A new study has found that increased evening screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the sleep quality of people.

The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Sleep’. During the lockdown period in Italy, daily internet traffic volume almost doubled compared to the same time in the previous year. Researchers conducted a web-based survey of 2,123 Italian residents during the third and seventh week of Italy’s first national lockdown.

The survey ran in the third week of lockdown (March 25th – 28th, 2020) and evaluated sleep quality and insomnia symptoms, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Insomnia Severity Index as means of measurement.

The second assessment survey, in the seventh week of lockdown (April 21st – 27th, 2020), inquired about the usage of electronic devices in the two hours before falling asleep, in addition to repeating the sleep questionnaires.

Of the participants surveyed, 92.9 per cent reported an increase in their electronic device usage between the first and second surveys. These participants showed decreased sleep quality, an increase in insomnia symptoms, shorter total sleep times, and later bedtimes and rising times. Researchers found an increased prevalence of poor sleepers and respondents with moderate to severe insomnia symptoms only within this group of respondents.

Some 7.1 per cent of participants reported a decrease in evening screen time between the first and second survey, and conversely reported improved sleep quality and fewer symptoms of insomnia. This subgroup also demonstrated a decrease in the prevalence of poor sleepers and moderate/severe insomnia symptoms. These respondents went to bed consistently earlier after four weeks of home confinement.

Survey respondents who reported no change in their screen time exposure likewise showed no variations in their sleep habits. Notably, this group of responders had the best sleep quality and fewest insomnia symptoms in the first survey results, suggesting that the lockdown exacerbated negative sleep conditions for people already suffering from poor sleep quality.

Dr Federico Salfi, Ph.D. student and first author of the paper, said, “The overuse of electronic devices in the hours before sleep was a deeply rooted habit in our society already before the pandemic emergency, in particular among young people. In our opinion, the current period of social distancing added fuel to the fire.”

Prof. Michele Ferrara, Director of the Laboratory of Sleep Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of L’Aquila, said, “The evidence of a strong relationship between screen habits and the time course of sleep disturbances during the lockdown period suggests that, now, more than never, raising public awareness about the risks of evening exposure to electronic devices could be crucial to preserve general sleep health.”

“This applies to both the ongoing pandemic and the future, as electronic technologies will find more and more space in our daily routine,” Ferrara concluded.

Water is one of the main constituents of a child’s body and in order to stay healthy a regular intake of liquid is essential. Water is one of the most important dietary elements for growing kids and teens. It’s essential that the parents need to develop healthy hydrations habits in kids right from the time when they are young. It has been seen that children get fussy when they are asked to drink water. But in hot and humid summers, when they lose water through sweat besides urination, intake of water is pivotal because it protects the children from getting dehydrated. Children are always at a greater risk of dehydration as compared to adults because irrespective of their size, children have the tendency of sweating more. And, the worst part is children don’t understand the feeling of being thirsty. That’s why we have to inculcate the habit of drinking a glass of water after urination.

The amount of water a child needs depends on his/her age, size and level of activity. Pediatricians across the globe recommend at least 4-6 glasses of water for children under 8 years of age, whereas, a minimum of 6-8 glasses is recommended for kids above 8-year. There are certain criteria when kids need more hydration. Like, if your child is playing sports or is very active they will need extra fluid. Even during summers, a child’s water intake should be increased to protect him/her from dehydration.

Indicators to understand if the child is well-hydrated

Luckily, there are parameters to understand whether your child is going through dehydration if they exhibit following symptoms:

Frequent headache

Poor concentration

Cracked lips

Constipation

Dark Urine

Lethargy

Inculcating water-drinking habit in kids

It’s one of the toughest habits to introduce it to your kids. Parents need to be patient and consistent in their efforts to make their kids learn the habit. There are some kids, who don’t like water and for them, parents can add a slice of lemon and orange in it. It will add a flavor to the water, which the kid will like to drink. Sometimes, giving them water in a colorful bottle or glass also excite them to drink water. So, let them choose their own bottle or glass. Even the parents can become the role model. Make sure that you are also drinking water when you’re asking your kids to do the same. There are other supplements of water, which your kids might like, but plain water is the best to stay away from dehydration in summers. Water contains no extra energy and can quench your thirst.  

Water should be the kids’ go to drink

Parents often offer their kids aerated drinks or sugar-laden juices to quench their thirst, but, both could be detrimental to your kids’ health in the long run. And, increased sugar intake is a big factor in the rising rates of childhood and adult obesity. Sugary sodas are even worse and should always be avoided. These drinks don’t quench your thirst easily, leaving the kids’ take more of it. Water and skimmed milk are the absolutely best thirst quenchers. Raise your child in such a way that water should be their first drink of choice. In this way, your child will slowly develop the taste of clear and healthy water. This is one of the lifelong habits a parent can instill in their children.  

The author is a Consultant Neonatologist, Motherhood Hospital, Noida

Researchers have been exploring the link between memories and sleep for a long period of time. During a recent study, they found that the two activities in the brain, slow oscillations and sleep spindles, help keep the memories strong.While we sleep, the brain produces particular activation patterns. When two of these patterns gear into each other, previous experiences are reactivated. The stronger the reactivation, the clearer will be our recall of past events, a new study reveals. Scientists have long known that slow oscillations (SOs) and sleep spindles – sudden half-second to two-second bursts of oscillatory brain activity – play an important role in the formation and retention of new memories.But experts in the UK and Germany have discovered that the precise combination of SOs and sleep spindles is vital for opening windows during which memories are reactivated; helping to form and cement memories in the human brain.Researchers at the University of Birmingham and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich today published their findings in Nature Communications.

The findings of a new study suggest that though overweight and obesity are risk factors for many diseases, a higher BMI can be linked to higher survival rates in patients hospitalized for severe bacterial infections. Scientists at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, and Skaraborg Hospital in Skovde carried out the research, and their study has now been published in the journal PLOS ONE. The data were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic. The population-based study involved observations, over a nine-month period, of all 2,196 individual adults receiving care for suspected severe bacterial infection at Skaraborg Hospital in Skovde. The researchers followed the patients in this study population over time, during, and after their hospital stay. The results show that the raised chances of survival were associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) in both the short and long term, at 28 days and one year after hospitalization respectively. The differences in survival rates were clear. In the normal-weight group, 26 percent were dead within a year. The corresponding figures in the groups with higher BMI were 9-17 percent.Occasional surveys of limited patient groups have previously shown similar results. The new findings clarify and confirm the “obesity survival paradox”: that overweight and obesity afford protection against severe bacterial infections.Asa Alsio, adjunct senior lecturer in infectious diseases at Sahlgrenska Academy and senior consultant in infectious diseases at Skovde, is the study’s first and corresponding author. “In the context of most other diseases, overweight and obesity are disadvantageous. This applies to several types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and, in particular, COVID-19, in which a higher BMI is associated with higher mortality. Paradoxically, it’s the other way round here. “What we don’t know,” Alsio continues, “is how being overweight can benefit the patient with a bacterial infection, or whether it’s connected with functions in the immune system and how they’re regulated. More knowledge is needed about how being overweight affects the immune system. One patient category it could be studied in is individuals undergoing bariatric surgery.”

Gunnar Jacobsson, Sahlgrenska Academy and senior consultant in infectious diseases at Skaraborg Hospital in Skovde is the senior author of the study: “The pandemic has highlighted vulnerable patient groups, and overweight people have been hit hard. Maybe experience and handling of care for patients with severe bacterial infections can be used to improve the prognosis of COVID-19 and overweight.” Jacobsson says.

LONDON: Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge found that in children with neuroblastoma – a cancer of immature nerve cells – treatment with platinum chemotherapy caused changes to the genome that could then cause leukaemia in some children later on. The findings published in the Journal Blood could lead to an ability to identify which children are more likely to develop secondary cancer. This in turn could lead to changes in their treatment plan to either avoid these risks or take measures to prepare. Secondary blood cancer is a challenging complication of childhood neuroblastoma cancer treatment. Every year around 100 children in the UK are diagnosed with neuroblastoma, and those who had high-risk treatment are at an increased risk of developing secondary blood cancer – leukaemia – after neuroblastoma treatment.

With mortality rates of Covid-19 being higher among patients with co-morbidities which are directly related to tobacco, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre (RGCIRC) has launched an awareness drive to convince people to quit smoking during these times of health crisis. It is well established that tobacco is a key reason for co-morbidities in a person such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, chronic respiratory disease and cancer.

Dr A.K. Dewan Dr Mudit Agarwal Dr L.M. Darlong

“Covid-19 is a primarily a disease of the respiratory system. Since lungs and respiratory tract in tobacco smokers are already compromised, the severity of Covid-19 infection in smokers, such as difficulty in breathing, is far higher than the non-smokers, said Dr A K Dewan, Director Surgical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre (RGCIRC).

According to Dr L M Darlong, Head of Thoracic Oncosurgery at RGCIRC, tobacco is the single leading cause of cancer in India. These include Lung cancer, Head & Neck Cancer and Oral cancer which are directly related to tobacco consumption. In case of lung cancer, smoking is the leading risk factor and accounts for two-third of lung cancer incidence.

“Smokers are affected far more with severe Covid complications than non-smokers, so quitting tobacco should be the top most promise that one should make to one self.”, said Dr Mudit Agarwal, Sr. Consultant – Head & Neck Surgical Oncology at RGCIRC. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that tobacco use increases the risk of suffering from serious symptoms due to COVID-19 illness. Smokers have up to a 50 per cent higher risk of developing severe disease and death from COVID-19, WHO has stated.

According to a recent report released by the National Cancer Registry of India (NCRI) under the ICMR, as many as 27 per cent of cancer cases are caused due to tobacco consumption.

As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS): India 2016-17, nearly 267 million, or 29% Indians aged 15 and above used tobacco in different forms. This makes the tobacco consumption in India as one of the highest in the world.

According to Dr Mudit Aggarwal, all those using tobacco should go for regular screening. Oral cancer can be detected early in the pre-cancerous stage through regular screening. In case of early detection, we can have Robotic surgery so that side effects of surgery could be minimized. In case of delay, the cost of treatment is high and survival is poor. Oral cancer is the most common cancer in males in India. Non-healing ulcer in the mouth especially painless ulcers and any lump in the neck are warning signs that should not be ignored.