A new review of clinical trials from 1966-2016, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, shows that a variety of complementary health approaches, including acupuncture, yoga, massage, tai chi and meditation hold promise for managing various types of pain.
Positive Genetic Impact of Both a Resort Vacation and a Meditation Retreat
An interesting new study from Mount Sinai, the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard Medical School researchers measured the “resort vacation effect” compared with the “meditation effect.” Studying participants over a six-day stay at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, half experienced a regular resort vacation there, while half also did a meditation program (designed by Deepak Chopra, MD). The findings: both groups showed large, immediate changes in genetic expression associated with stress and immune pathways; however, the meditation retreat, for those who already meditated regularly, was also associated with antiviral activity.
Study: Ordering/Choosing Food Before Eating Means Lower-Calorie Diet
New Carnegie Mellon University experiments revealed that, when a solid gap existed between when people ordered their food and when they planned to eat it, they opted for significantly lower calorie meals. Interestingly, it wasn’t being hungry in the moment that made the “no willpower” difference, but seemed to be that when one orders meals/food in advance that one can better weigh the longer term costs/benefits.
Learn Something, Wait a Few Hours, then Exercise to Build Memory
A new study from Radboud University-Netherlands and the University of Edinburgh explores how exercise can boost brain function. Participants first observed pictures, to try to remember their place on a screen, and then two-thirds did follow-up exercise: half of the group did interval training 35 minutes after the spatial/visual test and half did it four hours later. The interesting finding was that those who exercised four hours after the test recreated the picture locations most accurately, and MRIs showed their brain activity had a more consistent pattern of neural activity.
New Study: Kids with Early Bedtimes Half as Likely to Become Obese
A new study of 1,000 children found that preschool kids that are in bed by 8 p.m. (as opposed to those who stay up past 9 p.m.) are half as likely to be obese in their teen years. Read this study that indicates that it’s not only poor sleep that can result in obesity, but the timing of sleep that’s a key factor.
New Study: Sleep Problems Linked to Diabetes in Men
A new study out of Europe indicates that men that don’t get enough sleep, or get too much, show an increased risk for Type 2 diabetes. The study tested men and women, measuring their sleep duration (7 hours on average) and markers for diabetes (how well pancreatic cells take up glucose and how sensitive body’s tissues are to insulin). When men got too little or too much sleep, their glucose tolerance decreased – although no such association was found in women.
