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Light and the body clock: the key to a good night’s sleep?

The cycle of sleep and wakefulness is one of the key human behaviours. We spend about a third of our lives asleep and cannot survive without it. When asleep, our brain memorises and processes information. Our body clears toxins and repairs itself, allowing us to function properly when awake. Even short-term sleep deprivation significantly affects our wellbeing. One study suggested that after 17-19 hours of staying awake, performance on cognitive tasks may be similar to having had too much to drink.

These effects worsen over time. But while scientists have long understood the importance of getting enough sleep, the key part played by light exposure can sometimes be overlooked. The reason light is so important is that it sets our body clock via specialised light sensors within the eye. Our eye detects the light and dark cycle within our environment and adjusts the body’s rhythm so that the internal and external day coincide. This is so powerful that people who have very severe eye damage can find their body clock is thrown off, leading to sleep problems.

Today, many of us miss out on these environmental cues as we work inside. We have become a light deprived species, and this has far reaching consequences for the quality of our sleep, and consequently our wellbeing.

Further research and greater awareness in this area could help individuals to make informed choices about prioritising their own sleep and getting enough sunlight. It could also influence the way that policies are developed by governments, educational institutions and workplaces. Minimising light exposure before you go to bed, and trying to get as much morning light as possible, are simple steps that could help most people to regulate and improve their sleep.

(Russell Foster. www.bbc.com, 19.05.2019. Adaptado.)

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Notre Dame

People have donated over one billion dollars to help rebuild the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The 850- year-old cathedral was badly damaged in a fire on Monday. The UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the most important cultural buildings in France. Wealthy people from all over France and around the world have given hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore the cathedral to its former glory. French president Emmanuel Macron told the nation in a televised address that he would make sure the reconstruction would be finished within five years. This would be in time for the opening of the Paris Olympics in 2024. However, architects say it could take decades to rebuild the world famous landmark.

Some of the donors that are handing over cash are French billionaires. They include the owners of the luxury brand Louis Vuitton and the cosmetics company L’Oréal. The French oil company Total is also pledging 100 million euros. Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted that his company would donate an unspecified amount. However, many people are asking whether the money would be better spent on helping the world’s poor.

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Hero for All: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., never backed down in his stand against racism. Learn more about the life of this courageous hero who inspired millions of people to right a historical wrong

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929. At the time in that part of the country, segregation—or the separation of races in places like schools, buses, and restaurants—was the law. He experienced racial prejudice from the time he was very young, which inspired him to dedicate his life to achieving equality and justice for Americans of all colors. King believed that peaceful refusal to obey unjust law was the best way to bring about social change.

King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, lead demonstrators on the fourth day of a historic fiveday march in 1965. Starting in Selma, Alabama, where local African Americans had been campaigning for the right to vote, King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators 54 miles to the state capitol of Montgomery.

King was arrested several times during his lifetime. In 1960, he joined black college students in a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy interceded to have King released from jail, an action that is credited with helping Kennedy win the presidency.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is from the United States, he is American.

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Light and the body clock: the key to a good night’s sleep?

The cycle of sleep and wakefulness is one of the key human behaviours. We spend about a third of our lives asleep and cannot survive without it. When asleep, our brain memorises and processes information. Our body clears toxins and repairs itself, allowing us to function properly when awake. Even short-term sleep deprivation significantly affects our wellbeing. One study suggested that after 17-19 hours of staying awake, performance on cognitive tasks may be similar to having had too much to drink.

These effects worsen over time. But while scientists have long understood the importance of getting enough sleep, the key part played by light exposure can sometimes be overlooked. The reason light is so important is that it sets our body clock via specialised light sensors within the eye. Our eye detects the light and dark cycle within our environment and adjusts the body’s rhythm so that the internal and external day coincide. This is so powerful that people who have very severe eye damage can find their body clock is thrown off, leading to sleep problems.

Today, many of us miss out on these environmental cues as we work inside. We have become a light deprived species, and this has far reaching consequences for the quality of our sleep, and consequently our wellbeing.

Further research and greater awareness in this area could help individuals to make informed choices about prioritising their own sleep and getting enough sunlight. It could also influence the way that policies are developed by governments, educational institutions and workplaces. Minimising light exposure before you go to bed, and trying to get as much morning light as possible, are simple steps that could help most people to regulate and improve their sleep.

(Russell Foster. www.bbc.com, 19.05.2019. Adaptado.)

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1,000 Days Help Shape a Lifetime

The time from conception to age two is the most critical period of development in the life of any individual.

During these 1,000 days, the foundation is laid in a child’s brain for processing information, learning language, developing and enhancing motor skills and other functions that are critically important later in life.

If children and their mothers do not get proper nutrition in those critical 1,000 days, we have missed our opportunity to help ensure those children reach their full potential. Unfortunately this happens all too often.

Stunting the World’s Potential

Stunting is what happens to a child’s brain and body when they don’t get the right kind of food or nutrients, particularly in the 1000 days between conception and their second birthday. Stunted children have a low height for age but it goes beyond just physical height – organs may not fully develop and cognitive development may suffer

The damage can be irreversible. That child may never learn, nor earn, as much as they could have if properly nourished in early life.

162 million children in the world are stunted with life-long consequences including weakened immune systems, and a risk of not reaching their full potential.

“Stunted” is really just code for lost potential – lost to the person, lost to their families and communities, and lost to the world.

The fight against poverty can never be won while entire generations are stunted, and with their development potential limited because they don’t have access to good nutrition, as well as prevention and treatment to common childhood illnesses.

Nutrition International’s belief that simply surviving is not enough drives our work in Child Health, Growth and Development. We want to increase the number of children, particularly those under the age of two, who thrive by making sure they get the essential vitamins and minerals they need to promote their optimal health, growth and development.

Our work in this area includes Infant and Young Child Nutrition and iron supplementation for children.

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Coronavirus: What is 'flattening the curve’?

In epidemiology, the idea of slowing a virus' spread is known as "flattening the curve." Many countries are implementing "social distancing" guidelines to flatten the curve.

The "curve" researchers are talking about refers to the projected number of people who will contract Covid-19 over a period of time. Here's what one looks like:

The curve takes on different shapes, depending on the virus's infection rate. It could be a steep curve, in which the virus spreads exponentially, and the total number of cases skyrockets to its peak within a few weeks. Infection curves with a steep rise also have a steep fall; after the virus infects everyone who can be infected, case numbers begin to drop exponentially, too.

The faster the infection curve rises, the quicker the local health care system gets overloaded beyond its capacity to treat people. More and more new patients may be forced to go without Intensive Care Unit beds, and more and more hospitals may run out of the basic supplies they need to respond to the outbreak.

A flatter curve, on the other hand, assumes the same number of people ultimately get infected, but over a longer period of time. A slower infection rate means a less stressed health care system, fewer hospital visits and fewer sick people.