University Of Warwick | SilverScorpio.Com

Short sleep ‘ups death risk’, long sleep ‘indicates serious illness’

May 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, May 5 (ANI): People who sleep for less than six hours each night are 12 percent more likely to die prematurely than those who get the recommended 6-8 hours, a new study has found.

What’s more, the research carried out by the University of Warwick in collaboration with the Federico II University Medical School in Naples, Italy, claimed that consistent over long sleeping (over 9 hours a night) can be a cause for concern. While, unlike short sleeping, over long sleeping does not in itself increase the risk of death, it can be a significant marker of an underlying serious and potentially fatal illnesses.

The study has been published in the journal Sleep.

To reach the conclusion, boffins looked at the relationship between the level of habitual duration of sleep and mortality by reviewing 16 prospective studies from the UK, USA, European and East Asian countries. The study included more than 1.3 million participants, followed up for up to 25 years, with more than 100,000 deaths recorded.

The study provides unequivocal evidence of the direct link between both short (less than 6 hours sleep a night) and long (9 hours or more) duration of sleep and an increased chance of dying prematurely, compared to those who sleep 6-8 hours a night on average.

Professor Francesco Cappuccio, leader of the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the University of Warwick and Consultant Physician at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, said “whilst short sleep may represent a cause of ill-health, long sleep is believed to represent more an indicator of ill-health”.

He said: “Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work. On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time.”

“Consistently sleeping 6 to 8 hours per night may be optimal for health. The duration of sleep should be regarded as an additional behavioural risk factor, or risk marker, influenced by the environment and possibly amenable to change through both education and counselling as well as through measures of public health aimed at favourable modifications of the physical and working environments “ Professor Cappuccio added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Consultant Physician, death risk, East Asian Countries, Fatal Illnesses, Federico Ii, Francesco Cappuccio, health status, ill health, long sleep, Naples Italy, Prospective Studies, Shift Work, short sleep, Sleep Health, societal pressures, Time Workers, University Hospitals Coventry And Warwickshire Nhs Trust, university medical school, university of warwick, ups

Medical poetry contest winner to get £15K prize

March 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, Mar 24 (ANI): Write poems on medicine and win prizes worth 15,000 pounds—a new international competition is offering just that for the winner of best medical poetry.

The competition, organised to celebrate the healing power of words, has short-listed six finalists from more than 1,600 entries from 31 countries.

The winners of the Hippocrates Prize will be announced at a symposium on Poetry and Medicine on 10 April, at the University of Warwick, which has put up the prize money.

The competition attracted entries from professional poets including Pauline Stainer, the author of nine collections of poetry, C K Stead, a distinguished writer, and Sian Hughes, whose first book of poems appeared last year—they are finalists in the “open” category.

The Hippocrates Prize is also offered in an NHS category open to National Health Service-related employees and health students.

The shortlisted candidates in this category are Wendy French, who runs creative writing classes in the NHS and has published two collections of poetry, Alex Josephy, an educationist working with NHS doctors, and Edward Picot, who manages a GP practice.

Judges include Dannie Abse, the poet, James Naughtie, the BBC Radio 4 Today presenter, and Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director.

“These poems were exhilarating to read. It was very moving to sense the struggles which have to be kept private but can be allowed to show through in poetry. And in the general poetry, there were some powerful poems, with a lot of energy under the bonnet,” the Independent quoted James Naughtie as saying.

Fiona Sampson, editor of Poetry Review, welcomed the competition, saying: “Traditionally poetry speaks to big moments in your life so it is quite natural for people to turn to it when thinking about illness, whether they are patients or medical professionals.”

“The fact that this competition has elicited poems from major poets with international reputations – poets who wouldn”t normally enter a poetry prize – tells us something about the importance of the relationship between poetry and medicine,” she added.

The winning poems, together with 20 commended poems in each category, are to be published in a book. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: bbc radio 4, Book Of Poems, Bruce Keogh, Creative Writing Classes, educationist, Gp Practice, healing power, Health Students, International Reputations, national health service, Nhs Doctors, Open Category, Picot, Poetry Contest Winner, Professional Poets, Professor Sir, shortlisted candidates, Sian Hughes, university of warwick, Wendy French

Happiness lies in earning more than peers!

March 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, March 23 (ANI): The secret to happiness lies in earning more money than your peers, according to a new study.

Christopher Boyce, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick in England, suggests that it does not matter how much wealth people make as long as they are doing better financially than their fellow mates.

We tend to be happy “as long as we”ve got more than the people around us,” Live Science quoted him as saying.

It apparently takes from the concept of “doing better than the Joneses,” which is common among children. For example, a toy gets ditched as soon as a shinier toy in the hands of another child is spotted.

Boyce insists it holds true for adults as well.

He added: “You might buy a new car. But if your neighbor has just bought the very same car, that new car doesn”t seem as good as it once was if you were the only one to have that car.”

The researchers studied the British Household Panel Survey data between 1997 and 2004, in which more than 80,000 participants rated how dissatisfied or satisfied overall.

They compared the subjects” income with various reference groups, including geographical region, gender and education, and age.

It was found that a person”s life satisfaction was primarily linked to the income position within each peer group.

The researchers cited the results to explain why when national economies grow, average happiness levels do not necessarily increase.

Boyce said: “It”s about having more than everyone else, which is why our nations are not increasing in happiness on average.

“Our study underlines concerns regarding the pursuit of economic growth. There are fixed amounts of rank in society – only one individual can be the highest earner.

“Thus, pursuing economic growth, although it remains a key political goal, might not make people any happier.”

The study has been published in a recent online edition of the journal Psychological Science. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Christopher Boyce, department of psychology, economic growth, fellow mates, Gender And Education, Geographical Region, happiness levels, household, Joneses, Life Satisfaction, national economies, neighbor, new car, panel survey, peer group, psychological science, Reference Groups, Survey Data, university of warwick, Warwick England

Happiness lies in earning more than peers!

March 20, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, March 20 (ANI): The secret to happiness lies in earning more money than your peers, according to a new study.