July 25, 2023 - Sunning, Cheering, Sleeping, Thumping
Answering the old Japanese Zen kōan "If a soccer game breaks out in a shady area of Rio, will anyone be awake to see it?"
Nuggets of Information: Let the Sunshine, Let the Sun Shine In
Unless you have been living under a climate-controlled rock, you know it has been a SCORCHING summer all over the Northern Hemisphere. And while politicians and pundits can debate the reasons for this, the Science Desk at Boo’s N.E.W.S. can definitively point to the real cause of all this heat: that big sun in the sky. While some scientists are investigating a very Montgomery Burns-ian idea to block the sun’s rays, others are coming up with unique plans to harness the sun’s energy in new and creative ways.
Jordan Harris and Robin Raj, and their company Solar AquaGrid, are about to break ground on their first project to cover canals in California’s Central Valley with solar panels. In addition to generating a significant amount of electricity, this approach will also reduce evaporation from the canals they will cover. According to a study by the University of California, covering the 4,000 miles of canals in California alone could save up to 63 billion gallons of water.
Water is good, I guess. But what about beer? Well good news on that front! In the town of Au in der Hallertau in southern Germany, local hop farmer Josef Wimmer has teamed up with local solar technology company Hallertauer Handelshaus to install solar panels over his 32-acres of hops, providing them with the shade they need to thrive, while generating enough electricity to power around 250 households. Prost!
Well sure – that is all great. But what if it rains? There is good news about that! Researchers have figured out how to generate electricity from rain falling on solar panels by using triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) that create electrification from liquid-solid contact. Typically used with ocean waves, TENGs can also be adapted for use in solar panel applications.
Ok – fine. But what if I have sheep and also want to grow peppers, tomatoes and kale? Believe it or not, I have good news there too! The emerging field of Agrivoltaics, or growing produce beneath panels, has been expanding across the globe, as the reduced evaporation from the shade helps crops have a longer growing season and the electricity generated powers the farms (and surrounding areas). The American Solar Grazing Association has established a program where farmers get paid to graze sheep at solar installation sites in more than 20 states. Go sun!
Enrichment: Getting Your Foot in the Door
As the world cheers on their favorite soccer teams in the Women’s World Cup, the community I live in has an extra reason to cheer. Team Jamaica tied powerhouse France in their opening match, 0-0. This is very exciting for us because debuting for the Jamaican team is Solai Washington, who also happens to be a rising Senior at Chamblee High School! Solai was a key part of the Bulldog’s season, which culminated in a victory at the state championship. Go Bulldogs!
Solai played IN THE WORLD CUP for over 25 minutes of their first game, and as you can tell from the picture above, she's pretty excited to be there! We are all rooting for Solai and her team, who next play Saturday July 29th at 8:30am ET against Panama. Her plans after playing IN THE WORLD CUP include finishing her senior year in high school, then attending/playing at Duke University. Go Blue Devils!
Can you imagine next month when everyone has to give a speech about what they did over the summer? Pretty sure she will be getting an A on that one. Go Solai!
Workshop: Enter Sandman
According to Dr. Andrew Huberman, associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the wildly popular Huberman Lab podcast, there are five pillars of health and wellness:
Sleep – what this article is all about
Nutrition/Hydration - put the right stuff in your body
Movement – do some sort of exercise every day – a combination of cardio and resistance training
Light– get 5 minutes of sunlight on your face every morning to trigger a cortisol spike, and minimize artificial light at the end of the day
Social Connections/Relationships – interact with other humans every day, or work on your relationship with yourself
Commit to working on all five of these every 24 hours. If you miss any one of them for a day or two, you will start to suffer and will hit a wall where you can’t do the things you want to do.
Huberman has sleep at the top of his list, as it is vital to health and wellness. “In the absence of quality sleep over 2 or 3 days, you are just going to fall to pieces. In the presence of quality-sufficient sleep over 2 or 3 days you are going to function at an amazing level.”
Here are some keys to get good, restorative sleep:
Stick to a routine. If you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, your body’s circadian rhythms stay locked in. As part of your bedtime routine, consider taking a warm bath, reading a book, or listening to calming music. I also recommend changing into footie pajamas with dinosaurs on them.
Light - Studies have shown that people who are exposed to bright light in the morning have better sleep quality, more energy, and a stronger immune system. They are also less likely to experience depression and anxiety. Also – reduce or eliminate the viewing of screens (TV, phone, tablet, etc) for an hour before bed. The blue light from these devices can prevent you from falling asleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night, do NOT reach for your phone. Even brief exposure to that blue light will make it more difficult to fall back asleep.
Create a sleep-friendly environment. Your bedroom should be dark, cool and quiet. This type of environment will stimulate your body’s production of melatonin, which will help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol (and most sleep aids) for the hours leading up to your bedtime. I don’t have caffeine after 4:00pm. I used to take Advil PM regularly, then I switched to melatonin supplements, then I stopped taking anything altogether. While these might help you fall asleep faster, they may prevent the deep sleep you need. Deep sleep is the most restorative stage of sleep, and it's when your body repairs itself and consolidates memories. Some sleep aids, such as over-the-counter antihistamines and prescription sedatives, can actually disrupt deep sleep. This is because they can suppress REM sleep, which is a stage of sleep that is closely linked to deep sleep.
Avoid exercise for the three hours before bed. Exercise raises your body temperature. Your body temperature naturally drops as you get ready for sleep, so exercising too close to bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep. Exercise can stimulate your mind and body. This can make it difficult to relax and fall asleep. Exercise can delay the production of melatonin, so if you exercise too close to bedtime, your body may not have enough time to produce melatonin before you go to sleep.
Get enough sleep – shoot for at least 7 hours. I have had instances where I have to make the choice between getting 6 hours of sleep and waking up to go walk, or skipping the walk and getting 7 hours. I always opt for the sleep as the impacts of NOT getting enough sleep are immediate, whereas not walking one morning has less of an impact. (Plus it is easier to find time to walk some other time during the day.)
For more information on sleep, check out sleep scientist Matt Walker’s excellent TedTalk.
Selected Content: We’re Not Looking For Any Treble Here
I’m going to go ahead and assume that if you are funky enough to be reading this newsletter then you also like the bass. You may be all about that bass. I know many of you play the bass! So let’s do this.
I submit for your consideration Duran Duran’s “Rio” for inclusion into the 1980’s Bass Line Hall of Fame. I’ve been a fan of this song since it came out – when I was 13 years old. Back then, the music video was my favorite part. Ahem. But a few years later I came to appreciate the bass playing of John Taylor. Dude is seriously great. You most likely know this song. But I urge you to go back and give it a good listen and focus on Taylor’s bass playing. It’s killer.
As luck would have it, Taylor enjoys playing this song, and has a great video walking through the different parts. Enjoy!