Having a pet dog might be one of the best things on the planet. Even being in the presences of a dog (especially at college) is amazing. Dogs have an unexplainable quality about them that makes the irresistibly comforting. Their comforting quality allows them to be used to help adults with mental and physical health because they “encourage people to exercise and increase social interaction” (UPI). Because of this researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention think that dogs can also help reduce childhood anxiety.

In past studies, dogs have been shown to reduce the risk of allergies and asthma in children which improves children’s immune systems by exposing them to allergens earlier in life. Now, researchers think that the constant playing, caretaking, social interaction and companionship has the ability to prevent anxiety and obesity that are usually rooted in childhood.

To conduct this study, 643 children between the ages of 4 and 10 from a clinic in upstate New York between July 2012 and December 2013 were surveyed before and after their annual check-up. The researchers collected age, sex, height, and weight information measured by the nurses. Only one child from each family could participate and the researchers excluded anyone who was ill or developmentally disabled. The survey included a number of questions about “somatic and mental health, nutrition, physical activity, parental depression, and whether or not the child has difficulties with emotions, attention, behavior or social interaction” (UPI). They were also asked whether the family had a pet. If the answer was yes, and they had a dog as a pet, more questions were asked about “how long the child had been exposed to the dog, physical activity with it, and how much time the child spent with the animal” (UPI). One potential flaw in this study is the fact that it is the parents had to answer the questions. It is possible that the parents were not truthful in areas such as “parental depression” or whether the child had difficulties with emotions, attention, behavior or social interaction. Another thing is that they might not be able to recall as much as they would life. It is possible that their memories are skewed. With this in mind, it could have effected the end result of the experiment.

Based on the survey, the researchers found that 57.5% of children had a pet dog and 42.5% did not. There was no significant difference in “BMI, screen time or physical activity between children with and without pet dogs” (UPI). To measure levels of anxiety researchers used the Screen for Child Anxiety and Related Disorders. They found that 21% of children without pet dogs scored above a 3, meaning that further assessment would indicate an anxiety diagnoses. Only 12% of children with dogs had a score of 3 or higher on the survey. There are defiantly many third confounding variables that could have effected the outcome, one of them, like I mentioned above, the parents were not 100% truthful when it came to the survey. Another thing could be whether or not anxiety ran in the family. An anxiety gene could run in the family and that family could still have a pet dog.

Researchers concluded that dogs could reduce childhood anxiety by encouraging conversation with other people, easing separation anxiety. They also found that dogs could increase oxytocin levels that reduce cortisol, which is the physiological responses to stress. Researchers would have to expand this study over a long period of time in order to really see if there is a real  connection between dogs and childhood anxiety and compare those to a group that does not have dogs. Researchers wrote, “‘Because this was a cross-sectional study of associations, a correlational study, no cause or effect can be inferred.’ ‘It may be that less anxious children have pet dogs or pet dogs make children less anxious'”(UPI).

I found this study interesting because I did not grow up with a pet dog and have bad anxiety that developed when I was a child. However, anxiety runs in my family and I know many people who have dogs and also have anxiety. There are alot of factors that could have played a role in the outcome of this cross-sectional study. However, I think people can agree that dogs are very comforting especially in times of a distress so it is likely that dogs can reduce anxiety in children.

Have you ever wondered why some of the craziest risk takers some how get away with it? It maybe be due to how well their brain is developed. The University of Turku in Finland conducted a study observing the brains of young males and low-risk takers. The researchers used a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)  to measure if one’s risky actions correlates with structure of the brain.

Researchers observed 34 young men aged 18 or 19  from upper secondary schools in Turku, Findland. They were then split into two different groups, high-risk takes and low-risk takers based on a psychological test. SINTEF researcher and behavioral analyst Dagfinn Moe says, ‘We expected to find that young men who spend time considering what they are going to do in a given risk situation would have more highly developed neural networks in their brains than those who make quick decisions and take chances.’ ‘This has been well documented in a series of studies, but our project revealed the complete opposite'”(Science Daily). One problem I find with the experiment is that they only had 34 participants, from the same area and all in secondary schools. I think they should have included more than 34 participants and also had people from different areas of Findland be involved in the experiment. 34 participants is not enough to have a solid conclusion. Because of this it is possible that there could be third confounding variables that influenced the conclusion.

The 34 men participated in a driving game in which they were awarded points according to the level of risk they were willing to take. “The test was laid out in the form of a simulated car journey through 20 sets of traffic lights” (Science Daily). During the test, when the men encountered a yellow light they had to decide to A) stop  or B) to take a chance and run the light and complete all 20 traffic lights as quickly as possible. Stopping at the stop light added three seconds to their time and if they encountered a collision, six seconds. All participants tested out the game before they started the formal test, when they were exposed to an MR scan of their brains. Before the test they were cleared of any anatomical deficiencies or mental health problems that could effect their cognitive functions. They were also all right-handed. Clearing the participants of any mental health problems levels the playing field and allows for stronger data by exempting certain variables.

The results showed that the high risk-takers did not hesitate for long before making their decisions due to their optimism, willingness to take a chance and belief that they could win determined their decision. The low risk-seekers questioned themselves. They questioned whether they should take the chance and what would happened if they crashed. This resulted in them hesitating before they ran the yellow light while choosing the “stop” button is a safe decision that resulted in no dilemma. I think that the way an individual is brought up could effect whether or not the run the yellow light immediately or whether they think about it before they take action. From experience, I feel like those who are risk-takers grow up with little parental supervision and not many rules. Those who have very strict parents are usually do not take as many risks because they are fearful of getting caught. However, some people grow up with strict parents which causes them to be big risk-takers as well.

From images of the brain researchers discovered differences in the young men’s white matter. White matter is a neural network “that transmits signals in the form of nerve impulses and is crucial to the regulation of internal communication between the different areas of the brain” (Science Daily). The brain scans showed that those who made quick decisions and took chances during driving situations had significantly more white matter than those who hesitated, evaluated the situation, and opted to drive safely. “This finding is interesting and will be important to the way we understand the brain’s development and our learning potential linked to risk-willingness,” says Moe.

In conclusion, Risk-takers may have a more developed brain because positive brain chemicals respond under risky conditions, promoting growth factors that contribute to the development or neural networks for form out physical and mental skills. Meaning that you have to take risks in order to have learned required skills.

As college students drinking alcohol is a very common thing. Because of this, it is likely that people can develop the “beer belly” and gain weight in other areas because of excessive drinking. One of the questions that researchers have been curious is about is whether or not the amount of beer you drink effects how much you exercise and if how much you exercise effects how much beer you drink. According to two new studies, “the interplay between exercise and alcohol could be a good thing” (New York Times).

Past studies have shown that men and women who are considered moderate drinkers (drink about 1- 2 drinks a day), were twice as likely to exercise regularly. However, these studies relied on  peoples ability to recall their exercise and drinking habits. Also the studies did not determine whether people’s exercise and drinking tended to go hand in hand, meaning that someone could have worked out on a Thursday and then drank with friends on Friday night. There is no obvious connection between the two.

Penn State University researchers decided to determine whether beer and exercise really go hand in hand. The study was conducted of 150 adult men and women age 18 to 75 who were  already enrolled in an ongoing, long-term health study at Penn State. They asked volunteers to fill out extensive questionnaire about their lifestyles  and then provided them with an smartphone app to record their drink intake and exercise. At the end of the day, the app would automatically send the scientists the report from each participant.

The app was used for a consecutive 21 days over a course of a year, covering different seasons. The participants submitted three of these 21 day reports. One question I have is whether or no people actually used the app every day or could they have possibly made their activity up before the record got sent to the researchers. If this happened, it could have skewed the results.

Once all the data was in, the researchers discovered that there was an unmistakable correlation between exercising on any given day and drinking. The scientist wrote, “people drank more than usual on the same days that they engaged in more physical activity than usual” (New York Times). This relationship remained true through out all the seasons of the year, regardless of gender or age. The data also did not show any one obsessively drinking (for women that means 4 or more drinks in succession and for men 5 or more drinks).

However, this study cannot determine why working out and drinking should be associated which makes this second study very interesting to researchers. According to the study published in Frontiers of Psychiatry, lab rats that both exercise and alcohol have been shown to increase activity in parts of the brain related to reward processing. Though the lab rats responded similarly to exercise and alcohol it is not identical. “There are aspects of reward processing related to exercise that differ from reward processing related to drinking, and those differences may help to explain why, if given the opportunity, animals will avidly engage in both running and ethanol sipping” (New York Times). The neural high seems to be more prominent  when the two are paired together rather then when they are separate.

According to  J. Leigh Leasure, an associate professor at the University of Houston, “Feeling a slight buzz after a workout, she said, we may, without overt volition, look to extend and intensify that feeling with a beer, a glass of wine or a cocktail” (New York Times). However, humans and rodents are different so it is possible that we may conjoin drinking and alcohol for many different reasons. Many people exercise after they drink to burn off all of the calories. In addition, drinking and exercising could be seen as social activities.

Though there is evidence that drinking and exercise go hand in hand, “it does not indicate that this relationship is necessarily worrisome for the vast majority of us,” according to Dr. Leasure. (New York Times). I personally believe that exercising causes people to drink because they assume since they exercised they can consume extra calories and vice versa. One of the things I find interesting was that in the study done at Penn State, that it did not matter what whether you were male or female or what age you were alcohol and exercise went hand in hand.

A huge problem facing Americans today is obesity. Recently, the government and individuals have been enforcing guidelines to help Americans and themselves lead a healthier life styles. Many people assume that those who are overweight are distraught because of their weight. However, researchers have come to learn that it is not necessarily the fact that an individual is overweight but the teasing, judgement and the constant advice being directed at those who are overweight that cause some psychological harm.

Jeffery Hunger, a doctoral candidate in social psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his colleagues found in a recent study that those who were “overweight or obese were more likely to report problems like depression, anxiety, substance abuse and low self-esteem if they had experienced weight-based discrimination in the past” (New York Time). Being the target of weight discrimination led those to cause harm to themselves by avoiding the doctors and gyms to avoid future discrimination. However, not all people that are clinical overweight or obese are unhappy or report problems like the ones listed above. There are many people out their who are perfectly happy with their appearance.

Another study done by Sara Domoff of the University of Michigan, exposed her undergraduate student to shows like the “The Biggest Loser.” She found that those participants who were not trying to lose weight expressed less empathy than those who were trying to lose weight. Many people expressed that an individuals weight is controllable and those who fail at trying to lose weight are not trying hard enough.

Fat stigma have consequences on the body as well. A recent study published in Obesity confirmed how “weight-based discrimination can increase levels of the hormone cortisol, a marker of stress” (New York Times). In the study, college-age women were told they were participating in an experiment about hormonal responses to shopping. The participants provided a saliva sample to measure cortisol levels, and their body mass index was measured. They were then asked whether or not they considered themselves overweight. The women were divided into two groups, the control group and a group meant to be the target of stigma. The control group was told that the shopping activity was full and that they were no longer needed. While the second group was told that their “size and shape” were not “ideal for this style of clothing.” They were then told that the researches wanted “‘to return the clothing to the designer in good condition,’ implying the participant would stretch the fabric” (New York Times).

Those in the stigma group who thought of themselves as heavy had increase in cortisol levels whereas those in the stigma group who were not concerned about their weight did not showed the same reaction. Researchers also noted that high cortisol levels drove to eating, which could then contribute to weight gain. These findings may be more prevalent in women then in men. Gender maybe a third variable in this situation because women tend to be more self-conscious of their weight then men. Another thing to consider is the age group. Do teenage girls ages 13-17 have the same results? What about those well into their adult hood? I feel that the older an individual gets the more the come to terms with themselves.

Researchers also found that fat stigmas does not even have to be a personal experience. A study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut, divided female participants into a control group and a stigma group. “Women in the stigma group watched a 10-minute video that included recent media clips of actors and reality show participants overeating, wearing ill-fitting clothes, struggling to exercise and being perceived as repulsive by others. After watching the video, their cortisol levels tended to be far higher than those who watched a neutral video” (New York Times).

Rebecca Puhl, one of the researchers of the Rudd Center said that the study showed that stigma and shame are common in our society do not motivate people to lose weight. Constant messages about weight-loss causes people to be less motivated to fix the issue.

I found this topic very interesting because obesity is such a big problem facing our society today. One of the things that really interested me is that majority of these studies only focused on women and not men. I think it would be interesting to find how women and men cortisol levels differ as well as how the levels differ in different age groups. Overall, I do think that the fat stigma is making us miserable only because obesity is such a big problem in our society today. If we did not have people constantly reminding us about how risky it is to be overweight and the importance of a healthy diet and exercise, then I do not think that the stigma would cause psychological problems. Another problem with this is that fact the our society does not really accept the image of overweight people. Everyone on TV or in magazines are usually fit individuals. The constant exposure to this causes individuals to become self- conscious and therefore can lead to people being less motivated because they do not want to go out in public and be judged by their size. I think one way of changing those who are overweight or obese mind-set is to not “fat-shame” them and have a more diverse exposure of body images.

Sexism has been a problem in our world since the beginning of time. Men and Women have been upheld to certain images. Men are suppose to be the ones bringing in the money while Women stay home and take care of their children, cook and clean. Recently, people have been taking drastic steps to break sexism, especially in the work place. But how does sexism occur? Do we learn to discriminate as we grow older in our society or does it has something to do with the way our brain is wired? Or maybe it is a mixture of the two.

A new Japanese study published a report claiming that sexism is linked to a neurological imprint. The researchers were specifically looking to see if those who endorse gender inequality have brains that are anatomically different from people who believe in gender equality.

To test this question, Neuroscientist Hikaru Takeuchi at Tohoku University gathered 681 students with an average age of 21 and 306 of them women. The participants were asked to complete a measure of their beliefs in “Sex Role Egalitarianism” (SRE). The SRE is composed of a series of statements that participants rate their agreement with. For an example, a statement would be “’Domestic chores should be shared between husband and wife” (agreement would be a sign of high SRE) and “Bringing up children is the most important job for a woman” (agreeing with this would suggest low SRE)’ (CNN). Those who scored high are considered to believe that the sex of the individual should not influence the perception of his or her rights, abilities, obligations, and opportunities. The participants also completed an IQ and personality tests and a questionnaire about aggressive tendencies. A third variable to consider is the participants up bringing. Did the participants grow up in an environment where women and men had similar opportunities, or their environment mainly male or female dominant? Their social influences will effect their performance on the other tests and most likely influence the size of their gray-matter. Another thing to consider is the fact that this study was conducted in Japan. Different cultures have different ways of life so it is likely that people in other countries could be more sexist then other countries. 

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The team of researchers found that those who have low SRE, tend to correlate in men and women with having a more dense gray matter in the posterior cingulate cortex, an area associated with “anger, fear, and pain; and with reduced gray-matter (a measure of how many brain cells are packed into a given area) density in the right amygdala, another brain area that’s very important to emotions, especially fear” (CNN). In addition, according to their performance on their psychological profile’s, those who exhibit sexist beliefs tend to score higher in their anger, depression-proneness, and competitiveness.

It is very hard to tell what to make of these differences in gray matter because sometimes less density could be a good thing or a bad thing, However, they can still look at information from the psychological scores. Based on their findings, those who have more gray matter in the posterior cingulate didn’t just correlate with sexist beliefs but also with being more prone to anger and hostility, and being competitive. On the other hand, having less gray matter in the right amygdala correlated weakly with higher scores on neuroticism (among women) and being more depressive. Also research has shown that reduced amygdala volume is associated with stress, anxiety, and depression.

Overall, The findings demonstrate that the men and women who hold sexist beliefs are psychologically vulnerable people who are fearful and competitive. This study has NOT proven that there is any certain part of the brain causes sexism. Most likely there are other factors such as social up-bringing and one’s current environment that influences the idea of sexism. However, it is fair to think that some may have brain anatomy that inclines them to be afraid of competition and cultural changes, linking them to be sexist.

The researchers also suggest that their findings could help people combat sexists attitudes. There is evidence that when people successfully reduce their negative emotions, the gray matters in the right amygdala increases. Concluding that improving negative mood may prevent stereotype on sex roles.

I found this study very interesting considering that sexism is such a big deal at the moment. One thing I wish the researchers published was whether men or women were more likely to be sexist. 306 Women were involved in the study and 375 Men. People usually tend to believe that men posses the sexist quality more then women. If they did include this however, we would have to take into consideration that this study was done in Japan. It is possible that other countries such as the United States will have a different outcome.

Do you ever wonder why you have lower self-esteem or higher self-esteem than others? It may be due to the way you perceived yourself by the time you reached kindergarten. A new study conducted by the University of Washington states that,”By age 5 children have a sense of self-esteem comparable in strength to that of adults” (UW).

Lead researcher,David Cvencek, says that University of Washington’s work provides the earliest glimpse to date of how preschoolers sense themselves. Using specific techniques, Cveneck and other researchers were able to measure self-esteem. Cvencek, Andrew Meltzoff and Anthony Greenwald created a self-esteem task for preschoolers called the Preschool Implicit Association Test (PSIAT) that measures how strongly children feel positively about themselves.

There were an even mix of 234 boys and girls, age 5, from the Seattle area that were involved in this observation. They first learned to distinguish their set of flags (“me”) from the other set of flags (“not me”). Then, using buttons the on the computer, they responded to a series of “me” and “not me” flags and to a series of “good” words from a loud speaker (fun, happy,good,nice) and “bad” (bad,mad,mean,yucky). To measure self-esteem, the children had to combine the words and press the buttons to indicate whether the “good” words were associated more with the “me” flags or not” (University of Washington). One of things many people question is whether or no 5 year olds have sense of themselves. People change all the time. You learn from your experiences which shape you into the person you are. It is unlikely that your self-esteem at age 5 is similar to your self-esteem now. There are many things could have influenced your self-esteem.

The results showed that 5-year-olds, boys and girls, equally associated themselves with more “good” than with “bad.” Researchers did two more tests to analyze the different aspects of the self with a gender identity task and a gender attitude task, which measures the children’s preference for kids their own gender. The results show that “self-esteem is not only unexpectedly strong in children this young, but is also systematically related to other fundamental parts of children’s personality, such as in-group preferences and gender identity”(University of Washington. “Self-esteem appears to play a critical role in how children form various social identities. Our findings underscore the importance of the first five years as a foundation for life,” Cvencek said.

According to Andrew Meltzoff,“Some scientists consider preschoolers too young to have developed a positive or negative sense about themselves” (University of Washington. Their findings suggest that self-esteem, feeling good or bad about yourself, is fundamental. “It is a social mindset children bring to school with them, not something they develop in school.” He also states that the essential question to these finding is “What aspects of parent-child interaction promote and nurture preschool self-esteem?” If they can figure out the answer to this question, they will be able to determine where an individual develops their self-esteem (University of Washington).

The researchers are following up with the children in the study to examine whether self-esteem measured in preschool can predict outcomes later in childhood, such as health and success in school. They are also interested in the malleability of children’s self-esteem and how it changes with experience.

As of right now, we are not able to confirm that our self-esteem pretty much stays the same since the age of 5 because the kids involved in the experiment have not grown up yet. One of the most interesting parts I find about this experiment is that Andrew Meltzoff says that self- esteem is fundamental, meaning that it is related to biological factors such as genetics. However, self-esteem is also social. According to NCBI, “Genetic factors explained 40% and non-shared environmental factors 60% of the correlation in general self-worth”(NCBI). Genetics play a role in ourself esteem but our experiences most likely have have a more significant impact on our self-esteem. This is why I think that our self-esteem is most likely not determined at age 5. As we get older we experience more things that could either build up our self-esteem or break it down. These experiences could be negative like getting bullied or failing to do what is expected or positive such as succeeding in school and being good at a sport. I believe that more things you experience the more your self-esteem changes. At age 5, you have not experienced much making it easy to have a higher self-esteem. It will be interesting how much or how little these 234 five year old self-esteem has changed.

We all know that exercise is good for our body. Hundreds of studies have come out with all the amazing health perks exercising does to for us, specifically running and other aerobics. To add to the hundreds of studies, a new study claims that light resistance training may slow the age-related shrinking in some parts of the brain.

Like the rest of our body, the brain starts to become slower and less effective as we age. Many neurological studies suggest that by late middle age (40-65), most of us have already begun developing age-related holes or lesions in our brains’ white matter (material that connects and passes messages between different brain regions). These lesions usually don’t show symptoms at first. They show up on brain scans before one experiences a decrease of memory and thinking skills. The lesions can widen and multiply as years go by, shrinking our white matter which affects our thinking. “Neurological studies have found that older people with many lesions tend to have worse cognitive abilities than those whose white matter is relatively intact” (New York Times). In order to slow the progression of white matter, pervious studies have shown that aerobics such as walking will help slow down the process.

However, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, a professor of physical therapy and director of the Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, wondered whether if weight training would be beneficial for white matter. She was particularly interested in this form of exercise because weight training strengthens your muscles. Our muscles and our brain are very similar in the way that they both shrink with age. Weak muscle mass generally results in slower, unsteady walking. In relation, changes in the manner we walk as we age may indicate and possibly contribute to declines in brain health.

To to test her theory of if an individual did weight training exercises twice per week, it can alter the decline process and potentially keep aging brains and bodies healthier Dr. Liu-Ambrose gathered a large group of generally healthy women between the ages of 65 and 75, who were already involved in a brain health study she was working on. These women had already had at least one brain scan. The study  then focused on 54 women whose scans showed existing white matter lesions. They then tested the women’s gait speed and stability and then randomly assigned them to one of three groups. “Some began a supervised, once-weekly program of light upper- and lower-body weight training. A second group undertook the same weight-training routine but twice per week. And the third group, acting as a control, started a twice-weekly regimen of stretching and balance training” (New York Times). The women continued their assigned exercise routines for a year and at the end had their brains rescanned and their walking ability was re-assessed.

The results showed that the women in the control group, who concentrated on balance and flexibility, showed a progression in the number and size of the lesions in their white matter and slowing of their gaits. The women who had weight training once per week showed similar results. However, those women who lifted weight twice per week displayed significantly less shrinkage of their white matter than the other women. Their lesions had grown and multiplied somewhat, but not as much as the other two groups. They also walked more quickly and smoothly than the other two groups.

These findings supported Dr. Liu-Ambrose theory. Suggesting that weight training can beneficial in the change of structure of the brain but “a minimum threshold of exercise needs to be achieved.” “However, this experiment did not closely examine whether differences in the women’s white matter translated into meaningful differences in their ability to think, although Dr. Liu-Ambrose and her colleagues hope to study that issue soon, as well as whether men’s brains respond similarly to weight training” (New York Times).

In conclusion, no matter what type of exercise you do, it will have positive reinforcements on the body. There is not enough data to put out a claim that says weight-training helps a persons ability to think or even to say that it decreases white lesions in the brain for majority of the population. There needs to be many more studies in order for this theory to be reliable.

For as long as I can remember people have told me you need 7-8 hours of sleep over night to maintain a healthy life style.Public Health authorities have always warned us that technology before bed can mess up our natural sleeping patterns causing sleep deprivation. However, a new study is contradicting this idea.

Americans now a days gets 2-3 less hours of sleep than those during the industrial revolution.  The study found that Americans get the same amount of sleep as the 3 different hunter-gather societies did before electricity. The Hadza and San tribes in Africa, and the Tsimané people in South America are even said to have gotten even less sleep than many Americans. According to this new study, the hunter-gathers were relatively fit and healthy despite the small amount of sleep they got. Previous research shows that their daily energy levels are the same as most Americans. This new information goes against everything we were taught in order to live a healthy life-style. Many studies suggest that constant sleep pattern of less than 7 hours of sleep can lead to obesity and chronic disease.

Jerome Siegel a professor of psychiatry at U.C.L.A. says that, “the prevailing notion in sleep medicine is that humans evolved to go to bed when the sun goes down, and that by and large we stay up much later than we should because we are flooded with artificial light” (New York Times).   However, Dr. Siegel and his colleagues found no evidence of this. The hunter-gathers the studied stayed up 3-4 hours after the sun went down with little light exposure and then woke up an hour before sun-rise. They slept 6.5 hours on average.

John Peever, a sleep expert,  believes that this finding with change the field of sleep. “It’s difficult to envision how we can claim that Western society is highly sleep deprived if these groups that live without all these modern distractions and pressing schedules sleep less or about the same amount as the average Joe does here in North America” (New York Times).

Nathaniel Watson, the president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, said that the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep a night were based on a review of 5,000 studies that assessed sleep and disease in humans. Most of these studies were based on self-reporting, which tends to be overestimated because people report the overall amount of time they spent in bed, not the amount of actual sleep. Hunter-gathers were said to be in bed for roughly 7-8.5 hours, which is consistent with recommendations.

However, in the end Dr. Watson says that it is, “Really it’s just the amount that allows people to wake up feeling refreshed and alert.” Jim Horne, the director of the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University in England says that sleep quality is much more important than quantity.

One of the groups the researchers decided to track were the Hadza people located in northern Tanzania, the Tsimané located in Bolivia, and the San located in the Kalahari. They attached wristwatchlike devices to track their sleeping patterns. The found that roughly they slept the same amount each night and the three groups rarely took naps and did not sleep in two separate intervals, meaning they slept through the night. They found that their sleeping patterns were remarkable close to each other despite the distances between them. Dr. Siegel  “’The fact that we see very similar sleep times gives me great confidence that this is how all of our ancestors slept.’”

In conclusion, we don’t necessarily need 7-8 hours of sleep. The thing that matters the most is the quality of our sleep. Though hunter-gathers and Americans live very different lift-styles they still get similar amounts of sleep. I think that it is interesting that hunter-gathers only have a 2% insomniac population versus the American 20-30% even though they have similar sleeping patterns. This shows that there are confounding variables involved in these results, one of them being that hunter-gathers do not have artificial lighting to cause problematic sleeping problems for many Americans. There are other factors on how well you sleep such as your diet and exercise. Hunter-gathers most likely have a healthier diet than Americans because they are not exposed to processed food. They also are moving around a lot because they work in an agricultural atmosphere. Both are very different from the average American life-style.

Here is a video summarizing the findings

Why are some people “musically gifted?” Are they born with this ability? or Is it just hard work and dedication that makes these people musically gifted? A new study from the University of Cambridge found that personality has a key role in musical ability, even for those who do not play musical instruments.

A group of psychologist identify this trait as “Openness.” This personality trait has the ability to predict musical ability. Those who score highly on Openness are “imaginative, have a wide range of interests, and are open to new ways of thinking and changes in their environment” (Science Daily). Malcolm Gladwell published the idea that 10,000 hours of practice makes you an expert in that domain. The idea that practice is key to success came about from this idea. However, now scientist believe that there are other factors involved as well.

The University of Cambridge and Goldsmiths University conducted what is to be the biggest study of personality and musical expertise to date, with 7,000 volunteers to participate in the experiment. The group led by researcher David Greenberg, tested the participants on various musical abilities such as melodic memory and rhythm perception and then their results where linked to their scores on the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN)). The results showed that other than musical experience, Openness was the next best indicator of musical ability. Those who scored high on Openness are open to new ideas and those who scored lowed (Closed) liked routine. For example, someone who has the Openness personality trait would go to a new vacation spot every year rather than someone who is Closed would most likely visit the same vacation spot every year. Extraversion was also linked to higher-self reported singing abilities. One of the most important findings was that researchers found that links between personality and musical performance were present even for those who indicated that they did not play a musical instrument. Therefore, there are individuals who have potential for musical talent but are entirely unaware of it.

David Greenburg and his team also published an article in PLOS ONE about how musical behaviors are linked to our personal characteristics. The article showed that people’s musical preferences are linked to thinking styles. “What these series of studies are telling us is that there are factors beyond our awareness and control that influence our musical experience.” David Greenberg said: “‘These results are particularly important for teachers and educators, who can use information about their student’s personality to see who might be most successful in varied musical activities.”One day science may be able to identify the personality, cognitive, and neurobiological factors that lead to musical genius.'”

I think one of the most interesting things about this study is that the researchers are implying that there are many people in this world have the ability to be great musicians and have no idea that they have this ability because they have never played an instrument or tried singing lessons.

If you want to find out if your musical ability, preferences, and personality you can take these tests at http://www.themusicquiz.org/.

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Now a days, you don’t see anyone without their phone in their hand. Whether it is listening to music, checking social media or texting, people, especially teenagers always have their phones one them. On average how many texts do you think you send a day? 40? 50? 60? According to a survey, “U.S. smartphone owners aged 18 to 24 send 2,022 texts per month on average — 67 texts on a daily basis — and receive another 1,831” (Business Insider)  For teenagers, texting is our main use of communication. Those who are constantly checking their phone, snap if you interrupt them, lack sleep and fail to get their work done are known as compulsive texters. Specifically, for girls, compulsive texting is associated with lower academic performance.

“’Compulsivity is more than just the number of texts teens are engaging in,’ said Kelly M. Lister-Landman, the paper’s lead author and an assistant professor of psychology at Delaware County Community College in Media, Pa.” (The New York Times)  Do you feel anxious if you don’t have your phone on you? Do you feel like you have to check your phone constantly, even when eating dinner with your family? If you answered yes to these questions it is possible that you are a compulsive texter. Girls are shown to have a higher texting compulsivity than boys do. In the study, boys who were compulsive texters were not at risk for lower academics. This study  is not the only study that has looked into the effect of texting on teenagers. Another study showed that college students who text while doing homework have lower grades and those who text during class take less detailed notes as well as have trouble recalling information. Excessive use of the internet has been linked to trouble sleeping.

This new study exemplifies the “correlation between compulsive texting and problems in school but does not explain whether texting is a direct cause of poorer school performance or whether another problem like depression or substance abuse is driving both behaviors” (The New York Times). Kimberly Young, a psychologist who founded the Center for Internet Addiction, believes that texting is not causing academic problems, but attention-span is.

A new study examined elements of school performance (not just grades but engagement) and students perception of their own academic habits. 211 eighth graders and 192 juniors in high school were given a questionnaire to asses whether or not they were compulsive texters. Dr. Young, based the questions off a pathological gambling scale and morphed it to fit compulsive internet use because a study found that teenager texters had a lot in common with compulsive gamblers (losing sleep, problems cutting back on texting,  lying to cover up the amount of time they spent).

Some questions included,”Do you not do your chores to spend more time texting? Do you text longer than you intended? Do you snap, yell or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are texting? Other items inquire whether teenagers are losing sleep because of texting, if they have tried but have been unable to cut down on their texting, and if they lie to cover up the amount of time spent texting.”

47 students out of the 403 students who participated said that they did not text everyday and were taken out of the analysis. Out of the remaining participants, girls were far more likely to be compulsive texters than boys. About 12% of girls were considered compulsive texters and only 3% of boys. Most compulsive texters sent more than 100 texts a day. Although, girls in the study were more engaged in school and performed better over all 14% of the girls who were considered compulsive texters were C students and boys who were compulsive texters were B students or better.

There has always been debate over whether external factors such as their environment, effect a women’s pregnancy. A new research published by UK researchers claim that babies born in the summer will become healthier adults.

The study claims that a babies birth month has a lot of effects on certain health outcomes. For example, baby girls born in the summer are more likely to start puberty later, which leads to better health. Programming, an effect that is effect by the environment in the womb, leads to differences in early life. “The researchers looked at whether birth month had an effect on birth weight, onset of puberty, and adult height. They found that children who were born in the summer were slightly heavier at birth, taller as adults and went through puberty slightly later than those born in winter months” (Science Daily).

The researchers compared growth and development between 450,000 men and women from the UK. The results lead to the conclusion that those who were born in June, July and August were heavier as babies and taller as adults. As well as girls born in one of those three months, started puberty later which is an indication of better health in adult life. The researchers believe that the distinction between summer babies and winter babies could be due to the amount of vitamin D that mother absorbed during pregnancy.

Vitamin D has many benefits for the body.

1. The intake of vitamin D helps the absorption of calcium and phosphorus which leads to strong and health bones and teeth.
2. Supports a health immune system, brain and nervous system
3. Regulate insulin levels and aid diabetes management
4. Support lung function and cardiovascular health
5. Influence the expression of genes involved in cancer development. (MNT)

A health and correct amount of vitamin D intake can lead to all of the things mentioned above. These effects are proven to lead to longer healthier life styles. The vitamin prevents life threatening disease and allows for a strong immune system which helps fight off viruses.

Scientist agree that more research needs to be conducted in order to understand the mechanisms behind the effect. “We don’t know the mechanisms that cause these season of birth patterns on birth weight, height, and puberty timing,” said Dr. Perry. “We need to understand these mechanisms before our findings can be translated into health benefits.” (Science Daily)

Though scientist need to continue there research, they are convinced that the vitamin D has a big effect on the health of baby due to all the health benefits it does for an individual.

Everyone has experienced rejection at one point in their life. Wether it was you did not get a job you interviewed for, the girl or guy you asked out said no, or even not getting into the sorority or frat you wanted. Either way, rejection hurts.

Geraldine Downey Ph.D., explains that rejection feels terrible because,”it communicates the sense to somebody that they’re not loved or not wanted, or not in some way valued.” Some people experience rejection more than others and those that do learn how to expect rejection, become constantly concerned about it, and also are more sensitive to it. This constant worry can lead to self-rejection. This feeling can cause many problems. It can cause an individual to feel worthless and as if no one wants to be around them.

Guy Winch, Ph.D., says that rejection does 50 percent of the damage and we do the other 50 percent. He explains that we take rejection to the next level and make it worse by thinking negative things about ourselves.

So how did this emotion of rejection come about? Scientist trace rejection back to our ancient roots. Guy Winch explains, “When we were hunter-gatherers and living in tribes, the price of ostracism was pretty much death. You wouldn’t survive without your tribe; you wouldn’t have the warmth of hearth, the protection of fire.” We developed an early-warning sign to protect us from the possibility of being ostracized. The more painful the experience the more likely we were to change our behavior to avoid ostracism. This trait was passed on through our genes.

Humans, being social animals, makes rejection all the more painful. Research shows that rejection triggers brain pathways just like physical pain. A University of Michigan study showed that “the brain’s mu-opioid receptor system releases natural painkillers, or opioids, in response to social pain. This happens to be the same system that releases opioids in the face of physical pain.” The constant feeling of rejection could even lead to depression, crime and reduced employment.

Rejection can feel even worse, when previous factors come into play. If an individual was to experience hardships prior to when they were rejected , they are more likely to be more vulnerable and sensitive to the rejection. Those with lower self-esteem also become more vulnerable to rejection and take a longer time to get over it. On the other hand, those who have higher self-esteem tend to bounce back faster.

There are ways to not let rejection get the best of you. The best way is to  not let it bother you in the first place and minimize its effects on yourself. It is really important to build resilience. However, not all people can do that. Winch says a quick workout out can do the trick before a situation you could possible experience rejection. You can also remind yourself of your self worth. Write down all the good qualities about yourself and how it can do good to another individual. Keeping a positive, upbeat attitude can also help rejection. This attracts people to you so you may not even have to experience rejection. It is also important to have a good support system. Talk to the people that you trust the most. Most likely they can help you feel better about your situation and help you cope with your rejection.

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With fall weather around the corner, Starbucks has rereleased one of their most popular drink, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). This drink is known to be the most popular seasonal drink Starbucks has ever released. It is so popular that many people have made knock off recipes, gifs and have tweeted thousands of times about the beverage. But besides how good the latte taste, have you ever thought of what happens to your body when you drink the beverage?

Effects on the Brain 

The Pumpkin Spice Latte has 12 teaspoons of sugar in an 16 oz. cup. So why do you crave sweet drinks like the PSL? Your body’s response is similar to what happens when someone uses heroin or cocaine.

Effects on the Pancreas

Within the first 20 minutes of consuming the beverage your pancreas begins to produce insulin to help break down the sugar into glucose for your body’s cells, where it then can be stored for energy or used for fuel. However, if your cells are already full of glucose, it gets rejected.This is problematic because that excess sugar can turn into fat which can then lead to other health problems.

Effects on the Liver

Your insulin levels then spike after the sugar rush. If you drink a grande PSL it has 50 grams of sugar, including the whipped cream, which is more than 100 percent of your daily recommended intake. This large amount of sugar can be very hard on your system. Within a half-hour, your liver starts to create glycogen, a stored form of glucose which is trying to store the extra sugar into fat.

Effects on the Blood 

Your triglyceride level (fats in your blood) starts increasing as the fat gets absorbed into your body. This increase can cause clogged blood vessels and lead to other health complications. The raise triglyceride levels can lead to higher risks of atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up in your arteries.

Effect on the Heart 

 After 15 minutes of drinking a PSL, your blood pressure and pulse increase, meaning that the caffeine is starting to kick in. However, it might take up to 45 minutes for the full effect of the caffeine to set in. The reason being, the “PSL delays the absorption of the caffeine in your stomach, slowing down the time it will take to ramp up your heart rate,” says Sonya Angelone a dietitian-nutritionist. If you drink an PSL  two or three hours prior to going to bed it can cause problems sleeping.

Effects on the Stomach 

The upside to drinking a Pumpkin Spice Latte is that is contains 14 grams of protein. This can help boost your muscles and leave you feeling fuller,longer. The beverage can account for 20 percent of your recommended fat intake and average calorie intake for the whole day. However, the large amount of sugar and caffeine can also cause the drink to mess with your stomach. It can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, which can then lead to an affect on your mood and energy levels.

If you lead a healthy life and take care of your self there is no reason that you cannot treat yourself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It is when drinking the beverage becomes a habit where it can do a lot of damage to your body.

We recently went over in class about how teenagers who are more rebellious than others are more likely to take up tobacco smoking. We all know a least one person who does the most insane things you can possibly imagine. But why are they like that and you aren’t? Scientist have recently discovered that rebellion might be hard-wired into our brains.

Researchers have found that “the extent to which people changed their minds to fit in with the crowd was directly linked to the size of a specific area of their brains”(Daily Mail.com). Specifically, “the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, located behind the eyes, could be responsible for how much we change our minds to fit in with a crowd” (Daily Mail.com). Neuroscientist at the University College London used brain scans to show that rebellion might not be because of one’s upbringing but an inherited quality. They scanned 28 different people and measured the grey matter in different regions in the brain.

Participants were asked to list 20 songs that they would like to buy and then rate each song on a scale from 1- 10. Then, researchers told them what well-proclaimed critics thought of the songs they chose and asked them to rate the songs again. Those who conformed to what the critics said were found to have more grey matter in their lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Those who stuck to their opinion had less grey matter in that cortex.

The lateral orbitofrontal cortex grows rapidly as a child as we begin to grasp social cues, but no one knows when it stops growing. Damage to this area of the brain is linked to inappropriate behavior in social situations or even extreme personality disorders. Professor Chris Frith of UCL said, “Only this region was affected which was surprising. Our results show that social conformation is, at least in part, hard-wired in the structure of the brain” (Daily Mail.com). Adapting to others is important to us because it makes people like us more.

In conclusion, Those teenagers who smoke tobacco knowing that it is a dangerous habit could be doing it because their lateral orbitofrontal cortex is damaged. The wiring of that area of the brain could have been damaged at any time during their time of development. 

(Creed from The Office is a perfect example of someone whose lateral orbitofrontal cortex is damaged)

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As college students all we do is stress. Stress about our grades, our social life, job interviews or what even to major in. Having a lot of stress can cause an individual to shut down. A lot of the time all you can do is think about why you are stressed or how you can fix the problem that is causing the stress. However, what many people do not know that stress doesn’t just effect you mentally it can stress you physically. Here are just three of things that stress can do to you.

1. Weaken your immune system
2. It can make you fat and shorten your life span
3. It can cause sexual dysfunction for women and men

After years of constant stress your brain is most likely to become wired for tension. Stress can hurt your relationship with other and decrease your ability to make rational decision in a work environment. Many people think that a day off or a week long vacation can help them cope with a stressful environment but that is only making it worse. Doing this can cause people to have nervous break downs and act out towards others.

One thing people need to understand about stress is that it is an irrational feeling. It only get worse until you learn how to manage and prevent stress. “Stress is the disruption of homeostasis — the balance and order in your body” (David Asprey). Not all disruption of homeostasis is bad like, exercising and learning new information, it actually strengthens it and helps keep it functioning.

Chronic stress, however, is when it starts to take a negative toll on your body. There are four symptoms to stress cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral. Here is a list of of various symptoms. Like all issues with the body, the first thing you need to do is identify the problem. Why are you feeling stressed, How do I respond to the stress and How can I fix it.

Here are six way to hack your stress.

1. Have Fun- find something you enjoy to do and do it often to keep your mind off of stress factors
2. Synchronize Your Heart and Brain with Heart Math – “technology for reliably training your heart and brain to work together”
3. Meditation
4. Pranayama Yoga – helps you relax and control your heart rate
5. Improve your sleep – It is recommended to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night
6. EEG Neurofeedback – “the process of understanding how your brain responds to certain emotions”

Stress is commonly over looked by many people because it is such a common thing in a persons life. A good diet and weekly exercise can help an individual lower the chances of being stressed.

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Within the past few years the new trend of healthy eating and exercise has spread like wild fire. No matter where you go the idea of living a healthy life style is constantly advertised. Their are apps that help track your fitness and calorie intake, appropriate portion sizes are now labeled on food containers and different workouts are created to burn the maximum amount of calories in the shortest amount of time. Many people question whether it is even worth beginning a healthy life style in their old age nonagenarian track-and-field athlete, Olga Kotelka has proven that it is never too late to start. Kotelka is one of the most successful athletes in the world and traveled to the University of Illinois to let scientist study her brain.

Ms. Kotelka has won numerous amounts of world records and hundreds of gold medals in masters events. What makes her so interesting to scientists is that fact that she did not start serious athletic training till the age of 77. Her brain scan was studied in hopes that it could potentially show scientist what late-life exercising could do to the brain.

Kotelka died last year at the age of 95 but her brain scan was also published. The results showed that her brain looked much different from the average 90 year old. The white matter of her brain – “the cells that connect neurons and help to send messages from one part of the brain to another” (New York Times) – showed fewer abnormalities than other people her age. Her hippocampus, which is in charge of memory, was also larger than those in similar age. However, it was smaller compared to those decades younger than her. Kotelka’s brain overall looked a lot younger than her actual age.

However, the down side to this research is that scientist never saw Ms. Kotelka’s brain before she started training. Making it impossible to confirm whether or not exercising effected her brain health. Scientist cannot confirm that exercise helps stall cognitive decline due to weak evidence.

Agnieszka Burzynska, an assistant professor of human development at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, and colleagues at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois in Urbana, studied brain scans of older men and women,ages 60- 80, using a technique that tracks oxygen flow in the brain. The study concluded that those who are more active had better oxygenation and healthier patterns of brain activity than the more sedentary volunteers. Specifically in the hippocampus and in connecting different brain areas to one another. Previous brain scan’s done by Dr. Burzynska and her colleagues established similar brain activity in elderly people is associated with higher scores on cognitive tests. The difference between Dr. Burzynska’s test subjects and Olga Kotelka is that none of the subjects were athletes.

Scientist cannot confirm that exercise makes a difference in brain health but it is very likely that exercising enables our brain to age better.

It is never too late to start a healthy life style. The study proves even the elderly, non-athletes who started a more active life style showed signs of a healthier brain. Being active and eating right is very important to living a long life with minimal complications.

Here is a video of Olga Kotelka talking about her active life style.

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Many of us, whether it has been during a psychology class or just from browsing the internet have come across a optical illusion. You may think that these illusions are purposely created to trick the human brain but really there are no tricks.

Try this illusion. Stare at the red dot in the middle of the circle for a minute or two. Soon the green circle will begin to disappear. Even when you look away from the image you continue to see the red dot in your visual field.  This is a static image file. Swiss physician and philosopher, Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler (1780–1866), came up with the concept “Troxler fading”, in which you become to accustomed to the green circle that you eventually stop noticing it is there. Troxler fading actually happens when you become dizzy.

The Visual Science, the Neural Correlate Society holds a contest where vision scientists share their latest optical illusions. This years winner was Mark Vergeer from KU Leuven (Belgium). His illusion “Splitting Colors”  is all about how we perceive colors. The illusion demonstrate that one and the same object can look different depending on its surroundings. In relation to Troxler fading, the different backgrounds change the way we view the two identical lines causing the viewers to be unable to see the original colors.

However, our perception of objects doesn’t solely rely on sight, other senses also come into play. Varun Sreenivasan from Switzerland, further examined the “rubber hand” effect. The idea concept is If your real hand is hidden behind a screen and you see a fake hand in its place, then you can “feel” it when a researcher touches the fake hand. During the experiment, one trial they asked volunteers to place one hand behind the screen. An experimenter would then scratch the table in front of the screen while either scratching or not scratching the hidden hand. The participants reported “feeling” a scratch on their real hand whether or not it was actually being scratched.

Illusions tell us a great deal about brain function. We are able to observe and experience different sensations due to our many different senses. Illusions conflict with our senses but by doing that it gives researches away to decode the brain works.

Hi my name is Julia Hall, and I am a freshman. I am from Ridgefield, CT which is about 4 hours away from PSU. I traveled a lot this summer and went to a few concerts and a music festival because there is not much to do where I live.

I am currently in DUS but I hope to get a degree in marketing. I decided to take this class because it fulfilled some of the gen ed requirements and I didn’t want to take a Chemistry or a Physics class. I do not intend on being a science major because I am very bad at math and science requires a lot of math equations. This class really interested me because of the questions we focus on and the way we approach learning about them. I like how we explore simple questions that end up having multiple aspects to them.

Here is a link to the music festival I went to in New York city this past summer.