Dr. Woolsey’s energy drink and alcohol consumption study gains attention

Posted on by Dana Schatz

University of Western States (UWS) associate professor, Dr. Conrad Woolsey, is principle investigator on energy drink and alcohol consumption study

Links the combination of alcohol and energy drinks to an increased incidence of drunk driving

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 9, 2015 – Conrad Woolsey, PhD, an associate professor in the college of graduate and professional studies at University of Western States (UWS), recently published a study suggesting that people who combine alcohol and energy drinks drive drunk more frequently than people who consume alcohol only.

The survey questioned 355 college students regarding their perceptions of drinking and driving as well as energy drink consumption patterns. Two hundred and eighty-one participants said they drank alcohol within the last month, with 107 from that group acknowledging they used alcohol and energy drinks together.

“Dr. Woolsey is an internationally recognized expert on the risks associated with energy drinks,” Dr. Will Evans, provost at UWS and a contributor on the study said. “This paper will be another important scientific study showcasing the potential dangers of combined use of those drinks with alcohol.”

Dr. Woolsey’s findings include:

  • Among combined-users (i.e., those who consumed alcohol with energy drinks), 57 percent indicated they had driven while knowing they were too drunk to drive compared to 44 percent of those who consumed alcohol only.
  • 56 percent of combined-users said they had chosen to ride as a passenger in a car with a driver who they knew was too drunk to drive safely, compared with 35 percent of alcohol-only group.
  • Combined-users reported episodes of getting drunk and heavy binge-drinking more frequently than those who used alcohol only.

Dr. Woolsey recently published another study indicating that an increase in energy drink use was a significant predictor of increased illicit prescription stimulant pill use, with the odds for using prescription stimulants increasing by 6 percent with each day additional day of energy drink use in the past 30 days.
These finding are important to medical practitioners because of the harmful interactions that can occur when mood-enhancing energy drink ingredients, such as ginseng and yohimbe, are mixed with prescription stimulants and alcohol.

“The mixture of herbal supplements with prescription stimulants is dangerous and can have many harmful psychological and neurological effects,” said Dr. Woolsey. “Our findings showed that all participants with and without a valid prescription misused prescription stimulants as they had mixed energy drinks with their prescriptions which is contraindicated due to potentially dangerous interactions.”

To learn more about Dr. Woolsey’s findings, read his manuscript “A Comparison of the Combined-Use of Alcohol & Energy Drinks to Alcohol-Only on High-Risk Drinking and Driving Behaviors,” published in the January 2015 edition of Informa.

Dr. Woolsey’s earlier manuscript, “Frequency of Energy Drink Use Predicts Illicit Prescription Stimulant Use,” published in Substance Abuse, the official journal of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA), was selected as best manuscript for 2014. A follow-up study and manuscript was recently published by Substance Abuse. The article entitled “Increased Energy Drink Use as a Predictor of Illicit Prescription Stimulant Use,” takes a more comprehensive look at the topic of energy drink consumption and illicit prescription stimulant use.

How to remain fit after the playing days are over

Posted on by Dana Schatz

By: Phillip Dugas, ESS adjust faculty

As a former college athlete, it’s important to me to remain in shape after the playing days are over. I think this is a goal of many athletes, but after years of keeping your body in top condition, eating a certain way, and being active on a daily basis, it is easy to fall into a lazy lull. Taking a few months off turns into taking a few year away from exercise and then we find ourselves out of shape and our once athletic bodies are no longer. How can we avoid this negative change? For me, it has been simple. Stay active and make this a top priority.

Fresh off a college or short professional career it was easy to stay involved in big games of basketball, softball, and men’s league baseball. Going to the gym was a no brainer and I could still eat whatever I wanted. As this phase of my life ended and family life began, I hung up my weekend warrior attire and traded it in for bottles and diapers! It is important that we keep our bodies in good physical shape as we start families and careers. Keeping our bodies physically fit helps to improve our eating and sleeping habits, which in turn makes each more productive at work and as parents and spouses.

Five key things actions:

  • Keep a daily schedule journal – write it down
  • Start your day with some type of exercise – sit-ups, a run, or gym time
  • Eat a healthy breakfast – this is a must to curb your appetite and give you energy for the day
  • Use a plyo ball instead of a desk chair – this will strengthen your core
  • Make time for your healthy lifestyle – wake up 5 minutes early and get it done

Online vs. Traditional Education

Posted on by Dana Schatz

Written by Sara Mathov, DC, DACBR, ATC

In 2013, there were 7.1 million higher education students taking at least one online course, which represents 33.5 percent of all higher education students.* With so many students now enrolling in online courses, it is important to look at the differences between learning online and learning in the traditional face-to-face classroom setting.When online courses started being offered, there was a common belief that the education received from an online course was inferior. But that is not true of today’s online courses. Similar to the traditional classroom model, online classes have clearly stated learning objectives and outcomes. In addition, most online courses are designed to have interactive components. It is common to see a mix of videos, group assignments, discussions on a given topic, and many other strategies to increase communication with fellow students and instructors. These activities increase the active learning of the student. Many believe that online courses can be superior to traditional classroom learning because of this “active learning” strategy. As with everything, however, you get out of it what you put into it.

Below, I have listed my top five strategies to succeed in an online course and get the most out your learning experience:

1. Check in more than once a week. One of the biggest downfalls of online courses is that it is very easy to procrastinate and get behind. The easiest way to avoid this is to log into the course regularly – ideally once a day (even if just for five minutes), but realistically a few times per week. This allows you to catch important course announcements, review upcoming deadlines, participate in the discussion forum and possibly interact more with other students and your instructor.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Some courses will have a forum specifically designed for this purpose. Other courses may require you to email the instructor directly with questions. Don’t be shy, just ask! In a traditional classroom, it may seem easier to get information because the teacher is in front of you and there are classmates close by. In the online setting, they’re still all around you just can’t see them. You can usually assume that if you have a question, there are others wondering about it too. By posting in a forum, not only is the instructor able to address the question but other classmates can also weigh in and give feedback.

3. Read announcements and emails. One of my biggest frustrations as a teacher is when I make an announcement in class and then get asked the same information moments later. It is no less frustrating when that information is given in the form of a course announcement or class email only to find out that very few people actually read it. In this digital era, it is very easy to access email and online courses from nearly anywhere on nearly every device. It’s also easy to be overloaded and therefore ignore information coming at you on a regular basis. I recommend setting an alert or having a specific folder so that you never miss a course announcement. It’s never an acceptable excuse to say, “I didn’t read the email/announcement” if you miss an important deadline.

4. Be active in the discussion forum. Yes, I know that it can seem frustrating to be forced to reply to other posts, but the intention is to help you learn. There is a lot of research behind various learning styles and it is well known that if you participate in your learning you are much more likely to retain that information. The purpose of the discussion forum is to create the discussion that might occur in the traditional classroom setting: teacher asks a question, long silence follows, finally someone answers and often there is some discussion that occurs afterward. It is also a great place to pose a question (see #2 above) of both the teacher and your classmates and see what discussion may arise from that. When you create a thoughtful post that answers a question, it forces you to digest the material enough to be able to form an opinion about it. Each response afterward helps reinforce that knowledge and can also help others see things in a different way.

5. Don’t count on your exams being “open-book”. When online courses started, this was one of the biggest criticisms. Not only did we question who was actually taking the exam, but also whether the student was using something to help (whether the book, notes or Google). These days, most courses have strict time limits that do not allow one to search various sources for every question and many courses will also use proctoring websites which monitor you while you take the exam (and make sure you are who you say you are). Just as you need to study and prepare for an exam in advance for a face-to-face course, you must prepare for an online exam and not expect that you can use materials to help you.

If you haven’t already taken an online course, the chances are quite high that you will soon. I hope that the suggestions above help you succeed in those courses.

*Reference: Allen IE, Seaman J. Grade Change: Tracking Online Education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group, 2014.

Advice to New Doctor of Chiropractic Students

Posted on by Dana Schatz

Feeling burnt out? Worried about the next term? We asked some of our recent graduates to weigh in and offer some advice.

I would tell an incoming student not to stress the little details. Work on the big picture and have balance in your life. Enjoy each and every day to its fullest and try not to stress too much. – Dr. Josie Ball

Make sure to not burn out and live only to study. You will have to study a tremendous amount, but schedule time on a regular basis to stay in touch with the activities and people that give you strength and enjoyment. – Dr. Chet Collins

Chiropractic school is a good foundation, but you should continue to expand your skill set by attending seminars regularly. Don’t wait until you are a new grad struggling to make it, or you will be enticed by oversimplified and dogmatic technique systems. If you have a mentor, use him. If you don’t, find one. – Dr. Noah Edvalson

Never let up. Keep your intensity throughout the whole program. There are things that I do every day in practice that I was taught ONE time in an adjusting lab, a PT lab, or a clinic lab. If I would have missed that ONE class I wouldn’t know how to help 25 percent of the patients that I see today. There are patients who come through my door with life threatening conditions that unless I had gone to that ONE class I would have missed the boat and they wouldn’t be here today. Also, try and expose yourself to as many adjusting seminars, massage techniques, taping seminars and anything else that makes its way onto campus. You have such an opportunity to learn. Don’t sit at home just waiting to complete the program. Go take control of your education. – Dr. David Martin

The program and courses are tough and challenging but when you hear a patient tell you what a difference you have made in their life, all the pain and stress of the program is worth it. Know that you are not alone, you have a family of students in your class, in the school going through the exact same thing. And just think if everyone in the quarters ahead of you, everyone who graduated before you, if they could do it, so can you! Also, do not be closed minded to the different techniques, philosophies and ways of thinking, they are all valid in their own ways and there is something to benefit from them all. – Dr. Shanna Rai

Imagery for the Competitive Athlete

Posted on by Dana Schatz

Three periods of time where athletes can use imagery in order to produce optimal performance

By: Pamela Verhulst, ESS Adjunct Professor

Do you want to produce optimal performance as an athlete? Follow these three imagery steps that can help you succeed.

  1. Set Realistic Goals

Goal setting comes from within the athlete. Establish clearly defined goals and write them down. Practice reading your performance goals daily. This reinforces the goal and allows the athlete to start the process of figuring out how they can actually achieve this goal.

  1. Visualization

Practice seeing your goals in your mind. Visualize your senses, feelings and emotions that give you the same experience during a successful performance. Visualize the external environment, as well as the athletic skill environment Do this up to two times per week. I recommend you do it in a quiet, practice location. Try to stay relaxed and confident throughout each session.

  1. Positive Self-Talk/Reinforcement

Staying positive is the most important tool to optimal athletic performance. Reprogramming negative thoughts into positive is what sports performance coaches call positive self-talk. This eventually changes an athlete’s negative image. Positive self-talk statements can be practiced daily and silently, by reading and writing thoughts down, and by listening to these thoughts on tape.

Putting these three steps all together can produce greater self-confidence for athletes, both individually and in team settings. Goal setting, visualization and positive self-talk have been a tremendous help to athletes and coaches across the world in producing optimal performances.

UWS Curriculum Specialist Dr. Conrad Woolsey, honored by Substance Abuse Journal

Posted on by Dana Schatz

New faculty member’s article named “best manuscript of the year”

Conrad Woolsey, PhD, CC-AASP, USOC-Sport Psychology Registry, CHES, the newest faculty member in the exercise and sports science master’s program at UWS was recently honored by Substance Abuse, the official journal of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA). The journal selected Dr. Woolsey’s manuscript, “Frequency of Energy Drink Use Predicts Illicit Prescription Stimulant Use,” as best manuscript for 2014.

The manuscript was based on survey of 381 undergraduate and graduate students regarding their energy drink consumption and their usage of prescription pills. Results of the study indicated that an increase in energy drink use was a significant predictor of an increase in the use of illicit prescription stimulant pills, with the odds for using increasing by 6 percent with each day additional day of energy drink consumption in the past 30 days.

In this original study, all prescription stimulant users with or without a valid prescription also consumed energy drinks, which is contraindicated for safety reasons and considered drug misuse. This finding is important to medical practitioners because of the harmful interactions that can occur when mood enhancing energy drink ingredients, such as ginseng and yohimbe, are mixed with prescription stimulants.

According to Dr. Woolsey this is cause for alarm.

“The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ranks non-medical use of prescription drugs as the second most commonly used illicit form of drug use.  Additionally, the consumption of energy drinks has increased significantly in recent years,” said Dr. Woolsey. “It is time for concerted efforts to be made to address energy drink use and illicit prescription stimulant use on college campuses. College health promotion campaigns should focus on educating students on the risks of using these substances with particular attention on the promotion of physical activity, balanced nutrition, and mental health which can serve as healthy alternatives to energy drink use.”

In a letter from Substance Abuse Editor-In-Chief Adam J. Gordon, there were a couple of factors leading to the accolade. “All articles published between October 2013 and September 2014 … were eligible for consideration. The “best” manuscripts are those that clearly articulate research or policies designed to advance the identification and treatment of substance use disorders and/or the training of addiction care providers. The number of views a manuscript has received also factors into the nomination process, and your (Dr. Woolsey’s) article was one of our most downloaded manuscripts in 2014.”

“This is an important publication and Dr. Woolsey is an international leader in investigating the potential health risks of energy drinks,” said UWS Executive Vice President and Provost Will Evans, DC, PhD, MCHES. “This award shows progressive thinking on the part of the journal and I am sure there is more to come in this line of research.”

Dr. Woolsey will be recognized on Nov. 6, 2014 at the AMERSA conference in San Francisco, Calif.

The article was also co-authored by Dr. Evans.

Find out more information about the study and findings.

A follow-up study and manuscript was recently published by Substance Abuse Journal. The article entitled “Increased Energy Drink Use as a Predictor of Illicit Prescription Stimulant Use,” takes a more comprehensive look at the topic.

UWS student, Monde Leck, plans to build school in Zambia

Posted on by Dana Schatz

Since age 11, UWS human nutrition and functional medicine student Monde Leck, had a dream of helping Zambian street kids develop themselves into outstanding citizens. Here’s her story.

When I was young, I lived in Zambia and did volunteer work at an orphanage. There I witnessed the kind of suffering that leads children to search for a better life through begging, stealing or street vending. The children at orphanages are rarely adopted into families, and those that are taken in by living relatives are often abused or taken advantage of (made to sell goods, clean house, care for the caregiver’s actual children or cook, rather than going to school or playing).

In my adult years, after having gone to the U.S. for university, I returned to Zambia in the hopes of rehabilitating street kids but found that I could not – I didn’t have the skills. I could help give them food, clothing, health care or brief shelter but they would run back to streets after they got what they needed. Many street kids do drugs (they take battery acid, petroleum, fermented sewage, glue, discarded alcohol or anything else they can get their hands on). I helped many of them through the stressful and harrowing drug withdrawal period, so knowing that they were going back to the streets and back to the drugs was a painful sense of loss for me.

Street kids, many of them no older than 11, are not treated as human beings due to their questionable behaviors. But in my opinion, these kids are simply a product of their environment and everyone deserves a chance to reach their full potential.

I decided that the only way to really change these kids for the better was to create an infrastructure, a social support structure and an environment that the existing social system and overwhelmed institutions failed to create ­ a place where they could really thrive as children and develop as human beings.

After researching best practices in education, writing up a business plan, making connections and finding access to resources I decided to make my dream a reality and open up my school. But I decided to open it up to all of the kids in Zambia, instead of just underprivileged. My efforts and ideas have shifted toward giving all of the children in Zambia equal access to a quality education and future opportunities.

When I first met my husband, Bongo Kanga, he had a similar vision, so we collaborated and came up with a plan for our school, The Giving Tree School of Advancement. It will offer all levels of education, from kindergarten to post graduate fellowships. Currently, we only have enough resources to begin with the first level (kindergarten through grade five). By the time the children reach grade 12, we plan to offer international qualifications so they’ll have the option to pursue university degrees in Zambia, any other nation around the world and of course our school¹s own university levels. We hope to offer scholarships for their foreign education and travel as well.

We are currently entering the construction phase of the plan. Since my husband’s expertise is finance and architecture, he has been working on architectural designs suited to enhance learning and encourage spiritual and psychological health by applying principles of Feng Shui and its Indian counterpart, Vaatsu. We would like the premises to be beautiful and comfortable so that students do not have to worry about their basic needs. Food will be grown in our own permaculture forests and prepared by chefs trained in nutrition, as well as the culinary arts. We are also looking forward to supporting volunteers from abroad.

I have done a few small educational projects before, like teaching students English, as well as leading very successful community nutrition and sanitation workshops. But overall, I have never done anything of this magnitude before- it’s my biggest project yet! Our goal is for the education system we provide to far exceed the quality that is usually provided to underprivileged children in Zambia, so that students have a real chance at developmental opportunities.

Stay tuned to UWS social media for updates on Monde’s amazing work. UWS is holding a supply drive to collect resources for this mission. Check out what Monde needs for the school here and drop any donations at the student services office, located in the administration building. The drive will be held through November 14. Please contact student services if you have any questions.