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SOMETIMES, THE MOST difficult part about getting enough shuteye is falling asleep in the first place.
It’s recommended you get between seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but if you’re having problems achieving this, then there are a few apps and resources that will help you out.
One place to start would be Sleep Genius (€4.99 on iOS and Free on Android) which claims to help those with sleep deprivation.
Developed following research on how to help astronauts fall asleep, it helps train you into falling asleep without relying on things like white noise.
Alternatively, you could download Pzizz (iOS and Android) which offers a guided sleep meditation for you to listen to. It creates a somewhat different track every time you listen to it (you can turn off the voiceover if you want) and you can set its length from 10 minutes to a couple of hours.
If you’re looking for something minimalist, Relax Melodies (iOS and Android) uses a collection of different sounds to help you doze off. The interface is pretty dated in comparison to the other apps on this list but the different mixes you can create
As for devices, having a program or app that can change the colour temperature of your screen from blue light to orange can help reduce eye strain, which can leave you feeling more awake at night.
F.lux (Windows and Mac), Twilight (Android) and Night Shift (iOS) all offer this to some degree so it’s a good idea to install or activate them on whatever devices you use.
And while it’s not specifically an app, the site Sleepy Time will calculate the best time for you to be falling asleep. By entering in the time you need to get up at, it counts back sleep cycles so it can pick times that you should be falling asleep.
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Nailed to a cross is all I’m expecting from the budget
@James Fox: ah get down off the cross will ya, we need the wood.
@James Fox: very true!!.. us the regular working people have been nailed to that cross a long time now ….. think we will get more nails though!
@Michael Burke: Why is that is it to heat the house when the power is cut LOL
@James Fox: FFG want you to supply your own nails The Green will gladly supply the hammer under a sustainable agreement .
@Ciaran Dunne: yes it can’t be a wooden handle
The government put a set percentage of tax on diesel/petrol so with the fuel rising so much in the last year they are getting a lot extra but they still want to raise carbon tax .. absolute day light robbery
@Gerrard: and we don’t have enough electricity for electric cars
@Gerrard: And that carbon tax along with the excise duty is also subject to VAT. Win-win-win for the Govt.
@John O Reilly: And no public transport
You get an Xmas bonus on the dole? In Spain, you get a kick up the ar se, you get nothing if you haven’t paid into to it for a year minimum. You realise how generous it is in Ireland, for low income workers/unemployed when you look at how social welfare is around the EU.
@Jj: IV paid taxes all my life and I’m entitled to nothing, yet someone I no never worked for 30 years gets free money every week, free doctors, dental, eye test, etc
@Heisen berg1: Why not go on the dole then? I’ve worked all my life and never would I feel it’s better being on the dole than having to get up for work every morning. We had near full employment at one stage and it didn’t improve my salary by much, hard work did. So people being on the dole isn’t going to decrease my salary a whole lot either. The onus is on me to improve my lifestyle, not the effects of someone being on the dole or not.
@Jj: it’s not that great. I pay half my dole in rent to my parents. Plus any foods I want that are extra to the bill… so my milk, my bread, etc. And they’re not cheap. I paid €4 yesterday for 2 litres of milk, for example.
Then there’s my phone. And a contribution to the household internet. And I pay for our Netflix sub, which no one uses, but I’m not allowed to cancel “just in case” and the disney+ sub, which I’m currently using, admittedly. And I’ve recently had to shell out a couple of hundred on clothes in case I get interviews for jobs I’m applying to (which is a joke… 99% of the places I apply to don’t look at my applications. In saying that, when my application IS looked at, I get an interview. But that happens about once in every couple of hundred CVs sent out). OH, and I’m trying to save towards moving out, should I ever manage to get a job. And there are prescriptions. And GP visits that need to be paid for on occasion. And the flu jab will be costing about €30 this year.. that ain’t free..
So… lets see. I get €812 per month. €400 is rent. €25 is phone. €50 is internet ~€30 on subscriptions. about €50 per month gets spent on food. In September I had to buy new shoes, which were €100. And give contribute €200 towards my parents trip to England, and drop €50 on presents for people I hardly know, that they are visiting.. And another €150 on clothes. And none of these were choices. These were payments my parents required me to make, in order to be able to live here for the months of September/October. OH! And another €90 to get my hair done.. which was the cheapest price I could find for what they wanted me to have done – wash cut and colour (cover the greys).
I’ve already been told that my Christmas bonus will be going towards paying for Christmas dinner and stuff like that.
Oh… and both my parents are employed. They’re not poor. They also get on my case constantly for not saving €400 every single month, and for sometimes having to dip into my savings because of the costs I have to pay for. And yes, work it out.. by the time I’ve paid for my food and phone, there’s no way I can save €400 per month.. so they are constantly on my case for not saving enough. Claiming I’m bad with money, and spend too much.
That €150 I spent on clothes? My mother picked them out. Wouldn’t let me look for anything cheaper. Then afterwards, she gave me grief for wasting so much money on clothes I’ll likely never use, because I struggle to get interviews.
We can expect to be leaked every bit of information
I’d say the nervousness and worry is palpable among many TD’s in FFG about the rising tide they know is coming in the next election.
No doubt the arguments are many between them over a giveaway budget to try stop what is coming and the polls are showing.
@RogerRamjet: will be interesting to see the opposition alternative budgets and costings. I think if their numbers actually add up, never have before, it will give people food for additional thought.
Does the idea of a bonus for frontline workers sit uneasy with anyone else ? They did their job, and no doubt we’re under extreme pressure but is that new for front line workers ? They are either getting paid enough to do their job or they aren’t .
Get rid of the carbon tax! Then the cost of fuel gose down, and a knock on effect happens, everything starts to come down in price, heating, food etc etc, or am I been a bit naive?
Bye bye pension.
@ianglen: €5 euro an insult
Strangely enough there’s no mention of this: https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/othersport/arid-40711562.html
Am I to understand that higher taxes, tolls and congestion charges have nothing to do with the budget?
If they do, one wonders why this isn’t being flagged.
Could it be perhaps because it might cause an uproar (as it rightly should) or it will emphasize how unrealistic and impractical the new climate “plan” is?
@Stan Papusa: The page I meant to link was this: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/the-war-on-cars-plan-for-new-tolls-congestion-charges-and-tougher-parking-40909505.html LOL
Big Question???? When will our Pensioners get full restoration of 2008 entitlements?
Please Minister, remedy this scandal now!!..
I am hedging against the euro and buying into inflation protected etfs. buckle up buckaroos $TIPS
How about a scheme that can be announced with great fanfare and spin but nobody is really eligible for it for one reason or another and it can be quietly shelved in two years time? We’ve had plenty of them.
Family carers working 24/7 ignored, not entitked to fuel allowance abd means tested. Caring for a disabled person requires ongoing heating.
Genuinely wondering why I bother working. Other than living in a nice area there’s no benefit to me. Guaranteed bonuses for those on the dole, help to buy, increase in welfare, fuel allowances and no increase for booze and cigs absolutely nothing relevant for the the already squeezed middle.
have your say