STATES CHRONICLE – A new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests sleeping less than six hours at night may be linked to the development of heart disease. The risk of death from cardiovascular causes is higher in people suffering from metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Poor sleep and metabolic disease are a deadly combination

The study warns people exposed to more cardiovascular risks to get enough sleep. If they rest for less than six hours, their risk of dying from a stroke or heart attack is double than that of people with a lower blood pressure or with a quicker glucose metabolism. If they spend enough time sleeping, the risk diminishes visibly.

This research is different from others on the subject, as it does not question participants on their sleep habits. Scientists selected 1,344 people with an average age of 49 and asked them to spend one night in a laboratory. There, they measured their sleep duration and how it influences the risk of death according to their cardiovascular history.

The risk gets higher if a person doesn’t get enough rest

Around 39.2 percent of the participants had at least one risk factor of the three present in the metabolic syndrome, together with high cholesterol and triglycerides. They were supervised for a period of 16.6 years, during which 22 percent of the participants died.

People with risk factors were more likely to die of heart disease that those without risks even if they slept for more than six hours, namely the risk was 1.49 times bigger. However, if they suffer from sleep deprivation, the risk gets 2.1 times bigger.

Therefore, researchers advise people who suffer from such problems to seek medical help to improve their sleep patterns. Even though the study was merely observation, there is a clear link between poor rest and cardiovascular deaths, so people should take this issue into consideration.
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STATES CHRONICLE – Sunscreen protects our skin from burns and reduces the risk of developing melanoma, but it might come with some disadvantages, too. If we expose ourselves to sunlight, we receive vitamin D. However, too much sunscreen might prevent us from receiving the necessary amount of the vitamin, thus causing further problems.

Nowadays, people avoid spending too much time outside without sunscreen. The cancer fear now made them be more precautious, as they now avoid going out and, when they do, they opt for sun cream with high SPF. However, this might not be the best choice for them.

Why is vitamin D good for the body?

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) developed a study, claiming that sunscreen might cause vitamin D deficiency. They discovered that protective cream blocks the amount of vitamin D absorbed by the skin. More precisely, any sun product with a SPF of 15 and higher slows the production of vitamin D3 by 99 percent.

Vitamin D is vital for the body. It is good for the bones, as it helps with the absorption of calcium and prevents the development of several diseases, such as osteoporosis. People can get this vitamin from food, but also from sunlight. The ideal vitamin D quantity which is necessary every day can be obtained from a 30-minute walk without sunscreen.

African-Americans, more affected by vitamin D deficiency

Thus, people are blocking their main vitamin D resource, thus ending up with severe deficiencies. However, the most affected are African-Americans, who undergo a more difficult vitamin D synthesis. The high amount of melanin in their skin makes it more difficult for the vitamin to be absorbed, so they need a more prolonged exposure to sunlight.

You might find it risky to get your daily vitamin D dose in such a way, but there are still healthy levels of exposure available. Thus, going out without sunscreen does not necessarily mean that you are vulnerable to skin cancer, if you choose the suitable hours when the sunlight is not so powerful.

To make sure you get all the vitamin D you need, go talk to your physician and find the best way where you can get it from. Besides sunlight, you can receive it from foods such as fish, eggs, cheese, or milk.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A new study introduces five deadly conditions which could be prevented before it is too late. In America, obesity became one of the leading cause of preventable years lost. This condition shortens the life of people, taking more years from them than high cholesterol, high blood pressure, tobacco, and diabetes. Based on the information provided by researchers who investigated 2014 data, all these five conditions are deadly, but the good news is that all of them could be prevented.

In America, the leading cause of death is obesity

Glen Taksler, an internal medicine researcher at the Cleveland Clinic and the lead author of the new study, stated that risk factors depending on a behavioral alteration could pose a massive mortality burden in America. The preliminary outcomes underline the significance of weight loss, healthy eating and diabetes management in the American population.

Researchers indicated that obesity shortens people’s lives with 47% more than tobacco does. In the meantime, smoking cigarettes and high blood pressure appears to have the same impact on people’s life span. Scientists highlighted the fact that three out of this five deadly conditions and, at the same time, causes of shorter lives, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, can be cured.

3 out of 5 deadly conditions can be prevented

The authors of the study explained that it is important to help patients understand the significant of the treatment and how it should be taken. Specialists are also responsible for introducing different approaches and options which can have a major impact on their patients’ life span and state of health. The new study also focuses on the significance of preventive care.

This preventive care process should be a priority for all physicians, trying to teach people how to avoid difficult situations and terrible diseases which could even lead to death.  Nevertheless, scientists know that many people may experience different situations compared to others. For instance, someone who experiences alcoholism and obesity, the drinking problem may be considered more important and urgent than obesity. Alcoholism poses a greater risk than obesity.

Taksler pointed out that even if specialists may be familiar with the approximate cause of death of one of their patients, like a heart attack or cancer, this might not always help them determine the exact cause of death since there might be other contributing factors. When identifying a primary cause of death, specialists need to determine the root of the problem.

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STATES CHRONICLE-Why we dream and when is a mystery to most of us. Despite the fact that we don’t remember, we dream a lot every night. Previous research showed that people can dream around 5 dreams in one night but they are unlikely to remember more than one. A new study shows that there is a part of our brain that can reveal more about what and when we dream.

Researchers observed that there is a certain pattern of brain activity that can show when the brain is experiencing a dream. This so-called hot zone can also reveal more about what we dream. Even though some people might believe that dreams are caused by exterior factors, this research shows that our brain is responsible for that.

“When subjects were having [dream] experiences during sleep, there was a region in the back of the brain that tended to be very active, as if this region was a little bit more awake, mentioned Francesca Siclari, one of the researchers.

Researchers observed that patterns of brain activity in that hot zone can show if the person is having a dream about movement or a dream about a person. Apparently, the brain activity in the hot zone is different for every type of dream. The team of scientists observed that people have dreams during both non-REM and REM sleep. They also observed that, during non-REM sleep, people have periods of deep sleep when they are unable to dream.

To conduct this research, the team analyzed dreams with the help of an electric monitor that observed the brain activity of more than 30 people. The participants were sleeping during the research, but they were awakened from time to time. When the researchers woke the participants they also asked them about their dreams.

Because they were awakened frequently, the participants were able to remember their dreams and even how often they dreamt than night. After a participant mentioned more about the dream, scientists reviewed the brain activity in the hot zone at the moment of the dream. After the researchers did this test, they could predict what a person was dreaming in 90% of cases.

Researchers observed that people use their brain when they are dreaming just as if they were awake and active. For instance, when a person is dreaming about a face, the part of the brain that is used to recognize faces is activated. Likewise, perception of movement is activated when a person dreams about movement.

This shows just how amazing our brain is. Despite the fact that we are not moving and that we are asleep, the hot zone in the brain is able to control the brain activity as if we were awake. This research shows, once again, that there is a lot more to know about the human brain, sleep, and dreams.

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STATES CHRONICLE – Scientists claim that right now there are more smokers in the world than any other time in the human history and their number is on the rise. Approximately one billion people in this world smoke cigarettes on a daily basis. Nowadays, there are more smokers in the world than ever. This shocking number can be explained if we were to think of the increasing number of the global population.

The number of smokers increased because the global population increased

If the population increases, so do the number of smokers. In the last 25 years, the percentage of smokers has decreased by 25%. New research which was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies indicates that currently, only 5% of women smoke every day while 25% of men have this dangerous habit.

The new paper was published in the Lancet magazine. It revealed that more women are smoking in the United States than anywhere else in the world. New research indicates that one in ten deaths happens due to smoking related problems. Even if tobacco control policies have introduced new smoking regulations, disallowing this activity in closed space and they imposed higher taxes and costs, people did not feel intimidated by this attitude.

Now there are more smokers in the world than ever

They continued to smoke, the number of smokers being on the rise. The study suggested that one out of four men is a smoker who uses tobacco on a daily basis, while one in twenty women has this nasty habit. The fact that the US bears more female smokers than any other country can be related to the income of this country. Statistics have shown that most female smokers come from wealthy countries, while countries with low incomes have the fewest smokers.

Back in 2015, smoking as the cause of 11.5% deaths at a global level. More than 50% of those cases happened in Russia, China, India, and the US. Thus, smoking became the second leading risk factor for early death worldwide. Specialists argued that so far, the most effective methods of prevention were restrictions on marketing, warning labels, bans on public smoking and higher taxes.

They also used smoking cessation interventions for entire communities to convince people to give up this terrible habit. Last week in California, a tobacco tax doubled, increasing the tax to $2.87 per pack.

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STATES CHRONICLE – Researchers discovered that a regularly harmless virus might cause the celiac condition. Scientists have studied the virus’ effects on mice. Some of the mice were genetically modified and predisposed to the celiac condition. Those who got infected with the reovirus were likely to have an immune reaction regarding gluten compared to mice which were not infected with the terrible virus.

A harmless reovirus was proved to be more harmful than ever believed

The immune response of mice appears to be similar to the effects of the disease on people. Researchers pointed out that human reovirus infections are very common in humans and they usually do not cause any symptoms. Nevertheless, the new research also indicated that patients who were diagnosed with celiac disease indicated higher levels of antibodies against the virus than those who were not diagnosed with this illness.

Scientists argue that this type of infection might permanently impact the patient’s immune system, developing the suitable environment that could trigger an autoimmune disease, as the celiac one. Dr. Bana Jabri, the director of research at the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, stated that a virus which does not trigger any symptoms can still cause a lot of harm, setting the appropriate stage for an autoimmune disease to unleash.

Scientists were surprised to see that the reovirus caused the celiac condition

Specialists also unveiled patients with a celiac condition who indicated to have high levels of reovirus antibodies and who also had the expression of a gene which encodes IRF1 protein. In the studies in which lab mice were tested, experts discovered that IRF1 had a vital role in the development of gluten intolerance after the mouse was infected with reovirus.

Nevertheless, scientists indicated underlined the idea that only a certain strain of reovirus, namely T1L, was responsible for causing the immune response which was revealed in the study. Scientists indicated that there is no other evidence which could suggest that other types of reovirus might have the same effect. Nevertheless, they have also tested another strain, the T3D one, which appeared to be genetically different from the first one, T1L. Moreover, this strain did not provoke an immune response.

Researchers also highlighted the idea that factors like the overall health and the genes of a person might also play a significant role which could establish whether the virus will trigger celiac condition or not.

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