Haunted by negative thoughts? It may be a sleep problem
Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
In a popular 2017 “SNL” skit, Ryan Gosling plays a weirdly troubled man. “I thought it was behind me, but the dreams came back,” he narrates. “I was up all night. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep … I forgot about it for years, but then I remembered that ‘Avatar,’ the giant international blockbuster, used the Papyrus font as its logo. (The graphic artist) just highlighted ‘Avatar,’ he clicked the dropdown menu, and then he just randomly selected Papyrus.”
Chances are when you fixate on a negative thought or image — no matter how trivial — it may be because you aren’t sleeping long or well enough. That’s the conclusion of researchers in a new study published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. They found that people who had a harder time falling asleep and poorer quality sleep were more likely to fixate on negative, intrusive thoughts and be drawn to negative images. It can happen during the day and when trying to fall asleep (vicious cycle). And that inability to move on from negative images and thoughts also makes them vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
If this sounds familiar, treatment for sleep disorders (not just knockout pills!) and for emotional challenges can work together to improve your mood and your overall health. And since depression, anxiety and lack of sleep are associated with increased risk of certain cancers, heart woes, obesity and relationship problems, take these steps: Check out the “Sleep” topic at www.doctoroz. com. And find a therapist at www.findcbt.org.
Don’t worry, guys; bike riding won’t mess with your reproductive and urinary systems
When Miguel Indurain won the Tour de France five times from 1991 to 1995, he may not have had fatherhood on his mind (getting over those Pyrenees was challenge enough). But his two sons, Miguel and Jon, born shortly after his last victory, seem to validate a new study debunking the often-reported damage that cycling can do to a man’s reproductive and urinary systems.
The study in the Journal of Urology included 2,774 recreational and intense cyclists, 539 swimmers and 789 runners. Highintensity cyclists had been pedaling more than two years, more than three times per week, averaging more than 25 miles daily; the low-intensity group met none of these criteria.
The researchers gathered participants’ responses to a variety of health assessments and surveys, as well as questions about UTIs, urethral strictures, genital numbness and saddle sores.
The results: Cyclist generally had the same sexual and urinary health as swimmers and runners, and high-intensity cyclists scored better on erectile function than did lowintensity cyclists. Not surprising, since exercise equals better general — and sexual — health.
True, some cyclists were more prone to urethral strictures, genital numbness and saddle sores. But better bikes, riding garb, seats, tires and routes can reduce their risks.
With nearly 12,000 miles of U.S. Bicycle Route System approved in 25 states (it’ll hit 50,000 miles when completed) plus thousands of city bike lanes, guys are good to go! Now let’s see if you can keep up with American bike racer Megan Guarnier, overall winner of 2017’s Women’s World Tour series!
Question: I recently married, and my husband says it’s OK to feed my dog Oscar raw meat. I don’t think so, but I don’t want to start an argument. Could you settle this issue for us? — Jayme W., Portland, Oregon
Answer: Nice to hear from you, Jayme, and congrats on your nuptials. Raw meat diets for dogs (and cats) are increasingly popular. Americans have recently spent $100 million a year on commercially prepared, uncooked chunks of protein, believing it’s a diet better suited to a pooch’s digestive system.
But not only do new genomic studies show that domesticated dogs have evolved to handle a comparatively starch-rich diet, studies here and in Europe also show that raw meat-based diets often are contaminated with bacteria and parasites that can sicken both a dog and its human handlers.
A new study from The Netherlands published in the BMJ journal Vet Record analyzed 35 commercial, frozen raw meatbased diets from eight different brands. The researchers found the E. coli strain that causes severe sickness — serotype O157:H7 — in 23 percent of products tested. They also found Listeria monocytogenes in 54 percent. If transmitted from pet to human, it can be deadly. The journal Microbiological Reviews reports that Listeriosis has a mortality rate of more than 20 percent and “is found mainly among pregnant women, their fetuses and immune-compromised persons.” The researchers also found the stomach-turning bacteria Salmonella in 20 percent of products tested. Three varieties of parasites were in more than 22 percent of raw meat-based diets.
These findings come on the heels of a two-year study in which the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine screened more than 1,000 samples of pet food for contaminants that can cause foodborne illnesses. And they found raw meatbased diets are more likely to be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria and parasites, when compared with other types of pet food tested (dried and cooked). So Jayme, spare Oscar, your new hubby, yourself and your future offspring the dangers of a raw meat-based diet. Dish up cooked pet food only.
Q: When someone sneezes, what really are the chances of spreading a cold or flu to others? — Sarah T., Springfield, Missouri
A: During cold and flu season, sneezy folks are everywhere. And those sneezes, say MIT researchers, create a cloud of potentially germ-infused droplets that balloon, break apart and disperse as a spray; they can spread up to 6 feet.
While most viruses that trigger cold-like symptoms don’t live long on your hands, 40 percent of externalized rhinoviruses are still infectious after an hour. Respiratory syncytial virus, another sneeze-producing microbe, can survive on door handles for up to six hours and on clothing and tissues for 30 to 45 minutes.
Your best bet when around someone who’s sneezing is to stand back, don’t touch your face with your hands until you wash them, and support your immune system by maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding inflammatory foods (processed grain, sugars and red meat) and walking 10,000 steps daily.
And what should you do if YOU are the sneeze factory? Don’t stifle that sneeze. A new write-up in BMJ Case Reports is about a 34-year-old man who severely damaged tissue from his neck to his ribcage when he suppressed a sneeze by pinching his nose shut and clamping his mouth closed. He was in the hospital on a feeding tube for a week. And even if nothing that dramatic happens to you, a squelched sneeze can damage sinuses or ears or cause an ear infection.
Sneezing into the crook of your elbow or upper arm (often recommended) deposits potential infectious material on you that can be easily “shared.” Your best bet? When you sneeze, cover your face with a tissue. Flush the tissue. Then wash your hands for 20 seconds.
Not possible? Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And take heart, no matter which end of a sneeze you’re on, in one study, out of 61 folks with the flu, less than half released the virus into a room.