Your partner could lower your BP!
Having a romantic partner present — even in your mind — can help you keep BP down in daily stressful situations, say researchers. When faced with a stressful situation, thinking about your romantic partner may help keep blood pressure under control just as effectively as actually having your significant other in the room with you, according to a study by University of Arizona psychologists. “This suggests that one way being in a romantic relationship might support people’s health is through allowing people to better cope with stress and lower levels of cardiovascular reactivity to stress across the day,” said psychology doctoral student Kyle Bourassa. “Thinking of your partner as a source of support can be as powerful as actually having them present,” Bourassa added. For the study, 102 participants were asked to complete a stressful task — submerging one foot into 3 inches of cold water ranging from 38 to 40 degrees F. Researchers measured participants’ BP, heart rate and heart rate variability before, during and after the task.
Brain app Improves memory
Cambridge researchers have developed a new brain training game, which they say improves users’ concentration and could provide an ‘antidote’ to the daily distractions that we face in a busy world. With the emergence of new technologies requiring rapid responses to emails and texts and working on multiple projects simultaneously, young people are having more problems with sustaining attention, according to the study. This difficulty in focussing attention and concentrating is made worse by stress from a global environment that never sleeps and also frequent travel leading to jet lag and poor quality sleep. “We have all experienced coming home from work feeling that we’ve been busy all day, but unsure what we actually did,” said Prof Barbara Sahakian.
Lifespan and body size connected
A new study has claimed that body size — height and weight — of women influence their lifespan far more that it does that of men. The study was published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. The findings indicate that while physical activity is linked to longevity in both sexes, the more time men spend being physically active add to their chances of reaching old age, while 60 minutes a day was associated with the best chance for women for longevity. The study also finds that while average life expectancy has risen over the past few decades, it has recently started to plateau in some developed nations, with increasing levels of obesity and physical inactivity thought to be behind the trend. While previous research has looked at the associations between weight, physical activity, and reaching old age, most combined both sexes or focused only on men. However, women and men’s lifespan differ, which may be influenced by factors like hormones, genes and lifestyle.
