Latest news with #socialconnections
Medscape
19 hours ago
- Health
- Medscape
Family Dinners, Stronger Social Ties Boost Teen Sleep
Strong family ties and in-person social connections may contribute to healthy sleep in adolescents. COVID-era survey data from nearly 5000 preteens showed that gathering around the family dinner table and participating in neighborhood activities predicted longer sleep duration, while family conflict, household distancing, and longer time spent with technology predicted shorter sleep time. 'Social connectedness is tightly linked with mental and emotional health: Healthy, regular, in-person social connections, including parental monitoring, are known to favor well-being in adolescents,' lead author Marie Gombert-Labedens, PhD, with the Biosciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, California, told Medscape Medical News . 'Through routine and structure, reduced conflicts and associated stress, and lower screen-related stimuli, these relationships may contribute to foster a healthy sleep environment. In parallel, adequate sleep durations allow teens to be in better mental and emotional disposition, which may also lead to positive social connections, said Gombert-Labedens. The findings were presented on June 11 at SLEEP 2025 in Seattle. Better Sleep, Real-Life Bonds COVID lockdowns and distancing measures led to significant disruptions in adolescents' social interactions, altering the quality, quantity, and type (in-person vs online) of social connections. The pandemic also affected sleep patterns, providing a unique opportunity to examine the relationship between social connectedness and sleep, the study noted in the conference abstract. They analyzed data from 4996 boys and girls aged 9-11 years from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study who completed at least two COVID-19 surveys — the first in May 2020 and the second in August 2020. At both timepoints, family conflict, household distancing, and longer use of technology-mediated connections were associated with a higher probability of short sleep. Conversely, eating dinner with family and participating in neighborhood activities predicted longer sleep. When analyzed in clusters of social connectedness, the lowest rates of adequate sleep and the highest sadness scores were robustly found in clusters characterized by high technology-mediated relationships or by poor family/friend relationships and little parental engagement. On the other hand, clusters characterized by high parental engagement, such as eating together and discussing plans for the following day, had significantly higher rates of adequate sleep and lower sadness scores. The results were adjusted for potential confounding factors including sex, age, race, and household income. Gombert-Labedens said that during adolescence, it's especially important to keep sleep top of mind — by asking about it and, when needed, trying strategies to create a healthier sleep environment. Social connections, within and outside of the family, may be a leverage toward better sleep, she said. This could include prioritizing in-person connections, providing routine and structure, including by monitoring and moderating technology use, and working on reducing conflicts and improving communication. Weighing in on the research journalist Lisa Lewis, MS, author of The Sleep-Deprived Teen , said a key aspect of the study is that it measured the impact of both in-person family relationships and online friendships on sleep duration. 'The study results reinforce the importance of family connectedness — specifically, adolescents' perceived closeness with their parents — on their sleep,' said Lewis, who wasn't involved in the study. 'It also reinforces that online relationships, while important, simply aren't a substitute for parental engagement and the effect it has on adolescents,' Lewis added.
CTV News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
How you can rent a friend with this new Ont. platform
Ethan Brooks, CEO of Friendly Connections, posed for a photo in Uptown Waterloo on June 4, 2025. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News) Making friends isn't easy for everyone, but a made-in-Waterloo Region service is hoping to change that. The web-based app called Friendly Connections is helping people expand their social circle. 'In my childhood, I had a tough time connecting and doing activities I loved,' said Ethan Brooks, the platform's CEO. The 20-year-old entrepreneur from Breslau, Ont. grew up in the age of apps helping people making connections constantly, but more so in the romantic sense. He saw a gap when it came to platonic connections. 'I want to create a platform for people who share similar interests as me and for people who also share the same issues which I've experienced previously,' said Brooks. Friendly Connections let's people pick a friend, which is a contractor for the site, who has a list of interests and preferred activities. Then, the customer pays that contractor an hourly rate to hangout with them. Rates range from $5 an hour to $25 an hour. 'For the first time I was hesitant, but after the first meeting it was awesome,' said contractor Ahsan Salman. Salman works full-time in the local tech sector and works as a 'friend' on the side. He said it also benefits contractors who make a connection. 'Sometimes people actually hire us for just a conversation about technology or business,' said Salman. Customer Chris Hodgins says Friendly Connections helped his pick-up hockey team who needed an extra player in a pinch. 'It was very short notice and he said, 'Yeah, I'll come. I'll play with you guys.' It worked out perfect, the guys loved him. They want him to play full time now,' said Hodgins. He says the service can help people like him who are perhaps at a different stage in life. 'I find [my] age group, a lot of my friends now have young families and they're just super busy with their kids playing sports,' said Hodgins. When it comes to ensuring connections remain friendly and the platform isn't abused for inappropriate purposes, the CEO says there are protections in place. 'For safety reasons we are limiting it to 18+,' said Brooks. 'Our contractors are vetted through a background check and interview process.' Both contractors and customers can chat before meeting up through the site to make sure they are both comfortable. If any rules are broken, either party can be banned from using the service, with the focus always on making a friend and never feeling alone.
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Afraid To Retire? How To Approach Later Life Differently
Wondering what's next If thinking about retiring worries you or makes you nervous–you're not alone. In a recent survey, 61% of the respondents said they feared retirement more than death! And while many of the respondents cited financial concerns as a major reason for their fear, many had social and personal reasons, as well: And I suspect these kinds of concerns might actually be more prevalent than the survey showed, because talking about financial concerns is easier than talking about emotional difficulties. That is, for many people, it's less uncomfortable to say 'I'm worried about having enough money in retirement' than it is to say, 'I'm worried about losing my social connections and my identity.' When I was interviewing people in their 60s. 70s and 80s for my latest book, The New Old, one very brave and honest interviewee told me this had been his biggest fear about leaving his job as a senior executive. He said, 'I was embarrassed to feel this, but it was true. My identity was so wrapped up in my career, that I simply couldn't imagine who I would be if I was no longer doing that work. It took me awhile to figure out.' I think this is at least partly true for most of us who have had responsible, demanding jobs–especially when those jobs have been very meaningful to us. I found myself in this situation in my late 60s, when I realized that I wanted to start stepping back from Proteus International, the company I had created and run for over 30 years. It made me very anxious, and so I decided to use an approach for facing and overcoming fears that had served me in good stead for many years: As soon as I noticed my anxiety, I made the effort to name my fear (step 1). And what I saw after some self-reflection was that I didn't know who I would be if I wasn't working many hours a week as 'the founder and CEO of Proteus.' I had spent decades with that as a big and important (to me) part of my identity–and the idea of not having that was scary. I asked myself what was the worst thing that could happen to me in this situation (step 2), and I realized that it was the possibility of not having a clear sense of identity and not having impact or influence, that is, not making any positive difference in the world. I then thought about how I could make that outcome less likely, and I understood that I needed to clarify what I wanted my post-work identity to be (step 3). I started by summarizing my curiosity about my later-life identity into a simple question. That question was, 'How can I become what comes after the butterfly?' Here's how I came to that: up to that point, I had been thinking of my life as being like the evolution of a caterpillar to a butterfly. I saw my childhood and youth as the caterpillar stage, and it seemed to me that the deeply self-reflective time I spent in a spiritual community in my twenties was 'being in the cocoon.' I saw being the mother of my children and founder and CEO of my company as my butterfly stage. However, unlike an actual butterfly, I was now seeing that stage wasn't the end for me: I had to discover and build my next stage of evolution. Creating that curious question–'How can I become what comes after the butterfly? –helped me move past my fear into finding answers to that question that resonated for me and making plans to help ensure I moved in that direction (step 4). Then, I began taking action to move toward that new post-butterfly identity, (part of which, for me, was writing The New Old.) So, I encourage you to feel and name your fears about retiring, and then let yourself acknowledge the worst things that could happen if those fears came true. Allow yourself to see and name even the deep, difficult things like, 'I could feel useless," or "People might see me as being less valuable.' Once you've let yourself see and feel those fears and have said to yourself as honestly as possible what they are (step 1), you can get clear about the worst that could happen relative to them (step 2). Then, you can move through those fears by deciding how to make them less likely or less negative (step 3). Finally, you can plan to do that and take action to implement your plans (step 4). Once you've seen what you're most afraid of in changing your relationship to work, and are doing what you need to do to move through and past those fears, you might be surprised. Many of the folks I interviewed for The New Old have found a new sense of joy and meaning in the later lives they're creating for themselves. Some are building knowledge or skills that always interested them, but that they never had the time to pursue previously. Some are building 'portfolio" lives consisting of some of the work they've done before and most enjoyed - as consultants or in a volunteer capacity - and other work they've decided to explore. Still others are devoting their time to pure play: travel, sports, time with friends and family. And I have to say, I'm having a marvelous time in my 70s; I feel like I have the time and bandwidth to discover and explore new things every day, and to continue to support my business in the ways my partners (who are now running it) find most helpful. As a friend of mine said, when I shared this with her, 'Yes. Purpose doesn't retire.' I hope you've found this helpful–and I'd love to hear what you're finding and doing as you explore your own third act….
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Prince William shows off his football skills as he announces exciting new collaboration on visit to community centre in Scotland
Prince William couldn't resist having a kickabout with a football today as he visited a community centre in Scotland. The Prince of Wales, 42, who is a known football fan and supporter of Aston Villa, arrived for a visit to Leith Community Centre, Edinburgh, this afternoon to shine a light on the power of community-led social impact. Looking dapper in a navy suit teamed with a brighter shirt underneath, William opted for simple black trainers as he showed off his sporting skills. Ahead of the visit, William and Kate's Royal Foundation has announced a new community impact partnership with Street Soccer Scotland, based at the youth centre. The collaboration aims to foster health and wellbeing, reduce isolation, and strengthen social connections for thousands of local people of all ages through the power of football. William, known as the Duke of Rothesay when visiting Scotland, had landed at Edinburgh Airport this afternoon. He smiled and waved to well-wishers as he arrived for the visit, appearing in great spirits just a day after attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace with his wife the Princess of Wales - her first appearance at the event in two years. After being welcomed in, William spoke with Street Soccer Scotland founder and CEO, David Duke. The Prince of Wales was looking dapper in a navy suit teamed with a brighter shirt underneath He then showed off his football skills in a kickabout, neatly aiming it into the goal - although it did take him a second attempt. Afterwards, he viewed a martial arts class and spoke with young guests at the Edinburgh YMCA Youth Forum. Yesterday, the Prince and Princess of Wales met the parents of Liz Hatton, the teenage photographer who captured the hearts of the nation with her brave cancer fight. Kate, 43, re-wore her lemon yellow dress by Emilia Wickstead and a hat by Phillip Treacy as she stood on the terrace for the National Anthem in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, while the Prince of Wales wore a morning suit. It marked her first appearance at a garden party since 2023 - having skipped last year while she was having cancer treatment. Liz's parents Vicky and Aaron, along with her brother Mateo, nine, had an emotional chat with the royals at the garden party to honour the memory of their daughter. When Kate spotted Liz's mother they embraced with a warm hug. Her parents said meeting Prince and Princess changed her and their family's life positively forever. The Prince and Princess, who were joined by Zara Tindall and Princess Eugenie, and Sophie and Edward, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, had met Liz just months before her passing, when they were introduced at Windsor Castle during an emotional moment that left a lasting impact on the royal couple. William, who is known to love football and supports Aston Villa Football Club, got stuck in to the game Also at today's garden party was Tony Hudgell, the double amputee from Kent who missed the King's garden party last year due to a traffic jam. This time, Tony made it in plenty of time and was warmly welcomed by Queen Camilla at a private gathering. Liz, 17, from Harrogate, won the admiration of the public with her determination to live life to the fullest despite being diagnosed with her incurable illness. Kate and William were handed Jelly Cat plush toys - a lemon pie and pickled onion - by Liz's family during their meeting. Liz used to give the toys to people that made her happy. 'They match my dress,' Kate said. She told Mateo, 'If you need any help fundraising maybe I can help up.' 'Please stay in touch, really.' Liz's mother said: 'You changed her life for the better, you changed ours too because our memories are all positive.' William said of the toys: 'My children will love these. They are children's currency.' Kate said: 'It matches my dress, how did you know? We talked about it. When I see the fish and chips Jellycat, I think of her. William also chatted to a delighted Tony Hudgell, 10, who had been forced to miss last year's garden party after getting stuck in traffic. The double amputee from Kent looked delighted as he shook hands with Prince William, after being warmly welcomed by Queen Camilla at a private gathering. William even joked that he had chosen a better year because it was raining when he was due to attend previously. Tony, who was attending with his proud mother Paula, appeared deep in conversation with the Prince of Wales, with whom he has developed a close friendship. He is also known to be close with the Princess of Wales, and has even called her his 'best friend' in the past. Brave Tony, who co-founded the Tony Hudgell Foundation, was the youngest-ever recipient of a New Year Honour in December when he was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the prevention of child abuse.
CNA
13-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- CNA
CNA Correspondent - How IKEA is drawing China's lonely elderly
CNA Correspondent Seniors living in urban China often find themselves at a loss when they want to meet new people. Unfamiliar with the city and disconnected from social media, many are flocking to places such as IKEA to find companions. Teresa Tang sits down with CNA's Tan Yew Guan to discuss why the trend may help improve longevity among China's aged.
