ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• In utero exposure to antidepressants may influence autism risk
• Seniors who exercise regularly experience less physical decline as they age
• Like some happiness with that? Fast food cues hurt ability to savor experience
• No harm in yoga: But not much help for asthma sufferers, study finds
• Prenatal maternal stress predicts asthma and autism traits in 6 1/2-year-old children
• Even at infancy, humans can visually identify objects that stand out
• 'Healthy' component of red wine, resveratrol, causes pancreatic abnormalities in fetuses
• Poor sleep equal to binge drinking, marijuana use in predicting academic problems
• Half of pregnant women who have hypertension and snore unknowingly have a sleep disorder
• Same face, many first impressions
• Early steps toward personalized fitness: Interval training may benefit men more than women
• Antipsychotic medication during pregnancy does affect babies, study shows
• Hypnosis extends restorative slow-wave sleep, research shows
• Speaking two languages benefits the aging brain
• What finding out a child's sex before birth says about a mother
• Parental presence improves quality of child anesthesia, research shows
• Revolutionizing diets, improving health with discovery of new genes involved in food preferences

In utero exposure to antidepressants may influence autism risk Posted: 03 Jun 2014 06:25 AM PDT A new study adds evidence that using common antidepressant medications during pregnancy may contribute to a higher risk of autism spectrum disorders in children, although this risk is still very small.

Seniors who exercise regularly experience less physical decline as they age Posted: 02 Jun 2014 01:00 PM PDT Older adults in retirement communities who reported more exercise experienced less physical decline than their peers who reported less exercise, although many adults -- even those who exercised -- did not complete muscle-strengthening exercises, which are another defense against physical decline.

Like some happiness with that? Fast food cues hurt ability to savor experience Posted: 02 Jun 2014 12:59 PM PDT Want to be able to smell the roses? You might consider buying into a neighborhood where there are more sit-down restaurants than fast-food outlets, suggests a new article. The article looks at how exposure to fast food can push us to be more impatient and that this can undermine our ability to smell the proverbial roses.

No harm in yoga: But not much help for asthma sufferers, study finds Posted: 02 Jun 2014 10:22 AM PDT A recent report examined 14 studies to determine the effectiveness of yoga in the treatment of asthma and found there isn't enough evidence to support yoga as a routine intervention to alleviate symptoms. "Many people practice yoga for its health benefits, including asthma sufferers," said the lead author of the study. "We reviewed the available data to see if it made a difference and found only weak evidence that it does. Yoga can't be considered a routine intervention for patients with asthma at this time."

Prenatal maternal stress predicts asthma and autism traits in 6 1/2-year-old children Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:48 AM PDT A new study finds a link between prenatal maternal stress and the development of symptoms of asthma and autism in children. Scientists have been studying women who were pregnant during the January 1998 Quebec ice storm since June of that year and observing effects of their stress on their children's development (Project Ice Storm). The team examined the degree to which the mothers' objective degree of hardship from the storm and their subjective degree of distress explained differences among the women's children in asthma-like symptoms and in autism-like traits.

Even at infancy, humans can visually identify objects that stand out Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:47 AM PDT Even by three months of age, babies are visually able to locate objects that stand out from a group, a study has found. "For example, an infant can pick a red umbrella in a sea of grey ones," says the leader of the research. "This indicates that babies at a very young age are able to selectively extract information from the environment, just like adults."

'Healthy' component of red wine, resveratrol, causes pancreatic abnormalities in fetuses Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:47 AM PDT Here's more evidence that pregnant women should be careful about what they eat and drink: A new research report shows that when taken during pregnancy, resveratrol supplements led to developmental abnormalities in the fetal pancreas. This study has direct relevance to human health--Resveratrol is widely used for its recognized health benefits, and is readily available over the counter.

Poor sleep equal to binge drinking, marijuana use in predicting academic problems Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT College students who are poor sleepers are much more likely to earn worse grades and withdraw from a course than healthy sleeping peers, new research shows. Results show that sleep timing and maintenance problems in college students are a strong predictor of academic problems. The study also found that sleep problems have about the same impact on grade point average (GPA) as binge drinking and marijuana use.

Half of pregnant women who have hypertension and snore unknowingly have a sleep disorder Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT A substantial proportion of hypertensive pregnant women have obstructive sleep apnea, and many may not be aware. We know that habitual snoring is linked with poor pregnancy outcomes for both mother and child, including increased risk of C-sections and smaller babies," says the lead author. "Our findings show that a substantial proportion of hypertensive pregnant women have obstructive sleep apnea and that habitual snoring may be one of the most telling signs to identify this risk early in order to improve health outcomes."

Same face, many first impressions Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:17 AM PDT Slight variations in how an individual face is viewed can lead people to develop significantly different first impressions of that individual, according to research. "Our findings suggest that impressions from still photos of individuals could be deeply misleading," says one psychological scientist. "This research has important ramifications for how we think about these impressions and how we test whether they are accurate."

Early steps toward personalized fitness: Interval training may benefit men more than women Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:17 AM PDT When it comes to reaping benefits of sprint interval training, it appears that men have won the battle of the sexes, if just barely. According to new research, men create more new proteins as a result of this exercise than women do. The good news, however, is that men and women experienced similar increases in aerobic capacity.

Antipsychotic medication during pregnancy does affect babies, study shows Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:16 AM PDT A seven-year study of women who take antipsychotic medication while pregnant, proves it can affect babies. The observational study reveals that while most women gave birth to healthy babies, the use of mood stabilizers or higher doses of antipsychotics during pregnancy increased the need for special care after birth with 43 per cent of babies placed in a Special Care Nursery or a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, almost three times the national rate in Australia.

Hypnosis extends restorative slow-wave sleep, research shows Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:12 AM PDT Sleeping well is a crucial factor contributing to our physical and mental restoration. Slow-Wave sleep (SWS) in particular has a positive impact for instance on memory and the functioning of the immune system. During periods of SWS, growth hormones are secreted, cell repair is promoted and the defense system is stimulated. If you feel sick or have had a hard working day, you often simply want to get some good, deep sleep, a wish that you may not be able to influence through your own will.

Speaking two languages benefits the aging brain Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:12 AM PDT New research reveals that bilingualism has a positive effect on cognition later in life. Findings show that individuals who speak two or more languages, even those who acquired the second language in adulthood, may slow down cognitive decline from aging. Bilingualism is thought to improve cognition and delay dementia in older adults. While prior research has investigated the impact of learning more than one language, ruling out "reverse causality" has proven difficult. The crucial question is whether people improve their cognitive functions through learning new languages or whether those with better baseline cognitive functions are more likely to become bilingual.

What finding out a child's sex before birth says about a mother Posted: 02 Jun 2014 06:51 AM PDT An expectant mother who chooses to find out her child's sex before birth may be giving subtle clues about her views on proper gender roles, new research suggests. A new study found that women who choose not to learn their child's sex may be more open to new experiences, and combine egalitarian views about the roles of men and women in society with conscientiousness.

Parental presence improves quality of child anesthesia, research shows Posted: 01 Jun 2014 05:20 PM PDT Having parents present during the induction of their child's anaesthesia improves the quality of that anesthesia, research shows. The effect of parental presence at anaesthesia induction on children anxiety and children anaesthesia compliance has been previously investigated but the few studies to date have produced contradictory results; and nobody has investigated issues around parental experience and total perceived quality.

Revolutionizing diets, improving health with discovery of new genes involved in food preferences Posted: 01 Jun 2014 05:19 PM PDT New understanding of the genes involved in taste perception and food preferences can lead to personalized nutrition plans effective not just in weight loss but in avoiding diseases such as cancer, depression, and hypertension. The ability to devise diets based on individual genetic profiles can lead to significantly better results – for example, a weight loss 33% greater than with a control group who had a similar calorie count but a non-personalized diet plan, researchers say.

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