Mindfulness is all the rage when it comes to boosting mental health, but new research suggests that it may not help everyone equally. Practicing mindfulness meditation — which involves paying close attention to what you are feeling in the moment — may be better than doing nothing at all to improve anxiety, depression or lower stress, but it is not a cure-all and may not be any better than other practices aimed at improving mental health and well-being, such as exercise, said study author Julieta Galante. She’s a research associate in the department of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. To arrive at that conclusion, Galante and her colleagues reviewed data from 136 studies on mindfulness training for stress, anxiety, depression and overall well-being that took place in non-medical community settings (such as workplaces, universities, community centers or private studios). These trials included more than 11,600 participants, aged 18 to 73, from 29 countries. Mindfulness reduced anxiety, depression and stress, and increased well-being when compared to doing nothing, the study showed. But in more than one in 20 studies in the analysis, mindfulness meditation didn’t produce any benefits. Not all mindfulness programs are created equally, Galante noted. Differences in how they are taught, where they are taught, who teaches them, and who they are targeted to likely plays a big role…  read on >  read on >

Lots of Americans suffer from painful arthritic knees, but a new study finds that wearing the right type of shoe may help ease discomfort. Patients with knee arthritis will achieve greater pain relief by opting for sturdy and supportive shoes rather than flat flexible footwear, researchers in Australia found. “A ‘sturdy supportive shoe’ is a shoe that gives stability to the foot, via motion control features such as arch support,” explained study author Rana Hinman, a professor of physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne. “It also has a thick, cushioned heel and a rigid sole that does not bend easily.” In contrast, Hinman noted, “a ‘flat flexible shoe’ is more lightweight, contains no arch support or motion control features, has a low heel (i.e., flat) with minimal/no cushioning and has a flexible sole that bends easily.” Roughly 1 in 4 adults over the age of 45 has arthritic knees, Hinman noted. One U.S. expert unconnected to the study agreed that “bum knees” will probably feel better with special footwear. “I think it’s pretty intuitive that a structured shoe will be more stable and better for arthritis patients,” said Dr. Jeffrey Schildhorn, an orthopedic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “I’ve found that to be true in my practice and in my life. But this study is the first to really look at…  read on >  read on >

Most folks infected with COVID-19 will only have mild or moderate illness — but that means they’ll still be stuck at home and feeling really lousy. What’s the best way to cope? In many ways, you want to behave as you would if you were suffering from a cold or the flu, said infectious disease expert Dr. Aaron Glatt. “The general good advice we give to people is eat well, make sure you drink enough, make sure you get enough rest, don’t overexert yourself,” said Glatt, chairman of the department of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, N.Y. “Sometimes patients do a little bit more than they can, and I don’t want to say it exacerbates things, but it exacerbates things,” he continued. “It makes them much more tired and much more fatigued and it can be sometimes like a domino effect.” Difficulty breathing is the most troubling symptom related to COVID-19, so you might want to order a home pulse oxygen monitor (“oximeter”) to keep track of your blood oxygen levels, suggested Dr. Teresa Murray Amato, chairwoman of emergency medicine at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills in Queens, N.Y. Fingertip monitors can be purchased online for about $20. Blood oxygen levels “below 90 warrant at least a call to your doctor and, if persistent, a visit to your local…  read on >  read on >

Brain drain: Arguing with others puts a lot more strain on your brain than agreeing with them, a new study finds. “Our entire brain is a social processing network,” said senior author Joy Hirsch, professor of psychiatry, comparative medicine and neuroscience at Yale University. “However, it just takes a lot more brain real estate to disagree than to agree.” The researchers, from Yale and University College London, asked 38 adults whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of potentially contentious statements such as “same-sex marriage is a civil right” or “marijuana should be legalized.” Researchers then monitored the participants’ brain activity when they were paired up and had face-to-face discussions about the topics. When people agreed, their brain activity was harmonious and tended to be focused in sensory areas of the brain such as the visual system, possibly in response to social cues from the other person, according to the authors. When people disagreed, sensory areas of the brain were less active while there was increased activity brain areas that handle higher order executive functions, such as reasoning. “There is a synchronicity between the brains when we agree,” Hirsch said in a university news release. “But when we disagree, the neural coupling disconnects.” She noted that in discord, the two brains engage many emotional and thinking resources “like a symphony orchestra playing different music.”…  read on >  read on >

Most folks infected with COVID-19 will only have mild or moderate illness — but that means they’ll still be stuck at home and feeling really lousy. What’s the best way to cope? In many ways, you want to behave as you would if you were suffering from a cold or the flu, said infectious disease expert Dr. Aaron Glatt. “The general good advice we give to people is eat well, make sure you drink enough, make sure you get enough rest, don’t overexert yourself,” said Glatt, chairman of the department of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, N.Y. “Sometimes patients do a little bit more than they can, and I don’t want to say it exacerbates things, but it exacerbates things,” he continued. “It makes them much more tired and much more fatigued and it can be sometimes like a domino effect.” Difficulty breathing is the most troubling symptom related to COVID-19, so you might want to order a home pulse oxygen monitor (“oximeter”) to keep track of your blood oxygen levels, suggested Dr. Teresa Murray Amato, chairwoman of emergency medicine at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills in Queens, N.Y. Fingertip monitors can be purchased online for about $20. Blood oxygen levels “below 90 warrant at least a call to your doctor and, if persistent, a visit to your local…  read on >  read on >

Brain drain: Arguing with others puts a lot more strain on your brain than agreeing with them, a new study finds. “Our entire brain is a social processing network,” said senior author Joy Hirsch, professor of psychiatry, comparative medicine and neuroscience at Yale University. “However, it just takes a lot more brain real estate to disagree than to agree.” The researchers, from Yale and University College London, asked 38 adults whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of potentially contentious statements such as “same-sex marriage is a civil right” or “marijuana should be legalized.” Researchers then monitored the participants’ brain activity when they were paired up and had face-to-face discussions about the topics. When people agreed, their brain activity was harmonious and tended to be focused in sensory areas of the brain such as the visual system, possibly in response to social cues from the other person, according to the authors. When people disagreed, sensory areas of the brain were less active while there was increased activity brain areas that handle higher order executive functions, such as reasoning. “There is a synchronicity between the brains when we agree,” Hirsch said in a university news release. “But when we disagree, the neural coupling disconnects.” She noted that in discord, the two brains engage many emotional and thinking resources “like a symphony orchestra playing different music.”…  read on >  read on >