Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Nap Time
This article on MSN.com talks about napping and its benefits for adults.
I think it would be interesting if America adopted corporate naptime. . .maybe someday we will all be billing 20 mins of our day to an Edel-nap billing code?
Get the Best Nap Ever
By Liesa Goins
Prevention
It's not just for toddlers. Napping makes great sense for adults, whether or not it puts you in touch with your inner child. When adults napped between 2 and 4 p.m., one recent study showed, they performed better on tests and had no problems falling asleep at night. NASA found that military pilots and astronauts who took a 40-minute nap improved alertness by 100 percent and performance by 34 percent, and recent Harvard University research also revealed that college students who napped between tasks performed better than those who stayed awake.
How does napping work its brain magic? "It may protect brain circuits from overuse until those neurons can consolidate what's been learned about a procedure," says Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., coauthor of the Harvard study.
Unless you know the correct way to conduct a daytime doze, however, you could snooze and lose. "Napping can steal the drive for nighttime sleep, so you need to be cautious," says David Neubauer, M.D., associate director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center. "The key is to nap early and short."
By early Dr. Neubauer means daylight hours, at least five hours before you plan on going to sleep that night (between 2 and 4 p.m. is prime). Any later and your circadian rhythms will kick in, possibly making you feel disoriented upon waking and likely preventing you from conking out come your regular bedtime. As for short, keep your naps to less than an hour; 20 to 30 minutes is enough for most people to get the benefits.
To help stick to this nap-plan, stay out of the sack—likely not a problem at the office—since you associate your bed with long periods of rest. Find a quiet couch or carpeted floor where you can lie down. Even shutting your eyes in your office chair for 20 minutes will relax and refresh you. (That's if you can stifle your phone; if not, find an unused conference room.) Home or work, you'll find that—just like in kindergarten—after a nice restorative nap, you'll play much better with others.
I think it would be interesting if America adopted corporate naptime. . .maybe someday we will all be billing 20 mins of our day to an Edel-nap billing code?
Get the Best Nap Ever
By Liesa Goins
Prevention
It's not just for toddlers. Napping makes great sense for adults, whether or not it puts you in touch with your inner child. When adults napped between 2 and 4 p.m., one recent study showed, they performed better on tests and had no problems falling asleep at night. NASA found that military pilots and astronauts who took a 40-minute nap improved alertness by 100 percent and performance by 34 percent, and recent Harvard University research also revealed that college students who napped between tasks performed better than those who stayed awake.
How does napping work its brain magic? "It may protect brain circuits from overuse until those neurons can consolidate what's been learned about a procedure," says Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., coauthor of the Harvard study.
Unless you know the correct way to conduct a daytime doze, however, you could snooze and lose. "Napping can steal the drive for nighttime sleep, so you need to be cautious," says David Neubauer, M.D., associate director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center. "The key is to nap early and short."
By early Dr. Neubauer means daylight hours, at least five hours before you plan on going to sleep that night (between 2 and 4 p.m. is prime). Any later and your circadian rhythms will kick in, possibly making you feel disoriented upon waking and likely preventing you from conking out come your regular bedtime. As for short, keep your naps to less than an hour; 20 to 30 minutes is enough for most people to get the benefits.
To help stick to this nap-plan, stay out of the sack—likely not a problem at the office—since you associate your bed with long periods of rest. Find a quiet couch or carpeted floor where you can lie down. Even shutting your eyes in your office chair for 20 minutes will relax and refresh you. (That's if you can stifle your phone; if not, find an unused conference room.) Home or work, you'll find that—just like in kindergarten—after a nice restorative nap, you'll play much better with others.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
It's OK to Google - Just Don't Say You're Doing It
Did you see today's story that Google is taking legal action to protect its trademark by insisting that people quit using its name as a verb? The odds aren't good that people will stop saying, "I googled it."
Maybe this is a sign the company is taking itself a bit too seriously. Any time you bring in the lawyers, you know someone has his/her underwear in a knot. Obviously, Google needs to protect its trademark and one way to do that is to insist that people use the word the way it was originally intended. To heck with the compliment that is implied in the fact that Google became a verb quickly. One thing they can do is at least prevent dictionaries and legal documents from diluting the name by forcing an explanation of the company's services and how it should be referred to.
In any event, I don't know that I can stop saying, "Google it" any more than I can stop saying, "Do you have a Kleenex?" or "I need a Xerox of this." And can you even IMAGINE a day when we don't Edel-everything?
Maybe this is a sign the company is taking itself a bit too seriously. Any time you bring in the lawyers, you know someone has his/her underwear in a knot. Obviously, Google needs to protect its trademark and one way to do that is to insist that people use the word the way it was originally intended. To heck with the compliment that is implied in the fact that Google became a verb quickly. One thing they can do is at least prevent dictionaries and legal documents from diluting the name by forcing an explanation of the company's services and how it should be referred to.
In any event, I don't know that I can stop saying, "Google it" any more than I can stop saying, "Do you have a Kleenex?" or "I need a Xerox of this." And can you even IMAGINE a day when we don't Edel-everything?
It's OK to Google - Just Don't Say You're Doing It
Did you see today's story that Google is taking legal action to protect its trademark by insisting that people quit using its name as a verb? The odds aren't good that people will stop saying, "I googled it."
Maybe this is a sign the company is taking itself a bit too seriously. Any time you bring in the lawyers, you know someone has his/her underwear in a knot. Obviously, Google needs to protect its trademark and one way to do that is to insist that people use the word the way it was originally intended. To heck with the compliment that is implied in the fact that Google became a verb quickly. One thing they can do is at least prevent dictionaries and legal documents from diluting the name by forcing an explanation of the company's services and how it should be referred to.
In any event, I don't know that I can stop saying, "Google it" any more than I can stop saying, "Do you have a Kleenex?" or "I need a Xerox of this." And can you even IMAGINE a day when we don't Edel-everything?
Maybe this is a sign the company is taking itself a bit too seriously. Any time you bring in the lawyers, you know someone has his/her underwear in a knot. Obviously, Google needs to protect its trademark and one way to do that is to insist that people use the word the way it was originally intended. To heck with the compliment that is implied in the fact that Google became a verb quickly. One thing they can do is at least prevent dictionaries and legal documents from diluting the name by forcing an explanation of the company's services and how it should be referred to.
In any event, I don't know that I can stop saying, "Google it" any more than I can stop saying, "Do you have a Kleenex?" or "I need a Xerox of this." And can you even IMAGINE a day when we don't Edel-everything?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Can you guess whose mission statement is on my receipt?
I got a receipt at an establishment I patronized a few days ago and noticed that
it had the company’s mission statement printed on it in bold capital letters. Do you recognize it?
“XX’s MISSION STATEMENT: CONSISTENTLY CREATE ENCORE EXPERIENCES THAT ENRICH LIVES ONE PERSON AT A TIME.”
Can you guess who, specifically, makes this claim? If not, want to take a shot at what industry the company is in?
Frankly, I found it a tad odd to put the mission statement on a receipt. Thoughts?
it had the company’s mission statement printed on it in bold capital letters. Do you recognize it?
“XX’s MISSION STATEMENT: CONSISTENTLY CREATE ENCORE EXPERIENCES THAT ENRICH LIVES ONE PERSON AT A TIME.”
Can you guess who, specifically, makes this claim? If not, want to take a shot at what industry the company is in?
Frankly, I found it a tad odd to put the mission statement on a receipt. Thoughts?
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
What's In A Name
This past weekend, we had the misfortune of hanging out in the animal ER while we waited for our dog Mason (a black lab/hound mix) to get his paw patched up after he banged up his wrist overzealously practicing the tornado drill (hunkering down in the bath tub to protect himself from the evening thunderstorms and the fireworks celebrating Smyrna’s birthday celebration).
While we waited, I couldn’t help but be entertained by the parade of pets (mostly dogs) that came through—listening to their names and trying to figure out what inspired the owners to call them that. Among the group was Houdini, Zeus, W, Brie, Sluggo and Lexie—none of which were among the 30 most popular pet names in 2005.
Our dog came to us at 10 years of age with his name already in place, though given his penchant for sucking up any morsel that makes it to the floor, we’ve often thought he’d be more aptly named Dyson or Roomba.
So, what’s your pet’s name and why did you choose it?
While we waited, I couldn’t help but be entertained by the parade of pets (mostly dogs) that came through—listening to their names and trying to figure out what inspired the owners to call them that. Among the group was Houdini, Zeus, W, Brie, Sluggo and Lexie—none of which were among the 30 most popular pet names in 2005.
Our dog came to us at 10 years of age with his name already in place, though given his penchant for sucking up any morsel that makes it to the floor, we’ve often thought he’d be more aptly named Dyson or Roomba.
So, what’s your pet’s name and why did you choose it?
