Study to explore if more sleep will help teens shake off depression

This study is being conducted by the University of California - Berkeley. Researchers recruited teenagers’ age 13-19 that were diagnosed with depression or at risk for depression. They were researching whether getting more sleep at night would alleviate depression symptoms. Symptoms evaluated were insomnia, anxiety, and performance in school. On average teenagers get seven hours of sleep a night which is less than needed for the average teenager. Due to advance technology teenagers are able to distract themselves on the computer, game consoles, television, and etcetera for hours which interferes with their sleep. To conduct this study 60 teenagers will report about their sleep habits and attend cognitive behavior therapy a dozen times a week. The researchers hope to see that increased and plentiful sleep along with treatment for depression will improve symptoms and performance in school work.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/11/04_teen_insomnia.shtml

BYU professor studies "the smell of virtue"

I picked this article for it's title because it seemed a little bizarre. The study occured with 24 students who were given $12 each to share between themselves. The control group, who had an unscented room, versus the experimental group, room sprayed with lemon Windex, were less likely to donate money (2.81) than the other group (5.33). The main purpose of the study was to see if smells and morality had a connecition. All of the researchers findings concluded that those in the scented room were more genorous and more willing to volunteer. I find this study particularly interesting because it's not a research topic you would typically see. These results may also be realted that people with cleaner room tend to be more happy than people with messy, unorganized rooms.

Childhood cancer survivors less likely to marry

CNN Health published this article about children that survive cancer are less likely to get married. 21% are less likely to get married compared to their sibling and 25% to the U.S. population. The younger the children were when they were battling cancer the less likely they are to get married. Most cancer survivors are left with emotional, physical and psychological affects. I never realized these patients had these types of long term affects. When my boyfriend was eleven he was diagnosed with lung cancer and fought the disease for two years. Today he still battles with anxiety and depression being that missing school for so long caused him so much stress. The article also said how most children after their treatment receive no follow up care which contributes to all of these side affects which my boyfriend never had. If the survivors did receive care the percentage of unmarried cancer survivors could decrease.