Social drinkers earn more/Sleep tight to be healthy and happy

[Guest guest]

Social drinkers earn more

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 & click_id=117 & art_id=vn20060918103027151C815066

 

 

 

 

September 18 2006 at 11:19AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People who consume alcohol earn significantly more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlights the "social capital" that may be gained from drinking in social settings.The study published in the Journal of Labour Research concluded that regular social drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotallers.And men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in their pay packet."Social drinking builds social capital," said Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University and co-author of the study with fellow researcher Bethany Peters.

 

 

 

 

'Social drinking builds social capital'

"Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks."The authors acknowledged that their study, funded by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, contradicted research released in 2000 by the Harvard School of Public Health."We created our hypothesis through casual observation and examination of scholarly accounts," the authors said."Drinkers typically tend to be more social than abstainers."The researchers said their empirical survey backed up the theory, and said the most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities.

 

 

 

 

Wider range of social contacts

"Drinkers may be able to socialise more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers an advantage in important relationships," the researchers said."Drinking may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills."They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies aimed at curbing alcohol use on university campuses and public venues."Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings," the study said."One of the unintended consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private settings. This occurred during the Alcohol Prohibition of 1920 to 1933 and is happening on college campuses today. By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies eliminate one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital."The researchers found some differences in the economic effects of drinking among men and women. They concluded that men who drink earn 10 percent more than abstainers and women drinkers earn 14 percent more than their non-drinking counterparts.However, unlike men, who get a seven percent income boost from drinking in bars, women who frequent bars at least once a month do not show higher earnings than women drinkers who do not visit bars."Perhaps women increase social capital apart from drinking in bars," the researchers said in an effort to explain the gender gap. - AFP

 

 

 

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 & click_id=117 & art_id=qw1158615541683B243Sleep tight to be healthy and happy

 

 

 

 

September 19 2006 at 03:08AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Andrew SternChicago - Chronic sleeplessness aggravates and might cause numerous health problems, including depression, by wearing down the body's immune system, researchers said on Monday.As many as half of Americans experience some sleep problems during the course of a year and one-quarter have chronic difficulties sleeping that may be harming their health.Good quality sleep "should be considered an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, as much as exercise and nutrition", said researcher Phyllis Zee of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.Zee, who co-authored an editorial commenting on several studies in this month's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine examining the repercussions of sleep disorders, said scientists have yet to fully understand the mechanisms by which lack of sleep hurts the body."We do know that people who get less than seven hours of sleep a day are at higher risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease," she said in a telephone interview.Lack of sleep appears to increase levels of cytokines, which are molecules released by the immune system that control the body's immune response. The resulting inflammation may be responsible for a host of ills from heart disease to diabetes to neurological diseases.It may be that sleep refreshes the immune system and resets the body's autonomic nervous system that controls bodily functions, researchers said."What is it about sleep and sleep duration that causes changes in metabolism, changes in cardiovascular function? We just don't know," Zee said.In one study in the journal, sleep studies performed over a four-year period on 1 408 middle-aged adults found those with sleep apnea - where the airway becomes blocked repeatedly, interrupting sleep - were twice as likely to develop depression."The study is the first the show that sleep apnea is a risk factor for depression," Zee said, suggesting that physicians treating people for depression ought to ask about sleep habits and try to address them.Other studies in the journal found sleep deficits affected aspects of the immune system, but Zee said this type of research was just beginning.Another study found diabetic men who tended to have short or poor-quality sleep had less control of their blood-sugar levels, and suggested one way to improve the health of such patients might be to recommend more sleep."The growing tendency to burn the candle at both ends may be a significant contributor to the current epidemic of diabetes," said Kristen Knutson of the University of Chicago, the author of the study on diabetic men.The pain from various health problems can contribute to poor sleep, which in turn can worsen the illnesses, Zee noted.