Adderall is just one of the many prescription drugs used by students to aid their studying. It is an amphetamine prescribed to ADHD patients. It acts as a stimulant to battle their lack of focus. However, those not prescribed Adderall can still feel it’s benefits. Some researchers estimate about one and three college students take it without a prescription.

There is also a positive correlation between length of time in student (grade level) and usage. At the University of Kentucky, 50 percent of upperclassmen admitted to using ADHD stimulants at least once before. Since so many students are using it anyways, should Adderall be a drug that is sold over the counter at pharmacies?

Adderall does have some very intriguing qualities to it. It is used to improve attention span,

to help control impulses, and to stimulate the nervous system. This is beneficial for students because the cognitive upswing keeps them up to do their work. Athletes, one of many being Richard Sherman, take it as well as they believe it enhances their performance. In fact Dr. Gary Wadler stated himself that it is no doubt performance-enhancing.

However, that is one example of the abuses of it. Adderall is prescribed to help ADHD patients focus, not to improve athletic performance. The risk of abuse is present with any drug, but it will have more exposure if it is over the counter. If these drugs are abused they can cause nasty health side effects. These include:

• Weakness in arms and legs
• Seizures
• Pounding or fast heartbeat
• Shortness of breath
• Slow of impaired speech
• Hallucinations
• Aggressive behavior
• Blurred Vision
• Swelling
• Paranoia

Another risk with amphetamines is addiction. They are highly addictive. And with the increasing exposure by making the drug over the counter it could subject a lot more people to addiction. Those who abuse and misuse the drug actually have the highest risk for addiction. Taking doses more than what the doctor prescribes can also lead to addiction.

Optimind, natural alternative to Adderall.

So, although Adderall can be very beneficial to those who dont need it, it isn’t safe enough to sell publicly. At least not yet. Maybe if it was more regulated or it could be figured out how to make it a safe drug for the public. The increased exposure combined with the risk based off abuse and addiction already makes its not logical to legalize.

Side Note: There are alternatives. Some companies try selling their own version of Adderall that has similar effects, without the amphetamine.

Every time I would leave the house in the winter, my dad would automatically give me the “Wear a jacket, you can’t don’t want to get sick.” As I got older I started to question it. Can being cold actually get you sick? That can’t possibly make sense. How could being in a colder temperature make you sick? But more people are sick when its cold out, so temperature must have some influence on catching a sickness.

According to HealthLine.com, colds and flu viruses peak in the wintertime. However this isn’t because of the cold weather is giving you these sicknesses. What the cold does do is it makes people more susceptible to contracting them. In a 2015 Yale experimental study cells were taken from the airways of mice. Then the immune responses of the cells after being in contact with the rhinovirus, the leading cause of the common cold, were tested when the cells were at two different temperatures. The control group for the test were the cells incubated at core body temperature, 37 degrees celsius. The experimental group’s cells were kept at 33 degrees celsius. Dr. Iwasaki, an investigator in the study states, “We found that the innate immune response to the rhinovirus is impaired at the lower body temperature compared to the core body temperature.” The cells kept at 33 degrees had a harder time detecting and reacting to the virus as opposed to the cells in the control group. What can be taken from this is that the cold weather has an impact on the immune system’s ability to fight off a cold. While unlikely, since the study was conducted using mouse cells, the results could differ in humans. Regardless, still no evidence that it is the cold weather itself giving you the sickness. However, it does open discussion for a third variable that the cold weather causes the influenza virus to thrive.

Cells infected by the rhinovirus. (Spherical, bumpy)

The next study was an observational study performed by Jeffrey Shaman and Melvin Kohn. This was a study to find out what environmental factors have the biggest impact on getting sick. Through the study he tested how the transmission rate of influenza differed with different factors that change seasonally. These factors were relative humidity (RH), absolute humidity (AH), and vapor pressure (VP). Through the study they found a simple negative linear relationship between the transmission of the virus and vapor pressure. They then went further to test what it is about low vapor pressure that causes the virus to thrive. It turns out the virus has a higher survivability rate when matched with low vapor pressure. Vapor pressure is lowest, both indoors and outdoors, in the winter. This is more evidence supporting the third variable: influenza thrives in the cold weather.

Picture the winter; its cold out, probably snowy, if its snowy the streets might be bad and theres not as much to do as the other seasons. Chances aren’t at your house, you will probably be at work or school. The point is, in the winter people tend to stay indoors. When indoors, people tend to be in closer contact with one another. This makes it easier for the virus to spread from person to person. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the most common transmission of the influenza virus is from person to person. Thus, being indoors in close quarters with someone who harbors the virus will leave you susceptible to its favorite method of transmission. Again, another key point supporting the third variable mentioned previously.

Person to person is the cold’s favorite method of transmission. Cover up!

To come to a conclusion: the cold weather and things that come with it can have an influence on getting you sick, but colder weather itself does not make you sick directly. There is an underlying third variable in the equation that came up throughout the research: the cold weather is when the influenza virus thrives. It makes it less likely that our bodies will fight off the virus, easier for the virus to survive, and makes it more easily transmitted. Some useful things that can be taken from this? When its cold out you should increase your Vitamin C input to help your immune system fight off the sicknesses, keep your nose warm, cover up when you cough or sneeze, and if you’re sick, try to stay away from others.

Leg day, the day by which most weight-lifters dread, and many tend to leave out of their routine. Everybody notices the upper-body the most, so people tend to work that part of the body the most, leaving out the legs. However, that isn’t the best way to improve your body. The best route to an aesthetic build is to work every muscle group in the body. If you are leaving out leg day, thats an entire half of your body that isn’t being trained. Leg day is more important than most people think, and here is why.

Many weightlifters seem to be under the common misconception that working out your upper body more often will make it bigger. If you don’t break up your workouts it can actually lead to muscle fatigue and injury. But did you know that working out your legs actually aids hypertrophy in your upperbody? According to this Norwegian University study, it’s true! The study took eleven male test subjects whom have never done weight-training before, and put them on a workout plan where they trained 4 days a week for 11 weeks. Two of the days they only trained their left bicep alone; this was used as the control for the study. The other two days they trained their legs then immediately after trained their right bicep; this was the experimental variable. The results of the test showed that the bicep trained right after legs was significantly bigger in every one of the participants. We can’t conclude causation from just this study as it only had eleven participants. However, it shows there is definitely a correlation between training legs and hypertrophy of upper body.

Don’t be like Tyson Chandler, train your legs.

How can training my legs possibly improve my upper body?

Testosterone and growth hormone are two key hormones for muscle growth. Training legs boosts both testosterone and growth hormone levels of your body. Well, testosterone and GH are produced and circulated throughout the body during all forms of exercise, but training your legs is the most effective way to do so. Dr. Amy Vivien Tanner was quoted saying, “The response will also depend on the intensity and volume of the session, in addition to the volume of muscle engaged in the session.” The most effective way of generating these hormones is by hitting the bigger muscle groups hard. The legs are considered the biggest muscle group in the body. Assuming that you are woking out all muscle groups with the same intensity and volume, that leaves them as your number one target to boost testosterone and GH. Squats work almost the entire lower half of your body, which makes them perfect for it. In the conclusion of a study at the University of Northern Texas, it was stated that squats are the leading exercise to produce both when compared with other exercises. When squats are compared with another high-volume hormone-generating leg exercise, the leg press, squats generated higher levels of both. You can view this in the charts below. All of the experiments mentioned so far in this blog contain evidence supporting the hypothesis that testosterone and GH are both increased significantly with leg workouts. There is enough support and we can say that lifting legs directly causes the generation of both.

Growth hormone produced from Squats vs from Leg Press

Testosterone levels from Squats vs. from Leg press.

The last reason as to why you should partake in leg day is it will improve your athletic performance. This should be obvious. Whether you are a basketball player or a track runner, there are many athletic benefits from weight training involving your legs. I played basketball all throughout high school. When I entered high school as a freshman I always wanted to be able to dunk, but couldn’t. After an entire off-season of weight training, I went from grazing the rim to being able to put one down. It vastly improved my vertical jump height. I also became faster and more explosive. Skip around this video of one of Justin Verlander’s workouts and take note of how many exercises he is doing for his legs. He is a pitcher! Perhaps the most deadly of such. The position is known for using its arms to throw the ball, but what isn’t recognized is that the power of the throw is generated through the legs.

If you are looking for quicker gains, to become a better athlete or to sculpt the perfect body, be sure to include leg workouts into your training. There are too many benefits to miss out on. You might be sore tomorrow, but it’ll help you look better than you did yesterday.

The idea for this post came to my mind while I was writing my previous two posts for my blog. I decided to move myself to the library in hopes of improving my productivity. I noticed that it worked for me. I was much more focused on what I was doing and less prone to distractions. Not only was I less prone to distractions of my working environment (TV, Xbox, my roommate) but I noticed I didn’t catch myself wandering to other websites and things like that. The point of this post is to bring to surface the many effects that your study environment has on you and hopefully will help you pick the ideal place to study.

A change of scenery is one key way to improve productivity. Switch up where you are studying. It will increase alertness and focus. A 1978 experiment took students, had them study a list of 40 words in a cluttered room with no windows, then had them study the list once more in a modern room with a view of a courtyard. The other group had students study the list twice over in the same room. It was noted in the article that there were multiple studies after that then confirmed the study. Scientist retested the conclusion of the first study enough times that they could reach an appropriate P-value of under 5%. Dr. Bjork, the senior author of the study, was explains the findings of the study in his claim: “What we think is happening here is that, when the outside context is varied, the information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting.” This makes a lot of sense. Looking over the same material in the same place could get monotonous if doing it for too long. It’s easy to see how changing the environment can help you focus. In fact, I noticed the difference right away when I started going to the library. Take a trip out of the dorm, but don’t forget your books.

When picking a location for your studies, make sure you pick one free of distractions where you can sit down and just zone in to what you are doing. Multitasking is barely a thing, so don’t try to do anything else but study. A key part to not get distracted is to remove temptation from the equation. In other words, don’t study somewhere where you are at high risk of being sidetracked by something. A study conducted at UCLA asked students to divide cards into two categories based on the shapes displayed. Then afterwards, they made them do the same thing while keeping count of high-pitched beeps playing through headphones. The subjects had a much harder time explaining their work and extrapolating what they learned. This study could have even had even more drastic effects if they made it a double-blind randomized trial. They could have taken the subjects, divided them in two, and then tested the results so that they didn’t have prior practice without the beeps. However, this study does also show the effect of multitasking on the brain. Also note that an environment free of distractions isn’t always a quiet one. Here is a link to my other post on the effects music has on concentration.

The last variable to consider when choosing a study area is the lighting. As long as not too bright to where it harms your eyes, lighting can improve your concentration. The summary of three Dutch studies concludes that optimized lighting improves concentration. The studies took a control group with a certain lighting, tested them in dimmer lighting, brighter lighting, and then lighting even brighter than in the second test. The latter two tests showed improvements performance of concentration and fewer errors than their controls. Due to the trend of improvement in the tests and retests, it was concluded that better lighting improved concentration. Turning up the lights or switching to a brighter room can be another way to improve.

So, there are many different ways that where you are studying effects your performance. Make sure you are switching up where you study every so often to optimize your productivity. Be sure to make sure you won’t get distracted. And lastly, make sure that there is ample lighting. The brighter the better, but not too bright. Consider these tips the next time you sit down to study.

It is a well known fact that stress can lead to periods of over-eating. It is a way to temporarily cope with the stress. This binge-eating, however, can be bad for a persons health if they aren’t monitoring what they are eating and how much of it. My post relates directly to stress-eating involving students and adults in the workplace. What if they are paying attention to what they are eating? What foods should be considered when eating emotionally? Is there a good way to eat to reduce stress that can benefit them?

The first nutrient that should be considered when eating to fight stress is Vitamin C. This is great because it is so common in fruits and other healthy food. A German study showed that people who ingested more Vitamin C than others showed lower levels of stress when faced with acute psychological challenges. The test involved 120 people; half took 1,000 mg prior to a public speaking task combined with math problems. The people who took the Vitamin C reported lower levels than the others. This sounds like a helpful strategy for stressed out college students. An earlier study also showed that Vitamin C fought cortisol levels in animals. Specifically, in rats it not only prevented cortisol from being produced but eliminated physical signs of stress as well. These studies do show significant correlation to Vitamin C’s benefits against stress, and it can probably be considered a legitimate battler to stress. However, these studies do not prove causation.

The next nutrient worthy of attention is Vitamin B. Recently there was a rise in the workplace stress levels of working Australians. There was a randomized, double blind placebo-controlled study conducted in Australia which involved 200 full-time Australian workers between the age of 30-65, excluding smokers. All of the participants reported being stressed in the workplace. The workers were randomized and some were given a Vitamin B supplement for 6 months and some did not. The ones who received the Vitamin B reported less stress claims, lower absenteeism, and increased work productivity after 6 months. This study supports the correlation between Vitamin B and reduces stress levels in the workplace. With more studies showing the same results and lowering the P-value to lower than .05, then we can conclude that Vitamin B is another healthy nutrient to fight stress. You can find Vitamin B in foods like vegetables, cheese, pork, beef, eggs, liver, chicken, and whole-grains.

Chart of foods rich in Vitamin B.

While there are foods that help fight stress, you should also be careful to avoid the ones that trigger it. Some of these may be common sense but some stress triggering foods include:

• Sweetened/caffeinated teas (natural teas can be beneficial)
• Coffee/energy drinks
• Alcohol
• Sugar/soda
• Fast foods
• Butter

Next time you are stressed out, eating might be a healthy way to battle that feeling, as long as you do it right. Pay attention to what you eat, go heavy on the fruits, veggies, and fish. They are all very healthy alternatives that when incorporated into your diet will give you the right amount of Vitamins B and C to kick the stress out of you. Work to avoid the groups the foods I mentioned as well. The right diet is one step towards perfecting your stress management.

I’ve always heard that it isn’t good to keep your cell phone close to you when you aren’t using it. The radiation is bad for whatever part of your body that it is near and it can cause damage to it. However, what I did not know is that there are health risks related to actually using your cell phone. Studies have shown that the usage of cell phones is related to the development of brain tumors. There are three key studies that should be brought to attention when observing this matter.

The first is Interphone, an study which selected 12,000 participants from 13 different countries and observed the development of brain tumors with the usage of cell phones. Initially, the results weren’t very clear. They did not display any clear connection between the development of brain tumors and the usage of cell phones. However, when the results were more closely observed, they showed that the heavier users of cell phones had a significantly increased risk to brain tumors. The heavy users (30+ minutes daily) actually had a 40% increased risk of developing a glioma, a certain form of brain tumor. This study does support a correlation to the amount of time people are using their cell phone and the development of brain tumors. However, it is an observational study, and nothing about causation can be said based off these results alone.

This picture shows the radiation map of a man’s face before and after a 15 minute phone call.

The next study to bring to attention is one supporting the null hypothesis: that there is no relation between the usage of cell phones and development of brain tumors. A 2014 Swedish study observed approximately 5,000 people and found that people who used their cell phone weren’t directly effected. At least not right away. Newer users weren’t necessarily more susceptible to developing the cancer. However, users that have had wireless phones for over 25 years had nearly a 3 times increased risk to developing brain cancer. This study then must open discussion about the long-term effects of cell phones.

The last study I want to bring up could also be a factor to relating cell phones to brain cancer; but not due to usage. It actually observes the different radiation levels depending on the type of cell phone being used. These radiation level reviews, provided by CNET, show which cell phones provide the most radiation output and which provide the least. The two leading are distributed by motorola, which both omit 1.54 watts (The new U.S. maximum). As you can also notice, Apple isn’t anywhere in the top 20 nor the bottom 20. The iPhone Six Plus has the most of the Apple phones with a SAR level of 1.16, which isn’t necessarily great but comparatively its actually pretty impressive.

Chart provided by Lynn La and Kent German, “Cell Phone Radiation Levels,” www.reviews.cnet.com

This is certainly something to think about. Keeping your phone close to your face can be detrimental towards your well being. Maybe an alternative to putting your phone to your face is to get a bluetooth device (assuming they omit less radiation) or maybe just use headphones. If you are using one of the mobile phones mentioned on the first chart, maybe you should switch to one that is not.

During what seem like endless hours of studying I always liked to throw on music to make it go by a little easier. I was never sure if it actually was making it go by easier or simply making it seem as though it was, This made me curious so I decided to look a little more into it; whether or not music actually helps you concentrate.

Well, Tech Times conducted a randomized study where 21 randomly picked college students took a brain scan while listening to different selected songs. It turns out, when you listen to a song of choice or your favorite genre, the part of your brain called the default mode network becomes more active. This part of the brain controls how humans switch between what’s going on around them and their self thoughts. When they tested the students with other songs, then the genre that they liked, that part of the brain always became more active.

I found this really interesting. Listening to music actually can help as long as you like what you are listening to. If you are listening to a bad song, however, it can be extremely distracting. I think it’s especially interesting how there isn’t a certain type of music that’s better than another, it’s strictly up to personal preference.

I think the best type of music for me to do work to is definitely EDM without words or anything. I like hip-hop and rap but during work it can be too much and get distracting.

Music also helps improve mood which results in better productivity. Dr. Lesiuk did a study on how music helps workplace performance. She found that workers who listened to music completed tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t, based on their change in mood.

So next time I’m writing one of these blogs I’ll throw on my favorite song on SoundCloud, put on my headphones, and zone in to my work. What is your favorite song to study to?

During what seem like endless hours of studying I always liked to throw on music to make it go by a little easier. I was never sure if it actually was making it go by easier or simply making it seem as though it was, This made me curious so I decided to look a little more into it; whether or not music actually helps you concentrate.

Well, Tech Times conducted a randomized study where 21 randomly picked college students took a brain scan while listening to different selected songs. It turns out, when you listen to a song of choice or your favorite genre, the part of your brain called the default mode network becomes more active. This part of the brain controls how humans switch between what’s going on around them and their self thoughts. When they tested the students with other songs, then the genre that they liked, that part of the brain always became more active.

I found this really interesting. Listening to music actually can help as long as you like what you are listening to. If you are listening to a bad song, however, it can be extremely distracting. I think it’s especially interesting how there isn’t a certain type of music that’s better than another, it’s strictly up to personal preference.

I think the best type of music for me to do work to is definitely EDM without words or anything. I like hip-hop and rap but during work it can be too much and get distracting.

Music also helps improve mood which results in better productivity. Dr. Lesiuk did a study on how music helps workplace performance. She found that workers who listened to music completed tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t, based on their change in mood.

So next time I’m writing one of these blogs I’ll throw on my favorite song on SoundCloud, put on my headphones, and zone in to my work. What is your favorite song to study to?

Everybody has been at there, where you’re up all night cramming for the test you forgot about the next day, then nearly falling asleep during the test you were studying for. I actually felt one day like I was doing worse on a test because of my fatigue, and it raised the question;  was I better off sleeping?

TIME Magazine did a study involving 535 students in Los Angeles schools where students recorded the amount of sleep they got for 14 days in each of 9th, 10th and 12th grades. The results of the test showed that students who stayed up late studying instead of sleeping had more problems in class, and scored lower on tests, quizzes and homework.

The randomized study showed that the lack of sleep in students directly correlated with academic problems the next day. The more sleep you got, the less problems there were. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t study. The students who stayed up actually studying scored higher than the students that just stayed up for their own reasons. The problem is time management. Students should finish their work before bed so that they don’t need to stay up and cut from their sleep schedule to study. That is the best way to do well in school.

Now, how much sleep does a student need?

Everybody is a little different, but around 6-8 hours is just usually the perfect amount of sleep. Naps are a good thing throughout the day too. Campus Grotto notes that a 30 minute power-nap works better than any form of caffeine you were going to intake instead. It improves alertness, boost mood, and increase productivity. As long as naps are kept to under an hour, they can be a really productive break to your day.

So, the bottom line is getting a good night’s sleep is important and the right time management for sleeping and studying can be the perfect combination for success in college.

Okay, today I was driving back from Dansville (long story why I was out there) and I drove past a field where I saw a bunch of windmills. So I thought to myself, what really is a windmill. This sounds really weird that I was thinking this but it interested me so I though why not write my first blog about it. Obviously I know that windmills are used to generate power in the form of electricity, but how do they do so? And who ever came up with this idea?

Well, through my research I discovered that apparently windmills have been around for a very long time, and they weren’t always used to generate electricity. The origin of the windmill design was traced back to between 500-900 AD Persia. The original windmill was used for water pumping, but due to lack of drawings or schematics we don’t know exactly how. Soon thereafter the same Persian design was used for grain-grinding. The way that this worked was the same actual windmill design except there was a chamber on the bottom which contained the grain and the grinder so that when the wind hit it would spin the chamber and dice up the grain. It looked like the image below.

So I guess windmills weren’t always used to generate electricity. When did we start using it for that?

Well basically, in 1850 the U.S. Wind Engine Company was created. It’s founders were two young visionaries by the names of Daniel Halladay and John Burnham. About 40 years later they found a way to put wind power to use with the intention of generating electricity for homes and businesses. When that information spread other companies tried to pick it up as well and three years later at the World Fair wind power was debuted by The U.S. Wind Engine Company along with 15 other companies. They basically connected the wind turbines to a generator that way when the blades move it spins the generator, generating electricity. We actually use pretty much the same exact method today with windmills, just with more efficient generators and more aerodynamic turbines.

Citations:

http://telosnet.com/wind/early.html

http://energy.gov/eere/wind/history-wind-energy