Photo: Thinkstock

With the end of summer almost upon us, it can be tempting to start scheduling fall sessions at the tanning salon to feel that warm, sun-like sensation on your skin. Yes, this activity has long been known to cause skin cancer and premature aging, but according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 30 million people every year are still willing to hit the tanning bed. And if you ask them why, they'll say that a little color makes them feel sexier and look thinner. But what they may not realize is how hard it can be to stop.

Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently discovered that frequent indoor tanning causes changes to the brain similar to those seen in people addicted to drugs and alcohol. UV light, says senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry at the university, Dr. Bryan Adinoff, has rewarding effects in the brain—causing people to continue flocking to tanning beds despite knowing the lethal side effects [as reported by The New York Times].

Bottom line: Skip the tanning salon and opt for streak-proof self-tanner to get your glow on instead. And when the colder temperatures set in, pretend you're still basking in the hot summer rays  by curling up with one of O's tantalizing beach reads.

What do you think of this study? Ever visit the tanning bed or know someone who has?

Keep reading:

Confessions of a tanaholic
Beauty extras that'll give you more oomph
Get a foolproof summer glow

What would it take to change your life for the better? It may be less than you think—we’ve got mini-makeovers to help you upgrade everything from your workout to your weekend. #14: Spend time with someone you don't agree with.

Illustration: Marcos Chin

Looking past divisive politics and differing views to the person on the other side of the issue may be challenging, but it's not impossible. Elizabeth Lesser, cofounder of the Omega Institute and author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, suggests starting with lunch.
           
"Otherising" is the dangerous act of turning someone into the enemy just because he or she looks different, prays different, speaks different, or thinks different. Some of history's most tragic events—wars, genocides, terrorist acts—began with ordinary people demonizing other ordinary people.

I noticed a remarkable amount of otherising during the 2008 presidential race. And there was one woman doing it who bothered me the most—me!

Keep Reading to find out to open your mind

It almost seems as if some cosmic alarm went off this week that was only audible to exceptionally successful leaders, signaling that it was time for them to reconsider their position at the top. Steve Job's resignation as the CEO of Apple on Wednesday was maybe the biggest announcement, if the least shocking, and earlier this week, Pat Summitt, the "winningest coach" in college basketball history, revealed that her position as the head of the University of Tennessee women's team would be complicated by a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's. Then yesterday, the pioneering blogger Jim Romenesko, whose intelligent writing about news and media captivated even those who didn't carry a press pass, said that he was retiring from the Poynter Institute blog that bears his name.

These mid-life changes-of-plans got us thinking about how to recognize when it's time to make a change.

Photo: Philip Friedman/Studio D.

Q: How can I update my basic sweaters for fall?

A: Remember dickeys? True, they have the world's most undignified name, but I can still picture the pulled-together look these wardrobe workhorses gave my mother back in the '70s, and now I see versions that elevate crew-neck and V-neck sweaters in a really modern way. The new line CeCe Toppings includes dozens of lightweight cotton styles that have the crisp effect of a collared shirt without any of the bulk. I love how they give one sweater multiple personalities.

Sweater, $210, whiteandwarren.com. Dickeys, starting at $30 each, cecetoppings.com.

Ask Adam your style questions or follow @TheRealAdamSays on Twitter

Photo: Thinkstock

When the inevitable 5:30 PM thought, "What am I making for dinner tonight?" pops into your head this evening, try one of these three sites that offer fantastic (and free) help.

Gojee
How it works: You tell Gojee which ingredients you have on hand and which ones you don't like or are allergic to. It then pulls up recipes that meet your criteria, from food blogs like Not Eating Out in New York and Sassy Radish. Beautiful, screen-wide photographs make every recipe look like a winner.
Best for: CSA subscribers with specific tastes, who are trying to figure out what to do with seven pounds of zucchini or three huge bunches of kale.

Food on the Table
How it works: You build a profile, finding your local grocery store on the site's map, selecting which proteins (e.g., pork, beef, fish) you love, and picking which kinds of meals you want to always, sometimes or never make (e.g., heart-healthy, vegan, Italian, kid-friendly). Then, the site creates weekly meal plans with recipes and grocery lists based on that information, and tells you if any of the necessary ingredients are on sale at your store. There's a mobile app, too.
Best for: Heads of households who have a life outside of cooking dinner for their family.

Punchfork
How it works: The site uses real-time data like tweets and Facebook shares to measure which recipes people are talking about online. It rates each recipe from 1 to 100; the higher a recipe's score, the more it has been talked about and shared on the web. New recipes appear minutes after they're published, and the site has a sleek, magazine-like visual layout.
Best for: Foodies who want to make of-the-moment dishes, which might be Blueberry Ketchup one day and tacos made with Pillsbury Grands! refrigerated buttermilk biscuits the next.

Once again, we're knocked out by the way science columnist John Tierney introduces us to...ourselves. We've been thinking about his latest all week, especially when pondering our choices of what to make for dinner, when to work out and how to spend the last days of summer. In an article about decision-making fatigue in last weekend's New York Times Magazine, Tierney explained that constantly having to choose between options can have a debilitating effect on our willpower, mood and energy levels. "Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car," Tierney wrote. "No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price." (By the way, can you guess what common ritual is "the decision-fatigue equivalent of Hell Week"?).  

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

Photo: New York Times Magazine

* Catching up with the Reader-in-Chief: Newsweek presents every book the president has read while in office in handy illustrated form. (The Daily Beast)

* Comedian Andy Samberg channels McEnroe, Borg, Agassi and other tennis greats for The New York Times Magazine this weekend, and this behind-the-scenes video shows how he got into character. (NYTimes.com)

* "So frustrating because, if [you were outed], there was no ability to assume that your record stood for itself. All of a sudden there was this mystical discovery that made your record go into the trash." As Don't Ask Don't Tell comes to an end, GQ's Chris Heath interviews gay service members, and the results are fascinating and heartbreaking. (GQ)

* Are you ready to meet the perfect groom? This guy surprised his girlfriend with a proposal and her dream wedding on the same day.  (Glamour.com)

* "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."—Jack Layton, a Canadian politician who died of cancer this week at the age of 61, in a letter to his country. (CBC)

For the many readers who poignantly confide unhappiness about their thinning hair, there's encouraging news, reported in The New Natural: Your Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Age Reversal, a just-released book by dermatologist Neil Sadick, MD. Within the next year or two, several increasingly effective hair-growth-stimulating topical preparations will hit the market, Sadick says. And a recently completed study of an injectable drug, likely available within five years, showed remarkable results after a single treatment, including increased hair density and rapid hair growth that has continued over a 12-month period. Stem cell research, too, is yielding breakthroughs, says Sadick, so the problem of hair loss may sooner rather than later be a thing of the past.
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