Testing It Up

Think of it what you want, but a study conducted by researchers at La Trobe University in Australia found that people who are very much into coffee may be more likely to hear things that aren’t really there.

A feature on the Los Angeles Times shared that while the study seems to have a few flaws – such as not being well-controlled – there may be something behind its main finding. There is reportedly growing evidence to support the fact that caffeine can cause mild hallucinations, and a survey conducted in 2009 determined that people who consumed three cups or more of brewed coffee daily were three times more likely to say that they are hearing and seeing things that are not really there.

In addition, those who had higher levels of stress were more likely to hear things as well.

Volunteers were brought to a lab and asked to put on head phones that eliminated white noise. They were then told that White Christmas by Bing Crosby would be playing in the background – although, in reality, it was not. True enough, some of the subjects indicated that they could actually hear that “days will be merry and bright,” even though the song wasn’t actually playing.

The researchers then concluded that consumption of five regular cups of coffee could increase one’s risk for experiencing auditory hallucinations.

In a press release issued by La Trobe University, the hallucinations could be likened to “psychosis-like symptoms.” Professor Simon Crowe, of the La Trobe’s School of Psychological Sciences, shared: “There is a link between high levels of stress and psychosis, and caffeine was found to correlate with hallucination proneness. The combination of caffeine and stress affect the likelihood of an individual experiencing a psychosis-like symptom.”

Los Angeles Health Screening

If you’re holding back the resentment and aggression you feel at work you’re not doing your heart any favors according to a Swedish study on the subject. In fact heart problems and the risk of having a heart attack can be doubled by the practice. What’s more the odds of increasing the fatality of that heart attack or heart disease can be even higher. In fact, ignoring an ongoing work-related conflict was associated with a tripled risk of heart attack or coronary death, according to the study of almost 2,800 Swedish working men at Stockholm University’s Stress Research Institute. Holding back strong emotions is one of the greatest mistakes that human beings make. By the same token this doesn’t mean that you can go around blowing off steam however, completely blowing your top neither helps you fee l better nor improves your health. The stress this puts on your body is much more than you think! Having an overbearing or incompetent boss can have higher risk for developing things like angina, heart attack and death as well.

Interestingly women’s heart health isn’t affected as severely by these factors in a workplace as in men. This is thought to be because of women’s better coping mechanisms and better social interaction skills. It seems clear that men’s predilection for keeping both emotions and opinions to themselves can force them to pay the consequences later through their health.

There isn’t any one way to improve these problems however what works for some may not work as well for others. The most important aspect of a safe and stress free work environment is finding a way to communicate without judgment or backlash as feeling as if no one cares is a greater point of stress and aggression than any other in a work site.

The toll of stress in the average Australian housewife’s life is causing her to turn lose and abuse drugs to get through her days according to the findings from Queensland’s Crime and Misconduct Commission on illicit drugs. When energy levels leave them feeling tired and out of sorts the drug is often a tool in making them feel more energizes and active. Cocaine use has trickled down from the socialites to middle class suburbia with many women in some wealthy suburbs becoming consistent abusers.

Substance abuse is a growing problem in many walks of life but the affluent families are much more likely to be able to afford the high cost of a drug habit than others. While once cocaine was a drug for the moneyed now it’s a drug for all ages and walks of life. Currently the drug costs about $350 Australian dollars per gram, while ecstasy costs as much as $40 a tablet. The study lends credence to the idea that housewives of all walks of life are turning to drug abuse to get through all manner of stress and anxiety in their lives. Little regard seems to be given for the consequences of this substance abuse.

Hormonal imbalance, once a condition seen as a problem solely affecting menopausal women, is now a growing concern that afflicts both men and women. The one way by which it can be determined if a person has a hormonal imbalance is by going through hormonal imbalance testing.

Testing for hormonal imbalance has its pros and cons. Among the advantages of testing for hormonal imbalance is that you would know at once whether you are afflicted by it or not. It is not invasive and it can easily tell you indicators about your health and fertility.

However, it also has disadvantages, which include the fact that blood tests can be inaccurate because of many different factors such as stress. Your doctor can also generalize the problem instead of using the results of the test to pinpoint what exactly is causing the hormonal imbalance. Also, hormonal imbalance testing is not exactly cheap.

For full version of this article, please visit “Pros and Cons of Hormone Imbalance Testing“.

Hormonal imbalance is becoming more and more common in younger women. Doctors are still unsure as to how to deal with it and misdiagnosis can lead to various problems with a woman’s overall health, such as heart ailments, infertility and cancer.

There are many possible causes of hormonal imbalance. One such cause is stress, where the body produces too much cortisol and other hormones are secreted to cancel it out. Another cause is an imbalanced diet. Improper exercise also leads to hormonal imbalance, as too much or too little can impede with the production of hormones. Taking hormonal supplements such as birth control pills also puts the body’s hormone balance out of whack.

Certain diseases like cancer and PCOS also create hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body. Some forms of cancer affecting females feed on the body’s hormones. PCOS causes the body to secrete too much androgen. Lastly, environmental toxins can also lead to hormonal imbalance.

For full version of this article, please visit “7 Most Common Causes of Hormonal Imbalance“.

Swine flu can strike at anyone, regardless of age, sex or race. Thousands of cases of swine flu virus infection have been reported across the world, with a few hundred dying of it in 2009. And yet, it is possible to minimize your risk of being infected with the virus and prevent yourself or any family member from becoming sick.

How can you minimize your risk of becoming sick with the swine flu? The first thing you need to do is to stay healthy and manage your stress levels. A healthy and well-rested body is more than capable of fighting off any illness. You should also keep your hands clean and avoid touching public surfaces. These public surfaces may be contaminated with the swine flu virus. Lastly, you should avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose because touching these parts of the body is the fastest way the virus can infect us.

For full version of this article, please visit “Five Tips to Minimize the Risk of Getting Infected with Swine Flu“.

Having a particularly hard day at work? Getting stressed out? You might just be having an effect on your coworkers. According to recent research the sweat given off by a stressed individual may be causing those around you to become more aware and prepared for threat. Subjects in the study were exposed to sweat from two groups, one which consisted of first time skydivers and another came from a group that had run on a treadmill. While they were exposed to the sweat the subjects were studied with magnetic resonance imaging. While they did respond to the skydivers sweat with greater awareness it’s not believed that the response was caused by pheromones but rather a chemical secreted along with the sweat. Not much is known about the way humans interact based on pheromones or other chemicals that may be released to communicate danger and more research will be needed to verify if the same results would occur in another study group.  Understanding these responses could help to regulate emergency situations if the reaction could be better understood, it could also help to improve focus in those who are sleep deprived or who are conducting a repetitive job.

Though once children under the age of 6 were thought to be too emotionally immature to experience this form of mood change, a recent study may have proven that idea wrong. While previous research had proven that 2 percent of preschool age children experienced temporary depression at one time or another no conclusive evidence had proven whether they could experience chronic depression as adults and older children do.

The study, which tested 200 preschoolers (75 of which had been diagnosed with depression prior to research) 3-6 years old for up to 2 years, found that among children with prior diagnosis 64% were still depressed or had had a relapse within 6 months of the initial depression. Depression was found to be most common in children who had experienced a loss or physical or sexual abuse or who had a parent who also suffered from depression.

This research raises the question of how to treat depression at this young of an age. Especially at a time when treatment with medications is controversial in any child under the age if 18 and could have major side effects.

New Research has proven that marijuana users may get false positives weeks after their last use.  Why? It seems that dieting and high stress levels can cause stored fats in the body to be burned, releasing THC that has been stored there and creating a positive result during drug testing. Normally the drug is only found in the system between 3 and 30 days after use depending on the user’s metabolism and the level of marijuana use. THC is stored in the body’s fat but usually gets burned off and enters the bloodstream within the 3-30 day span. In a heavy and consistent user’s body it seems, this stored THC may always be in the body through stored fats, producing positive tests even months after use. Dieting is especially likely to cause the body to burn these stored fats and release the THC there and so it’s recommended that users don’t diet shortly before drug test to avoid unlocking this stored THC.

A new drug testing product called HairConfirm is raising concerns that parents could become paranoid and invasive of their children’s lives. The hair drug test, which has become available in Australia is marketed as a test for use of drugs like marijuana, heroin, ecstasy, and cocaine among others. The product also claims to detect the frequency of drug use at a more accurate rate than either urine or saliva tests because of the 90 day retention of drug use evidence in the follicle.

The problem is that parents with concerns about teen drug use can resort to unethical tactics to get hair for testing and cause stress between the child and themselves without knowing if there is any reason for concern. Once a hair sample is acquired all that has to be done is wrapping it in the special foil and sending it off for a lab test in the US. This ease of use makes it seem less invasive and more tempting for the parent involved.

Trust is a valuable commodity that is sometimes overlooked when we’re concerned, but it’s better to discuss drugs with our children and ask them for the sample if it will relax frazzled parental nerves. While it may still bother your child you’re testing them at least you haven’t violated their privacy and taken it without talking the matter over which would be far worse for both the parent and the child’s emotional well-being.