope, and see if he’d trieved by a diver, but A LOT OF BLOOD pull through. there was no hope of AND WAS VERGING In Centennial, a reattaching it. ON MULTIPLE town outside Denver, Dr Borrego not- Chuck and Leila Viss ed the damaged left ORGAN FAILURE were taking a chilly, hand and wrist. The snowy walk when Lei- right knee was dis- la’s phone rang. The located, the kneecap was nearly sev- display showed a Florida number; she ered, and the femur was fractured. assumed it was a telemarketer. The lower left leg and ankle were Back in the car, heading home smashed, and the left foot was turn- to start dinner, she saw there were ing blue. two voicemail messages. She put the It was a miracle Carter was alive, phone on speaker so Chuck could but every moment counted. One listen too. It was a police officer in option was to amputate both legs, Palm Beach. As the mother of three which would lower the infection risk. active boys – Carter was her mid- But because Carter was young and dle son – Leila wondered, what had otherwise healthy, Dr Borrego and Carter done? his team decided to try to save them. “Boating accident ... lost one arm ... Three surgeons and two residents trying to save his legs.” got to work. First came amputation Panicked, weeping, they pulled of the mangled arm. Next, each leg into a car park. “We took turns losing was reset and encased in a fixator, it and comforting each other,” said a sort of exoskeleton that maintains Leila. The day became a desperate, proper alignment as the bones begin blurry scramble – cancelling dinner, 44 may 2022

Run Over By A Speedboat urgent calls, sobbing helplessly, try- excised, a titanium rod inserted in ing to book flights on a public holiday. his shattered tibia, and hardware in- Chuck’s persistence paid off when he stalled in his left wrist and right knee. found two seats out of Denver that Leila, a piano teacher, needed to evening, with a layover in Boston. be back home, but Chuck could work If there’s such a place as purgato- remotely, so he stayed on. ry, it just might resemble Boston’s One morning, after Carter had had Logan Airport at 4am when you’re his tubes removed, Dr Borrego told so emotionally spent that you’ve him the battle was 90 per cent won. run out of tears, unsure whether I’ve got a long road ahead of me, Cart- your son would be alive when you er thought, but I’m going to make it. reached him. And daring to con- He decided he would use his spared template wheth- ONE MORNING, life to educate others er, if he ended up DR BORREGO about ocean safety with just one limb, TOLD CARTER THAT and conservation. it might be better THE BATTLE WAS Heading into yet an- if he passed away – 90 PER CENT WON other surgery, he told this young man who his parents, “I can lived to snorkel and make a bigger differ- fish and play guitar ence now than I ever and piano. could before.” Frayed and exhausted, the Visses Over the 68 days Carter spent in reached the hospital around 10am. hospital, his recovery felt agonis- The sight of their son in the ICU, swol- ingly slow. Actually, says Dr Borre- len and bandaged, right arm missing, go, it was remarkably fast. His par- and tubes down his throat, was over- ents noted each milestone. The first whelming. They had to be helped out day Carter sat up. Being moved out to compose themselves. of ICU. The first time, after surgery So began their vigil. The Visses took on the nerves in his right knee, he turns by his bedside, where Carter was wiggled his toes. The first time he on a ventilator. He was tormented by sat in a wheelchair. Then, standing hallucinations – ‘ICU psychosis’, doc- unaided and, a few days after that, tors call it. He knew his family was taking his first shaky, painful steps. there, tearful and comforting, but so But another battle had just begun. were strange, gruesome creatures that Heavy doses of morphine, oxycodone were crawling all over him. and fentanyl had eased his pain. Dr “Get them off me,” he begged. Borrego explained to the Visses that Carter didn’t know he’d had four a successful outcome depended on operations. Infected flesh had been him getting off opioids: “I’ve seen readersdigest.com.au 45

READER’S DIGEST Carter with his mother, Leila, and during his rehabilitation many lives ruined when patients emotional legacy is less obvious. “I PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE VISS FAMILY can’t break free.” try not to remember how real the acci- dent was, the panic and horror,” Carter Carter understood the gravity of the says. “It feels more like a dream, or a issue. He gradually reduced his doses, nightmare. And I try not to think of and then tore off his fentanyl patch. what I can’t do and focus on ways to Withdrawal made for a harrowing few work around things.” days, but Carter, as Dr Borrego puts it, “has incredible mental strength.” An investigation found that Talley Girl had been going at least 80 kilo- In June 2020, Carter returned to metres per hour when it struck Cart- work. His duties include helping re- er, despite the red-and-white ‘diver habilitate loggerhead sea turtles that down’ marker on the water. In Sep- have been injured in boat strikes. tember 2020, Daniel Stanton Jr was charged with wilful and reckless Today he can bend his right knee operation of a vessel, punishable by only 90 degrees. He’s been fitted up to a year in gaol. with a prosthetic arm but finds it cumbersome. But all in all, says “Carter insisted he did not want Dr Borrego, his recovery has been Stanton to face incarceration,” almost miraculous. says Chuck Viss. “He said, ‘I’d Physical healing is one thing. The 46 may 2022

Run Over By A Speedboat rather have him working with me went to Stanton Jr and shook his hand. on ocean safety than sitting in a Tears flowed and the wall of silence gaol cell.’” between the families came down. As The court hearing two months lat- the two men embraced, Carter said er marked the first time Carter and quietly, “Let’s make a difference.” Stanton Jr had seen each other since One of their ideas is a better ‘diver the day their lives changed. Leila down’ marker. The current design is a and Chuck were there, PHYSICAL red flag with a diagonal as was Stanton’s moth- HEALING IS white stripe. Depending er. Stanton Sr attended ONE THING. on wind direction how- via Zoom. The families BUT THE ever, a boater may not avoided eye contact. EMOTIONAL see it. Carter favours a LEGACY IS LESS bigger, three-dimen- Carter read a vic- OBVIOUS sional buoy, visible in tim-impact statement any weather, with re- and then Daniel Stanton flective strips. In addi- Jr addressed him direct- tion, Carter wants strict ly. Carter knew that the speed enforcement. remorse was genuine and profound. “There Has the legal resolu- was no doubt how he felt,” Chuck tion led to forgiveness? “Forgiveness agreed. “You could see the pain in his comes from the heart,” says Carter. eyes.” “I feel like I’m going in the right di- Stanton Jr was sentenced to rection. If I were him and had to live 75 hours of community service, one w i t h t h e g u i l t a n d r e m o r s e , year of probation, a US$1000 fine, I’d almost prefer to be in my shoes. and a mandate to work with Carter It’s a complex thing emotionally, but on legislation to enhance ocean safety if I can ease someone else’s pain, and conservation. Afterwards, Carter I will.” Smarter Than Your Average Bird Wanting to learn more about the social dynamics of the highly intelligent Australian magpie, scientists recently tagged five with a small harness tracker. What the academics didn’t expect was to discover altruistic and problem-solving behaviour. Within minutes of the trackers being fitted, one magpie was walking around without it. Within hours, the group of birds had successfully cooperated to remove all the trackers by pulling and pecking at them. THECONVERSATION.COM/AU readersdigest.com.au 47

READER’S DIGEST LIFE’S LIKE THAT Seeing The Funny Side Blow-Out My mother is seven years older than my father, and he never lets her forget it. It was her birthday recently and he put just one candle on her cake. She seemed puzzled, and he told her, “Well, I didn’t want to put a strain on your lungs.” SUBMITTED BY JOANNE AITCHISON “Sorry, that spot is reserved.” Downing Tools CARTOON: CARTOON BY GUTO DIAS. ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES Fateful Name A few years ago, my father-in-law set about My son and I were walking in the a task in the kitchen cemetery when we came upon an that his wife required ornate mausoleum. New to reading to be undertaken. He placed the and interested in words, my son necessary tools and equipment pointed to the name carved at the on the worktop in readiness for top and asked, “What does that the work and then briefly left say?” the kitchen. On his return, the worktop was clear of his careful I told him the family name: preparations. He enquired as to “Eaton.” their whereabouts, upon which my mother-in-law said she had tidied Now horrified, he responded, them away as he had left them “By what?” lying around, cluttering up the kitchen! SUBMITTED BY AUDREY MALDONADO SUBMITTED BY ALLAN BRIDGER 48 may 2022