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The Sultan of SokotoResearchers Believe They Figured Out the Perfect Nap—Are Your Snoozes Up to Par?
Some would argue that coffee is the best way to get over an afternoon slump (guilty as charged!). However, science suggests that a short snooze is the better cure. Mayo Clinic says napping can increase alertness and improve mood, memory, and performance. Now, researchers and the napping community are weighing in on the matter.
A study published in the journal Obesity found that longer naps lead to weight gain and cardiovascular disease, whereas shorter naps boost mental sharpness.
RELATED: This Common Sleep Habit Could Raise Heart Attack and Stroke Risk by 26%, New Study Finds.
Power naps can benefit your health, whereas long naps can be detrimental.
Researchers studied the napping habits of 3,200 adults in Spain, where afternoon naps are part of everyday life. Participants were divided into two groups based on the length of their naps: 30-minute nappers and nappers sleeping for more than 30 minutes.
The power nappers had a 21 percent decreased risk of high blood pressure compared to their peers. Meanwhile, long nappers were 41 percent more prone to developing high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and weight gain.
RELATED: This Uncommon Supplement Can Improve Your Sleep and Mood, New Study Says.
So, what quantifies the perfect nap?
According to psychologist Nick Bach, PsyD, the shorter, the better. A 2025 study commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and conducted by Talker Research found that most nappers consider "the perfect nap" to last 51 minutes—realistically, a siesta should be half that, said Bach.
"As a psychologist, I see firsthand how sleep—especially napping—affects mood, focus, and overall well-being. So many people nap the wrong way and then wonder why they feel groggy instead of refreshed," he told Talker Research.
A midday snooze is a delicate balance because if you nap too long, you "risk entering deep sleep, which makes waking up harder," explained Bach. That’s why he believes "a quick 20-minute nap is perfect for a recharge."
It's also important what time of day you nap. According to the study, participants dubbed 1:42 p.m. "nap o’clock." To keep your nighttime sleep schedule on track, Bach suggests napping before 3 p.m.
"I always recommend napping in a quiet, dark and cool space. If total silence isn’t an option, using white noise or soft music can help. Napping on the couch can work, but a bed with good support is usually better," Bach added.
But to each their own—here’s how the participants’ answers measured up to Bach’s advice:
- 44 percent prefer napping with background noise
- 47 percent will turn on the TV for background noise
- 7 percent opt for a white noise machine
- 53 percent take naps in their bed
- 38 percent prefer napping on the couch
- 55 percent said napping makes them more productive
And remember this important rule of thumb from Mayo Clinic: "After you nap, give yourself time to wake up before you get back to your activities. This is key if you need to do a task that requires a quick or sharp response."
SONA2025: I’m not here to complain, I will fix Ghana’s economy – Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to resolve Ghana’s economic crisis by the end of his four-year term, assuring citizens of a turnaround in the nation’s financial fortunes. Addressing Parliament on Thursday, February 27, during his first State of the Nation Address in his second term, Mahama acknowledged the severe hardships facing Ghanaians but vowed […]
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It’s not my style to lament and shift blame—Mahama on fixing the broken economy
President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has assured the people of Ghana that he will tackle the country’s economic crisis. According to him, it is not his style to complain and shift blame. Rather, he faces all his challenges head-on to ensure that solutions are provided to address them. The President made this known while […]
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‘Exceptional’ Pompeii frescos of Greek booze god & mystery rituals from Jesus’s time unearthed from ancient volcanic ash
“EXCEPTIONAL” frescos of the Greek god of wine that reveal mystery cult rituals have been unearthed from ancient volcanic ash in Pompeii.
Covering three sides of a magnificent banquet hall, the almost life-size artworks show the procession of Dionysus followed by his female followers.
At the centre of the image is a woman holding a torch who is about to be initiated into the cult of Dionysus.
The Greek god was thought to hold the power to die and be reborn, and promised the same destiny to his loyal followers.
Experts said the new discovery will help them learn more about ancient life and all its mysteries.
Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli said: “In 100 years’ time today will be seen as historic.”
A British archaeologist working in Pompeii, Sophie Hay, added: “These were mystery cults, so what they did remains a mystery, even in the ancient written sources.”
The find dates back to 40-30s BC, meaning that the frescos were already about 100 years old when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Their good condition suggest they may be some of the last works of art to be made in Pompeii.
The discovery was made while carrying out excavations on the site.
The painting is the second of only two surviving artworks showing the god’s cult.
The first was uncovered in the Villa of the Mysteries, also in Pompeii.
What happened to Pompeii?
POMPEII was once a very prosperous ancient Roman city on the Gulf of Naples, in Italy's Campania region.
On August 4 79 A.D., the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted and completely buried the Roman city under a thick carpet of ash, killing Pompeii’s population.
Around 2,000 people are believed to have been killed in Pompeii.
It was home to 11,000 people and boasted a complex water system, amphitheatre, gymnasium and even a port.
The thermal energy released was said to be a hundred thousand times that of the nuclear blasts at Hiroshima-Nagasaki.
Over the next 250 years, it was a hotbed of scientific activity, with researchers uncovering several intact buildings and even wall paintings.
To this day, scientists are finding cultural, architectural and human remains on the banks of Mount Vesuvius.
Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
The corpses of Pompeii residents were famously preserved in a protect casing of ash within which they slowly decayed.
The result allow us to see the positions in which people perished.
Since the mid 1800s, the voids left by the bodies have been filled with plaster to recreate their final moments.
Pompeii remains a well-preserved archaeological site, attracting tourists from across the world.
The site is still open to visitors but has restricted visitor numbers to no more than 20,000 a day.
The newly excavated room will be open for small groups from Thursday, with visitors able to view the frescos while archaeologists continue their work.
EastEnders cast reunite as Samantha Womack LICKS Rita Simons on the mouth
EASTENDERS’ star Samantha Womack was spotted licking her former co-star Rita Simons on the mouth, as the cast enjoyed a mini reunion.
Their characters Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell were a huge part of the Albert Square life for a decade until they were killed off in a bizarre drowning plot.
Samantha, 52, and Rita, 47, have remained close since they were axed from EastEnders in 2017.
So much so, the two women – who joined the soap in 2007 – were seen having a whale of a time last night.
Sam and Rita were spotted having a giggle at The Last Laugh theatre show in London‘s West End.
The actresses were there to support fellow former EastEnders star Bob Golding, who played Colin on the soap.
Joining Sam and Rita at the show was Shane Richie who they also know through EastEnders.
The two soap stars look liked they were having a ball and at one point Samantha licked her on screen sister’s mouth.
EASTENDERS’ DEATH
The two stars’ EastEnders’ characters Ronnie and Roxy died after meeting a watery end on New Year’s Day 2017.
In one of the soap’s more bizarre moments, they passed away in a hotel swimming pool on Ronnie’s wedding day.
After she attempted to go for a drunken dip in her bridal gown, she started to struggle as the weight of the dress weighed her down.
Roxy dived in to help – but ultimately both of them drowned.
SAM’S ‘DEVASTATION’
Samantha previously opened about her “devastation” when she heard her character was going to get the chop.
Ronnie was a big part of life in Albert Square for ten years before a new producer at the time decided her time in EastEnders was up.
The no-nonsense gym owner went through several hard hitting plotlines, including one that saw her suffer from underage rape.
In another shocking scene, she swapped her dead baby for her close friend’s son while overwhelmed with grief.
Samantha shared that she actually thought her character would be able to tackle less gritty scenes when Sean O’Connor joined the soap’s production team in 2017.
“He was coming in, I was excited because I thought she [Ronnie] had got really dark and it become really over-sensationalized,” the actress said in 2023.
“So with this new guy coming in, great, I’d heard he wanted to take it back to kind of reality, less murders. And I was thinking great, that’s right up my street.”
Sadly, that was not what happened and Sean said he wanted to kill Ronnie off instead.
“I was devastated because I wasn’t planning to leave,” Samantha told Daily Star.
“I was ‘like what?!’ First time I ever met him.
“So yeah, I had to drown myself. That was really hard, having to kill someone that I loved.”
EastEnders stars who QUIT
MICHELLE Collins has seen her second EastEnders stint boost her bank balance. Yet what stars have quit this year?
The Sun exclusively reported how Michelle, 62, was down to £20,000 in her company accounts when she agreed to a shock back-from-the-dead return to Albert Square last year.
Her character, Cindy Beale, was presumed dead off-camera in 1998.
Yet what about the 2024 exits?
Earlier this summer, loyal soap fans appeared to note how Stevie Mitchell had “quit” the long-running series.
It came after Alan Ford enjoyed just six-months on-screen.
Bobby Beale actor Clay Milner Russell also left this year after five years in Walford.
Fans also feared Martin Fowler actor James Bye would “quit out of boredom” over recent storylines.
Additionally, a host of stars have quit the BBC soap for Hollywood fame.
One of the most successful stars to come from the BBC One soap is Rob Kazinsky.
He played Stacey Slater’s brother Sean Slater from 2006 to 2009, he has starred in Hollywood blockbusters Pacific Rim and Captain Marvel.
Ben Hardy, who quit EastEnders as Bobby Beale almost a decade ago, went on to break Hollywood the following year, when he starred as Archangel in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Since then, he has played Roger Taylor in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and he starred in Michael Bay’s Netflix movie 6 Underground.
Michelle Ryan played Zoe Slater until 2005.
She starred as the lead in short-lived American series Bionic Woman from 2007 to 2008.
Map reveals all the WHSmith stores set to close this year as retailer in talks to sell 500 UK high street stores
A MAP has revealed all the WHSmith stores closing this year with the retailer in talks to sell 500 UK shops.
The high street staple is shuttering 10 branches over the coming months after closing several stores already.
Shoppers will be waving goodbye to stores in the West Midlands, London and Greater Manchester.
It comes after WHSmith confirmed plans to sell off hundreds of its high street stores.
WHSmith, which runs around 1,100 stores, has already shut eight branches this year.
One other store is shutting this month, although an exact closure date has not been revealed.
WHSmith said in November it will close up to 20 stores each year over the next three years.
But separately, the chain plans to open 90 new stores at different sites over the same period.
Stores will close over the coming months in Accrington, Halstead, Halesowen, Diss and Newport in Wales.
Five more will shut in Haverhill, Woolwich, Stockton, Oldham and Orpington. This is the full list of branches set to close:
- Accrington, Lancashire – March 15
- Halstead, Essex – April
- Halesowen, West Midlands – April
- Diss, Norfolk – April
- Newport, Wales – April
- Haverhill, Suffolk – April 26
- Woolwich, London – April
- Stockton, County Durham – May
- Oldham, Greater Manchester – May
- Orpington, Greater London – no date given yet
Customers who use the 10 branches earmarked for closure have reacted with devastation after finding out they’ll shut for good.
Posting on Facebook about the Halesowen branch closure, one shopper said: “Halesowen is becoming a ghost town.”
One customer commenting on the Diss closure said: “This is unfair for this town.”
Meanwhile, a third shopper from Oldham jibed: “Couldn’t make it up.”
OTHER WHSMITH NEWS
The closures come as WHSmith looks to offload 500 of its UK high street branches in a major move.
The retailer confirmed last month it is in negotiations with a number of prospective buyers for the sites.
A WHSmith spokeswoman told The Sun the retail group was “exploring potential strategic options for this profitable and cash generative part of the group, including a possible sale”.
However, the statement added: “There can be no certainty that any agreement will be reached, and further updates will be provided as and when appropriate.”
The Sun exclusively revealed two days later Doug Putman, the Canadian entrepreneur who rescued HMV from bankruptcy in 2019, was considering a swoop on the 500 branches.
Sources said it was hoped a deal could be reached within three months.
Other bidders could make an approach to buy the 500 stores though, including Alteri and Hilco.
It comes as WHSmith looks to move away from physical high street stores and towards opening airport and train station branches.
The stationer said last January it wanted to open 15 new shops in airports, railway stations and hospitals before the end of 2024.
This formed part of wider plans to open 110 new branches worldwide.
Group chief executive Carl Cowling said at the time: “The group is trading well and is in its strongest ever position as a global travel retailer.
“We are confident of another year of significant growth in 2024.”
“We continue to make excellent progress in North America, and I am particularly excited by the substantial growth opportunities that exist in this market.”
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
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Twisted ITV true crime show to return for second series after becoming one of channel’s highest rated documentaries
A TWISTED ITV true crime show is returning for a second series – after becoming among the channel’s highest rated documentaries.
TikTok: Murder Gone Viral debuted its first series on viewers’ screens last year.
The programme will continue to cover murder cases which went viral on social media app TikTok.
Series two will highlight the murder of young British amateur footballer, Charlie Cosser.
In July 2023, the 17-year-old was stabbed to death at an end-of-term marquee party in West Sussex.
Charlie’s devastated father Martin used TikTok to pour out his grief in real time.
In addition, the show will cover the killing of 13-year-old American cheerleader Tristyn Bailey.
On May 9, 2021, Tristyn was reported missing after she vanished from her family’s home.
Later that Sunday, police recovered her body from a retention pond close to her home.
As a murder investigation was launched, local authorities concluded Tristyn was stabbed a total of 114 times.
On May 10, 2021, her classmate Aiden Fucci was arrested as the prime suspect in her homicide.
Tristyn had used TikTok as a way to share her cheerleading dance routines.
The first series of TikTok: Murder Gone Viral featured the story of Ansreen and Mahek Bukhar.
Mahek, 24, and Ansreen, 46, were jailed for life after the pair were both found guilty of two counts of murder.
The duo, from Stoke-on-Trent, found themselves embroiled in a web of lies and deceit,
Ansreen, who often appeared in her daughter’s TikTok videos, had embarked on an ill-fated affair.
When Saqib Hussain threatened to expose the relationship to Ansreen’s husband, mother and daughter hatched a murderous plot to silence her young lover.
The 21-year-old was found dead in a burning car, along with his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, also 21, after their car was rammed off the road in a 100mph chase in Leicestershire.
Their bodies were so badly burnt, their families could not identify them.
The programme detailed how Mahek, who had dropped out of university to pursue her social media career, was living the high life, attending parties and launch events — often with her mother in tow.
Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual ITV said: “The murders in this series are all about very young victims tragically killed by their peers.
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“Most were active on TikTok and through this prism we also see how the platform has impacted a murder case from its use by armchair detectives, to generating worldwide discussion, to acting as an emotional outlet.
“But above all, each is an individual story of heartbreak and a testament to the victims’ family and friends who have been determined to share their stories with a wider public, and find ways to bring an end to the senselessness of child on child murder.”
Meanwhile, Cat Lewis & Jazz Gowans, Executive Producers Nine Lives Media added: “It has been a real privilege to work closely with the families of young murder victims, each of whom were taken far too early but each had already made a big, positive impact on the world, and especially on their families and friends.
“They will never be forgotten.”
Man, 20s, due in court charged as part of investigation into alleged ‘fatal assault’ of asylum seeker, 32, in Dublin
A MAN, 20s, in due in court this morning charged as part of the investigation into the alleged fatal assault of a man, 32, in Dublin.
Quham Babatundeon, 34, died after he was stabbed during an incident on February 15 in the South Anne Street and Duke Lane Upper area of Dublin.
The man, who has become the fifth person charged in relation to the incident, will appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice Dublin this morning.
In a statement Gardai today confirmed his court appearance.
They said: “The man (20s) arrested yesterday as part of the investigation into the violent disorder and fatal assault which took place at South Anne Street/Duke Lane Upper, Dublin 2 on the 15th February, 2025, has been charged.
“He is due to appear before Court 3 of the Criminal Courts of Justice Dublin this morning, Thursday 27th February 2025.”
Gardai confirmed yesterday that they had arrested the man and were quizzing him at a Garda station in Dublin.
A spokesperson said: “Gardai have made a fifth arrest in connection with the fatal assault on South Anne Street/Duke Lane Upper, Dublin 2 on the 15th February, 2025.
“A man, aged in his 20s, was arrested this afternoon and is currently detained under Section 4 of Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda Station in Dublin.
“Investigations are ongoing.”
Four other people have been charged with various offences relating to the incident that occurred in the early hours of February 15.
Last Friday, Ryan Ndede, 23, from Boroimhe Birches in Swords, Co Dublin, appeared before a district judge at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.
Ndede was arrested onboard a ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead on Sunday evening.
Rory Carr, 21, has also been charged with violent disorder and assaulting Babatunde.
Jeffrey Bangu, of the same age, appeared in court on February 17, accused of brandishing a knife and attacking Mr Babatunde.
He also allegedly assaulted and injured another man in the melee outside a nightclub on South Anne Street.
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UWA sets up Elizabeth Pearce Marine Sciences Fund in honour of former student who ‘loved the ocean’
Master’s students studying marine science will be supported by a fund set-up by the family of Dalkeith crash victim Elizabeth Pearce in honour of her love of the ocean.
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