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The science behind jet lag

July 29, 2010 By 2 Comments

As our family prepares for our annual trip to England, I find myself searching for the best ways to cope with jet lag.

My husband and I have taken regular trips to visit his parents in England for years, but we never worried too much about jet lag because we never had times when we needed to be awake.  We would just sleep when we felt like it until our bodies slowly made the adjustment.

Then, our son was born. The first time we all visited England, we decided to stay on Eastern Standard Time.  And as first-time parents of a newborn, we were (probably overly) concerned about his eating and sleeping schedule. My in-laws obliged us, staying up until midnight to play with the baby and letting us sleep late in the mornings.

This year is a bit different. As our son approaches two years old, he and our in-laws are more interested in fun outings like the zoo, the beach and the local amusement park.  This means that we will all need to adapt to our new time zone in fairly quick order.

So I set out this week to find some coping mechanisms that will really work.  There’s a lot of advice out there – ideas about caffeine, fluid intake and exercise schedules. Researchers have even discovered the causes of jet lag at the molecular level and are using those findings to develop medicine to help people overcome the condition. 

I was able to find two systematic reviews of jet lag treatments – one by the Cochrane Collaboration and one by England’s Guardian newspaper. Both cover a supplement called melatonin, a hormone responsible for regulating your body’s internal clock. It is the only treatment for jet lag that has been studied in clinical trials.

It eight out of ten studies, the melatonin was found to be effective in reducing the symptoms of jet lag. It has also been studied for treatment of sleep disorders in children, but there are lingering questions about its safety, especially in toddlers.

 Since we’re not treating a medical condition in my son, I would prefer not to give him a supplement. Even a small risk of side effects outweighs any potential benefit of lessened jet lag. For this trip, we’ll stick to the general wisdom for coping (which haven’t undergone any scientific testing):

  • Getting as much sunlight as possible in the mornings.
  • Eat at normal mealtimes in our new time zone.
  • Getting plenty of exercise in the mornings and early afternoons.

Wish us luck, and at least a few nights of peaceful sleep while we’re traveling!

–          Sheri Hall

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness Tagged With: , ,

Redefining climate change

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A major challenge for researchers focused on climate change is actually convincing the public that climate change is happening.

Now new research from George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication shows that framing climate change as a public health issue helps people better understand and relate to the topic – even those who aren’t convinced that global warming exists.

In the exploratory study, researchers asked participants to read a short essay on the human health implications of global warming then interviewed them about their beliefs on climate change. Even those classified as “doubtful” that climate change is happening found the information valuable. And those classified as “disengaged” said the essay offered valuable information on how to take action on climate change.

Edward Maibach, director of the center who conducted the research, said the idea is to shift the debate away from remote regions and foreign cultures and help Americans understand the personal implications.

“Re-defining climate change in public health terms should help people make connection to already familiar problems such as asthma, allergies and infectious diseases,” he said. “The public health perspective offers a vision of a better, healthier future – not just a vision of an environmental disaster averted.”

The study also provides clues about specific public health messages that trigger negative reactions, such as eating less meat. (You can read the full study in the latest issue of the BioMed Central Public Health journal.)

Maibach’s research shows the importance of sharing evidence in a context that people can relate to. What other fields could frame their discoveries to make them more relevant to the general public?

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness, The Learning Center

ASU President urges universities to take action

July 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Nearly all major research universities have systems in place to translate and communicate their findings into information that can benefit society.  But are U.S. universities doing enough to address the problems of contemporary life?

According to Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University, the answer is no.

Crow is on a mission to transform Arizona State University into the model for what he calls “a New American University” – an institution organized to pursue research that benefits the public good. And he is urging other universities to follow suit.

Crow believes major research institutions should take responsibility for “the economic, social, and cultural vitality and health and well-being of the community” and encourage collaboration across disciplines and with other academic institutions.

He argues that a scientific focus on narrower and more fundamental secrets of nature has impaired researchers’ ability to “think at scale and across time.” 

For Crow, this means restructuring universities so they’re more capable of responding to modern challenges. At Arizona State, he has created more than a dozen new transdiscipliniary schools, including the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainability and the School of Life Sciences. The idea is to bring together scientists from a wide range of disciplines, engineers, policymakers and industry leaders to develop solutions to pressing real-world problems.

At the same time, ASU has eliminated traditional departments including biology, sociology, anthropology and geology.

They’re drastic measures, for certain. But changes the Crow insists are necessary if universities are going to do their part in solving major world problems, such as climate change.  Intrigued?  You can read Crow’s thoughts about reorganizing academic institutions to solve improve our world’s sustainability in the June/July 2010 issue of Bioscience. And let us know your thoughts by commenting on this post!

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, In The Media, policy Tagged With: , , , ,

Video feature: Science education outreach

July 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Researchers and scientists across the country are making new discoveries every day, but continually must find the best ways to share that knowledge with the public.  The Cornell Center for Materials Research sets outstanding example of the best way to accomplish this.

The center’s mission is to advance, explore and exploit the science and engineering of advanced materials. It is part of a  national network of centers for Materials Research encompasses 29 centers funded by the National Science Foundation.

Nev Singhota is the director of the center’s Educational Programs Office, which reaches out to thousands of students, hundreds of parents and teachers, and many undergraduates from across the country. Many Cornell faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students contribute to the center’s outreach efforts by visiting schools, hosting family and teacher workshops and coordinating an “Ask the Scientist” column in the local newspaper.

Singhota describes her role a facilitating interactions between Cornell scientists and all sorts of people in the community. “We create this web,” she said. “We’re like the spider who is trying to connect everyone together .” 

Interested in hearing more about Cornell Center for Materials Research’s outreach efforts?  Check out this conversation with Singhota:

Filed Under: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Evidence-Based Living, In The Media, The Learning Center Tagged With: , , ,

New Evidence: TV time leads to attention problems

July 15, 2010 By 3 Comments

There is another piece of evidence that supports a long-standing belief among child development experts: Too much TV time is associated with attention problems in youth. The newest piece of proof comes from a study conducted by researchers at Iowa State University and published this month in the journal Pediatrics. 

The new research found that children who exceeded the two hours per day of screen time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics – either in TV-watching or video games – were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to have attention problems in school.

The study followed third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students as well as college-aged students for more than one year. Over that time, participants’ average time using television and video games was 4.26 hours per day, well below the national average of 7.5 hours per day reported in other studies.

Study author Douglas Gentile, an associate professor of psychology at Iowa State, explained the phenomenon for a report in Science Daily.

“Brain science demonstrates that the brain becomes what the brain does,” he said. “If we train the brain to require constant stimulation and constant flickering lights, changes in sound and camera angle, or immediate feedback, such as video games can provide, then when the child lands in the classroom where the teacher doesn’t have a million-dollar-per-episode budget, it may be hard to get children to sustain their attention.”

This phenomenon again raises the question for professionals who coordinate youth intervention programs:  What can be done to capture the attention of youth who are so captivated by electronic media?   The answer is most likely to meet them somewhere in their world.

– Sheri Hall

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, In The Media, Youth Development Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cornell NutritionWorks: Addressing obesity at the community level

July 7, 2010 By 3 Comments

Approximately one-third of all adults in the United States are obese and nearly 17 percent of youth are obese.  This national epidemic leads to an increased risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep disorders, joint problems, as well as social and psychological problems for millions of Americans.  

While there is an urgent need to address obesity with a focus on prevention, it can be difficult – even for a professional – to sort through all of the information about diet and health in the media, on the Internet, and even at grocery stores.

Enter Cornell NutritionWorks, an online professional development program for nutrition, health, and youth professionals such as registered dietitians, extension nutrition and 4-H educators, public health nutritionists, health education specialists, and school food service directors.   

Cornell NutritionWorks uses distance-learning technology to provide cutting edge nutrition information, interaction with Cornell experts, discussion forums for practitioners and continuing education credit for nutrition professionals. The program is lead by Cornell Senior Extension Associate Christina Stark, who’s spent nearly 30 years interpreting and communicating research-based information on food and nutrition issues to extension educators, other professionals, consumers and the media.

“To prevent childhood obesity, professionals need to look beyond focusing just on individual behavior change,” Stark says “We need to work collaboratively with community partners to change local environments so they support healthy eating and active living. For many professionals, this is a new way of thinking and working. Cornell NutritionWorks provides training in using this new evidence-based approach.”

Current offerings on the website include:

  • Preventing Childhood Obesity: An Ecological Approach, an in-depth six-week online course, offered three times a year, that helps participants use an ecological approach to identify local factors that contribute to childhood obesity and develop an action plan for their communities.  The next session will be offered fall 2010. There is a fee for this course.
  • Has the Food Revolution Reached Washington?, a cyber-presentation by Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University and a visiting professor at Cornell. The talk examines how the U.S. food system contributes to our obesity epidemic, describes current food industry trends that affect consumers’ ability to choose healthy foods, and outlines the evidence for a food revolution in the United States.
  • The Built Environment, Food, and Physical Activity, a cyber- presentation by Ann Forsyth, professor in Cornell’s Department of City and Regional Planning, that discusses ways to think about the built environment, food, and physical activity measures to improve community health.

To get the latest, research-based information on nutrition and health, Cornell NutritionWorks is the place to go.  All of the content, with the exception of the in-depth course, is available to members at no charge. And membership is free.

Filed Under: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness, The Learning Center Tagged With: , , , ,

Educating parents: The parts of a successful program

July 1, 2010 By 4 Comments

Before having children, many parents-to-be – me included – assume that taking care of a child will come naturally every step of the way. They think, “Of course I’ll know what to do when my toddler has a temper tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, or when my kid hits someone at the playground.” Until it actually happens.

The good news is parent education programs abound. Cooperative extension offices, medical facilities, government agencies and non-profit organizations across the country offer a wide-range of workshops and courses to help parents who need additional information and even practice at parenting. We recently heard from Jennifer Birckmayer, a true pioneer of parenting education in New York State, who asked Evidence-based Living about the evidence base for such programs. She wondered, does the research show they really work?

The answer is yes. Two recent analyses by the Center for Disease Control and researchers at the University of Kansas demonstrate parent education programs are effective, and that specific program components work better than others to help parents learn new skills and reduce children’s negative behaviors.

The research shows that parent training programs yield better results for parents and children when they:

  • teach parents emotional communication skills, like actively listening to their children and identifying children’s emotions.
  • teach parents the correct use of time out including removing all forms of attention and using a designated location when possible.
  • teach parents to respond consistently when disciplining their child.
  • teach parents positive interaction skills, like playing with their children and praising good behavior.
  • require parents to practice with their child during the training sessions so the facilitator can provide the parent with immediate feedback.

There are also some aspects of parent education programs that are clearly less effective in teaching parents new skills and modifying children’s behavior, according to the research.  They are:

  • teaching parents how to problem solve about child behaviors
  • teaching parents how to promote children’s academic and cognitive skills
  • including ancillary services, such as  job skills training or anger management, as part of the parenting program

According to the analyses, a major component of improving children’s behavior boils down to providing

parents with the skills they need to improve their relationships with their children. This reflects a major conclusion of child development research: Children who have positive relationships with their parents are much less likely to misbehave.

For more information about parent education programs, check out Parent Training Programs: Insight for Practitioners and “A Meta-analytic Review of Components Associated with Parent Training Program Effectiveness” in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

Do you have a question for Evidence-Based Living?  E-mail it to Karl Pillemer at kap6@cornell.edu. 

– Sheri Hall

Filed Under: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Evidence-Based Living, The Learning Center, Youth Development
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