The hectic holidays play havoc on people’s nerves, not the least because they aren’t able to have any time to themselves. Nearly half (46%) of Americans say they don’t get the alone time they need during the holidays, according to a new national survey by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. What’s more, 56% of the people surveyed said it’s very important to their mental health to have adequate alone time. Taking a brief break alone can be mentally and physically rewarding, particularly in today’s on-the-go society, said Sophie Lazarus, a clinical psychologist with Ohio State. “By taking a brief pause alone, our nervous system can settle, our mind can settle, our body can settle. And I think that can be important. We know that chronic stress is not good for us,” Lazarus said in a Ohio State news release. Folks who want to get a little self time can accomplish this by adding simple changes to their routine, Lazarus said. “Try putting your phone in a totally different room when you decide you’re going to spend alone time, knowing how hard it is to resist picking it up, the pulls on our attention and on our priorities,” Lazarus said. “Or take two or three minutes in the car before you go pick your kids up or before you go back into the house…  read on >  read on >

Moving away from meat to plants as a main source of protein will do wonders for your heart, new research finds. The 30-year study found that folks with the highest ratio of plant-based protein to animal-based protein cut their odds of developing cardiovascular disease by 19%. They also had a 27% lower risk for coronary heart disease. “Most of us need to begin shifting our diets toward plant-based proteins,” said study senior author Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard University. “We can do so by cutting down on meat, especially red and processed meats, and eating more legumes and nuts. Such a dietary pattern is beneficial not just for human health but also the health of our planet.” Is there a “sweet spot” for plant-versus-meat intake? The authors believe that a move to a wholly plant-based diet might work best when it comes to reducing risks for coronary heart disease (CHD), but benefits for cardiovascular disease (CVD) plateau at about a 1:2 ratio of plant to animal protein. “The average American eats a 1:3 plant to animal protein ratio,” said lead author Andrea Glenn, who did the research as a visiting scientist at Harvard’s department of nutrition. “Our findings suggest a ratio of at least 1:2 is much more effective in preventing CVD. For CHD prevention, a ratio of 1:1.3 or…  read on >  read on >

Geoffrey Pointing says its hard to describe the distress of an asthma or COPD flare-up. “Honestly, when you’re having a flare up, it’s very difficult to tell anybody how you feel – you can hardly breathe,” Pointing, 77, of Banbury, England, said in a news release.  But an existing injectable drug might make these attacks much less frightening, a new clinical trial has shown. The already-approved drug for asthma could replace steroid medications as a means of quelling asthma and COPD flare-ups, researchers report. Benralizabam, a monoclonal antibody, did a better job than steroids at reducing respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and hacking up phlegm, according to trial results published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. After three months of treatment, four times fewer people taking benralizumab had suffered an asthma or COPD attack, compared to people taking the steroid prednisolone. “This could be a game-changer for people with asthma and COPD,” said lead researcher Dr. Mona Bafadhel, chair of respiratory medicine for King’s College London. “Treatment for asthma and COPD exacerbations have not changed in fifty years despite causing 3.8 million deaths worldwide a year combined,” Bafadhel continued in a news release. “Benralizumab is a safe and effective drug already used to manage severe asthma. We’ve used the drug in a different way — at the point of an exacerbation — to show that…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a major tobacco company’s challenge to a federal law that would mandate graphic images on cigarette packs. Some of the proposed images include a woman with a large lump on her neck alongside the message “WARNING: Smoking causes head and neck cancer;” lungs blackened by smoking; and feet darkened by smoking-linked circulatory problems. The R.J. Reynolds tobacco company had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the warnings do not violate the First Amendment, the Associated Press reported. In its appeal, the tobacco company argued that some of the images were misleading — for example, the company claimed that the woman with the lump on her neck would never have let it get that large before going to a doctor. But the Supreme Court justices ruled that the images do, in fact, reflect the very real hazards of smoking. If the images make it to the sides of cigarette packs, the U.S. would join 120 other nations that already mandate such graphic warnings. Studies have shown that images work even better than text warnings in cutting down smoking rates. In a statement, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids called the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the appeal a “tremendous victory for public health.” “Graphic warnings are a best-practice policy to…  read on >  read on >

Politics, especially the 2024 elections, can quickly turn the family Thanksgiving table into a battleground. Steering clear of hot-button topics will not only help a big meal go down easier, it has health benefits as well. Keeping the peace prevents a surge of fight-or-flight hormones that can disrupt sleep and cause headaches, inflammation and even shortness of breath, according to UT Southwestern colleagues Cameron Davis, an assistant professor of psychiatry, and Sarah Woods, vice chair of research in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. They assure folks that it is possible to stay calm and enjoy yourself this Thanksgiving, even in a house divided. Here are their do’s and dont’s for reducing stress this Thanksgiving: Do communicate respectfully: Avoid personal attacks and keep the conversation focused on facts and objectives. Be assertive, not aggressive.  Don’t feel pressured to engage in emotionally charged talk: Politely state your desire to not take part in political discussions — or change the topic. Don’t push family members’ buttons. Do be prepared: Practice how you will handle it if conversation gets stressful and how you’ll behave toward individuals.  Don’t pressure others into a debate or insist they agree with your views: Focus on fostering respectful dialogue. Asking for permission or gauging others’ willingness to discuss a topic can help head off tense encounters. In charged conversations, remember: The goal…  read on >  read on >

When people whose parents died by suicide reach that same age, their own risk often spikes, Danish researchers warn. Reporting in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviors, the researchers looked at data on more than 470,000 Danes whose parents died between 1980 and 2016. Of those, 17,806 individuals had parents who died by suicide. The study looked at the risk of self-harm and suicide during the year before and after individuals reached the age of their deceased parent — typically about 24 years later. Compared to the 15 years before or after, they were at roughly twice the risk of self-harm or suicide when they reached the corresponding age. Individuals whose parent died of other causes had no increased risk during the corresponding time. “Our findings support the practice of asking suicide-bereaved individuals about age at parental suicide, identifying this as an anticipated period of increased risk,” wrote a team led by Yanakan Logeswaran, of the University College of London.  “This is also an opportunity to reinforce that suicide is not inevitable after the suicide of a parent, with an absolute risk … estimated at less than 1%,” they added in a American Psychiatric Association news release. More information If you have suicidal thoughts, free, confidential help is available 24/7. Call or text to 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Or chat with…  read on >  read on >