Melissa Locker

Slumber particularly helps with math, says a new study.

Sorry, parents, but you might need to start enforcing bedtime. Or letting your kids sleep in.

While no one likes a bedtime battle, a new study shows that a good night’s sleep can translate to improved academic performance. Researchers at McGill University and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal found that children who had a better quality sleep performed better in math and languages.

Specifically researchers found a link between academic performance and something called sleep efficiency, which is more or less how well you sleep at night. “Sleep efficiency is the proportion of the amount of time you slept to the amount of time you were in bed,” says clinical psychologist Reut Gruber, lead author of the study. “Simply put, you go to bed, you lie down and spend time in bed, but if you’re not able to sleep through the time in bed, that’s not efficient sleep.”

“Short or poor sleep is a significant risk factor for poor academic performance that is frequently ignored,” says Gruber, and while there are other studies out there that linked sleep and academic performance, she wanted to take a slightly different tack. “I wanted to look at specific subject areas, not to lump them together, knowing that different skills are needed for different subjects.”

When it comes to math and language skills specifically, Gruber says, it’s a question of brain anatomy. “For math and languages, we need to use the skills that are called ‘executive functions’—things like working memory, planning, not being distracted. The hardware that supports those skills is in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which is very sensitive to the effects of poor sleep or insufficient sleep.”

So Gruber’s team looked 75 healthy children between the ages of 7 and 11. The children were each given a wristwatch-like device called an “actigraph” that is used to evaluate sleep by monitoring their night time activity, averaged the data over five nights and correlated the data with the kids’ report-card grades.

They then controlled for variables already known to be associated with academic performance—socio-economic status of the parents and the age of the child and used the sleep variables to predict the report cards grades. “Math, English, French, each one separately,” said Gruber. “Then we looked at how much variability in the specific grade or subject was explained by the sleep variables after controlling for the other what we call ‘confounders.’”

What they found was a “significant” performance variable in math and languages that was related to a good night’s sleep. Especially math. “We found that 14% of the variability we found in math …was explained by sleep deficiency,” said Gruber. “It was 7% and 8% for English and French.”

While parents are on the hook for enforcing bedtime, Gruber thinks pediatricians should ask about the quality and quantity of sleep during routine checkups. “I think many kids might have some sleep issues that nobody is aware of,” she says. “Regular screening for possible sleep issues is particularly important for students who exhibit difficulties in math, languages or reading.”

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that children ages five to 12 get 10-11 hours of sleep a night. (Teenagers need about 9 hours, but studies suggest only 15% of them get it.) If your child currently clocks in less than that, it might be time for a bed time reevaluation. In previous studies, Gruber and her team looked at sleep extension—adding hours to sleep time—and while they didn’t look at math, they did study behavior and attention and saw an improvement in both areas.

To develop healthy sleep habits, the National Sleep Foundation suggest parents establish a consistent bedtime routine, emphasize the need for a regular sleep schedule, keep television and computers out of bedrooms and teach children about healthy sleep habits.

Tractors, zombies and bikinis, oh my!

The new season of The Bachelor sallies forth despite the fact that love is a lie. Bachelor farmer Chris Soules is on his journey to find a farm frau, and he will kiss every milk maid, plow every field and leave a string of farmer analogies in his wake to do it. One editorial note: because the only two men on the show are both named Chris, it’s necessary to take a page out of the Bachelor playbook (which is also a preschool playbook) and use initials to differentiate between the multiplicity of Chrises.

Here’s what happened on The Bachelor:

Best Recycling: When we last saw The Bachelor, one of the contestants was so eco-friendly she wanted to recycle herself. Kimberly, the yoga instructor, has done too many up-dogs to leave without even talking to the man of her dreams. She can’t understand why things didn’t work out the way she had them mapped out on her vision board, so she goes to beg for a second chance. As she cries, Chris crumbles and goes to ask his eternal wingman for advice. Chris Harrison, noted anarchist, blithely tells him, “There are no rules!” So Chris S. shrugs and starts recycling contestants. The women are not thrilled. Ashley I., the freelance journalist, makes a lot of air quotes, while Kaitlyn fires off a few bon mots, and Jordan appears on screen long enough for people to read her name.

First-Date Card: As Chris Soules once again uses his outdoor shower (does he not know that they have indoor plumbing in Los Angeles?), Chris Harrison goes to alert the women that a lonely young farmer is shacked up just over yonder and gently points out that if they want to lend him some sugar, he is their neighbor. Then he hands them a group-date card, which includes Kimberly the repeat offender.

Worst Look: Chris Soules appears on camera in a hoody unzipped just enough to reveal he is wearing nothing underneath it but bronzer and a smile. Oh, honey: no, that’s not an outfit. That’s what you throw on when the UPS man shows up with the iPhone holder socks you ordered from Amazon Prime while you’re in the (indoor) shower.

Meanwhile: Back at the old homestead, one of the blondes whose name is still TBD (Megan, maybe?) and Jillian, a news producer, took Chris H. up on his dare and broke into Chris S.’s house while he was out, because nothing says love like light breaking and entering. The most notable moment of the break-in is that Jillian wore a bikini bottom that was so small, the network standards and practices required a black bar follow her around on the front and the back. The other girl did her best Juggernaut impersonation, strapping on Chris’ motorcycle helmet and ramming her head into the wall, a refrigerator and another wall.

Best Reason to Back Up Traffic in LA: Chris S. invites the lovely ladies to a pool party. However, that turns out to be a feeble excuse to get the women in bikinis, because five minutes after they arrive at the pool, he ushers them out the door, parades them through the streets of L.A. in their bikinis (which should make for a dazzling thinkpiece for one of the great feminist minds of our age), and reveals the real activity — a tractor race. In bikinis. Can’t wait for the calendar to hang in the garage! Ashley I. the freelance reporter won the race, because Jersey girls don’t mess around when it comes to driving, and all the girls give her the stink eye because that means quality time with Prince Farming. But when Chris S. returns he asks MacKenzie out on a one-on-one date. Luckily, the producers let her go put on clothes first.

First One-on-One Date: Newly clothed MacKenzie is taken to a bar and immediately announces that she likes his big nose, asks him if he believes in aliens, admits she hasn’t been on a date in a year and admits that she has a son named Kale. Swipe left! Swipe left! Wait, Chris is super into produce. He hands her a rose. Then she kisses and tells, which none of the women appreciate.

Second Date: Megan, a buxom blonde make-up artist from Nashville got the second date card, but she did not quite understand that a date card was actually an invitation to a date and some of the other women had to explain it to her. (There is a strong likelihood that Megan was the woman ramming her head into a wall at Chris’ house.) Chris whisked her from a town car to a private jet, where they sipped champagne. Just your typical day for an Iowa farmer! But that’s not all he had in store for her.

Bachelor Milestone: First helicopter ride! The blushing Bachelor sweeps his date into a helicopter for a ride over the Grand Canyon. After a tour of the landmark, they have a picnic on the banks of the river, and Megan tells Chris her tragic backstory i.e., she applied for The Bachelor and then her father died, but she followed her heart and is now here.

Bachelor Milestone: Megan made a two-fer by saying all the magic words, including assuring Chris that she is “not here for the wrong reasons” and adding that “being on this journey” is amazing. Chris (and the producers) declare her “perfect,” and he hands her the rose. They make out. For a woman who didn’t know what a date card was, Megan is just a wealth of Bachelor-isms, as she declares that she is “head over heels” for Chris.

Second Group Date: Best. Group. Date. Ever. The date card promises death, which some of the women claim is like, so not funny, but totally is. Then producers pile a bunch of women into a limo, send them to a dark corner of The Walking Dead lot, and surround the car with zombies. The women scream in terror, but most women would agree this isn’t nearly as terrifying as walking the streets of L.A. in a bikini. Chris finally swoops in to save them all, sadly not wearing a white-knight costume. Turns out his idea of a dream date is zombie paint ball. The women divide into teams and start taking out walkers. Ashley S., the Brooklyn hairstylist with the love of onions, either does not get the game at all or is doing some serious Andy Kaufman level of humor that will make a great final project for her Tisch performance-art degree. Obviously Chris’ team won.

Post-Date: As the women gossip around a fire pit, Ashley stares into a candle until she sees angels. Kaitlyn suggests that if Chris handed Ashley a rose, she would eat it, and she’s probably right. The rest of the time is spent watching Ashley wig everyone out, as she stares without blinking, crawls around on the ground, answers even the most innocuous questions aggressively, and everyone just sits and stares at her until they get alone time with Chris. Chris gives Britt a coupon for a free kiss, but gives the date rose to Kaitlyn.

The Cocktail Party: Whitney, the fertility nurse who asked Chris about hog insemination during their first encounter, makes a big move by hijacking Chris and wooing him with her baby voice and a bottle of bourbon. Then Ashley I., the tractor-riding freelance journalist, has a surprise: she’s a virgin. As a mom, MacKenzie is super jealous that she can’t use that line, but Ashley is not sure that she wants to tell him, even though, MacKenzie swears men “love” to take women’s virginity, a comment that does not merit commentary other than: ew. Instead she invites him to rub her bellybutton ring and make a wish. He wishes to make out with her, so they do while all the women judge her technique (lots of lip). Then Chris makes out with several more women until drunk Jordan kills the vibe for all.

The Rose Ceremony: Britt gets the first rose, followed by Ashley I., then it’s a blonde named Trina, Kelsey, and a brunette named Samantha. Then Chris S. calls Juelia, but Jillian barges forward, realizes her mistake, backtracks, trips, and then bursts into an insane laugh that echoes through the hallways. Then there’s a parade of Ambers, Tracys, Jades, a Carly, a Becky and a Becca, and finally Jillian, for real. Whitney gets a rose and then Chris S. hands the final rose to Ashley S., because he likes the free entertainment? He wants to help her find counseling? The producers made him? Who knows. Sorry, Kimberly, it turns out you can’t recycle yourself.

Best Reason to Tune in Next Week: Jimmy Kimmel makes an unlikely appearance.

Amazing Amy 2.0 could be in the works

Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn may not have won for Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes — but she may get a second chance at that prize down the line. The author of the 2012 best seller, told the New York Daily News that she is open to paying a return visit to the embattled, embittered Dunne family for a sequel to the blockbuster crime thriller.

Flynn, speaking at a BAFTA event, told the News: “There could be a sequel at some point if everyone is game to get the gang back together, it could be really fun a few years from now.”

“We could pick it up and see what those crazy Dunnes are up to a few years down the road and if they got on — not well I don’t think,” said Flynn (in what can only be considered an understatement). Perhaps Amy and Nick Dunne’s child will be plotting the psychological torture of a playmate who stole a favorite toy? Perhaps the Dunnes have a dark plan to get their kid into an elite kindergarten? Whatever nefarious scheme they’re are up to, fans the world over will be eager to read it.

While Flynn hasn’t written the book or the sequel’s screenplay yet, she’s already started casting the new film: “I would have to have the exact same people to do it — I would want Rosamund, Ben and Fincher to do it.” If the sequel happens and is as exciting as the original, be sure to keep an eye out at the 2019 Golden Globes.

Thank you for being a friend, Chris Evans

Betty White received a helping hand from Captain America (Chris Evans) Wednesday night, and it was the most adorable moment from the entire People’s Choice Awards. (Chloe Grace Moretz besting Meryl Streep for Favorite Movie Actress was a close second.)

White won the award for Favorite TV Icon, and when the 93-year old actress was called up on stage, Chris Evans’s training as the ever-gallant Captain America kicked in, and he immediately jumped up to offer the stunned Golden Girls star a hand and escorted her up to the stage.

Chris Evans helping Betty White up the stairs at the #PeoplesChoiceAwards is EVERYTHING: http://t.co/lLQrLuzmC8 pic.twitter.com/Gkkuoj27Dh

— E! Online (@eonline) January 8, 2015

While Evans may want to quit acting after his six-movie deal with Marvel, hopefully he will never stop playing the hero.

Watch White’s entire acceptance speech here:

The Tonight Show host gets taken

The people have spoken

It’s the People’s Choice Awards! The actual popularity contest has as its claim to fame the fact that it’s the only awards show with prizes selected by We the People, its status as the first awards show of the season, and a *ahem* desirable Wednesday night from 9 to 11 p.m. time slot.

The People’s Choice Awards tend to favor people who don’t usually win critical praise, but are wildly popular, like the TGI Fridays or Uggs of film and television. For example, Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler are both nominated for their roles in Blended, a film pretty much universally panned by critics. Prize-winning qualifications seem to include being young, attractive and available to sit in the theater on a Wednesday night.

Tonight’s show is hosted by Anna Faris and Allison Janney, who know that they are not the first choice for awards-show hosts, but they gamely point out that Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris was unavailable and Ellen DeGeneres was “busy” — cue the camera panning to DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi sitting in the front row. After recovering from that awkward moment, the duo spent the rest of the evening re-enacting scenes from Mom, the sitcom that they were contractually obligated to repeatedly plug throughout the evening to diminishing returns.

Before the many, many awards start getting handed out at a rapid clip, Faris reminds us that these awards are truly a popularity contest. Actual people actually chose the categories and the winners. For deigning to do our civic duty and vote, we get to sit through two-plus hours of CBS promotions, Walgreen’s plugs and the occasional bright spot like Chris Pratt showing up (sort of) to support his wife, Rainn Wilson being Rainn Wilson and Amy Adams giving Ben Affleck his prize as the people’s favorite humanitarian. Plus, there were performances by Lady Antebellum, Iggy Azalea and Fall Out Boy to help while away the hours.

Favorite Comedic Movie Actress: Melissa McCarthy took the prize for her fine work in Tammy, beating out Drew Barrymore for Blended, Charlize Theron for A Million Ways to Die in the West, newlywed Cameron Diaz and even Tina Fey.

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor: Adam Sandler, because despite what some of the staff of Sony might think (according to their leaked emails), America apparently still loves them some Sandler. While Blended topped TIME’s list of the worst movies of 2014, Sandler bested 22 Jump Street’s Channing Tatum, Neighbors’ Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, and Jonah Hill, who was seemingly nominated for his general existence.

Favorite Hip-Hop Artist: To introduce this category, the producers chose Parenthood stars Monica Potter and Dax Shephard, who are admittedly “over 40, super duper white and suburban.” Luckily, the winner perfectly fit that demographic (plus, she was already in the house): Iggy Azalea. Sorry, Jay Z, apparently the people are no longer in an Empire State of Mind.

Favorite Male Country Artist: Lady Antebellum performed and stuck around to name Hunter Hayes as the reigning king of country, even though he’s really more the dauphin of country, if anything. The young’s beat out Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Tim McGraw.

Favorite TV Icon: Ellen DeGeneres, who has 15 Waterford Crystal awards for favorite daytime TV host lining her mantel (several mantles probably), showed up to present the award. We’re going to take a wild guess that Betty White is the winner, because she is sitting in the front row, and they probably don’t wheel the 93-year-old off the Hot in Cleveland set for nothing. And, sure enough she does. Congratulations! By the way, DeGeneres won for daytime TV host again, too. After 15 wins, none of the other nominees even bothered to show up.

Favorite Action Movie Actor: Captain America star Chris Evans won over Denzel Washington, Wolverine Hugh Jackman, Mark Wahlberg and Liam Neeson, who is on The Tonight Show tonight, so was already *cough* taken.

Favorite Cable TV Actor: The award went to Matt Bomer for his work in the final season of White Collar. He claimed victory over Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam, Sean Bean, Eric Dane and William H. Macy, because the people are just really into White Collar, apparently.

Favorite Comedic TV Actress: Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, which you probably guessed, because she was already in the theater for a The Wedding Ringer plug at the beginning of the show. In the 59 seconds she was allotted for accepting her prize for The Big Bang Theory, she managed to thank Chuck Lorre, make a bid for staying on the show for the rest of her life, and plug The Wedding Ringer. Now that takes talent.

Favorite Country Band: Lady Antebellum is probably contractually obligated to win, as they already performed and there appears to be some sort of quid pro quo going on. To their credit, they do manage to make some very surprised faces when their name is called.

Favorite Humanitarian Award: To hand out the award to the A-List star, the producers brought out an A-List presenter, specifically, Amy Adams, who presented Ben Affleck with the prize for his humanitarian efforts in the Congo (which seemingly crashed the Eastern Congo Initiative website). Since Affleck was already there, the producers shoved the Favorite Thriller Movie Award for Gone Girl into his gift bag.

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress: Entourage (minus Drama plus skinny Turtle) came to promote their forthcoming movie and hand an award to Chloë Grace Moretz for her work in If I Stay. Sorry Meryl Streep, the people have spoken and Moretz was the best actress last year.

Favorite TV Drama: It’s a two-fer! Grey’s Anatomy, which is definitely the best drama on television right now, took the prize, and since the cast was already on stage the producers gave star Ellen Pompeo the statue for favorite dramatic TV actress. This award show is nothing if not economical.

Favorite Actress in a New TV Series: Viola Davis takes home the well-deserved crystal wedge for her work in How to Get Away With Murder. This is the first award of the night that might actually be a precursor to wins at the Golden Globes, SAG and/or NAACP awards.

Favorite Movie Actor: Spoiler alert: the camera panned past Robert Downey Jr. a minute ago, so he’s going into this as the front runner. Surprise! He took not one, but two prizes, collecting favorite dramatic movie actor as well. It’s his fourth consecutive People’s Choice Award, and while he didn’t seem to prepare a speech, he did promise to eat up the fans because he loves them all so much.

Favorite TV Show: The Big Bang Theory collected their fourth consecutive prize and delivered a heartfelt speech about how much they love their fans and doing the show. They were also handed the trophy for favorite network TV comedy, because why not.

As the show wrapped up, Alison Janney returned to the stage to quickly shout out a few other winners, which will undoubtedly be listed on the website eventually. Several awards were given off-camera, because if all the awards (there are a lot of categories) were shown it would have ran so long it would have preempted Mom, and we couldn’t have that. Oddly, what one would think were some of the biggest awards, like favorite movie and favorite movie actress, were also left out of the live show, probably because they couldn’t get anyone to show up. Two off-camera prizes that they did announce were:

Favorite Cable Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show: Outlander (over The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, American Horror Story and Game of Thrones) with a quick cut to the stars hoisting their prize in the air from their seats.

Favorite Competition TV Show: The Voice, which is produced by Mark Burnett, who just so happens to be in the theater, because he is producing a little show called the People’s Choice Awards.

Congratulations to all the winners. Can’t wait to see who the people choose to run the country in 2016.

He could've been a contender.