Study: Exercise Good for Mental Health

 A new study published Wednesday in The Lancet Psychiatry journal suggests that when done in moderation, it leads to better mental health as well.

The researchers analyzed responses from 1.2 million adults in the United States taken from a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey given in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The average number of days of poor mental health per person in the past month was around 3.4, according to the study.

 

A new study published Wednesday in The Lancet Psychiatry journal suggests that when done in moderation, it leads to better mental health as well.
The researchers analyzed responses from 1.2 million adults in the United States taken from a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey given in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The average number of days of poor mental health per person in the past month was around 3.4, according to the study.

Link: https://www.keyt.com/health/exercise-is-good-for-your-body-and-your-mind-study-says/779074468

Could a New Font Save Millions?

A youngster has published a study suggesting the federal government could save millions of dollars a year in printing costs by switching to a thinner typeface that uses less ink.

Suvir Mirchandani, 14, said he noticed there was plenty of talk at school about saving paper and he wondered about saving ink.

The governement says it is looking into the study.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Read more here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/28/4025660/pa-teen-says-typeface-change-could.html

Update on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 10:25PM by Rick C.Limpert

Acupuncture Might Help People Quit Smoking

Acupuncture and hypnosis have been promoted as drug-free ways to help smokers kick the habit, and there they might just work, according to a research review that looked at 14 international studies.
Researchers, whose findings appeared in the American Journal of Medicine, said that there are still plenty of questions, including exactly how effective alternative therapies might be and how they measure up against conventional methods to quit smoking.

But the alternatives should still stand as options for smokers determined to break the habit, said researchers led by Mehdi Tahiri of McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

In general, smokers who want to quit should first try the standard approaches, which include nicotine-replacement therapy, medications and behavioral counseling, Tahiri said.

"But some people are not interested in medication," he said, adding that in many cases the standard therapies had not worked. "Then I think we should definitely recommend (acupuncture and hypnosis) as choices."

Researchers found that some studies showed that smokers subjected to acupuncture were more than three times as likely to be tobacco-free six months to a year later.

Similarly, across four trials of hypnosis, smokers had a higher success rate with the therapy compared to people who had minimal help.

But there were some caveats, researchers said. The success rate was not consistent in all the tests conducted, although the broad trends pointed to the benefits of alternate treatment.

A 2008 study that ran a few sessions of laser acupuncture on 258 smokers found that 55 percent who'd received the treatment quit the habit in six months, compared with four percent who were not given the treatment.

The "getting people to quit smoking" business is a billion dollar industry.  People want to quit smoking and they are always looking for help and looking for answers.

Americans Don't Get Enough Sleep

Do you get enough sleep? 

Probably not.

30% of U.S. adults - or 40.6 million workers sleep six or fewer hours a day, a new CDC report shows.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends we get seven to nine hours of sleep each day. Most at risk, according to the report, are people who work the night shift, especially those in the transportation, warehouse, and health care industries.

Lack of sleep on a chronic basis also increases risk for other health conditions such as obesity, depression, heart disease, and diabetes.

According to the new report, 44% of people who worked the night shift were short-sleepers, compared with 28.8% of those who worked during the day. People aged 30 to 44 made up the age group most likely to be sleep deprived.

Others who are not getting enough sleep include people who hold down more than one job, widows, divorcees, or recently separated partners. The findings are based on data from the 2010 National HealthInterview Survey.

I guess it's time for a nap.

Coffee Reduces Skin Cancer Risk, Who Knew?

Good news for the coffee addicts especially women drinkers: Consuming copious amounts of the beverage daily may help reduce the risk of the most common type of skin cancer a new study has claimed.

Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that women who drank over three cups of coffee daily were 20% less likely to develop basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a slowgrowing form of skin cancer, than those who drank less than one cup a month.

But, men who drank same amount of the beverage saw only a 9% reduction in the disease, found the study. BCC rarely spread to other parts of the body, and rarely return if they are promptly removed.

The study, found an association, not a direct cause-effect link.  So don't get too excited, yet.  But go ahead and have another cup of Joe.