Spirit of Women magazine is a national publication presented to women by hospitals and their physicians. The magazine provides up-to-date, evidence-based healthcare information and promotes our hospitals as leaders in women's health excellence.
Issue link: https://spiritofwomen.epubxp.com/i/655065
5 w w w. s p i r i t o f w o m e n . c o m S P R I N G 2 016 S P I R I T O F W O M E N SHUTTERSTOCK H E A L T H C E N T R A L N E W S Stocking up on shut-eye Phoning it in If your teenage daughter texts compulsively, meaning she's unable to cut back or gets defensive about the extent of her texting, she may develop academic problems as a result of her habit, suggests recent research published by the American Psychological Association. Although teenage girls don't text more often than teenage boys do, they're more likely to use the communication method to nurture their relationships with others, compared with boys, who text to share information. This difference may lead girls to become preoccupied and neglect their studies, according to the researchers. But it may be time to put the brakes on texting for a teen of either gender whose grades are slipping. • Fear factor benefits An effective health campaign that changes attitudes and behaviors needs a little fear, especially when women are the target, say researchers in the journal Psychological Bulletin. A fear appeal emphasizes potential dangers that will befall people who don't heed the warning, such as the risks of smoking or drunk driving, according to psychology experts who looked at more than 50 years of research on the subject. The most persuasive appeals are targeted to a mostly female audience, focus on one-time-only behaviors (compared with repeated ones) and describe what can be done to avoid the threat, such as getting vaccinated against an illness. • B eing awakened periodically at night, whether by a child, a spouse or neighborhood noises, results in shorter periods of deep, slow-wave sleep, which in turn can dampen your spirits the next day, according to a new study in the journal Sleep. In fact, frequent disruptions can impact your outlook more than getting shorter but non-interrupted sleep. To examine the effects of disrupted sleep, researchers assigned 62 healthy adults to one of three sleep conditions on three consecutive nights: eight forced awakenings to their sleep, delayed bedtime or uninterrupted sleep. After the second night, the adults with short sleep segments had a 31 percent reduction in positive mood, while those who went to bed later had a 12 percent decline, compared with the first day of the study. In addition, the interrupted sleep reduced not only energy levels but also feelings of sympathy and friendliness. Some nighttime interruptions are inevitable, but you'll be in a better mood come morning if you can eliminate as many disruptions as possible. • Take a morning break To replenish your energy and con- centration levels at work, try a pause in mid-morning, say psychologists. You might think it would be smarter to bank your break until the after- noon hours, but that's too late in the day to effectively put more pep in your step, according to a new study reported recently in the Journal of Applied Psychology. As far as what you can do during your break to clear your mind— activities like chatting, taking a walk, catching up on social media—it doesn't matter that much as long as you're doing something you like. It can even be work related as long as it's not an assigned task, say the study authors. •