Life Lessons

Two diagrammatic answers to the question, "What has life taught you?", from Quora.

The Venn diagram displays how difficult it is to hit the sweet spot of careers. Very few individuals are able to make a lot of money while both doing what they love and what they're good at. Top-tier athletes and entertainers are on the list, as well as billionaire entrepreneurs. Most of us, if we're lucky, become good at something that pays well. Love? that's for retirement and/or second careers.

The Project Triangle is a favorite way of picturing the difficulty of achieving three conflicting goals. Achieving two is difficult, and accomplishing all three is nearly impossible. Students usually strive for good grades and social life, with sleep coming in last. However, that would be a mistake, as sleep is more important to performance than most people think. Well, maybe in our lifetime, science will come up with a pill, not to help insomniacs sleep but to safely get by without it. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Perchance We'll Dream

Where the monitoring occurs

At 8:30 we showed up at the sleep center. Over a dozen electrodes were taped to the head and chest. The technician explained that there were three primary causes of sleep apnea. Aging, weight, and genetics all could restrict breathing during the night, and with the patient at least two factors are in play. Getting enough oxygen to the brain during sleep is vital for physical wellbeing, mental alertness, longevity, job performance, and a host of other reasons.

We'll meet with the doctor in a few weeks to discuss the findings. She'll likely prescribe a CPAP machine. It will take some getting used to, but putting the mask on every night is preferable to mouth or throat surgery. © 2013 Stephen Yuen