Category Archives: Medical

​3 NEW WAYS TO BEAT SAD THIS WINTER

Leave a Reply

Days are about to get even darker, here are three scientifically backed ways to stop your mood from dropping.

As of 2am on Sunday (30th of October), days got darker. While it might mean an extra hour in bed, it can also translate into Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
SAD pretty much does what it says on the tin. The shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in winter can cause a biochemical imbalance in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus which regulates mood, appetite and sleep with half a million people in the UK both physically and mentally suffering.

The result? Sleep problems, anxiety, depression, lack of energy, and compulsive overeating.

 Here’s our guide to feeling happier when – and before – SAD strikes.

1. LIGHTEN UP
‘Make the most of natural light and take advantage of any opportunity to be exposed to natural light when possible,’ explains psychologist Elaine Slater.
If your office seat isn’t near a window and you haven’t got time for lunch, a light box packed with bright white fluorescent bulbs can give your serotonin levels a boost right when they need it and reset your internal clock to a more summery schedule.
Position the box just above your eyeline and angle it downwards for about 30 minutes each morning. A 10,000 lux bulb is best.

2. POP A HAPPY PILL
No we aren’t suggesting you self-medicate. But supplementing your diet might do you the world of good.
‘SAD can trigger cravings for carbohydrates, but you can nix that by being more mindful about nutrition during SAD season,’ explains Slater.
Vitamin D is the obvious choice when it gets darker but why not try 5-HTP. Derived from tryptophan (also found in turkey and chickpeas), it can aid sleep and is then converted by the body into the happy hormone serotonin.
Take two before you hit the hay to wake up smiling – even if the streetlights are still on.

3. NEGATIVE ATMOSPHERE, POSITIVE VIBE
Science from Columbia University has revealed that negative ions may be the key to fighting the winter blues.
Negative ions are most prevalent in outdoor summer air, but a slump of them in winter can make your mood spiral downwards.

Use an electrical ionizer machine (like the HeavenFresh HF100 Black Negative ion generator) to mimic summer air.
Just 90 minutes a day should do the trick. You can almost smell the Ambre Solaire

Study explains why women feel urge to eat babies

Leave a Reply

image

Women: Have you ever snuggled a baby in your arms and had an overwhelming urge to actually eat it? As soon as you catch a whiff of that sweet newborn skin you feel compelled to put your mouth on it? A team of researchers have found that this feeling is entirely normal. It’s part of the maternal instinct—and explains why we often find ourselves describing babies as “delicious” and “yummy” and saying things like, “You’re so cute! I could gobble you up!”

Scientists at the University of Montreal found that a newborn’s scent triggers the reward circuit in women’s brains, causing the release of dopamine and activating the same part of the brain that craves certain foods. The researchers found that women had the same feeling even when they were holding a baby who wasn’t their own.

“The olfactory—thus non-verbal and non-visual—chemical signals for communication between mother and child are intense,” explains Johannes Frasnelli, a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Montreal’s Department of Psychology. “What we have shown for the first time is that the odor of newborns, which is part of these signals, activates the neurological reward circuit in mothers. These circuits may especially be activated when you eat while being very hungry, but also in a craving addict receiving his drug. It is in fact the sating of desire.”

(In case you were wondering: While women get this urge to eat babies, they don’t literally do it.)

For this small study, the researchers formed two groups of 15 non-smoking women: One group of women who’d recently given birth and another who’d never had children. Both groups were presented with newborn smells while undergoing brain imaging scans. All of the women received the odors with the same intensity but the scans showed that the mothers’ brains had a stronger reaction.

The researchers concluded: “These results show that the odor of newborns undoubtedly plays a role in the development of motivational and emotional responses between mother and child by eliciting maternal care functions such as breastfeeding and protection. The mother-child bond that is part of the feeling of maternal love is a product of evolution through natural selection in an environment where such a bond is essential for the newborn’s survival.”

Extreme OCD

Leave a Reply




TENS Machine for back pain.

Leave a Reply

Being a life long sufferer from lower back pain, every now and then I have a major seize up. This happened to me on Sunday after lifting something out of the boot of my car. In immense agony I resorted to bedrest and a shed load of painkillers. After 3 days of strong Cocodamol the pain was not subsiding, but lots of good advice from fellow sufferers offering their own methods of helping the pain. The same thing kept coming up:  “Have you tried using a TENS machine.?” Not being pregnant (at least I don’t think so) I had never had cause to look at a TENS machine, let alone purchase one and try it. So I sent Brabinger my butler to fetch one.  He returned with the above purchase from Boots.

Inside the box it looked like something left over from an ECG machine, sticky pads, electrodes and leads to stick onto my painful back.

I read the instructions three times to ensure I wouldn’t electrocute myself and placed the sticky pads (4 in total) to either side of my painful back. Connected it to the old fashioned mobile phone device and started with the first automatic programme. Nothing seemed to be happening, so I re-read the instructions to discover I hadn’t pressed the buttons to increase the sensations. So I cautiously upped the power in 0.5 increments on both sets of pads. Then suddenly I could feel a tingling needle like sensation in my back jabbing every second. I wasn’t too keen on this sensation. I upped it a little more before I pressed the stop button. Hmm I could see this being put straight on Ebay (perfect condition, used once).

Time to try the second programme, slowly slowly I increased the power. Hmm a wave of vibration runs through my back, this is very soothing, I could like this. I gingerly increased the power and it’s like a powerful massage on my back, my muscles are vibrating with the electrical pulses. I’ll stick with this setting for a while.

I try out all the different programmes, some are intended to kill pain, others to release the body’s own endorphins and others to do both.

It’s certainly very soothing when it’s connected to my back, very calming and no pain at all. When I disconnect, the pain comes back but not as intense. I’ve been using it for 24 hours now (20 mins at a time) and I can honestly say it’s helped loosen my back up and decreased the painful spasms.

I’ve been reading lots of reviews on Google and the vast majority of them are positive and some people wouldn’t be without them.

I’ll keep trying mine and I’d be interested to hear what others think if they’ve used one with or without success. 🙂