PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  EXERCISE IMPROVES COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN CHILDREN Researchers investigate the effects of brief periods of light-intensity exercise on increasing cerebral blood flow in children.        Cognitive or intellectual functions encompass thinking, understanding, memory, language, computation, and judgment and are performed in the cerebrum. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), located in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex, handles these functions. Studies have shown that exercise improves cognitive function through mechanisms such as enhanced cerebral blood flow, brain structural changes, and neurogenesis promotion. However, 81% of children globally do not engage in enough physical activity, leading to high levels of sedentary behavior and insufficient exercise. This lack of physical activity raises concerns about its negative impact on children's healthy brain development and cognitive function. A recent study published in  Scientific Reports  by doctoral stude...

  FLAVANOLS PROTECT THE VASCULATURE SYSTEM DURING STRESSFUL PERIODS New research has found that a flavanol-rich cocoa drink can protect the body's vasculature against stress even after eating high-fat food. Food choices made during periods of stress can influence the effect of stress on cardiovascular health. For example, recent research from the University of Birmingham found that high-fat foods can negatively affect vascular function and oxygen delivery to the brain. Meanwhile, abundant compounds in cocoa and green tea can protect vascular function during stress. Now, in a new study, the same research team has found that drinking cocoa high in flavanols in combination with a fatty meal can counteract some of the impacts of impact foods and protect the vascular system from stress. The research was published today in the  journa l . Dr. Catarina Rendeiro, Assistant Professor in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, and author of the study, knows tha...

  FRAILTY: RISK OF DEMENTIA         An international study led by a University of Queensland researcher has found that frailty increases a person's risk of dementia, but early intervention may be the key to prevention. Dr David Ward from the Centre for Health Services Research tracked the data of nearly 30,000 participants of 4 longitudinal studies in the United Kingdom and the United States, enabling researchers to detect changes in people's health and function 20 years before they were diagnosed with dementia. "The accumulation of age-related conditions is indicative of increasing frailty, which we found accelerates up to 9 years prior to a dementia diagnosis," Dr Ward said. "Our findings show that with every 4-5 additional health problems, there is, on average, a 40% higher risk of developing dementia, while for fitter people, the risk is lower. "This suggests frailty is not merely a consequence of undetected dementia but contributes to its onset." F...

  PHYSICIANS COMMUNICATING WITHOUT HARM When someone is seriously ill, the emotional toll on both patients and their families is heavy—sometimes just as heavy as the physical burden. Researchers, including a Texas A&M professor, say that how doctors talk to patients matters as much as what treatments they offer. They argue that “compassionate communication” should be a standard part of care, not an afterthought. They’ve even created a list of “never words”—things clinicians should never say—and offer ways to replace them with language that supports rather than scares. A recent paper in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, co-authored by Dr. Leonard Berry from Texas A&M’s Mays Business School and colleagues from Henry Ford Health in Detroit, points out that even as medicine advances for diseases like cancer and advanced heart or lung failure, some things never change. Fear, confusion, and hope—sometimes unrealistic—are always part of the patient experience. Trying to explain complex tre...

  LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE IN FIVE MINUTES DAILY New research suggests that adding a small amount of physical activity—such as uphill walking or stair-climbing—to your day may help lower blood pressure. The study, published in  Circulation , was carried out by experts from the ProPASS (Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep) Consortium, an international academic collaboration led by the University of Sydney and University College London (UCL). Just five minutes of activity a day was estimated to potentially reduce blood pressure, while replacing sedentary behaviors with 20-27 minutes of exercise per day, including uphill walking, stair-climbing, running, and cycling was also estimated to lead to a clinically meaningful reduction in blood pressure. Joint senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the ProPASS Consortium, from the Charles Perkins Centre, said: "High blood pressure is one of the biggest health issues globally, but unlike some major causes ...

  BETA-BLOCKER HEART MEDICATIONS MAY CAUSE DEPRESSION IN SOME PATIENTS :         All patients who have had a heart attack are typically treated using beta blockers. According to a Swedish study conducted earlier this year, this drug is unlikely to be needed for those heart patients with a normal pumping ability. Now, a sub-study at Uppsala University shows that there is also a risk that these patients will become depressed by the treatment. "We found that beta blockers led to slightly higher levels of depression symptoms in patients who had had a heart attack but were not suffering from heart failure. At the same time, beta-blockers have no life-sustaining function for this group of patients," says Philip Leissner, a doctoral student in cardiac psychology and the study's first author. Beta-blockers are drugs that block the effects of adrenaline on the heart and have been used for decades as a basic treatment for all heart attack patients. In recent years, their ...

  SITTING: AN UNEXPECTED HEALTH RISK         Between long commutes, video conference-packed workdays, and evenings of streaming and scrolling, millennials now spend more than 60 hours per week sitting, potentially increasing their risk of heart disease and accelerating other signs of aging, according to new research from the University of California, Riverside. The study, which involved more than 1,000 former or current Colorado residents, including 730 twins, is among the first to investigate the impact of sitting on health measures such as cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) in young adults. It found that more than meeting the minimum recommended physical activity guidelines—about 20 minutes per day of moderate exercise—is needed to counter the hazards of spending most waking hours in a seat. "Our research suggests that sitting may be necessary to get more vigorous exercise, or a seated po,smayombiay be necessary to reduce the risk of premature aging in earl...