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June 2024
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SLEEP ON IT!
Research Reveals How Sleep Hones Our Mental Edge Many of the decisions I make in my work aim to test my mental fortitude. As readers of this newsletter know, I am always looking for ways to sharpen my thinking, whether taking on clients with the toughest cases or creating viral social media content.
synaptic connections would be unsustainable, Jason Rihel, a professor of behavioral genetics and lead author of the study, said in a news release on the research. The findings offer a scientific explanation for the burned-out feeling we get after working too long and too late and underscore the need to “sleep on it” when problems seem too difficult. The heaviest resetting activity took place during the first half of the night, during the slow-wave stage of the sleep cycle. Slow-wave sleep is deep sleep when the body relaxes into restorative rest. According to the Sleep Foundation, it usually happens early in the night and lasts for a longer period after a period of sleep loss. Here’s another important takeaway: This pruning and winnowing-out of old neural connections works best after an individual has been experiencing high “sleep pressure” or need for sleep. In the study, sleep-induced changes in individual neurons were greatest after the fish had been deprived of sleep for a few hours before being allowed to rest. The more sleep- deprived the fish were, the more remodeling of synapses took place after they went to sleep. This suggests that just taking a nap during the day, while helpful, won’t be enough to return your brain to peak performance. You really need to slumber deeply for a few hours for this rewiring to occur. Clearly, the research lends scientific authority to the old maxim, “Let’s sleep on it.” While that saying seems like a mere excuse to stop working, the latest research suggests it’s more like ordering a pit stop to refuel. Wishing you all lots of deep, brain-energizing sleep!
A new scientific discovery on the workings of the brain offers new insights into how to fine-tune our mental skills for peak performance. In an exciting study at University College London, researchers have found that the brain actually undergoes physical changes during the first few hours of deep sleep each night, weakening and pruning connections formed among whole neurons during the preceding day’s work. This “reset” clears the way for the brain to forge fresh new neural connections the following day. The study was published in the May issue of Nature, an international journal of high-quality peer-reviewed research in science and technology. This research explains how people who dive into mental work after a good sleep can generate fresh thinking, new learning, and more creative solutions than were possible the night before. It serves as a neurological explanation for author John Steinbeck’s observation: “A problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” Steinbeck’s “committee of sleep” is the brain itself. To gain visibility into the workings of the brain, researchers monitored several sleep cycles of zebrafish, an optically translucent creature whose synapses between brain cells can be imaged easily. The fish built these connections during their waking hours and then lost them during sleep.
-Adrianos Facchetti
If this weakening and pruning of the previous day’s complex neural connections did not occur, the ongoing formation of new
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LANDLORDS RESIST SECURITY DEPOSIT RETURNS RENTAL RIDDLE
2 | TELEPHONE: 626.793.8607 FACSIMILE: 818.860.7951 “Renters often worry (for good reason) about getting their security deposits back. Landlords hold all the cards and can devise countless reasons why they are entitled to keep your cash after you move out.” ” Kentucky, Washington, and Green Bee Memphis’s state of Tennessee, among others, require landlords to keep security deposits in a separate account maintained for that purpose. In Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois, and other states, those accounts must pay interest that must be returned to renters. Renters often worry (for good reason) about getting their security deposits back. Landlords hold all the cards and can devise countless reasons why they are entitled to keep your cash after you move out. “When I was a renter, I never once received a security deposit back,” Green Bee Memphis, a Memphis Realtor, declared in a 2023 video on TikTok. U.S. renters are among the nation’s most economically vulnerable people. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, nearly half of all renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, a level that housing experts consider burdensome. A record-high 22.4 million renters fell into this category in 2022, up about 2% from three years earlier. No wonder the 1 in 3 Americans who rent are concerned about getting their security deposits back. Landlords tend to occupy the opposite end of the economic spectrum, and all states have enacted at least some legal protections for renters. State laws vary, but all require landlords to return security deposits to renters within 14–60 days after they move out, according to Nolo.com’s Legal Encyclopedia.
When landlords withhold security deposit refunds, they are typically required to give renters a list of damages to justify their decision. And they should not charge renters for routine cleaning or ordinary wear and tear — only for careless or willful damage or excessive filth. Defining ordinary wear and tear can be difficult. For example, suppose a landlord installs new carpeting before a tenant moves in, and the tenant stays four years. In that case, the carpet will inevitably show some wear after the tenant moves out, but this is typically regarded as ordinary wear and tear — not a repair that tenants should be required to cover. Other examples offered by Nolo.com include linoleum stains from shower spray, which is ordinary wear and tear, versus broken tiles in the bathroom, which is damage. Similarly, dents in the wall where a door handle bumped constitute normal wear and tear, while a door ripped off the hinges is damage. Tenants should notify landlords in writing within 3–5 days of moving in about any damage to the apartment so they won’t be billed for it later. One of the most common causes of tenant-landlord lawsuits is a landlord’s refusal to return a security deposit. Tenants who want to contest a landlord’s decision should gather evidence, including move-in and move-out reports and photos, and state their position in a dispute letter. If out-of-court efforts to settle a dispute fail, tenants usually can file suit in small claims court.
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BRAIN GAMES
Recently, people have been spending big on Father’s Day, and many wait until the very last minute. Last year, Americans spent a record $22.9 billion on Father’s Day, up nearly 10% from the previous year, according to an industry survey. And more than half of consumers don’t start shopping until the week before Father’s Day, while 3.5% wait until the very last day before the holiday, according to another survey. The second survey also revealed that over 75% of shoppers struggle to think of good Father’s Day ideas. Most settle on outings, clothing, gift cards, personal care items, or electronics. Here are three low-budget ideas you can do with your kids that are sure to charm any dad, offered by What’s Up Moms, a top parenting site on YouTube co-founded by vlogger Elle Walker. Interview Cards If your kids are preschoolers, have them answer questions about their father and record their answers on notecards. Things like, “How old do you think Daddy is? 100? What is one thing Daddy says? What does Daddy do for work? Why do you love Daddy?” The simplicity and innocence of your children’s answers will warm Dad’s heart more than any store- bought gift ever could. Shopping Spree Give each child $10 to pick out something for Dad, all by themselves, then take them to the nearest big-box store. Walker’s youngsters came up with a mirror, a pair of swim trunks, and crib sheets, and they clearly loved being empowered to make choices. Photos From a Kid’s Perspective You may be surprised at some of the angles children choose and the tender moments they capture, “even if they’re not wow-worthy,” Walker says. Her daughter caught a captivating shot of her husband, Ross, napping with their preschool son resting on his shoulder. IT’S FATHER’S DAY! Children Create Unique Dad’s Day Gifts
ADVENTURE CAMPING FATHER GEMINI HIKING JUNETEENTH PARK PICNIC PRIDE SANDALS SUNBURN SWIMMING
SUMMER CHICKEN SALAD
Ingredients
Inspired by FoodNetwork.com
Dressing • 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese • 1/2 cup half and half • 1/4 cup mayonnaise • 1/4 cup sour cream • 1 tsp sugar • Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts • Salt and pepper • 4 ears of corn, shucked • 3 tbsp minced dill
• 3 stalks celery, finely diced • 1 red onion, finely diced • 1 1/2 cups blueberries • 1 head of butter lettuce
Directions 1. Place chicken in a large plastic bag and pound with a mallet to flatten to 1/4-inch thickness. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 2. Heat grill, then grill chicken on both sides for about 4 minutes per side; set aside to cool before slicing. 3. Grill corn until the kernels begin browning, turning regularly for even cooking. Use a knife to shave the kernels off. 4. In a bowl, mix all dressing ingredients until combined. 5. In a large bowl, combine corn, dill, celery, and onions, then stir in chicken and top with dressing and blueberries as desired. 6. Separate the head of butter lettuce into “cups” to fill with salad and enjoy!
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Groundbreaking Study Reveals Cognitive Reset During Sleep
2
Know Your Rights: Get Your Security Deposit Back
Summer Chicken Salad
3
3 Easy Father’s Day Ideas
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Odd Laws Protect Salamanders and Seaweed
WEIRD STATE LAWS SAFEGUARD SALAMANDERS AND SEAWEED WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
Ignorance about the law is usually not a defense if you’re caught in a violation. Some oddball state laws, however, are so strange that they could only be described as booby traps for the unknowing. Here are two legislative oddities sure to surprise any hapless offender. 76 Salamanders A popular YouTube commentator has called out the state of Illinois for barring anyone from owning more than 75 salamanders. Why? Several salamander species are classified as endangered in Illinois, and the state regulates the commercial trade of these amphibians. The law assumes any resident who possesses salamanders valued at $600 or more intends to market them commercially — illegally. The law estimates the value of a salamander at $5, suggesting it actually prohibits owning 120 salamanders. But who’s counting? Nighttime Seaweed From the annals of lawmaking history, a 1973 New Hampshire law banned any effort to “carry away or
collect for the purpose of carrying away any seaweed … between evening and daylight.”
The backstory: Farmers in New Hampshire once collected seaweed from the beaches to use as fertilizer, leading at least one town to ban nighttime harvesting to “give everyone an equal chance” at stocking up on seaweed. However, after a group of high school students singled out the law as the state’s dumbest, lawmakers repealed it in 2016. Not all states with stupid laws are culpable. Internet jokesters questioned South Dakota about a law supposedly barring people from falling asleep in a cheese factory. The actual law makes a lot more sense: It bans setting up your bedroom in a space used to prepare food for the public. Noting the error, a Sioux Falls radio station, Hot 104.7, fired back at critics, creating their own new category of missteps: “Stupid questions people ask about South Dakota.” Fair enough!
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