How Modern Computer Systems, Like Xbox Kinect and Nintendo Wii, Can Improve Health and Fitness

The gaming industry is forever at the receiving end of wide-spread criticism from parents, teachers and critics. Most games are 'Violent' with nothing but "blood, gore and battles', it is often said. To a large extent, it's true and the gaming industry does have an Achilles heel. However, did you ever think that Health and Fitness can be improved by playing games on modern gadgets like Xbox and Nintendo Wii? Could playing games be possibly therapeutic? Some research seems to suggest so:
It reduces pain: If you are wondering how playing video games can reduce pain, according to the American Pain Society, our focus diverts away from any seemingly bothering pain points on your body and makes you to forget about pain, at least temporarily. More specifically, the study reports that patients undergoing Chemotherapy reported a great level of stress reduction and lessened fear. It is believed that the brain releases endorphins during gaming that generally makes us feel good.
Learning: While it might seem totally counter-intuitive, games play a crucial role in learning and development. According to an article on cited.org, games fall into the category of "interactive multimedia" where learning occurs through user control. For instance, a game called "Discover Babylon" enables students to scour through an ancient Mesopotamian route and time just by using basic skills like mathematics, reading and writing. In yet another game called Chemsense, students can tinker with chemical compounds and experiment virtually. Most of the other modern games on Xbox, Play station and Personal computers might be termed as 'violent' by critics, but there's a sense of spatial skills development, cognitive learning, adapting to various environments, etc.
Motivation: Games are intensely engaging and users usually experience a heightened state of excitement during play time. The scores, leader boards, team play, group wins, individual wins all provide a pumped up level of motivation for users - the very reason why games are so addictive. In fact, this addiction is a growing concern in the U.S alone with about 92%of kids under the age 18 play regularly. While the addiction part of the story is disconcerting indeed, when played in moderation games can really keep users' energy levels up, bring out a sense of "fighting to win" and invoke an increased level of action among users.
A Sharp and alert Mind: Playing video games, online games or even massive multi-player games have a direct impact on the level of alertness of your mind. CBS news mentions a report released at the University of Rochester, gamers who play games like Grand Theft Auto and Counter-strike have better visual skills, faster cognition, have quick reflexes and have a better ability to process information quickly.
When we believe that anything in excess is bad, it holds good for the time spent on video games. While there are alcoholics, smokers and gluttons there are addicted gamers too. As it stands for most things, moderate use is acceptable and even beneficial in many cases; so are games.

The Three Simple C's to Ensure You Reach Your Health and Fitness Goals

Reducing body fat, increasing lean muscle mass or simply getting a bit fitter to cope with the vigor of everyday life can be a massive challenge. This challenge often becomes frustrating with results often coming very, very slowly. Losing weight, gaining muscle and trying to achieve health/fitness goals are based on a multidimensional parameter. Training type, training time, training frequency, nutrition intake, fluid intake, alcohol consumption, sleep patterns and stress can all play a huge part.
This short article isn't designed to look at the total picture and take every aspect of lifestyle management into consideration. I am simply going to look at the time spent in the gym and how following the 'Three C's' principle will make your time in the gym more efficient and more effective leaving you with more time to do the other things you enjoy in life. It will also make you look forward to your next gym visit and believe me...the RESULTS WILL COME!!!
As a Personal Trainer, I spend half my life in the gym environment and I see these three simple points carried out ineffectively by almost 80% of gym visitors. That means 80% of gym visitors are not implying simple strategies to help them achieve their goals. So what are the Three C's? The Three C's are Continuously, Consistently and Creativity. So let me explain each one individually and how if performed correctly will help you achieve your health and fitness goals.
This may sound strange but a recent survey found that 37% of gym members once they start training do not train continuously. By all means when training there are times when we obviously rest, these rest periods are incorporated into the training program. But coffee breaks, reading the news paper, constant chatting amongst gym members and a distinct lack of focus on the training session at hand is many frustrated exercises biggest downfall. So when we are in the gym lets ensure we are focused ad exercising continuously. A great point using weight loss for an example would be ensuring the heart rate remains above 60%, throughout the whole training session.
The second C is Consistency. Sure one great gym session is going to help, but that alone is not enough. To achieve our goals, for example weight loss we need to be exercising frequently (3 - 5 times per week). So Consistency in following your gym routine is crucial in order to get results.
The final C is Creativity. In order to train continuously and consistently your exercise routine needs to be creative. A creative routine will keep you both physically and mentally stimulated. Rather than using fixed machines three times a week in the same monotonous way, incorporate body weight exercises, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls and stability balls to keep challenging your body. For more advice on these types of equipment speak to a personal trainer at your gym or health club. I'm sure they'll be happy to help!
To sum up and more importantly, ensure that you put this into action follow the three simple points. They will lead to a Fitter, Healthier and revitalized you that gets results from the gym, enjoys the gym and attends the gym regularly:
1) Make sure we train continuously for the allocated period of time in accordance with our training program.
2) Make sure we train consistently on a weekly and monthly basis ensuring each training session is implemented as successfully as possible.
3) Make your routine as creative as possible to kick boredom in to touch. This will ensure long term our exercise routine is sustainable and both physically and mentally challenging.
Healthy Thanks
Sam O'Sullivan
(South Wales, Uk based Level 3 Advanced Personal Trainer)

Sam O'Sullivan is a Personal Trainer and Boot Camp Guru based in Cardiff, South Wales, UK. He is the creator of the highly successful SOS Executive Personal Training Company and Cardiff Kettlebell Boot Camp. His knowledge, enthusiasm as a Level 3 Advanced Personal Trainer with his innovative approach to training has changed many of his clients lives.

Health and Fitness - Alcohol Does Serious Damage!

Life is a precious gift and all through our growing years parents lovingly tend and nurture life, giving us strong healthy bodies that are bursting with vitality. Then we grow up and go off to do our own thing that includes being hell bent on destroying the health and fitness we enjoy. Alcohol is a killer, make no mistake about that! It is wonderful to party and get drunk and we tell ourselves that we are young and life is to be enjoyed. This article covers the repercussions of serious drinking on well being.

Medical research has indicated that a glass of wine or beer or one hard alcohol drink every day is good for the body. Who really stops with one drink? The reason being, alcohol is extremely addictive and once you get caught in its grip, getting out takes some serious effort. Society is plagued by alcoholism, even the young and the saddest part is that the numbers are on the rise, even among pre-teenagers.

You would be hard pressed to find few if any parts of the body that are not negatively affected by the effects of alcohol. Going into the details of every one of the side effects caused by alcohol on health and fitness will take forever; this article covers a few of the scarier aspects of alcoholism. There are short term effects of alcohol like ruined relationships, dysfunctional family life that involves abuse, driving impairment and negative reactions to prescribed medication. In the long term the problems that develop affect health in myriad ways by breaking down the body's defenses and organ functions leading to serious and even fatal health consequences.

The liver is one of the primary organs that is affected by alcohol very negatively. Inflammation of the liver leads to Hepatitis which includes abdominal pains, fever and jaundice. Prolonged abuse unfortunately can be fatal, the good news however, is that when you stop the effects are reversible. Cirrhosis of the liver, which is scarring of the organ is the ultimate result of the abuse and cannot be reversed and may require a liver transplant as a last resort.

The pancreas is the organ that regulates your body's blood sugar levels through the production of insulin and it also helps in digesting the food you eat. Inflammation of the pancreas through alcohol abuse leads to severe abdominal pains and weight loss that can eventually result in death.

Alcohol heightens the risk of various cancers attacking the body and the correlation between alcohol and cancer has been medically proven. Women can develop breast cancer in addition to cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, pancreas and colon.

The Truth Behind Losing Weight Or How To Get Healthy And Fit In 2 Weeks?

It seems that nowadays each year sees the launch of a new diet solution product that is designed to bring about the so much wanted fit and healthy body. As you might suspect this year is no different, around spring people start to look for ways to lose weight they put on during the winter month or in the recent years. From the hyped up launches of these products to alternative and common sense solutions, losing weight is drawing much attention again. This article will explore the many exciting aspects of getting healthy and fit, the great method to achieve that and its impending impact on your body.
Like many mass marketed products from companies, weigh loss products promise that you achieve results within a short time frame only by popping in some pastilles every day without you changing your lifestyle or actively taking part in your progress towards health and fitness. We have seen how these "wonders of the year" quickly fade away to give place to a new, more exciting and promising "discovery of the year" solution leaving you feeling bitter and frustrated, what's more blaming yourself for not achieving what those advertised exceptional people claim. While there have been many reasons for following these trends, people have realised that these products don't usually bring results to the masses.
The ever green common sense solution is to eat less and exercise more. It's easy to say but how can it be implemented in one's everyday life? - you might ask. What exactly are the steps I personally have to take to see results? After failing with several magic products these questions are logical to ask. So maybe there is no magic pushbutton solution people want to believe in so hard... I'm sure a lot of people have given up hope that they can ever lose weight and be healthy and fit again. The good news is: they CAN achieve their dreams by turning their attention to alternative solutions that have worked for more than 7000 years. The best example of this is Chikong (Qigong, Chi Kung)
This method which has worked for such a long time brings results within the first 2 weeks. There is no magic pill involved in it - instead you must take part, actively be involved in order to achieve health and fitness. By this time after failing with so many programs I am sure you realized you have to take action as well. What is fantastic about Chikong is that with a little action from your part - that you actually enjoy doing within days - your body start transforming and you will see great results within the first 2 weeks of your involvement.
As you can probably tell by now you have to actively take your health into your hands instead of going for the new shiny magic pill. As you might suspect it is anticipated that more and more people realise this truth and start turning towards those methods that have worked for thousands of year. They will enjoy getting their health back, being fit and full of energy and a result of this enjoying their lives.

Health and Fitness in Young Children

It's tougher to raise kids today than it was even 10 years ago. Parents now are concerned about diet and exercise as well as kids' safety and development. There are many articles in the news and on TV telling us about the childhood obesity epidemic. The concern is growing because we've created a lifestyle which encourages all of us to sit - in front of the TV, in front of the computer, in front of the Play Station. Every child - even toddlers - needs to get at least 60 minutes of active play every day. It's scary when you read that kids today get less than 15 minutes of vigorous exercise a day, drinks more than 20 ounces of soda pop, and spends more than 20% of their time watching television. No wonder our kids are less fit and more fat than children from the 1960s.
The figures about obesity in children are startling. In only one state, Michigan, 33% of the girls and 34% of the boys are considered overweight. The national average is 29%. And 36% of those boys and girls have elevated cholesterol levels too, which is 11-18% higher than the U.S. average. Nationwide, our kids are developing adult diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. We believe our toddlers are active all day because they wear US out, right? In fact, in nursery schools or daycare, they spend most of their time sitting! Our kids need to develop a healthier lifestyle, getting more exercise at the same time they are adopting healthier eating habits. Everyone in America is at risk for these health problems due to our poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. Our kids learn by playing, and when they play, they imitate what they see adults do. Being a good example naturally is the best way of teaching your children.
Our kids learn by playing, and when they play, they imitate what they see adults do. Being a good example naturally is the best way of teaching your children. Showing them how to eat right and get more exercise is crucial today. The percentage of overweight and obese kids has more than doubled over the past 30 years. Even thought many factors contribute to this epidemic, our children spend too much time sitting around - a LOT more than they used to. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average child watches nearly 3 hours of TV a day - making 5 1/2 hours of sitting per day after adding time spent on video games, computers etc.The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) says that children under 2 years of age watch no TV and kids over 2 and above watch only 1-2 hours.
How much exercise is enough? All kids 2 and above need 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise most days of the week (preferable all days). Stretching exercises help improve flexibility, allowing muscles and joints to bend and move easily through the full range of motion. Kids look for opportunities every day to stretch when they try to get a toy just out of reach, practice a split, or do cartwheels. Climbing exercises improves coordination and planning skills.
Kids who get more exercise sleep better, learn better and are healthier. If you as a parent add regular activity into your daily routines, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, is key to instilling in your children the way to a healthier lifestyle. Keep it fun and you can count on that your child will come back for more.

Yoga's Health and Fitness Benefits

Yoga has been around a long time-longer than interval training, Zumba classes, and free weights. But can a consistent and challenging yoga practice really lead to overall body fitness? Many experts say yes. But the good news doesn't stop there. Not only can you increase and maintain your level of fitness through a yoga practice, you can also become a healthier person. Let's take a look at some of the specific benefits that yoga practitioners experience.
- Yoga strengthens your muscles-depending on the type of yoga practiced, various poses might be held for several seconds to several minutes-but it also increases your body's flexibility. Ironically, many gym devotees strengthen their muscles by lifting heavy weights, creating strong short muscles that are more susceptible to injury. Yoga, however, strengthens and stretches; a key component to the creation of injury-resistant muscles.
- The power of yoga lies in the breath. Yoga instructors coach students in their breathing-as they move into, sustain, and move out of each yoga pose. Various types of breathing are taught and practiced. More than anything though, yoga lovers are simply made aware of breath and how important proper breathing is to overall yoga technique and everyday living. They come to understand the power of breath, how to integrate breath to get the most out of each pose and how proper inhalation and exhalation can relieve stress, lower the heart rate and increase lung capacity.
- By practicing this type of breathing, you can also up the amount of oxygen in your system. More oxygen means increased energy levels. The more yoga you do, the more energized you feel.
- Daily yoga practice has a variety of positive health benefits. Researchers have found that yoga, when consistently practiced, can relieve the symptoms of arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and asthma. Yoga can also bring down high blood pressure and help people manage their weight.
- When you practice yoga regularly and over a sustained period of time, you will experience an increase in your body awareness, diminished stress levels and a fine-tuning of your ability to concentrate.
- Finally, yoga can improve your mood, help you relax and even help you perform better on tests! Yoga often involves unilateral movements (like breathing out of only one nostril at a time) and movements that require students to cross the median line of the body (like touching the left big toe with the right hand). These kinds of movements increase brain activity. More brain activity is a part of better cognitive performance.
As you can see, yoga isn't just about stretching. It is physically demanding, it can increase your overall fitness and help you mentally. Integrate one or two yoga classes into your weekly calendar, and you will see a tremendous difference in all aspects of your physical being.

Train Your Brain With a New $225m Market Based on Latest Brain Health and Fitness Research

A spate of recent news coverage on brain fitness and "brain training" reflects a growing interest in natural, non-drug-based interventions to keep our brains sharp as we age. This interest is very timely, given the aging population, increasing Alzheimer's rates, and soaring health care costs that place more emphasis than ever on prevention and changing lifestyle.
This past Tuesday, the MIT Club of Northern California, the American Society on Aging, and SmartSilvers sponsored an event on The Emerging Brain Fitness Software Market: Building Better Brains to explore the realities and myths of this growing field. Before the panel, I had the chance to present an overview of the state of the Brain Fitness Software Market.
Why are we talking about this field at all? Well, for one, an increasing number of companies are achieving significant commercial success in packaging "brain exercise". An example is the line of Nintendo games, such as Brain Age and Brain Training, that have shipped over 15 million units worldwide despite limited scientific support, since 2005. What is less visible is that a number of companies and scientists are partnering to bring products to market with a more solid clinical validation. We estimate the US market was $225m in 2007 (growing from $100 in 2005). Whereas K12 Education used to be the major segment, adult consumers are responsible for most of that growth: we estimate the consumer segment grew from a few million in 2005 to $80 m in 2007.
Who is buying these products? Yes, of course, many adults over 50 who want to protect their memory are among the pioneers. 78 million baby boomers are eager to try new approaches. A growing number of retirement communities and nursing homes are offering programs to their residents to expand their usual fitness and social activities. And we can't forget about K12 education: certain brain fitness software packages have shown they can help kids who have dyslexia and related difficulties.
Is there science behind these claims? Do these products work? It depends on how we define "work". If "working" means quantifiable short-term improvements after a number of weeks of systematic "brain training" to improve specific cognitive skills, then the answer is that a number of programs do seem to work. If , on the other hand, "working" means measurable long-term benefits, such as better overall brain health as we age, or lower incidence of Alzheimer's symptoms, the answer is that circumstantial evidence suggests they may, but it is still too early to tell.
Are there any public policy implications? We certainly believe that there are. The Center for Disease Control recently partnered with the Alzheimer's Association to develop a comprehensive Cognitive Health road map to better guide research efforts and improve public education on the lifestyle habits that every proud owner of a brain could benefit from following. Given the high rates of traumatic brain injuries and stress disorders found in a large number of the men and women coming home from the Iraq war, the military is investing heavily in research to help identify problems to develop tools to solve them, and we expect that research will translate into wider health applications. No presidential candidate, to our knowledge, has directly addressed his or her priorities in the cognitive health realm but, given the growing importance and economic impact of brain-related disorders, we expect that to happen soon.
What are some trends that executives and investors should be looking at to understand this growing market? Let me make a few predictions:
1) An increased emphasis on Brain Maintenance, from retirement communities to gyms and health clubs. Will health clubs one day offer brain fitness programs, and perhaps "brain coaches"? We think so.
2) Better and more widely available assessments of cognitive function will enable of all us to establish an objective baseline of how our minds are evolving, identify priorities for "workouts" and lifestyle interventions, and help us measure progress. Science-fiction? Not really. there are already pretty good tests used in clinical and medical environments, the challenge will be to refine and package those assessments in a consumer-friendly way.
3) We will see more and better computer-based tools, each of which may be more appropriate to work on specific priorities. Just as we find a variety of machines in health clubs today, in the future we can expect different programs tailored to train specific cognitive skills.
4) More non-computer based tools will also provide much value. There is more and more research on how meditation and cognitive therapy, to mention 2 examples, can be very effective in literally re-wiring parts of the brain.
5) Insurance Companies will introduce incentives for member who want to follow brain fitness programs. Perhaps even companies will offer such programs to employees to attract and retain mature workers who want access to the best and the latest innovations to keep their minds sharp.
Now, this being a pretty new field, many questions remain open. For example, how will consumers and institutions receive quality information and education to navigate through the emerging research and the overwhelming number of new programs, separating reality from hype?
In summary, what were the main take-aways from the event?
1. Research indicates that a number of cognitive abilities (attention, memory...) can be assessed and trained
2. An emerging market is starting to develop-growing from an estimated $100m in 2005 to $225m in 2007, in the US alone-, and is poised to keep growing at significant rates.
3. Many companies are currently selling products direct to consumers (as well as through institutions) with sometimes unclear claims - this threatens to confuse consumers and present a major obstacle to the growth and credibility of the sector.
If you are interested in this rapidly growing field, please stay tuned! There are fascinating research reports every month.
Copyright (c) 2008 SharpBrains