Nightmares and a Link to Mental Illness

Nightmares and a Link to Mental Illness

I saw a very interesting article in news from the BBC recently that says that if a child suffers from regular nightmares this might be an early warning sign of psychotic disorders that could develop in later life.

The study, by UK researchers said that while most children will have nightmares from time to time, if the nightmares persist it could be an indication of something more serious.  Nightmares accompanied by what are called ‘night terrors’ were also an indication of increased risk.

Commenting on the study, the charity YoungMinds said it was important research that may help people detect the early signs of mental illness.

Almost 7000 people were followed up to the age of 12 and parents were regularly asked about any sleep problems in their children.  Then at the end of the study the children were assessed for psychotic experiences such as hallucinations, delusions and thinking their thoughts were being controlled.

The study showed that the majority of children had nightmares at some point, but in 37% of cases, parents reported problems with nightmares for several years in succession. One in 10 of the children had night terrors, generally between the ages of three and seven.

The team at the University of Warwick said that a long-term problem with nightmares and terrors was linked to a higher risk of mental health problems later.  The findings were that around 47 in every 1,000 children had some form of psychotic experience. Those having nightmares aged 12, it was found, were three-and-a-half times more likely to have problems and the risk was nearly doubled by regular night terrors. One of the researchers, Prof Dieter Wolke, told the BBC, who reported the story, that nightmares are relatively common, as are night terrors, but that it had been observed that if they did persist then there might be something more serious although the relationship between sleep problems and psychosis is not clear. One theory is that bullying or other traumatic events in childhood might cause both symptoms.

Another alternative is that the way some children's brains are wired means the boundaries between what is real and unreal, or sleeping and wakefulness, are blurred.  What this means that treating the sleep issues may not prevent psychotic events.

Prof Wolke did say that a regular routine and quality sleep were the key to tackling nightmares and that children should have more regular sleep, avoid anxiety-promoting films before bed and not use a computer or have other stimulation at night.

Night terrors occur at specific points during sleep and can be managed by briefly waking the child. Lucie Russell, the director of campaigns at YoungMinds, said that this had been a very important study because anything that could be done to promote early identification of signs of mental illness was vital to help the thousands of children that suffer. As early identification of a problem could help to lessen the chance of problems becoming entrenched in adulthood, this study is an important one.

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and are only intended as additional information to your general knowledge and not as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. So please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

The Dangers of Digital Eye Strain.

The Dangers of Digital Eye Strain.

These days, many of us spend a lot of time in front of our computers or on other devices.  However it has been reported that a woman in China, who was in the habit of spending many hours peering at her smartphone in the dark, eventually suffered a detached retina.

The woman said that she felt that the vision in her right eye seemed as though she was looking through a thick veil for about a week.  She went to see the doctor and said that when he covered her left eye the vision and everything she looked at out of her right eye was distorted.  She said that objects she was looking at, that should be rectangular, actually appeared oval. She was used to playing on her smartphone in the dark usually for about two to three hours every night.

The doctor who was treating the patient whose name was Liu diagnosed a partial retinal detachment and put the condition down to her habitual playing with the smart phone in the dark. The treating ophthalmologist explained that spending long hours staring at bright screen in the dark can cause an over contraction of the ciliary muscle and that in turn will affect its ability to accommodate the changes in the lens when the eye tries to view objects at varying distances.

Retinal detachment is a serious condition and can lead to blindness.  Ophthalmologists are reporting that they are seeing more and more patients who are suffering from the condition because of the use of both handsets and computers where they have been staring at the screens for long periods of time.

Another patient in China spent ten hours every day running a shop that he had on a well known online marketplace.  The excessive time that he spent monitoring his on line shop eventually cost him the vision of his right eye, in November last year, doctors reported.

China is a country increasingly obsessed with staying wired, but here as well as in the West health professionals have long warned that excessive use of these devices can lead to very serious consequences.   

Some very useful safety tips are offered by www.thevisioncouncil.org Lens technology is advancing to meet the concerns of a digital world and to help reduce digital eyestrain. Computer glasses are a great solution to reduce or eliminate digital eyestrain. Other “eye-gonomic” actions can also help lessen the incidence of fatigue. The Vision council’s medical advisory board offers these tips for safer screen viewing:

·      Adjust the brightness of your device.

·      Consider changing your background colour from bright white to cool grey.

·      Attach a glare reduction filter to your computer screen.

·      Frequently dust and wipe digital screens to help reduce glare.

·      Adjust your screen so that it is directly in front of your face and slightly below eye level. Do not tilt a computer monitor.

·      Position yourself or your device so there is sufficient distance between your eyes and the screen.

·      Lessen the amount of overhead and surrounding light that is competing with your device’s screen.

·      When using a computer, first sit in your chair and extend your arm.  Your palm should rest comfortably on the monitor.

·      Keep handheld devices a safe distance from your eyes and just below eye level.

·      Increase text size.

·      Remind yourself to blink more often.  This is important as staring at a digital screen can affect the number of times you blink, causing your eyes to dry.

·      Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

·      Parents should limit the amount of screen time for children, and reduce their screen time in front of children so as to set healthy standards in the home.

Remember:  Blink. Breathe. Break

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog is provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and are only intended as additional information to your general knowledge and not as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. So please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

Quitting Smoking

Quitting Smoking

Next month will feature the British Heart Foundation’s annual no smoking day. This follows on nicely from the item last week that looked at the move to ban smoking in cars when children were passengers.  A lot of people find that the efforts they have made to quit smoking have been hijacked by the fact that they have felt a real sense of loss when they have given up the cigarettes that have been part of their lives for so long.  I know I did when I gave up ten years ago.  But giving up smoking doesn’t have to be about losing something – it can be very much about getting something back too.

At the moment a pack of twenty cigarettes averages about eight pounds.  That equates to an extra fifty-six pounds a week for a twenty a day smoker who has given up.  You might also be surprised to learn that as well as life insurance being cheaper for non-smokers; car and home insurance will also be less. 

If the health benefits have failed to persuade you maybe the hard cash gains will. 

For a twenty a day smoker after quitting for just one day, they would have enough to rent a movie or buy some magazines.  In one week they would have enough for a  DVD box set, a beauty treatment, a paintballing day or even a day out at the races.

In one month the smoker who has given up will really be quids in and be able to have a real shopping spree, buy some football tickets to a premier game or even have a day out rally driving.

In three months you are in holiday territory with two weeks away from it all in the sun, some new jewellery, a new laptop or the very latest flat screen TV.

Six months after quitting you will be able to pay for a season ticket to the footie, take the whole family away somewhere nice on holiday or buy a top of the range bike.

After a year you will be really feeling the benefit, as the money you have saved would buy you new luxury leather furniture, a new kitchen, some designer bling or even a car.

Looked at like that it does seem tempting right?  So why don't you start planning for next month now and pick a day to quit.  You will be very glad you did when you are driving that new car off the forecourt next year!  

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge.  It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

Banning Smoking in Cars with Children Present

Banning Smoking in Cars with Children Present

It is perhaps no surprise that more than seven hundred doctors and other health experts have put their names to a letter that urges MPs to get behind an England wide ban on smoking in cars, in which children are travelling.   The matter is before Parliament this week for a vote.

The signatories to the letter that was published in the British Medical Journal say that this move is necessary "to protect the well-being of children now and in the future".  Those who have added their support to the ban include doctors, surgeons, nurses and other paramedical staff working in all areas of the NHS.  In the letter the fact that exposure to second-hand smoke is a "major cause of ill-health in children" and this is particularly so in groups that are more disadvantaged, is highlighted.

Smoking in cars exposes children to "high amounts of tobacco smoke" and there is now agreement that children need to be protected from such wholly avoidable hazards.

In the UK a figure of just over a fifth of adults smoke and of those over a fifth admit that they do smoke when their children are around them.  They may not know that even if the car window is open the smoke can be present in the air for up to two and a half hours.  In that smoke are over four thousand chemicals some of which have been proved to cause cancer.  Chest infections, asthma, ear problems and even cot death are also linked to exposure to cigarette smoke.

The figure of three hundred thousand visits to the GP by children suffering from the effects of second hand cigarette smoke, is only topped by the figure of nine and a half thousand that have to be admitted to hospital as a result of inhaling second hand smoke.

A ban on smoking in cars is currently in effect in some US states such as California, as well as in parts of Canada and Australia. 

It must surely a good idea to save children from breathing in second hand smoke, although how it will be policed is difficult to imagine.  It will be interesting to see how the vote goes.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

A Tsunami Of Cancer Heading Our Way

A Tsunami Of Cancer Heading Our Way

Alarming news this week about a predicted tsunami of cancer heading our way.  The reasons given are to do with lifestyle and being overweight, as well as environmental issues.  It seems that the so called ‘baby boomer’ generation fear most dying from cancer, or losing their memory from Alzheimer's as they age but should really be worrying about their growing waist lines, as the generation's obesity problem can cause serious health risks and take a toll on healthcare systems in the not-too-distant future.

Part of the problem is no surprise and it is a sedentary lifestyle. Most adults are advised to take vigorous exercise for 2 1/2 hours every week. We know that this can be achieved by doing simple activities four to five times a week like taking a brisk walk, signing up to a dance class, or other more or less vigorous activities.

However surveys show that the baby boomers on average only exercise enough to raise their heart rates around once every week, if that. A confessed thirty seven per cent don't strength-train at all and effectively miss out on a crucial activity that fights the muscle loss that comes as we age. This generation says that it prefers to walk. The problem is:  they do not walk enough.

Baby boomer's health risks from obesity include an increased risk for arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, and undoubtedly contribute to the surge of treatment required once the boomers reach around 65 years of age.

A handy measure is the advice to keep your waist half, or less, than your height. For example: a woman who is 5-foot, 4-inches (which is 64-inches) should have a waist measurement of no more than 32-inches at the navel.

The oncoming tsunami of cancer doesn't have to include you, if you choose an active lifestyle. 

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK HEALTH RADIO

BCAA’s The Elixir of Life?

BCAA’sThe Elixir of Life?

Supplements to enhance sport performance in the form of branched chain amino acid (BCAA) is now an industry worth many millions of dollars. And there is a solid scientific basis underpinning the performance claims that are made for them.

They are probably one of the most overlooked and most effective supplements for anyone who wants or needs to build up muscle and increase sporting or physical performance or simply to help lessen muscle breakdown during intense exercise.  They can also offer an advantage to older people where muscle atrophy can be delayed with the use of Amino acids that are central to promoting muscle growth. Thirty Five per cent of our muscles are made up of BCAAs and they have to be present to allow muscles to grow and retain water. 

A recent study that showed the remarkable affect that BCAA had had on laboratory mice, not only in extending their lives but in making their motor skills and other elements of their performance much better.

The article prompted headlines at that time in the Daily Mail claiming that these Body builder protein powders 'could increase life expectancy by 10 years' and the debate about the properties of BCAA has never been far from the news since that time.  Often referred to as the Elixir of life, in powder form it could be sprinkled on porridge or stirred into a milky drink, it has the capacity to strengthen weak and worn muscle, which in turn will help to lessen the risk of fractures or painful tumbles in later years. Another benefit derived from the supplement, when it is taken in later years, is the energy boost that it could give to people suffering from breathing and respiratory symptoms as well as heart problems.  Researcher Enzo Nisoli who conducted the study and whose work was reported in the Daily Mail article said that he thought that the data they had produced could be seen as an indication that it was advisable for older people to take the supplement.  Professor Nisoli, who is from Brescia University, gave mice considered to be 'middle-aged' amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine with their water. The mice that had been given the supplement lived, on average, eighty days longer than mice that had had not be given the supplement.  This, if converted to human terms would mean adding almost another ten years to the average lifespan of a British male with the extra life expectancy for women being slightly more.

There has been a lot of study on BCAAs and one study that was reported in the Examiner concluded that some of the latest findings had been helpful in providing extra evidence to support diets higher in protein. In particular whey protein and other forms of BCAAs seem advantageous as part of an overall healthy lifestyle that might also be useful in losing excess fat and in dieting.

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge.  It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

aminoacidguru.org

http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131%2810%2900304-9 http://www.examiner.com/article/new-studies-show-bcaa-s-pivotal-dieting-and-fat-loss

Chocolate and Staving off Type 2 Diabetes.

Chocolate and Staving off Type 2 Diabetes.

It’s the news that we have all been waiting for. The news that Chocolate and red wine can help stave off diabetes with their high levels of antioxidants that can help regulate blood glucose levels.  On the 20^th January the Daily Mail ran a piece that claimed that the High content of flavonoids in chocolate and wine and other foods may help to regulate blood glucose levels and, surprisingly perhaps, can protect us against a whole range of other health issues including obesity! The article, written by Jenny Hope for the Daily Mail says that it is now official that red wine, chocolate and strawberries can be enjoyed without beating ourselves up, because they might actually protect us from getting type 2 diabetes. It works because the flavonoids found in these foods are antioxidant compounds that are also found in plants, as well as tea, red wine and chocolate, which can protect against a wide range of diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, some cancers and dementia. The study that was carried out found the main protective effect came from higher intakes of anthocyanins, which are present in strawberries, blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries.  The research was carried out at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and King's College London and results reveal that high intakes are linked with lower insulin resistance and better blood glucose regulation. They also lowered inflammation which, when chronic, can lead to disease, says the study, published on the 20^th of January in the Journal of Nutrition. Prof Aedin Cassidy from UEA's Norwich Medical School, who led the research, said 'We focused on flavones, which are found in herbs and vegetables such as parsley, thyme, and celery, and anthocyanins, found in berries, red grapes, wine and other red or blue-coloured fruits and vegetables. ‘Laboratory studies have shown these types of foods might modulate blood glucose regulation - affecting the risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers studied almost 2,000 healthy women volunteers from TwinsUK who had completed a food questionnaire designed to estimate total dietary flavonoid intake as well as intakes from six flavonoid subclasses. Prof Cassidy said 'We found that those who consumed plenty of anthocyanins and flavones had lower insulin resistance. ‘High insulin resistance is associated with type 2 diabetes, so what we are seeing is that people who eat foods rich in these two compounds - such as berries, herbs, red grapes, wine- are less likely to develop the disease. What is not known yet is exactly how much of these compounds are necessary to potentially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.  So before you rush off and stock up on chocolate bars, there is a cautionary note, want there always bound to be?   For Red wine and chocolate, advice is to limit your consumption of these and this advice would be very unlikely to change even if further research did demonstrate that flavonoids reduce type 2 diabetes risk.  This is because the calories in the chocolate and the alcohol in the wine would dramatically outweigh any health benefit from the flavonoids. So I suppose the old saying ‘a little of what you fancy does you good’ is the watchword here!

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge.  It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio