Napping during the day is an ancient custom that is practiced worldwide.

While some people view napping as a luxurious indulgence, others see it as a way to maintain alertness and well-being. But napping can come with drawbacks as well as benefits.

As an orofacial pain specialist, I have extensive education in sleep medicine and how sleep impacts wellness, due mostly to the relationship between sleep and painful conditions such as headaches and facial pain. My training involved all aspects of sleep, especially sleep breathing disorders, insomnia and sleep-related movement disorders.

As such, I’m aware of the complex nature of napping, and why a short nap – that is, a nap during the daytime that lasts from 20 to 30 minutes – may be beneficial in myriad ways.

An abundance of health benefits

Research shows that there are many benefits to napping. Short naps can boost mental functioning and memory, as well as improve alertness, attention and reaction time.

Short naps are also linked to increased productivity and creativity. Because napping seems to improve creative thinking, some companies have attempted to harness this by introducing napping rooms into the workplace.

What’s more, it appears the brain uses nap time to process information gathered throughout the day, which appears to enhance problem-solving abilities. One small study revealed that people who took short naps were less frustrated and impulsive, which resulted in better focus and efficiency when performing work-related tasks. Napping may even lead to an improved ability to learn new motor skills, such as a golf swing or the playing of a musical instrument. This is because these memories or skills become consolidated in the brain during sleep, whether at night or while napping.

Napping can also reduce stress. One study found that naps of approximately 20 minutes improved the overall mood of participants. However, longer naps lasting more than 30 minutes are not typically associated with improved mood and increased feelings of well-being.

Short naps may also be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. If we are awake more than we should be, we tend to have a buildup of the “fight or flight” chemicals in our bodies. Studies show that more consistent sleep will help lower these chemicals, resulting in a normalization of blood pressure and heart rates. Napping appears to help this process for some people.

But just as in nighttime sleep, some people may have trouble drifting off for a nap, especially when they have limited time. Progressive muscle relaxation techniques have been shown to be beneficial for both nighttime sleep and napping. Other nonspecific relaxation techniques, like listening to relaxing music, appear to also be beneficial for falling asleep. Interestingly, many people overestimate their time awake when trying to sleep and underestimate the time they actually spent sleeping.

Napping can have drawbacks

One condition associated with napping longer than 30 minutes is sleep inertia – the grogginess and disorientation that people sometime experience after waking from a longer nap.

Usually, the longer the nap, the more sleep inertia there is to overcome. This can impair cognitive function from several minutes up to half an hour. In many cases, these effects can be minimized by consuming caffeine directly after the nap.

But it is important to note that caffeine is not a substitute for sleep. Caffeine acts to temporarily block the action of a chemical known as adenosine, a sleep-promoting agent that builds up during waking hours. If you are habitually dependent on caffeine consumption to keep you awake and alert, it may suggest that there is an underlying sleep disorder such as insomnia or sleep apnea, in which a person temporarily stops breathing during sleep.

Long or late afternoon naps can also interfere with nighttime sleep, either by leading to difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep during the night. This disruption of the regular sleep-wake cycle can result in overall sleep deprivation, which can have numerous negative health effects.

What’s more, for those age 60 and up, longer naps – beyond 30 minutes – may increase the risk for cardiovascular problems. Researchers found that older adults taking naps for more than one hour per day have a higher incidence of increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels, sometimes known as metabolic syndrome.

The reason for this phenomenon is mostly unknown. Older individuals tend to nap more frequently than younger adults partly due to more disturbed sleep during the night. This could be related to more pain or other health factors that will interfere with sleep, sleep altering medications and altered sleep rhythms seen with aging.

Best practices

So, to maximize benefits while reducing risks, here are some tips: Keep naps short to avoid sleep inertia and nighttime sleep disruptions. Nap in the early afternoon, as that aligns with a decrease in energy levels after lunch and with the body’s natural circadian dip, which is an increase in sleepiness similar to what occurs at dusk. Avoid late afternoon naps, finish naps at least four to six hours before bedtime, and create the right environment by napping in a quiet, comfortable and dimly lit space.

If you’re struggling with daytime sleepiness, it’s best to address the root cause rather than relying solely on napping. Reducing caffeine consumption, maintaining a regular sleep schedule and getting adequate nighttime sleep are essential steps to reduce daytime sleepiness.

Ultimately, napping should complement a healthy sleep routine, not serve as a substitute for sufficient nighttime rest. A balanced approach to napping can contribute to a more energized, focused and resilient life.

Steven Bender, Clinical Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Anemia affected nearly two two billion people in 2021, impacting women to a greater degree than men.

In a new study covering three decades of global anemia data (1990–2021), a complex picture emerges of how several key factors play into the divergence in success stories among men, women and children.

Published in The Lancet Haematology, the study was conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, or IHME, based in Seattle, and its Global Burden of Disease anemia collaborators.

“From this 30-year study, we know the global picture around anemia has improved, but there are still wide disparities when you narrow the focus on geography, gender, and age,” said Dr. Nick Kassebaum, senior author of the study, head of IHME’s Neonatal and Child Health team, and Professor in Anesthesiology at the University of Washington. “We modeled 37 underlying causes for anemia. It’s very important for clinicians to treat these causes in parallel to the anemia itself. We hope they use these data to design more comprehensive intervention and treatment plans, especially for the most vulnerable—women of reproductive age, children, and the elderly.”

Globally, in 2021, 31.2% of women had anemia compared with 17.5% of men. The gender difference was more pronounced during the reproductive years, ages 15–49. In this age group, anemia prevalence in women was 33.7% versus 11.3% in men.

“Over the years, there’s been a lot of focus on reducing anemia globally, but as a group, women and children have shown the least progress,” said Will Gardner, researcher at IHME and lead author of the paper. “This is a nuanced situation that revolves around access to nutrition, socioeconomic status, unmet need for contraception, and the ability to identify and treat underlying causes of anemia. Our data show how one group — adult men — has fared much better than two other groups, women (ages 15 to 49) and children younger than five years. This speaks to the need for a shift to multisectoral approaches and improved cultural awareness to make sure women and children are not left behind.”

Causes of anemia and impact

The leading cause of anemia in 2021 was dietary iron deficiency, constituting 66.2% of total anemia cases, with 825 million women and 444 million men affected globally. Inadequate intake of iron may have been the single most common cause of anemia, but many other conditions are major drivers of anemia.

The study found that gynecological disorders and maternal hemorrhage were important contributors to anemia burden among women of reproductive age.

For children younger than 5 years, the main cause of anemia was dietary iron deficiency, but hemoglobinopathies, other infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, and malaria were also important contributors in geographic locations where these diseases are prevalent.

“Anemia plays out differently depending on the group that’s struggling with the condition. For children, anemia can impact brain development and cognition, so early treatment and management are crucial. This might mean accessing high-quality, nutrient-rich foods and/or receiving treatment for parasitic infections and malaria,” said Dr. Theresa McHugh, scientific writer at IHME who focuses on neonatal and child health. “For many young women and girls, there’s an education gap about blood loss during menstruation, inadequate options for effectively managing menstrual problems in those who have them, and not enough knowledge about how to manage and/or reverse anemia when it occurs. We know anemia can impact mental health because the associated weakness and fatigue can interfere with desired activities.”

Previous studies have shown that anemia is associated with increased rates of anxiety and depression and higher rates of preterm labor, postpartum hemorrhage, low birthweight, short gestation, stillbirth, and infections for both child and mother.

Regions and risk

The research shows sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are currently facing the greatest burden. In 2021, Western sub-Saharan Africa (47.4%), South Asia (35.7%), and Central sub-Saharan Africa (35.7%) had the highest anemia prevalence. The regions with the lowest anemia are Australasia (5.7%), Western Europe (6%), and North America (6.8%).

Countries with highest anemia: Mali, Zambia, Togo (each had >50% anemia burden).

Countries with lowest anemia: Iceland, Norway, Monaco (each had <5% anemia burden).

Regional variation in disease distribution was also reflected in cause-specific anemia burden.

For example, HIV/AIDS was the second largest contributor to anemia YLDs in Southern sub-Saharan Africa. Anemia due to malaria was most prominent in the Central, Eastern, and Western sub-Saharan Africa regions.

 

There’s a lot of trash on the Moon right now – including nearly 100 bags of human waste – and with countries around the globe traveling to the Moon, there’s going to be a lot more, both on the lunar surface and in Earth’s orbit.

In August 2023, Russia’s Luna-25 probe crashed into the Moon’s surface, while India’s Chandrayann-3 mission successfully landed in the southern polar region, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon.

With more countries landing on the Moon, people back on Earth will have to think about what happens to all the landers, waste and miscellaneous debris left on the lunar surface and in orbit.

I’m a professor of astronomy who has written a book about the future of space travel, articles about our future off-Earth, conflict in space, space congestion and the ethics of space exploration. Like many other space experts, I’m concerned about the lack of governance around space debris.

Space is getting crowded

People think of space as vast and empty, but the near-Earth environment is starting to get crowded. As many as 100 lunar missions are planned over the next decade by governments and private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

Near-Earth orbit is even more congested than the space between Earth and the Moon. It’s from 100 to 500 miles straight up, compared with 240,000 miles to the Moon. Currently there are nearly 7,700 satellites within a few hundred miles of the Earth. That number could grow to several hundred thousand by 2027. Many of these satellites will be used to deliver internet to developing countries or to monitor agriculture and climate on Earth. Companies like SpaceX have dramatically lowered launch costs, driving this wave of activity.

“It’s going to be like an interstate highway, at rush hour in a snowstorm, with everyone driving much too fast,” space launch expert Johnathan McDowell told Space.com.

The problem of space junk

All this activity creates hazards and debris. Humans have left a lot of junk on the Moon, including spacecraft remains like rocket boosters from over 50 crashed landings, nearly 100 bags of human waste and miscellaneous objects like a feather, golf balls and boots. It adds up to around 200 tons of our trash.

Since no one owns the Moon, no one is responsible for keeping it clean and tidy.

The clutter in Earth’s orbit includes defunct spacecraft, spent rocket boosters and items discarded by astronauts such as a glove, a wrench and a toothbrush. It also includes tiny pieces of debris like paint flecks.

There are around 23,000 objects larger than 10 cm (4 inches) and about 100 million pieces of debris larger than 1 mm (0.04 inches). Tiny pieces of junk might not seem like a big issue, but that debris is moving at 15,000 mph (24,140 kph), 10 times faster than a bullet. At that speed, even a fleck of paint can puncture a spacesuit or destroy a sensitive piece of electronics.

In 1978, NASA scientist Donald Kessler described a scenario where collisions between orbiting pieces of debris create more debris, and the amount of debris grows exponentially, potentially rendering near-Earth orbit unusable. Experts call this the “Kessler syndrome.”

Nobody is in charge up there

The United Nations Outer Space Treaty of 1967 says that no country can “own” the Moon or any part of it, and that celestial bodies should only be used for peaceful purposes. But the treaty is mute about companies and individuals, and it says nothing about how space resources can and can’t be used.

The United Nations Moon Agreement of 1979 held that the Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of humanity. However, the United States, Russia and China never signed it, and in 2016 the U.S. Congress created a law that unleashed the American commercial space industry with very few restrictions.

Because of its lack of regulation, space junk is an example of a “tragedy of the commons,” where many interests have access to a common resource, and it may become depleted and unusable to everyone, because no interest can stop another from overexploiting the resource.

Scientists argue that to avoid a tragedy of the commons, the orbital space environment should be seen as a global commons worthy of protection by the United Nations. The lead author of a Nature article arguing for a global commons filed an amicus brief – a type of outside comment offering support or expertise – on a case that went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in late 2021.

The author and his research collaborators argued that U.S. environmental regulations should apply to the licensing of space launches. However, the court declined to rule on the environmental issue because it said the group lacked standing.

National geopolitical and commercial interests will likely take precedence over interplanetary conservation efforts unless the United Nations acts. A new treaty may emerge from the work of the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs, which in May 2023 generated a policy document to address the sustainable development of activities in space.

The U.N. can regulate the activities of only its member states, but it has a project to help member states craft national-level policies that advance the goals of sustainable development.

NASA has created and signed the Artemis Accords, broad but nonbinding principles for cooperating peacefully in space. They have been signed by 28 countries, but the list does not include China or Russia. Private companies are not party to the accords either, and some space entrepreneurs have deep pockets and big ambitions.

The lack of regulation and the current gold rush approach to space exploration mean that space junk and waste will continue to accumulate, as will the related problems and dangers.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — This month the filing period for several key county offices that will be on the ballot during the March presidential primary is set to open.

Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez’s office on Friday released an update on the filing periods for three judicial seats, three supervisorial seats and the office of sheriff-coroner.

Those offices will be on the ballot for the presidential primary election, which takes place on March 5.

County offices up for election in March are Superior Court judge seats for departments 1, 3 and 4; supervisorial seats for districts 1, 4 and 5; and sheriff-coroner.

Current office holders for the Superior Court are Michael Lunas, Andrew Blum and Shanda Harry, representing departments 1, 3 and 4, respectively.

For the supervisorial seats, the district 1, 4 and 5 seats are held by Moke Simon, Michael Green and Jessica Pyska.

Green has announced that he will not seek election. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Green in October to fill the remainder of Tina Scott’s term.

The Board of Supervisors appointed Rob Howe in December to succeed Sheriff Brian Martin on his retirement.

Candidates for these offices may submit “in-lieu-of-filing fee petitions” containing signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction in which he or she is seeking nomination to offset all or part of the cost of their filing fee.

The in-lieu-of-filing petitions are available between Sept. 14 until Nov. 8, during regular office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and closed county holidays and weekends.

The deadline to file the in-lieu-of-filing fee petitions with the Lake County Registrar of Voters’ office is the close of business on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

All candidates for elective office must also file within the nomination period of Nov. 13 through Dec. 8 a declaration of candidacy form, nomination papers and pay filing fee in order for their name to be printed on the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election ballot.

In addition to local offices to be filled, the following federal and state offices will be on the March primary ballot.

Partisan federal office

• United States President, American Independent Party
• United States President, Democratic Party
• United States President, Green Party
• United States President, Libertarian Party
• United States President, Peace and Freedom Party
• United States President, Republican Party

Voter-nominated offices:

• United States Senator
• United States Representative in Congress, District 4
• State Assembly Member, District 4

For more information contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 325 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport or by phone at 707-263-2372.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is asking for the community’s help in locating a missing man.

Police are seeking Arnold Ray Griffin, 35.

Griffin is described as a black male adult, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 180 pounds, with black hair that looks like a fade and brown eyes.

He has a quarter-size mole on the back left side of his head and is missing a front tooth.

Police said Griffin was last seen in the area of the Walmart bus stop.

At that time he was seen wearing a dark blue sweatshirt, dark blue sweatpants and black shoes, and he usually has a diamond stud earring, possibly on the left ear.

If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 1.

In a collaborative effort to help ensure the safety of all road users as they travel this Labor Day weekend, the California Highway Patrol, Nevada Highway Patrol and Arizona Department of Public Safety are joining forces for a maximum enforcement period.

The tri-state enforcement initiative, which began at 6;01 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, continues through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4.

The Labor Day weekend marks the traditional end of summer celebrations, with many people are gearing up for holiday gatherings and road trips.

The CHP, NHP, and Arizona DPS are dedicated to ensuring everyone reaches their destinations safely, especially given the surge in traffic that typically accompanies holiday weekends.

Throughout the holiday weekend, while law enforcement will be looking for traffic violations and assisting motorists, a special emphasis will be placed on identifying and apprehending those suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

“Alcohol-and drug-impaired driving continues to be a leading cause of traffic fatalities and injuries. An impaired driver behind the wheel puts themselves and everyone on the road in great danger,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “The CHP, along with our partners in Nevada and Arizona are committed to proactive enforcement throughout the holiday weekend. We will deploy all available personnel to ensure the highest level of safety for everyone traveling.”

Last year during the Labor Day MEP, CHP officers made more than 900 arrests for DUI, in addition to issuing nearly 5,700 speeding citations.

Sadly, 52 people were killed in crashes on California’s roads.

Avoid becoming a statistic and always designate a sober driver, utilize ride-share service, and always wear your seat belt.