Sleep Quality during Exam Stress: The Role of Alcohol,Caffeine and Nicotine

Academic exam stress is known to compromise sleep quality and alter drug consumption in university students. Here we evaluated if sleeping problems and changes in legal drug consumption during exam stress are interrelated. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to survey sleep quality before, during, and after an academic exam period in 150 university students in a longitudinal questionnaire study. Self-reports of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine consumption were obtained. The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-20) was used as a measure of stress. Sleep quality and alcohol consumption significantly decreased, while perceived stress and caffeine consumption significantly increased during the exam period. No significant change in nicotine consumption was observed. In particular, students shortened their time in bed and showed symptoms of insomnia. Mixed model analysis indicated that sex, age, health status, as well as the amounts of alcohol and caffeine consumed had no significant influence on global sleep quality. The amount of nicotine consumed and perceived stress were identified as significant predictors of diminished sleep quality. Nicotine consumption had a small-to-very-small effect on sleep quality; perceived stress had a small-to-moderate effect. In conclusion, diminished sleep quality during exam periods was mainly predicted by perceived stress, while legal drug consumption played a minor role. Exam periods may pose an interesting model for the study of stress-induced sleeping problems and their mechanisms.     

TK3 eBook software to author, distribute, and use electronic course content for medical education

The methods for authoring and distributing course content are undergoing substantial changes due to advancement in computer technology. Paper has been the traditional method to author and distribute course content. Paper enables students to personalize content through highlighting and note taking but does not enable the incorporation of multimedia elements. Computers enable multimedia content but lack the capability of the user to personalize the content. Therefore, we investigated TK3 eBooks as a potential solution to incorporate the benefits of both paper and computer technology. The objective of our study was to assess the utility of TK3 eBooks in the context of authoring and distributing dermatology course content for use by second-year medical students at the University of Utah School of Medicine during the spring of 2004. We incorporated all dermatology course content into TK3 eBook format. TK3 eBooks enable students to personalize information through tools such as "notebook," "hiliter," "stickies," mark pages, and keyword search. Students were given the course content in both paper and eBook formats. At the conclusion of the dermatology course, students completed a questionnaire designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the eBooks compared with paper. Students perceived eBooks as an effective way to distribute course content and as a study tool. However, students preferred paper over eBooks to take notes during lecture. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that eBooks provide a convenient method for authoring, distributing, and using course content but that students preferred paper to take notes during lecture.     

Thesis,Antithesis and Synthesis in the Development of Modern Biology

A link scheme in biology is described between the University of Edinburgh and local state primary schools. Undergraduates reading biology or medicine are assigned for a year to schools where they help with biology projects. Visits by the students take place about once a week during term-time, and a wide variety of topics is covered. The university also sets aside materials and equipment that can be used as teaching aids when students visit schools. Participation is voluntary for both students and schools. The administration of the scheme and the benefits to all parties concerned are outlined.     

Ambient odor's effect on creativity, mood, and perceived health

In two sessions held 1 week apart, subjects completed a performancetask involving creativity, four personality tests, and questionnairesconcerning their mood, perceived health, and perceptions ofthe testing environment. In one session the testing room wasscented with lemon, lavender or dimethyl sulfide (DMS); in theother session it was unscented. There were 15 women and 15 menin each odor conditon. Fewer health symptoms were reported inthe lemon conditon on scented compared to unscented days. Subjectsin the DMS group were in a less pleasant mood than those inthe lavender group on both scented and unscented days; the orderin which subjects were exposed to DMS played a role in the moodfindings. There were no significant differences in feelingsof arousal or control. The room was rated as smelling less pleasanton scented compared to unscented days by subjects in the DMScondition. Differences in creativity performance were not significant,but relationships emerged between personality traits and theeffect of odor on task performance. These findings are discussedin terms of how associations and expectations concerning odorsmay play a role in odor's effect on humans.     

The effect of caffeine ingestion on mood state and bench press performance to failure

Research has suggested that caffeine enhances aerobic performance. The evidence for high-intensity, short-term exercise, particularly resistance exercise is mixed and has not fully examined the psychological changes that occur after this mode of exercise with caffeine ingestion. This study examined the effect of caffeine (5 mg · kg(-1)) vs. placebo on bench press exercise to failure and the mood state response pre to postexercise. Thirteen moderately trained men (22.7 ± 6.0 years) completed 2 laboratory visits, after determination of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) on the bench press, where they performed bench press repetitions to failure at a load of 60% 1RM. Mood state was assessed 60 minutes pre and immediately post-substance ingestion. Borg's rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and peak blood lactate (PBla) were assessed after each test, and peak heart rate (PHR) was determined using heart rate telemetry. Participants completed significantly more repetitions to failure (p = 0.031) and lifted significantly greater weight (p = 0.027) in the caffeine condition compared to the placebo condition. The PHR (p = 0.0001) and PBla (p = 0.002) were higher after caffeine ingestion. The RPE was not different across conditions (p = 0.082). Mood state scores for vigor were greater (p = 0.001) and fatigue scores lower (p = 0.04) in the presence of caffeine. Fatigue scores were greater postexercise (p = 0.001) compared to scores pre exercise across conditions. Caffeine ingestion enhances performance in short-term, resistance exercise to failure and may favorably change the mood state response to exercise compared to a placebo.     

Dimensions of Affect Modulated by Perceived Mood Regulation Ability

The ability to regulate mood is a facet of emotional intelligence that may contribute to an individual’s physical and mental health. Precisely what is regulated when mood regulation occurs is dependent on what “makes up” mood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether perceived mood regulation ability can predict regulation of affect during task engagement and whether affect regulation is specific to valence or arousal. Measures of positive affect, negative affect, and frontal area sEMG (as a measure of arousal) were obtained from a sample of one hundred twenty-four participants categorized by their self report as possessing low or high mood regulation ability. Modulation of positive affect, but not negative affect, was predicted by perceived mood regulation ability. The results of sEMG were mixed. These data provide some support for the hypothesis that mood regulation ability can predict future efforts to regulate affect, at least in the context of task engagement.     

Short sleep and late bedtimes are detrimental to educational learning and knowledge transfer: An investigation of individual differences in susceptibility

Good sleep hygiene practices, including consistent bedtimes and 7–9 h of sleep/night, are theorized to benefit educational learning. However, individuals differ in how much sleep they need, as well as in their chronotype preference. Therefore, some students may be more vulnerable to the cognitive effects of sleep loss, later bedtimes and nonpreferred times of learning than others. One prominent example is the debate regarding whether sleep loss and later bedtimes affect classroom learning more in female or male students. To inform this gender-and-sleep-loss debate, we developed a virtual college-level lecture to use in a controlled, laboratory setting. During Session 1, 78 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to take the lecture at 12:00 (noon condition) or 19:30 (evening condition). Then participants wore wristband actigraphy for 1 week to monitor average and intraindividual variability in sleep duration, bedtime and midpoint of sleep. During Session 2, participants completed a test at the same time of day as Session 1. The test included basic questions that were similar to trained concepts during the lecture (trained items) as well as integration questions that required application of learned concepts (knowledge-transfer items). Bayesian analyses supported the null hypothesis that time of learning did not affect test performance. Collapsed across time of testing, regression analyses showed that shorter sleep durations and later bedtimes explained 13% of the variance in test performance. Longer sleep durations and earlier bedtimes predicted better test performance primarily in females, younger students and morning-types. Interestingly, students with above-median fluid intelligence scores were resilient to short sleep and late bedtimes. Our findings indicate that both sleep and circadian factors should be addressed to optimize educational learning, particularly in the students who are most susceptible to sleep loss.     

Exploring the caffeine-induced teratogenicity on neurodevelopment using early chick embryo

Caffeine consumption is worldwide. It has been part of our diet for many centuries; indwelled in our foods, drinks, and medicines. It is often perceived as a "legal drug", and though it is known to have detrimental effects on our health, more specifically, disrupt the normal fetal development following excessive maternal intake, much ambiguity still surrounds the precise mechanisms and consequences of caffeine-induced toxicity. Here, we employed early chick embryos as a developmental model to assess the effects of caffeine on the development of the fetal nervous system. We found that administration of caffeine led to defective neural tube closures and expression of several abnormal morphological phenotypes, which included thickening of the cephalic mesenchymal tissues and scattering of somites. Immunocytochemistry of caffeine-treated embryos using neural crest cell markers also demonstrated uncharacteristic features; HNK1 labeled migratory crest cells exhibited an incontinuous dorsal-ventral migration trajectory, though Pax7 positive cells of the caffeine-treated groups were comparatively similar to the control. Furthermore, the number of neurons expressing neurofilament and the degree of neuronal branching were both significantly reduced following caffeine administration. The extent of these effects was dose-dependent. In conclusion, caffeine exposure can result in malformations of the neural tube and induce other teratogenic effects on neurodevelopment, although the exact mechanism of these effects requires further investigation.     

Interplay between Affect and Arousal in Recognition Memory

Background

Emotional states linked to arousal and mood are known to affect the efficiency of cognitive performance. However, the extent to which memory processes may be affected by arousal, mood or their interaction is poorly understood.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Following a study phase of abstract shapes, we altered the emotional state of participants by means of exposure to music that varied in both mood and arousal dimensions, leading to four different emotional states: (i) positive mood-high arousal; (ii) positive mood-low arousal; (iii) negative mood-high arousal; (iv) negative mood-low arousal. Following the emotional induction, participants performed a memory recognition test. Critically, there was an interaction between mood and arousal on recognition performance. Memory was enhanced in the positive mood-high arousal and in the negative mood-low arousal states, relative to the other emotional conditions.

Conclusions/Significance

Neither mood nor arousal alone but their interaction appears most critical to understanding the emotional enhancement of memory.     

Winning, losing, mood, and testosterone.

In two experiments, male college students either won or lost $5 on a task controlled entirely by chance. In both studies, winners reported a more positive mood change than did losers and, in Experiment 2, winners reported a more positive mood change than a neutral group that did not win or lose money. After the task was completed, winners exhibited significantly higher testosterone levels than losers. Levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress and arousal, did not differ among the groups, suggesting that a hormone-behavior response pattern for winning and losing is specific to testosterone. These data suggest that winning can alter testosterone levels in men and that mood may mediate such changes.     

Measuring the Quality of University Lectures: Development and Validation of the Instructional Skills Questionnaire (ISQ)

In higher education, student ratings are often used to evaluate and improve the quality of courses and professors’ instructional skills. Unfortunately, student-rating questionnaires rarely generate specific feedback for professors to improve their instructional skills. The impact of student ratings on professors’ instructional skills has proven to be low. This study concerns the psychometric properties of the Instructional Skills Questionnaire (ISQ), a new theory-based student-rating-of-teaching questionnaire with specific questions concerning lecturing skills. The ISQ is administered after a single lecture. This way, it serves as a formative feedback instrument for university professors during courses to assist them to improve and (re-) evaluate their skills if necessary. The ISQ contains seven dimensions of professors’ instructional skills and three student (self perceived) learning outcomes. In this study, Dutch students in 75 courses rated three 90-minute lectures (T1, T2 and T3) of their respective professors using the ISQ. In total, 14,298 ISQ-forms were used to rate 225 lectures. The teacher level reliabilities of the seven dimensions were found to be good at each measurement occasion. In addition, confirmatory multilevel factor analysis confirmed a seven dimensional factor structure at the teacher level at each measurement occasion. Furthermore, specific teacher level factors significantly predicted students’ (self-assessed) learning outcomes. These results partly supported the proposed theoretical framework on the relationship between the ISQ teaching dimensions and the student learning process, and provided evidence for the construct validity of the instrument. In sum, the ISQ is found to be a reliable and valid instrument, which can be used by professors and faculty development centers to assess and improve university teaching.     

Evaluation of physiology lectures conducted by students: comparison between evaluation by staff and students

As a peer-assisted learning process, minilectures on physiology were conducted by students. During this process, students lecture to their colleagues in the presence of faculty staff members. These lectures were evaluated by faculty staff and students simultaneously. The aim of this study was to compare feedback from faculty members and students on 66 minilectures conducted by students. Their perception of different qualities of lecture was assessed using a questionnaire. There were significant correlations between students and faculty members for many qualities of the lecture, including the speed of the lecture, retaining attention, clear introduction, and the overall quality of the lecture. However, ratings for gesture, eye contact, language usage, illustration usage, audiovisuals, voice usage, and important points stressed were significantly different between students and faculty members. Multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the degree of effect of different aspects of a lecture on its overall quality. Aspects such as gesture, eye contact, and language usage showed very low β-values, suggesting a poor contribution of these factors to the overall quality of the lecture for both students and faculty members. The speed of the lecture, retaining attention, and clear introduction were qualities that faculty members and students rated equally, and these were the main contributors to the overall quality of the lecture. Awareness about the possible discrepancy between ratings given by faculty members and students may be important when interpreting the evaluation results of formal lectures by these two groups.     

Levels and Patterns of Objectively Assessed Physical Activity and Compliance with Different Public Health Guidelines in University Students

Background

Physical activity (PA) is associated with health enhancement. The aim of this study was to assess: 1) levels and patterns of PA in university students by using accelerometers; and 2) the percentage of fulfilment of PA recommendations for adults, according to different public health guidelines.

Methods

Observational cross-sectional study (Cuenca’s Adults Study) involving 296 (206 women) healthy Spanish university students aged 18–25 years old. Participants wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Total PA, steps and time spent in sedentary time, light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was assessed, and the prevalence of sufficient PA was calculated according to various public health guidelines.

Results

No sex differences in total PA were found. University students were more sedentary during weekend days than weekdays (p<0.05). Only 30.3% of participants accumulated 30 min/day at least five days a week of MVPA. A total of 5.4% of students met the recommendation of 150 min/week of MVPA or 75 min/week of vigorous PA, in PA bouts of at least 10 min. using the same definition, but on five or more days a week, only 0.5% students were found to meet the recommendation. In addition, only 0.5% of students met the recommendation of 30 min/day of MVPA, at least five days a week and in bouts of at least 10 min. Finally, 28.1% of the students met the recommendation of 10,000 steps/day.

Conclusions

Our study shows a high incidence of sedentary time in university students. The number of students meeting PA recommendations significantly differed depending on the recommendation proposed. Specific strategies to promote PA in this population are necessary as well as an agreement as to which PA guidelines should be used.     

Metabolism during normal, fragmented, and recovery sleep.

Average metabolic data (O2 uptake and CO2 output) were obtained for each 3-min period during consecutive nights of normal, experimentally fragmented, and recovery sleep in a group of 12 normal young adult males. Naturally occurring arousals and awakenings resulted in a characteristic increase in metabolism on the baseline night. The placement of brief frequent experimental arousals on the following night resulted in significantly increased metabolism throughout the night and significantly decreased sleep restoration as measured by morning performance, mood, and alertness tests, even though total sleep time was minimally reduced. Metabolic variables were significantly decreased compared with baseline on the nondisturbed recovery night that followed the sleep fragmentation night. The data cannot be used to infer that increased metabolism during sleep causes nonrestorative sleep, but the direction and time course of metabolic change accompanying arousal are consistent with that hypothesis.     

Six minutes to promote change: People,not facts,alter students' perceptions on climate change

Anthropogenic climate change threatens the structure and function of ecosystems throughout the globe, but many people are still skeptical of its existence. Traditional “knowledge deficit model” thinking has suggested that providing the public with more facts about climate change will assuage skepticism. However, presenting evidence contrary to prior beliefs can have the opposite effect and result in a strengthening of previously held beliefs, a phenomenon known as biased assimilation or a backfire effect. Given this, strategies for effectively communicating about socioscientific issues that are politically controversial need to be thoroughly investigated. We randomly assigned 184 undergraduates from an environmental science class to one of three experimental conditions in which we exposed them to short videos that employed different messaging strategies: (a) an engaging science lecture, (b) consensus messaging, and (c) elite cues. We measured changes in student perceptions of climate change across five constructs (content knowledge, acceptance of scientific consensus, perceived risk, support for action, and climate identity) before and after viewing videos. Consensus messaging outperformed the other two conditions in increasing student acceptance of the scientific consensus, perceived risk of climate change, and climate identity, suggesting this may be an effective strategy for communicating the gravity of anthropogenic climate change. Elite cues outperformed the engaging science lecture condition in increasing student support for action on climate, with politically conservative students driving this relationship, suggesting that the messenger is more important than the message if changing opinions about the necessity of action on climate change is the desired outcome. Relative to the other conditions, the engaging science lecture did not support change in students'' perceptions on climate, but appealing to student respect for authority produced positive results. Notably, we observed no decline in students'' acceptance of climate science, indicating that none of the conditions induced a backfire effect.     

The effect of active learning on student characteristics in a human physiology course for nonmajors

This study investigated the effect of active-learning strategies on college students' achievement, motivation, and self-efficacy in a human physiology course for nonmajors. Variables were studied via a quasi-experimental, Solomon four-group design on 141 students at a small west-Texas university. Treatment groups were taught using a continuum-based, active-learning model implemented over the course of a semester. Control groups were taught using traditional didactic lecture methods. To assess the effects of the continuum-based active learning strategies, students were administered a comprehensive physiology content exam, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, and attitude surveys. Factorial analyses indicated that the treatment groups acquired significantly more content knowledge and were significantly more self-efficacious than students in the control groups. There were no significant differences in motivation. Attitude surveys indicated that students in both the treatment and control groups demonstrated a positive attitude toward active learning, believed it helped (or would help) them to learn the material, and would choose an active learning course in the future.     

Fatigue and mood correlates of sleep length in three age-social groups: School children, students, and employees

The aim of the study was to trace the consequences of insufficient sleep, in terms of chronic sleep reduction rather than acute sleep deprivation, on fatigue, mood, cognitive performance self-estimations, and daytime sleepiness in different age-social groups. The age group of the subjects reflects their social situation and their working time organization: adolescents (n = 191) obeyed the strict school schedules with starting times often before 08:00 h; university students (n = 115) had more flexible timetables; young employees (n = 126) were engaged in regular morning schedules or irregular daytime hours or day and night shifts. A questionnaire study determined the declared need of sleep, self-reported sleep length, chronic fatigue (using a scale comprised of eight fatigue symptoms and four mood and three cognitive items), and daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale). The declared need for sleep decreased in subsequent age groups from 9 h 23 min in school children to 8 h 22 min in university students and to 7 h 37 min in young employees. Consequently, the discrepancy between preferred and real sleep length (sleep deficit) was the largest in adolescents: 106 min. Females showed a greater need of sleep than males (p = .025) and significantly more fatigue, mood, and cognitive problems; they also exhibited higher level of daytime sleepiness (p < .000). The sleep index (reported sleep length related to requirements) correlated significantly with all health issues in women (p < .000), while only with fatigue symptoms in men (p = .013). Actual sleep length was unrelated to mood and fatigue issues; the declared individual need of sleep and sleep index showed significant associations, especially in the group of adolescents. The most frequent complaints of adolescents included tiredness on awakening (46%), nervousness, and general weakness; university students reported excessive drowsiness (50%), tension, and nervousness; employees suffered mostly from negative moods, such as tension (49%), nervousness, and irritability. The findings of the study indicate that chronic sleep loss seems to affect females more severely than males. The associations of fatigue and mood with sleep need and sleep index were more pronounced in younger subjects. Surprisingly, fatigue symptoms in school children and university students were as frequent as in hard-working adults. Because the problem of insufficient sleep is already present in youngsters, their work time organization needs more attention.     

Caffeine metabolites are associated with different forms of caffeine supplementation and with perceived exertion during endurance exercise

This investigation compared the urine caffeine metabolites produced from different forms of caffeine supplementation given to runners 15 minutes before a series of 5-km running trials. Fourteen amateur competitive runners completed a series of self-paced outdoor time trials following ingestion of placebo or one of three alternate forms of caffeine supplement. Trials were randomized in a crossover design with equivalent doses of caffeine (4.0 mg.kg^-1) administered 15 minutes before each trial via chewing gum, a novel dissolvable mouth strip or tablet. Runners produced a urine sample following each caffeinated trial that was tested for caffeine and its metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography. The tablet form of caffeine produced a lower (p = 0.04) urinary ratio of the metabolite paraxanthine to caffeine compared with either gum or strip. Independently of caffeine delivery mode, subjects who metabolized a higher proportion of caffeine to paraxanthine recorded a lower (p = 0.01) perceived exertion. We demonstrate that oral swallowed caffeine administered 15 minutes before 5-km running is less metabolized compared with caffeinated products designed to be chewed or dissolved in the mouth. We suggest the metabolism of caffeine to paraxanthine has an inverse relationship with perceived exertion independently of caffeine delivery mode.     

The role of temperament in the relationship between morningness–eveningness and mood

Apart from differences in circadian phase position, individuals with different morningness–eveningness levels vary in many more characteristics. Particularly consistent relationships have been observed between morningness–eveningness and mood. Eveningness has been associated with disadvantageous mood, e.g. depressiveness in healthy individuals, and mood disorders. A concept of social jetlag suggests that evening subjects function in less advantageous environments due to discrepancies between internal and social time (societies promote morning-oriented functioning), which results in their lowered mood. Individual temperament, as defined by the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT), refers to the capacity of the human organism to meet environmental requirements – the greater the capacity, the less negative impact of external conditions. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine which RTT traits are linked to both morningness–eveningness and mood dimensions and to test whether they account for the relationship between morningness–eveningness and mood. A sample of 386 university students (267 female) aged between 19 and 47 (M?=?21.15, SD?=?4.23) years completed the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Check List, Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire and Formal Characteristics of Behaviour – Temperament Inventory. Analyses revealed lower endurance (EN) and higher emotional reactivity (ER) related to eveningness as well as to lower hedonic tone (HT), energetic arousal (EA) and to higher tense arousal (TA). Moreover, eveningness was associated with lower HT, EA and higher TA. Among RTT traits, EN was most strongly related to eveningness, and mediation analyses revealed that this temperamental trait fully mediated the relationship between eveningness and the three mood dimensions. The remaining RTT traits did not provide more explanation of the association between morningness–eveningness and mood than EN itself. If subjects did not differ in EN, the association between morningness–eveningness and mood was absent. EN is discussed as a protective factor against negative consequences of social jetlag and particularly lowered mood in evening individuals.     

Association between moringness-eveningness preference and mental/physical premenstrual symptoms in Japanese females 12 to 31 years of age

This study investigates the relationship between circadian typology, i.e., morningness-eveningness (M-E) preference, and the occurrence and severity of premenstrual mental and physical symptoms among 154 young Japanese female university students (range, 18 to 31 yrs; mean±S.D., 20.69±3.69 yrs) and 417 junior high school students (range, 12 to 15 yrs; mean±S.D., 14.29±0.67 yrs) living in an urban or suburban area of Kochi prefecture. Female university students experienced melancholy mood more frequently than did males, and the female university students who frequently became melancholy were more evening-typed than those who did not experience melancholy. Female university students who experienced frequent fluctuations in mood and/or menstrual pain were more evening-typed than those who were not so affected. M-E preference of junior high school students was not correlated with stability of mood or frequency of menstrual pain. In urban areas, however junior high school students who had very stable menstrual cycles were significantly more morning-typed than those whose menstrual cycles were not stable. In suburban areas, the bedtimes of female junior high students who had stable menstrual cycles were significantly earlier than those whose menstrual cycle duration was not stable. A physiological relationship between the circadian system, M-E, and attributes of the menstrual cycle seems to be present in adolescent female Japanese junior high school students.