How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?

As a college student, I can relate to the feeling that you're not getting enough sleep. Whether I'm staying up to finish a paper, to study for a test the next day, to finish a project, or just because I'm out with friends, I often find that I am crawling into bed at 3 or 4 in the morning, planning to get up only a few hours later for class. Every night before I go to sleep, I count in my head how many hours of sleep I will probably get, and the numbers seem to get smaller and smaller as each semester goes on. I would estimate that I average about 6 hours of sleep a night, and possibly an hour-long nap during the day if I am extremely lucky. An article from the New York Times, however, suggests that this is not enough sleep per night.

The article says that most people need 8 hours of sleep a night. This might seem like old news, but they actually did a study on how much sleep people need to test this. They had groups of people sleep for 4, 6, or 8 hours a night for two weeks, and tested their alertness every couple hours each day to see how the amount of sleep they got affected them. The study suggests that people who get 6 hours of sleep a day (like me) have a declining level of alertness each day. After two weeks of sleeping 6 hours a night, these subjects were as impaired as people who are legally drunk. Wake up call! I need to make sure that I try my hardest to get 8 hours of sleep every night, or else I will be going to class and taking tests like I am drunk. Not exactly the impression I want to make on teachers...

Article Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sleep-t.html?ref=health

Image Source: http://blog.visiondecor.com/index.php/2008/08/30/dont-ruin-your-college-sleep-schedule/

Video Game Addiction - What is our world coming to?

This past week we talked about video games in class, and whether or not they are a reason that so many children are obese today. An article from discovermagazine.com suggests that video games are not only dangerous because of the effects that it has on children's weight, but that they can actually become addicting as well. The study said that boys are four times as likely to become addicted to video games as girls, and kids who are addicted to video games are twice as likely to have ADD than other kids and will have worse grades than kids who are not addicted. The study doesn't necessarily say that playing video games makes children have these negative effects on their behavior - it could be that children who aren't doing well in school desire to play video games to become good at something. But, in my opinion, I think that the massive amounts that children spend playing video games is a negative effect on their progress in school, their ability to have creativity to play in other ways, and the development of an attention span.

I think that the effects that video games have on children cause a need for a major revolution in the parenting styles of today's society. Most parents are too afraid of sending children outside to play, or don't want to have to put up with the child's complaining, so they just stick their kid in front of a TV set and hand them either the remote or an Xbox controller. This has changed so much even since the time I was a kid - either that, or my parents were just different. The only gaming system my family ever owned was a Nintendo 64. We still have that gaming system and play it once every couple months or so for the memories of when we were kids, but my sisters and I were not ruled by this gaming system when we were young. We went OUTSIDE! Every day, sometimes all day. My parents didn't force us to, we wanted to! We came up with so many games and scenarios - I still remember playing orphanage, mommy and kids, runaway slaves, and so much more. We would also ride bikes all the time, play with chalk, jumprope, make forts in the backyard, jump on the trampoline, swing, play hide and seek, and so much more. None of my sisters or I have Attention Deficit Disorder, none of my sisters or I are overweight, and none of us have ever had any problem with excelling in school.

I think that if parents realized exactly how harmful video game systems are on their children's development, they would not allow their children to play them so much. If parents protest in saying that they can't do anything about it, or their kid would hate them or sulk for days about it - who cares! You are the parent, you have the authority, and you need to step up and take charge, for the sake of the good of your child! Yes, he might sulk for days or even months, but in the end you have done what is right, and he will thank you eventually. Parents need to foster creativity and imaginations in their children instead of sticking them in front of a television with a PS3, Xbox, Wii, or whatever it might be. If they are worried about peer pressure to buy their kids portable gaming systems, don't give in. Other people should not rule the way you parent your children, and if you want to help your child escape the possibility of a video game addiction, you will stand up for the health and development of your child by not allowing them to play video games more than they ought to.

Article Source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/04/22/some-kids-are-pathologically-addicted-to-video-games-study-finds/comment-page-1/#comment-807276

Image Source: http://www.skuggen.com/2010/08/addiction-to-video-games-curable-with-medicine/

Fasting - New Reasons to Stop Eating!

A recent article from DiscoverMagazine.com details two studies that fasting can improve heart health and reduce the chance of diabetes. The studies show that fasting reduces the level of triglycerides and the blood sugar level in the body, both of which are good things. Also, fasting induces the production of a human growth hormone by 2,000%! Fasting has also, in these studies, been linked to lower cholesterol and better memories. Although the study of the longterm effects of fasting has not been concluded since these studies are fairly recent, I believe that one could safely assume that fasting for a limited amount of time is good for the body and the mind.

If fasting truly does all of these things for your body, I am surprised that more people do not fast more often. I know that many religious people, including myself, fast on occasion, usually to remember to pray for something every time they get hungry. I have only fasted a few times, and only for things that are very important to me. I'm the type of person who loves her food, so I don't give it up easily! Also, I have always played sports year round since I was little, so I wasn't able to stop eating for an extended period of time because I needed the food for my sports. The few times that I have fasted, though, I survived without a hitch, so I don't think that fasting is too much of a strain on my body. The researcher in this article fasts for one day, once a month. I think that I will try to adopt this habit in hopes that it will reduce my chances getting of diabetes and coronary heart disease and decrease my triglyceride level. Who knows, maybe I'll even lose some weight from this endeavor!

Another facet of the study showed that fasting for only one day raises the level of a growth hormone by 2000%! I wonder if children who fasted for one day a month since they were young would grow up to be bigger and stronger than children who do not fast. I do not know if this study would be ethical or not (I am guessing that depriving children of food is probably looked down upon in most circles), but I do think that it would be an interesting study, nevertheless. But, whether or not children are able to execute the opportunity of fasting, I will implement this in my own life, and hope that it has good consequences for my body.
Article Source:http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/04/08/a-day-without-food-may-help-maintain-a-heart-without-disease/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+80beats+%2880beats%29
Image Source:https://mrkhealth.pbworks.com/w/page/23513911/How-can-we-educate-and-help-IA-students-avoid-the-dangers-of-Eating-Disorders

"Alzheimer's: A Few Helpful Tips"

My uncle has Alzheimer's. He has steadily been getting worse, and in recent years, his disease progressed even more. A recent article by CNN details how the disease of Alzheimer's has the capability to make a relatively peaceful person very violent toward family members and pets. I fear for my uncle and his wife, and that this violence from Alzheimer's could possibly happen to their family. If he develops angry tendencies or violent behaviors, like the people in the CNN article, it could cause disaster for my family. My aunt, his wife, is very small and fragile, and probably would not be able to handle the care of my uncle if he were to become violent. There are several tips that this article offers, however, that seem like they would be very helpful to tell my aunt if my uncle's case were to worsen even more.

A few of these tips are:

1. Back down if the patient does not want to do something. Wait until a later, more opportune time when he has calmed down.

2. Apologize when the patient is upset, even if you did nothing wrong. It will calm the person down.

3. Change the topic when something you are talking about is upsetting the patient.

4. Remember that the Alzheimer's patient sees the world through different eyes than you.

5. If needed, call someone for help.

People who have family members or friends who have Alzheimer's would do well to learn these few tips that will help them to communicate and calm the people with the disease. I am glad that I have learned these helpful tips so that I will be able to better communicate with my uncle as his disease progresses.

Article Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/30/alzheimers.violence.caregiving/index.html 

Image Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-563223/Alzheimers-sufferers-win-landmark-court-appeal-denied-drugs.html