Scientists warn of 'global sleep crisis' due to social pressures

May 7, 2016

Washington, May 7: Social pressures are forcing people to cut back on their sleep, contributing to a "global sleep crisis," according to a new study based on research collected through a smartphone app.

ScientistsIt enabled scientists from the University of Michigan to track sleep patterns around the world -- gathering data about how age, gender and the amount of natural light to which people are exposed affect sleep patterns in 100 countries -- and better understand how cultural pressures can override biological rhythms.

"The effects of society on sleep remain largely unquantified," says the study published Friday in the journal Science Advances.

"We find that social pressures weaken and/or conceal biological drives in the evening, leading individuals to delay their bedtime and shorten their sleep."

Lack of sleep is mostly affected by the time people go to bed, the study found.

Middle-aged men get the least amount of sleep, less than the recommended seven to eight hours.

And age is the main factor determining amount of sleep. The research is based on data collected through the free smartphone app Entrain, launched in 2014 to help users fight jetlag.

Scientists asked some 6,000 people 15 and older to send anonymous data about sleep, wake-up and lighting environment, enabling the scientists to obtain a large amount of data about sleep patterns worldwide.

The app also asks users to input information about their ages, gender, countries and time zones. Sleep is driven by an internal "circadian" clock, a cluster of 20,000 nerve cells the size of a grain of rice located behind the eyes, and adjusted according to the amount of light captured, especially natural light.

The average amount of sleep in the world varies from a minimum of seven hours 24 minutes in Singapore and Japan to a maximum of eight hours 12 minutes in the Netherlands, the study found.

Although a difference of 48 minutes may seem inconsequential, a lack of sleep for half an hour can have significant effects on cognitive function and health, the researchers said.

People who need sleep suffer a reduction in their cognitive abilities without really being conscious of it, the new study says. "Impaired sleep presents an immediate and pressing threat to human health," it says.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Kochi, Mar 30: Kerala High Court, while hearing a petition filed against Karnataka's decision to block the border with Kerala, on Monday said that no lives should not be lost in the name of fighting coronavirus.

Kerala High Court also said that "the current problem should be resolved amicably. Both the Union government and the Karnataka government should rise to the occasion."
The Central government has informed Kerala High Court that the movement of goods and medical services qualify under essential services, which is permitted despite the lockdown, and added that directions have been issued to give priority to the movement of such goods and services.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has sought a day's time to clarify their stand.

The matter will be taken up for further hearing via video conference tomorrow.
Kerala government has submitted that the action of Karnataka government to close the border is illegal as all the national highways in the country come under the jurisdiction of the National Highway Authority.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan has also approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to open the Karnataka-Kerala border to allow movement of ambulances and other emergency vehicles for the transport of essential items to Kerala.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Bangalore, Feb 1: Following the Directions from department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Karnataka, to set up Isolation ward for the admission and treatment of the Novel Coronavirus infected patients, Fortis Hospital, Bangalore has allocated 5 isolation beds, 4 at its Bannergatta unit and 1 at Cunningham Road Unit.

According to a statement issued here on Friday, Dr A Nagasubramaniam, Medical Director, Fortis BG unit said, “We are following the guidelines and protocols as suggested by Department of Health and family welfare and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in line with WHO guidelines for managing any suspected case. We will accordingly notify the health authorities.”

The management has been educating the hospital staff members, visitors and patients about the virus and the precautionary measures on a timely basis. A health advisory on Coronavirus has also been put up at the lobby and the canteen to educate the patient attenders, nurses and staff members, the statement added.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 25: Opteamix LLC (Opteamix), a digital technology firm, announced today that they have been awarded as a 'Dream Company to Work For' by the World HRD Congress.

Opteamix was ranked 11th in this category which had companies from multiple industries across the globe vying for the title.

In addition to the Dream Company ranking, Opteamix was also recognized for its innovative HR practices and Corporate Social Responsibility practices. The event took place at Taj Land's End in Mumbai on February 16.

Opteamix presented their concept 'Happiness at Work - When Culture drives Performance' that elaborated upon the methodology behind the enhancement of employee happiness.

"We have taken a holistic approach to help our people stay happy at work. While we knew that EQ and IQ were critical to the growth of people, we also believed that it is the Spiritual Quotient (SQ) which our in-house NGO - Right To Live caters to, that helps our people experience next-level career growth," said Varsha Dubey, Lead - Happiness and Learning Activator, while explaining the theory behind the happiness at work during the 30-min presentation before delegates from 65 countries.

"We have empowered our people by equipping them with the right set of tools to help them excel in their performance based on OKR (Objectives and Key Results), CFR (Communication, Feedback, and Review) and Competency Mapping. The optimum blend of these performance management tools has resulted in making a significant impact on the careers of our people and therefore, happy people and 100 per cent innovation and efficiency at work," added Shalu Priya - Director, People Experience.

Now in its 28th year, the World HRD Congress presents awards to organizations that promote innovative human resources practices. The award categories include leadership, talent management, employer branding, training and development, employee engagement, and more.

In the recent past, Opteamix had been recognized for its commitment to employee excellence with numerous awards and recognitions including 'Dream Companies to Work for' in 2017 and 2018.

World HRD Congress is billed as South Asia's largest HR event, featuring an eminent panel on international and local speakers from across public and private sectors.

The conference serves as a platform for the HR fraternity to deliberate on the insights, initiatives and implications of people management practices. The theme this year 'Happiness at work', recognized individuals and companies for their exceptional people management practices.

"We strongly believe in creating a culture of happiness at Opteamix. To us, happiness is as important as revenue and profits. The culture of happiness has been the Opteamix way of life since inception, which has led us to achieve our ultimate goals - higher career growth for all members and richer customer experience," said Raghurama Kote - Founder and COO of Opteamix, on being asked what a happy organization meant to him.

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