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Category: Interesting Discoveries

Published on Leave a comment on Natural High: Why Birdsong Is The Best Antidote To Our Stressful Lives

From The Guardian Website - Past Edition

Dawn Chorus Day is a good time to celebrate the benefits to mental and physical health of birdsong.
Let us all speak up for protecting the different Species of Birds needing our voice.

A Beautiful Nightingale Photo by National Geographic

When I hear the first willow warbler of the spring, the first cuckoo, or the first booming bittern on my local patch, I feel an enormous sense of comfort and satisfaction. As the poet Ted Hughes wrote about the annual return of swifts, “They’ve made it again, which shows that the globe’s still working…”

It’s International Dawn Chorus Day on Sunday 5 May, and this year the RSPB has released a single of birdsong (currentlyat number 11 in the charts) as part of a campaign to draw attention to the situation facing British birdlife. Populations of once-common species such as the house sparrow, starling and swift are falling fast, while the nightingale, turtle dove and grey partridge are rapidly sliding towards extinction in Britain.

Climate change, intensive farming and pollution are just some of the genuinely existential threats to the future of our birds.…

Published on Leave a comment on A 60-Minute Walk In Nature Decreases Activity In Brain Regions Involved In Stress Processing

Researchers in Germany have found that a one-hour walk in nature reduces
stress-related brain activity.

The amygdala is the brain region involved in stress processing. It has been shown to be less activated in people who live in rural areas, compared to those who live in cities, hinting at the potential benefits of nature.

Nature Walks Are Good For Your Brain

However, no study so far has examined the causal effects of natural and urban environments on stress-related brain mechanisms.

"But so far the hen-and-egg problem could not be disentangled, namely whether nature actually caused the effects in the brain or whether the particular individuals chose to live in rural or urban regions," says Sonja Sudimac, predoctoral fellow in the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience (LMGEN) and lead author of the study.

To address this question, researchers from LMGEN examined brain activity in regions involved in stress processing in 63 healthy volunteers before and after a one-hour walk in Berlin's Grunewald Forest and a busy city street using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

The results of the study revealed that activity in the amygdala decreased after the walk in nature, suggesting that nature elicits beneficial effects on brain regions related to stress.…

Published on Leave a comment on The Art of Self-Kindness and How it Helps Us Cope with Stress

By Juandri Buitendag and Prof Margareta James - Psychologists

Self-kindness can boost our mental health and help us navigate stressful situations. This is what we can do to nurture more of it.

Importance Of Practicing Some Self-Kindness - An Absolute Must!

Observing the breeze blow gently through the trees, savoring the delicate taste of a morning cuppa and curling up with a diverting novel in hand: far from being an extravagance, as these acts of self-kindness have sometimes been treated, they are in fact the fundamental building blocks of strong mental health.

In a world that is increasingly time-pressured and an economic model that has an unyielding focus on improving efficiency, it is easier than ever to overlook or de-prioritise your personal feelings and needs.

But according to psychologists, the art of self-kindness, although something that can be honed, is not something that should be optional. Whether it be in the realms of the physical, emotional, spiritual, or indeed professional, being conscious and sensitive towards yourself, they say, is key preparation for everything that life throws at us.

“It can change your life massively,” says Juandri Buitendag, a counseling psychologist who founded JB Wellness Dynamics, a London-based psychology therapy practice.…

Published on Leave a comment on What Does Reading Before Bed Do For Our Brain?

By Gemma Curtis – Sleep Matters Club Journalist

Some people can’t sleep without reading, but for others, the bedtime story is left in their child years. Reading before bed is an age-old tradition. Some people can’t sleep without reading, but for others, the bedtime story is left in their childhood. In recent times, reading interest has surged enormously. Whether it’s because people are running out of hobbies to try when they’re stuck at home or because they’re looking to expand their vocabulary is up for debate. Yet, the key question still remains: can the practice of reading before bedtime be beneficial? We explore how it affects the brain and see what the experts have to say.

Bedtime reading reduces stress

Reading before you sleep could relax you significantly. A study highlighted in the Telegraph by the University of Sussex raised a number of participants stress levels and then attempted to reduce them. Cognitive Neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis found that ‘reading worked best, reducing stress levels by 68 per cent’. It was better than listening to music (61%), drinking tea or coffee (54%) and taking a walk (42%). It only took 6 minutes for participants’ stress levels to be reduced.…

Published on Leave a comment on Are There Health Benefits In Walking Backwards? Lets Find Out – Hey?

I'M RESEARCHING ON ANTI-AGING, OUR BRAIN AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE THIS WEEK AND DISCOVERED THIS FASCINATING NEWS SOME PHYSIOS AND COACHES ARE MAKING KNOWN IN RECENT TIMES. NEUROSCIENTISTS ARE COMING UP WITH SOME INTERESTING DISCOVERIES NOW FOR OUR BRAIN, AND SO ARE SOME PHYSIO THERAPISTS. LET'S SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER US. IT HAS OTHER BENEFITS AS WELL. WOULD MAKE A GOOD DISTRACTION TECHNIQUE FOR STRESS - WE WOULD START LAUGHING INSTEAD OF FROWNING AT OURSELVES MAYBE:)

The Health Benefits of Walking Backward, According to Fitness Experts

By Karla Walsh

See the very real physical and mental health benefits of turning your steps around.

You've heard it time and time again: Walking is one of the best forms of exercise for your body and your brain. In addition to being free and easy to do inside your home, on vacation, using poles as part of a hike, with your pup and beyond, walking has been proven to boost mood, promote weight loss, boost heart health and so much more. (And if you've been convinced that only running and higher-impact exercise "counts," we can confirm that walking can be a legit, super-effective workout.)…

Published on Leave a comment on Do You Skip Breakfast? Reasons Why It Is Not A Good Idea!

I FOUND A REALLY GOOD ARTICLE TODAY, THAT EXPLAINS SEVERAL REASONS WHY IT IS NOT GOOD FOR US, COVERING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF HEALTH. THE INFORMATION IS EXCELLENT, AND I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE IT WITH YOU WITH THE LINK. SOME OF YOU COULD BE SO PLEASED YOU READ IT BECAUSE IT COULD GIVE YOU ANSWERS ABOUT WHY YOUR METABOLISM OR HEALTH HAS BEEN AFFECTED IN SOME WAY. SHALL WE GO?

9 Reasons Why Skipping Breakfast is the Biggest Mistake of Your Day
Time to eat breakfast like a "King"

Srishti Seth - University of Delhi

"Eat your breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper."

You must often hear or read this valuable and long-known phrase, but have you ever pondered why breakfast is a quintessential meal of your day? Well, the answer in most cases will be no because, somewhere in our busy lifestyles, we've lost the time to actually find the reasons behind all those things that we're told.

So, lets be rational for a few minutes and understand why skipping breakfast everyday is our biggest mistake.

THEY ARE

  1. Causes Weight Gain

If you're dieting or dreaming of a "perfect body", you tend to miss breakfast as a part of your weight loss regimen.…

Published on

San Francisco. When the roads emptied of traffic in March and April because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bay Area residents reported hearing more birds—and they were halfway right.

Jennifer Phillips, a researcher at Cal Poly, and Elizabeth Derryberry, a professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, collaborated to evaluate whether and how songbirds responded to the quieter environment with much less traffic.

They compared the soundscapes and songs of the white-crowned sparrow recorded across the San Francisco area prior to and during the statewide shutdown.

“When I saw photos of an empty Golden Gate Bridge, it struck me just how little traffic there was,” said Derryberry, lead author of the study. “I realized we were in a unique position to look at how changes in human behavior might affect wildlife and what the noise reduction might mean for the songbird we study.”

The researchers found that the birds responded by producing softer songs that could travel over a larger distance, unimpeded by noise. The urban songs also became “sexier” in terms of vocal performance—meaning birds sang a wider range of notes in their song, in a wider bandwidth, during the shutdown.…

Published on Leave a comment on Sunny Days Ahead – Don’t Stay Away From Sunshine

So many are told to "Stay Away From Sunshine" in Western Countries like USA and Australia. That is based on Flawed Health Science. The Medical Profession is into a lot of that. Many times, if something is GOOD For You, they will tell you it's Bad for you, and Visa-Versa. I've found that through the years. As for taking our beautiful SUNSHINE away, no wonder so many people are feeling Bleak. Let's have Sunshine Inside (of us) and Outside. Both are Healthy, hey!?

Let's Have Sunshine And Brighten Up Our Days!!!

By Dr Al Sears Integrative Medicine Practitioner/International Researcher

Remember the first day of Spring when you opened the blinds to let the Sunshine in? Remember that full-of-energy, ‘happy-go-lucky’ feeling? Have you been missing those Sunny Days?

Many of my patients avoid the Sun like the plague. All they hear is that Sunshine poses serious threats to your health. With all these warnings about the Sun, why wouldn’t they?

Despite the bad rap it often gets, Sunshine is Good for You — if, like everything else, you don’t abuse it. Today, I’ll share some of the benefits of enjoying Sunshine each day – to Lift your spirits and Improve your Health.…

Published on

ABC Rural / By Kim Honan

As a forager for more than 40 years, wild food researcher Peter Hardwick is no stranger to finding all sorts of uncultivated native foods in the bush.

Discovery Of Australian Native Raspberry

But it was his discovery of a thornless native raspberry seedling next to a car park five years ago, on Bundjalung Country in north-east NSW, that has the potential to be a game changer for the native food industry. 

“I grabbed a couple of suckers and took them home and one or two struck, and from that I’ve managed to propagate it, and I’ve grown it on and seen how it performs and here we are with a very nice specimen," he said.

"It's quite productive; it's juicy and it’s tasty. Having no thorns makes it approachable."

While native raspberries are a popular indigenous fruit, they have thorny stems and producers find them challenging to harvest.

"Usually these plants are very, very thorny ... They're recurved, and you’re lucky to get out of wild harvesting raspberries without a scratch," he said.

"So, to find a thornless one is fantastic because it means we can put this into backyards, schools, council parks and that sort of thing."…

Published on Leave a comment on A Grass Native To Africa Could Transform The Continent Dairy Yields. Here’s How

The cows kept by small-scale farmers in Africa are notoriously unproductive. The average dairy cow, for example, produces about 540 litres of milk per lactation. By contrast, dairy cows in North America that belong to commercial or intensive farmers can produce up to 10,479 litres of milk per lactation.

Grass-Fed Is Always Better Than Grain-Fed
Brachiaria Is The Best For Dairy Farms

One of the main differences between the two animals lies in the quality of their feeds and forage. Simply put, the more nutritious cows’ diets are, the more and better quality milk they produce. And small-scale farms – of which there are about 33 million in Africa, contributing up to 70% of the continent’s food supply – usually cannot afford more nutritious feed.

Brachiaria – the genus name of Urochloa – consists of about 100 documented species of grass of which seven species used as fodder plants are of African origin. This grass may hold the key to improving milk yields from cows kept by small-scale farmers. Why is this an important goal?

First, it will help to meet rising demand for animal-sourced foods – like cow milk – as the continent becomes more urbanised and its population grows.…