UF Health Podcasts

When your child is upset and on the verge of making a scene in the cereal aisle, it can be easy to fill their hands with a smartphone or tablet so you can keep filling your cart.

A new study, however, says this quick fix may hinder your child’s emotional development.

Canadian and Hungarian researchers followed 265 Canadian families with preschool-aged children for a year, looking at three aspects of self-regulation, a skill children develop in early childhood.

The researchers looked at anger management, or how a child handles feelings of anger and frustration; effortful control, the ability to focus and regulate behavior; and impulsivity, which is how quickly they act without thinking.

The families completed a questionnaire that assessed their media use, child behavior, and parenting stress at the start of the study and again a year later.

The results showed that greater use of devices as digital pacifiers had a negative effect on children’s self-regulation skills and prevented them from dealing with emotions on their own.

Parents who frequently used digital devices as a calming tool reported having children who struggled to manage their anger and exhibited less ability to focus and self-regulate.

Children with poor anger-management skills at the start of the study were more likely to have parents who were reliant on digital devices a year later, suggesting a cycle that further harms children’s long-term development.

In short: the next time your toddler throws a tantrum, think twice about handing them a device, unless you want to deal with an extra moody teen down the road. The grocery store will still be there tomorrow.

Aside from the debt, getting a new car is loads of fun. Learning all its features. Feeling fancy when you drive it. And of course, delighting in that new-car aroma.

Its time-limited bouquet hits every time you buckle up, fooling you into thinking you absolutely will go years never sullying your ride with so much as a single wayward French fry.

New research may take away your zest for that new-car essence, however.

A study by researchers at Harvard and in Beijing finds that the volatile organic compounds, or VOCs [V-O-Cs], that create the new-car smell may pose significant health risks.

The scientists analyzed VOC emissions in a new car during summer. VOCs are gases emitted from products or processes. In cars, they come from materials like plastics, leather, and synthetic fibers.

Some are harmless, but others can cause health issues like headaches or irritated eyes, or more serious damage, like lung disease.

The study found that formaldehyde, which can cause cancer with repeated exposure, was the most prevalent VOC in the new car’s cabin. More than one-third of the readings exceeded China’s air-quality standards for car interiors.

Part of the problem lies not with the air, but with the temperature of the car’s interior surfaces. That’s why the new-car smell can be extra potent on a hot day.

Americans spend an average of 5.5% of our lives in our vehicles. So it’s helpful to understand the air-quality dangers lurking in this classic fragrance. The hope is that automakers can one day give us the aroma minus the toxins.

The new-car smell, after all, helps us forget a malodorous byproduct of the dealership experience: the new-car loan.

Grandpa isn’t the only one who can benefit from eating prunes. A new study found that eating prunes improved bone health and lowered the risk of bone disease in postmenopausal women.

Researchers from U.S. universities found that those who routinely ate prunes maintained better bone density and strength than those who didn’t.

The scientists separated 235 postmenopausal women into three groups and followed them for one year. One group ate four to six prunes daily, another group ate 10 to 12 prunes daily, and the last group ate no prunes.

The study focused on postmenopausal women because they are at a higher risk for osteoporosis, a bone loss condition.

Bone density, bone strength, and bone geometry — which is the measurement of a bone’s dimensions, used to predict fracture risk — were assessed twice during the study.

The findings showed that long-term consumption of prunes protected the women against age-related declines in shin bone geometry and strength.

After a year, those who ate at least four to six prunes per day had maintained bone density, strength, and structure. That was especially true in cortical bone [kor-ti-kuhl], which forms the outer layer of long bones like the shin and makes up 80% of the skeleton.

Those who did not eat prunes saw a reduction in bone mass density and strength in the shin bone.

The researchers said prunes might be used as a treatment strategy to preserve bone strength and lower fracture risk. They recommended eating four to six a day to avoid prune burnout.

In a nutshell: Adding prunes to your daily menu can help your bones stay strong, so don’t write them off as just a nursing home snack.

Imagine yourself old.  If you’re already old, just think of yourself as you are now.

But instead of how you feel or expect you would feel, envision older adulthood as a time your joints aren’t complaining. You need no walker because you’re not frail, so you haven’t broken any bones. Your eyesight and hearing? Imperfect, but not terrible.

How would that kind of old age grab you? Not so bad, eh?

A team of London researchers has made a finding they say signals that medicine in the future might keep us healthier as we age.

They recently published a study in which they “switched off” a protein called IL-11 [I-L 11] in mice, extending their healthy lifespan by nearly 25%.

They then treated 75-week-old mice — that’s roughly 55 in human years — by injecting an antibody to thwart IL-11’s effects.

The treatment largely freed the mice from dying of cancer and reduced the many diseases caused by fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and poor metabolism, all sure signs of aging. There were scant side effects.

After about age 55, humans produce more of the IL-11 protein. It’s been linked to muscle wasting, cardiac fibrosis, and frailty, among other things.

In the new study, the mice were given the anti-IL-11 drug from 75 weeks until their death. Males’ lives were extended by 22.4% and female lives by 25%. The mice lived an average 155 weeks, instead of 120.

Research is needed to gauge safety and effectiveness of the anti-IL-11 drugs for humans, of course.

But perhaps as our lifespans grow, more of us will live the adage that it’s not how old you are, it’s how you are, old.

Your schedule of bowel movements can provide valuable insight into your health. Of course, when we talk schedule, it must be emphasized that no appointment is necessary for this activity.

It turns out that the frequency of those movements might say something about your well-being.

University of Washington scientists say in a new study that the frequency of these daily calls of nature impacts long-term health. Researchers say good health is associated with one to two poops a day.

Visiting the restroom too infrequently, maybe a few times a week for those with constipation, or going too often might pose physiological risks.

Indeed, researchers say one of their goals is to educate clinicians about the potential risks of not paying attention to bowel movement frequency. Many view irregularity as a mere nuisance.

The study collected data from 1,400 volunteers who reported their bathroom schedule and provided blood, genetic, and gut microbiome samples.

Being on either side of what we shall call the movement spectrum has deleterious effects. Constipation can lead the body to produce toxins that could weaken the kidneys. Longer-term diarrhea, on the other hand, threatens liver damage and inflammation. And other dangers lurk beyond.

Being regular as the sunrise is associated with a beneficial fiber-fermenting gut bacterium. People in the zone have a few things in common. They eat their fruits and vegetables. They also drink lots of water. And they exercise.

Now, nobody is saying you need to force it. You’ve got to go when you’ve got to go. But if the train isn’t running on time, have a chat with a doctor.

Imagine your child is walking through a mall, alone. Your little one passes shop after shop and person after person.

Of course, you hope your child won’t talk to strangers or give anyone their personal information. Or that no one encourages them to do something they shouldn’t.

Online life today is just as perilous for children as being alone in public. It is estimated that about 95% of teenagers and 40% of children between the ages of 8 and 12 use some form of social media, according to the White House’s Task Force on Kids Online Health and Safety.

Children build media habits at a young age. The American Academy of Pediatrics offer five Cs to help parents guide children as they do.

First, it is important to consider your child. How do they use social media and the internet? Is it a form of expression or does online life fuel anxiety or other negative emotions?

Think about the content. Research shows that content shapes whether kids have positive or negative relationships with media. Help your child understand when videos and games are violent, promote unrealistic standards, or emphasize sheer commercialism.

Communication is key and it is important to talk with your child.

Your child needs to be able to calm herself. Social media can elicit quick emotions and bad feelings. Coping techniques are necessary.

Lastly, depending on how much media your family uses and when, online life might be crowding out things your family cares about. Quiet time, outdoor fun, and other hobbies are better when shared.

So, put down your own smartphone, think through the five Cs, and keep your little influencer healthy and happy.

At this point, everyone and their mother are begging you to go outside and spend time in nature. There’s decades’ worth of research to support it making you feel better, both mentally and physically.

Now, a research study is drilling down into the details to find that even as little as 10 minutes spent outside could help your mental health.

Published in Ecopsychology, this new analysis scoured three decades of research on how nature impacts mental health. From an initial pool of 14,168 studies, researchers homed in on 45 that involved almost 1,500 adults with diagnosed mental health conditions. These studies ranged from brief urban park visits to extended wilderness immersions.

The results? Well, according to the analyses, whether research participants spent just 10 minutes in a city park or several days in the wild, they reported experiencing positive mental health benefits. Some studies examined frequent short visits into nature, while others looked at longer, continuous exposure.

Notably, the analysis indicated that outdoor spaces based around water, like lakes and oceans, and camping and gardening activities, had the greatest positive effect. But all approaches, even urban nature, showed encouraging results. Additionally, nature’s positive effects appeared even greater for those diagnosed with mood disorders, including depression or bipolar disorder.

So, if the idea of a weeklong wilderness trek feels daunting, rest easy. A brief escape to a nearby park is a practical, low-cost option that could be just as beneficial — and you won’t need to bring toilet paper or bug spray.

Traveling by air on planet Earth is remarkably safe. The worst hazard on a flight might be the talkative passenger sitting next to you with the endless stories about their oh-so-clever dog. Want to see some pictures?

Mars, on the other hand, isn’t a short hop to Phoenix.

Not that we’re flying to the Red Planet just yet. Some influential people in the space industry, however, insist we could begin sending people to the planet within 20 years. But a new study led by researchers from London and the University of Florida indicates at least one casualty of the cosmos might be these essential organs: our kidneys.

The problem is the background cosmic radiation filling the vacuum of space.

This isn’t a huge issue on a relatively short rocket trip to the moon, or on a longer jaunt aboard the International Space Station. The danger, however, would be magnified in a seven- or eight-month Mars voyage.

The study examined biological samples from mammals that have visited the space station.

Investigators noticed that kidneys change in space. Kidney cells filtering waste out of the body begin to fail.

Excessive radiation is thought to be to blame. A high radiation dose isn’t beneficial to any part of the body. The kidneys, however, are very susceptible to this electromagnetic energy.

Scientists say Mars astronauts would need dialysis on the trip home and risk permanent kidney damage. Radiation might also endanger other organs and lead to cancer given the longer exposure.

Science will have to figure out a way to better protect our bodies before anyone signs a mortgage on that Mars villa with the killer view.

Want to boost your brain? You’ll need to hit the gym. A new study shows that just a few months of high-intensity interval training exercises, also known as HIIT [hit], can increase brain function in older adults for years to come.

University of Queensland researchers studied 151 healthy people between the ages of 65 and 85 who were randomly assigned to low-, medium-, or high-intensity exercise interventions. Each intervention included 72 supervised exercise sessions that participants attended over six months.

The low-intensity exercises involved stretching, balance, range of motion, and relaxation tasks. The medium-intensity exercises included 30 minutes of treadmill walking. In the 25-minute high-intensity group, participants did four cycles of hard running followed by short rest breaks.

Each month during the study and for five years after, researchers collected blood samples and evaluated the performance of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. Participants underwent MRI scans at the study’s beginning, middle, and end.

Results showed that only those enrolled in the HIIT group saw a significant improvement in brain function and an increase in functional connectivity, which gauges how parts of the brain interact. But they did not share the age-related decrease in brain volume observed in the low- and medium-intensity groups.

The best part? The benefits held for five years after the study, suggesting that short-term HIIT exercise can have long-term benefits.

So, pardon the pun, but don’t let your brain take a “hit” as you age.  Work hard now and let your mind reap the benefits later.

Can you hear me? Good. How about now? Even better.

We all enjoy an evening at home, relaxing with good company or a remote in hand and a favorite program on the telly. But sometimes, background noise can be too much, limiting your hearing and comprehension.

There are several ways to reduce noise and improve your experience.

Look around. Consider your noisiest appliances. Does your air conditioner cause a racket? Perhaps your dishwasher constantly rattles.

You might update your home’s interior to tamp down noise. Heavy curtains lessen sound reverberation. Carpets and rugs do, too.

If you struggle with banter when others are around, check the lighting. We glean information from facial expressions and body language. Increasing light with lamps or other fixtures help us read lips but also pick up nonverbal cues. Shadows can affect what we see, and, consequently, what we hear.

Some televisions accommodate hearing-impaired viewers with audio settings that enhance dialogue and lower the bass.

Over-the-counter hearing aids are available for people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Since federal regulations changed for over-the-counter hearing aids in 2022, they’ve become a bit more affordable.

If you’re not sure how well you hear, see an audiologist. While nearly 30 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, only one-fifth of those who could benefit from hearing aids get them.

Aging happily requires staying engaged. That means keeping up with the conversation. Getting the joke. Sharing a funny story.

You can’t do those things if you can’t hear.