Sleep and weight loss

 I was giving a workshop on the importance of sleep, and I was asked if a person can lose weight when sleeping. The short answer I yes. People do lose weight during sleep. However, this is mostly due to water loss through breathing and sweating.

While individuals do not burn much fat during sleep, sleep is a fundamental component of well-being, and a lack of it can make maintaining a moderate weight more difficult.

Sleeping well complements weight loss because people may notice their cravings for non-nutritious foods are weaker when they experience better quality sleep.

If a person wants to sleep better, they can improve their sleep hygiene. There are several actions a person can take to improve their sleep hygiene, which include

·       Introducing consistency: Going to bed at the same time each night prepares the body for sleep. Waking up at the same time each day means a person is tired enough to fall asleep when bedtime approaches. People should aim for 7–8 hours of sleep each day.

·       Creating a healthy sleep environment: A dark bedroom will help a person feel more ready for sleep. Try to turn off all TVs and computers before going to bed. People can also go to sleep quicker if they keep laptops or cell phones out of the bedroom.

·       Avoiding large meals before bedtime: A person is unlikely to feel tired when their body is digesting a substantial meal. Additionally, when people consume caffeinated drinks, they are more alert and awake. Therefore, they should avoid consuming these before bedtime.

·       Staying active: When a person is physically active during the day, they feel more tired, as their body is using more energy.

If a person wishes to maintain moderate weight, they need to eat and sleep well. However, changing routines and building healthier habits can be challenging, and often people stick with some changes more than others.

Below are some ideas individuals can use to start making healthier lifestyle choices and habits. 

·       Create a contract: Writing a weight loss goal down in the form of a contract can help a person understand why they wish to lose weight. For example, they may have a family history of heart disease. The contract can also include details on how they will lose weight, such as running twice a week or batch cooking nutritious meals at the weekend. 

·       Keep a food diary: Tracking meals throughout the day will help a person better understand what they are eating, so they can make mindful choices, such as choosing frozen yogurt over ice cream. 

·       Monitor progress: An individual can track their progress and health-related milestones. This does not have to be only weight-related and could also include achievements, such as running for 2 miles without feeling breathless.

Lend a helping hand or not?

 CIBC’s Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal raised eyebrows this week when he said that one in five first-time homebuyers is getting help from their parents with a gift, on average, of $150,000. Not only are more first-time buyers getting financial aid from the bank of mom and dad (up from 15.5% in 2015) but the dollar amount has more than doubled (up from $71,000 in 2015).

This is one of the reasons that older Canadians are working much longer than most experts had predicted. Due to a combination of factors, including the growing number of women in the workforce and a decline in the percentage of dependent children, even by 2030 when boomers are all over 65, the ratio of people being supported by the working population will be similar to that in the 1950s and 1960s. Not only that but in the years since COVID our labour force is being transformed and we are not yet sure of what it will look like in the future.

Twenty years ago, or so, many of the experts were talking about the transfer of wealth from the silent generation to the Boomers, that really did not happen as expected, Now according to a J.D. Power study, as much as $700-billion in financial assets is set to be transferred to the next generation in Canada by 2026.

Like it or not, many retirees have more than enough assets to live their desired lifestyle and leave a significant estate to their beneficiaries. The problem is many of my generation believe that it is not a good idea to save money for the younger generation, but it is a better idea to spend it now or save it for when you need it.

Assume you live a long and healthy life. That’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. FP Canada’s assumption guidelines suggest a 65-year-old male today has a 50% chance of living to age 89 and a 25% chance of living to age 94. A 65-year-old female has a 50% chance of living to 94 and a 25% chance of living to 96.

Many of my friends and my family are not willing to leave a large inheritance and neither am I. I would rather give them smaller and potentially more meaningful amounts at key milestones such as buying a first home, or filling up the grandkids’ RESPs?

My parents believed that if you worked to earn something it was valued more. They say the financial struggle is a rite of passage, and a way to build strong character.

The world is different today, a living wage in my area is about $25 an hour. Home prices are off the scale and prices just keep going up. The different world is where affordable housing and education, defined benefit pensions, and company benefits have all but disappeared. We’re living in a gig economy with temporary contracts, no benefits, and housing and other costs that are spiralling out of control.

If you want to help your children and grandchildren, make sure that your own retirement needs are met before making financial commitments to your kids to protect yourself.

Multiculturalism in Canada

 According to economist Tony Fang, Chair in Cultural and Economic Transformation at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada has one huge advantage over other countries suffering from population aging.

He said that "In Canada we are a little bit blessed because we are one of the traditional immigration countries. Without immigration our population is going to decline or stagnate."

Canadians have a willingness to bring in immigrants from around the world and share our good fortune. This attitude helps to assure that the good fortune will continue as 2021 is the 50^th anniversary of multiculturalism in Canada.

Canada’s federal multiculturalism policy was adopted in 1971 by Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government. An unexpected by-product of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963–69), multiculturalism was intended as a policy solution to manage both rising francophone nationalism, particularly in Quebec, and increasing cultural diversity across the country. Canada was the first country in the world to adopt a multiculturalism policy.

The policy acknowledged that Canadians come from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, and that all cultures have intrinsic value. In a speech in the House of Commons in April of 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced it as “a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework,” a policy that would complement the Official Languages Act by facilitating the integration of new Canadians into one or both of the official language communities. “Although there are two official languages, there is no official culture,” said Trudeau.

Most Canadians think of multiculturalism as a demographic reality that acknowledges the diverse ethnic makeup of the Canadian population. However, there is ongoing debate over the message that multicultural policy conveys to Canadians, particularly to immigrants.

Over its first 30 years, the principal challenges confronting multiculturalism involved reconciling support for ethnic diversity, the preservation of the French language and the promotion of Canadian identity. While such debates have persisted into the 21st century, they’ve largely given way to the view that the message of multiculturalism promotes excessive accommodation of cultural and religious diversity at the expense of promoting social cohesion and common values. A minority of Canadians see the multicultural message as discouraging newcomers from adopting Canadian values. This, in turn, they argue, makes them less likely to participate in the mainstream culture and society and encourages the creation of ethnic ghettos.

In recent years, there has been a greater acknowledgement and acceptance of mixed and multiple identities in Canada. Most Canadians appear favourable to the ideal of multiculturalism, which is helping our country deal with increasingly difficult problems.

Stats on Falls and Hospitalization in Canada

 In 2009/2010, 256,011 Canadians aged 65 and older reported a fall-related injury, translating to a rate of 57.5 per 1,000. Compared with those who did not experience a fall-related injury, they were more likely to be female, more likely to be older (i.e., 85+) and less likely to be married. Comparing data from several years shows a trend towards increases in the number and rates of older adults experiencing an injury as a result of a fall. While females continue to report higher rates of fall-related injuries than males when multiple survey years are compared there appears to be a trend towards increasing rates among males.

Forty-six percent of older Canadians who sustained an injury due to a fall reported that they were walking when the injury occurred, signalling the interaction with the environment, as discussed in later chapters. The majority of these injuries were broken or fractured bones. This finding highlights the importance of promoting bone health in preventing fall-related injuries among seniors. With regard to seeking medical treatment, 67% of respondents sought treatment at an emergency room, highlighting the impact of falls on the health care system.

There is a disturbing trend in hospitalization, overall, the total number of fall-related hospitalizations increased from 67,899 in 2006/2007 to 78,330 in 2010/2011. This represents a 15% increase in the number of individuals who were hospitalized as a result of falls during that period. Despite this observed increase, the crude rate of fall-related hospitalizations remained relatively constant over the five-year period, ranging from 15.6 per 1,000 population in 2006/2007 to 16.1 per 1,000 population in 2010/2011. Therefore, the number of fall-related hospitalizations appears to have increased because of the increased numbers of older adults in the Canadian population. As Boomers age, this will only get worse.