People suffering from low back pain may benefit from yoga and stretching

Nov 21 2011

Yoga workoutPeople affected by chronic pain of the low back reported improvements after attending stretching and yoga classes. The study was conducted in the United States recently and reported on the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

According to the proponents, attending yoga classes is better than just consulting a self-care book but it might equally be as effective as stretching classes. The results of the randomized trial surprised experts as they were expecting yoga to be more effective than stretching in easing low back pain.

The same group of experts also conducted a smaller research back in 2005 where they tapped 101 adult subjects. That study suggested that yoga is the best remedy for chronic low back pain since those who do yoga used lesser pain relievers and improved function of the back.

The latest study involves 228 individuals. The yoga classes had a slight advantage over stretching classes but it was insignificant. The subjects attended weekly classes for three months with each class lasting seventy-five minutes.

The subjects attended viniyoga classes that made use of poses specific to the condition of the individual. This was incorporated with breathing exercises and periods of deep relaxation.

The stretching classes were conducted by physiotherapists and focused on parts like the hips, hamstrings, legs, and trunk. They were also asked to do some strengthening exercises.

A third group of subjects were provided self care books.

The results revealed that both yoga and stretching are safe and effective options for people who are looking to improve their low back function and decrease the pain they are experiencing.

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High blood pressure tied with traffic noise

Oct 13 2010

Your blood pressure might temporarily shoot up when you are stuck in traffic. Living near an area where traffic noise is significant may increase your risk for long-term hypertension.

A Swedish study suggests that people living near noisier roads were more prone to suffer from high blood pressure that those in a more quiet environment.

traffic noiseThe middle-aged subjects of the research who were exposed to traffic noise levels of around 64 decibels on a regular basis are more likely to have high blood pressure compared to their counterparts living in the most quiet roads. A normal chit chat has around 60 decibels.

The recent study adds to the volume of findings connecting long-term noise exposure to more health worries. Other studies have found out that those working in a very noisy job environment or those living close to the airports have higher risks for hypertension and heart attacks.

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Black coffee with lunch decreases risk for diabetes

Sep 03 2010

A recent study claims that drinking coffee can lower one’s risk for diabetes. You may need to enjoy your cup of caffeine with lunch though to get the benefits.

black coffee diabetesWhether you drink a cup of caffeinated or decaf, sugar or without any sweetener it really does not matter. The research that involved around 70,000 women who enjoyed coffee with their lunch break proved that the subjects also had lower risks of developing type 2 diabetes. The experts suggests that only coffee taken with lunch is beneficial if you want to avoid developing diabetes over the years.

Previous studies have linked coffee in lowering the risks for the obesity related type 2 diabetes but no research linked the timing of the drinking of the coffee so you can get the full benefits of the habit.

The large population of French women was part of a nutritional study in Europe. The subjects were between 41 and 72 years old when they signed up for the study. These subjects were monitored for 11 years.

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Higher risk for stroke and heart attack for old people with less sleep

Jul 01 2010

Individuals in their 60’s or 70’s must make sure that they get enough sleep. A recent research concluded that if they have less than 7.5 hours of shuteye on a daily basis the higher the risk they have for heart attack, sudden cardiac death, and stroke.

sleepingThe scenario is even worse for those who have the riser pattern. Individuals who have a spike in their blood pressure at night and logs short hours of sleep is more dangerous. Normally, the blood pressure drops during bedtime. The University of Japan researchers had 1255 male and female hypertensive subjects or the study. They asked these individuals for the number of hours they slept and measured their blood pressure in a 24 hour period.

The experts found out that those who sleep for less than 7.5 hours have a 1.7 times higher risk of having a major cardiovascular problem in the next few years.  Those who have a riser pattern with their blood pressure have 4.43 times greater risk.

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Heavy drinkers tend to exercise more than non-drinkers

May 25 2010

The more bottles you lift and more beer you consume can actually be a good workout for your biceps. Not. But a recent study suggests that the more alcohol you consume the higher tendency for you to work out more.

Alcohol - BeerA professor from the University of Miami had the conclusion that heavy drinkers workout 19.9 minutes more every week than those who do not drink at all. The study established that moderate drinkers workout more than teetotalers but heavier drinker seem to do the same.

This is not a small study with data of 230,000 Americans evaluated to correlate booze with exercise. The researchers proved that those who drink have 10% higher chances of doing heavier or more exercise compared to those who do not drink.

Light drinkers also edge non drinkers by five to seven minutes more gym time every week. Moderate drinkers exercise 10.1 minutes more than alcohol abstainers.

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Higher risk for Alzheimer’s connected with higher level of cholesterol

Apr 13 2010

Experts found out that border line or higher levels of cholesterol during midlife may actually lead to a higher potential of having Alzheimer’s disease in the latter part of an individual’s life.

This study conducted by medical doctors is the first to connect borderline cholesterol in mid-age individuals to higher risk for dementia after 30 years.

They also found out that treating the high cholesterol level with doses of statin drugs may also decrease the risk for dementia. A healthier heart may actually lead to a healthier mind it seems.

The research involved 9844 individuals whose levels of cholesterol were measured between 1964 through 1973 when these male and female patients were on the range of 40 to 45 years of age.

The proponents of the study reviewed the medical records of the same subject group between 1994 through 2007 and found out that 469 were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and about 127 showed affection with vascular dementia. Vascular dementia is second to Alzheimer’s as the most common form of dementia. It is casued by blocked blood vessels and other conditions which has something to do with the brain’s blood supply.

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Research: The more debt you have, the heavier you may become

Mar 03 2010

Heavy debt equals more pounds seen on the weighing scale. This is what a recent research in Germany shows. Overindebted individuals or those who find it impossible to pay off their dues in an imaginable and reasonable time are two times more likely to be overweight than the rest of the population. These people are also 2.5 times most likely to be obese.

debt and obesityThe study estimates that about 3 million homes or about 7.6% of the German households are over-indebted. This forms part of a bigger picture which reveals a big jump in the number of families in the United States and European countries who have a big chunk of debt to pay. It has been established that socioeconomic status of individuals are directly linked to health. The study adds the factor of debt in evaluating the overall health of an individual.

The research involved 949 individuals from two centers in Germany who are undergoing counseling so they can handle their financial worries better. This group was compared to the result of a health survey conducted over the phone to represent the general populace with 8318 people in 2003.

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Low level of Vitamin D linked to depression in older men and women

Jan 01 2010

Older people may be more prone to depression with lower Vitamin D levels in their blood.

A significant number of studies recently have established the benefits of Vitamin D and the problems linked when you have lack of it. Low Vitamin D levels are connected to hypertension, cardiac disease, and severe asthma.

For older bracket of the populace, insufficiency in Vitamin D reflects the high incidence of fracture, frailty, decreased physical function, and other chronic illnesses.

The current study done by the National Institute on Aging based in Baltimore showed a connection between Vitamin D deficiency and depression.

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Brain Games Won’t Improve Your Cognition, Study States

Dec 20 2009

According to a study published recently on a journal called Nature, brain games won’t necessarily improve your cognitive skills. This ruled out the million-dollar claim of a computer gaming industry which sold electronic memory games and brain teasers. For the longest time, people actually believed that they could improve their brain fitness by playing electronic “brain games”. Apparently, the skills don’t affect your cognition.

While these brain games can improve your brain’s ability to carry out a specific task, your brain improves only on that isolated area. It doesn’t raise your IQ or make you think faster. In a nutshell, it just employs the “practice makes perfect” principle. When you’re so used to searching online for trivia answers for a brain game, you become faster at it as time goes by. Sometimes, you may even remember certain trivial facts.

Brain
The test which was conducted simulated brain games as well. The subjects were divided into three groups. The first group concentrated on problem solving, planning, and basic reasoning. The second group of participants were asked to perform memory enhancing activities, attention exercises, and a series of more complicated tasks for math, visual and spatial processing.

The third group, which is the control group, was asked to research the answers for trivia questions online. After six weeks, all of the participants were given cognitive-assessment battery tests which were unrelated to the activities they just went through. All tests came out identical: there was a very minor improvement when it came to the participant’s cognitive skills.

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Early abuses contribute to more depression and stress in children

Oct 13 2009

Medical experts have established that there are certain physiological differences between depressed children depending on the level of abuse they may have experienced before they were 5 years old.

stress childrenResearchers from the University of Minnesota explain that children who were abused, neglected, or maltreated in anyway will grow up dealing with a lot of stress. They also established that there is an abnormal levels of cortisol or stress hormones in the when someone experiences chronic stress.

The subjects of the study were children between 7 and 13 years old 50% of which were neglected or abused. The proponents explored the possibilities of abuses occurring early in life and how depression affected their cortisol levels.

The study found out that levels of depression were highest among kids who experienced abuse during their first fiver years of life compared to those who were not maltreated and those who were not abused early.

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