EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Dec-2025 00:11 ET (29-Dec-2025 05:11 GMT/UTC)

Sleep duration, timing, and quality: how smartphone data predict labor productivity

International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba examined the association between sleep characteristics and workplace productivity using real-world sleep data from approximately 80,000 users (spanning more than 2 million nights) of sleep-tracking smartphone applications. Their findings suggest that individuals classified as "social jet lag" and "insomnia-prone" types experience significantly reduced productivity.

Journal: npj Digital Medicine

Science based energy choices: New perspective urges balanced path for prosperity, climate, and the environment

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new perspective published in the inaugural issue of the journal Energy and Environment Nexus argues that the global conversation on climate, energy, and development must return to scientific first principles and the realities of human welfare. Drawing on more than four decades of work in thermodynamics, combustion, and energy systems, Professor Dongke Zhang calls for a science based approach to balancing economic growth, social well being, and ecological sustainability.

Fertility remains high in rural Tanzania despite access to family planning

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Fertility rates in much of Sub-Saharan Africa remain high, despite declining child mortality and improved access to contraceptives and female education — factors that generally lead to smaller families and improved economic conditions in developing countries. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at men’s and women’s desired fertility in rural Tanzania, gauging some of the factors that influence how many children they want.

Journal: Journal of Population Economics

Q&A: Environmental protection benefits the American economy and public health

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The benefits of environmental protection, measured in terms of advancing public health and the economy, outweigh the costs associated with implementing and enforcing environmental regulations, according to researchers at Penn State who published a new perspective piece in the journal Nature Water.

Journal: Nature Water

Is talented youth nurtured the wrong way? New study shows: top performers develop differently than assumed

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Exceptional performers drive innovation and help solve humanity's most pressing problems. Societies have a vital interest in the development of top performers in various fields. A recent review in the journal Science suggests that gifted education and talent programs have been based on false premises. For the first time, an international, interdisciplinary research team has collated the development of world-class performers in science, classical music, chess, and sports.

Journal: Science

Vision-impaired individuals estimate the arrival time of approaching vehicles surprisingly

Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People with central vision loss can judge the motion of vehicles almost as accurately as people with normal vision, a new international study shows. Despite age-related macular degeneration (AMD), they estimated the moment when an approaching car would reach them with comparable accuracy as a group with normal vision. These are the findings of new research conducted by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in collaboration with Rice University in Texas, USA, and other American as well as French researchers.

Journal: PLOS One
Funder: NIH/National Eye Institute

Call your pop-pop: Unlocking conversations between generations

Washington University in St. Louis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

WashU researchers study dynamics of grandparent/grandchild conversations

Journal: Research in Human Development

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