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Happy Sunday − and welcome to the best of The Conversation U.S. Here are a few of our recently published stories:
It’s infrequent that I sleep through the night. Years ago, I gave up fretting about losing the ability to do something that used to come naturally. I do a lot of reading or thinking in the wee hours and attributed my poor sleep to aging.
Still, I’m eager for any life hack that will bring back a solid seven hours of slumber. Readers, too, were attracted last week to an article explaining the latest science about possible connections between diet and sleep by Erica Jansen, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Michigan. Edited by senior health editor Amanda Mascarelli, the article offers plenty of practical suggestions for getting more shut-eye through a healthy diet – such as adding fiber and melatonin-producing foods to your plate.
Unfortunately, pinning down cause and effect is no simple task. “It’s hard to know whether the association is a result of diet affecting sleep, or sleep affecting diet,” writes Jansen. “The reality is that it is likely a cyclical relationship, where a healthy diet promotes good sleep quality, which in turn helps to reinforce good dietary habits.”
I hope you have a restful end to your weekend. Bryan Keogh will be back with you next week.
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A balanced diet is one key factor in getting a restful night’s sleep.
SimpleImages/Moment via Getty Images
Erica Jansen, University of Michigan
A growing body of research is finding a robust link between diet and sleep quality. But it’s not just the usual suspects like caffeine and alcohol that can get in the way of restful sleep.
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Victor Peskin, Arizona State University
While the International Court of Justice lacks enforcement powers, it can issue orders that could heighten international pressure on Israel to curtail some of its offensive in Gaza.
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Joseph Larkin III, University of Florida
Your immune system is often able to fend off pathogens it’s never seen before. But defending your body against all of them all at once is a tough challenge.
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Christopher Damman, University of Washington
Weight loss and diabetes drugs target regulatory pathways involved in metabolism that the microbes in your gut and certain molecules from food already play a key role in regulating.
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Abieyuwa Aghayere, Drexel University
Too often, signs of trouble are ignored until a problem becomes a crisis. Here are some clear warning signs residents should watch for.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears at a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 10, 2024.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Stephen J. Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington
The Iowa caucuses have long been an oddity in modern-day politics but remain a place where GOP candidates can test their presidential aspirations.
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Hajar Yazdiha, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. knew the political consequences of speaking out against the Vietnam War − and he did it anyway.
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Saurabh Bagchi, Purdue University
There are many ideas about how to regulate AI, but not all of them are technologically feasible, and some of those that are won’t fly economically.
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Amy Fraher, Yale University
A commercial pilot turned management expert and author of ‘The Next Crash: How Short-Term Profit Seeking Trumps Airline Safety,’ explains the economics behind the near-deadly disaster.
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Sharrona Pearl, Drexel University
Face recognition technology follows earlier biometric surveillance techniques, including fingerprints, passport photos and iris scans. It’s the first that can be done without the subject’s knowledge.
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News Quiz 🧠
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Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on Iceland, Iowa, the Hague and Australia
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