How to Keep a Spring in Your Step with Daylight Saving Time

THURSDAY, March 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Clocks will spring ahead one hour with the time change on Sunday morning, but medical experts have plenty of advice on how to weather that lost hour of sleep.

"'Gaining' an hour in the fall is much easier for our bodies than 'losing' an hour in the spring," said Dr. Praveen Rudraraju, medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y.

Starting a few days before the time change, people can prepare themselves by going to bed 15 or 20 minutes earlier each night, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

But it can still be hard to adjust to the switch afterwards, sleep specialists said.

"In fact, it may take some people up to a week to get used to the new time change," Rudraraju said. "Though it may be tempting to stay up an extra hour, one of the best ways to fight the effects of daylight saving time is to go to bed at your usual time."

Another sleep expert likened the time change to a slight case of jet lag.

"It's like flying from Chicago to New York," said Saul Rothenberg, a behavioral sleep medicine specialist at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y. "Good sleepers may not even notice a difference."

But if you're sensitive to time changes or sleep disruptions, you could have trouble falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, at least for the first few days, he said.

For those folks, Rothenberg offered some tips for countering the effects of the time change: Don't sleep in on Sunday morning; don't nap Sunday afternoon; and don't fret, because worrying will just make it harder for you to sleep.

However, Rothenberg recommended you should get some morning light, and listen to your body if you can't fall asleep at your regular bedtime the first few nights.

Rudraraju offered some advice of his own.

For the first few weeks, try to wake up five or 10 minutes earlier every two to three days, he suggested. And exercise for 30 to 40 minutes in bright light each day, but do it before 5 p.m.

Don't drink caffeinated beverages, Rudraraju added, and eat dinner at least three to five hours before bedtime. At dinner, don't have more than one alcoholic drink. Stop all computer activity an hour before bedtime, and stay out of the bedroom until it's bedtime, he said.

If you still have trouble falling asleep, try taking a melatonin pill two hours before you want to go to sleep, said Rudraraju, who noted the pills are available without a prescription.

Another sleep expert had bedroom-specific advice for handling the time change.

Robert Oexman, director of the Sleep to Live Institute in Mebane, N.C., said keeping the bedroom cool, dark and quiet will help you sleep through the time change. Beyond that, a good mattress and pillows always help, and you should consider separate blankets if you sleep with a partner. That way, you won't be disturbed during the night by your partner hogging the covers, he said.

SOURCES: Praveen Rudraraju, M.D., medical director, Center for Sleep Medicine, Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco, N.Y.; Saul Rothenberg, Ph.D., behavioral sleep medicine specialist, Northwell Health, Great Neck, N.Y.; Robert Oexman, D.C., director, Sleep to Live Institute, Mebane, N.C.

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How to Keep a Spring in Your Step with Daylight Saving Time

Your DNA May Determine How You Handle the Time Change

SATURDAY, March 11, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Some people have more trouble adjusting to daylight saving time than others and genes may be the reason why, says an expert on sleep/wake patterns.

The time change occurs 2 a.m. Sunday morning when clocks "spring ahead" one hour.

"It is likely that advancing our clocks in the spring would more affect owls, those individuals who tend to stay awake later at night and consequently wake up later in the morning," said Dr. Joseph Takahashi.

"Less affected are the larks, those individuals who tend to wake up early and go to sleep earlier," he added. Takahashi is chairman of neuroscience at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

"Since being an owl or a lark is in large part genetically influenced, the best way to deal with daylight saving time is to be self-aware of your chronotype (early versus late awakening and sleeping) and to realize that advancing your clock will be harder if you are an owl and easier if you are a lark," he advised in a medical center news release.

To check your chronotype, you can take a simple online test called the Munich Chronotype, Takahashi suggested.

Because some studies have found a spike in traffic crashes after the time change, Takahashi said it's a good idea to "go to sleep slightly ahead of your normal bedtime." Then, in the morning, he added, "have an extra coffee and be vigilant on the road."

Research also indicates that more heart attacks occur after daylight saving time starts.

"It is now well established that the incidence of heart attacks is highest in the morning. Since waking up one hour earlier adds to stress and sleep deprivation, these might contribute to the increase," Takahashi said.

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7 in 10 U.S. Workplaces Hit by Opioid Abuse: Survey

FRIDAY, March 10, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Prescription drug abuse has seeped into the American workplace, with 70 percent of businesses saying it affects their workers, a new survey reveals.

The National Safety Council report also found that while 71 percent of employers believe that abuse of opioid prescription painkillers is a disease that requires treatment, 65 percent also consider it a justifiable reason to fire a worker.

"Employers must understand that the most dangerously misused drug today may be sitting in employees' medicine cabinets," said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the safety council.

"Even when they are taken as prescribed, prescription drugs and opioids can impair workers and create hazards on the job. We hope these findings prompt employers to take the lead on this emerging issue so that workplaces can be as safe as possible," she added in a safety council news release.

But the survey findings showed that employers have a long way to go on this front.

Only 19 percent of employers said they felt "extremely prepared" to deal with prescription drug abuse in their workplace, only 13 percent were "very confident" that workers could spot signs of misuse, and 76 percent do not offer training on the topic.

Fifty-seven percent of employers said all employees underwent drug testing. Of those who conduct drug testing, 41 percent do not test for synthetic opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl, the findings showed.

The survey also found that 81 percent of employers' policies lack at least one major element of an effective drug-free workplace program.

While 88 percent of employers said they would be interested in having their insurer cover alternative pain relief treatments so workers could avoid taking narcotic painkillers, 30 percent of those employers said they would not act on that interest.

On a positive note, 70 percent of employers did say they would help workers struggling with prescription drug abuse return to their jobs after completing treatment.

The survey was released online March 9 by the National Safety Council.

The United States is currently in the throes of an unprecedented opioid epidemic. More than six out of 10 overdose deaths involve opioid drugs, and 91 Americans die every day from prescription opioids or heroin, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Deaths from prescription painkillers -- such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) -- as well as heroin and methadone have more than quadrupled since 1999, according to the CDC.

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Heart Disease Kicks in Earlier for Obese People

THURSDAY, March 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight and obese people tend to develop heart disease at an earlier age, living with chronic illness for much longer than those of a healthy weight, a new study shows.

People carrying excess pounds do tend to live similar or only slightly shorter life spans compared to folks with normal body weight, the researchers found.

But heart disease begins 1.8 years earlier in overweight middle-aged women compared with normal-weight women, and 4.3 years earlier for those who are obese, they added.

Meanwhile, obese middle-aged men suffer heart disease 3.1 years earlier than normal-weight men. However, overweight men tended to develop heart disease at about the same rate and live about as long as normal-weight men.

These findings show that even though some may benefit from an "obesity paradox" -- where people with excess weight live longer than those of normal weight -- those extra years of life could be filled with illness and misery, said lead researcher Dr. Sadiya Khan, an instructor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

"Individuals in the overweight category really live about the same amount of time," Khan said. "It was really the difference about how long they lived with cardiovascular disease because they developed the disease earlier in life."

For this study, Khan and her colleagues pooled together participants from 10 different research projects, coming up with a group of almost 73,000 middle-aged people with an average age of 55. All participants were healthy and free of cardiovascular disease when they enrolled in the study.

Average body mass index or BMI (a measure of body fat based on weight and height) was 27.4 for men and 27.1 for women. A BMI above 25 is considered overweight, and above 30 obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During years of follow-up, just over 13,450 people suffered a heart health event, defined as either heart failure, a stroke or a diagnosis of heart disease.

Compared to people with normal BMI, lifetime risks for developing heart disease were higher in overweight and obese adults, the researchers found.

For example, overweight middle-aged women were 32 percent more likely to develop heart disease in their lifetime compared to women of normal weight, while overweight men were 21 percent more likely to develop heart disease. Obese men and women were 67 percent and 85 percent more likely to develop heart disease, respectively.

On average, people with normal BMI also tended to enjoy more years free of heart disease.

The overweight and obese people "developed [heart disease] at a younger age and lived longer with [heart disease], with a higher risk of conditions like coronary artery disease and heart failure," Khan said.

People with excess weight likely benefit from a heart health event, in that their heart attack or stroke forces their doctor to step up their medical care, said Dr. Robert Eckel, chair of atherosclerosis at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. He was not involved with the study.

"If you're obese or overweight, your years of survival after you have a cardiovascular disease event may be a bit higher, but I think that's because these people are more aggressively treated for risk factors," said Eckel, who is also director of the Lipid Clinic at the University of Colorado Hospital.

Khan was to present the findings at the an American Heart Association meeting in Portland, Ore. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

SOURCES: Sadiya Khan, M.D., instructor, medicine, Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago; Robert Eckel, M.D., chair, atherosclerosis, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, and director, Lipid Clinic, University of Colorado Hospital; March 9, 2017, presentation, American Heart Association meeting, Portland, Ore.

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Most Women Stop Drinking After Positive Pregnancy Test, Study Finds

THURSDAY, March 9, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- When they learn they're pregnant, most American women stop drinking alcohol, a new study shows.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 5,000 newly pregnant women in eight U.S. cities. They found that the vast majority stopped or reduced their drinking after their positive pregnancy test.

"Our study was not focused on whether or not alcohol is safe in the early conception window," said study senior author Dr. Katherine Hartmann.

"We wanted to see what actual women were currently doing. And we were pleasantly surprised about how promptly people changed their alcohol use," said Hartmann, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Most quit completely, while about 6 percent of women continued to consume some alcohol, almost all of them at very low levels, she said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women who are pregnant or could become pregnant avoid alcohol use.

The fact that many women understand the risks of alcohol use during pregnancy and change their drinking habits is encouraging, but doing so is most effective the earlier women know they're pregnant, Hartmann added.

"Women were already self-regulating their alcohol use. Our findings suggested that promoting early pregnancy awareness could prove to be more effective than promoting abstinence from alcohol among all who could conceive," she said in a university news release.

The study will appear in the April issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Biomarker in Blood May Help Predict Recovery Time for Sports Concussions

Monday, January 9, 2017

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Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that the blood protein tau could be an important new clinical biomarker to better identify athletes who need more recovery time before safely returning to play after a sports-related concussion. The study, supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) with additional funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), published online in the Jan. 6, 2017 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Despite the millions of sports-related concussions that occur annually in the United States, there is no reliable blood-based test to predict recovery and an athlete's readiness to return to play. The new study shows that measuring tau levels could potentially be an unbiased tool to help prevent athletes from returning to action too soon and risking further neurological injury.

"Keeping athletes safer from long-term consequences of concussions is important to players, coaches, parents and fans. In the future, this research may help to develop a reliable and fast clinical lab test that can identify athletes at higher risk for chronic post-concussion symptoms," said NINR Director Patricia A. Grady Ph.D., R.N.

Athletes who return to play before full recovery are at high risk for long-term symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and cognitive deficits with subsequent concussions. About half of college athletes see their post-concussive symptoms resolve within 10 days, but in others, the symptoms become chronic. 

Tau is also connected to development of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and is a marker of neuronal injury following severe traumatic brain injuries.

In the study, led by Dr. Jessica Gill, NIH Lasker Clinical Research Scholar and chief of the NINR Division of Intramural Research's Brain Injury Unit, researchers evaluated changes in tau following a sports-related concussion in male and female collegiate athletes to determine if higher levels of tau relate to longer recovery durations.

"Incorporating objective biomarkers like tau into return-to-play decisions could ultimately reduce the neurological risks related to multiple concussions in athletes," said Gill.

To measure tau levels, a group of 632 soccer, football, basketball, hockey, and lacrosse athletes from the University of Rochester first underwent pre-season blood plasma sampling and cognitive testing to establish a baseline. They were then followed during the season for any diagnosis of a concussion, with 43 of them developing concussions during the study. For comparison, a control group of 37 teammate athletes without concussions was also included in the study, as well as a group of 21 healthy non-athletes.

Following a sports-related concussion, blood was sampled from both the concussed and control athletes at six hours, 24 hours, 72 hours, and seven days post-concussion.

Concussed athletes who needed a longer amount of recovery time before returning to play, (more than 10 days post-concussion) had higher tau concentrations overall at six, 24, and 72-hours post-concussion compared to athletes who were able to return to play in 10 days or less. These observed changes in tau levels occurred in both male and female athletes, as well as across the various sports studied.

Together, these findings indicate that changes in tau measured in as short a time as within six hours of a sports-related concussion may provide objective clinical information to better inform athletes, trainers, and team physicians' decision-making about predicted recovery times and safe return to play. 

Further research will test additional protein biomarkers and examine other post-concussion outcomes.

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About the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): NINR supports basic and clinical research that develops the knowledge to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and enhance end-of-life and palliative care. For more information about NINR, visit the website at www.ninr.nih.gov.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD conducts and supports research in the United States and throughout the world on fetal, infant and child development; maternal, child and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit NICHD's website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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Eye Exam Might Help Spot Poor Circulation in Legs

WEDNESDAY, March 8, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Could a routine eye exam some day point to trouble with circulation in the legs? New research suggests it might be possible.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said changes in the eye's retina may help spot people at risk for a narrowing of the large blood vessels in the legs -- a condition called peripheral artery disease (PAD).

"PAD is estimated to affect approximately 8.5 million Americans above the age of 40 years and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and quality of life impairment," noted one heart specialist, Dr. Samy Selim. He's an interventional cardiologist at Northwell Health's Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y.

And while the disability from PAD is serious and widespread, "physician screening for PAD is not satisfactory, to say the least," Selim said.

The new study was led by Hopkins researcher Chao Yang and is slated for presentation Wednesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Portland, Ore.

Yang's team investigated almost 9,400 adults who were tracked for 19 years. During that time, more than 300 developed PAD that required hospitalization or a procedure to open their narrowed leg arteries.

Ninety-two of the patients had the most severe form of PAD, called critical limb ischemia. As the researchers explained, this condition can cause ulcers to form on the leg, and result in gangrene or even amputation.

After adjusting for common PAD risk factors such as diabetes, the researchers found that people with abnormalities in the tiny blood vessels of the retina had more than double the odds of developing PAD, and nearly 3.5 times the odds of developing its more severe form.

These telltale abnormalities included bleeding, yellow spots from the breakdown of lipids and areas of blood protruding from vessels in the back of the eye, Yang's group said.

The link between retinal problems and PAD was strongest among people with diabetes, the researchers added.

Why the link? According to the investigators, abnormalities in tiny blood vessels -- as evidenced in the retina -- may point to bigger problems in the legs.

In the lower limbs, damage to small vessels could impede wound healing or the creation of new routes for blood to flow around narrowed leg vessels, Yang and colleagues explained. And that could lead to more severe PAD.

Selim agreed that the notion of spotting small-vessel trouble in routine eye exams has merit.

"Looking at the back of the eye's retina can be done in primary care offices as part of a routine clinical exam," he said. "Hopefully one day, a look at the eye will hold clues to the future of the legs -- which will be an alert to the heart outcome and a signal to start effective prevention and treatment."

Dr. James Catanese is chief of cardiology at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y. He agreed that PAD can be a "silent" condition that's tough to spot early. But "this study confirms that retinal evaluation and imaging can find this disease when it is in a silent, but treatable phase," he said.

"If more patients had regular eye examinations and atherosclerosis was found, early treatment could save their lives," Catanese said.

Because the findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

SOURCES: Samy Selim, MBBCh, interventional cardiology and endovascular specialist, Northwell Health's Southside Hospital, Bay Shore, N.Y.; James Catanese, M.D., chief of cardiology, Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco, N.Y.; Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health, news release, March 8, 2017

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Eye Exam Might Help Spot Poor Circulation in Legs