Stay positive for a healthy heart

Stay positive for a healthy heart

Having a positive attitude encourages heart disease patients to 

exercise more which in turn increases longevity‚ says a study.

Researchers found the 

most positive patients 

exercised more and had a
42 per cent less chance of

 dying for any reason during

 the follow-up period.
Deaths were less than 

10 per cent.
Among patients with less 

positive attitudes‚ 50 deaths

 occurred 

(16.5 per cent). Positive mood

 and exercise also cut the risk

 of heart-related hospitalisations‚

 reports Science Daily.
Coronary artery disease is 

caused by narrowed arteries 

that don't provide enough blood and oxygen to the heart.
"We should focus not only on increasing positive attitude in cardiac
rehabilitation‚ but also make sure that patients perform exercise on a regular basis‚ as exercise is 

associated with both increased levels of optimism and better health‚" said Susanne S. Pedersen‚ 

one of the study authors and professor of cardiac psychology‚ the Department of Medical and

 Clinical Psychology‚ Tilburg University‚ the Netherlands‚ and adjunct professor of cardiac 

psychology‚ the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital‚ Denmark.
The new research has been published in the American Heart Association
journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Psychological benefits for inmates doing yoga: Study

Psychological benefits for inmates doing yoga: Study

Yoga can improve the mood and mental well-being of 

prisoners‚ and may also have an effect on impulsive behavior‚

 an Oxford University study suggested.

Reported their findings

 in the Journal of 

Psychiatric  Research‚

 researchers said prisons

 see rates of mental health

problems that are many

 times higher than the 

general population‚Xinhua

 news agency reported.

Inmates from a range of 

ages were randomly assigned 

to either a course of ten weekly

 yoga sessions of 90 minutes‚ or

 to a control group.

"We found that the group that did the yoga course showed an improvement in positive

 mood‚ a decrease in stress and greater accuracy in a computer test of impulsivity and 

attention‚" said Dr Amy Bilderbeck‚ who led the study.

If yoga is associated with improving behavior control‚ as suggested by the results of 

the computer test‚ there may be implications for managing aggression‚ antisocial or

problem behavior in prisons and on return to society‚ researchers noted.