13.51 - As the holiday season approaches...
I'm wrestling with choosing & buying gifts, spending enough time with real friends, getting enough sleep, and as a gift to myself I'm trying to relax and look after my well-being going into 2024. You?
Today at a Glance: your FREE weekly newsletter
As the Holiday Season Approaches - Gifts to Self & Others
- Sleep & well-being - learn from penguins & others - science to my aid again
- Gifts for family & friends - what is your approach this year?
Recent articles on MyFrenchLife Magazine
Thank you for your support.
If you’re enjoying this ‘le Bulletin’ please consider supporting my efforts by upgrading your subscription, maybe, you could even consider giving a le Bulletin subscription to a family member or friend. Merci. Judy - 23.12.23
The Festive Season is upon us
Gosh, here we are already at the end of the year; December/January holidays for some, and Christmas for others. This is a period where we’re filled with hope, doubt, and tinsel in equal measure… I wish you all the very best of health and happiness and I hope that you enjoy this festive time with those you love, either side by side or virtually.
I’m here to help you gain greater immersion in France (beyond the cliché) and I’ll also be sharing my thoughts and challenges.
Thank you for reading 'le Bulletin' — your support allows me to keep doing this work and doing it better and better.
A. Gifts to Myself:
The best gift I could give myself is to improve my health and state of mind: sleep, energy & contentment.
1 - Sleep - do you know how? I’m still learning…
Let’s talk for a moment about sleep and well-being, shall we? As you no doubt know I’ve just returned from my family visit to the UK. And I have to share that I have suffered the worst jet lag ever. Am I out of practice doing that long-haul 24-hour flight? Or a worse concept might be that jetlag gets worse as you get older… Anyway, irrespective, I’ve been a zombie! So much so that it sent me looking for solutions. And in that search, I came across some interesting little snippets. You’ve probably heard of micro-naps, as had I, but I’d never heard about how clever penguins are - have you?
a) Did you know that ‘Penguins take thousands of naps daily’
BY MEGHANA MAMADAPUR ON DECEMBER 15, 2023
“A new study has shown that chinstrap penguins take over 10,000 naps daily, each lasting approximately four seconds. This napping cycle is called “micro sleeps” or “micro naps.” Microsleep is defined as seconds-long interruptions of wakefulness, including eye closure and sleep-related brain activity… In total, chinstrap penguins sleep for 11 hours a day.”
Oh, how I wish I could master this! Can you? I can’t even sleep sitting up so I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. A fascinating read. Oh to be a penguin!
b) Daytime naps are scientifically supported
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 16, 2023
Daytime napping especially around this time of year (holiday) no longer has a negative stigma according to a weekend column by Nikki Gemmel in The Australian newspaper. Read this to be well-armed when the critics call you lazy.
“This is the only time, perhaps, when we’re allowed to surrender to that delicious little indulgence without judgement. And a study this year showed that there should absolutely not be any judgement – because the lovely daytime kip is actually good for us. Wonders and hallelujah for that. The nap amid the blare of daylight expands brain power, especially as we age, according to research from University College London and the University of the Republic in Uruguay. The conclusion: daytime naps may help to preserve the health of our brains by slowing the rate at which they shrink. Ah, so our brains contract? All the more the reason to dive into the tonic of napping.
The researchers estimated that the average difference in brain volume between people who are habitual nappers, and those who aren’t, was equivalent to 2.6 to 6.5 years of ageing. Their study found a causal link between regular napping and larger brain volume – a marker linked to lower risk of dementia and other diseases. Previous research has shown that people who have had a short nap perform better in cognitive tests in the hours afterwards.” Interesting.
There’s a paywall on this article - let me know if you’d like a copy and I’ll email it.
2 - Well-being renewal & sleep
I’ve also reinvigorated my well-being routines - well, I’ve just started - again :)
And I figure that if I start before Christmas, I may have a better chance of continuing well into the New Year and far beyond. I’m watching what I eat and drinking less alcohol. I walk - always. I’ve started swimming in the bay again. I’ve recommenced my stretches and pilates. And something new. Each morning I practice Yoga nidra and it’s feeling good, and I’m already sleeping better… But this is only the beginning, I’ll keep you updated :) Feel free to ask me about my progress later :)
Improved sleep, cognitive processing, and enhanced learning and memory task accuracy with Yoga nidra practice in novices. Yoga nidra is not new but is well-recognised. And the Indian Government is backing this paticular study. Read about it.
“A small pilot study from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India, demonstrates the effectiveness of yoga nidra, described as “awake aware sleep” (nidra means nap). It showed the promise of this form of yoga/meditation in improving both sleep and cognition in healthy, novice practitioners, which are aspects of life that touch all of us. Yoga nidra, based on ancient Eastern spiritual teachings, is neither advanced technology nor revenue generating, nor even new.”
You can view the newsletter where my husband found this fascinating study.
B. Choosing gifts for others:
Gifts for children aside, where I’m focusing on building book collections, my gift-giving this year has a very focused personal approach. I’m planning to spend time face-to-face with friends & family, wherever possible. This to me is the best gift ever!
I’m cooking, so as to personally deliver, small delicious items as I visit some and I’m adding a few subscriptions in passion areas for a few others. What are you doing? I’d love to hear from you.
If you have francophile family or friends here’s something to contemplate: You could invite your friends to read 'le Bulletin' with you. It can be a gift that keeps giving. It would mean the world to me if you’d think about this…
Did you know that you can send a gift to your francophile friends, receive a benefit yourself, and even support me: how?
If you refer friends to le Bulletin, you will receive benefits that give you special access to 'le Bulletin'. (Some le Bulletin subscribers are already doing this.)
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How can you send a gift to friends? (without referring)
I’m aware that some people are not keen on referral programs and if that’s you then there is another solution.
You can simply send a subscription as a gift.
I’ve recently heard from a few people who’ve received these gifts and they’re really enjoying them. So, that’s another option. Just hit the gift button below.
2. Recent articles on MyFrenchLife Magazine
Keep up to date with the new articles published on our Magazine this week.
a) How to add Joie de Vivre to your Holidays: Provencal tradition, 13 desserts & nativity scenes - Read this article here.
b) Napoleon the film - Do go to see it, the costumes, cinematography, and more, are spectacular. Perhaps by way of preparation, you could read this review by French Contributor Jacqueline Dubois Pasquier which is very interesting and will help you with context, when watching the film. Read the review here.
AND a quick Notre Dame update:
The new golden rooster on top of the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral was blessed on Saturday by the archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich, and it was then hoisted onto the spire, 96 meters above the ground. ABC News noted that this was a “pivotal moment for the Paris landmark’s restoration”. “The installation by a crane of a new golden rooster reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with licking, flamed feathers, goes beyond being just a weathervane atop the cathedral spire. It symbolizes resilience amid destruction after the devastating April 2019 fire — as restoration officials also revealed an anti-fire misting system is being kitted out under the cathedral’s roof. Chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, who designed this new rooster, stated that the original rooster’s survival signified a ray of light in the catastrophe.” Enjoy.
3. Thank you so much… for your support
I send each of you my best wishes for your health and happiness and I thank you for your support and for paying for a subscription. I’m very grateful.
Please drop me a line at any time, even just to say “bonjour”.
Un grand merci
Á bientôt
Judy MacMahon
PS: And did you know that this week le Bulletin is numbered 13.51, being 13 years & 51 weeks… during almost 14 years I’ve written 700+ newsletters to you!
Are you enjoying them?
Kim and I were in Vence yesterday for haircuts from the amazing Franck Zell and his team. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063718354810
After, we wandered through the markets and shops, ending up at our favorite butcher https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069697725516 where we bought an enormous slab of his tasty homemade lasagna. That will be our gift to each other come Monday!