1 Critical thinking and reflection (Part 1)
At postgraduate level you are expected to engage with ideas and material at the cutting edge of your subject, and to use skills in analysis and synthesis to navigate your way through the information to draw useful and appropriate conclusions that apply to practice in your area. The following activity provides a simple illustration of this.
Activity 1 Critical thinking and reflection (Part 1)
The following extract is taken from an article, called Artificial lights near homes linked to obesity in new study [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , which was published in the British newspaper The Independent (online), under the Health News section. Read the extract below and note your responses to the questions that follow.
Bright artificial lights which glare all night may cause residents of nearby homes to become obese, a recent study has suggested. Researchers made the findings by analysing satellite images of artificial light at night (ALAN) taken by the US military alongside World Health Organisation data on obesity rates. The team at the University of Haifa in Israel found a “statistically significant” link between a man or a woman being overweight or obese when living near ALAN. N.A. Rybnikova of the University of Haifa in Israel told Reuters that artificial light could cause people to eat after the natural dusk when metabolic processes in the body slow down. It is believed that artificial light interferes with the body’s production of melatonin, which controls the sleep cycle. However, the researchers stressed that light bulbs do not cause obesity, and further studies are needed to investigate whether lights from electronic devices like smartphones can affect a person’s weight. Laura Fonken, a researcher at the University of Colorado who had no involvement in the research, told Reuters that evidence is building that artificial light could disturb the metabolism. She added: “Overall, it seems that there aren’t any downsides to trying to keep a consistent sleep schedule and avoid night-time light exposure.” Previous research by the Cancer Research Institute in London found an association between sleeping in a room that was too bright and being overweight. Those who slept at night in a room light enough to see across had larger waistlines than those who bedded down in darkness, the study of 113,000 women found, BBC News reported. However, researchers stressed that the evidence was not strong enough for them to advise people to buy thicker curtains or turn off lights.
- How useful do you think this information might be to a health and social care practitioner concerned with the health and wellbeing of children?
- What use could be made of this information?
- What else might you want to do to follow up a headline, such as this, that might be relevant to your field of interest and work?
Discussion
This information might certainly be useful in raising a potential influence on the health and wellbeing of children. However, would you think it provides enough information to warrant any action, such as advising parents on ensuring their children are not exposed to artificial lights when in the home? Thinking critically would mean that you ask some important questions about this information. For example, where did it come from? What research has informed it? How good was that research? In the bigger picture, there are many factors reported to be linked to obesity. Wider reading will show that obesity is a situation of complexity in potential causal links. Clearly, it would not be sensible to take action without taking a thoughtful and critical approach to such information.