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Can a new mom get a little shut eye?

May 26, 2011 By 4 Comments

 As anyone with a young baby knows, getting enough sleep is the holy grail for new parents.  When the baby monitor sounds with the cry of our youngest in the middle of the night, I immediately look at the clock to calculate how long I’ve been asleep. Anything longer than four hours is a victory!

Of course, there is advice galore about the best way to get your baby to sleep through the night. Everyone from family members to strangers in the grocery store offer suggestions about getting a restful night.  One older family friend explained to me that she used to tie a teething biscuit onto the crib rails when her children were young, so they would have something to eat when they woke! Dozens of books supply a wide range of theories: let your baby cry it out, feed your baby on a regular schedule, or just put the baby in bed with you. 

While all of this sounds great, I figured my best chance on getting a good night’s sleep was to consult the evidence.  Sure enough, a review of both randomized, controlled studies and observational studies by England’s National Childbirth Trust draws some definite conclusions about the best methods to encourage a newborn to sleep at night.

Among them:

  • Holding,rocking or feeding the babies to sleep leads them to depend on that action to fall asleep.
  • Putting babies in their cribs while awake they’re still awake, establishing a bedtime routine and leaving them with a favorite toy or blanket leads babies to fall asleep on their own sleep for longer stretches at night.
  • There is some evidence that introducing another feeding between 10p.m. and midnight can help the baby sleep for longer stretches at night without waking.

We’ve always put our babies in their cribs while they’re still awake. I have found that doing this teaches them how to sooth themselves, and ultimately fall back asleep on their own when they wake during the night.

So far, it seems to be working for us.  Last night, Hannah went to be at 8:30 p.m. and didn’t wake up until 4 a.m. – a pretty solid stretch for a 10-week-old.  Hopefully that means I’m we’re on the way to being a well-rested family again!

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

Proof positive: T’ai chi helps improve health

May 23, 2011 By 1 Comment

Even if you’ve never practiced t’ai chi before, you’ve probably seen other people making the graceful, flowing movements that define this martial art.

T’ai chi is a Chinese exercise system that uses slow, smooth body movements and deep breathing to achieve a state of relaxation of body and mind. The practice is based on the Confucian and Buddhist belief that health is controlled by two opposing life forces, yin and yang.   

For at least 700 years, and likely much longer, people have been practicing t’ai chi as a way to improve health and achieve balance in their lives. While the practice has stood the test of time, is there any evidence that it really works?

The answer is yes.

A new paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine evaluates of 35 individual systematic reviews of t’ai chi to determine if the practice contributes to improvement of any disease or clinical symptoms.  The paper looked at a wide range of medical conditions – cancer, Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease, to name a few.

Several of the systematic reviews reviewed in the publication reached conflicting conclusions. But there are two areas where health benefits of t’ai chi are clearly present – preventing falls in older adults and improving psychological well-being and overall health in people of all ages.

If you’re looking for a gentle way to improve your health, why not give t’ai chi a try?

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

Get outside! The evidence shows it’s good for you

May 19, 2011 By 1 Comment

The grass is finally green, leaves are filling the trees, and creatures of all sorts – from garter snakes to mosquitoes – are taking up residence in our yard.  It’s the season that my family relishes spending time outside.  This year, my almost-three-year-old is fascinated with every bug, twig and spider web he encounters.

We’re lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world, and in a community that values nature. Unfortunately, the evidence shows that fewer and fewer families experience the same connection with nature that we do – and this is having a detrimental effect on children.

A growing body of evidence suggests people of all ages, and especially children, have fewer nature experiences and spend less time outside compared with previous generations. The research shows this trend has negative implications for health, especially childhood obesity, as well as development and education.  A term has even been coined for the problem – “nature-deficit disorder.”

In fact, there are dozens of studies that demonstrate the positive effects of children spending time in outside including improved social and personal skills, concentration and cognitive functioning.

Here at the College of Human Ecology, Professor Nancy Wells is working on this issue. She is an environmental psychologist whose work delves into childhood exposure to nature and adult attitudes toward the environment. Her research has demonstrated that having natural areas in communities promotes well-being, encourages physical activity and encourages social connections by bolstering a sense of community.

There’s still more work needed to find the best ways to connect people with nature in our modern world. But already, the take-home message is clear.  People of all ages should make an effort to spend time outside, and governments and communities need to develop natural areas that give their residents access to nature.

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

Happy Birthday to Cooperative Extension!

May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As Cornell Cooperative Extension celebrates its 100th year, I thought it would be a good time to explain about bit about the Cooperative Extension system.  At Cornell, many of us collaborate with Cooperative Extension regularly.  But those of you in the real world might be thinking, “What the heck is Cooperative Extension, and why does it matter to me?”

The Cornell Cooperative Extension system was created a century ago to serve a function similar to what this very blog serves today – to help share evidence-based information and practices with the general public. 

In the age before the Internet, this meant disseminating information in workshops, classes and even visits to local homes and businesses. So the Cooperative Extension system opened offices in local communities with employees who would gather information from university professors, and then disseminate that information to people local communities. 

In New York State, the first such office opened in 1911 by a Cornell graduate named John H. Baron. Over the next eight years, 54 more extension offices opened across New York State.

Over the years, Cooperative Extension programs educated New York businesses and families everything from the safest way to defrost a turkey to the best methods for irrigating strawberry fields.

This system developed into a two-way street where community members and businesses pose questions that are funneled to university researchers, who conduct research to find the answers.

Today, Cornell Cooperative Extension is focused on helping families, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations in five key areas:  agriculture and food systems; children, youth and families; community and economic vitality; environment and natural resources; and nutrition and health.  Cooperative Extension professionals provide information on contemporary issues including renewable energy, early childhood education and cooking with local foods. 

The Cooperative Extension System is truly an invaluable resource for helping people and organizations from all walks of life make decisions based on the best available evidence.

Filed Under: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Evidence-Based Living Tagged With: , ,

Youth development that works: Positive findings on the 4-H program

May 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

On EBL, we’ve talked a lot about research evidence on problems affecting adolescents, from alcohol use, to  video games, to social networking, to sex (I can hear teens who read this starting to hum the tune to “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things”…).

One might ask: Okay, what about the positive side? We’re glad to say that there’s very encouraging news about a program that really works.

One of the most popular and extensive youth programs in the United States is the 4-H program. There are over 6,500,000 members in the U. S. The 4-H program offers activities for kids from 5-19 who are organized in 90,000 4-H clubs. Throughout its history, 4-H has promoted leadership skills, good citizenship, and life skills development. In recent years, it has branched into health promotion programs (like obesity prevention and fostering physical activity) and science, engineering, and technology (“SET”) programming.

All this sounds great, right? But as EBL readers know, we look for the evidence. And now we have it, thanks to the ground-breaking work of Prof. Richard Lerner of Tufts university, one of the country’s leading experts on youth development.  Lerner and colleagues expected that the mentoring from adult leaders and the structured learning that goes on in clubs might lead to number of desireable outcomes for children. This led them to do a longitudinal, controlled evaluation of the impact of being a 4-H member. Beginning in 2002, they have surveyed oaver 6,400 teens across the U. S.

The researchers have issued a major new report, looking at the findings on youth outcomes over nearly a decade. To really dig into the results, you should read the very accessible report. Among the many findings, according to the report summary, is that 4-H participants:

  • Have higher educational achievement and motivation for future education
  • Are more civically active and make more civic contributions to their communities
  • Are less likely to have sexual intercourse by Grade 10
  • Are 56% more likely to spend more hours exercising or being physically active
  • Have had significantly lower drug, alcohol and cigarette use than their peers
  • Report better grades, higher levels of academic competence, and an elevated level of engagement at school,
  • Are nearly two times more likely to plan to go to college
  • Are more likely to pursue future courses or a career in science, engineering, or computer technology

All in all, very impressive findings. So let’s join in the 4-H pledge (can you find the four “H”s?):

I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
my heart to greater loyalty,
my hands to larger service
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world.

A pretty good approach to living, and one that seems to work for millions of children and teens!

Filed Under: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness, Youth Development Tagged With: , , , ,

The royal wedding and the dieting bride

May 4, 2011 By 1 Comment

Okay, we admit it. EBL wanted somehow to join in the frenzy over the royal wedding. But where would scientific evidence come in? Maybe: Does research show that two kisses are better than one? Or: What’s the effect of differences in status between two partners on long-term survival of  a marriage? But no evidence-based approach to William and Kate surfaced.

Until I saw reference to the work of Cornell Professor of Nutrition Jeff Sobal in the context of William and Kate’s nuptials! Apparently (as you royal watchers will know), Kate lost a lot of weight prior to her trip down the aisle in Westminster Abbey, raising the eyebrows of the media. Is this common, many asked, or is something up with Kate?

As reported in the Boston Globe and other media outlets, Prof. Sobal has done ground-breaking work on the topic of obesity, and has written extensively on the topic of “weight and weddings” (including this book chapter).

In one widely-read article, Sobal and a colleague conducted a descriptive survey that looked at weight management behaviors among women getting ready for their weddings, as well as their ideals for body weight. Most of the soon-to-be brides were overweight and planned to lose pounds before the big day. Some purchased a smaller-sized wedding dress as a motivator. So Kate is well within the norm by slimming down before tying the knot.

EBL has only one question: Did the new Duchess of Cambridge follow an evidence-based diet? Now that she’s an example to the British and the world, we hope so!

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

Teens and alcohol: What can parents do?

May 3, 2011 By 3 Comments

I will never forget the moment, even though it was years ago. My wife and I were chatting with the parents of one of our daughter’s friends, and the topic of a recent sleep-over came up. They told us that the kids – all young teens – had camped out behind their house, which surprised us. But our jaws progressively dropped as this couple went on to say how they had provided beer to the kids. When we expressed dismay, they responded along the lines of “Well, they’re going to do it anyway.” This seemed to us wrong to the core, but it indicates the dilemmas parents face in trying to control teen drinking behavior. 

There is a mountain of scientific data about the dangers of teen alcohol use. Perhaps most frightening is that teenage drinking predicts alcohol abuse as an adult. Adolescent alcohol use is also related to driving accidents and fatalities, poor school performance, and engaging in other types of risky behaviors. In fact, there’s so much data on the negatives of teen alcohol consumption that EBL won’t even waste your time with a review. 

But what’s a parent to do? That’s where information from a recent systematic review breaks new ground (for information about systematic reviews and why they’re so good, see here). 

In their article, Siobhan Ryan, Anthony Jorn, and Dan Lubman conducted a state-of-the-art systematic review about what parenting strategies are associated with adolescent alcohol consumption. Two positive outcomes were examined: delayed onset of teen drinking (the later the better) and levels of alcohol consumption in adolescence. The review only looked at longitudinal studies, where data on parenting practices were collected early in adolescence and data on drinking at a later time point. These are very strong designs. Further, they carried out sophisticated statistical analyses to combine the results of studies. 

Let’s come back to our question: What’s a parent to do? It turns out that there are a number of parenting strategies that work to reduce teen drinking. Four of the most important of these are: 

  • Parental modeling – and specifically children learning about alcohol by observing the parents’ responsible drinking behavior
  • Parental monitoring – the degree to which parents know where there children are and who they are with
  • Parent – child relationship quality – the level of warmth and affection in the relationship
  • Limiting availability of alcohol  – not providing alcoholic beverages to the child

I was particularly glad to see that last one, because every once in a while I wonder if I was wrong to criticize those parents who created a beer party for young teens. It turns out I was right. An editorial accompanying the review article puts this issue succinctly:   

Many parents consider that this is the best way to prevent negative alcohol outcomes in their children, i.e. by allowing drinking at home and directly supplying them with small amounts of alcohol when they go out to parties. In fact some parents go out of their way to inoculate their children with alcohol, sometimes before puberty, in order to break down any sense of alcohol being a taboo. This normalization of drinking alcohol is aimed at lessening the “big deal” of adolescent initiation rites involving alcohol. However, the evidence points in the opposite direction, that normalization of alcohol increases the risk of harm.  

By being a good role model, monitoring one’s children carefully, and maintaining warm relationships, parents can make inroads into this very thorny problem, and perhaps keep their kids sober longer.

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