- Apr 2016
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www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com
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In our efforts to feed the dragon, the quest to eliminate sleep has veered toward the surreal. Once confined to coffee and tea, caffeine is now showing up in topical sprays that promise the rush without the crash, soap that says it’ll give you a buzz in the bath, stockings from Australia that keep you perky and (supposedly) eliminate cellulite and toothbrushes that wake you up while cleaning your teeth. Not to mention the plethora of food products that now contain caffeine: Beer, marshmallows, “perky jerky,” lollipops and bottled water are just a few examples.
Wonder: Are the things we use and consume stopping us from getting a good nights rest becasue of what is in those products?
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Hence the cycle of sitting up in bed, listlessly refreshing our email (a recent Pew study found that 83 percent of millennials sleep with their phones nearby) even when it’s way past our bedtime and we really should put our computers and phones down.
Connection: My mom tells me not to sleep with my cell phone close to my face because she says it might explode. Confusion: How did they conduct this study? Did people have their cell phones on or were they on silent? Should have a percentage of people who have their phones on while they are sleeping versus being on vibrate or silent.
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Research shows that every time we check our email, Twitter feed or Facebook timeline and find a new piece of information, we get a shot of dopamine—a chemical our brains release to simulate pleasure.
Wonder: I wonder how different the world would be if we did not have twitter, facebook, or email.
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So reading in bed with an iPad, he says, or any other backlit device, makes it harder to fall asleep at night and makes you more tired the next day.
Connection: The last thing I do before I go to bed is stare at my computer screen. I bet if I stopped looking at my computer half an hour before I go to bed I would sleep better.
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Modern technology, which seems particularly adept at messing with our sleep schedules, is certainly a large part of the problem.
Prediction: The light from our computer and television screens makes it harder for us to fall asleep.
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Indeed, our classic eight-hour-night only dates back to the invention of the light bulb in the late 1800s. Historians believe that before the dawn of electric lighting most people got plenty of sleep, and practiced what they call “segmented sleep,” snoozing for several hours in the first part of the night, when darkness fell, then waking in the middle of the night for a few hours of eating, drinking, praying, chatting with friends or maybe even canoodling, before ducking back under the covers again until morning. The arrival of electricity, argues sleep historian A. Roger Ekirch, led to later bedtimes and fewer hours of sleep overall.
Connection: People started staying up later because of the creation of the light bulb. This allowed for them to stay up and do whatever they wanted to do because they could still see. Today, we stay up on our cell phones because it is small enough to hold in our hands and we can communicate with people until we get tired.
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Our Sleep Problem and What to Do About It
Question: Why is it difficult to get a good nights rest? What do we do before we go to bed? When do we go to bed? When do we get out of bed in the morning?
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- Jan 2016
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www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u0Ql2Hnl8I
Before: Watch the link. What are some reactions to the video? Why would a man alone on an island put a face on a volleyball? What is he thinking? How would you feel being all alone? Why do you think relationships are important?
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(Researchers Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler have found that men’s life expectancy benefits from marriage more than women’s do.)
Wondering: I wonder if that is because women typically take better care of themselves compared to men.
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The support offered by a caring friend can provide a buffer against the effects of stress.
Connection: When I am stressed, I let out my feelings to a close friend. I usually feel much better after talking about what is stressing me out.
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In a study of over 100 people, researchers found that people who completed a stressful task experienced a faster recovery when they were reminded of people with whom they had strong relationships. (Those who were reminded of stressful relationships, on the other hand, experienced even more stress and higher blood pressure.)
Confusion: I am confused by this study. I wish there was a more illustrated example. How did they remind the people? How did they know what relationships were good versus bad to tell the participants? What were the stressful tasks?
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Depression. Loneliness has long been commonly associated with depression, and now research is backing this correlation up: a 2012 study of breast cancer patients found that those with fewer satisfying social connections experienced higher levels of depression, pain, and fatigue.Decreased immune function. The authors of the same study also found a correlation between loneliness and immune system dysregulation, meaning that a lack of social connections can increase your chances of becoming sick.Higher blood pressure. University of Chicago researchers who studied a group of 229 adults over five years found that loneliness could predict higher blood pressure even years later, indicating that the effects of isolation have long-lasting consequences.
Summary: The negative health effects of having few relationships/ low social support.
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A survey by the National Bureau of Economic Research of 5,000 people found that doubling your group of friends has the same effect on your wellbeing as a 50% increase in income!
Confusion: How was this survey completed? How would doubling a group of friends be equivalent to a 50% increase in income?
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And hanging out with healthy people increases your own likelihood of health—in their book Connected, Christakis and Fowler show that non-obese people are more likely to have non-obese friends because healthy habits spread through our social networks.
Connection: I was once told about a study of how a group of researchers would put 100 random people in a room and out of those 100, only 2 were totally healthy. At the end of the night, the two healthy people would find each other almost every time they did this study. I think that supports how we create relationships with people similar to ourselves.
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The research is clear and devastating: isolation is fatal
Visualization: I visualize a dying person all alone. :(
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Similarly, Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones research calculates that committing to a life partner can add 3 years to life expectancy
Connection: Someone once told me that every time we laugh, we add 5 minutes to our lives. I think when an individual finds a person that makes him/her happy and is supportive, we are more likely to live longer because we have something to live for.
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Conversely, the health risks from being alone or isolated in one's life are comparable to the risks associated with cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and obesity.
Question: How can having few or no relationships have such a powerful impact on the body that are comparable to cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and obesity?
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There is compelling evidence that strong relationships contribute to a long, healthy, and happy life.
Prediction: The article is going to list some evidence supporting how our relationships help us live better lives.
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