NEW YORK: Dependence on televisions, cellphones and laptops may be costing Americans dearly — in lack of sleep. The national penchant for watching television every evening before going to sleep, playing video games late into the night or checking emails and text messages before turning off the lights could be interfering with the nation’s sleep habits.
“Unfortunately, cellphones and computers, which make our lives more productive and enjoyable, may be abused to the point that they contribute to getting less sleep at night leaving millions of Americans functioning poorly the next day,” Russell Rosenberg, the vice chairman of the Washington DC-based National Sleep Foundation (NSF), said in a statement.
Baby boomers, or people aged 46 to 64 years old, were the biggest offenders of watching television every night before
going to sleep, while more than a third of 13 to 18 year olds and 28 per cent of young adults between 19 to 29 years played video games before bedtime.
7-year itch now the 3-year glitch
LONDON: The ‘three-year glitch’ has replaced the ‘seven-year itch’ as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted, according to a new survey. Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner
Brothers to promote the release of comedy film ‘Hall Pass’ in UK cinemas.
The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month marker as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of ‘pink passes’ and ‘solo’ holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to
keep romance alive.
“Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships,” said pollster Judi James who
oversaw the survey.
Russian spy in from cold, out on web
MOSCOW: Russian spy Anna Chapman is in from the cold and out on the internet with an official website featuring photos, news and an upbeat message urging Russians to smile and be self-reliant.
The site www.annacha-pman.ru is the latest venture from Chapman, who has made a media splash since her deportation from the United States in a Cold War-style spy swap last July. She has posed in slinky lingerie for photographs with the Kremlin as a backdrop, started a weekly TV show, trademarked her name and taken a position with the youth wing of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party.
The main page of the redhead’s site features a Soviet-style red star and a close-up of Chapman cradling her face in hands adorned with bright red nail polish.
