St. Mary's Medical Center

Summer 2017

Spirit of Women magazine is a national publication presented to women by hospitals and their physicians. The magazine provides up-to-date, evidence-based healthcare information and promotes our hospitals as leaders in women's health excellence.

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5 w w w. s p i r i t o f w o m e n . c o m | S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 | S P I R I T O F W O M E N Health Central News Arthritis and exercise If the pain of arthritis limits your mobility, you may give up on exercise that your body needs to keep functioning. But physical activity doesn't have to be all or nothing: Forty-five minutes a week may be enough to sustain function, according to a new study in the journal Arthritis Care & Research . Guidelines for older adults recommend 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week. The men and women in the study who were able to maintain 45 minutes weekly of moderate activity, however, were 80 percent more likely to improve or sustain high future function over two years compared with study participants who did less. So if you suffer from arthritis and frequently fall short of your exercise goals, a brisk walk around the block can still be beneficial. Building up brain power If you anticipate spending retirement time on the computer, engaging in social activities and crafts or playing games, you'll be enjoying more than the obvious benefits, say researchers. These mentally stimulating pursuits are all associated with decreased risk of new- onset mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults, suggests a study in JAMA Neurology . Researchers followed close to 2,000 adults age 70 or older for about four years, looking at various activities and the frequency with which study participants engaged in them. Then they pinpointed the four activities that showed the greatest risk reduction: computer use, social activities, crafts and games. The researchers aren't sure why some mentally stimulating activities, such as computer use, were more beneficial than others, including reading (which is associated with some risk reduction). They speculate that using a computer may require specific technical or manual skills that aid cognitive health. Teens who volunteer on their own are less likely to engage in illegal activities, reports the journal Injury Epidemiology . Public health researchers looked at survey responses from more than 14,000 students involved in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Those who participated in volunteer activities on their own had 11 percent fewer illegal activities, Wake-up calls for moms Having children at home can lead to sleep deprivation—but only for mom, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 2017 annual meeting. Researchers considered age, race, education, marital status, number of children in the household, income, body mass index, exercise, employment and snoring as factors potentially related to getting inadequate sleep. But children in the house was the only factor associated with not getting enough sleep, reported researchers, who looked at responses from close to 6,000 adults. Among the women respondents, A brisk 45-minute walk once a week can be beneficial for adults with arthritis. Arresting news about teen volunteers only 48 percent with children reported getting at least seven hours of sleep, compared with 62 percent of women without children. Men in the study, however, did not have their sleep affected by children. Seven to nine hours of sleep a day is optimum, according to the researchers, so maybe it's time for Dad to take a turn or two on the night shift? and as young adults they reported 53 percent fewer arrests. However, teens who were required to volunteer by adults reported more illegal behaviors, according to the study. Still, between the ages of 18 and 28, the required volunteers had 37 percent fewer arrests than those who didn't volunteer at all. Although researchers aren't sure why self-volunteering leads to fewer illegal behaviors, they speculate that teens were able to choose the activities they wanted to pursue and the amount of time they devoted to volunteering.

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