If you are reading this at 3am, I’m here to tell you there are better ways to deal with insomnia. Check our important cover story by Richard Stockton, who talks to sleep experts for suggestions on how to conquer that crazy monster under the bed that keeps you up at all hours.
A bad night’s sleep isn’t just uncomfortable: it has major health consequences. It shortens lives, affects brain power and can send you downward toward heart attacks and strokes.
The worst thing I know is when you are too awake to sleep but too tired to do something constructive. That’s a living hell. If you have felt that or are feeling it now, check out Richard’s story for some serious suggestions. And please, if you have other solutions that work, drop us a line at ed****@we*****.com so we can pass them on in our letters section.
This won’t help you sleep: we’ve got schools looking out on fields being sprayed with toxic chemicals and the highest childhood cancer rate in the state, right here in Watsonville, the nation’s food basket. Isabella Blevins covers Dolores Huerta’s local speech and movement to do something about the problem in our news section.
Sorry, it’s 4am…what was I going to say next?
Oh yeah: how about making your mother proud this Mother’s Day weekend with some environmental work? Check out Mark C. Anderson’s dining column for some tips. You’ll also find out where to get some tasty and healthful mushroom dishes.
Mom deserves some fun this weekend: check the Calendar section. There’s a great comedy show at the Vet. That could be a real surprise treat.
There is little worse than getting diagnosed with cancer. It can rock you to the foundations. But one of the great things about our community is that there are people who devote themselves to helping. Our Wellness column profiles an important such organization, WomenCARE.
“For more than 30 years, this Santa Cruz nonprofit has been a lifeline for local women navigating the cancer journey, offering free services rooted in community and care,” Elizabeth Borelli writes. “With a main office in Aptos and a South County location dedicated to Spanish-speaking clients, WomenCARE welcomes women of all ages, backgrounds and cancer types with open arms and full hearts.”
Have a great Mother’s Day weekend and celebrate the ones who birthed us all.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
WHAT’S UP, DOC? Matias brought his pet rabbit Patches to a packed Kids Day in Downtown Santa Cruz last Saturday. Photograph by John Koenig
GOOD IDEA
Waste Free Santa Cruz celebratea a major milestone in the effort to reduce single-use waste across the county. Over the course of three months, the Just Bring It campaign diverted thousands of disposable coffee cups from the landfill and normalized the habit of bringing reusable cups.
Some 37 coffee shops partnered with nonprofits from January through April and promoted reusable alternatives. Waste Free Santa Cruz will be part of the All County Cleanup Day on May 10. Visit wastefreesantacruz.org.
GOOD WORK
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has settled a consumer protection lawsuit against Sun Bum for misleading customers by advertising its products as “reef-friendly.” The judgment is the first one obtained by any prosecutor against a major sunscreen manufacturer for “reef-friendly” advertising.
The complaint alleged that its advertising was false and misleading because other chemicals in its sunscreen were harmful to reefs. Sun Bum was ordered to pay $300,000 in civil penalties and to stop false advertising. Cases have been filed against Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘There is no aspect of your wellness that can retreat at the sign of sleep deprivation and get away unscathed.’
—brain scientist Matthew Walker
