Highlights from Benchmark's community
More tired, more lonely 😴
Could lack of sleep drive loneliness? A 2018 study suggests that sleep deprivation can lead to greater social withdrawal and loneliness, and even trigger loneliness in others. In the experiment, 18 healthy adults completed two conditions: a normal night’s sleep, and a night of total sleep deprivation. Researchers found that after sleep deprivation, the subjects chose to maintain more physical distance from others than after a normal night’s sleep. This was independent of anxiety or mood.
Then, more than 1,000 judges viewed and rated the subjects' recorded interviews after each condition. Judges rated participants significantly lonelier in their sleep-deprived state vs. when well-rested. They also reported less desire to interact and collaborate with the sleep-deprived subjects. The judges even rated themselves as feeling lonelier after viewing a video of a sleep-deprived participant.
Lack of sleep can impair the brain’s ability to interpret social cues, including making us hypersensitive to another’s approach, and less able to understand another person’s intent. Given what we know about the importance of social connection to our health and wellbeing, this is yet another reason to prioritize quality sleep.
Safe in the sun, safe on the run 😎
Members shared two interesting product finds to help you stay safe outdoors. While you're soaking up the sun and replenishing your Vitamin D, Barriere's Burn Notice UV sensor stickers can help you avoid getting too much of a good thing. Apply these clear stickers to your skin, and watch as they transform to reveal a design after a certain amount of UV exposure. When you see the design appear, it's time to reapply sunscreen.
To help you stay safe while running, The RunSafePro vest, launching soon on Kickstarter, has clever features to protect you from common dangers. Not only does it keep you visible with reflective details and an auto-adjusting light, but its radar detects nearby cars and cyclists and alerts you to potential threats with lights and vibration. It also has a GPS panic button and a check-in system to alert your contacts to your location in an emergency. If you're looking for more peace of mind while running, this is one to watch.
Testing, testing... 🕵️♂️
Now that the Benchmark app supports just about any wearable, we get a lot of questions about which wearable is best. The answer is, it depends on your priorities and preferences. The good news is that many more options are hitting the market. Sam shared a fantastic site called DC Rainmaker that provides independent reviews that go into great detail on the features and tradeoffs of every model. If you're considering a purchase, consult this site.
We also discovered a resource for independent reviews of food, skincare and everyday products called Oasis. This mobile app evaluates product ingredients (and contaminants) for health and safety. For example, it recently released a report on protein bars; the brands that topped their list for "cleanest" ingredients included: Jacob, Prima, Promix, Lineage, and Once Upon a Farm.
