Are our smartphones afflicting us all with symptoms of ADHD?
Phones at dinner via shutterstock.com
Kostadin Kushlev, University of Virginia
When was the last time you opened your laptop midconversation or brought your desktop computer to the dinner table? Ridiculous, right? But if you are like a large number of Americans, you have done both with your smartphone.
Less than a decade after the introduction of the first iPhone, more people reach for their smartphones first thing in the morning than reach for coffee, a toothbrush or even the partner lying next to them in bed. During the day, with a smartphone in our pocket, we can check our email while spending time with our children just as easily as we can text a friend while at work. And regardless of what we are doing, many of us are bombarded by notifications of new messages, social media posts, breaking news, app updates and more.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that this pervasiveness of smartphones is making us increasingly distracted and hyperactive. These presumed symptoms of constant digital stimulation also happen to characterize a well-known neurodevelopmental disorder: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Could the pinging and dinging of our smartphones be afflicting even those of us not suffering from ADHD with some of that condition’s symptoms? As a behavioral scientist, I set out to test this idea in a well-controlled experiment.
Studying digital interruption
My colleagues and I recruited 221 millennials – students at the University of British Columbia – to participate in a two-week study. Importantly, these participants were recruited from the university’s general participant pool, rather than from a population of students diagnosed with ADHD.
During the first week, we asked half the participants to minimize phone interruptions by activating the “do-not-disturb” settings and keeping their phones out of sight and far from reach. We instructed the other half to keep their phone alerts on and their phones nearby whenever possible.
In the second week, we reversed the instructions: Participants who had used their phones’ “do-not-disturb” settings switched on phone alerts, and vice versa. The order in which we gave the instructions to each participant was randomly determined by a flip of a coin. This study design ensured that everything was kept constant, except for how frequently people were interrupted by their phones. We confirmed that people felt more interrupted by their phones when they had their phone alerts on, as opposed to having them off.
Measuring inattentiveness and hyperactivity
We measured inattentiveness and hyperactivity by asking participants to identify how frequently they had experienced 18 symptoms of ADHD over each of the two weeks. These items were based on the criteria for diagnosing ADHD in adults as specified by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V).
The inattentiveness questions covered a wide range of potential problems, such as making careless mistakes, forgetting to pay a bill and having difficulty sustaining attention or listening to others. The hyperactivity questions were similarly broad, assessing things like fidgeting, feeling restless, excessive talking and interrupting others.
The results were clear: more frequent phone interruptions made people less attentive and more hyperactive.
Because ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with complex neurological and developmental causes, these findings in no way suggest that smartphones can cause ADHD. And our research certainly does not show that reducing phone interruptions can treat ADHD. But our findings do have implications for all of us who feel interrupted by our phones.
Smartphone ubiquity poses risks
These findings should concern us. Smartphones are the fastest-selling electronic gadget in history – in the 22 seconds it took to type this sentence, 1,000 smartphones were shipped to their new owners. Even if one of those 1,000 users became more likely to make a careless mistake, ignore a friend in the middle of a conversation or space out during a meeting, smartphones could be harming the productivity, relationships and well-being of millions.
As with all disorders, symptoms of ADHD form a continuum from the normal to the pathological. Our findings suggest that our incessant digital stimulation is contributing to an increasingly problematic deficit of attention in modern society. So consider silencing your phone – even when you are not in the movie theater. Your brain will thank you.
Kostadin Kushlev, Research Associate in Psychology, University of Virginia
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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How to avoid food-borne illness – a nutritionist explains
After the meal, putting food away quickly is key to keeping it free from pathogens.
Getty Images / Thomas Barwick
Ruth S. MacDonald, Iowa State University
Summer means cookouts, picnics and backyard barbecues. But a generous spread of food eaten outside raises some serious health questions. Nobody wants food poisoning – or to make their guests sick. But how do you know when you’ve kept the potato salad or fruit medley out too long?
As a professor and chair of the Food Science and Human Nutrition program at Iowa State University, I’ll answer those questions by starting with the basics of food safety.
Two general classes of food-related microorganisms exist. Pathogenic organisms make you sick. Other types of organisms make food look, smell and taste bad – in other words, they make food spoil.
It’s usually pretty easy to tell if spoilage microorganisms have invaded your food. Molds and fuzzy growth appear on solid foods. Liquids look cloudy or clumpy and often smell bad. Eating spoiled foods is never a good idea, and you’re smart to err on the side of caution. When in doubt, throw it out.
Don’t use the same cutting board for meat and vegetables.
Getty Images / Enrique Díaz / 7cero
Cutting boards and kitchen thermometers
Pathogenic microorganisms in foods are much more stealthy. These microorganisms are the ones that cause cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and chills – symptoms that people associate with the “stomach flu.” Viruses also cause food-borne illness. Typically, detecting pathogens in foods by smell or sight isn’t possible. So proper handling and storage, and knowing when to toss leftovers, is critical.
The first rule of food safety is to keep preparation areas clean. Developing a routine helps. Always wash your hands before handling food. Make sure you thaw meats in the refrigerator, not on the countertop. Otherwise, as the frozen meat sits at room temperature, its outer surfaces warm faster than the interior. This allows pathogens to multiply.
Don’t use the same cutting board for meat, fruits and vegetables. In my kitchen, a red cutting board is for meat; the green one for fruits and vegetables. Use different knives, plates and utensils for the raw meats, and always put cooked meats on a clean plate.
Never rinse off raw meat or chicken in the sink, because that practice spreads bacteria on kitchen surfaces. Actually, there’s no need to rinse meat and chicken before cooking. But, if you insist, sanitize the sink with an antibacterial cleaning after moving the food away. That’s “after” – be sure not to contaminate any foods with the cleaner.
Any pathogens will be destroyed by fully cooking the meat to the recommended temperatures. Invest in a good kitchen thermometer. Although recommendations can vary slightly, you basically want an internal temperature of 160 F (71 C) for beef and pork, 165 F (74 C) for poultry, and 145 F (63 C) for fish and ham. Once food is cooked, keep hot foods at 140 F (60 C) or higher. When transporting or serving foods over a period of time, keep cold foods on ice or in a cooler, especially during the hot summer months.
Don’t let leftovers stay in the refrigerator too long.
Getty Images / Jupiterimages
Dealing with leftovers
After the meal is over, don’t let the leftovers linger. Move them into the refrigerator quickly.
As a newlywed, I spent Thanksgiving at my in-laws’ home in northern Minnesota. After dinner, they took all the serving dishes – turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes – and put them on the screened porch for storage. It was probably less than 20 F (-6 C) degrees outside – but still, that’s not a great idea because weather changes quickly and temperatures will fluctuate, leading to risk of pathogen growth.
My husband also believed foods should cool down on the counter before putting them in the fridge; he said it reduced stress on the refrigerator. This is not necessary and increases the risk for food pathogens. Modern refrigerators are fully capable of cooling warm foods quickly while maintaining their internal temperatures, so don’t hesitate to put away those leftovers as soon as possible.
Now, with the fridge full of leftovers, how long are they good to eat? Most cooked foods are safe to consume within three to four days. After that, contamination risk increases. If you have more leftovers than you can eat in that time frame, put them in the freezer. Be sure to cook leftovers to 165 F (74 C) before eating.
Baked goods like breads, cakes, pies and cookies made in your kitchen will have a shorter shelf life than store-purchased items because yours are without preservatives. They will become stale, lose their texture sooner and grow mold. Once you see that, toss the whole thing out rather than try to cut away the contaminated spots. While it’s unlikely to cause severe illness, some bread molds produce toxins that might cause problems, particularly for children or the elderly.
Foods with higher moisture content spoil faster because water gives bacteria a chance to grow. So carrot cakes or zucchini bread spoil within about five days. Refrigerate these items, and you’ll increase their shelf life. Pies should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within three to four days. Cookies are typically low in moisture, except those containing fruit, jam or icing. Keep these types of cookies in the refrigerator and discard if they start to grow mold.
As you get ready for your summer get-togethers, keep in mind that reducing food waste is good for both the environment and your budget, so consider portion sizes and the quantity you’re making to better manage leftovers. And remember that proper handling as you prepare and then store your meals will make sure you and your family enjoy your cookouts, parties and reunions without a food-related illness.
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Ruth S. MacDonald, Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Are our smartphones afflicting us all with symptoms of ADHD?
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