Persoonallisuuspiirteiden sekä unen laadun ja määrän väliset yhteydet nuorilla aikuisilla

This thesis examines the associations between personality traits and sleep quantity and quality in young adults. Additionally the possible effects of birth status on these associations are examined. The data used in this thesis is part of a birth cohort study (Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults). The personality traits are based on the five-factor model of personality. The sleep quantity and quality are based on actigraphy assessments. Four hypothesis were made about the personality and sleep associations: (1) neuroticism is related to a lesser quality of sleep, (2) there will be more significant associations between personality traits and sleep quality than between personality traits and sleep quantity, (3) the Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) as well as, (4) the Small for Gestational Age (SGA) status will affect the associations. Linear regressions were used to study the associations between personality traits and sleep quality and quantity. Whenever an association was significant, it was tested whether this association was moderated first, by the VLBW and second, by the SGA status of the participant. The results were mostly in line with previous research especially demonstrating the negative association between neuroticism and the quality of sleep and suggesting that vulnerability to stress decreases sleep quality. Also it was found that agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with better sleep quality and extraversion was associated with lower sleep quantity. In addition SGA status moderated the personality and sleep associations. It is proposed that there are two factors behind the interaction. First, prenatally developing mechanisms have an effect on the development of sleep as well as personality. Second, differences in the postnatal environment, for instance the parenting practices, can account for this finding. Future research could focus especially on what kind of prenatal disturbances SGA infants have in the development of mechanisms related to sleep and personality. Also focusing on the differences in parental interaction might shed more light on the results.Tässä tutkielmassa selvitetään persoonallisuuspiirteiden ja unen määrän sekä laadun välisiä yhteyksiä nuorilla aikuisilla. Lisäksi tutkitaan onko syntymäpainolla vaikutusta näihin yhteyksiin. Tutkimusaineisto on osa Pikkukeskosen terveys aikuisiässä (Pikku-k) -tutkimusta. Persoonallisuuspiirteet perustuvat viiden faktorin persoonallisuusteoriaan. Unen laatua ja määrää kuvaavat muuttujat on mitattu aktigrafialla. Persoonallisuuden ja unen yhteyksistä tehtiin neljä hypoteesia: (1) neuroottisuus on yhteydessä heikompaan unen laatuun (2) persoonallisuuspiirteiden ja unen laadun väliltä löytyy enemmän tilastollisesti merkitseviä yhteyksiä kuin persoonallisuuspiirteiden ja unen määrän väliltä (3) pikkukeskosuus (VLBW) sekä (4) vastasyntyneen "Small for Gestational Age (SGA)" -status vaikuttavat persoonallisuuden ja unen yhteyksiin. Yhteyksiä tutkittiin lineaarisella regressiolla. Kun yhteys havaittiin tilastollisesti merkitseväksi, selvitettiin, onko ensiksi VLBW ja toiseksi SGA -statuksella vaikutusta yhteyteen. Tulokset olivat suurelta osin samansuuntaisia aikaisempien tutkimusten kanssa. Neuroottisuus oli yhteydessä heikompaan unen laatuun viitaten siihen, että stressiherkkyys heikentää unen laatua. Lisäksi sovinnollisuus ja tunnollisuus olivat yhteydessä parempaan unen laatuun ja ekstraversio oli yhteydessä pienempään unen määrään. SGA-status vaikutti persoonallisuuden ja unen välisiin yhteyksiin. Tämän yhdysvaikutuksen taustalle ehdotettiin kahta tekijää: ensiksi, ennen syntymää vaikuttavat tekijät saattavat muokata sekä unen että persoonallisuuden kehitystä ja toiseksi, eroavaisuudet syntymänjälkeisessä ympäristössä, kuten vanhempien toiminta, saattavat selittää tuloksia. Jatkotutkimuksissa tulisi keskittyä esimerkiksi siihen minkälaisia syntymää edeltäviä muutoksia juuri SGA-lapsilla voidaan havaita uneen ja persoonallisuuteen vaikuttavien mekanismien kehityksessä. Lisäksi erilaisten lapsen ja vanhemman välisten vuorovaikutustekijöiden vaikutusta persoonallisuuden ja unen välisiin yhteyksiin tulisi tutkia tarkemmin

Sleep, physical activity, and health in children : a developmental perspective

Adequate rest and periods of activity are important for maintaining physiological homeostasis, for the adaptive functioning of the stress-response systems, and they promote psychological well-being. However, knowledge on the associations of sleep and physical activity with stress system functioning, and of physical activity with psychiatric problems is limited especially in children and youth. This study was designed to address three research questions, (1) whether sleep is associated with cardiovascular function in 8-year-old children, (2) whether physical activity is associated with psychiatric problems in 8-year-old children, and (3) whether physical activity is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPAA) function in 8- and 12-year-old children. The participants came from an urban community-based cohort originally comprising 1049 infants born in 1998 in Helsinki, Finland. Sleep and physical activity were objectively measured using accelerometers. Sleep was also assessed using parent-reported questionnaire-based data. Of the 413 children invited to a follow-up, 321 participated at a mean age of 8.1 years. Of these, 231 to 274 were included in the analyses of sleep and ambulatory blood pressure, or cardiovascular reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). The children s mothers and teachers filled in a questionnaire reporting common childhood psychiatric problems, and 199 children had valid data on physical activity and psychiatric problems from both observers. HPAA activity was measured via salivary cortisol concentrations, 252 of the children with valid data on physical activity had data on diurnal salivary cortisol, and 248 had data on salivary cortisol responses to the TSST-C. Later, of the 920 adolescents invited to a further follow-up, 451 participated at a mean age of 12.3 years. Of these, 283 adolescents with valid physical activity data provided data on diurnal salivary cortisol, and 272 adolescents provided data on salivary cortisol responses to a low-dose overnight dexamethasone suppression test (DST), a method used to study the individual physiological variation in HPAA feedback inhibition. In contrast with a wealth of evidence especially from adults, the results showed that sleep in healthy children was not associated with an unhealthy cardiovascular phenotype. Higher physical activity levels were associated with a lower probability for psychiatric problems in children as well as lower HPAA reactivity to psychosocial stress at 8 years of age. In addition, in early adolescence (12 years of age) physical activity was associated with lower morning cortisol levels in girls and higher HPAA suppression in response to the DST in boys. These results provide evidence on the health-related associations of sleep and physical activity in a community-based cohort of children. These findings offer insight into the influence of physical activity on physical and mental well-being, by suggesting that physical activity could promote health by moderating HPAA function. As the results are correlational in nature, further research using a prospective controlled methodology is called for. This study emphasizes the importance of sustaining and supporting high physical activity levels throughout childhood and adolescence.Riittävä lepo ja fyysinen aktiivisuus ovat keskeisiä fysiologisen tasapainon ja stressijärjestelmien toiminnan kannalta. Molemmat tekijät myös tukevat psyykkistä hyvinvointia. Erityisesti lapsia ja nuoria koskeva tieteellinen tieto unen ja fyysisen aktiivisuuden yhteyksistä stressijärjestelmien toimintaan, ja fyysisen aktiivisuuden yhteyksistä psykiatriseen oireiluun, on kuitenkin vielä vähäistä. Tämä väitöskirja vastaa kolmeen tutkimuskysymykseen: (1) onko unen laatu ja määrä yhteydessä kardiovaskulaarijärjestelmän aktiivisuuteen 8-vuoden iässä, (2) onko fyysinen aktiivisuus yhteydessä psykiatristen oireiden esiintyvyyteen 8-vuoden iässä, ja (3) onko fyysinen aktiivisuus yhteydessä hypotalamus aivolisäke lisämunuaiskuori-akselin (HPA-akseli) toimintaan 8- ja 12-vuoden iässä. Tutkimuksen osallistujat ovat osa kaupunkilaisväestöön pohjautuvaa seurantatutkimusta, johon osallistui alun perin 1049 vuonna 1998 Helsingissä syntynyttä lasta. Unta ja fyysistä aktiivisuutta mitattiin objektiivisesti kiihtyvyysantureilla. Unta arvioitiin myös vanhempien täyttämän kyselylomakkeen avulla. Kutsutuista 413 lapsesta 321 osallistui jatkotutkimukseen keskimäärin 8.1-vuoden iässä. Näistä lapsista 231 274 osallistui analyyseihin unen ja vuorokausiverenpaineen yhteyksistä tai unen yhteyksistä kardiovaskulaariseen reaktiivisuuteen psykososiaalisessa stressitestissä (lapsille muokattu Trierin Sosiaalinen Stressikoe, TSST-C). Lasten äidit ja opettajat täyttivät yleisimpiä lasten psykiatrisia oireita koskevan kyselyn. Käyttökelpoista tutkimusaineistoa sekä fyysisestä aktiivisuudesta että psykiatrisista oireista molemmilta havainnoitsijoilta saatiin 199 lapselta. HPA-akselin toimintaa arvioitiin syljestä mitattujen kortisolitasojen avulla. Käyttökelpoista aineistoa sekä fyysisestä aktiivisuudesta että vuorokausikortisolista saatiin 252 lapselta ja käyttökelpoista aineistoa fyysisestä aktiivisuudesta ja kortisolitasoista TSST-C:n jälkeen saatiin 248 lapselta. Myöhemmin 920 nuorta kutsuttiin uuteen jatkotutkimukseen keskimäärin 12.3-vuoden iässä, ja heistä 451 osallistui. Käyttökelpoista aineistoa sekä fyysisestä aktiivisuudesta että vuorokausikortisolista saatiin 283 nuorelta. Lisäksi 248 nuorelta saatiin käyttökelpoista aineistoa fyysisestä aktiivisuudesta ja kortisolitasoista yön yli tehdyn matala-annoksisen deksametasonisuppressiotestin (DST) jälkeen, jonka avulla tutkittiin yksilöllistä fysiologista vaihtelua HPA-akselin negatiivisen palautejärjestelmän toiminnassa. Useista aikaisemmista tutkimustuloksista poiketen terveillä 8-vuotiailla lapsilla uni ei ollut yhteydessä sydän- ja verisuonitautien riskiä lisäävään kardiovaskulaariseen fenotyyppiin. 8-vuoden iässä fyysisesti aktiivisemmilla lapsilla oli matalampi riski kärsiä psykiatrisista oireista. Lisäksi aktiivisten lasten HPA-akselin reaktiivisuus psykososiaaliseen stressiin oli vähän liikkuvia lapsia matalampi. Varhaisessa murrosiässä (12-vuotiaana) tyttöjen korkeampi fyysinen aktiivisuus oli yhteydessä matalampiin kortisolitasoihin aamulla, kun taas aktiivisemmilla pojilla HPA-akselin suppressio DST:n jälkeen oli suurempaa. Nämä tulokset lisäävät tieteellistä näyttöä unen ja fyysisen aktiivisuuden yhteyksistä hyvinvointiin lapsilla ja nuorilla. Tulokset saattavat myös tuoda lisää ymmärrystä fyysisen aktiivisuuden ja psyykkisen hyvinvoinnin yhteyksiä selittäviin malleihin näyttämällä, että liikunta saattaa tukea hyvinvointia säätelemällä HPA-akselin toimintaa. Koska tämän tutkimuksen löydökset ovat korrelatiivisia, tarvitaan jatkossa myös kokeellisia pitkittäistutkimuksia, jotta voitaisiin perehtyä löydösten syy seuraus -suhteisiin. Tämän tutkielman löydökset korostavat erityisesti liikuntaan kannustamisen ja liikunnan määrän ylläpitämisen tärkeyttä lapsuudesta varhaiseen murrosikään

Collaborative block design task for assessing pair performance in virtual reality and reality

Collaborative problem solving is more important than ever as the problems we try to solve become increasingly complex. Meanwhile, personal and professional communication has moved from face-to-face to computer-mediated environments, but there is little understanding on how the characteristics of these environments affect the quality of interaction and joint problem solving. To develop this understanding, methods are needed for measuring success of collaboration. For this purpose, we created a collaborative block design task intended to evaluate and quantify pair performance. In this task, participants need to share information to complete visuospatial puzzles. Two versions of the task are described: a physical version and one that can be completed in virtual reality. A preliminary study was conducted with the physical version (N = 18 pairs) and the results were used to develop the task for a second study in virtual reality (N = 31 pairs). Performance measures were developed for the task, and we found that pair performance was normally distributed and positively associated with visuospatial skills, but not with other participant-specific background factors. The task specifications are released for the research community to apply and adapt in the study of computer-mediated social interaction.Peer reviewe

Perceptions of Doctors’ Empathy and Patients’ Subjective Health Status at an Online Clinic : Development of an Empathic Anamnesis Questionnaire

Objective Medical doctors' empathy is known to support patients' health status after face-to-face clinical visits. However, the role of doctors' empathy in chat-based encounters is not yet well understood. This study investigates whether patients' evaluations of doctors' empathy are associated with their health perceptions after a meeting at an online clinic and whether experiences of empathy could be enhanced by augmenting an automated anamnesis questionnaire completed before the visit. Methods A total of 209 adult patients agreed to participate in the study. First 103 patients filled out the regular version of the questionnaire (June-August 2019) and then 106 filled out the augmented version of the online anamnesis questionnaire (August-November 2019). Patients' perceptions of doctors' empathy were measured with the Consultation and Relational Empathy questionnaire. Patients' self-perceived health status, potential confounders, and demographic background information were measured via questionnaires. Results Patients' perceptions of doctors' empathy during a chat-based encounter were associated with patients being less concerned about their symptoms (estimated odds ratios varied between 0.45 and 0.55 depending on the model, p values < .003) and considering their symptoms as less severe (estimated odds ratios = 0.54-0.61, p values < .007), as well as a higher probability of alleviation of symptoms as rated by the patients (estimated odds ratios = 2.16-2.24, p values < .001). Augmenting the anamnesis questionnaire did not affect patient reports on doctors' overall empathy, but it did have positive effects on specific areas of doctors' empathy covered by the questionnaire. Conclusions These results show that patients' experience of doctors' empathy not only is important during face-to-face encounters but also supports patients' perceptions of health when the interaction is text based. The results also encourage further development of means to support patients' experiences of empathy during online interaction with medical doctors.Peer reviewe

Are you there? : Presence in collaborative distance work

doi linkki ei toimi 31.1.2022, ilmoitettu lehteen/USAlready before the pandemic, digitally mediated collaborative work and communication were perceived as challenging. We investigate the attitudes towards emerging technologies and for transforming practises in workplaces. The focus lies on understanding the readiness for appropriating emotional tracking on presence and support for collaboration. The research-based design framework allowed to combine the various perspectives of the transdisciplinary team. Methods included participatory design, design thinking, contextual inquiry and prototype testing for enhancing presence while working with shared objects in video conferencing to explore the appropriation of tools. The findings revealed four indications: 1) awareness of interlocutors’ presence during synchronous communication is crucial. 2) Emotion and behaviour tracking raises concerns about privacy and personal control over what is displayed to others, and technology could be simpler non-distracting the work at hand. 3) The prototype was found to enhance the feeling of presence without disturbing work at hand, and 4) appropriation requires a step-by-step approach.Peer reviewe

Inter-brain synchronization occurs without physical co-presence during cooperative online gaming

Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction has been linked with several positive phenomena, including closeness, cooperation, prosociality, and team performance. However, the temporal dynamics of inter-brain synchronization during collaboration are not yet fully understood. Furthermore, with collaboration increasingly happening online, the dependence of inter-brain phase synchronization of oscillatory activity on physical presence is an important but understudied question. In this study, physically isolated participants performed a collaborative coordination task in the form of a cooperative multiplayer game. We measured EEG from 42 subjects working together as pairs in the task. During the measurement, the only interaction between the participants happened through on-screen movement of a racing car, controlled by button presses of both participants working with distinct roles, either controlling the speed or the direction of the car. Pairs working together in the task were found to have elevated neural coupling in the alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands, compared to performance matched false pairs. Higher gamma synchrony was associated with better momentary performance within dyads and higher alpha synchrony was associated with better mean performance across dyads. These results are in line with previous findings of increased inter-brain synchrony during interaction, and show that phase synchronization of oscillatory activity occurs during online real-time joint coordination without any physical co-presence or video and audio connection. Synchrony decreased during a playing session, but was found to be higher during the second session compared to the first. The novel paradigm, developed for the measurement of real-time collaborative performance, demonstrates that changes in inter-brain EEG phase synchrony can be observed continuously during interaction.Peer reviewe

Inter-brain synchronization occurs without physical co-presence during cooperative online gaming

Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction has been linked with several positive phenomena, including closeness, cooperation, prosociality, and team performance. However, the temporal dynamics of inter-brain synchronization during collaboration are not yet fully understood. Furthermore, with collaboration increasingly happening online, the dependence of inter-brain phase synchronization of oscillatory activity on physical presence is an important but understudied question. In this study, physically isolated participants performed a collaborative coordination task in the form of a cooperative multiplayer game. We measured EEG from 42 subjects working together as pairs in the task. During the measurement, the only interaction between the participants happened through on-screen movement of a racing car, controlled by button presses of both participants working with distinct roles, either controlling the speed or the direction of the car. Pairs working together in the task were found to have elevated neural coupling in the alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands, compared to performance matched false pairs. Higher gamma synchrony was associated with better momentary performance within dyads and higher alpha synchrony was associated with better mean performance across dyads. These results are in line with previous findings of increased inter-brain synchrony during interaction, and show that phase synchronization of oscillatory activity occurs during online real-time joint coordination without any physical co-presence or video and audio connection. Synchrony decreased during a playing session, but was found to be higher during the second session compared to the first. The novel paradigm, developed for the measurement of real-time collaborative performance, demonstrates that changes in inter-brain EEG phase synchrony can be observed continuously during interaction

Temporal Associations between Daytime Physical Activity and Sleep in Children

Peer reviewe

Heart Rate Sharing at the Workplace

Augmenting online interpersonal communication with biosignals, often in the form of heart rate sharing, has shown promise in increasing affiliation, feelings of closeness, and intimacy. Increasing empathetic awareness in the professional domain and in the customer interface could benefit both customer and employee satisfaction, but heart rate sharing in this context needs to consider issues around physiological monitoring of employees, appropriate level of intimacy, as well as the productivity outlook. In this study, we explore heart rate sharing at the workplace and study its effects on task performance. Altogether, 124 participants completed a collaborative visual guidance task using a chat box with heart rate visualization. Participants’ feedback about heart rate sharing reveal themes such as a stronger sense of human contact and increased self-reflection, but also raise concerns around unnecessity, intimacy, privacy and negative interpretations. Live heart rate was always measured, but to investigate the effect of heart rate sharing on task performance, half of the customers were told that they were seeing a recording, and half were told that they were seeing the advisor’s live heart beat. We found a negative link between awareness and task performance. We also found that higher ratings of usefulness of the heart rate visualization were associated with increased feelings of closeness. These results reveal that intimacy and privacy issues are particularly important for heart rate sharing in professional contexts, that preference modulates the effects of heart rate sharing on social closeness, and that heart rate sharing may have a negative effect on performance

Supporting social-emotional development in early childhood education and care : a randomized parallel group trial evaluating the impact of two different interventions

A randomized controlled parallel-group trial was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of two 10-week early childhood education and care (ECEC) interventions “SAGA” and “Pikkuli” for supporting social-emotional and verbal development. All children above the age of 4 were invited from 15 Finnish volunteer ECEC groups (n SAGA = 52, n Pikkuli = 56, n control group = 42). The children and caregivers, but not the personnel (who carried out the intervention), were blinded to the group assignment. Children in the SAGA intervention advanced in prosocial behavior and social orientation and had fewer internalizing and externalizing problems after the intervention. Children in the Pikkuli intervention advanced in prosocial behavior and had fewer internalizing problems after the intervention. There were no significant changes in any of the aforementioned outcomes in the control group. The results suggest that both interventions have good potential in supporting children’s social-emotional development in the ECEC environment.Peer reviewe