Monthly Archives: October 2016

Can Human Memories Be Reliable?

Can Human Memories Be Reliable?

In casual conversations with friends, people are naturally nostalgic and often like to talk about memorable moments they’ve had. Everyone likes to remember the times they have enjoyed with friends and family while also remembering times of trouble and difficulty getting through day-to-day life during periods of grief. But for better or worse, could our memories be letting us down? Are we really remembering past events in our lives or are people merely remembering what they want to? Some recent research has pulled up some interesting figures that are different than what many would imagine.

According to Psychology Today, neuroscientists have been able to show that when humans remember something, they naturally will reconstruct the event in their heads. They also mentioned how people will suppress memories that are painful, and that memory may just be adaptive to the situation, and therefore has to be considered as unreliable. While it is not surprising that people suppress painful memories away, it is unsettling to me how the memories of normal people cannot necessarily be considered reliable.

The New Yorker also had an article just last year stemming from an experiment on how people remember tragedies. According to the article, back in the late 1980’s, Prof. Ulric Neisser of Emory University began to look at how people reacted to “flashbulb memories”. He put this in context by asking his students to write about what they remembered when they heard about the Challenger explosion in 1986. His students were asked to do this the day after the tragedy. Two and a half years later, he again asked the students who completed the first reflection to make a second one. It seems pretty surprising that when the psychologists rated the accuracy of the students on a 1-7 scale, the average was less than 3. But on a 1-5 scale for confidence, the students rated themselves on average at about a 4.17, showing their confidence/inaccuracy.

I thought this result was somewhat surprising. Granted, I don’t have any background knowledge on human memory, but given that so many people trust the memory of others fairly easily, this study would definitely show otherwise. One would think that people would have the same memories about their reaction to a national tragedy, be it the day after or 11 years later. With that being said, it also makes it comical that statistically, the students can be quite confident with how inaccurate they end up being. In my research, I could not find a more recent study than after 9/11, where the neurologists had pretty similar findings, generally speaking.

Human memory can also fog things up in our legal system. The Psychology Today article also reported that in the United States, false confessions can happen in just under 25% out of 289 criminal convictions in an average year that were eventually expunged due to DNA evidence. Why does this occur? Possibly out of fear or intimidation from others. But you can’t rule out that it relates back to memory, because even if a suspect were lying, they would still have to remember their story and have a motive for doing so.

Bibliography:

Eisold, Ken. “Unreliable Memory.” Psychology Today. Psychology Today, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

Konnikova, Maria. “You Have No Idea What Happened.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 04 Feb. 2015. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

What is the Danger of Mercury?

Have you ever gotten a tooth filled at the dentist? Have you ever wondered what the dentist is filling your tooth with? Well, I have and I decided to look into it. I did not think, however, that I would come across many problems linked to tooth fillings. Many problems seem to occur because of an ingredient known as mercury in tooth fillings.

What is mercury?

Mercury, defined here is a liquid element that can be extremely poisonous to humans. Mercury is an extremely toxic element and can enter the body through an open wound or by inhaling or ingesting it. After it is taken into the body, it can cause damage to many things including the nerves and the liver and kidney. Mercury can be found in air, water, and soil. Mercury that is highly toxic can build up in fish, shellfish, and animals that eat fish. Other sources of mercury include fluorescent light bulbs, and mercury fever thermometers made of glass and silver dental fillings. Exposure to mercury at high levels can negatively affect the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system, as stated here.

How does mercury affect health?

Does mercury affect your health? The null hypothesis would be that mercury does absolutely nothing to your health. The alternate hypothesis would be that yes, mercury does affect your health in some ways. This website here states that mercury can greatly affect thyroid health because it can bind to any molecule in the body that contains sulfur, along with other sites in the cell. This can prevent certain enzymes from doing their job. Because mercury can easily bind to any molecule in the body, it can easily bind to the cells of the thyroid gland, which can result in a hypothyroid condition. Mercury gets in the way of many of the minerals necessary for thyroid hormone production. Another way mercury poisoning can occur is by eating too much fish that are rich in mercury. Although fish might be a favorite, there is always the risk of eating too much. here is a prime example of someone taking in too much mercury and getting mercury poisoning from it. The story tells of an television star whose diet was strictly fish. He ended up having to leave the show because he was in such poor condition.

So next time you eat fish, don’t be alarmed but simply be careful of how much you eat! Smaller fish are said to have less mercury and are not nearly as rich in mercury. There is no use in being frightened by this but now I know I will not be having fish everyday of the week!mercury-fish-blog

picture source: here

Will Wet Hair Give You a Cold?

It’s a classic phrase as old as time: wet hair will give you a cold. Countless times over the course of my childhood, I can recall my mom or my grandma scolding me right after I hop out of a fresh shower before school, and rush to get changed and run out the door: “Don’t even think about leaving this house with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold!” Of course, this phrase stuck with me, as it has to many others over the course of time, and I’ve always been mindful to grab a blowdryer quickly before leaving the house with wet hair. However, I’ve often wondered, how accurate is this phrase? Is there truly a risk to leaving with wet hair and going outside of catching a common cold? I decided I needed to turn to research for the answer.

The Origin of a Cold

Traditionally, a “cold” is defined as a viral infection inherent in one’s nose and throat, otherwise known as the upper respiratory tract, that usually lasts over a period of about 10 days, and causes a number of symptoms including a weakened immune system, a runny or stuffy nose, a mucus-filled or inflamed throat, and heavy congestion (Mayoclinic.org). The beginnings of a cold are usually when a small invader known as a virus is transmitted through contact with the already ill, and is capable of latching onto the lining of your throat or nosecontact with the already ill, and is capable of latching onto the lining of your throat or Image result for a common coldnose (webmd.com). Eventually, as your white blood cells and immune system team up to destroy the virus, you are weakened, and your body’s defense takes a temporary hit. The cold is the cause of millions of sick days taken for school and work for adults and children alike as they take the time to rest, but especially children, who are at the highest risk of colds, and lose about 22 million school days a year due to this illness (webmd.com). In fact, webmd.com further states that Americans are estimated to have one billion colds annually, a shocking statistic.contact with the already ill, and is capable of latching onto the lining of your throat or nose (webmd.com). Eventually, as your white blood cells and immune system team up to destroy the virus, you are weakened, and your body’s defense takes a temporary hit. The cold is the cause of millions of sick days taken for school and work for adults and children alike as they take the time to rest, but especially children, who are at the highest risk of colds, and lose about 22 million school days a year due to this illness (webmd.com). In fact, webmd.com further states that Americans are estimated to have one billion colds annually, a shocking statistic.

So, now that we know what a cold is, let’s attempt to break down the causes of a common cold, and whether or not wet hair comes into play.

 

The Triggers: Does Wet Hair Come into Play?

According to Claudia Hammond, a contributing writer to BBC.com, cold or wet weather is in fact the most commoImage result for a common coldn cause of colds, due to studies in Germany and Argentina that have discovered a greater amount of colds in the winter, as well as in countries with traditionally hotter weather including Malaysia and Guinea, where colds are most common in the rainiest parts of the year. However, in addition to this, a common rebuttal is that winter is the most common time to catch a cold because most people choose to spend their time indoors, where they are in closer contact with other’s germs. In order to test this, a variety of experiments have taken place in lab settings in order to prove once and for all if cold and wet climates are to blame.

The Studies

The most frequent experiments, as Hammond discusses, have been under controlled laboratory conditions in which experimental volunteers are exposed to the a cold virus under lowered temperatures. In a number of studies, the group exposed to the colder conditions more frequently contracted a cold, however, for the most part, results remained inconclusive. One study, however, offered a bit more insight and success into this question. The director of the Common Cold Centre in Cardiff, a part of the UK, decided to investigate whether the virus is triggered by being cold and wet (Hammond). In order to accurately investigate this question, he subjected his volunteers to, similarly, damp and cold conditions in the lab. However, where this experiment differed was that he instead sent them out into the real world to go about their daily lives, socializing with others who may or may not have the cold virus.

Included in this experiment, Eccles randomly assigned half of his people to sit with their feet in cold water for around twenty minutes, while half sat with their feet in an empty bowl for twenty minutes (Hammond). According to Hammond, while there was no difference between frequency and nature of cold systems after the first few days, four to five days following the experiment, twice as many subjects from the group that stuck their feet in the cold water had contracted the cold virus.Image result for wet hair with a cold

However, in another experiment conducted at Baylor University, 44 people were exposed to a cold virus, and randomly allocated half to stand in a cold room (Shape.com). However,they found that those who were exposed to colder conditions in the room were no more likely to contract the virus than those who were not (Shape.com).

So what all does this mean?

Conclusion

Of course, these results are all conflicting, and nothing is clearcut. In order to have a viable conclusion, there has to be a realistic way in which wet hair or chilled feet can give someone a cold. According to Hammond, one common theory involves the thought that the blood vessels that are responsible for dispersing white blood cells in a person’s throat and nose are constricted when your body is cold. Supposedly, once one’s hair dries and your body is warmed, the white blood cells are restored as they dilate and return to normal (Hammond). However, none of these results are concrete.

The overall conclusion I have reached through my research is that although there is no concrete study that proves that wet hair causes the cold virus, it could very much help the process along, as it affects the white blood vessels and their reaction time. So maybe, although the science isn’t one hundred percent in unison, it might be the right idea to listen to your mother, and wait until your hair dries before leaving the house.

Image 1    Image 2     Image 3

Why Are Humans Religous?

Why are humans religious? Why do people have faith in a supreme being? A simple answer to that question would be that He exists, but in science, we try to delve deeper than that. In investigating this topic, the most fundamental question and starting point is the following: Are humans naturally predisposed towards religion or is it something we come to accept through societal influence?

The College View took a look at a study by two Oxford scientists, Justin Barrett and John Trigg. Its null hypothesis was that humans are not hard wired to have faith whereas the alternative hypothesis was that people were in some way inclined to believe in the supernatural. The study concluded that humans are naturally are wired to have some sort of religious belief in the world’s purpose. Those educated in the sciences were no exception. This study appears to be quite reliable, as the sample size is enormous. Barrett and Trigg’s paper is actually a conglomeration of forty studies in about two dozen countries.faith

So people are hard wired to have some sort of faith? But what purpose does that serve? Researchers at Queens University, in a study published by the Association for Psychological Science had a theory that this purpose could be to improve human self discipline. In four different experiments they tested the idea that putting religious ideas into people’s heads through word activities could help increase self control. In this case, their null hypothesis, where nothing is going on, was that thinking about religious words would not increase self control behaviors. The alternative hypothesis was that thinking about these religious topics would cause the subjects of the experiment to exhibit more self control than their peers in the control group. The first three tests were resoundingly rejecting the null hypothesis for the alternative, but there were some wishy-washy results in the fourth. There were three groups in the fourth experiment. One group, rather than normal words, received words related to mortality, a second received words that were related to virtue and not necessarily faith, while the last, as usual, were subjected to words that had to do explicitly with religion and faith. The subjects were then requested to complete the Stroop task, a test that measures an individual’s self control. The virtue group and the religion group preformed equally well whereas the group that was subjected to mortality words preformed poorly compared to their peers.

So what’s the conclusion here? While we can definitively say there is something wired into our psychology that wants to believe in a higher power or at the very least a higher purpose, we can’t say for sure what that purpose is. Evidence from the Queen’s University researchers does indicate that our faith could serve some purpose regarding self control, but in just one study, and one with slightly contradictory results at that, we will need more research before we can fully answer what exact purpose having a religious predisposition serves the human race.

Photo Reference:

https://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/page/5/

References:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714103828.htm

The Science Behind…Faith

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-stroop-effect.htm#didyouknowout

Global Warming, Denied.

I think its amazing that there are people out there that still deny climate change. GOP candidate for president, Donald Trump, has consistently denied global warming, claiming one time that the weather was fine! he also said it was a Chinese hoax! his rallies are packed with people who believe the same thing. denying what 99% of scientists confirm is not a historical precedent. We forget that people denied the earth was round. when someone challenged the concept of flat earth, they were persecuted by the church and by authorities at the time. it is completely normal to deny a phenomenon especially when people cant the effects of it right away.

almost every scientific discovery throughout history was denied, questioned, and scientists often risked their security (sometimes life) for what he or she believed in. Global warming is a inconvenience to say the least to many corporations who like the way it is at the moment.

by corporations I mean gas and oil sector, especially shale, manufacturing industry and coal. in fact, I would go beyond that, Global warming is a threat to the livelihood of these companies. so it is in their interest to promote people who deny it of heavily question it. but like every historical discovery, and especially one with this magnitude, everyone will come around eventually. the steps usually begin from flat out denying to persecution to accusation to partial belief and finally to accept it. notice that climate change deniers are usually over the age of 50 or 60. which is borderline selfish. global warming is an existential threat to the next generation, and older people must understand that if they want their grandchildren to inherit the same earth they did, they need to start making changes, and quickly.

 

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/03/hillary-clinton/yes-donald-trump-did-call-climate-change-chinese-h/

http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/how-far-back-did-people-know-earth-was-round/

NASA’s Future

International Space Station-

This is a place where astronauts can work off the earth for the earth. NASA is learning how to prepare future generations of astronauts to be able to stay for longer missions. In doing so the soon to be projects like round trip to Mars and asteroids will be possible. Most importantly the Space Station is used as a floating laboratory as its function is to give astronauts the resources for their scientific research. The way they keep this running is by sending rockets and other designed spacecrafts with supply to the space station enabling it to function. With the scientific research being done there this gives way to the United States being able to advance on shared goals for space exploration.

 

International Space Station ISS

International Space Station ISS

 

Mission to Mars-

One of the highest regarded and viral upcoming missions is being able to send someone to mars. On the journey to Mars they will have to build they most complex and advance rocket of all time. It is planned to carry four astronauts and will be launch from Florida. According to “What’s Next For NASA?” the rocket will be on the SLS or the Space Launch System which is one of a kind and is capable of taking humans ever farther than Earth’s orbit. But before any of this goes on NASA plans on developing the Asteroid Redirect Mission. This in simplistic terms will be the capturing and redirecting an asteroid to orbit the moon. We will then explore this for Data for around a decade.

 

mars_banner

 

New 2020 Mars Rover

The Mars 2020 Rover Mission. One of the key pieces of further exploration on Mars, NASA is seeking signs of habitable conditions there. A key difference on the new Rover is that it will have a drill on it which will enable it to collect core samples including rocks and soils. With this data it can look for past life forms. This mission also entails getting NASA the information to help send somewhere there if they can gather oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. This is planned to happen around July or August of 2020 when it is a good time between both planets. This will reduce costs and keep the risk low. Included on the NASA Website website is a full description of the updates and add ons to the new mars over.

 

mars_2020_rover

 

The new Satellites 

The big clunky designs of satellites are being transformed into compact devices that could fit into your hands. In fact these satellites are so transportable and different from the other versions NASA is allowing students and schools to submit their own designs. They have already designed some satellites to be the size of a stamp and they have been launched. If everything goes well and they get the data NASA needs, the plan is to send them up in masses and allow them to float freely picking up all the data they can.

 

tiny-satellites

 

The Europa Drill

If you are interested in aliens then you should be interested in this project. Jupiter’s moon Europa is make astronomers go crazy because under its oceans there is a 30-kilometer-thick shell of ice. Basically NASA is trying to figure out how they are going to break through the ice, keep in mind it would be hard for them to do that here let alone all the way on Jupiter. The funding for this mission was given by President Obama and could begin as soon as 2022. NASA has already worked out a new technology that will hopefully punch through the ice (its a nuclear powered ice cannon). They are currently testing it on Alaska’s Matanuska Glacier, keep in mind they can’t maintain a giant drill bit so instead they are using a nuclear core to produce scorching jets of watch that will cut the ice.

 

europa-drill

 

 

http://listverse.com/2014/09/22/10-strange-projects-in-development-at-nasa/

http://www.nasa.gov/about/whats_next.html

 

Science of Music Improving Athletic Performance.

We all have that favorite song that we can’t get out of our heads but can music manipulate athletes to do better in sport?

phelps

According to Sport Journal music can help bring focus and can significantly help the performer. One way music can help is with changing your state of mind, mood set, fatigue. Although this doesn’t make your workout easier it makes your experience more enjoyable. Another way music can help is to help pump up or relax the performer. The louder and more upbeat the song is the more pumped or anxious the athlete gets and same thing vice versa (slower music). According to the article on the Effect of Synchronous Music on Performance humans respond to the music tempo and rhythm of music. They found that the higher the tempo the better the performer is at higher intensity workouts. They tested this many different ways having groups of athletes running to different styles of music. Some coaches even withhold music from athletes and use it as a treat or a motivational prize if the athlete reaches the coaches expectations.

mind

Music isn’t just for workouts, According to The Sync Project music is also good to listen too when warming up as it raises your heart rate. They also said that listening to music in recovery stage so when you finish your workout helps with your physical recovery as you are tend to be more relaxed.

streatch

Now just cause you are not an athlete doesn’t mean you can’t do this. I was just bring attention to how music can help performance levels and you can see that helping with athletes. So go put on your favorite music and go enjoy your workout.

What does complaining do to your brain?

Complaining is something that we all do. On average, a person complains once throughout a typical conversation. Ask yourself the following question: How many times have I complained today? In most cases, it’s innumerable.

So what exactly is complaining? Complaining is more or less expressing dissatisfaction or resentment. Some people will use the excuse “I’m just venting!”, but in reality, complaining has a large toll on our brains, and henceforth our happiness.

'I'm afraid your complaining is chronic.' - 'I want a second opinion!!'

‘I’m afraid your complaining is chronic.’ – ‘I want a second opinion!!’

Our brains are similar to us as humans in the sense that they too do not want to work any harder than they have to. Repeating behaviors, such as complaining, causes your neurons to branch out to each other and make information more easily transferred. So this makes it easier for you to complain more, without even realizing you’re doing it. Complaining also shrinks your hippocampus, according to research from Stanford University, an area used in problem solving and memory.

Complaining is also bad for your health. When you complain, your body releases more of the hormone that shifts a human into fight-or-flight mode, the hormone known as cortisol. This directs oxygen, blood, and energy from any system that is not crucial to survival. Frequent complaining results in extra cortisol being released, which puts a person more at risk for high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and strokes.

So what can we do to stop ourselves from complaining? Every time you find yourself making a negative observation, make a positive one instead. It is recommended that a person takes time to think about what they’re grateful for. Doing this can reduce cortisol by 23%, according to research at the University of California, Davis. Decreasing the amount you complain will have an overall more positive impact on your health. So why not start today?

Works Cited

“What Complaining Does To Your Brain… And Your Happiness.” Woopaah, 23 September 2015. http://www.woopaah.com/blog/2015/9/23/what-complaining-does-to-your-brain-and-your-happiness.html. Accessed 21 October 2016.

Bradberry, Travis. “How Complaining Rewires Your Brain For Negativity.” Entrepreneur, 9 September 2016. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281734. Accessed 21 October 2016.

“New studies of human brains show stress may shrink neurons.” Stanford News Service, 14 August 1996. http://news.stanford.edu/pr/96/960814shrnkgbrain.html. Accessed 21 October 2016.

“Gratitude is Good Medicine.” UC Davis Medical Center, 25 November 2015. http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/medicalcenter/features/2015-2016/11/20151125_gratitude.html. Accessed 21 October 2016.

Are we ready to drink alcohol before 21, or are we just a bunch of overeager kids?

FOUR HANDS MALE AND FEMALE TOAST WITH MUGS OF BEER

(taken from this site)

Ahhh, the two questions that have sparked such a fire among Americans:

Should the drinking age be lowered? OR…

Should the drinking age be raised?

I finally decided to do some research on our current legal drinking age and why it is twenty one.

There are several people who feel that lowering the drinking age would do more harm than good. Lowering the drinking age would warrant more binge drinking and lead to future alcoholism in young adults. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, between the ages of twelve and twenty are when binge drinking heavily occurs. Just take that in for a second- TWELVE.

So what is it that’s causing this problem? Is it society’s “don’t touch it” attitude about drinking that is pushing the younger generations towards this behavior?

Well, the attraction to the illegality of underage drinking is often considered a reason for kids drinking alcohol. Rebellion is attractive to the young and reckless. Alcohol’s cool image, as advertised by the media, may be what is causing young teens to begin drinking at an early age.

Here’s what we see on TV:

Alcohol is fun. Alcohol brings people together. Alcohol makes you do silly things and goof around with your friends…

Now, for many of us, alcohol may be all it is crapped up to be. But does that mean at age eighteen kids are old enough to drink responsibly?

Before you decide, let’s take a look at the other end of the debate.

On the flip side, there are many people who support a higher drinking age for the following reasons…

College. When you hear that word what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Parties? Drinking? For many of you, these words are probably what came to mind. Penn State, while it is an incredible learning institution, let’s face it,- IT’S ALWAYS A FUN TIME BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW TO PARTY IN THE HAPPY VALLEY. And dang it, WE ARE proud.

The alcohol consumption rate in college is much higher than that of high school teens. Why? Think about it. Freshman year you are away from home for the first time and you are clumped together with kids your age and older. Alcohol is an easy access for pretty much everyone. Going out at night, it is very seldom that you’ll come across a party without alcohol. This is where peer pressure really sets in and binge drinking becomes a weekly occurrence for the majority of students.

According to neuroscientist and author, Sandra Aamodt, the human brain does not fully develop until the age of twenty five. The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain that controls decision-making and impulse actions. At age twenty one, the prefrontal cortex has still not reached its full growth.

So why is age eighteen considered to be the beginning of someone’s “adult years?” Or, why is the drinking age twenty one? These are questions that spark controversy among Americans, and provide support to the argument that the legal drinking age should be changed to twenty five.

Think about it this way. If people at age twenty one are scientifically more prone to make impulse decisions due to the underdevelopment of their prefrontal cortexes, how does it make sense to add alcohol, a decision impairer, into the mix? That being said, how does it make sense to lower the drinking age or even keep it age twenty one?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to ruin anyone’s fun here or my own, for that matter. I simply want you to think about both sides. Which side do you find yourself on? Are we old enough yet to be dabbling with this popular drink?

 

Sources:

https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/adolescent-issues/legal-drinking-age/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708

 

What is Schizophrenia?

While I was home this past weekend, I often found myself in front of the television with my mom watching her favorite show, Dr. Phil. One of the episodes we ended up watching was on a young girl with Schizophrenia. I have always had an idea of what Schizophrenia was, but I have never actually realized how serious it can be until after watching. So, I decided to do some research on what it is and how a person might be able to tell if someone has it. This article here mentions that over three million people in the United States are affected by Schizophrenia.

What is Schizophrenia?

This article here defines schizophrenia as a serious disorder of the brain affecting how a person thinks, feels, and acts, and sees the world around them. People who have schizophrenia have a misrepresented view of reality. They might see and hear things that are not real; may be unresponsive or withdrawn; and may have difficulty expressing normal emotions in social situations. They might also feel like they are always being spied on or that others are trying to hurt them. All of these setbacks for people with schizophrenia make it extremely difficult for them to deal with the world around them. Although many people think of schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder as one in the same, they are not. The two disorders are, in fact, very different. Most people who have schizophrenia are not dangerous to those around them.

schizophrenia-blog

What Causes Schizophrenia?

The causes of schizophrenia still seem to be unclear. Some theories, however, recommend that schizophrenia is caused by genetics, biology, and/or possible viral infections and immune disorders. Theories suggest that schizophrenia could be hereditary because scientists often find that the disorder runs in the family, and once one family member has it, another member of the family has a good chance of getting it as well. No one gene, however, causes schizophrenia by itself. Scientists believe that people with schizophrenia have an imbalance of brain chemicals and neurotransmitters that allow nerve cells in the brain to send messages to each other. The imbalance of these chemicals affects the way a person reacts to things around them. Environmental factors that are said to be the possible cause of schizophrenia include hormonal, social, nutritional and chemical environment in the mother’s womb during pregnancy. The article mentions that babies whose mothers get the flu while pregnant are more at risk for developing the disorder later in life.

Signs and Symptoms

There are numerous signs that may become visible if a person thinks he/she has schizophrenia or knows someone who might have the disorder. Signs of schizophrenia can differ and might not show up right away. Signs may include things like hearing or seeing something that isn’t there, a change in personality, inability to sleep or concentrate, a constant feeling of being watched, a change in personal hygiene and appearance, etc. It is extremely vital that anyone who is experiencing these signs seeks help immediately.

Symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking and speech, and disorganized behavior. Delusions can be defined as false and illogical but firmly held beliefs because of inability to differentiate between real and fake experiences. Hallucinations might include seeing, feeling, hearing, or smelling something that does not actually exist. The most common example of a hallucination is hearing voices. Someone with disordered thinking will have trouble keeping track of his or her thoughts or conversations. Disorganized behavior might include things like problems with hygiene or choosing appropriate clothing for the weather.

Treatment

Although a person with schizophrenia can never be fully treated, there are ways to improve the disorder, especially if that person is seen early on. Recovery from the disorder is possible through things like medication and rehab. There are even employment programs to help those with schizophrenia to find jobs more easily.

Conclusion

Overall, schizophrenia effects people all over the world and affects 1% of the United States population. There are no immediate or full cures for the disorder, but there are definitely ways to improve and prevent things from being worse in the future. If you or someone you know might have it, contact someone immediately to seek help.

 

Here is a clip from the episode of Dr. Phil that I watched about a young girl with schizophrenia.

Picture Source: here

Does Adderall Improve Academics?

Trying to handle college nowadays can be extremely difficult for most people. With sports, clubs, and Greek life, most students feel they don’t even have time to manage college on their own anymore. With exams, projects, and homework, tons of students feel they are physically incapable of handling everything at once. And because a class cannot be revolved around one person’s schedule, students often resort to study drugs to fix their problems.

Study drugs can be categorized as drugs that are used to improve focus, such as Adderall and Ritalin. They are originally used for the purpose of helping people with Attention Deficit Disorder, otherwise known as ADD, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, otherwise known as ADHD. Many people think that because these drugs are used to improve ADD and ADHD, they will also help to improve focus for those without ADD and ADHD. Although these drugs may be tempting for some, they are dangerous and illegal if not prescribed to the person using them. Surprisingly still, it is not difficult to find people on college campuses that use Adderall to get ahead in studying. Because it is well known that Adderall is illegal to use without prescription, I researched the dangers of taking Adderall.

Although it is not well known, Adderall can cause students to become addicted. According to this website here Adderall can be abused in many ways including taking someone else’s medication or taking the drugs for reasons other than medical need. Already, two of these points might be frightening and alarming for students who use Adderall without prescription. This website here states that Adderall is just one chemical group away from being meth. It also mentions that most students who take Adderall or Ritalin without prescription are most likely also taking them with lack of sleep. The article goes onto explain that under the circumstance that a person takes a study drug with lack of sleep, he or she is more likely to have a seizure.

Now that we have covered the fact that Adderall is definitely dangerous, let’s look at whether it even improves a person’s overall study habits. This article here shows that drugs like Adderall and Ritalin have no scientific evidence of improving academic performance. Studies from this article show that a person who is willing to use drugs to get ahead in academic performance is most likely involved with other drugs as well. The studies also show that people who use non-prescription drugs typically have lower grades than those who simply study and manage their time effectively. This video gives a clear explanation of why people should not use Adderall if they do not have ADD or ADHD here.

So if you’re thinking about using Adderall or any other study drug to help you improve your grades, think again. It’s never worth it to go against the law and put yourself in danger just to get an A!

1304-60 115 Adderall Twitter Study Photo illustration for Adderall Twitter Study for BYU Communications. Contact Todd Hollingshead. April 30, 2013 Photo by Jonathan Hardy/BYU Photo © BYU PHOTO 2013 All Rights Reserved photo@byu.edu  (801)422-73221304-60 115 Adderall Twitter Study Photo illustration for Adderall Twitter Study for BYU Communications. Contact Todd Hollingshead. April 30, 2013 Photo by Jonathan Hardy/BYU Photo © BYU PHOTO 2013 All Rights Reserved photo@byu.edu  (801)422-7322

Photo Source: here

 

How to Get More Sleep at College

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Ever since starting college, I always feel exhausted. Which is a common theme among college students. Basically college students are in a constant state of sleep deprivation. I began to wonder if exhaustion is just a simple fact of college or if there are things to do to prevent this. Getting enough sleep affects mental health and grades. Students who are sleep deprived can also gain weight, sometimes caused by midnight snacking. Due to sleep being so important, students should try and make more room for it. Students lose so much sleep mostly due to procrastination, as I know from first hand. The common theme among students is they either get no sleep or sleep too much. Either way, students are essentially getting nothing done. You have a midterm tomorrow, what do you do? You stay up all night studying and become more stressed, losing sleep, and when it’s time for the test you’re not at your best. Students who cram for tests, tend to get lower test scores. Is procrastination the only reason for less sleep? What would happen if students didn’t procrastinate? Would they get more sleep?

In my own experience first hand, procrastination is not the only reason for my lack of sleep, it’s a number of things. I live with six other roommates and it takes until about 2:00am for everyone to settle down. This leaves me with an automatic 5-6 hours of sleep a night, if I’m lucky. I also have a very chaotic sleep schedule. On weekends I try and sleep until 3:00pm. Which is also bad for me. According to Kelchi Lynn Lucier, getting the same amount of sleep each night is the best thing for your body. It is a good idea to make a sleep schedule that fits everyday of the week and sticking to it. Which can be very hard for those who have an 8am everyday. Who wants to wake up at 7:00-7:30am everyday, especially on the weekends?

Beautiful woman lying and sleep on the snowy bed

I love naps. Naps have to be the best part of my day. But I began to wonder if naps were actually good or bad for me. I started to believe naps were bad for me, especially because my naps usually last for 3 hours. For these 3 hours, I could be doing homework or going to the gym. Basically just doing anything productive. But naps can actually help catch up on sleep. Naps help me get through the day. But sometimes my long naps affect my bedtime. Power naps can actually be very beneficial though, without affecting the rest of your day too much. Power naps prevent the groggy, lazy side effect that are mostly associated with long naps.

Some things to avoid before bed is things like caffeine (obviously). Although this is obvious many college students live on energy drinks. This disrupts sleep immensely, even if students sleep after drinking caffeine, the person has a disturbed sleep and doesn’t get a full night’s rest. Also avoid watching television or going on your phone right before bed. I am guilty of this. My nightly routine includes going through all my social medias before bed. But the lights in electronics, like your cell phone, your laptop, and your TV delays the sleep hormone, melatonin, preventing sleep. Thirty minutes before bed, tuck away your phone, close your laptop, and turn off your TV and you will have a great nights rest.

The body needs eight hours of sleep a night. If it does not receive the proper amount of sleep, not only will grades and ability to process information be impaired. But health risks come into play as well. Like high blood pressure, a blow to the immune system, more susceptible to the flu or a getting (often explaining the freshman plague), weight gain, etc. All health systems are put at risk when the body does not get enough sleep. This study done by Ink Niche shows that only an astonishing 17% of college students gets 8 hours of sleep a night.

amount of sleep per week

amount of sleep per week

 

time students go to bed

time students go to bed

amount of naps college students take

amount of naps college students take

Sleep is not like homework, you can’t catch up on it on in one night. All nighters can disturb your sleep all week. If you pull an all nighter to get that project you’ve put off for a month, you ruin your sleep schedule for a whole week. You can’t catch up on sleep, it is just better to get your work done early, and stick to a sleep schedule. Your grades greatly depend on your sleep. The best thing is to get a good eight hours of sleep a night, while sticking to the same sleep schedule each night. Students who sleep better at night perform better in their classes, tests, and quizzes. I am going to start by not using my phone or my laptop before bed and sticking to the same sleep schedule, since it has been all over the place lately.

sources: college lifeeveryday healthstudent healthquoraquora 2gizmodohuffingtonpost

Why Are Clowns So Scary?

I am sure you have heard the recent chaos around clown sightings around the United States. Teens all around the country have been posting videos either in their cars or walking through the woods, to find a random clown that inevitably starts to chase them. Whether these videos are actually real or staged to get retweets is up to the person. But some of these clowns have turned violent. Mississippi has even banned clown costumes until the end of halloween because the recent scare. Children in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and New Jersey are being stabbed by these clowns. Schools have been closed due to some clown threats. And one boy 16 year old boy was murdered by a man in a clown costume. These clown stories kept getting more and more traction giving more attention to these scary clown threats. But why clowns? What makes someone with a painted smile so scary?

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Growing up, I remember clowns at birthday parties, blowing balloons for the kids, making jokes, and just having a good time with everyone. But what has happened since then? When we were younger we saw clowns with painted smiles and inviting faces. Even one of the most famous chain restaurants, McDonald’s uses a clown as their face. A happy Ronald McDonald can often be found in their restaurants and their commercials. But Hollywood has changed the images of clowns from friendly jokesters into menacing killers.  In the United States, around 12% of adults have Coulrophobia, a fear of clowns. Cases of Coulrophobia increased from the move ‘IT’ a movie about a murderous clown. People fear clowns because their face is covered so they cover their true identity making it easy for them to do whatever that want. Their emotion also stays the same, which is scary to people. People fear what they do not know, and the fact that clowns have either painted faces or masks concealing their identity scares people. Cases also increased of this fear from the Joker in Batman. The Joker represents a crazy, murderous clown that plays the antagonist in the Batman movies. Halloween also gives arises to people’s fear of clowns. Scary clowns are a seen all throughout halloween stores, and around haunted houses

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But this past September, scary clowns have been taken to a new level. Clowns try to lure kids and passing by teens into the woods. There have been videos of clowns at the side of the road chasing passing cars. The internet blew up with videos of clowns in the woods and at the side of the road. Even here, at Penn State, we know all too well about the clown sightings. When a clown was reportedly seen and a mob of 500 students started chasing a creepy clown that was supposedly seen according to social media. Students running all through campus tried to find the clown and take it down. The cops had to try and keep control of the students. Police officials say there was no actual clown.

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Most of these clowns roaming the streets are meant as a joke but the small amount of clowns that pose a threat have people all over the place afraid to see a clown. Due to the wide number of people who suffer from fear of clowns it didn’t take much for these creepy clown sighting to blow up and tract so much heat. Hopefully as Halloween nears its end, so will these clown sightings.

 

 

sources: coulrophobia, ny post, nbc, fox

Is Your Favorite Healthy Snack Actually Bad For You?

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We all have that one go to healthy snack that we eat when we feel a change from junk. Sometimes our “healthy” snack we eat daily because its so good and we think its healthy. But what if your favorite healthy options aren’t so good for you after all? People ae constantly fooled into thinking their eating healthy because of words like “low fat”, “fat free”, “low calories”. But just because it is low in something does not mean it is not making up for it somewhere else.  In today’s world, especially in college, it is so hard to find a healthy meal without spending a ton of money. In the commons, junk food is readily available. I know first hand, when I feel like being healthy, a get a wheat bread sandwich. But actually, that is worse. If wheat bread isn’t a 100% wheat, which it rarely is, then it contains enriched flour which is bad for you. Not the mention the turkey you might use for your sandwich. Turkey can be highly processed resulting in high levels of sodium and nitrate.

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Want to grab the fat free yogurt? Better not, just because it is fat free doesn’t account for the high levels in sugar. That yogurt parfait also looks pretty good? Of course it does because it has almost as much calories as a dessert would, with high levels of sugar and calories. Reading nutrition labels is key when trying to find a healthy alternative. It is often hard not to be enticed by the strategically placed words but companies to try and sucker their consumers into thinking their getting a healthier option whilst charing them more. Eating a salad? I love salads, but I also love dressing, which is high in fat and calories. So what can I do? Light salad dressing sounds like a good idea? Actually not, light salad dressing is also bad for you, might as well stick with oil and vinegar. Another food that is seemingly healthy is trail mix, when in fact it had high levels in sodium and calories with all the added salt and chocolate chips. Granola is also not as good for you as people think. Granola has lots of sugar and calories. A bowl of granola can start at 500 calories at best or more. To see more foods that are actually unhealthy healthy foods go here.

When going grocery shopping, read the nutrition labels, they are key. They let you know which foods are actually healthy and what foods are disguised as being healthy. People get fooled everyday while grocery shopping, looking for the cheapest and “healthiest option”. Truth is, if its healthy, it won’t be the cheapest. Healthy options tend to run for more money due to the fact that there are more wholesome ingredients that get put into these products. If you’re having trouble shopping healthy, here’s some tips to help you. Shopping healthy can be hard due to how much we have been tricked our whole lives but food companies trying to make more money. It is better to stay on the safe side and not trust the initial “fat free”, and to actually check the nutrition label. Our eyes see fat free and immediately think we should pick it up, but retrain your body and mind into smart and healthy shopping.

 

sources: shapeparentsforbeswebmd

What is the Placebo Effect?

The other night I was extremely tired, but couldn’t fall asleep. I had an exam the next morning and knew I had to get some rest or else I might not be able to function come morning time. As a last resort, I decided to take Benadryl to help me fall asleep. I knew that this would help me pass out, and it did. I fell asleep about twenty minutes after taking it. The next morning I told my friend what I had done and he mentioned something called the placebo effect. He told me that because I was convinced that the Benadryl would put me to sleep, it did, but didn’t necessarily put me to sleep because the pill itself worked. It might have just been me believing it would work.

I decided to do some research on whether or not the placebo effect was actually effective, and what studies have been done to prove or disprove it. This link here states that placebos have been show to work in about 30 percent of patients. Some researchers believe that patients reacting positively to placebos are just responding psychologically. Recent research, however, indicates that placebos might actually bring out a physical response. The video on the article already cited talks about a double blind study that was done. The study gave one group of sick people an actual drug and gave the other group of sick people a placebo drug. Here, the null hypothesis is that there is no difference between the placebo and the actual drug. The alternate hypothesis would be the fact that there is a difference between the placebo and the real drug. After the study was done, researchers found that numerous people who took the placebo pill claimed to be better, even though their pill was not actually meant for improving health. After this study was done, further studies were launched to figure out just what was going on. The video mentions a study done in 2004. The study put painful, harmless injections into people’s jaws. After the painful injection was inserted, the people were told that they were receiving a saline painkiller injection. The painkiller injection, however, was not actually a painkiller. Many people, however, claimed to feel better after the second injection. Afterwards, the researchers viewed people’s brain through pet scans and found that the people’s brains were actually releasing the body’s natural painkiller, called an endorphin. This showed that patients actually experienced relief of pain that was not just in their head.

This website here states that the placebo effect may involve changes in brain chemistry, and may actually be used to heal people. There were studies done for people with Parkinson’s disease using placebos. Parkinson’s disease is associated with a shortage of a brain chemical called a dopamine, and in the studies performed; placebos actually increased the production of dopamines in the patients. Although researchers are still trying to fully understand the placebo effect, research has clearly shown that in most cases, the placebo effect works. So now every time you take something to fall asleep or a doctor gives you something to make you feel better, ask yourself whether or not it is the pill actually working or you believing it is.

placebo-pic-blog

Works Cited:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/placebo-effect.htm

http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/putting-the-placebo-effect-to-work

Picture Link: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/placebo-effect-one-a-day.jpg

Sports Impact on Youth Development

Many people are blinded by the curtain of media stories talking about concussions and safety issues in sports. How come articles about all the good sports give to society do not go viral. Because they are not seen by the naked eye but presumed through the individual at the end of the day and for that reason I feel as though I want to bring to light both sides of the story.

 

Positive Effects: The numerous positive effects stretch along multiple domains but the three broad topics are physical, physiological, and social development.

 

  1. Social Development: Giving the children the opportunity to work with a group allows them to grow skills working cooperative and develop great sportsmanship. The time also lets children who are egocentric to start thinking for the group rather than themselves and celebrate others accomplishments. Creating relationships with their coaches will also instill good mentor ship. Not to mention one of the greatest positives of them all the children become close with each other.

Long term commitments- Being a part of a team develops character in the youth. They learn how to time manage and give their time to others. Also it makes them accountable and give them a sense of accountability which will help later on in the workplace.

  1. Physiological Development: Simply Wins & Loses. Learning that losing is reality and persevering through it. This is a good example of getting out of the nurture umbrella that parents cover their children with. With coping with loses children learn to accept not getting their way and facing the hardships of life which will ultimately grow as they get older. As players begin fulfilling their goals they also gain a self-confidence or self worth and come to light as an individual.Mentally kids learn to control their complex mines and thoughts to pay attention  
  2. Physical Development: Physically, sports make youth players push themselves to be uncomfortable. Whether it be getting hit in football or doing sprints at the end of practice in soccer they learn to be okay with uncomfortability. This will be a good lesson to know later in life as things will not always go their way and they will have to adapt to fix it.

Negative Effects: Peers who do not even have children will still have a stance on the global phenomenon, that being ‘is sports becoming too dangerous for the youth/ is it beneficial anymore’.

 

  1. Injuries

Youth athletes are more likely to experience traumatic injuries as their bodies are growing making them more vulnerable not to mention they will already be accompanied by growing pains. The Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine says that’s young athletes are of high risk in areas that have not completed the growth process which highly included bone fractures. If their muscles cannot sustain the growth it’ll lead to tension in areas where they are growing and weak bones.

 

Physiological

Children who are exposed to non-stop participation in sports are at risk of psychological trauma. Ultimately this could lead to isolation, becoming a burnout, and no longer wanting to participate in anything. Children need to have some personal time otherwise while they participate mood swings or outbreaks will be more frequent. Today’s society in youth sports culture attributes to children with low self-esteem too. The Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine’s also relays the message that the more coaches and parents call children names and show disappointment the worse impact it will have on them down the road. The decrease in having fun and the increase in competition result in negative social behavior. Poor coaching, that being coaches who are so egotistic and self-absorbed winning will ultimately teach the youth the wrong outlooks on life and affect their personal experience/feelings toward sports.

 

crying-footballer

 

A cross-selection study co-authored by Hilary Friedman organized data relating to the sport injuries sustained in young children (5-12years) versus their older counterparts (13-17years). She analyzed the type of injury along with severity. From 2000-2009 she came up with the results that the young children sustained injuries that were often more traumatic in nature and at a higher extreme. Meanwhile their older counter parts were more likely to get injured in the chest, pelvis, or spine (more overuse injures).

Conclusion:

Sports injuries to children differ by age by severity, places, and types. Older children sustain a greater proportion of overuse injuries classified as soft tissue in nature meanwhile the younger children have more extreme injuries. Although you must keep in mind both ages of children are in need for serious medical attention. Those are just the physical aspects of sports, keep in mind the psychological and emotional effect as well. Allowing your child or the youth to play sports is all personal preference and figuring out which side outweighs the other in your eyes. There is no right or wrong answer each side has factual evidence to back up a case.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871410/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/211079-psychological-effects-of-sports-on-children-youth/

 

Thunderstorms

Last night I was dreading going out as i ripped a hole through a garbage bag and threw it over my head. The torrential rain was on and off followed by huge roars of thunder and lightning illuminating the sky. I know we all kind of have a general idea of what makes up thunder and lightning and causes it to happen but I wanted to just make sure my idea of that was still accurate.

What causes lightning?

According to this article from Planet Science, the whole process starts with just a cloud. The ground below needs to be hot enough to cause vapor to rise up and form the cloud above. While the bottom of the cloud is warm, the top begins to freeze (with a temperature below freezing point) and it becomes icy. This begins the formation of a “thundercloud” in which the particles in the cloud are moving around, bumping into each other and forming a great electrical charge. The particles in the cloud start to separate. The heavy negative charges sink to the bottom of the cloud and the light positive charges stay up at the top. When a positive and negative charge collide, this collision causes lightning.

4ca069b5da2110e1c385cefa988fe84e pic1

What causes thunder?

Thunder is caused by this lightning. I found here that thunder is more or less a sound vibration caused by the electricity of lighting. Since the lightning is so very hot, about 6 times hotter than the surface of the sun (Planet Science), it pushes the air separating molecules and creating an even louder sound/vibration.

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-9-57-22-am pic2

We see lightning before we see thunder because light travels faster than sound. So when you hear thunder after, know that it really happened at the same time as the lightning! It just takes longer to get to us. Old myth tells that counting the number of seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder can determine how far away the storm is. This has been proven not true (news to me). Apparently, the real way to determine how far away it is is to count the number of seconds between the thunder and lightning and then divide that by five. That number will determine how many miles it is away from you.

According to the NOAA, it is not possible to have thunder without lightning, they will always occur together. Maybe you’re thinking, “what about heat lightning?”. This is the same as regular lightning but it could just be so far away that you don’t hear the thunder, but it’s there!

This link is definitely one to check out. It lists the five ways people can get struck by lighting. I thought the only way to get struck was dead on or if you were near a tree or metal. Turns out even the ground can build up enough electricity to strike you.

So, I wasn’t too far off but walking around in that huge storm last night probably was not one of my smartest ideas..

Born into the Winter Blues?

On a typical day I tend to think of myself as a very outgoing, extroverted, and ultimately happy individual with a pep in my step. To some, this can be seen as an annoyance, especially those who find themselves to be more introverted by nature. However, I have a hypothesis for why this may be – perhaps it is due in part to the time of year we were born, as opposed to anything else. Personally, I was born in the middle of summer, and it would not surprise me if my birth month actually has an effect on health and personality overall.

One key thing to keep in mind is the well-proven belief in the Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, which is a disorder that occurs around the fall and winter months in four-seasoned environments that ultimately leave sufferers having symptoms of low energy, issues sleeping, and even forms of depression, according to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. This is disorder can also be treated, primarily through the use of drugs or light therapy, to make sure the patient is getting the correct amount of exposure to natural light.

Nicholas Cage as a Natural Source of Sunlight. Source: http://nicolascage.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Teletubbies-Sun.jpg.

So already there is the evidence of SAD to back up my claim from a present time perspective how different times of year effect us… but what about the actual time of year our birth takes place? According to some scientists at Colombia University, there may be more of a link to health conditions and months as opposed to just differences in personality. Through the use of data and meta-analysis, they found that there are specific months that can be attributed to an increased risk in obtaining specific types of diseases, such as cardiovascular, respiratory, and more. However, they also claim that there is actually a number of variables that take part in these determinations, so we should not be overly worried by their findings and trying to line up birth months to prevent any type of specific disease.

Even though it is hardly something to change your everyday life over, the results that may be found over the next few years should be kept in mind as we age further into the century. Perhaps more of a correlation will be found between months and diseases or health overall that could be key in preventing further loss of life.

But what about personality? There is of course the inference of the zodiac calendar and horoscopes from astrology – but this is science, not star gazing and palm reading! Plus, astrology has been debunked by a number of studies, such as the one performed by scientists at the Psychology Department at Indiana University. In the study, it was found that astrologers did no better than any non-astrologer at predicting personalities based off the participants birth months alone.

Take that Celestial Sky Beings! Source: http://www.astrologer.com/pics/zod/Zodiac300x300.jpg.

Although the argument can be made and tailored that the health and personality of an individual correlates with the time of year they are born, I would say this kind of argument is currently weak and back by little, if any, supporting evidence. Thus, I deem my hypothesis to be a null hypothesis as a result of the lack of results that turned up during my findings. While disorders such as SAD exist, this tends to be lent in part to some type of third variable, such as not getting enough natural sunlight, and has nothing to do with the actual month of birth. And astrology, while granted being around for thousands of years, is from a scientific standpoint absolute malarkey. I can say that the month of February means that someone is much more compassionate, caring, and honest, and there will be hundreds of thousands of human beings born in that month who fit that personality type. There is always chance to consider when it comes to these topics, and maybe I am completely wrong, but for now I will stick to what the evidence is claiming, and that is everyone has control over their own emotions and health, not just dates on a calendar.

Hope you enjoyed the post! Have any comments or questions? Do you disagree with anything I said above? Feel free to leave a reply!

Do bad breath and happiness correlate?

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and all you could notice is how bad their breath smelled, or how bad your own breath smelled? Did it negatively impact your experience in the conversation?

badbreath

International Journal of Dental HygieneIf the answer to both these questions is yes, then it’s quite easy to think that beating bad breath can contribute to overall happiness.  Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is most commonly caused simply by poor oral hygiene. That’s right – just brushing your teeth and tongue as well as flossing more often can stop the buildup of bacteria on and between your teeth, tongue and gums. Not only can this cause bad breath, but it can also cause gum disease and tooth decay. That’s not going to make a person too happy either. 

A study in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene examined the relationship between bad breath and people’s overall quality of life. It found that on average, people with bad breath were two times more likely to be unhappy than those without bad breath. This study questioned people on specific parts of their daily lives and found that those with bad breath had 500% more negative experiences than those who did not. People with bad breath made the claim that having such had a negative psychological impact, especially in self-esteem.

CEO of the Oral Health Foundation Dr Nigel Carter OBE says that a person’s outlook on life can be improved with better oral hygiene. He says that it can positively impact their professional and personal relationships as well and claims that ridding oneself of bad breath is fairly easy to achieve.

So what can someone suffering from halitosis do to improve oral hygiene? The first step is to brush your teeth. The Community Dentist Network recommends that people brush their teeth for approximately 2 minutes, spending equal time on each part of their mouth. People should brush AND floss twice daily. More things people can do are rinsing their mouth out with mouthwash after brushing and flossing and clean their tongue as well. They should also try to keep a healthy diet, as certain foods contribute to bad breath. And of course, schedule regular visits with a dentist.

Works Cited

“Is Beating Bad Breath the Key to Happiness?” Dentistry.co.uk, 14 October 2016. http://www.dentistry.co.uk/2016/10/14/is-beating-bad-breath-the-key-to-happiness/. Accessed 21 October 2016.

“Is beating bad breath the key to happiness?” Oral Health Foundation, 14 October 2016. https://www.dentalhealth.org/news/details/938. Accessed 21 October 2016.

“What Your Oral Hygiene Should Consist Of?” 123Dentist. 12 March 2013. https://www.123dentist.com/what-your-oral-hygiene-routine-should-consist-of/. Accessed 21 October 2016.

 

 

 

Why Do We Fall In Love?

It seems to be everyones goal in life to find that special someone, but what makes someone more special than someone else? Why as humans do we fall in love? There actually has been quite a bit of research on this to help explain why

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According to a study done by Rutgers University, falling in love has different stages. The researches concluded that falling in love is actually a three step process. They called the first stage lust, the second stage attraction, and the third stage attachment.

Lust: The first stage of falling in love. Basically lust is when you first start talking to someone and you begin to find your self liking them more and more. This lust period is fueled by the gender hormones testosterone and oestrogen.

Attraction: The second phase in falling in love. According to the researchers, the stage of attraction is where people start to feel love. In this stage, you find yourself getting excited thinking about the other person and only thinking about them. The hormones adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin also play a key role in this phase as they begin to change the persons personality.

Attachment: The final stage of love. In this stage, you could say people are “head over heals in love” for each other. They have dreams of getting married or having kids and are taking their relationship to different advanced levels. At this point, they’re fully in love. The hormones oxytocin and vasopressin play a large role in this stage as they make the individual retain their love for their partner.

So, love is a science. Falling in love requires a number of chemical reactions in the brain that spark these three stages. Science has still not figured out why we fall in love with certain people however. However, for some reason different people cause the chemical reactions to occur for each individual person so you never know when you might catch yourself falling in love.

Sources:

Why We Fall in Love: The Science of Love

Men are from Twitter, Women are from Facebook?

Sex Symbols

As a society, we like to look at the differences between men and women. How do we act differently? Are our brains different? We are obsessed with what separates ladies and gentleman. Often we focus on biological or social differences. So, I wondered, do men and women act differently online? The answer may surprise you.

 

Truly a great way to collect data.

I looked at two separate studies. The first, comes from Coastal Carolina University where researchers first used a focus group to come up with questions to ask in a paper pencil survey of college students. They then administered the survey to 268 students taking introductory health in a convenience sample. The results of the survey concluded that women were more than their male counterparts to spend more time on Facebook than they wanted, feel closer to their Facebook friends than people they see daily, feel addicted to Facebook, and feel that Facebook causes them stress. After examining the lengthy results, the study contains many graphs, charts, and other visual aids, I was not satisfied. My biggest complaint is the method of research, a convenience sample is no substitute for a randomized sample. A convenience sample is asking people who are easy to find and talk to and leads to biases. I was also dissatisfied with the questions asked. It’s quite possible that women, being more social, are more stressed out, feel addicted, and become dissatisfied with their body image after being on Facebook, but what can that tell us about their behavior? There were some positive results of the study, women feel closer to people they talk to on Facebook, and are more confident in their social lives. Despite being dissatisfied with the questions and the study as a whole, I am now convinced women and men may act differently online.

 

A visual representation of a common dating app.

In the second study I looked at, researchers looked at how men and women acted differently on Tinder. Now, the study acknowledged that, to begin with, men and women act differently when dating in general. Online was no different. The study measured users on Tinder by creating profiles and monitoring user’s actions and responses to them. These curated profiles were placed in London and New York, large hubs of activity, and saw differences in how users of Tinder use features like matching and messaging differently. They also examined how users of different genders presented themselves and managed their profiles. The results found that women are far more selective of who they like. While men match with many woman in order to increase the chances of finding a match, women take the opposite approach and swipe selectively secure in the knowledge that they will likely match with whomever they like. They also found that women spend more time on their profiles, while men are usually content with a brief description and a few photos. Interestingly, if men take similar time and effort into their profiles, specifically adding more pictures and a better description, they are likely to see greater results because women respond to this. A questionnaire was also used to collect data from Tinder users.

In looking at both studies, it is obvious, especially from the Tinder study that women and men may go into social media, and online in general, with different expectations. Women and men clearly behave differently online. In looking at results from the studies and their surveys, both looking at different sites and using different data collection methods, I feel that it is safe to assume that, on gender lines, people behave differently online. I would like to see more randomized studies and more studies using fake accounts to monitor others, to come to a fair conclusion. I would also be curious to see, in looking at sites like Tinder, if differing behavior online is merely reflective of differing behavior in the outside world, or if being online causes some of the differences.

Sources:

http://web3.apiu.edu/researchfile/Research%20Materials/Communication/Frazzled%20by%20facebook-an%20exploratory%20study%20of%20gender%20differences%20in%20social%20network%20communication%20undergraduate%20men%20and%20women.pdf

Image Links:

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http://assets.pearsonschool.com/file-vault/flipbooks/texasreview/mathematics/digits/TX_Digits_HomeworkHelper_HTML_Files/Grade%207/Volume%202/images/U01/p368-001.jpg

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The Ö

There have been many debates on who has better orgasms male or female? So which one is better well…

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According to Nature genetics might have an effect on a women’s climax. They also question if there is even a purpose to women even having orgasms since they don’t need it to give birth compare to men, who needs to orgasm to release the sperm to have a child. Many people think it’s to keep the women interested in sex and to find their partner. In the same article they mention that studies have shown that when a woman orgasms can help the percentage of having a child do to the contractions moving the woman egg closer to the sperm.

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In Wiley Online Library and the Journal of Sexual Medicine they found that men reach climax more then women and it does not matter your sexual preference. For women, lesbians tend to have a higher rate of orgasms then straight or bisexual women but still not as high as men. According to the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, this could be caused be related by the duration of sexual interaction lasting longer then straight couples.

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For these studies its hard to say which one is better due to many confounding variables in each article they talk about how the women are different and how different style of techniques and positions can affect women orgasms so everything is still unclear on who has a better orgasm and there needs to be more studies. But for orgasms it is left to the individual and what they prefer behind closed doors.

Working out is a key to good grades

Working out can sometimes be a pain, you have to fit it in between classes, or after work, or trek across campus to even get to one that works best for you. To top things off, finding time during mid-terms or finals makes it 10 times harder to exercise, but what if I told you that working out can help get you better scores on your tests?

A 2009 experimental study showed that there were significant improvements with memory function with rodents (either rats or mice). Along with that, several other functions that were discovered within the nervous system which had improvements as well. Not only were the benefits displayed with the animals, they were also discovered with humans as well. The link between cardiovascular work outs (running, walking, etc.) and positive brain function were apparent. The information was collected as mean of an MRI’s. After the subjects were asked to perform cardiovascular they then were put through a series of mental test.

In other words, your cognitive ability to learn and apply knowledge is increased when you work out. However, there are limitations of the study such as the age range at which the participants are at the time of the study. The study uses children from ages 9-10 all of different fitness levels. looking at that alone, you could ask numerous questions about how the study was conducted. For example, How does a child compare to a college student in terms of cognitive ability. Another questions could be, Since college students have more schooling, could their adaption to studying habits cause them to have different results over what the children might do?  Could there be a correlation to a child’s brain verse a college brain that is being over looked? Though the study make be a bit of a leap using children to compare to the entire population, further research is also showing links to the brains connection with fitness and grades. What about a Confounding variable, Could it be that, students who care more about their physical appearance are more likely to also care more about their grades? This is a variable that was not mentioned however, when it comes to the study, this could effect the data!

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Further research however does provide evidence that fitness levels in college students correlates to their grades! in an article from Purdue University  published in 2013, it gives credible data supporting grades and physical fitness. Not only was the GPA higher in those who worked out in comparison to those who did not, it also went on to test the amount of time spent in the gym and how it effected the GPA as well. Even students that only went a few times in the semester, those students overall had better GPS than students that had not worked out at all. Time management was also factored into the data testing which helped eliminate any type of unseen 3rd variables.

In closing, based off the studiess talked about, the chances that your grades are directly linked to fitness could be due to chance, but evidence provides strong instances where working out could lead to better GPA’s.

Is vaping really better then smoking?

Ever since we were kids we were told not to smoke, As it leads to tooth decay, strokes and even worse multiple types of cancer. With technology always developing this lead to vaping. With the sudden spurse of popularity, people are saying that vaping is better then smoking. Is this new smoking technology actually better for you?

vaping-vs-smoking

Well According to The Brain from Top to Bottom when you are smoking normally the fire when lighting for example a cigarette the vapor releases nicotine which then releases dopamine in the brain. When the affect is over this leads to a upset and makes your brain/body wanting more nicotine and thus causing addiction. Also in the vapors are other particles like cancer cells and other harmful reactors to your body. This is where vaping comes in.

According to The Circulation vaping cartridges have different nicotine content from manufacturers and the nicotine content also varies  from different flavors. Even though the nicotine content varies in vaping it is shown to have less nicotine then a cigarette. They also found that secondhand smoke isn’t as bad with vaping because it has lower toxic levels in the air. Again according to The Circulation, there are some health effects from Vaping the most common are Irritation in the eyes and the lungs.

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There are still a lot of things we do not know about vaping technology as compared to the long term studies of regular cigarettes. According to The Circulation and PubMed.gov Vaping technology is still too new to know whether it has other effects for example long term, So for now we would just have to wait till the future to see if there are any long term effects.

 

Deflategate: Does temperature actually effect PSI?

During an AFC championship game in 2015, it was found that 11 of the 12 footballs being used were under-inflated compared to the league rules. During the NFL’s investigation, it was found that Tom Brady had a connection to the incident, and he was subsequently suspended for 4 games the following season. But this got me thinking, could the balls have actually just deflated on their own due to the poor weather conditions or was there a malicious act carried out  by the Patriots and their quarterback.

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The ESPN show Sports Science dove into this issue. They found that, if exposed to 10 degree temperatures for a hour, the PSI drops 2.5 PSI (13.5 PSI to 11 PSI). Although this proves that there is a relationship between PSI and temperature, it doesn’t quite answer the question becasue the PSI in the football had dropped from 12.5 PSI to 10.5 PSI in only a hour and a half, in temperatures of about 51 degrees.

But supporters have since surfaced, claiming that the Patriots are not in the wrong, claiming that it is possible for PSI to change in that way given the right conditions. Bill Belichick, head coach of the Patriots, had come out and claimed that there was no purposeful tampering with the inflation of the balls, and that it was simply the right conditions for the PSI to drop in the way that it did. And multiple scientists have come out in support of the team, saying that it is simple physics,  if you have something in a warm area (locker room) and then move it to a cold area (the field) the air pressure of the balls would most definitely drop.

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So with these multiple studies, the best we can do is question. There are legitimate arguments on both sides, and the only people that know what actually happened are the people that were directly involved.    We can conclude that temperature does affect the air pressure, but we are left uncertain if it can affect the air pressure in the way that it supposedly did during the AFC Championship game.

Sources:

http://www.espn.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/12202450/nfl-says-new-england-patriots-had-inflated-footballs-afc-championship-game

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/deflategate-judge-rules-toss-tom-brady-4-game-ban-article-1.2347193

http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2015/01/23/tom-brady-and-the-ideal-gas-law-physics-of-deflategate/