How Childhood Trauma Affects The Brain

Childhood is the best part of one’s life!! When you enquire anyone about their childhood, there would be a wide small on their face with a drop of tear in the eyes remembering the time spent!!

Childhood is such a magical period, which anyone would love to explore again though we know it is not possible!! Numerous fights, giggles, falls and injuries are all a part of one’s childhood! Injuries are quite common and can affect any body part like head, legs and what not!!

Have you ever given a thought on the effect of these injuries in the adulthood or the future? Let us know how the brain gets affected by childhood trauma!! Childhood trauma is just not limited to physical trauma and can be mental as well. Here are the affects on the brain –

• Learning difficulties
• Behavioural problems
• Memory problems
• Lack of social skills
• Emotional problems
• Psychological illness
• Poor planning

The conditions associated with childhood trauma that affect brain include –

• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Impulsivity
• Low self esteem
• Substance abuse

Having understood the affect, you would be wondering how is it affected, read on to understand –

• Decreases white matter
• Myelinated axons get disrupted
• Direct effect on brain areas
• Damages neurons

Avoid your child getting exposed to any sort of trauma. At times physical trauma is always better as they do not harm your child much!!

Childhood is precious, let your child enjoy every moment of the same and not suffer in the future because of the same!!

Children With Pets Have Less Stress

Kids love animals especially when it comes to pets animals, they just love to have them around! Kids love to spend time with the pets, they just forget the world around them when they start playing with the pets!

Most of the parents believe that having a pet animal is not good as they would have read a lot about the ill effects pets have on their kids, in order to understand if pets just harm kids or if they have certain benefits as well, a study was conducted in US and the report was brain struck!

The report was retested and was published by CDC, the result was as follows –

Children who have pets at home was found to have reduced stress levels when compared to those kids who don’t have one  at home! How pets helped to reduce stress in particular anxiety in kids was due to following reasons –

• Pets stimulate conversation, thus alleviates social anxiety in kids and make them speak faster and clearer and better
• Pets in specific dogs are also known to follow human communication, thus helps in emotional attachment
• Kids remain more attached to pets, thus they would be out of separation anxiety and increases attachment feeling in kids. This in turn enhances mental health and reduces the risk of mental health disorders
• Interacting with the pet helps in reduction of cortisol level, thus reducing the physiologic response to stress

A child with less stress levels during childhood is believed to be stronger mentally in adulthood. No doubt, pets are known to affect your child’s health when your kids are exposed beyond the limit!!

Get the pets to home, but be sure your child is just benefited from the pets and doesn’t suffer from pets!!!

5 Reasons Spicy Food Is Insanely Good For You

Most of us don’t believe in mysteries and don’t even know the existence of such!! Mysteries happens and exists in all fields, are you aware of food mysteries?? Yes, there are certain mysteries associated with foods!!

Consumption of spicy foods is always a mystery!! The common saying about spicy food is that it is not good for health and causes the most common problem – Gastritis! But today we are decoding a mystery for you!!

Spicy foods are considered to be healthy and here are the top 5 reasons for considering the consumption of spicy food –

• Assists with weight loss
• Lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke
• Lowers blood pressure
• Prevents cancer
• Fights against depression and stress

Other health benefits are –

• Pain relief
• Aids in long and healthy life
• Improves blood circulation
• Improves digestion
• Fights against common cold
• Kills bacteria and thus infection

As always been stressed upon, anything in excess is dangerous! Spicy foods offers health benefits but when consumed in excess or on regular basis then starts affecting health in negative ways!!

Have a control on your diet!! Consume foods in moderation and in equal proportion, so that you are blessed with benefits from all!!

Unmotivated To Exercise? Dopamine Could Be To Blame

Most of them wish to exercise or workout on regular basis but fail to do so due to unknown reasons!! Regular physical activities have numerous benefits on our health. It is one of the best ways to reduce weight, reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart-related diseases and cancer. Regular physical activities also help to have a good mental health!!

However regular exercising remains as a mission incomplete as there are no ends for tomorrows and various resolutions for the same!! If you are thinking too much about breaking your promise every time you make it, then you need not be blamed!! The reason for the same has been established after thorough study and the result is explained hereunder –

Studies were conducted on mice and it was derived that absence of Dopamine is related to exercise laziness or decreased motivation to exercise!! An absence of Dopamine is also related to obesity!! Thus increase in Dopamine will motivate you to exercise!!

There are a few conditions, wherein willpower overcomes the deficiency and motivates you to exercise on regular basis. The exact correlation between the two is not yet established!!

Thus if you are not able to work out as you planned, then don’t blame yourself; blame your dopamine levels!!

5 Of The Best Apps To Train Your Brain

We all know the fact that as we age all the bodily functions undergo certain changes. A few changes wouldn’t affect our life greatly but a few will definitely have a negative impact on our life!! Age-related changes in the brain are the best example of the negative impact on lives!!!

Cognitive functioning of the brain will decline as we age!! Ageing is a natural process that cannot be stopped but can we do something to stop the negative impact on lives?? Yes, there is a solution. There are certain apps which act as a mental stimulator and helps in better brain functioning!!

Here are the top 5 such apps which help your brain –

1. Lumosity – One of the highly recommended app. It assesses your mental status and gives you everyday tests based on your abilities. It does remind you of timely mental workouts
2. Elevate – This is the top rated app in apple store as well. This app improves your cognitive skills which in turn helps to increase your productivity, earning power and self-confidence
3. Peak – The app is similar to Lumosity and is ideal for users of all age groups. You can set your goals and finish it on the time intervals decided by you. It enhances overall brain function
4. Fit Brains – The app concentrates on social skills, social awareness, self-control and self-awareness
5. Cognifit – app is a good balance of fun and mental stimulation

Various studies and researches have proved the use of above-said apps in training your brain and enhancing your brain skills!!

Try the app today and get the best of it!!!

How Yoga And Meditation Benefits Us | Activ Doctors Online

Many thousands of years ago in India, spiritualists explored exercises and concentration sessions in order to find a personal connection with the world around them. These practices in present-day life are known as YOGA and MEDITATION!!

Both Yoga and Meditation are unique in their own way. The common factor is that both offer numerous benefits to our body, mind and soul!! But, one has to dedicate a specific amount of time to get the best benefits of the both!!

Yoga has a holistic effect and brings body, mind, consciousness, and soul into balance. One need not have aerobic skills to do Yoga. Anyone irrespective of age, physical ability, health, or gender can practice Yoga. The benefits of Yoga to our body are summarized here –

• All around fitness – A person is truly healthy only when he is fit physically, mentally and emotionally. Yoga helps in attaining all-around fitness
• Weight loss – Almost everyone wants to lose weight!!! Yoga can play a major role in reducing weight
• Stress relief – Yoga is an excellent way to get rid of stress
• Reduces chronic aches and pains by its various postures
• Helps in Diabetes – Some studies have suggested that the chemical changes to your body as a result of yoga reduce blood sugar levels.
• Minimizes hypertension – Regularly practising yoga has been shown to reduce the amount of medication needed to control your blood pressure.
• Helps in elevating mood, thus helps in depression
• Helps with the mental and physical challenges associated with a woman’s menstrual cycle and can reduce post-menopausal symptoms

Meditation can also play a role in improving our health. Most of us do not understand the term Meditation well, Meditation means not concentrating.  It is about deconcentration, It is about becoming thoughtless!!  It can take practice to achieve a good meditative state.  Now let us understand the benefits of Meditation –

• Improves immune system
• Regulates blood pressure
• Reduces chronic aches and pains
• Increases energy levels
• Enhances mood and behaviour
• Decreases anxiety and depression
• Increases happiness
• Increases energy

Yoga and meditation, when practised on a regular basis, can help in keeping you physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy!  Get yourself involved with these Eastern solutions for some of our Western problems!

Fruits and vegetables are considered as the foods that give us energy. They play a pivotal role in our health, they are known to enhance our physical health but their use to our health is just not limited to physical health and it helps even beyond is the remarks by the Researchers!!

A study was conducted by a group of researchers wherein the effect of regular fruits and vegetables for a period of about 2 weeks was studied and the following result was obtained!

The group of people who consumed fruits and vegetables found to have improved psychological well-being. It even added to improved vitality, flourishing and motivation!!

The exact reason or the reason behind how the fruits and vegetables enhanced psychological well-being is not sure but the results were obtained. Add on studies are recommended to know the reason for the result!!

Reasons apart, start including 3 servings of fruits and vegetables on daily basis and have a good psychological health!!