Research suggests correlation between hotter climates and violence
Will global warming affect human aggression? The book Climate Change and Human Behavior shows how severe weather can alter how people think. Based on decades of past research, the book maps out how high temperatures cause the brain to focus on cooling the body down instead of other things, such as processing new information or managing emotions. The author has discovered that hotter areas of the U.S. and around the world consistently have higher rates of violent crime, even when controlling other factors like poverty.
Nighttime routines linked to quality of sleep
A new mouse study published in Current Biology shows a link between your nighttime routine and the quality of your sleep. Like humans, mice also have habits prior to going to bed. Researchers found that if the mice weren’t able to perform their pre-sleep nesting behaviors, it took them longer to fall asleep and the actual quality of their rest declined.
Both in-person and cyber-bullying drop by up to 40% since Spring of 2020
And finally… in the wake of schools moving to virtual learning during the pandemic, scientists have found that rates of bullying actually went down. Since Spring of 2020, both in-person and cyber-bullying dropped by up to 40%. Researchers tracked Google trends data of internet searches for bullying, a strong predictor of actual bullying, to support their findings. And following the re-opening of some schools across the nation, scientists say the searches for bullying remained lower than typical levels.
Medical Notes 22-15: Week of April 10, 2022
MEDICAL NOTES THIS WEEK…
Will global warming affect human aggression? The book Climate Change and Human Behavior shows how severe weather can alter how people think. Based on decades of past research, the book maps out how high temperatures cause the brain to focus on cooling the body down instead of other things, such as processing new information or managing emotions. The author has discovered that hotter areas of the U.S. and around the world consistently have higher rates of violent crime, even when controlling other factors like poverty.
A new mouse study published in Current Biology shows a link between your nighttime routine and the quality of your sleep. Like humans, mice also have habits prior to going to bed. Researchers found that if the mice weren’t able to perform their pre-sleep nesting behaviors, it took them longer to fall asleep and the actual quality of their rest declined.
With so much information at our fingertips, how can we know what’s true? A report from Stanford University explains how to spot disinformation online. The first step is to check the account’s handle. Fake accounts pretending to be a credible source have to change the username slightly, for example, adding a period to the end of the name. The report also advises to be skeptical of content, saying to always look for factual material backing up any claims.
And finally… in the wake of schools moving to virtual learning during the pandemic, scientists have found that rates of bullying actually went down. Since Spring of 2020, both in-person and cyber-bullying dropped by up to 40%. Researchers tracked Google trends data of internet searches for bullying, a strong predictor of actual bullying, to support their findings. And following the re-opening of some schools across the nation, scientists say the searches for bullying remained lower than typical levels.
And that’s medical notes this week… more in a moment.
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