Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Do you feel groggy until you’ve had your morning joe? Do you battle sleepiness throughout the workday?

You’re not alone. Many people struggle with morning alertness, but a new study demonstrates that awaking refreshed each day is not just something a lucky few are born with. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that you can wake up each morning without feeling sluggish by paying attention to three key factors: sleep, exercise and breakfast.

Xanthia Lam, a senior student in the cognitive science program at UC Berkeley, was unsure of how she would afford some basic supplies for the coming semester. The Oakland-born daughter of two immigrant parents who have experienced homelessness, Lam had been thankful to receive some financial support throughout her undergraduate education, but even that support did not completely cover costs of living in the Bay Area.

“Even though the Cal Grant and the Pell Grant covered my tuition, it was not enough to cover basic needs like housing and food,” she said. “That’s why I was so grateful...

Varsha Sarveshwar '20, a UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science alumna, has received one of the world's most prestigious honors for academic excellence—the Rhodes Scholarship. The Scholarship is awarded “on the basis not only of intellect, but also of character, leadership and commitment to service,” and Sarveshwar was among 32 American students...

“One can usually pretend that there is a logic to the distribution of wealth — that behind a person’s prosperity lies some rational basis, whether it is that person’s hard work, skill and farsightedness or some ancestor’s,” writes J. Bradford DeLong. “Inflation — even moderate inflation — strips the mask.”

DeLong is an economic historian at the University of California, Berkeley, a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury and the author of “...