Mind: A new study sheds light on the role that dreams play in the important process of learning. The new findings suggest that dreams may be the sleeping brain’s way of telling us that it is hard at work on the process of memory consolidation, integrating our recent experiences to help us with performance-related tasks in the short run and, in the long run, translating this material into information that will have widespread application to our lives. “What’s got us really excited is that after nearly 100 years of debate about the function of dreams, this study tells us that dreams are the brain’s way of processing, integrating and really understanding new information,” explained Robert Stickgold, PhD, senior author of the study and Director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at BIDMC and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The study is reported in the online issue of the journal Current Biology. Read More…
Blueberries by HLife Photography
Memory: Scientists are reporting the first evidence from human research that blueberries – one of the richest sources of healthful antioxidants and other phytochemicals – improve memory. previous studies in laboratory animals suggest that eating blueberries may help boost memory in the aged, but until now there had been little scientific work aimed at testing the effect of blueberries on memory in people. The research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that participants who drank blueberry juice showed significant improvement on learning and memory tests. “These findings are encouraging and suggest that consistent supplementation with blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration,” said the authors of the report. Read More…
Image by Jesse Wight
Bones: Adding flaxseed oil to the diet could reduce the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and women with diabetes, according to a report to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health. The results of the study conducted in Egypt suggested that flaxseed oil has a beneficial effect on bone mineral density and reduces markers associated with osteoporosis. The research team explains that the presence of so-called “n-3 fatty acids” in flaxseed oil may play a role in protecting the processes of matrix formation and bone mineralization, which seem to be compromised by diabetes and menopause. Tip: If you don’t have flaxseed oil, grind flaxseed and add it to your morning smoothie for better fatty acid absorption. Read More…
