There is a common belief that busy people get more done than less busy people. This may seem counterintuitive, but researchers at Columbia University have discovered there is some truth to this claim. It turns out that there are certain times when being busy can make people feel overwhelmed, and there are other times when being busy can be helpful. Listen to hear about the series of experiments tracking busy people and what they reveal about business, motivation and recovering from setbacks. Then debate whether you think that busy people really do get more things done.
Story Length: 3:17
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November 29, 2017
2:27
When people don't get enough sleep, it can affect attention, reflexes, and communication. Even the reactions of people are different when they are well rested from when they are deprived of sleep. A group of scientists studying epilepsy also studied the effects of sleep deprivation. They learned that when people don’t sleep enough, certain brain cells literally slow down. Listen to hear more about how important sleep is to the way we process information.
Read MoreOctober 23, 2015
2:40
How much stress we experience growing up can affect our health later in life. This was discovered during a study which assessed the emotional health, diet and habits of hundreds of people from childhood through adulthood. They analyzed the relationship between stress and disease and found people who had persistent stress were at the highest risk for disease. But surprisingly, people who had periods of high stress when they were between the ages of 7 and 16 showed a high risk for chronic illness, even if they were not stressed as adults. Listen to this story and start a debate in your class about whether stress is helpful or harmful to students.
Read MoreAugust 27, 2014
4:42
Sometimes you want what you want when you want it, and you will pay to get it quickly. This desire combined with smart phone and GPS technology has created a booming market of services that enable their users to get what they want, when they want it. The instant gratification these services enable has created an “Instant gratification economy” that changes the way people interact with the world and the way people work. Listen to learn more about these services and their impact.
Read MoreAugust 20, 2014
4:12
Which has a bigger impact on brain development, time in the classroom or time on the playground? New scientific evidence shows that structured free play has a significant and positive effect on children's brain development and social interactions. Scientists who study the effect of play on rats have found that 1,200 genes are activated when rats engage in play and one-third of these genes are significantly altered. Listen to learn how recess and play could impact academic performance.
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