Skip to main content

Swedes’ Solution

Six-Hour Workday Reaps Benefits

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]any Americans work 50 hours a week or more because they think they’ll get more done and reap the benefits later. However, according to a metastudy published in The Lancet, people that clock a 55-hour week have a 33 percent greater risk of stroke and 13 percent higher risk of developing coronary heart disease than those that maintain a 35- to 40-hour work week. Data from 25 studies that monitored the health of 600,000 people from the U.S., Europe and Australia for up to 8.5 years were analyzed.

Paul Kelley, of Oxford University’s Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, notes that even a traditional nine-to-five workday is at odds with peoples’ internal body clocks, contributing to sleep deprivation.

Now Sweden is moving toward a standard six-hour workday, with some businesses having already implemented the change. Linus Feldt, CEO of Stockholm app developer Filimundus, reports that the shift has maintained productivity while decreasing staff conflicts, because people are happier and better rested. Several Toyota service centers in Gothenburg that switched to a six-hour day 13 years ago also report happier staff, a lower turnover rate and increased ease in enticing new hires. A Swedish retirement home has embarked on a yearlong experiment to compare the costs and benefits of a shorter working day. Source: ScienceAlert.com

Global Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

Upcoming Events Near You
Follow Us On Facebook