Education linked to higher risk of short-sightedness
Findings have important implications for educational practices
June 6, 2018
Science Daily/BMJ
Spending more years in full time education is associated with a greater risk of developing short-sightedness (myopia).
The researchers say their study provides "strong evidence" that more time spent in education is a risk factor for myopia, and that the findings "have important implications for educational practices."
Myopia, or short-sightedness, is a leading cause of visual impairment worldwide. Currently, 30-50% of adults in the United States and Europe are myopic, with levels of 80-90% reported in school leavers in some East Asian countries.
Based on existing trends, the number of people affected by myopia worldwide is expected to increase from 1.4 billion to 5 billion by 2050, affecting about half of the world's population. Almost 10% of these people (around 9 million) will have high myopia, which carries a greater risk of blindness.
Many studies have reported strong links between education and myopia, but it is not clear whether increasing exposure to education causes myopia, myopic children are more studious, or socioeconomic position leads to myopia and higher levels of education.
So researchers based at the University of Bristol and Cardiff University set out to determine whether education is a direct (causal) risk factor for myopia, or myopia is a causal risk factor for more years in education.
Using a technique called Mendelian randomisation, they analysed 44 genetic variants associated with myopia and 69 genetic variants associated with years of schooling for 67,798 men and women aged 40 to 69 years from the UK Biobank database.
Analysing genetic information in this way avoids some of the problems that afflict traditional observational studies, making the results less prone to unmeasured (confounding) factors, and therefore more likely to be reliable.
An association that is observed using Mendelian randomisation therefore strengthens the inference of a causal relationship.
After taking account of potentially influential factors, Mendelian randomisation analyses suggested that every additional year of education was associated with more myopia (a refractive error of ?0.27 dioptres a year).
To put this into context, a university graduate from the UK with 17 years of education would, on average, be at least ?1 dioptre more myopic than someone who left school at 16 (with 12 years of education). This level of myopia would mean needing glasses for driving.
By contrast, there was little evidence to suggest that myopia led people to remain in education for longer.
The researchers point to some study limitations. For example, UK Biobank participants have been shown to be more highly educated, have healthier lifestyles, and report fewer health issues compared with the general UK population, which may have affected the results. However, there was little evidence that this could explain their findings.
"This study shows that exposure to more years in education contributes to the rising prevalence of myopia, and highlights a need for further research and discussion about how educational practices might be improved to achieve better outcomes without adversely affecting vision," they conclude.
In a linked editorial, Professor Ian Morgan at the Australian National University and colleagues say the evidence suggests that it is not only genes but environmental and social factors that may have major effects on myopia.
They point to East Asia, where early intense educational pressures combined with little time for play outdoors has led to almost 50% of children being myopic by the end of primary school, compared with less than 10% in a study of British children.
"Early onset allows more time for myopia to progress to high and potentially pathological myopia," they warn, and they argue that education systems "must change to help protect the visual health of future generations."
In a linked opinion piece, study author Denize Atan also points to evidence showing that time spent outdoors in childhood partially protects against the development of myopia.
Although reduced exposure to natural daylight might not be the sole mechanism to explain the association between education and myopia, she writes, "given the advantages of time spent outdoors on mental health and the protection it provides against obesity and chronic diseases, we might all benefit from spending more time outside."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180606185354.htm
Preterm newborns sleep better in NICU while hearing their mother's voice
Novel strategy can help improve sleep in a noisy neonatal intensive care unit
June 6, 2018
Science Daily/American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Hearing a recording of their mother's voice may help neonates maintain sleep while in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), according to preliminary data from a new study.
About 10 percent of U.S. newborns require treatment in a NICU, which is a noisy environment that could influence the development of newborn sleep patterns. This study explored the possibility that infants' exposure to their mother's voice in the NICU could modulate that impact.
Results indicate that newborns in a NICU were less likely to be awakened by noises when a recording of their mother's voice was playing. The study also found that newborns born at or after 35 weeks gestation show sleep-wake patterns that appear to respond increasingly with age to recorded maternal voice exposure. Similar associations were not found for infants born before 35 weeks gestation.
"Environmental noise can be remarkably high in the NICU and may influence neonatal sleep patterns," said principal investigator Dr. Renée Shellhaas, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics in the division of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Michigan. "Exposure to a mother's voice recording may insulate NICU patients from some of the impact of unavoidable noise by reducing the likelihood of wakefulness during the highest peak noise levels."
The study in a NICU involved 20 neonates born at or after 35 weeks gestation and 27 born preterm at 33-34 weeks. Their mothers were recorded reading children's books. The neonates underwent a 12-hour sleep evaluation by attended polysomnography. Each mother's recording was randomized to be played continuously for her child during either the first or second 6-hours of the polysomnogram.
Sleep-wake stage distributions, entropy, and EEG power were calculated for each 6-hour block. Quantitative sleep measures were evaluated as a function of gestational age, with adjustment for neurological examination scores. Data were compared for polysomnogram epochs with, versus without, the recorded maternal voice playing.
Newborn infants who are ill or born prematurely may require extended care in a neonatal ICU during a time of critical brain development. Shellhaas noted that interventions designed to improve sleep in newborns who require intensive care may need to be tailored according to gestational age.
"Our study results suggest an intervention as simple as playing a recording of the mother reading stories may result in improved sleep," said Shellhaas. "However, the impact of such interventions appears to be more significant for newborns who are near term gestation than for more premature infants."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180606170205.htm
Teenage girls are more impacted by sleepiness than teen boys are
Sleep disturbances in girls associated with more difficulties staying awake in and out of school
June 6, 2018
Science Daily/American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Preliminary results of a recent study show that teen girls reported a higher degree of interference of daytime sleepiness on multiple aspects of their school and personal activities than boys.
The study examined whether teen boys and girls report similar negative impact of sleep disturbances on their daytime functioning.
"What was most surprising is the fact that teenage girls reported a higher degree of interference of daytime sleepiness than teenage boys on multiple aspects of their school and personal activities," said co-author Pascale Gaudreault, who is completing her doctoral degree in clinical neuropsychology under the supervision of principal investigator Dr. Geneviève Forest at the Université du Québec en Outaouais in Gatineau, Québec, Canada. "For example, teenage girls have reported missing school significantly more often than teenage boys due to tiredness, as well as reported having lower motivation in school due to a poor sleep quality."
731 adolescents (311 boys; 420 girls; ages 13 to 17.5 years; grades 9-11) completed a questionnaire about sleep and daytime functioning. Questions were answered on a seven-point Likert scale (1=never; 7=often). Gender differences were assessed using t-tests.
Study results show that teenage girls reported more difficulties staying awake during class in the morning, during class in the afternoon, and during homework hours than boys. They also reported feeling too tired to do activities with their friends, missing school because of being too tired, feeling less motivated in school because of their poor sleep, and taking naps during weekends more often than boys. However, there was no gender difference when it came to using coffee or energy drinks to compensate for daytime sleepiness or for falling asleep in class.
"These results suggest that teenage girls may be more vulnerable than teenage boys when it comes to the negative impacts of adolescence's sleep changes," said Gaudreault.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180606143714.htm
Sleep paralysis and hallucinations are prevalent in student athletes
Study also suggests sleep disorders are associated with depression symptoms
June 4, 2018
Science Daily/American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Pilot data from a recent study suggest that sleep paralysis and dream-like hallucinations as you are falling asleep or waking up are widespread in student athletes and are independently associated with symptoms of depression.
Occasional sleep paralysis was reported by 18 percent of the sample, and 7 percent reported that this happens at least once per week. Hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations (which are dream-like experiences that occur while falling asleep or waking up) were reported by 24 percent of the sample, and 11 percent reported that they experience these symptoms at least once per week.
Compared to those who never experience sleep paralysis or hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, those who did experience them -- even rarely -- also reported higher depression scores. This was even the case after controlling for how much sleep or what quality of sleep the person experienced.
"These symptoms are often thought to be relatively harmless and quite rare. But they can be very distressing to those who experience them, and they may be surprisingly common among student athletes," said senior author Michael Grandner, PhD, MTR, the director of the Sleep and Health Research Program and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. "What was also surprising was that the degree to which people reported these symptoms predicted severity of depression symptoms, even after controlling for poor sleep and lack of sleep -- which can contribute to both depression and these types of sleep symptoms."
Data were collected from 189 NCAA Division-I student athletes, who were asked how often they experienced the symptoms of sleep paralysis and hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations. Participants were also asked about sleep duration, and they completed the Insomnia Severity Index and the Centers for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Regression analyses examined depression score as outcome and sleep symptom as predictor in models adjusted for age and sex; as well as age, sex, insomnia severity, and sleep duration.
Student athletes often struggle to find time to rest due to their busy schedules. Shorter sleep duration and poor sleep quality contribute to disordered sleep in many student athletes. In addition, sleep symptoms such as sleep paralysis and hallucinations are more common in younger adults.
The preliminary findings of this study suggest that these symptoms may be warning signs of another medical problem.
"These sleep symptoms are usually harmless on their own, but they can be a sign of more serious sleep problems," said lead author Serena Liu, a student research assistant in the Sleep and Health Research Program directed by Grander. "The fact that they are so common among student athletes suggests that this is a group with some significant sleep problems that should be evaluated and dealt with."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180604093104.htm
Childhood communication enhances brain development, protecting against harmful behaviors
May 3, 2018
Science Daily/Elsevier
Children with greater parent communication in early adolescence have less harmful alcohol use and emotional eating in young adulthood.
The 14-year study, which followed participants from 11 to 25 years old, identified that the extent of communication between parents and children promotes the development of a brain network involved in the processing of rewards and other stimuli that, in turn, protects against the overconsumption of food, alcohol and drugs. In this way, robust parent-child communication has an impact on health behaviors in adulthood.
"It might mean that social interactions actually influence the wiring patterns of the brain in the teenage years," said John Krystal, MD, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "It points to an important potential role of family interactions in brain development and the emergence of maladaptive behaviors in adulthood," he added.
The study, led by Christopher Holmes, PhD and colleagues from the University of Georgia's Center for Family Research, focused on rural African Americans, an understudied population that may be disproportionately at risk for these harmful health behaviors in young adulthood. In 2001, the research team began a longitudinal study involving rural African American families with a child 11 years of age. Between the ages of 11 and 13 years, participants reported on interactions with their parents, including the frequency of discussions and arguing.
When the participants reached 25 years of age, a subsample of 91 participants was recruited from the larger study to take part in a neuroimaging session that measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Specifically, the researchers used fMRI to study a network of brain connections called the anterior salience network (ASN). The participants also answered questions about harmful alcohol use and emotional eating at age 25.
Greater parent-child communication in early adolescence predicted greater connectivity of the ASN at age 25, supporting the idea that high-quality parenting is important for long-term brain development. Greater ASN connectivity was, in turn, associated with lower harmful alcohol use and emotional eating at age 25. The findings point to the ASN as a brain mechanism for how parenting in childhood affects health behaviors in early adulthood.
"These findings highlight the value of prevention and intervention efforts targeting parenting skills in childhood as a means to foster long-term, adaptive neurocognitive development," said Allen Barton, PhD, corresponding author of the study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180503101651.htm
The case for hope: Educating as if survival matters
May 2, 2018
Science Daily/Cornell University
The world is facing ever-more-dire warnings from scientists about the faltering health of the environment and the negative consequences for humans, habitats, and the creatures with whom we share the Earth. Still, a new article suggests there's reason for hope. It boils down to what we teach today's young people.
"It would be easy to throw up our hands in despair," says article author Nancy Trautmann, education director at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. "The problems are just so big."
Trautmann and co-author Michael P. Gilmore at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, write that teachers need to get their students fired up about investigating environmental issues on their own, collecting and analyzing data, and participating in citizen science and conservation action. They believe that taking such direct actions will counteract feelings of hopelessness and lead students to question how their own lifestyles, goals, and assumptions may be harming the planet and how they can take corrective action.
"One way to accomplish this is by connecting deeply with people from drastically different cultures," says Trautmann, "especially those who live in more direct connection with the natural world through more sustainable lifestyles in places such as the Amazon rainforest." Trautmann and Gilmore are collaborating with other educators and the Maijuna indigenous group of the Peruvian Amazon to develop curriculum to engage students at the K-12 and college undergraduate levels in this type of work.
The authors conclude that education for sustainability must build on the creative tension between anguish and empowerment, capturing students' attention while inspiring a sense of responsibility to build a better tomorrow.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180502152908.htm
To improve future relationship with your kids, turn up the music
May 1, 2018
Science Daily/University of Arizona
Children who grow up listening to music with their parents report having better quality relationships with their moms and dads when they reach young adulthood, researchers found.
If you're a parent whose teenagers spend family road trips with earbuds firmly in place, you may want to encourage them to unplug, then turn the car radio to something the whole family can enjoy.
It just might do wonders for your future relationship with your son or daughter, according to a new study from the University of Arizona.
Researchers found that young men and women who shared musical experiences with their parents during childhood -- and especially during adolescence -- report having better relationships with their moms and dads as they enter young adulthood.
"If you have little kids, and you play music with them, that helps you be closer to them, and later in life will make you closer to them," said study co-author Jake Harwood, professor and head of the UA Department of Communication. "If you have teenagers and you can successfully listen to music together or share musical experiences with them, that has an even stronger effect on your future relationship and the child's perception of the relationship in emerging adulthood."
Researchers surveyed a group of young adults, average age 21, about the frequency with which they engaged with their parents, as children, in activities such as listening to music together, attending concerts together or playing musical instruments together. Participants reported on their memories of experiences they had between ages 8 and 13 and age 14 and older.
They also shared how they perceive their relationship with their parents now.
While shared musical experiences at all age levels were associated with better perceptions of parent-child relationship quality in young adulthood, the effect was most pronounced for shared musical experiences that took place during adolescence.
"With young kids, musical activity is fairly common -- singing lullabies, doing nursery rhymes," Harwood said. "With teenagers, it's less common, and when things are less common you might find bigger effects, because when these things happen, they're super important."
The research, published in the Journal of Family Communication, started as an undergraduate project by Sandi Wallace, who was a student in Harwood's class in music and communication and is the lead author of the study.
"I was interested in seeing if music, with all of its power and influence on society today, could perhaps influence and positively affect the parent-child relationship," said Wallace, who earned her bachelor's degree in communication from the UA in December and will start the communication master's program in the fall.
For their study, Wallace and Harwood controlled for other ways children spent time with their parents growing up, and were able to determine that music seems to have a unique effect.
They say two factors may help explain the relationship between shared musical experiences and better relationship quality.
This first is coordination.
"Synchronization, or coordination, is something that happens when people play music together or listen to music together," Harwood said. "If you play music with your parent or listen to music with your parents, you might do synchronized activities like dancing or singing together, and data shows that that causes you to like one another more."
The other way music may strengthen relationship quality is through empathy, Wallace said.
"A lot of recent research has focused on how emotions can be evoked through music, and how that can perpetuate empathy and empathic responses toward your listening partner," she said.
Harwood and Wallace found evidence that both coordination and empathy play a role, although coordination appears to be more influential, based on study participants' responses to questions measuring their empathy for their parents as well as how in sync they feel with their parents when working to complete a task together.
Important for parents to note is that shared musical experiences with their children don't have to be complicated. In fact, simple activities such as listening to music in the car together may have an even greater impact than more formal musical experiences such as playing in a band together, according to the researchers' findings, although their study sample of participants who played musical instruments with their parents was limited.
Future research should look more closely at the differences between formal and informal musical experiences, and also consider how music may affect the quality of other types of relationships, including romantic partnerships, Wallace said.
For now, Wallace and Harwood urge parents to increase their musical interactions with their kids -- especially their teens -- and even empower them to control the radio dial every now and then.
"For people who are just becoming parents or have small children, they may be thinking long term about what they want their relationship with their kids to be," Wallace said. "It's not to say that this is going to be the prescription for a perfect relationship, but any parent wants to find ways to improve their relationship with their child and make sure that it's maintained long term, and this may be one way it can be done."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180501193524.htm
EEG signals accurately predict autism as early as 3 months of age
Early diagnosis by 'digital biomarkers' may allow early intervention, better outcomes
May 1, 2018
Science Daily/Boston Children's Hospital
Autism is challenging to diagnose, especially early in life. A new study shows that inexpensive EEGs, which measure brain electrical activity, accurately predict or rule out autism spectrum disorder in infants, even in some as young as three months.
"EEGs are low-cost, non-invasive and relatively easy to incorporate into well-baby checkups," says Charles Nelson, PhD, director of the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children's Hospital and co-author of the study. "Their reliability in predicting whether a child will develop autism raises the possibility of intervening very early, well before clear behavioral symptoms emerge. This could lead to better outcomes and perhaps even prevent some of the behaviors associated with ASD."
The study analyzed data from the Infant Sibling Project (now called the Infant Screening Project), a collaboration between Boston Children's Hospital and Boston University that seeks to map early development and identify infants at risk for developing ASD and/or language and communication difficulties.
William Bosl, PhD, associate professor of Health Informatics and Clinical Psychology at the University of San Francisco, also affiliated with the Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP) at Boston Children's Hospital, has been working for close to a decade on algorithms to interpret EEG signals, the familiar squiggly lines generated by electrical activity in the brain. Bosl's research suggests that even an EEG that appears normal contains "deep" data that reflect brain function, connectivity patterns and structure that can be found only with computer algorithms.
The Infant Screening Project provided Bosl with EEG data from 99 infants considered at high risk for ASD (having an older sibling with the diagnosis) and 89 low-risk controls (without an affected sibling). The EEGs were taken at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months of age by fitting a net over the babies' scalps with 128 sensors as the babies sat in their mothers' laps. (An experimenter blew bubbles to distract them.) All babies also underwent extensive behavioral evaluations with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), an established clinical diagnostic tool.
Bosl's computational algorithms analyzed six different components (frequencies) of the EEG (high gamma, gamma, beta, alpha, theta, delta), using a variety of measures of signal complexity. These measures can reflect differences in how the brain is wired and how it processes and integrates information, says Bosl.
The algorithms predicted a clinical diagnosis of ASD with high specificity, sensitivity and positive predictive value, exceeding 95 percent at some ages.
"The results were stunning," Bosl says. "Our predictive accuracy by 9 months of age was nearly 100 percent. We were also able to predict ASD severity, as indicated by the ADOS Calibrated Severity Score, with quite high reliability, also by 9 months of age."
Bosl believes that the early differences in signal complexity, drawing upon multiple aspects of brain activity, fit with the view that autism is a disorder that begins during the brain's early development but can take different trajectories. In other words, an early predisposition to autism may be influenced by other factors along the way.
"We believe that infants who have an older sibling with autism may carry a genetic liability for developing autism," says Nelson. "This increased risk, perhaps interacting with another genetic or environmental factor, leads some infants to develop autism -- although clearly not all, since we know that four of five "infant sibs" do not develop autism."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180501085140.htm
Proximity to books and adult support enhance children's learning opportunities
April 30, 2018
Science Daily/New York University
An innovative book distribution program that provides free children's books in low-income neighborhoods, combined with supportive adults who encourage reading, can boost children's literacy and learning opportunities, finds a new study.
"Both physical and psychological proximity to books matter when it comes to children's early literacy skills," said Susan B. Neuman, professor of childhood and literacy education at NYU Steinhardt and the study's lead author. "Children need access to books in their neighborhoods, as well as adults who create an environment that inspires reading."
Reading aloud to children has been touted by experts as a key to developing skills early in life that translate to later academic success. In fact, a 2014 position statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics called for parents to read aloud to their infants starting from birth.
At the heart of these recommendations is the assumption that all children have the opportunity to learn from a selection of high quality, age-appropriate books. However, a recent NYU Steinhardt study of three major cities shows that access to books remains a significant barrier to reading with children; many poor neighborhoods were found to be "book deserts," or communities with limited to no access to children's books.
Other prior research shows that creating both physical and psychological proximity to books helps get them into the hands of children. For example, creating reading corners in classrooms that are accessible and attractive encourages children to engage with books. From a psychological perspective, people help shape the setting for a child's literacy development through, for instance, reading to children or engaging them in rich dialogue around books.
The current study, funded by JetBlue and published in the journal Urban Education, examines a community-wide effort to promote greater access to books through a book distribution program in neighborhoods identified as "book deserts." Four low-income neighborhoods -- three in Detroit and one in Washington, D.C. -- received with vending machines that dispensed free children's books over the summer months, a time when children traditionally have less access to books.
The vending machines held children's books, provided by Random House Children's Books, in slots arranged by age ranges. Similar to a snack machine, an individual could review the selections, press a button, and a book would be dispensed free of charge. Book titles were selected to reflect a variety of genres, including fiction and nonfiction, as well as multicultural themes and authors. Selections changed every two weeks to encourage people to return to the machine.
The study was designed to capture how, why, and in what ways these machines were used. Neuman and her coauthor, Jillian Knapczyk, used several measures to examine how greater access to books and adult support for book reading functioned within these communities.
The researchers studied the vending machine sites, the traffic patterns around them, and conducted brief interviews with individuals using the machines. They also assessed children's school readiness skills before the vending machines were installed and again at the end of the summer, and had parents complete questionnaires. They sought to determine the influence of adult support on children -- for instance, children who visited the vending machines with a teacher and independently visited with their parents or grandparents were identified as receiving high adult support.
The researchers found that providing greater access through close physical proximity to books and greater adult support for book reading enhanced children's opportunities to learn.
Throughout the summer, the vending machines were heavily used, distributing more than 64,000 books over the eight-week period -- 26,200 to unique, one-time users and 38,235 to return users. Often two or three books were selected in a single visit.
"Our study provides a vivid counterpoint to the view that low-income parents are less inclined and less interested in their children's early education. This study challenges that view and provides an alternative scenario, recognizing that providing access to resources -- reaching families where they are -- and encouraging adult support may be a key enabler toward enhancing parent engagement and children's early literacy development," Neuman said.
Children who had the highest adult support -- visiting a machine with both a parent and with a teacher from the childcare center -- seemed to thrive and slightly gain throughout the summer. They saw a boost in their school readiness skills, and were able to recognize more book titles (suggesting greater exposure to books) than other children with less adult support.
In analyzing traffic patterns, the researchers found that an average of 180 people passed by a vending machine over a two-hour period, suggesting that the machines were highly visible. Despite the sizable traffic flow, not all passersby took advantage of the machines: 60 percent used them, while 40 percent did not.
Interviews revealed that those who used the machines enjoyed reading, and appreciated the opportunity to have books more accessible in the community. Parents and grandparents were highly influential in encouraging children to select books. Those who didn't select a book most often cited a lack of interest in reading. In other words, the physical proximity of books did not convert non-readers into readers, and changes in the environment alone may not be enough to motivate those who do not enjoy reading.
"Our findings suggest that only having one side of the equation -- access to books or adult support -- is insufficient. Rather, both are necessary. Without access to books, one cannot read to children; without adult supports, children cannot be read to," said Neuman.
JetBlue's Soar with Reading program has donated nearly $3 million worth of books to children in need, including in the communities where this study was conducted.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180430160455.htm
Brains of young people with severe behavioral problems are 'wired differently'
April 30, 2018
Science Daily/University of Bath
Research published today (Tuesday 1 May) has revealed new clues which might help explain why young people with the most severe forms of antisocial behaviour struggle to control and regulate their emotions, and might be more susceptible to developing anxiety or depression as a result.
The study, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, used neuroimaging methods to investigate young people with the condition 'Conduct Disorder' -- typified by symptoms that range from lying and truancy, through to physical violence and weapon use at its more extreme end.
Researchers from the universities of Bath (UK), Cambridge (UK) and the California Institute of Technology (USA) wanted to understand more about the wiring of the brain in adolescents with Conduct Disorder, and link connectivity to the severity of Conduct Disorder and 'psychopathic traits' -- the term used to define deficits in guilt, remorse and empathy.
Through functional MRI scans of young people with Conduct Disorder as well as typically-developing teens, the team analysed the amygdala -- a key part of the brain involved in understanding others' emotions -- and how it communicates with other parts of the brain.
Previous studies by the research team suggested that adolescents with Conduct Disorder find it difficult to recognise angry and sad facial expressions, and so the purpose of this experiment was to establish what goes wrong at a brain level that could explain this.
They found that youths with Conduct Disorder showed significantly lower amygdala responses to angry and sad faces. Patients with amygdala damage show a range of problems such as reading others' emotions and, given the similarities in behaviour between these patients and youths with Conduct Disorder, scientists had previously hypothesised that the amygdala might be damaged or dysfunctional in some way.
When the researchers analysed connectivity between the amygdala and the brain's prefrontal cortex -- the region responsible for decision making and behavioural inhibition -- they found surprising clues that could explain why certain groups of youths with Conduct Disorder find it difficult to control their emotions.
Contrary to previous thinking, youths with Conduct Disorder and high levels of psychopathic traits showed normal connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, whereas those with Conduct Disorder alone showed abnormal connectivity between these brain areas.
Dr Graeme Fairchild, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath, explained: "These results may explain why young people with Conduct Disorder, but without psychopathic traits, find it difficult to control their emotions -- especially strong negative emotions like anger.
The parts of the brain that are normally involved in regulating the emotional parts of the brain appear less able to do so in the youths with Conduct Disorder alone. Over time, this could lead to them developing comorbid mental health problems like depression or anxiety, whereas youths with psychopathic traits might be protected from developing such problems.
"This study shows that there may be important differences between youths with high and low levels of psychopathic traits in the way the brain is wired. The findings could have clinical implications, because they suggest that psychological treatments that enhance emotion regulation abilities are likely to be more effective in the youths with Conduct Disorder alone, than in the psychopathic subgroup."
As an under-researched and often misunderstood condition, the team now hope their findings can feed into more targeted interventions to better help young people with Conduct Disorder and their families. This could involve neurofeedback methods which train young people to control activity in specific parts of their brains using MRI.
They are currently running a large-scale European study -- investigating sex differences in antisocial behaviour to investigate whether boys and girls with Conduct Disorder show similar or different brain abnormalities relative to typically developing boys and girls.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180430212356.htm
Youth tackle football participation linked to earlier onset of cognitive and emotional symptoms
April 30, 2018
Science Daily/Boston University School of Medicine
Starting to play tackle football before age 12 could lead to earlier onset of cognitive and emotional symptoms among athletes who were diagnosed with CTE and other brain diseases postmortem, according to a new study.
The findings, from researchers at VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) and Boston University (BU) School of Medicine, found that among 211 football players who were diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease CTE after death, those who began tackle football before age 12 had an earlier onset of cognitive, behavior, and mood symptoms by an average of 13 years.
Every one year younger that the individuals began to play tackle football predicted earlier onset of cognitive problems by 2.4 years and behavioral and mood problems by 2.5 years. This study included 246 deceased football players who were part of the UNITE (Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy) study and who had donated their brains for neuropathological examination to the VA-BU-CLF (Concussion Legacy Foundation) Brain Bank. Of those 246, 211 were diagnosed with CTE (with several having evidence of additional brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's) and 35 had no evidence of CTE, though several had evidence of other neuropathology. Of the 211 with CTE, 76 were amateur football players and 135 played at the professional level.
"Youth exposure to repetitive head impacts in tackle football may reduce one's resiliency to brain diseases later in life, including, but not limited to CTE," said corresponding author Ann McKee, MD, chief of Neuropathology at Boston VA Healthcare System, and Director of BU's CTE Center. "It makes common sense that children, whose brains are rapidly developing, should not be hitting their heads hundreds of times per season."
It is noteworthy that, although age of first exposure to tackle football was associated with early onset of cognitive and emotional problems, it was not associated with worse overall severity of CTE pathology, Alzheimer's disease pathology or other pathology. In addition, earlier symptom onset was not restricted to those diagnosed with CTE. The relationship was similar for the former football players without CTE who had cognitive or behavioral and mood changes that may have been related to other diseases.
"Younger age of first exposure to tackle football appears to increase vulnerability to the effects of CTE and other brain diseases or conditions. That is, it influences when cognitive, behavioral, and mood symptoms begin. It is comparable to research showing that children exposed to neurotoxins (e.g., lead) during critical periods of neurodevelopment can have earlier onset and more severe long-term neurological effects. While participation in sports has important health and social benefits, it is important to consider contact and collision sports separately and balance those benefits against potential later life neurological risks," said Michael Alosco, PhD, an assistant professor of Neurology at BU School of Medicine and an investigator at the BU Alzheimer's Disease Center and the BU CTE Center.
The study extends research from the BU CTE Center that previously linked youth tackle football with worse later-life cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disturbances in living former amateur and professional tackle football players, as well as changes in brain structures (determined by MRI scans) in former NFL players.
Data were collected by conducting telephone interviews with family members and/or friends to determine the absence or presence, and age of onset, of cognitive, behavior and mood symptoms. The interviewers did not know the neuropathological findings and the neuropathologists did not know the individuals' histories.
Although this study supports the idea that there may be long-term consequences associated with experiencing repeated hits to the head during childhood, the researchers stress that it is unclear if their findings generalize to the broader tackle football population and that much more research, particularly prospective longitudinal studies, is needed to understand the association between youth football and long-term consequences. The findings appear online in the journal Annals of Neurology.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180430131950.htm
Study explores link between curiosity and school achievement
Promoting curiosity may be a valuable approach to foster early academic achievement, particularly for children in poverty, a new analysis finds.
April 30, 2018
Science Daily/Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
The more curious the child, the more likely he or she may be to perform better in school -- regardless of economic background -- suggests a study.
Researchers know that certain factors give children a leg up when it comes to school performance. Family income, access to early childhood programs and home environment rank high on the list.
Now, researchers are looking at another potentially advantageous element: curiosity.
The more curious the child, the more likely he or she may be to perform better in school -- regardless of economic background -- suggests a new study published in Pediatric Research.
Researchers at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and the Center for Human Growth and Development analyzed data from 6,200 kindergartners from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. The cohort is a nationally representative, population-based study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that has followed thousands of children since birth in 2001.
The U-M team measured curiosity based on a behavioral questionnaire from parents and assessed reading and math achievement among kindergartners.
The most surprising association offered new insight: Children with lower socioeconomic status generally have lower achievement than peers, but those who were characterized as curious performed similarly on math and reading assessments as children from higher income families.
"Our results suggest that while higher curiosity is associated with higher academic achievement in all children, the association of curiosity with academic achievement is greater in children with low socioeconomic status," says lead researcher Prachi Shah, M.D., a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Mott and an assistant research scientist at U-M's Center for Human Growth and Development.
The findings present an opportunity for families, educators and policymakers.
"Curiosity is characterized by the joy of discovery and the desire for exploration and is characterized by the motivation to seek answers to the unknown," Shah says. "Promoting curiosity in children, especially those from environments of economic disadvantage may be an important, underrecognized way to address the achievement gap."
Cultivating curious kids
When it comes to nurturing curiosity, the quality of the early environment matters.
Children who grow up in financially secure conditions tend to have greater access to resources to encourage reading and math academic achievement, whereas those from poorer communities are more likely to be raised in less stimulating environments, Shah notes. In less-stimulating situations, the drive for academic achievement is related to a child's motivation to learn, or curiosity, she explains.
Parents of children enrolled in the longitudinal study were interviewed during home visits; the children were assessed when they were nine months and two years old, and again when they entered preschool and kindergarten. Reading levels, math skills and behavior were measured in these children when they reached kindergarten in 2006 and 2007.
U-M researchers factored in another important known contributor to academic achievement known as "effortful control," or the ability to stay focused in class. They found that even independent of those skills, children who were identified as curious fared well in math and reading.
"These findings suggest that even if a child manifests low effortful control, they can still have more optimal academic achievement, if they have high curiosity" Shah says. "Currently, most classroom interventions have focused on the cultivation of early effortful control and a child's self-regulatory capacities, but our results suggest that an alternate message, focused on the importance of curiosity, should also be considered."
Shah notes that fostering early academic achievement in young children has been a longstanding goal for pediatricians and policymakers, with a growing awareness of the role social-emotional skills in school readiness.
And while more study is needed, similar efforts to boost curiosity could one day follow.
"While our results suggest that the promotion of curiosity may be a valuable intervention target to foster early academic achievement, with particular advantage for children in poverty, further research is needed to help us better understand how to develop interventions to cultivate curiosity in young children.
"Promoting curiosity is a foundation for early learning that we should be emphasizing more when we look at academic achievement."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180430075616.htm
More than 1 in 20 US children and teens have anxiety or depression
April 24, 2018
Science Daily/Wolters Kluwer Health
About 2.6 million American children and adolescents had diagnosed anxiety and/or depression in 2011-12, reports an analysis of nationwide data in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
The number of children with diagnosed anxiety -- but not depression -- has increased in recent years, according to the new report. The lead author was Rebecca H. Bitsko, PhD, of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Study Shows High Rates and Impact of Anxiety and Depression in American Youth
The researchers analyzed data from the nationally representative National Survey of Children's Health for the years 2003, 2007, and 2011-12. In the most recent year, more than 65,000 parents were asked about problems with anxiety and/or depression (diagnosed by a doctor or other healthcare professional) in their children aged six to 17 years.
In the 2011-12 survey, 5.3 percent of children and teens had current anxiety or depression. The prevalence of current anxiety increased significantly between surveys: from 3.5 percent in 2007 to 4.1 percent in 2011-12. By comparison, the prevalence of current depression showed no significant change: 2.5 and 2.7 percent, respectively.
"These estimates correspond with approximately two million children aged six to 17 years in 2011-12 with current anxiety, 1.4 million children with current depression, 2.6 million with current anxiety or depression, and 760,000 children with both," Dr. Bitsko and coauthors write. The percentage of children who had ever been diagnosed with anxiety or depression increased from 5.4 percent in 2003 to 8.4 percent in 2011-12.
Children with anxiety and/or depression were more likely to have other diagnosed chronic health conditions as well, including neurobehavioral disorders and obesity. Even after adjustment for other health problems, the presence of anxiety or depression was associated with increased use of healthcare services, more problems at school, and higher levels of aggravation for parents.
"Despite significant healthcare needs, nearly 20 percent of children with anxiety or depression did not receive mental health treatment in the past year," Dr. Bitsko and coauthors write. Only about one-third of the children with anxiety or depression had a "medical home" -- that is, a usual source of healthcare with referrals and care coordination, if needed.
Based on repeated surveys of a nationwide sample of parents, the study provides new information on the burden of anxiety and depression among US children and adolescents. The reasons for the increase in parent-reported anxiety are unclear. This trend may reflect improved identification or increased use of mental health services, or an increase in the number of children experiencing anxiety symptoms, the authors suggest.
Based on repeated surveys in nationally representative samples, the study provides new insights into the prevalence and burden of anxiety and depression in children and teens. The researchers note that the national estimates are lower than data from community-based studies, "suggesting that child anxiety may be under-diagnosed."
"Children with anxiety and depression may have needs that go beyond diagnosis and mental health treatment," Dr. Bitsko comments, "Anxiety and depression are associated with school problems, parenting stress, and unmet medical needs. Parents, healthcare providers, and teachers can look for ways to support children with anxiety and depression in all areas of the child's life." The researchers emphasize the need for further research to identify factors associated with the increased prevalence of anxiety, and to evaluate how improved care coordination and other strategies can improve the health and well-being of children with anxiety and depression.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180424184119.htm
Depressed, inactive and out of work -- study reveals lives of lonely young adults
April 24, 2018
Science Daily/King's College London
New research shows that lonely young adults are more likely to experience mental health problems and more likely to be out of work than their peers. The study gives a detailed snapshot of the lives of lonely 18-year-olds and shows how loneliness goes hand-in-hand with a wide range of problems in health and wellbeing.
Loneliness is strongly linked with premature death in old age, to a similar degree as smoking or obesity. With increasing attention on loneliness as a major public health issue, the study highlights the importance of early intervention to prevent young adults being trapped in loneliness as they age.
Over 2000 British 18-year-olds were asked questions such as 'how often do you feel you lack companionship?' and 'how often do you feel left out?', and were interviewed about their mental and physical health, lifestyle habits, education and employment.
Loneliness was common among young adults: the researchers found a quarter of study participants reported feeling lonely some of the time and approximately 7% reported feeling lonely often. These findings mirror a recent ONS survey which found that loneliness was more common among 16 to 24-year-olds than any other age group.
'It's often assumed that loneliness is an affliction of old age, but it is also very common among younger people,' said lead author Dr Timothy Matthews from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London. 'Unlike many other risk factors, loneliness does not discriminate: it affects people from all walks of life; men and women, rich and poor.'
Lonely young adults were more than twice as likely to have mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and to have self-harmed or attempted suicide. They were also more likely to have seen their GP or a counsellor for mental health problems in the past year.
In addition, lonelier young adults were more likely to be out of work and education and were less confident about their career prospects. One in five people in the loneliest 10% of the sample were not in education, employment or training, compared to one in ten non-lonely young people.
Lonelier young people were also less likely to be physically active, more likely to smoke, and more likely to use technology compulsively (at the expense of other activities and obligations).
Dr Matthews said: 'Our findings suggest that if someone tells their GP or a friend that they feel lonely, that could be a red flag that they're struggling in a range of other areas in life.
'There are lots of community initiatives to try and encourage people to get together and take part in shared activities. However, it's important to remember that some people can feel lonely in a crowd, and the most effective interventions to reduce loneliness involve counselling to help individuals tackle negative patterns of thinking.'
The study does not show whether loneliness is the cause of problems in health and wellbeing, but it does show how loneliness cuts across a wide range of important social issues.
Senior author Professor Louise Arseneault from the IoPPN said: 'It's important that we become comfortable talking about loneliness as a society. People are often reluctant to admit that they feel lonely, because there is still a stigma attached to it. That in itself can be profoundly isolating.'
The study participants were members of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, funded by the Medical Research Council, which has followed 2,332 British children from birth and will continue to monitor the lives of lonely young people as they age.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180424083911.htm
Biofeedback relaxation app may help kids during medical procedures
April 19, 2018
Science Daily/Wiley
A new study indicates that biofeedback-assisted relaxation may help manage pain and anxiety in children undergoing medical procedures.
BrightHearts is a biofeedback mediation relaxation app designed for mobile phones and tablet computers that responds to changes in heart rate and can be used to teach children biofeedback assisted relaxation.
In the study of 30 children aged 7 to 18 years undergoing a medical procedure (peripheral blood collection, botulinum toxin injections, or intravenous cannula insertion), BrightHearts was acceptable to patients, their parents, and their healthcare providers. The pilot study also demonstrated that the use of BrightHearts did not impede the administration of medical procedures and in some cases was perceived to facilitate the procedure. The majority of patients, parents and healthcare providers indicated that they would use BrightHearts again during a procedure.
"BrightHearts taps into children's interest in devices like smart phones and tablets," said co-author Dr. Angela Morrow, of The Children's Hospital at Westmead and the University of Sydney, in Australia. "Biofeedback is a modality that we hope will empower children and help them to manage their pain and anxiety without the need for medications."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419100207.htm
Adolescents' cooking skills strongly predict future nutritional well-being
Confidence in cooking ability led to fewer fast food meals, more meals as a family, and more frequent preparation of meals with vegetables in adulthood
April 17, 2018
Science Daily/Elsevier
Evidence suggests that developing cooking and food preparation skills is important for health and nutrition, yet the practice of home cooking is declining and now rarely taught in school. A new study found that developing cooking skills as a young adult may have long-term benefits for health and nutrition.
"The impact of developing cooking skills early in life may not be apparent until later in adulthood when individuals have more opportunity and responsibility for meal preparation," said lead author Jennifer Utter, PhD, MPH, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. "The strength of this study is the large, population-based sample size followed over a period of 10 years to explore the impact of perceived cooking skills on later nutritional well-being."
Data were collected as part of the Project Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults longitudinal study conducted in Minneapolis-Saint Paul area schools. Participants reported on adequacy of cooking skills in 2002-2003 when they were 18 to 23 years old. Data was then collected in 2015-2016 on nutrition-related outcomes when participants were 30 to 35 years old. Questions assessed the perceived adequacy of cooking skills, how often they prepared a meal that included vegetables, how often they ate meals as a family, and how often they ate at a fast food restaurant.
Most participants perceived their cooking skills to be adequate at age 18 -- 23, with approximately one quarter of adults reporting their cooking skills to be very adequate. There were no differences in perceived cooking skills by sex, race or ethnicity, educational attainment, or age. Perceived adequacy of cooking skills predicted multiple indicators of nutrition outcomes later in adulthood including greater odds of preparing a meal with vegetables most days and less frequent consumption of fast food. If those who perceived their cooking skills as adequate had families, they ate more frequent family meals, less frequent fast food meals, and had fewer barriers to food preparation.
"Opportunities to develop cooking skills by adolescents may result in long-term benefits for nutritional well-being," said Dr. Utter. "Families, health and nutrition professionals, educators, community agencies, and funders can continue to invest in home economics and cooking education knowing that the benefits may not be fully realized until young adults develop more autonomy and live independently."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180417181125.htm
Education, not income, the best predictor of a long life
April 16, 2018
Science Daily/International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Rising income and the subsequent improved standards of living have long been thought to be the most important factors contributing to a long and healthy life. However, new research has shown that instead, the level of education a person has is a much better predictor of life expectancy.
In 1975, Samuel Preston developed the Preston Curve, which plotted the GDP per person on the horizontal axis against life expectancy on the vertical axis. The curve shows a clear but flattening upward trend in life expectancy with increasing GDP. The curves also shift upwards over time which has been explained by better healthcare.
In 1985, John Caldwell and Pat Caldwell suggested instead that lowered mortality resulted from better female education. In their new paper, Lutz and Kebede used global data from 174 countries from 1970-2015 to test the two hypotheses. Whether income or education is more important for improving health and life expectancy is an important question for policymakers deciding where to direct funding.
Lutz and Kebede also plotted life expectancy against the mean years of schooling of the adult population. The curve created is much more linear, suggesting that education is a much better predictor. There is no upward shift of the curve requiring explanation by other factors. Data was subject to multivariate analyses to validate the findings. The same link was found when the curves were adjusted for child mortality.
The researchers point out that better education leads to improved cognition and in turn to better choices for health-related behaviours. Recent decades have seen a shift in the disease burden from infectious to chronic diseases, the latter of which are largely lifestyle-related. As time goes on, the link between education and better health choices, and therefore life expectancy, will become even more apparent.
"This paper is more radical than previous analyses in terms of challenging the ubiquitous view that income and medical interventions are the main drivers of health. It even shows that the empirical association between income and health is largely spurious," says Lutz.
Previous lines of research at the Wittgenstein Centre, a collaboration between IIASA, WU and the Vienna Institute of Demography, have emphasised the importance of improving education for poverty eradication and economic growth, as well as the ability to adapt to climate change. These findings further back up the call for improved access to education.
The apparent link between health and income found by Preston can be explained by the fact that better education results in both better health and higher incomes.
"The findings matter for the entire global health research community, and they matter for everybody in global development and deciding on funding allocations for the different aspects of development," says Lutz, adding that funding quality education for all around the world should be a much higher priority.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180416103428.htm
School-based yoga can help children better manage stress and anxiety
Researchers worked with a public school to add yoga and mindfulness activities to help third-graders screened for anxiety at the beginning of the school year
April 10, 2018
Science Daily/Tulane University
Participating in yoga and mindfulness activities at school helps third-graders exhibiting anxiety improve their wellbeing and emotional health, according to a new Tulane University study published in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
Researchers worked with a public school in New Orleans to add mindfulness and yoga to the school's existing empathy-based programming for students needing supplementary support. Third graders who were screened for symptoms of anxiety at the beginning of the school year were randomly assigned to two groups. A control group of 32 students received care as usual, which included counseling and other activities led by a school social worker.
The intervention group of 20 students participated in small group yoga/mindfulness activities for eight weeks using a Yoga Ed curriculum. Students attended the small group activities at the beginning of the school day. The sessions included breathing exercises, guided relaxation and several traditional yoga poses appropriate for children.
Researchers evaluated each group's health related quality of life before and after the intervention, using two widely recognized research tools. The Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale-Peabody Treatment Progress Battery version was used to assess life satisfaction, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory was used to assess psychosocial conditions and emotional well-being at the beginning, middle and end of the study.
"The intervention improved psychosocial and emotional quality of life scores for students, as compared to their peers who received standard care," said principal author Alessandra Bazzano, associate professor of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health. "We also heard from teachers about the benefits of using yoga in the classroom, and they reported using yoga more often each week, and throughout each day in class, following the professional development component of intervention."
Researchers targeted third grade because it is a crucial time of transition for elementary students, when academic expectations increase.
"Our initial work found that many kids expressed anxious feelings in third grade as the classroom work becomes more developmentally complex," Bazzano said. "Even younger children are experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, especially around test time."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180410100919.htm
Later school start times really do improve sleep time
April 10, 2018
Science Daily/Oxford University Press USA
A new study indicates that delaying school start times results in students getting more sleep, and feeling better, even within societies where trading sleep for academic success is common.
The study aimed to investigate the short and longer-term impact of a 45-min delay in school start time on sleep and well-being of adolescents.
Singapore leads the world in the Programme for International Student Assessment rankings, which measures international scholastic performance in 15-year-olds. East Asian students live in a culture where the importance of academic success is deeply ingrained. This drive for academic achievement leads to high attainment in international academic assessments but has contributed to the curtailment of nocturnal sleep on school nights to well below the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep, putting students at risk of cognitive and psychological problems.
In Singapore, school typically starts around 7:30 AM, which is one hour earlier than the 8:30 AM or later start time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Sleep deprivation among Singaporean adolescents is rampant, and the average time in bed on school nights is 6 and a half hours.
In July 2016, an all-girls' secondary school in Singapore delayed its start time from 7:30 to 8:15 in the morning by restructuring its schedule in a way that did not delay school end time. Researchers investigated the impact of starting school later on students' sleep and well-being one month and nine months after the institution of the start time delay.
The sample consisted of 375 students in grades 7-10 from an all-girls' secondary school in Singapore that delayed its start time from 7:30 to 08:15 in the morning. Researchers assessed self-reports of sleep timing, sleepiness, and well-being (depressive symptoms and mood) before the school made the schedule change, and evaluated the measures again at approximately one and nine months after the delay. Total sleep time was also measured.
Later school start times have been shown to benefit sleep and well-being in Western cultures, but its usefulness in East Asian countries where students are driven to trade sleep for academic success is less clear. Most studies on later school start times have been conducted in Western countries. These studies have consistently found increased sleep duration on school nights with later start times. However, the sustainability of sleep habit improvement is not as well characterized.
Researchers wondered if students would continue to get more sleep if schools delayed their start times; the gains may not be sustained if students gradually delay their bedtime. For example, one study found that the sleep gained two months after a 45-minute delay in start time was no longer observed after another seven months, due to a delay in the sleep period. Delaying bedtimes, partly as a result of mounting academic workload, is a pressing reality in most East Asian households. Compounding this erosion of sleep time in East Asian societies is the resistance to changing the already packed school schedules. For example, recently, a secondary school in Hong Kong agreed to delay its start time, but only by 15 minutes. Nevertheless, a four-minute increase in time-in-bed on weekdays was found, together with gains in mental health, prosocial behavior and better attentiveness in class and peer relationships.
The results of this new study indicate that after one month, bedtimes on school nights were delayed by nine minutes while the times students got up were delayed by about 32 minutes, resulting in an increase in time in bed of 23 minutes.
Participants also reported lower levels of subjective sleepiness and improvement in well-being at both follow-ups. Notably, greater increase in sleep duration on school nights was associated with greater improvement in alertness and well-being.
Critically, with a later school start time the percentage of participants whose self-reported sleeping time on weekdays was at least 8 hours -- the amount generally considered appropriate for adolescents -- increased, from 6.9% to 16%. Total sleep time increased by about 10 minutes at the nine-month follow-up.
"Starting school later in East Asia is feasible and can have sustained benefits," said the paper's lead researcher, Michael Chee. "Our work extends the empirical evidence collected by colleagues in the West and argues strongly for disruption in practice and attitudes surrounding sleep and wellbeing in societies where these are believed to hinder rather than enhance societal advancement."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180410084223.htm
Who's smarter in the classroom -- men or women?
New study shows it's all about perception
April 4, 2018
Science Daily/Arizona State University
A first-of-its-kind study shows that in the college biology classroom, men perceive themselves as smarter, even when compared to women whose grades demonstrate they are just as accomplished. The study shows that gender greatly impacts students' perceptions of their own intelligence, particularly when they compare themselves to others.
If you believe it, you can achieve it.
You've probably heard this motivational phrase more than once. But what if your beliefs about your own intelligence compared to others come down to your gender?
A first-of-its-kind study shows that in the college biology classroom, men perceive themselves as smarter, even when compared to women whose grades prove they are just as smart. The study, published April 4 in the journal Advances in Physiology Education, shows that gender greatly impacts students' perceptions of their own intelligence, particularly when they compare themselves to others.
Katelyn Cooper, a doctoral student in the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences and lead author of the study, has talked with hundreds of students as an academic advisor and those conversations led to this project.
"I would ask students about how their classes were going and I noticed a trend," shared Cooper. "Over and over again, women would tell me that they were afraid that other students thought that they were 'stupid.' I never heard this from the men in those same biology classes, so I wanted to study it."
The ASU research team asked college students enrolled in a 250-person biology course about their intelligence. Specifically, the students were asked to estimate their own intelligence compared to everyone in the class and to the student they worked most closely with in class.
The researchers were surprised to find that women were far more likely to underestimate their own intelligence than men. And, when comparing a female and a male student, both with a GPA of 3.3, the male student is likely to say he is smarter than 66 percent of the class, and the female student is likely to say she is smarter than only 54 percent of the class.
In addition, when asked whether they are smarter than the person they worked most with in class, the pattern continued. Male students are 3.2 times more likely than females to say they are smarter than the person they are working with, regardless of whether their class partners are men or women.
A previous ASU study has shown that male students in undergraduate biology classes perceive men to be smarter than women about course material, but this is the first study to examine undergraduate student perceptions about their own intelligence compared to other people in the class.
Is this a problem?
"As we transition more of our courses into active learning classes where students interact more closely with each other, we need to consider that this might influence how students feel about themselves and their academic abilities," shared Sara Brownell, senior author of the study and assistant professor in the school. "When students are working together, they are going to be comparing themselves more to each other. This study shows that women are disproportionately thinking that they are not as good as other students, so this a worrisome result of increased interactions among students."
Brownell added that in a world where perceptions are important, female students may choose not to continue in science because they may not believe they are smart enough. These false perceptions of self-intelligence could be a negative factor in the retention of women in science.
Cooper said: "This is not an easy problem to fix. It's a mindset that has likely been engrained in female students since they began their academic journeys. However, we can start by structuring group work in a way that ensures everyone's voices are heard. One of our previous studies showed us that telling students it's important to hear from everyone in the group could be enough to help them take a more equitable approach to group work."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180404093944.htm