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Written by Joe Leech A good night’s sleep is incredibly important for your health. In fact, it’s just as important as eating healthy and exercising. Unfortunately, there’s a lot that can interfere with natural sleep patterns. People are now sleeping less than they did in the past, and sleep quality has decreased as well. Here are 10 reasons why good sleep is important. 1. POOR SLEEP IS LINKED TO HIGHER BODY WEIGHT Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain. People with short sleep duration tend to weigh significantly more than those who get adequate sleep. In fact, short sleep duration is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity. In one extensive review study, children and ad...

By: Saman Haziq │ September 12, 2020 Mothers and caregivers should not put their hand inside the baby's mouth.   Choking can be a life-threatening emergency, especially in children younger than three years old, as it blocks respiration and cuts off the oxygen supply to the brain, said doctors. And if it happens, parents and guardians should know what to do.   Dr Sudarshan Shetty, a paediatrician at Burjeel Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, stressed that mothers and caregivers should not put their hand inside the baby's mouth to try to pull out the obstruction. "They may end up pushing things further inside and cause the baby to choke further." Instead, they must rush the child to a hospit...

From diet and exercise and sleep, there are many factors in boosting brain health Published by: Kamakshi Gupta, Dubai Health Authority Like millions of people around the world, you and I probably jotted down our New Year’s resolutions. After more than a month into the New Year, hopefully, we can keep going strong or pick up where we left off. Apparently, tracking your goals is key to staying on top of them. Now, if diet and exercise are on your list, you have ticked off two important aspects for better brain health, says Dr Suhail Al Rukn, Consultant Neurologist at Rashid Hospital. “The link between brain health and exercise is getting clearer with each passing day as more research throws...

From superfoods to sugar-free, we explore the truth behind marketing terms You are what you eat, the old chestnut goes — but what you eat may not be what you think it is. Supermarket shelves are crammed with foods proclaiming their apparently healthy credentials with labels such as fat-free, natural or sugar-free — but while these claims may offer a sense of confidence, they rarely reflect the actual nutritional quality of the food. Reduced doesn’t mean a healthier product, say researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, after studying data that included more than 80 million food and beverage purchases from over 40,000 households from 2008 to 2012. “In many c...

Diseases can come in any form and shape. However, there are a few of them that we assume only affect adults. Although arthritis has been a problem more evidently found in adults, children too are seen affected by it. More commonly known as Juvenile Arthritis, this condition is caused by the inflammation of the joint (where two or more bones meet). If your child has been complaining of pain, swelling, stiffness or loss of motion lately, it is advisable to seek help from a doctor at the earliest. TYPES OF JUVENILE ARTHRITIS Several types of arthritis affect children; however, the most common type is called Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (idiopathic means “from unknown causes”). It includes s...

By: Peter Feely   The disorder can affect children in profoundly different ways In 2013, the pre-eminent psychiatry handbook, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, redefined how healthcare professionals should approach autism. The different autism-related disorders, such as Asperger’s syndrome — where children suffer from social interaction deficit but no language impairment — were dismissed in favour of the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children are now diagnosed as either mild, moderate or severe. Critics of the new definition were concerned it would mean that children suffering from certain mild autism-related disorders would fail to meet the diagnosis criteria...

Peter Feely, Editor Commercial Publishing For diabetics, it is important to manage blood sugar levels and take precautions COVID-19 is a global virus that has significantly impacted all of our lives. It has also been widely reported that people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, are more susceptible to complications if they do contract the coronavirus. Dr Muhammad Hamed Farooqi, Director and Consultant Endocrinologist, Dubai Diabetes Centre, says that the global uncertainty could also be a cause for people with diabetes to see an elevation in their blood sugar levels. “These are unusual times and you may find that your blood sugar readings are not to your expectations....

Has Covid-19 kept you off from a visit to the gynecologist? Published:  July 29, 2020 │ By: Jennifer Kasirsky So you've probably put off going to the doctor the last few months. Covid-19 was a great excuse, but let’s face it not many women enjoy the trip to the gynecologist. Something about the anxiety of finding something wrong makes women postpone the all-important exam.What exams are really needed for a woman to keep herself healthy? The answer is age dependent. The younger you are the less your need for preventative care. PREVENTIVE CARE BASICS Do you know the difference between screening tests and diagnostic tests? A diagnostic test tells you “yes” you have a specific disease or “no...

Early and regular checkups are critical to manage complications during pregnancy.Published: July 20, 2020 By Priya Mathew You might begin your pregnancy with no apparent health problems but there is a possibility that during gestation you may develop medical conditions, which have the potential to put you and your unborn child at risk.Pregnancy-associated complications may suddenly appear during the course of gestation, explains Dr Prashanth Hegde, Specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Thumbay University Hospital. “These include possible rise in blood pressure (gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia) and gestational diabetes where the sugar level may start shooting up.” Gestati...

New research show strongest link yet between mother and infant transmission of COVID-19 There is "strong evidence" that COVID-19- positive mothers can pass the virus on to their unborn infants, scientists said Thursday, in findings that could affect how pregnant women are shielded during the pandemic. While there have been isolated cases of babies infected with the virus, the findings show the strongest link yet between mother and infant transmission. Researchers in Italy studied 31 pregnant women hospitalised with COVID-19, and found the virus in an at-term placenta, umbilical cord, the vagina of one woman and in breast milk. They also identified specific COVID-19 antibodies in the umbi...