Dr Sigman has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Psychology, a Master of Science degree in The Neurophysiological Basis of Behaviour, and a Ph.D. in the field of the role of attention in autonomic nervous system self-regulation. Dr Sigman works independently and is a Chartered Biologist, Fellow of the Society of Biology, Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a recipient of the Chartered Scientist award from the Science Council and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.
The British Medical Association British Medical Journals’ Archives of Disease in Childhood has just published his paper on screen time as its Leading Article. Dr Sigman has twice been invited to address the European Parliament Working Group on the Quality of Childhood in the European Union, in Brussels, once on the impact of electronic media and screen dependency, and again on reducing alcohol misuse among children and adolescents. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health invited Dr Sigman to speak on Alcohol and Electronic Media at its Annual Conference in 2012, at a clinical and scientific session on Young Persons Health.
Also in 2012, the EU Parliamentary Working Group published his report on the impact of electronic media and screen dependency, and in 2013, it will publish his second report on Preventing Alcohol Misuse Among Children and Adolescents in the EU. Dr Sigman’s biology paper on body image was selected as the '2012 Scientific Article' for the recent Biology A-level exam (Paper Ref: 6BI05/01).
Dr Sigman lectures on PSHE health education and talks to schools and parents on the effects of alcohol and other health issues, and he writes the Brain and Behaviour column for The Times Educational Supplement.
Scotland's national Violence Reduction Unit has invited Dr Sigman to speak to the nation's police at their conference: Alcohol - fuel for violence? He was a keynote speaker at two recent Department of Health NHS conferences on alcohol: the North West Alcohol Conference 2011 and the North East Alcohol Office conference 'Calling Time on Second Hand Harm'. In 2012 he was invited by the Ministry of National Education to address the First International Congress of Technology Addiction in Istanbul.
Dr Sigman addressed the 2011 Headmasters’ & Headmistresses’ Conference: Meeting the Challenges and has been invited to speak at the Independent Association of Prep Schools Heads' Annual Conference 2013. His book, Alcohol Nation (see below), is recently published and his biology paper, A Source of Thinspiration?, on the biological aspects of media, body image and dieting, was published in The Biologist, the Journal of the Society of Biology.
Dr Sigman has worked on health education campaigns with the Department of Health and acted as advisor to the Institute of Personnel Management on health and psychology issues. He conducts seminars and public speaking. Dr Sigman's previous books include The Spoilt Generation and Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives. His health and psychology book Getting Physical won The Times Educational Supplement's Information Book Award.
Dr Sigman has published other papers. Well Connected?: The Biological Implications of 'Social Networking', is published in The Biologist, Vol 56(1), the journal of the Society of Biology.
Note: This paper has been misrepresented by some news reports, websites and bloggers as claiming that social networking causes cancer or disease. This is not true. The paper addresses the extent to which time online may be displacing face-to-face contact, and that lack of social connection is associated with physiological changes, increased incidence of illness and higher premature mortality.
His previous paper Visual Voodoo, on the biological effects associated with watching television, also published in The Biologist, and his talk at the Houses of Parliament, caused widespread public debate. Dr Sigman has also written and presented scientific documentaries for BBC1 and Radio 4 on the scientific basis of faith; the biology of hypnosis; and on the effects of too much choice, and for Dispatches on Channel 4 on the hidden detrimental effects of moderate dieting.
Dr Sigman comes from a medical family of three generations of professors of surgery. His grandfather was a professor of urology and his father was Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. One of his brothers is Professor of Surgery at Brown University in Rhode Island and Chief of Urology at its teaching hospitals, and another is a professor at Columbia University in New York, where he is Director of the Center for Applied Probability.
Dr Sigman travels abroad frequently to observe various cultures including Turkmenistan, Republic of Congo, Bhutan, North Korea, Mali, Borneo, Tonga, Myanmar (Burma), Irian Jaya (West Papua), Laos, Iran, Vietnam, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Far Eastern Siberia, Sumatra, South Korea, Cambodia, Chile and others. Click here to see photos.
The British Medical Association British Medical Journals’ Archives of Disease in Childhood has just published his paper on screen time as its Leading Article. Dr Sigman has twice been invited to address the European Parliament Working Group on the Quality of Childhood in the European Union, in Brussels, once on the impact of electronic media and screen dependency, and again on reducing alcohol misuse among children and adolescents. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health invited Dr Sigman to speak on Alcohol and Electronic Media at its Annual Conference in 2012, at a clinical and scientific session on Young Persons Health.
Also in 2012, the EU Parliamentary Working Group published his report on the impact of electronic media and screen dependency, and in 2013, it will publish his second report on Preventing Alcohol Misuse Among Children and Adolescents in the EU. Dr Sigman’s biology paper on body image was selected as the '2012 Scientific Article' for the recent Biology A-level exam (Paper Ref: 6BI05/01).
Dr Sigman lectures on PSHE health education and talks to schools and parents on the effects of alcohol and other health issues, and he writes the Brain and Behaviour column for The Times Educational Supplement.
Scotland's national Violence Reduction Unit has invited Dr Sigman to speak to the nation's police at their conference: Alcohol - fuel for violence? He was a keynote speaker at two recent Department of Health NHS conferences on alcohol: the North West Alcohol Conference 2011 and the North East Alcohol Office conference 'Calling Time on Second Hand Harm'. In 2012 he was invited by the Ministry of National Education to address the First International Congress of Technology Addiction in Istanbul.
Dr Sigman addressed the 2011 Headmasters’ & Headmistresses’ Conference: Meeting the Challenges and has been invited to speak at the Independent Association of Prep Schools Heads' Annual Conference 2013. His book, Alcohol Nation (see below), is recently published and his biology paper, A Source of Thinspiration?, on the biological aspects of media, body image and dieting, was published in The Biologist, the Journal of the Society of Biology.
Dr Sigman has worked on health education campaigns with the Department of Health and acted as advisor to the Institute of Personnel Management on health and psychology issues. He conducts seminars and public speaking. Dr Sigman's previous books include The Spoilt Generation and Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives. His health and psychology book Getting Physical won The Times Educational Supplement's Information Book Award.
Dr Sigman has published other papers. Well Connected?: The Biological Implications of 'Social Networking', is published in The Biologist, Vol 56(1), the journal of the Society of Biology.
Note: This paper has been misrepresented by some news reports, websites and bloggers as claiming that social networking causes cancer or disease. This is not true. The paper addresses the extent to which time online may be displacing face-to-face contact, and that lack of social connection is associated with physiological changes, increased incidence of illness and higher premature mortality.
His previous paper Visual Voodoo, on the biological effects associated with watching television, also published in The Biologist, and his talk at the Houses of Parliament, caused widespread public debate. Dr Sigman has also written and presented scientific documentaries for BBC1 and Radio 4 on the scientific basis of faith; the biology of hypnosis; and on the effects of too much choice, and for Dispatches on Channel 4 on the hidden detrimental effects of moderate dieting.
Dr Sigman comes from a medical family of three generations of professors of surgery. His grandfather was a professor of urology and his father was Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. One of his brothers is Professor of Surgery at Brown University in Rhode Island and Chief of Urology at its teaching hospitals, and another is a professor at Columbia University in New York, where he is Director of the Center for Applied Probability.
Dr Sigman travels abroad frequently to observe various cultures including Turkmenistan, Republic of Congo, Bhutan, North Korea, Mali, Borneo, Tonga, Myanmar (Burma), Irian Jaya (West Papua), Laos, Iran, Vietnam, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Far Eastern Siberia, Sumatra, South Korea, Cambodia, Chile and others. Click here to see photos.
Statement on Day Care Article Published in The Biologist
