3 . When I made the decision to quit my full-time employment, I never thought that I could get involved in an increasing global trend. I had to leave my relatively high-profile position for an unexpected move that hurt my pride and prevented me from getting promoted. Yet, I excused my departure by saying “I wanted to spend more time with my family”.

Curiously, after around two and a half years, my experience in what Americans refer to as “downshifting” has turned my excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of Linda Kelsey’s “have it all” concept, which she has been promoting for the past seven years in the pages of She magazine, into a woman who is content to accept a little bit of everything.

I have discovered that abandoning the idea of “juggling your life” and adopting the alternative strategy of “downshifting” has benefits that go far beyond financial success and social status. Nothing could convince me to go back to the lifestyle Kelsey used to promote and which I had previously enjoyed: 12-hour workdays, tight deadlines, the terrifying pressure of office politics, and the demand of being a parent on “quality time”.

After the widespread layoffs (裁员) brought on by cost-cutting in the late 1980s, America started to move toward a simpler, less materialistic way of life as a response to the economic downturn. In America, simplifying one’s life is frequently done for financial reasons, but in Britain, at least among the middle class I know, we have different motivations for doing so. For the women of my generation who were encouraged to keep juggling, downshifting is not so much a search for a mythical (虚无的) good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.

5 . A new study shows that U.S. teens see more television commercials (广告) for alcohol than for jeans, sneakers, or other teen products, the New York Times reported Dec. 18.

For the study, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University studied the 208,909 alcohol commercials on television. They found that nearly 25 percent of the ads were viewed mainly by teenagers, rather than adults.

Furthermore, 12-to-20-year-olds viewed more commercials for beer and other alcoholic drinks than products marketed directly to young people, such as gum, snacks, and juice. “No one is watching what the industry is doing, and the industry is in denial (拒绝承认),” said David A. Kessler, dean of the School of Medicine at Yale and an adviser to CAMY.

The alcohol industry uses voluntary rules to reduce the number of ads seen by those under age 21. The rules say that ads should not air during programs where at least half of the audience is underage (未成年的).

“We do not forgive illegal underage drinking under any circumstances,” said Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute. “This industry does not, and never has, targeted our advertising to people who can’t legally buy our products.”

However, the report found that alcohol ads ran during 13 of the 15 most popular shows for teenagers, including “Seventh Heaven,” “Gilmore Girls, ” “Dark Angel,” “That ‘70s Show,” “Friends,” “E.R.,” and sporting events.

Jim O’Hara, executive director of CAMY, said the industry rules are false. He added, “These standards do not protect youth from exposure and overexposure to alcohol advertising and marketing.”

7 . We know it can be hard to put your phone to bed before you sleep. However, if you’re trying to improve your sleep, you really should ditch your phone at least an hour before bedtime. Luckily, our experts can help.

Scientific evidence suggests that the blue light emitted from your phone, tablet, computer, and TV suppresses (抑制) your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone (荷尔蒙) that plays an important role in your sleep cycle. Melatonin release in the evening helps you relax before bedtime. A 2013 study that analyzed technology use and sleep patterns with data from a National Sleep Foundation poll found that using devices like phones was tied to more sleep disruption than electronics that aren’t interactive.

Many of us use the excuse that our mobile devices serve as our wake-up calls, or keep them nearby to use meditation apps. If you want to use your phone as an alarm, consider setting it a couple of hours before you turn in for the night, and then setting the phone itself to bedtime mode for the rest of the evening.

Here’s another groundbreaking idea: You could get a real alarm clock. After reviewing them at Reviewed, we recommend the Sharp Dream Caster. Not only is it easy to set a wake-up time, the clock includes white noises and rain noises to help you sleep, plus a number of volume settings to pick what works best for you.

But an alarm clock won’t help you avoid doom-scrolling through social media. Take things a step further by avoiding using electronic devices. You can try reading a book (one made of paper), taking a bath or drinking a cup of chamomile tea.

Finally, if you want to keep up your meditation practice screen-free, consider the Morphée. It looks like a little music box and comes with a variety of breathing exercises and soundscapes to help you get to sleep.

Two graduates, from Central China Normal University in Wuhan, Hubei Province, using the names Wanwan and Chaochao,     1     (upload) a 17-minute video online late last year about their lives over the past five years.

In the video, Wanwan,     2     has taken up a dozen jobs since graduating five years ago, said she now only has 5,000 yuan. Her roommate Chaochao got a master’s degree in scriptwriting (编剧) from Communication University of China. But     3     consequence of a tough job market, she had great difficulty     4     (obtain) a job in the film industry. Last year, she started to learn painting but she said she had to work part-time as a cleaner at a hotpot restaurant to support     5     (she).

“When you can accept your failure, you will feel that it is not that bad. When working at the hotpot restaurant, my biggest     6     (comfortable) is that I won’t starve to death no matter what is next,” Chaochao said. “There are many roads in our lives, and no matter which direction you go, you will     7     (eventual) find your own road.”

The video was one of the trending videos of last year, gaining more than 5.44 million views and more than 26,000 comments since it     8     (release), with many netizens sharing their own failures in the comments section.

Netizens said they were warmed by their courage to share failures with the public, strong determination     9     (achieve) their goals, optimism in the face of hardships     10     spirit of never giving up.