Sunshine Vitamin Good for Think Tank

Posted on May 26, 2009 in Health & Medicine, Holistic Remedies, Recent Studies, The Environment

Soak up the sun now and keep your brain brighter in the years to come, researchers at the University of Manchester say. The European study suggests that vitamin D, which is produced when the body is exposed to sunlight, may help older people stay mentally fit.

The researchers compared the cognitive performances of 3,100 men aged 40 to 79 and found that those with low levels of vitamin D did not perform as well on tests of their visual memory, visual scanning and speed at processing visual information. While the link between mental abilities and vitamin D has been suggested before, these findings held when the researchers considered various factors, such as the men’s education levels, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity.

The study did not determine exactly how vitamin D and mental agility are connected, but suggested that vitamin may protect neurons in the brain from damage or increase certain hormonal activity. The research team is calling for further studies to test whether vitamin D supplements might help minimize age-related declines in specific mental skills.

Source:
MSNBC

Joyful Music Aids Heart Health

Go ahead and blast a feel-good anthem: it may be good for your cardiovascular system. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore found that emotions stirred by joyful music may have a positive impact on blood vessel function.

Ten study participants selected music that made them happy for part of the four-phase experiment. The average upper arm blood vessel diameter increased 26 percent after the participants listened to their favorite music in the laboratory. The physiological impact of music may also trigger a release of feel-good brain chemicals called endorphins. “The idea here was that when they listened to music they really enjoyed, they would get an extra boost of whatever emotion was being generated,” said principal investigator Michael Miller, M.D.

Another phase included listening to music that made the volunteers anxious. In the third phase, volunteers listened to audio tapes that promoted relaxation, and in a fourth, videotapes designed to induce laughter were played. The anxiety-causing tunes had an opposite effect, causing blood vessels to narrow by six percent.

Most of the participants selected country music as their favorite, while heavy metal tended to make them feel uneasy. Although Dr. Miller confessed his own preference for country, he said that other types of music might have evoked joy in a different group. “We don’t understand why somebody may be drawn to classical music, for example. There are no words in that, and yet the rhythm, the melody and harmony, may all play a role in the emotional and cardiovascular response,” he said.