The BBC wrote about a University of California study comparing the benefits of 200mg of caffeine (the average amount in a cup) to a 60 to 90 minute daytime nap on various memory tasks. They found that a nap generally improved memory performance, while caffeine either didn’t affect – or worsened – performance. The promised benefits of sleep have even persuaded a few firms to allow their employees to nap at work. Recently software company … [Read more...]
Archives for 2015
NYC joins 70 cities in banning polystyrene or styrofoam containers
Order your takeaway and you can bet it’ll come in a polystyrene or styrofoam container. Until now... According to One Green Planet, New York City has banned restaurants from using them from July 1st. They contain a possible human carcinogen – styrene, and neurotoxin - which as well as possibly damaging the nervous system, carry an increased risk of leukaemia and lymphoma. Because styrene leaches at a fast rate, the containers end up floating … [Read more...]
Did you know that you can do a course in first aid for depression?
Melbourne university researcher Prof Jorm and his wife came up with the idea of first aid for depression ten years ago. According to the BBC, Mental health first aid training teaches participants how to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and to respond appropriately. Since its inception the training has spread around the world, reducing stigmatisation and helping people to treat mental health like any other illness. … [Read more...]
Food For Thought …
Can we trust science?
According to Aeon, scientists seeking demigod status fly too close to the sun with their claims. There’s also the increase of retractions which can leave an entire scientific community frightened of the resulting stigma. These retractions are fascinating when they hit the mainstream – the infamous 1998 paper in The Lancet by the British researcher Andrew Wakefield and others that linked autism and vaccines, influenced many thousands of parents … [Read more...]
Have you tried doing ‘the Hundred’?
Pilates increases circulation and activates underused tissue, which helps to slow the ageing process. According to Body and Soul “The Hundred” is a great anti-ageing exercise – are you up for it? Hold your body in the hundred position with your chest lifted, arms reaching along your sides and legs extended to a height you can hold while contracting your abdominals. Beat your arms up and down, breathing in for five beats and out for five beats. … [Read more...]
Can we really wash away our calorific sins with a detox?
Who is up for a detox - just wash away your calorific sins as an antidote to a fast-food alcohol-lubricated lifestyle? But Edzard Ermst from Exeter University, UK told the Guardian that detoxing is a medical nonsense as is the build-up of toxins. “The healthy body has kidneys, a liver, skin, even lungs that are detoxifying as we speak,” he says. “There is no known way – certainly not through detox treatments – to make something that works … [Read more...]
Are you a ‘Redecetarian’?
According to Tree Hugger there’s a new movement in town. It is called Redecetarian and it aims to encourage reduced consumption of meat, fish and dairy with a view to both reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and improving public health outcomes. Co-founder Brian Kateman says that it is about empowering everyone to make healthier and more eco-friendly food choices - so are you in or out? … [Read more...]
Jacques Cousteau said “In the deep space of the sea I have found my moon”…
Why can’t the U.S see beyond the troubled state of its healthcare system?
When a person is unhealthy, it is hard for them to see beyond their physical, emotional and spiritual ailments. Instead, because of their ailments, they are stuck in a quagmire in which they live in a disempowered and apathetic way. So it is with the United States –it can’t see beyond the troubled state of its healthcare system.http:www.quantumrevolution.net/living-a-low-density-lifestyle/the-health-of-a-nation/ Image Credit: Robert Grischek … [Read more...]