Sleep is really important – at least, that’s what we’ve been told our entire lives. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve been told to get at least seven hours of sleep - but, does that ever really happen? The answer is: probably not, especially in college. So how does sleep deprivation affect our academic and social lives here as students at Rice?
While with some high school friends this past summer, I visited a trendy, zen-themed ice cream parlor in downtown Bangkok. Looking at the menu, I was instantly drawn to their featured item—a cone of pitch-black soft serve. As I wondered what kind of awesome flavor this could be, the waitress standing behind me pleasantly chirped, "We recommend our charcoal ice cream, it's tasty and very healthy too!"
I couldn’t even count the number of Whataburger HBCBs I’ve consumed these past couple of months (thanks, midterms!). Even worse is the percentage of the times I’ve eaten them past 8 p.m. Weight loss articles forbid us to eat late at night, but scientific studies tell us that it is perfectly okay to do so. What gives?
If you’re anything like me, you’re busy, probably too busy to even bother reading this whole article. Likely, the last thing you would do is sit quietly and meditate for 5-30 minutes of the day. Better to get all your things done than waste time, right? Science disagrees. In fact, the scientific study of the biological, psychological, and social benefits of meditation has exploded. A quick search on Google Scholar for “meditation” in the year 2015 yields 16,200 peer-reviewed journal articles. So why does it pay to meditate? Let’s begin.
Octopus species are well known for their use of various camouflaging techniques to avoid predators in the depths of the ocean. Previous studies of octopus camouflage techniques have revealed that some species of octopus bury themselves into the sand on the ocean floor to be invisible to predators. Breathing, however, is a problem for these species. They need to either remain very close to the surface of the sand (close to the predators!) or stick part of their bodies out into the dangerous waters to breath. One particular octopus species, the Southern Sand octopus or octopus kaurna seems to have found a solution to this problem.
