BEDTIME SOCIAL NETWORKING CAUSES SLEEP DEPRIVATION EPIDEMIC ACROSS BRITAIN

MILLIONS of Britons are losing valuable sleep each night because they are addicted to social networking according to findings from a new sleep report.  Gone are the days when Britons liked nothing better then to be tucked up in bed with a mug of cocoa and a good book. In today’s modern society, 72% of adults spend their time in bed before falling asleep updating or checking their friends status updates on Facebook.

The study commissioned by Travelodge surveyed 6,000 adults to explore the nation’s bedtime habits and key findings revealed we have become a nation of ‘Online-A-Holics. So bad is the problem that 70% of Britons are tweeting, poking, surfing and writing on each others’ walls instead of going to sleep. In addition 18% of adults send a daily night-time tweet to their followers and 20% of Britons catch up on tweets from their favourite celebrities and friends in bed.

On average each night Britons are spending 16 minutes in bed socially networking with pals – with the peak chatting time being 9.45pm. This time spent social networking is affecting Britons sleep quota as on average respondents reported they are getting just 6 hours and 21 minutes sleep per night. (This is 1 hour and 39 minutes below the recommended quota of 8 hours of sleep per night).

Dr Michael Hastings, an expert in sleep patterns and body clocks and a research scientist for the Medical Research Council at Addenbrooke’s Hospital (Cambridge University Hospitals), said;- “From a sleep point of view, this news is not good at all as it’s having a huge negative effect on people’s sleep. Adults don’t realise what impact using computers, mobile phones and other gadgets before falling sleep is having on their night’s sleep. Being exposed to bright light from computer and mobile phone screens while in bed completely delays the brain and body’s ability to get to sleep.  As a result, people are not able to get to sleep as quickly as they should and aren’t getting the required amount of sleep they need each night. A lot of people think that when they go to sleep their brain is turned off but that is not the case. The brain simply engages in a different activity where it stores important memories and gets rid of information that is not needed. If people aren’t getting enough sleep each night their long-term memory is most definitely being affected and using social networking sites and technology before they go to sleep is worsening this.  The sad thing is social networking is doing exactly what it was invented for – to grab people’s attention and make them addicted.”

Corinne Sweet, Psychologist, comments on the research findings:- “We have become a nation of “online-a-holics’. This addiction for social networking supports Maslow’s theory of humans having three basic needs. One of these being the need for love, affection, belonging and self-worth and Facebook provides the perfect solution to fulfil this requirement. By socially networking we can fulfil our need to communicate and share our news in one hit with all of our contacts across the world 24/7 and obtain a comprehensive snapshot of what they are up to at any given time.  Like all things there is a time and place and social networking should not take place between the sheets as it can be detrimental to our well being. By texting, tweeting, surfing and writing on our walls in bed we are nodding off with a busy mind which impacts upon our quality of sleep during the night. Bedtime should be associated with calming down and chilling out with a good book, listening to easy music, catching up with your partner or enjoying a love-making session; in order to get a night of deep, nourishing sleep. Make time earlier in the evening for social networking as it will help you distress after a hard day and prepare you for bedtime.”

Further research findings revealed that 65% respondents stated the very last thing they do before nodding off at night is to check their mobile phone for text messages. On average Britons will spend around 9 minutes every night texting before falling asleep. 40% of adults reported they have a regular text communication with friends in bed every night.  So bad is the obsession with bed-texting that 20% of Britons surveyed confessed they have stopped mid-way whilst making love with their partner to check on an incoming text message.

Corinne Sweet, Psychologist said:- “’No sex, I'm texting' is the new British bedtime motto, it seems but couples need to be aware it can feel quite insulting to come second (as it were) to a text which can result in serious problems within a relationship. It's a good idea for love and intimacy to really blossom, if all mobiles and laptops can be left out of the boudoir, at least during love-making. Nothing is more annoying than the constant bleep of electronics to interrupt your night-time bliss."

27% of adults surveyed also reported they are regularly awoken during the night by an incoming text message. Whilst 25% of workers reported they frequently get a late night work related text from their boss.  51% of British adults surveyed stated the very first thing they do when they wake up – before even getting out of bed is to check their mobile phone for new texts or emails. 10% of respondents reported they will respond to any texts that have come through the night before getting out of bed.  As well as socially networking, 25% of the nation does their weekly grocery shopping between the sheets. Whilst 10% of adults settles any outstanding bills online before nodding off.  35% of the nation likes to surf celebrity news websites in bed for the latest showbiz gossip before slumbering.

With the festive season fast approaching 47% of respondents reported they are spending their time before falling asleep shopping for Christmas presents and making the necessary festive season arrangements.  10% of Singletons surveyed admitted they like to check out online dating websites before falling asleep in the hope of finding their perfect partner.

The study also revealed the time-honoured, faithful alarm clock is set to become obsolete with 84% of adults now using their mobile phone as an alarm clock - to help wake them up in the morning. In contrast in 2008 only 34% of Britons used their mobile phone as a wake-up call. On average 36% of adults will get out of bed immediately once the alarm goes off whilst 42% like to press the snooze button a couple of times.  10% of adults will set their daily alarm half an hour earlier than they need to get up - so that have 30 mins of snooze time every day.

Travelodge Sleep Director, Leigh McCarron said:- “Alarm clocks have been shown to cause heart rhythm irregularities which can cause a heart attack. The alarm clock’s strident ringing tone can be a shock to the body and mind. My recommendation is to wake up naturally as the awakening is part of a natural sleep-wake cycle and it can help you feel less groggy. Make your last thought before sleeping to be your intention to wake up at a particular time and sleep in complete darkness to aid a natural wake-up call.”

Listed below are details of famous celebrities who regularly tweet from their beds with a recent bed tweet message from them:-

Russell Brand:- I’m in bed with my cat Morrissey. He’d be furious if he knew I was writing this. He conveys affection by milking me, sans consent. Grim

Rob Brydon:- “Almost 10 hours of sleep, a modern day personal best!”

Paris Hilton:- "Going to bed . Tweet dreams my friends. Love Paris"

Kim Kardashian:- "It’s November!!! Finally got a good night sleep and feel so much better! Have the best day ever!!!"

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher:- "Tweeted a picture of themselves in bed to defuse the rumours that Ashton was having an affair."

Orders up but profits down at smaller firms, new research finds

MANY small businesses have experienced a rise in orders and turnover in recent months, new research has discovered.   The Forum of Private Business found that 30% of members on its ‘Economy Watch’ panel saw increases in their order books and turnovers, with only 16% reporting a decrease.  Business for the remaining 54% stayed steady between the Forum’s previous survey in mid October and the latest study, which was carried out in late November.

However, many business owners on the panel also reported a sharp drop in profitability during the same period as increases in fuel costs, energy prices and raw materials hit home.  

At 46%, almost half of the firms surveyed said they had seen a recent increase in the cost of doing business, with only 1% reporting that costs had fallen.  As a result, 27% of Economy Watch panel members reported a decrease in profitability since they were last surveyed in October, compared to just 14% who reported an increase.

Forum spokesman Phil McCabe said:- “Our research shows that, for now at least, business appears to be on the up for many small firms. This perhaps reflects other statistics on the health of the overall economy in recent months.  However, the ever-increasing costs of unavoidable overheads like gas, electricity, fuel and raw materials are taking their toll and eating into small companies’ profitability.   This inflationary pressure is a real concern – it basically means more money is being sucked out of small firms and transferred overseas, or over to multi-national businesses in the utility and oil industries. It’s something the Government really needs to tackle if it wants smaller businesses to drive economic growth and create jobs in the months and years ahead.”

Economy Watch also revealed businesses expect to secure 20% more finance for development in 2011 than they did in 2010. Those surveyed anticipated to receive around £45,500 each next year, rather than the £38,000 they said they expected during 2010 when surveyed in February.

However, the amount business expect to source from external sources - predominantly traditional bank lending – has seen a 27% slump. Correspondingly, the amount business owners expect to come from internal sources such as directors, friends and family members, has shot up from 10% for 2010 to 45% for 2011.

Mr McCabe commented:- “It’s obviously encouraging to see that smaller businesses expect to invest more in business development next year than they did in 2010. It shows they are fairly optimistic about their prospects as we head into 2011 and believe they will be able to develop and grow in the future.  The large drop in the amount of finance small companies expect to receive from external sources does serve as a stark reminder of how much faith has been lost in traditional credit streams such as bank lending.   However, we believe there are alternatives and ways for SMEs to greatly improve their chances of securing finance. That’s why we’re helping businesses access innovative new schemes like the Funding Store and the Funding Circle, which aim to get creditworthy firms the best possible borrowing deals by sharing their details with a much greater volume and diversity of potential lenders. We also helped to devise the operating principles for Doing Business Together – a body made up of organisations including banks, credit rating agencies and trade credit insurers to help smaller firms manage their finances better and access the funds they need.”

Economy Watch also found that businesses appear to have been encouraged by the recent Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) outlined by Chancellor George Osborne. Before the CSR announcement in October, 48% of panel members were positive about the Government’s handling of the economy, but since the CSR, the figure has risen to 57%.

Other key findings from the November Economy Watch report included:-

►  Businesses confidence is slightly higher than it was in October, but still significantly below a peak recorded by Economy Watch in April. Around 41% of business owners said they are either ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ that their business will grow in the next 6 months, compared to just 12% who said they are either ‘pessimistic’ or ‘very pessimistic’. The survey found an overall ‘confidence score’ of 0.28 in late November, compared to 0.38 7 months earlier.

►  Based on the responses from panel members, employment among SMEs is expected to increase by around 3% in 2011. Vacancies outweighed redundancies among those surveyed for the 3rd month running, following an overall contraction in employee numbers from February to July.

►  Creating a better economic climate emerged as the top priority among those surveyed. When asked what was needed to help their business grow, 23% of panel members selected ‘an improvement in the economy’ from a list of 12 options. Improved business/consumer confidence emerged as the second most popular choice, finding favour with 21% of respondents, followed by internal business development, on 19%.

►  Almost 90% of business owners appear unconcerned about the Coalition’s shake-up of regional development agencies. 68% of respondents said they do not use public sector business support, while 21% said the replacement of regional development agencies with local enterprise partnerships would make no difference to them.

►  Late payment continues to be a problem for smaller companies. The amount of panel members’ capital which is tied up in late payment increased by around 1.4%, at an average of 37% each.

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FOOTBALL BANNING ORDER FOR JORDAN DANIEL IRELAND

A man from Garston has been banned from every football ground in the country after being caught ticket touting.  Jordan Daniel Ireland, aged 20, of Garfourth Close, was also given a 6 month prison sentence, suspended for 2 years, a 2 month curfew, 180 hours community work and ordered to pay £345 compensation.  The unemployed Liverpool FC supporter pleaded guilty to multiple fraud offences at court in Liverpool on Wednesday, 8 December 2010.  He had been accused of selling tickets for a Manchester United versus Manchester City fixture last April to a 20 year old man in Knutsfrod, Cheshire, who paid £345 for tickets which he never received.  Officers from Merseyside Police's football intelligence unit, along with detectives at St Anne Street CID, conducted an investigation, supported by the banking industry and LFC, and identified Ireland as the culprit and arrested him.  The court order also bans Ireland from being in possession of any football match tickets for the next five years, from entering the area around Anfield football stadium at specific times, or from travelling to any town or city where Liverpool FC are playing.  He must also surrender his passport to police whenever LFC or England play abroad.  Chief Superintendent Dave Lewis, the Force football match commander, said:- "Not only is ticket fraud like this illegal, it often brings great disappointment to the victims who thought they had bought valid tickets with their hard-earned money. We will continue to pursue those who seek to profit from innocent football supporters by committing fraud and other offences."