The illusion of choice is a cognitive bias that causes people to believe they have more control over their lives than they actually do. In fact, it is a false sense of control that can lead to suboptimal decision-making.

The concept is relatively new. It was first referred to by American philosopher and psychologist William James. James argues that choices can be forced or avoidable, and that every dilemma based on a complete logical disjunction, with no possibility of not choosing, is an option of this forced kind. In a paper published in 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper found that people are more likely to purchase products when they are given fewer choices.

The illusion of choice is often used in advertising and marketing to make people feel like they are in control of their purchase decisions. The same techniques may be applied in voting to make voters feel more confident in their choice of who to vote for.

In reality, the illusion of choice is a false sense of control that can lead to making decisions based on incomplete information. A famous example of this is the documentary The Great Hack. The film explores how the data company Cambridge Analytic a used the illusion of choice to control people’s opinions. In the film, it is revealed that Cambridge Analytica used data from the Internet to create targeted ads for users based on their profiles. The ads were designed to appeal to people’s fears and biases in order to affect their opinions on candidates.

The illusion of choice can be a powerful tool to control people. It is essential to be aware of your own biases and tendencies when making decisions. Take time to consider all of your options before making a decision. Be aware of the potential risks and costs associated with your choices. Seek out multiple opinions before making a final decision.

Older adults who sleep six hours or fewer a night may have elevated risk for dementia(痴呆症) and other cognitive (认知的) issues, a new study finds.

Researchers at Stanford University measured seniors' (ages 65 to 85) dementia risk and cognitive abilities, finding higher risk in those patients who regularly slept six or fewer hours compared to those who slept seven or eight hours. Those seniors who slept nine or more hours also had lower cognitive functions and other health issues, but the researchers didn't find the same high dementia risk in this group.

The findings demonstrate how important it is for adults to maintain a healthy sleep cycle, especially as they get older.

As adults age, it's common for their sleep patterns to change or become disrupted — leading to longer, shorter, or more irregular sleep. This disruption may be linked to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, impacting seniors' ability to remember information, problem-solve, and go through everyday behaviors. Sleep disruption can also be caused by or heighten depression, cardiovascular disease（冠心病）, and other conditions.

A recommended sleep time for seniors is seven to eight hours, the researchers said. Six or fewer hours corresponded to short sleep, while nine or more hours corresponded to long sleep.

The Stanford researchers measured levels of beta amyloid, a protein in the brain that is typically found in high levels when a patient develops Alzheimer's. In addition, the researchers used several tests for memory, attention, spatial skills, and executive function to identify patients' cognitive abilities. Those patients sleeping for six hours or fewer a night were more likely to develop dementia, the researchers found. The low-sleep patients   had higher levels of beta amyloid.

The Stanford researchers found that patients with lower sleep also performed worse on memory tests, while those with higher sleep (more hours) performed worse on executive function tests，which measure the brain's ability to switch between different tasks.

―The main takeaway is that it is important to maintain healthy sleep late in life, Winer told CNN.

The latest IPCC report does not mince words(直言不讳地) about the state of our planet: we must act now to achieve global change at a scale that has “no documented historical precedent(先例)” in order to avoid the climate disaster that would result from a 2 degree C rise in average global temperature. Climate change already affects the world's most helpless people including poor rural communities that depend on the land for their livings and coastal communities. Indeed, we have already seen the clear asymmetry(不对称) of suffering resulting from extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires and more.

So far, advocates and politicians have tended to focus on reducing fossil fuel(矿物燃料) consumption through technology and/or policy, such as a sharp carbon tax, as climate solutions. These proposals are, of course, essential to reducing manmade carbon emissions(排放)-71 percent of which are produced by just 100 fossil fuel companies.

Yet the international focus on fossil fuels has overshadowed(使......显得不重要) the most powerful and cost-efficient carbon-capture technology the world has yet seen: forests. Recent scientific research confirms that forests and other “natural climate solutions” are absolutely essential in reducing climate change. In fact, natural climate solutions can help us achieve 37 percent of our climate target, even though they currently receive only 2.5 percent of public climate financing.

Forests' power to store carbon dioxide through the simple process of tree growth is staggering:_one tree can even store an average of about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. Recent research show undamaged forests are capable of storing the same amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of entire countries such as Peru and Colombia.

For this reason, policy makers and business leaders must create and strengthen ambitious policies to prevent deforestation, and support the sustainable management of standing forests in the fight against climate change. Protecting the world's forests ensures they can continue to provide essential functions aside from climate stability, including producing oxygen, filtering water and supporting biodiversity. Not only do all the world's people depend on forests to provide clean air, clean water，oxygen, and medicines, but 1.6 billion people rely on them directly for their livelihoods.