Yawn, you think. Yet another piece about sleep. It's going to tell me to get eight hours, not drink coffee after dinner and remove my enormous, HD, plasma surround-sound television screen from my bedroom. Do you know what that television cost? Are you mad?
Hush up, naysayers. In terms of importance, sleep is up there with breathing, drinking and eating. We spend approximately one third of our lives doing it, which amounts to about 200,000 hours for the average person.
Too little sleep doesn't only mean we're left dribbling into our keyboards at work the next day. Acute sleep deprivation has been linked to all sorts of serious medical problems: increased blood-pressure and heart complications, strokes, diabetes, obesity, depression - the list goes on.
In other words, it's worth knowing the facts. How much time do people spend analysing their diets? Exactly. Sleep deserves to be taken seriously.
Hotels certainly take a decent night's kip seriously - after all many people find it hard to sleep in a strange room, so they have to go the extra mile to keep their guests happy. Witness the proliferation of pillow menus in recent years. Do you like yours firm? Soft? Hypoallergenic? Infused with the scent of lavender? Stuffed with the feathers of a rare strain of goose? No whim is too troublesome for many hotel chains now.
Abu Dhabi's Shangri-La, for instance, has a menu listing six different types and asks that guests requiring yet further "pillow assistance" telephone down to housekeeping.
The Beach Rotana is in the process of changing all their beds to a custom-made "Ahlan" version as well as launching a pillow menu.
The international W chain, of which Aloft in Abu Dhabi is a part and has a planned hotel opening in Dubai next year, is so proud of its sleep-friendly beds, mattresses and linen that it sells them on its own online store, www.whotelsthestore.com.
The Crowne Plaza chain has even launched a specially devised programme aimed at lulling guests into a deep, restful slumber, called the Sleep Advantage Programme. It has three main ingredients (technically four, but I am going to ignore their "guaranteed wake-up call" or money-back promise on the basis that most hotels stretch to wake-up calls these days). The main three promises are new beds (presumably a pledge that will eventually get old), rooms in dedicated "quiet" zones and a range of "amenities" to have you nodding off pronto.
Like many people, my own sleeping patterns are varied. I've never suffered a bout of insomnia, but I used to sleepwalk. I wake frequently throughout the night, whereupon I usually check my BlackBerry, which lies on the pillow beside me. Occasionally I dispatch e-mails at weird times.
The air-conditioning in my apartment means I am perpetually too cold or too warm. I am either thirsty, or I have to get up for the bathroom. You get the gist. I don't ever sleep like the proverbial log.
So I decided to put one of these sleep pledges to the test. Could something as simple as a good pillow and a quiet room really put my wakefulness to rest? I plumped for the Crowne Plaza Yas Island, where the corridor of my fifth-floor room was indeed quiet, with a stern "Shhhhh" sign on all the doors around. Inside, there was the bed, which looked much like most hotel beds but covered with an abundance of pillows (all the beds in the programme apparently have seven pillows, as if this is the optimum number calculated for deep sleep) and with a small box lying on it.
In this box were two small vials. One was a pillow-spray, containing lavender, vetiver and chamomile oils. The other was called "breathe in", which was a blend of frankincense and eucalyptus and which you could run all over your face thanks to a little roll-on ball. This I did, before liberally drenching my pillow with spray as if putting out a fire. Overpowered by the mingling of these elements, I swept all but one pillow off the bed, peeled back the sheets (crisp, cotton) and clambered into bed. The mattress? Vast: there seemed to be acres of it. Acres of soft, squidgy support that moulded itself around me as if lying in a giant tub of play-dough.
A night of vivid, mad dreams ensued in which I woke only once, which is rare - although, as part of the scientific process, I had turned my BlackBerry off which presumably helped my inner control-freak relax.
And it was quiet - no footsteps outside and no unwelcome calls from housekeeping. Bliss. Altogether, I clocked up nine hours of snooze-time, from 11pm until 8am, although I still awoke feeling a tad groggy.
This, says Dr Tania Tayah, is not surprising. A neurologist and sleep specialist at the International Modern Hospital in Dubai, she says that women's sleep patterns differ from those of our male counterparts. "In general, women tend to sleep more than men, going to bed and falling asleep earlier." They tend to sleep more lightly than men, too, and are more easily disturbed.
As a result, "women are more likely to feel unrefreshed even after a full night's sleep".
Dr Tayah says the usual things about avoiding caffeine after lunch. "If you have had too much, consider eating some carbohydrates, such as bread or crackers to help reduce the effects," she advises. Also, she says sternly, we should avoid both alcohol and exercise within six hours of bedtime.
As an issue that is more specific to the UAE, I ask her about the heavily air-conditioned climate in which we all sleep, and about how that affects our sleeping patterns. The best temperature for peaceful sleep, she says, is 20-22 degrees Celsius. "So monitor the air-conditioning setting to meet this range."
But there still remains the problem of that vast television. It is a bad idea to have one in the bedroom, Dr Tayah affirms, because it's simply too engaging and doesn't help you switch off. So out with that plasma screen, please. Stick your nose in a book instead.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
