Lost Sleep Can Lead to Weight Gain

It seems like a lot of people now-a-days are not getting enough sleep. I find myself not getting enough sleep because of school and work. I learned in my anatomy class that when the body is stressed it releases cortisol, which is a stress hormone and when a person is stressed they store that hormone in the abdomen region. Therefore, people who don't get a good night's sleep may be prone to stress and which will lead to weight gain. I know Dr. Oz recommended Guna Sleep, and it seems like a lot of our customers have bought/tried it. I believe sleep is so wonderful, but it is always hard to get adequate restful sleep. 

The best path to a healthy weight may be a good night’s sleep.

For years researchers have known that adults who sleep less than five or six hours a night are at higher risk of being overweight. Among children, sleeping less than 10 hours a night is associated with weight gain.

Now a fascinating new study suggests that the link may be even more insidious than previously thought. Losing just a few hours of sleep a few nights in a row can lead to almost immediate weight gain.

Sleep researchers from the University of Colorado recruited 16 healthy men and women for a two-week experiment tracking sleep, metabolism and eating habits. Nothing was left to chance: the subjects stayed in a special room that allowed researchers to track their metabolism by measuring the amount of oxygen they used and carbon dioxide they produced. Every bite of food was recorded, and strict sleep schedules were imposed.

The goal was to determine how inadequate sleep over just one week — similar to what might occur when students cram for exams or when office workers stay up late to meet a looming deadline — affects a person’s weight, behavior and physiology.

During the first week of the study, half the people were allowed to sleep nine hours a night while the other half stayed up until about midnight and then could sleep up to five hours. Everyone was given unlimited access to food. In the second week, the nine-hour sleepers were then restricted to five hours of sleep a night, while the sleep-deprived participants were allowed an extra four hours.

Notably, the researchers found that staying up late and getting just five hours of sleep increased a person’s metabolism. Sleep-deprived participants actually burned an extra 111 calories a day, according to the findings published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

But even though we burn more calories when we stay awake, losing sleep is not a good way to lose weight. The light sleepers ended up eating far more than those who got nine hours of sleep, and by the end of the first week the sleep-deprived subjects had gained an average of about two pounds.

During the second week, members of the group that had originally slept nine hours also gained weight when they were restricted to just five hours. And the other group began to lose some (but not all) of the weight gained in that first sleep-deprived week.

Kenneth Wrightdirector of the university’s sleep and chronobiology laboratory, said part of the change was behavioral. Staying up late and skimping on sleep led to not only more eating, but a shift in the type of foods a person consumed.

“We found that when people weren’t getting enough sleep they overatecarbohydrates,” he said. “They ate more food, and when they ate food also changed. They ate a smaller breakfast and they ate a lot more after dinner.”

In fact, sleep-deprived eaters ended up eating more calories during after-dinner snacking than in any other meal during the day. Over all, people consumed 6 percent more calories when they got too little sleep. Once they started sleeping more, they began eating more healthfully, consuming fewer carbohydrates and fats. Dr. Wright noted that the effect of sleep deprivation on weight would likely be similar in the real world although it might not be as pronounced as in the controlled environment. The researchers found that insufficient sleep changed the timing of a person’s internal clock, and that in turn appeared to influence the changes in eating habits. “They were awake three hours before their internal nighttime had ended,” Dr. Wright said. “Being awakened during their biological night is probably why they ate smaller breakfasts.”

The effect was similar to the jet lag that occurs when a person travels from California to New York.

Last fall, The Annals of Internal Medicine reported on a study by University of Chicago researchers, who found that lack of sleep alters the biology of fat cells. In the small study — just seven healthy volunteers — the researchers tracked the changes that occurred when subjects moved from 8.5 hours of sleep to just 4.5 hours. After four nights of less sleep, their fat cells were less sensitive to insulin, a metabolic change associated with both diabetes and obesity.

“Metabolically, lack of sleep aged fat cells about 20 years,” said Matthew Brady, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and the senior author on the study.

“These subjects were in their low 20s but it’s as if they were now middle-aged in terms of their response. We were surprised how profound the effects were.”

Both Drs. Wright and Brady noted that because their studies lasted only days, it was not clear how long-term sleep deprivation affects weight, and whether the body adjusts to less sleep.

Dr. Brady said that while better sleep would not solve the obesity problem, paying more attention to sleep habits could help individuals better manage their weight.

In the future he hopes to study whether a focus on better sleep could improve the health of people in middle age who are overweight or prediabetic.

“Telling someone they need to sleep more as a way to improve their metabolic health, we think would be more palatable,” said Dr. Brady. “We think sleep is very underappreciated.”

Original Article

Runners won't fade but colors will run

I've seen many of my friends on Facebook post pictures of themselves with very colorful chalk all over themselves. I had no idea why they were like that, but then I read it was for the color run. It looks really fun, but extremely messy. I also heard that you inhale a lot of colored chalky substance, which probably isn't to good for the lungs. Also, I can't imagine how dirty the inside of cars are after a long day of running through colored chalk. I personally don't like the mess of it, but it does look fun to volunteer for. Those who actually run or jog can get an extremely good workout from the color run. 


By Mary MacVean

March 9, 2013

Take your pick next weekend: a 26.2-mile sweat-slicked slog or a 3.1-mile jog in which you are likely to get blasted with powders in all the colors of the rainbow.

Guess which one is called the Graffiti Run?

"Most people, when they do their first 5K, it's daunting. We're really nonjudgmental," says Nadia Madesan, the run coordinator. "Our run is really friendly to everyone."

The website (www.thegraffitirun.com) says, "So feel free to run, walk, dance, crawl, roll, piggyback ride or somersault your way through the color madness."

The run was inspired by Holi, the Hindu springtime festival of colors.

"You get doused with color. It's photogenic. Kids love it," Madesan said.

The organization holds other running events too. Its first Graffiti Run drew 4,000 runners in Houston in December. And there are similar runs, including Color Me Rad, which has a June race planned in Los Angeles.

The March 16 run is at the L.A. Fairplex in Pomona; same-day registration is allowed if the event doesn't fill up.

After the run, there's a party with music and color packets that create big colorful clouds when tossed. The colored powder is a nontoxic, non-rash-inducing cornstarch-based product, the organizers said.

mary.macvean@latimes.com

Original Article

Cardio burns more fat than weight lifting

I am a firm believer that Cardio does burn more fat than weight lifting. I think the grueling exercise from Cardio burns for fat than the exercise from weight lifting. Cardio gets your heart pumping really fast and you begin to sweat a lot, which will help you lose fat. I believe weight lifting is for those who want to gain muscle and not necessarily want to lose weight. I think the best bet is to have a combination of a cardio workout and lifting weights. 

December 17th, 2012 12:33 PM ET

If you want to burn fat and lose weight, aerobic exercise may be your best workout option, according to a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

It was more effective than a weight-lifting routine, and about as beneficial as workouts combining cardio and strength training, researchers found.

"If a person is going to give me three hours of exercise a week,the most effective way to lose fat is to spend that time doing aerobic training," says lead study author Leslie Willis, an exercise physiologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

If you lift weights, this doesn't mean you should stop, but if your time is limited and your main goal from exercise is to lose weight, cardio may be better than weight training, according to Willis.

The study

Because people often short-change exercise, the scientists wanted to find out what type of routine would provide overweight people the most efficient workout for weight loss. For eight months, more than 200 middle-aged adults were assigned to one of three exercise programs.

The first group did aerobic training for 133 minutes a week. This averaged out to three 45-minute sessions, with most people choosing to work out on treadmill or elliptical machines. Those in the second group spent the same amount of time getting fit, but lifted weights instead of doing cardio. The others did both types of exercise, which took twice as long. The adults in the study were all overweight or obese, about 50 years of age, and did not have diabetes.

The results

The scientists found that routines that included only weight lifting built muscle, but did not help people lose fat or shed pounds.

Willis said this surprised some experts who say increasing muscle mass helps us burn more calories by increasing our metabolism. Unlike fat, it takes a certain amount of energy to simply maintain muscle. But the Duke researchers say the calories burned from having more muscle were not enough to make a difference when it comes to weight loss.

The researchers also found that cardio workouts proved to be as beneficial for losing fat and weight and required only half the time commitment as the combination workouts.

"They (the combination aerobic/weight training group) did lose more weight around the middle, but it was not statistically significant," says Willis. "We're a little bit unclear as to why that is, but we would say that time-wise, it was not that much more beneficial to do double that work and not get that much more benefit."

Workout advice

But Willis and other experts agree strength training shouldn’t be discounted when it comes to overall health. Lifting weights helps build and maintain strong bones and helps prevent the gradual loss of muscle that comes with aging.

Weight training may not be the best way to take the weight off initially, it does help adults keep it off, says Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist and CNN's diet and fitness expert. And though having added muscle may not burn as many calories as once thought, it does pay off over time.

“If you are short on time and are not dieting, cardio is better for weight loss in the short-term, but we don’t know in the long-term. And in my opinion, to maintain weight loss and achieve optimal health, strength training is still very important,” explains Jampolis.

But some have to get the weight off first before we can then turn their attention to keeping it off, Willis says. And if there’s only time for one type of workout, cardio may be the best choice.

“The point here is that the general public who comes to us to exercise almost unanimously has one main goal, and that is to lose weight and fat," Willis says. "And we’re just not seeing that resistance training would be the most efficient way to do that."

Original Article

Who knew that video games could actually train/helps surgeons become better at their practice? I found this article extremely interesting! I believe certain video games are very helpful with hand-eye coordination and it also helps the brain to react more quickly. Playing video games when I was younger has definitely helped me in certain ways. I think this is one of the revolutionary ways we can use the Nintendo Wii. Also, I think in the future there will be a lot of video games that will help with people in the medical field to help them become better doctors, surgeons  nurses, etc.

By Joseph Serna

February 28, 2013, 11:03 a.m.

When you’re playing Nintendo you may be learning more than how to control a voracious gorilla, rescue a kidnapped princess or negotiate a go-cart course, according to a new study.

You just may be learning skills to help you perform laparoscopic surgery.

In a study posted online Wednesday in the open access journal PLOS ONE, researchers from the department of surgical sciences at the University of Rome measured the surgical skills of students who trained on a Nintendo Wii.

Across four tasks measuring 16 skill-sets on a simulator, such as locating objects with a camera and photographing them, and touching flashing, colored balls with its corresponding tool, Wii team outshone their traditionally trained colleagues in 13 of them. Dr. Mario indeed!

“Laparoscopic simulators represent a satisfactory response to this request but their high costs have limited their spread,” the study authors wrote. “Video-games may be a cheap and widely available product, helping to develop cognitive skills that, apparently, can be transferred in improved surgical performance.”

Laparoscopic gallbladder removal requires surgeons to remotely operate tools inside the patient’s abdomen, including a fiber-optic camera. Using a surgery simulator, students were graded in four tasks involving camera movement, locating objects, moving objects and completing the procedure.

According to this new study, the students who played on the Wii showed greater efficiency and accuracy in handling surgical tools. The study involved 42 first- and second-year graduates studying general, vascular and endoscopic surgery. Half the group was trained on regular simulators and the other half spent one hour a day, five days a week for four weeks playing on a Wii.

The Nintendo team played Wii Sports Tennis for its required hand-eye coordination, focus, flexibility and 3-D visualization. Wii Table Tennis required more precise management of the controller, and Wii Battle, an air-combat game, requires precise movements and 3-D visualization.

Studies show that early trainees struggle adjusting to make three-dimensional movements on a two-dimension screen. The Wii helped drastically improve that, researchers found.

Wii players improved their ability to simultaneously operate two instruments and manipulate objects more than 80% better compared to the control group’s 20%. Cauterizing efficiency improved 42% for players compared to 11% for the rest, and camera accuracy for players improved 83% to 10% for students trained on a traditional surgical simulator.

Previous studies have measured the effects of gaming for prospective surgeons, but none have used so many students and tested so many skill-sets, researchers wrote.

“We hope this may be a trigger to develop dedicated software aimed to help young surgeons as the economic impact of these consoles is significantly lower than traditional laparoscopic simulators and they provide a basic didactic value,” the authors wrote. “The Nintendo Wii may be adopted in lower-budget institutions or at home by younger surgeons to optimize their training on simulators before performing real procedures.”

Original Article

When Kids Exercise More, Their Grades Might Rise Too

I learned about this the other day in my Kinesiology class. We watched a video that showed lower performing students exercising in the morning. The study showed that the students that exercised in the morning dramatically improved their math test scores and their reading comprehension scores. I think exercise before class is an excellent way to wake up the brain so a student can focus more in class. I personally take an Aikido class before my most stressful and difficult class in college. I do see a difference in that I am more fully awake and alert. I pay more attention to the teacher. I believe the only way to make exercise before class fully effective is by eating a good breakfast in the morning.

THURSDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- One key to better grades in the classroom may lie in the gym or on the playground, a new study finds.

The research, to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, found that elementary and middle school students who don't get enough exercise are more likely to fail math and reading tests.

Although the study didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship, the findings may be especially important in light of the fact that some school districts in the United States have cut physical education classes in order to devote more time to the "3 Rs" (reading, writing and arithmetic), the researchers said.

"Schools sacrificing physical education and physical activity time in search of more seat time for math and reading instruction could potentially be pursuing a counterproductive approach," study lead researcher Dr. Robert Rauner of Creighton University and Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Neb., said in a journal news release.

In the study, Rauner's team compared fitness levels and test scores among students in elementary and middle schools in Lincoln and found that aerobically fit students were 2.4 times more likely to pass math tests and more than twice as likely to pass reading tests than those who were not aerobically fit.

The researchers also found that body-mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight) was an important indicator for overall general health, but did not have a significant effect on test scores, according to the study.

So although obesity is a major concern for kids' health, the findings suggest that aerobic fitness may have an even greater effect on school performance than weight, the researchers said.

They also found that both aerobic fitness and family income have a similar impact on children's school performance. Since students' aerobic fitness can be easier to improve than household income, schools should think carefully before they reduce the time given to physical education classes and recess, the researchers suggested.

Original Article

Allergy Sufferers Hit With Double Dose Of Pollen

EXPLAINS SO MUCH!!! I'm literally dying of allergies right now. and i have been for probably the last month or so. its really driving me insane, itchy eyes, running nose at least now there is an explanation.


MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Spring is in the air, and while that means warmer weather, it also means the itchy eyes and runny noses that come with allergy season.

Doctors in New Hampshire said this is one of the worst allergy seasons in years. Allergy sufferers said they can tell.

"I'll be sneezing and sneezing and sneezing, running and running and running, and then once it all passed, it will stop," said Bernadette Sabatino, of Derry.

The problem this year is that the late spring delayed tree pollen season, which is now happening at the same time as grass pollen season.

"People are being hit with a double whammy of pollen right now, and they are really suffering out there," said Dr. Thomas Johnson, allergy specialist.

Allergists said that when the sneezing starts, the best thing to do is see your doctor. Over-the-counter remedies are available, but it's important to remember they can be dangerous if not taken properly.

"People can actually take a Benadryl, thinking it's innocuous, and have a reaction to it that impairs judgment," Johnson said.

Another way to reduce allergy symptoms comes naturally with the warm weather: Hit the beach.

"The pollen counts are much lower at the beach," Johnson said. "There's nothing generating pollen at the ocean."

Relief isn't too far off. Johnson said the pollen should die down over the next few weeks.

Original Article.

Medicare to Run Dry in 2024

Well well.. isnt this sad, honestly i cant understand how with very little technology and resourced people back in the day didnt have to deal with econmic crsis like we do now. its so sad for me to think what kind of world my children will be living in.

WASHINGTON -- Funding for the Medicare program will dry up in 2024, according to an annual report from the program's trustees. Last year's report projected the entitlement program to be solvent through 2029.

The bleaker projection is a result of a smaller-than-expected influx of payroll taxes in 2010 because of a slower-than-predicted economic recovery, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters during a Friday afternoon press briefing.

And inpatient and hospital-related care was more expensive last year than actuaries originally predicted, Sebelius noted.

Total Medicare costs are currently about 3.6% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but that percentage is expected to balloon up to 5.5% of GDP by 2035, and then increase gradually to about 6.2% of GDP by 2085.

Two separate trust funds provide money for Medicare. The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund pays for inpatient hospital and related care. The Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund pays for outpatient physicians and other outpatient services (known as Part B of Medicare) and Part D, which covers prescription drugs.

It's the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund specifically that is projected to be exhausted in 2024. However, "exhaustion" to actuaries means the program will only take in enough funds to pay out three-quarters of benefits, which means hospitals would receive much lower reimbursements for treating Medicare patients.

Part B -- which includes doctor's bills, outpatient expenses, and prescription drug coverage -- will remain steady because it's automatically funded each year, through legislation and insurance premiums, to meet the following year's expected costs. However, those costs will grow, largely because of the increased cost to provide care to an aging population.

SMI costs are currently about 1.9% of GDP, but will grow to 3.4% of GDP in 2035 and reach 4.1% of GDP by 2084, projected the trustees, which include Sebelius, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Commissioner of Social Security Michael J. Astrue, and two new public trustees.

However, that projection assumes that the short-term sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix passed by Congress in December will indeed expire on Jan. 1, 2012, at which point doctors will be subject to a 29% cut in Medicare reimbursements. Every year since 2003, Congress has prevented steep cuts from happening, and it's expected that will happen again.

The American Medical Association (AMA) said the report shows exactly why the SGR formula needs to be fixed.

"The Medicare trustees report leaves no doubt that the time to repeal the Medicare physician payment formula is now -- to keep from digging a deeper financial hole and to preserve access to care for patients," AMA immediate past president J. James Rohack, MD, said in a statement.

"Across-the-board cuts in Medicare do not get to the root of the cost challenge and can hamper patients' ability to receive care," said Rohack. "Instead of focusing only on cuts, the ultimate goal should be to achieve better value for our healthcare spending."

Although this year's Medicare assessment is less rosy than last year -- when the trustees projected the program would remain solvent until 2029 thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- the trustees still said the healthcare reform law is a life raft for Medicare and will make Medicare costs 25% lower than they would have been otherwise.

If the law hadn't passed, the Medicare program would have run out of money in 2016, Sebelius said.

Many of the main provisions that Democrats expect to save money -- including changing how care is paid for and delivered, in part through accountable care organizations -- won't begin to save money for years.

If those reforms don't work, Medicare's cost will be much higher, wrote the two public trustees.

"If the legislation's cost-reduction innovations in the delivery of and payment for health services were not successful, or if healthcare providers could not accommodate the slower growth in Medicare payment rates mandated by the new law, Medicare costs would be significantly higher than shown in the trustees report," wrote Charles Blahous and Robert Reischauer.

Original Article.