Sleeping Does a Body (and Mind) Good

It can be difficult sometimes to get enough sleep while having so much to do. The question then becomes, what is enough sleep? That answer is probably different with each person, but whatever the case may be, one can probably figure out when they've gotten a good night's sleep.

A study done by the Journal of Sleep Medicine detail how a lack of sleep correlates with lower GPAs, have difficulty concentrating during the day, or have difficulty staying awake during the day. It's helpful to know what we all already know and to keep that in mind when case briefing, studying, outlining, etc.

It's been a long week for me too since I've been getting less sleep than usual. An inability to concentrate was the first sign of a lack of sleep for me. I found that going to bed earlier and staying asleep longer, I would have more energy during the day.

Here's to a good night's sleep.

The Giants of Europe

There’s an interesting older article in The New Yorker about how Europeans - and to a larger extent - populations in general are growing taller. It’s interesting to note that the article says that Americans in general are not growing. They measured the population height trends in Europe vs. those in America and found that Americans are on average a little shorter than their European counterparts. This study only included Americans that were born here and spoke English at home. The basic conclusion was that nutrition was a big part in why Americans - who used to be the giants of the world - have now fallen behind the Europeans. Sounds believable. America’s inverted food pyramid eating habits probably has something to do with it. So a good question to ask is what are Americans eating that Europeans are not?

Beware, it’s a long article.