Golden Slumber Number: How To Get 7 Solid Hours Per Night

BRITS over 50 should get at least 7 hours of sleep a night to reduce the risk of developing chronic health problems like cancer, diabetes and arthritis, according to the findings of a new study. The PLoS Medicine study, led by University College London (UCL) researchers, found people who got less than 5 hours of sleep a night from 50 years old had more chance of developing long term health conditions. Based on the results, and in line with expert analysis from the UK's most trusted sleep brand, Silentnight, most adults should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night.

Hannah Shore, Sleep Knowledge and Research Manager at Silentnight said:- "Sleep is an essential function that not only allows your body and mind to recharge; but which is also vital to your health and wellbeing, as the study reveals. We all know how tired and irritable you can feel the next day following a poor night's sleep, however, losing too much sleep over time can soon take a toll on physical health, after all, good quality sleep is important for a healthy body. While the symptoms of a bad night's sleep are certainly unpleasant, a lifetime of poor sleep can lead to serious conditions including:- diabetes and heart disease. Maintaining a healthy sleep routine is essential to your long term health. Everyone's circumstances are different, but the good news is that there are several tips and tricks that you can employ in your own life in order to reach your 'golden slumber number' and get at least 7 hours of sleep a night."

Hannah's 7 top tips to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night:-

► Routine, routine, routine... Create a reliable bedtime routine that you can stick to. Try and wake up the same every morning and go to bed at the same time every night, 7 days a week. This will ensure that your body stays tuned in to when you want to go to sleep.

► Sop scrolling... Looking through the news on your phone and scrolling through social media at bedtime suppresses the production of melatonin - a natural hormone that is released in the evening to help you feel sleepy. So put your phone down an hour before bed.

► Create a cosy sleep environment... Lots of things play into creating a cosy sleep environment, including lighting and sounds. But arguably the most important of all is having a mattress that's suited to your comfort level, so do some research to find the right 1 for you.

► Exercise... Exercising can improve your sleep by reducing the amount of time it takes you to drop off at night (thanks to all those well worked and tired muscles), while also helping to achieve solid, uninterrupted sleep. Just don't exercise no closer than 2 hours before bedtime.

► Avoid caffeine... You should try and avoid caffeine for at least 5 hours before bedtime, as it can keep you up and have a disruptive effect on your sleep. Remember that even some herbal teas have caffeine, so be careful what warm drinks you have before going to bed.

► Limit nap times... While a mid afternoon nap can be blissful, long periods of sleep during the day can affect you when it comes to lights out. Limit naps to no more than 20 minutes and avoid napping in the evening.

► Distress... Stress management is always important, especially at bedtime, as dropping off with a head full of worries will affect your sleep. Resolve your worries and concerns by writing down what's on your mind, which will hopefully help put it out of mind as you drift off to sleep.

Cost of rogue plumbers' poor work revealed

THE average cost to put right shoddy plumbing work is �285, according to a new survey by WaterSafe, the UK's register of approved contractors working with drinking water. The survey, which questioned 2,000 UK consumers, also revealed more than a quarter of people have employed a plumber who did not carry out the task properly. In most cases, they had to employ another plumber to fix the poor work. Common problems included wrongly connected pipework, water tasting or looking unpleasant, water smelling off, or the work causing a water leak or damage. Although the average cost to put the work right was �285, in over a 5th of cases, it cost more than �300 to rectify the damage, and in some instances, more than �1,000.

Director of WaterSafe, Julie Spinks, said:- "It's alarming to hear that more than a quarter of people interviewed said the rogue installer they employed did not carry out the work properly. It gives reputable, qualified plumbers a bad name. It's not just the inconvenience, but with the increased cost of living, having to then pay more to put things right is unacceptable. Unfortunately, anyone; regardless of qualifications or experience; can set up a plumbing business and I would urge households who need plumbing work done to use an approved contractor registered with WaterSafe and follow our advice for employing a professional. If a contractor is a member of WaterSafe, the customer can be reassured they are qualified, belong to an approved contractors' scheme and carry Public Liability Insurance."

For more advice on helping pull the plug on rogue plumbers and how to tell if a plumber is qualified to perform the work, visit:- WaterSafe.Org.UK The WaterSafe register is promoted by all UK water companies and the drinking water regulators and was set up to help keep the UK's drinking water safe in homes and businesses. WaterSafe approved plumbers are all trained to meet the strict regulations for installing pipes and fittings, which supply drinking water. They will issue a Certificate of Compliance, stating their plumbing work complies with the regulations; giving customers a legal defence if something is later found to be wrong.

50% of Adults received phishing emails in the last month

NEW ONS data has revealed that there has been a 25% increase in fraud cases over pre-pandemic levels. This comes to around 4.5 million offences in the year to March 2022. Phishing is 1 of the main methods used to commit fraud. Half of adults reported receiving a:- "phishing" message in the last month. These phishing messages were most likely pretending to be sent from delivery companies, banks, ecommerce companies and Government services. Among those who received suspected phishing messages 3% replied or clicked on a link and of those who replied or clicked on a link, 11% provided information that could be used by the fraudsters. This equates to roughly 80,000 people across England and Wales and shows that people still struggle to detect phishing scams.

Rhino Safety Director Simon Walter commented:- "Phishing awareness training is an essential part of any cybersecurity strategy. Educating yourself on what to look out for and how to respond is tremendously helpful in thwarting phishing attempts."

1. Avoid Emails from Unkown Senders - Whilst spam filters are generally good at removing malicious messages from your inbox, they aren't perfect. That's why you should always be wary when you receive emails from an unknown sender. There are a few ways to check if an email is legitimate or not. 1st of all, many phishing scams originate overseas and often the spelling, grammar and punctuation are poor. If the sender doesn't address you by name in the email, then there is a chance they don't actually know you and are running a scam. A final point is that If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It's highly unlikely someone you do not know will want to give you money.

2. Beware of Spoofing - Spoofing scams may seem obvious in hindsight, but they can fool even the most observant of us. A common tactic is creating an email name that is very similar to the email address of someone you know. This can be done simply by changing the letter:- 'm' to the letters:- 'rn.'

These scams can be especially dangerous if the person spoofed is someone you know and email frequently. Some phishers use real company logos in their correspondence to make them look legitimate.

3. Do Not Provide Personal Information or Click on Suspicious Links - As a general rule, legitimate people and companies will never ask you for your personal information via email. That means, regardless of how sure you are that someone is legitimate, you should never provide personal or sensitive information until they have verified they are who they say they are.

The other thing you should never do when you are not sure of the sender is click on any links in the email. If you are ever unsure about the contents of the link then it is far safer to open a browser and type the URL yourself.

4. Be on Alert for Threats or Urgent Deadlines - Life or death situations are never going to be expressed over email. Phishers know that threats or deadlines make it more likely for people to fall for them. This sense of urgency is what makes people act rashly. It's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to urgent matters. So make sure you are talking to the right person by contacting them through other means

When spoofing is combined with threats or deadlines, the chances of falling for a phishing scam are even more likely. Creating a sense of danger or urgency (like the threat of a fine or account closure) often tempts people to make rash decisions. If you're unsure, contact the company in question separately through their website.

5. Thoroughly examine Email Contents - Phishing scams are often run from other countries. Whilst they can be sophisticated, oftentimes they include minor errors that are easy to catch if you are paying attention. Simple things like spelling and grammar are your 1st point of call. Beyond that, look at the way the content is structured and what images are used. They might be outdated or just outright wrong.

If your intuition tells you that something is wrong, then trust that intuition. Red flags can often be subconscious, and it's always safer to check with the individual/company you think you are in contact with through another channel.

News reports located on this page = 3.

Golden Slumber Number: How To Get 7 Solid Hours Per Night

Cost of rogue plumbers' poor work revealed

50% of Adults received phishing emails in the last month