Fasting may reset your body, but can it reset your mind? The new trend of dopamine fasting claims it can. And wait, there's more. This trend also works against dopamine resistance, implying that things that did not make you happier before will now do. You see, dopamine is a part of the brain's reward system and plays an important role in your pleasure reception. While this neurotransmitter is not directly linked to an individual's happiness, it triggers feelings of satisfaction, motivation and pleasure.

However, a person can also reach a stage of dopamine resistance if they continue to indulge in activities that trigger its frequent or constant release. In this case, the individual stops feeling the impact of this neurotransmitter and thus, does feel good or happy.

So does dopamine fasting work?

Dopamine fasting is a practice where individuals limit their exposure to activities or stimuli that typically provide a surge of dopamine. The idea behind dopamine fasting is to reset or recalibrate the brain's reward system. This is usually done by abstaining from gratifying things or experiences like social media, junk food, and even sex. Proponents of dopamine fasting argue that continual overstimulation from digital devices, social media, and easily accessible indulgences has numbed our brain's reward pathways. By regularly denying ourselves these dopamine triggers, the idea claims, we might restore our ability to acquire fulfilment from life's basic pleasures.

How Does Dopamine Imbalance Affect Your Mental Health?

Having low levels of dopamine can make you less motivated and excited about things. In Parkinson's disease, there is not enough dopamine in the areas of the brain important for movement. This leads to problems with muscle stiffness and movements such as walking.

The symptoms of a dopamine imbalance depend on what is causing the problem. They include physical symptoms such as:

• muscle cramps, spasms or stiffness
• digestion problems, such as constipation or reflux
• pneumonia
• trouble sleeping
• moving or speaking more slowly than usual

• feeling tired and unmotivated, or sad and lacking hope
• having low libido (sex drive)
• hallucinations (experiencing something that's not real)

How Can I Adjust My Dopamine Levels?

Adjusting dopamine levels is complicated, as it is involved in many different roles in the brain. Your doctor won't measure your dopamine levels directly, and there is no simple test to measure it. Your symptoms will be the clues that tell your doctor if you have too much or not enough dopamine. They will then prescribe medicines to adjust your dopamine level, based on your symptoms, and make adjustments based on how your body responds and how you feel.

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A new analysis by the American Cancer Society observed that colon cancer or colorectal cancer has now become the leading cause of cancer death in US for people under 50. As per the report from the American Cancer Society, adults who are 65 or younger comprise nearly 45 per cent of all new colorectal cancer cases. This is a significant increase from 27 per cent in 1995.

Dr Timothy Cannon, director of the Molecular Tumor Board and co-director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Inova in Virginia who spoke to Fox News Digital said, "Once considered a disease that primarily affected people over 50, we are now seeing increasing diagnoses in patients in their 20s, 30s and 40s — making it even more important not to dismiss symptoms based on age alone."

How Can You Detect Colorectal Cancer?

Doctors and experts across say that early screenings could help. Health officials recommended screenings to start at the age 45 and continue through age 75 for adults at "average risk".

Other ways could also be stool-based test that are used to detect blood or DNA changes, which could be potential indicators of colorectal cancer.

A colonoscopy is another method, a medical procedure that allows a doctor to examine the inside of a patient's colon and rectum. It uses a thin, flexible tube with a camera on the end. It is typically done every 10 years for adults at average risk.

"Colonoscopy remains the gold standard because it not only detects cancer early but can also prevent it by identifying and removing precancerous polyps," said Cannon.

Dr Michael Martin, who is a California-based physician, however, emphasized that colonoscopy is usually done for younger patients who are at higher risk.

As per Dr Martin, Stool-based tests are appropriate screening options for average-risk adults, but they are not the best choice for people with significant family history, inflammatory bowel disease, hereditary syndromes or alarm symptoms. If symptoms are present, the goal is not screening but diagnosis, and colonoscopy is usually the more appropriate test."

Who Should Get Screened For Colorectal Cancer Before 45?

There are three kinds of people who could get their colon cancer screened before turning 45. Experts suggest these people are as followed:

People With Strong Family History

The American College of Gastroenterology recommends early screening if one first-degree relative is diagnosed with colorectal cancer, or an advanced polyp before age 60, or if two first-degree relatives are diagnosed at any age.

Symptoms That Are Critical

There are red flags which could hint you to get the screening done before 45, they include:

• Rectal bleeding with bright red blood
• Dark or black stools
• Blood in stool
• Persistent changes in bowel habits like constipation or diarrhea
• Unexplained iron deficiency or anemia
• Ongoing abdominal pain or cramping
• Unexplained weight loss
• Persistent sensation that bowel is not emptying fully

Genetic Condition

Some people with certain genetic condition could have an increased risk of colon cancer, this includes people with Lynch syndrome. This is an inherited DNA mutation that increases lifetime risk. People with this condition should get a colonoscopy every one to two years starting from the age 20 to 25 years, or two to five years before the youngest diagnosed family case, note the National Cancer Institute.

Every year, on March 13, World Sleep Day is observed, with this year's theme being "Sleep Well, Live Better". In many ways, it is true, as the National Institutes of Health, US, notes that sleep helps with almost everything in your life. A good sleep helps with learning and the formation of long-term memories. Not getting enough sleep or enough high-quality sleep could lead to problems, affect your mood, immune system and your learning capabilities. So, to be true to the theme of "Sleep Well, Live Better", Health and Me, based on what experts told The New York Times (NYT), came up with six day-time habits that will help you sleep better.

Why is it important? Much conversation that happens around good sleep focuses on nighttime routine, but what you do throughout the day also impacts how well you sleep.

Speaking to NYT, Joseph Dzierzewski, senior vice president of research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation, noted that daily habits play a critical role in regulating sleep patterns. According to him, the choices people make during the day can be just as important as their bedtime routines.

Morning Sunlight Is Important

As per Dr Indira Gurubhagavatula, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, who also spoke to NYT, getting sunlight within an hour of waking helps suppress sleep-inducing hormones and signals the body to shift into "wake mode". This helps reset body's internal clock so that it naturally becomes tired again by bedtime.

While spending an hour outdoors may not always be feasible, experts say even short bursts of light exposure help. Opening the blinds, sitting by a window, or having morning coffee on a balcony can make a difference. Even about 10 minutes of sunlight is better than none.

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A Consistent Mealtime

Experts note that the body operates on a 24-hour internal clock known as the circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep and wake cycles. The digestive system also plays a role in this rhythm and responds to cues about when food is consumed.

Eating meals at inconsistent times may disrupt this rhythm and potentially affect sleep quality.

A consistent meal time also helps with healthy habits and helps you to avoid digestive discomfort and acid reflux during sleep.

Caffeine Habits: Is It Time To Rethink It?

Dr. Charlene Gamaldo, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told NYT that caffeine stays in some people's systems much longer than others. In slow metabolizers, caffeine from a morning coffee could remain in the body for more than 12 hours, potentially interfering with sleep.

Time Your Medication For Early Hours

According to Dr. Gurubhagavatula, certain drugs, including decongestants such as phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine, medications used for ADHD and asthma, some antidepressants, and oral steroids, may have stimulating effects.

This is because some medication could make it harder for you to fall or stay asleep, when taken late in the day.

Be Consistent When You Wake Up

Experts say that frequently changing wake-up times, even on weekends, can disrupt the circadian rhythm and make it harder to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. However, the timing does not need to be exact. Staying within about 30 minutes of the usual wake-up time is generally sufficient to maintain consistency.

Be Attentive Towards Your Workout Timing

Regular exercise is widely associated with better sleep, and health guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week. However, for some people, exercising too close to bedtime may make it harder to fall asleep. Strenuous workouts can temporarily increase body temperature and raise stress hormones and endorphins, which may keep the body alert.

About 30 to 83.7 million adults in the United States have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), notes American Lung Association. Roughly 80 per cent of these cases remain undiagnosed. However, now, a simple daily pill, an old drug, could just be the solution.

Scientists in Sweden and other places too, have been studying the anti-seizure medicine sultiame as a treatment for OSA. In their latest Phase II trial, the scientists found that people on sultiame experienced an improvement in their apsea symptoms, and their sleep quality too improved as compared to those taking placebo.

The results points towards the potential of sultiame becoming an effective option for people with sleep apnea, especially those who cannot tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPACP) machines. The findings are published in The Lancet, and the researchers noted: "These findings offer perspective for a pharmaceutical approach to treatment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea."

Sleep Apnea Pill: What Is This Condition?

OSA is the most common form of sleep apnea, and it happens when airway muscles physically block a person's breathing during sleep. This could pause the body to wake up enough to start breathing again, only for the cycle to restart throughout the night, anywhere from five to 100 times an hour. This also causes low oxygen levels and disturb people's sleep and, over time, can raise the risk of other long-term health problems, which could include heart diseases and even dementia.

What CPAP machines do is they use air pressure to keep the airways open during sleep. While machines are an effective way, some people have trouble using them long term, which is why some companies use less cumbersome interventions, including medicines.

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Sleep Apnea Pill: What Was It Used For?

Sultimae or sulthiame was first launched in the 1960s by Bayger AG as an anticonvulsant - which means, it was a drug designed to treat epilepsy and prevent seizures by stabilizing nerve cell membranes and reducing abnormal, excessive electrical activity in the brain.

What the drug does is, it inhibits carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme that plays a role in regulating our breathing. Research also suggested that this could help people with sleep apnea by preventing airway collapse. The US-based Apnimed, in collaboration with the Japenese company Shionogi & Co., Ltd., have been looking to develop sultiame as a sleep apnea treatment.

How Well Has The Sleep Apnea Pill Been Tested?

The phase II of the trial involved 298 patients. Of them were untreated, moderate and people with severe sleep apnea. The people were observed for over a 15-week period, of them, half were randomized to a placebo pill to be taken right before bed, while rest were given varying doses of sultiame.

The results showed that people who took sultiame saw a noticeable decrease in apnea symptoms and also witnessed improvements in their sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. People in the highest dose group saw the most improvement, with apnea symptoms being reduced up to 47 per cent.

“It feels like a breakthrough, and we now look forward to larger and longer studies to determine whether the effect is sustained over time and whether the treatment is safe for broader patient groups,” said study researcher Jan Hedner, a senior professor of pulmonary medicine at the University of Gothenburg.