Good FRIDAY morning!
It seems kind of ironic to be writing the following sentence at 3 a.m. – especially given the exchange on Twitter I had yesterday with some of you, but….it’s World Sleep Day.
So this is traditionally observed (at least for the past 14 years) one day before the Spring Equinox, which is tomorrow. (For the record, that’s the time of the year when the sun is above the equator and day and night are of equal lengths). The purpose is to discuss the impact of different activities on sleep, and to celebrate and raise awareness about sleep as a privilege – and a right.
Without sleep, we can’t survive. Full stop.
The longest recorded time without sleep is approximately 264 hours – just over 11 consecutive days. It not entirely how long humans can live without sleep, but it isn’t long – about three or four nights – before the effects of sleep deprivation start to show.
After that minimal period of time, you can start to hallucinate. Also, prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to: cognitive impairments, paranoia, psychosis, irritability and delusions.
Sleep is when the body repairs itself, and research has also been done that shows failing to sleep enough contributes to weight gain.
The sleep-wake cycle helps to regulate the release of certain hormones, including cortisol, insulin, and human growth hormone. Going without sleep for an extended period of time can alter several bodily functions, including mood, stress level, appetite and more.
Of course, sleeping TOO much also isn’t good for you. But that’s a discussion for another day.
Missing a since night of sleep does have an impact. Studies have compared a period of 24-hour wakefulness to having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent, which is above the legal driving limit in most states.
The slogan of World Sleep Day this year is “Regular Sleep, Healthy Future”. (There is, for the record, a World Sleep Society).
Now, I’ve never been the greatest sleeper. I’m plagued by nightmares, insomnia, and, when I do manage to get to sleep, cinematic dreams that are disturbingly realistic – so much so that I sometimes have difficulty distinguishing sleep from reality. That might be the result of the Melatonin I often take to try to help me drift off. (Overuse is not the best, folks, take it from me).
The past year has taken a particular toll on sleep, writ large, as the stress of the pandemic weighed very heavily on out collective psyche. I’ve recently started a deep breathing regimen that seems to help. But it’s still a struggle. I wont’ lie.
Also worth a mention: It’s National Chocolate Caramel Day. There’s caffeine (and of course, sugar) in chocolate, (8.5 milligrams in a 3.5 ounce bar of the very dark stuff, which isn’t all that far off from the 95 milligrams in a generic 8 ounce cup of brewed coffee). So if you have trouble sleeping, perhaps don’t indulge in celebrating this day too close to bedtime – whenever that is for you.
It’s going to be sunny today, with temperatures flirting with 40 degrees. The weather forecast for the coming weekend looks AMAZING. Get outside and soak up that Vitamin D.
In the headlines…
The Biden administration yesterday nixed plans for a political event to sell the president’s Covid relief bill in Atlanta today, announcing plans instead to meet with Asian American leaders there in the wake of a string of shootings at spas earlier this week.
President Joe Biden ordered that flags outside the White House, other public buildings, military posts and naval stations in the District of Columbia and throughout the country and its territories be flown at half-staff to honor the Atlanta victims.
The incident is mobilizing Asian-Americans who have seen their communities victimized by hate crimes over the past year, even if police haven’t determined whether the shooting belongs in that category.
The administration is expected to reach an important milestone today: 100 million coronavirus vaccines administered across the U.S. – goal achieved well ahead of the president’s 100-day benchmark. (It’s 58 days into Joe Biden’s presidency).
Europe’s top drug regulator said the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine is safe, despite reports of unusual blood clots in a small number of the nearly 18 million people who have received at least one dose in Europe and the U.K.
France, Italy, Spain and Portugal said they would start vaccinating residents again after the European Medicines Agency said new expert analysis concluded that the benefits of using a Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca outweigh its potential risks.
The U.S. plans to send millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico and Canada, the White House said, a notable step into vaccine diplomacy just as the Biden administration is quietly pressing Mexico to curb the stream of migrants coming to the border.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said people are too focused on the thought of herd immunity – the point at which enough people are protected against the virus to suppress spread – for this novel coronavirus.
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul accused Fauci — the nation’s top infectious disease expert — of perpetuating “nanny state” policies that unnecessarily prolong mask use among vaccinated Americans.
A member of the World Health Organization investigative team says wildlife farms in southern China are the most likely source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers working to show when and how the virus first emerged in China calculate that it probably did not infect the first human being until October 2019 at the very earliest. And their models also showed it almost didn’t make it as a pandemic virus.
Tanzania’s leadership faced calls for a smooth succession after president John Magufuli, Africa’s most vehement coronavirus skeptic, died following an 18-day absence from public life that drew speculation about his health.
Johnson & Johnson is working to develop modified versions of its COVID-19 vaccine that may be needed to protect against virus variants.
Following the lead of two volunteer websites that have streamlined the appointment process, NYCVaccineList and TurboVax, the New York City Council unanimously passed a bill requiring the city to develop a single, unified website for vaccine appointments.
New York will allow sports and performing arts venues that seat more than 2,500 people outdoors to open at limited capacity starting on April 1, just in time for the Yankees’ first home game of the season.
The judge in Derek Chauvin’s trial will rule today on the defense’s requests to delay the proceedings and to submit evidence related to George Floyd’s 2019 arrest.
A child was killed in an accident involving a Peloton Interactive treadmill, the fitness equipment maker’s chief executive officer said in a letter posted online for customers.
Google says it is doubling down on the office, planning to spend $7 billion this year on expanding its footprint of offices and data centers across the U.S., including pouring $1 billion into its home state of California.
Google announced that it plans to invest over $250 million into New York throughout 2021.
The House of Representatives voted to approve a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, including farmworkers and “Dreamers” brought to the country illegally as minors.
The bipartisan votes on both bills demonstrated some appetite for collaboration on immigration, even while Republicans apply pressure and blame on the Biden administration for the situation at the border.
Like most of their House colleagues, Republicans in the 50-50 split Senate insist that any bill benefiting Dreamers would have to also bolster security at the Mexican border, where there’s a steep surge in arrivals of mostly Central American migrants.
Ana Liss, the third former staffer to publicly accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate conduct, met with investigators from the state attorney general’s office yesterday via Zoom.
In the two-hour meeting, Liss said she answered questions about her time in Cuomo’s office between 2013 and 2015, detailing what she called “instances of unsolicited attention paid to me by the Governor and the sexually hostile work environment perpetuated by him and senior staff.”
“I don’t think the average person in New York would like to know that their governor is an absolute monster,” Liss said in a subsequent interview.
Former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan, who was the first to accuse the governor of sexual harassment, claimed he once boorishly joked that he would “mount” her if he were a dog.
Boylan gave an extensive interview to The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow, saying of the governor: “His main source of power is destroying you in the press. Look what he did to me.”
Boylan also told Farrow she recalled seeing a dartboard bearing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s face at the Executive Mansion in Albany and thought that was “brazen.”
A new bill introduced called “Lindsey’s Law” — for Boylan — would make it a crime for public officials to retaliate against employees who level similar allegations.
A new Quinnipiac poll found that just a quarter of New York voters want Cuomo reelected to a fourth term, as his approval ratings continue to nosedive amid escalating nursing home and sexual harassment scandals.
Cuomo held a news conference without taking questions from journalists yesterday — one day after refusing to address mounting allegations of sexual harassment because he’s facing an impeachment investigation.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating a push by Cuomo’s administration to enact broad protections for nursing homes from lawsuits and criminal prosecution early in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter.
In recent weeks, FBI officials have been looking to interview members of Cuomo’s staff and other state officials about the eleventh-hour addition to the state budget last March.
A Staten Island nursing home executive says that he argued against a controversial, state mandate to accept COVID-19 patients from hospitals – and that he saved many lives by locking down his facility instead.
New York City officials expressed frustration over not being consulted by state officials on reopening decisions that may affect the spread of Covid-19, while officials in Albany announced plans to loosen restrictions on outdoor sports arenas.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio accused Cuomo of lifting coronavirus restrictions based on his “political needs” — after the governor defied the mayor to reopen indoor fitness classes in New York City.
Four NYC strip clubs – NYC Gentlemen’s Club, Starlet’s, Sugar Daddy’s and Gallagher’s 2000 – sued the state in Manhattan Federal Court, arguing it’s unfair for them to remain shuttered while bowling alleys, axe throwing venues and restaurants are allowed to operate.
Cuomo’s easing of restrictions this week on the size of wedding parties may be welcome news to some couples. But the rules and restrictions surrounding such gatherings remain as complicated as ever, thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Five Manhattan schools have received suspicious envelopes that contained nonhazardous powder over the past eight days, New York Police Department officials said.
Each of the schools received a white envelope with the address handwritten in block letters that contained the suspicious substance, later found to be harmless, according to the NYPD.
Nearly 20 percent of New York City’s high-school students are expected to resume in-person learning Monday, including some whose school buildings were closed for as much as a year because of Covid-19 restrictions and ventilation problems.
Angry New York parents have lashed out at de Blasio, saying his so-called reopening of schools is a “farce” and a failure.
Thirty-one area school districts are asking the state to allow them to bring all of their students back into the classroom.
After a pandemic-ravaged year in which tourists largely stopped coming to New York at different points, the city is starting to see an uptick in visitors.
Parents who wished to opt out of vaccinating their children for measles under a former exemption on religious grounds lost their appeal at the state’s second-highest court.
Nearly 40 percent of the workers at New York’s group homes for the developmentally disabled have refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — even though a Cuomo administration policy directs the facilities to accept people with the coronavirus.
Major unions and labor organizations released a joint statement backing proposals by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature to increase taxes on upper income earners and generate more revenue from the financial service industry in New York.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn shared his concerns about the legalization of recreational cannabis, particularly, how “driving while high” would be prosecuted and for the public’s safety.
A majority of New Yorkers want marijuana to be legalized for adult use, according to a new poll—and they further favor allowing for home delivery, cultivation for personal use and letting retail and cultivation facilities operate in their neighborhoods.
Good news for restaurants in the Capital Region. Starting today, they will be allowed to have 75% indoor capacity.
A Town of Niskayuna police officer said that “ongoing stress and an unhealthy work environment” that the former police chief and some town leaders ignored for years are among the reasons the department has suffered and he is leaving.
Former employees of St. Clare’s Hospital, which the state forced to close in 2008, are hoping that some of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavius relief bill can be used to fund their broke pension plan.
An administrative law judge ruled earlier this month that the City of Albany’s patrol officers and detectives should be represented by one union rather than two.
The Albany Symphony Orchestra has announced its season for the year 2021-2022, which also marks music director David Alan Miller’s 30th anniversary with ASO. The season anticipates an all-live season, while leaving a virtual option intact.
The first class-action lawsuit has been brought against Plug Power after the Latham fuel cell maker revealed accounting issues earlier this month that led to a major sell-off of its shares.
Albany Police and the state Department of Environmental Conservation are investigating after a driver slammed into a group of birds in the Hannaford Plaza on Central Avenue on March 8.
The 62-year-old hiker who was found deceased near the top of Hunter Mountain has been identified as Robert Gerity of Rye, N.Y, according to Greene County Coroner Hassan Basagic III. He died of natural causes, and was an avid hiker familiar with the area.
The first round of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament will have a different schedule than years past, taking place today and Saturday, with the second round scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
Condé Nast parted ways with the incoming editor of Teen Vogue, Alexi McCammond, after an uproar among some staffers and readers over racist and homophobic social-media messages she posted a decade ago.
