Music therapy taps into long-term memory, which remains intact longer than short-term memory in dementia patients.

"One of our patients struggles to recall much from his past. He has Dementia. However, whenever he listens to songs in his mother tongue, it boosts his mood and reconnect with his memories," Neha Sinha, Dementia Specialist, Psychologist, CEO & Co-founder of Epoch Elder Care told me recently.

This made me wonder if music can really help elderly patients with complex neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Dementia and Multiple Sclerosis. Turns out that it can. While it does not specifically treat them, music definitely helps stabilize symptoms, fostering emotional well-being and improving the quality of life for patients.

Music And Memories To Treat Physical Symptoms

Behavioural challenges, such as aggression, anxiety, and social disinhibition, are common in patients with Dementia. Music therapy addresses these issues by creating a calming atmosphere and making them more open to treatment. "Listening to or engaging with music can soothe anxiety, regulate sleep patterns, and encourage them to be more receptive to assistance in performing their activities of daily life (ADL) more comfortably. Moreover, Reminiscence therapy, which helps recall events and discuss past events to improve their well-being, is known to be profoundly effective in treating such conditions.

Music therapy also taps into long-term memory, which remains intact longer than short-term memory in those suffering from Dementia. Familiar tunes or songs from childhood can stimulate certain neural connections, particularly if they are in their mother tongue. This soothes their anxiety, provides comfort and even prompts them to engage in social conversations.

Additionally, music therapy aids motor coordination, which is particularly helpful to those with Parkinson's. Incorporating rhythmic movements like walking or light dancing to music can improve muscle relaxation and enhance motor abilities. While there is no direct evidence linking music therapy to alleviating physical symptoms, its positive impact on mood and cognitive function makes patients more receptive to medical treatment.

Music Therapy Has Shown Significant Benefits

Healing with music is believed to date back to ancient Greece when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in military troops, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting.

Music therapy does not involve specialists in most cases. It involves:

• listening to music
• singing along to music
• moving to the beat of the music
• meditating
• playing an instrument

Every day, hospitals care for patients whose survival depends on a simple yet irreplaceable resource—donated blood. A mother experiencing severe bleeding after childbirth, a child with thalassemia requiring regular transfusions, a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, or a victim of a road traffic accident may all rely on timely access to safe blood.

Despite medical advances, blood remains unique. It cannot be manufactured or artificially replicated. It can only come from healthy individuals who choose to donate. This makes blood donation one of the most vital contributions a person can make to healthcare and society.

It is important to understand that the impact of a single donation extends far beyond what most people imagine.

One Donation, Multiple Patients

When a person donates whole blood, it is separated into components—red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Each component serves a different purpose. Red blood cells carry oxygen and are essential in treating anemia and blood loss. Platelets help control bleeding and are critical for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Plasma contains proteins and clotting factors required for managing bleeding disorders.

Because these components can be used independently, a single donation has the potential to benefit multiple patients with different medical conditions. One act of donation can therefore support several lives.

Why Blood Supply Must Be Continuous

A common misconception is that blood is needed only during emergencies or disasters. In reality, the demand for blood is constant. Patients with chronic conditions such as thalassemia require regular transfusions throughout their lives. Cancer treatments, major surgeries, organ transplants, complicated pregnancies, and trauma care all depend on a steady and reliable blood supply.

Unlike many medical resources, blood components have limited shelf lives. Platelets can only be stored for a few days, and red blood cells have a defined storage period. This means blood stocks must be continuously replenished. A stable blood supply cannot be created overnight—it depends on regular and voluntary donations throughout the year.

The Importance Of Voluntary Donors

The safest and most reliable blood supply comes from voluntary donors who give blood without expectation of reward. However, maintaining this supply is an ongoing challenge. It requires not only recruiting new donors but also encouraging previous donors to return.

Many individuals who donate once do not return, often due to lack of awareness, time constraints, or fading motivation. Yet every regular donor begins as a first-time donor. A positive first donation experience plays a key role in building long-term commitment.

Hospitals, workplaces, and community organizations play a crucial role in promoting donation through awareness campaigns, outreach programs, and well-organized blood donation drives. Sustained engagement is essential to ensure that donors remain connected to this life-saving cause.

What Motivates People To Donate

Blood donation is not just a medical act—it is a powerful expression of social responsibility. Most donors never meet the individuals they help, yet they donate willingly to support someone in need. This anonymous act of giving reflects compassion, empathy, and a shared sense of humanity.

People are motivated to donate for many reasons. Some are driven by altruism and the desire to help others. Others are influenced by personal experiences, community values, or encouragement from family and peers. Awareness campaigns and social engagement can also play a significant role in shaping attitudes towards donation.

Understanding these motivations is important because it helps design more effective strategies to encourage both first-time and repeat donors.

Addressing Common Concerns

Despite its importance, many eligible individuals hesitate to donate due to fear or uncertainty. Concerns about pain, weakness, or safety are common. However, blood donation is a carefully regulated process conducted by trained healthcare professionals.

Donors undergo screening to ensure that the procedure is safe for both themselves and the recipient. The donation itself takes only a short time, and most people can resume normal activities soon afterward. Efforts to improve donor comfort and reduce anxiety have further enhanced the overall donation experience.

For many first-time donors, the greatest takeaway is a sense of satisfaction and pride in having contributed to saving lives.

Every First-Time Donor Matters

One of the greatest challenges in maintaining a stable blood supply is ensuring a continuous flow of new donors. As regular donors age or become ineligible, new volunteers are needed to sustain the system.

Encouraging first-time donors is therefore critical. With the right experience and awareness, a first-time donor can become a lifelong contributor, potentially helping dozens of patients over the years. Simple follow-up communication and continued engagement can significantly improve donor retention.

Families, educational institutions, workplaces, and healthcare providers all have a role to play in encouraging individuals to take this first step.

A Gift That Saves and Sustains Lives

Blood is more than a medical resource—it is a gift that cannot be bought, manufactured, or stored indefinitely. It represents hope, survival, and the generosity of one human being towards another.

Behind every successful surgery, every recovering patient, and every saved life, there is often an unseen donor whose contribution made that outcome possible.

A single donation may take only a few minutes, but its impact extends far beyond a single individual. It supports families, strengthens healthcare systems, and builds a culture of care and compassion within communities.

The message is simple: if you are eligible, consider donating. Your one unit of blood may help many—and could make the difference between life and loss for someone in need.

Extremes of heatwaves and ozone pollution are intensifying, increasing heart- and lung disease-related deaths in India, according to a new study.

Heatwaves are associated with heat stress, dehydration, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and cardiovascular strain, while ground-level ozone is a harmful air pollutant linked to heart and lung diseases and increased mortality.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, found that surface ozone levels reach 85–110 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) in northern India during heatwaves—far exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 70 μg/m³.

The study found that heatwaves significantly intensify exposure to toxic ground-level ozone, a harmful air pollutant linked to heart and lung diseases and increased mortality.

“In 2024 alone, ozone exposure during heatwaves was associated with 15,615 deaths from ischemic heart disease and another 10,898 deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” said researchers Parambat Sangeetha of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies and Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath of IIT Kharagpur in the paper.

Overall, ozone exposure during heatwave conditions was associated with more than 26,500 deaths in 2024, according to the study published in npj Clean Air. Before heatwave conditions, ozone exposure was linked to 490 deaths from ischemic heart disease and 342 deaths from COPD.

Why Ozone Levels Rise During Heatwaves

Surface ozone is not released directly into the atmosphere. Instead, it forms when sunlight triggers chemical reactions among existing pollutants—a process that accelerates during periods of extreme heat.

“Ozone is very harmful, while NO₂ (nitrogen dioxide) and HCHO (formaldehyde) directly damage the respiratory system,” the authors said.

How the Study Was Conducted

For the study, researchers combined two decades of temperature records from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) with satellite observations and global weather datasets to track ozone levels and the gases responsible for its formation.

Heatwaves between 2004 and 2024 were identified using standard temperature thresholds. The team identified 188 heatwave events over the two-decade period, with the most severe years—2010, 2016, 2019, and 2024—occurring after strong El Niño episodes.

The Western Himalayas recorded the sharpest long-term increase in ozone levels, exceeding WHO guidelines by 115 percent in 2024.

The researchers concluded that “coupled heat–ozone extremes are intensifying, requiring urgent integrated climate–air quality policy action.”

Regions Most Affected

Severe heatwave conditions predominantly affect:

• Jammu
• Rajasthan
• Gujarat
• Madhya Pradesh
• Punjab
• Haryana
• Chandigarh
• Uttar Pradesh
• Delhi
• Himachal Pradesh
• Vidarbha
• Maharashtra

The heatwave belt often expands further into:

• Uttarakhand
• Odisha
• Chhattisgarh
• Bihar

Impact on Lung and Heart Health

The study noted that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is highly sensitive to changes in temperature, humidity, and air quality.

Dr. Amit Kumar Mandal, Senior Director of Pulmonology at Paras Health, explained that extreme heat combined with pollution places significant stress on multiple organs.

“People often think heatwaves only affect the skin or cause dehydration, but when extreme heat combines with high pollution levels, the body starts functioning as if it is constantly under attack,” he told HealthandMe.

“The lungs are forced to work harder to filter hot, polluted air, while the heart simultaneously struggles to regulate body temperature. This invisible overload can quietly trigger inflammation, breathing distress, sudden BP fluctuations, and cardiac strain, even in people who otherwise consider themselves healthy.”

Warning Signs to Watch For

The expert noted that early symptoms are often subtle and may go unnoticed. Common symptoms seen during heatwave and pollution episodes include:

• Persistent tiredness
• Irritability
• Disturbed sleep
• Headaches
• Chest heaviness
• Unusual breathlessness

How to Reduce Health Risks

Recommended precautions include:

• Staying hydrated
• Avoiding direct sunlight during peak afternoon hours
• Wearing light cotton clothing
• Using masks in polluted areas
• Maintaining proper indoor ventilation.

The ancient practice of yoga may help improve fertility and hormonal health in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), now renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), according to three studies led by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

PCOS is a multifactorial condition affecting millions of women and involves a complex interplay of reproductive, metabolic, and psychological factors that can significantly impact quality of life.

The condition can increase the risk of serious health complications, including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, infertility, and, in some cases, cancer.

The studies, led by Dr. Rima Dada, Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Anatomy, AIIMS Delhi, recommend lifestyle modifications, including yoga, as a primary approach to managing the condition.

“Yoga presents a comprehensive strategy for addressing PCOS, targeting hormonal imbalances, OS, mitochondrial function, metabolic syndrome, microRNA regulation, cellular longevity, and mental well‑being. It exemplifies the potential of mind‑body medicine in the treatment of complex disorders,” the researchers said, in the papers.

The papers were published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, The International Journal of Ayurveda Research and the International Journal of Yoga.

Yoga Led To Improvements In Hormonal Balance

The three studies involved more than 100 women and followed participants for up to 12 weeks. Participants practiced Asanas (physical postures), Pranayama (breathing techniques), and Dhyana (meditation) for 90 minutes a day, five days a week. The results showed significant improvements across multiple health parameters.

Women with PCOS who participated in the yoga intervention demonstrated significant reductions in:

• Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH)
• Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
• Testosterone levels

Also read: Yoga Shows Promise for Anxiety Relief And Seizure Control In Epilepsy, Claims AIIMS Study

“This hormonal balance has led to the restoration of menstrual cycles and improvements in hirsutism and acne, resulting in enhancements in physical appearance and psychological well-being,” the researchers stated.

Benefits Beyond Hormones

The studies also found that yoga helped regulate cellular oxidative stress, offering protection against DNA damage and epigenetic changes. Researchers also reported improvements in several metabolic markers, including reductions in:

• Glucose
• Fructose
• D-ribose
• Xanthine
• Cholesterol
• Triglycerides
• Body weight

These findings highlight yoga's potential to address key mechanisms underlying PCOS and support its use as a cost-effective, non-pharmacological, and sustainable therapy for managing the condition.

The studies also found that yoga helped alleviate symptoms of depression among women with PCOS, suggesting it may serve as an effective complementary therapy in managing the condition.

Researchers concluded that regular yoga practice could help prevent, delay, and manage PCOS symptoms.

Read More: India Launches New Yoga Protocols To Fight Diabetes, High BP, Asthma

What Is PCOS?

PCOS is a complex lifestyle disorder that appears to primarily affect the ovaries but is increasingly recognized as a systemic condition affecting multiple organs and body systems.

If not diagnosed and managed early, it can contribute to serious health complications, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and Alzheimer's disease.

While treatments such as anti-androgen medications, insulin-sensitizing agents, and fertility therapies remain important, experts note that PCOS also has a strong psychosomatic component that can benefit from lifestyle and mind-body interventions.

From PCOS to PMOS

PCOS affects more than 170 million women worldwide. In May, it was officially renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS).

The new name reflects a major shift in understanding the condition—from a predominantly gynecological disorder to a complex multisystem condition affecting several aspects of health. The term PMOS acknowledges that the condition affects:

• Endocrine health
• Metabolic health
• Reproductive health
• Dermatological health
• Psychological health