Gen Z says weddings should be cheaper
When couples decide to tie the knot, they often encounter a significant decision: should they splurge on a lavish wedding or prioritize saving for a home? This choice can be quite challenging, especially considering the soaring costs associated with weddings today. The popularity of the Netflix series "Marriage or Mortgage" sheds light on this dilemma with (26) _____ couples ultimately opting for the allure of a grand wedding.
In some cases, couples resort to (27) _____ out loans or using credit to finance their dream wedding. This financial strain may stem from societal expectations or well-meaning advice from friends and family, urging them to have a memorable celebration.
Reflecting on a conversation with friends (28) _____, had an extravagant Cinderella-themed wedding eight years ago, I recall their mixed sentiments. (29) _____ they cherished the memories of their special day, they admitted still struggling with the financial aftermath. In a light-hearted manner, they joked about delaying plans for children until they could alleviate the burden of wedding debt. This narrative underscores how the financial consequences of a wedding can persist long after the festivities have concluded, influencing (30) _____ life decisions.
(Adapted from the Guardian)

Solar technology is one of the many ways in which you can reduce your ecological footprint and cut costs on your utility bills at the same time. Currently, many companies, factories and even homes are powered by photovoltaic installations. Photovoltaics (PV) is a form of solar technology that produces electricity from sunlight without the use of batteries or other electrical devices. Photovoltaic panels or cells that are attached to the roof of a building collect the sunlight and turn it into electricity. These panels are fitted onto a roof individually, but the warmth of the sun helps to secure the panels to the roof making it weather-resistant. PV is rapidly gaining in popularity and is probably the fastest growing source of alternative energy.
Go see the Oakland University public demonstration project at 4000 Meadowbrook Drive. The university installed a photovoltaic roof on one of their student apartment buildings. The roof is split into four parts in order to face north, south, east and west to maximise exposure to sunlight. It collects light from the sun and turns it into energy and is also aesthetically pleasing to look at. The power that is not used by the photovoltaic apartment building is then fed to other buildings on the campus. In this way, just one building with the photovoltaic system is able to power several other buildings that have not installed this type of technology. On the other hand, on cloudy days when the sunlight is not adequate to power the building, the photovoltaic building is able to feed off the power from other buildings that it is ‘connected’ to. There is no electricity bill and never a shortage of hot water!
Find out more at www.oakland.edu/energy/solar.htm
(Adapted from New Destination B1)

People have a pretty intuitive sense of what is healthy - standing is better than sitting, exercise is great for overall health and getting good sleep is imperative.
However, if exercise in the evening may disrupt our sleep, or make us feel the need to be more sedentary to recover, a key question emerges - what is the best way to balance our 24 hours to optimize our health?
Our research attempted to answer this for risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. We found the optimal amount of sleep was 8.3 hours, while for light activity and moderate to vigorous activity, it was best to get 2.2 hours each.
Current health guidelines recommend you stick to a sensible regime of moderate-to vigorous- intensity physical activity 2.5-5 hours per week.
However mounting evidence now suggests how you spend your day can have meaningful ramifications for your health. In addition to moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity, this means the time you spend sitting, standing, doing light physical activity (such as walking around your house or office) and sleeping.
Our research looked at more than 2,000 adults who wore body sensors that could interpret their physical behaviours, for seven days. This gave us a sense of how they spent their average 24 hours.
At the start of the study participants had their waist circumference, blood sugar and insulin sensitivity measured. The body sensor and assessment data was matched and analysed then tested against health risk markers such as a heart disease and stroke risk score to create a model.
Using this model, we fed through thousands of permutations of 24 hours and found the ones with the estimated lowest associations with heart disease risk and blood-glucose levels. This created many optimal mixes of sitting, standing, light and moderate intensity activity.
When we looked at waist circumference, blood sugar, insulin sensitivity and a heart disease and stroke risk score, we noted differing optimal time zones. Where those zones mutually overlapped was ascribed the optimal zone for heart disease and diabetes risk.
(Adapted from the Conversation)