Monday, December 14, 2009

What People Want for the Holidays -- Sleep

Okay, this falls in that fuzzy category of surveys conducted by groups who want the results to prompt you to buy stuff.  That said, let's go with the release anyway.  Warning: bad PR writing alert:
The kids may be sleeping soundly this season with “visions of sugar plums in their heads,” but almost half of the nation’s moms and dads (44%) say they are worried about being able to afford the holidays this year, with one in six Americans (17%) expecting to lose sleep due to holiday-induced stress.

Of course this is a PR release, not a news lede, otherwise it would never be written in quite this way.  So folks are losing sleep?  What can they do?  According to the SleepBetter.org Holiday Slumber Index (I'm not making this up), parents are the most susceptible to sleep changes.

Ya think?

Okay, gotta stop picking on this PR release, because it's not that terrible.  When it comes to survey results, it's often wise to look at not only the methodology but also who sponsored it, and this group on its site gives you hints on sleeping, does a quiz so you can learn your sleep style, and wants to sell ya stuff to make you sleep better.  That's okay.  They're up front with it on their web site and their name makes it obvious what they're about.

By the way, it's the holidays but I'm sleeping fine.  That's thanks to a little friend named Knob Creek.  A little bourbon and I can sleep on a rock.

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