Can kissing makes us happier?

December 21st, 2011 admin No Comments »

kissing

Have you ever wondered why we kiss? It’s actually a strange way to spend your time  lips smooshed together, breath (good or bad) mingling, and let’s not even get into the tongue action. Yet we love it. We cheer when movie characters seal their happily-ever-afters with a smooch. A bodies-pressed-together kiss can make you remember why you adore the man who was annoying you just a minute ago. Why is that? “For some women, kissing is even more intimate than intercourse,” says Redbook contributing editor and ob/gyn Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., who devoted a whole chapter to the importance of kissing in her book What Your Mother Never Told You About S-E-X. “That deep level of connection you get when you lock lips and tongues is important.” Hutcherson isn’t just being a romantic  there’s science behind the power of kissing: It causes our bodies to release endorphins and oxytocin, hormones that help us feel happy and more attached.

So it worries Hutcherson and other experts that kissing is one of the first things to dwindle when couples hit the long-term. In a recent Redbook  poll, 79 percent of readers said they don’t kiss their husbands nearly as much as they’d like; 14 percent said they’re lucky to do it once a day. Alise, a 41-year-old mother of two, admits that for months, “we were down to a peck in the morning, maybe not even that.” It wasn’t until she tried to figure out why the usual zing was missing from her marriage that she realized nothing had changed except that life had gotten in the way of their kissing.

Hutcherson often prescribes smooches to patients like Alise, who are having sexual or relationship problems. “Getting back into the daily habit of kissing can rekindle a couple’s intimate connection,” she says. We rounded up some women to test her theory; Alise’s assignment was to plant a big fat one on her hubby at least once a day. “We’d been off it for so long that I was nervous about how he’d react,” she says. But after a week of making out more than they had since the honeymoon, she reports, “I swear we’re as giggly and as turned on as when we first met.” Read on for five more experiments  and get ready to relearn the power of a kiss.

58 percent of readers

Don’t smooch their husbands as much as they used to

24 percent

Say they only kiss their partner as a lead-up to sex

Experiment No.1

A total kissing switcheroo

“I pride myself on being adventurous and creative in bed, but my kissing routine is, I have to admit, pretty boring,” Malikh, 29, told Redbook. “After four years of the same thing, I wondered if my husband was in the mood for something different.” She followed this advice from William Cane, author of The Art of Kissing, to shake things up. “Slide your mouth to his cheek and then his ear, then back to his mouth,” Cane said. “Also try different things with your hands, like rubbing his back, so it becomes a full-body experience.” Bingo! “My husband immediately went from his just-getting-home-from-work mood to being ready for action. Now I have it in my bag of tricks for when I want to initiate sex without just saying, ‘Hey, want to have sex?’”

Sleep Loss May Lower Testosterone

December 21st, 2011 admin No Comments »

Sleep Loss May Lower Testosterone

Cutting back on sleep, even for a little while, may have a dramatic effect on men’s testosterone levels.

A preliminary new study shows a week of sleep loss lowered testosterone levels by up to 15% in group of healthy young men.

Researchers say low testosterone levels can negatively affect men’s health in a variety of ways, in addition to affecting sexual behavior.

For example, very low testosterone levels or testosterone deficiency is associated with low energy, reduced libido, poor concentration, and fatigue.

Testosterone is also critical to building muscle mass and strength and bone density. Testosterone levels naturally decline in men aged 40 and over by about 1% to 2% per year.

Sleep Affects Testosterone Levels

In the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared testosterone levels in a group of 10 healthy young men after a week of normal sleep and a week of sleep loss.

In the first week, the participants slept eight hours each night at home. Then they had three nights of 10-hour sleep and eight nights of 5-hour sleep in a sleep laboratory.

The results showed that testosterone levels decreased by 10%-15% after the week of sleep loss compared with their rested states. This decrease in testosterone levels was also associated with a loss of vigor among the participants.

Researchers say about 15% of adult workers in the U.S. get five hours or less of sleep per night, and this study suggests this kind of prolonged sleep loss could have a negative consequence on testosterone and men’s well-being.

Exercise for a Healthy Heart

December 21st, 2011 admin No Comments »

Exercise for a Healthy Heart

A sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is one of the top risk factors for heart disease. Fortunately, it’s a risk factor that you can do something about. Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has many benefits. It can:

  • Strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system.
  • Improve your circulation and help your body use oxygen better.
  • Improve your heart failure symptoms.
  • Increase energy levels so you can do more activities without becoming tired or short of breath.
  • Increase endurance.
  • Lower blood pressure.
  • Improve muscle tone and strength.
  • Improve balance and joint flexibility.
  • Strengthen bones.
  • Help reduce body fat and help you reach a healthy weight.
  • Help reduce stress, tension, anxiety, and depression.
  • Boost self-image and self-esteem.
  • Improve sleep.
  • Make you feel more relaxed and rested.
  • Make you look fit and feel healthy.

How Do I Get Started Exercising?

Before starting an exercise program, talk to your doctor about:

  • Medication changes. New medications can greatly affect your response to exercise; your doctor can tell you if your normal exercise routine is still safe.
  • Heavy lifting. Make sure that lifting or pushing heavy objects and chores such as raking, shoveling, mowing, or scrubbing aren’t off limits. Chores around the house can be tiring for some people; make sure you only do what you are able to do without getting tired.
  • Safe exercises. Get the doctor’s approval before you lift weights, use a weight machine, jog, or swim.

What Type of Exercise Is Best?

  • Stretching: slow lengthening of the muscles. Stretching the arms and legs before and after exercising helps prepare the muscles for activity and helps prevent injury and muscle strain. Regular stretching also increases your range of motion and flexibility.
  • Cardiovascular or aerobic: steady physical activity using large muscle groups. This type of exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and improves the body’s ability to use oxygen. Aerobic exercise has the most benefits for your heart. Over time, aerobic exercise can help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure at rest and improve your breathing.
  • Strengthening: repeated muscle contractions (tightening) until the muscle becomes tired. For people with heart failure, many strengthening exercises are not recommended. (See below)

What Are Examples of Aerobic Exercises?

Aerobic exercises include: walking, jogging, jumping rope, bicycling (stationary or outdoor), cross-country skiing, skating, rowing, and low-impact aerobics or water aerobics.

How Often Should I Exercise?

In general, to achieve maximum benefits, you should gradually work up to an aerobic session lasting 20 to 30 minutes, at least three to four times a week. Exercising every day or every other day will help you keep a regular aerobic exercise schedule.

Everyday Heart Health Tips

December 21st, 2011 admin No Comments »

Everyday Heart Health Tips

If you’re not convinced about the need to develop an exercise program for your life, you can at least try following some of these tips in your everyday routine. Take advantage of any opportunity for exercise. Try some today.

  • Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator at school or the mall. Just start with one flight. Soon, you’ll be ready for two.
  • Park your car at the far end of the parking lot. The short walk to and from the store or school helps your heart.
  • If you ride a bus or subway, get off a stop before your destination. Walk the rest of the way.
  • If you can, spend a few minutes of your lunch break taking a stroll around the campus grounds. It should help you stay awake after lunch.
  • Think of housework as an extra chance to exercise. Vacuuming briskly can be a real workout.
  • Mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and raking leaves are chores that can be done yourself as a chance to exercise.
  • If you have a dog, think of the dog as an exercise machine with fur. A brisk walk with the dog is good for both of your hearts. Make it a part of your daily routine.
  • If you have a family, schedule an after-dinner walk. Make it quality time.

Keeping the Heart Clean

December 21st, 2011 admin No Comments »

Keeping the Heart Clean

The human heart’s job is to pump nutrient-rich blood throughout your body. If you smoke, take drugs, or drink alcohol excessively, you are giving your heart extra work. How do you feel when you have too much work to do? Your heart cannot handle too much extra work over a long period of time. Over time, the health of your heart will suffer.

Scientists have proven that smoking doubles your risk of having a heart attack and doubles, triples, or quadruples your risk of sudden cardiac death. Each year, over 300,000 Americans die of smoking-related heart disease. So, don’t smoke. If you do, quit. The sooner you quit, the sooner your risk will start to decline. There is hope. Former smokers can completely lower their risk of sudden cardiac death within ten years of quitting.

Because they are foreign substances, any drug can effect your heart. Even prescribed medications can. However, since prescribed medications are legal, doctors are able to control the effect a drug will have on your heart by controlling the dosage. With illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana, amphetamines, etc.), YOU have to control the effect on your heart. Can you do that? Only if you don’t take any. Even a small amount of a drug can be potentially fatal. So, don’t use illegal drugs. If you do, quit.

While drinking alcohol in moderation may not pose a risk, drinking excessively does pose a serious hazard to your heart. While alcohol flows in your blood stream, the nutrient-rich blood is less able to nourish the heart. If the alcohol content is excessive, your heart will be in danger. So, don’t drink alcohol excessively. If you do, quit.

Heart Diet Hints

December 21st, 2011 admin No Comments »

Heart Diet Hints

To control the amount and kind of fat, saturated fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol you eat:

  • Eat no more than 6 ounces (cooked) per day of lean meat, fish, and skinless poultry.
  • Try main dishes featuring pasta, rice, beans, and/or vegetables. Or create “low meat” dishes by mixing these foods with small amounts of lean meat, poultry, or fish.
  • The approximately 5 to 8 teaspoon servings of fats and oils per day may be used for cooking and baking, and in salad dressings and spreads.
  • Use cooking methods that require little or no fat: boil, broil, bake, roast, poach, steam, saute, stir-fry, or microwave.
  • Trim off the fat you can see before cooking meat and poultry. Drain off all fat after browning. Chill soups and stews after cooking so you can remove the hardened fat from the top.
  • The 3 to 4 egg yolks per week included in your eating plan may be used alone or in cooking and baking (including store-bought products).
  • Limit your use of organ meats such as liver, brains, chitterlings, kidneys, heart, gizzard, sweetbreads, and pork maws.
  • Choose skim or 1% fat milk and nonfat or lowfat yogurt and cheeses.

To round out the rest of your eating plan:

  • Eat 5 or more servings of fruits or vegetables per day.
  • Eat 6 or more servings of breads, cereals, or grains per day.
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