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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Managing stress with exercises
Yoga may be injurious to health!
Doctors’ fatal errors
TV blocks a child’s sleep hormones
Fish fats and heart attack risk
Ayurveda & you |
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Managing stress with exercises
The factors behind stress can be anger, conflicts, exhausting daily schedule, lack of sleep, death of a relative, excessive noise, etc. The following methods can help in reducing stress:
For this purpose — lie on your back, with a pillow under the head and knees as you prefer. Calm your mind and focus on the exercise. First curl toes, stretch and relax. Flex ankles, extend and relax. Push heels. Contract muscles of the calf and then relax. Breath deeply. Contract and relax abdominal muscles and buttocks. Use abdominal muscles to assist deep breathing. Arch your back and press into the surface beneath you. Breath slowly as you relax your chest and ribs areas Relaxation breathing Under stress, we breathe more quickly and less deeply in order to take in air quickly, which results in oxygen starvation, and carbondioxide accumulation. In the long run, it can lead to reduced vitality, premature aging, etc. Breathe in through your nose, feel your tummy as you inhale and fall as you exhale. If you’re having trouble coordinating this, put one hand on your tummy and the other hand on your chest. As you breathe, focus on the abdominal hand moving, but the chest hand staying still. Practice this for five minutes to start with and then slowly increase it to 15 or 20 minutes. Regular exercise When we are under stress, we pace around or tap over legs and fingers. By doing this, we are trying to dissipate excess energy in our body. It is much better to channel this energy by doing the same form of exercise like a brisk walk, a run and a game of tennis. Exercise is an essential ingredient of any stress reduction programme. Physical exercise is a quick, easy way to relieve stress-related tension. Vigorous aerobic exercises have been shown to increase your body’s level of endorphin natural sedative and catecholamines, a substance that affects mood. Stretching exercises Arm stretch: Raise your arms above your head, fingers interlaced, palms facing up. Push up as far as you can hold for 10 seconds. Relax. Repeat five times. Leg stretch: Squat, with palms flat on the floor, bring the left knee to chest, extend the right leg straight back. Gently lower your torso as close to the floor as you can. Hold for 10 seconds. Relax. Repeat five times. Shoulders: Raise shoulders and rotate them in a circular motion for 10 times. Head and neck roll (1) Relax your shoulders and let your head roll forward, chin to chest. Slowly rotate your head in a circle without straining your neck. Repeat five times. Relax. Then, rotate in the opposite direction and repeat five times. (2) Lie on the floor with knee bend and a thick book under your head. Slowly move your head to one side and hold for 10-20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. Do it five times. Back stretch: Lie on your back, keeping your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Gently push your lower back onto the floor. Hold for 10 seconds. Relax. Repeat five times.
Fingers: Clench fists for five seconds and then spread fingers as
far as possible for five seconds. Repeat five times.
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Yoga may be injurious to health!
SYDNEY: Researchers in Australia have found that yoga, if not done properly, can be injurious to your health. According to the study commissioned by Medibank Private, a failure to warm up and preparing inadequately for the exercise causes injury to every fourth person who does yoga. The researchers have found that the sports injuries cost more than 1.8 billion dollars in Australia last year, which was 300 million dollars more than the previous year. The risk factor was found maximum among football players and those aged between 18 and 24. “You have to get the correct program and advice. There are a lot of stretching manoeuvres and maybe some are trying it at 38, thinking they are 18,” The Daily Telegraph quoted sports physician Dr Peter Larkins as saying. “Yoga has become the new aerobics and some people are getting it out of a book or video. “Some people have old injuries and do yoga and the old injuries flare up,” said Surry Hills, owner of a yoga centre. However, the importance of “warming up” seemed to have failed to reach the masses, as only 38 per cent people in the survey reported that they regularly completed pre-and-post-yoga exercises.
— ANI
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Doctors’ fatal errors
LONDON: As many as 82 per cent of the doctors in Britain have admitted to having seen their colleagues making mistakes while treating patients. According to the survey conducted on 2500 doctors by website doctors.net,uk., only 15 per cent of these errors were reported with 13 per cent leading to patient death or disability. “Doctors interviewed by BBC Radio Five Live suggested these could include misdiagnosis, wrong treatment and later referrals. Medics admitted that some of the mistakes led to the deaths or disability of patients but hardly any were reported,” The Daily Mail quoted a BBC spokesperson as saying. In their replies to BBC Radio, 97 per cent of the doctors said that a confidential system of hazard reporting could help in the reduction of such cases. “What comes through very clearly from this survey is that doctors know that they make mistakes, they are human beings after all, but there is no culture of improvement,” said Dr Neil Bacon, chief executive of the website. “It has been proven in other industries that, without a blame culture, mistakes can be reported and lead to an improvement in safety,” he added.
— ANI
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TV blocks a child’s sleep hormones
LONDON: If your child is having less than the average hours of sleep that he needs, the chances are that your television is to be blamed, For a new study conducted by scientists from the University of Florence has revealed that watching TV blocks the sleep hormone melatonin in children. According to The Independent, the study found a 30 per cent increase in levels of the sleep-regulating hormone in children who had abstained from watching television for a week. The results are based on a study of 74 children from the Tuscan town of Cavriglia who abstained from television, video games and computers for a week. Melatonin is a hormone which normally begins to be produced around 9 pm and is responsible for making people feel sleepy.
— ANI
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Fish fats and heart attack risk
LONDON: A US research has claimed that doctors could better predict which patients were likely to have a heart attack by testing their blood for fish fats. A Harvard University expert said that those at highest risk have low levels of omega-3 fats found in fish oil. The research was presented to the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids congress in Brighton. Dr Albert and his colleagues said that checking omega-3 levels could save lives by alerting doctors to which patients are at high risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death.
— ANI
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Ayurveda & you ONE of the common questions raised about the herbal medicines is whether they have side-effects or not. Many people believe since herbs are natural, safe and homologous to the human body, they cannot do any harm to them. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Ancient ayurvedic texts point to certain factors like the time, place, compatibility, combination, duration and dosage of a medicine which influence the outcome of a treatment. It should always be kept in mind that herbs are medicines and they should be dealt with some care and caution which we exercise while using other prescription drugs. As the hype about herbal medicines is reaching new heights, it is the time when people need to be aware of many pitfalls before they opt for any such remedy. In different dialects and languages, herbs are known by different names. After establishing the correct identity of a herb, the foremost point to be kept in mind is about its dosage. Many people think that if a little makes them better, more will make them feel fantastic. This is not the case with herbs. Ayurvedic texts clearly indicate the required dosage of every herb. Moreover, the dosage of a fresh herb and that of its dried form can be different. Over-dosage of these can be not only harmful but fatal also. Herbs like other medicines should be taken only for a specified period. After these achieve their purpose, the whole treatment plan needs a review. Many herbs can be withdrawn immediately, still there are some which can be termed as habit forming and necessitate their gradual tapering. Some of the good herbs can be ultimately harmful if taken for a prolonged period. These should never be used indiscriminately or on a daily basis without the proper guidance of an expert. Every system of medicine has its checks and balances. After a lot of hard work and experience ancient ayurvedic scholars developed numerous herbal formulations. Since every herb has its distinct effect, most of the classic preparations are properly balanced with herbs that counteract or enhance each other’s effect, as the case may be. Any attempt to alter these formulations or developing a new one without understanding the detailed properties of each herb can be harmful for the patients. The indigenous medical culture of our country includes many traditions where a person starts using herbs according to the experience and know-how of another patient. Many holy men are also seen prescribing herbs or giving prepared ayurvedic medicines to patients. Ayurveda believes that no two patients are same and the choice and application of a treatment may differ from person to person. People need to be cautious while taking herbs from a person who is not qualified in this field. |
STRESS is the most common cause of ill health.