Lifestyle changes necessary to combat cardiovascular diseases

Lifestyle changes necessary to combat cardiovascular diseases

This was stated by the experts at the World Heart Day organised at the Aga Khan University Hospital.

Lifestyle changes are necessary to combat the 

cardiovascular diseases.

This was stated by the experts at the World Heart 

Day organised at the Aga Khan University Hospital.

The experts maintained that even more alarming is 

the fact that over a third of all deaths in Pakistan

 are caused by CVD which has emerged as the leading

 non-communicable disease in the country.

Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of

 the heart and blood vessels. Heart attacks and 

strokes are usually acute events and are mainly 

caused by a blockage that prevents blood from 

flowing to the heart or brain.

In Pakistan‚ prevalence of hypertension has been found to be nineteen per cent in population

 over fifteen years of age.

Perhaps even more worrisome is that up to 25 per cent of the children in Pakistan are either

 overweight or at risk of being overweight.

This year the global theme `Take the road to a healthy heart' focused on lifestyle changes in

 order to prevent and control cardiovascular disease with a special focus on women and children.

It is Dangerous to Sleep With a Cell Phone Under Your Pillow

It is Dangerous to Sleep With a Cell Phone Under 

Your Pillow

Most experts agree with the warnings to avoid sleeping with 

a cell phone under your pillow.  

The "under the pillow" 

angle of cell phone radiation

 is just a subset of a larger 

discussion on the topic of cell

 phone radiation in general. 

Though there is some evidence

 to support harmful effects of

 cell phone use on the brain‚ 

the jury is out on brain cancer

or brain tumors and cell phone use.

Nevertheless‚ most experts advise

 taking the safe route and limiting

 unnecessary extended exposure‚

 such as sleeping with a cell phone

 next to your head.

Ways to Reduce Cell Phone 

Radiation:-

While the debate rages‚ many

 people prefer to err on the side

 of caution and try to minimize 

their cell phone radiation exposure.

Such steps include:

Keeping cell phone several feet away while sleeping.

Using speaker instead of talking directly into the handset.

Text instead of talking.

Use headphones or Bluetooth connectors.

If you are using your phone at night for its clock or alarm features‚ consider putting it

 in "airplane mode" which suspends the phone's transmission functions.

Sleep boosts brain cell numbers

Sleep boosts brain cell numbers

In contrast‚ the genes involved in cell death and stress 

responses were turned on when the mice were forced to 

stay awake.

Scientists believe that

 they have discovered 

a new reason why we 

need to sleep it replenishes

 a type of brain cell.

Dr Chiara Cirelli and 

colleagues from the 

University of Wisconsin

 found that the production

 rate of the myelin making

 cells‚ immature 

oligodendrocytes‚ doubled

 as mice slept.

The increase was most marked during the type of sleep that is associated with 

dreaming - REM or rapid eye movement sleep - and was driven by genes.

In contrast‚ the genes involved in cell death and stress responses were turned on when the

 mice were forced to stay awake.

Dr Cirelli said that for a long time‚ sleep researchers focused on how the activity of nerve 

cells differs when animals are awake versus when they are asleep.

Sleep loss can make you fat: Study

Sleep loss can make you fat: Study

Researchers have long pointed to a correlation between a 

steep rise in obesity in industrialized nations and a decline in 

sleep duration.

Scientists had found evidence

 that a lack of sleep causes 

changes in brain activity that 

lead to people feeling hungrier

 and craving more fattening

 foods.

Researchers have long pointed

 to a correlation between a

 steep rise in obesity in

 industrialized nations and a

 decline in sleep duration.

A causal link was suspected‚

 but science has not been able to explain the mechanism‚ until now.

A team from the University of California said they used MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

 scans to spot changes in the brain activity of sleep-deprived test subjects.

Researchers said these findings provide an explanatory brain mechanism by which

 insufficient sleep may lead to the development/maintenance of obesity.

Weight loss can improve memory

Weight loss can improve memory

Brain scans taken during the exercise suggest that they 

had become more efficient at storing and recalling memories.

Swedish researchers have found that 

older‚ overweight women who dieted 

went on to score better in memory tests

 after they had lost weight.

Previous studies had shown that obese

 people have worse episodic memory the

 ability to remember events that happen

 during your life but the new findings 

suggest this may be reversible.

The scientists said that the women's 

performance on the test improved after

 they lost weight‚ and brain scans

taken during the exercise suggested that they had become more 

efficient at storing and recalling memories.

Scientists find clue to age-related memory loss

Scientists find clue to age-related memory loss

Experiments on mice suggested low levels of a protein in the brain 

may be responsible for memory loss.

A clue to why memory deteriorates with age has been found by US

 researchers.

Experiments on mice suggested low levels of a protein in the brain 

may be responsible for memory loss.

It is hoped the discovery could lead to treatments to reverse 

forgetfulness‚ but it is a big leap from the mouse to a human brain.

The team at Columbia University Medical Centre started by analysing 

the brains of eight dead people‚ aged between 22 and 88‚ who had 

donated their organ for medical research.

Thirsty work: drinking water can improve reaction times

Thirsty work: drinking water can improve reaction times

Around 80 percent of the brain is water‚ so it is clearly important 

to make sure it gets enough.

Scientists have found that the Quenching your thirst during the hot weather with a glass of water 

can help make your brain work faster.

Published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience discovered that people who drank a pint

 of water before conducing mental tasks had reaction times that were 14% faster than those who did 

not have drink.

Dr Caroline Edmonds a psychologist said that Reaction time seemed to be most affected by water‚ 

particularly if the people were thirsty.

Around 80 percent of the brain is water‚ so it is clearly important to make sure it gets enough.