24 February, 2014

Students' Health Habits Tied to School Success

Eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and being physically fit are important for students' success in school, a new study suggests.

When students' home and school environments support their physical health and well-being, they perform better academically, the researchers found, so programs in and out of the classroom to promote healthy behavior may be a smart investment.

The study looked at survey results and district test scores of 940 fifth- and sixth-grade students attending 12 randomly selected schools in New Haven, Conn., a poor and ethnically diverse city.

Researchers also assessed the students' physical fitness three to six months before they were tested and again after the scores of the standardized tests were released.

Students with environments that supported their physical health were more likely to reach their target scores in reading, writing and math. They were more than twice as likely to achieve this academic success than students whose environments supported their health the least, the investigators found. However, the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study, published online recently in the Journal of School Health, revealed health factors that were linked to improved test scores in the children, including the following:

·         Not having a television in the bedroom

·         Maintaining a healthy weight

·         Being physically fit

·         Having access to healthy foods

·         Rarely eating fast food

·         Not drinking sugary drinks, such as soda

·         Getting enough sleep

"Many urban families sadly face the harsh challenges of persistent poverty," study lead author Jeannette Ickovics, a professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale University, said in a Yale news release.

"Health and social disparities, including academic achievement, are increasing," said Ickovics, also director of the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, a research program at the Yale School of Public Health.

"One way to reduce disparities and close the equity gaps in health and education is to coordinate community and family-based efforts with comprehensive school-based approaches," she concluded in the news release.

Source: www.news.yahoo.com

24.02.2014

Frequent School Moves May Harm Kids' Mental Health

Preteens who changed schools frequently when they were children are at increased risk of developing psychotic symptoms, a new study suggests.

Having such symptoms at a young age is associated with a greater likelihood of mental health problems and suicide in adulthood, according to the researchers at Warwick Medical School in Coventry, England.

They analyzed data on nearly 6,500 families from a long-term study of children in southwest England. At age 12, the participants were asked if they had experienced psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions in the past six months.

Those who had changed schools three times or more when they were younger had a 60 percent increased risk of having at least one psychotic symptom, according to the study published online recently in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

"Changing schools can be very stressful for students," study leader Swaran Singh said in a Warwick news release. "Our study found that the process of moving schools may itself increase the risk of psychotic symptoms -- independent of other factors. But additionally, being involved in bullying, sometimes as a consequence of repeated school moves, may exacerbate risk for the individual."

Changing schools often may cause youngsters to develop low self-esteem and a "sense of social defeat," the researchers noted. They also said that feelings of isolation can lead to brain changes that increase the risk of psychotic symptoms in vulnerable youngsters.

"It's clear that we need to keep school mobility in mind when clinically assessing young people with psychotic disorders," study co-author Dr. Cath Winsper, a senior research fellow at the medical school, said in the news release. "It should be explored as a matter of course as the impact can be both serious and potentially long-lasting. Schools should develop strategies to help these students to establish themselves in their new environment."

Although the study found a connection between frequent school changes and an increased risk of psychosis symptoms in preteens, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Source: www.news.yahoo.com

24.02.2014

A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because bird’s trust is not on the branch but on its wings