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Teenagers Who Don’t Get Enough Sleep at Higher Risk for Mental Health Problems
Scientific American: Many studies have examined the effects of sufficient versus insufficient sleep on mental health. A new study, published in February in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, takes a more nuanced look, attempting to determine just how much each hour less per night really costs—where teenagers are concerned. ... These correlational findings do not prove that lack of sleep is causing these problems. Certainly the reverse can be true: depression and anxiety can cause insomnia.
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Perspectives on Psychological Science
Perspectives on Psychological Science: Volume 10, Number 4 Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, publishes an eclectic mix of provocative reports and articles, including broad integrative reviews, overviews of research programs, meta-analyses, theoretical statements, opinion pieces about major issues in the field, and even occasional humorous essays and sketches.
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How an Insomnia Therapy Can Help With Other Illnesses
The New York Times: It’s a Catch-22 that even those with a common cold experience: Illness disrupts sleep. Poor sleep makes the symptoms of the illness worse. What’s true for a cold also holds for more serious conditions that co-occur with insomnia. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol dependence, fibromyalgia, cancer and chronic pain often give rise to insomnia, just as sleeplessness exacerbates the symptoms of these diseases. Historically, insomnia was considered a symptom of other diseases. Today it is considered an illness in its own right and recognized as an amplifier of other mental and physical ailments.
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Gchat Venting Is Only Making You Madder
New York Magazine: There is really only one way I deal with indignation, be it righteous or ridiculous, if I happen to be at a computer when it happens: I take it to Gchat. I find a friend with the little green dot next to their name, and I’m off, maniacally pouring my (often misspelled and typo-ridden) frustrations into the little chat window. Melissa is typing. Melissa has entered text. But it’s all fair. Sooner rather than later, I’ll likely be on the receiving end of a similar rant from a friend, talking (typing?) them down about some irritating thing their boss or boyfriend or whoever did.
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The science of sleeping in, and why you probably shouldn’t
PBS: I hate sleeping in, but that’s mainly because I can’t. Almost every day, since I was a teen, regardless of whether it’s a weekday, weekend or holiday, I wake up at 6 a.m. As an early bird, I admit to some delusions of morning grandeur — “Let’s wake up early Saturday and climb a mountain!” — but being a morning lark has proved annoying to others in my life, particularly those who function by “catching up” on sleep over the weekends. Maybe you’ve experienced this too? Your boyfriend/girlfriend/life partner/spouse groans as you roll out of bed at the crack of dawn, eager to climb mountains.
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Empathy Is Actually a Choice
The New York Times: ONE death is a tragedy. One million is a statistic. You’ve probably heard this saying before. It is thought to capture an unfortunate truth about empathy: While a single crying child or injured puppy tugs at our heartstrings, large numbers of suffering people, as in epidemics, earthquakes and genocides, do not inspire a comparable reaction. Studies have repeatedly confirmed this. It’s a troubling finding because, as recent research has demonstrated, many of us believe that if more lives are at stake, we will — and should — feel more empathy (i.e., vicariously share others’ experiences) and do more to help. Read the whole story: The New York Times
