A new study shows that replacing sedentary time with physical activity improves sleep in women. Women who swapped just one hour of sedentary time or low-intensity activity with moderate- or vigorous-intensity activity slept better and felt more rested. Researchers investigated the effects of replacing sedentary time with physical activity. The study involved 683 men and women between the ages of 40 and 64 years. The participants wore accelerometers to gauge their activity levels for one week and reported their sleep quality. The researchers found that sleep measures improved when women repla... exercise sleep
Read moreEarly preterm birth (six or more weeks early) is one of the primary contributors to disability and death in children under the age of five years. Infants born early preterm are more likely to experience neurodevelopmental, respiratory, and gastrointestinal difficulties. Currently, physicians do not have reliable markers by which to predict whether a woman is at risk for an early preterm birth. Nearly 3 percent of infants born in the United States are early preterm. Findings from a new study suggest that maternal high-dose docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation during pregnancy reduces the ... omega-3 pregnancy supplements
Read moreExposure to air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of developing many health disorders, including heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. Some evidence suggests that exposure to air pollution can impair neurological development in children (https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/health-impacts/en/). A 2014 study showed that reducing exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was associated with improved cognitive development and increased BDNF levels in children. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are p... brain development pollution bdnf
Read morePrenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides has been associated with reduced IQs, mental and motor delays among preschoolers, memory and attention deficits, and autism (review of 27 studies). A higher likelihood of an autism diagnosis was observed for children born to women residing within (versus beyond) 1.5 km of organophosphate pesticide applications on agricultural fields. Another recent study showed that higher organophosphate pesticide metabolite concentrations in maternal urine during pregnancy were associated with autism traits identified in adolescence. Risks for impaired neurodev... memory pregnancy behavior autism development
Read more> Currently, up to 20 per cent of woman in the United States and approximately seven per cent of Canadian women are prescribed an antidepressant during pregnancy. [...] > Women who take antidepressants during pregnancy may be unknowingly predisposing their infants to type 2 diabetes and obesity later in life. [...] > "We have demonstrated for the first time in an animal model that maternal use of a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, resulted in increased fat accumulation and inflammation in the liver of the adult offspring, raising new c... obesity inflammation depression serotonin pregnancy drug development
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