Previous research has demonstrated reliable fluctuations in attentional processes during the course of the day. Everyday life experience sampling, during which participants respond to “probes” delivered at random intervals throughout the day on their mobile devices, is an effective tool for capturing such diurnal fluctuations in a naturalistic way. The existence of diurnal fluctuations in the case of mind-wandering, however, has not been examined to date. We did so in two studies. In the first study, we employed everyday experience sampling to obtain self-reports from 146 university students who rated the degree of free movement in their thoughts multiple times per day over five days. These time course data were analyzed using multilevel modelling. Freely moving thought was found to fluctuate reliably over the course of the day, with lower ratings reported in the early morning and afternoon and higher ratings around midday and evening. In the second study, we replicated these effects with a reanalysis of data from a past everyday experience-sampling study. We also demonstrated differences in parameter values for the models representing freely moving thought and two common conceptualizations of mind-wandering: task-unrelated thought and stimulus-independent thought. Taken together, the present results establish and replicate a complex pattern of change over the course of the day in how freely thought moves, while also providing further evidence that freedom of movement is dissociable from other dimensions of thought such as its task-relatedness and stimulus-dependence. Future research should focus on probing possible mechanisms behind circadian fluctuations of thought dynamics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s41235-018-0141-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Aim Cognitive deficits are recognized features of depressive disorders in youth aged 12–25. These deficits are distressing, predict functional impairment and limit the effectiveness of psychological therapies. Cognitive enhancement using behavioural, biochemical or physical treatments may be useful in young people with depression, but studies have not been synthesized. The aim was to systematically review the evidence for treatments for objective and subjective cognitive functioning, and their acceptability and functional outcomes in people aged 12–25 with depression. Method Three electronic databases were searched for articles using pre‐specified criteria. Pharmacological treatments were not eligible. Risk of bias was rated using the Cochrane Collaboration's revised risk‐of‐bias tool. Dual full‐text article screening, data extraction and quality ratings were completed. Results Twelve studies were included for review (median participant age: 20.39 years), five of which were randomized‐controlled trials (RCTs). Sample sizes were generally small (median = 23; range: 9–46). Eight studies investigated behavioural treatments including aerobic exercise, cognitive training and education or strategy‐based methods. Four studies examined repetitive transcranial magnetic brain stimulation (rTMS). Most behavioural treatments revealed preliminary evidence of improved cognitive function in youth depression. Consent rates were greatest for exercise‐ and education‐based approaches, which may indicate higher acceptability levels. Findings from rTMS trials were mixed, with only half showing cognitive improvement. Functional outcomes were reported by three behavioural treatment trials and one rTMS trial, with functional improvement reported only in the former. Some concern of risk of bias was found in each RCT. Conclusion Behavioural treatments, such as exercise, cognitive training and education/strategy‐focused techniques, show encouraging results and appear to be acceptable methods of addressing cognitive deficits in youth depression based on participation rates. Brain stimulation and biochemical treatments (e.g., nutrient‐based treatment) require further investigation.

Concern about student mental wellbeing in university students is high, and first-and second-year students in particular have shown higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress.  Evidence indicates that there is a value in context specific mental health literacy interventions embedded into regular academic classes, and that coping strategies help students to not only deal with stress but also to improve cognitive motivation and academic achievement.  Within our second-year mechanical engineering academic program, we implemented an embedded series of interventions with the goal of helping students develop and use coping strategies in the face of stress.  We found that students could describe their own stress response and coping strategies, and over 80% expected content on stress response and coping strategies would be useful in their own lives.  About half of students viewed the interventions as beneficial to them.  A third of students expected the activities would positively impact their academics, while another third felt they would have no impact.  Test anxiety increased over the year, which we felt was a reasonable result given the rigour of the program.  Since we did not have a control group, we could not determine whether our intervention led to lower levels of test anxiety than would have otherwise occurred.  Our results suggest that academic buoyancy (day-to-day resilience in an academic program) is a critical skill - low academic buoyancy was a significant predictor of increased test anxiety, while low self-efficacy was not.  This finding, along with students responses indicating the usefulness of the interventions, support  our approach of introducing coping skills into an academic engineering program.

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