Noise-Canceling Headphones May Be Harming Young Brains

by HealthLifestyle

Noise-Canceling Headphones May Be Harming Young Brains

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Doctors are increasingly diagnosing young people with auditory processing disorder (APD) -a condition where the brain struggles to interpret sounds correctly, even though hearing tests show normal results. This rise in cases is raising concerns that noise-canceling headphones may be playing a role.
APD is a neurological disorder that disrupts how the brain processes auditory information. People with APD can hear sounds but may struggle to determine where a sound is coming from, understand speech in noisy environments, or follow fast conversations. They often require repetition, take longer to respond, and may have difficulty remembering spoken instructions. Other symptoms include trouble processing music, learning new languages, and struggling with reading and spelling.

APD usually begins in childhood and affects 2% to 7% of kids, often due to factors like head injuries, low birth weight, or chronic ear infections. However, the recent rise in young adults with APD is unusual. Experts believe that excessive headphone use – especially noise-canceling models – may cause the brain to “forget” how to process ambient sounds properly.

Doctors warn that overuse of these headphones creates an unnatural listening environment, making the brain overly sensitive to sound when headphones are removed. While there is no cure for APD, speech therapy, strategic seating, and requesting written instructions can help manage symptoms. More research is needed to understand the full impact of these devices on the brain.


Contributor: Alternative Daily

Training Your Brain May Improve Focus and Attention

by HealthLifestyle

Training Your Brain May Improve Focus and Attention

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Brain-training games are all the rage, but whether they prevent cognitive decline has been debatable. Studies in recent years have gone back and forth on the topic, with no definitive conclusion.
Many people have started playing Wordle or doing crossword puzzles, but those brain ticklers don’t appear to improve overall cognition, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently told viewers on CNN.

“What crossword puzzles and word games are probably really good at is making you better at crossword puzzles and word games,” Gupta said. “People often use brain-training exercises with the hopes of reducing their risk (of dementia). Truth is, there’s not a lot of data on this to suggest it actually reduces your risk for dementia.”

But there’s a new twist to that scientific conundrum: According to a new clinical trial, the success of brain training in slowing cognitive decline may depend on the type of game and how it affects certain neurotransmitters in the brain.

Brain games that focus on boosting attention and improving processing speed — like BrainHQ’s Double Decision and Freeze Frame — appear to preserve acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter, according to the new research.

Acetylcholine is an “excitatory” neurotransmitter and neuromodulator, which “functions like a switch to make the brain more awake, more focused and attentive,” said senior study author Etienne de Villers-Sidani, an associate professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University in Montreal.

When acetylcholine is activated, it changes the activity of the entire brain, said Dr. Michael Merzenich, professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco and co-founder and chief scientist of Posit Science, which makes BrainHQ, a for-profit brain-training company.

An elder statesman in the field of neuroplasticity, Merzenich and two other scientists received the prestigious Kavli Award in Neuroscience in 2016 for their groundbreaking discoveries that the adult brain could change, adapt and create new neural connections throughout life. Prior to their discoveries, it was thought that the brain was unable to change or regenerate after a certain point in early adulthood.

“This is the first human study to document an upregulation of acetylcholine, which is absolutely crucial for sustaining brain plasticity in aging,” Merzenich said.

Upregulation causes a cell to add more receptors for a neurotransmitter, thus boosting its ability to respond.

“This is an important study because the training had a brain-wide impact — it’s not limited to the very narrow set of processes that people were trained on,” Merzenich said. “We’re talking about a fundamental physical chemical change that we know really matters as a contributor to brain health.”

The discovery adds to existing knowledge about how to prevent cognitive decline, said preventive neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Boca Raton, Florida.

Eating a well-balanced diet, improving sleep and getting regular exercise are all proven ways to enhance brain power and overall vitality. Research has also showed that engaging the brain in new ways builds cognitive reserve, which is how the brain can maintain its functioning in the face of aging, damage or early stages of disease.

Brain training can be one of the many ways to build cognitive reserve, Isaacson said.

“There is no one magic pill to prevent dementia, but a combination of interventions can help people take control in the fight against Alzheimer’s,” he said. “Because of the science, I’ve suggested these exact BrainHQ tests as a component of a cognitive engagement plan, along with learning a new language, playing a new instrument or taking up a new hobby, like dancing or photography.”

The games they played

The study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed gaming journal JMIR Serious Games, randomized 92 relatively healthy older adults from Quebec into two groups. Each group was asked to do 30 minutes of daily brain training for 10 weeks.

The control group played the card game Solitaire and Bricks Breaking Hex — which requires the user to break bricks in groups of the same color — at their own pace. The intervention group played BrainHQ’s Double Decision and Freeze Frame modules, which became progressively harder as players improved.

Freeze Frame displays a target image and then a series of other images, asking the user to click “no” for every wrong image. Double Decision briefly shows the user one of two cars in a desert, along with a Route 66 sign that can appear anywhere on the screen. To do the training correctly, the player must quickly click on the correct car and the location of the sign.

An earlier version of Double Decision was used in the 2001 ACTIVE trial (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), which found that cognitive gains from the training were still present at a five-year follow-up.

Cognitive and other testing was done before and after the training and at a three-month follow-up. Acetylcholine was measured by PET scans. According to the scans, the intervention group had a 2.3% increase in the upregulation of acetylcholine after the 10-week high speed training. The improvement was in key areas of the brain responsible for memory and decision-making, said functional imaging specialist Dr. Raj Attariwala, founder and medical director of AIM Medical Imaging in Vancouver, who was not involved in the study.

This improvement nearly countered the average 2.5% decline in acetylcholine that occurs naturally in each decade of life. The control group, however, had no significant benefit.

Although the study advances science in the field, it’s too soon to draw conclusions because the “work is early stage (and) effect sizes are small,” said brain game researcher Aaron Seitz, a joint professor of psychology, game design, and physical therapy, movement and rehabilitation services at the Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences in Boston. He was not involved with the study.

“It will be important for others to replicate these findings before we can reliably conclude that acetylcholine production is upregulated by these types of computerized exercises,” Seitz said.


Contributor: Sandee LaMotte – CNN Health

Are You Eating Enough Protein?

by HealthLifestyleNutrition

Are You Eating Enough Protein?

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The amount of protein required varies based on age, activity level, and fitness goals. The baseline recommendation for sedentary adults is 0.36g of protein per pound of body weight (about 56g per day for a 154lb person).
If you are really active or doing a lot of strength training, you may require more protein to maximize muscle growth and recovery. Older adults and post-menopausal women also benefit from higher protein intake to preserve muscle mass.

Be Cautious with Protein Powders

Protein powders are convenient but can contain harmful contaminants like heavy metals, BPA, and pesticides due to lax regulations. Overuse, especially without exercise, may strain the liver. Opt for high-quality, third-party-tested brands to minimize risks.

Easy Ways to Get Enough Protein from Food

Meeting protein goals through diet alone is achievable with strategic planning. Aim for 20-30g of protein per meal with these simple options:

✓ Breakfast: Greek yogurt with nuts, eggs on toast with avocado
✓ Lunch: Lentil soup, quinoa salad with tofu, or a chicken wrap
✓ Dinner: Salmon with roasted vegetables, bean chili, or turkey stir-fry

Healthy High-Protein Snacks

Snacking is an easy way to boost protein intake throughout the day. Try these nutritious, protein-packed snacks:

✓ Hard-boiled eggs (6g protein per egg)
✓Cottage cheese with berries (14g per ½ cup)
✓ Roasted chickpeas (6g per ½ cup)
✓ Nut butter on whole-grain crackers (7g per serving)
✓ Protein smoothie with Greek yogurt and seeds (15-20g per serving)
✓ Tuna with whole-grain crackers (20g per can of tuna)
✓ Edamame with sea salt (17g per cup)
✓ Pumpkin seeds or almonds (7-8g per ounce)

Focusing on whole foods ensures balanced nutrition while avoiding the risks associated with protein powders. Prioritizing a variety of lean proteins, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fish will help you meet your daily protein needs naturally and effectively.


Contributor: Alternative Daily

How’s Your Mental Health? Get Real by Asking Yourself These Questions:

by with No Comment HealthLifestyle

How’s Your Mental Health? Get Real by Asking Yourself These Questions:

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In this chaotic world of busy schedules, stressful current events and personal responsibilities, growing distracted from your internal world is common.
Whether intentional or not, “people may believe they are ‘fine’ while functioning on autopilot, overworking or numbing with social media doom scrolling, food, alcohol or even checking out with excessive sleep,” said Dr. Urszula Klich, a clinical psychologist in Atlanta, via email.

That’s why this World Mental Health Day, Klich and other experts recommend taking a moment to dig deep and ask yourself, “How am I really?”

Maintaining clear awareness of your mental well-being is essential for prevention and balance, Klich said. “Self-awareness helps us detect stress or emotional imbalance early, allowing adjustment,” she added. “Being self-aware is part of emotional intelligence — a kind of emotional literacy for knowing what you feel. Understanding why is another part of the puzzle, but one we can’t even begin to take if we don’t recognize we are having problems.”

How can you learn how you’re doing? It can be as simple as making a point to be mindful of your experiences throughout your day, journaling on a regular basis or finding and talking with a therapist.

More structured and clinically validated mental health screenings, which aren’t intended to give diagnoses, are available on the website of Mental Health America, a nonprofit promoting mental health and illness prevention through education, research and advocacy.

CNN talked to several mental health experts, and these are some factors they suggested you consider in your self-assessment. They also shared thoughts about what to do if you think you need help.

How’s your mental well-being?

Nobody feels perfectly happy or content all the time. Temporarily feeling mildly stressed or low due to changes in your personal life, your work life or in the world is normal, and that feeling can briefly affect your sleep, motivation or mood, Klich said.

Everyone occasionally experiences these transient aspects of the human condition, said Dr. Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and author of “You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health — With Advice From Experts and Wisdom From Real People and Families.”

You may be able to handle that kind of situation yourself by talking to a friend, going for a run, journaling or choosing another healthy habit that helps you feel better, Klich added.

What if it’s not temporary? When symptoms persist beyond two weeks and affect your ability to function and enjoy life, it’s time to pay more attention, Duckworth and Klich said. Experiencing a cluster of symptoms rather than one or two should also be concerning, said Theresa Nguyen, a licensed clinical social worker and chief research officer at Mental Health America.

“Finding life anxiety-provoking is a normal human experience,” Duckworth said. But if you can’t bounce back from those feelings and find you often can’t parent properly, get your work done, get out of bed, follow through on plans with friends or eat properly, you should talk with your doctor or a therapist about your issues and ways to manage them, Duckworth added. Also, pay attention to any loved ones telling you they have noticed changes in your mood or behavior.

“People often say that relationship problems are the precipitating factors that lead them to look at mental health issues,” Nguyen said.

Additionally, how resilient are you? Do you sit and wallow for a long time or allow yourself to feel your emotions for a short time and then make any needed changes to deal with life? Your answer to that can also be telling.

“If you are concerned about a mood disorder, ask yourself if you can try to maintain daily routines such as sleeping, eating, getting outside or communicating with others, as structure can stabilize functioning,” Klich said. “Involve supportive family or friends for accountability and encouragement.”

A health professional can also rule out underlying medical conditions, she added, since those can sometimes appear to be mental health ones.

What if you feel you’re in real bad shape? Indicators that your mental health is more dire can include experiencing worsening impairment, frequently abandoning responsibilities to loved ones, using substances to cope, not maintaining hygiene, putting your safety at risk or feeling unrelenting feelings of hopelessness, despair or suicidal ideation, Klich said. Psychosis — marked by hallucinations, delusions or loss of reality — is another sign.

“Appropriate help is vital if mental health issues are escalating, and severe symptoms rarely improve without structured support,” Klich said. “It can literally become life or death or, in the least, result in severe relationship and work disruptions. If you have signs that your life is feeling out of control or have thoughts of hurting yourself or someone else, it is vital to get a comprehensive evaluation by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Medication management and therapy can help.”

The sooner you seek help, the less likely you’ll need hospitalization, Klich added.

In this case, maintaining healthy sleep and eating patterns as best you can is also critical. Regardless of your situation, other practices that can keep you mentally healthy are regularly engaging with whatever helps you feel purpose in life, taking breaks from technology, spending time in spaces and with things that relax you, and practicing mindfulness or breath work, experts said.

Mental health resources

Government and nonprofit organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom have multiple resources for mental health support, such as specialized helplines and treatment locators.

If you’re facing insurance or financial barriers, several organizations want to help — including Mental Health America.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.

The National Alliance for Eating Disorders has a free helpline at 866-662-1235 where you can reach licensed therapists who specialize in eating disorders and are available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. The organization also has a list of free or low-cost resources.

Eating disorder helplines for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are open 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.



Contributor: Kristen Rogers – CNN Health/Wellness