Wednesday, 7 October 2015

7 October, 2015

Heavier the Internet use, higher the blood pressure risk in teens

Washington D.C: As per a recent study, teens, who spend hours on the Internet may be at risk for high blood pressure.
Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit found that teens who spent at least 14 hours a week on the Internet had elevated blood pressure. Of 134 teens described by researchers as heavy Internet users, 26 had elevated blood pressure.
This is believed to be the first study to show a link between time spent on the Internet and high blood pressure. The findings add to growing research that has shown an association between heavy Internet use and other health risks like addiction, anxiety, depression, obesity and social isolation.
Lead author Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow says the take-home message for teens and parents is moderation.
"Using the Internet is part of our daily life but it shouldn't consume us," she says. "In our study, teens considered heavy Internet users were on the Internet an average of 25 hours a week.
She added that it's important that young people take regular breaks from their computer or smartphone, and engage in some form of physical activity, recommending parents to limit their children's' time at home on the Internet. "Two hours a day, five days a week is good rule of thumb."
Cassidy-Bushrow says the findings provide valuable information for school nurses for monitoring the health of students. School nurses could conduct annual health screenings where blood pressure and Internet use behaviors could be assessed. Students with an elevated blood pressure would then have a follow-up visit to determine next steps.
The study appears in a study published in the Journal of School Nursing. 


07.10.2015



Don't worry, be happy! Positive emotions good for your heart


Washington DC: A new research has suggested that people who inculcate positive emotions and maintain positivity are less likely to develop any heart disease than those who tend not to be happy.
The research conducted by Penn State examined 1,000 patients with coronary heart disease over the course of five years and observed that patients who reported higher positive psychological states were more likely to be physically active, sleep better and take their heart medications and were also less likely to smoke, compared to patients with lower levels of positive states.
Nancy L. Sin, postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging, said that negative emotions and depression are known to have harmful effects on health, but now they have found that positive emotions are associated with a range of long-term health habits, which are important for reducing the risk of future heart problems and death.
Although, researchers found no correlation between positive emotions and alcohol use and that positive emotions at baseline did not predict changes in health behaviors.
The researchers concluded that their findings will help in future work on interventions to improve health habits and further research with other chronic disease populations and with electronic tracking of health behaviors should be conducted.
The research is published in Psychosomatic Medicine journal.


07.10.2015









Chase your dreams, before they end up having to chase you



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