These 5 Books Might Make You a Better Friend
Emely Rumble, a therapist in New York City who brings literature into her practice, knows that reading can help people reflect on their lives.
In the summer of 2024, she hosted a book group discussion on 'Fighting for Our Friendships,' by Danielle Bayard Jackson. As the group analyzed how someone in the book handled a challenging friendship, a group member had 'an emotional breakthrough,' Ms. Rumble recalled.
The group member realized she'd tackled her own issue the opposite way, Ms. Rumble explained, and decided to take action that night. She sent her old friend a voice message, and after years of silence, the pair began repairing their friendship, Ms. Rumble said.
Friendships are vital to our health, the research shows, yet they often take a back seat to romantic relationships. 'There are so few resources devoted to the topic,' said Miriam Kirmayer, a clinical psychologist in Montreal who focuses on social connection. But books, she said, can give us tools for creating and sustaining meaningful bonds.
These five titles, recommended by counselors, researchers and health professionals, explore how to build, nurture and repair your friendships — helping you shift your mind-set and find more joy in them.
'Platonic' by Marisa G. Franco
This book, published in 2022, was the top recommendation from our experts. In it, Dr. Franco explores the psychology and neuroscience behind adult friendships, explaining how they affect our mental and physical health.
Alexandra Solomon, a psychology professor at Northwestern University and host of the 'Reimagining Love' podcast says she appreciates how Dr. Franco uses attachment theory, which explains how our early relationships shape our future connections, to help readers 'create emotional safety and security within our friendships.'
'We typically see this model applied to romantic relationships,' said Matt Sosnowsky, a therapist and the founder of Philadelphia Talk Therapy. 'However, it's just as relevant with friendships because connection, of any sort, is both wonderful and scary.'
'Platonic' offers solutions for reaching secure attachment in friendships, Mr. Sosnowsky said. He cited its practical tips to help the reader experiment with vulnerability, like extending an invite to a new friend and opening up 'about the things in life that bring us pain, or even shame.'
'The Other Significant Others' by Rhaina Cohen
This 2024 title 'looks at what happens when we give friendships the same weight and significance as romantic relationships,' said Ms. Rumble, whose forthcoming book, 'Bibliotherapy in the Bronx,' chronicles her experience leading the therapy book group.
Ms. Cohen interviewed people all over the United States who had built friendships that 'brought together financial interdependence and domestic interdependence,' Dr. Solomon said, illustrating how full someone's life can be without a traditional romantic partner.
Eli J. Finkel, a psychology professor at Northwestern University and a host of the 'Love Factually' podcast, likes how Ms. Cohen asks 'whether our tendency today to center the romantic relationship is promoting versus undermining human welfare.'
This book, he said, 'demonstrates that people can live deep, meaningful lives that don't revolve around a romantic partner.'
'Big Friendship' by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
The longtime friends (and podcast hosts) Ms. Sow and Ms. Friedman wrote this 2020 book as a 'real-life account of their friendship,' said Erica Schwartzberg, a psychotherapist in New York City.
Mixing research with their personal stories, the authors offer insights for maintaining friendships. For instance, they unpack the term 'shine theory,' which is the idea that when your friends succeed, you do too. And they argue that the key ingredient for a lasting friendship is effort. At one point, these friends even turned to a couples' counselor for help.
Ms. Schwartzberg said that she recommends this book to her clients in their 20s and 30s, because it 'depicts the complexities and challenges that arise in rich friendships.'
'The Art of Loving' by Erich Fromm
First published in 1956, this classic is a 'wise philosophical treatise' on what it actually means to love someone, Dr. Finkel said.
Mr. Fromm argues that love helps us become the best version of ourselves, said Dr. Franco, the author of 'Platonic.' But he's 'pretty critical of romantic love,' she added, as it can be a selfish attempt to 'complete' ourselves through another person. Instead, Mr. Fromm supports 'brotherly love,' or friendship, as 'the more powerful form of love,' she said.
'The Art of Loving' also presents the idea that love is not simply a feeling but a practice, said Anthony Jack, a professor of ethics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Love in action: 'I can't think of a more accurate or profound definition of friendship,' Dr. Finkel said.
'The Friendship Cure' by Kate Leaver
Our friendships are crucial to our health, argues Ms. Leaver in this 2018 call-to-arms that explores what friendship is, why it matters and how we can make the most of it.
Reflecting on the loneliness epidemic, Ms. Leaver says friendship is a potential cure. The book blends research with personal stories from people she interviewed, offering tools to nurture friendships, as well as ways to repair broken connections.
'This book truly breaks down why we need friendship to survive, why we crave it when it is feeling scarce, and how we've evolved to seek out connection with other humans,' said Chelsea Sarai, a Los Angeles psychologist.
She recommends it to clients, and added that it's an important reminder of the value of authentic connection 'in an increasingly digital world.'
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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
How Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica's all-pervasive €112 billion empire has disrupted and dominated how we see the world
Europe is home to some of the world's most iconic companies. Many started small to quell a single person's curiosity before exploding into a global phenomenon. As a new resident, big, successful European brands have piqued my interest. What's their story? How did they transform into the giants they are today? How have they sustained their legacy over time? Those are some of the questions I explore in this new series. EssilorLuxottica is a colossus shaping the vision of billions around the world. Yet its veritable presence hides in plain sight, underscoring that there's so much more to it than meets the eye. Its labels are everywhere—from Ray-Ban Aviators and Oakley's sporty sunglasses to progressive lenses that improve vision at different distances. But it's tricky to pigeonhole EssilorLuxottica into being a master of just one or a few things. It makes functional eyeglasses for daily wear, backs scientists addressing the biggest challenges hampering vision, and sells high-end branded eyewear—all at once. The Franco-Italian company has built up its business—and, therefore, clout—to touch every part of eyewear, of which it controls 25% of the market, according to Euromonitor International. The company didn't hit this scale of influence by accident, but built it over more than a century with an elaborate tapestry of deals. 144 EssilorLuxottica's methods have proved immensely successful: It reported €26.5 billion in revenue last year and has a market capitalization of €112 billion ($128 billion). It's also a member of the CAC 40, the stock index that tracks the largest Paris-listed companies, including LVMH and Michelin. The company's roots go back to 1849, when Essilor was founded as a cooperative association for eyewear craftsmen in Paris. Essilor became associated with scientific know-how, pioneering breakthroughs like the Varilux lenses designed for presbyopia, a condition affecting the vision of objects up close, affecting nearly 80% of those over the age of 55. Luxottica, meanwhile, was founded in 1961 by Leonardo Del Vecchio, the brains behind the company's ascent. He set up a humble workshop in Agordo, Italy, to make components for the optical industry. But Del Vecchio's ambitions soon outstripped the confines of Italy or Europe. He tapped every opportunity to expand into the eyewear industry's value chain, which could grow Luxottica into an international giant. Luxottica was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1990 (and in Milan in 2000), a rare step at the time for a niche Italian company. Luxottica's ambition was such that when it was eyeing retail chain LensCrafters for purchase, its Ohio-based owner, U.S. Shoe, was five times as large as the Italian company. Still, Luxottica bought U.S. Shoe in 1995, only to sell off all but the one component of its business that would grow Luxottica's retail presence in America, thus making it the first manufacturer to enter the optical retail realm. Ultimately, Del Vecchio's business chops and Essilor's technical foundation would make for a powerhouse with unparalleled authority. Both companies, Essilor and Luxottica, 'are well rooted in their historical way of working … We are working always in somehow disrupting the business per se, [such as] introducing medical innovation, changing the world, and creating iconic products and iconic solutions,' Federico Buffa, EssilorLuxottica's chief product and marketing officer, told Fortune. He covers the gamut of the company's product pipeline as well as eyewear design and research. When the companies were considering merging in the mid-2010s, Essilor and Luxottica had become the world's largest suppliers of prescription lenses and eyewear, respectively. The two also had near-equal and vast market shares of 13% and 14%, respectively, in the eyewear space—a far cry from other challengers. Typically, a deal of such scale could have set off alarm bells in Europe's highly regulated environment. However, a European Union investigation triggered after the deal was announced in 2017 revealed that the two companies complemented each other by working concurrently rather than competitively with opticians. It said the two companies overlapped in whom they serviced, but did different things and therefore had different rivals. U.S. authorities arrived at the same conclusion, enabling the merger to be completed in October 2018. Today, the Franco-Italian company operates in the complex convergence of eye care, fashion eyewear, and medical technology. It invests as much as €350 million in R&D annually and is chasing deals that will make its products even more critical to how people experience the world. Its recent tech offering, the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, has sold over 2 million units since its debut in October 2023 in partnership with Mark Zuckerberg's social media giant, opening up a new market that few have succeeded in: smart eye accessories. The cutting-edge side of EssilorLuxottica's eyewear is in striking contrast to the ho-hum, predictable market for eyeglasses that help with everyday vision. That means getting every element of the basics right while changing the industry it leads. With a company as diversified and category-defining as EssilorLuxottica, finding successful growth engines is a constant quest. But there's no company better positioned for it. 'We are in the visual world, and indeed … we are able to look into many [different] directions,' Buffa said. 3 things that helped EssilorLuxottica conquer the world: 1. Building business prowess through vertical integration EssilorLuxottica secured its omnipresence in the world today by masterfully capturing every segment of the eyewear value chain, a strategy for which Del Vecchio was the chief architect. The self-made entrepreneur traced a stunning rags-to-riches story: He was raised in an orphanage in Milan and started working at age 14 as an apprentice to a metal engraver. When he began building his business making frames, Del Vecchio became a fierce leader who would start work at 3 a.m. His shrewd vision made Luxottica incrementally bigger with each business it eyed. In business-speak, the company learned to master vertical integration—not just for its own suite of products, as luxury brands like Louis Vuitton or sports retailer Decathlon did, but for the entire eyewear and eye care industry. 'If I had to sum up how successful the business model is, really, 90% comes from vertical integration. I think it's the ultimate competitive advantage in this industry,' said Cédric Rossi, the vice president of equity research in luxury and consumer goods at investment firm Stifel Europe. Being vertically integrated fueled a virtuous cycle that made Luxottica's business boom. For instance, it began inking long-term eyewear licensing deals with Giorgio Armani, Prada, and others, and when it eventually took over the largest optical banners, such as Sunglass Hut and GrandVision, it sold these fashion sunglasses there. 'In most cases, the structure of those deals is a trademark license where EssilorLuxottica is paying a royalty, which is a percentage of sales. While that royalty can eat into the overall profit, the high margins a luxury brand's trademark can achieve easily dwarf those royalty payments,' Douglas Hand, a fashion industry lawyer, wrote in an email. The mystery behind markups on eyeglasses has long chased the industry, with some experts speculating they can soar as high as 1,000%. Houlihan Lokey, a Los Angeles–based investment bank, estimated that gross margins on prescription eyewear are upwards of 65%, nearing the 70%-plus often boasted by luxury goods brands. To be sure, while high markups are common in industries like luxury, where goods are made by craftspeople in limited quantities or use high-end materials like leather, the same qualities aren't typically apparent in eyewear. Parts of basic eyewear are mass-produced in factories using plastic for frames and a blend of glass or plastic with chemicals poured into molds to make lenses. Remarkably, eyewear companies have still been able to justify markups as necessary to bring in vast profits, essential as consumers 'purchase these products infrequently,' Euromonitor International's eyewear analyst Natasha Cazin pointed out. By extending its retail control, Luxottica became virtually inescapable for customers seeking eyewear. The stores put the company at the intersection of demand and supply by connecting people to optometrists, who guide them through the process of choosing their eyeglasses. 'It's very interesting to have this combination of engineers, brand-building capability, [and] people coming from retailing activity. So all in all, you've got a perfect blend … which is definitely helping the company to outperform the eyewear industry,' Rossi said. Another example of how vertical integration helped the company was in rejiggering Ray-Ban's appeal. The storied brand had successfully shielded pilots' vision from the sun since the 1930s. It also made its mark in pop culture after being sported by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Tom Cruise in Top Gun. But in 1999, when Luxottica bought its parent, Bausch & Lomb, Ray-Ban was in steady decline. Still, the Italian company recognized its potential and added its magic touch (and some extra dollars to the Ray-Ban price tag). Luxottica did a few things to change Ray-Ban inside out: It reorganized Ray-Ban's production by using Luxottica's state-of-the-art manufacturing capability in Italy to improve quality. It also moved Ray-Ban sales from lowbrow locations to the top retail stores where the company sold other premium frames, and began offering prescription and personalized versions of the iconic sunglasses. Today, Ray-Ban is EssilorLuxottica's crown jewel and the vessel for some of its breakthrough wearable innovations. It's also the largest brand in EssilorLuxottica's portfolio, accounting for approximately 12% of the group's 2024 sales. The compound benefit of vertical integration for EssilorLuxottica was ultimately that it acted as a shield from potential new entrants in the eyewear market, ensuring that no one would heavily disrupt the industry, simply because they lacked the scale EssilorLuxottica has. 'In general, by dominating the market and being vertically integrated, life is good for EssilorLuxottica,' said Hand. 2. Fine-tuning the research muscle At the center of EssilorLuxottica's existence is its research focus, which has yielded over 15,000 patents. The company works with a network of researchers, engineers, and designers who help address vision impairments, develop wearable eye accessories, and more. Take Oakley's Prizm lenses. The sports-tailored glasses help accentuate details of what the wearer sees by enhancing contrast through their tinted lenses. 'The growth plan of the company is not only by acquisition, [but] mainly by internal research [and] development,' said Buffa, EssilorLuxottica's product chief. The Paris-headquartered company works with research centers worldwide and funds the education of future optometrists who serve as the bridge between eyeglass makers and shoppers. The company's R&D network includes thousands of researchers who develop over 3,500 new eyewear models a year and bolster the company's future-minded scientific footing. One of EssilorLuxottica's main fields of study is myopia, or nearsightedness, which it sees as one of the 'biggest threats facing health care.' With more than half the world's population projected to suffer from it by 2050, the company is focusing some of its resources on raising awareness about myopia, which often impacts people before they're 20 years old. The company developed the Essilor Stellest lenses, which can slow myopia progression by 67% on average, according to clinical trial results. Now that the lenses have proved successful, selling them will be simple enough, as EssilorLuxottica has a constellation of experts and stores that can prescribe and sell them. Euromonitor International's Cazin noted that the demand for myopia management spectacles and contact lenses has risen at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% and 13%, respectively, in the past five years. 'The growth plan of the company is not only by acquisition' Given the global scale of myopia, EssilorLuxottica's OneSight Foundation has undertaken to eradicate uncorrected poor vision by 2050. If the company isn't already researching a condition through its capabilities, it has never shied away from striking deals to further cement its R&D. For instance, EssilorLuxottica bought a majority stake in the German imaging and IT company Heidelberg Engineering last year to improve diagnosis and patient care in matters of the eye. Beyond the focus on ophthalmology, the company's appetite for innovative undertakings has also recently pulled it into the wearables market. 'Growth is often based on technology, and for EssilorLuxottica, I think that's true. They are continually innovating with lens development [by] making their medical product better and better,' Hand late 2024, EssilorLuxottica confirmed a long-term agreement with Meta to create 'multigenerational smart eyewear.' Although other tech companies, including Google, have tried to crack the wearable eye tech market, it hasn't clicked in the past for various reasons, including a clunky user interface and an awkward look. (Pointing to his spectacles during the interview with Fortune, Buffa said: 'Sticking a piece of technology here doesn't mean eyewear that people can wear on a daily basis.') But EssilorLuxottica, the designer extraordinaire that it is, joined hands with Meta to give the wearables market a sprinkle of magic. Francesco Milleri, the eyewear giant's CEO, even hailed the state-of-the-art Ray-Ban glasses as a technology that will replace most devices in the future. He might be right—EssilorLuxottica is only scratching the surface as it's also started dabbling in audio aids. The Nuance Audio hearing glasses carry the unmistakable stamp of a Ray-Ban sibling, but they also create a paradigm shift in how hearing devices look. The company's ability to fund hundreds of millions of euros worth of new research assures its future path to creative and innovative advancements, whether in style or in the science underlying the eyeglasses it makes. Bulking up its research muscles gives EssilorLuxottica one clear advantage: It's becoming a disrupter of the same market in which it's also an incumbent. 3. Smart shopping Merging Essilor and Luxottica had been 'a lifelong dream' for Del Vecchio, according to the website of his namesake nonprofit foundation. It was the founder's way of ensuring the company's longevity after building it from the ground up, especially as he wasn't passing on the CEO baton to any of his six children (Francesco Milleri was Del Vecchio's protégé, but isn't related to him). Dealmaking savvy has been the greatest enabler of Essilor and Luxottica throughout their individual histories, as they have gone from strength to strength. That remains true today. Buffa said the Paris-listed company's acquisitions are generally guided by the 'opportunity of that specific moment,' EssilorLuxottica's long-term vision, and 'seizing every opportunity that aligns with our ambition.' EssilorLuxottica bought Nuance Hearing in 2023 to fight the stigma surrounding hearing aids and embed audio enhancement tools into eyeglasses. Buffa described the recently launched product as a 'beautiful,' 'pragmatic,' and 'invisible' solution so the wearer doesn't feel isolated. In the past six months, the Paris-headquartered giant has bought ophthalmology group Optegra, AI audio startup Pulse Audition, noninvasive medical device company Espansione Group, and Canadian retinal imaging startup Cellview. Now that the company has grossed $100 billion in market value (another of Del Vecchio's goals), its long-term growth is predicated on maintaining its prominent market position. 'When you are by far the biggest player in the field, the challenge is not to gain market share versus your competitors—it's to make sure that the market itself grows, because you have a bigger cake, and it's better for you to operate in a larger space,' Stifel Europe's Rossi said. Somehow, EssilorLuxottica hasn't struggled to grow the market yet. In 2019, it announced a bid for GrandVision, which owned a network of over 7,000 stores globally. That prompted an EU investigation as it was one of the companies to which EssilorLuxottica sold its products. However, the Franco-Italian company argued that buying GrandVision would 'allow the company to deliver a superior eyecare and eyewear experience to more people globally.' (While pressing for the acquisition, EssilorLuxottica sued GrandVision over how it managed its business during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, even after the eyewear giant had already made its intent to purchase clear.) Regulators green-lit the €7 billion deal in 2021 on the condition that EssilorLuxottica sell its stores in Belgium, Italy, and Spain, where GrandVision's retail presence could undermine competition. In some ways, the company is like a chess grand master. It doesn't blindly make moves but anticipates the following paradigm change that will shape the entire industry. Last year, EssilorLuxottica bought Supreme, the streetwear brand, which confused many observers. Rossi characterized the deal as a bid for the millennial 'phone book,' to get a better grasp on this demographic. EssilorLuxottica floated the idea of acquisitions to grow its production capabilities in the U.S. if tariffs were to kick in, although CEO Milleri said he 'won't rush a decision.' For now, the company will increase prices in the American market to offset the levies. Indirect effects of levies could hurt the parts of its business that hinge on discretionary spending, such as sunglasses, but its bread-and-butter vision care business is a necessity for billions of people. The Franco-Italian company's deals are often strategic—even if, in some cases, the strategy is to protect itself from global volatility. No matter how you look at EssilorLuxottica—as a market observer, curious reader, investor, or customer—the company's current position feels unshakable. The company's shares have risen 25% in the past year, and it has reported five years of sales growth, barring 2020, when the pandemic hit. When Del Vecchio died in 2022 at the age of 87, he was Italy's second-richest man, following the family behind the hazelnut-flavored chocolates Ferrero Rocher. He was worth $25.7 billion at the time. Today, his family has a 32.5% stake in the business through their holding company, Delfin. 'Today, EssilorLuxottica is also fighting with Netflix, [and] with those kinds of companies, because your war … is to take a few minutes or a few hours of a customer in a day' Experts have questioned whether EssilorLuxottica is a quasi-monopoly—not an outlandish claim given the company's influence. But the world's regulators certainly haven't thought so, making it more of a smartly erected empire. Rossi noted that, given the fragmented nature of the eyewear market and varied input costs in different markets, the company will always coexist with smaller, lower-priced players. EssilorLuxottica won't have a straightforward path ahead. It will have to contend with the likes of Warby Parker, which went public in 2021 with price competitiveness relative to the rest of the market at the heart of its appeal. Others, like Germany's Zeiss, which makes lenses for cameras and microscopes in addition to eyeglasses, and British chain Specsavers have growing businesses, too. But none of these players have as wide-ranging operations as EssilorLuxottica, nor are they as vertically integrated as their Franco-Italian counterpart. It's also diversified enough to be up to the challenges of the future. 'Today, EssilorLuxottica is also fighting with Netflix, [and] with those kinds of companies, because your war … is to take a few minutes or a few hours of a customer in a day,' Rossi said. Some of EssilorLuxottica's bestselling products will have to contend with other players in the future, too. For instance, Kering Eyewear, a division within the broader luxury conglomerate, partnered with Google in late May to make AI-powered glasses. It doesn't take 20/20 vision to recognize that EssilorLuxottica stays two steps ahead in a game its opponents are still learning to play. That's perhaps why the French-Italian giant needn't worry too much about losing relevance. In a 2024 report, the company acknowledged that the need for optical products will continue to grow, especially as problems like an aging population and increased screen time show no signs of abating. Hearing loss is on a similar trajectory, and the company is already carving out this new niche with help from its retail channels. 'We are considering really every innovation that is related to the zone in which we can do something, directly or indirectly, to the [eye care] industry,' Buffa said. Fortune wants to hear the stories of European companies with a global footprint that's touching the lives of millions of consumers worldwide. Get in touch: This story was originally featured on
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Buzz Feed
How ADHD Affects Driving Skills: What To Know
For people who are easily distracted, driving can feel like a stressful endeavor. From stoplights to traffic jams to honking horns, there's lots to consider when buckling your seat belt and hitting the gas. But while distracted driving is a danger for absolutely everyone, people with ADHD may have more to contend with when it comes to operating a vehicle. Research says that people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to get in a car crash that's their fault — and to get traffic tickets. There are a number of reasons this happens, and a lot of it has to do with the sheer number of distractions that can occur while driving. But experts say this research shouldn't discourage folks with ADHD, particularly those who manage their diagnosis well. Below, experts share what you should know about this research and what drivers who have trouble focusing should do to stay safe on the road. People with ADHD are at a higher risk of car accidents because of increased distractions. 'If you do a research study where you look at 1,000 people with ADHD, and you compare them to 1,000 people who are perfectly matched in every way except they don't have the ADHD diagnosis and then you follow them, and you look at the rate of car accidents, you'll see that the rate of car accidents, most likely, is increased in the people with ADHD in that group of 1,000 people a little bit,' said Dr. Will Cronenwett, the vice chair for clinical affairs in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University in Illinois. Research in teenagers found that those with ADHD had a 9% higher chance of getting into a car accident that was their fault. Inattentive behavior was the top reason for accidents, while another reason was driving at an unsafe speed. Why might this be? According to Jackie Morrison, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Minnesota, the ADHD brain filters information in a different manner than a neurotypical brain. ADHD is known to cause trouble focusing and inattention in folks with the disorder, which can, of course, also lead to trouble on the road. 'There is, in a lot of cases, a truly different amount of information that is coming in. And your brain isn't filtering out as many distractions,' explained Morrison. 'And so things that an ADHD brain is picking up on might be significantly more than a neurotypical brain, and so there are literally more distractions sometimes for an ADHD brain,' she said. With an ADHD brain, you need more stimulation and engagement to get your brain in the 'task-positive network,' said Morrison. 'The task-positive network is the grouping of your brain systems that turn on and activate when you're engaged in a task and helps you focus,' she added. If there isn't enough stimulation, which can happen when you're driving, your brain isn't going to go in this network. Both experts stressed that these research findings don't mean that individual ADHD drivers are any worse than other drivers on the road. 'You can say on a population level that ... having a disorder that impairs your attention does increase the risk for driving accidents in that population, but you can't say anything about a particular individual,' Cronenwett noted. Meaning, someone with an ADHD diagnosis who manages their ADHD properly can be a safer driver than someone without ADHD. 'I would caution against people looking at the ADHD label as either a flag for 'now I'm at risk' versus not at risk,' he added. 'Because people with ADHD can be very well-treated, and their symptoms can be under control, and they can be quite safe,' explained Cronenwett. Distracted driving, in general, can lead to traffic incidents. Just because someone doesn't have ADHD doesn't mean they're a safe driver by default. There are plenty of other distractions — cellphones, other passengers, day-to-day stress, exhaustion, and more — that can put anyone at a higher risk of an accident. For example, 'people won't be able to pay as good attention to the road when they are fatigued,' said Cronenwett. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 633 car crashes happened as a result of drowsy driving in 2023. 'So, I wouldn't want people to just look at the [ADHD] diagnosis as if that determines whether they are at risk at any particular given moment,' noted Cronenwett. Instead of focusing on your diagnosis before you start driving, focus on how you feel. Before getting in your car, take note of how you're feeling. Are you tired? Are you distracted because of an argument with your partner? This way, you can decide if you have the faculties to safely operate your car. And this is true for anyone — not just those with ADHD, said Cronenwett. 'Any number of things influence somebody's risk more than just the strict presence or absence of a label,' he said. If you don't feel focused enough to drive, don't do it. 'I think we can all agree that distracted drivers, or inattentive drivers, are at risk for having car crashes, and they should certainly be very, very careful in their own driving habits,' said Cronenwett. Once again, people can be distracted because they're tired, because of stressful social situations or even from depression and anxiety, he added. 'So, any type of inattentive or distracted driving puts somebody at risk,' he said. If you don't have an ADHD diagnosis and want one, Morrison said it could be a good idea to find a doctor or therapist in the field who has an understanding of ADHD and can help you learn more about how your brain works so you can efficiently and safely move through the world. For people who can't get diagnosed because of a lack of insurance coverage, long appointment wait times or for whatever reason, Morrison recommends mindfulness as a way to combat distractions. 'Be aware of your body in space and your breath for a few minutes at a time, and let thoughts move in and out ... you're just experiencing what it's like to be in your body at that moment in time. [It] can be really helpful because it gives your brain a chance to run around off its leash, if you will, and it also gives you practice being present without distracting yourself and without stimulation,' Morrison noted. 'And when you're driving, it can be boring — so, basically you're practicing getting bored,' she said. It can also be helpful to train your brain to move slower, said Morrison — 'because the ADHD brain wants to go fast and it wants to be efficient, even though, arguably, it can be very inefficient at times.' Instead of rushing to prep food or unpack your groceries, take your time while doing it, said Morrison. '[This] can be helpful just to help your body become more comfortable with that inefficiency or that slowness,' Morrison noted. 'Your body and brain want to move fast, and that's not always the safest option when driving, so you're literally helping your body to practice being slow and inefficient, to just get used to that discomfort,' she said. When you're driving, Morrison said it's a good idea to avoid audiobooks or music that you hyper-focus on, and instead turn on options that hold your attention, but don't totally distract you from the road. And it goes without saying, you should not be looking at your phone while driving (this goes for everyone — ADHD or not), said Morrison. HuffPost.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Northwestern University scientists develop possible replacement for PFAS, common "forever chemicals"
They're in cookware, cosmetic products, clothing, tap water, and even detectable in human bodies – PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they resist breaking down and can stay in the body for prolonged periods of time. However, a new nontoxic material developed by Northwestern University scientists could replace these harmful chemicals in paper-based food and beverage packaging. Professor of Chemistry SonBinh Nguyen and Professor of Engineering Tim Wei have developed a graphene oxide solution that is water- and oil-resistant, more compostable, and recyclable than the current average paper plate or take-out cup. The patient-pending product is being commercialized by Go-Eco, a subsidiary of Chang Robotics, where Wei is chief scientist, and a resident startup at Northwestern's Querrey InQbation Lab. Twenty years into Nguyen's research on graphene oxide, Wei came to Northwestern to give a talk about the engineering of food manufacturing before he had worked there. They remained in touch and formed a partnership over the last decade. The team has successfully tested the material on cardboard boxes, plastic produce bags, plates, cups, and straws. What are PFAS? PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These chemicals resist grease, oil, water, and heat. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, PFAS do not degrade easily in the environment because their molecules have one of the strongest bonds. Because of this, PFAS break down slowly, if at all. If you grabbed a cup of coffee at your local convenience store not so terribly long ago, that cup would have contained PFAS. "Even 10 years ago, if you remember a paper cup, the outside of the cup was paper, but the inside had this sort of plasticky coating to it, and so that literally would be like a plastic, or it could be a PFAS, and that was essential to make sure your cup of coffee didn't disintegrate in your hand while you're still trying to drink it," explained Wei. A study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans. There are over 15,000 types of PFAS, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Although not all of them are in use, many are hard to detect. The EPA says it will require public water systems to monitor the level of 6 PFAS by 2027. PFAS arealso detected in food, soil and air, in addition to the consumer Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says that PFAS can last thousands of years. How the graphene oxide material works Graphite — a naturally occurring crystalline form of carbon — is a common everyday substance best known as pencil "lead" (actual lead was never used in pencils despite the name). Graphene is a single, two-dimensional layer of graphite — simply a sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice structure. Nguyen called it "hexagonal chicken wire." Graphene oxide is synthesized when graphene is exposed to oxygen. This process causes the substance to form functional groups — that is, structures that are responsible for reactions. Importantly, graphene oxide with its functional groups is water soluble, while pure graphene is a solid and is not soluble in anything. "So it becomes a solution that we can use to spray, to coat, to integrate it with paper making," explained Nguyen. Specifically, an oxygen function group in the graphene oxide binds onto the fiber of the paper and changes its properties — making it hydrophobic, or resistant to water. Graphene oxide also makes paper more resistant to oil, and reduces the amount of water vapor and gases that make contact with the paper, Wei explained. In other words, graphene creates a barrier when applied to paper. Studies also showed that graphene increases the strength of the substance to which it is applied. In Nguyen's early research, adding graphene oxide to a synthetic polymer, or plastic, dramatically increases its Young's modulus — a measurement of how strong a material is under compression or tension. Graphene oxide also increases the polymer's tensile strength — essentially, the force required to pull it apart. When graphene oxide is used on paper, such as a to-go cup, data likewise document a 30% to 40% increase in strength, Wei said. Better for the environment and health Graphene oxide is safer than PFAS because it is derived from carbon, according to Nguyen. "It resembles a carbohydrate," he said. "Graphene oxide will degrade in the environment the same way wood does biologically." Because graphene oxide is also water soluble, the theory is that it would not stick or stay inside the body the same way microplastics and PFAS do. The team said they are not yet at the step of getting FDA approval and will test this and verify their theories. "This material would be a lot safer for the environment, and a consumer could know that their disposable cup of coffee can safely go in the dumpster or to the compost without spreading harmful chemicals," Nguyen said. Graphene oxide has been shown to be able to filter out heavy metals from tap water, according to research done at MIT in 2021. Northwestern estimates that the U.S. produces approximately 14 million metric tons of paper-based food packaging and corrugated cardboard every year, many of which are coated with PFAS. Next steps "The problem is PFAS work really well and are really inexpensive, but as we learn as a society, that those are really problematic materials, they have to be removed," Wei said. Nguyen said the scientists are trying to "solve a little bit at a time," while pushing ahead in search of an even better alternative. Their long-term goal is to create a paper-based material that replaces plastic for food packaging for produce and meat, paper bags and tableware. The team received funding from a major national tableware manufacturer and is in talks with several companies to try pilot testing. "We work on this to make an impact on our future, our children, grandchildren, and for the whole earth," Nguyen said.
