You and your life: November 2013

Friday, 29 November 2013

10 relaxation techniques to reduce stress on-the-spot

10 relaxation techniques to reduce stress on the spot

If your hectic lifestyle is getting to be too much for you, experts say relaxation techniques can bring you back into balance -- some in five minutes or less.

The children need a lift to school, your husband can't find his underwear, your boss has just scheduled an online meeting, and your best friend desperately needs your help - all at the same time.

Is it any wonder that you can't find a minute for relaxation? If you're like most women, you may have even forgotten how to relax.

While experts say that some stress is good for you (it can sharpen your senses and your mind) too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health. At the same time, relaxation can do wonders to restore balance in your life and may even reduce some of the health risks associated with stress.

We talked to the experts to learn more about relaxation and how to attain it. What follows are 10 on-the-spot techniques you can use (any time and almost anywhere) to reduce tension in your life.

1. Meditate

If you think meditation means twisting your body into an uncomfortable position and uttering ‘oohs’ and ‘comms’ for an hour, guess again. Dr Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response, says any repetitive action can be a source of meditation. Benson, who is also director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine in the US, says meditation includes walking, swimming, painting, knitting - any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment.

If you catch yourself thinking about your job, your relationship or your list of things to do, experts say to simply let the thought escape, and bring your mind back to the repetition of the activity. Try it for just five to 10 minutes a day and watch stress levels drop.

2. Picture yourself relaxed

Is your mind too talkative to meditate? Try creating a peaceful visualisation, or ‘dreamscape’. To start simply visualise anything that keeps your thoughts away from current tensions. It could be a favourite holiday spot, a fantasy island, a short break in London - or something ‘touchable’ such as the feel of your favourite silk dressing gown or cosy jumper.

The idea is to take your mind off your stress and replace it with an image that evokes a sense of calm. The more realistic your daydream (in terms of colours, sights, sounds, even touch and feel) the more relaxation you'll experience.

3. Breathe deeply

Feeling stressed evokes tense, shallow breathing, while calm is associated with relaxed breathing, says Michael Lee, author of Turn Stress into Bliss. So to turn tension into relaxation, he says, change the way you breathe.

Try this: let out a big sigh, dropping your chest and exhaling through gently pursed lips, says Joan Borysenko, director of Harvard University's Mind-Body Clinical Programmes. Now imagine your lower tummy, or centre, as a deep powerful place. Feel your breath coming and going as your mind stays focused there. Inhale, feeling your entire tummy, sides and lower back expand. Exhale, sighing again as you drop your chest, and feel your tummy, back and sides contract. Repeat 10 times, relaxing more fully each time

4. Look around you
‘Mindfulness is the here-and-now appr

approach to living that makes daily life richer and more meaningful,’ says Dr Claire Michaels Wheeler, author of 10 Simple Solutions to Stress. It's approaching life like a child, without passing judgement on what occurs. Mindfulness means focusing on one activity at a time, so forget multitasking! Staying in the present tense can help promote relaxation and provide a buffer against anxiety and depression.

Practise it by focusing on your immediate surroundings. If you're outdoors, enjoy the shape and colours of flowers, hear a bird's call or consider a tree. In the shopping centre look at the details of a dress in the window, examine a piece of jewellery and focus on how it's made, or window-shop for furniture, checking out every detail of pattern and style. As long as you can keep your mind focused on something in the present, stress will take a back seat.

5. Drink tea

If you're a coffee guzzler, consider going green. Coffee raises levels of the notorious stress hormone, cortisol, while green tea offers health and beauty, says Dr Nicholas Perricone. Perricone is the author of 7 Secrets to Beauty, Health and Longevity.

Chamomile tea is a traditional favourite for calming the mind and reducing stress. Black tea may be a stress fighter, too, researchers from University College London report. Participants who drank regular black tea displayed lower levels of cortisol and reported feeling calmer during six weeks of stressful situations than those who drank a placebo with the same amount of caffeine.

6. Show some love

Induce the relaxation response by cuddling your pet, giving an unexpected hug to a friend or family member, snuggling with your spouse or talking to a friend about the good things in your lives, says psychologist Deborah Rozman, co-author of Transforming Stress. When you do you'll be reducing your stress levels.

Why? Experts say social interaction helps your brain think better, encouraging you to see new solutions to situations that once seemed impossible, she says. Studies have also shown that physical contact (such as stroking your dog or cat) may help lower blood pressure and decrease stress hormones.

7. Try self-massage

When your muscles are tense and you've no time to visit a professional, try this simple self-massage technique from Darrin Zeer, author of Lover's Massage and Office Yoga. Relax, and travel straight to zen-land.
Place both hands on your shoulders and neck.
Squeeze with your fingers and palms.
Rub vigorously, keeping shoulders relaxed.
Wrap one hand around the other forearm.
Squeeze the muscles with your thumb and fingers.
Move up and down from your elbow to your fingertips and back again.
Repeat with the other arm.

8. Take a break

Adults need breaks too. So when you sense your temper is about to erupt, Dr Jeff Brantley, author of Five Good Minutes In the Evening, suggests finding a quiet place to sit or lie down and put the stressful situation on hold. Take a few deep breaths and concentrate on releasing tension and calming your heartbeat. Quiet your mind and remember: time is always on your side, so relax. The stress can wait

9. Try a musical detour

Music can calm the heartbeat and soothe the soul, the experts say. So, when things get stressful, take a musical stress detour by aligning your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song. Plus, you might think about listening to a classical tune. Research shows that listening to 30 minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10 milligrams of diazepam.

10. Take an attitude break

Thirty seconds is enough time to shift your heart's rhythm from stressed to relaxed, Rozman says. The way to do that: engage your heart and your mind in positive thinking. Start by envisioning anything that triggers a positive feeling - a vision of your child or spouse, the image of your pet, that great piece of jeweller you're saving up to buy, a memento from a holiday - whatever it is, conjuring up the thought will help slow breathing, relax tense muscles and put a smile on your face. Rozman says that creating a positive emotional attitude can also calm and steady your heart rhythm, contributing to feelings of relaxation and peace.

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10 Ways to Stay Fit in Winter

10 Ways to Stay Fit in Winter

Who wants to exercise when it's cold and dark outside? But even in winter getting outdoors can put you in a better mood. It may even improve your concentration.

So bundle yourself and your kids up in layers. Be sure everyone's heads and hands are covered. And, take some extra time warming up before you exercise in the cold. Then, try these fun activities to keep you and your family in motion through the winter months.

___Walk. Walking is easy and requires little more than a good pair of shoes. You can burn calories, increase blood flow, and give your heart and lungs a boost just by putting one foot in front of the other. Walking is also a great stress reducer.

___Hike. Hiking affords many of the same benefits as walking and gives you the chance to explore new vistas.

___Run. Vigorous exercise like running slows the effects of aging and appears to help fend off disease and disability.

___Skate, Snowshoe, or Ski. Not only will they get you outdoors, but winter sports can involve the whole family and as many friends as you want to include.

___Geocache. Take your family on a high-tech treasure hunt. You'll need access to the Internet and a GPS device. The GPS on your cell phone will work just fine. First, look up what treasures are hidden in your area on the official Geocaching website, then head out to find them. Geocaching gives kids a chance to learn about the outdoors, problem-solving, and teamwork.

Indoor Winter Fitness Tips

What can you do during a snowstorm or when it's just too cold to go outside? Here are some indoor fitness tips for your family.

___Yoga or Pilates. Yoga is a great way for adults and kids to keep muscles limber and take a stress break. Pilates builds strong core muscles and can improve posture. You can find yoga and Pilates classes at a gym, in a studio, or get a DVD you can follow at home.

___Swim. If you have access to an indoor pool, jump in for your mental and physical health. Not only is swimming the most popular athletic activity in the U.S., but swimmers tend to live longer and have better moods than people who do not exercise.

___Bowl. Fun, social activities like bowling or dance class can keep things interesting. If someone in your family has an "exercise allergy," bowling can make physical activity less of a chore.

___"Exergames." Researchers looked at two games, Nintendo's Wii Boxing and Konami's Dance Dance Revolution. It turns out some games can boost fitness, within limits. They do not offer as many health benefits as playing an actual sport, but highly active exercises are a good way to get moving on a cold or rainy day.

___Take the Stairs. Every time you choose the stairs over the elevator or escalator, you burn more calories and reduce your risk of heart disease. So take the stairs at every opportunity. And get an added benefit: Better legs for summer!

Stress can creep up on you when you least expect it.

Many of us lead high pressure lives, with the competing demands of work, children and family life.

It's when that pressure turns to stress that the problems really start.

Stress can manifest itself in some pretty surprising ways, from sickness to sleepiness. It pays to take notice of these SOS signs from your body to help nip stress in the bud:

1. You are not quite yourself

This is a difficult sign to recognize. Often it's other people who point it out to you.

Stress expert Professor Cary Cooper says: "Your behavior changes if the pressure you are under exceeds your ability to cope and you enter the stress zone."

He says: "Maybe you are usually gregarious with a good sense of humor and you become withdrawn."

2. Pain in the neck

Tension around the shoulders and neck may not be down to sitting at your computer for hours on end it could be a sign of early stress.

Health and wellbeing consultant Liz Tucker says: "If you are stressed it makes your neck and shoulder muscles tighten which may affect messages to the brain and can give you problems with concentration."

It may pay at this point to take time out and have a massage. Not only are you hopefully alleviating the symptoms, but you are also recognizing you need time to relax. You could also do some simple deep breathing exercises or go to a yoga or Pilates class.

3. Biting nails

Biting your nails down to the quick and picking at your cuticles could be a telltale sign of stress. Consider using an anti-biting liquid that tastes bad and discourages biting or invest in some false nails, so you can't get to your real nails, and then address the reasons for the stress.

4. Twitching eye

We've all occasionally felt that fluttering feeling in our eyelids, especially when we are tired but if you have repeated spasms of blinking it may be down to stress.

It's known as blepharospasm, and each spasm can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. The exact cause isn't known, but stress and tiredness may trigger it.

5. Feeling sick

You've heard of the phrase 'sick with worry' Well stress and anxiety can make you feel nauseous.

Clinical psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin says it's a classic response: "When we think anxious thoughts the brain sends adrenaline into the body. This is the ancient fight/flight response we still have inside of us.

"Adrenaline has several effects other than giving us the strength to fight or run away, some of which are butterfly tummy, nausea, shakes, sweating and your heart beating faster."

6. Colds, cold sores and ulcers

These could all be signs that you may be under stress.

"Stress affects every cell in your body and it's a case of your immune system not managing as well as it should and it affecting the internal workings of your body," says Liz.

7. Sleepiness and bad dreams

Stress can affect your sleeping patterns, you might lie awake in the middle of the night going over things in your head or just want to sleep constantly.

"The stress response may keep you awake or it can feel like you are sleeping all the time but your body is never restoring itself and resting properly," says Liz.

Professor Cooper says: "Classic symptoms are heart palpitations, anxiety dreams and difficulty sleeping at night."

8. Odd niggles

Other symptoms of stress include teeth grinding, unexplained rashes and hives.

"If you have anything niggly, like bad skin, it could be a sign that your stress balance is out of sync," says Liz.

The charity Anxiety UK says stress and anxiety can manifest itself in many ways including tingling in the hands and feet, tension headaches, and hot flushes.

It says common psychological signs of stress are thinking you might die, feeling detached from your environment and the people in it, and feeling on edge about everything around you.

What do you think you should do?

Noticing the early signs of stress will help prevent it from getting worse and causing potentially serious health problems like high blood pressure and depression.

If you think you may be showing signs of stress, work out the cause. It could be a bad relationship, a bullying boss, bereavement, or just the general feeling of life getting on top of you.

Get help

Professor Cooper, who co-wrote How to Deal With Stress, says, "Think about counseling, depending on the nature of the problem. If it's a relationship, try Relate. If it's deeper and more personal to you, maybe a clinical psychologist." He says your GP is the first port of call.

"You need to deal with the stress head-on and not go down the route of avoidance activities like heavy drinking as that exacerbates the problem and creates a new one."

If you catch it early enough talking your worries over with a good friend can help. Relaxation techniques and exercise are also good stress-busters

Click here to learn more.

Monday, 18 November 2013

How much sleep do children need?

How much sleep do children need?

The amount of sleep a child needs varies depending on the individual and certain factors, including the age of the child. Following are some general guidelines:

1-4 weeks old: 15-16 hours per day

Newborns typically sleep about 15 to 18 hours a day, but only in short periods of two to four hours. Premature babies may sleep longer and colicky ones shorter.

Since newborns do not yet have an internal biological clock, or circadian rhythm, their sleep patterns are not related to the daylight and night-time cycles. In fact, they tend not to have much of a pattern at all.

1-4 months old: 14-15 hours per day

By six weeks of age your baby is beginning to settle down a bit, and you may notice more regular sleep patterns emerging. The longest periods of sleep run four to six hours and now tend to occur more regularly in the evening. Day-night confusion ends.

4-12 months old: 14-15 hours per day

While up to 15 hours is ideal, most infants up to 11 months old get only about 12 hours of sleep. Establishing healthy sleep habits is a primary goal during this period, as your baby is now much more social, and their sleep patterns are more adult-like.

Babies typically have three naps and drop to two at around six months old, at which time (or earlier) they are physically capable of sleeping through the night. Establishing regular naps generally happens in the latter part of this time frame, as their biological rhythms mature. The mid-morning nap usually starts at 9 am and lasts about an hour. The early afternoon nap starts from noon to 2 pm and lasts an hour or two. The late afternoon nap may start from 3 pm to 5 pm and is variable in duration.

1-3 years old: 12-14 hours per day

As your child moves past the first year towards 18-21 months of age they will probably lose their morning nap and nap only once a day. While toddlers may need up to 14 hours a day of sleep, they typically get only about 10.

Most children from about 21 to 36 months of age still need one nap a day, which may range from one to three and a half hours long. They typically go to bed between 7 pm and 9 pm and wake up between 6 am and 8 am.

3-6 years old: 10-12 hours per day

Children at this age typically go to bed between 7 pm and 9 pm and wake up around 6 am or 8 am, just as they did when they were younger. At three, most children are still napping; at five, most are not. Naps gradually become shorter as well. New sleep problems do not usually develop after three years of age.

7-12 years old: 9.5-10.5 hours per day

At these ages, with social, school, and family activities, bedtimes gradually become later and later, with most 12-year-olds going to bed at about 9 pm. There is still a wide range of bedtimes, from 7:30 pm to 10 pm, as well as total sleep times, from nine to 12 hours, although the average is only about nine hours.

12-18 years old: 8.5-9.5 hours per day

Sleep needs remain just as vital to health and well-being for teenagers as when they were younger. It turns out that many teenagers may need more sleep than in previous years. Now, however, social pressures conspire against getting the proper amount and quality of sleep.

to learn more Click here.

How Not to Wreck Your Liver

How Not to Wreck Your Liver

Your liver is a key player in your body’s digestive system. Everything you eat or drink, including medicine, passes through your liver.

“The liver is a vital organ and not something you can live without,” says Rohit Satoskar, MD, of the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. “It’s an organ you could easily trash if you don’t take good care of it, and once you trash it, it’s gone.”

Recommended Related to Hepatitis

Coping With Hepatitis C

Living with a chronic disease like hepatitis C can be depressing and nerve-wracking. Coping with the side effects of treatment isn't easy either. But another difficult aspect of having the disease is how it can interfere with your relationships. "People with hepatitis C experience a lot of stigma," says Alan Franciscus, executive director of the Hepatitis C Support Project in San Francisco. "It can be really hard." You may avoid talking to friends or family about the disease because you're worried...

The liver is the second-largest organ in your body (the skin is the largest). It's about the size of a football and sits under your lower ribcage on the right side. It filters chemicals like drugs and alcohol from the blood; regulates your hormones and blood sugar levels; stores energy from the nutrients you take in; and makes blood proteins, bile, and several enzymes that the body needs.

There’s nothing tricky about keeping your liver in good shape. It’s all about a healthy lifestyle, says Ray Chung, MD, of the Liver Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Taking care of your liver is far more about avoiding what’s bad than it is about eating or drinking things that are particularly nourishing to the liver,” he says.

Care for Your Liver

Here are the proven ways to avoid wrecking your liver:

Don't drink a lot of alcohol. Alcohol can damage liver cells, leading to the swelling or scarring that becomes cirrhosis, which can be deadly.

According to the federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate alcohol use is defined as having up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. Stay at or under this to keep from harming your liver.

Eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise. A condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) also can lead to cirrhosis. It comes from being overweight, having diabetes, or having high levels of fat in your blood. NAFLD affects about 25% of people in the U.S. It can be avoided through weight loss if you’re overweight, getting regular exercise, and eating a balanced diet.

Stay away from medicines (or combinations of medicines) that harm the liver. Cholesterol drugs and the painkiller acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be toxic to the liver if too much is taken over time or at once. You may be taking more Tylenol than you realize; it's found in hundreds of drugs like cold medicines and prescription pain medicines. Certain combinations of drugs can be toxic to the liver; so can taking some medicines while drinking alcohol. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about what medicines shouldn’t be combined or alcohol. And always follow dosage information.

Be aware of hepatitis and how it is transmitted. Hepatitis is a virus that causes the liver to become inflamed. There are several different types. Hepatitis A is transmitted by water or food that's been contaminated with bacteria found in feces. It usually gets better on its own. Hepatitis B and C are transmitted through blood and body fluids. If untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. Hand washing and avoiding places that don't seem clean can prevent hepatitis A. To prevent hepatitis B and C, don't share items like toothbrushes, razors, or needles, limit the number of sex partners you have, and always use latex condoms if you have more than one partner

Get tested for and vaccinated against hepatitis. Because hepatitis often doesn't cause symptoms, you can have it for years without knowing it. If you think you've been exposed, talk to your doctor about being tested. Baby boomers in particular are urged to get tested for hepatitis C. There are vaccines for hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

Don’t touch or breathe in toxins. Cleaning products, aerosol products, insecticides, chemicals, and additives in cigarettes contain toxins that can damage liver cells. Avoid direct contact with them, and don’t smoke.

Be careful with herbs and dietary supplements. Herbal remedies, herbal combinations, and dietary supplements aren't subject to the same approval process as medications, and some can harm the liver. A few that have caused liver problems are cascara, chaparral, comfrey, kava kava, and ephedra.

In recent years, some herbs and supplements have hit the market claiming to restore the liver. Those include milk thistle seed, borotutu bark, and chanca piedra. “There’s never been any high-quality evidence that any of these promotes liver health,” Chung says. Some may even harm the liver.

Drink coffee. Research shows that drinking coffee can lower your risk of getting liver disease. No one knows why this is so, but it’s worth keeping an eye on as more research is done.

More health tips. Click here to find out.

10 Cancer Symptoms That Men Ignore

10 Cancer Symptoms That Men Ignore

Many men tend to ignore cancer screenings and preventive health visits. Those who do get screened often do so at a woman's urging. But preventive screening can help find cancers or other problems when they are in their earliest stages when they are much more likely to be curable and not cause serious problems.

Certain symptoms should prompt a visit to the doctor, not because cancer is likely, but because it should be ruled out or diagnosed early if it is present. This article lists some troublesome symptoms that may be signs of cancer. Of course, these symptoms do not mean that cancer is present, but their presence should trigger a consultation with your physician. Your doctor will discuss the symptoms with you and perform a physical examination to determine whether you need any additional testing.

1. Changes in the testicles: Testicular cancer is most common in younger (20 to 39 years of age) men. Signs of testicular cancer include swellings, lumps, or changes in the consistency of the testicles, and certain testicular cancers can arise and grow quickly. The American Cancer Society recommends that men get a testicular exam by a doctor as part of a routine cancer screening checkup.

2. Breast lumps: While breast cancer in men isn't common, it does occur. About 1 out of every 100 cases of breast cancer occurs in men. As in women, breast cancer in men can cause breast masses or lumps, changes in the skin overlying the breast like dimpling or puckering, and changes in the nipple such as retraction or scaling and redness.

3. Enlarged lymph nodes: There are several causes for enlarged lymph nodes, and cancer is only one of many possible causes. Still, if the enlargement persists or is not associated with an illness, you should consult your doctor to determine the cause.

4. Weight loss: When you're not dieting or trying to lose weight, weight loss can be a sign of cancer, infection, or other chronic conditions. If you're losing weight without trying to, it's a good idea to discuss your weight loss with your doctor.

5. Fever: This is a normal reaction to illness or infection. Certain cancers, particularly cancers of the blood cells or cancers that have spread, may cause fevers. Fevers that persist and cannot be explained should always be investigated by a doctor.

6. Chronic cough: A cough that lasts more than 3 to 4 weeks should be evaluated by a doctor. Coughs are normal reactions to many respiratory illnesses and allergies, but a chronic cough can be a sign of lung or throat cancer.

7. Problems swallowing: Problems or pain with swallowing can be a sign of gastrointestinal cancer, like esophageal cancer. Other, noncancerous disorders of the esophagus can cause trouble swallowing, and your doctor can order tests to pinpoint the cause.

8. Bleeding: When it is unexpected, bleeding should always be investigated. Examples include coughing up blood, having blood in the stool, or bloody urine.

9. White patches in the mouth: Leukoplakia is the term for white patches inside the mouth or on the tongue that form as a result of chronic irritation. They are especially common in smokers and those who use smokeless tobacco. These patches can progress to oral cancer and should be monitored by your physician.

10. Fatigue: This symptom is tough to pinpoint because almost any chronic medical condition can cause fatigue. Likewise, emotional and psychological disorders can cause or increase a person's perception of fatigue. Persistent and worsening fatigue, especially in the absence of known causes like missing sleep or overworking, however, can sometimes be a sign of cancer

For more health tips click here to find out.

Saturday, 16 November 2013

Yoga Improves Sleep for Cancer Patients

Yoga Improves Sleep for Cancer Patients

New research suggests that regular practice of yoga can lead to significant improvements in sleep for people who have undergone cancer treatment. For patients with cancer, sleep problems are common. Research indicates that people coping with cancer are at significantly higher risk for sleep disorders than the general population. Lack of sleep contributes to fatigue and can increase the risk of developing depression for people coping with cancer. Poor sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms are also associated with hormone dysregulation and immune system dysfunction. Among people with cancer, disrupted sleep can occur as a result of several factors, including physical pain or discomfort that interferes with falling asleep or staying asleep, side effects from medications and treatments, as well as stress and anxiety. Once triggered, problems with sleep are often difficult to reverse: disrupted sleep patterns that develop during cancer treatment can persist long after treatment has concluded.

Finding ways to help people cope with cancer to sleep better is an important goal of sleep research and clinical treatment. While short-term use of sleep medication may be useful, it’s critical to identify strategies for improving sleep that don’t rely on long-term use of sleep medicines.

Researchers investigated the effectiveness of yoga to improve sleep as part of a post-treatment care program and found that the mind-body exercise brought significant improvements to sleep quality and sleep efficiency. Yoga also helped to reduce patients’ reliance on prescription sleep medication. The study included 410 patients with cancer, all of whom had undergone one or more types of treatment—including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy—within the past 24 months. Most of the participants (96%) were women, with an average age of 54, and 75% of participants had breast cancer. All were suffering from at least moderate levels of sleep problems. Researchers divided the participants into 2 groups, both of which followed the same standard post-treatment care plan. In addition, one group also participated in a 4-week yoga program, consisting of 2 75-minute sessions each week. The yoga regimen included physical postures as well as meditation, breathing, and relaxation exercises. At the beginning and the end of the 4-week study period, researchers measured sleep for both groups using questionnaires and wrist sensors worn during the night. They found both groups had improved their sleep during the 4 weeks. However, the yoga group experienced significantly greater improvements in sleep compared to the non-yoga group:

Using a scale of sleep quality with a range of 21-0, with lower numbers representing fewer sleep problems, the group that practiced yoga demonstrated a more significant boost in sleep quality. The yoga group saw their average sleep quality score improve from 9.2 at the beginning of the study to 7.2 at the end. The non-yoga group’s average score improved to a lesser degree, from 9.0 to 7.9.

Yoga practitioners also improved their sleep efficiency—the amount of time spent sleeping relative to the total amount of time in bed—to a greater degree than the non-yoga group.

The yoga group experienced more significant improvements in daytime tiredness than the non-yoga group.

The yoga group reduced their use of sleep medication by 21% per week during the course of the study. The non-yoga group, on the other hand, increased their sleep medication use by 5% per week.

This last finding is especially encouraging, that the group practicing yoga improved their sleep while also reducing their reliance on sleep medication. We know from the CDC’s first-ever investigation of prescription sleep medication that reliance on prescription sleep aids is alarmingly high, with 4% of the adult population of the U.S. taking medication to sleep. Long-term use of sleep medication is not the best method of improving sleep for anyone. For cancer patients–who may already be taking one or more other medications–effective, non-chemical treatments for sleep problems are particularly welcome and important. To date, we’ve not seen a great deal of research attention paid to the potential benefits of yoga for patients with cancer. But other studies suggest that yoga and other types of gentle, mind-body exercises can help improve sleep among cancer patients:

With a group of lymphoma patients, researchers examined the effects on sleep of Tibetan yoga, a form that incorporates breathing, visualization, mindfulness, and physical postures. After 3 months, patients who did yoga reported significant decreases in sleep disturbances, increased sleep duration, and less reliance on sleep medication, compared to a group that did not participate in the yoga regimen.

A group of patients with a variety of cancers experienced improvements in sleep and decreases in levels of stress and fatigue after an 8-week program of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). MBSR includes meditation practices designed to address both physical and psychological difficulties.

A review of research into mind-body therapies for cancer patients found that several forms of mind-body treatment had positive effects on sleep, as well as on pain and fatigue.

These latest results provide important additional evidence that yoga and mind-body practices can play a constructive role in treating sleep problems among cancer patients. I am a proponent of yoga and mind-body exercise as a treatment for sleep problems and as part of a healthy-sleep routine. I hope we’ll see additional research explore the possible benefits of these practices for people living with cancer.

For more health tips click here to find out.

Do It Yourself Vaginitis Care: Testing

Do It Yourself Vaginitis Care: Testing

Questions from our readers bring forward some of the most interesting topics. After last month’s blog on home pregnancy testing, I received a query about home vaginal infection testing. This spurred an investigation into all facets of do-it-yourself (DIY) vaginitis care. Here, as a two-part series, is what I learned about home testing kits. Next month, we’ll cover over-the-counter vaginitis treatments.

Vaginal Infections 101

Vaginitis is a general term that covers fungal (“yeast”) and bacterial infections within the vagina. Vaginitis can be an overgrowth of organisms normally found in the vagina or surrounding genital-rectal skin (e.g. yeast or bacterial vaginosis/BV). Some types of vaginitis can only be acquired by sexual contact, also known as a sexually transmitted infection or disease (“STD”). Examples of STDs which infect the vagina are trichomoniasis (“trich”), Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea. Unfortunately, if you are a woman with a new vaginal discharge, itching, or a malodor, it is not easy to know if one has an STD or simply an overgrowth of one of the “normal” vaginal organisms.

Testing for Vaginitis at Home

The most readily available home test kit for vaginitis is the Vagisil Screening Kit®. The cost at my local chain pharmacy was $17.50 ($15.00 for store brand). While availability and cost are good, the diagnostic capacity of this home test is very limited. This kit checks for vaginal pH. It does not indicate causes of symptoms (e.g., itching, burning, bad smell or unusual discharge), nor can it identify a specific type of infection. At best, it can indicate a more alkaline pH — 5.0 or greater, which suggests that either bacterial vaginosis (BV) or trichomoniasis (“trich”) might be present. When a pH of 3.5 is found, symptoms could be from a healthy vagina or a yeast infection. Furthermore, the manufacturer suggests that the test may not be accurate if the woman is on her period, has breakthrough bleeding, is postmenopausal, or has recently had intercourse. Thus, in most instances, a woman should still see a GYN or clinic to get the most correct diagnosis.

This is not to say that very accurate results cannot be obtained with DIY home testing. Self-collected tests on urine or vaginal swabs have been used in research studies for over ten years. Such tests identify DNA from the infectious organisms using several kinds of nucleic acid amplification (NAAT) screenings. All of these NAAT tests are very accurate at identifying sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, trich). In fact, two studies have shown that vaginal self-collected tests have almost the same accuracy as MD-collected swabs from the cervix during a speculum exam.

Through the internet, one can order the same types of testing kits for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia used in doctor’s offices. The reagents used for reading the results are included as well. These are very specific and reliable, but have to be purchased in boxes of 25 tests for upwards of $400.00—not including shipping. These are intended for medical offices.

Some internet sites advertise single test kits. One of the pitfalls of trying to order vaginitis or STD testing kit online is that some of the online, for-profit companies that sell these kits have little or no assurance of quality control. In 2010, an STD researcher ordered six kits from different, online, for-profit labs. She returned the tests filled with chlamydia organisms from her lab. Two of the companies never replied with results, two companies replied that the “patient” did not have chlamydia, and only two returned accurate results!

Your best bet is to avoid for-profit sites and obtain test kits through research-based programs. Women living in Alaska; Maryland; West Virginia; Philadelphia; Washington, DC; and select counties in Illinois can order free, in-home testing kits for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trich over the phone or online. If a woman lives in selected areas of California she can also get a free test kit. Both of these research-based programs will send out kits, and process them in a standard lab, and the woman can receive her results in the privacy of her home computer. If she tests positive, medications are provided through an associated pharmacy.

There is a future for properly conducted in-home testing of gonorrhea and chlamydia. The medical literature has almost 80 published research studies on home testing for chlamydia. Some studies show home testing for STDs gives excellent results in either initial testing or “test of cure” (re-testing after antibiotics to be sure the infection has gone). In one study, almost 1200 women (average age of 23 years) were either sent home testing kits or screened in family planning clinics. Those testing at home had a positive chlamydia rate of 10%, compared to 3-5% rates in the clinic. It has been demonstrated that 98% of women can properly collect, then mail, their specimens from home. Among women doing yearly follow-up STD testing, the majority of women opted for home testing kits (75%) rather than testing in a clinic (6.1%) or with their doctor (8.2%). Note that all of these studies were conducted by medical researchers and state health departments rather than for-profit internet “labs”.

The future for in-home testing may even expand beyond the usual vaginal STDs. Health researchers are examining the possibility of testing for the STD which has been linked to severely abnormal PAP smears and cervical cancer—“high risk” HPV (human papillomavirus). A recent publication compared home test kits for sampling vaginal fluids for HPV to standard PAP smears done in a clinic. In a group of 3600 women, aged 50-65, significantly more cervical dysplasia (greater than CIN 2) was eventually found among the home tested.

Finally, for those who cannot get their sexual partner to go to the doctor, in-home testing for STDs is available to men. Both links above offer the same services to men.

Reliable testing can be available through the Internet; the best programs seem to be run through public health projects. If you do decide to use one of the programs available, remember that getting adequate treatment and notifying your partner(s) are still very important. Should you be seeking screening because of known STD risks (e.g., unprotected sex, multiple current partners, or history of an STD), remember that regular screenings and less risky sex will protect your future health

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