Zapping the brain with a tiny device on the ear could boost fitness without people having to lift a finger, study claims
Wearing the stimulator for just 30 minutes a day increased oxygen intake during exercise by four per cent, according to researchers - who hope it could eventually be used to help more inactive people.
The device, clipped to the outer ear, sends gentle electrical pulses to increase the activity of the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in regulating heart function.
Led by researchers at University College London and Queen Mary University of London, the study involved 28 healthy volunteers.
Half were given the nerve stimulator to wear for 30 minutes every day for a week, while the other half were given a dummy device.
Following a two-week break, the groups swapped devices.
All of those taking part in the trial had an exercise test at the beginning and end of the week they wore the stimulator.
The trial, published in the European Heart Journal, found the 'dysfuntion' of the vagus nerve is 'strongly associated with impaired exercise tolerance'.
Put simply: those wearing the nerve stimulator were able to exercise more intensely than when wearing the dummy device.
After a week, the stimulator increased oxygen intake during exercise by 4%.
It also boosted maximum breathing rate by an average of four breaths per minute, and maximum heart rate by four beats per minute during exercise.
Gareth Ackland, a professor of perioperative medicine at Queen Mary University of London School of Medicine, said: 'Maintaining physical activity is essential for every aspect of cardiovascular, emotional, and cognitive health.
'The outcome of the trial is consistent with the significant body of evidence pointing to an important role of the brain in optimising exercise performance and regulating the activity of the immune system, helped by the vagus nerve'.
Blood samples were also take from five people, with researchers suggesting wearing the nerve stimulator for a week helped reduce inflammation.
Prof Ackland added: 'We will need to carry out larger trials to confirm our findings, but the results of this study in healthy volunteers suggest that increasing vagus nerve activity can improve fitness and reduce inflammation, potentially offering new approaches to improve heart health.'
Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study, said: 'This early study suggests that a simple technology, which harnesses the connection between the heart and the brain, can lead to improvements in fitness and exercise tolerance.
'While more research is needed involving people with cardiovascular disease, this could one day be used as a tool to improve wellbeing and quality of life for people with heart failure.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Sun
Terminally ill James Whale, 74, ‘feels happy to go now' after moving to a hospice
TERMINALLY ill James Whale has heartbreakingly admitted he feels "happy to go now" after moving into a hospice. The broadcaster, 74, previously confessed he "probably won't be here next week" after re-locating to the end of life facility. 6 6 6 James has terminal kidney cancer and recently celebrated his "last birthday" surrounded by loved ones after stopping his treatment. Back in May, the TALK radio host revealed his long-running programme could be coming to an end as he reached the final stage of his battle. James was first diagnosed with kidney cancer back in 2020 yet the disease then spread to his brain, lungs and spine. He has now admitted he "feels at peace" in his new facility after being told he has weeks to live. The charity fundraiser wrote in a new newspaper column: "What's surprised me most is how much better in myself I feel since finally moving into a hospice near my home in Kent a week or so back." He added in his peace for the Daily Express: "I began to feel better immediately. More positive. "I feel at peace here, even though I'm not a religious person. "I know I've reached the end of my life but I'm quite sanguine about it. "Despite everything, I'm happy to go now and a lot of that is due to the people who work here, because they make dying as peaceful and pain-free as possible." TalkTV's James Whale shares emotional cancer battle update as he says 'I haven't got much longer' in heartbreaking video One of the country's most revered radio personalities, James has been in the business for 50 years and, in 2023, received the first ever TRIC Recognition Award for his outstanding work. He's helped countless others too, having launched the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer in 2006 - now known as Kidney Cancer UK - the nation's leading specialist charity of its kind, after beating the illness two decades ago. He then urged fans to support the hospice as he outlined the range of activities they plan for guests. SAD UPDATES Back in 2023, James told how he planned to have two funerals - so he could attend one of them. Yet last month he gave a worrying update as he admitted he was struggling to talk and breathe. Speaking on his podcast Tales of the Whales alongside his co-host wife Nadine in July, they spoke about his conditions. He also admitted his speech has become very slow and he is forgetful, while suffering with painful pressure sores. On the emotional recording, he said: "I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't talk. "Anyway. Good morning. Welcome to Tales of the Whales, our weekly podcast. I have terminal 5 cancer. Can you get 5?" Nadine explained: 'You're getting quite tired, so from next week, we're restricting visitors to just very close friends and family.' He added: 'The most tiring thing I found… I still can't hear very well, which is more frustrating than anything else. "I've become very slow in my speech and then forgetful and everything else." Talking about his pressure sores he said: 'I'm tootling along, which is all you can do really, trying to get my breathing sorted and the mark on my bum.' He humbly asked: "People have to go through a lot worse, don't they? Do they?" The poignant conversation concluded: "Anyway. I don't feel I can go on much more... "The other thing is, my energy levels have gone completely. "So I wish everybody well, and let us hope we go through these phases as quickly as we can." 6 6 6
Telegraph
12 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘Don't be fobbed off': Readers back Telegraph campaign for prostate cancer screening
Michael, David, Paul – the names of just three of our readers who have had to take matters into their own hands when it comes to prostate cancer tests. In the hundreds of replies The Telegraph has received in response to our campaign, there are countless stories where men have had to insist on PSA tests when GPs dismissed their concerns. Prostate cancer kills 12,000 men in this country every year, with one in eight prostate cancer cases being caught at stage 4, when the disease is incurable. If the PSA test were proactively offered to men as part of a targeted screening programme, lives would be saved because more cases would be caught at an earlier stage, when treatment is more successful. That is why The Telegraph is campaigning for a targeted national screening programme for prostate cancer, focused on men who are at the greatest risk of developing the disease. This includes men over 50, black men (whose risk is twice that of white men) and those with a family history of prostate cancer. Following the launch of the campaign, readers who have had prostate cancer in the past or are currently undergoing treatment have shared their stories in the hope it will bring about change for others. 'It's my right to have a test' Paul Harvey, 75, believes he would be dead now if he had not insisted on knowing what his PSA levels were. 'My father died with prostate cancer, so I knew I was a higher risk,' he shares. Mr Harvey, who works part-time for the North Yorkshire Police, asked his GP for a PSA test but was told the test wasn't very accurate and not to bother. 'I insisted. I told her it was my right to have a test, and two weeks later she made me a fast-track referral,' he explains. Mr Harvey was soon diagnosed with a PSA of 10.2 and a Gleason score of 3+4. Gleason is a system used to grade prostate cancer based on the appearance of cancer cells. 'At this point, I joined a local support group and found the Macmillan nurse very helpful in bringing my fears down in size,' he shares. The NHS 'stepped up speed', and Mr Harvey had a robotic prostatectomy followed by radiation therapy a few years later. 'Yes, there are still side effects, but at least I am alive to experience them.' 'I am a strong advocate of testing, and am witheringly blunt with men who say ' I do not want to know what my PSA is,'' Mr Harvey states. 'I was told a PSA test was not needed' Telegraph reader David, 67, an aircraft engineer, received PSA tests in the past with all low numbers, but had cause for concern when he experienced urethral bleeds on two occasions, six months apart. His bladder was medically examined with a camera, but he was told he was all clear. 'Each time I questioned my PSA levels, but was told a PSA test was not needed,' he says. He then went to a different GP with a separate issue, who asked, with all the intervention, why he had not requested a PSA test. 'I pointed out I had, on numerous occasions, but was refused.' The GP sent him for a PSA test the next day, and found he had hugely increased numbers. A CT scan followed, revealing he had stage 3 prostate cancer. He is currently undergoing treatment at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield. 'The answer is not to be fobbed off' Michael Evans had annual PSA checks for ten years until 2005, when he noticed the level had risen from 2.2 to 3.4 in one year. Although the level was still low, he admits, he was concerned about the rapid rate of increase, which he knew to be an indicator of cancer. But his doctor dismissed his concerns and later told him that a PSA level of four was the lowest for an NHS referral at the time. So Mr Evans insisted on a private referral, and as a result he was diagnosed with prostate cancer within a week. Two weeks later, he had the gland removed, although he had been offered alternative therapies. The cancer had not spread, and his PSA level has remained undetectable for 20 years. The reader says the PSA test 'is not clear proof and, of course, a high score can also indicate benign conditions. But it's a start, and warrants further investigation. 'Prostate cancer is eminently curable if you catch it early, as I did. The answer is not to be fobbed off and insist on investigation, especially since MRI scans are now safer than the biopsy, which was all that was available in 2005.' 'Astonished' Geraldine Davies's late husband, Ivor Gunton, took part in Bristol University's ProtecT study around the age of 60, close to the time he was winding down his gardening business. He was tested every year and saw a consultant after receiving a PSA of four. The study results provided strong evidence there was a small increased risk of progression and cancer spread from active monitoring, compared to risks of harms to sexual, urinary and bowel function caused by radical treatments. Upon finding a small tumour, the study looked into which treatments were most successful. Mr Gunton had regular monitoring, and after ten years, the tumour had not grown. 'I am astonished that the results of this comprehensive study are not directing action to prevent so many men from dying of this disease. Why have its findings been ignored?' Mr Gunton died of bowel cancer in 2022, but it was in no way related to the prostate cancer, Ms Davies shares. 'My only symptom was backache' Paul Beal was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer four years ago – his only symptom was a backache. 'Thankfully, my doctor picked it up at a routine asthma test visit after asking about my general health.' 'The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn were fantastic, and I can't praise the Macmillan Centre enough,' Mr Beal says. However, 'the strangest and best thing that came out of the whole thing is that my friend Brian Hallard had the same diagnosis as me, and we went through the whole treatment as a team.' 'We are pleased to tell you that we are both fine and in remission, both with very low PSAs,' Mr Beal adds. The friends are both invited back to the Macmillan Centre every two months or so, to meet with other men with prostate cancer. 'And I have to say what a great bunch of men, and it's good to talk,' Mr Beal shares. The pair also promote getting the PSA test through their separate businesses – World Of Fun, a joke shop, and the Princess Theatre, both in Hunstanton. 'We are very open about getting the message out.'
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Rebecca Adlington's husband Andy Parsons reveals the devastating impact their miscarriages had on him as he details 'crying on the train' each morning while struggling with the loss
Rebecca Adlington's husband Andy Parsons has spoken about the devastating effect the loss of their unborn babies had on him when his wife suffered two miscarriages. The couple, who had their second miscarriage at 20 weeks in 2023 and named their daughter Harper, also lost a baby at 12 weeks the year before. Andy, 35, has now opened up for the first time about the impact of the loss, as he revealed to Sunday Times: 'I told myself I was OK but inside I was really struggling.' Andy and Rebecca found out that Harper no longer had a heartbeat during a heartbreaking ultrasound scan appointment and she had to undergo an induced labour and stillbirth. Reflecting on the discovery, Andy said: 'Instantly you just sink. I was so gutted but I wasn't bothered about my feelings. As a guy, you've got the easy job: the stress is all on the woman. So I was instantly into protection mode, comfort mode, just being there straight away for Becky.' The couple share four-year-old son Albie and Andy is step-father to Rebecca's daughter Summer, 10, from a previous marriage. While he immediately sprung into action to support his family, Andy admitted that internally he was deeply struggling with the loss of Harper. He said: 'I told myself I was OK but inside I was really struggling. This is the first time he has spoken publicly about his experience. I would just sit there on the train every morning, crying the whole way. I think we often don't know how to react and so we go into our shells.' Since the miscarriages, Andy and Rebecca have sought counselling to deal with their emotional scars and helped them think about the way they include Harper in the home. Prior to discussing their late daughter in counselling, Andy said that he was physically unable to talk about their miscarriages. Chief executive from the Miscarriage Association, Vicki Robinson, said: 'I think a lack of understanding about the emotional impact on both parents, combined with a sense in men that they have to stay strong for their partner, can leave them feeling like they aren't entitled to grieve,' says Vicki Robinson, the charity's chief executive.' Rebecca has previously credited couples therapy for helping them accept the devastating tragedy and work through the 'dark cloud' of their grief after attending for several months. In September, the athlete shared some of the touching ways her family has paid tribute to Harper. 'We've got a cherry blossom tree, we've got her little handprints on the wall in the living room with the family, Albie and Summer they always go "Harper's my sister,"' she said on Loose Women. 'Even on holiday last week there was a little chapel where we were in Greece and they lit a candle for Harper. 'She's part of our family, she will always be part of our family, and we're able to discuss her now in a way that we're not in floods of tears.' Rebecca also revealed how she didn't suffer any symptoms or notice any signs of her miscarriage until she was told in her 20-week scan. She told the panellists: 'There were absolutely no symptoms I had no signs of it, we only found out by going to the 20-week scan.' She then revealed that she received no explanation at all as to why she suffered a miscarriage. She said: 'It was something that was totally unknown, we had all the post mortem, all the tests that I had done after. 'They still can't tell us why it happened.' Andy and Rebecca tied the knot in August 2021 with a Cheshire ceremony, five months after welcoming their son Albie. The pair met on dating app Bumble in 2018, with the swimmer gushing after their wedding: 'It worked out perfectly for us. We couldn't be happier.' The couple started dating two years after she split from her ex-husband Harry, and she previously admitted she was nervous about finding love again. They quickly fell in love and facilities manager Andy moved from Liverpool to live with Rebecca in Manchester in 2019.
