March 2023 Edition

ENGLISH SPECIAL EDITION - ONLINE DIGITAL - MARCH 2023

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Entrepreneurship & Finance

Contact: Phone: (347) 600-5347 e-mail: cartasaoeditor@aol.com Website: www.omensageiro7. com ©2023 by: O Mensageiro7Inc. All Rights Reserved The Newspaper O Mensageiro7 is a monthly publication via ONLINE in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

trol our behavior, even when success is a goal it's difficult or uncomfortable.

Fthatinancial many people strive for, but it's not always easy to achieve. In order to build wealth, pay off debt, and achieve our financial goals, we need to have a solid plan in place. This plan should be built on a foundation of organization and discipline.

Hever Wilson

Financial Advisor Specialist

When it comes to finances, discipline is essential for staying on track with our financial goals and resisting the temptation to overspend or make impulsive purchases.

In this article, we will explore the importance of organization and discipline for finanOrganization is the key to cial success and offer tips for keeping track of our finances cultivating these skills in your and making sure we are on own life. track to meet our goals. Without organization, it's easy to Organization: The Foundation lose track of our spending, of Financial Success forget about bills that need Organization is a fundamento be paid, or miss out on op- tal skill for managing our fiportunities to save money. nances effectively.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 Discipline is the ability to con-

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Entrepreneurship & Finance

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•STICKING TO A BUDGET:

Here are some ways that organization can help us achieve financial success:

By setting a budget and sticking to it, we can avoid overspending and ensure that we have enough money for our financial priorities.

•KEEPING TRACK OF INCOME AND EXPENSES: By tracking our income and expenses, we can understand where our money is going and identify areas where we can cut back.

This can help us save more money and pay off debt faster.

•PAYING BILLS ON TIME: Late payments can lead to fees and damage our credit score. By staying organized and keeping track of due dates, we can avoid these consequences and maintain good credit.

•AVOIDING DEBT:

Without organization, it's easy to lose track of our spending, forget about bills that need to be paid, or miss out on opportunities to save money.

DISCIPLINE: THE KEY TO STAYING ON TRACK

•PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: •MAXIMIZING TAX DEDUCTIONS: By organizing our receipts and financial documents, we can take advantage of tax deductions and save money on our taxes.

By organizing our finances and setting up a budget, we can plan for the future and ensure that we have enough money saved for emergencies, retirement, and other long-term goals.

Discipline is the ability to control our impulses and stick to our goals, even when it's difficult or uncomfortable. Here are some ways that discipline can help us achieve financial success:

By resisting the temptation to take on debt, we can save money on interest and avoid the stress and financial burden that comes with debt.

•PRIORITIZING FINANCIAL GOALS: By staying focused on our financial goals, we can resist the temptation to spend money on things that don't align with our priorities.

•SAVING CONSISTENTLY: By making saving a habit and setting up automatic transfers to our savings accounts, we can ensure that we are consistently saving towards our goals.

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Entrepreneurship & Finance

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spend or make impulsive purchases and use strategies like delaying gratification or practicing mindfulness to stay on track.

TIPS FOR CULTIVATING ORGANIZATION AND DISCIPLINE Here are some tips for cultivating organization and discipline in your own financial life:

•USE A BUDGETING TOOL: There are many budgeting tools available online or as mobile apps that can help you track your spending and stay within your budget.

•SET SPECIFIC FINANCIAL GOALS: By setting specific goals for saving, debt repayment, and other financial priorities, you can stay motivated and focused on your long-term objectives.

•AVOID IMPULSIVE PURCHASES: Before making a purchase, ask yourself if it's a want or a need. If it's not a neces-

Organization and discipline are essential skills for achieving financial success. sity, consider waiting a few days before making the purchase to see if you still want it.

•AUTOMATE YOUR FINANCES: Set up automatic transfers from your checking account to a savings or investment account to ensure you are consistently saving money towards your financial goals.

•REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS REGULARLY: Check in on your financial

•STAY ORGANIZED: Keep your financial documents, receipts, and bills in a designated place to ensure that you can easily track your spending and bills.

goals regularly and adjust your plan as needed. Celebrate your successes and learn from your mistakes to stay motivated and on In conclusion, organization track. and discipline are essential skills for achieving financial success.

By staying organized and disciplined, we can stay on track with our financial goals, resist the temptation to overspend or take on unnecessary debt, and ensure that we are con•STAY sistently saving and investing ACCOUNTABLE: towards our long-term objecShare your financial goals tives. and progress with a trusted friend or family member By following the tips outlined who can offer support and in this article, you can cultivate these skills in your own encouragement. financial life and achieve the financial success you desire. ◙

•PRACTICE SELF-DISCIPLINE: Recognize when you are feeling tempted to over-

Health

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This includes the areas responsible for: •Emotions •Memory •Learning •Well-being

ll of our human senses — A including hearing — are pro-

•Cognitive function, including focus and concentration

cessed by the brain.

Keeping the brain active by stimulating it in a variety of ways can protect brain health, particularly as we age. This is why listening to music is one of the activities that can have a positive effect on brain health.

Let’s take a closer look at how music affects the brain and helps to keep it young and healthy.

It stimulates most of the areas of your brain Music activates almost all of your brain’s different regions and networks. It also strengthens connections between different parts of the brain.

•Quality of life •Movement

Keeping the brain active by stimulating it in a variety of ways can protect brain health, particularly as we age. This is why listening to music is one of the activities that can have a positive effect on brain health.

In fact, the only other activity that activates as many brain regions as music is taking part in social interactions.

It strengthens learning, memory, and cognition.

According to a study on the effects of music on cognitive skills, listening to soft background music may improve cognition.

Students were asked to complete cognitive tasks with and without the music. Those with the background music CONTINUES ON PAGE 6

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Health

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completed more tasks and got more answers right.

Music can help people living with dementia by improving their cognition and helping them recover lost memories.

There is a caveat, though. The researchers believe the type of music is important and recommend relaxing music, such as classical or smooth jazz.

Alzheimer ’s patients can become agitated or suffer from anxiety and hallucinations.

Other studies have found that listening to enjoyable music can improve memory and learning.

The research found that music can help to alleviate these symptoms and facilitate communication.

This may be because music’s repetitive nature helps our brains to form patterns that improve our memories.

It boosts your creativity As humans, creativity is one of our greatest assets. Not only does it allow us to create art, but it also helps with problem-solving and creating better products and services.

This makes it a core competency in almost any role.

Not everyone finds it useful to listen to music while studying or trying to retain information, but many people do.

The extent to which it helps depends on several factors.

These include how much you like the music and how musically trained you are. People with musical training are more likely to find music distracting.

According to one study, listening to happy music — such as arousing or uplifting classical music — can enhance your creativity.

Benefits of music on mental health

Finally, one study found that language learners found it easier to remember phrases after singing them rather than just speaking normally or even rhythmically.

IT HELPS YOUR BRAIN AGE GRACEFULLY Music can also form part of the treatment for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Older adults living with such conditions often benefit from music therapy.

We all know music affects our mood. Perhaps you put on “Happy” by Pharrell Williams when you need a pick-me-up.

There is a caveat, though.

The researchers believe the type of music is important and recommend relaxing music, such as classical or smooth jazz.

Or maybe you have a power song that gets you pumped up whenever you have an important meeting or job interview.

But music can go even further than giving you a more positive mental attitude. It’s also a great way to support your mental fitness. Here are four ways music can boost your mental health.

1. IT HELPS REGULATE YOUR MOOD When you listen to music, the levels of the stress hormone cortisol drop. It also gives you a boost of dopamine, the reCONTINUES ON PAGE 7

Health

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might want to consider adding music as a complement to any medical treatments prescribed by your doctor.

This is because listening to music releases dopamine.

This is the hormone that activates your brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Getting a regular dopamine hit can help relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety.

ward hormone, which can help to elevate your mood.

The part of the brain called the amygdala is responsible for processing music. It’s also the center of our mood and emotions. That’s why listening to upbeat music can help put you in a more positive mood.

4. IT CAN INCREASE YOUR MOTIVATION

Therefore, listening to happy music regularly can help regulate your brain chemistry.

This can help you maintain greater mental and emotional balance.

2. IT REDUCES STRESS Regulating your cortisol levels with music can help relieve stress and make you feel more grounded.

In one study, researchers wanted to test the effect of music on the motivation levels of cyclists on static bikes.

To do this, they changed the tempo of the music without the participants’ knowledge.

Anxiety affects around 40 million adults in the US. If you are one of them, you might want to consider adding music as a complement to any medical treatments prescribed by your doctor.

There are different types of stress, including acute stress Chronic stress causes horand chronic stress. monal imbalances. This can Depending on the situation, lead to headaches, insomnia, a certain amount of acute and other physical symptoms. stress can be beneficial as it helps you to deal with the Listening to music on a regular basis can relieve acute problem at hand. stress, which can prevent Stress becomes a problem it from turning into chronic when it becomes chronic. stress.

3. IT RELIEVES ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION Anxiety affects around 40 million adults in the US. Around half of those also suffer from depression.

If you are one of them, you

When they increased the tempo by 10%, the cyclists’ performance increased in terms of distance, pedaling speed, and power exerted.

Decreasing the speed of the music by 10% had the opposite effect. This suggests that the higher-tempo music increased their motivation. ◙ SOURCE www.betterup.com

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Music

7

iccolo Paganini was born N in Genoa, Italy, on October

27, 1782, he died in Nice, France, on May 27, 1840. His father, Antonio Paganini, was a boxer at the city's port, but in his spare time he dedicated himself to the violin. Niccolo began taking violin lessons early on from Giovanni Servette and, later, Giacomo Costa. At the age of eight, the boy composed a Sonata for violin. The boy routinely played in churches, which forced him to study constantly. Such study and such practice gave him great skill with the violin.

He was musical director at the court of Maria Anna Elisa Bacciocchi, Princess of Lucca.

In 1813 he began to tour Italy, where his way of interpreting attracted the attention of those who listened to him.

Paganini could interpret works of great difficulty with only one of the four strings of the violin.

In 1795 the boy performed some variations on La Carmagnola, a song very popular at the time, which earned him great acclaim. mony and orchestration.

Once, taken to the famous However, there came a time teacher Alessandro Rolla, he when the teacher considered played a piece by the mas- his task complete, so he sent ter at first sight, who, aston- Paganini to the man who had ished, told him that he had been his teacher: Gaspare nothing to teach the boy, hav- Ghiretti. With this teacher, ing sent him Ferdinando Pear, Paganini made great proga famous Italian composer of ress. One day, the owner of a Guarnerius violin offered him the time. an exchange: if the young man Under his care, Paganini managed to play a concert wrote 24 Four-Voice Fugues that was unknown to him at and gained notions of har- first sight, he would win the

In 1828 he settled in Vienna, where he met Chopin. In Paris he met Liszt who, fascinated by his technique, developed a pianistic correlation inspired by what he had done with the violin. The same happened with Schumann.

From 1833 to 1836 he directed the orchestra of the Duchy of Parma, Italy.

The greatest violinist of all time made his first public appearance at the age of nine and toured various cities in Lombardy at thirteen.

His technique so amazed the public at the time that they thought there was some diabolical influence on him. He could interpret works of great difficulty with only one of the four strings of the violin, and continue playing in two or three voices, so that it sounded like several violins sounding. This indicates how close his art was to show business.

In 1801 he composed more than twenty works in which he combined the violin with other instruments.

Among his compositions are concertos, caprices, and chamber music. Many of them were never published. ◙

violin. Paganini opened the score, performed the concerto, and won the instrument.

Arts

centuries after LeonarFdoiveda Vinci painted the Mona

Lisa (1503–19), the portrait hangs behind bulletproof glass within the Louvre Museum and draws thousands of jostling spectators each day.

It is the most famous painting in the world, and yet, Leonardo da Vinci when viewers manage to see the artwork up close, they painting’s inherent appeal. and the careful rendering of are likely to be baffled by the folded fabric reveal Leonsmall subdued portrait of an There is no doubt that ardo’s studied observations the Mona Lisa is a very good and inexhaustible patience. ordinary woman. painting. It was highly regardShe’s dressed modestly in a ed even as Leonardo worked And, although the sitter’s translucent veil, dark robes, on it, and his contemporaries steady gaze and restrained and no jewelry. Much has copied the then novel three- smile were not regarded as been said about her smile quarter pose. mysterious until the 19th and gaze, but viewers still century, viewers today can might wonder what all the The writer Giorgio Vasari lat- appreciate her equivocal exer extolled Leonardo’s ability pression. Leonardo painted fuss is about. to closely imitate nature. In- a complex figure that is very Along with the mysteries of deed, the Mona Lisa is a very much like a complicated huthe sitter’s identity and her realistic portrait. man. enigmatic look, the reason for the work’s popularity is The subject’s softly sculptural External events also contribone of its many conundrums. face shows Leonardo’s skillful uted to the artwork’s fame. handling of sfumato, an artis- That the painting’s home is Although many theories have tic technique that uses subtle the Louvre, one of the world’s attempted to pinpoint one gradations of light and shad- most-visited museums, is a reason for the art piece’s ow to model form, and shows fortuitous circumstance that celebrity, the most compel- his understanding of the skull has added to the work’s statling arguments insist that beneath the skin. ure. there is no one explanation.

The Mona Lisa’s fame is the The delicately painted veil, It arrived at the Louvre via result of many chance circum- the finely wrought tresses, a circuitous path beginning stances combined with the

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with Francis I, king of France, in whose court Leonardo spent the last years of his life.

The painting became part of the royal collection, and, for centuries after, the portrait was secluded in French palaces until the Revolution claimed the royal collection as the property of the people.

Following a stint in Napoleon’s bedroom, the Mona Lisa was installed in the Louvre Museum at the turn of the 19th century. As patronage of the Louvre grew, so too did recognition of the painting.

Although the Mona Lisa is undoubtedly good art, there is no single reason for its celebrity.

Rather, it is hundreds of circumstances—from its fortuitous arrival at the Louvre to the mythmaking of the 19th century to the endless reproductions of the 20th and 21st centuries—that have all worked together with the painting’s inherent appeal to make the Mona Lisa the world’s most famous painting ever. ◙ SOURCE: BRITANNICA.COM

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Living

n 2008 you could see tent Ivillages and huts standing be-

found themselves trapped.

Homeless people had built makeshift homes in the middle of Finland’s capital city.

They were exposed to harsh weather conditions.

It started implementing the “Housing First” concept.

Since the 1980s, Finnish governments had been trying to reduce homelessness.

And the country is successful: It is the only EU-country where the number of homeless people is declining.

But in 2008 the Finnish government introduced a new policy for the homeless:

tween trees in the parks of Helsinki.

Short-term shelters were built. However, long-term homeless people were still left out.

There were too few emergency shelters and many affected people did not manage to get out of homelessness: They couldn’t find jobs – without a housing address.

And without any job, they couldn’t find a flat. It was a vicious circle.

Furthermore, they had problems applying for social benefits.

All in all, homeless people

Since then the number of people affected has fallen sharply.

Since the 1980s, Finnish governments had been trying to reduce homelessness.

Short-term shelters were Built. However, long-term homeless people were still left out.

Housing first: How everyone is given residence in Finland It is NGOs such as the “YFoundation” that provide housing for people in need.

They take care of the construction themselves, buy flats on the private housing market and renovate existing flats.

The apartments have one to two rooms. In addition to that, former emergency shelters have been converted into apartments in order to offer long-term housing.

Homeless people turn into CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

Living

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tenants with a tenancy agreement. They also have to pay rent and operating costs.

First” is cheaper than accepting homelessness: Now, the state spends 15,000 euros less per year per homeless person than before.

Social workers, who have offices in the residential buildings, help with financial issues such as applications for social benefits.

No miracle cure – but a high success rate With 4 out of 5 people keeping their flats, “Housing First” is effective in the long run.

Providing people with apartments is cheaper than leaving them on the street Creating housing for people costs money. In the past 10 years, 270 million euros were spent on the construction, purchase and renovation of housing as part of the “Housing First” programme.

However, Juha Kaakinen points out, this is far less than the cost of homelessness itself.

Because when people are in emergency situations, emergencies are more frequent: Assaults, injuries, breakdowns. The police, health care and justice systems are more often called upon to step in – and this also costs money.

In comparison, “Housing

Creating housing for people costs money. In the past 10 years, 270 million euros were spent on the construction, purchase and renovation of housing as part of the “Housing First” programme.

However, Juha Kaakinen points out, this is far less than the cost of homelessness itself.

In 20 percent of the cases, people move out because they prefer to stay with friends or relatives – or because they don’t manage to pay the rent.

But even in this case they are not dropped. They can apply again for an apartment and are supported again if they wish.

Of course, there is no guarantee for success. Especially homeless women are more difficult to reach: They conceal their emergency situation more often: They live on the streets less frequently and rather stay with friends or acquaintances. ◙ SOURCE: WORLD HABITAT

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WHAT IS CHATGPT? hatGPT is a natural lanC guage processing tool driven

by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with a chatbot. The language model can answer questions, and assist you with tasks such as composing emails, essays, and code.

Usage is currently open to public free of charge because ChatGPT is in its research and feedback-collection phase. As of Feb. 1, there is also a paid subscription version called ChatGPT Plus.

Technology

WHO MADE CHATGPT? ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an AI and research company. The company launched ChatGPT on Nov. 30, 2022.

OpenAI is also responsible for creating DALLE•2, a popular AI art generator, and Whisper, an automatic speech recognition system.

HOW BIG A DEAL IS CHATGPT? It's certainly made a big splash. "ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI," said CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

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HOW CAN YOU ACCESS CHATGPT?

Elon Musk, who was one of the founders of OpenAI before leaving.

You can access ChatGPT simply by visiting chat.openai. com and creating an OpenAI account. Once you sign in, you are able to start chatting away with ChatGPT. Get your conversation started by asking a question.

Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief, said on Twitter that ChatGPT had more than 1 million users in its first five days after launching.

Altman told Musk the average cost of each response was in "single-digits cents" but admitted he will need to monetize it eventually because of its "eye-watering" computer costs.

According to analysis by Swiss bank UBS, ChatGPT is the fastest growing app of all time.

In January, only two months after its launch, UBS analysis estimates that ChatGPT had 100 million active users.

For comparison, it took nine months for TikTok to reach 100 million.

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with a chatbot.

Because ChatGPT is still in its research stage, it is free to use and you can ask as many questions as you'd like. For stepby-step instructions, check out ZDNET's guide about how to start using ChatGPT. ◙ SOURCE: ZEDNET.COM

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Disaster

he combined death toll in TTurkey and Syria has climbed

more than a week after Turkey's massive earthquake, defying the odds for survival and one of several remarkable stories to emerge.

and millions are in need of humanitarian aid. Many survivors have been left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

Berber, a 62-year-old diabetic, survived 187 hours after the walls of his ground-floor flat were propped up by a fridge and a cabinet, leaving space for him to sit in an armchair with a rug to keep him warm. He ha a single bottle of water, and when that ran out, drank his own urine.

to more than 46,000 people and counting

Now over ten days since the quakes flattened cities, the focus of emergency forces has shifted to supporting survivors.

But stories of how people survived for days buried under the rubble have also begun to emerge.

MERSIN, Turkey (Reuters) Huseyin Berber's voice was hoarse from calling for help from under the rubble of his home but he was finally freed

"In a second tremor, the ceiling collapsed, but it did not touch me. I immediately crouched, sat down. The wall fell over on to fridge and the cabinet.

I was stuck there with a rug on me. I shouted and shouted but no one heard me."

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A member of the Turkish medical rescue team said that people under the rubble can generally survive up to five days.

K A H R A M A N M A R A S /A N TAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) – A teenage girl was pulled alive from the rubble in Turkey on Thursday more than 10 days after an earthquake that has killed more than 42,000 people in the country and neighboring Syria, as families of those still missing await news of their fate.

in Turkey's southeastern Kahramanmaras province, broadcaster TRT Haber reported, 248 hours since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in the dead of night on Feb. 6.

While several people were also found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, reports of such rescues have become increasingly infrequent.

SKENDERUN, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish children left homeless by the massive tremor have been learning to cope with what happened The 17-year-old was rescued and their ongoing anxiety

over aftershocks by playing Some have been pulled from 'earthquake' with building the rubble after hours in the blocks, a teacher said. cold and darkness to discover "They talk about the earth- family members have died quake. They build blocks and or are missing, and the busy say... 'is this okay for earth- neighborhoods where they quakes?' and 'is it stable?'," lived have been reduced to said teacher Busra Civelek, mounds of shattered conwho was looking after 22 chil- crete. dren in a makeshift classroom on a ferry that has been con- Doctors have said they are verted into a clinic and shel- treating increasing numbers ter in the port of Iskenderun. of patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorThe long-term psychological der and panic attacks. ◙ effects will only be understood with time. The extent SOURCE: of the trauma is enormous. THE BRUSSELS TIMES.

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Well Being

asleep later and wakFingalling up later this time of year?

Washington, shorter daylight hours pushed sleep time about a half-hour later in the wintertime, compared to the other times of year.

Going outside to get more daylight exposure – especially during the morning – might help, new evidence suggests.

“It is important for a couple of reasons,” de la Iglesia says.

It could be you need to reset your sleep/wake clock.

Yes, the use of electric lights and screens in the evening can mess with your sleep, but that’s not the whole picture, says Horacio de la Iglesia, PhD, a professor of biology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

In fact, daylight is considerably brighter, even on an overcast day, compared to indoor lighting. So they’re not the same.

In a study of 507 college students at the University of

First of all, teenagers and young adults tend to have very late sleep timing, “or a late chronotype as we call it, that is predictive of physical and mental health.

Going outside to get more daylight exposure might help, new evidence suggests.

Also, if you have a late chronotype, it probably means you struggle to get out of bed, you end up sleeping less, and you also increase what we call ‘social jet lag.’”

Social jet lag is the difference in sleep timing between the weekend and weekdays, “and that also is predictive of poor health,” de la Iglesia says.

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HOW TO FALL ASLEEP QUICKLY Do you find yourself counting sheep at bedtime?

Rest with some good habits to help you catch more ZZZs. The study was published in the Journal of Pineal Research.

If it seems to make more sense that a later sunset in summertime would mean a later bedtime, you’re not alone.

“Although we had a good reason to think that sleep would change seasonally, we didn't have any clear prediction on which direction it would change,” de la Iglesia says.

And in fact, the prediction that we had was completely wrong.”

the misalignment of the social schedule with the body’s schedule on its own, even if average sleep duration is the same, it affects health,” she says.

Students fell asleep 35 minutes later and woke up 27 minutes later than students during the summer school days.

“This effect helps explain why making daylight savings time permanent in the winter would likely be exponentially worse than how much it affects us in the summer.”

The researchers did not find any significant differences in sleep duration by season.

But students used an alarm to wake up about 10% more often in the fall and winter, compared to the spring and summer.

MULTIPLE HEALTH EFFECTS POSSIBLE “My take is that sunlight exposure seems to have more effect than artificial light exposure – which goes along with what we know,” says Karin Johnson, MD, the medical director of the Baystate Regional Sleep Medicine Program in Springfield, MA, who was not involved with the study.

“In addition to sleep loss,

“In addition to sleep loss, the misalignment of the social schedule with the body’s schedule on its own, even if average sleep duration is the same, affects health.”

A later midpoint of sleep – defined as the halfway point in clock time between falling asleep and waking up – evening chronotype, and more social jet lag are “strongly associated with many health problems,” Johnson says.

Metabolic syndrome and obesity, cardiovascular issues, depression, anxiety, and poorer performance and thinking skills are examples. ◙ © 2022 WEBMD, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Philosophy

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Find a moment today to sing.

Find a place, today, to sing.

Don't sing just because it's pretty. Don't sing just because it relaxes.

Don't sing the song you learned from listening to so much. Sing the song that defines your life, perhaps learned in childhood.

Sing to praise God. Sing a new song, even if it's an old one. Sing a new song, new in the sense of deep, so deep that it makes you cry with pleasure.

A song is new when it celebrates trust in the God who has done wonderful things for us.

A new song is one that is born out of our certainty that God ALWAYS remembers to put his goodness into action.

A new song is an invitation to God to act.

When we sing praises to God, we place our whole being (body and mind) in His presence.

Israel Belo de Azevedo Phylosopher

When we praise God, we put ourselves in His place as Lord of our lives.

Praise is therefore a powerful gesture.

Praising is going out of us a little, to be led by the Spirit of God. Our worship can be done in groups, but also alone.

Praise can happen at scheduled times, but also at unexpected times.

We can prepare for these moments. If today was not possible, you want tomorrow to be. ◙

Motivation

ome people may find Sthemselves completely sty-

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and then challenge yourself to read five pages of the book on your nightstand first.

mied by a project; others may simply want to pack a little more productivity into their timeline.

This approach gives space for negative thoughts and feelings, while helping you change ingrained patterns.

No matter where motivation begins, there are always ways to increase it—whether that be your own motivation or someone else’s.

HOW CAN I STOP PROCRASTINATING? Procrastination is often driven by underlying feelings of distress or anxiety elicited by a given task.

HOW CAN I FEEL MORE MOTIVATED? Sometimes you might feel completely unmotivated— and that’s ok. In that situation, allow yourself to feel the discomfort, hear the negative self-talk, and then take action anyway, For example, let’s say you come home after a long day at work and just want to unwind and watch TV. Instead of turning the TV on, acknowledge that you’re tired

No matter where motivation begins, there are always ways to increase it—whether that be your own motivation or someone else’s.

But there are ways to navigate the discomfort and beat procrastination.

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Many people struggle to stick to a diet.

You can break the project into small, more manageable pieces; accomplishing one step will fuel your motivation for the next.

You can set limits for the time spent preparing to begin, or aim to complete tasks as quickly as possible.

You can also set a reward that you’ll get after completing the task or a part of it.

How can companies motivate HOW CAN I STICK their employees?

TO MY DIET?

hurtful comments or fit into an outfit—can jumpstart the process but that intrinsic motivation—interest, enjoyment, and challenge in the journey—is key to sustained, lasting weight loss.

2) believe that the diet, start date, and end goals have been chosen autonomously and not “assigned” by others

Intrinsic motivation encompasses competence, autonomy, and relatedness, so it’s helpful to:

3) find a community of supporters.

How can politicians motivate Many people struggle to stick their constituents? to a diet.

DIET, EXERCISE, AND Research suggests that exFINANCE GOALS trinsic motivators—to avoid Some of the most common goals people make—and the most common goals they struggle to meet—are to eat healthier, work out more, and save more money.

Many traps can prevent people from achieving those goals, but anticipating those challenges can help achieve real change.

1) choose a diet that will be sustainable and effective

HOW CAN I STAY MOTIVATED TO EXERCISE? There are a few creative ideas to consider if motivation is a barrier to exercise.

One is to widen the options you have: If you don’t have time to go to the gym, exercise by going for a walk, doing a bodyweight circuit, or watching a yoga video.

Another is to make exercise more enjoyable, such as by listening to a book on tape.

Yet another is to establish a social contract with a friend or family member. For example, if you allow phone time to supersede exercise, you must donate to a cause of the other person’s choosing. ◙ SOURCE: BRITANNICA.COM