Monday 9 March 2009

Napping News

Oh no - even napping is bad for you now. At least this claim has a certain refreshing novelty, as every other 'finding' about napping has been overwhelmingly positive - excellent news for those of us who take an afternoon nap whenever we have the chance (taking care to loosen the cravat before nodding off) and feel a whole lot better for it. The list of risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes is ever growing, and even includes 'being 40' - hard to see how you could avoid that one, though some actresses seem to manage it for a while. A sensible precaution on their part. Personally I'm inclined to blame rising levels of Type 2 on the likes of the Krispy Kreme Donut and the cupcake, neither of which is fit for human consumption (see below).

16 comments:

  1. The 20-minute afternoon nap is one of the great pleasures of adulthood. I reject this report, I reject it utterly and with every fibre of my being.

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  2. Dear Nije,

    I'm soooo pleased to discover that you, like me are a phan of the deliberate mispelling: Krispy Kreme Donut, Kwiz Nite, Drive Thru, Kwik Fit.
    Did it all begin, I wonder, With Psmith?

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  3. I blame the Latte. Starbucks or otherwise.

    David, I think it all started with illogically pronounced English surnames. Featherstonehaugh, Cholmondely, Waugh, Cockburn, Beauchamp. Anything to confuse.

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  4. "Diabetes is a serious condition that can lead to long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation."
    So after your ticker rots, the stroke and you kidneys collapse, what's left to amputate ?
    I find the BBC and C4 noos the ideal time for a nap.

    On a more serious note, possibly the most common cause of diabetes is booze, booze, booze, hence the Glasgow venue, possibly the most booze fueled city on the planet.

    On a less serious note, yer average Glaswegian cares not a toss about diabetes, knowing full well they will be knifed long before the disease sets in.

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  5. Waugh, Cockburn are Scottish surnames.

    The main cause of Type 2 Diabetes is the Government's change of definition. No namby-pamby "risk factor", it's a copper-bottomed cause.

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  6. Dearieme

    Cockburn I'll grant you, but Waugh? Plenty of stout Northumbrians will find that hard to swallow.

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  7. Malty is right. Alcohol is practically solid sugar just like those awful Krispy Kreme Donuts and cupcakes, but I'd guess the risks really mount if you are seriously overweight and sedentary as well. I can't help feeling that the "siesta problem" outlined in the report may easily down to lunchtime drinking (or sugar-bingeing) rather than to the nap itself. I'm with Brit, the afternoon nap is one of the most opulent pleasures of life. In fact it might be time for a futile gesture of protest in the form of an extra nap or two.

    It's pretty grim, this nexus between aggressively self-promoting health charities (funded by whom?), the government, the pharmaceutical industry and the media which seems happy to print whatever deeply dubious claims are sent to it.

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  8. If they want to ban napping, they should look at the causes of napping first.

    Exhibit A - The Antiques Roadshow

    this programme is obviously some form of televised smack and should thus be banned forthwith. Has anyone actually seen an episode from start to finish without slipping into a vegetative state? Even swapping Michael Aspel for Fiona Bruce has failed to prevent me from entering a catatonic reverie every sunday afternoon. In fact, Bruce has only exacerbated the problem.

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  9. Recusant, the best known Waugh family was indeed Scottish. That the name should have spread south of the Border on more than one occasion is not too surprising - there are some in Cumberland too.

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  10. P.S. How do they pronounce it in Northumberland? In my experience the Cumbrians say "Woff". In Scotland it rhymes with Loch.

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  11. Depends whether you live in Darras Hall or Walker, dearieme, DH = war, Walker = woff.
    Problem is with DH at the moment, massive negative equity, Walker never had equity in the first place so...
    Little piece of local knowledge there Nige, knowledge pronounced ku noledge.

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  12. Yes, Malty, you are right about booze. My father-in-law drank to considerable excess, developed diabetes and had to have one of his legs chopped off. Even then, he was a feisty bastard and, despite being deficient in the leg department to the tune of one, still gave his wife the most appalling run around. Eventually, his electric wheelchair had to be confiscated.

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  13. I'm feeling verrry sleepy. Sophie, your comment is hilarious. I can just picture the old wretch -- sounds like Wilkie Collins, late in his laudanum-soaked life.

    malty, I need some recs from you about hikes near Edinburgh. Am coming there with hub & son in late July. If you want to write me off-blog, it's sbalee@temple.edu ....Danke schoen!

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  14. Dave, that is astounding!

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  15. Susan, consider in the pipeline, Dexter by the way, is weird, funny, brilliant !

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