Binge Drinking and Night Shift Work Linked to Greater Likelihood of COVID Infection in Nurses

Working the night shift or binge drinking may double the risk of COVID-19 infection, according to a study of nurses published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. Both alcohol misuse and night shift work have been shown to impact sleep and promote inflammation in the body, which has been linked to COVID disease severity. The findings from this study strongly suggest that alcohol and circadian misalignment contribute to the development of COVID disease in people exposed to the virus.

Mean or Nice? These Traits Could Make or Break a Child’s Friendships

While it’s logical to assume that children who are mean have friendships characterized by growing strife and that children who are nice report little of the same, these assumptions haven’t been tested in the real-world friendships. A study of elementary-school children is the first to examine the extent to which being “nice” and being “mean” shape changes in friend perceptions of their relationship. Results confirm the widespread assumption that one child’s behavioral traits drive the other child’s friendship experiences.

People Feeling Angry Are Willing to Purchase Alcohol at Higher Prices But May Not Know It

People who’ve been provoked to anger are willing to purchase alcohol at higher prices, but may not be aware of their increased urge to drink, according to a new study. Anger, hostility, and aggression are known to relate to drinking, with anger a risk factor for heavy alcohol use. Building on previous studies that have deliberately manipulated emotional states to explore their effects on substance use, researchers at Wayne State University, Michigan, designed an experiment that could help clarify whether anger can motivate people to drink . For the study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the investigators sought to induce anger in participants and measure the effect of that anger on the desire to drink. They used two measures of drinking urges: self-reported alcohol craving and a behavioral task that assesses people’s motivation to drink.