Goodbye! (For Now)
By: Robert Roy Britt
Tags: Mental Health, Science, Health

Goodbye! (For Now)

It’s time to check out, rest up, and prepare for 2021

Rarely in my 30+ years of journalism have I felt a greater need for some time off, and I am really not good at taking it. But after nearly 12 straight months of 24/7 reporting and thinking about the coronavirus and other aspects of the human condition, it has to happen, so I’m taking the next two weeks, full stop — no reporting, no newsletters, no social media. I need to think, and not think, evaluate and reevaluate, and come back fresh. I hope you find some time to get away, too, even if it’s just to escape within your own mind, perhaps in your own home, at least for a stretch. And yes, I wrote about this, for Forge…

Me. You. Everyone needs a break right now. Among the 75% of U.S. adults who say they’re burned out at work, 40% blame the pandemic and the sudden disruption of working from home. Meanwhile, we Americans are, compared to other developed countries, terrible at taking time off. When we do vacate, however, we tend to return to work more motivated. In a survey commissioned by the American Psychological Association in 2018, 57% of Americans said they return to work more motivated after a vacation, 66% said they come back with more energy, and 68% report a more positive mood upon getting back at it. There’s a flip side, of course: Most Americans say their organization isn’t supportive about time off, so the whole idea of a vacation proves stressful. But you need time off. You must take it. You will enjoy it. And then you should do it again. Read more why and some how >>>

***

I’ve always wondered what skills and traits are needed to be a successful entrepreneur, so I researched and wrote about it for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Successful entrepreneurs possess a diverse range of talents and traits that might seem to put them in a league of their own, but the reality is quite different. Nobody has the full range of abilities to guarantee success in small business, research shows, yet just about everyone has enough of the right entrepreneurial stuff to pursue their small-business dreams. The key is to identify your talents, proactively develop them and surround yourself with a team that possesses the skills you lack. See if you have the right stuff >>>

Related: Research debunks the myth of youth having a leg up at starting businesses, and reveals advantages in wisdom, connections and practical experience. Read >>>

***

Humans around the globe use their 40-plus facial muscles to express common emotions with the same basic smiles, scowls and other familiar looks, according to new research published in the journal Nature. That doesn’t mean there are no differences, past studies indicate. Read >>>

Briefly…

New research shows why anyone with high blood pressure — nearly half of U.S. adults — should seek to lower it. High blood pressure, or hypertension, can accelerate the decline in brain function, including memory, concentration and verbal skills. Read >>>

Earbuds are on the verge of a major functionality transformation akin to the evolution from phone to smartphone, an expert says. Read >>>

***

THE CORONAVIRUS

One arguably innocuous annoyance struck me as telling of the countless things that are being disrupted by the pandemic — small pleasures and larger ways of life we take for granted but which will never be the same. I enumerated some of these things in Medium’s Coronavirus Blog. See the list (and feel free to add to it) >>>

Related: Chance encounters with friends, casual acquaintances and complete strangers can cultivate creativity, and that’s not happening due to the pandemic, three researchers write in The Conversation. Read >>>

From a scientific perspective, there’s no longer any question that face masks help prevent the spread of Covid-19, protecting both the wearer and others. So with optimism rising over vaccines that appear to be highly effective, one big question now is how long we’ll all be bound to cover our faces, especially since new cases and deaths continue to soar. I put the question to some experts, and you might not like the answer, but I bet you’ll be surprised what you learn about the vaccines. Find out >>>

Briefly…

Covid-19 is five times deadlier than the flu among people hospitalized for either disease, according to a new study that confirms previous research. Read >>>

From the archives: I wrote this one ages ago (in July) and it’s still 100% true today. While most of us will still have to wait months to get a Covid vaccine, we can all get a flu shot today and lower the risk and burden for ourselves AND health care workers (!). Read >>>

Katherine J. Wu writes for The New York Times about the REALLY IMPORTANT new at-home Covid test: “It’s slightly less accurate than gold standard laboratory tests designed to look for coronavirus genetic material with a technique called polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R. But in a clinical study of nearly 200 people, Ellume’s product was able to detect 95 percent of the coronavirus infections found by P.C.R., regardless of whether the infected people felt sick.” Read >>>

The latest U.S. Covid numbers.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”

— Isaac Asimov

***

See you next year, and may it be just a wee bit better. — Rob