Acute Stress Affects Financial Decision Making

  By Ritz | January 15, 2012 - 8:49 am | Health News, Healthy Tips
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It is not surprising that as our economy continues its freefall, we are feeling increasingly more stressed and worried. Many of us are feeling extreme unease about the security of our jobs and being able to make our next mortgage payment. However, according to a new report in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, stress could make our financial troubles even worse.

The study, conducted by psychologists Anthony J. Porcelli and Mauricio R. Delgado of Rutgers University, reveals that acute stress affects risk taking during financial decision making. A group of volunteers chose between various financial gambles after being asked to immerse their hand for a period of time in either ice-cold (used to induce stress) or room-temperature (no-stress) water. Some of the choices were risky (less likely but with a high payout) and others conservative (more likely but with a lower value).

The results were consistent with a phenomenon known as the reflection effect – we tend to show increased conservatism when choosing between two potentially positive outcomes, but increase our risky behavior when choosing between two gambles that result in a loss. However, this study suggests that stress exaggerates this effect; while exposed to stress volunteers were more conservative when choosing between potentially positive outcomes and were riskier when choosing between gambles that could result in a loss.

The researchers propose that under stressful conditions, we fall back on automatic, lower-level thought processes and we “are less able to utilize more rational and deliberative thinking to assist in making decisions.” They also note that these findings have implications for understanding how our environment might influence decision making. In financial decision making, where rational and deliberative thinking is essential, a stressful environment might hamper our ability to make decisions.

Prevent Early Cardiovascular Disease

  By Ritz | January 15, 2012 - 8:42 am | Health News, Healthy Tips
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Teens and young adults are often not that proactive about their health; however, when they reach middle age and suffer a heart attack or are informed by their physician that they have hypertension or cardiovascular disease, they often go on a health kick. Although a healthier lifestyle still has benefits, in many cases it is too little too late. Cardiovascular disease often has its roots in childhood and the teens.

According to two new studies, a growing body of research notes that engaging in a healthy lifestyle when young is the most effective way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

According to a study published in the December issue of the journal Circulation, keeping blood pressure and other risk factors in check over time is much better than playing catch-up when an individual is middle-aged. Furthermore, because blood pressure tends to increase with age, it is particularly important to detect elevated blood pressure early to reduce the mounting risks that come with it. “Cardiovascular disease happens at the average age of 55, so people really don’t think about it until they’re already at increased risk,” noted Norrina Allen, an epidemiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and one of the study authors. She added, “People with blood pressure at a lower range at one point in time need to be vigilant about keeping it low, and can’t assume that they’re at low risk for cardiovascular disease.”

The researchers reviewed more than 60,000 patient records, incorporating data collected in other research studies spanning 60 years. They compared blood pressure measurements for each patient taken on average at 41 years of age and again at 55. The team then tracked whether the patients suffered strokes, coronary heart disease, or cardiovascular diseases over the next few decades of their lives. They concluded that bringing hypertension under control at any time reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, by preventing it from rising in the first place can be even better. For example, men with high blood pressure (above 140/90) in their 40s who reduced the measurement to between 120/80 and 139/89, which still represents a modest elevation, lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease by their mid-50s to from 65% to 59%.

Men who maintained moderately elevated blood pressure during the study period had a 51% chance of cardiovascular disease in the remaining years of their life. Furthermore, men with consistently low blood pressure (below 120/80) had a 41% risk. However, the risk for cardiovascular disease soared to 69% for men who had low blood pressure in their 40s and ended up with hypertension.

Another study, published in December in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reported similar results, which were based on measurements of the resting heart rate, which is typically lower for healthier patients. An increase in the rate, which is the number of heart beats per minute while seated, over the 10-year study period was associated with a heightened risk of fatal cardiovascular disease. Individuals who maintained lower or normal rates had lower risk. The study, comprised of 29,000 individuals, was conducted by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Vibration Therapy Offers Significant Chronic Pain Relief

  By Ritz | January 15, 2012 - 8:40 am | Alternative Therapy, Health News, Healthy Tips
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Chronic pain may respond to good vibrations

Touch, in its many forms such as rubbing, massage, therapeutic touch, acupressure, among others, has long been known to provide comfort and relief from pain. Vibration is a different kind of touch that is currently being used in some rehabilitation facilities to treat a variety of conditions, including arthritis, back pain, multiple sclerosis, obesity, osteoporosis, stroke, and more.

In the current study, the University of Florida researchers applied pain-inducing heat to the forearms of three groups of volunteers: those with fibromyalgia, those with neck and head pain, and those without pain. These three groups were chosen because people who suffer with fibromyalgia and migraine are less efficient at inhibiting pain than are some other individuals.

After applying the heat, the researchers then administered high-frequency vibration to the skin and deep tissues of the arms of all the participants. The volunteers in all three groups experienced a 40 percent reduction in pain when vibration therapy was applied.

According to Roland Staud, MD, professor of rheumatology and clinical immunology at the University’s College of Medicine, this finding is important for several reasons, including the ability of vibration to provide a significant pain relief effect, and “that it is not associated with great cost.” Staud also pointed out that “this is the first time a nonpainful stimulus has been found to have such an effect in fibromyalgia patients.”

Experts are uncertain why vibration therapy provides this level of relief. Distraction does not seem to be a factor; although about half the participants said the vibration was distracting, people who were not distracted reported the same level of relief as did those who were distracted.

Proximity seems to have a role, however. In another set of tests, the researchers applied heat to one arm and vibration to the opposite arm. In these cases, pain relief was not as significant compared to when vibration was administered to the heat-treated arm.

Results from previous animal studies suggest vibration may inhibit transmission of pain signals from the body to the central nervous system. Further research in humans will hopefully uncover how and why vibration therapy relieves pain and help more individuals who live with chronic pain.