If you’re longing for a nap, try to keep it short. Researchers found that siestas of 30 minutes or more in Murcia, a region of Spain, where it’s common to nap, were linked to a higher risk of obesity, a group of conditions called metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure. “Not all siestas are the same. The length of time, position of sleep and other specific factors can affect the health outcomes of a nap,” said study co-author Marta Garaulet, a visiting professor in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “A previous study that we conducted in a large study population in the U.K. had found that siestas were associated with an increased risk of obesity,” Garaulet said in a hospital news release. “We wanted to determine whether this would hold true in a country where siestas are more culturally embedded, in this case Spain, as well as how the length of time for siestas is related to metabolic health.” Investigators examined the relationship between daytime sleep and its duration with obesity and metabolic syndrome in more than 3,200 adults. Folks who napped 30 minutes or longer were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), higher blood pressure and a cluster of other conditions associated with heart disease and diabetes compared to those without…  read on >  read on >

Dealing with discrimination at work — from bosses or coworkers — may be enough to send your blood pressure through the roof, a new study suggests. Researchers found that among more than 1,200 U.S. workers, those who felt they often faced on-the-job discrimination were 54% more likely to develop high blood pressure, versus workers with little exposure to such bias. Over eight years, people who’d often experienced workplace discrimination developed high blood pressure at a rate of about 4% each year. That compared with 2.5% per year among people who rarely or never had those experiences. Experts said the study, published April 26 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, cannot prove cause and effect. “But our findings suggest workplace discrimination as a potential risk factor for high blood pressure,” said lead researcher Dr. Jian Li, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. For one, he said, the study followed workers over time, showing that their experiences of discrimination preceded their high blood pressure diagnosis. Plus, Li said, there are “biologically plausible” reasons that the stressful situation could contribute to rising blood pressure. During times of stress, the body responds in various ways, which includes a release of hormones that “activate” the cardiovascular system. Over time, chronic stress may add to the wear and tear on the body, and impede its ability…  read on >  read on >

Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows. Climate change can affect learning, physical health and housing security, which can last throughout the child’s life, according to the report. “Understanding health risks to children is critical for developing effective and equitable strategies that will protect our current and future generations,” EPA administrator Michael Regan, said in an agency news release. “Today’s report will help further efforts being taken by the Biden administration across the federal government to address the climate crisis and advance environmental justice.” The report, released Tuesday, looks at health effects associated with extreme heat, air quality, changing seasons, flooding and infectious diseases. The analysis also considers the extent that these health effects may disproportionately impact children who are Black, Indigenous and people of color, low income, without health insurance and/or have limited English proficiency. “EPA’s new report offers a clear, compelling overview of how climate change impacts our children’s health. Its findings underscore the necessity of considering children’s well-being in every climate policy — and the moral urgency of taking effective action to stop climate pollution on behalf of younger and future generations,” Moms Clean Air Force senior policy analyst Elizabeth Bechard said in the EPA news release. “We know that children are especially vulnerable to nearly all of…  read on >  read on >

You had a rough day at work and got stuck in traffic on the way home, and suddenly your head starts pounding. Stress headaches can be debilitating in the moment, but you don’t have to suffer indefinitely. If you’re struggling with stress, you’re not alone. More than one-quarter of adults in the United States reported they’re too stressed out to function, according to a recent survey from the American Psychological Association. Can stress cause headaches? Yes, in fact the most common type of primary headache is a tension headache, also referred to as a muscle tension headache or stress headache, according to Harvard Health. Tension headaches may be episodic, meaning that they occur less than 15 days a month; if they occur more than 15 days a month for more than three months in a row, they are called chronic tension headaches, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Here, experts break down how to relieve a stress headache and how to help prevent one from happening in the first place. How does stress cause headaches? Stress triggers the “fight-or-flight” response that then stimulates physical changes that can contribute to headaches. These include the following: Neck, shoulder, scalp, face and jaw muscles tensing Teeth grinding Problems with sleeping Meal skipping that imbalances blood sugar levels Emotional stressors like depression and anxiety, as well as physical stressors, like…  read on >  read on >

When U.S. health officials reported a 500% spike in the number of poison center calls involving kids eating melatonin gummies last year, Harvard researchers decided to take a closer look at the sleep supplements and discovered a disturbing fact: They contained up to 347% more melatonin than the label stated. What’s more, five of the products also contained CBD in higher amounts than the label indicated. And the mislabeling was more common than one might think: The scientists found that across the 25 brands of melatonin gummies they tested, 22 were wrongly labeled. One product did not contain melatonin at all, but the much more common problem was excessive amounts. It’s not clear what, if any, health consequences that could have for people who use the gummies as directed. But lead researcher Dr. Pieter Cohen pointed to the bigger picture: U.S. children and teenagers are more vulnerable to accidental ingestions and overdoses of the supplements than adults are. Fortunately, last year’s study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found most kids suffered no serious problems. Still, nearly 4,100 had to be hospitalized, 287 required intensive care and two died, the CDC found. “I was really surprised by that report,” said Cohen, a physician with the Cambridge Health Alliance and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “There’s always been a…  read on >  read on >

Kids who were infected with respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, in their first year may be at greater risk for asthma, according to researchers. Their new study looked at the effects of RSV infections of different severities on childhood asthma risk. “For 60 years investigators have repeatedly identified the link between severe RSV and asthma; however, we’ve shown that this link is explained in part by shared heredity to both severe RSV and asthma,” said senior author Dr. Tina Hartert, director of the Center for Asthma and Environmental Sciences Research at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. “The solution in our study was to understand the link between RSV and asthma by ensuring all RSV infections would be captured using molecular techniques and post-season serology,” she said in a university news release. Nearly all children have been infected with RSV by age 2, the researchers pointed out. RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis, a lower respiratory tract infection with coughing and wheezing in infants and young children. Symptoms are mild in most kids and usually last a week. However, RSV infection can lead to serious illness and death, especially in premature or very young infants and those with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease. RSV is the most common cause of hospitalizations worldwide due to respiratory issues in the first year of…  read on >  read on >

Treating depression with talk therapy may provide protection against heart disease, new research suggests. As depression lifts, people may begin to engage more in healthy eating and exercise, investigators believe. In a study of nearly 637,000 people who took part in talk therapy offered by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) between 2012 and 2020, those whose depression symptoms improved were 12% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, stroke and death, researchers found. “It is the first time that such a link is established; however, it is important to note that our study does not prove a causal effect, namely that the lower likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease is caused by the psychological therapy,” said lead author Celine El Baou, a research assistant at the Dementia Research Center of University College London. More research is needed to understand these findings better and the mechanisms involved, which could be biological or linked to lifestyle behaviors, she said. Globally, cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart disease are the No. 1 cause of death, claiming 18.6 million people worldwide in 2019, according to the study. “The study suggests that talking therapies for depression may also help in reducing the future risk of cardiovascular disease,” El Baou said. “So it is important that therapies are made as effective and accessible as possible.” Talking…  read on >  read on >

The number of kids who attempted suicide using over-the-counter or easily accessible medications is up sharply, a new study shows. This research spotlights a pediatric mental health crisis, said researchers from the University of Virginia Health System, who reviewed data on reported suicide attempts that were reported to the National Poison Data System in 2021. “This significant increase in suicide attempts during the pandemic surprised us,” said Dr. Christopher Holstege, medical director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center at UVA Health. “We are alarmed at the dramatic increase in suicide attempts in such a young population, which continues to escalate according to our data.” Suspected suicide attempts by poisoning in 10- to 19-year-olds that were reported to poison centers increased by 30% in 2021. Among the younger kids in that age group, those ages 10 to 12, suicide attempts were up 73% compared to 2019. In 13- to 15-year-olds, the rate of suspected suicide attempts by poisoning increased 48.8%. “These findings suggest that the mental health of children and adolescents might still be affected by the pandemic, raising concerns about long-term consequences, especially given that previous attempted suicide has been found to be the strongest predictor of subsequent death by suicide,” the researchers wrote in a paper outlining the findings. Researchers also noted an increase in suicide attempts by girls — up 36.8% between 2019…  read on >  read on >

While overall support for childhood vaccines remains strong, a new UNICEF report documents a significant decline in the public’s faith in the importance of these vaccines. Confidence in childhood immunizations dropped by up to 44 percentage points in some countries during the pandemic, according to the report. Meanwhile, 67 million children missed one or more of their vaccines over three years because of pandemic-related strains on health systems, scarce resources, conflict, fragility and decreased confidence. “At the height of the pandemic, scientists rapidly developed vaccines that saved countless lives. But despite this historic achievement, fear and disinformation about all types of vaccines circulated as widely as the virus itself,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “This data is a worrying warning signal. We cannot allow confidence in routine immunizations to become another victim of the pandemic,” Russell said in a UNICEF news release. “Otherwise, the next wave of deaths could be of more children with measles, diphtheria or other preventable diseases.” Perception about the importance of vaccines for children declined by more than one-third in the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Senegal and Japan, according to the “State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination.” Only in China, India and Mexico did the perception about the importance of vaccines continue at the same level or increase. People under 35 and women…  read on >  read on >