​NFL says concussions were way up in 2015

League says it will study what might have caused head injuries to rise by 58 percent this season

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nfl-says-concussions-were-way-up-in-2015/

Zika survivor: "All of my joints felt like lead weights"

Brazilian-American man tells CBS News about his harrowing experience with Zika virus; his doctors in New York "had never seen a case of Zika"

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/zika-survivor-all-of-my-joints-felt-like-lead-weights/

Factors that may raise autism risk before birth

New research suggests mothers-to-be with obesity and diabetes have a higher risk of giving birth to a child with autism

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/factors-that-may-raise-autism-risk-before-birth/

Obesity, diabetes during pregnancy linked to autism

Mothers-to-be with both conditions are more likely to give birth to a child with autism, according to new research

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obesity-diabetes-during-pregnancy-linked-to-autism/

How far away is a Zika virus vaccine?

Experts say research efforts will focus on developing a vaccine for the mosquito-borne illness, but it will take time

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-far-away-is-a-zika-virus-vaccine/

Lung-Irritating Chemical Found in Flavored E-Cigs

Highest levels seen in cherry versions, but levels still far below federal safety standards

From: http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20160129/chemical-that-can-irritate-lungs-found-in-flavored-e-cigarettes?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Experimental ultrasound treatment zaps cancer pain

High-intensity focused ultrasound blasts cells that trigger pain; "When the pain is less, or the pain is gone, you're back to being normal"

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/experimental-ultrasound-treatment-zaps-cancer-pain/

Senate Democrats propose $600 million plan to help Flint

A large chunk of the funding would be used to fix or replace lead-contaminated pipes

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-democrats-propose-600-million-plan-to-help-flint/

Mayo Clinic Minute: Lead Exposure Risks for Kids

From: Mayo Clinic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwbXzPUPHk

Where the Candidates Stand on Health Care Issues

WebMD looked at where presidential hopefuls from both parties stand on various health care issues -- including the health care reform law (the Affordable Care Act, also called "Obamacare"), Medicare and Medicaid, the price of prescription drugs, and abortion.

From: http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/20160129/presidential-candidates-abortion-obamacare?src=RSS_PUBLIC

U.S. Weighs Blood Donation Changes Over Zika Virus

Temporary ban might be imposed on travelers returning from countries where the virus had taken hold

From: http://www.webmd.com/news/20160129/us-weighs-changes-to-blood-donations-in-response-to-zika-virus-outbreak?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Lead Poisoning Risk From Cosmetic Clay: FDA

Agency tells users of Bentonite Me Baby to stop using product, get checked by their doctor

From: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20160129/fda-warns-of-lead-poisoning-risk-from-cosmetic-clay?src=RSS_PUBLIC

More than just a game: Yoga for school-age children

Follow me at @newyorkpsych

Yoga is becoming increasingly popular among American children. A national survey found that 3% of U.S. children (1.7 million) did yoga as of 2012 — that’s 400,000 more children than in 2007.

Yoga and mindfulness have been shown to improve both physical and mental health in school-age children (ages 6 to 12). Yoga improves balance, strength, endurance, and aerobic capacity in children. Yoga and mindfulness offer psychological benefits for children as well. A growing body of research has already shown that yoga can improve focus, memory, self-esteem, academic performance, and classroom behavior, and can even reduce anxiety and stress in children.

Emerging research studies also suggest that yoga can help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by improving the core symptoms of ADHD, including inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It can also boost school performance in children with ADHD. A growing number of schools now integrate yoga and mindfulness into physical education programs or classroom curriculums, and many yoga studios offer classes for school-age children. Yoga can be playful and interactive for parents and children at home, as well.

Jessica Mei Gershen, a certified yoga instructor who teaches yoga to children at Brooklyn Yoga Project and founder of Yoga For All Needs, recommends making yoga playful and fun for kids, whether in the classroom or at home. In her yoga classes, Gershen weaves in fun games and stories with positive themes like compassion, gratitude, and strength.

“Yoga is really effective because it’s so tangible. Learning physical postures builds confidence and strength as well as the mind-body connection,” Gershen says. She also has found that the effects of yoga go beyond physical fitness and also allow kids to build confidence and awareness beyond the classroom. “Through yoga, kids start to realize that they are strong and then are able to take that strength, confidence, acceptance, and compassion out into the world,” notes Gershen.

Simple and fun yoga exercises for kids

Here are some fun yoga exercises and games for kids. If you are a parent familiar with yoga, you can try these at home with your family.

More yoga poses for kids, as well as some other resources, can be found here.

Simple yoga breath exercise

1. Take a deep breath in and hold it for a count of three.
2. Breathe out forcefully, like you’re blowing out a candle.
3. Repeat this for five cycles of breath.

Flying bird breath

1. Stand tall, with arms at your sides and feet hip-width apart in standing Mountain Pose.
2. Imagine being a beautiful, strong bird.
3. Pretend to prepare to fly by inhaling and raising your arms (“wings”) until your palms touch overhead. Keep your arms straight.
4. Exhale slowly as you bring your arms back down to your sides, palms facing down.
5. Repeat in a steady motion with each breath: inhale as you raise your arms, and exhale as lower your arms.
6. Optional: Close your eyes as you repeat the movements with breath, and imagine yourself flying in the sky like a bird.

Yoga games

Mirror, mirror. This game is a good warm-up exercise to increase focus.

1. One person starts as the leader. The leader chooses a pose to do and shows it to the others.
2. The other players copy the leader’s pose as if they are looking into a mirror.
3. Change the leader with each round of poses, so that everyone has a turn at being the leader.

Yogi says

One person is selected as the Yogi. The other players must do the yoga poses that the Yogi tells them to do if the instruction starts with “Yogi says.” If the Yogi doesn’t use “Yogi says,” then players do not do the pose. Keep changing the person who is Yogi, so that everyone gets a turn.

Red light, green light yoga

One person is chosen as the Stoplight. He or she stands at the front of the room. The other players are the “cars,” and they start at the opposite wall. The Stoplight starts the game by calling “Green light!” The other players then use yoga poses to move forward. When the Stoplight calls “Red light!,” each player needs to be in a yoga pose and remain still. Everyone takes a turn being the Stoplight.

Meditation

Meditation can be short and simple, and does not have to involve complex yoga poses or staying still in a quiet, dark room. One parent, who is also a physician, describes playing a “meditation game” with her children before bedtime, when she turns off electronic devices and reflects on the day with her children, using questions like, “What are you grateful for today?”

Here are a few simple meditations for children, which can be done for as little as 30 seconds or for several minutes.

Mindful awareness meditation

1. Find a comfortable seated position or lie down.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Try to listen to every single sound in the room.

Loving kindness meditation

1. Find a comfortable seated position or lie down.
2. Close your eyes and think about someone you love.
3. Hold them tight in your heart and continue to think about that person.

Related Post:

• Yoga and meditation offer health care savings—and you can…
• More than a stretch: Yoga’s benefits may extend to the
• Yoga in pregnancy: Many poses are safer than once thought
• Yoga for Better Sleep
• Mindfulness meditation helps fight insomnia, improves sleep

The post More than just a game: Yoga for school-age children appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Marlynn Wei, MD, JD http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/more-than-just-a-game-yoga-for-school-age-children-201601299055

Resistance to HIV Drug Growing, Study Finds

Problem affects almost two-thirds of those taking tenofovir in sub-Sahara Africa

From: http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20160129/resistance-to-hiv-drug-growing-study-finds?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Mom's Diabetes, Obesity Tied to Higher Autism Risk

Combination may nearly quadruple risk, researchers say, but their review did not prove cause-and-effect

From: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20160129/study-links-diabetes-obesity-in-moms-to-be-to-higher-autism-risk-in-kids?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Boys Victims of Dating Violence, Too

Survey of 'at risk' teens finds males as likely as females to suffer abuse

From: http://teens.webmd.com/news/20160129/boys-victims-of-dating-violence-too?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Can genetically modified mosquitoes snuff out Zika?

As companies race to create vaccines, Brazil is already testing a different way to fight the disease, and Florida may follow

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-snuff-out-the-zika-virus/

Insomnia May Raise Women's Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Insomnia can disrupt hormones, and may play a role in developing the blood sugar condition, expert says

From: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20160128/sleepless-nights-might-raise-womens-type-2-diabetes-risk?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Higher Fiber Intake May Improve Lung Function

Best outcomes seen when eating more than 18 grams a day, study finds

From: http://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20160128/higher-fiber-intake-may-improve-lung-function?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Could seasonal depression be a myth?

Many people complain of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression linked to less sunlight, but new study raises doubts

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-seasonal-depression-be-a-myth/

This is Also to Blame for Rising Middle-Age Deaths

Commonwealth Fund also cites stalled progress against killers like heart disease, diabetes

From: http://www.webmd.com/news/20160129/suicide-drugs-only-partly-to-blame-for-rising-deaths-of-middle-aged-us-whites?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Live. Work. Play: Diana’s Diabetes Story

Working for the American Diabetes Association® means making a difference for millions of people and working toward a future free of diabetes and all its burdens.

We all have a story to share. Some of us live with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes or prediabetes. Others have loved ones with the disease or have lost someone to the fight.

The following are personal stories from the Association’s staff about why we are so committed to the mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

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April 2010: As a volunteer I got to meet the artist Frankie J.

Diana Velo
Associate Manager, Area Community Engagement
San Diego

I came to know the American Diabetes Association in 2009, when I was offered the opportunity to volunteer my time for the Por Tu Familia program. But my diabetes story started in 2005, when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 18. I am not ashamed to admit that I live with something that might have been prevented had I been more educated about the risk factors for type 2.

I didn’t do much or care much, to be honest—about the disease. I was in complete denial and refused to accept any medical attention for it. I thought if I ignored my diagnosis enough, it would go away on its own.

This all changed in 2008, when I became pregnant with my first child. I knew that if I wanted to live and see my baby grow, I would have to make some hard choices and stick by them. My first step was going on medication and checking my blood glucose like I was told to do.

But I felt that something was missing. Even though I wasn’t the only person in my family with this disease, I was the only person my age. At the time of my diagnosis, most of my relatives with diabetes were in their late 40s and couldn’t relate to me or my situation.

I started volunteering with the Association. A then staff member asked if I wanted to help out at the local office in San Diego as well, so whenever I could I would go in and help with any projects they had for me. Eventually, there was an administrative support opening at that office, and I applied—not knowing in that moment that it was going to be a life-changer for me.

Nearly three years later, I feel more committed than ever and in debt to the Association for all the help and support I’ve received as a volunteer, an employee and a person living with diabetes. My diabetes has never been so controlled. I recently started using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). I am now on insulin shots and will potentially go on a pump within the next few months.

Left to right: Dewan Gibson, Sheila Mazdyasni, Diana Velo, Nikki Woodward and Nicole Parker

Seeing firsthand how hard the Association works both locally and nationally and working with my community has motivated me to continue working here. I know how hard the staff works to put on events like Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes®, Tour de Cure® and Father of the Year.

It’s my duty and own mission to educate the masses, to inspire others to make a choice like I did and live better, smarter and healthier. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for that very first opportunity in 2009 to tell my story in front of a few people who, like me, live with diabetes.

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To learn more about nationwide employment opportunities and life at the Association, please visit diabetes.org/careers.

From: American Diabetes Association http://diabetesstopshere.org/2016/01/29/dianas-diabetes-story/

Mosquitoes: "The most murderous animal on Earth"

Zika virus is just one of the many dangerous health threats posed by mosquitoes

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/media/mosquitoes-the-most-murderous-animal-on-earth/