news 2021

Children with epilepsy sleep poorly compared to healthy children, and are more likely to experience disruptions such as night terrors, sleep walking or sleep disordered breathing, according to a new study. A team at the University of Birmingham's Centre for Human Brain Health analysed 19 published studies on sleep and epilepsy in children and adolescents to try to better understand and articulate the links between them.

Almost a third of 17-year-olds have tried cannabis and one in 10 have tried harder drugs, such as cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, with similar rates of experimentation regardless of parents' education level, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published today in a briefing paper by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Social Research Institute, examines engagement in substance use and antisocial behaviours among Generation Z as they reached late adolescence.

The number of daily contacts changed over the course of 2020, following the first lockdown, corresponding to alterations in the COVID-19 guidance, suggests a study among staff and students at the University of Bristol. The research led by scientists at the University of Bristol is published on the pre-print server medRxiv.org.

Belief in conspiracy theories is heightened as adolescents reach 14 years of age, reveals new research involving the University of Glasgow A study conducted by a team of psychologists from across the UK, including UofG's Dr Yvonne Skipper, has uncovered that belief in conspiracy theories flourishes in teenage years.

A new study suggests that despite considerable adversity, many people have also experienced positive effects in lockdown as a result of a less frenetic life. Last updated on Monday 8 February 2021 Results from a new study which draws on survey data collected during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic suggests that being forced to slow down life, as a consequence of lockdown, has had significant, positive impacts for many people and their families.

New research into the acute impacts of COVID in Gaza argues that the international community must respond urgently to the unfolding crisis. Last updated on Thursday 4 February 2021 Insufficient attention is being paid to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis playing out in the Gaza Strip, according to a team of international experts.

Researchers want adults to come forward for a new study to determine how taking a short break from social media might impact our mental and physical health. Last updated on Tuesday 2 February 2021 Student researchers at the University of Bath are running a new study into how a social detox for a week could impact our physical and mental health and want volunteers to take part.

A sophisticated China-linked social media operation played a key role in spreading disinformation during and after the US election, a report from Cardiff University concludes. The study, from the Crime and Security Research Institute, shows evidence of the network's activities reaching a wide audience, most successfully through a now debunked viral video that was later shared by Eric Trump, son of former US President Donald Trump, falsely showing ballots being burned on election day.

Mental health and emotional wellbeing among young people could be better understood by findings in a recently published pape r from the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford, which reveal that teenagers catch moods from friends and bad moods are more contagious than good ones. The authors, Dr Stephanie Burnett Heyes , of the University of Birmingham's School of Psychology and Dr Per Block , of Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science , hope the ground-breaking study could lead to improved understanding of emotional wellbeing.

A study published today [18 January] in the publication Addiction suggests that the UK government's current national population-based data may be understating illicit drug usage among young people by as much as 20 per cent. Researchers from the University of Bristol compared data from the Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW) with that of the Bristol-based longitudinal health study Children of the 90s.

A new study led by the University of Oxford on over 90,000 participants shows that there is no upper threshold to the benefits of exercise in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease - 'every move counts towards better cardiovascular health.' Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, claiming around 17.9 million lives each year.

Children who have adverse experiences such as being smacked at the age of three are more likely to suffer from poor mental health and have behavioural problems through to age 14, according to a study led by UCL researchers. Children who have adverse experiences such as being smacked at the age of three are more likely to suffer from poor mental health and have behavioural problems through to age 14, according to a study led by UCL researchers.