Coffee may help prevent Alzheimer's. That's good news for coffee drinkers; but according to researchers at Florida State University, it takes 500 mg of caffeine daily - approximately 5 cups of regular coffee - to protect the brain. When the equivalent of 5 cups of coffee was given to Alzheimer's mice, they performed better on short-term memory and thinking tests and experienced about a 50% reduction in abnormal amyloid proteins, thought to be integral in the development of Alzheimer's. Of course, studies done with mice don't always apply to humans - with the exception of computer mice.
Mice were also used in a study to determine if resveratrol prevents blindness. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine found a compound in red wine and blueberries that helps block growth of abnormal blood vessels in eyes that's associated with macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness in people over 50. Resveratrol may also help diabetic retinopathy, causing vision loss in 20% of diabetics, as well as retinopathy of prematurity, experienced by some premature babies. Unfortunately, people would have to drink several bottles of wine to get the same dose the mice got and then they'd be "blind … drunk".
People who take mass transit instead of driving lose weight. In a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, people were interviewed before and after a light rail system was built in Charlotte, North Carolina. Walking to the bus stop, then to the rail station and then to their job - reversing the walk after work - provided about an extra mile of walking for average riders. People who used the light rail system more than once a week for 8 months lost about 6.45 pounds - an amount not to be taken "lightly".
Something else not to be taken lightly is that twittering may make people cuddlier. The brain chemical oxytocin is associated with emotional bonds - such as orgasm, birth, breastfeeding and pair bonding. That's why it's called "the cuddle hormone". A very limited study of one person done at Claremont Graduate University tested the subject's blood before and after 10 minutes of twittering. Oxytocin levels went up substantially and stress hormones went down. When oxytocin levels are up, people are more kind, honest and fair to others. Because these Twitter-induced reactions last only about an hour, time to take advantage of them shouldn't be "twittered away".
Intentionally mimicking people can be a successful social tool. According to a 2009 study, mimicking a date can make you seem more attractive, although copying body movements instead of words is less likely to be detected. The same study found that salespeople who copied their customers' body movements and sentences sold more products and scored higher in customer satisfaction. A Northwestern University study found that negotiators who copied their counterparts' gestures and mannerisms made better deals. However, mirroring people who dislike you doesn't work. It seems like "sucking up". In this case, mirroring reflects badly on you.
When it comes to romantic relationships, men and women react differently. In a study done at Wake Forest University, researchers examined mental health and relationship data from more than 1,000 college-aged youths. Although females were more upset by breakups, males had more emotional difficulty coping with rough spots in relationships. Although females got depressed when they were upset, males were more likely to express distress through substance use or abuse. Males also got more psychological and emotional lift from healthy relationships. Based on this study, I think women would like a study done to find out why men won't discuss these feelings.
A study done at the University of California/San Diego found that divorce - which occurs in about 50% of U.S. marriages - is contagious in social networks. The study analyzed data from 5,000 people and found that people with a divorced sibling were 22% likelier to divorce. A divorced co-worker increased the likelihood of another employee divorcing by 55% and people with a divorced friend were 147% likelier to divorce. In fact, divorcing not only influences friends, it influences friends of those friends. Divorce and other social behaviors spread like viruses, but couples with children were less susceptible. Children were their "anti-bodies".
However, a 15-year study of almost 7,000 married couples and their children presented at the Population Association of America's annual meeting found that divorce isn't always harmful to children. Children of fighting parents who stayed married experienced more conflict in adult relationships than children whose parents divorced. This finding remained unchanged even when other factors affecting adult relationships were considered - such as whether participants acted out as children or had trouble getting along with others. Unfortunately, children of happily married parents didn't necessarily have happy adult relationships. It seems we each have to put the "i" in happiness.
Our weight is affected by our work environment. In 2010 the Web site CareerBuilder surveyed approximately 4,800 people age 18 or older, who were employed full-time in non-governmental jobs. According to the survey, 39% of the men and 50% of the women had gained weight in their current job. Of the 44% of workers who'd gained weight, 28% gained more than 10 pounds and 12% more than 20 pounds. It seems 50% of the workers ate lunch out at least 5 days a week, 25% snacked at least twice a day and 49% sat most of the time. This gives new meaning to "workload".
Our weight is also affected by our sexual orientation. According to a report published in the American Journal of Public Health, gay men are thinner than their heterosexual counterparts and gay women are fatter than theirs. In a health survey of more than 67,000 Massachusetts residents ages 18-64, researchers found 14% of gay men were obese compared to 21% of straight men. However, 26% of gay women were obese compared to 17% of straight women. It seems society puts less pressure on heterosexual men and gay women to be thin. At least this report "gives weight" to that conclusion.
Children's weight is affected by a variety of external influences. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology confirmed that children are getting fatter each generation and that children of fat parents are likelier to be fat. Researchers at University College London studied more than 8,000 adults who, in 1991, were raising a total of 1,889 children ages 4-9. According to their findings, children whose mothers worked full-time were 48% likelier to be overweight than children who had stay-at-home mothers - which is 100% likelier to make mothers who work full-time feel guilty.
Nevertheless, there's new hope. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found schools can help overweight students lose weight. Researchers followed 4,600 students from 42 middle schools across the U.S. Half the schools required longer, more intense gym time; more nutritious food choices; and focused on exercise and nutrition in class. Overweight or obese students in those schools were 21% less likely to be obese at the end of the 3-year study. Considering the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found almost 35% of children ages 6-19 are overweight or obese, we all need to be "schooled" in weight control.
We are more attracted to people others find attractive. In a study done at Indiana University, 40 men and 40 women watched videos of 8 speed-dates. Both the female and male study participants found the opposite sex in the videos more attractive if their dates found them attractive. Unlike the male study participants, the female participants' interest in the video males decreased if their dates weren't interested in them. However, the male participants' interest in the video females increased in direct proportion to how good looking their male dates were. As these phenomena also occur in fish, humans are just as "superfishal".
Nevertheless, romantic relationships help stabilize behavior. A study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior examined surveys of 909 people who were followed from first or second grade until 2 years after high school. According to the study, 19 or 20-year-olds who weren't in a stable relationship were 40% likelier to use marijuana and drink heavily. Although to a lesser degree than cohabitation or marriage, dating activates support and control mechanisms. Bonding and adopting their partner's behavior patterns has a positive influence on substance use among young adults. It seems stable "relation-ships" promote smoother sailing.
Stable relationships in the form of interracial marriage are at an all-time high. According to the Pew Research Center, 6.8% of couples married outside their race or ethnicity in the 1980's. In 2008 it was 14.6%. Marrying outside one's race or ethnicity was most common among Asians - 30% - and Hispanics - 25%. The percentage for African-Americans was 16%, but it was more common for black men than black women. When it comes to areas of the country, more people is the West married outside their race than in the Midwest or South. Obviously, Americans are becoming more diverse - "more colorful".
However, marriage can make you sick. In a study done at Ohio State University, 37 married couples were given eight 8-mm blisters on their forearms using a vacuum device. Then each couple was videotaped talking to each other. After 12 days the blisters had healed faster on the couples with more positive conversation styles. The researchers attributed this to the protective hormone oxytocin because the better communicators had higher levels. Couples with more marital stress have higher blood pressure and weaker immune systems. Marital stress is worse than workplace stress because it's chronic - you're "married to it".
According to a Yale University study, names affect academic success. Supposedly, students with names beginning with C or D have lower grade point averages than students with names beginning with A or B. Then there's the University of Buffalo study that showed girls with names like Georgia and Virginia were 40% likelier to move to those states. Maybe there should be a study to find out why Isabella finally climbed to the top of the list of most popular girls' names in 2009, but Jacob has been on top of the boys' list since 1999 - or is that why it's called "Jacob's Ladder".
When it comes to adolescence, friends affect academic success. In a study published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence, researchers interviewed more than 600 12th graders from ethnically diverse backgrounds. They asked the students questions about their friendships, study habits and how much they identified with school. Adolescents who had more in-school friends than out-of-school friends had higher grade point averages. It seems school friends help shape how adolescents see school. They help create feelings of belonging and motivation. The student/friends feel like they are all in the same boat - or "friend-ship".
"Helicopter parents" are parents who hover, who are overly protective and who extend their children's adolescence. A study presented to the Association of Psychological Science associated the children of helicopter parents with feelings of dependency, vulnerability, self-consciousness and less openness. Researchers surveyed approximately 300 college freshmen, rating their agreement to statements such as "My parents have contacted the school to try to solve problems for me" and "My parents contact me every 2 days". About 10% of the students had helicopter parents - 13% female and 5% male. That the majority of helicopter parents were mothers gives new meaning to "mother-land".
College students in general are less empathetic than they used to be. According to a study based on 72 previous studies of 14,000 American college students, college students in 2009 were 40% less empathetic then 20-30 years ago. The biggest drop in empathy occurred after 2000 and was attributed to 3 things. One, research showed that exposure to violent video games numbs people to others' pain. Two, other research showed that college students are addicted to social media, allowing them to tune out others. Three, students after 2000 were products of a fast-paced, hypercompetitive society. Nevertheless, "Generation Me" came from us.
Brushing our teeth is good for our heart. Of approximately 12,000 adults in a study published in the British Medical Journal, 62% saw their dentist every 6 months and 71% brushed twice daily. More importantly, the study found that those who didn't brush twice daily had 70% greater risk of heart disease - and this finding held after data was adjusted for other heart attack risk factors. Insufficient brushing causes gum disease, which causes inflammation. Inflammation contributes to clogged arteries, which can cause heart disease. This is information we need to brush up - and down - on.
New information has linked belly fat to dementia. In a study published in the journal Annals of Neurology, 733 participants - average age 60 - had an MRI to measure brain size and a CT scan to measure abdominal fat levels. The study correlated higher levels of abdominal fat with less brain volume. Previous studies have shown that people with less brain volume have a greater risk of dementia. Then there are the studies that have shown belly fat increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Considering the evidence, there's nothing funny about belly laughs.
There's also evidence that tanning beds are more dangerous than previously thought. A study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention found that melanoma risk was higher for people who tanned indoors. From questionnaires and telephone interviews of more than 2,200 people, researchers determined that people who used tanning beds for more than 10 years, had spent more than 50 hours in tanning beds or had more than 100 tanning sessions increased their risk of melanoma 74%. Melanoma kills about 6,800 people every year. Because the World Health Organization has classified tanning beds as carcinogenic, stricter "s-tan-dards" are needed.
Beds for sleeping, however, are safe. In fact, sleep can make us smarter and faster. A federal survey of 8,000 families followed children from 9 months old to the start of kindergarten. During that time the parents were repeatedly questioned about their children's bedtime. Children of parents who had rules about bedtime scored about 6% higher in vocabulary and 7% higher in math. In a study done at Stanford University, football players who slept 10 hours a night for 6 weeks dropped one-tenth second off their 40-yard dash time and experienced dramatically less daytime fatigue. Studies like these help us wake up to the importance of sleep.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, people who ate a 2000-calorie diet based only on food advertised on television would consume - on average - 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the recommended amount of fat. The study also showed that the average product advertised on television contained above-average amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol and below-average amounts of beneficial nutrients like fiber, calcium and vitamin D. The money spent of food advertisements annually ranges from $7.3 to $11.6 billion - and we eat it up.
While we're eating it up, more than 80% of us who lose weight gain it back. In fact, researchers at the University of California/Los Angeles analyzed 31 long-term, diet studies and found that about two-thirds of dieters regained more weight in 4-5 years than they had lost. One reason it's hard to keep weight off is there's a metabolic overcompensation for weight loss. Decreasing body mass by 10% results in an 11%-15% decrease in metabolism. Also, yo-yo dieting increases the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreases the fullness hormone leptin, making yo-yo dieters feel hungrier and less satiated. For yo-yo dieters there are strings attached.
And not all yo-yo dieters are created equal. Researchers at the University of California/San Francisco and Yale University found there's a biological cause for some people to be "conditioned hypereaters". The reward circuits in their brains are excessively activated by the smell of food and stay that way until their plates are empty. It's estimated that 30% of overweight people and 50% of obese people are conditioned hypereaters. However, in a study of 200 overweight and obese people, those given an extra hour of therapy instead of low-intensity exercise maintained their weight loss after a year. Instead, they had gained insight.
Yo-yo dieting is more than frustrating. It's unhealthy. A study in Clinical Cardiology found that women who yo-yoed 5 times or more in their lifetime increased the risk of damaging their hearts. Yo-yo dieting also adversely affects the immune system. A study of 100 otherwise healthy women found that yo-yoing lowers immune function - specifically lowering the count of natural killer cells - cells important for fighting infection and the early stages of cancer. Women who yo-yoed at least 5 times decreased their natural killer-cell activity by one-third. Considering the dangers, yo-yo dieters shouldn't have a "weight-and-see" attitude.
Exercise affects you differently if you don't eat before doing it. According to a study published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, muscles usually get energy from burning carbohydrates; but if there aren't any to burn, muscles burn fat. Also, if you don't eat before exercising, adrenalin is high and insulin is low - a ratio enabling muscles to break down more fatty acids. Eating carbohydrates interrupts the metabolizing of fat for about 6 hours. If you want to lose weight, it's best to exercise first thing in the morning before you "break-fast".
Caffeine doesn't have the same effect on people addicted to it. In a British study 379 adults - half non/low caffeine consumers and half medium/high consumers - were asked to give up caffeine for 16 hours. Later when they were given caffeine or a placebo, the levels of alertness were no higher for those who received the caffeine. Regular caffeine drinkers develop a tolerance for its stimulating effect. The stimulation they think they experience is actually the reversal of caffeine withdrawal. The caffeine returns them to their baseline levels of alertness - not above. Caffeine's pickup has been put down.
Violent video games can have a positive effect on you. According to research presented at New York University's "Games for Learning" symposium, people who play these games have better vision, attention and cognition. Their memory skills and eye-hand coordination improve. They learn to adapt to what is asked. An Israeli Air Force study found students who played "Space fortress" ranked higher in pilot training and those who played "pro-social" games were likelier to help in real-life situations. Research even showed playing kill-or-be-killed games could lessen lazy eye syndrome. Unfortunately, no research showed these games lessen violence.
Finally, having neuroscientists poke snails has an effect on you. According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, neuroscientists poked hundreds of snails with sticks to teach them to keep their snorkel-like breathing tube closed and absorb oxygen only through their skin. Why? So they could test if water-soluble methamphetamine would help snails remember what they learned. It did. In fact, the meth-exposed snails were able to remember a second task too. It seems snails' simple circuitry makes it easier to study how neural systems work and thus confirm the memory-enhancing effect of methamphetamine in humans. Obviously, some studies proceed at a snail's pace.
Vienna has the best quality of life of any world city. The 2010 Mercer survey of 221 cities considered such things as political stability, crime, economy, health services, air pollution, transportation, housing, climate and social activities. As for U.S. cities, Honolulu was #31; San Francisco, #33; and Boston, #37. However, the U.S. did much better on Mercer's "eco-city" survey which considered water, waste removal, sewage, air pollution and traffic congestion. Calgary was #1, but Honolulu was #2; Minneapolis, #6; Pittsburgh, #13; and Washington, #23. It seems U.S. cities aren't as livable, but they're cleaning up their act.
When it comes to the most polluted world cities, a 2008 World Bank survey found 16 of the world's 20 worst were in China. Linfen, a coal mining and manufacturing center in Northern China, was #1. Because of the large amount of coal produced and consumed there, toxic smog hangs over the city, creating an air quality equivalent to smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day. Although no U.S. cities were among the top 20, studies have shown particulate matter from China's mines and factories reaches across the Pacific Ocean to North America's West Coast - a fact preventing us from breathing easy.
Of the world's 33 richest, developed countries, the U.S. is the only one without legally required vacation for workers. The English have 20 days; the Italians, 22; and the French, 30. Denmark, Germany and Switzerland have had national vacation laws for decades and Denmark's 5 weeks of mandatory vacation applies to every worker. In the U.S. the average worker receives 9 vacation days. Twenty-five percent of full-time workers and 66% of part-time workers receive none. Considering only 10% of U.S. workers take a full 2 weeks off, paid vacation is something workers need to work on.
What the United States has been working on is the "Common Core State Standards", which were released June 2, 2010. With the encouragement of the federal government - but not its involvement - states worked together to establish what students should have learned by the time they graduate from high school. Using the agreed-upon standards states will revise their curriculum and tests to make learning more uniform across the country. Kentucky, Hawaii, Maryland, West Virginia and Wisconsin have already adopted the standards and another 40 states are planning to adopt them. That leaves 5 states. It seems regarding education were not the "united states".
