Irregular Sleep and cardiovascular disease

020420  02mar2020

Older adults with irregular sleep patterns—meaning they have no

     regular bedtime and

     wakeup schedule,

or they get different amounts of sleep each night—

     are nearly twice as likely to develop

cardiovascular disease

as those with more regular sleep patterns,

according to a new study funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The five-year study suggests that an irregular sleep pattern may be a novel and independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and that

maintaining regular sleep patterns

     could help prevent heart disease just as

physical activity,

a healthy diet,

and other lifestyle measures do, the researchers said.

"Research has linked irregular sleep schedules to a constellation of disease-causing abnormalities in body function, including changes in

blood sugar and

inflammation,"

said Michael Twery, Ph.D., director of the NHLBI's National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.

"This study is Important because it is among the largest of its kind, and it specifically associates these irregular sleep patterns with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease."

...

The researchers said they are still unclear about the exact biological mechanisms behind the sleep irregularity and CVD link, but they suspect that multiple factors, including

harmful disturbances in the body's circadian rhythm

     —the 24-hour internal body clock which controls the sleep-wake cycle—

may be in play.

Recent studies by the same researchers linked

irregular sleep patterns to

     harmful metabolic changes associated with

     obesity,

     diabetes, and

     high cholesterol,

         and they suspect similar processes might also influence 

     CVD risk.

...

In future studies, the researchers said they will look for

     blood biomarkers

         that may help explain the apparent link.

Larger studies with longer follow-up will also be important to confirm these findings.

A better understanding of the root causes could lead to new interventions that could help people better regulate their sleep patterns, such as

     wearing devices or

     using specialized mobile apps

         designed to reduce irregular sleep,

             the researchers said.

Medicinal interventions also may be possible, they noted.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-irregular-cardiovascular-events.html

Running and a long life

02apr20 04mar20

participation in running, regardless of its dose, would probably lead to

substantial improvements in

     population health and    

     longevity.

Any amount of running, even just once a week, is better than no running,

but higher doses of running may not necessarily be associated with greater mortality benefits.

Fourteen studies from six prospective cohorts with a pooled sample of 232 149 participants were included. In total, 25 951 deaths were recorded during 5.5–35 year follow-ups. Our meta-analysis showed that

running participation is associated with

27%, 30% and 23% lower risk of

     all-cause,

     cardiovascular and

     cancer mortality, respectively,

                         compared with no running.

A meta-regression analysis showed no significant dose–response trends for weekly frequency, weekly duration, pace and the total volume of running.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2019/09/25/bjsports-2018-100493

Five tips for teaching online

02ap20 24mar2020
Don’t convert entire lecture to video;

Don’t rely on live video;

Pay attention to engagement and feedback;

Check in with students often;

Identify struggling students and support them

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00896-7

Don’t convert your entire lecture to video. 

“Strategically reduce your goals” . Instructors need to identify a few specific things that they want their students to learn, and focus on those.

Don’t rely on live video. 

Invite student engagement and feedback.

The best online instructors, Reich and Lee agree, set up their courses so that students can pursue self-paced enquiry — exploring the topic under their own initiative. For example, you can give students a range of links for further reading.

Asking students what they hope to get out of the online course, and

how you can best serve them,

       offers instructors ideas for teaching and gives students ownership of the process, he says.

Check in with students often. 

Consider interactive elements such as short quizzes.

Students might also miss on-campus social interaction, so it helps to engage them with opportunities to talk to one another during a live session, says Lee. She groups students into teams of five so that they can support one another. If students have a question about content, they ask their group first, and come to her only if they still can’t get a satisfactory answer. “Make sure students support each other. Don’t try to do everything yourself,” she says.

Identify and support struggling students. 

Reich says that the most successful virtual teachers conduct frequent assessments, and check in by phone, text or e-mail with each student — most often with those who are struggling.

To identify those students, instructors can ask whether class members have adequate Wi-Fi and access to devices, and how concerned they are about the transition to online learning. 

With technological help from colleagues at NYU Shanghai, [Leonardo Rolla] developed a strategy for teaching remotely from the other side of the world.

Each day, using a program called Voice-Thread,

he records several short videos of himself explaining maths concepts,

adding up to 15–30 minutes collectively.

During their day, the students

watch the videos on a website and, in turn,

insert videos they make of their assigned theorem proofs, for example, or

a question,

a comment or

a critique of a classmate’s proof.

Together, Rolla and his students produce an interactive, if asynchronous, class recording.

Working together

Rolla has one crucial tip:

seek constant feedback from students.

“I am the director of this movie,” he says, “but we are all in this together.”

He asks his students precise questions to demonstrate

what they have just learnt and

how each concept builds on their existing base of knowledge.

He also asks for feedback to improve the course.

When students asked for more concrete examples of complex, abstract theorems to make sure they understood the concepts, he obliged.

“The biggest risk is that you become a talking head

     explaining things that students are not following,” he says,

     “and they give up and

     just pretend.”

His video-based approach has earned high praise from students and colleagues.

“The hardest part is that it takes a lot of time,” says Rolla, “at least three times as much work as a traditional lecture, and that’s once you’re familiar with the tools.” He estimates that since February, he’s been spending 35 hours weekly preparing his online teaching content.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00896-7

Tyranny as an outcome of democracy?

02ap20 26mar2020 13nov2019

It was a democracy without constraint against the worst impulses of the majority.

 Demagogues’ manipulation of the Athenian people left a legacy of

instability,

bloodshed and

genocidal warfare,

described in Thucydides’ history.

Misleading speech is the essential element of despots, because despots need the support of the people.

That record is why Socrates – before being sentenced to death by democratic vote – chastised the Athenian democracy for its elevation of

             popular opinion

at the expense of truth.

Greece’s bloody history is also why Plato

associated democracy with tyranny

in Book VIII of “The Republic.”

https://theconversation.com/why-tyranny-could-be-the-inevitable-outcome-of-democracy-126158

Basic liberal assumptions to remember

02apr20 26mar20 07dez2018

"Much of America still lives in the dark ages,

bound to their conspiracies,

unable to account for basic liberal assumptions:

     women are equal citizens,

     science is real,

    doctors aren’t trying to kill you,

    the news isn’t always lying,

    races can co-exist,

    school is important,

    government can do more good than bad,

     etc." 

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/12/07/the-case-for-chuck-mertz-not-noam-chomsky-as-americas-leading-intellectual/