Author: drjimw

Biorhythms

Our lives are partly governed by potent, persistent, cyclical forces of body and mind. It can be useful to know about the biological rhythms that influence our actions and emotions, the better to understand and make prudent choices for ourselves.

There are three main types of biorhythms, based mainly on their frequency: (1) Circadian rhythms occur roughly once every twenty-four hours (circa one day); (2) Ultradian rhythms occur more frequently than daily; and (3) Infradian rhythms happen to us less often than daily. Let’s take a look at what we know and hypothesize about these natural patterns that partially direct our feelings and behaviors.

The sleep-wake cycle is guided by circadian rhythm: We automatically begin to feel sleepy at about the same time every night, and we start to stir and awaken around the same time each morning. Many people maintain regular bedtimes (even on the weekends). And everyone has experienced waking up from sleep just before one’s alarm clock is set to go off in the morning. Our biological clocks know how to tell time. One ramification of this is the phenomenon of “jet lag”. If you fly across a few or many time zones, you throw off that natural sleep-wake cycle; e.g., travel from NY to Alaska means a change of four hours, so 9:00 p.m. will feel like 1:00 a.m. (past your normal bedtime?) upon arrival, and the next morning you might feel like getting up at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, only to find no one else awake at that hour (4:00 a.m. Yukon time). It may take days to adjust to the differences in daylight, social conventions, and business hours of a new location. In the meantime, research has linked errors in judgment, fatigue, accident proneness, headaches, mood disruption, and other ill effects to jet lag. More common than bona fide jet lag due to travel is disruption of the sleep-wake biorhythm via sleeping in on the weekends. If you typically arise at 7:00 a.m. for school or work, but stay in bed until 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, you are in for a rude awakening on Monday morning: it may feel as though you’ve just flown to Alaska and back. No wonder some refer to the start of the school/work week as “Black Monday”; it’s hard to get up and get going with energy and lucidity. Self-induced jet lag may be avoided by following one simple (but perhaps objectionable) guideline: Sleep in each weekend morning no longer than one hour past your normal weekday wake-up time.

Another circadian rhythm we may notice is that which influences digestion and elimination. People who are “regular” tend to go number two at about the same time each day. Science has told us not to be alarmed if our bowel movements occur more or less frequently than daily, but know that it’s not strange to be a creature of toileting habits. Physical energy and mental focus may also fluctuate on a roughly daily basis. Some people, for instance, are “doves” who feel most alert and productive in the mornings, while other folks (including many teenagers) are “owls” who seem to concentrate and perform best during evening or nighttime hours. Morning classes in school may truly be challenging for somnolent adolescents, just as some in the working world find it hard to rev up their brains in the morning and prefer to get more tasks done during the hours of darkness. Others, of course, like to get up before dawn to attack the chores of the day nice and early.

Ultradian rhythms likewise affect our daily lives. The most prominent example is the sleep/dream cycle which proceeds through several stages: (1) you turn off the lights, settle down, perhaps experience little muscle twitches, and drift off to sleep with alpha brainwave patterns; (2) your heart rate slows, your body temperature drops, and the theta brainwaves include sleep spindles; (3) you sink into deep sleep characterized by delta brainwaves, low blood pressure and breathing rate, muscle relaxation, and physical restoration as you lie relatively motionless with little cognitive activity; and (4) you phase into essential REM (rapid eye movement) sleep during which your breathing is shallow, dreams are most vivid, and body is relaxed and immobilized. REM sleep is necessary to process the events of the day and to replenish our brains to be ready for the next day’s experiences. REM precedes a lighter moment of sleep, one during which we might awaken with dreams fresh in mind, ready to roll over to a new posture before resuming the cycle that lasts approximately 90-110 minutes. What few people realize or think about is the fact that the sleep/dream cycle continues, albeit weakly, during the day. About every ninety minutes, therefore, we are more likely to feel distracted and daydream for a few minutes. When you read a page of a book or other text, then realize that you failed to process and comprehend what you just read, you need not feel mentally feeble; you simply succumbed to the natural drive to daydream a bit (akin to REM sleep). When you’re speaking and your listeners suddenly erupt into yawning fits or staring episodes, it need not be due to your being boring but rather, instead, to the time in their sleep cycles when they naturally space out. Consequently, the best advice is to take breaks. When you feel groggy or foggy, it’s time to get up, move around, stretch, have a drink of water, and then return to task.

Some other Ultradian rhythms have low-key effects. For example, studies have shown that we tend to breathe primarily through one nostril more than the other, and that dominance shifts every 90-120 minutes. Our stomachs need about that same span of time to empty their contents of a meal, with digestive processes following suit. Our appetites tend to fluctuate accordingly. Have you ever wondered why you can get up from a big meal and soon experience a case of “the munchies”? Your stomach may be full, but your body and brain suggest that your mouth wants to taste a snack. For weight management, and overall health, it is suggested that you fight your way past that episode, secure in the knowledge that your longing for food will subside in just a few minutes—before returning to mind about 90 minutes thereafter! Shifts in thirst, urine production, oxygen consumption, and brain wave patterns likewise occur multiple times each day.

The most well-known Infradian rhythm is the female menstrual cycle. About every twenty-eight days, post-pubertal (and pre-menopausal) women may experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS), more or less intensely, followed by their periods; ovulation ensues about two weeks thereafter. Women (and perhaps their significant others) may choose to prepare for, and adjust to, that natural cycle. Might men experience a similar cycle as that of women? Men tend to complain of sexual “need”, feeling “horny”, and elevated sex drive periodically—more often than monthly. Sexual fluids may accumulate and fantasies might increase in frequency and intensity, helping to explain sexual requests/demands, susceptibility to pornography, and periodic “wet dreams” (nocturnal emissions). Hopefully, sexual harassment or predation does not surface. Men should be aware of their biorhythmic tendencies and “cool their jets” as appropriate.

An Infradian rhythm that occurs even less frequently, and may range from subtle to intense, is that associated with changing seasons. Some people suffer debilitating depression during their winter doldrums, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Research suggests that the problem stems from mal-illumination, a shortage of natural daylight in winter when we have fewer hours of daytime available and the weather may be too cold and forbidding to encourage outdoor excursions. The most commonly prescribed remedy is light therapy—daily, short-term exposure to artificial sources of either bright or full-spectrum light. Better yet, dress for the wintry weather and spend more time outside. I suspect that everyone, to a greater or lesser degree, experiences some measure of the blahs and blues during the shorter days of fall and winter versus the lengthening days of spring and warm sunshine of summer. Winter walks and sports (e.g., skiing, snowboarding, sledding, skating, snowballing) help to maintain our fitness and keep our spirits up. Moods lighten with enlightenment!

We’ve got rhythm. Our bodies and minds keep tempos in sync with biological processes, environmental cues, and cyclical patterns. It pays to understand and harmonize with those natural forces in the interest of self-regulation and emotional well-being.

Our nation needs a half-credit high school course in child development and parenting skills required for graduation. There are two basic reasons why such a mandatory class could benefit society: (1) When I recently taught a college course entitled “Developmental Psychopathology”, I was strongly struck by how many juvenile mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, mood, and conduct problems) have parents’ moods and disciplinary styles listed as causative factors. It’s not just that parents may contribute to the deviance and malady of their kids; it’s also that Mom and Dad have much potential to deter their progeny from the heartache and trouble of mental health and behavioral problems. And (2) parents could do more to reduce the likelihood of school shootings and gun deaths in our country. Healthier, happier, more achievement-oriented children and adolescents are less likely to harbor rage and antisocial urges. Parents who minimize and manage stress at home, and teach anger management effectively, raise more sociable and less violent kids. How could we enhance the mental health of our citizenry? It might be time to try early intervention with would-be parents. Teach them the ABCs of child-rearing in a developmental psychology course in high school.

The study of human development, including both healthy children and their myriad psychological issues, is complex. The forces of nature and nurture, genetics and environment, interact in complicated ways. Most of us assume that kids will turn out just swell, that the child-rearing that we received was good enough for us and may just as well be replicated, as well as we can recall it, with our own offspring. This article challenges that assumption. Concern is based on the alarming state of mental health, values, ethics, and sense of well-being in our country and the world. Hope lies in the science and experience of raising children in a healthy, wholesome, constructive manner using best-practice child-rearing strategies.

Mental Health Data
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 out of 7 U.S. children aged 2 to 8 years have a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicate that 13% of children aged 8-15 have a diagnosable mental disorder; these include ADHD, mood disorder, anxiety, and major depression. Lifetime prevalence of any mental health disorder among adolescents aged 13-18 is 46.3% (21.4% severe disorders) according to NIH. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. In addition, personality disorders (e.g., antisocial, borderline, narcissistic) often emerge during adolescence and may adversely impact our society. Youths are responsible for more numerous (though generally less serious) acts of violence, vandalism, and illegal activity than are adults (Mash & Wolfe, 2016).

“Normal” children appear to be dwindling in number; nearly the majority of children, according to the data, have something troubling them. Causes of increasing mental health issues may include changes in our food supply, air and water pollution, variable political and personal attitudes, the technological revolution, stresses and fears, influences of the medical model and pharmaceutical industry, overzealous labeling of disorders, and various educational/societal practices. Contributing factors are many and complicated. And how about parents? We may be implicated, as well.

Parenting Challenges
We as parents may feel that we too often get blamed for what’s wrong with our children, and we may feel that parenting is a private matter; we don’t need some so-called “experts” meddling in our family affairs. However, data and conjecture about child development show that we have profound influence over how our kids are going to turn out. Rather than have our descendants, and our subsequent world, be disgruntled, rude, unhappy, worried, greedy, aggressive, troubled, and dysfunctional, let’s strive for a society of people, young and old, who enjoy life, succeed at tasks, get along with one another, and experience contentment.

How might parents be partially responsible for the rash of developmental psychopathologies? Heredity provides genetic predisposition for many of the aforementioned maladies. Children tend to follow family patterns, as well. For instance, “children of parents with depression have about 3 times the risk of having depression” (Weissman et al., 2006); lifetime prevalence of depression in mothers of depressed children is 50-75%. “Children of parents with anxiety disorders are about 5 times more likely to have anxiety disorders” (Beidel & Turner, 1997). Behavioral and mental health issues are also caused by parental discipline that is either too harsh or too lax.

Negative patterns and expectancies help problems take shape. Our society is geared to fault-finding; teachers and parents look for mistakes, blame is sought for any and all mishaps, discipline is prized and consequences are meted out liberally, while the justice system seems to assign punishment more than compassion and rehabilitation. Unjust or heavy-handed punishment can cause kids to feel and act naughty, harbor resentments, seek revenge against authority figures, and act out defiantly. Parents who use excessive corporal punishment model physical aggression as the way to defuse anger and solve problems. On the other hand, some parents nicely wish to cultivate positive self-image in their offspring by giving them free rein to regulate their own behavior, with little limit-setting; others lack the knowledge and resolve to structure and guide the lives of their kids. Such children who are raised with insufficient boundaries may desire too much, feel entitled, lack moral restraint, and ultimately feel unhappy because they can never realistically get all that they want. The seeds of unrest and delinquency are sown by either too strict or too relaxed parenting.

Child-rearing practices (e.g., teachings, reinforcements, disciplinary measures) may cause and worsen, or correct and prevent, various disorders. Parents have the power to enrich the environments and psyches of their offspring, just as they may instead add to discouragement and discontent. Fortunately, most parents would like their progeny to have better lives than they’ve had. We can get better at child-rearing if we use some guidance and evidence on which to base our strategies. Fortunately, there is a wealth of information about ways to enhance child and adolescent development.

Adult-Child Interaction
Expectations are important. Some adults tend to believe that, or behave as though, their young children have brains with full capacity for learning from experience, foreseeing troubles ahead, and reasoning logically in a cause-effect manner. They believe that youthful mistakes deserve to be punished. In truth, critical portions of the human brain (e.g., the prefrontal cortex that controls executive functions such as planning and foresight) do not develop fully until we reach our early or mid 20s. Kids are not born with well-developed senses of empathy, compassion, fairness, and impulse control; on the contrary, we begin life as uncivilized beings guided by self-interest. Children are not “little adults”; they need thoughtful guidance and discipline (which means to teach, not to punish) to help them learn right from wrong. Self-control and pro-social skills develop gradually, over time and maturation. Does this mean that adults should not bother to model and teach kids proper behavior until they are 20 years old? Certainly not. We should impart lessons to our youngsters but with measures of patience and forgiveness as they make unsteady progress, without yelling and labeling them as naughty or mentally ill for their periodic and largely unavoidable transgressions. Most kids don’t need therapy and medications; they just need repetition and reinforcement of lessons they should learn.

How else might a structured child-rearing course be beneficial? I like to compare parenting to teaching. As I grew up, I typically had one classroom teacher in elementary school, and then multiple teachers during each year of junior high school (or middle school) and high school. Many were skilled instructors and nice people; others were not very effective or likable. Likewise, in college and graduate school, I got first-hand, in-depth exposure to a variety of teaching styles. When it came time for me to teach, to think about how to structure and present a curriculum, I had a wide range of role models and experiences from which to draw. I have tried to tailor my approach to be in line with those teachers whom I have admired over the years.

When it comes to parenting, who have been my role models? My own parents. That’s about it. I got tangential exposure to the parenting practices applied to my friends and cousins. But their adult caregivers were not raising me, so I got only superficial experience of them. My parents raised me day in and day out. It is only natural that I would then rear my own children in the only way to which I had become accustomed. And where marriages dissolve and single parenting takes over, children may become deprived of the impact (good or bad) of one parent or the other. Some children, of course, get the potential benefit of having additional, rather than reduced, parenting influences when step-parents enter their lives. And that means that more adults could benefit from having optimal parenting skills. Knowledge is power. Let’s arm young adults with an array of parenting styles and principles from which to choose.

A general parenting course could outline normal developmental expectations. Principles of behavioral psychology could be useful—e.g., behavior that is followed by a favorable or pleasant consequence tends to be repeated, while an action that attracts a neutral or negative consequence tends not to be repeated. Evidence about the Rosenthal Effect tells us that expecting good behavior increases the probability of good deeds. Teach parents how to establish guidelines for family communication and collaboration, including good manners and etiquette. Practical information about sleep, vision, hearing, hygiene, and health can help guide parenting decisions. Teach early developmental milestones along with stages of cognitive, language, and moral development. Parents could learn how to prepare their children for early schooling and to help with their homework as years go by. Emotional intelligence can be cultivated by helping kids learn how to make and keep friends. Pro-social skills training, including problem-solving and coping strategies, can help with stress and anger management. Would-be parents could learn and express knowledge about diet and nutrition, exercise and sports, and wellness–helping kids to become the best that they can be.

Recommendations
In order to raise the probability that future generations will develop for the better instead of our seeing increasing numbers of children and adolescents slide into various levels of dysfunctionality, I advocate for our educational system to adopt universal parent education. Make a half-year parenting course, taught during high school, mandatory for graduation. Why should this be a requirement rather than an elective? Most students, whether they plan to or not, are likely to bear children, or they may adopt them. Also, adults and children interact in many contexts. Grown-ups may have younger siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Adults might work with kids as their babysitters, teachers, counselors, coaches, bosses, customers, and role models. Society is multi-generational; people of all ages mingle in meaningful ways. Everyone could benefit from some knowledge of research about human development in order to have more positive than negative influences on the young people we encounter. Naturally, better-behaved children and adolescents, with the social skills to get along well with others, are advantageous (more enjoyable) to adults, as well.

Let’s give our high school students a leg up on becoming parents, or positive influences on children, in the future. Departments of Education at federal, state, and local levels should enact classes to teach the fundamentals of child development and effective child-rearing. Betterment of the quality of life for all U.S. citizens, young and old, could thus be accomplished. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Benefits to our children, as well as us adults, are worth the cost and effort.

About the author: Dr. Wallace has spent most of his career working as a psychologist in schools of various kinds, with children and adolescents alike, as well as in private practice treating people of all ages. See his website http://www.eqpsych.com for details.

References

Beidel, D.C. & Turner, S.M. (1997). At risk for anxiety: Psychopathology in the offspring of anxious parents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 918-924.

Mash, E.J. & Wolfe, D.A. (2016). Abnormal Child Psychology (6th Ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.

Weissman et al. (2006). Offspring of depressed parents: 20 years later. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1001-1008.

http://www.cdc.gov (online resource), 2017.

http://www.nih.gov (online resource), 2017.

James Wallace, Ph.D. April 30, 2019

Twilight Epiphany: Fear

Everybody fears something, without exception.  In fact, the plethora and pervasiveness of fears and worries may constitute a major cause of mental health issues.  Anxiety is the “common cold of psychopathology”.  Among myriad options, people tend to feel frightened or worried by some of the following:

death

pain, discomfort

injury & illness (germs)

cancer (diagnosis, treatment, death)

heart attack & stroke

embarrassment, shame, losing face (with self & others)

violence, terrorism

small, confined spaces; or big, crowded areas

mistakes, criticism (giving rise to perfectionism or impulsivity)

failure (setback, with self-doubt) or success (pressure to continue to perform well)

public speaking, stage fright

loud noises (startle response)

air travel

bridges (e.g., over water)

falling

intimacy (sex, vulnerability, attachment)

harm to loved ones

anger, depression, negative emotion

weather (thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes)

heights, water

snakes & spiders, bees & mosquitoes

the dark, the unknown

males (usually more powerful, aggressive, & hurtful than females)

argument, disagreement, conflict, war

loss, defeat, rejection

famine, going hungry & thirsty

things that go bump in the night

risk-taking, gambling, trying something new

fear itself

Traumas have enduring effects, and so may fears.  Phobias can be paralyzing; paranoia is uncomfortable and debilitating.  Respecting scary people, objects, activities, and situations is part of human nature, but try to do so in a relatively healthy manner.  Rx: Be cautious, careful, wary, safe, thoughtful, and reflective.  But welcome life with all of its ups & downs, good and bad outcomes, risks and benefits.  Be self-accepting, -confident, and -compassionate.  Trust yourself and significant others.  Go with the flow.  Let your ki flow.  Let your smile and personality shine.  Keep your posture and head/eyes up.  Keep your one-point; stay centered.  Relax; let go of excess tension.  Use least force necessary.  Just do it.  (4/29/16)

Before there were blogs, electronic mail took the world by storm. I confess that I embraced the trend and have watched it evolve. When I get e-mail from a female, it’s she-mail. E-mail from a male is he-mail. When you’re about to set sail, you send sea-mail. Busy? Send bee-mail. A group sends we-mail. Tots may send wee-mail. My Zen master recommends be-mail. Uh oh—I owe money according to this fee-mail. Gomer Pyle sent golly gee-mail. Zorro relies on z-mail. Float like a butterfly, sting like bee-mail I read in Muhammed Ali-mail. Optometrists help with see-mail. I copy to myself with me-mail. Arborists use tree-mail. Locksmiths are skilled at key-mail. Ski-mail is for skiers. Paul McCartney wrote “Let It Be”-mail. Golfers hit it off with tee-mail. Beggars and defendants use plea-mail. Send it again with re-mail. Shoppers enjoy spree-mail. Everyone likes free-mail. Glee-mail makes us happy. Celebrate via yippee-mail!

I remain in a fog regarding my blog. I’m just glad my dog is sleeping like a log as I try to navigate this website to my best advantage. If I cannot successfully download a theme photo and format, how can I attract a wide audience as I wax eloquent? All I will do for now is foreshadow the whimsical, factual, fanciful prose and poetry that shall follow in due time: Aikido, stress management, parent education, pros and cons of tech usage, flow, basketball commentary, and wisecracks of wisdom. My dear daughter, Jasmine, thanks for your help in guiding me into this realm. I believe it’s now up to me to refine my product.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton