Third...

Hair...

Mouthwash...

Twenty-three healthy adults were asked to run on a treadmill for a total of 30 minutes on two separate occasions, after which they were monitored for two hours.

On each occasion at one, 30, 60 and 90 minutes after exercise they were asked to rinse their mouths with a liquid either antibacterial mouthwash or a placebo of mint-flavoured water. Neither the researchers nor the participants knew which liquid they were rinsing with.

Their blood pressure was measured and saliva and blood samples were taken before exercise and at 120 minutes after exercise.

The study found that when participants rinsed with the placebo, the average reduction in systolic blood pressure was -5.2 mmHg at one hour after exercise. However when participants rinsed with the antibacterial mouthwash, the average systolic blood pressure was -2.0 mmHg at the same time point.

What to do, what to do?

Touch...

The hands and fingers are very powerful transmitters of our emotional state.   Touch matters, and how we touch is crucial to relationships.

 We learn the power of touch from the moment we are born. Mothers will gently touch their child using the full palm of their hand, which is warm and relaxed, rich with blood-flow due to vaso-dilation. This is called “palmar touching” and it contributes to the bonding process and the comfort of the child. The child will touch back in kind.

For both mother and child, this mutual caressing releases a cascade of chemicals, including oxytocin, which serves to solidify the connection between them. Oxytocin, usually released during touch or caress, as well as sex, also helps to solidify the relationship between adults.

The act of touching is a highly effective pacifier, which is why we do it to others (children crying) and to ourselves as combing or stroking hair, rubbing hands, touching our noses, massaging our foreheads and neck. It is also a highly effective way to say I care and I love. Touch is so powerful that it is essential for good physical health and mental well being.

            In relationships, touching becomes very important as a medium of expression, especially for communicating comfort and discomfort, which in essence is a report on our emotions and feelings at any moment.

 When  we touch someone we care about, subconsciously we do so with our full palms. The hands are relaxed, fingers are spread; the touch communicates positive emotions. The frequency of touch, the duration of touch, and the intensity of touch, also communicate how we feel. These behaviors are governed by our limbic brain, which regulates emotions, sexuality, and whether or not we are comfortable or uncomfortable around others. Just a touchy thought.

Crimes...

 The United States, Britain and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing intelligence and logistics support to a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, the United Nations said on Tuesday.   (The Guardian)

The report accused the anti-Houthi coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of killing civilians in air strikes and deliberately denying them food in a country facing famine. The Houthis for their part have shelled cities, deployed child soldiers and used "siege-like warfare", it said.

The Houthis drove Yemen's government out of the capital Sanaa in 2014. The Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Muslim states intervened the following year, a conflict that has since killed tens of thousands of people.

The prospect of famine has created what the United Nations describes as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.

Self Talk...

 Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

• Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones. For example, you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. That evening, you focus only on your plan to do even more tasks and forget about the compliments you received.

• Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.

• Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.

• Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or you're a total failure.

Leagăne

When Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power, in the mid-nineteen-sixties, Romania saw the proliferation of leagăne—literally, “cradles,” otherwise known as institutional homes for the very young. 

Ceaușescu wanted to increase Romania’s industrial output, and he thought that that required a larger population. In 1966, he enacted Decree 770, which restricted contraceptives, banned almost all abortions for women who hadn’t had at least four children, and instituted a thirty-per-cent income tax on childless men and women who were over the age of twenty-five. 

The result was one of the saddest natural experiments in modern psychology. Thousands of children, from birth to the age of three, grew up neglected in understaffed institutions, often experiencing severe sensory deprivation in their formative months.

Optimisim...

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.

It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess

Arson...

Protesters lit fires, threw petrol bombs and attacked the parliament building.

In response, police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse crowds, and fired live warning shots as they tried to clear the streets.

The latest protests came just a day after the arrest of several key pro-democracy activists and lawmakers in China's special administrative region.

Hong Kong has now seen 13 successive weeks of demonstrations.

The movement grew out of rallies against a controversial extradition bill - now suspended - which would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

Police said in a tweet they had responded at both sites after reports of "radical protesters" assaulting citizens and damaging property.

In a statement, Hong Kong's government also said some protesters had "committed arson and "hurled miscellaneous objects and iron railings" on to railway tracks, "completely disregarding the safety of other passengers.
Criminals undermine life and can't be considered Democracy seeker.  Just a thought.

Menassing...

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's former president, has told a court that he received $25m from Saudi Arabia.

"We were told that the crown prince did not want his name to appear [linked to the transaction] ... and if the funds were deposited with Sudan's bank or the finance ministry, the source would have to be identified," he said.

Al-Bashir told the court he gave five million dollars to the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that helped remove him from power, four million dollars to a university in Sudan and two million dollars to a military hospital.

An investigator had previously told the court that al-Bashir received $90m in cash from Saudi royals.

All the troubles of the Middle East may have a source.  Just a thought.