Fitness, Health, and Wellness

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/junk-food-from-confusion-clear-simple-truth-david 

Some Florida parents are fighting for their child’s right to recess. Twenty-three elementary schools in Orange County, Florida, have been cutting back on recess, and even canceling it altogether to maximize class time. In a recent Orange County School Board meeting, parents asked that recess time be enforced in all local schools for all students.

http://www.today.com/health/should-elementary-schools-have-recess-some-florida-parents-fight-break-1D80423842

By Katrina Schwartz (KQED)

Getting enough sleep is an under-valued but crucial part of learning. Contrary to students’ belief that staying up all night to cram for an exam will lead to higher scores, truth is, the need for a good night’s rest is even more important than finishing homework or studying for a test.

A recent study in the journal Child Development showed that sacrificing sleep in order to study will actually backfire. The study followed 535 Los Angeles high school students for 14 days, tracking how long they slept, as well as how well they understood material being taught in class and how they performed on a test, quiz, or homework.

“Although the researchers expected that extra hours of studying that ate into sleep time might create problems in terms of students’ understanding of what they were taught in class, they were surprised to find that diminishing sleep in order to study was actually associated with doing more poorly on a test, quiz, or homework,” Science Daily wrote.

“Reduced sleep … accounts for the increase in academic problems that occurs after days of increased studying,” said UCLA scientist Andrew Fuligni. “Although these nights of extra studying may seem necessary, they can come at a cost.”

In another study by a research team at the University of York, researchers found that sleep even helps boost language acquisition skills in young children. “Children’s ability to recall and recognize new words improved approximately 12 hours after training, but only if sleep occurs,” said Dr. Lisa Henderson, a lead researcher on the study. “The key effects were maintained one week later, suggesting that these new words are retained in long-term memory.” The study, published in Developmental Science, shows that when they sleep enough, children show the same learning patterns as adults."...

For full post, click on title above or here: 

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/01/why-sleeping-may-be-more-important-than-studying/

"In the US, the closings will be a mix of franchises and company-owned restaurants, McDonald’s spokesperson Becca Hary told the Associated Press. She said the closings are part of a strategic review intended to set the stage for future growth, but the reduction “would be minimal” in light of its total 14,300 locations in the US.

While the specific number and locations of the US closures hasn’t been revealed, McDonald’s did disclose in April that they would trim hundreds of restaurants worldwide from their balance sheet. The closures include 350 restaurants in the China, Japan and the US, in addition to 350 that have already been closed.

READ MORE: McDonald's to stop announcing monthly sales as profits plummet

The company’s global comparison sales report for May showed that sales had increased 2.3 percent in Europe but declined in the US by 0.2 percent and by 3.2 percent in the Asia/Pacific/Middle East/Africa markets. The company’s president and CEO, Steve Easterbrook, said at the time of the sales report that McDonald’s has “embarked on a turnaround plan to reignite our business performance” through “great-tasting, high-quality food, compelling value and outstanding service.”

McDonald’s restaurants have been closed before if they were underperforming, but previously the number of closings has been outweighed by restaurant openings. The company did say they plan to open 300 new restaurants globally, but that won’t be enough to counteract a contraction that is seen as emblematic of current troubles at the Golden Arches, which is trying to regroup."
 

For full post, click on title above or here: http://www.rt.com/usa/268225-mcdonalds-closing-700-locations/ 

"(Reuters Health) - U.S. poison control centers received more than 17,000 calls - or about one per hour - about children who'd been exposed to chemicals in laundry detergent pods in 2012 and 2013, a new study found.
 

Over 700 of the children were hospitalized, and one child died, researchers said.

“This caught us by surprise,” said Dr. Gary Smith, the study’s lead author from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

“I’ve seen these cases come through the hospital’s emergency department,” he said. “I was aware of the case reports, but I haven’t seen anyone pull together the numbers.”

Laundry detergent pods were introduced to the U.S. market in 2012. The all-in-one packets contain detergent that’s released in the wash, so users don't have to measure detergent in a cup.

Smith and his colleagues write in the journal Pediatrics that doctors have previously reported on kids who've eaten or burst the pods with serious consequences, such as being hospitalized and put on a ventilator for several days."...

For full post, click on title above or here: 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/10/us-laundry-pods-poison-idUSKCN0IU0AW20141110  

"The new AAP policy statement, called “School Start Times for Adolescents” and published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics, says that teens have sleep-wake cycles that can be two hours later than everybody else and that starting school too early is a key factor to chronic sleep deprivation among adolescents. Sleep researchers have said for years that most teens can’t easily fall asleep until about 11 p.m., experts say, and their brains stay in sleep mode until at least 8 a.m.

The National Sleep Foundation says that teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best (for some, 8 1/2 hours is enough) but that the vast majority don’t get it. Only about 15 percent of U.S. high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later, and about 40 percent start before 8 a.m., with the median middle school start time at 8 a.m. The AAP is now urging middle and high schools to set start times that would allow students to receive 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night, meaning that class should not start in most cases before 8:30 a.m. or later."...

For full post, click on title above or here: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/08/25/u-s-doctors-urge-later-school-start-times-for-teens/  

The decline in time children have for free play could be tied to increased levels of depression and acute anxiety among young people.

For full post, click on title above or here:
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/06/can-free-play-prevent-depression-and-anxiety-in-kids/ 

A new study by Penn researchers now suggests that omega-3, a fatty acid commonly found in fish oil, may have long-term neurodevelopmental effects that ultimately reduce antisocial and aggressive behavior problems in children.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-05/uop-prp051515.php#

According to a new study, four year old children with sleep disorders have higher risks of developing psychiatric problems during later childhood.

http://neurosciencenews.com/sleep-mental-health-children-2034/

By Michael Blanding
"Our work can literally make us sick. Long hours, impossible demands from bosses, and uncertain job security can take their toll on our mental and physical well-being, leading to stress-induced aches and pains and anxiety. In extreme cases, the consequences can be worse—heart disease, high blood pressure, alcoholism, mental illness.
 

Even so, the connections between job pressures and health—and what management can do to address the problem—have been little studied.
 

“We have this body of research that shows workplace stress is very bad for health, and we have this other information that says our health costs are way above that of other countries,” says Joel Goh, Harvard Business School assistant professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management unit.

“But traditionally in the US we have not placed a lot of emphasis on the role of workplace stress in the high cost of health care.”

In recent years, General Motors spent more on health care than it did on steel, and across the country, companies are struggling to find affordable plans for their workers, in some cases dropping health coverage or raising premiums on employees in order to combat escalating costs. On the other hand, companies are implementing health programs in an effort to keep workers healthy—and productive.

But those programs can only work if companies aren’t at the same time undermining them with stress-inducing management practices."...

For full post, click on title above or here: 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2015/01/26/workplace-stress-responsible-for-up-to-190-billion-in-annual-u-s-heathcare-costs/

By Gretchen Reynolds (Illustration by Ben Wisesman) 
 

"Scientists, like mothers, have long suspected that midnight snacking is inadvisable. But until a few years ago, there was little in the way of science behind those suspicions. Now, a new study shows that mice prevented from eating at all hours avoided obesity and metabolic problems — even if their diet was sometimes unhealthful.

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego and elsewhere began experimenting with the eating patterns of laboratory mice in a previous study. On that occasion, some mice consumed high-fat food whenever they wanted; others had the same diet but could eat only during an eight-hour window. None exercised. The mice that ate at all hours soon grew chubby and unwell, with symptoms of diabetes. But the mice on the eight-hour schedule gained little weight and developed no metabolic problems. Those results were published in 2012.

For the new study, which appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism in December, Salk scientists fed groups of adult males one of four diets: high-fat, high-fructose, high-fat and high-sucrose, and regular mouse kibble. Some of the mice in each dietary group were allowed to eat whenever they wanted throughout their waking hours; others were restricted to feeding periods of nine, 12 or 15 hours. The caloric intake for all the mice was the same.

Over the course of the 38-week experiment, some of the mice in the time-restricted groups were allowed to cheat on weekends and eat whenever they chose. A few of the eat-anytime mice were shifted to the restricted windows midway through the study. By the end, the mice eating at all hours were generally obese and metabolically ill, reproducing the results of the earlier study. But those mice that ate within a nine- or 12-hour window remained sleek and healthy, even if they cheated occasionally on weekends. What’s more, mice that were switched out of an eat-anytime schedule lost some of the weight they had gained.

“Time-restricted eating didn’t just prevent but also reversed obesity,” says Satchidananda Panda, an associate professor at the Salk Institute who oversaw the studies. “That was exciting to see.” Mice that consumed regular kibble in fixed time periods also had less body fat than those that ate the same food whenever they chose."...

For the full article, click on title above or here:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/a-12-hour-window-for-a-healthy-weight/

"When you imagine a state-of-the-art gym — one that's outfitted with the most innovative equipment — what do you envision? A gleaming, Olympic-style lab with sci-fi-like exercise contraptions that have been crafted by NASA engineers?

Try a padded room with ropes, medicine balls and boxes, where the weight machines you grew up with have been all but weeded out. Gyms, like sneakers, are having a minimalist moment, and they're taking the training wheels off your workout tools. The age of surfing your way through a circuit of strength machines has given way to a new mode of DIY lifting and lunging that science says will make you tighter and stronger in less time.

And the best part: It's easier than ever to get the kind of cutting-edge workouts going on right now at the most elite gyms, even if you're not a member at any. Here's why."...

For full post, click on title above or here: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/best-strength-training-tips/

"Why is sleep important to you?  An estimated 35 percent of U.S. adults report less than seven hours of sleep during a typical 24 hour period.  Sleepiness resulting from insufficient sleep, irregular sleep schedules, or poor quality sleep is a cause of motor vehicle crashes, occupational errors with hazardous outcomes, and difficulty performing daily tasks.  Sleep and wakefulness disorders affect an estimated 15-20 percent of US adults who are more likely to suffer from chronic disorders including depression, substance abuse, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and all-cause mortality.  Resilience to stress, emotional regulation, and inter-personal relationships are impaired by sleep deficiency.  Recent findings suggest that investing in sleep health contributes to maintaining brain health, and ultimately protecting cognitive functions necessary for aging-in-place.  Recognizing and addressing sleep health issues presents opportunities for enhancing public health, and improving the well-being of all people.

Societal and health consequences of insufficient sleep are explored in “Sleepless in America” produced by National Geographic Channel in collaboration with The National Institutes of Health.  The documentary explains how research is changing our perception of sleep, sleepiness, and its importance to health.  The idea of “sleep” as a period when the brain simply shuts down has been replaced by an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness is necessary for the biological function in every organ.   Not only does this daily “circadian” rhythm play an important role in learning and the filtering of memories in brain, but it also serves to regulate the energy level of most all cells.  Shortages of cellular energy eventually wear down natural defenses through oxidative stress and abnormalities in protein processing increasing the risk of disease.  Another NIH-funded study helped show that during sleep, a byproduct known as amyloid beta is cleared from the brain at a faster rate than when a person is awake.  Amyloid beta has been connected to Alzheimer’s disease."...

For full post, click on title above or here: http://www.hhs.gov/blog/2014/12/29/why-sleep-important.html

The NIH has created a web page that brings sleep information from the many institutes that fund sleep-related research into one place. Learn more at http://www.nih.gov/health/NIHandSleeplessinAmerica/

And for a related video, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qlxKFEE7Ec

By Josh Harkinson

(Selected quotes)]

"...studies, in fact, show a strong connection between gaming and the types of behaviors exhibited by the #Gamergate mob. A 2010 meta-analysis of 136 papers detailing 381 tests involving 130,296 research participants found that violent gameplay led to a significant desensitization to violence, increases in aggression, and decreases in empathy. "Concerning public policy, we believe the debates can and should finally move beyond the general question of whether violent video game play is a causal risk factor for aggressive behavior," the authors wrote. "The scientific literature has effectively and clearly shown the answer to be 'yes.'"

More than half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence. And evidence suggests that the effects of playing them go beyond the effects of just watching violence on a screen. Researchers from Denmark's Utrecht University, for instance, found that students who played a violent video game later exhibited more aggressive behavior than a group of spectators who had watched the others play.  The aggressive behavior resulting from gaming isn't just theoretical; it can spill out into the real world. For example, a study of long-term effects in American and Japanese schoolchildren showed that as little as three months of intense gaming increased their frequency of violent behavior such as punching or kicking or getting into fights. Several studies have involved telling experimental subjects competing in a nonviolent video game that they could administer a sonic blast through their opponents' headphones, but warned that it would be loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage. Those most willing to administer the (nonexistent) sound blasts, as it turned out, had recently played violent games.

Other evidence suggests that people who play violent video games are less likely than others to act as Good Samaritans. Participants in an Iowa State University study played either a violent or nonviolent video game before a fake fight was staged outside the laboratory. Players of the violent game were less likely than other participants to report hearing the fight, judged the fight as less serious, and took longer to help the injured party."

***

"In her book, Greenfield lays out a convincing neurological explanation for the video game/violence connection. While the well-known plasticity of the human brain allows it to adapt to a wide range of environments, Greenfield argues that it also exposes us to dangerous changes in brain chemistry when we immerse ourselves in violent video games for extended periods..."

For  full post, click on title above or here: 

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/10/science-gamergate-video-games-violence

Mindfulness Based Parenting
"The MBP parenting intervention consists of 2-hour Mindfulness Based Parenting (MBP) sessions for twelve weeks at Family Center.   The curriculum incorporates mother/baby dyad education, knowledge of the impact of trauma and early parenting, brief formal meditation practices, and emphasis on short informal practices.

The major themes of MBP are woven throughout the sessions, including:

* Listening with full attention - correctly discerning child’s behavior cues, accurately perceiving child’s verbal communication

* Nonjudgmental acceptance of self and child - healthy balance between child, parent, and relationship needs, sense of parenting self-efficacy

* Emotional awareness of self and child - responsiveness to child needs and emotions

* Self-regulation - emotional regulation in parenting, parenting with goals and values

* Compassion for self and child - positive affection in parent child relationship and more forgiving view of own parenting efforts.

At the conclusion of the 12-week program, the women are invited to a celebration lunch where they receive a certificate for their completion of the Mindfulness Based Parenting (MBP) program, and are honored for their hard work in self-care and positive parenting."...

For full post and more information click on title above or here:

http://comfortconsults.com/blog/bid/360073/mindfulness-based-parenting-for-mothers-in-substance-abuse-treatment

"At Cesar Chavez Academy in East Palo Alto, Calif., 7th graders are learning yoga as a way to cope with the stress of life in a community rife with homelessness, shootings and gang war trauma. By teaching these children to pay close attention to their breathing and movements, Stanford University researchers are hoping they will focus better in school and beyond. Jeffrey Brown reports."...

For full article and video, click on title above or here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/low-income-students-combat-stress-mindfulness/