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As you grow old, your health starts to deteriorate. Everything, whether it is your mental health or your physical health, starts to slow down. However, with age, your mental health gets overshadowed by your physical health.
If you note these signs in your ageing parents or grandparents, take note of it. Try to get involved with them. It is also important to ensure that they have a separate social circle apart from the family. This way, they can have friends who they can also relate to.
With age, suggests Sinha, you are more prone to be depressed, and anxious. “Mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorders are not something that happens when you grow older. You may have been living with these for the last 40 years, but the management differs, she suggests.
As you grow old, your symptoms start to overlap with other mental health conditions. For the proper treatment professionals use differential diagnosis, suggests Sinha. “The lines become blurred and to differentiate the symptoms from one mental health condition to another becomes difficult,” she says.
There are also food habits like eating leafy vegetables, nuts, fish, virgin coconut and beans that help with brain functions.
Sinha suggests that keeping a social circle and continuing your hobbies can help your mind stay healthy. “Men especially face this issue, after they retire, they feel like they are at the loss of authority, and they start to lose control. It is thus important to keep doing things and learning a new skill to keep your brain active. While for women, since they continue taking care of the house, their brain stays active,” she says.
Cognitive stimulation is the key, especially to managing dementia, she notes.
“Just with weight training, you push your body and after a while, it becomes your muscle memory. Same with the brain. However, one should not get into solving too many puzzles, or trivia after being diagnosed with dementia. Because that would mean you are making your already injured brain exercise which might lead to agitation,” she recommends.
“The most important part is for the caregiver to understand what is happening and come to terms with the conditions. Because the elderly with cognitive conditions are not able to understand, they cannot be told or instructed to do anything. Thus, the responsibility is solely on the caregiver,” points out Sinha.
So, what can be done?
Reach out to therapists and counsellors to know the ways to create such a healthy environment.
She suggests adopting the same approach that you do with kids and with your pets. This is when you focus on gestures, body language and mood over language. Due to cognitive disorders, parents experience a loss of language and the only way to communicate and to understand what they are communicating is through these means.
Create a healthy environment by agreeing with them and listening to their stories. The responsibility of creating a safe environment is totally with you.
There might be times when your parents may do socially unacceptable or non-compliance behaviour. But it is important to understand the triggers and ensure that the triggers do not occur anymore.
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Smoking has been long recognized as one of the worst habits a person can have, and Dr Jeremy London agrees with this statement. Dr. London, a cardiovascular surgeon, in a recent interview with Mel Robbins revealed that his number one advice as a heart doctor is to avoid smoking.
“I cannot come up with one single thing that does as much damage to every organ in the body as smoking cigarettes. And look, it's incredibly addictive and I know that and I pass no judgment because I know how difficult it is.”
He explained that in his practice he has dealt with chronic smokers for years and still believed that it is the single most dangerous thing one can do to themselves.
Also Read: Why Is It Harder For Women To Quit Smoking?
Emphasizing how this one habit affects all organs in our body, Dr London mentioned the well-known link between lung cancer and smoking.
However, there are many more chronic diseases associated with the rest of the body that can develop due to smoking apart from lung conditions, according to the American Lung Association.
Here is what you should keep an eye out for:
Also Read: 3 Science-Backed Methods To Quit Smoking For Good
Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for nearly 90 percent of all cases. Although medical treatments have improved, the five-year survival rate remains low. Quitting is the most effective way to lower your risk of this deadly disease.
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Fasting for three hours before bed can significantly improve heart health and reduce the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) as well as other chronic conditions, an Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology study suggests.
While many believe that diet plans such as intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating can help reduce their weight, researchers at Northwestern University have found that not eating three hours before going to sleep can reduce overnight blood pressure by nearly four percent, heart rate by five percent and strengthen overall heart rhythms.
This can help reduce overall strain on the heart which lowers risks for conditions like hypertension and CAD. Additionally, the scientists also discovered a drop in blood sugar levels, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
Participants who underwent glucose tests also showed better insulin release which tend to stabilize during the day. Additionally, an improved heart rate also lowered nighttime cortisol, which helped in metabolic balance.
Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine and chief of sleep medicine in the department of neurology at Feinberg and corresponding author said of the results: "It's not only how much and what you eat, but also when you eat relative to sleep that is important for the physiological benefits of time-restricted eating."
The study authors also noted: "Extending overnight fasting duration by three hours in alignment with sleep improved cardiometabolic health in middle-aged/older adults by strengthening coordination between circadian- and sleep-regulated autonomic and metabolic activity.
"This sleep-aligned time-restricted eating approach represents a novel, accessible lifestyle intervention with promising potential for improving cardiometabolic function."
Despite being as a common heart disease, coronary artery disease (CAD) develops over years and has no clear signs and symptoms apart from a heart attack. The illness begins due to a buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances known as plaque in and on the artery walls.
Over time, this can cause narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries and block the supply of oxygen-rich blood to heart which can lead chest pain (angina), shortness of breath and ultimately, heart attacks.
Typically, those above the age of 45, having a biological family member with heart disease, lack of sleep, smoking, consuming saturated fats along with other autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis can increase the risk of developing CAD.
Treatment options may include medicines and surgery. Eating a nutritious diet, getting regular exercise and not smoking can help also prevent CAD and the conditions that can cause it.
Nearly one in 10 Indian adults suffer from CAD and about two million people die from the disease annually. Apart from this, about 18 to 20 million American adults aged 20 and older are also affected about the disease.
One in seven stroke patients in India are young adults aged below 45 years, with hypertension leading as the major risk factor, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 identified hypertension, air pollution, tobacco smoking, high cholesterol, increased salt intake, and diabetes as the leading risk factors of stroke.
Incidence of stroke is increasing significantly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in India, due to population growth, aging, and greater exposure to risk factors.
Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps a person can take to improve their health. But research suggests that women face unique challenges that make it harder to stop smoking and remain nicotine-free as compared with men.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10 percent of women in the US currently smoke cigarettes. Each year, while many attempt to quit, maintaining long term abstinence remains difficult for a large number of smokers.
Scientists say these differences are not about motivation and women are usually just as willing to quit smoking as men. In many cases they are even more likely to seek help through smoking cessation programs, counseling or medical treatment.
However, the challenge lies in a combination of biological, psychological and social factors that can make nicotine addiction behave differently in women.
One of the biggest reasons for the difference is biological as women process nicotine differently than men.
Research shows that women tend to metabolize nicotine faster. This means nicotine leaves the body more quickly, which can lead to stronger withdrawal symptoms and more frequent cravings. Jean Perriot, MD, an addiction specialist at the Émile Roux Dispensary in France, says this biological difference can affect treatment.
Even though doctors sometimes worry about giving women too much nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or gum, biological measurements often show that many women actually receive too little nicotine replacement, which can make treatment less effective.
Hormones also play a role in smoking behavior. Studies suggest that cravings may increase when estrogen levels are high and decrease when progesterone levels rise. These hormonal shifts occur naturally during the menstrual cycle and may influence when quitting attempts are most successful.
Dr Nancy Rigotti, director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in smoking cessation for many years notes that emotional triggers such as stress or depression can strongly influence smoking behavior among women.
Social and economic pressures may also increase vulnerability to tobacco use. Historically, the tobacco industry has targeted women with marketing campaigns that connect smoking with weight control, independence or attractiveness. Public health experts say these messages can shape attitudes about smoking and reinforce addictive behaviors.
Behavioral research suggests these cues may have a stronger influence for some women, which can make quitting harder even when nicotine dependence is treated.
Furthermore, nicotine can suppress appetite, leading may to pick up smoking to manage body weight. Studies show that women are more likely than men to experience increased cravings for high sugar or high fat foods after quitting smoking. They also tend to gain slightly more weight on average which can make some women hesitant to quit or more likely to relapse.
Research suggests nicotine replacement therapy may need to be carefully adjusted because of faster nicotine metabolism in women. Some medications used to help people quit smoking may also have different effects.
For example, studies suggest the medication varenicline may cause more side effects in women, while the drug bupropion may be somewhat less effective for female smokers.
On the other hand, behavioral treatments appear to work well for many women. Cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people understand and change unhealthy habits, may be slightly more effective for women than men. Women are also more likely to try complementary approaches such as meditation, yoga or hypnosis when attempting to quit smoking.
Exposure to secondhand smoke is another concern. Studies show women are often more likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke at home or in shared environments. Some research also suggests women may face higher risks of certain tobacco related diseases even at lower levels of smoking.
Understanding these differences can help doctors design better quitting strategies. Scientists say the goal is not simply to encourage people to quit smoking, but to provide the right tools so that quitting becomes more achievable for everyone.
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