Category Archives: Studies

Dancing Can Alleviate Mild Mental Health Issues in Teen Girls

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Greg Asseff

Dancing at a club or party can provide some unfocused cardiovascular exercise. Even better, other types of dancing can improve flexibility, increase core strength, and help burn calories. For younger people, however, the act of dancing may also have benefits beyond the physical. For example, teenage girls can help alleviate mild mental health issues such as problem internalization just through dancing, according to a new study conducted at the Karolinska Institutet’s Centre for Health Care Sciences in Sweden. In the dance and mental health study, girls reported greater improvements in health after taking dance classes twice a week in comparison to girls who did not engage in dance. The findings suggest that dance is an excellent way to improve not only physical health but mental health as well.

Posted in Exercise, Health, Health Facts, Mental Health, News, Parenting, Studies, Weight Loss, Women | 3,242 Comments

Premature Baby Massage Boosts Immune Strength

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Greg Asseff

Premature babies can sometimes have an underdeveloped immune system, which can subsequently lead to various infections. Unfortunately, premature babies are more susceptible to sepsis, a life-threatening condition in which infection spreads into the bloodstream. Luckily, a premature baby’s immune system can greatly benefit from gentle massage, according to a new study by the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. In the study, premature babies who received massage had more powerful immune cells capable of killing off unwanted pathogens. These same babies tended to gain more weight each day, and had a higher bodyweight at the study’s conclusion regardless of original birth weight. Best of all, researchers found that premature baby massage produced no negative side effects.

Posted in Health, Health Facts, Medical, News, Parenting, Studies | 1 Comment

Physical Exercise Benefits Include Added Years of Life

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Greg Asseff

Engaging in frequent physical exercise, such as walking, jogging, swimming and sports, can add years to an individual’s lifespan, even if that individual is overweight, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health. Individuals who engaged in more intense activity tended to increase their lifespans even further, though moderate physical exercise benefits were recorded also. The study found that individuals could benefit regardless of their gender, age, weight and status of health. The Harvard researchers examined data from six existing studies involving health and exercise data for almost 640,000 people over the age of 40. Roughly 82,500 of the individuals died during a 10-year follow-up period. The study was the first to estimate changes in life expectancy based on body mass index, or BMI, and physical activity.

Posted in Body Building, Exercise, Health, Health Facts, Medical, News, Studies, Weight Loss, Weight Training | 1,059 Comments

Breast Feeding Mom Healthy, Co-Sleeping Not

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Greg Asseff

Breast milk is well-known to contain antibodies and nutrients that play a vital role in a baby’s health. Babies fed with formula rather than breast milk generally have a higher risk for conditions such as asthma, diabetes and obesity. However, moms who decide to breast-feed or co-sleep with their babies are impacting their own health, not just the health of their babies, according to a new study conducted at Northwestern University. The study found that women with the most ideal stress hormone patterns were those who breast-fed their babies but did not sleep in the same bed with them. Women who did the opposite — slept with their babies, but didn’t breast-feed them — had the worst stress hormone patterns. The news could be helpful to new moms looking for ways to reduce stress while providing optimal care for their newborns.

Posted in Health, Health Facts, Mental Health, News, Parenting, Studies, Women | 3,345 Comments

Flu Shot Reduces Heart Attack and Stroke Risk

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Greg Asseff

As flu season approaches, many individuals are getting vaccinated in hopes of avoiding a bout of influenza that could take them out of work and leave them feeling miserable for days. If you’re procrastinating, a new study by Canadian researchers may motivate you to finally get to the vaccination clinic. According to the study, getting a flu shot could help you avoid not just the flu, but a heart attack as well. This is yet another contrast to the many myths that flu vaccines seem to be subject to. For example, scientists have frequently explained that it is impossible to catch the flu from a vaccine, yet many people still consider it to be possible. The myth that only elderly people can die of the flu is another dangerous thing to assume. For example, the vast majority of swine flu deaths occur in people younger than 65.