A surprising new study found that sleep deprivation can offer a short-term alleviation of depression symptoms. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that half of the study participants diagnosed with the disorder benefited from sleep deprivation.

Scientists couldn’t say why exactly sleep deprivation can have such a huge impact on a person’s mood. The team noticed that a significant change in one person’s sleep patterns seems to reboot the internal circadian clock.

However, the research revealed that depression makes a comeback as soon as the person goes to sleep.

Sleep deprivation acted as a natural antidepressant in half of surveyed cases despite the severity of the condition and medication. A researcher called the effects of sleep deprivation on depression patients ‘bizarre’.

Sleep Deprivation Benefits the Brain

However, the benefits of sleep deprivation were first documented in the 19^th Century. Over the last three decades, around 75 studies altered patients’ sleep schedules to treat depression. Yet, no one reviewed those studies and we did not know how conclusive they were.

Researchers warn that sleep deprivation does not work for everybody. In extreme cases, it can lead to cardiovascular conditions, suicidal thoughts, and even more depression.

Study authors found that being sleep deprived a single night does not benefit the patient in the long run, but it does seem to help some of those with depression reset and rewire.

The research team thinks that the unexpected benefits may have something to do with the circadian rhythms, which are severely disturbed in depressed people. So, forgoing a sleep cycle seems to reboot those rhythms, which apparently helps in fixing those disturbances.

The brain can rewire and reset itself due to neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to build new connections, which was proven to last well into the old age.
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If you are struggling with relationship problems, the surest way to find relief is among your family and friends, a recent study says. If you have an intense social activity while arguing with your partner, you are less likely to develop the typical health problems which arise with the stress of these issues. Therefore, make sure you keep your friends and family close.

Relationship problems might lead to increased health risks

Having relationship problems is not easy for anyone, and some people might take it harder than others. This means they are confronting with a lot of stress, which might lead to unwanted physiological effects. However, this new research suggests that these effects are less visible in people who spend more time with their family and friends, and who can always ask them for psychological support.

Unfortunately, many couples nowadays live far away from their family and friends. Even so, it is important for them to maintain a strong relationship in spite of the distance. Having emotional support from a close one if you have relationship problems can reduce the many health risks associated with them. These health problems which might arise include depression, insomnia, weight gain, or even heart disease.

Any kind of meaningful social connection can help people experience less emotional stress

For the study, researchers monitored 105 couples who had to answer daily questionnaires regarding their relationship problems, as well as their connections with friends and family. Besides, they also had to give saliva samples, and have their cortisol levels measured. This hormone shows the levels of stress suffered by a person during the day.

Researchers also noticed something interesting. A high number of friends and social connections didn’t have as much value if the relationships weren’t of good quality. Therefore, having meaningful relationships is more important than having plenty of superficial friendships. Also, anything outside the couple can help with relationship problems. Even those people with few friends had lower levels of stress-related health problems than those who had no connections outside the marriage.
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Nowadays, many people spend most of their day sitting down, as they have to work in an office and at a desk. There’s no secret that being sedentary can be dangerous for one’s health, but new research suggests sitting down many hours in a row is bad even for those who exercise afterwards. A solution to prolong your life would be to stand up once every 30 minutes.

People spent a lot of time sitting down

A sedentary lifestyle puts our life in danger, but this new study found a direct connection between sitting down and not performing any active movement, and a higher risk of death. Researchers looked at the connection between this acute sedentarism and an all-cause mortality (or mortality from any kind of causes), and found it exists.

Since there is an all-cause mortality, researchers couldn’t tell why it is directly related with sitting down. However, after analyzing around 8,000 participants aged 45 or older, they found evidence of some clear correlations. The study has been published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Previously, researchers had participants answer questionnaires, and assess their levels of activity on their own. This time, they decided to measure these levels themselves, by having the participants wear accelerometers. The results were alarming, as researchers found people spent 12,3 hours sitting down on average.

One way to minimize the risk would be to stand up once every half an hour

The study lasted for about four years, and 340 of the participants died until the end. This is how researchers identified the connection between sitting down and the death risk. Therefore, the more time you spend being inactive, the more at risk you are to die an early death.

Also, they observed how this correlation is present regardless of any other factors which might be involved. This means that, even if participants spent time exercising after sitting down for many hours, the risk was still present. However, there is one solution to minimize this risk. Those people who stood up once every 30 minutes or even less had the smallest risk.
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A report released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed a Salmonella outbreak which swept up 13 states. After detailed investigations, officials discovered pet turtles had been responsible with spreading the disease. The outbreak has already lasted for several months, and the authorities decided to take action against it.

Pet turtles are responsible for spreading Salmonella

CDC developed an advisory in which it monitored all the Salmonella cases registered since March, and up until August. The officials identified 37 cases of the disease, with 16 of the infected people ending up in the hospital. Most cases were present in New York, with 11 people suffering from Salmonella.

CDC interviewed 33 of the 37 people who were victims of the outbreak. Fifteen of these people reported having played with pet turtles before getting infected. This is how the health officials came to the conclusion that the animals put people at risk. However, people are not aware of it and, as they keep interacting with pet turtles, they might continue getting sick.

Salmonella is especially dangerous for kids and older people

All kinds of pet turtles are expected to carry the Salmonella bacteria. Therefore, parents should be careful, and not allow their children to play with the animals. Salmonella can be especially dangerous for infants, so people shouldn’t keep their pet turtles in the same house as children younger than five. Also, Salmonella can be riskier for people older than 65, those who have a weaker immune system, or pregnant women.

This is not the first time when pet turtles have been linked to a Salmonella outbreak. In 2015, CDC reported 133 cases in 26 states and, in 2013, they discovered 473 cases in 43 states. Each state has different policies regarding the possession of turtles, but retailers are not allowed to sell turtles with shells smaller than 4 inches.
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A woman from California issued a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and claimed using their baby powder led to her developing terminal ovarian cancer. The jury ruled in favor of the woman, and awarded her $417 million, but scientists are a bit skeptical in declaring talcum powder can directly cause cancer.

Can talcum powder cause ovarian cancer? Juries say yes

Eva Echeverria was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, and she blamed Johnson & Johnson for it. She admitted using Johnson’s Baby Powder in the perineal area for several decades, and blamed it for her disease. Therefore, she took legal action in the sense.

On Monday, a jury ruled in favor of Echeverria, and awarded her $417 million. However, this was not the first time when a jury ruled against the company, and many other cases are still pending. This makes us wonder if talcum powder can really cause cancer.

Scientists are a little more skeptical

Scientists admitted that it could be dangerous. Talc, the mineral present in talcum powder, can put women at risk, as it might lead to the development of ovarian cancer. By using talc products for their personal hygiene, they increase their general cancer risk by 33 percent.

People observed a possible link between ovarian cancer and talc in the 1980s. Before that, they also noticed some similarities between this type of cancer and exposure to asbestos, a popular carcinogen. Actually, asbestos and talc are often mined together, and the former has often been found in talc products.

However, the National Cancer Institute supports companies like Johnson & Johnson. The evidence they managed to gather didn’t find any link between ovarian cancer risk and the genital and perineal use of talcum powder. However, they will keep performing more trials and look for more results.

Talc can, indeed, be risky, scientists agreed upon that. However, this is not conclusive enough for a final verdict. Also, they sometimes blame the women themselves. They should be aware talcum powder is associated with an increased cancer risk. If they want to avoid it, they should stop using it in areas which allow it to enter their reproductive system.
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The UK government wants to take drastic measures against the increasing rates of childhood obesity. As a solution, it established some targets to reduce the calories in burgers, pizzas, or other unhealthy meals children enjoy eating. This move is needed, since people usually consume about 200 or 300 calories above the recommended limits every day.

Obesity rates are high among UK children

Childhood obesity rates in the UK are quite high, so the officials decided to do something about it. As people in general consume a bit too many calories, a smart move seemed to be the reduction of calories found in food. This might lead either to products getting smaller, or to the change of the ingredients in many popular foods from restaurants and takeaways.

The authorities decided to adopt this calorie program after they successfully managed to implement salt reduction. Last year, they also adopted another strategy in the sense, namely reducing sugar quantity in many foods. Their target is to remove about 20 percent of sugar in many foods by 2020.

Reducing both calories and sugar from fast foods

Now, nutritionists suggested calories should be taken into account as well. Only about a quarter of them come from foods rich in sugar, therefore such a move was more than necessary. One child in three usually finishes primary school as overweight, and this needs to change.

This complex plan on calorie reduction should come into action in April 2018. Until then, the authorities want to establish serious targets and strategies and improve the health condition of children. However, the food industry still finds ways to promote unhealthy products to children, and to convince them to consume them.

Moving the focus away from sugar and towards other elements is good, since these new strategies might be more effective. After reducing salt, the UK can now reduce both sugar and calories, not only children, but all people can significantly improve their health condition.
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With the evolution of technology, it has become easier to watch your favorite TV shows without having to wait too much until the next episode comes out. This led to many people engaging in binge watching, meaning that they watch multiple episodes in a sitting. As entertaining as this might sound, researchers warn us this is not a healthy habit.

Researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium discovered how binge watching led to insomnia, fatigue, and a generally poorer sleep quality among younger adults. Over 80 percent of young adults admitted engaging in this activity, and 20.2 percent of them did this for a few times a week.

Apart from affecting one’s sleep, binge watching also makes people eat more while sitting in front of the TV or the laptop screen. This might cause an increase in obesity rates among younger people, which leads to many other serious consequences.

Researchers saw how those participants at the study who admitted being binge watchers also complained of feeling tired more often, suffered from insomnia and poor sleep, and were in a more alert state before going to bed. Also, they had a 98 percent higher tendency to suffer from poorer sleep than those who didn’t usually binge watch TV.

How does binge watching affect sleep quality?

The study had 423 participants aged between 18 and 25. From them, 62 percent were female, while 74 percent were students. To come up with the results, researchers had them perform an online survey regarding their watching habits, as well as their levels of fatigue, insomnia, or how good their sleep quality is.

But why is binge watching so bad for sleep? Usually, shows tend to get pretty intense and to keep watchers immersed in their action, which makes it hard for them to refrain from playing another episode. Also, when they decide it’s time to go to bed, they are still under the influence of the action and it takes them more to calm down and get ready to fall asleep.

As a solution, researchers recommend binge watchers to engage in mindful techniques after watching their favorite shows, such as meditation or relaxation. This should help them calm down and gradually improve their sleep quality.
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A recent study should work as a warning for patients who have experienced a stroke, as it brings evidence in favor of statins. Researchers discovered that patients who stopped taking this kind of medication after suffering an ischemic stroke were more likely to suffer a second event of the same type.

Ischemic strokes block arteries with cholesterol

The research was led by scientists from Chang Gung University College of Medicine in Taiwan, and was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. To develop it, scientists monitored a number of 45,151 people who suffered an ischemic stroke between 2001 and 2012.

An ischemic stroke occurs when too much cholesterol accumulates in the arteries and they get clogged. This means that the blood flow gets obstructed, and it can no longer reach the brain. All the patients who participated in the study received prescriptions for statins, which prevent arteries from getting clogged.

Discontinuing a treatment with statins increases the risk of a second stroke

Then, researchers noticed something interesting. Those patients who no longer took statins between three and six months after they suffered the stroke were more likely to suffer a second stroke. Also, they were at a higher risk of death by any other causes. More precisely, if they stopped taking the medication, patients had a 42 percent higher risk of a second stroke. The general risk of death was of 37 percent.

However, this didn’t apply to those patients who didn’t stop taking the medication completely, but gradually reduced the dosage of statins. They didn’t show the same risk of suffering a second stroke. This suggests one thing: statins shouldn’t be given as a short-term medication, especially if the patient had already suffered one ischemic event.

If a patient needs to decrease their cholesterol levels and has suffered an ischemic stroke, statins are the suitable lifelong treatment. Under no circumstances is it advised to stop taking the medication, even several months after the event.
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Authorities in the UK have changed blood donation regulations in both England and Scotland, and they have become more relaxed and more permissive. Therefore, both sex workers and gay men will now be able to donate only three months after they were last sexually active. This is given by a more advanced testing system, which is better with detecting infections.

Less strict rules on blood donation for sex workers and gay men

On July 23^rd, these changes have been officially announced. They are to be enforced in Scotland starting November while, in England, they will come into effect as late as 2018. Apart from less strict rules for sex workers and gay men, the government might also become more permissive with people with recent piercings or tattoos.

These rules have been adopted by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues, and Organs. They established that their testing equipment and mechanisms are now advanced enough to detect infections while still in an early stage. Therefore, only three months should now pass since people’s last sexual activity.

Authorities want to assess the risk of each donor individually

Medical authorities said they needed around 200,000 donors per year to maintain their blood supplies. Until the new donation regulations come into effect, they ask more ethnical minorities to come and donate blood, but the UK is not currently struggling with a blood shortage.

These new blood donation regulations are a big victory, both from a scientific and a social point of view. Gay men and sex workers were previously stigmatized, but this wasn’t based on scientific evidence as much as it was based on preconceptions.

These preconceptions are not unfounded, as gay men or people from the sex industry are more likely to contract and transmit a blood-borne virus. However, this policy shouldn’t stigmatize an entire community, but rather assess the donor’s risk individually.
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