Why do we yawn?

Yawns are fascinating. The fact that it is triggered by a lot of specific emotions varying from tiredness, boredom, to being sleepy is just interesting. What is more fascinating is that yawns are somewhat contagious as you can yawn just after you see someone else do it. So what are these exactly and why do we do it? In this article, we will explore the truth about yawns.

Yawning is an involuntary behavior in which your mouth opens up wide and you inhale deeply followed by exhaling. When you say involuntary, this means that you have no control over this action so much like other reflexes such as blinking or sneezing so you cannot do anything to suppress it nor consciously control it. Yawns are not only exclusive to human beings as all other animals do this. When we yawn, there are various neurochemical changes that happen in our brain.

Although there is no concrete proof as to why we yawn, there are several explanations as to why we yawn. Some researchers have a theory that yawning is a processed used to cool our brains off.

Your brain is like a CPU of a computer. It functions as a machine where all the actions and movements of all your other body parts originate from this part. That is why it is called as the central part of your body or central nervous system because just like a CPU to a computer, you cannot function well if your brain is not functioning well. Because your brain works 24/7, it might 'overheat' just like a CPU will if it does not get the rest it needs or even just some cooling off. So, what the brain does is to inhale cool air, through yawning to cool off the brain.

When you yawn, air comes in and it cools down the brain. When your brain is cool, it tends to function better than when your brain is tired or is nearing 'overheating.' This theory is called the brain-cooling hypothesis or the radiator hypothesis.

Another explanation as to why you yawn is because it is the brain's way of telling you to get more air into your lungs. At a normal rate, you do not get to use majority of your lungs' capacity, hence, the low oxygen levels when you are breathing normally. Therefore, for the lungs to not get stiff due to low levels of oxygen, your brain urges you to sigh or yawn.

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Which sleep position is healthiest?

Typically people sleep in the position that feels most comfortable in that moment. You probably have one or two frequented positions you rely on to get to sleep fast. It might surprise you to learn that your sleep position matters at all. What difference could it possibly make what position my body lies in while it's asleep, as long as I'm asleep, right? Wrong.

We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping. comparable to frequently repeated movements triggering injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, constantly staying in one posture too much time has been known to lead to injuries, as well, especially if said position is not in accordance with natural posture. Sleeping while in an improper pose may inflict injury to the body in just one night. Ever wake up with a stiff neck or back? Keep that up for days and weeks and you can incur persistent neck and back injuries.

Sleep Positions

Although there is some variety, there are primarily three main sleeping positions. Any sleeping pose must be rated based upon the support and good alignment of the lower back, hips and neck.

Back Position

A person lies on their back, head pointing straight up. The back position is a great sleep posture. It is natural to keep the spine and neck in proper alignment. The only problem is where to position the feet. If there is enough room beneath your covers the toes should aim towards the ceiling, but sometimes your feet need to point at an angle outwards a bit. As long as you keep it minimized there shouldn't be an issue.

Side Position

Lying on either side with both legs straight, your head on its side resting on your pillow, arms in front of your body. The side pose is another healthy posture for sleep. Again, the spine and head are kept in alignment easily. The legs can be slightly bent at your knees and hips, if you wish. Be careful to not bend so far as to go into a fetal pose where your back ends up arched. This can put way too much stress on the back and neck.

Front Position

Lying on their stomach|, or mostly on their stomach, with the head turned to one side setting on the pillow. Arms may be pointed downwards along the sides or place up around and hugging the pillow. Although one of the most favored positions for its coziness. Unfortunately, this is an awful pose for the lower back as well as the neck. In order to to breathe you have to angle your head sideways at a right angle from front which places a great deal of tension on the neck. You may also find it extra pressure on the abdominal muscles.

Adjusting your Sleeping Position

If you are usually a front-sleeper you're going to have to work towards changing the habit. Another posture may be a little unpleasant in the beginning but it normally on takes a few nights to acquire the new habit. Besides, the profits of changing to a healthier sleeping posture can make a huge positive difference for the rest of your life!

You may need to establish a new position slowly. Make sure to get yourself drowsy and on the verge of falling asleep before you shut out your light. Start with one of the good positions, either side or back, whichever you decide is more comfortable. If you've prepared yourself properly you'll go right to sleep. On the other hand, if you have trouble getting to sleep, try only switching back and forth between these two for a while. If you are unable to get comfortable you may go back to the front pose again, briefly. You may need a few days to adjust to the side and back, but in due course you will accomplish it.

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Exercise Helps your Body Instantly with DNA Modification

Maybe this will motivate you to work out. New research supports the idea that you don't need to spend hours at the gym everyday for your body to start feeling the positive effects of exercise. In fact, a single session on a stationary bike can affect your very DNA.

Okay, so your actual genetic code won't morph into that of Conan the Barbarian. But exercise sets signals in motion almost instantly that determine which genes get turned on and off. These what-are-called epigenetic changes signal to the muscles to, well, tone up. The study is in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Researchers recruited 14 men and women in their mid-20s who didn't usually exercise. After a short but intense spin on a bike, samples of their muscle tissue showed temporary, but big, changes in several types of epigenetic signals. Further tests showed that some of the same effects could be achieved with a jolt of caffeine.

Alas, black coffee can’t provide all the benefits of your morning workout. But if you get to the nearest coffee shop by running, you're definitely starting out on the right foot.

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What Cuases Stillbirth and Miscarriages?

Miscarriages and Stillbirths:
Miscarriages are medically referred to as spontaneous abortions. This term is used to describe the loss of a fetus in the first half of pregnancy (before 20 to 24 weeks). After this time, if a baby dies in a mother's uterus on or after the 24 week mark, it is known as a stillbirth.

Both events can be devastating for prospective parents, so understanding the causes, what precautions can be taken and how to deal with the feeling of loss caused by a miscarriage or stillbirth is vital.

In this section we look at: the risks of miscarriage and stillbirths, possible causes, and what diagnosis can be given for miscarriages and stillbirths.

What Causes Miscarriages?
Women can miscarry for various reasons. Most of the early miscarriages occur when the embryo fails to attach to the wall of the uterus because the lining isn't prepared for implantation or because the embryo has severe chromosomal or developmental defects. The presence of an autoimmune disorder, severe infection or illness, or an abnormality in the shape of the womb may also occasionally lead to miscarriage. If the embryo is exposed to so-called 'teratogenic' substances (e.g. x-rays, certain medications or drugs) within the first two weeks of conception, then either a very early miscarriage will take place or the pregnancy will go ahead as normal and the child will not have been damaged. The cause of most miscarriages, however, is not known.

Later miscarriages can be caused by problems such as genetic or chromosomal defects; abnormalities of the uterus (for example, a subdivided/septate uterus) or of the placenta; severe illness; metabolic disease in the mother (diabetes or thyroid problems); bacterial or viral infections (e.g. toxoplasmosis and listeriosis); or incompetence of the cervix.

The chances of a woman miscarrying increase with age, and also (but less so) with the number of previous pregnancies. As miscarriage is common, affecting nearly 15% of clinically recognised pregnancies, many women may have a miscarriage if they have enough pregnancies. Thus, a history of miscarriage doesn't really make it any more likely that you'll go on and miscarry again. It's advisable, however, to wait at least three months before attempting to conceive after a miscarriage, as the uterus lining needs some time to recover.

Rarely, some women have what is known as recurrent miscarriage, but this refers to those with three or more consecutive miscarriages. This is sometimes due to a medical reason such as one of the parents carrying a predisposition to chromosome problems in the baby, or the mother having an autoimmune problem or an abnormally shaped uterus. The majority of women who miscarry go on to have a successful next pregnancy.

The most common symptoms of miscarriage are similar to those of a period and are bleeding (which occurs in 95% of cases), possibly with clots, and/or cramp-type pain.

Stillbirth/ Intrauterine Deaths:
Stillbirth is the delivery of a dead fetus in the last half of pregnancy. In Ireland, it is still defined as delivery after 24 weeks, whereas increasingly a definition of delivery after 20 weeks is used. Stillbirth is also sometimes referred to as late fetal death or intrauterine death.

Sadly, the exact cause of stillbirth remains unknown in over 30% of cases. In the rest of the cases, stillbirth may be due to poor fetal growth, severe fetal abnormality, placental problems, pre-eclampsia, uncontrolled diabetes, severe cases of Rhesus incompatibility, infections, antepartum haemorrhage and post-maturity. This is one reason why obstetricians usually recommend induction of labour at term (from 38 weeks) if there are problems in the pregnancy.

How common is it? The incidence of stillbirths in Westernised countries is fortunately declining, having fallen from around 2% in the UK in the 1950s to 0.3% in the early 1990s. Stillbirths tend to be more common in deprived communities, in older women and in women who receive poor care during their pregnancy.

What are the signs? If the baby has died movements stop, the uterus may also start to shrink and there is weight loss.

Stillbirth is often preceded by a reduction in fetal movements in the days or week before the baby dies inside the womb. For this reason, if you're over 30 weeks pregnant, it's important to report any major reduction in the frequency of movements over a period of a day or so to your healthcare professional.

Often when you feel no movements, your baby will be shown to be moving when tested in hospital. But some babies will show signs of distress, and can be saved by early delivery.

Try to familiarise yourself with your baby's movements and contact your healthcare professional without delay if you don't feel anything for six to eight hours.

Although labour will follow naturally within a few days to weeks after the death of the baby, in the majority of cases women prefer to have labour induced straight away. Caesarean sections are not normally carried out, so that the mother isn't subjected to an unnecessary operation. Counselling and support will be provided and every effort will be made to try and discover the cause.

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A few of the stupidest excuses men and women use to avoid exercise

When it comes to getting back in great shape, people get very imaginative when they attempt to come up with reasons not to do it. The simple truth is that, while we are still getting in condition, exercising just isn't fun; working out is hard work. Getting in better shape doesn't necessarily feel good, despite the endorphin rush many of us go through afterwards. Even with those endorphins performing exercises causes our joints and muscles to feel discomfort, tires us out and causes us to kind of hate our bodies for a while. No wonder we are so adept at identifying other things to do with our spare time! Listed here are a few of the stupidest excuses men and women use when they do not want to exercise.

How frequently have you convinced yourself "I'd love to improve my overal fitness levels but I do not have time"? This really is probably the utter worst justification to make when you do not want to exercise. In reality it is very easy to find time to do exercises because you can do it while you do other stuff. To give an example: it is possible to take the staircase as opposed to the elevator at the job. You can pack a healthy lunch and go for a walk on your lunch time break instead of just hitting a drive through. You can go walking around your working environment or do smaller sized exercises while you are on conference calls. In the evening hours, it is possible to get in an exercise session when you are watching your favorite tv show. Without a doubt there is time to do the exercise, you only need to really find it.

How frequently do you tell yourself that "you will workout later, when you can actually afford some great equipment systems or even a fitness center membership". Thats just useless and avoidance type of behavior. You don't require any pricey fitness equipment or a gym member's program to get fit. You can exercise at your home using online videos or that you've loaned from the library. You can follow workout routines you come across in magazines. You don't require anything more than your body plus some space to move to get into superior shape.

Do you think to yourself "I want to get in shape but working out makes me feel stiff, sore, and worn out"? Don't do that ever again. The truth is when you start out, your regular workout will make you fatigued and uncomfortable. As you become stronger, exercising should get easier. Ease into it so that you certainly won't feel like you're dying every time you exercise and work to build up endurance and strength levels. After you build these things up to a decent level, you'll start getting endorphin rushes. Never hurry it: ultimately they will happen for you and then you will certainly see that performing exercises can be extremely enjoyable.

There's a lot of justifications not to exercise from not having the perfect exercise clothes to not having enough time. You need to be thankful to learn that getting fit can be worked into your way of life regardless of what you may be wearing, the quantity of free time you will have (or don't as the case may very well be) and what sort of exercise products you already own.

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