Are you addicted to your smart device?

I can’t concentrate on work because I’m on my smartphone.
I’d rather be on my smartphone than do other things that I’m supposed to.
I feel anxious when I don’t have my smartphone with me.
I can’t imagine not having a smartphone (even for a day).
I have repetitive strain injury because of overuse of my smartphone.
I often use my smartphone for much longer periods than I had planned to.

…are the kind of things that someone with a smartphone addiction might admit to. So say the experts. And also the kind of questions which Korean teenagers were asked in a 2013 PLOS One study about smartphone addiction.

It’s not clear whether we’re a nation addicted to smartphones. Candy crush, maybe… TV drama and youtube videos which we can watch anywhere anytime now thanks to our mega data plans and wifi hotspots, yes… Preoccupied with trying to create social envy on facebook, ok maybe.

Clearly some people think so. That’s why a bunch of Republic Poly students have come up with their own app to increase face time (thus avoiding the situation where everyone at the dinner table is busy on their own and not in a conversation).

But smartphone addictions aren’t a new type of addiction. In fact, “technology addictions actually share the same underlying mechanisms as other addictions” (Asia’s smartphone addiction — BBC, 7 Sept 2015).

But if you are trying to kick the habit, you can use technology to solve your problem! Consider installing two desktop applications — Self-control and Freedom. They block your ability to surf the net for the number of hours which you’ve set aside for work. Manage your smartphone addiction with Focus Lock and Pause — two apps which lock specific apps for a customized amount of time. You can also install an app— Anti-Social — to prevent you from checking Facebook while you work. Even better, you can install Offtime which is an Android app which allows calls get through and essential apps to function while you get on with the important stuff.

And no, Facebook and Instagram aren’t essential apps.

And don’t forget to take that phone off the dinner table!

 

6 Easy Ways to Prevent Cognitive Decline

According to a recent study, 1 in 10 people above the age of 60 years in Singapore has dementia, which is a “syndrome in which there is deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities” (WHO).

If someone were to ask you how you can prevent dementia, you might be tempted to say that an active brain is the answer. Challenging your brain to do something difficult like learn a new language, dance, sport, or musical instrument does delay the symptoms of dementia by several years, but it may not lower your risk of dementia. A 2015 study found that those who had cognitively demanding jobs were less likely to show signs of dementia at the age of 75 years and above, and another recent study found that bilinguals were less likely to show signs of dementia compared to monolinguals, while earlier studies have already shown that learning to master something that you’re not already expert at, such as mahjong or tai chi, improves your cognitive skills if you have mild dementia.

So what causes dementia?

That’s not an easy question to answer. But research in the last decade has identified what makes it more likely for us to develop dementia.

Having diabetes increases our risk. A 12-year-long 2015 study conducted in Taiwan has found that individuals with diabetes have a higher risk of dementia, and that risk increases further with diabetes complications such as blindness and kidney failure.

But it’s not just diabetes. In fact, research shows that the factors which put us at risk for cardiovascular disease leading to heart attacks and strokes — alcohol consumption, smoking, and obesity — are also risk factors for dementia. Research shows that as many as 50% of people have dementia because of known risk factors such as physical inactivity, depression, smoking, mid-life hypertension, mid-life obesity, and diabetes.

So what lowers our risk?

The answer is exercise. One study estimates that physical inactivity is the reason for over 20% of the population to have dementia in US, UK, and Europe, while a 2013 study found that the risk of dementia at age 85 to 94 was 60% lower for men who maintained 4 out of 5 healthy lifestyle habits (regular exercise, not smoking, a low body weight, a healthy diet, and low alcohol intake) than those without these habits (with exercise being the main cause for lowering the risk of dementia).

But what if we’re already doing all those things. We exercise the recommended number of hours a week, if not more, and we don’t smoke…our BMI is within the healthy range and our lifelong goal is pursuing a wonderful diet of fruits and vegetables.

What else can we do to prevent cognitive decline? Here are few things we can do…

1. Spend less time sitting down because a 2015 study found that the more we sat down, the higher our chance of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes (…and dementia).

2. Get a creative hobby because a recent study which followed older adults for 4 years found that those active in arts and craft were less likely to experience cognitive decline.

3. Spice up your food because a recent study found that a once-a-week intake of chilli lowered the rate of cancers, respiratory diseases, and ischemic heart disease. The authors didn’t report its effects on dementia though. Instead, spice in the form of tumeric (curcumin) has been found to be useful for repairing brain cells affected by dementia.

4. Eat leafy green vegetables because a 2015 study found that cognitive decline was slower among those who regularly ate spinach, kale, collards, and mustard greens. And go easy on the meat and cheese (Why? Read this article on the Blue Zones to learn more).

5. Increase your intake of walnuts because a new study suggests that they delay the progression of Alzheimers.

6. Incorporate eggs, bananas, dark chocolate, avocado, blueberries, and omega-3-rich foods into your diet because a collection of studies show that omega-3 fatty acids, choline, magnesium, and cocoa flavanols are among the nutrients which support brain functioning.

There are 6 easy steps to support brain functioning and delay cognitive decline, but preventing dementia requires regular exercise, a diet of vegetables, fruits, and no tobacco, good control of blood sugars, and good mental well-being. No one said it’d be easy…

Lessons for teachers

Lessons about how to motivate our students to learn are lessons for all of us. Not just for teachers. These are lessons which apply to supervisors and managers who coach their team and staff. They apply to mentors, team leaders, and workshop trainers. And they apply to parents coaching their kids to be the best they can be. Basically, everyone.

So, what’s the recipe for success?

1. Stop saying the word “fail”
Telling students that they’re going to fail in their exams isn’t the best way to motivate students. It just makes it more likely for them to do so. A 2014 study has data to support this idea. In this study, students who were frequently reminded about failure by their teachers were not only less motivated to study, they scored worse in exams than students whose teachers did not use fear messages with their students. So parents, don’t threaten your kids about failing the exam. Instead, set realistic and specific goals for them. And reward and affirm their achievements to build self-confidence in them.

2. Have high expectations
That teachers’ prejudices have a profound effect on students and their performance is not new. It’s a robust effect. Known as the Pygmalion effect in a study by Rosenthal and Jacobsen in 1968, the study showed that when teachers place high expectations on students, students are likely to perform to those expectations. But a new study also finds that teachers’ opinions about their students’ abilities (or perception of their lack of abilities) adversely affects the exam performance of these students years later. Teachers’ biases matter. Be careful what you wish for.

3. Encourage active participation
A 2014 study showed that students’ test performance improved with teaching methods which encouraged active learning. Pre-class assignments and small group discussions helped students retain information about key concepts about calculus. But it’s not just for calculus, physics or engineering. Here are some ideas and resources for incorporating active learning into the classroom. Like this lesson plan for learning about nutrients and this one on chemistry.

4. Explain in your own words and do it again soon
We’re most likely to remember something we’ve learnt if we get the opportunity to remember it on more than one occasion, and if we receive feedback about our mistakes earlier. These methods yield better exam performance, according to a recent study on undergraduate students. And we remember it better if we generate explanations in our own words. A 2014 study shows that this works with kids too. Here’s a summary of the best practices for learning.

5. Less distractions are better
A 2014 study showed that young children performed better on test questions and were better at attending to the lesson when their classroom was more sparsely decorated. But this applies to us adults, not just children. Think about the last time you were at a workshop, lecture, or seminar: How much information were you absorbing while you were replying Whatsapp, checking Facebook, and flicking through Instagram? It may surprise you but we’re much more effective at retaining information when we had to take notes by hand (for a recap why, read our earlier post).

6. Natural lighting boosts learning
A 2015 study on classrooms in UK found that learning was influenced by factors such as natural light, temperature, air quality, and the colour of classrooms. And in comparison, the layout of the school such as play areas did not contribute to children’s learning as much as the layout of the classroom. So sunlight doesn’t just help to regulate our sleep routines and help with the production of vitamin D. It’s for learning too!

Happy Teachers’ Day!