Stress, Dust of 9/11 Linked to Acid Reflux

People exposed to the terror and dust of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center have higher rates of asthma and post-traumatic stress than those who were further away from Ground Zero. But they also have high rates of a less obvious health problem: heartburn.

A new study of more than 37,000 adults who worked at Ground Zero or…

Insomnia Costs U.S. $63 Billion Annually in Lost Productivity

People who have trouble sleeping rarely see their problem as an illness that requires treatment, or as an acceptable reason to call in sick. That mind-set may be hurting employers and employees alike by compelling people with insomnia to drag themselves to work and sleepwalk through the day, a new study suggests.

Researchers surveyed 7,428 employed people across the U.S….

Planning Ahead Can Reduce Back-to-School Stress

Although many children anxiously anticipate the first day of school, some may be more nervous about the transition than others.

Children who are excessively worried for a prolonged period of time may have a larger problem, an expert says.

“Even though most children are anxious during a time of change, they can be quite happy and adjust to the new…

How to Use Color Therapy to Relieve Stress

Color affects the way we feel. It can affect our moods in either a positive or negative manner. Do you feel uncomfortable wearing certain colors or being in a room that is saturated in a particular color? Are there other colors that make you feel comfortable? The colors that we wear and surround ourselves with reflect our inner…

People in Affluent Nations May Be More Depression-Prone

Affluent countries, including the U.S., tend to have higher rates of depression than lower-income nations such as Mexico, a new study from World Health Organization (WHO) researchers suggests.

In face-to-face interviews, teams of researchers surveyed nationally representative samples of people in 18 countries on five continents—nearly 90,000 people in all—and assessed their history of depression using a standardized list of…

Is Stress Causing Your Insomnia? 8 Telltale Symptoms

Stress comes in different forms—some good, some bad—and every person responds to it differently. Major life changes, whether at work, at home, or in your social relationships, are often a source of stress that may keep you up at night or trigger ongoing problems with insomnia.

To gauge whether stress may be affecting your sleep patterns, consider the symptoms below….

How to Beat Holiday Stress

So, the holidays are coming: icing yummy cookies; writing personalized messages in every card; hours poring thoughtfully over wish lists and sales ads and websites and catalogs, wishing you’d set more money aside; festive gatherings with your family, and his family, and your office, and his office, and the kids’ school play, and your girlfriend’s annual ornament…

How to Survive Holiday Family Stress

Holidays test our patience in many ways: waiting like a taxi for your family to climb into the car as you head to the airport, or later as you round up all your children to eat a fancy meal at a stuffy restaurant. What could go wrong? Everything, and you don’t want to stress out

Instructions

1.Set limits on what you…

College Students, Diets of

When students first enter college, their diets often deteriorate and they often gain weight. There are many factors responsible for these changes. However, there are also several actions that can be taken to avoid the weight gain and decline in diet  quality that may occur during the college years.

The term “freshman 15″ refers to the number of…

Heartburn

Heartburn is a feeling of burning, warmth, heat, or pain that often starts in the upper abdomen just beneath the lower breastbone (sternum). This discomfort may spread in waves upward into your throat, and you may have a sour taste in your mouth. Heartburn is sometimes called indigestion, acid regurgitation, sour stomach, or pyrosis. It is not caused by…