Can’t sing? Don’t give up! (and more)

Posted on February 28, 2015 by bob in NewsUCanUse

Sweet Energy Drinks & Hyperactivity

Middle-school children who consume heavily sweetened energy drinks are 66% more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health has found. Previous research has shown a strong correlation between children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and poor academic outcomes, greater difficulties with peer relationships, and increased susceptibility to injuries.

The finding has implications for school success and lends support to existing recommendations to limit the amount of sweetened beverages schoolchildren drink. The authors also recommend that children avoid energy drinks, which, in addition to high levels of sugar. also often contain caffeine. The study is published in the journal Academic Pediatrics.

The researchers found that boys were more likely to consume energy drinks than girls and that black and Hispanic boys were more likely to drink the beverages than their white peers. The average age of the student study participants was 12.4 years old. The study controlled for the number and type of other sugar-sweetened drinks consumed.

“As the total number of sugar-sweetened beverages increased, so too did risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms among our middle-school students,” said Professor Jeannette Ickovics, research team leader. “Importantly, it appears that energy drinks are driving this association. Our results support the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that parents should limit consumption of sweetened beverages and that children should not consume any energy drinks.”

Longer Risks for Older Heart Patients

In the month following an older heart patient’s hospital discharge, there is a one-in-five risk of re-hospitalization or death, but little is known about how these risks change over time. A new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers found that risks remain high for up to a year, but can be addressed with targeted care.

Recently published in the British Medical Journal, the study looked at 3 million older Medicare patients aged 65 or older who survived hospitalization for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia from 2008 to 2010. The Yale research team defined the absolute risks of re-hospitalization and death on each day during the full year after discharge.

The study found that risk of re-hospitalization and death declined slowly after discharge and remained elevated for months. The risk remains elevated for a longer period of time following hospitalization for heart failure compared with hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia. For all three conditions, risk of re-hospitalization remains elevated for a longer         period of time than risk of death.

“If we can track absolute risks and their changes over time, this information will be critical in helping patients and hospitals set realistic expectations and goals for recovery, and plan for appropriate care after discharge,” said lead author Dr. Kumar Dharmarajan, assistant professor of cardiology at Yale School of Medicine. “As our health system increasingly focuses on improving long-term health and personalizing care, this information can help hospitals focus their interventions during the highest risk periods for patients.”

“Patients should remain vigilant for deterioration in health for an extended time after hospitalization,” said Dharmarajan, “This might mean checking in more often with a primary care physician or specialist.”

Facebook in the Afterlife

Facebook recently rolled out a new feature called Legacy Contact, which gives people a platform for remembering and celebrating the lives of deceased loved ones. The basis for this product came from the doctoral work of Jed Brubaker, a Ph.D. candidate in informatics at the University of California, Irvine. Facebook retained Brubaker as an academic consultant in the creation, testing and release of Legacy Contact.

The feature allows individuals to decide what happens to their Facebook account when they die. Through their security settings, they can assign a “legacy contact,” or steward, to manage the account. On behalf of the deceased account holder, the legacy contact is able to post an obituary or message, update profile pictures and cover photos, respond to new friend requests, and moderate the posting of condolences and memories from existing friends.

With additional permission from the account holder, the legacy contact can download an archive of profile information and posts. Facebook will also make changes to “memorialized” accounts, adding the word “remembering” before the person’s name.

“Memorialized profiles can be unsettling, particularly right after someone dies,” Brubaker says. “It’s not always clear that someone has died, and details can get buried in the flood of messages that friends post.”

Relax To Music, But Don’t Study

Music may help some people relax, but it doesn’t help them remember what they’re focusing on, especially as they get older. A
study from the Georgia Institute of Technology challenged younger and older people to look at faces and names while either listening to non-lyrical music or nothing at all. The college-aged participants had no problems — the music didn’t affect their performance. But the older adults remembered 10 percent fewer names when listening to background music or musical rain as compared to silence. The study author suggests these findings could help workers in assisted living centers as they plan activities.

“They should be mindful of their surroundings,” said Sarah Reaves, the graduate student who led the study. “Maybe employees should turn off music during learning activities or hold the activities in a quiet room. Similarly, older adults who struggle to concentrate while meeting with co-workers at a coffee shop, for example, should schedule meetings in quieter locations. When people get lost while driving,” added Reaves, “it’s probably best to turn off the radio.”

Can’t Sing? Don’t give up!

New research from Northwestern University suggests singing accurately is not so much a talent as a learned skill that can decline over time if not used. The ability to sing on key may have more in common with the kind of practice that goes into playing an instrument than people realize, said lead researcher Steven Demorest, a professor of music education at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music. The study was published last month in a special issue of the journal Music Perception.

“No one expects a beginner on violin to sound good right away, it takes practice, But everyone is supposed to be able to sing,” Demorest said. “When people are unsuccessful they take it very personally, but we think if you sing more, you’ll get better.”

Children who have been told they can’t sing well are less likely to engage with music in the future and often vividly remember the negative experience well into adulthood. Being called “tone deaf” can have devastating effects on a child’s self-image, the researchers wrote in the study.

The study suggests adults who may have performed better as children lost the ability when they stopped singing. And while singing on key is likely easier for some people than others. “…it’s also a skill that can be taught and developed,” Demorest said, “and much of it has to do with using the voice regularly.”