Latest news with #BenSingh
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Exercise Boosts Brain Function Across All Ages, Massive Study Confirms
It doesn't matter what age you are or how tough your exercise plan is – whatever physical activity you are doing is probably helping your brain, according to the largest and most comprehensive 'umbrella' review to date. In the massive data crunch, children and adolescents experienced the greatest benefits from exercise in memory, while the highest gains in executive function, which relates to planning and problem-solving, were seen in people with ADHD. But when considering cognition in general, every age group showed similar results. What's more, those benefits did not differ based on exercise intensity, duration, or session frequency. Even video games that require physical movement showed positive effects on the brain. In fact, some of the best outcomes on cognition and memory were attributed to 'exergames', such as Pokemon Go, as well as mind-body activities, like Tai Chi. "This is an encouraging finding, as it suggests that engaging, low-impact activities can offer real cognitive benefits," says lead author and health researcher Ben Singh from the University of South Australia. "Most forms of exercise appear effective," SIngh and his team explain, "including light-intensity activities, exergaming, and mind-body practices such as yoga and Tai Chi, making exercise an accessible and versatile intervention." The meta-meta-analysis covers 133 systematic reviews, encompassing 2,724 randomized controlled trials and more than a quarter of a million participants. It brings together an incredible amount of information to explore the relationship between exercise and cognition like never before. To date, numerous studies have shown that even short bouts of physical exercise may do wonders for memory and learning in the short term, and possibly in the long run as well. In the past, however, reviews have tended to focus on how certain types of activity, like high-intensity or low-intensity exercise, might impact specific individuals, such as older adults, children, or those with cognitive disorders or neurological diseases. "While each of these reviews has provided valuable insight into the impact that exercise can have on cognitive function and memory," write the authors of the new meta- meta-analysis, "…there is a need to comprehensively evaluate the impact of all exercises on general cognition, memory, and executive function across all populations." The team could only identify one other umbrella review out there, and it focused only on healthy individuals, finding the effects of exercise on cognition were inconclusive. The new review considers both healthy and unhealthy participants of all ages who were included in randomized controlled trials. These trials are designed to reveal real effects, not just associations. When Singh and his colleagues reviewed 107 meta-analyses, they found exercise significantly improved general cognition, and this was true across all age groups and exercise modalities. Only when they split cognition into memory and executive function did they start noticing differences between these subgroups and modalities of exercise. Some of the best cognitve outcomes, for instance, were associated with exercises that place emphasis on complex movement patterns, like yoga, Tai Chi, and exergames. These are low-intensity exercises, and yet they could be giving our brain a unique workout. The authors of the umbrella review admit that many trials they included assessed cognition in a way that looks for impairment rather than assessing variation between individual levels of cognitive function. This suggests that the current results are 'ceiling effects'. In other words, some individuals could benefit more from exercise, but all individuals show improvements up to a certain point. "This review provides robust evidence for healthcare practitioners to confidently recommend exercise as an effective intervention for enhancing general cognition, memory, and executive function in patients of all ages and health statuses," write the authors of the umbrella review. "While the evidence base highlights the need for further high-quality studies to confirm and refine these findings, this review provides strong support for the role of exercise in promoting cognitive function and overall health." The study was published in BMSJ. Pouring Coffee Into Your Rectum Isn't Worth The Risk, Says Expert Oral Cancer Cases Are on The Rise, And Sugary Drinks Could Be to Blame Chewing Gum Releases Hundreds of Microplastics In Your Mouth, Study Finds
CNN
27-01-2025
- Health
- CNN
Forget 21 days. Most healthy new habits take at least two months to stick
Wondering why you're already struggling with that New Year's resolution? A new study suggests that forming healthy new habits takes a lot longer than we thought. For years, popular wisdom has held that it takes just 21 days to add a new habit to your daily routine. But according to recent research from the University of South Australia (UniSA), new habits typically take around two months to engrain, and can take up to almost a year. The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a meta-analysis of 20 earlier studies, published between 2008 and 2023, and involving more than 2,600 participants. These studies measured habitual behavior to find an overall trend in the length of time taken for healthy habits to form. Habits included exercise, drinking water, taking vitamins and flossing. The researchers hope their findings will motivate people to stick with trying to form healthy habits even if it is taking longer than expected. 'I think the main thing is that it helps people set realistic expectations,' Ben Singh, research fellow at UniSA Allied Health & Human Performance and co-author of the study, told CNN. 'It's not often a quick fix.' The study, published in the journal Healthcare, found that the median time taken to form new, healthy habits was 59-66 days, but it could take as long as 335 days. Singh stressed that how long it takes to form healthy habits is different for each person and depends on what the habit is. 'Sometimes we found that the simple behaviors, (like) if someone wanted to start flossing each day, might take someone a week to get into their routine,' Singh explained, 'but more complex behaviors such as changing someone's diet and physical activity can take a lot longer.' He explained that the 21-days myth stems from the 1960 book 'Psycho-Cybernetics' by plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz, in which the author observed that his patients typically took around 21 days to get used to their new appearance following surgery. Singh said people held onto the idea of a 'quick fix' as motivation. So, is there a danger that the new research will make them more reluctant to try to establish new habits in the first place? 'There is the possibility that it will put people off and maybe discourage them and demotivate them,' said Singh. '(But) some people (who) may think that it's going to take them 21 days, but then after 21 days they're still struggling, then at least this research and this evidence provides people with some realistic benchmarks that they can follow.' Singh said the study also offers specific tips for forming healthy habits. 'If (people) want to start eating healthier or exercising more, then integrating those new habits in the mornings tends to be more effective than trying to integrate them later on in the day,' he said, 'because people tend to lose motivation or get busier later in the days, (so) they're less likely to follow that behavior.' For example, if you want to get into a habit of eating more fruit, Singh recommends having an apple with a morning coffee. Benjamin Gardner, director of the Habit Application and Theory (HabitAT) Group at the University of Surrey, England, suggested the results of the study should be interpreted carefully. 'It is important to urge caution around the idea that people either 'have a habit' or 'don't have a habit', which is implicit in this study,' Gardner, who was not involved in the research, told CNN. 'In reality, habit varies on a continuum – in other words, habit becomes stronger over time, rather than reaching a magic point at which it is 'fully formed.'' Gardner said the best way to form a habit is through what is known as 'context-consistent repetition,' identifying a situation that you encounter regularly, and then doing your chosen behavior each time you encounter that situation. More research is still needed to find out how successful people were in sustaining the new habits examined in the study, Singh noted. 'A lot of the research was quite short term,' he said. 'We really need a lot more longer-term research. So (if) someone has successfully changed their habits and improved their behavior after 12 weeks, are they still following that behavior 12 months down the track?' The overall message of the research is clear, though: If you want to make 2025 your year of healthy habits, be patient – the new you may well make an appearance in a matter of months rather than weeks.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Forget 21 days. Most healthy new habits take at least two months to stick
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. Wondering why you're already struggling with that New Year's resolution? A new study suggests that forming healthy new habits takes a lot longer than we thought. For years, popular wisdom has held that it takes just 21 days to add a new habit to your daily routine. But according to recent research from the University of South Australia (UniSA), new habits typically take around two months to engrain, and can take up to almost a year. The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a meta-analysis of 20 earlier studies, published between 2008 and 2023, and involving more than 2,600 participants. These studies measured habitual behavior to find an overall trend in the length of time taken for healthy habits to form. Habits included exercise, drinking water, taking vitamins and flossing. The researchers hope their findings will motivate people to stick with trying to form healthy habits even if it is taking longer than expected. 'I think the main thing is that it helps people set realistic expectations,' Ben Singh, research fellow at UniSA Allied Health & Human Performance and co-author of the study, told CNN. 'It's not often a quick fix.' The study, published in the journal Healthcare, found that the median time taken to form new, healthy habits was 59-66 days, but it could take as long as 335 days. Singh stressed that how long it takes to form healthy habits is different for each person and depends on what the habit is. 'Sometimes we found that the simple behaviors, (like) if someone wanted to start flossing each day, might take someone a week to get into their routine,' Singh explained, 'but more complex behaviors such as changing someone's diet and physical activity can take a lot longer.' He explained that the 21-days myth stems from the 1960 book 'Psycho-Cybernetics' by plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz, in which the author observed that his patients typically took around 21 days to get used to their new appearance following surgery. Singh said people held onto the idea of a 'quick fix' as motivation. So, is there a danger that the new research will make them more reluctant to try to establish new habits in the first place? 'There is the possibility that it will put people off and maybe discourage them and demotivate them,' said Singh. '(But) some people (who) may think that it's going to take them 21 days, but then after 21 days they're still struggling, then at least this research and this evidence provides people with some realistic benchmarks that they can follow.' Singh said the study also offers specific tips for forming healthy habits. 'If (people) want to start eating healthier or exercising more, then integrating those new habits in the mornings tends to be more effective than trying to integrate them later on in the day,' he said, 'because people tend to lose motivation or get busier later in the days, (so) they're less likely to follow that behavior.' For example, if you want to get into a habit of eating more fruit, Singh recommends having an apple with a morning coffee. More research is still needed, however, to find out how successful people were in sustaining these new habits. 'A lot of the research was quite short term,' said Singh. 'We really need a lot more longer-term research. So (if) someone has successfully changed their habits and improved their behavior after 12 weeks, are they still following that behavior 12 months down the track?' The overall message of the research is clear, though: If you want to make 2025 your year of healthy habits, be patient – the new you may well make an appearance in a matter of months rather than weeks.
CNN
27-01-2025
- Health
- CNN
Forget 21 days. Most healthy new habits take at least two months to stick
Wondering why you're already struggling with that New Year's resolution? A new study suggests that forming healthy new habits takes a lot longer than we thought. For years, popular wisdom has held that it takes just 21 days to add a new habit to your daily routine. But according to recent research from the University of South Australia (UniSA), new habits typically take around two months to engrain, and can take up to almost a year. The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a meta-analysis of 20 earlier studies, published between 2008 and 2023, and involving more than 2,600 participants. These studies measured habitual behavior to find an overall trend in the length of time taken for healthy habits to form. Habits included exercise, drinking water, taking vitamins and flossing. The researchers hope their findings will motivate people to stick with trying to form healthy habits even if it is taking longer than expected. 'I think the main thing is that it helps people set realistic expectations,' Ben Singh, research fellow at UniSA Allied Health & Human Performance and co-author of the study, told CNN. 'It's not often a quick fix.' The study, published in the journal Healthcare, found that the median time taken to form new, healthy habits was 59-66 days, but it could take as long as 335 days. Singh stressed that how long it takes to form healthy habits is different for each person and depends on what the habit is. 'Sometimes we found that the simple behaviors, (like) if someone wanted to start flossing each day, might take someone a week to get into their routine,' Singh explained, 'but more complex behaviors such as changing someone's diet and physical activity can take a lot longer.' He explained that the 21-days myth stems from the 1960 book 'Psycho-Cybernetics' by plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz, in which the author observed that his patients typically took around 21 days to get used to their new appearance following surgery. Singh said people held onto the idea of a 'quick fix' as motivation. So, is there a danger that the new research will make them more reluctant to try to establish new habits in the first place? 'There is the possibility that it will put people off and maybe discourage them and demotivate them,' said Singh. '(But) some people (who) may think that it's going to take them 21 days, but then after 21 days they're still struggling, then at least this research and this evidence provides people with some realistic benchmarks that they can follow.' Singh said the study also offers specific tips for forming healthy habits. 'If (people) want to start eating healthier or exercising more, then integrating those new habits in the mornings tends to be more effective than trying to integrate them later on in the day,' he said, 'because people tend to lose motivation or get busier later in the days, (so) they're less likely to follow that behavior.' For example, if you want to get into a habit of eating more fruit, Singh recommends having an apple with a morning coffee. More research is still needed, however, to find out how successful people were in sustaining these new habits. 'A lot of the research was quite short term,' said Singh. 'We really need a lot more longer-term research. So (if) someone has successfully changed their habits and improved their behavior after 12 weeks, are they still following that behavior 12 months down the track?' The overall message of the research is clear, though: If you want to make 2025 your year of healthy habits, be patient – the new you may well make an appearance in a matter of months rather than weeks.
CNN
27-01-2025
- Health
- CNN
Forget 21 days. Most healthy new habits take at least two months to stick
Wondering why you're already struggling with that New Year's resolution? A new study suggests that forming healthy new habits takes a lot longer than we thought. For years, popular wisdom has held that it takes just 21 days to add a new habit to your daily routine. But according to recent research from the University of South Australia (UniSA), new habits typically take around two months to engrain, and can take up to almost a year. The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a meta-analysis of 20 earlier studies, published between 2008 and 2023, and involving more than 2,600 participants. These studies measured habitual behavior to find an overall trend in the length of time taken for healthy habits to form. Habits included exercise, drinking water, taking vitamins and flossing. The researchers hope their findings will motivate people to stick with trying to form healthy habits even if it is taking longer than expected. 'I think the main thing is that it helps people set realistic expectations,' Ben Singh, research fellow at UniSA Allied Health & Human Performance and co-author of the study, told CNN. 'It's not often a quick fix.' The study, published in the journal Healthcare, found that the median time taken to form new, healthy habits was 59-66 days, but it could take as long as 335 days. Singh stressed that how long it takes to form healthy habits is different for each person and depends on what the habit is. 'Sometimes we found that the simple behaviors, (like) if someone wanted to start flossing each day, might take someone a week to get into their routine,' Singh explained, 'but more complex behaviors such as changing someone's diet and physical activity can take a lot longer.' He explained that the 21-days myth stems from the 1960 book 'Psycho-Cybernetics' by plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz, in which the author observed that his patients typically took around 21 days to get used to their new appearance following surgery. Singh said people held onto the idea of a 'quick fix' as motivation. So, is there a danger that the new research will make them more reluctant to try to establish new habits in the first place? 'There is the possibility that it will put people off and maybe discourage them and demotivate them,' said Singh. '(But) some people (who) may think that it's going to take them 21 days, but then after 21 days they're still struggling, then at least this research and this evidence provides people with some realistic benchmarks that they can follow.' Singh said the study also offers specific tips for forming healthy habits. 'If (people) want to start eating healthier or exercising more, then integrating those new habits in the mornings tends to be more effective than trying to integrate them later on in the day,' he said, 'because people tend to lose motivation or get busier later in the days, (so) they're less likely to follow that behavior.' For example, if you want to get into a habit of eating more fruit, Singh recommends having an apple with a morning coffee. More research is still needed, however, to find out how successful people were in sustaining these new habits. 'A lot of the research was quite short term,' said Singh. 'We really need a lot more longer-term research. So (if) someone has successfully changed their habits and improved their behavior after 12 weeks, are they still following that behavior 12 months down the track?' The overall message of the research is clear, though: If you want to make 2025 your year of healthy habits, be patient – the new you may well make an appearance in a matter of months rather than weeks.
