Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 2-21-18

26 I HEALTH I
February 21, 2018
MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
@MIDRIVERSNEWS
MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
Listening to motivational tunes before a sporting event doesn’t actually help
athletes perform better, a recent experimental study found.
health
capsules
By LISA RUSSELL
Music may improve athletes’
mood, but not performance
Athletes who listen to music to get
“psyched up” just before a big game or competition
do not perform better as a result,
although they do tend to take more risks,
according to a recent experimental study.
The risk-taking effects were more noticeable
among men compared to women, as
well as among athletes who selected their
own music playlist. Listening to music was
also shown to boost the self-esteem of athletes
who were already performing well –
but not of those who were poor performers.
In recent years, listening to motivational
music has become a popular way for athletes
to prepare for sporting events. Those
athletes point to benefits such as enhanced
mood, higher motivation and greater selfconfidence
after cranking up the tunes,
which are often those with strong lyrics
and a pounding beat. However, the psychological
processes behind the motivational
power of music, as well as its impacts
on performance, have not been wellresearched
or understood.
Health dangers to teens
associated with the “Tide Pod
challenge” social media trend are
no laughing matter.
The study, which was conducted by the
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
in Germany, divided 150 athletes into
three groups: one listened to music they
selected themselves, another listened to
music selected by a researcher, and the third
didn’t listen to music at all. All three groups
then performed a ball-throwing task from
fixed distances. To assess risk-taking behavior,
the participants were
also allowed to choose
the distances to the basket
themselves, and received
points connected to monetary
incentives for each
successful trial.
The results showed that
listening to music did
not have either a positive
or negative impact
on overall performance.
However, it did increase
the sense of self-esteem
in participants who were performing well,
and also increased risk-taking behavior,
especially in male participants and those
who could choose their own motivational
music. The researchers also found that
those who made riskier choices also earned
higher monetary rewards.
The study findings play an interesting
role in “understanding the functions and
effects of music in sports and exercise,” the
authors stated, adding that more research is
required to “better understand the impact
of motivational music on the intricate phenomena
of self-enhancement, performance
and risky behavior during sports and exercise.”
The study was published in Frontiers
in Psychology.
‘Tide Pod challenge’ is no joke
Teenagers sometimes do exasperating,
senseless and even dangerous things.
Those three words certainly describe the
rising popularity of the “Tide Pod challenge,”
where teens post seemingly humorous
videos online that show them eating
the small, colorful laundry detergent packets.
During the first three weeks of January
alone, U.S. poison control centers handled
86 cases of intentional laundry pod misuse
among 13- to 19-year-olds, compared with
53 such cases for all of 2017.
The American Association of Poison
Control Centers [AAPCC] issued a warning
in late January that it had received an
increasing number of reports of teenagers
ingesting the detergent pods, which
can cause breathing problems, seizures,
respiratory arrest, coma and even death
when the contents are swallowed. Tide
manufacturer Procter &
Gamble also is attempting
to curb the social
media trend, which the
company’s CEO, David
Taylor, called “dangerous”
and “extremely concerning”
in a recent blog post.
P&G has produced a
public service announcement
warning teens not to
take the challenge, and is
working with social media
companies to remove the
videos [Youtube recently banned the Tide
Pod challenge videos and announced it
would delete them]. Taylor also appealed
to parents to speak to their kids about the
trend. “Let’s all take a moment to talk with
the young people in our lives and let them
know that their life and health matter more
than clicks, views and likes,” Taylor wrote.
“Please help them understand that this is no
laughing matter.”
Area parents with questions or concerns
about the Tide Pod challenge can
reach the Missouri Poison Center 24
hours a day by calling (800) 222-1222.
Information is also available online
at www.missouripoisoncenter.org.
On the calendar
Missouri Baptist Medical Center holds
its annual Heart Fair on Saturday, Feb.
24 from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the hospital’s
campus, 3015 N. Ballas Road. Health
screenings will be offered at no cost, along
with live heart-healthy cooking demonstrations,
free food samples, exercise classes,
health presentations by physicians, interactive
activities for families and kids, and a
blood donation drive to benefit the American
Red Cross. Register by visiting www.
missouribaptist.org/HeartFair.
• • •
An American Red Cross blood drive
is on Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 3-7 p.m. at
Saeger Middle School, 5201 Hwy. N in St.
Charles. To register for an appointment
time, visit www.redcrossblood.org, or call
the Red Cross at (800) 733-2767.
• • •
A Babysitting 101 course for children
and teens is offered on Saturday, March 3
from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. at Progress West Hospital,
2 Progress Point Parkway in O’Fallon,
in Conference Room B. Topics include the
business of babysitting, child development,
safety and first aid, and fun and games. A
workbook, backpack and light snack are
provided. The course fee is $30 per child.
Advance registration is required by calling
(636) 344-5437.
• • •
Free health screenings for adults are
available during two upcoming events:
Wednesday, March 14 from 7:30–9:30 a.m.
at Progress West Hospital, 2 Progress Point
Parkway in O’Fallon, in Conference Room
B; and Friday, March 16 from 9-11 a.m. at
the Middendorf-Kredell Branch Library,
2750 Hwy. K in O’Fallon, in Room A.
Screening tests include lung function and
blood pressure checks, cholesterol lipid
panel and glucose testing, body composition
analysis and BMI measurement.
Participants should fast for at least 10
hours prior to screening. Preregistration
is required by visiting www.bjcstcharlescounty.org/events.