Spending
time outdoors may improve veterans` mental health
Washington: Veterans who participate in outdoor excursions
enjoy better mental health than their peers who are confined indoors, according
to a new study.
Veterans were surveyed before and after a multi-day wilderness recreation experience, which involved camping and hiking in groups of between six and 12 participants. More than half of participants reported that they frequently experienced physical or mental health problems in everyday life.
One week after the experience, veterans reported a greater
than 10 percent improvement in several measures of psychological well-being, a
9 percent increase in social functioning, and a nearly 8 percent gain in
positive life outlook. In some cases, the results persisted over the next
month.
"The findings suggest that extended group-based nature recreation can have significant positive impacts on veterans struggling with serious health problems," said Jason Duvall , a research scientist at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment and one of the study`s lead authors.
Veterans may identify more strongly with activities outdoors that involve physical challenge, camaraderie and achievement of an objective - experiences that are shared with their military service. As a result, the approach used by these programs may be more appealing than conventional clinical treatments when it comes to dealing with mental health issues.
"The findings suggest that extended group-based nature recreation can have significant positive impacts on veterans struggling with serious health problems," said Jason Duvall , a research scientist at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment and one of the study`s lead authors.
Veterans may identify more strongly with activities outdoors that involve physical challenge, camaraderie and achievement of an objective - experiences that are shared with their military service. As a result, the approach used by these programs may be more appealing than conventional clinical treatments when it comes to dealing with mental health issues.
"The excursions are a supportive environment because in many ways, they recreate many positive aspects of the military experience," Duvall said. "They are outside, in a group, sharing similar mental models and, in a sense, on a mission. In that scenario, the impact of the natural environment might be heightened."
"Veterans with more serious health problems seemed to benefit most," Duvall said.
27.07.2013
Doctors
turning to lasers and LEDs to `see` under the skin
Washington: New non-invasive optical techniques using
lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and spectroscopic methods helping probe
and render images from beneath the surface of the skin.
The techniques may be used in a wide variety of medical and cosmetic applications such as treating burns, identifying cancer, or speeding the healing of wounds.
The techniques may be used in a wide variety of medical and cosmetic applications such as treating burns, identifying cancer, or speeding the healing of wounds.
"The skin is the biggest organ of the body, and serves
as its barrier to the environment," Special Section Guest Editor Jurgen
Lademann of the Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, said.
"It provides protection against water loss, keeps micro-organisms from invading the body, and responds sensitively to external stimuli. As a sensory organ, the skin is an essential means of interpersonal communication," he said.
"It provides protection against water loss, keeps micro-organisms from invading the body, and responds sensitively to external stimuli. As a sensory organ, the skin is an essential means of interpersonal communication," he said.
Because they are easily accessible, the skin barrier and the underlying living cell layers are ideal subjects for investigation by optical and spectroscopic methods using light-based technologies that work from outside the body, Lademann said.
Technologies such as fluorescence, reflectance, laser scanning microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy enable identification of tissues and fluids based on how their specific physical and chemical properties cause them to react to different wavelengths of light.
Optical imaging methods are becoming increasingly popular in the field of pharmacology, specifically for investigating the penetration of topically applied substances into and through the skin barrier.
Other uses are imaging blood flow and analyzing the wound healing processes.
The findings are published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics.
27.07.2013
How people
treat you is their karma; how you react is yours
Wayne Dyer
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