Knowledge Update

​New York, June 11 (IANS) An individual's caloric intake and body weight can deeply influence the time spent in specific sleep stages, says a new study.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania analysed sleep patterns among 36 healthy adults who experienced two consecutive nights of 10 hours in bed per night at the university hospital. 

Using polysomnography, the researchers recorded physiological changes that occur during sleep on the second night.

Body composition and resting energy expenditure were assessed on the morning following the first night of sleep, while food and drink intake was measured each day.

The researchers found that body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and resting energy expenditure were not significant predictors of sleep stage duration, but that overweight adults exhibited a higher percentage of time spent in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep than normal-weight adults. 

REM is a sleep stage when dreams typically occur characterised by faster heart rate and breathing.

The researchers also found that increased protein intake predicted less stage 2 sleep -- the period when a person's heart rate and breathing are relatively normal and his/her body temperature lowers slightly -- and predicted more REM sleep.

The study findings will be presented at SLEEP 2016 -- a joint meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society to be held in Denver, Colorado, from June 11 to 15. 

"In a culture of increasing pressure to sacrifice sleep to maintain productivity, this research adds to the body of knowledge on how lifestyle behaviours may influence the quality of our sleep" said study lead author Andrea M. Spaeth.

A 2013 study from the team found that those with late bedtimes and chronic sleep restriction may be more susceptible to weight gain due to the increased consumption of calories during late night hours. 

A 2015 study from the same group found that eating less late at night may help curb the concentration and alertness deficits that accompany sleep deprivation.​

​New York, June 10 (IANS) While people might think that stopping to take photographs during their vacation could make it less pleasurable, a new study suggests that people who take photos of their experiences usually enjoy the events more than people who do not.

Conducted by a joint team of psychologists from the University of Southern California, Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania, the research is the first extensive investigation examining how taking photos affects people's enjoyment of their experiences.

"We show that, relative to not taking photos, photography can heighten enjoyment of positive experiences by increasing engagement," wrote study co-authors Kristin Diehl, Gal Zauberman and Alixandra Barasch in an article published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 

The researchers outlined a series of nine experiments involving over 2,000 participants in the field and the lab designed to examine the effect of taking photographs of an experience on people's enjoyment of an activity.

In each experiment, individuals were asked to participate in an activity and were either instructed to take photos during the activity or not. 

Afterward, participants completed a survey designed to measure not only their enjoyment but their engagement in the experience. In almost every case, people who took photographs reported higher levels of enjoyment.

"One critical factor that has been shown to affect enjoyment is the extent to which people are engaged with the experience," the authors wrote. Photo-taking naturally draws people more into the experience, they found.

In one experiment, individuals were instructed to take a self-guided tour of a museum exhibit while wearing glasses that tracked their eye movements. 

The researchers found that those who took photos spent more time examining the artefacts in the exhibit than those who simply observed.

There were some conditions, though, where picture-taking did not have a positive effect, such as when the participant was already actively engaged in the experience. 

For example, in one experiment, individuals were asked either to participate in an arts and crafts project or to observe one. While taking photos increased the enjoyment of observers, it did not affect enjoyment of those actively taking part in the experience.

Another instance where photo-taking did not appear to increase enjoyment was when taking photos interfered with the experience itself, such as having to handle bulky and unwieldy camera equipment.​

​Toronto, June 11 (IANS) A Canadian researcher has created an app that uses a method that essentially "scrambles" one's thoughts and keeps the mind off issues that may prevent sleep.

"A racing mind, worries and uncontrollable thoughts are common bedtime complaints among poor sleepers," said Luc Beaudoin of Canada's Simon Fraser University, who has created the mySleepButton app that uses what Beaudoin calls a "cognitive shuffle," or Serial Diverse Imagining (SDI) method.

It was tested among 154 university students who complained of excessive cognitive pre-sleep arousal. The study employed SDI tasks, which occur at bedtime, and also used a standard treatment of structured problem solving (SP), which is done prior to bedtime and takes about 15 minutes. 

According to the study to be presented on June 14 at SLEEP 2016 -- a joint meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, in Denver, Colorado -- SDI was found to be effective in reducing pre-sleep arousal, sleep effort and poor sleep quality with the added advantage of being done while in bed.

However SDI is not without its challenges. "The human brain is a 'meaning maker' or a sense-making machine," said Beaudoin. 

"It is actually very difficult for people to conjure up random images unaided. However according to my theory, while it may be difficult to engage in SDI, it is not only a consequence of sleep onset; SDI facilitates it," he added.

Beaudoin has also invented a "do-it-yourself" version of SDI. The technique provides a sequence of letters that cue a series of relatively unrelated words, which could potentially be customised to individuals.

"My hope is that popular culture will absorb the notion that counting sheep is not effective, whereas SDI is," Beaudoin said.​

​New York, June 10 (IANS) Social media giant Facebook on Thursday introduced a new feature that enables users upload and view 360-degrees photos right in the News Feed, a media report said.

"Along with 360 photos from your friends and family, you can discover stunning new 360 photos on Facebook from public figures, publishers, and other organizations," technology website The Verge quoted Andy Huang, Product Manager, Facebook, as saying. 

"360 photos give you the ability to take the stage in front of 100,000 fans with Paul McCartney, get behind-the-scenes access to the Supreme Court via The New York Times, visit the International Space Station with NASA, and more," he said.

After capturing a panorama or 360-degrees photo with smartphone camera or a third-party app, users can now post the photo directly to the social network, where it will be converted into an image that can be viewed on desktop or any smartphone, the report added.

Users will be able to identify the photos by the compass icon floating on the upper right hand corner of the image.

All they need to do is click and drag on the image to explore the complete environment, or simply move their smartphone around.​

New York, June 7 (IANS) Consuming a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetable fats such as olive oil or nuts does not lead to significant weight gain compared to a low-fat diet, finds a new research.

The findings showed that fats from nuts, fish and phenolic-rich vegetable oils found in the Mediterranean diet are healthier than fats from meat and processed foods.

"Our study shows that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetable fats had little effect on bodyweight or waist circumference compared to people on a low-fat diet,” said lead author Ramon Estruch from the University of Barcelona, Spain. 

A Mediterranean diet has been known to reduce mortality, heart diseases as well as cancer.

However, the fear of eating an all fat diet means that a low-fat diet continues to be recommended as a means of weight loss, the researchers said.

"The study certainly does not imply that unrestricted diets with high levels of unhealthy fats such as butter, processed meat, sweetened beverages, deserts or fast foods are beneficial," Estruch added.

For the study, published in 'The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology' journal, the team included 7447 participants (men and women) aged 55-80 who were randomly assigned to one of three groups - an unrestricted calorie Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil (2543), an unrestricted calorie Mediterranean diet rich in nuts (2454), or a low-fat diet where the advice was to avoid all dietary fat (2450). 

After five years, the low-fat diet group (from 40 per cent to 37.4 per cent) showed a decrease in the total fat intake and both Mediterranean diet groups (40 per cent to 41.8 per cent in olive oil; 40.4 per cent to 42.2 per cent in nuts) showed slight increase. 

The percentage of energy intake from protein and carbohydrate decreased in both Mediterranean diet groups.

On average, participants in all three groups lost some weight with the greatest weight loss seen in the Mediterranean diet with olive oil group (0.88 kg weight reduction in the olive oil group, compared to 0.60 kg for the low-fat diet group and 0.40 kg for the nuts group). 

"Calorie-obsessed caveats and warnings about healthier, higher-fat choices such as nuts, phenolic-rich vegetable oils, yoghurt should also be dropped. We must abandon the myth that lower-fat, lower-calorie products lead to less weight gain," commented Dariush Mozaffarian, Professor at Tufts University in the US, in a linked article.​

​New York, June 7 (IANS) Further burnishing copper's reputation as an essential nutrient for human health, researchers have found that the metal plays a key role in metabolising fat.

"We find that copper is essential for breaking down fat cells so that they can be used for energy," said lead researcher Chris Chang, professor at the University of California - Berkeley.

"It acts as a regulator. The more copper there is, the more the fat is broken down,” Chang noted.

The nutrient is plentiful in foods such as oysters and other shellfish, leafy greens, mushrooms, seeds, nuts and beans.

“We think it would be worthwhile to study whether a deficiency in this nutrient could be linked to obesity and obesity-related diseases," Chang said.

"Copper is not something the body can make, so we need to get it through our diet," he pointed out.

But the researchers caution against ingesting copper supplements as a result of these study results.

Too much copper can lead to imbalances with other essential minerals, including zinc.

An adult's estimated average dietary requirement for copper is about 700 micrograms per day, according to Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies of Sciences in the US.

The researchers made the copper-fat link using mice with a genetic mutation that causes the accumulation of copper in the liver. 

The findings appeared online in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

The connection between copper and fat metabolism is not altogether surprising. The researchers actually found hints of the link in the field of animal husbandry.

"It had been noted in cattle that levels of copper in the feed would affect how fatty the meat was," Chang said. 

"This effect on fat deposits in animals was in the agricultural literature, but it hadn't been clear what the biochemical mechanisms were linking copper and fat," he noted.​

New York, June 7 (IANS) Photo sharing app Instagram has rolled out an update that makes it easier and faster for iOS users to share photos and videos -- without opening the app.

With the help of share extensions users can now send pictures directly to their feeds from apps like photos.

Share extensions became available to developers back in 2014 when iOS 8 was released. Apps that already have the share option enabled include Facebook (Instagram's parent company) and Twitter, but it took Instagram about two years to finally add the feature, technology website techcrunch.com reported on Monday.

How it works? A user first needs to update to the latest version and then open the app he or she wants to send a picture from. 

Press the share button and tap on the Instagram icon. A window will open to let the user write a caption before posting to Instagram.

The update also alters the context of an Instagram post by enabling users the ability to post a photo without filters and edits.​

​London, June 6 (IANS) Women as well as young adults are twice as likely to experience anxiety as men, a new study says.

Anxiety disorder -- the most common mental health problems -- is often manifest as excessive worry, fear and a tendency to avoid potentially stressful situations including social gatherings.

"Anxiety disorders can make life extremely difficult for some people and it is important for our health services to understand how common they are and which groups of people are at greatest risk," said led author Olivia Remes at the University of Cambridge.

The findings showed that nearly one in ten adults (10.9 per cent) with heart disease were affected by generalised anxiety disorder but women were almost twice as likely to be affected as men.

Also, women affected with heart diseases, cancer and even pregnancy showed a higher level of anxiety than men. 

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) -- an anxiety disorder characterised by obsessions and compulsions -- was in general, found only one in a hundred, but the proportion with the disorder was double in pregnant women and slightly higher in the period immediately after birth.

"Anxiety disorders can also lead to impairment, disability, and risk of suicide," added Louise Lafortune, research associate at the University of Cambridge.

Further, the level of anxiety among young individuals -- both male and female -- under 35 years of age were found to be disproportionate.

In addition, people from Western Europe and North America were found more likely to suffer from anxiety than people from other cultures.

"By collecting all these data together, we see that these disorders are common across all groups, but women and young people are disproportionately affected. Also, people who have a chronic health condition are at a particular risk, adding a double burden on their lives," Remes noted.

For the study, published in the journal Brain and Behaviour, the team studied 48 scientific reviews that showed data between 1990 and 2010.

The overall proportion of people affected remained largely unchanged, with around four out of every 100 experiencing anxiety.​

​London, June 4 (IANS) Obese individuals who undergo a weight loss surgery are less likely to face death, than those do not undertake a surgery, finds a new study.

Being obese can increase an individual's risk of mortality from numerous diseases like heart attack, stroke and a number of cancers.

Bariatric surgery has shown to prevent obesity related mortality as well as morbidity, the researchers said.

The findings showed that the mortality rate was higher in the non-surgical group (4.21 per cent) compared to the surgical group (1.11 per cent).

Mean follow-up time for the surgical group was 5.4 years and 5.5 for the non-surgical group.

Heart disease, followed by cancer was the most common cause of death in this group.

However, the overall mortality decreased by 57 per cent in the surgery group, even after taking into consideration the age, previous comorbidity and other factors including sex, coronary heart disease, valvular disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, stroke and atrial fibrillation.

"The study indicates that the overall all-cause mortality is considerably lower among obese individuals who undergo bariatric surgery compared to non-surgical obese individuals, and the differences lies mainly in cardiovascular disease and cancer," said Christina Persson from University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

The study population comprised 48,693 obese patients aged between 18-74 years. Of this 22,581 underwent bariatric surgery (gastric bypass 92.8 per cent) while the other 26,112 did not undergo the surgery.

The results were presented at European Obesity Summit 2016, in Sweden recently.​

​New York, June 2 (IANS) The same brain circuits that are activated by eating chocolate and winning money are activated when teenagers see large numbers of “likes” on their own photos or the photos of peers in a social network, new research has found.

For the study, the researchers from the University of California - Los Angeles observed activation in the brain’s reward regions when teenagers saw their photos with a large number of likes, 

The 32 teenagers, ages 13-18, were told they were participating in a small social network similar to the popular photo-sharing app, Instagram. 

In an experiment, the researchers showed them 148 photographs on a computer screen for 12 minutes, including 40 photos that each teenager submitted, and analysed their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. 

Each photo also displayed the number of likes it had supposedly received from other teenage participants -- in reality, the number of likes was assigned by the researchers. 

"When the teenagers saw their own photos with a large number of likes, we saw activity across a wide variety of regions in the brain,” said lead author Lauren Sherman.

A region that was especially active is a part of the striatum called the nucleus accumbens, which is part of the brain’s reward circuitry, she said. 

This reward circuitry is thought to be particularly sensitive during adolescence. 

The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.​