A facial tissue impregnated with lotion – what a frivolous invention.
That’s what I thought when I first heard of them. Then when I had a cold several years ago, I used them, and from then on I’ve wanted to hug the person who came up with them (of course, not during the course of the illness). The wads of regular tissues needed to mop up the weepy eyes and running nose are hard on the skin.
There are tools, devices, inventions, what have you, in our lives that come to be welcome tools to make life easier or more comforting. But on first exposure, some may seem frivolous, unnecessary, too hoi poloi, or downright dumb.
A good way to tell if an invention’s time has come and gone is to check the amounts of them in thrift stores. Clay wine coolers sit unsold on shelves. Those pasta pots that had the holes in the lids wound up there, as well, because they usually boiled dry before the pasta was cooked. There was also Juicero, hair in a can (basically paint), and connected kitchen appliances. Why does a tea kettle need to connect to the interweb?
And then again, sometimes pre-conceived notions crumble when an item is found to be useful – heated car seats (very soothing on an aging back in winter), silicone baking sheets, a small portable fan with USB plug, a fitted sheet with the flat sheet attached…
I grew up thinking sleep masks to cover the eyes were just something pretentious, something used by snooty folk. Now the cat knows that if she wants to wake me up, she gingerly uses one claw to pull my mask to the side so the light gets in.
Blocking out the light has made a huge difference in sleep quality.
I’m no scientician, but it seems to be backed up by science.
I recently read the study in JAMA Network of 88,900 people 40 and older. The study lasting almost 10 years shows even small amounts of light exposure (night lights, LCD clocks, etc.) during sleep hours was a significant risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart attack, and heart failure).
Results showed a 23 to 32 per cent higher risk of coronary artery disease, and a 45 to 56 per cent higher risk of myocardial infarction for those with higher levels of overnight light exposure compared to those with the darkest sleep environments.
Something to sleep on.