Artificial light could make us frail

                Artificial lighting could be making us frail, withering muscles and making bones more fragile. A mice was kept under a constant light for six months – a technique used by security services around the world. When the mice was examined, they were found to be suffering from muscle loss and early sign of osteoporosis, while their immune system seemed as if it was reacting to an infection.

                Researchers used to think of light and darkness as harmless or neutral stimuli with respect to health. We now realize this is not the case based on accumulating studies from laboratories all over the world, all pointing in the same direction. Study showed that the absence of environmental rhythms leads to severe disruption of a wide variety of health parameters.

                However, the mice recovered after they were switched to natural light. The good news is that the subsequently showed that these negative effects on health are reversible when the environmental light-dark cycle is restored.

Laziness a sign of intelligence?

                In a study, seems to prove that the theory that brainy people spend more time lazing around than their active counterparts. People with a high IQ get bored less easily, leading them to spend more time engaged in thought. Active people are likely to more physical as they need to stimulate their minds with external activities, wither to escape their thoughts or because they get bored quickly.

                Researchers took a classic test – dating back to three decades – to a group of students. The “need for cognition” questionnaire asked participants to rate how strongly they agree with statements such as “I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems”, and “I only think as hard as I have to”. The researchers then selection 30 “Thinkers” and 30 “Non-Thinkers” from the pool of candidates.

                Over the next week both groups wore a device on their wrist which tracked their activity levels, providing a constant stream of data on how physically active they were. Results showed the thinking group were far less active than the non-thinkers. But the weekends showed no difference between the two groups, something which has not been able to be explained.

                Researchers suggested the findings could lend weight to the idea that non-thinkers get bored more easily, so need to fill their time with activity. But the downside to being brainer – and lazier – has the negative impact of sedentary lifestyle. An important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness. Awareness of their tendency to be less active, coupled with an awareness of the cost associated with inactivity, more thoughtful people may then choose to become more active throughout the day.