This just in: Memorial Day sale events aren’t really Nordstrom’s thing. Instead, the luxury American department store marches to the beat of its own drum with a limited-time deal-a-palooza called the Half-Yearly Sale. Hey, we’re not complaining. Rather, we’re already stocking up on a few discounted finds that are up to 60% off.

Breakfast cereals and yoghurts containing high amounts of sugar should remove any packaging that appeals to children, a health group has said. Action on Sugar called for the removal of such packaging on products graded as high or medium for sugars, salt or saturated fat, based on the Department for Health’s nutrition guidelines. Research by the group, based at Queen Mary University of London, compared cereals and yoghurts offered by different companies in the UK. It found 47% of cereals and 65% of yogurts contained a third of the maximum sugar recommendation for a four to six-year-old per 100g. Of these, products by supermarket chains Lidl and Aldi and international brand Nestle had the highest average sugar levels with packaging targeted at children. The packaging includes cartoon characters, animations, vibrant colours and familiar characters intentionally designed to attract the attention of a child. By contrast, healthier products tend to be sold in more plain packaging targeted towards adults. Only nine cereals and six yogurts in the research were found low in sugars. Lidl announced in 2020 that it would remove cartoon characters from all its own-brand cereal packaging in Britain. Breakfast cereals and yoghurts saw significant reductions in sugar levels between 2015 and 2020, at 14.9% and 13.5% respectively. But the Sugar Reduction Programme announced in the Government’s obesity plan in 2016 set a target of 20% in that timeframe. Dr Kawther Hashem, campaign lead at Action on Sugar, said: “It’s ludicrous that whilst breakfast cereals and yogurts celebrate the largest reductions in sugars during the Sugar Reduction Programme, those same products with child-appealing packaging still have excessive amounts of sugars, unsuitable for regular intake by children. “Given the soaring numbers of under-18s suffering weight-related health problems and tooth decay being the leading cause of child hospitalisation, now is the time for companies to be forced to remove child-appealing packaging from products that are misleading parents and making our children unhealthy and sick.” A spokesperson for Nestle said: “We are committed to developing food and drink products that are tasty, nutritious and more sustainable. We offer a broad portfolio of cereals and yoghurts to meet consumer demand and ensure there is an option to suit everybody. “Since 2003, Nestle Cereals embarked on a significant and consistent work of reformulation meaning 84% of the portfolio is now classed as not high in fat, salt and sugar (non-HFSS) according to the UK Government’s nutrient profiling model. “That is 18 products within our cereal portfolio in the UK that are non-HFSS and contain no red traffic lights. Our yoghurt portfolio has also made significant steps in reformulation and has seen a reduction of 20 per cent of sugar across our products.” Aldi said it was “committed to reducing sugar in key areas that lead to children’s sugar intake as part of its work to tackle obesity among children”. The company added that defining packaging with vibrant colours as appealing to children was “misleading” and had led to “skewed results”. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Clever kitchen storage solutions to clear the clutter 5 ornamental grasses to add movement to your garden How quitting smoking can boost your health and finances – as Government considers adding messages to cigarette packs

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Daniel Ricciardo is pondering. This year, a presence in the paddock – but not on the racetrack – has been a curiously flummoxing existence for someone so synonymous with a seat at the 20-man table. In his own words, he has been doing “everything the drivers are doing… other than the driving.” So aside from the obvious of the lights-to-flag racing, what has the Australian found the most difficult about his eight months away from Formula 1? “I’d say the starting grid on Sunday,” he says, a glint in his eye, a longing for something previous. “I love that feeling before you’re about to race. It’s intense, it’s nerve-racking but it’s awesome. I miss that buzz.” Well, miss it no longer. The Honey Badger is back. Officially on loan from Red Bull to sister team AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season, Ricciardo last week replaced the axed Nyck de Vries and will be in the cockpit in Hungary this weekend. It represents a lifeline – his lifeline – back into the sport, a carving of an opportunity so desperately craved. In the end, he only missed 10 races. And all it took was one Silverstone tyre test after the British Grand Prix, at the wheel of the fastest car in F1 this year. A pace which would have put him on the front row of the grid a few days earlier. Never a duo to hesitate, Red Bull chiefs Helmut Marko and Christian Horner made the call swiftly. “After Abu Dhabi last year, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever race again,” he reveals to The Independent, with a casualness which implies a deep-down admittance that he wasn’t done just yet. “But coming back this year, I removed all ego and status. “I do think this year will be the best thing that’s ever happened to me and it will boost me now for the rest of my career. It honestly came at the right time… everything happens for a reason.” How a career can change in a year. Because, although we didn’t know it at the time, last year’s British Grand Prix was the breaking point for McLaren and Ricciardo’s uncomfortable marriage. A day after the Aussie finished second-last out of all the finishers at Silverstone, McLaren big boss Zak Brown made initial contact with Oscar Piastri. As Ricciardo interjects, this is where “all the s*** went down!” Nothing short of gutted at the time – “it sucked” – the 34-year-old now takes the judgement call as a positive. A chance to regroup, reassess and especially in the initial stages, relax. “I’ve really enjoyed this time off, to have the time for myself,” he says. “Last week I went home to Australia for my birthday, I haven’t done that since I was 17… so 17 years ago. “It honestly came at the right time. Look, I wish those two years were better. But it’s given me a mental break because the competition is intense, as much as we love it. It consumes a lot of you so I feel for me to bring my cortisol levels down a little bit, I just feel a lot more balanced this year.” Ricciardo hadn’t missed a grand prix since June 2011. 11 years, 232 races later and so came to pass a rest he now admits was much-needed and well-utilised. A huge NFL fan and a supporter of the Buffalo Bills, he attended the Super Bowl in Arizona. The same week, he thrived in the modern anarchy of golf’s WM Phoenix Open. He even went to the prestigious Met Gala in New York. But more than any showbiz spectacles, he felt like a normal human being again. “I didn’t want to see a gym for a while,” he says. “I just wanted to eat and drink with my mates. Out of principle, I wanted to give myself a break. Just to allow myself to put on a few kgs. It felt really good, I trained just once in December and January.” But then, around the launch of Red Bull’s 2023 car in New York, a flip. “I got to February and remember thinking ‘yeah, I’m done.’ I’d had enough. I didn’t feel like drinking every weekend and partying all the time. I wasn’t going crazy but I thought ‘this life isn’t for me just yet.’ “And then I became very self-motivated. I wanted it to come from me, I didn’t want someone telling me to run. I had this urge and desire to be back on the grid – and I’ve never enjoyed training so much. I’ve got more energy to train and the desire has increased, especially not being jet-lagged every fricking week!” Much to the surprise of many, while Ricciardo did take up the “third driver” role with a Red Bull team he claimed seven of his eight grand prix wins with from 2014-2018, he opted against racing even part-time in other racing series. For a lover of America, the likes of IndyCar and NASCAR were not explored. Not even a one-time jaunt at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Why? “Two reasons,” he starts. “Still a big part of me wanted a break from competition. It’s probably the thing I love most in life is competition, it’s why I race. But equally, it’s really tiring and draining. The last few years did take it out of me. “The other element is I still feel really strongly about being in this sport. The moment I start to engage in something else, the perception is: ‘Is he thinking of an alternative career?’ “There’s been times where I’ve been really keen to do Le Mans. I was desperate in 2015, speaking to Andreas Seidl who was running the Porsche project and was asking Red Bull to let me do it. But now, it’s not something that I need to do before I die. “I’ve given so much to F1 that I don’t have the capacity to do something else at the level and effort that I’ve put into this sport.” And how Ricciardo’s decision has bore fruit. Attaching himself back in the ecosystem where it all began with Toro Rosso, the Australian who has catapulted himself into a sporting celebrity with his warm, charming personality has ended up back at the modern-day equivalent team in AlphaTauri. Simulator sessions – even with ex-race engineer Simon Rennie now running the programme at Red Bull – are never enough for any racer. Cue the second coming. Now entering the twilight years of his career, can he see himself ‘doing an Alonso’ and racing into his 40s? Given his perseverance to reclaim a spot on the grid this year, the response is something of a surprise. “Ideally not,” he says. “Ideally, I’d have had enough success in the next five years. I think there’s something cool about going out on top. “This is my element but what this year has shown is I’m OK after retirement, I do have hobbies and other things going on. For lots of athletes, the thought of retirement is scary – what do you do now? You’ve lived this crazy life for so long that it can be daunting. “But for me, let’s say the next 3-5 years of awesome success and then… peace!” Now up against Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri, with Max Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez already under pressure after a string of poor performances, a spot with Red Bull next year is not the ludicrous suggestion it may have been six months ago. 2025 may still be the more realistic target. Ricciardo admits “if one step here then gets me here… then I have to be open-minded” with regards to future seats. Nice guys come last, as the episode title for his McLaren demise in Netflix’s Drive to Survive insinuates. Yet for Ricciardo, a re-opening of a door which looked closed could trigger a renaissance. A planned road trip across the United States will have to wait. Instead, a chance to race in his beloved Las Vegas in November has come to fruition – and a chance to get back to the front. The ultimate ambition – race wins, maybe even a world championship – is still at the forefront of his mind. “That is the reason I would come back,” he signs off. “I still believe I can do it. I feel like the Red Bull Daniel. He is still here.” Read More Red Bull has handed Daniel Ricciardo the first step to Sergio Perez’s seat Daniel Ricciardo returns to F1 as he replaces Nyck de Vries Daniel Ricciardo shaped void will take some filling by Oscar Piastri at Australian GP Sebastian Vettel hints at return to F1: ‘I have some ideas’ Red Bull has handed Daniel Ricciardo the first step to Sergio Perez’s seat Daniel Ricciardo returns to F1 as he replaces Nyck de Vries

Babies and toddlers who nap a lot may have smaller vocabularies and poorer memory and thinking skills, research suggests. Parents and guardians all over the world worry about their children getting either too little or too much sleep. But a new study reveals that some children are better at consolidating information during sleep, so they nap less frequently. Those with fewer words and poorer cognitive skills need to nap more frequently, the researchers found. Young children will naturally nap for as long as they need and they should be allowed to do just that Dr Teodora Gliga, University of East Anglia However, the findings suggest that reducing naps for these children will not improve brain development, and that they should be allowed to nap as frequently and for as long as they need. Lead researcher Dr Teodora Gliga, from the University of East Anglia (UEA), said: “There is a lot of parental anxiety around sleep. “Parents worry that their kids don’t nap as much as expected for their age – or nap too frequently and for too long. “But our research shows that how frequently a child naps reflects their individual cognitive need. “Some are more efficient at consolidating information during sleep, so they nap less frequently. “Children with smaller vocabularies or a lower score in a measure of executive function nap more frequently.” She added: “Young children will naturally nap for as long as they need and they should be allowed to do just that.” The research team studied 463 infants aged between eight months and three years during lockdown in 2020. What we found is that the structure of daytime sleep is an indicator of cognitive development Dr Teodora Gliga, University of East Anglia Parents were asked about their children’s sleep patterns, their ability to focus on a task, keep information in their memory, and the number of words that they understood and could say. They also asked parents about their socioeconomic status – including their postcode, income, and education – and about the amount of screen time and outdoor activities their child engaged in. Dr Gliga said: “Lockdown gave us an opportunity to study children’s intrinsic sleep needs because when children are in childcare, they rarely nap as much as they need to. “What we found is that the structure of daytime sleep is an indicator of cognitive development. “Infants with more frequent but shorter naps than expected for their age had smaller vocabularies, and worse cognitive function. “We also found that this negative association between vocabulary and frequency of naps was stronger in older children.” She added that although the majority of parents reported that lockdown did not impact their children’s sleep, parents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to report a worsening in sleep. Caregivers should use a child’s mental age and not chronological age to ascertain a child’s sleep needs Dr Teodora Gliga, University of East Anglia “Screen time increased during lockdown and outdoor activities decreased but these did not explain differences in children’s sleep,” Dr Gliga said. She continued: “Our findings suggest that children have different sleep needs – some children may drop naps earlier because they don’t need them anymore. “Others may still need to nap past three years of age. “In the UK, preschools enrolling three to five-year-olds have no provisions for napping. “Caregivers should use a child’s mental age and not chronological age to ascertain a child’s sleep needs.” The study, published in the JCPP Advances journal, was led by UEA in collaboration with researchers at the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, the University of Leeds and the University of Warwick. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Bursts of activity that make you huff and puff ‘linked to reduced cancer risk’ New outfits in Highland dress collection help museum tell the story of modern tartan 5 expert-approved ways to stop your hair colour fading this summer

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