Image: istockphoto

“It’s important to get up and move around throughout the day. Exercise not only helps with how you feel physically, but it also improves your mind and your memory.”” says Julia Henderson-Kalb, a Saint Louis University occupational therapist. “

While it’s not always feasible to hit the gym at lunchtime, some small changes to your routine can add up quickly to make a positive impact your health.

Henderson-Kalb suggests these simple habits to help you increase your daily activity in a substantial way.

• Sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair. You’ll strengthen your abdominal and back muscles and improve your posture.

• Set an alarm to go off every hour to remind yourself to stand up and stretch. Get in the habit of walking around your office while you talk on the phone.

• Always take the stairs and use the restrooms on another floor.

• Park far away from the entrance to your office building. Wear a pedometer and aim to get 6,000-10,000 steps per day.

• Bring your lunch to work. Not only is it less expensive and can be healthier, but you’ll leave time in your day to take a lunchtime walk or exercise break.

• Bring light weights or exercise bands to the office and build an exercise routine into your day. Follow this link for specific exercises and a demonstration.

To hear more about the importance of avoiding sedentary work days, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz35RPBQlyI&feature=related

Source: Saint Louis University Medical Center

Cyclical relationships — is the term used for a couple who breaks up and then gets back together. Amber Vennum, assistant professor of family studies and human services at Kansas State University, looking at why couples reunite and how it affects the relationship.

“There has been very little research on this topic, but it turns out that cyclical relationships are quite prevalent,” Vennum said. “With college-age kids, about 40 percent are currently in a relationship where they have broken up and then have gotten back together. That’s shocking, especially when you factor in the outcomes of being in a cyclical relationship.”

Image credit: iStockphoto

While movies, books and TV shows may portray rekindling a relationship as romantic, Vennum found that the results of getting back together were less than desirable.

Findings showed that couples in a cyclical relationship tended to be more impulsive about major relationship transitions — like moving in together, buying a pet together or having a child together — than those not in a cyclical relationship. As a result, the couples in cyclical relationships tended to be less satisfied with their partner; had worse communication; made more decisions that negatively affected the relationship; had lower self-esteem; and had a higher uncertainty about their future together.

The idea is that because people aren’t making explicit commitments to the relationship, they are less likely to engage in pro-relationship behaviors, such as discussing the state of the relationship or making sacrifices for their partner,” Vennum said. “The thought is that, ‘I’m not committed to you, why would I work very hard for you?’”

The findings are in line with those from the only other U.S. research team to study cyclical couples, according to Vennum. That team studied the breakup strategies used by couples in cyclical relationships and their reasons for reuniting. The researchers found that couples said they got back together because they believed their partner had changed for the better or that communications had improved — but the results indicated otherwise. Additionally, other couples stated that the relationship continued because it was unclear if they had actually ended their romance.

“When cyclical couples break up, they tend to be ambiguous about ending the relationship,” Vennum said. “So it can be unclear to one or both partners if they broke up and why they broke up, which leads to them continuing the romantic relationship. Other times the breakup won’t be unilateral, so one person pursues the other until they get back together.”

Vennum also looked at the effect of premarital cyclicality on marriages.

She found that couples who were cyclical prior to marriage were more uncertain about getting married and began their marriages with lower satisfaction and higher conflict than noncyclical couples. Over time, satisfaction with the marriage continued to decrease for cyclical couples. Additionally, spouses who were cyclical before marriage were also more likely to experience a trial separation during the first three years of marriage.

“It really shows that those patterns of cyclicality tend to repeat,” Vennum said. “If you tend to be cyclical while dating, you tend to be cyclical while married. The more you are cyclical, the more your relationship quality tends to decrease and that creates a lack of trust and uncertainty about the future of the relationship, perpetuating the pattern.”

Vennum is currently putting together her findings for publication. She also has advice for couples who have broken up.

“Don’t get back together,” she said. “Study after study shows that when our relationships are poor, we don’t function well. If it seems necessary to get back together, make sure the decision is carefully considered by both people and that specific efforts are made to establish clarity.”

Source: Kansas State University

image:stockXpert

The CDC report showed that between 2008 and 2009, the suicide rate increased 2.4 percent, with 36,909 suicide deaths reported nationally. In August 2011, a report from the CDC showed that in 2008, 13.4 percent of people who committed suicide had experienced job and financial problems. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, an emergency crisis hotline reported a 14 percent increase in call volume between 2010 and 2011. The CDC’s thus recommended increasing counseling, job placement and financial services that can help reduce the mental distress that can increase suicide risk.

“The recent increase in suicide, whether heightened by economic strain or other social triggers, signifies the need for education and training on understanding and preventing suicide,” said Dr. Lisa Firestone, Director of Research and Education at The Glendon Association and Violence and Suicide Prevention Alliance. “The suicidal state is both preventable and treatable. Services and education have been proven to save lives. Armed with the right tools to identify the warning signs and implement helper tasks, we can fight this crisis.”

Between 2008 and 2009 an estimated 8.3 million adults (almost 4 percent of the U.S. adult population) reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, according to the CDC. More than 2.2 million adults reported making suicide plans in the past year, and more than 1 million adults reported attempting suicide in the past year.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 percent of American adults suffered from mental illness in 2010, but only 39.2 percent of that group said they received treatment. With this decrease in U.S. mental health services, the general public, schools, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and military personnel would all benefit from education on suicide prevention.

The Glendon Association’s free website, PsychAlive.org, provides suicide prevention advice that includes information on warning signs, risk factors, helper tasks and strategies for prevention and intervention that have proven effective in reducing suicide risk and completion.

European countries with strong social safety nets and services have shown little increase in suicide rates, even in rough economic times,according to data collected from Eurostat and the World Health Organization, proving that education and services can make a difference. Organizations like The Glendon Association that provide education and assessment are important to reducing the rate of suicide in the country. Over the past 30 years, Glendon has conducted research and developed effective assessments for both suicide and self-destructive behavior.

Learn signs you can look for that may help you recognize if someone is suicidal.

Individuals in crisis or who know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Source:The Glendon Association

Brains Are Automatic, But People Are Free

Michael Gazzaniga, one of the world’s leading researchers in cognitive neuroscience, describes the mystery of free will. Whether you are a parent, a philosopher, or the CEO of Facebook, it’s a concept that you’ll inevitably have to bang your head against — the individual right to choose what one does, what one doesn’t do, what one is exposed to.

Source: bigthink

The scientists used MRI data mapped onto an existing atlas of the mouse brain to compare the effects of drinking ethanol and water on brain volume overall and region-by-region in mice with and without dopamine D2 receptors. Alcohol-drinking mice that lacked dopamine receptors had lower overall brain volume and reduced volume in the cerebral cortex (blue) and thalamus (purple) compared with D2 receptor-deficient mice drinking water. Alcohol-drinking mice with dopamine receptors did not show these deficits in response to drinking alcohol, suggesting that dopamine receptors may be protective against the brain atrophy associated with chronic drinking.

“This study clearly demonstrates the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in determining the damaging effects of alcohol on the brain, and builds upon our previous findings suggesting a protective role of dopamine D2 receptors against alcohol’s addictive effects,” said study author Foteini Delis, a neuroanatomist with the Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Lab at Brookhaven, which is funded through the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Coauthor and Brookhaven/NIAA neuroscientist Peter Thanos stated that, “These studies should help us better understand the role of genetic variability in alcoholism and alcohol-induced brain damage in people, and point the way to more effective prevention and treatment strategies.”

The current study specifically explored how alcohol consumption affects brain volume — overall and region-by-region — in normal mice and a strain of mice that lack the gene for dopamine D2 receptors. Half of each group drank plain water while the other half drank a 20 percent ethanol solution for six months. Then scientists performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on all the mice and compared the scans of those drinking alcohol with those from the water drinkers in each group.

The scans showed that chronic alcohol drinking induced significant overall brain atrophy and specific shrinkage of the cerebral cortex and thalamus in the mice that lacked dopamine D2 receptors, but not in mice with normal receptor levels. Mice in both groups drank the same amount of alcohol.

“This pattern of brain damage mimics a unique aspect of brain pathology observed in human alcoholics, so this research extends the validity of using these mice as a model for studying human alcoholism,” Thanos said.

In humans, these brain regions are critically important for processing speech, sensory information, and motor signals, and for forming long-term memories. So this research helps explain why alcohol damage can be so widespread and detrimental.

“The fact that only mice that lacked dopamine D2 receptors experienced brain damage in this study suggests that DRD2 may be protective against brain atrophy from chronic alcohol exposure,” Thanos said. “Conversely, the findings imply that lower-than-normal levels of DRD2 may make individuals more vulnerable to the damaging effects of alcohol.”

That would in effect deal people with low DRD2 levels a double whammy of alcohol vulnerability: Previous studies conducted by Thanos and collaborators suggest that individuals with low DRD2 levels may be more susceptible to alcohol’s addictive effects.

“The increased addictive liability and the potentially devastating increased susceptibility to alcohol toxicity resulting from low DRD2 levels make it clear that the dopamine system is an important target for further research in the search for better understanding and treatment of alcoholism,” Thanos said.

Source:The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

Image: Stockxpert

The research, published in the latest edition of the international journal Pediatrics, is the largest study of its kind into the link between a mother’s vitamin D levels and the effect on her child’s speech and behavioural development.

The study looked at Vitamin D concentrations during the pregnancies of more than 740 women, with follow up investigations of their child’s development and behaviour at regular periods up to 17 years of age.

Lead author, Associate Professor Andrew Whitehouse, said the finding was significant, given that Vitamin D levels among women are known to have decreased steadily over the past 20 years.

“The developing baby is completely reliant on the mother for its Vitamin D levels and what we have shown is that this might have an impact on the child’s brain development,” Dr Whitehouse said.

“While these findings are tremendously exciting, they will need to be replicated by other research groups. More research is needed for us to fully understand the impact of Vitamin D levels on the developing brain.”

Dr Whitehouse said the findings had significant implications in that it could provide an early intervention to prevent some language difficulties.

“We would now like to explore whether Vitamin D supplements in pregnancy could reduce the risk of language problems for children.”

The study found no association between Vitamin D levels and childhood behaviour and emotional problems.
Source: Telethon Institute for Child Health Research

The results of a new global report released today by the OREO brand and Ipsos Public Affairs indicate that from China to Poland and Portugal to Venezuela, the spirit of childhood – that is, the chance for children and adults alike to enjoy simple, carefree moments – may be destined for the endangered species list. The report reveals that the vast majority of parents surveyed believe today’s kids are growing up quicker than previous generations. In fact, seven out of 10 parents worldwide say their children should have more time to ‘just be kids.’

The idea that the spirit of childhood is on the decline is true not only for kids, but also adults. Parents everywhere yearn for the type of lighthearted enjoyment they had when they were kids. In fact, a majority of parents worldwide (59%) say they don’t have fun on a daily basis and 54 percent say they rarely experience the feelings of delight they did when they were children.

The “Global Spirit of Childhood Report,” conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of OREO, measured the spirit of childhood around the world in an effort to understand if people, both young and old, take the time to experience the simple joys of being a kid.

“As we regularly talk with consumers worldwide, we consistently hear about the importance of experiencing the carefree feelings of childhood at any age,” said Sheeba Philip, Global Brand Director for OREO. “We believe this sentiment is more important now than ever before, so we conducted this research to learn more about the spirit of childhood worldwide.”

Family Fun: Worth Its Weight in Gold

While the report suggests the spirit of childhood may be at risk, parents’ desire to have fun with their children isn’t weakening. Three out of five parents (63%) say spending time having fun with their kids is more important to them than it was to their own parents when they were growing up.
Carefree fun has become such a rare treat for parents and their children that it’s worth its weight in gold – literally. More than half of parents surveyed in countries like Mexico (54%), Peru (58%) and India (77%) say they would trade part of their salary in exchange for more time with their kids. And, four out of five parents surveyed across all 20 countries even say having fun as a family is “more important than anything else.” Despite this overwhelming desire, 59 percent of adults are not spending moments of carefree fun on a daily basis.

Technology: A Double-Edged Sword

In a fast-motion 4G world, technology and social media have an increasingly dramatic impact on the dynamics of family life. While 67 percent of parents globally agree that technology helps their family stay connected, it may come at a cost. When they’re spending time as a family, nearly half of parents (48%) say that their families are distracted by technology. No group may experience this more than working parents, more than half (55%) of which say their mobile devices and computer technology mean it is too easy to stay connected to work when spending time with family at home.
For today’s kids who have grown up with technology, its presence influences how they spend time with their parents and families. Just less than one-quarter of parents globally (23%) say they communicate more with their children through technology than in-person. In fast-growing economies like China and India, where research shows technology plays a significant role in daily life, the number of percentage points for parents surveyed increased to 52 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

There Is Hope

Despite pressures and distractions that affect the time families spend together and the state of childhood today, there’s hope. In fact, 88 percent of parents say they’re committed to making sure their kids don’t miss out on childhood and a majority (77%) say they themselves want to be more carefree like when they were children.
“Across continents and cultures, one thing we have in common is the desire to celebrate the kid inside all of us. 2012 marks the 100th birthday of OREO. In recognition, we’ll be finding more ways to celebrate the spirit of childhood and make special, simple moments happen for families and OREO fans around the world,” said Philip.
About The Survey
The survey was conducted during a six-week period between November and December of 2011. More than 7,000 parents with children under the age of 18 participated in this study. Local surveys were conducted via online or in-person interviews in 20 countries, including: Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela.
Source:Kraft Foods

istockphoto

Older people feel that their health problems pose a challenge to their sense of independence, dignity and identity and sometimes the health care they are given makes things worse.

According to research funded by UK Research Councils’ New Dynamics of Ageing programme (NDA), healthcare providers must avoid taking a ‘blanket view’ of how to help older people cope with the ageing process.

The study carried out by Dr Liz Lloyd and her colleagues found that people were often surprised by the impact that illness and growing old had on their lives. Their sense of ‘self’ was affected by the limitations imposed by their age and illnesses. “Growing old and coming to terms with illnesses is complex and demanding at times – physically, mentally and emotionally,” Dr Lloyd said. “When health goes, it can come as quite a shock.”

The research shows that older people work hard at maintaining their health and independence, while coming to terms with becoming dependent on others. The participants’ views show how, with the struggle to maintain day-to-day activities, their dignity can quickly and easily be lost. One participant, Mary, told researchers:

“Inside I feel as though I ought to be able to do things. But I’m not and it’s hard to accept.”

While some were positive about making changes, others found it harder to adjust their day-to-day routines. All participants made great efforts to find new activities or adapt old ones. For example several learnt to use computers and others took art classes at day centres. All tried to maintain their health in a variety of ways.

Dr Lloyd believes the research shows there are significant differences in the way that people define dignity and independence, and that these are influenced by their relationships, abilities and  life experiences. She states, ”

You can’t impose a blanket view of what dignified care is. Of course, there are certain standards that should apply in all circumstances but enhancing dignity needs a lot more than guaranteeing minimum standards.”

“In old age when your health fails, it affects your sense of self. Understanding that from an older person’s perspective is crucially important. Care and support can enhance dignity or it can worsen the loss of it if not given in the right way.  Good support is essential in terms of how people make the adjustments they need to make.”

Dr Lloyd highlights that the relationship between dignity, identity and independence is complex. “Loss of independence involves a change in your identity and is a challenge to your dignity,” she states. “It is through the support of others that individuals are able to rebuild their sense of identity in their changed circumstances.”

Support and care need to be responsive to what people are going through and to see things from the perspective of the person on the receiving end of care. “Older people are going through enormous changes and the people who are helping them need to be aware of these.”
Source: Economic and Social Research Council

Image: Creative Commons dr_XeNo

Authoritarian parents whose child-rearing style can be summed up as “it’s my way or the highway” are more likely to raise disrespectful, delinquent children who do not see them as legitimate authority figures than authoritative parents who listen to their children and gain their respect and trust, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire.

“When children consider their parents to be legitimate authority figures, they trust the parent and feel they have an obligation to do what their parents tell them to do. This is an important attribute for any authority figure to possess, as the parent does not have to rely on a system of rewards and punishments to control behavior, and the child is more likely to follow the rules when the parent is not physically present,” said Rick Trinkner, a doctoral candidate at UNH and the lead researcher.
This is the first study to look at whether parenting styles influence adolescents’ beliefs about the legitimacy of parent authority and if those perceptions affect delinquent behavior. The results are presented in the February issue of the Journal of Adolescence in the article “Don’t trust anyone over 30: Parental legitimacy as a mediator between parenting style and changes in delinquent behavior over time.”

The research was conducted by UNH researchers Trinkner; Ellen Cohn, professor of psychology; Cesar Rebellon, associate professor of sociology; and Karen Van Gundy, associate professor of sociology.

The researchers relied on data from the New Hampshire Youth Study, an ongoing, longitudinal survey of middle school and high school students examining the psychological, sociological, developmental, and legal factors that influence adolescent delinquency. Analyses reported are based on data collected over an 18-month period beginning in the fall of 2007.

“While it is generally agreed that authoritative parenting is more effective than authoritarian and permissive styles, little is known about why some parenting styles are more efficient than others. Our results showed that parental legitimacy was an important mechanism by which parenting styles affected adolescent behavior,” Trinkner said.

The researchers evaluated three parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive.
Authoritative parents are both demanding and controlling, but they are also warm and receptive to their children’s needs. They are receptive to bidirectional communication in that they explain to their children why they have established rules and also listen to their children’s opinions about those rules. Children of authoritative parents tend to be self-reliant, self-controlled, and content.

On the other hand, authoritarian parents are demanding and highly controlling, but detached and unreceptive to their children’s needs. These parents support unilateral communication where they establish rules without explanation and expect them to be obeyed without complaint or question. Authoritarian parenting produces children who are discontent, withdrawn, and distrustful.

Finally, in contrast to authoritarian parenting, permissive parents are nondemanding and noncontrolling. They tend to be warm and receptive to their children’s needs, but place few boundaries on their children. If they do establish rules, they rarely enforce them to any great extent. These parents tend to produce children who are the least self-reliant, explorative, and self-controlled out of all the parenting styles.

“The style that parents used to rear their children had a direct influence on whether those children perceived their parents as legitimate authority figures. Adolescents who perceived parents as legitimate were then less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Thus, authoritative parenting may be more effective than the other styles because this style makes adolescents more willing to accept their parents’ attempts to socialize them and subsequently follow their rules,” Trinkner said.

“Conversely, authoritarian parents have the opposite effect in that they actually reduce the likelihood of their children perceiving their authority as legitimate. Adolescents from authoritarian parents are more likely to resist their parents’ attempts at socialization,” he said.

While the children of permissive parents were less likely to respect their parents as authority figures, the researchers found they were no more or no less likely to engage in delinquent behavior.
According to the researchers, the results show that fostering and creating parental legitimacy is one technique for parents to exert control over their children. Additionally, parents are more likely to be viewed as legitimate authorities if they utilize authoritative parenting practices rather than authoritarian or permissive practices, which tend to undermine parental authority.

“Our data offer further evidence that authoritative parenting is an effective way for parents to successfully socialize their children and that its influence works largely through its effect on youth perceptions of parental legitimacy,” Trinkner said.

Source:The University of New Hampshire

Having a simple, easy-to-pronounce name is more likely to win you friends and favour in the workplace, a study by Dr Simon Laham at the University of Melbourne and Dr Adam Alter at New York University Stern School of Business, has found.

In the first study of its kind, and published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers analysed how the pronunciation of names can influence impression formation and decision-making.  In particular, they demonstrated “the name pronunciation effect,” which occurs when people with easy–to-pronounce names are evaluated more positively than those with difficult-to-pronounce names.

The study revealed that:

• People with more pronounceable names were more likely to be favoured for political office and job promotions
• Political candidates with easy-to-pronounce names were more likely to win a race than those without, based on a mock ballot study
• Attorneys with more pronounceable names rose more quickly to superior positions in their firm hierarchies, based on a field study of 500 first and last names of US lawyers

Lead author, Dr Simon Laham said subtle biases that we are not aware of affect our decisions and choices. “Research findings revealed that the effect is not due merely to the length of a name or how foreign-sounding or unusual it is, but rather how easy it is to pronounce,” he said.

Dr Adam Alter who conducted the law firm analysis said this effect probably also exists in other industries and in many everyday contexts. “People simply aren’t aware of the subtle impact that names can have on their judgments,” Dr Alter said.

Dr Laham said the results had important implications for the management of bias and discrimination in our society.

“It’s important to appreciate the subtle biases that shape our choices and judgments about others.  Such an appreciation may help us de-bias our thinking, leading to fairer, more objective treatment of others,” he said.

Researchers conducted studies both in lab settings and in a natural environment using a range of names from Anglo, Asian, and Western and Eastern European backgrounds.

This research builds on Dr Alter’s earlier work, which suggests that financial stocks with simpler names tend to outperform similar stocks with complex names immediately after they appear on the market.

Source: University of Melbourne