Universal Medicine

How sleep is the best painkiller. Have you ever suffered from some sort of pain then gone to sleep and woke up with the pain as a memory? New research has found an explanation for all of this. The research found that sleep deprivation increases the sensitivity of pain as it numbs the pain killing response. The effects of not getting enough sleep are endless from reduced memory, losing the ability to learn as well as cognitive impairment. Research Walker and Krause used 24 healthy, young participants and applied heat to their legs and scanned their brains examining the process of pain. The first time they completed this after participants had had a good night sleep and established the pain threshold, then again with no sleep. The researchers found that the brain's somatosensory cortex, a region associated with pain sensitivity, was hyperactive when the participants hadn't slept enough. This confirmed the hypothesis that sleep deprivation would interfere with pain-p...

As the exam period is upon us. Exams can be viewed as stressful times for many people and it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Exam stress occurs when you feel an increased sense of panic or anxiety in the days, weeks or months before, during or after an assessment or test of some sort. Exam stress is most frequently short-lived – as soon as it is finished and you realise that you are free from studying for a few months, your stress levels usually diminish. So why not begin to try new techniques and activities to reduce this as Excess stress can play a role in headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis and many more. In recent years, particularly in Japan, spending time in forests has become the wellness trend. Forest bathing — a translation of the Japanese term shinrin yoku — is not a new idea, of course; ramblers have enjoyed forest walks for generations. The act goes beyond walking through nature, according to experts who explain that ...