Have you ever gone to the bathroom and squirted hand sanitizer into your hands? Do you use hand sanitizer before you eat or after? Personally, I try to use hand sanitizer after I go to the bathroom and as much as possible. When I go to dinner at East Commons, I always see students using hand sanitizer after eating dinner. The question going around is… Is hand sanitizer toxic? Or is this just a rumor?

The primary concern that has been circling around the usage of hand sanitizer is the main ingredient in non-alcoholic hand sanitizers; triclosan. Allison Aiello, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan, states, “There’s no good evidence that triclosan-containing products have a benefit. In Europe and the United States, hospitals won’t even use them…it’s thought that they don’t reduce infections or illness.” Dr. Anna Bowen, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), exclaims, “Triclosan-containing products don’t provide any disease protection beyond what you get from washing with soap and water.” Research has displayed that triclosan can intervene in the endocrine system, which can greatly increase the amount of testosterone in our bodies. Research has also shown that it can even damage our immune systems, which has been proven in animal studies. However, whether triclosan harms the endocrine and immune systems in humans is currently being looked at.

There has been further concern when exposing triclosan out into the environment. According to Aiello, when bacteria is exposed to this ingredient in hand sanitizers, it can generate antibiotic resistance. Once this resistance is moved, the bacteria itself can become resistant to a variety of antibiotics.

Overall, the main concern with hand sanitizer is that triclosan does not protect us against viruses. This is a big worry because viruses are what cause colds, not bacteria. According to researchers, we should skip using non-alcoholic sanitizers, and using hand soap is better for us. However, using alcohol based sanitizers are more beneficial because they kill approximately 60 percent bacterial pathogens (according to Bowen). Alcohol-based sanitizers can also kill some viruses, so they can easily prevent more colds and illness than non-alcoholic sanitizers. According to Deb Group, “Alcohol and alcohol-free hand sanitizers have been used in a variety of elementary school settings with significant (30% to 50%) reduction of infectious disease rates. Alcohol hand sanitizers have also been used in daycare centers by staff and by children under strict direction from staff, again providing significant infection rate reductions.” Studies based on this issue have been conducted in the United States, Sweden, and Finland.

There has been a growing concern of whether hand sanitizers are toxic. Children under the age of two years should not use any products in which alcohol is involved. According to infection investigators, day care children can use hand sanitizer products as long as they are under the supervision of an adult and use it with careful direction. A study conducted by Deb Group showed that using alcohol-based hand sanitizer five to ten times a day demonstrated no toxic impacts. The only way toxicity has been showed with hand sanitizer is if the individual has a previous skin condition in which their skin is highly sensitive to certain ingredients (such as alcohol) in skin products.

A study was reviewed by Regina Bailey when it comes to the usage of a variety of hand sanitizers. She came to the conclusion that hand sanitizers in general don’t greatly reduce the amount of bacteria on our hands. In addition, she notes that washing hands with hand soap may in fact be better than using hand sanitizer. According to the Food and Drug Association, they have recommended that hand sanitizers should not be used as a replacement for hand soap and water. Instead, they state that we should wash our hands with soap and water, and then use hand sanitizer as a supplement afterwards. So, how come manufactures of hand sanitizers have said they kill 99.9% of all germs? Bailey states that the researchers test the hand sanitizers on “inanimate surfaces”, enabling them to say the hand sanitizers exterminate 99.9% of germs. Bailey declares, “If the products were fully tested on hands, there would be no doubt be different results. Since there inherent complexity in the human hand, testing hands would definitely be more difficult. Using surfaces with controlled variables is an easier way to obtain some type of consistency in the results.”

In conclusion, there has not been strong enough evidence to show any strong correlations and casual relationships between hand sanitizers and toxicity. Studies conducted on this issue can easily be due to chance just like most experiments (chance cannot be ruled out). Even though hand soap has proven to be more effective than hand sanitizers, that does not mean hand sanitizers are not safe. Alcohol-based and non-alcohol sanitizers are both fine to use, but using them in conjunction with hand soap and water is the best option. Further research is being conducted by scientists to investigate if hand sanitizers have any significant damaging effects.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/health/hand-sanitizer-toxic-upwave/

http://info.debgroup.com/blog/bid/337803/Is-it-Safe-for-Children-to-Use-Hand-Sanitizers

Have you ever stepped outside on a sunny day and feel happy? Have you ever stepped outside on a chilly and rainy morning feeling miserable? This tends to happen to a lot of people. The weather is constantly changing just like our moods. But, can weather actually affect our mood? Do different types of weather affect in our mood in a different way?

According to John Grohol, the weather has a greater influence on our negative mood rather than our positive mood. In general, higher temperatures raise a our mood and cooler temperatures with not much sun lowers our mood. Klimstra found that the influence weather has often depends on your personality type when it comes to certain weather. He studied 415 individuals and about half of these people were not affected by changes in the weather all that much. However, the other half of individuals were greatly impacted by the weather changes. Klimstra determined that 17 percent of the people were called “Summer lovers.” They felt happier and less irritated on days of sunshine and warm temperatures. 27 percent were called “Summer haters”. These people felt more fearful and angry on days with more sunshine and felt less angry on days with more precipitation. 9 percent were determined to be “Rain haters.”  They felt less happy on days of a lot of precipitation and more fearful and happy on days with higher temperatures. The last of the group (48 percent) were called “Unaffected by weather.” They were uninfluenced by changes in the weather.

However, Connolly suggested that you do not have to be impacted by the weather if you do not want to be. In 2008, he conducted a study in which men responded to weather changes by changing their plans for the day. Instead of getting as emotional and worked up about the weather ruining their particular plans for that day, they simply changed their plans. For example, if it was raining, men would change their outdoor plans to simply staying inside and watching movies. On the other hand, women more often let weather changes influence their mood.

In 2008, Emotion conducted a study in which researches observed and evaluated the moods of over 1,2000 individuals through questionnaires. They discovered that “climate-related factors” such as temperature, sunlight, and precipitation did not seem to have an affect on negative mood. They found out that an increase in temperature had a generally positive effect on mood, but more precipitation and less sunlight had a negative impact on mood. However, these impacts varied from person to person. This study showed a link between different types of weather and our mood, but the evidence is not strong enough to say there  is a direct casual link between weather changes and our mood. This study’s results were determined based off questionaries, not actual scientific experiments. There was nothing being manipulated.

German researchers conducted a study in 2008 to look at how and if different weather factors influenced mood. They took 1,233 volunteers. They determined that sunlight had an impact on how tired we felt, but there was no direct correlation between weather and mood because each individual had their own sensitivity to various weather conditions. A similar study conducted by Keller in 2005 discovered that some peoples’ moods were influenced positively during the springtime, but there were no consistent evidence that showed weather directly affected mood. The primary reason why these studies did not show obvious results is because each individual has their own personality, which have been divided into 4 types (listed above).

In conclusion, I do think there is a correlation between weather and our moods, but I do not think there is a direct casual relationship. In the studies conducted, the results were determined by questionaries and simply asking the individuals how certain weather affected their moods. Nothing was being manipulated in the observations. Due to this, there is not enough strong evidence to say there is a direct causation between weather and mood. I think scientists should experiment more in depth with this topic. Maybe they can do randomized control experiments where they put people out in certain weather conditions to see how they react. They could put one group of people out in sunny weather with warmer temperatures. They could put another group out in chillier weather with precipitation. Of course, we cannot control the weather so that aspect of the experiment would be difficult to carry out. Regardless, I do think weather has an impact on our moods, but I think it has more to do with our personalities and likes/dislikes than actual scientific proof.

Sources:

http://www.weathercast.co.uk/weather-news/news/ch/7ef3c86ccec41360e31ac5d80eeafc65/article/does_the_weather_affect_your_mood.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/29/can-weather-affect-your-mood/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/climate-health_n_4568505.html

Everyone is scared of something. For me, I am terrified of spiders. I was always fearful of spiders as a young girl, but the fearfulness has only been getting stronger over the past several years. I have officially diagnosed myself with arachnophobia. The good thing about arachnophobia is it is one of the most common phobias around the world. So, why exactly are we afraid of spiders? And is there a way to control the fear of spiders?

By the way, I basically cried while thinking and posting pictures of spiders on this blog.

According to the American Psychiatric Association,  phobias in general influence more than one in ten people in the United States. Approximately 40 percent of the phobias reported are related to bugs, spiders, mice, and bats. Chris Buddle states, “Psychologists believe that one reason why people fear spiders is because of some direct experience with the arachnids instilled that fear in them.”

Graham Davey conducted a study in 1991 to further understand our deep fear of spiders. He took 18 undergraduate students and ask them about their fear of spiders. 75 percent of the students who were interviewed said that they were at least a little bit terrified, if not severely scared of spiders. Of the people asked, most of the individuals who were scared of spiders were females. Researchers have been trying to find a genetic link to the fear of spiders involved in families, but no such strong links have been made between this theory. However, Davey declared that the actual physical appearance of spiders may be the scariest thing to human beings rather than actually being bitten: “Animal fears may represent a functionally distinct set of adaptive responses which have been selected for during the evolutionary history of the human species.”

Numerous other scientists criticized Davey’s work because a “spider-trauma” event could have happened to someone during childhood, and these memories tend to never really vanish. Peter Muris conducted a study in 1997 at the University of Maastricht. He gave a list to a number of students that had many things that adolescents are terrified of. Most kids checked off things like getting hit by a vehicle, bombs, or fires. However, when the kids were given the option to write down what their biggest fear was, both boys and girls reported their biggest fear was spiders. Contrasting to Davey’s work, Muris discovered that children who were most fearful of spiders was due to a particular event that involved spiders.

To ensure that conditioning is the primary reason for the fear of spiders, scientists conducted another study to make sure genetic factors did not play a role. John Hettema at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics conducted a study in 2003. Hettema conducted twin studies to ensure genetics were not a factor in why we are so afraid of spiders. Hettema recorded responses to of twins to pictures of spiders/snakes compared pictures of shapes (circles and triangles). The results showed that genetic affects are “substantial”, meaning the fear of spiders is hereditary. In conclusion, this study showed that you do not have to experience a specific spider-related incident to actually become afraid of spiders.

So, is there anything to do to lessen this fear? A 2013 study was conducted by Paul Siegel from the State University of New York. They conducted an experiment in which they divided the people into “phobic” and “non-phobic” groups determined by results from arachnophobia tests.  The tests included pictures of spiders and flowers, but each person was exposed to these images for a short time. The results displayed that the images had an impact on them subconsciously. When the spider tests were experimented on both of the groups for a second time, those who had once feared spiders were less afraid. There have been no other significant studies in reducing the severity of arachnophobia, so for now, scientists have stuck to the notion that sharing images of spiders could potentially help reduce the fear of spiders.

Overall, I believe that both Davey’s and Hettema’s studies have truth in them. I believe that you will be more scared of spiders if you experience an incident that involved spiders as an adolescent. For example, I had an incident where a giant hairy spider jumped onto my head when I was walking with some of my friends. I will never forget this event and because it is still engraved in my mind, I am that more scared of spiders. I also believe that genetics have a role in arachnophobia as well. If your parent has a severe fear of spiders, I think there is a greater likelihood of you developing a fear of spiders because you are in an environment centered around this particular fear.

Sources:

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/why-are-we-afraid-spiders

http://phobias.about.com/od/introductiontophobias/a/arachnophobia.htm

Has anyone ever told you that exercising helps your grades? This has shown to be true for numerous students in high school, as well as college. But, can exercise actually boost your GPA? Let’s find out if this is a fact or myth.

Studies have found that exercise can not only lead to physical and emotional health, but also brain health. Scientists who were interested in this topic conducted an experimental study using rats. Scientists at California College of San Diego, took two groups of mice. They had one group of mice put on sweatbands and perform physical activity every day. The other group of mice sat on the couch and watched television while the other group of mice were exercising. The scientists determined the mice that worked out had their energy replenished and also produced an excess amount of energy. Scientists found that in the mice that worked out had “60 percent more glycogen in all the portions of the brain that allow us to think quickly and to remember more clearly…It was as if the physical activity had allowed their brains to be super-fueled, allowing those mice to be aced their mid-terms.” However, these effects were only short-lived because the higher glycogen levels returned back to normal after a full day. But, if the mice contented to exercise, scientists discovered that the newly formed energy was not temporary. The increased levels of energy remained. Even more importantly, the increases in energy levels were large in the parts of the brain that are essential for learning and memory purposes.

Another study was conducted by the American College of Sport Medicine relating to this topic. Scientists from the University of Michigan took total of 266 students of both genders. They discovered that those who participated in exercise of moderate and vigorous activity had “reduced stress, an improved performance, and an increase in self-being.” They also stated that students who participated in vigorous exercise had a higher GPA than those who did not. But does exercise actually boost GPA or is reverse causation involved (Do higher academic students participate in more physical activity than those who do not have as high of an academic performance)? The scientists controlled the possible third variables that could impact grade point average such as gender, the amount of time spent in playing sports, and how much you involve yourself in sports. After the scientists controlled these various factors, the results still showed that performing physical activity made a great difference in the GPA of a student. Students who performed vigorous exercise daily acquired GPA’s that were approximately 0.4 points higher than those who did not exercise at all. The study also found that students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, were three times more likely to become involved in types of vigorous activity than those with a GPA under 3.0.

This graph shows the relationship between average GPA per semester and visiting the REC center frequently. It shows that the more you go to the gym to perform any form of physical activity, your GPA will gradually increase, meaning your grades should slowly improve.

Even those these studies were well conducted with a large enough sample to produce strong results, third or confounding variables are possible in these experiments. The amount of sleep you got the night(s) before, the level of stress you are experiencing, any traumatic events that are occurring in your life or back at home, how much you have studied for exams, etc. are all factors that can contribute to grades on exams and your overall GPA. However, these studies were well conducted and showed significant results linking exercise to higher GPA’s. From the results determined by the randomized control experiment study with the rats and the observational study done with the humans, I would say there is a causal relationship between working out daily and GPA.

Sources:

http://www.independence.edu/blog/exercise-could-improve-your-gpa

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/03/does-increased-activity-mean-higher-gpa/

http://www.cc-sd.edu/blog/can-exercise-boost-your-gpa

Has someone ever told you that cuddling is good for your health? Have you personally cuddled with a boyfriend/girlfriend or even a friend and felt emotionally healthier after? Personally, I have experienced the emotional benefit of cuddling with someone, especially someone that you have a strong emotional attachment to. So, let’s take a look at the basic reasons of why cuddling is good for your or not.

First off, cuddling can boost your immune system. It is scientifically proven that when cuddling, oxycontin is released. Oxycontin is the hormone known as the “feel-good hormone” that makes us feel strong and like nothing can touch us. The release of this hormone makes us feel more confident about ourselves and boosts our immune system but increasing the amount of hormones our body produces to fight off various infections. Similarly, cuddling can alleviate pain and decrease social anxiety.  According to Vanessa Luis, the immediate release of oxycontin reduces your ability to focus on the pain. She states, “The next time your head starts pounding, try cuddling with your loved one to make you feel better.” As mentioned above, oxycontin also enhances positive thinking, which in turn, reduces social anxiety and anxiety in general. Even more interesting, cuddling has been determined to lower the risk of obtaining heart disease. With less stress and anxiety, your blood pressure will also lower, which lowers the likelihood of you getting heart disease.

Including cuddling, other displays of affection can benefit your health. A study was conducted the positive benefits of hugging was shown. American Psychosomatic Society reported that a short hug and ten minutes of holding hands with another person can reduce the effects of stress. Psychologist Karen Grewen declares, “Loving contact [cuddling] before a tough day at work could carry over and protect you throughout the day.” The School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill conducted a study in which 100 adults were chosen who had spouses or long-term partners were told to hold hands while watching a ten minute video. After this, the couples were told to hug for twenty seconds. Another group of 85 individuals just waited patiently without any partners by their side. At the end of the observational study, every person were asked to speak about an event they went through that caused them to be stressed or feel irritated. After everyone spoke, researchers found that blood pressure sky-rocketed in the individuals who had no partners and no contact with others. Also, their systolic or upper and diastolic or lower reading increased dramatically compared to those who participated in contact with their loved ones. The researchers checked the heart beat of those who had no contact whatsoever and their heart rate increased by 10 beats per minute compared to 5 beats per minute for the control group.

According to David Klow of Shape Magazine, “Non-verbal communication can be a very powerful way to say to your partner, ‘I get you’. Cuddling is a way of saying ‘I know how you feel’. It allows us to feel known by our partner in ways that words can’t convey.” New studies are also looking into cuddling reducing certain stress disorders. For example, scientists are looking into if the hormone oxycontin can help post traumatic stress disorder and disorders that occur in the autism spectrum, which are neurodevelopment disorders. In addition, I mentioned above it reduces the level of stress we feel. The release of oxycontin limits the amount of cortisol released, which is the hormone that essentially produces stress. Too high levels of cortisol are not good for your health because it can cause great changes in our weight and moods (anxiety, depression, anger). Oxycontin helps level out these cortisol levels, enabling us to feel overall healthier as individuals.

In conclusion, the studies conducted show that participating in signs of affection, including cuddling, release oxycontin which provide health benefits because it boots the immune system, reduces stress, reduces social anxiety, balances cortisol levels, reduces the pain felt, and promotes positive thinking. As for cuddling reducing the risk for heart disease, I don’t think there is enough evidence or strong enough studies that show that there is a direct causal relationship between cuddling and the reduction of heart disease. From the studies mentioned, there is a strong causation between cuddling (and other signs of affection) and health benefits.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/hugging-health-valentines-day_n_2545226.html

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-03-09-hug-usat_x.htm

http://goodmenproject.com/health/the-good-life-5-ways-cuddling-makes-us-healthier/

http://healthmeup.com/news-healthy-living/health-benefits-of-cuddling/30350

Have you ever been to a restaurant and ordered red meat? Have your friends or family members ever said to avoid red meat as much as possible because it isn’t good for you? Personally, I have been to restaurants before and my sister has always ordered chicken over any form of red meat because she believes it is not healthy for your body. So…is the theory that red meat is bad for you true or purely a myth?

The primary question that has been circulating around the world is does red meat increase the likelihood of obtaining heart disease or cancer? When it comes to heart disease, red meat does seem to increase the risk of heart disease. Since red meats are higher in saturated fat as opposed to other meats such as chicken and fish, it raises blood cholesterol levels. These increased cholesterol levels increase the overall risk of heart disease. However, the answer is less obvious when it comes to the link between red meat and cancer. A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health-AARP took  over half a million Americans and had them consume red meat. The study determined that people who ate red meat over a 10 year period were more likely to have a premature death than those individuals who ate smaller portions of red meat. Those who consumed four ounces of red met per day were more likely to die of a heart disease or cancer, contrasting those who consumed only about 1/2 of an ounce of red meat per day. However, I think the study would have been more effective if the researchers had multiple groups who consumed different kinds of red meat or at least the same type of red meat and the same amount every day. For example, they could have a sample of 1,000 people and have five groups of 200 people. Each group could consume ground beef meat for lunch and flank steak meat for dinner every day. The researchers could give each person the same amount of meat for each meal per day. That way, the results would show a stronger link between red meat and the impact on the health (either positive, no affect, or negative).

Janet Riley, vice president of the American Meat Institute, states, “The meat industry contends there is no link between red meat, processed meats, and cancer, and says that lean read meat fits into a heart-healthy diet.” She also exclaims that the studies that have been conducted only rely on individuals who mention what foods they have eaten, meaning there is no proven cause and effect relationship. Furthering this notion, she states: “Many of these suggestions could be nothing more than statistical noise.”

Another study observed over 72,000 women for an eighteen year period. They found that individuals who consumed ‘Western-style’ diet high in red meats, cultivated grains, and desserts had a higher likelihood of acquiring heart disease, cancer, and a premature death. Marji McCullogh (a nutritional epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society) states, “The association between consumption of red and processed meats and cancer, particularly colorectal cancer, is very consistent.”

In addition, Rashmi Sinha (of the National Cancer Institute) declares that a large portion of these studies link digesting red meat with long-term diseases. However, these studies that have been done (as mentioned above), show a strong correlation between the consumption of red meat and life-threatning diseases, but do not show a direct casual relationship. There could be several third or confounding variables that factor into the individuals who had died prematurely in these studies or have obtained a chronic illness. Factors such as genetics, previous family history (such as family members having heart diseases or various types of cancer), your personal health and medical conditions (high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, high sugar levels, obesity), and your behaviors (smoking) all greatly contribute to obtaining cancer and other chronic illnesses.

Overall, the studies show strong correlations between consuming red meat and diseases due to large sample sizes and the experiment’s results. I do not think this theory is a myth; but I believe there needs to be more research conducted with more trails to really see if there is a direct link between the consumption of red met and life-threatning diseases.

Sources:

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/is_eating_red_meat_good_or_bad_for_your_health

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-red-meat

Have you ever forgot to brush your teeth one night or were just too lazy to do so? Have you ever slept over a friend’s house and lost track of time and decided not to brush your teeth? This has happened to me before. I have slept over my friend’s house before and we were up late talking and watching movies. I was too tired to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, so I just went right to sleep after watching multiple movies. I have always wondered, as I’m sure like many of you, if not brushing your teeth is bad for your health. So what happens if you don’t brush your teeth? Let’s take a look.

According to Lauren Friedman, approximately one out of every five person don’t brush their teeth twice a day. So, if you relate to this statistic, you are not alone. The American Dental Association exclaims, “Taking care of your teeth and gums isn’t just about preventing cavities or bad breath. The mouth is a gateway into your body’s overall health.” Unfortunately, there is not really a method in which researchers can prove a causation relationship exists between avoiding brushing your teeth. This is because researchers would have to produce a control group that did not brush their teeth or a long period of time, or at least a decent amount of time. Many people would not be open to stop brushing their teeth for days on end, even for a science experiment.

One affect of neglecting to brush your teeth is gum disease. If your gums or teeth bleed while brushing your teeth, this could be a strong indicator that you have gum disease. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums, which can occur when plaque builds up between your gums and teeth. Over 50 percent of Americans have this gingivitis, which is most likely due to poor care of the gums and teeth. Even more surprisingly, neglecting to brush your teeth can cause tooth loss. Reported by Friedman, adults between the ages 20 to 64 have lost about seven adult teeth and 10% of Americans between the ages 50 to 64 have no teeth left. The most obvious downside to not brushing your teeth is bad breath, but did you know that another cause of neglecting to brush your teeth is dementia? Dementia is the loss of brain function and affects memory, thinking, language and behavior.

A study was conducted at a retirement community in Laguna Hills. The study suggested that there is a correlation between dementia and poor gum/teeth health. In the study, researchers observed 5,468 individuals for a total of eighteen years. They discovered that amongst those who still had their teeth, “those who reported not brushing their teeth daily had a 22% to 65% greater risk of dementia than those who brushed three times daily.” Another smaller study took a group of people who had Alzheimer’s disease. They noticed that their brains had a lot more bacteria related to gum disease than those who had “healthier brains”.

This is a chart comparing Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It includes the symptoms so if you know of anyone experiencing any of these symptoms, tell them to research these diseases.

Another disease that can occur due to the lack of brushing your teeth is pneumonia. Pneumonia is lung inflammation caused by a bacterial or viral infection. One major study showed a strong correlation between poor dental hygiene and and pneumonia. 315 individuals were chosen in a Brazilian hospital with periodontitis. Periodontitis is the inflammation of the ligaments that bear the teeth. These 315 people were three times more likely to acquire pneumonia. By brushing your teeth on a daily basis, the study showed that pneumonia can be reduced by 40 percent.

There is also a suggestion that there could be a link between gum disease and heart disease. Friedman exclaimed, “Adding oral health self-care…is prudent to improve patients’ oral health and possibly reduces coronary heart disease. Periodontal disease caused by pathogen bacteria…could represent one of several possible causal factors of heart disease.” A 2008 study conducted for the US Preventative Services Task Force suggested periodontal disease can be a trigger for heart disease, but they couldn’t find actual evidence that displayed this casual relationship.

Due to the studies I mentioned above, there is no direct link (casual relationship) between poor dental hygiene and heart disease. However, the study conducted for dementia and in Laguna Hills involving 5,000 plus people and Alzheimer’s, showed a strong correlation between poor oral hygiene and these two diseases. I am not quite sure if there is a causal relationship because even though the sample size was pretty large, the evidence wasn’t all that convincing. If there were more trials conducted for the same experiment, I think there would be more reason to say there is a direct link between neglecting to brush your teeth and gum diseases.

Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-if-you-dont-brush-and-floss-your-teeth-2014-2

http://brennerdentalarts.com/blog/2014/03/30/too-lazy-to-brush-your-teeth-heres-what-happens-when-you-dont-brush/

Have you ever teared up watching a sad movie? Have you just cried for no reason? Is crying actually good for you? New studies are coming out about the psychology of tears. New research conducted by psychologists has been trying to answer these profound questions and are helping us understand the concept of crying from a psychological and neuroscientific attitude. Ad Vingerhoets, a psychology professor at Tilburg University, exclaims, “I think the study of crying, more than is the case for any other emotional expression, may help us to obtain a better insight into human nature.” Let’s take a look at why crying seems to differ between males and females.

Research has been done for several years exploring the theory of the difference between women and men crying. In conclusion, which I’m sure most of you all know, women cry more than men. In the early 1980s, William Frey discovered women cry on an average of 5.3 times a month in contrast to men who cry approximately 1.3 times per month. In today’s society, these averages still remain about the same. Testosterone might in fact be a reason why men cry less than women because it can prevent crying, while prolactin (a hormone found in women that stimulates milk production) can promote crying. Even more interesting, Dianne Hemert, a researcher from the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research conducted a study in which  individuals in more advanced countries tended to cry more because their culture allows it. However, people in poorer countries did not cry as much because this emotional express can be seen as weak. Knowing this, is crying good for your health?

Robert R. Provine exclaims one of the benefits of crying: “Tears add valence and nuance to the perception of faces. Tears become a sort of social lubricant helping to ensure the smooth functioning of a community by helping people communicate.” According to Jerry Bergman, tears benefit us psychologically, physiologically, and spiritually. The basic function of why crying is good for us is because they essentially help us see. They lubricate our eyes/eyelids and help stop dehydration. Tears even kill bacteria and remove toxins. Tears contain a substance called lysozyme that can exterminate 90 to 95 percent of bacteria in a very short period of time (5 to 10 minutes). Most importantly, tears have been shown to have a very intense physiological impact. Crying can increase our mood, lower our stress, and liberate our feelings from within. Tears that are produced from emotional cry have a 24 percent higher “albumin protein (primary protein of blood plasma that moves molecules) concentration”  than crying tears of anger and irritability. Bergman states, “tears remove some of some of the chemicals built up in the body from stress, like the endorphin leucine-enkaphalin and prolactin that affect mood and stress tolerance. Suppressing tears increase stress levels, and contributes to diseases aggravated by stress, such as high blood pressure, heart problems, and peptic ulcers.”

New studies conducted in the UK have shown that women spend 1 year and 4 months of their lives crying. The women reported to have felt an emotional release after crying and feeling less aggravated and irritated. Dr. Frey experimented with a study in which he had a large sample of men who cried. He discovered that 73 percent of the time, men were found to become “misty-eyed” instead of actual tears streaming down their faces. 73 percent of men said they felt better after crying and 85 percent of women said they felt better after crying. Dr. William Frey also declared, “Crying is not only a human response to sorrow and frustration, it’s a health one. Crying is a natural way to reduce emotional stress that, left unchecked, has negative physical effects on the body, including increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.” Frey has been studying the act of crying and tears for over fifteen years and is still continuing to conduct more experiments on the benefits of crying.

Ultimately, I would say crying is good for you. It has a positive influence on our bodies physically, emotionally, and mentally. Studies have shown that women cry more than men, but men still do cry. From these studies and several others done around the world, I would say that crying has a direct positive relationship on us.

Sources:

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/05/29/7-good-reasons-to-cry-the-healing-property-of-tears/

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/sex+relationships/wellbeing/crying+is+good+for+you,8519

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-reasons-why-crying-good-for-you.html

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/cry.aspx

I’m sure most of us, if not all of us college students are guilty of using our phones late at night before going to bed. I am guilty of it as well. When I finish my homework and climb into bed, I grab my phone and look on social media sites to see what’s going on before going to sleep. Unfortunately, there may be some unhealthy downsides in doing this. There has been some discussion on this topic: could using your phone at night actually cause blindness?

Using our phones at night is a very common activity that most of us participate in. Most people check social media and send text messages before going to bed. According to The Business Insider, numerous people think using our smartphones at night is a harmless activity, but it can actually have damaging effect on our health. A report from GigaOm says that the light radiating out from our smartphones can ultimately harm our sleep cycle and overall health. According to Business Insider, that blue light (light from our smartphones) affects the way our body produces the chemical melatonin, which is the hormone produced by secreted by the pineal gland to help make us sleepy. The American Chemical Society further displayed the long-lasting impacts of the blue light of smartphones. They declared that the blue light essentially “tricks your body into thinking its morning, which messes with your circadian rhythm and makes it harder to fall asleep.” An excessive amount of using your smartphone at night for several hours can possibly lead to a disorder called macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is when the center section of the retina deteriorates. The retina is the nerve tissue located in the back of the eye that detects light, so when this is severely damaged, it can lead to blindness (in severe cases).

An extreme case of this theory was reported by Mail Online. A 26 year old man was texting his girlfriend from his smartphone at nighttime for several hours. The man suffered severe “retinal detachment” after using an app called WeChat to message his girlfriend over a period of several days and nights in the dark. The young man reported having symptoms such as immediate flashes when looking at something, which is a very common sign that the retina has been detached from the remainder of the eye. The man was taken into surgery by doctors who diagnosed his condition in which the retina pulled away from the blood vessels in the eye so the eye isn’t getting the necessary oxygen it needs to properly function. Scientists say the condition affects people of the ages 50 to 70 the most, but cases are heavily rising in younger people. Scientists believe that a probable cause of this is due to constant smartphone usage. Expertise in the field have said constantly staring at a laptop or smartphone can easily put a great amount of strain on your eye muscles. Andrea Thau told ABC News, “Our eyes have evolved for three-dimensional viewing. So we wind up over focusing as we strain to find a 3-D image on a close-up 2-D screen.”

Eye surgeons from around the world have reported that the amount of people who are experiencing short sightedness has increased due to smartphones. David Allamby from Focus Clinics further showed the severity of this issue: “There has been a 35 percent increase in the number of people with advancing myopia (short sightedness) since the launch of smartphones in 1997.” He even declared this issue can easily go up by 50 percent in the next decade. 

The National Eye Institute reported significant data that a high 66 percent increase in currency of myopia in the last 25 years since the appearance of the personal computer.  According to All About Vision, myopia has been increasingly so quickly that about 42 percent of young adults in America are nearsighted. A new study from Sweden shows that less than 10 percent of healthy 10 year old kids are myopic. Researchers performed an experiment at Uppsala University in which they took 217 healthy 10-year old children. They ran tests to test something called “visual acuity” and eye disorders such as strabismus (two eyes cannot maintain proper alignment). From this study, 17 adolescents were nearsighted, 8 had farsightedness, and 9 children had astigmatism. 3 adolescents had below-average contrast sensitivity (ability to determine between smaller increments of light vs dark) and 5 had a reduced stereopsis, which is three-dimesonial vision. From this study, none of the children were visually impaired, but did not have normal visual acuity.

Overall, I would say there is a strong correlation between using smartphones and the impairment of vision. I think there even is a possible direct causality between using smartphones and a decrease in proper eye function. To correct this, we need to limit the amount of time spent on our smartphones and laptops. Most importantly, we need to get off the phone at night!

Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2646136/Could-using-phone-night-cause-blindness.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-joyce-od/eye-strain_b_1591414.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-night-bad-sleep-2014-9

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-news.htm

Do you have a sibling(s)? Do you have a twin? If so, have you ever been able to read your twin’s mind? This has been a topic of curiosity for several years now, especially the past decade. Personally, I have a fraternal twin that also attends Penn State University as a freshmen. Even though we are fraternal, I can consciously say that we have some form of twin telepathy. Besides having a unique bond beyond that of standard siblings, we seem to think we share a supernatural ability. Considering this…is telepathy a real thing?

Sometimes twins can feel a physical feeling of something that their twin is experiencing at that very moment. Sometimes twins can even perform the same activities such as calling someone at the same time or ordering the same food at a restaurant. Even more fascinating, twins can finish each other’s sentences. Personally, this happens all the time to my twin and me. When we go out to a restaurant with our parents or friends, we tend to choose the same foods. At the dinner table, we always say the same things and finish each other’s sentences. In addition, twins and myself often feel the same emotions as my twin (happiness, excitement, depression, pain, fear, etc).

So, is there scientific evidence to back up this twin telepathy hypothesis? According Teen Ink, twin telepathy is “when one twin can assess the thoughts or feelings of another twin without the other twin giving them any signs. It acts as a ‘sixth sense’ between the twins.”

To better comprehend what twin telepathy actually is, you have to understand the two different types of twins. Identical twins (also called monozygotic) because they are produced by a single egg that has been fertilized divides into two eggs that contain the same genetic material. This makes it likely for that set of identical twins to look the same and act in the same manner. Fraternal twins (also called dizygotic) because they are formed by two separate eggs. Fraternal twins are the same as regular siblings except they share the same birthday. Telepathy has been noted to occur more in identical twins, but it has been shown to occur in fraternal twins as well.

Twins are considered “biologically interchangeable” because they are able to feel what the other is feeling without verbally saying it. According to Teen Ink Magazine, 30 to 40 percent of identical twins are probable to experience telepathy. Compared to fraternal twins, identical twins are twice more likely to experience telepathy in their lifetime. This is because identical twins are much more closer genetically than fraternal twins and are even said to have almost identical brain frameworks. There has been no scientifically proven evidence that twins actually experience twin telepathy, but the most evidence scientists have presently are personal accounts. The one popular and common story of twin telepathy is from the twins known as the “Jim Twins”. This set of twins were not raised together, but ended up marrying women with the same exact names, and even named their children and pet dog the same. Is this just a coincidence? There are possibilities that this situation was purely due to chance, but that seems highly unlikely for all of these things to occur without one another even knowing each other existed. Researchers believe twin telepathy could have been a determining factor in this story because identical twins have the same brain patterns, explaining why they would each marry a woman with the same name and call their children by the same names. Researchers even said twins who are raised separately can prove to be more similar than twins who are raised together because “many times when twins are raised together they feel the need to make themselves unique and to stand apart from their twin, causing them to act or do something differently than their twin simply because their twin does it that way.”

Another story that researchers linked to twin telepathy was discovered through polygraphs and interviews. A study conducted by Robert Sommer, Humphrey Osmond, and Lucille Pancyr who interviewd pairs of twins to determine if they ever experienced twin telepathy. At the end of the study, 12 out of 34 people said they could “communicate telepathically”, which is a decent amount in the science field. In addition, a girl said to have broken her ankle in a bike accident. Her twin reported to have swelling on the identical ankle from which her sister broke, but did not do anything to cause the swelling.

So, is twin telepathy just a myth? Considering there is no scientific evidence, some people would say it is because there is not enough thorough evidence to support the theory. Even though the closest evidence we have to twin telepathy is brain waves showing similar thoughts from twins and to personal accounts, I think it is more of a correlation than a direct relationship right now. There needs to be further experiments conducted with several pairs of twins. Currently, researchers and scientists are working on how to actually prove twin telepathy exists.

Sources:

http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/539371/Twin-Telepathy-Does-It-Exist/

http://www.premierexhibitions.com/exhibitions/4/4/bodies-exhibition/blog/twin-telepathy-fact-or-fiction

http://multiples.about.com/od/funfacts/a/twintelepathy.htm

Have you ever tripped and fell and felt an enormous amount of pain? The same thing can happen to your friend except he or she may barely feel anything. Why can people tolerate pain better than others? Is there a scientific reasoning behind this or is it just who you are? According to recent studies to this question, it deals with your brain.

People deal with pain differently due to how their brain is actually structured. According to new studies conducted by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, pain that individuals feel is linked to the amount of grey matter located in the brain. The grey matter of the brain is extremely crucial because it makes up a substantial portion of the central nervous system and consists of the brain’s neuronal cell bodies. A particular study conducted by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center took a sample of 116 persons and measured each of their pain tolerance by exposing them to a slight pain stimulant. The researchers asked the individuals to tell them the level of their pain when a portion of their skin was subject to a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Nichole Emerson reported the results of the study, “Subjects with higher pain intensity ratings had less grey matter in brain regions that contribute to internal thoughts and control of attention.” Based on this study and various others, researchers could determine that evaluating one’s brain structure can help determine his or her pain tolerance. Robert Coghill agreed with this statement by stating, “These kinds of structural differences can provide a foundation for the development of better tools for the diagnosis, classification, treatment, and even prevention of pain.”

Coghill participated in a 2003 study in which he used MRIs to evaluate brain functions of various people. His researchers determined that the volunteers who confirmed they felt a great amount of pain when being exposed to the heat stimulus had brain activation in regions that are significant in feeling pain. Contrasting this, the people who only declared having a small amount of pain to the heat stimulus had only a little brain activation in the pain areas. This study showed a strong correlation, but there are some flaws in this experiment (as with all experiments). Tis study was only conducted with a small sample of people (only 17). The results could have been different if they performed the experiment on a greater variety of individuals. Also, differences in pain levels can be due to other confounding variables. Cognitive factors such as previous experiences with a great amount of pain and that person’s mental state of mind when they are exposed to the stimulus.

Even more interesting, it has been discovered that women have a lower pain tolerance than males. A 2002 study displayed this difference between women and men’s pain entry. William Maixner, who has a PhD in the Center for Neurosensory Disorders at the University of North Carolina, declared that an opioid called beta endorphins (blood alleviating substance) released. Women’s bodies tend to release fewer of the beta endorphins than do males. However, a factor that could critique this study is that there are other elements that could cause someone to feel a significant amount of pain in that certain time period. Critical life events such as a close family member losing a job, a traumatic accident or illness, or even the death of a close relative can increase the stress level of the individual, which can increase the amount of pain felt (ultimately decreasing pain tolerance). Studies that show women feeling more pain than males has a strong link to why due to a lack of certain hormones such as the beta endorphins mentioned above, but the results of these studies can also be due to change and third variables.

Overall, the reason people have a higher pain tolerance than others is due to the amount of grey matter located in the brain. But, other factors such as what that individual experienced that day or any traumatic events that have occurred can easily cause one to feel more pain. Stress is often linked to pain. Think about this next time you get injured and evaluate how much pain you are feeling and why.

Sources:

http://www.ibtimes.com/why-do-some-people-tolerate-pain-better-others-new-study-links-pain-sensitivity-grey-matter-brain

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030624090043.htm

http://www.webmd.com/women/features/low-pain-threshold-heres-why

Are animals gay? Can animals be gay? This has been a question that has been running through my mind (and I am sure a lot of others) for a while now. There has been a lot of controversial discussions of whether this question is scientifically proven or a myth. Animals are extremely similar to humans, and since humans can be homosexual…does that mean animals can be too?

According to Luiz Solimeo, the reasoning behind this theory that animals can be homosexual is due to a few factors. One, homosexual behavior can be seen in animals. Second, nature demands animals to act on their urges and desires. Third, animals’ instincts often determine their behavior. Lastly, homosexuality is in human nature and “man is also animal.”

According to Solimeo, the theory that animals can be gay is purely a myth. He states that there exists clashing stimuli that cause animals to be confused. Solimeo explains this further: “The first observation must be the fact that animal instincts are not bound by the absolute determinism of the physical laws governing the mineral world. In varying degrees, all living beings can adapt to circumstances. They respond to internal or external stimuli. Second, animal cognition is is purely sensorial, limited to sound, odor, touch, taste, and image. Thus, animals lack the precision and clarity of human intellectual perception. Therefore, animals frequently confuse one sensation with another or one object with another.” In addition, Solimeo declares that animals can acquire other images and memories that can get rid of the old stimuli and bring in a new one. This means other factors from their internal or external environment (third or confounding variables) can change the original instinct of the animal. Besides other elements impacting animal behavior, animals do not have the manner to express emotions (fear, pain, happiness, impulse) that humans can on a daily basis. As a result of this, animals often express themselves in a debatable manner; meaning their behavior is open to multiple interpretations.

Some biologists have reported that in a study 1,500 different animal species have exhibited homosexual behavior. According to Nick Collins, research has shown that approximately a fifth of king penguins are homosexual. He also states that gay behavior has been observed in a variety of animals such as giraffes, dolphins, butterflies, and sheep. However, scientists’ beliefs are divided when it comes to this theory and the discoveries (there has not been many significant findings). Bahemihl, who is a homosexual biologist at the University of Wisconsin, said researchers do not believe animals to be gay because they have a “heterosexual bias”. Dr. Antonio Pardo agreed with Bahemihl that animals cannot be homosexual, but many scientists believe this myth due animal behavior that may appear homosexual. Therefore, researchers often assume animals are gay just because they are displaying some sort of homosexual behavior. This is an observable study, not experimental (nothing is observed when making a change).

Albert Mohler from Christian Headlines supports the animals are gay theory is a myth. He declares,”Within most species, homosexual sex has been documented only sporadically, and there appear to be few cases of individual animals who engage in it exclusively…We may be grouping together a big grab bag of behaviors based on only a superficial similarity.” Thus,  this “theory” that animals are gay is more of a belief and curiosity rather than science.

Based on the information above and the research conducted by biologists and scientists, the theory that animals are homosexual is a purely a myth. First of all, there is few evidence and studies that is strong enough to even show correlations to animals showing gay behavior. The feedback that has been delivered from researchers is merely based on perception and what they believe the animals to be doing. So, researchers can assume animals are exhibiting homosexual behavior, but just be performing a daily routine. There are no strong correlations or causations that could link animals to being gay. Rather, the animals could easily be responding to other variables that are affecting their behavior such as outside factors. The temperature outside, the environment that they are in, and the other animals that they are around could greatly influence the way they are acting (maybe making it seem like they are participating in homosexual behavior). These studies that have been conducted are not nearly as in depth as they need to be to confirm this myth to be an actual scientific theory. Maybe in the future, researchers will conduct more experimental studies observing animal and homosexual behavior. As for now, animals being gay is a myth.

Sources:

http://www.narth.org/docs/animalmyth.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7735232/Can-animals-be-gay.html

http://www.christianheadlines.com/news/can-animals-be-gay-11628683.html

Have you ever been in a deep sleep and then suddenly became awaken by a muscle cramp in the leg? Since I have been at Penn State, this has happened to me quite frequently. Often, I have woken up during the middle of the night to a charley horse in the back of my leg and let me tell you, it is pretty painful. It is interesting to me that I have gotten more muscle cramps here at Penn State than I have ever received in my life. So, what causes these unpleasant aches?

Some basics about charley horses (or muscle cramps in the calf) are they produced by muscle spasms, which is the spontaneous and involuntary muscle contractions. According to WebMD, there are various causes of these muscle cramps. Some include poor blood circulation, overusing the calf muscle, dehydration, fatigue, a lack of minerals (potassium, calcium, etc.), and even certain treatments can cause painful muscle cramps. These leg cramps are more common in the elderly, obese, and athletes, but the interesting thing is it can happen to anyone at any time. These are the known factors that cause these muscle cramps, but scientists still are not quite sure of why they actually occur.

Dr. Jonathan Kirschner, a sports medicine aid at Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, states, “Leg cramps that happen during sleep are quite common but not fully understood.” A 2012 study conducted by the American Family Physician Journal discovered that roughly 60 percent of adults have gone through something called ‘nocturnal idiopathic leg cramps (nighttime cramps) and as we grow in age, we are more prone to these cramps. Reported by Next Avenue from PBS, one in every three individuals above 60 years old have been awaken by a charley horse at least one in the past month. Six percent of these individuals over the age of 60 declared that they have to handle this issue on most nights.

Dr. Kirschner also explains further about charley horses: “A charley horse is uncomfortable, to be sure, but usually harmless. Many times it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong. But if the cramps are getting worse or disrupting your sleep to the point where it’s impacting your waking hours, then it’s something you should bring up to your doctor.” Generally, there is nothing to worry about, but there are potential health concerns to having these cramps on a consistent basis. If you are getting charley horses on a nighttime basis, it could result in electrolyte imbalances and other nutrient imbalances. Deficiencies in certain necessary minerals such as calcium and potassium can lead to serious health problems. Constant charley horses can also indicate spinal stenosis (when spaces in your spine become smaller and smaller) and/or peripheral artery disease (plaque builds up in your arteries that reduces blood flow). Ultimately, there are strong correlations between charley horses and health conditions as mentioned above, but there is not definite direct causality. Other third variables can also cause these painful leg cramps such as overuse of the muscle in the form of exercise, the weather changing (particularly to warmer weather), and digesting different medications.

So, is there anything to do to help prevent or ease the pain? Putting a cold ice pack or cold bag of ice to the sensitive spot can help relax the muscle. Firmly massaging the area can help stop the cramp sooner, but usually you cannot even touch the back of your leg. Moving the muscle around and getting up to walk around (even though tremendously painful) can eventually stop the muscle cramp from continuing. Lastly, drink a sufficient amount of fluids. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Propel have been said to help with leg muscle cramps.

Should we believe this is what causes charley horses in the middle of the night? I think there is a strong enough correlation that points to why these muscle cramps occur. There needs to be further studies with a larger sample size of the population to determine if any of these factors actually cause charley horses because there are confounding variables such as the temperature around you and the amount of fluids you have consumed in that day. But, I think all of the factors I mentioned above like overusing the muscle and a lack of minerals is a strong cause of these cramps. Hope this helps with anyone experiencing the same thing as me!

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/nighttime-leg-cramps-topic-overview

http://www.nextavenue.org/article/2013-07/what-you-can-do-about-nighttime-charley-horse

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night from a bad nightmare? Have you ever had such a bad nightmare that you woke up trembling and sweating? This happens to millions of people across the nation. So, why do we have nightmares? Is there a scientific reasoning behind them? Let’s find out.

Nightmares are essentially bad dreams. They can make us feel extremely scared and anxious, usually causing us to wake up. According to RealMeaningofDreams.com, children experience more traumatizing nightmares than adults. It reports that adolescents between the young ages of three to four and seven to eight experience the more frightening dreams. However, nightmares at this age are considered commonplace because we are dealing with fears and issues.  Nightmares occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. This is where the majority of dreaming takes place and most of them take place in the early hours of the morning.

According to Deirdre Barret from Harvard University, nightmares contribute to human’s survival. He believes that nightmares can help the brain focus and concentrate better. Barret’s theory is that nightmares have developed for psychological reasons: “Nightmares probably evolved to make us anxious about potential dangers. Even post-traumatic nightmares, which just traumatize us, may have been useful in ancestral times when a wild animal that had attacked you, or a rival tribe that had invaded might well be likely to come back.”

In addition, there are certain factors that can cause nightmares in individuals. If you take particular medications for illnesses or a bad cold, medications can cause bad dreams to occur. Stress is the primary reason why adults and people in general have nightmares. If you are going through a transition such as changing your job or moving into a new home, this can be a cause of bad dreams. Also, experiencing a traumatic event(s) in your life (car accidents, injuries, surgeries, deaths) can lead to an illness called Post Traumatic Nightmares. These are bad dreams similar to nightmares, but they have a more serious extent to them. These type of nightmares occur due to a traumatic event one has experienced, and the nightmare frightens him/her again (maybe even more than when he/she actually went through it).

Even more surprising, reported by WebMD, one out of every two adults has nightmares. Two to eight percent of adults in the world are “plagued” by nightmares, meaning they are consistently having problems with bad dreams. Even eating a late night snack can possibly cause nightmares. This is because your metabolism is increased after eating and the brain becomes more energetic. A study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorder Center determined that out of 389 Canadian people, 8.5% said their nightmares were caused by food. The University of Tasmania conducted a study in which six males ate mustard and Tabasco sauce. The piquant taste of the sauces increased the males’ body temperatures during the first stage of sleep and lengthened the time period from being awake to completely asleep. Not only do spicy foods tend to cause bad dreams; even sweet and sugary foods do. The Journal of the Mind and Body declared that junk food also causes nightmares. Foods such as candy, ice cream, and other sweets increases the waves of the brain, which causes seven out of ten people to experience bad dreams. Who knew that eating late at night can cause certain dreams, especially nightmares to occur?

Even more interesting, a study conducted in 2004 showed that people who sleep on their left sides tend to experience more nightmares than people who sleep on their right sides. Prevention Magazine also reported that individuals who sleep on their stomachs tend to have the most “emotionally-charged” dreams. Personally, I sleep on my stomach, so I found this statistic extremely fascinating.

So what can you do to help prevent nightmares? The most important thing to do is to discuss your nightmares with those close to you. Especially for children, discussing nightmares with parents can directly benefit the child because it can help decrease the number or severity of nightmares. Another preventive measure is to stop eating junk foods late at night, as well as eating meals in the latter part of the night. If the nightmares are so bad that you can never sleep, a therapist or medication is recommended.

Sources:

http://www.asdreams.org/nightma.htm

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52228/what-causes-nightmares

http://www.livescience.com/32730-why-do-we-have-nightmares.html

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/nightmares-in-adults

http://www.realmeaningofdreams.com/nightmares.html

In this world, one of the several things that humans need is sleep. Many people, especially college students, do not receive the recommended hours of sleep each night. People can avoid sleep, but they will come to realize that sleep is a necessity. Personally, I am the type of person who needs a mostly quiet and dark environment to fall asleep. This is the way numerous people need to fall asleep, but I often put on relaxing music when taking naps. Since I have been at Penn State, I  recently started trying putting soft music on when going to bed. Once I started doing this, I realized that I have fallen asleep much quicker and easier.

According to Soundscape Music Therapy, music is a factor in that can enhance the duration and quality of your sleep. Research done in various hospitals has shown that people with medical conditions fell asleep easier with music playing. One way music aids us when trying to fall asleep is it blocks out many of the noises that tend to bother us. Annoying sounds from outside or even from the college dorms such as the bathroom toilet or hand-dryer are blocked out much easier when music is playing. These sounds do not become as distracting when music is playing. Our brain becomes less focused on the surrounding environment and more concentrated on the different sounds of the music. Second, music has a rhythmic sound. This means that it has a constant beat that can be followed as opposed to sudden noises that distract us at night (flushing the toilet, sink water running, etc.) like I mentioned before. Third, music can be used as a relaxation technique. Music helps us create images in our mind and helps us focus on these images, helping our minds shut down easier.

Reported by Emma Innes from Mail Online, “Playing sounds synchronized to the rhythm of the slow brain oscillations of people who are asleep boosts their memory and improves sleep quality.” In addition, the music sound allows the length of our sleep (sleep duration) last longer. Dr. Jan Born from a university in Germany, further emphasized this idea by stating, “The beauty lies in the simplicity of applying auditory stimulation at low intensities. Therefore, it portrays a straightforward tool for clinical settings to enhance sleep rhythms.” Dr. Jan Born conducted a study where eleven people were revealed to a variety of sound stimulations. When these individuals were exposed to these sounds, the sounds were shown to be in sync with the brain’s slower movements. The next day, the people in the study had an increase in memory intake. The researchers who helped conduct this study with Dr. Born believe just like how this study helped improve memory retention, it can also help improve sleep.

Another study was conducted published in 2009 by the Journal of Advanced Nursing. Five trials were performed with 170 people. The trials showed that music had a somewhat average impact on their sleep quality. Not only can it improve the quality and duration of sleep over a few nights, it can slowly improve the quality of sleep over a longer period of time. When listening to music, fast and up-beat songs should be listened to because this only will increase your heart beat, causing your body to become more excited. Songs with a soft rhythm and a relaxing tone (Ed Sheeran for example) can be effective in improving sleep.

I am not saying you have to listen to music right as you are going to bed. I am not saying music will help each and every one of you. This tool can be extremely effective in improving sleep, but it will only help some people. Music is not for everyone. Music affects us all differently, but I urge you all to give it a try and see what happens.

Sources:

http://soundscapemusictherapy.com/2012/11/01/can-music-help-me-sleep/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2308114/How-listening-music-boosts-brainpower.html

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/insomnia/a/music_insomnia.htm

This have been a very talked about topic over the past several years. Personally, I am not a coffee drinker, but I do drink a decent amount of tea. I did not think anything of it until my friends were constantly saying, “Lauren, you shouldn’t be drinking so much tea, it dehydrates you.” Or, people would say: “Don’t drink tea every day because your body will become dehydrated.” In reality, this is just a myth.

According to Huffington Post, the only way tea will dehydrate you is if you are overdoing it by consistently drinking it multiple times a day. If you have a couple cups of tea a day, this will not harm your body in any way. Caffeine is more likely to dehydrate you in contrast to tea, which actually ends up leaving you more hydrated. Katherine Zeratsky from Mayo Clinic reports that taking in three to five cups of coffee daily could potentially pose a risk for dehydration.

According to Claudia Hammond from BBC (British Broadcasting Organization), “Every day people around the globe drink 1.6 billion cups of coffee and around twice as many cups of tea.” People are satisfied with tea because it includes caffeine that helps wake them up in the mornings and during the day. We know that the recommended daily intake of water is about eight glasses a day, and usually we think that tea is not included in these eight glasses of water because they “dehydrate” you. Is there any factual evidence to prove this though?

There has not been very many or recent studies about caffeine and links to dehydration. The last known study is from the year 1928. Three men were experimented over the course of two winter seasons. Some were ordered to drink up to four cups of caffeine a day, ranging from coffee to tea to water secured with caffeine. The study found that the men who drank only the water laced with caffeine and nothing else, their urine volume went up by 50%. However, when these men began to drink coffee on a daily basis, their urine production increased. Although this study shows a correlation between caffeine and urine production, it does not show any type of direct causality that tea in particular causes dehydration.

Also, there was a rare study performed that had people consume solely tea for a twelve hour period. There was no difference at all between the people that consumed the tea and people who consumed the same amount of boiled water. So, the hydration levels between these two groups of individuals did not differ. This was a randomized control experiment.

Below is a picture showing the amount of caffeine in coffee vs tea. As you can see from the image, there is a much higher caffeine content in different types of coffee than tea. This leads to the point that tea does not have as many substances (potentially harmful) that are being put into your body.

Another study was conducted by in 2000 by Researchers at The Center for Human Nutrition in Ohama. The experiment looked at eighteen men who drank different caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages. From the results of the study, scientists determined that there was no difference (at least significant findings) in the hydration levels in the males. Due to this, there should not be a reason why we should avoid caffeinated drinks, especially tea all the time.

Overall, the theory that tea dehydrates you is a myth. There are other things to worry about when it comes to tea. According to an article from Live Strong, the more serious side effects of over-drinking tea is irritability, anxiety, a faster heartbeat, and difficulties in sleeping. These things should be more looked into rather than the myth that tea dehydrates you. Just don’t go overboard with drinking caffeine and there are no worries!

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140402-are-coffee-and-tea-dehydrating

http://www.livestrong.com/article/524680-does-tea-have-a-dehydrating-effect/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/27/dehydration-myths_n_3498380.html

Throughout the years, many people have heard from others that you should not go out with wet hair because it will increase your chances of catching a terrible cold. Many people go to bed with a wet head as well, which I am guilty of. Parents are becoming more and more concerned with this theory, and it is passing down to their kids. So, does going out with wet hair really give you a cold? Or is it just a myth?

In a survey conducted by Stephanie Watson, she found out that 40% of mothers said that if their children are out in cold weather with wet hair, they will get sick. So how did this theory start? According to Watson, it all began in the 20th century when a scientist determined that soldiers who slept in cold and wet trenches during World War I were four times more likely to catch a cold than those who did not sleep in these wet conditions. Due to this, mothers have become obsessed with looking into this topic and have not let their children out with wet hair. The theory that going out with a wet head will give you a cold is most likely a myth; so many other factors are more likely to give you a cold when you step outside. Having a wet head when walking outside will not cause a cold. Not wearing a jacket outside will not cause a cold. Going to bed with a wet head will also not cause a cold. So what does cause a cold?

You cannot catch a cold unless you are open to the cold virus. Hundreds of viruses cause colds. You can easily catch a cold when someone sneezes and/or coughs, allowing the virus to sneak out into the air. Viruses also stick to easily touched surfaces such as sinks and toilets, so if the virus is living on one of these surfaces and you touch it and then touch your face, you will most likely catch this virus.Scientists have discovered that going out with a wet head is not what actually causes the virus. They have found that the chilly air of winter dries out the mucus lining of the nasal area, which makes it so much easier for viruses to sneak in and produce a cold. So, the dry air is what causes colds, not a wet head.

Maybe colds do not cause colds, but they can possibly trigger a cold. Eccles, the director of the Common Cold Centre, tested this theory head-on. He placed individuals in a science laboratory in a cold setting. After they were placed in this chilly environment, the people then returned to their normal lives and talked to people who had a cold virus. These people did not become sick with symptoms of a cold virus. Then, Eccles conducted another study. He had a group of people place their bare feet in cold water for 20 minutes and another group placed their feet in an empty bowl with their socks on for the same period of time. In the first several days, there were symptoms reported, but the same symptoms were reported by both groups. About five days later, twice as many people who participated in placing their bare feet in cold water caught a cold. So, this could mean being in a cold and wet environment causes colds, but it actually “triggers” the virus. The actual cold air or water does not cause the cold, it starts a virus that already existed in the body. In Eccles’s study, people reported they had cold symptoms, but there were no tests done to verify that those people were actually contaminated with the virus.

So, throughout these several studies conducted…what is the truth? There needs to be more evidence and experiments performed to truly tell if having wet hair causes colds. In this point in time, being outside with wet hair or in a wet environment can possibly active a cold, but is not a cause of it. Wet hair causing colds is a medical myth.

Sources:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cold-flu/wet-head-cold2.htm

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120305-youll-catch-a-cold-with-wet-hair

http://www.uamshealth.com/?id=4993&sid=1

Is napping actually bad for you? Millions of people take naps every day, but studies have been showing that maybe we should avoid taking naps during the day. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, napping during the day can cause bad health. In this study, individuals who often take naps during the day are more likely to die at a younger age than those who do not take daily afternoon naps. Even the CDC says that our deficiency of sleep is a “public health crisis”. The New York Times reports, “In the last year or two, an obsessive fixation on getting sleep – not just any sleep, but good sleep – has crept into our public consciousness.”

The WNYC’s Clock Your Sleep is a program that is being used to observe different sleeping patterns over a population to comprehend our variety of sleeping patterns. We are told naps are good for you. However, a new study done by Cambridge University found that people who nap for an hour or longer a day are at a higher risk for dying at a younger age than those who avoid napping during the day. According to Medical Daily, taking a nap consisting of a couple hours can disrupt our sleep cycle, but taking shorter half-hour naps can actually provide us with an energy boost to keep us fueled for the rest of the day.  To further determine these theories, researchers conducted a study that took 16,000 British people that were of the ages 40 to 79. They did this study for a long period of time; 13 years. Three categories of people were created: people who napped for more than an hour a day, people who napped less than an hour a day, and people who did not even take naps at all. Other factors such as depression, gender, and certain illnesses were taken into consideration when figuring out the results. It was found that people who napped for more than an hour a day had a likelihood of 32% to die younger. Medical Daily recorded that the people who died due to this was because of various heart diseases, cancer, and other breathing illnesses. However, the researchers who conducted this study still aren’t certain if there is a direct connection between long napping and death.

According to Pat Hagan of Mail Online, people who nap are at a higher risk of acquiring a respiratory illness, acquiring swelling in different parts of the body, and can even be a possible cause of lung disease. A study done showed that people who took naps for an hour or more a day increased the likelihood of dying at a younger age by about a third. Hagan even reported the seriousness of long-term napping: “Adults who nap every day are up to two-and-a-half times more likely to die from respiratory illnesses than those who don’t.” The American Journal of Epidemiology even said that constantly napping during the day without realizing it can mean that you could possibly have lung disease. This study also found that the likelihood of death increased by roughly 14% who napped than less an hour a day (compared death rates with sleeping rates). But, if the naps were over an hour long,  the risk of death increased by 32%. Even more scary, a study completed in China found that people who napped more than 30 minutes consistently, were at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Jim Horne from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University reported that napping for a short period of time can be extremely beneficial. He said, “The findings actually show that the great majority – about 85 percent – of those people who napped less than an hour were at no greater risk.”  So, short story short, people should pay closer attention to how many naps they are taking and for how long. Try taking half-hour naps every day, and see if it changes the way you feel. Your health is the most important thing!

Sources:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/consistently-needing-take-long-mid-day-naps-might-be-indicative-underlying-health-problem-180951071/?no-ist

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2602913/Why-taking-afternoon-nap-raises-risk-EARLY-DEATH-third.html

http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/napping/page/0%2C3/

Since I have been here at Penn State, I have waken up several mornings completely exhausted. Sometimes I can barely wake up in the morning, and my eyes feel droopy. Everyone loves sleep, and frankly, we could all use more. So many hours should college students really get?

Americans overall are getting less and less sleep. If you are a college student, it is likely you are not getting enough sleep. According to the University Health Center, college students receive 6 to 6.9 hours of sleep each night. This is often due to an intense schedule of classes, work, extracurricular activities, and social activities. Research from various health and sleep studies have shown that college students who do not receive the proper amount of sleep per night negatively affects our mood, health, and how we perform on schoolwork and exams. So why do people in general, but especially college students need sleep?

Having a sufficient amount of sleep each night will give our bodies enough energy to get through the next day, helps fight of illnesses by improving our immune system, helps us think more clearly and efficiently, and helps us have a better performance throughout the day. Having the right amount of sleep will greatly improve our cognitive development, helping our brains remember stuff easier. The University Health Center declares that college students should aim to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

College students seem to be at more risk for not receiving the right amount of sleep compared to other individuals. Even though 8 hours is the recommended amount of sleep for college students to get, that is probably not going to happen. Reported by Geneseo at The State University of New York, even not getting 10 hours of sleep a night can make a college student feel unrested. We think we can “catch up” on sleep on the weekends, but we cannot catch up on sleep once it is lost. Constantly not getting enough sleep will interfere with our sleep cycle, and can easily lead to insomnia.

Here are some helpful tips from The State University of New York to help college students get the proper amount of sleep, or at least improve our sleep schedule. The first tip they give is to adjust the amount of alcohol we consume and easily messes up our sleep cycle. Second, if any of us participate in smoking, we should decrease this as much as possible because it worsens our concentration levels. Exercising daily and eating a well-balanced diet will help us fall and stay asleep longer at night, and can even prevent waking up during the middle of the night. Now, I know this can be hard, but reducing the amount of caffeine we ingest will help us in the long run. As college students, many of us love coffee and often drink severe cups a day to stay awake in class and late at night while doing homework. However, caffeine will only increase the likelihood of insomnia to occur and disrupts the sleep cycle. The study says college students should not take in caffeine within 4 hours of going to bed, which most of us do not to. Many of college students drink caffeine throughout the night while studying, and continue to drink caffeine the next day.

Below is a link on how college students and people in general can get a healthier night of sleep. The link includes strategies we can all perform to get a better night’s sleep such as maintaining a sleep schedule, performing deep breathing exercises to reduce physical and emotional stress, and to get out of bed if you cannot fall asleep:

http://www.geneseo.edu/webfm_send/5596

Sources:

https://www.uhs.uga.edu/sleep/

http://www.geneseo.edu/health/sleep

The debate of sports drinks vs water has been a highly-talked topic for years. From personal experience, I used to drink water during intense soccer or track matches. Soon enough, I realized I was not getting the proper energy and I often felt weak. Some people stick strictly to staying hydrated through water, but many of those people are not getting the most out of their athletic performance as others. There have been several experiments to determine if a sports drink is better during various forms of exercise, but the most important thing is which type of liquid keeps you the most hydrated and energized.

When we perform physical activity, we lose larger amounts of water and sodium than we would if not exercising at all. More importantly, during warmer weather, the body loses even more water and can easily become dehydrated if the water levels are not replaced. This decline of water has to be replenished in some way. Water can replenish those lost fluids at first, but it can not keep replacing these. If only water is consumed, it can lead to severe muscle cramps and aches. This is why another type of drink should be consumed during physical activity.

Yes, water is an excellent choice to keep the body hydrated during physical exercise. However, our body loses water very easily when exercising so we need other choices to keep fueling our body. Besides a study showing that sports drinks are used because the taste appeals to people more than water, sports drinks are composed of electrolytes and carbohydrates. People exercising for a long periods of time need the constant replacement of carbohydrates for energy and electrolytes for muscle contraction. Sports drinks such as Gatorade, has a higher content of sodium and calories that will replenish the lost sodium and fluids lost during sweating. According to The American College of Sports and Medicine, you should drink a sports drink (Gatorade) about an hour after you are done exercising. It has been said the best way to stay hydrated and energized is to use a mix of both water and a sports drink.

According to research done by Louis Burke from the Australian Institute of Sport in Victoria, sports drinks are beneficial. From his personal research, the sport drink Gatorade (and sports drinks in general) deliver fluids to body tissue much faster than water, they provide carbohydrate and sodium replenishment, they are refreshing during exercise, and they can even cause people to drink more to stay hydrated than when drinking water.

In a study performed by the creator of Gatorade, Cade, Gatorade was seen to show considerable results in the performance of athletes compared to water. One marathon runner drank a bottle of Gatorade, another drank half of a Gatorade bottle, and the other runner solely drank water. In the graph below, you can see that the third runner who just drank water had the least amount of energy and lowest sodium concentration. This means that particular runner’s energy would burn out much faster than the other two runners. The second runner who drank half of a Gatorade, had greater sodium levels. The first runner who drank the full Gatorade had the highest sodium concentration, which allowed him to have the most energy and maintain that energy to complete the race.

Through the evidence and studies, the bottom line is that water is a good choice for working out if it is a low-intensity workout. However, the best option for physical activity is to drink a mixture of water and a sports drink so the body is fueled for the entire exercise. Be smart about what you put into your bodies and the outcome will surprise you!

Sources:

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/sports-drinks-vs-water-which-is-better-for-exercise.html#b

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/gatorade.htm

http://sportsscientists.com/2007/11/sports-drinks-sweat-and-electrolytes-part-2/

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/drinking-gatorade-vs-drinking-water-during-sports-games.html