Spirit Winter 2012 Banner Health : Page 5

HE AL TH C E NTR AL N E WS Y To sleep, perchance to…think? ou’ve probably been told to sleep on it when you have a tough deci-sion to make. It turns out that sleep actually does improve your cog-nitive skills so that you can make better choices, report researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A group of 54 volunteers were taught to play a game that mimics casino gambling. The group was divided into those who got their usual night’s sleep, came back and played, and those who played later that day without a sleep break. The “sleepers” ended up having a better understanding of the rules of the game. They also had the greatest winnings: They won four times more often than those who played without sleep time. Acting on impulse can be fattening If you’re impulsive, your behavior may also cause weight problems, suggests a new study from the American Psy-chological Association. People who act impulsively are more likely to cy-cle through weight gains and losses throughout their lives and to be over-weight, according to the research. Men and women who scored in the top 10 percent on impulsivity weighed an average of 22 pounds more than those in the bottom 10 percent, say researchers who looked at 50 years of data from close to 2,000 people in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. To maintain a normal weight, you have to commit to physical activity and healthy eating, which may be difficult if discipline isn’t one of your personal-ity traits, say researchers. • All the right moves Even if you don’t engage in vigorous exercise as you grow older, don’t dis-count the benefit of everyday activi-ties for physical ysical and cogni-co ogn ni i-tive health. Making the th he bed, taking g out the e garbage and nd sweep-sweep p-ing the floor or all add d up, say University iversity of o f Florida researchers. archers. . And the more en-e n n--ergy you expend on xpend o n those daily chore chores, es, the less likely ely you yo ou are to become cog-me co og g--nitively impaired as aired a s you age, compared ompar re ed with older peo people opl le who exert less ener-en ne er-r gy, according the ng to t he e study results publish published he ed in the Archives ves of Inter-Inte te e r r--nal Medicine ne . Even if you pur-ou can’t pu r r-sue your favorite sport vorite spor ort any longer, r, you can n move more throughout t the he h e day, which may stimula stimulate t te parts of the brain involved d in memory formation. So o grab a vacuum uum cleaner— — or just take a five-minu five-minute ute te dance break when your ak you ur favorite song ng comes on n the radio. • WIN T E R 2012 SP I R IT O F W O M E N Mom was right: Stop slouching In addition to being less than attrac-tive—shoulders hunched in, tummy ex-THINKSTOCK PHOTO tended—slumping can actually make you more sensitive to pain. That’s the conclusion of a recent study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. When you sit or stand up straight, push your chest out and expand your body, you feel powerful; you’re in con-trol and can handle more pain. But shriveling up makes you feel submissive, which in turn makes you more anxious and more likely to anticipate discomfort. The same may be true for emotion-al pain, say the researchers, so stand tall when you need to face an un-pleasant situation. • www. s p i r i t o fw o m e n . c o m 5

To Sleep, Perchance To…Think?

You’ve probably been told to sleep on it when you have a tough decision to make. It turns out that sleep actually does improve your cognitive skills so that you can make better choices, report researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A group of 54 volunteers were taught to play a game that mimics casino gambling. The group was divided into those who got their usual night’s sleep, came back and played, and those who played later that day without a sleep break. The “sleepers” ended up having a better understanding of the rules of the game. They also had the greatest winnings: They won four times more often than those who played without sleep time. Acting on impulse can be fattening If you’re impulsive, your behavior may also cause weight problems, suggests a new study from the American Psychological Association. People who act impulsively are more likely to cycle through weight gains and losses throughout their lives and to be overweight, according to the research. Men and women who scored in the top 10 percent on impulsivity weighed an average of 22 pounds more than those in the bottom 10 percent, say researchers who looked at 50 years of data from close to 2,000 people in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. To maintain a normal weight, you have to commit to physical activity and healthy eating, which may be difficult if discipline isn’t one of your personality traits, say researchers. Mom was right: Stop slouching In addition to being less than attractive— shoulders hunched in, tummy extended— slumping can actually make you more sensitive to pain. That’s the conclusion of a recent study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. When you sit or stand up straight, push your chest out and expand your body, you feel powerful; you’re in control and can handle more pain. But shriveling up makes you feel submissive, which in turn makes you more anxious and more likely to anticipate discomfort. The same may be true for emotional pain, say the researchers, so stand tall when you need to face an unpleasant situation. All the right moves Even if you don’t engage in vigorous exercise as you grow older, don’t discount the benefit of everyday activities for physical and cognitive health. Making the bed, taking out the garbage and sweeping the floor all add up, say University of Florida researchers. And the more energy you expend on those daily chores, the less likely you are to become cognitively impaired as you age, compared with older people who exert less energy, according to the study results published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Even if you can’t pursue your favorite sport any longer, you can move more throughout the day, which may stimulate parts of the brain involved in memory formation. So grab a vacuum cleaner— or just take a five-minute dance break when your favorite song comes on the radio.

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