Sleep gets hampered due to work tension

It is workplace tensions - more than longer hours or night shifts - that follow employees home and interfere with their sleep, according to a study.

The study analysed two national surveys of 2,300 adults who were followed up to a decade. Over that time, roughly half the respondents said they had trouble sleeping.

“Together, work and sleep take up about two-thirds of every weekday,” said University of Michigan (U-M) sociologist Sarah Burgard. “But until now, very little research has focussed on the connections between work and sleep.”

Previous research has shown that lack of sleep can have serious consequences, ranging from traffic accidents to health problems, chronic disease and mortality.

According to the new study, respondents who were upset at work on a frequent basis, or had on-going personal conflicts with bosses or co-workers, were about 1.7 times more likely than others to develop sleep problems.

“Massive changes over the past half-century have reshaped the workplace, with major implications for sleep,” Burgard said. “For many workers, psychological stress has replaced physical hazards.”

Burgard also explored how work-family conflict, gender, education and job status affected the relationship between work and sleep.

As women have entered the labour force in large numbers, dual-earner households and single-parent families have made the time-crunch a major factor, Burgard said.

Respondents with children under the age of three were about 2.2 times as likely to report poor sleep quality, but having young children did not explain the association between hassles at work and sleep quality.

Meditation eases blood pressure

TM or Transcendental Meditation, the meditation technique introduced in 1958 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, is an effective therapy for easing high blood pressure and also bypassing possible side effects of anti-hypertension drugs, according to researchers.

The study by University of Kentucky researchers evaluated nine randomised, controlled trials using TM on hypertension patients. It was associated with approximate reductions of 4.7 mm systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mm diastolic blood pressure (BP).

The study’s co-author James W. Anderson of University of Kentucky averred that BP reductions of this magnitude could be expected to be accompanied by significant cutbacks in risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, sans side effects.

Anderson’s most recent findings reinforce an earlier study that found TM produces a statistically significant reduction in high BP not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, bio-feedback or stress management.

“Adding TM is about equivalent to adding a second anti-hypertension agent to one’s current regimen only safer and less troublesome,” said Anderson.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that one out of three American adults have high BP. It increases one’s chances of developing heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.

The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Hypertension

Magna Goes For Mini SUV

MINI has been in the news lately with regards to the forthcoming Clubman model, the much awaited MINI Cooper wagon. Much like the internationally-inspired wagon concepts, the new Clubman will feature a rear-hinged access (suicide) door plus an extended wheelbase for much-needed extra interior room. Undisguised interior and exterior spy shots have already made their way onto the internet and it’s common knowledge that the car will be debuting this September in Frankfurt. But what’s also got MINI in the news is word regarding a forthcoming compact sport utility vehicle, filling in the niche that smart didn’t when the formore compact SUV was canned.

Sean Connery tops 'exercise' poll

Former Bond star Sean connery has topped a poll of celebrities women think about most when working out.

The football star David Beckham came in second, reports contactmusic.com. The survey was conducted by Cancer Research UK's Race For Life 2008 series to find out which celebrities women turned to for inspiration while exercising.

"It was surprising to find that Sean Connery beat David Beckham, who regularly tops the poll of the world's best looking men. But whether it is a famous heartthrob or a family member, it's always a good incentive to have someone waiting for you at the finish line, and we're sure there will be lots of people supporting our Race for Life participants at the events this year," said Natasha Woodford, head of the Cancer Research UK's Race for Life.

Chef Gordon Ramsey came in third followed by Prince William. The "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is on fifth position.