Want to see some cardiovascular improvements that will keep you fit through age 75?  Play soccer. No, you are not too old. Just ask researchers at the University of Copenhagen, where scientists looked at the fitness in men between the ages of 63 and 75. Science Daily reports that the […]
Author: Art Jahnke
Can Cat Poop Make You Crazy Mad?
Cat poop, coveted by dogs and loathed by most humans, is suspected of making people mad, really mad. Researchers at the University of Chicago are convinced that people who are prone to explosive bouts of rage might be under the influence of toxoplasmosis, an illness caused by a parasite found in […]
OK, Maybe Moderate Drinking Doesn’t Lengthen Life
After years of research supporting the convenient theory that moderate drinking can add a few years to one’s life, along comes a researcher from Australia, of all places, claiming that those studies failed to factor in the likelihood that many non-drinkers don’t drink because they’re not in good health. So, […]
Americans And Healthy Lifestyle: Fail
Guess what percentage of U.S. adults practices all four of basic behavioral characteristics that researchers say would constitute a “healthy lifestyle” and help protect against cardiovascular disease? 2.7. That discouraging number comes from researchers at Oregon State University, who examined how many adults succeed in four general barometers that could help define […]
The Ideal Interval Length
We’ve all heard of interval training, in which short bursts of high intensity activity are alternated with less strenuous stints. Now comes Gretchen Reynolds, fitness writer for the New York Times, with answers, kind of, to two important questions about interval training: how long should an intense burst last?, and […]
Why Anxiety Leads To Bad Decisions
Here’s a reason to be anxious about anxiety: it can lead us to bad decisions. That’s the verdict of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, who have found that anxiety disengages a region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is critical for flexible decision making. A U of […]
Mindfulness Beats Pain
No one is suggesting that mindful meditation could be the answer to the country’s opioid crisis, but some experts think it could make a dent in it. Researchers at Wake Forest are convinced that mindful meditation can reduce pain, and more significantly, it can reduce pain through mechanisms unrelated to […]
Blueberries May Stave Off Alzheimer’s
Blueberries, the antioxidant powerhouse believed to improve heart health and possibly stave off some cancers, now have another suspected benefit: they slow Alzheimer’s disease. A news release from the American Chemical Society reports that researchers at the University of Cincinnati studied 47 adults aged 68 and older, who had mild […]
Another Thing That’s Good For Your Health: Retirement
Add retirement to the list of practices that’s good for your health, and thank researchers at the University of Sydney for the tip. A U of Sydney news release reports that researchers at the school found that, compared with people who were still working, retirees had increased physically activity levels, […]
Jumping For Strength
It’s called plyometrics, or just “plyos” if you want people to think you do this kind of thing regularly, and it means using muscles in a way that they exert maximum force in minimum time. Jumping may be the best example. How good for you is jumping? The Wall Street […]