4 Dangers of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around one in three Americans suffer from sleep deprivation. People should generally get around seven to nine hours of sleep every night, and sleeping less than seven hours in a night can be considered sleep deprivation. Many people don’t realize how important it is to get enough sleep, which is why March 13th through March 19th was Sleep Awareness Week.

The Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

Not sleeping enough can have significant consequences. Getting enough sleep is critical to your metabolic regulation, memory, learning abilities, and emotion regulation. Sleeping adequately is just as important as exercising. With that in mind, the following are some of the consequences of not sleeping enough:

  1. Memory issues – A lack of sleep can cause problems remembering things. That can affect individuals who are still in school and can hurt work performance as well.
  2. Depression – Not only has a lack of sleep been linked to increased irritability and stress, but it has also been linked to depression.
  3. Weakened immune system – Not sleeping enough can cause your immune system to weaken, making you more vulnerable to getting sick.
  4. Poor hand-eye coordination – People who are fatigued drive just as bad or even worse than those who are intoxicated. The CDC estimates that 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries related to car accidents have been caused by fatigued drivers.

How To Improve Your Sleep

If you’re not sleeping enough, then the following are a few tips that you can apply to improve your sleep throughout the night:

  • Stop using electronic devices an hour before going to bed
  • Maintain a routine and go to bed at the same time every night
  • Read a book before going to bed
  • Take a warm bath or shower before going to bed
  • Turn off all lights when you go to bed

Sleep deprivation can cause a lot of health problems, not to mention increasing the risk of getting into an accident in California or elsewhere if you’re driving. For more health awareness tips, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Top 5 Causes of Poisonings in the Home

A lot of people don’t realize that poisoning in the home is a big problem in California as well as the rest of the country — poisoning has become the number one cause of death, ahead of car accidents. It’s estimated that around half of all poison exposures are to children under the age of six. Additionally, 92% of all poisoning deaths happen to adults over the age of 20. To help spread awareness of the danger of home poisonings, March 20th through March 26th is National Poison Prevention Week.

What Causes Poisoning in the Home?

The following are some of the most common causes of poisoning in the home:

  1. Painkillers – Opioids have been responsible for countless deaths over the years. In 2020, opioids were responsible for 68,630 deaths in the United States alone. Many of these painkillers are commonly prescribed as well. 
  2. Personal care products – Personal care products include everything from cosmetics to shampoos. Such products are dangerous when left within reach of young children.
  3. Cleaning products – Like personal care products, cleaning products, such as bleach, can be incredibly dangerous if not properly stored and a child gets their hands on them.
  4. Sedatives – Adults who are prescribed sedatives can be poisoned if they take too much or combine them with other medications or with alcohol.
  5. Foreign bodies – Foreign bodies often include toys produced with certain chemicals that are dangerous to children.

Preventing Home Poisonings

The following are a few safety tips to help prevent poisonings in your home:

  • Always put potential poisons away after use. 
  • Store potential poisons in their original containers. Do not move them to your own containers.
  • Keep potential poisons out of reach of children. Use childproof locks or safety latches to keep them from getting access.
  • Never put potential poisons near your food.
  • Don’t mix medications.
  • Safely discard containers that contained potential poisons or any products that are expired.

Keep these safety tips in mind to prevent poisoning in the home. Be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store for more health and safety advice today.

Preventing Tax ID Theft

The deadline for submitting your tax return is coming up, which means that you’ll want to make sure to protect yourself against potential tax ID theft. A significant amount of people use online tax return services, such as TurboTax or Credit Karma, to do their tax returns. Unfortunately, that means there’s a greater risk of having your social security number stolen. 

If your social security number is exposed, it can be used to file a false tax return in your name. However, if you’re careful, you can avoid such fraud.

Ways to Prevent Tax ID Theft

The following are a few tips that you should follow to prevent the theft of your social security number:

File Your Taxes Early

To commit tax fraud, scammers need to submit a fraudulent tax return before you do. The earlier you submit your tax return, the less likely it is that you’ll become a victim of tax fraud.

Keep Your Social Security Number Safe

As long as your social security number is safe, you won’t be the victim of tax fraud. As such, take every precaution to keep your number secure. For example, never carry your social security card with you. Instead, keep it locked up somewhere safe in your California home. If you’re planning to throw away documents with your social on them, shred them first.

Sign Up for Identity Protection

The Identity Protection Pin is a unique six-digit number that the IRS will assign to you if you request it. When it’s assigned, you’ll be required to provide it on your return. It’s another level of protection against potential theft since thieves will need your social security number as well as your pin to submit a fraudulent return.

Be Wary About Scams

The IRS will only communicate with you through direct mail. If you receive emails, texts, calls, or social media communications that are advertised as being from the IRS, they are likely scams trying to trick you into giving up your social security number.

Be sure to use these tips to protect yourself against tax ID theft. For more safety awareness tips, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Keep your brain healthy as you age

March 14 – 21 is Brain Awareness Week

What’s the key to keeping your mind sharp and your brain healthy as you grow older? Online puzzles? Nutritional supplements? Mall walking? Pickle-ball tournaments?

The truth is, there’s no single “miracle cure” for memory problems or other brain changes that come with aging. But there is cause for optimism. Science points to a combination of social factors and healthy habits that—taken together—can help you build, preserve, and protect your brain’s function over time.

How to maintain brain health

Here are some tips for filling—and not draining—your reservoir of brain power:

  1. Exercise regularly
  2. If you smoke, quit
  3. Take care of your heart
  4. Avoid a high-sugar diet
  5. keep your mind stimulated
  6. Moderate of avoid alcohol
  7. sleep well

Preventing memory loss

Experts used to think brain development peaked in late adolescence and it was all downhill from there. They believed if a person lost brain cells due to problems like a head injury, stroke, or substance abuse, nothing could be done to restore memory and brain function. Now, thanks to discoveries in neuroscience, we know that the brain can grow new cells and form new neural connections. Like our muscles and other body parts, the brain can rebuild itself through repeated use and exercise.

This is great news for people who intend to live a long time. It means we can prevent memory loss by focusing on mental, physical, and social activities that promote healthy brain development. Even people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can benefit from a healthy lifestyle.

Explore the brain. Visit www.Dana.org

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How to Prevent Identity Theft

National Consumer Protection Week – March 6 – 12th

Our personal data is everywhere, and providing information like passwords and account numbers to access online accounts is something many of us do on a daily basis. Unfortunately, whenever we supply our PII, we are taking some level of risk that a criminal could steal and misuse it. But there are ways to reduce the likelihood of identity theft, and many of these strategies are simple and free.

The best way to help prevent identity theft is to sign up for an identity theft protection service. Although an identity theft protection service can’t prevent identity theft, it can alert you promptly when it happens to limit the damage and help you recover. Identity theft protection can help safeguard your personal information for a monthly or annual fee. Subscriptions can include monitoring of credit reports, financial accounts, medical information, social media activity, the dark web, and more. Identity theft protection companies also provide recovery services if your information is compromised. Some offer identity theft coverage of up to $1 million and access to attorneys or private investigators to help you restore your credit and reputation. Most also give you a dashboard to view notifications and contact customer service if fraudulent activity occurs.

Besides subscribing to an identity theft protection service, there are other ways to help prevent identity theft.

  1. Freeze your credit.
  2. Collect mail daily.
  3. Review credit card and bank statements regularly.
  4. shred documents containing personal information before throwing away.
  5. Create different passwords for your accounts.
  6. Install antivirus software.
  7. Enable two-factor authentication on devices and accounts.

What can you do if you suspect or know that your identity has been stolen?

Recovering from identity theft can be a long, stressful, and potentially costly process. Many credit card companies have adopted policies that try to minimize the amount of money you are liable for, but the implications can extend beyond your existing accounts. To minimize the extent of the damage, take action as soon as possible:

  • Start by visiting IdentityTheft.gov – This is a trusted, one-stop resource to help you report and recover from identity theft. Information provided here includes checklists, sample letters, and links to other resources.
  • Possible next steps in the process – You may need to contact credit reporting agencies or companies where you have accounts, file police or other official reports, and consider other information that may have been compromised.

Other sites that offer information and guidance for recovering from identity theft are:

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