March 23, 2017
We’ve all seen the avid talker who waves their hands wildly in the air, almost conducting their thoughts as they chatter aloud. However new research shows that children gesturing with their hands actually improves children’s creative thinking. In a recent study1 published in the journal Physiological Science, researchers found that children who gesticulated came up with more ideas than those who did not. In the first part of the study researchers compared the gesturing and creativity of 78 children ranging from 9 to 11 years old. They asked the children to think of as many novel uses they could […]
March 23, 2017
As each summer fades into memory, people head into their local doctors surgery for flu shots – a ‘convenient’ way to avoid the acute respiratory infections and seasonal influenza that are all too common in the colder months. However, a recent study holds some interesting information for us on this front. A meta-analysis of 25 high-quality studies was undertaken and published in the British Medical Journal recently. It found that a Vitamin D supplement was a safe and effective way to minimise risk of acute respiratory infections [1]. The study took in data from almost 11,000 participants across the 25 […]
March 21, 2017
It’s hard not to jump in and tell someone when they’re doing something wrong. But it appears there is a difference between explaining an error and just being down right rude. In a recent study1, researchers have found that putting people down actually impairs their cognitive abilities and in fact, makes their performance worse. The researchers of University of Florida specifically targeted the neonatal emergency wards in hospitals to see how families of patients criticising medical staff impacted their performance. With thousands of patients dying in hospitals every year due to preventable errors, a team of American researchers at the […]
March 15, 2017
Sometimes when a piece of research lands in a reputable journal, it is heralded and celebrated. At the very least, it makes the science section of the big newspapers. Other times, research arrives with more of a whisper than a yell. Of the two categories, this piece of news fits more with the latter: it appears the use of an antibiotic in treating infant ear infections is only slight [1]. It’s a rare and lucky parent who hasn’t had to nurse a child through a painful ear infection (technically called ‘acute otitis media’ or AOM). The condition, marked by pain […]
March 15, 2017
It’s already the first couple of months into 2017. After committing to yourself you’d do a stellar job of keeping to your new fitness routine, your new eating habits or whatever else was on your goal list, here we are, and how’s it shaping up for you? If you’re one of those people who made your resolutions and you were pumped on January 1st only to have let them slide, you’re not on your own. A new study by the University of Scranton1 has found only a staggering 8% are likely to succeed. Eight percent? With such dismal results we […]
March 14, 2017
You only have to ask someone like Jerry Maguire, driving his car, flicking through the radio stations searching for just the right song, how important music is. Music when it hits that sweet spot makes your foot tap and your heart sing. It makes you want to jump up and dance, or sing loudly out of tune. Music can bring out the depths of your sadness and trigger long lost memories. It can make you laugh or it can touch your soul. Music has been prevalent in all human cultures since we first started scratching flint together to make flames. […]
March 9, 2017
It’s that time of year again. Kids have been back at school a few weeks and parents are starting to see just how heavy their kid’s backpacks are. Half the weight seems to be in the school bag itself, even before it’s loaded up with books and laptops and sports shoes. Whilst being stoic and resilient are all qualities we want to see in our children, injury isn’t one of them. Numerous studies have documented the effects of spinal, shoulder and neck pain not to mention the effect on their gait from school age kids lugging around heavy bags1,2,3,4,5,6. “There […]
March 9, 2017
Depression is a worldwide issue. To give you some idea, it’s the number one psychological disorder in the western world1. And not unlike the common cold, it doesn’t discriminate between age groups or gender assignment. Depression is growing in all age groups, the largest increase noted in the younger generations, in our teenagers. At the rate of knots this psychological issue is developing, by 2020, it is estimated to be the second most debilitating condition behind heart disease. Think about it, the neuroscientists at the University of Bern2, have. Traditional treatment for depression is usually with antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. […]
March 7, 2017
Gluten free is everywhere these days. You can’t stop for a coffee in your local café without seeing half a dozen gluten free (GF) muffins or friands. Fancy the GF pasta or pizza? Or how about being alerted to the fact your spicy prawns are GF too? Menus everywhere are touting GF options galore. So what’s going on? Have we all just jumped on the gluten free bandwagon or is this a real issue that requires a genuine diagnosis and intervention? “Avoidance of wheat and gluten containing products is a worldwide phenomenon,” states the study published in the United European […]
March 2, 2017
There’s a new magic number. 39. That’s the number of hours you should be working in any given working week. That is, unless you want to get sick. That’s a substantial number less than the 49-hour week limit that was brought in around 80 years ago as the internationally recognised number of what a person should be slogging out for a wage. A new study, published in the journal of Social Science and Medicine1 has found that working beyond 39 hours a week puts employees at risk of developing mental health problems. With almost a quarter of Australians working longer […]
March 2, 2017
ADHD… If you don’t know a kid who’s been diagnosed with it, you’re in the minority. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the most controversial topics in child behaviour today. Firstly, there’s the hotly debated question over its actual existence. Followed by the heavily contested views over the medical treatment employed to manage it – the use of psychotropic drugs treating children. We covered this topic at length here. Psychiatrist Peter Breggin wrote, “Hyperactivity is the most frequent justification for drugging children. The difficult-to-control male child is certainly not a new phenomenon, but attempts to give him a medical […]
February 28, 2017
Scientist have been rubbing their foreheads in frustration over dyslexia, trying to find the underlying cause for dyslexics’ reading difficulties. But it’s not just dysfunction with reading that individuals with dyslexia present, they also frequently show behavioural deficits in perceptual adaptation. Or what neuroscientists call ‘rapid neural adaption’. However, a recent study by neuroscientist from MIT and Boston University may have made the first breakthrough in understanding the sensory processing path specific to people with dyslexia. Part of the dyslexia/reading issue that neuroscience has struggled with, is that the brain doesn’t have any specific area that is connected to reading. […]
February 21, 2017
You would be hard pressed to meet someone who has not been affected by breast cancer either personally or through association. It’s an insidious disease that is ranked second in all new cancer cases worldwide. It is the leading cause of cancer death in women. And it’s showing no sign of abating. Instead it’s been growing by 2% a year. There is no doubt that surgery; chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy have reduced the rate of death from breast cancer. But we are all very much aware of the side effects too. Most anti-cancer drugs are cytotoxic and the […]
February 21, 2017
Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that switch inherited genes on and off. The theory is that our own personal life experiences, or for that matter, those of our parents and our parent’s parents, are passed onto subsequent generations. Studies done on survivors from traumatic events, particularly events as catastrophic as ones such as the Holocaust have shown that exposure to stress have a follow-on effect on subsequent generations1. That is, the memory of these events is lived on through our progeny. Their DNA is impacted by the trauma as much as if they’d experienced it themselves. But […]
February 21, 2017
In our last article we discussed the nature of adrenal exhaustion and the different stages leading up to it. Fortunately this state can be reversed once adrenal health is regulated and normalised. It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of people in the world suffer from adrenal fatigue. What we want to be careful about is failing to recognise the symptoms in the early stages. Body aches, trouble concentrating, racing thoughts, irritability and moodiness, tired all the time, overwhelmed, hormonal imbalance and cravings for stimulants to help increase our energy levels are all symptoms of adrenal exhaustion and […]
February 16, 2017
Unless you’ve been sequestered to mars over the last five years, you’ve heard about it. Adrenal Exhaustion. It’s the by-product of our busy, non stop, super-productive, incredibly overwhelming lives. Like most big issues facing our time, it’s the light bulb’s fault. Before we had 24 hour availability to light, we used to go to bed early, get up early and pretty much eat our veggies and keep a circadian rhythm in tune with the cows. Not so much now. In fact, not very much at all now. Our lives are driven by our mental ability to keep pushing ourselves forward, irrespective of […]
February 14, 2017
We are all familiar with the giddy rush of a new romance. The butterflies. The racing heart. The passionate embraces. But what happens to people in long-term relationships and is it possible to keep the passion alive? Is there a secret tip we can employ to keep the flames of desire burning? Or is it simply potluck if you still fancy your lover later down the track? A new study recently published by the team at Chapman University have been studying what keeps sexual passion alive in long term relationships1. It’s one of the largest scientific studies to date examining […]
February 14, 2017
Over 2.5 million Australian women use some form of contraception. The pill, or the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) remains the most popular method of choice. But with IUD’s and hormonal implant popularity on the rise, the ‘set and forget’ method is proving a popular choice amongst younger women and older women alike. This new found popularity may be as simple as the IUD’s and implants ease of use. Once the doctor has inserted the devise that’s about as high maintenance as it gets. It’s quite a different experience from having to remember to take a pill every day. Hormonal […]