In my Psych class we recently learned that an aging mind needs more exercising to keep it active and healthy. Our textbook stated that keeping the brain active, such as doing word searches or listening to classical music, would keep the brain sharp. An article suggests 10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp. One including “teasing your brain” with puzzles.  A new finding from the Psychological Science Journal , states something different.

The Psychological Science journal suggests that going out and challenging the brain will help get better results of a sharper mind. Denise Park, a psychological scientist and lead researcher at the University of Texas, conducted a study on this. Denise got 221 adults, ages 60-90, to get into a new activity for 15 hours a week. Not all participants were given the same activity. One group was given a new learned skill (digital photography or quilting). This group was the experimental group. The others were told to “engage in more familiar activities at home.” This group could be considered the controlled group. The findings were that the experimental group who went out and challenged themselves, had improvements in memory compared to the control group.

This can be used as a break through for aging people. People always believed that word searches were the best to keep a sharp mind. But, this study suggests challenging our minds will work better.  The main thing is to remember to not give up on keeping a sharp brain as we age.

Do you accept the challenge? 

Technology can be considered one of the best things in people’s lives. But, it can also be one of the biggest distractions in someone’s life. I found a blog talking about how college students are “digitally distracted in class.”

Barney McCoy, a Nebraska- Lincoln associate professor, decided to conduct a study on how many students turn their attention to their phones instead of their professors. McCoy was a professor and saw first hand how many students were distracted by technology in front of them. McCoy gathered 777 students from six universities in five states to survey them on how distracted technology was to them and by others using it in class. Gathering students from different universities meant that the study would not just reflect one school. It would be giving more proof that technology is effecting students at numerous universities, not just one.

The results of students using their phones were:

“1 to 3 times per day: 35 percent

4 to 10 times per day: 27 percent

11 to 30 times per day: 16 percent

More than 30 times per day: 15 percent

Never: less than 8 percent.”

The rest of McCoy’s study results were not shocking to me. Students did not think that cell phone usage is a distraction during class. Less than 5% said it was a “big distraction” during class. 91% of the students opposed to banning technology in the classrooms. From my first hand experiences looking around the classrooms, more than half my classmates have their hands on their phones or on their desks. I can tell this is an issue because the other day in one of my class’s three girls in front of me had their computers out and were online shopping… Working hard or hardly working? I am going to say hardly working.

It is a shame that something that should be so helpful to all of us can be something that is causing major distractions and problems. It is even more of a shame that students cannot control themselves and put their cell phones down to pay attention for a short amount of time. Most of my professors let us have our phones out because we use them to look up facts, or like in science, answer surveys. But on the other hand, people get distracted and take for granted technology.

In another study, it was found that “students can’t concentrate on homework for more than two minutes without distraction themselves by using social media.” Technology is addicting and we consume our lives in it. When we are in class and have technology in front of us, I believe, it is too tempting. Why is it so addicting? How can something so good be causing something bad (distractions)?

So what do you think: does technology help us or distract us in the classroom?

Lying. Something that everyone can say they have had an experience with. Lying usually just gets you in trouble or makes you feel guilty. So why do we do it?

There is no exact answer as to why we lie. Reasons why we lie are psychological and include protecting ourselves, trying to look “cool”, trying to save someone’s feelings, or to avoid punishment. 

Studies have been conducted and there are assumed reasons as to why people lie, but no definite answer. Robert Feldman, a psychologist from the University of Massachusetts, suggests lies occur when people become self-conscious.  Feldman experimented with a group of people and learned that 60% of them lied once during a 10- minute conversation. When you think about that, it is almost scary. Everyone at least has one conversation with someone everyday. How do we know if they are lying, but we just do not know it?

Shaul Shalvi of the University of Amsterdam and Ori Eldar and Yoella Bereby-Meyer of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev also did a study on why people lie. They formed two hypothesizes about why people lie. The first is that people lie because it could be beneficial financially to them. The second hypothesis is “when people are not under time pressure, they are unlikely to lie if there is no opportunity to rationalize their behavior.” (2012, Association for Psychological Science). The researchers preformed a single blind experiment at first where the experimenters could not see the die. They gathered 70 adults to roll a die three times and to report the highest roll. The higher the roll, the more money they earned. Some participants were asked to answer within 20 seconds and others were not timed. The second experiment, the participants only had one chance to roll the dice. After the results were in, Shalvi came to the conclusion that both groups lied but the group that lied the most were the ones pressured under time. The conclusion made from this experiment was that people lie more under time pressure. If there is no time pressure, people lie when they have justification to do so.

So what is your reason to lie? Cracking under pressure? Trying to make yourself better? Or just scared of the truth? 

Everyone should have heard of phobias, and you or someone you know might even have one. But what are phobias and how can people get over them?

People can be fearful from small things such as breaking a nail to more serious issues like being scared of people. When people get so fearful of something that they make sure it is never in their life is when a real phobia begins. Some phobias, such as fears of snakes, do not affect people’s regular days because they are not something seen everyday. Phobias can start to consume people’s lives if they are fearful of something that occurs everyday such as interacting with people (agoraphobia). 

Phobias usually begin in the childhood stage of people’s lives. Simple phobias are more learned and reflect your life experiences. If your parent or someone you are around a lot at a young age has a phobia, you can pick it up from them. Experiences are all apart of our lives and if we experience something scary or stressful, that could cause a phobia as well. Scientists are unsure how complex phobias, such as agoraphobia, are started. It could be because of chemicals in our brain, genes, or from life experiences.

Overcoming a phobia is important. Living a life of fear can cause many other mental issues such as depression ad make you miss out on things in life. There are different ways that act as therapy to help face your phobias. Exposure therapy is the most common procedure of trying to overcome it. Being close to the object or activity you are afraid of can help overcome it.  Since anxiety is an effect of phobias, you can be put on medicine to help control that. A new study shows that watching someone else face your fear or “harmful” object safely can help you overcome the phobia.

The Association for Psychological Science has been conducting research that favors watching someone else to overcome a phobia. There is a Sociocultural Perspective in Psychology that researches how people influence each other. When we see people do an action, we think that it is a norm and we should act like that as well. Armita Golka (from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden) and colleagues believe that people can learn through social settings and even gain fears from the settings. They tested this by doing an experiment. The control group who just saw actual human faces, but still received the electrical shock, was less scared than the experimental group. 

” “Our findings suggest that model-based learning may help to optimize exposure treatment by attenuating the recovery of learned fears,” the researchers write.” (quote found here.)  

My question is: why do we fear such small things, such as spiders, when we are larger then them and more powerful? 

Resources: 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249347.php

http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tc/phobias-topic-overview?page=3

Psych 100 class notes

Have you ever had that chocolate craving that you just cannot get rid of? Next time it happens you might want to skip right to the dark chocolate. Although all chocolate is high in fat, dark chocolate does have health benefits if you consume it in moderation.

Blood pressure should be taken very seriously. As the heart pumps blood, it is forced against walls of the arteries, which leads to blood pressure. Having too high of blood pressure can lead to heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and more. Studies have shown that eating dark chocolate helps reduce blood pressure. The flow of blood throughout the body is very important and maintaining a good flow is just as important. Eating dark chocolate two or three times a week will help improve the blood flow and prevent blood colts from forming.

A second good affect that dark chocolate has is giving us vitamins and minerals. We all need to consume vitamins, which we gain from foods because our body cannot produce themselves. Dark chocolate contains vitamins and minerals such as potassium, copper, and iron. Potassium helps have a steady, normal blood pressure and keep a strong heart. Copper is contained mostly in the liver and there is a small amount in our body’s tissues. Having copper in your diet helps control cell damage and helps protect from heart disease. A mineral that dark chocolate has in it is iron. Iron is used in our cell functions and helps us digest our food. If we do not consume enough iron, our bodies will not function properly.

If you are like me, you thought that chocolate had no good affects on you except making you have a sense of satisfaction. I was wrong and I am glad I found out! Maybe some other foods we once thought were not good for us, might have some benefits in moderation? Try doing some research on other foods, you might be surprised!

Next time your heart is telling you to have a piece of chocolate… do it. But, make sure it is dark chocolate so your heart is getting some benefits as well! 

Resource: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/6-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate.html#b 

In today’s society, everyone wants pearly whites. Whether you achieve having white teeth by using white strips or getting them professionally whitened, the goal is still the same. Even if you don’t do those things, I am sure you want to have white teeth. As I was exploring the Internet, I found an interesting topic idea: What food stains your teeth. Personally, I never thought about what types of food could stain your teeth and why they do.

Besides brushing your teeth and flossing, watching what you eat is just as important. According to Matthew J. Messina, DDS, “If you’re worried about spilling [the food or beverage] on your white tablecloth, you can be sure it’s got the potential to stain teeth.” 

Reading that made me think about all the food I have eaten today that would have stained a white tablecloth… It is a scary thought.

The reason why the staining happens is do to the color and acidity of the food and drinks we consume. The staining from the colors come from pigmented molecules called chromogens. The definition of a chromogen is  “a colored compound that, though not a dye itself, can be converted into a dye” according to the dictionary. The chromogens in what you eat stick to your teeth’s enamel very easily, which lead to the staining. Now let’s talk about acidic foods and why they will stain your teeth. The acid in the foods, especially drinks, will erode the enamel on your teeth. With the enamel on your teeth fading, the more vulnerable your teeth are to many things including staining.

Now that we know why the staining occurs, let’s look at the foods that can cause staining. The number one thing that stains teeth (and it breaks my heart to hear) is coffee according to this list and along with many other lists. Coffee is filled with acid and has a very dark color to it- two of the things that cause staining. Coffee, although it might give you a morning boost, will give you stains on your teeth. A surprising find was tomato sauce and ketchup causing teeth stains. Ketchup and sauce are definitely two items that would stain a white tablecloth, therefore will stain your teeth. There is a high level of acidity in tomatoes and tomato sauce and ketchup have a very bright color to them, which would lead to the staining. Other items include teas, red wine, soda, fruit juices, candy, popsicles, soy sauce, and curry. 

We now know that the reason why our teeth might be looking a little discolored is from what we are consuming. Now, we cannot rule out other causes of this because there could be a plethora of other factors in teeth staining. Don’t go running to cut all acidy and brightly colored foods out of your life. But, be sure to clean your teeth on a regular basis, floss, visit the dentist, and try not to over consume on acidy and bright colored food. Start to think of ways to build up your tooth’s enamel and to neutralize acids in your mouth. An important tip is to listen to your parent and eat your fruits and vegetables!!! They will scrub your teeth clean and help produce saliva. The saliva will then help even out the acidity from eating the not so good food for your teeth.

How are you going to save your pearly white smile?

sources: http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/features/foods-stain-teeth-feature

http://www.supersmile.com/smile-care/learning-center/foods-that-stain-your-teeth

Coming from an avid coffee drinker, I know coffee is addicting. I usually drink a cup of coffee a day back home. Coming to school threw that off. Some mornings I don’t have time to run and get a cup of coffee, so I just go about my day without one. I realized, though, that when I did not have a cup, I got a headache and felt really tired. The first thing that popped into my head was, “Oh great. I’m addicted to coffee.” I found out I’m not alone; there are other people addicted to coffee because of the caffeine. I wanted to know why coffee is addicting and thought it would be a perfect blogging opportunity. If you drink any form of caffeine on a regular basis, but miss one cup and gain a headache, this will be a good explanation as to why they happen. 

Coffee has a large amount of caffeine in it and quitting caffeine is not easy. Scientists found out that caffeine is addictive in 1994 and just recently added caffeine withdrawal as a mental disorder. With a topic becoming so serious, we should know why caffeine is addictive.

The small intestine absorbs caffeine that enters the body and eventually leads it to your blood stream. The caffeine enters the brain and that is when the caffeine becomes addictive. Caffeine is such a strong chemical that it can dissolve in both water and fat. The brain has many molecules in it, including adenosine. What caffeine does to the adenosine receptors in our brains is block them so we don’t get a feeling of tiredness. The blocking of the receptors gives us a sense of energy that can last hours depending on how much we consume and our age. When the adenosine receptors are blocked, it sets off stimulants to kick into high gear, which leads to adrenaline being released. It would only make sense that the more caffeine you drink, the more adenosine receptors your brain produces and the more caffeine you have to drink. This is because the brain is trying to even out the adenosine receptors being blocked from the caffeine.

When you stop consuming caffeine, the brain does not really know what to do. The brain is used to functioning on extra adenosine receptors and that is why us caffeine consumers get headaches when we don’t ingest caffeine. Here is some more information about the brain and the adenosine receptors. It is safe to say that caffeine has a direct correlation to effecting the brain. Although there could be other reasons as to why I got a headache (and you might, too), not having caffeine is definitely a major factor. 

The good news is that caffeine addictions can be easy to overcome…if you are determined to do it. Just give yourself about a week to not consume caffeine and your brain will reset to the original number of adenosine receptors you should have.

Even after finding out all this information on how caffeine effects your brain, I am still not sure I am ready to give up my coffee. If you are unlike me and want to give up caffeine, here is a good article of tips on how to quit. 

Sources: http://www.webmd.com/balance/caffeine-myths-and-facts

http://www.medicinenet.com/caffeine/page2.htm

The sky is blue… that should not shock anyone reading this. But, have you ever stopped and wondered why the sky is blue? I have and I just thought it was blue because that was the color. Just like everything else in the world, there is some reason as to why the sky is blue. 

The first step in beginning to understand why the sky is blue is to learn about color. The human eye sees color when light leaves an object and the light bounces off of particles in the air. The sun looks yellow and the light from the sun looks white to us. The sun actually gives off light that is colors of the rainbow. But, we see the sun giving off white light because when all the colors of the rainbow are mixed, they form white.

The sun shines it’s light through the sky. The sky has particulates floating around that the human eye cannot see. The color blue has wavelengths that cannot pass through the particulates and therefore bounce off the particulates.  When the sun’s light is shined throughout the air, all the colors of the rainbow are scattered, although we can not see them. As the colors are traveling through the air, most of them shine right through the particles, except the color blue. The color blue’s wavelength makes the light of blue from the sun bounce off the particles. The blue light bounces from particulate to particulate until it reaches our eyes. The other colors of the rainbow just pass right through the particulates and that is why we do not see all the colors in the sky.

When the sun is rising or setting it scatters the colors a different way. I read an article and the way Steven Ackerman, professor of meteorology at UW-Madison, explains why the colors in the sky are different at sunsets and sunsets is the shortest and simplest way I found to understand it.

We can now understand that the sky is blue because of the particles in the sky and they way that the suns light reflects on the particles. The way the sunlight reflects off the particles, is how our eye forms the color we see. 

Now when you look up to the sky, you should have a better understanding of why the sky is blue and why it looks different at sunrise and sunset. I know I love to watch the sun set, especially at the arboretum right here in Happy Valley!

 Will you look at the sky differently now?

Sources: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html

Everyone has seen domestic dog and cats throughout their life. I always wondered why dogs are always different in shape and size, while cats tend to look the same and are roughly the same size. While researching why this occurs, I came across two answers: dogs have a slippery genome and are used for other jobs then just being a pet. 

The slippery genome allows there to be a much faster breeding/mutation rate. The differences we see in dogs is caused by the slippery genome. Therefore, dogs have such different sizes and looks because of the slippery genome. Domestic dogs are all considered the same species because they all have the same number of chromosomes. The differences we see come from the ‘sequences in the gene changes’. As humans, we can pick what two types of dogs we want to breed and in return get a dog we want. Different breeds can mate and make new variations of dogs. There are about 400 dog breeds in the world and they are bred for specific reasons. The slippery genome makes it easier for the breeding to happen and make new breeds. 

Size for cats is not as important because they basically have two jobs: hunt rodents and be pets. Dogs can be used for many more different reasons then to hunt and to be pets. Sizes of dogs range more because the jobs that they have to do range more widely compared to cats. 

I think the coolest dog breed is the Siberian Husky.  According to this list of top dog breeds, the Siberian Huskies are number one. With their piercing blue eyes and white with white spot fur, I do not know how anyone could not like them! But, the more interesting thing is that Siberian Huskies were developed centuries ago by the Chukchis of Northern Siberia. The dog breed was brought to Alaska in 1909 for racing purposes. With their power and toughness, these dogs were fit for any task given to them. They were used as a transportation method, protecting children, and racing. This is just one example of how dogs are bred for specific reasons and that breeding can create amazing types of dogs! 

What is your favorite dog bred? 

Sources: http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1hhzcn/why_do_we_have_different_sized_dogs_but_all_the/

Did you ever wake up and think “Wow that was an awesome dream,” but don’t remember the whole thing? I know I have, and chances are you have as well. Dreaming is one of the things that every human experiences. While we sleep, have one dream every 90 minutes. 

First we should try to understand what dreams are. There is no definite answer yet to what dreams specifically are because scientists are still trying to figure them out. But, according to the Merriam-Webster, a dream is “a series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.” While we are asleep, there is constant brain activity in the pon part of our brain and that is why we have the ability to dream. During the day, while you are awake, your brain takes in information including faces and what is happening all around you. When you lie down to go to sleep, scientists believe that your brain goes through what happened. Your brain uses those reflections to create dreams while you are sleeping. 

Remembering dreams can be a challenge for some people, including myself. Some dreams are easier to remember than others. According to Professor Mark Blagrove, Professor at Swansea University, “for all of us dreams are very easily forgotten once we wake up if we don’t consolidate them or in other words if we don’t transfer them from short-term to long term memory immediately upon waking.” Mark Blagrove also believes ‘that it might be we just are not paying attention to the dreams and that is why we do not remember them’. I also found that some scientists believe we may not remember our dreams because of the chemicals going through our brain. 

We can always try to remember our dreams, but it does not come naturally. While looking for tips on how to remember our dreams, I found a few:

– Keep a notebook by your bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can remember any part of your dream, write it down. Writing it down can help process the information and events that occurred through your head.

-Try to go to sleep saying to yourself you want to remember your dream. 

Here are the Top Ten common dream topics and their meanings. While reading the list, I was agreeing with them because I remember having dreams about the topics before.  

Can you remember your dreams? 

Sources: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/question/2032/ 

http://gregscheckler.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/can’t-remember-your-dreams-you’re-not-alone/