Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 342

Acute myocardial infarction

We all have an in-built circadian rhythm and it has been discovered if left in the dark our rhythm is on average 20mins over the 24hr schedule. We, therefore, need to see the sun every morning just to make that slight adjustment and keep us in sync with the world.

We all know how it feels to be jet-lagged but a metanalysis in 2019 of over 100,000 patients showed that the stress on our body clocks of daylight saving time (DST) actually increased our risk of having an MI. The risk was observed one week after DST. The spring shift gave the biggest risk with an OR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02–1.07; p < 0.001 whereas, the Autumn shift did not show any increased rates. Certainly, a reason to put a stop to daylight savings but also a warning for us shift workers. 

Reference:

• Manfredini R et al. Daylight Saving Time and Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Meta Analysis. J Clin Med 2019;8(9):404 

Auto-brewery syndrome (ABS).

Also known as gut fermentation syndrome. 

A rare diagnosis in which ingested carbohydrates are converted to alcohol from fungal yeast in the upper small bowel and caecum. The altered gut microbiome occurred from the antibiotics accumulated during the admission in intensive care.

In the actual case from the reference, a 46-year-old male was pulled over by police for acting drunk while driving and had a positive breathalyser. He fiercely denied he had any alcohol. His aunt then got him his own breathalyser and he repeatedly kept getting high results. This led to him being investigated by medics and eventually he was diagnosed with ABS as a result of antibiotic therapy. 

Reference:

• Malik F, Wickremesinghe P, Saverimuttu J. Case report and literature review of auto-brewery syndrome: probably an underdiagnosed medical condition. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2019 Aug 5;6(1):e000325

The ability to recall an activity more readily if it’s been interrupted or not completed.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to help you with your studies because Bluma Zeigarnik the Soviet psychologist it’s named after, reported that the wait staff had poorer recollection for the completed task i.e. no recollection of prior completed orders.

Using this theory in revision would include stopping studying halfway through and going to study something else. This is most likely to be ineffective. However, it probably accounts for why we keep recalling patients and jobs on shift that have incomplete tasks and once discharged or admitted we are less likely to recall the case. Well, that’s the theory anyway.

References

• Zeigarnik B. Das Behalten erledigter und unerledigter Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 1927; 9, 1-85.
• Zeigarnik B. On Finished and Unfinished Tasks. In: A Source Book Of Gestalt Psychology 1938: 300-314 W. D. Ellis (Ed.) [a condensed and abridged version in English…]

A Time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s

Traditionally you have 25 minutes to complete a task before taking a short break. It is named Pomodoro after the famous tomato kitchen timer.

There are 6 incremental steps as detailed in the short video below. The educational theory has suggested that we remember the beginning and the ending more readily of our social interactions (and revision sessions), therefore the more beginning and endings you make the more you can recall.

So the more Pomodoro’s the more you can recall. It’s equally effective as one of the objectives is about eliminating distraction. See for yourself: