Stress
Mom’s stress impacts her view of child’s behavior
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Mothers with a history of prenatal drug use who are stressed out by parenting are known to view their babies as more reactive, and as having a more difficult temperament. Now, a new study shows that this is as true for stressed-out moms with no history of drug use.
The findings suggest that it is possible to help women cope better with their parenting role by focusing on their individual characteristics, “and not on whether they used drugs before or after pregnancy,” according to study author Dr. Stephen J. Sheinkopf, of Brown Medical School in Rhode Island.
Ten Ways to Manage Stress Day by Day
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Experiencing ongoing stress—even at low levels—can have a negative effect on your health and well-being. That’s why stress management isn’t something to reserve only for difficult times, but something to practice daily.
The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers 10 ways to manage stress day by day:
Marital Stress Linked with Slower Wound Healing
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Married couples who had higher levels of hostile behaviors had slower healing times of blister wounds, possibly because of the corresponding change in the level of proinflammatory proteins in the blood, according to a study in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Marital discord has been associated as a risk factor for several illnesses, according to background information in the article. Possible mechanisms have included changes in blood pressure and endocrine levels. Stress has been linked with a change in the production of proinflammatory cytokines, proteins in cells that play a key role in wound healing.
Chronic stress induces rapid occlusion of angioplasty
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Chronic stress can induce rapid blocking of arteries after a balloon angioplasty procedure, according to research performed in animal studies at Georgetown University Medical Center. Blocked coronary arteries after angioplasty affect 41 percent of patients who undergo the procedure and can lead to death.
But the Georgetown scientists also demonstrated that this stress-induced atherosclerosis could be prevented by blocking a certain neuropeptide in blood vessels. They say the results, published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, may someday lead to targeted therapy for individuals at risk for the condition.
Epidemic survivors stress need for mental care
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Joey Lee began suffering severe mood swings, depression and would sob every day for no apparent reason soon after she survived a SARS infection while working as a nurse in a public hospital in Hong Kong in 2003.
Lee and her 8-year-old son, who was not infected, have been seeing a psychologist since. “He would cry all the time and at night, he is terrified that my husband and I will die,” she said.
Stress shown to raise bad cholesterol levels
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British scientists have found that cholesterol levels in healthy adults can be raised by stress.
Experts were already aware that stress can increase heart rate and signs of inflammation, and weaken the immune system, but until now it was not clear whether stress could directly influence levels of cholesterol in the blood.
Stress Lingers in Pocket of Brain
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There may be a reason why some people need a drink or a run after a hard day at the office. The reason resides in the ventral right prefrontal cortex of the brain.
That’s the part of the brain that when activated under stress stays active long after the stressful stimulus is over, researchers here reported today. So it’s hard to just dump the stress and relax.
Study Confirms Physical Toll of Stressful Events
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The death of a child. Divorce. An assault. Loss of a job. These and other highly stressful events can take a toll on physical health and mortality many years later, according to a University of Michigan study published in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
And life-altering events like these are especially likely to happen to people with low levels of education and income, the study found.
When Mum’s stressed at work kids feel it too
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Researchers say that children whose mothers do not enjoy their jobs also suffer increased stress.
A research team from the universities of Bath, Kent and Bristol, say they found higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol in those children whose mothers found their jobs less rewarding or left them feeling emotionally exhausted, compared to women who reported more enjoyment from their work.
Kids in car crashes may suffer traumatic stress
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Children involved in motor vehicle crashes may show signs of acute stress disorder, even if they experienced only minor cuts and scratches, new research shows.
“Traffic crashes cause more than injuries for many children and their parents,” study author Dr. Flaura K. Winston, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health.
Feeling stressed? reach for the sugar!
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Researchers are now saying that reaching for a sugary snack in times of stress may not be such a bad idea after all.
A team of researchers from the University of Cincinnati have found that rats who consumed sweet things had lower levels of the stress-related hormone glucocorticoid.
Stress Interferes with Problem Solving; Beta Blocker May Help
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An experience as simple as watching graphically violent or emotional scenes in a movie can induce enough stress to interfere with problem-solving abilities, new research at Ohio State University Medical Center suggests. A related study suggests a beta-blocker medication could promote the ability to think flexibly under stressful conditions, neurology researchers say.
The research, presented Nov. 16 at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C., represents the first time scientists have asked participants to combine movie viewing with problem-solving tasks to assess the effects of stress on cognitive flexibility, said David Beversdorf, a neurologist at OSU Medical Center and senior author of the studies. The researchers juxtaposed two very different movies – “Saving Private Ryan” and “Shrek” – to induce stress or set up a control condition before testing participants for verbal mental flexibility.
Psychological distress tied to bullying
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Elementary school children who are psychologically distressed—they feel sad most days and feel as if they do not belong at school—are more likely to be involved in some form of bullying, investigators have found
Such children are prone to be a victim of bullying, a bully themselves, or a bully-victim—someone who is both victimized and bullied others.
Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods
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Two studies in the October issue of Behavioral Neuroscience show that when animals are stressed, deprived and exposed to tempting food, they overeat, with different degrees of interaction. The powerful interplay between internal and external factors helps explain why dieters rebound and even one cookie can trigger a binge if someone’s predisposed to binge.
The findings also implicate the brain’s opioid, or reward, system in regulating overeating, especially when the food is extra-tempting - and not only in under-fed animals. This knowledge may help even non-stressed people to avoid overeating, keep their weight down and improve their health. Behavioral Neuroscience is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Hot flashes distressing for breast cancer patients
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Hot flashes (or flushes as they’re more commonly called in some parts of the world) remain an important and seriously under-played side effect of tamoxifen and other hormone treatments for breast cancer, leading some women to skip their medication, according to a UK survey of 200 women with breast cancer.
“We underestimate just how distressing the menopausal side effects of treatment are, and women acknowledge that they take drug holidays when hot flushes get really bad,” said Dr. Lesley Fallowfield from the University of Sussex who conducted the survey.
