But many [...]]]>

Daylight saving time finally ends this Sunday at 2 a.m. — remember to set your clocks back one hour when you go to bed Saturday night — and for many of us, that’s depressing. The day seems to fly by. It’s dark before it’s time to start thinking about dinner.

But many doctors say the return to standard time — and the extra hour of sleep you get in the morning — can be healthy.

“Generally, it is always easier to stay up an hour later than to go to sleep an hour earlier, so most people have relatively little problem setting the clocks back in the fall,” said Dr. Steven Feinsilver, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, in an email. “This is because our basic circadian rhythm (the ‘body clock’) actually seems to be programmed for a longer than 24 hour day. It runs a little slow.”

“The circadian clock does not change to the social change,” said chronobiology researcher Till Roenneberg of Ludwig Maximilans University in Munich, Germany. “During the winter, there is a beautiful tracking of dawn in human sleep behavior, which is completely and immediately interrupted when daylight saving time is introduced in March.”

Roenneberg, lead researcher for a study of the effects of time shifts, said that humans’ biological clocks are stronger than the clocks set by Congress.

“When you change clocks to daylight saving time, you don’t change anything related to sun time,” Roenneberg said. “This is one of those human arrogances, that we can do whatever we want as long as we are disciplined. We forget that there is a biological clock that is as old as living organisms, a clock that cannot be fooled. The pure social change of time cannot fool the clock.”

Though individuals may see their biological clocks reset, and will get an “extra hour” of sleep or rest over the weekend, researchers say that the stress caused by time changes can be bad for the body.

Researchers in Sweden published a report in 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine reporting that the number of heart attacks jumps during the period immediately following time changes, and that those vulnerable to sleep deprivation should be extra careful.

“More than 1.5 billion men and women are exposed to the transitions involved in daylight saving time: turning clocks forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the autumn,” wrote Imre Janszky and Rickard Ljung, health and welfare researchers in Sweden. “These transitions can disrupt chronobiologic rhythms and influence the duration and quality of sleep, and the effect lasts for several days after the shifts.”

Janszky and Ljung said that sleep deprivation can affect the cardiovascular system, leading the vulnerable to have heart problems in the days following Daylight Saving time changes.

Does Daylight Saving Equal Energy Savings?

The seven-month period of daylight saving time is mandated by governments — not biological clocks — which began implementing the time switch during World Wars I and II to save energy and resources for the war effort. From World War II until recently, daylight saving in the U.S. ran from April until mid-October.

But in 2007, Congress adjusted daylight saving time to begin three weeks earlier and end one week later, a move they hoped would help save energy. At the time, they pointed to the fact that longer daylight in the evening hours reduced people’s need to turn on lights in their homes at night.

Critics of the policy questioned the government’s decision, wondering whether people would simply turn on as many lights in the morning hours instead. In response, the Department of Energy studied the energy savings in 2008. They found that during daylight saving time, U.S. electricity use decreased by 0.5 percent per day, which added up to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power about 122,000 average U.S. homes for a year.

Now, as daylight saving time comes to its November close, energy use will tick up again as the sun sets earlier in the evening.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 6, the clocks will be set back an hour, from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. For an individual who goes to bed at 10 p.m. on Saturday night and awakens eight hours later, they will wake up at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. It will still be dark, of course, but the sun will come earlier than normal, at 6:30 a.m.

Well over 50 yrs ago I knew a lady who would not buy Christmas gifts if they were made in China. Her daughter will recognize her in the following.

Did y’all see Diane Sawyer’s special report a few weeks ago? They removed ALL items from a typical, middle [...]]]>

AUGUST 1ST to SEPTEMBER 1st, 2011

Well over 50 yrs ago I knew a lady who would not buy Christmas gifts if they were made in China. Her daughter will recognize her in the following.

Did y’all see Diane Sawyer’s special report a few weeks ago? They removed ALL items from a typical, middle class family’s home that were not made in the USA .

There was hardly anything left besides the kitchen sink. Literally. During the special they showed truckloads of items – USA made – being brought in to replace everything and talked about how to find these items and the difference in price etc..

It was interesting that Diane said if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items this year, it would create something like 200,000 new jobs!

I was buying food the other day at Walmart, and on the label of some products it said “From China”. For example, our “family” brand of the mandarine oranges says right on the can “from China”.. I was shocked to find that for just a few more cents, I bought the Liberty Gold brand or the Dole since it’s from California.

Are we Americans as dumb as we appear — or — is it that we just do not think. The Chinese, knowingly and intentionally, export inferior and even toxic products and dangerous toys and goods to be sold in American markets.

70% of Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended.

Why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges? DO IT YOURSELF, AMERICA !!

Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says ‘Made in China ‘ or ‘PRC’ (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply choose another product, or none at all. You will be amazed at how dependent you are on Chinese products, and you will be equally amazed at what you can do without.

Who needs plastic eggs to celebrate Easter? If you must have eggs, use real ones and benefit some American farmer. Easter is just an example. The point is do not wait for the government to act. Just go ahead and assume control on your own.

THINK ABOUT THIS: If 200 million Americans each refuse to buy just $20 of Chinese goods, that’s a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor…fast!!

Most of the people who have been reading about this matter are planning on implementing this on Aug. 1st and continue it until Sept. 1st. That is only one month of trading losses, but it will hit the Chinese for 1/12th of the total, or 8%, of their American exports. Then they might have to ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness were worth it.

Remember, August 1st to Sept. 1st !!!!!! START NOW.

Send this to everybody you know. Let’s show them that we are Americans and NOBODY can take us for granted, and be sure to tell them about this site too, www.KeepItUSAMade.com

If we can’t live without cheap Chinese goods for one month out of our lives, WE DESERVE WHAT WE GET!

Pass it on, America … AND, instead of doing it for just ONE month – why not try to do it all the time?

A new mandatory standard for bunk beds is expected to improve safety for the hundreds of thousands of children who use them. Since mid-2000, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requires all bunk beds sold in the United States to comply with the standards:

Australians sleep the most, with 31 percent reporting more than nine hours of sleep per night.  The Japanese sleep the least, with 41 percent getting less than six hours of sleep a night.   Seven of the 10 most nocturnal nations are in Asia, but the [...]]]>

Which country’s citizens sleep the most and the least?

Australians sleep the most, with 31 percent reporting more than nine hours of sleep per night.  The Japanese sleep the least, with 41 percent getting less than six hours of sleep a night.   Seven of the 10 most nocturnal nations are in Asia, but the real party animals are in Portugal, where 75 percent stay up past midnight.  (From Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health by Dr. Michael Breus)

John Adams, who first proposed the idea of declaring [...]]]>

The Real Independence Day?
The Declaration of Independence was announced on July 4th, though the formal signing didn’t occur until August 2nd, and the colonies actually voted to accept it on July 2nd. So you may wonder – what day is the real Independence Day?

John Adams, who first proposed the idea of declaring independence from England, wrote a famous letter to his wife, Abigail, about how he believed July 2nd would be a day that was remembered and celebrated in America for years to come. Apparently everyone else remembered otherwise…

Old Glory
Did you know, that there have been 28 versions of the U.S flag to date, and that the most recent one, designed after Alaska and Hawaii joined the union, was the result of a school project? Robert Heft was 17 when he came up with the flag design in 1958. He originally got a B- on the project, but when his pattern won the national competition to become the next flag, his teacher raised his grade to an A.

A Patriotic Death?
Three American presidents have died on the fourth of July. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day, in 1826. They had been rivals in everything, even about who would live longest. Adams’ last words were about his long-time foe: “Thomas Jefferson lives!” In fact, Jefferson had died just five hours earlier, but Adams hadn’t gotten the message. James Monroe is the third president to die on July 4th, but he died in 1831.

And the Rockets’ Red Glare…
Fireworks and parades have long-since been a staple in Independence Day celebrations. In that same letter of John Adams about celebrating on July 2nd, he wrote that the day

“Ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the  other, from this time forward forever more.” And so colonists celebrated the fourth even before they knew if they would win the war, setting off fireworks July 4th, 1777. Fireworks were further popularized in the late 1700s by politicians that had displays at their speeches, and they became a firmly established tradition by the 1800s.

It is also said, that fireworks displays were used as morale boosters for soldiers in the Revolutionary war. At the time however, fireworks were the same type of explosives used in war and were called rockets, not fireworks.

If you are looking at this, chances are you are considering buying a bunk bed. Your kids have been begging you for an “indoor fort” like their friend

Billy, your family has expanded (but your bedrooms haven’t), or your lodge or summer house needs [...]]]>

All American Bunk Beds – Guide to Bunk Bed Safety

If you are looking at this, chances are you are considering buying a bunk bed. Your kids have been begging you for an “indoor fort” like their friend

Billy, your family has expanded (but your bedrooms haven’t), or your lodge or summer house needs to sleep more without sacrificing precious space. Bunk beds have long been a practical (and, for many, fun) solution to space constraints. Like other furniture purchases, of course you want to consider style, color and price. But because your bunk bed has to serve a more important function than just looking great (after all, this is where your loved ones are going to be spending 1/3 of their day!), bunk bed safety and reliability must always be considered.

Bunk beds can be a great choice to maximize space in a fun way, but the elevated design comes with a certain amount of risk. To reduce the chance of injury, proper supervision (especially of children) when bunk beds are being used as well as proper use of the safety features most bunk beds come with is essential. Before purchasing a bunk bed, check to make sure that it conforms to all of the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) Safety Standards. According to the findings of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), most risk of injuryassociated with bunk beds (when properly used) has to do with compromised structural integrity that leads to the child (or person) becoming trapped in the structure or wedged between the bed and the wall.

All American Bunk Beds follow the rules set out by the CPSC to minimize this risk. Those rules include the necessity for guardrails on both sides of the upper bunk, except for up to 15 inches at each end of the bed, with the upper edge of the guardrails being no less than 5 inches above the top surface of the mattress. Only the proper sized mattress as recommended by the manufacturer should be used. All American Bunk Beds come with a warning label that advises against placing children under 6 years of age in the upper bunk. Make sure that the room you plan to put the bunk bed in is tall enough to accommodate it. A bunk bed that is too close to the ceiling is inviting trouble. All America Bunk Beds are almost five feet to allow for enough room on the top bunk.

Once you have bought a bunk bed that conforms to safety standards, it is up to you to ensure that the bunk bed is put together properly and safely and to prohibit horseplay on or near the beds. All American Bunk

Beds also recommends that, for support and safety, either extra slats or a Bunkie board should be placed beneath each mattress. Bunkie boards can be purchased from All American Bunk Beds and are basically a mini-foundation for the mattress (Many of our bunk bed mattresses may come with bunkie boards already attached).

All American Bunk Beds are made in the USA and constructed out of solid pine wood, rather than particle board or MDF, for additional safety and sturdiness.

So in summary – please follow these key recommendations:

• An adult should always supervise children’s use of bunk beds.
• Children under 6 years of age should not be on the top bunk.
• Use guard rails on both sides of upper bunk.
• Use only the proper size mattress as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Ensure the thickness of the mattress and foundation combined is at least 5 inches below the top of the guardrails.
• Prohibit more than one person on the upper bunk
• Prohibit horseplay on or under the beds.
• Always use the ladder for entering and leaving the upper bunk.
• Never attach or hang items to any part of the bunk bed that are not designed for use with the bed. For example, but not limited to, hooks, belts and jump ropes.

All American Bunk Beds are easy to assemble and as with any bunk bed follow all safety warnings.