Me, myself and eye: 5 common behaviors that could be hurting your eyes

If you're like many young Indians, you're diligent about maintaining your health by eating right, exercising and regularly seeing your doctor. But even the most health-conscious people are often unaware of daily behaviours in their lives that could be straining or even damaging their eyes. That's surprising, given that a good per cent of people believe severe vision loss would negatively impact the quality of their lives.

The good news? Taking steps to protect your eyes isn't difficult. Guarding yourself against these potentially damaging behaviours should be part of your regular health routine.

* Not wearing sunglasses. Sun wear does more than just block glare. The same harmful rays that can burn your skin can also damage your eyes over time, sometimes leading to vision-reducing issues such as cataracts and macular degeneration. As a precaution, ophthalmologists recommend wearing sunglasses anytime you're outside, seeking lenses that block out at least 99 per cent of UVA and UVC rays.

* Failing to visit your eye doctor annually. Seeing an eye doctor once a year to check on any prescription changes is important, but a visit can also help detect other serious eye issues. Alarmingly, one survey found a good per cent notice signs of trouble such as red, watery eyes, light flashes, blurry or double vision, difficulty seeing at night or difficulty reading up close, yet only 13 per cent follow up with eye exams. 

* Staring at your smartphone. If your eyes are often sore or tired at the end of the day, you may be spending too much uninterrupted time zeroing in on your phone. To avoid that strain and even worse symptoms such as blurred vision, dry eyes, dizziness or nausea, enlarge your font, always keep your phone at least 16 inches away from your face and take screen breaks every 20 minutes.

* Overusing eye drops. Some people form a dependency on the over-the-counter whitening drops that reduce redness by temporarily restricting blood flow to the eye's blood vessels. Repeat users often notice that their eyes "rebound" and get red again as oxygen returns to those deprived capillaries, creating a vicious cycle. As a rule, non-prescription eye drops should not be a long-term solution to any eye issue.

* Using old or borrowed eye makeup. You should replace your makeup every three months to keep from introducing new and potentially harmful bacteria into your eye area. Avoid other people's makeup for the same reason. Eye care experts also warn against applying eyeliner to your inner eyelids, which can be especially vulnerable to infection.

Getting in the habit of caring for your eyes need not be time-consuming, and it doesn't have to be expensive if you think ahead and follow the steps mentioned above.

Conscious capitalism: How businesses do well by doing good

What drives someone to take the risk and start their own business? Sometimes it's a great product or an idea that solves a problem. But many small- and medium-sized businesses today have another focus: socially and environmentally conscious causes.

Take, for example, small business Bayou with Love, which partnered with Dell to create a jewellery line using recycled gold from old computer motherboards. The jewellery line is just one example of a small business prioritizing doing good for the planet.

Cuvee Coffee practices a direct trade, a model that considers environmental, financial and social sustainability as well as personal relationships. It builds partnerships with farmers who are good stewards of the land, pay fair wages to their workers and are often leaders in their communities. Cuvee then pays above market prices for their coffee. In return, the company gets the best coffee and the farmers make substantial profits.

Warm cookie delivery company, Tiff's Treats, donates all sales from opening days at new locations to a charity. Past grand openings have benefited Small World Yoga, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Gabriella's Smile Foundation. In total, their grand openings have donated over $150K to various charities. In June 2018, the Tiff's Treats Grand Opening in Atlanta benefited Reese's, Magic Fund.

Using ethical and altruistic principles to guide business practices, these entrepreneurs are practicing "conscious capitalism," and investors are taking notice.

Angel investors and venture capitalists have helped these businesses play their part in a national and global trend toward social betterment in business.

Here are a few ways small businesses can benefit from conscious capitalism.

It opens the door to more capital

When a company launches a humanitarian initiative or implements an ethical program, people pay attention.

According to Fundivo, angel investments in altruistic businesses have been steadily growing since 2002 and roughly four jobs are created per investment. Moreover, a recent study from The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing reported that under sustainable and responsible investing guidelines, a total of $8.72 trillion was made in 2016, showing a 33 per cent increase since 2014.

Increased networking opportunities

By helping businesses reach like-minded changemakers, the tech industry has made it easier for small businesses to maintain a conscious mission statement along with a profitable bottom line.

Funding for socially conscious businesses has become more easily achievable through crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Even Kickstarter owners Yancey Strickler and Perry Chen insisted that their crowdfunding platform become a Benefit Corporation, ensuring they remain focused on their mission to bring creative projects to life rather than simply increasing the size of their own profits.

These crowdsourcing platforms are an efficient way for companies to find investors, but also to network and get their message out.

A boost from tech

At the center of many altruistic businesses is the robust use of technology, which has allowed many highly successful small businesses to support social and environmental causes.

Having dependable and easy-to-use technology is critical for these businesses, and many tech giants have also implemented programs to support conscious capitalism in small businesses.

For instance, Dell has been particularly passionate about helping businesses with an eye for social change and environmental consciousness. Through its 2020 Legacy of Good plan, which outlines its sustainability goals, it has helped small businesses use technology in a way that drives progress and social change.

Dependable and affordable technology is essential to promoting social change, and that's why so many entrepreneurs and investors are realizing that when paired with technology, ethical business practices can do a lot of good - and turn a profit.

4 common mistakes keeping you from a good night's sleep

Do you wake up in the morning feeling tired, even if you went to bed early? Do you struggle to feel well rested? Is it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep all night? You're not alone.

Healthy young adults generally need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, although sleep quality is just as important as sleep quantity. If your sleep is frequently interrupted, you're not getting quality sleep. This can have a tremendous effect on your mental and physical health.

To get a good night's rest, there are many things that often get overlooked. Mayo Clinic health experts weigh in on four of the most common mistakes that keep people from a good night's rest.

1. Ignoring sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene refers to your sleep lifestyle and the choices you make that either facilitate or restrict quality rest. Common lifestyle mistakes that often inhibit sleep include eating heavy meals before bed or drinking caffeine too late in the day. Additionally, establishing a sleep routine is essential for telling your mind and body it's time to rest. This includes going to bed at the same time each night and minimizing exposure to light at bedtime, especially the glow coming off your favorite technology. Turn off media 30 minutes to an hour before bed so you can wind down and settle in.

2. Causes of insomnia

Insomnia is defined as having problems getting to sleep or staying asleep three nights a week or more for at least three months. Some insomnia is due to medical issues, such as restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea. Once medical causes are ruled out, it's important to look at habits that might be facilitating insomnia. One common mistake is people spend too much time doing things other than sleep in the bedroom. If you get into bed and don't fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and go to another room. When your eyes get heavy and your head starts to bob, get back into bed. This trains your brain to associate bed with sleep.

3. Overusing sleep aids

Many people reach for sleep aids to get a good night's rest, but doing so regularly is not recommended. Most over-the-counter sleep aids contain antihistamines, and people often build a tolerance to them. That means they lose their effectiveness the longer you take them. What's more, OTC sleep aids often leave you feeling groggy in the morning as your body attempts to wake from the sleep hangover. They do not provide the feeling of restorative sleep that most people want to achieve.

4. Taking naps

If you don't sleep well, you may decide to take an afternoon nap. Chance are, you don't sleep well again and do the same thing the next day. It can be an endless cycle. Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. If you choose to nap, limit yourself to up to 30 minutes and avoid doing so late in the day (try right after lunch, for example). Instead of napping, do some physical activity. It can help energize your body and will tire you for later in the day. The only consideration is to avoid exercising too late in the day as it can wake your body and make it difficult to fall asleep.

These four common mistakes can easily be corrected at home, but if you continue to have trouble with sleep, consider requesting an appointment with a physician or sleep specialist.

Kerala floods: Is climate change the culprit?

Beginning in July 2018, severe floods affected Kerala due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flooding in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died and at least a million people were evacuated. 

Thirty-five out of the fifty-four dams within the state were opened for the first time in history. All five overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened at the same time, for the first time in 26 years. Heavy rains in Wayanad and Idukki caused severe landslides and left the hilly districts isolated. 

Most of the regions affected by this monsoon were classified as ecologically-sensitive zones by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, the Gadgil Committee. Most of the recommendations and directions by the committee were either neglected or rejected. Chairman of the committee Madhav Gadgil accused the state government and its irresponsible environmental policy for the recent landslides and floods. He called it a "man-made calamity".

Though it is difficult to attribute a single event to climate change, its possible role in causing the heavy rainfall event over Kerala cannot be discarded. Recent research indicates that rising temperatures have led to huge fluctuations in the monsoon winds carrying the moisture from the Arabian Sea, resulting in heavy-to-extreme rains over the Western Ghats and central India, lasting for two to three days.

The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties (principally its mean and spread) of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause. Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, do not represent climate change.

The term "climate change" is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change (also known as global warming). Anthropogenic climate change is caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes. In this sense, especially in the context of environmental policy, the term climate change has become synonymous with anthropogenic global warming. Within scientific journals, global warming refers to surface temperature increases while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas levels affect.

A related term, "climatic change", was proposed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1966 to encompass all forms of climatic variability on time-scales longer than 10 years, but regardless of cause. During the 1970s, the term climate change replaced climatic change to focus on anthropogenic causes, as it became clear that human activities had a potential to drastically alter the climate. Climate change was incorporated in the title of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate change is now used as both a technical description of the process, as well as a noun used to describe the problem.

On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the Sun and the rate at which it is lost to space determine the equilibrium temperature and climate of Earth. This energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions.

To be sure, climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather within the context of longer-term average conditions. Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have been identified as primary causes of ongoing climate change, often referred to as global warming. 

There is no general agreement in scientific, media or policy documents as to the precise term to be used to refer to anthropogenic forced change; either "global warming" or "climate change" may be used.

Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models. A climate record—extending deep into the Earth's past—has been assembled, and continues to be built up, based on geological evidence from borehole temperature profiles, cores removed from deep accumulations of ice, floral and faunal records, glacial and periglacial processes, stable-isotope and other analyses of sediment layers, and records of past sea levels. 

More recent data are provided by the instrumental record. General circulation models, based on the physical sciences, are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change.