Highlight HEALTH 2.0

For many people, a mid-day coffee break helps boost alertness and increase productivity. It turns out there’s a science to coffee-drinking, and it’s more complicated than deciding between a latte and an espresso.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have developed a free iPhone app called Caffeine Zone that helps users maintain their blood caffeine levels in the best range for optimal mental performance, while limiting potential negative effects — such as sleeplessness — later in the day.

From Penn State:

The researchers used peer-reviewed studies as input data to determine that caffeine drinkers with between 200 and 400 milligrams of caffeine in their bloodstream are in an optimal mental alertness zone. For sleep, the researchers set a lower threshold of 100 milligrams. Drinkers may have sleep problems if they remain above this.
The app can…help people determine when to modify their caffeine habits, so that they might choose to drink a decaffeinated beverage, or mix a blend of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees.

Users supply the app with information about when and what type of caffeinated beverages they consume, and the app makes suggestions about timing of future beverage breaks. The app is available on iTunes for free (with advertisements) or for purchase (without advertisements) and only works on Apple devices.

Source: Penn State Live

Patients under treatment for depression typically see a therapist at regular intervals. Still, it’s common for psychiatric patients to have a “crisis” outside of therapy. Traditionally, family and friends have had to notice and intervene in order to get the patient the help they need. There’s always the concern, however, that a depressed individual won’t have family or friends nearby during a crisis, or that they will hide the symptoms of their depression.

While ultrasound technology is familiar to most people as a diagnostic imaging technique — it’s what obstetricians use to monitor the health of a developing fetus, for example — the technology has been making recent headlines for an entirely different reason.