Life is Full of Choices

The other day at work I asked an older gentleman how he was doing. I was quite shocked by his response. He said, "Well young lady, I'm somewhere between excellent and superb." I told him that it's too bad more people don't have a positive outlook like that. He proceeded to tell me the importance of making choices in life. Everyone has control over their attitude and the choice to be happy or not. The choices we make now create the journey to our future. He told me to keep in mind that our choices also affect the people around us. This makes me wonder if people actually think about the choices they make on a regular basis. Do high school and college students who are texting and driving or drinking and driving realize that their individual choices could affect the communities in which they live? Many schools and organizations have programs that focus on making the right choices. The Right Choice program is/was one of the many that provides steps to making the right choices. Do you think these programs would be effective in a college environment? If this were a college program would you participate?

The older gentleman advised me to not worry about the things I have no control over, but to make the best of what I can control. The advice was passed down to him from his father and now he goes around spreading the advice to random strangers. What an inspiration? A lesson learned. We should all be more conscious of the choices we make, because after all, almost everything we do is a choice that we often take for granted.

'non-verbal' communication, online

As we just read, 'communication is key'. We just talked about 'non-verbal' communication, but what about communication via internet?

Everyone (okay, most everyone) has a Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace. Is the way that you are presenting yourself in these forums ways that you can be proud of? Is that picture that Tammy, your roommate's partying friend, posted of you flattering? Is the fact that there are 99 bottles of beer on the.... table... right besides you incriminating in any way?

Do you think that it could affect your career in any way? How can we use these forums for good instead of the information coming back and biting us in the proverbial bum?

Communication is Key!

Photo Credit  Non-verbal Signs

What I have learned during college and continue to carry with me is the importance of communication and keeping in touch with the people around us. This is a topic that I believe everyone has room to improve.

Do you ever think about how you are communicating with others? Think about all the signs and signals you send each day - the head nods, eye contact, posture, and gestures. An important part of communication is learning how to read people's behavior and nonverbal cues. This could potentially save you from a difficult situation, such as deciding whether or not to get in a car with certain people. Nonverbal communication also helps to develop intent and clarity in conversations.

In relation to traffic safety, communication allows us to move from place to place and keeps the world going. How would we navigate without visual cues like road signs and traffic signals?

In the Art of Communication Prerna Salla offers the following suggestions for making a positive impression:
- be confident and practice being able to "gel" in any environment
- be a good listener
- take time to put your thoughts together before you speak
- be aware of current events and the world around you
- embrace opportunities to learn something new
- stay away from gossip
- be yourself

_________ while driving

Eating while driving, texting while driving... and we all know drinking and driving.

What do these things have in common?

All together now! They are _________ (insert-correct-adjective-here).

I would say dangerous. What would your word be?

AND

What other things can you add to this list?

Some food for thought

An experiment at the University of New York-Albany watched 39,042 drivers at 200 sites throughout New York State in the spring of 2002 to study cellphone use and other behaviors that distract drivers. The results posted in the New York Times found that 3 percent of the drivers, or 1,160 people, were using a cellphone, and 15 percent, or 5,733, were engaged in other distracting behavior. The biggest offender was eating or drinking which occurred 1490 times.

Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research - Cell Phones and Distracted Driving (2006 update)
Caution: Drivers Eating

Cell phones and eating behind the wheel are not the the only forms of distractions behind the wheel, according the Motor Vehicle Department. The list of distractions include

• Grooming
• Reading, including maps
• Using a PDA or navigation system
• Watching a video
• Changing the radio station, CD, or Mp3 player

Statistics and Facts About Distracted Driving

Consider the Brain

Photo credit: Two 20 year old females. Top view of brain, two inches above ears. Colored areas show active brain areas during memory task.

You don't want your brain to coagulate.

Okay, okay, so your brain might not suffer those extremes, but it can literally shrink over time when exposed to too much alcohol, as well as literally make the brain less active in areas of memory.

Now, don't misunderstand. It is not the alcohol itself that is the culprit-- it is the pure amount consumed over a period of time (in the linked study, this is around 5 years). Sometimes, we get fooled. "Meh, I just had one or two drinks last night, my brain is safe!" But realllly, let's be honest. Honey, that Long Island Ice Tea is not one drink... it is around 4.

Take a look at these 'portions'-- what constitutes one drink really? Your body can metabolize around one drink an hour (which is like four hours for the Long Island). The thing that can throw us off is that all drinks are not created equal!

Photo credit: Standard Drinks Guide

So next time you're out and about on the town, consider the brain! Or at least be aware of how much you are really drinking.

Be kind to your mind!

The Misleading Mix

Photo Credit
Western Daily Student Newspaper

Red Bull, Monster, Rock Star. More than likely, one of these energy drinks have helped you pull off an all nighter to study for that big test or to finish twenty pages due the next day. Another use of these drinks that has turned the energy drink business into a $5 billion a year market, is the mixing of these drinks with alcohol, such as the well known "Jager Bomb". This has lead to a misconception that alcohol and caffeine block each other out.

To debunk this misconception, we must look at the basic function of alcohol and caffeine on the brain.

Caffeine keeps a person alert and awake. But why? Normally, when we get sleepy, the neurotransmitter adenosine is at work. Adenosine inhibits the release of two other neurotransmitters (dopamine and acetylelcholine) that play a role in keeping us awake and alert. Caffeine prevents adenosine from activating, allowing one to fight off that drowsy feeling.

Alcohol on the other hand, affects a different set of neurotransmitters. Alcohol elongates the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA, which decreases brain activity. Alcohol also affects the neurotransmitter glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter that increases brain activity. This combination produces the sleepy feeling or drowsiness from drinking alcohol. Alcohol causes these effects in the parts of the brain responsible for inhibiting risky behavior.

So what is the overall effect of these drinks? The effect can best be described by Dr. Mary Claire O'Brien of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who says that mixing the caffeine of energy drinks with alcohol is like "getting into a car and stepping on the gas pedal and the brake at the same time. " It tricks the brain into thinking that you're not as drunk as you are because the stimulant (caffeine) overcomes the sedating effects of the depressant (alcohol). This leads to a wide awake drunk state.

The effects of this can be seen in a study done at the University of Florida. Researchers went to popular bars and clubs and randomly interviewed 800 college-age patrons as they left. The results:

- those who had been drinking energy drinks mixed with alcohol were three times more likely to leave highly intoxicated and four times more likely to intend to drive than bar patrons who had been drinking only alcohol.

- the respondents that ingested caffeine with their alcohol were also less likely to notice that their motor skills and vision were impaired.

University of Florida Study: energy drinks, liquor are a bad mix

What do you think about this new technology?

Photo Credit Electronic Gadgets

I’ve come across this new technology called Key2SafeDriving that prohibits drivers to send or receive calls or text messages while driving. Predetermined and emergency numbers are the only numbers that can be dialed while the car is in motion. Is this something you would agree to? What do you think?

Mildly Morbid Humor?

Comic: Texting while Driving

Incoming Text

First of all, I am guilty.

I am telling you this, because I know what you are thinking. It is just texting. I am not one of those kids that drinks and then decides to drive around for the next 35 minutes dropping people off, I am obeying the speed limit, and I have one eye on the road. No. I am probably just texting my Mom to let her know that Grandma and I are having lunch and then hitting Reiman Gardens to tour the butterfly house. I am texting my brother to see if he needs a ride back from basketball practice, to my sister to see if she wants to see 'The Last Song' at the doller theatre.

The thing is, I don't care if you are texting the president of Amnesty International-- that doesn't magically lower the risk.

And I know, I know-- you are at the stopsign or red stop light, and your fancy phone vibrates and glows and starts spitting rainbows, practically begging you to pick up and stay connected. Oh and then, you start to drive while just finishing up that text-- ten more characters-- because oh man the light turned green, and your best friend NEEDS to know when you are going to be there. 5 minutes? 10 minutes? When?

And I am guilty. Previously, this decision was up to me, to make the risk for myself and for others on the road. The decision was up to me, even if 40 percent of surveyed teens say that they have been in a car with a driver where someone felt in danger due to cell phone usage. Graphic service announcements aside, the fact is that now in Iowa the transition to it being illegal to text and drive is starting. In July of 2010, police will start to give warnings and in July 2011, the full law will come in to effect. This is detailed in House File 2456, and you might want to read about it. This is explained a little better in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Despite this, the decision will still be up to you. There will be officers to enforce the law, but it is still your choice whether or not to obey it. So...

What motivates you? The statistics? The risk? The law?

What works?