Good Tuesday morning, and welcome back to work if you hadn’t already made it there.
New Year’s Day observed is weird. But, according to the interwebs, if a federally recognized holiday falls on a weekend, then all full-time employees are entitled to an “in lieu of” holiday on the following Monday for pay and leave purposes. (I know plenty of people, including yours truly, who worked this day, and thankfully Starbucks was open).
Given my frequent mentions of caffeine, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that I am not the world’s best sleeper. If you take note of the time these posts go up, then you’ll really get the picture of what I mean there.
The combination of too much liquid stimulant, anxiety, and age is a killer when it comes to getting sufficient rest.
Generally speaking, though, the average person spends about 26 years of their life asleep. In fact, we spend more time asleep than we do doing anything else, though work and screen time are up there.
I think this is a total gyp, as I believe I’ve said before, but just IMAGINE all the amazing things you could have done with that lost time.
Unfortunately, humans don’t have much choice in the matter. We NEED to sleep in order to function and stay alive. Sleep deprivation is, in fact, an infamously effective torture tactic.
The record for going the longest period without sleep is 11 days and 25 minutes (just over 264 hours), which was set in 1963 by a 17-year-old American named Randy Gardner, though others have since claimed to have defeated him.
Scientists aren’t entirely sure how long humans can survive without sleep. It isn’t long, though, before the effects of sleep deprivation start to make their presence known. After just three or four nights of being awake, hallucinations can begin to set in.
Lack of sleep can lead to slower reflexes, cognitive impairments, irritability, paranoia, psychosis and more, causing increased risk of workplace accidents and errors as well as car crashes. In fact, studies have compared going without sleep for just 24 hours to having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent – higher than the legal limit to drive in most states across the U.S.
Sleep disorders can also impair your physical health, leading to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression.
Despite how important sleep is to optimal functioning, the number of people who have trouble getting to sleep in the first place – and remaining asleep once they manage to get there – is staggering. About one-third of adults in the U.S. report getting less than the recommended amount of sleep, and the pandemic did not help matters one iota.
It appears the sweet spot is 7 or more hours of shuteye, but reports on this vary, and the amount is higher for very young children. Also, contrary to popular believe, you don’t need less sleep as you get older, but your sleep patterns may vary. You do sleep LIGHTER as you age, which contributes to less restful nights and more trips to the bathroom.
America is NOT, however, the most sleep-deprived country in the world. That title goes to Japan, where folks average just about 6.25 hours a night, followed by South Korea and Saudi Arabia, which average about 6 to 6.5 hours a night.
All this explains why the sleep aids market is big business, and getting bigger all the time. A lot of people – myself included – rely on a variety of things, a veritable cocktail, if you will, to get to sleep. It turns out that doing so isn’t do great for you, either. Apparently, the answer lies in a sleep routine, a colder room, limiting screen time before bed, and meditation.
Let me know how that goes for you. OH, and by the way, it’s Festival of Sleep Day, which sounds made-up to me, but nevertheless provided the opportunity to delve into a very worthwhile topic.
It looks like a good time to start napping, if you have the opportunity, because we’re in for a stretch of unusually warm but also wet weather. Today will be rainy (100 percent chance of precipitation) with temperatures in the mid-to-high 40s.
In the headlines…
With the House slated to start voting on who will command the gavel around midday today, California Rep. McCarthy remains short of the necessary 218 votes he needs to land the speakership.
McCarthy launched a final bid to convince the right wing of his party to support his speakership, making major concessions to the group, which many found insufficient.
The standoff underscored McCarthy’s precarious position within his conference and all but guaranteed that even if he eked out a victory he would be a diminished figure beholden to an empowered right flank.
If the first ballot fails to provide a speaker, lawmakers will continue to vote until a candidate receives a majority. Members can vote for different candidates each ballot.
North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik’s message after winning reelection from her peers as conference chair with the incoming Republican majority called for members to “keep our message disciplined, unified and on offense every single day.”
Brazilian law enforcement authorities intend to revive fraud charges against Congressman-elect George Santos, and will seek his formal response, prosecutors told The New York Times.
Santos used creative campaign finance moves that had his supporters effectively bankroll a $25,000 contribution he funneled to Lee Zeldin’s Republican gubernatorial bid.
A man who was 18 years old when he began dating and then moved in with Santos—while the future congressman was married to a woman—says he was lied to, too
The Long Island Republican has said he plans to take the oath of office today when the new Congress begins in Washington.
President Joe Biden is headed toward challenges that could threaten his legacy, including the possibility of a global recession and the high likelihood of legislative gridlock in a newly divided federal government now that the GOP has control of the House.
Biden enters the new year with lingering questions over his age and his overall political strength — most notably whether he can defeat a different Republican in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if he is the GOP nominee in 2024.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is planning a trip to Israel this month after the formation of a new government topped by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House official said.
Biden says there are no current discussions about joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, after his Korean counterpart called for a more active role in managing atomic weapons on the Korean peninsula.
The US is in discussions with South Korea on ways to deter Kim Jong Un’s regime from using nuclear weapons, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called on Biden to either end work-from-home telework policies for federal government employees or turn over vacant government buildings for housing in a new push to move 100,000 new residents into the city.
A text exchange between Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff Julie Radford and White House aide Hope Hicks reveals their anger over Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, hurting them professionally, according to newly released House select committee documents.
Hicks texted “we all look like domestic terrorists now” as the then president’s supporters overran the US Capitol.
“In one day he ended every future opportunity that doesn’t include speaking engagements at the local proud boys chapter,” Hicks said, apparently referring to Trump. Radford responded, “Yup,” seemingly agreeing.
The panel posted thousands of pages of evidence late Sunday in a public database that provide the clearest glimpse yet at the well-coordinated effort by some Trump allies to help Trump seize a second term he didn’t win.
The panel said it has now turned over an “enormous volume of material” to the Justice Department as Jack Smith, the special counsel, conducts a parallel investigation into the events of Jan. 6.
Facebook’s parent company Meta is considering whether to allow Trump back on to its platforms and is due to announce its decision in the coming weeks, a company spokesperson said.
If there was any doubt Trump’s vilification of early voting is only hurting the GOP, new receipts from the midterm elections show it.
A top Chinese public-health official warned of widespread Covid-19 outbreaks across the country’s more vulnerable rural areas as millions of citizens prepare to travel home for the coming Lunar New Year holiday.
A senior doctor at one of Shanghai’s top hospitals has said 70 percent of the megacity’s population may have been infected with Covid-19 during China’s huge surge in cases, state media reported.
The wave of Covid infections sweeping across China may already have peaked in some of the country’s largest cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, according to a new study.
A new study has found a link between vaccine responses and higher antibody concentrations.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has issued a 12-page list of legislation that will take effect in 2023, including minimum wage raises and changes in how you can cast your ballot.
Kayden Hern, 9, received a personal invite from Hochul to serve as the poet laureate of her inaugural ceremonies Sunday.
The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals game yesterday was suspended in the first quarter after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter. The NFL said Hamlin was in critical condition.
The Bills announced early this morning that Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest. His heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment.
About nine minutes into the game, Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard catch. Higgins rammed into Hamlin at full speed, appearing to hit him in the head and chest area. He took two steps and collapsed backward.
Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have issued statements praying for Hamlin’s recovery.
Democrats in the state Assembly are set to block Republican Assemblyman-elect Lester Chang from being seated this week after leadership’s investigative report concluded he was only a “visitor” to the Brooklyn district from which he was elected.
The 19-year-old suspect accused of attacking New York police officers with a machete near Times Square on New Year’s Eve, Trever Bickford, has been arrested and faces charges of attempted murder of a police officer.
Bickford was previously on the FBI’s radar and was interviewed by agents in the weeks before the attack.
The cops Bickford is accused of attacking near Times Square on New Year’s Eve were recovering at home after being released from the hospital, police said.
Bickford traveled to New York from his home in Maine to injure the police in an act of Islamic extremism, a senior law enforcement official said.
A bill seeking to overhaul and modernize the state’s compensation policies in cases of wrongful death is in limbo, with negotiations moving slowly after the bill landed on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk during the holiday week, lawmakers said.
Thousands of nurses at seven New York City hospitals are threatening to go on strike on Jan. 9 if their ongoing contract negotiations falter, setting up the potential for one of the largest nursing labor walkouts on record in the U.S.
A New York university professor is drawing heat as “anti-cop” and “blaming the victim” for condemning as murderers two Suffolk County cops that shot dead the knife wielding man who tried to kill them, leaving them with serious stab wounds.
As crews resumed work on a damaged water pipe, Saratoga Springs officials handed out bottled water to residents who were urged to boil municipal water before drinking until testing confirms the water wasn’t tainted by bacteria.
Under pressure amid a boycott by top law schools, U.S. News & World Report told law school deans that it will make several changes in the next edition of its influential ratings.
Former top-ranked tennis star Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with two unrelated types of cancer, she revealed.
The Brazilian coastal city of Santos, which sporting giant Pele turned into a byword for soccer brilliance during a glittering club career, started bidding goodbye to its hero yesterday with a 24-hour wake.
