31 HOURS
MH.CO.ZA/ August 2019EASEL UP ON YOUR STRESSBeat stress with
artwork, track your
productivity, and sleep
your way to success with
this in-depth research
and MH-certified advice.AUGUSTWEALTH REPORT
THE
Want to give your
little guys the edge at
school? Put them to
work. New research
has shown that you
can snag yourself a
cleaner house (and
a smarter kid) by
making your laaitie
tackle your home’s
daily tasks. As part
of a University
of Virginia study,
researchers assessed
a group of 10 000
primary school kids,
tracking their lives
from kindergarten
through to Grade 3.
They found that not
only were kids who
did chores more
likely to succeed
academically, they
also tended to be
more satisfied with
life than their couch
potato counterparts.
The benefits are clear;
but now you have to
motivate little Vuyo
to pick up the broom.
Try this: create a list of
weekly chores, and let
your kids pick which
odd jobs they’d like
to take on. Giving the
laaities a choice will
help nurture a positive
relationship with
hard work.
BROOM TO
GROW1TRACK YOUR
PRODUCTIVITY5WEALTHA CURE FOR NIGHT OWLS43The length of time the average guy wastes sitting in meetings every
month. Our solution: standing meetings. People are more likely to
keep it brief when they’re not lounging in a chair. Source: The Atlassian
Hard work needs
artwork. At least, that’s
the consensus among
researchers at the
University of Westminster.
The study sent participants
to spend up to 35 minutes
in an art gallery where
they could browse and
stroke their chins pointedly
at their own leisure.
Afterwards, participants
across the board reported
feeling less stressed and
anxious. These feelings
were later verified by
cortisol (stress hormone)
test results. Your move:
hit up a local art gallery
after work (hello, First
Thursdays!); or better yet,
find a few colourful pieces
to decorate your walls, and
transform your home into a
stress-busting zone.(^2) LIVE YOUR
SAVINGS
In the face
of economic
uncertainty,
most okes are
scrambling
to stuff the
coffers of
their savings
accounts,
pension funds, and long-term
investments. But according to a new
World Economic Forum report, many
people are outliving their retirement
savings by as much as 8 to 20 years.
Eish. While the report’s findings
were limited to the world’s six major
economies – Netherlands, United
Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan,
United States – it’s a reminder that it’s
possible you too are underproviding
for your golden years, even if you feel
you’re missing out on memorable
experiences, gourmet coffees and
avocado toasts in the process. So how
much should you be saving? The folks
at Old Mutual recommend planning
for 20 to 25 years of retirement,
requiring around 80% of your
current annual income for living a
comfortable life. Simply put, if you
want to retire at 65 and you’re earning
R360 000 per year, you’ll need
R288 000 annually post-retirement,
or a total of around R5.7 million in
your pension fund if you live to 85.
Fitness trackers
help you get an
accurate reading
on your run
times, heart
rate, and even
your sleeping
patterns. Now,
researchers
claim these high-
tech watches
can be used to
measure your
performance at
work. A study
spearheaded
by a team at
Dartmouth
University tested
their homegrown
technology on
750 workers in
the US. This
set-up works by
analysing data
- such as stress
levels, location,
heart rate, phone
usage, and more - collected by a
smartphone app
with a connected
fitness tracker.
Over a one-
year period,
researchers
say, the system
was able to
assess workplace
performance with
80% accuracy.
While we’re
not fans of
the Orwellian
implications of
this software,
you can at least
leverage the
findings of this
one-year study to
your own benefit:
turns out, the
top-performing
employees in
this test used
their phones
less, slept
longer, and were
more physically
active than their
underperforming
peers.
Habitual “night owls”
have a later sleeping
and waking pattern
hardwired into their
brains, thriving at
midnight and yawning
through morning
meetings. If you’re
a nocturnal animal,
you’ve probably given
up hope of ever getting
back in sync with your
colleagues. Well, rub
that sleep from your
eyes – there’s still a
way out. New research
has discovered that
not only can you
rewire your sleeping
habits, you’ll also
score a laundry list oftherapeutic mental
and physical benefits
to boot. The study,
which appeared in the
journal Sleep Medicine,
tasked participants
with waking up 2-3
hours earlier than
usual, tucking into
breakfast as soon as
possible, and then
hitting the hay early
rather than spending
hours sitting playing
video games (okay,
we made up that
last part). The result:
participants reported
feeling less stressed
and depressed,
showed improvement
in reaction time and
grip strength during
the morning, and were
able to shift their most
productive hours from
late evening to early
afternoon. That’s a win
on three fronts. Now
it’s your turn to score
those same benefits.80
WORDS: KIERAN LEGG, IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES