habits | Common News Update

Feb32021 by adminNo Comments

Data revealing the UK’s lockdown habits is coming from an unexpected place – and we’re sleeping more

Technology

If the pandemic has been good for one thing, it's time in bed."People are taking a chance to get some extra sleep," says Daniel McNamara, a data scientist at energy supplier Bulb. "It's cool." The insight comes from an unexpected source: smart meters.These devices measure electricity usage and send the information straight to energy suppliers.At Bulb, which has about 1.5 million customers, the change in morning behaviour (shown in the chart below) was very clear. Advertisement ...

May62020 by adminNo Comments

Coronavirus: ‘More normal’ shopping habits are back, says Ocado

Business

Ocado says "more normal" shopping habits are back after a huge jump in demand amid the coronavirus lockdown.Its customers are now purchasing fewer items than at the peak of demand, with the balance between fresh and long-life food returning to normal.The online grocer has made changes to increase the delivery slots available, including suspending the delivery of mineral water.Its revenues in April were up more than 40% from a year earlier."At the beginning of the outbreak demand increased significantly, almost overnight," the retailer said.It limited the number of items on sale initially in order to stop customers from panic buying.Ocado said these limits have since been rolled back as the number of items shoppers are putting in their baskets "appears to ...

Apr32020 by adminNo Comments

Coronavirus: Google reveals travel habits during the pandemic

Technology

Google is to publicly track people's movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other countries.The plan is to issue a regular updates with the figures referring back to activity from two or three days prior.The company has promised that individuals' privacy will be preserved.The readings are based on location data gathered via the Google Maps app or one of the firm's other mobile services. The firm typically uses this to reveal when specific museums, shops and other places are busiest as well as to revise driving routes to help motorists avoid traffic. ...

Feb92020 by adminNo Comments

Young people may copy friends’ eating habits from social media, study finds

Health

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- "Liking" healthy foods on social media platforms like Facebook may encourage others to eat a balanced diet, new research has found. In a study published Thursday in the journal Appetite, scientists from the School of Life and Health Sciences at Ashton University in England observed that participants ate an extra fifth of a portion of fruit and vegetables themselves for every portion they thought their social media peers ate. Conversely, social media users are also more likely to snack on junk food if they think their friends are doing the same. "This study suggests we may be influenced by our social peers more than we realize when choosing certain foods," study co-author and Ashton doctoral student Lily Hawkins said in a press release. "We seem to be subconsciously acco...

Sep232019 by adminNo Comments

These 5 money habits put young workers on track for retirement

Finance

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | DigitalVision | Getty ImagesYes, you can max out your 401(k) plan at work, go on vacation and enjoy your Netflix, too.Close to half of the so-called "super-savers" polled by Principal Financial Group said they not only saved aggressively their retirement plan at work, but they also still maintained their Netflix or Hulu subscription services.The company polled 1,116 participants in its 401(k) plans between May and June of this year.These individuals either came close to maxing out their 401(k) in 2018 — they contributed $ 18,500, plus a catch-up contribution of $ 6,000 if age 50 and up — or they saved at least 15% of their salary in their plan.In 2019, you can save $ 19,000 in your 401(k) plan, plus $ 6,000 if you're over 50."Little steps make a huge difference," sai...