Why Sleepless Nights Can Mean More Painful Days
https://wb.md/2DICsuR TUESDAY, Jan. 29, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- If you were up all night and you ache all over the next morning, your lack of sound slumber might be to blame. New research found that sleep loss delivered a double whammy to the brain that all but guaranteed greater levels of body pain. "Activity in the somatosensory cortex, previously associated with the location and intensity of pain, was enhanced following sleep loss," explained study author Adam Krause. And "in two regions called the striatum and the insula, sleep deprivationdecreased the activity associated with pain [relief]," he added. These regions control the release of dopamine, often called the "feel-good" hormone. Krause is a Ph.D. candidate with the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. During the study, 25 healthy, young participants got the normal eight hours of sleep one night. A week or so later, the same group underwent a night of no sleep whatsoever. After each session, all the volunteers underwent "thermal pain sensitivity" tests, followed by MRI scans to monitor brain activity while their legs were exposed to uncomfortable levels of heat. After a full night of sleep, most participants reported feeling heat discomfort at about 111 degrees Fahrenheit. But after a night of no sleep, that pain threshold dropped to 107 degrees F. Brain scans pinpointed the neurological basis for the uptick in pain sensitivity following sleep loss. The research team then surveyed 60 adults (average age 38) over a 48-hour survey period. All had reported experiencing pain during the survey period, and all were asked to: keep sleep diaries; report mood and anxiety levels; rank pain intensity, when experienced. "We found that reductions from one night to the next in the quality of the sleep, rather than just the quantity -- total hours asleep -- predicted worse pain the following day," Krause noted. "The optimistic takeaway here is that better sleep can help manage and lower pain. [It's] a natural analgesic that we can all pick up in repeat prescription each night, if we choose," he said. Health via WebMD Health https://www.webmd.com/ January 29, 2019 at 12:14PM
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No Gym Membership, No Problem: These Space-Saving Workout Essentials Have You Covered
http://bit.ly/2WsX41m If only I had home gym complete with a fancy stationary bike, complete set of weights, and dedicated yoga zone - I'd work out every morning, without fail. Much as I'd like to believe my lack of workout equipment is the reason for my lack of abs, the truth is you really don't need that much room to get in a good workout. In fact, these 13 pieces of workout equipment for small spaces make it possible to exercise in even the tiniest studio apartment. Whether you're queuing up a Class FitSugar video or 10-minute workout you can do at home, these small-space essentials have got you covered. Health via POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2mWxwLI January 29, 2019 at 12:00PM
Stronger on 1 Side? Here's How to Fix It - and Why You Definitely Want To
http://bit.ly/2RncPTS Have you ever managed a single-legged squat on only one leg or struggled to lift a weight with one arm but not the other? There's a reason for that, and it's called a muscle imbalance: when a muscle is stronger on one side of your body than the other. It's natural and pretty commonplace, which makes sense when you think about how most of us are trained to favor one hand, and therefore one side of the body, when we're very young. "Imbalances are not a cause for panic," BOC-certified athletic trainer Liz Letchford, MS, told POPSUGAR, especially because your body "is asymmetrical by design - we've got one lung bigger than the other, a liver on one side, and even our diaphragm is a little off-center." And being imbalanced is normal in a lot of sports, too; many, like tennis and softball, are asymmetrical by design, and having an imbalance can even help you in competition. That doesn't mean it's something you want to keep around. According to Nirav Pandya, MD, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at UC San Francisco, muscle imbalances become an issue when you compete in endurance sports, such as running, cycling, or swimming. "If you're doing just short bursts of activity," like playing tennis once a week or running for 20-30 minutes at a time, an imbalance may not be a big deal. But when you extend that exercise over a long period of time, it can lead to painful joint injuries. If you're in your 20s or younger, though, an imbalance might be more annoying than painful. My right arm is stronger and noticeably bigger than my left, a remnant from playing softball for 12 years. My leg and glute muscles are also imbalanced - possibly also related to sports, or simply from natural dominance. Neither imbalance has affected my daily life or workouts yet, but Dr. Pandya warned that that could change. He said people typically start running into imbalance-related injuries in their 30s, when their body is less able to bounce back from the damage. Unfortunately, correcting an imbalance isn't as simple as doing more reps or using heavier weights on your weak side. Both Letchford and Dr. Pandya agreed that seeing a physical therapist or a trainer is your best bet, especially one who's trained to recognize and correct imbalances. "If you'd like to give it a go yourself," Letchford said, try to "get curious about how your body moves and feels" when you're working the imbalanced muscles. When I squat, for example, I feel my left quad and glute firing much more than my right. Some people can even see the imbalances in a mirror. Then, Letchford said, focus on what it feels like when you make the movement look or feel more balanced. "Find that feeling more often," she said. But whatever you do, always train both sides evenly. Going harder or heavier on the weaker side can build up too much strength, which reverses the issue instead of fixing it. "The weaker side will eventually catch up," Letchford said. "And then you can progress your movements with a more balanced body." That means it's also OK to use lighter weights or lower the reps on both sides until your weaker side is up to speed. "It's better to be a little bit weaker and symmetric than to be really strong and asymmetric," Dr. Pandya said. It's basically impossible to get to full symmetry, but working both sides to equal strength, or as close to equal as you can, will help protect you from injury in the long run. It's a time-consuming process, Dr. Pandya said. "You're kind of breaking yourself down and building back up again, but that time that you put in can definitely pay off on the back end." Health via POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2mWxwLI January 29, 2019 at 12:00PM
11 Low-Carb Snacks That Will Keep You Satisfied Until Dinner
http://bit.ly/2WsVRqX Let's be real: all day long, we're thinking about snack time. We want something to keep us full and focused as we're trying to live our life and accomplish our goals. Right now, we're looking for options filled with protein and healthy fats that have a lower carbohydrate content. As if finding yummy snacks wasn't exciting enough, these 11 options are all on Amazon, so they can be delivered straight to your door. Happy snacking! Health via POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2mWxwLI January 29, 2019 at 12:00PM
Can Strict BP Control Lower Your Dementia Risk?
https://wb.md/2MD5Mpi TUESDAY, Jan. 29, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Tight control of your blood pressure won't necessarily spare you from full-blown dementia, a new trial concludes. But it might lower the risk of slight declines in thinking and memory, a condition known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the researchers added. The clinical trial is the "first study in history to show that any intervention can reduce your risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, an early form of dementia," said lead researcher Dr. Jeff Williamson. He is a professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C. "What is good for your heart in terms of blood pressure-lowering is also good for your brain," Williamson added. He noted that the trial ended early, which likely affected the dementia result. "We just didn't have enough dementia cases develop over time" in the group with less-restricted blood pressure, he explained. High blood pressure affects more than three-fourths of people over the age of 65, and it has been identified as a potential risk factor for MCI and dementia in observational studies, the study authors said in background notes. The new clinical trial focused on nearly 9,400 people, average age 68, who had been randomly assigned to treatment that would keep their systolic blood pressure at or below a goal of either 120 or 140 mm Hg. Participants were all at high risk for heart disease, and the clinical trial initially was aimed at seeing whether a more stringent blood pressure goal would save lives. The planned five-year trial ended early, after a little over three years, because the group kept at 120 systolic blood pressure fared so much better than the other group, the researchers said. The lower blood pressure goal "prevented death, stroke, heart attack and heart failure so much more quickly and so much more powerfully," that people in the 140 systolic group were allowed to go on the same therapy as the lower blood pressure group, Williamson said. But an offshoot of the trial continued to track the participants, to see whether tight blood pressure control had any effect on risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Health via WebMD Health https://www.webmd.com/ January 29, 2019 at 11:24AM
Hold Up: Is Chocolate Actually Good For Your Cold?
http://bit.ly/2TlLpPM Maybe you've tried everything under the sun to cure your pesky cough during cold and flu season. But, as it turns out, you might have missed one delicious remedy. According to a research study first published in BMJ Open in January 2017 that's currently making the rounds again online, chocolate (yes, chocolate!) could be your answer. Researchers at the University of Hull in Yorkshire, England, randomly prescribed 163 patients who sought medical attention for a cough one of two medications: regular codeine or CS1002, which is an over-the-counter cough medicine with a cocoa base. It's now sold in Europe under the name Unicough. Participants were instructed to take their medicine orally four times per day for up to a week - or until the cough went away - and to record their symptoms daily. Researchers ultimately found that CS1002 was associated with "greater reductions in cough frequency, sleep disruption, and improved health status" compared to codeine. Tania Elliott, MD, clinical instructor of medicine at NYU Langone Health, told POPSUGAR, "The study showed that a cocoa-based cough suppressant was better than the standard random cherry cough suppressant that you use. We don't know the exact mechanism." This isn't the first study on chocolate as a cough suppressant. Researchers have looked into the cough-suppressing qualities of theobromine, an ingredient specific to dark chocolate, for years. Dark chocolate is also known to be an antioxidant, "so anything that's going to calm down your immune system is a good thing," said Dr. Elliott. Another theory, Dr. Elliott explained, is that the cocoa bean in liquid form coats and calms the throat like honey. She added that larger-scale studies need to be done on cocoa beans and theobromine specifically before anyone can make a final statement that chocolate-based medication is "far superior to what's already on the market." Some researchers have suggested sucking on a piece of dark chocolate to ease your cough. Going off the theory that theobromine helps, Dr. Elliott said the "slow release" could be soothing, though you shouldn't expect miraculous results, either. Before you go redecorate your house Willy Wonka style, here's some advice from Dr. Elliott about chocolate: "Don't go crazy buying it. It's not going to make your cold and flu symptoms go away any sooner . . . but I don't think there's any harm in it." So, sure, take a trip to the Chocolate Factory the next time you're coughing up a storm. It won't solve all your problems, but it'll definitely put a smile on your face. Health via POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2mWxwLI January 29, 2019 at 10:59AM
Doctors: Newer Blood Thinners Best Against A-Fib
https://wb.md/2FW9FVW By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Jan. 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Newer blood thinners are recommended over warfarin for people with the heart condition called atrial fibrillation (a-fib) in updated treatment guidelines issued by three major American heart groups. The newer drugs are called non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs). Examples include dabigatran (Pradaxa), rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and apixaban (Eliquis). They don't require the same frequent monitoring of blood-clotting levels as the older clot-preventing drug warfarin (Coumadin) does. They also don't have the same drug and food interactions that warfarin does. "The evidence continues to come in that NOACs work and work well," said Dr. Craig January, co-chairman of the guideline update group. The recommendations were a joint effort of the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society. Besides highlighting the usefulness of new blood thinners for most people with a-fib, the guidelines also highlight the importance of losing weight if you have the condition. Atrial fibrillation causes the heart to beat erratically. The upper chambers of the heart (atria) normally beat smoothly, moving blood through the heart. If you have a-fib, your atria sometimes quiver instead of beating strongly, the American Heart Association (AHA) says. When this happens, blood pools up and clots may form. Once the heart is beating normally again, those clots can be thrown into your bloodstream. That can cause a stroke by blocking a blood vessel in the brain. A-fib causes up to 20 percent of strokes, according to the AHA. While there are several treatments for a-fib, blood thinners (anti-coagulants) have long been a mainstay. They reduce stroke risk by making it less likely that pooled blood will clot. For many years, warfarin was the drug used for this purpose. But patients on warfarin need to have their blood monitored, typically about once a month, January said. There are also many healthy foods that people taking warfarin are told to avoid, including green vegetables like broccoli. About a decade ago, the newer anti-coagulants started entering the market. January said these medications seem to have a slightly lower risk of causing excess bleeding, and they don't last as long in the body. Continued"They wear off much more rapidly," he said, adding that "NOACs appear to be safer drugs." Two groups of people with a-fib shouldn't use the newer drugs, only because there's not enough evidence that they're safe and effective in these groups. One is people with moderate to severe mitral stenosis -- narrowing of one of the valves in the heart. The other group is people who have had a heart valve replaced with a mechanical one, January said. But weight loss, another focus of the updated guidelines, is likely good for anyone with a-fib. The guidelines say losing weight can reduce health risks associated with a-fib. It's even possible that weight loss might reduce a-fib. Losing weight also helps lower high blood pressure, a known risk factor for a-fib. Dr. Gioia Turitto, director of cardiac electrophysiology services at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in New York City, said her patients like the newer blood thinners. "They don't have to come in for blood work and they can eat whatever they want, and there are less interactions with other drugs," she said. But Turitto has one major concern with the newer drugs: cost. Patients can often get warfarin for a few dollars per month, while a prescription for the newer medications may run hundreds of dollars, and some insurers balk at their cost. Turitto agreed that weight loss is important, although she tends to focus on goals that are more achievable, such as adherence to medications and quitting smoking. But she said losing weight can help treat sleep apnea, a risk factor for a-fib. The new guidelines were published simultaneously Jan. 28 in Circulation, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the journal HeartRhythm. Health via WebMD Health https://www.webmd.com/ January 29, 2019 at 09:10AM
The Best Things I’ve Learned About Raising Children
http://bit.ly/2MF25Q2 I don’t consider myself a parenting expert, but I have helped raise six kids (along with their mothers), and being a father has been one of the most rewarding things in my life. And while I’m not a perfect father, I think I’m pretty good at it. Mostly because I absolutely love it. Eva and I also have some slightly non-conventional parenting ideas that might be useful to parents who are always looking for new ways of thinking about things. So I’m going to share the best things I’ve learned about raising children, not because my way is the best, but because it’s always helpful to have a discussion about parenting. A really important note: Much of the work of parenting, if not most, was done by my kids’ moms (my wife Eva and my first two kids’ mom). I can only take a little credit. Here are some of the best things I’ve learned:
I’m still learning. I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing. And yet, I hope some of what I’ve learned so far will help a few of you. I love being a dad. It’s an incredible privilege, and one of the deepest joys in my life. Thank you kids. And moms. Health via zen habits http://zenhabits.net January 29, 2019 at 08:01AM
23 Easy, Effective Ways to Start Losing Belly Fat Today
http://bit.ly/2WrT6Gh If this is the year you've made a pact to lose your belly fat for good, here are some simple yet effective lifestyle changes you can make to reach your goals. While you can't select where on your body you lose fat, you will see a reduction in your belly fat when you lose weight overall and reduce your body fat percentage. Some of these habits involve diet, some involve workouts, and some involve your overall health, but they can all help! Choose one or a few to incorporate into your routine so you can start making progress today. Health via POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2mWxwLI January 29, 2019 at 06:41AM
I Had 30 Minutes For a Kickass Workout at Home and This Is What I Did
http://bit.ly/2FTVa4R I love when my kids stop and take time to smell the roses (or count ants on a hill, or take 10 minutes to walk the 30-second walk back from our mailbox because they're following chipmunk tracks in the snow). I'm all for slowing down to appreciate the little things in life. But when we have five precious minutes in the morning to get their teeth brushed and their boots, coats, hats, and backpacks on so we can catch the neighbor's ride to school, I want to burn those frickin' roses. Because if we are running five minutes late, I can't get to my CrossFit class on time. And that's just what happened last Friday. My sports bra and leggings were already on, so basically I was 98 percent committed to this workout. If I couldn't do it at my gym, darn it, I was going to work out at home. The workout of the day (WOD) is posted on my box's website, so I did that 15-minute workout, then added two more mini workouts that I made up, and boom - in 30 minutes, my entire body was toast! Here's what I did. 30-Minute Home WorkoutEquipment needed:
Directions: This 30-minute workout consists of three AMRAP workouts. AMRAP stands for "as many rounds as possible." For the first AMRAP, set a timer for 15 minutes and move through the three exercises as many times as you can (aim for four to five rounds). For the second AMRAP, set the timer for 10 minutes and do deadlifts and push-ups for as many rounds as you can (aim for 10). For the final AMRAP, do as many chest presses and diamond sit-ups as you can in five minutes (aim for three rounds). There's no rest between AMRAPS.
Related: Heart Pumping? Check. Legs and Arms Burning? Check. This 30-Minute Workout Has It All Keep reading for details on how to do each move. Health via POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2mWxwLI January 29, 2019 at 06:25AM |
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