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Smoking isnt just a health risk, its a financial burden too. According to WalletHub, tobacco use costs the United States over $600 billion every year.
A restless night may leave you feeling tired at work, but what if your job is the very thing disrupting your sleep?Related video above: Simple daytime hacks for better sleep and more energyPeople with highly sedentary jobs accounting for 80% of the current U.S. workforce face a significantly higher risk of insomnia, according to a new study published January 7 in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.”We already know sleep is as close as a magic bullet that we have for employee productivity and well-being, yet the way job design has changed work endangers sleep health,” said Dr. Claire Smith, lead study author and assistant professor of psychology at the University of South Florida.How job design impacts your sleepThe research, which analyzed data from more than 1,000 workers over 10 years from the National Midlife in the United States study, examined how job design impacts employees’ sleep patterns. Job design, as defined by the study, includes elements such as the amount of technology used at work, levels of physical activity and work schedules, specifically the time of day when employees work.Participants reported their sleep habits at the beginning of the study (2004 to 2006) and again a decade later (2013 to 2017) using six sleep health indicators: sleep duration, regularity, insomnia symptoms, napping habits, daytime fatigue and the time it took to fall asleep.To track changes in sleep patterns over 10 years, the study identified three distinct sleep health categories: good sleepers, insomnia sleepers and catch-up sleepers.Good sleepers are those individuals who exhibit optimal sleep patterns, which include regular sleep cycles with low levels of daytime tiredness.Insomnia sleepers experience short sleep cycles and higher levels of daytime fatigue.Catch-up sleepers fall between these two groups and often rely on naps or extra weekend sleep to compensate for irregular sleeping patterns.Workers operating on nontraditional schedules, particularly those working overnight hours, were 66% more likely to fall into the catch-up sleeper category because of their evening shifts. Smith noted that white-collar employees were more frequently categorized into the good sleeper or insomnia sleeper groups, whereas blue-collar workers were more likely to be catch-up sleepers because of their demanding shift schedules.Employees who develop poor sleep patterns because of their job design are also at risk of dealing with these habits for years. Ninety percent of insomnia sleepers saw continuous symptoms up to 10 years later.Insomnia sleepers also face a 72% to 188% greater risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and frailty, according to another study coauthored by Smith.The study’s large sample size and statistical technique, which allows the volunteers’ sleep patterns to be tracked over an extended timeframe, makes the research incredibly valuable, said Dr. Luis Buenaver, director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine program at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.Unlike other sleep studies, which tend to focus on sleep quantity or quality, Smith said this research considered many factors that could provide a deeper understanding of common sleep problems.”By using this approach, we’re able to gain access to a whole new population of people, (catch-up sleepers) who are having sleep problems that are typically ignored,” Smith said.While the researchers expected extensive computer usage to worsen sleep health, they found little correlation between the two factors.While that’s surprising given that devices are known to emit light that can be disruptive to sleep, Smith said the rise in technology use may offset these negative effects by increasing employee efficiency, ultimately protecting their sleep health.What you can do to improve your sleepSmith acknowledges that switching careers to better align with sleep needs is unrealistic for most people. However, if possible, she recommends job crafting making small adjustments throughout the workday to better align with personal needs to address sleep issues.For sedentary workers, these tweaks could include short breaks throughout the day to move. Quick bouts of physical activity such as briefly walking through the office may help you feel more tired at bedtime and help some people avoid sleep-disrupting musculoskeletal issues, Smith said.To ensure you don’t forget to take breaks, Buenaver advises people to set an hourly alert on their phone as a movement reminder. He added that taking the stairs instead of the elevator is another small way to add some more physical activity to your day.If your job allows it, setting firm boundaries around work hours can prevent late-night tasks from disrupting your biological clock, which can lead to a reliance on catch-up sleep, Smith said.Buenaver recommends unplugging smartphones and computers two hours before bedtime to avoid disturbances and setting up a charging station outside of your bedroom to avoid the temptation.If avoiding screens isn’t an option, Buenaver suggests using the blue-light filter on your device to minimize the impact on your sleep.For those working the night shift, Smith said employees may find relief by using light exposure to readjust their circadian rhythms.Ultimately, Buenaver advises people who struggle with sleeping not to lose hope if they find themselves trapped in poor sleep habits.”I want to send a positive message that you can change,” he said. “Even with little behavioral changes, they can amount to significant change if you’re persistent.”
Hollinrake: Labour’s economic black hole is self-inflicted: The shadow housing secretary says,.. News video on One News Page on Thursday, 16 January 2025
The manufacturing sector has common factors that can increase the risk of workers developing poor mental health. Learn what these factors are, how to address them, and what resources you can use to create a mentally healthy workplace.
After six weeks of painstaking talks and plenty of bargaining, Fianna Fil, Fine Gael and nine Independent TDs have agreed a Programme for Government,
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Gov. Phil Scott delivered his public safety package Wednesday for this legislative session.It included rolling back policies passed in recent years and holding repeat offenders more accountable.Scott said one of the most common things he hears from Vermonters is they don’t feel safe anymore, whether that’s in small towns or larger cities. He told us he’d filed an executive order to change the Department of Public Safety to the Agency of Public Safety, which would make it the eighth state agency.He says not much would change but it acknowledges that their having to do more work than ever, whether it’s dealing with crime, emergency management, or cybersecurity. The legislature has 90 days to announce if they disagree with the order, those close to Democratic house leadership said they don’t have a stance yet, when asked a couple of hours after the announcement. Scott said his package will come in the form of one broad bill, which will include policy to hold repeat offenders more accountable.”We see too many arrested and then released the very same day without any real consequences,” Scott said. In addition he wants to repeal the “Raise the Age” initiative which would move most charges for 19 year old’s to family court, and is set to start towards the end of April. “A lot of it is in terms of facility to house them because we don’t have one now, and we can’t intermingle them with a younger population,” Scott said. His administration also discussed removing the power of judges when it comes to reducing or suspending sentences in certain cases. “We propose limiting the ability of a judge to reduce or suspend the sentence of a person convicted of more then one violent crime,” said Jaye Johnson, who is counsel for Scott. The policy ideas are at a time when Vermont has seen another year with over 20 homicide victims, and assault reports and other crimes on the rise. “Reports of theft from motor vehicle, thefts of motor vehicles, identity theft and shoplifting have all more then doubled between 2018 and 2023,” Tucker Jones of the Dept. of Public Safety said. Scott said the laws he wants in place aren’t necessarily about putting more in jail, the state’s corrections commissioner saying they’re already over capacity, but to show there’s consequences, which he thinks will help curb crime in the state.”There’s nothing holding them accountable now; they can continue to re-offend, and they can continue to get released, so why would they do everything different. If we can hold them accountable at least until they’ve been tried, I think that will provide a deterrent for the future,” Scott said. This is the first of what is four expected packages from the governor, the other three being housing, education and affordability.
With growing competition from platforms like Googles Gemini, Anthropics Claude, and Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI is introducing new functionality to keep its chatbot relevant. The latest addition, currently in beta, introduces time management tools such as tasks, reminders, and alerts. Borrowing concepts from automation apps like Tasker, the new Tasks feature allows users to schedule small […]
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Excessive usage of mobile phones not only harms mental health but also impacts physical well-being, relationships and productivity. Here are some worst mobile phone habits that you should avoid for a healthy and balanced lifestyle.