Do you ever wonder how important sleep is for our mental health? Sleep is one of the first things we sacrifice when assignments pile up or deadlines approach. Being reasonable people, however, we bargain with ourselves; once this (and that) is done, we will finally rest and catch up on missed sleep. Unfortunately, our time asleep is not a resource that can be managed in this way. We should be especially concerned with the damage caused by a lack of sleep. The damage is both mental and physical, short and long term. Matthew Walker’s book “Why We Sleep” has changed my attitude towards sleep. Its message is simple: seven to… Read More

There is nothing in football that can compare with the World Cup. Even though the UEFA Champions League may produce games of the same quality, it can’t overreach the status earned from the long tradition and the fact that one team represent a whole country. No other sport event can compete in significance: the latest FIFA World Cup reached over three billion television viewers worldwide and one billion watched the final. Before the World Cup was inaugurated, the football tournament arranged as part of the Summer Olympics was given the most prestige. But in the 1920s, the game was facing a transition to professionalism that wasn’t consistent with the Olympic… Read More

If you’re feeling a bit frenzied now that the new year is in full swing, like all your good intentions can’t be met because you simply don’t have enough time, then Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living is for you. In the book, Linnea Dunne, a Swedish-born writer who now calls Dublin home, explores the idea of lagom, a word for which there is no true English equivalent, though the loose translation is “not too little, not too much, just right.” This seemingly simple idea is the key to slowing down, steadying yourself, and making room for those good intentions. Far from restrictive, lagom is a liberating concept, praising… Read More