December 18, 2023: How to survive the holiday season, why diverse representation matters in children's books and the death of a grandparent is particularly hard on boys. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | The end of the year can be A LOT. The holiday events, family gatherings, work year-end reviews AND 2024 planning, not to mention the onset of flus and other bugs as the weather grows colder. Shorter days can disrupt our circadian rhythm and lead to feelings of depression and disrupt sleep and appetite. A lot of beauty accompanies crisp winter days and holiday celebrations, but many people experience grief and loneliness. Even at its best, we all might need some survival strategies to sail into the New Year and beyond. Here are some of my favorite articles to help ease the year-end crunch.
Recommended reads:
A daily 20-30 minute nap can boost your mood and help cognition. | 3 min read
Follow the step-by-step guide in this article for a 10- to 15-minute meditation. It may work wonders at alleviating anxiety. | 12 min read
Cognitive-behavioral-therapy is the standout treatment for loneliness. | 13 min read
This is "stuffy nose" season. These remedies actually work. | 5 min read
Take time to get to know yourself better this season by writing in a journal for five minutes a day. | 5 min read
Exercise can work just as well as prescription medicine for some people with depression. | 13 min read
What the experts say: A great way to break out of a stressful cycle is to assess how you spend your time and make cuts where you can, writes medical student and researcher Ashten Duncan. "Our best shot at getting ahead of the problems stress produces is to look at where our finite energy is going and ask the tough questions: Why? At what cost?" | | | Authors of children's books have become much more diverse in recent years. A study from last year found that about 45 percent of kids' books had a nonwhite author, illustrator or compiler, up from 8 percent in 2014. But white males are still overrepresented in the pages of mainstream, award-winning children's books, according to a survey of 1,130 samples. In particular, Black and Latino people (who make up about 14 and 21 percent of the U.S. population, respectively) are vastly underrepresented.
A nuanced look: The researchers used machine learning equipped with facial recognition software to examine both text and illustrations in books. They found that girls and women were almost equally represented in pictures and illustrations; however, they were featured far less in textual mentions, suggesting that women and girls play less of a role in the book's story.
Why this matters: "Kids crave exposure to stories about people like them, which build up their feelings of self-worth and help them maintain an interest in reading," says Caroline Tung Richmond, executive director of the nonprofit organization We Need Diverse Books. | | | • Genesis B. v. EPA is the latest youth-led climate lawsuit that accuses the EPA of failing to protect kids and teens from planet-warming emissions. Here's a look at the plaintiffs. | 8 min read | | | • Scientists completed a full reconstruction of a now-extinct woolly dog from the Pacific Northwest, using DNA from a 160-year-old pelt and archaeological remains. What a cute floof!| 4 min read | | | Full-body forensic reconstruction of a woolly dog. Credit: Karen Carr | | | • The loss of a grandparent has a particularly strong impact on boys, affecting their cognitive and academic performance. Boys of color are the most at risk, write sociology researchers. "Policy makers, health professionals and educators need to think more broadly about this phenomenon. This is of critical importance for future generations," they say. | 5 min read | | | Our former columnist, the psychologist and researcher Scott Barry Kaufman, wrote a fascinating article in 2020 that has stayed with me. He makes the case, backed by many studies over decades, that rather than just hoping for a happy life, we should aim for a "psychologically rich" life. Under that categorization is a vast array of experiences, interesting and boring alike, pleasant and unpleasant alike. This time of year always strikes me as a very psychologically rich time--stress and enjoyment entangle, as do grief and hope. | I hope you are enjoying your December. Reach out anytime with feedback: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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