Sunday, February 17, 2008

Pep Talk> How does lack of sleep affect us?

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Dr. Harish S. Belvi, a practicing ophthalmologist in Mumbai says, “Lack of sleep in most cases causes dry eyes, redness, and other forms of eye strain. But all this can be reduced, if the person gets his/ her usual 8 hours of sleep and a balanced diet.”
Behel says, “Whenever we start with a change in shifts, initially we are a little disorientated, grumpy and irritated. But once we get used to the new timings and balance between work and sleep, things gradually fall into place.”

Problems occurring due to lack of sleep
Vaish lists out some common problems associated with lack of sleep. Please remember some of these points are with regard to extreme cases.
~ Driver fatigue - The fewer hours of rest you get, the greater your chances are of being the cause of a car accident. “According to research studies, driving without sufficient rest is as detrimental as drunk driving,” adds Vaish.
~ Sleeping shortages quickly alter the body's ability to regulate glucose and produce insulin, mimicking the symptoms of impaired glucose tolerance, or diabetes.
~ Other effects—
  • Heartburn and ulcer
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome

Lack of sleep can also affect your personal life. Even though productivity at work can drastically go down, but it can also have adverse effects on your relationships. “Lack of sleep and rest at times can take a toll and it drastically cuts down on your social life. Compared to a non-BPO professional, you could say it’s a struggle to keep your personal life afloat,” adds Behel.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Pep Talk> Do you get enough sleep?

Text by: Tanya Munshi
There is a lot more to sleep, than just closing your eyes, dreaming, or feeling refreshed in the morning to start a new day. Sleep is a mechanism that the brain uses to recuperate and rest. Probably that’s one of the reasons maximum people face sleep problems and stress these days, all thanks to our hectic schedule. Needless to say, sleep is irreplaceable in our lives.

“It’s a state of unconsciousness when the brain is more responsive to internal than external stimuli. This means that all the senses—visual, auditory and others slow down and the brain becomes less responsive to them,” says Prachi S. Vaish, a practicing psychologist with Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune.

How many hours should we sleep?
Vaish says, “An average person needs about 8 to 8.5 hours of sleep in 24 hours,” Most often in our current lifestyle, getting 8 hours of sleep is a luxury. An ideal situation would be where we could divide our sleep to 6 to 6.5 hours during the night and a 1 to 2 hour nap in the afternoon.

24-year-old Rahul Behel*, a Team Leader of a Bangalore based BPO says, “I ensure I get 6 to 8 hours of sleep. But the problem would be I am asleep during the day time or late evenings. The regular or normal habit of sleeping at 9:00 or 10:00 pm would not come into play.” This is because at a BPO one is expected to work as the process requirements, depending on a client country. Hence, employees schedule their work timings as to the particular country’s time line.

How sleep works?
Have you ever noticed that when a person is in deep sleep, you can see his eyeballs moving under his eyelids? “That is called Rapid Eye Movement or REM, where the person is in deepest sleep and dreaming,” adds Vaish.

When you lie down on the bed with eyes closed and you slowly start drifting into half sleep, that’s called entering into NREM (non REM) sleep. After this when you finally fall asleep, you’ve entered REM sleep.
Now in an entire 8 to 9 hour sleep, it’s not a single stretch but many cycles of NREM-REM sleep taking place. Only that the transition is so fast that we usually don’t wake up between these cycles. “So, if we sleep less this cycle gets disturbed, therefore we will not enter REM and will not feel refreshed when we wake up,” adds Vaish.

If you’re going through too much stress, then your sleep cycle might just stay limited to the NREM phase. “That’s because, too much stress prevents your brain from relaxing and slowing down even if you want it to. Instead, the brain will keep churning out thoughts and this will stop it from progressing to REM sleep,” concludes Vaish.

Reasons for lack of Sleep
Possible reasons for disturbed sleep are:-
~ Emotional problems
~ Excessive intake of caffeine
~ Too much stress, worry
~ Heavy medication
~ Irregular/ long work hours

Published in Rediff.com, on December 21, 2006
Link:
http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/dec/21sleep.htm

Monday, February 4, 2008

Pets> Basic Training for your Puppy!

Text by: Tanya Munshi
No matter how cuddly your pet puppy is, start its training from day one. If it’s mischievous and starts pouncing on your couch, sitting on your favorite cushion, you need to make it clear that this behavior is not fine. Put it down immediately and in a stern voice say, ‘No’. The pup should know its limits. As the puppy grows, it develops a superiority complex. It starts treating your home as its castle.
1
Let’s try a small experiment. Most of the times when you and your mutt return from a walk, watch who enters first. It will always be your dog. A dog always feels like a king and the need to enter first in its castle, you being the owner is immaterial to him. This is not a worrying aspect of a pet dog. Dogs are instinctively like that. They usually move in packs and are used to have a leader. In this case, they get to be a self proclaimed leader in whatever little way they can.
2
You need to make it clear to the puppy that you are the ‘leader’ of the house. If you find it happily chewing a shoe or creating havoc in your house, use a rolled up newspaper to tap (not so hard) on its behind. It will get the message that it is not permitted to do anything and everything it wishes in your house.
3
There will be instances, when the puppy will do its job right there in the house. So the first thing you need to do is keep an eye on the little one to evade such reoccurrences. Usually a puppy will start sniffing for a corner or a spot. You’ve got to watch out for this. As soon as you watch the pup trying to look for a corner to let go, quickly pick it up and run out to a lawn/ garden or place a newspaper right next to it. You have to now gradually start assigning time for the puppy to get used to. For a pup, the need to do its job will more frequent than an adult dog. So fix time slots for it and use a command for that. Gradually it will learn that it can go out thrice or four times a day and can do its job in peace.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Home> Decorating Tips for your Son's Room

Text by Tanya Munshi
A girl’s room can be decorated aesthetically. But for a boy’s room one needs to be a little more in synch with his likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to his favorite sport or his sports icon.
1
Lights And Walls
Paint his room with a bright color of his choice and use all the four walls as a palate. Your son may not be too bothered about the color of the curtains, cushions or bed covers, as much as what’s on the wall that will reflect his style. Keep the lampshades basic, while ensuring the room is brightly lit. Your main focus should be what’s on the wall.
2
Readjustments
Shift his bed to one side, sticking its side to a wall and his study table and cupboard on the other side. Ensure you leave enough space in the room. The wall which has the bed on its side, make a large collage of his favorite animals, his dream destinations etc. Frame that collage and prop it up on that wall.
3
Posters
Get hold of his favorite music group, sportsperson or an actor. Get a basic wooden frame and prop it up on one wall. Use the wall that has his study table to add a soft board.
4
Shelves
Add enough wooden shelves on one wall. Display his trophies, photographs and other memorabilia.
5
Personalize
Frame some of his drawings and add them on an empty wall if it does not crowd the room too much. Better still, get a nameplate done by a professional and fix it on his door.
6
Additions
Don’t add too much of frivolities like a rug, extra cushions etc. these will unnecessarily create an obstruction for him.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Home> First Aid for Wooden Furniture - III

Text by Tanya Munshi
Here are some more tips to keep your wooden furniture as good as new!

Cigarette Burns And Grease Stains
  • How your heart burns when you see your favorite mantle piece with a cigarette scar.
  • Fret not, just apply scratch-concealing polish.
  • Or use the paste made of linseed oil and rottenstone.
  • Rub thoroughly on the stained area till the marks disappear.
  • Apply salt on the grease stains, till it absorbs all the grease. Repeat if necessary.
  • Once the stain is off, then apply the usual wood polish.

Cello Tape, Chewing Gum And Stick Marks

  • Add salad oil to the affected area.
  • Use a blotting paper and press hard for about five minutes.
  • Then use a soft steel wool and rub gently on the affected area.
  • Remove the paper and clean the affected area.
  • For nasty chewing gum stains that simply refuse to budge, hold an ice cube wrapped in a cloth on the affected area.
  • Then with mild sharp object like your nail or a blunt knife, gently scratch out the gum.
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