4 . Me and My Brain

We all know that meaningful changes happen in our bodies during adolescence (青春期), but have you ever stopped to wonder what’s actually going on inside our brains during this time?

To paint a clear picture, we should first know about ourselves with the different parts of the brain. Did you know, for example, that our brains are made up of around 100 billion nerve cells (神经细胞) called neurons (神经元)? And coming from these neurons are several branch-like structures for sending and receiving electrical signals? Every time we do or think anything, a signal is sent. The signal travels down a long structure called the axon (轴突) and, at the end, it passes across small gaps called synapses (神经元的突触) to the dendrites (树突) of another neuron, which receive the signal. In this way, messages are sent across our neural network.

Our brain structure changes greatly as we grow up. Newborn babies have almost all their neurons but few connections between them, which is why they can’t do very much. After a few months however, the number of connections increases quickly, which in turn helps small kids master new skills such as walking and talking. Most brain development is completed in the first few years, but we now know that our brains continue to develop throughout our lives and perhaps the most surprising time of change and development is during adolescence.

During this period of reorganization, the brain notices a sudden increase in neurons not dissimilar to a plant growing uncontrollably in spring. Just as we cut back a plant to make it stronger and healthier, we cut back our brains. The connections that are used become stronger, whereas those which aren’t used dry and die. So, the more often an action or thought is activated, the stronger the connections become between the neurons, which in turn makes the part of the brain being used stronger. This explains why the more you do something, the better you become at it, reinforcing the old saying “practice makes perfect”. In fact, the teenage brain provides conditions for perfecting skills such as playing a musical instrument, speaking another language, or learning a difficult computer game. It could be argued that teenagers decide the development of their own grey matter through the activities they take part in and their experiences.

It may also be unsurprising to many to learn that the last part of the adolescent brain to develop is the frontal cortex (额皮质), responsible for self-control, problem solving and decision making. So, long before teens are good at abstract thinking (抽象思维) and logical decision making, they depend on the emotional center of the brain to make choices and think. So perhaps unpredictable, uncertain, risk taking teenage behaviors, often put down to hormones (荷尔蒙), may actually have more to do with what’s going on inside our brain.

5 . Teachers Needed in the Community

6 . Have you heard of a bike bus? It carries a group of children to school in the same way a school bus does, except everyone is on bikes. The “bus driver”—an adult on a bike—guides a slowly moving group along a route (路线) that has already been chosen. Kids and their parents join the group on their own bikes when the group rides by.

Bike buses are a way for everyone to bike together for fun, convenience and safety. On busy streets, a big group of five to ten kids is much more visible (明显的) than one or two kids biking alone.

Sam Balto is a PE teacher. He leads a bike bus to school. His bus is especially visible because it has hundreds of shouting kids and parents. It stretches out over several blocks (街区). Sam vlogs his bike bus trip. As the parent of two kids, I can’t watch his videos without crying. The bike bus calms my fear that the kids will get hurt on the road. Laughing kids! Outside, in person! Together! So when a friend asked if I would lead a bike bus in our neighborhood, of course I said yes.

Using active transportation to go to work and school—whether that’s a biking bus, or even a walking bus—has many advantages. Yes, people are healthier and happier when they’re more active, but reducing the number of cars around a school can also reduce heavy traffic and air pollution.

I was shocked by what starting or driving a bike bus meant to different people. For Luke Bornheimer, the leader of the San Francisco Bike Bus, it’s amazing to see children take care of themselves. “Kids are really smart and strong.” Bornheimer says. “They get how to ride responsibly (负责任地) and have fun. We’re just giving them that chance.” For me, the bike bus was the start of rejoining my community. My kids love the bike bus, but we parents might love it even more. We talk about everything, from the bike bus to other topics, such as planning neighborhood roller skating meetups and party nights.

I do accept that getting more kids to safely bike and walk in more places will take a lot more work than parents just trying to get their kids to school every day. But our efforts are a start. We live on a planet that has many environmental problems. Maybe the best way to remind ourselves that we and the Earth are worth (值得的) protecting is by moving through it, not in cars, but with fresh air on our faces and the sounds of kids’ laughter echoing in our ears.

7 . Recently, some people have complained about the purposefully addictive (上瘾的) designs of smartphones and social media, which make it hard for anyone to put them down, especially teens. Now, a new report in Emotion gives facts that back up what these people said.

According to the report, young people’s life satisfaction and happiness have dropped since 2012, the year the percentage of teens owning smartphones started increasing rapidly. The report also finds that teens’ psychological (心理的) health gets worse the more hours a week they spend on screens.   

Jean Twenge is the lead writer of the report. She graphed (制图) the connection between happiness and screen activities, such as social media, texting, gaming, and video chats. She also graphed the connection between happiness and non-screen activities, including sports, reading, and face-to-face communications. She called the relationship between screen and non-screen activities “zero sum”—if you are doing one, it takes time away from the others.

Diane Tanman complains that her sons are like that. They are 11 and 15. They used to play games in fields, and it made them happier. These days, her sons are more into online games. Many of the games have rewards (奖励) built in to keep players coming back. “It’s just junk food for the brain,” Tanman said.

Ed Lazzara says his 12-year-old son Leo is a fan of video games. After playing a lot, Leo gets more upset and uncomfortable. He wants his son to play fewer video games.

However, totally staying away from electronic devices (设备) doesn’t lead to happiness, either. Twenge and her co-writers found that the happiest teens used electronic devices a little less than an hour daily. After a daily hour of screen time, unhappiness rises in relation to increasing screen time.

Spending time in front of a screen is a normal part of being a teenager. Many schools require students to be online and to use iPads or other devices to do their work. But teachers and parents have also complained that technology can get in the way of learning when teens use their devices for things other than their studies.

If we recognize how screen time influences young minds, we can help teens use technology better and protect their psychological health in the process. Screen time is like ice cream. Sure, we can have some once in a while, but it shouldn’t be part of our everyday lives.

9 . Personality describes the certain ways of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that tell apart a person from others. The word “personality” comes from the Latin word “persona”, which refers to a mask worn by performers in the theatre to play roles, or disguise who the person is. Although there are many meanings of mask personality, most focus on the way of behaviors and characteristics that can help predict and explain a person’s behavior. Explanations for personality can focus on lots of influences, from genetic (基因的) effects to the role of the environment and experience in shaping a person’s personality.

Types of Personality

There is popular general knowledge of personality types such as the Myers-Briggs theory. The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI人格类型量表)recognizes a personality based on four aspects: introversion-extraversion (内倾-外倾), sensing-intuition (实感-知觉), thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving (判断-感知). After taking a Myers-Briggs personality test, you are considered one of 16 personality types. Here are some examples of these personality types:

◇ISTJ: Introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. People with this personality type are logical, organized, detail-oriented and practical.

◇INFP: Introverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. They are easy to be idealists and sensitive to their feelings.

◇ESFJ: Extroverted, sensing, feeling, and judging. They are outgoing, kind, loyal and sensitive.

◇ENFJ: Extroverted, intuitive, feeling, and judging. They are known as “givers” for being warm-hearted and they are practical.

◇…

________

Research on personality can offer deep understanding about how personality develops and changes over the course of a lifetime. This research can also have important practical applications in the real world. For example, people can use a personality test to learn more about themselves and their advantages or disadvantages. Some tests give people deep understanding about how their personality affects many areas of their lives, including careers, relationships, personal growth, and more. Understanding your personality type can help you find out what career you might enjoy, how well you might perform in certain job roles, or how effective a kind of psychological treatment could be for you. Personality type can also have an influence on your health, including how often you visit the doctor and how you deal with stress.

Understanding the psychology (心理学) of personality is much more than simply general knowledge or studying. The findings from personality research can have important applications in the world of medicine, health, business, economics, technology, among others. By building a better understanding of how personality works, we can look for new ways to improve both personal and public health.

Eyes on Vision

Two years ago, Azara Mason was having trouble seeing the board in class. An eye doctor told her she had myopia（近视）, or nearsightedness! People who are nearsighted have trouble seeing things that are far away. Azara now wears glasses when she needs them.

The eye works like a camera. Light passes through a lens and is turned into images. The brain then helps us understand what they are.

When people have healthy vision, their eyes focus（聚焦） light on the retina（视网膜）. When people are nearsighted, their eyes focus light in front of the retina. That makes objects that are far away look blurry.

Dr Maria Liu is head of the Myopia Control Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley. She says a growing number of people have myopia, and kids are developing it at a younger age.

Many studies show a rise in myopia. The National Eye Institute（NEI） found that nearsightedness among Americans grew 66% from 1971 to 2004. Experts say that by 2020, myopia could affect（影响） one third of the world’s population.

Scientists link（联系） the rise in nearsightedness to an increase in near work, including computer and cell-phone use. Studies show that less time spent outdoors may also be adding to the increase.

What can you do to take care of your eyes? Liu advises everyone to stay away from electronic devices（设备） and spend more time outdoors to keep eyes healthy. Screen-Free Week, from May 4 to 10, is a good time to do just that. Liu also tells patients to take a 15-minute break to look at things in the distance for every 45 minutes of near work.

If you are worried about your vision, you should visit an eye-care professional. Liu often advises patients to use special contact lenses and eye drops. She says they can correct nearsightedness and slow it from progressing. Glasses and regular contact lenses improve vision but don’t have that extra benefit（益处）, she says.

If you suffer（遭受） from myopia, your parents and doctor can best decide the treatment that is right for you. Azara’s mom is looking into options other than glasses. But for now, Azara continues to happily wear her glasses and clearly see the board.