Policies to Encourage Biking and Walking in Buffalo

Despite having a climate that can make Siberia look attractive at time, Buffalo has a surprisingly large number of citizens who ride a bicycle or walk to work. But the City and Erie County have not done much to meet this high demand. Though there are a few streets within the City that do have marked bike lanes the vast majority do not. A similar problem exists in the suburbs; suburban roads frequently lack sidewalks, let alone bike lanes, though bicyclists can (and do) ride on the shoulder of the road. There are also a few signed bike routes (Sweet Home Road in Amherst being one of the better examples) and a nascent system of off-road bike trails (for example, the Ellicott Creek Trail, which runs through SUNY Buffalo\u27s North Campus.

The Mediating Role of Sleep Quality and Quantity on Blue-Spectrum Light and Domains of Cognitive Functioning

Blue light emitted from LED screens such as those found in smartphones, computer screens, and televisions, is increasingly ubiquitous in the modern world. This trend is notable given recent evidence suggesting blue light in particular may influence overnight sleep when individuals are exposed prior to bed. However, the effects of blue light on sleep among healthy young adults, and in turn the extent to which restricted sleep impacts cognitive abilities in this population, remains unclear. The present study used archival collected from 2018 to 2020, which included a final sample of 79 healthy young adults recruited from a private university in the northeastern United States. Participant enrollment in the study lasted two weeks, with in-person lab visits on the first and last day of the two-week period. Over the intervening span of time, participants wore a research-grade actigraphic watch that recorded both sleep and ambient light exposure. Participants also completing a battery of cognitive testing, which included measures of executive functioning (NIH-EXAMINER Battery), verbal memory (Modified Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), and visual memory (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Task). The study evaluated the mediating or indirect role of sleep on the relationship between blue light exposure in the hour prior to bed and cognitive functioning in the domains of executive functioning, verbal memory, and visual memory. Although this primary hypothesis was not supported, two significant findings emerged. Increased blue light exposure prior to bed was associated with reduced sleep fragmentation, and greater sleep fragmentation was associated with worse performance on a visual memory task. While reasons for the former are unclear, the latter adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting the importance of sleep quality