Puffy?

Yeah, puffy. You want to make a big deal out of it? No, not me. I was just thinking that it’s an interesting name for a mattress and décor company.

Then I was intrigued by the fact that Puffy just released results from their national sleep survey.
They surveyed over 4,400 adults from all 50 American states, asking them how they were sleeping in the time of Covid.

Surprisingly to me, 74% said they preferred working remotely from home. But, they were going to bed later and less satisfied with the sleep quality. I guess you could say they are a bit stressed out. Millennials have it the worst, as 62% of those surveyed reported higher stress levels while working remotely.

It seems that how you work remotely has a lot to do with your stress level. Baby boomers were working out of home offices, which most likely reflects the fact that they have larger homes. 54% of the boomers surveyed fell into that category, while only 20% of the Gen Z and millennials had designated office spaces. Presumably, the rest were working at the breakfast bar, dining room table or the bedroom. Home office spaces translated into lower levels of stress according to the survey.

Not surprising, 79% of boomers preferred working from home. Well yeah! They have fancy pants home offices. 68% said that their productivity level was higher than when they were in offices.

Only 20% of millennials had a home office and 42% were working in their bedrooms. 62% were feeling more work stress than they did before the lockdown. Keep in mind that these are the “digitally-native” workers who grew up with computers but are struggling with the adjustment. Housemates, young children and limited space are all factors in their dissatisfaction with work-at-home circumstances.

Bottom line, Puffy’s data suggests that sleep satisfaction across all demographics has nosedived. Older adults in particular, while transitioning well to remote work, are not happy with their sleep. Only 27% of those over age 55 were satisfied. Gen Z’ers reported the highest satisfaction (48%) and that appears to correlate with the redecorating they’ve done during the lockdown.

Aha! I think I get it now. Puffy sells bedding and bedroom décor. Better décor — better sleep! We’ll all sleep better now that we know their secret.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

 

Attitude Adjustment

Live long and prosper. Spock on Startrek, right? Prospering? Not so much. But boomers are determined to live long and are exploring everything from yoga to special diets in order to keep the ageometer spinning.

Can we stop or slow down time or is it all in the genes? When gerontologist Mark Lachs was interviewed on NPR, he explained that the key factor in longevity is a trait geriatricians call adaptive competence. How do you react to stress? The quicker you bounce back from stressful situations, the less likely you are to suffer its consequences.

Lachs has a 109 year old patient who likes chocolate truffles and drinks Budweiser. She’s also thinking of taking up smoking again. But the amazing thing about her is the way she dusts herself off and picks herself up after any adversities.

If you’re thinking to yourself that this is all about glass half-full vs glass half empty ---- you’re right. My own mother has batted away pneumonia at age 102 and a flu virus at 104. She never exercised in her life (unless you count crossword puzzles) and wouldn’t know a freeweight from a paper weight. I’m not sure that she has a particularly optimistic outlook on life, but I am sure that she considers any infirmities to be minor trifles, nothing she needs to be overly concerned about. This ability to move forward after the greatest setbacks is at the heart of adaptive competence.

So for those boomers seeking to extend their life as long as possible (and I’m not sure I want to live to be 100), the solution would appear to be getting an attitude adjustment. Learn how to deal with stress if you have not already established the “shoulder shrug” response. Stress takes a physical and mental toll, which makes it essential to have a relaxed response if one wants to live long and prosper.

Then maybe those of us who have mastered the zen-like stress response can start smoking again while we drink beer and let the exercise regimen go to hell. Sounds like a plan.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept and at BoomSpeak. He's written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.