HEALTH ISSUE: SHORT CUTS

SHORT CUTS


Urban pollution increases
blood pressure: Study


      People who live in cities with higher levels of particle air pollution tend to have higher blood pressure, a new study has claimed. Researchers at the University of Duilsbur-Essen, Germany, looked at 5,000 people and found long-term exposure to air pollution increased blood pressure, even  when other key factors were considered.
       "This finding points out that air pollution does not only trigger life threatening events like heart attacks and strokes, but that it may also influence the underlying processes, which lead to chronic cardiovascular diseases," lead author Dr. Barbara Hoffman was quoted as saying by Live Science.

Laptops, iPads play havoc with sleep:

        Using a laptop or an iPad just before going to bed can turn you into an insomniac, say American researchers. The scientists have discovered that devices that emit bright lights confuse human brains and sleep patterns, deceiving our minds that it is still the risk of insomnia. Reading a book or watching television, on the other hand is much less stressful. Human brains are biologically wired to be awake when the sun to stop secreting the hormone called melatonin that makes us sleepy.