Brain Might Have Partially Slept When You Feel Sleepy

A research conducted by scientists at Washington State University have brought a new theory  that people feel sleepy when parts of their brains are actually asleep.

Popular belief that there is a center in the brain that controls when to fall sleep and dictates the time to for one to drift off.  However these researchers suggest that sleepiness results when independent groups of brain cells become fatigued and switch into a sleep state, even when an individual is awake.

When a threshold reaches and people doze off.

Krueger, one of the researchers insists if sleep were being directed by a control center, the whole brain would respond at the same time. However, he adds, the brain behaves like a self directing orchestra in which most sections are more or less in sync, but a few race ahead or lag behind at any given time.

According to him, when a person is sleepwalking, the neuronal groups needed for balance are in a wake state while those needed for consciousness are in a sleep state. On the other hand, in sleep inertia, enough neuronal groups are in a wake state for one to be awake in a general sense, but some groups are still in a sleep state.

Why Do We Snore

It is a loud sound produces during sleep by the vibration of respiratory structure when the airways get obstructed because of irregular flow of air. Studies have shown that at least 25 percent men and 9 percent women above the age of 40 suffer from snoring problem.

Snores, if ignored, can lead to serious problems. Because snoring causes a decrease in oxygen supply to the body, the body comes under extreme stress and undergoes metabolic changes. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and, in extreme cases, strokes can occur

Causes of Snoring

• Throat weakness
• Misaligned jaw
• Obesity (especially fat gathering in and around the throat)
• Obstruction in the nasal passage
• Tonsillitis in children

Treatment

• Get yourself evaluated by a sleep therapy expert.
• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP): In this, a patient has to wear a pressurized mask over the nose while sleeping. The mask is attached to a small pump that forces air through the airway to keep it open.
• Lifestyle changes and weight therapy.

Are You Stressing Out Your Heart Out?

Each one us is subjected to loads of stresses now a days. Anger, worry, failures, anxiety, frustation, disappointments, traffic tantrums are part of our life in a city.  If in excess, stress could be dangerous .Mental stress can adversely influence our cardiovascular system and affect the health.

What is the solution?

Avoiding stress

But it is easier said that done. With stress ingrained in our daily life, it seems an impossible task to weed it our.

The next step that is most plausible solution is managing stress well.

Adopting certain lifestyle can enable you to cope better with stress. Plus there are certain measures that would reduce your stress if they cannot eliminate it.

We discuss the stress in detail first.

Physical stress is good for the heart as long it is normal. For those with underlying heart disease, physical stress can be dangerous. This is because exercise can put demands on the heart muscles that the diseased coronary arteries cannot meet.

But mental stress can result in surges in the heart rate and blood pressure. Physical symptoms of stress include a pounding heart and heavy breathing. Stress causes an adrenaline rush with negative emotions such as fear or anger.

Individuals with Type A personalities who are impatient, hostile, competitive or perfectionists are at a higher risk of coronary artery disease than those with Type B personalities who are a bit laid-back and patients.

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress exposes your body to constant high levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Stressful situations are known to reduce the blood flow to the heart, thus increasing the risk of heart attack.

The situation is even worse in individuals who already suffer from coronary artery diseas.

Are You Stressed?

If you have the following symptoms regularly, then you might actually be under

1. Worried and anxious
2. Palpitations
3. Chronic Tiredness
4. Frequent headache
5. Backache
6. Insomnia
7. Rise in blood pressure
8. Irritability
9. Depressed
10. Poor work performance

How To Modify Your Life Style For A Better Heart

Adopt Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy life style is the key to good health. I includes eating right and exercising regularly. Avoid junk and fat laden food in your meals. Adopt an exercise schedule and maintain it. If you smoke, stop it. Mediatation is agreat way to relax  and avoid stress.

Do Not Over Reach

Prioritise and set realistic goals. Do the most important works first. Take only that work which you would be able to complete. Learn to say ‘No’ in your daily life to avoid stress accumulation.

Distract Yourself

When worried, you must look for distractions to avoid the vicious trap. When anger comes counting till 10 or leaving the place for sometime  would take your attention away.

Catharsis Talk your problems and thoughts to someone whom you could trust. It helps.

A Software that Gives You the Perfect Look

A new touch up software has been developed which uses a mathematical formula to alter the original form into a theoretically more attractive version, while maintaining what programmers call an unmistakable similarity to the original.

The software program, developed by computer scientists in Israel, is based on the responses of 68 men and women, age 25 to 40, from Israel and Germany, who viewed photographs of white male and female faces and picked the most attractive ones.

Scientists took the data and applied an algorithm involving 234 measurements between facial features, like distances between lips and chin, the forehead and the eyes, or between the eyes.

The computer was trained, for each individual face, the most attractive set of distances and then choose the ideal closest to the original face.

Photographs of 92 women and 33 men were run through the softwarwe. Changes were made only to the geometry of the faces. Wrinkles were not smoothed and hair color was not

Symmetry and  youthfulness are core of the beauty concept. Others are clarity or smoothness of skin; and vivid color in the eyes and hair.

This beautification has been developed by Tommer Leyvand  with three other Tel Aviv University .

Normal Stature and Causes of Excessive Variations

Built is the skeletal structure in relation to age and sex of the individual as compared to a normal person.

Tall Stature

A person considered to be tall when the height is greater than 2 standard deviation above the mean for the age. Gigantism is the term applied when the patient’s height is greatly in excess of the normal for his age.

There is no fixed height to constitute a giant, but in adults, it is applied for individuals with a height of more than 6 ½ ft.

Causes of Gigantism

1. Simple or primary gigantism: Racial, familial or constitutional.
2. Endocrine: Hyperpituitarism, hypogonadis,.
3. Genetic: Klinefelter’s syndrome.
4. Metabolic: Marfan’s syndrome, homocystinuria.
5. Miscellaneous: Cerebral gigantism, overeating.

Constitutional

Usually in constitutional tall stature the parents are also tall. q

Hyperpituitarism

In thisthe patient is very tall but with normal body properties. However, the features are coarse with increased heel pad thickness. There may be evidence of raised intracranial tension.

Cerebral Gigantism

Children with cerebral gigantism (Soto’s syndrome) have a large elongated head, prominent forehead, large ears and jaws, elongated chin, antimongoloid slant to the eyes and coarse facial features. They have subnormal intelligence and impaired coordination. The cause of this disorder is not known.

Sexual Precocity and Virilizing Disorders

In these children, acceleration of linear growth occurs simultaneously with signs of premature sexual development or inappropriate virilization. This disorder may be due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia, adrenal tumor, gonadal tumor or premature secretion of gonadotropic hormones. The bone age is usually advanced so that the adult stature may be diminished.

Marfan’s syndrome

These patients are tall with long limbs, narrow hands, long slender fingers (arachnodactyly), hyperextensible joints, dislocation of the lens, high arched plate, kyphoscoliois, arm span greater than the height and the lower segment more than the upper segment.

Homocystinuria

This condition resembles Marfan’s syndrome.

Klinefelter’s Syndrome

1. Lower segment more than the upper segment.
2. Gynecomastia
3. Small, firm testes, azoospermia.
4. Chromation (Barr) body usually present. (Some may be chromatin negative).
5. Mental retardation
6. Associated with Mongolism and Leukemia.
7. Chronic pulmonary disease, varicose veins and diabetes are more common.

Dwarfism

Dwarfism is the term applied when the patient’s height is far less than normal for his age and sex. It is usually applied for adults below 4 ½ ft. in height.

Causes

1. Hereditary
2. Chromosomal: Turner’s syndrome, Down’s syndrome, etc.
3. Constitutional delayed growth and puberty.
4. Nutritional: Malnutrition, malabsorption, rickets
5. Endocrine: Hypopituitarism, hypothyroidism, excessive androgens and glucocorticoidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, insulin deficiency
6. Skeletal: Achondroplasia, spinal deformities
7. Systemic diseases: Renal tubular acidosis, uremia, congenital cyanotic heart disease, cirrhosis of liver, etc.

Hereditary

In hereditary short stature there is no endocrine abnormality. The bone age and the dental age are normal. Although they are short, they grow at a constant rare of 4-5 cms, a year and they have normal body proportions for age. This may be either genetic (if there is a family history of short stature), or primordial (if there is no family history of short stature).

Constitutional delayed growth and puberty

This disorder is common among adolescent boys. There is no true endocrine deficiency. They grow at a constant rate of about 4 cm a year but their bone age and dental age are delayed by about 2 years. Often there is a history of delay in growth and pubertal development in the father and other male relatives.

Turner’s syndrome

These children are predominantly girls. They have agenesis of their gonads. The chromosomal pattern is 45+XO. They have a characteristically short webbed neck, low hair line, square and shield-like chest, cubitus valgus and mental retardation. Although short, they grow at the rate of 4 cm each year with normal bone age and dental age but absent pubertal growth spurt, so that during adolescence, the skeletal age is delayed due to the absence of sex hormones (streak ovaries).

Hypopituitarism

These children have the skeletal age and the dental age delayed by more than 2 years. The growth rate is less than 4 cm/year. The ratio of the upper segment and the lower segment is normal.

Hypothyroidism

These children have mental, dental and skeletal retardation since birth. There would be course dry skin and constipation. Their body proportion is infantile i.e., upper segment is more than lower segment.

Achondroplasia

Achondroplasia dwarfs have short limbs resulting in short stature. Hence, the lower segment is always less than the upper segment. Their mental and dental ages are normal and so are the endocrine functions.

Systemic disease

Most chronic systemic disease can cause growth failure during childhood. These illnesses can be recognized by their own specific clinical features and growth failure is a secondary problem.

Understanding Body Proportions and Interesting Facts About Body Proportions

Normally, in adults, the height of the person is equal to the length of arm span.

The upper segment (from vertex to the pubic symphysis) is equal to the lower segment (from pubic symphysis to the heel).

In infants, the upper segment is greater than the lower segment and the height is greater than the arm span.

Infantile type of body proportion persists in

• Achondroplasia
• Cretinism
• uvenile myxedema.

The reverse of infantile body proportion i.e., arm span greater than height and lower segment greater than upper segment. This occurs

• Eunuchoidism
• Marfan’s syndrome
• Homocystinuria
• Klinefelter’s syndrome
• Frohlich’s syndrome.

Interesting Facts About Body Proportions: [source:Wikipedia]

• The average adult human figure is about 7 to 7.5 heads tall.
• The idealized human figure is traditionally represented as being 8 heads tall:
  1. Head
  2. From the bottom of the head to the middle height of a chest (place where a man’s nipples should be)
  3. From previous position to the navel
  4. From previous position to (upper edge of) the pubis
  5. From previous position to the middle height of thigh
  6. From previous position to the middle height of a calf
  7. From previous position to the point just below the ankles
  8. From previous position to the feet

• *The pubis, or its upper edge, is at mid-height of the average adult figure.
• The length of the shin is equal to the length of the hip for an average adult figure.
• When the body stands upright, the length of the arm is such that the finger tips come down to mid-thigh.
• The arms’ wingspan (measured from the tips of the middle fingers) is about equal to the body height.
• The length of the foot is about equal to the length of the forearm.

Head

• The eyes are at the mid-height of the head.
• The head also can be divided into thirds - from the top of the head to the bottom of the forehead, from the bottom of the forehead to the bottom of the nose, and then from there to the bottom of the chin.
• The width of the head is between four and five eyes wide.
• The nose is the length of the first two notches of the index finger(from tip) when measured from the very beginning of the nose bridge to the tip.
• The height of the face is about equal to the length of the hand.
• The eyes are separated by a distance of one eye width.
• The bottom of the nose to the corner of the eye is equal to the height of the ear.
• The width of the base of the nose is equal to the width of the eye.
• The width of the mouth is equal to the distance between pupils, or the width of two eyes.

*Data based on European race.

Work Out Injuries-How To Avoid Them?

Injuries during workout are a common problem especially for the people who have just started or decide to go for extensive training.

There are many reasons that this happpens.

You must take appropriate precautions to avoid this

Warm Up Before You Exercise

Whatever exercise you do, you’re less likely to get injured if you warm up before every session and slowly build the pace of your workout over time.

The warm-up stretches the muscle, increases circulation and helps the muscles to handle stress, so they are less likely to be injured.

This goes for any kind of exercise. Get your muscles accustomed before you blast them.

Do Not Overreach

Let us say that you have newly strated a weight training activity. Start with lowest possible weight that you can do with. Your aim should be to do not more than three sets of 8-10 repititions.

If that becomes easy increase the weight gradually adding small increments that you can handle.

Never ever overestimate your strength.

Do Not Overdo

Avoid doing the same activity in the beginning. WHile that might be your ultimate goal but in the beginning you also must think about protecting your body which us yet to become accustomed.

A muscle needs time to recuperate and different muscles take different durations. Avoid repeating same group of exercises everyday would protect you from injuries.

You can segregate your workouts. For example, run on a treadmill one day and lift weights next day.

It is important to give muscles adequate rest between workout too.

Know Your Limitations

If you are very fat, you would be advised against running before you achieve some weight loss. That becomes your limitation. It is important to know your limitations to avoid injuries during workout.

Know what your weak areas are and then avoid the type of activities that are hard on that weakened area.

Get Supervised

A supervision by experienced trainer can help you a lot to avoid injuries. A trainer will aid in the appropriate progression of exercises, weights, and rest periods.

Keep Your Age In Consideration

With age your body becomes more prone to certain injuries. Your joints stat degenrating and you cannnot work as you use to in your youth. Keep this in mind that body would be slow to accommodate at this juncture and you cannot have the pace that you desire for yourself. You can do that ultimately but your curve would be less steep.

Exercise but avoid injuries.