28, April 2014

Can walking make you more creative?

Not been able to crack a solution to an office problem or feeling brain-jammed while in the middle of writing a creative plot? Go stroll around to get free-flowing thoughts back. Taking a simple walk may lead to more creativity than sitting, research says. “Incorporating physical activity into our lives is not only beneficial for our hearts but our brains as well. This research suggests an easy and productive way to weave it into certain work activities,” explained Marily Oppezzo from Santa Clara University. 

Many people claim they do their best thinking when walking. With this study, we finally may be taking a step or two toward discovering why, he added. To figure this out, Oppezzo and colleague Daniel L. Schwartz from Stanford University’s graduate school of education conducted studies involving 176 people, mostly college students. They found that those who walked instead of sitting or being pushed in a wheelchair consistently gave more creative responses on tests commonly used to measure creative thinking.  

When asked to solve problems with a single answer, however, the walkers fell slightly behind those who responded while sitting. Of the students tested for creativity while walking, 100 per cent came up with more creative ideas in one experiment. In other experiments, 95 per cent, 88 per cent and 81 per cent people from walker groups had more creative responses compared with when they were sitting, said the study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. 

Source: http://health.india.com

28.04.2014

India should contribute to broader efforts against malaria: Experts

India should contribute to broader efforts against malaria as it is a leading producer and exporter of anti-malarial medicines, health experts have said. India, which has one of the largest burdens of malaria in the world, should also initiate national corporate engagement initiatives against the disease as a strong member of the G20 and the BRICS emerging market countries, they said according to a release.

‘With 95 percent of India’s population living in malaria-endemic areas and an estimated one million cases reported by the government each year, malaria continues to take a significant economic toll on the country,’ said Herve Verhoosel, Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Representative at the United Nations in New York. ‘We have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the power of a booming economy in India to unlock resources and scale-up malaria-control interventions that will save lives and foster greater development for all.  

‘I call on the private sector to join the government and civil society to help scale-up efforts and overcome biological challenges that threaten progress,’ he added. With 22 malaria-endemic countries in the Asia-Pacific, the region is home to over two billion people at risk of infection and accounts for approximately 32 million cases of malaria infection and 47,000 associated deaths each year. According to the health ministry, malaria deaths in India have been reduced by nearly half in the past decade, largely due to increased control efforts, a shift in drug policy and greater community participation and industry engagement.  

Source: http://health.india.com

28.04.2014

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