Early to bed, early to rise…

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bed, diary, Home, mood, scientists, sleep, tired, vacation

This morning I was awakened at 4:30 by an elderly dog with a bladder problem. As I write this, I know that my energy will evaporate by mid-afternoon and my ability to write coherently will cease.
I’ve read about research that indicates getting too little sleep causes cognitive and health declines as well as weight gain. (Thank God wine and chocolate have nothing to do with it…)
I also remember my mother insisting that I needed 8 hours of sleep every night. But doctors have learned that sleep needs vary between individuals. According to recent studies people sleep 6 hours, 31 minutes on weekdays and 7 hours, 22 minutes on weekends.
However, a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine says getting just 20 or 30 minutes less than the minimum recommendation of seven hours can slow cognitive speed and increase attention lapses. Huh?
How much sleep do YOU need?
It’s kind of easy to figure it out.
Experts say we can figure out our optimal amount of sleep in a trial of three days or a week – ideally while on vacation. Don’t use an alarm clock. Go to sleep when you get tired. Avoid too much caffeine or alcohol. And stay off electronic devices for a couple of hours before going to bed. During the trial, track your sleep with a diary or a device that records your actual sleep time. If you feel refreshed and awake during the day, you’ve probably discovered your optimal sleep time.
Congratulations – now I’m going back to bed.

A dim view of evening meals

Tags

chandelier, dining room, Home, Homeowner, House, interior design, New Home

Originally designed to hold a number of candles, chandeliers were suspended from the ceiling to reduce the hazard of fire. It’s easy to see how they became the focal point of many rooms – in particular, the dining room.
According to interior designer Alice MacCullough, chandeliers also create ambiance at mealtimes for relaxed conversation.
“The success of this depends on diners being able to see each other properly across the table, without being dazzled or thrown into gloom,” she says.
MacCullough suggests a pendant light suspended from the ceiling, that is just above the eye level of diners to eliminate glare. She also recommends adding a pair of candlestick lamps on the buffet or sconces on the wall.
“Even a torchiere in the corner is nice,” she says. “Lighting is the single most important part of any interior design.”

* Over a dining room table, the bottom of the chandelier should be 30 inches above the table and 12 inches narrower (6 inches on either side) so people won’t bump their heads when rising from their chair.
* If a dining room’s ceiling height is more than 8 feet, raise the chandelier 3 inches for each additional foot of ceiling height.
* Light from a chandelier should not be the only source of illumination – a mistake often seen in dining rooms. Other light sources might include recessed down lights in the ceiling, wall sconces or floor lamps.
* The rule of thumb for a chandelier‘s proper size when not hung over a table: It can be in inches what the diagonal of the room is in feet.
* Positioning a chandelier off-center above a buffet against the wall will make a small dining room appear larger.
* Always install a dimmer switch to control mood and atmosphere.

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