Lifeguards on duty in Clare during month of May for first time

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

LIFEGUARDS are now on duty for the first time in May at the county’s four busiest beaches.

Over the weekend, lifeguards commenced patrolling the beaches at Lahinch and Spanish Point while this weekend coming they will also be in Fanore and Kilkee.

It marks the earliest return of lifeguards to beaches in the county and is the first time they have been on duty in the month of May.

Cllr Liam Grant (GP) who has been vocal in his efforts to increase lifeguard cover said the move was a step in the right direction. “I have been fighting for this for a long time with the Council. They often made the excuse that there wasn’t any lifeguards available to work but I made them ask the staff and they were available”. He noted that on Sunday, over 100 people were in the water in Lahinch alone. He paid tribute to all lifeguards who commenced work last weekend. “As far as I know we are the first county in the Republic to start the lifeguard season in May. They have been doing it up North for years. It will be great for swimmers who badly need a swim zone on busy days. Our swimming habits have changed and I’m very glad the Council have decided to accept my pleas for this service”.

Since his co-option to the local authority in October 2021, the La- hinch native has tabled more than one motion seeking the extension of lifeguard cover in the county, first seeking year-round cover and then scaling it back to cover the month of May. He previously described the Council’s stance as “out of touch” and said their lifeguard service was “the best value for money service in the county”. Debates have occurred on the matter within the chambers of Clare County Council in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Among those to contribute was Kilkee based, Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) who remarked that the local authority must begin testing the water quality on a more frequent basis year-round. “Our lifeguard service needs to be provided for a longer time. The beach in Kilkee was packed to the rafters every weekend, it is not good enough to say we don’t usually do it so we’re not going to do it”.

Deirdre Coleman Interior Designer

NOTHING compares to sleep to melt away the stresses of daily living, yet for many of us, a solid 8 hours to keep us in the pink of health can often prove elusive.

Everything from bedroom temperature, acoustics, mattress quality, lighting and layout can have a massive impact on our capacity to wind down quickly and drift off with ease.

A solid seven to nine hours sleep serves functions that many of us are sorely oblivious to but neuroscientist Matthew Walker, author of “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” has sought to shed some light on the perils of walking through life in an underslept state. “Insufficient sleep is a key lifestyle factor determining whether or not you will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Inadequate sleep - even moderate reductions for just one week - disrupts blood sugar levels so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic. Short sleeping increases the likelihood of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, setting you on a path towards cardiovascular disease, stroke and congestive heart failure”, warns Walker in his book.

From improved air quality to the joy of natural materials against the skin, here are our 7 tips for biophilic bedroom bliss.

1Control Light Exposure

Humans evolved over millions of years in outdoor environments, intimately in tune with nature and the regular cycle of sunlight and darkness. Natural lighting is a key element of managing our internal body clock, giving our bodies the cues they need to self-regulate.

Your circadian clock, an internally driven 24-hour cycle that helps to set your sleep/ wake cycle, is most sensitive to light at the following times:

• About one hour after waking up in the morning

• About two hours before your bedtime

• Throughout the night

Block any early morning light by doubling up on blackout blinds and curtains to minimise “light spillage” that will interfere with sleep.

Use candlelight or dim lighting before bedtime to limit the impact of artificial light on your sleep quality. Using a small, low-power lamp can help transition to bedtime and pitch darkness. Low illuminance and warm colour temperature may help with relaxation and getting into the right mindset for sleep.

While we know that artificial light, be that from our phones, TV or laptop/tablet can negatively impact our sleep-wake cycle by throwing our circadian rhythm off balance, there are ways of using artificial light that can actually improve our sleep. Try a Lumie alarm clock alarm clock which doubles as a natural light simulator – automatically adapting its tone to replicate sunset and sunrise as you wind down to sleep, and as you wake up. Remove the blue light from your phone by designing bedside drawers that contain charging sockets for your phones. If you work a night shift or use a lot of electronic devices at night, consider wearing blue-blocking glasses or installing an app that filters the blue/green wavelength at night.

If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony off you’re bedroom, get outdoors within the first hour of waking up - aim for 30 minutes. Getting exposure to sunlight in the morning can help you sleep at night because it helps regulate your circadian rhythm.

2Let nature in

Draw design inspiration from the natural world, through what’s known as ‘biophilic design’ – weaving nature into the home environment by increasing natural light, maximising outside views, and using natural colours, textures and patterns in interior spaces. Soothing tones of blue, green and earthy tones reflect nature and help create a serene and restful backdrop for your bedroom. We associate tones of blue