Happy Canada Day! Let's Give Everyone Something to Be Grateful For

In this time when bad news is hitting us from all sides, I want to take a moment to wish my fellow Canadians a happy Canada Day. I hope that you are able to spend the day as you wish, whether it be with family and friends, or taking some time to yourself. If you're one of the many Canadians who are working today because you are needed, like my fellow nurses, I hope your day is a smooth one, with as few problems as possible.

Canada is far from perfect. We have serious issues that we need to not only acknowledge, but address in an effective and fair manner. There are Canadians who suffer needlessly as the result of current conditions, such as those who live in impoverished First Nations communities or those who are homeless in our bustling cities. There also many Canadians who are suffering the effects of events that occurred in the past, including residential school survivors and their families. These too, need to be resolved to the best of our ability.

I don't get political on this blog - it's a health-related project. But often the two cross over. Poverty, illness, illiteracy, abuse, violence - these all affect mental and physical health. For a country to be truly strong, these issues must be dealt with equally for all citizens, regardless of who they are and where they may have come from.

But how do we do this? It's a huge task and it's not something one person or one organization can do alone. But one person and one organization can be pieces of the bigger puzzle. I try to work on literacy. I strongly believe that the more effectively people can communicate and understand, the better the chances that they can tackle the problems life throws at them.

However any of us choose to try to help others, we have to remember that we are in this together. We can't allow petty things and small differences divide us. We need to remain a community and reach out to those who need us. This is what makes us strong.

So Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends, colleagues, and readers. Let's spend the next 365 days finding ways to help each other, so when our 150th birthday rolls around next year, we have something even more special to celebrate.

Lack of Sleep Makes for Cranky Teens, Says Study - You Think?

I'm on the duh-study trail again. My latest find is "Adolescent sleep duration is associated with daytime mood." Well then. What a shocking finding from a National Institutes of Health supported study.

According to the news release (I don't have a copy of the study findings), the researchers studied 97 healthy teens from 14 to 17 years old to follow their sleeping habits. The teens were allowed only 6.5 hours in bed per night for five nights in a row (sleep restriction), then a two-night break (a "washout period") and this was followed by five nights straight of 10 hours in bed per night. The researchers looked at the teens' daily self reports on nervousness, sadness, anger, energy, fatigue, ability to concentrate, and sleepiness.

According to the news release:

Results show that adolescents showed increased variability in sadness, anger, and sleepiness when sleep was restricted compared to when sleep was extended. This effect was not moderated by age, sex, race, or the order in which participants underwent the sleep conditions.
The study also showed that nightly fluctuations in sleep in healthy adolescents predict worse mood the next day, and worse mood any given day largely predicts unusually bad sleep the next night.

So here we have it - less sleep equals less happy teens. Any parent could have told us that.

In all seriousness, the authors do say that the research is necessary because they are concerned about the mental health of teens - an important issue to be sure. But their conclusion, that these findings indicate that by promoting healthy sleep habits, we may be able to reduce the risk of mental health problems among some teens, is too simplistic. We know that lack of sleep causes problems, particularly if it's chronic. We also know that teens need a lot of sleep, as they did when they were infants - a teen's body is growing and changing at incredible rates.

My issue with these Duh Studies is that they're sent out into the media world without any real meaning. Yes, teens need sleep. Yes, they're crabby and don't function well without sleep. Now what?

Senior Moment - Memory Clutter?

We all have our forgetful moments, a word we can't bring to mind, a name we've forgotten, or an appointment that slipped past us. We can't remember everything. Those who can, like actor Marilu Henner, are few and far between. But, as we get older, we seem to take more notice when we forget things, often making jokes about aging and memory loss, or perhaps fearing that this is what is happening.

While memory loss and the fear of dementia are concerning, they don't affect everyone who gets older. Forgetfulness though, is different, and researchers from the Georgia Technical Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, believe that a good part of the aging forgetfulness is merely a matter of us just having too much information to store. In other words, our hard drive has run out of space and certain files have to be archived.

The researchers used EEG to study the brains of two groups of subjects, those over the age of 60 years and college-age students. Both groups were shown photos of every day images and told to focus on certain things and ignore others.

At first, both groups were able to remember what they were told to focus on, and both had trouble ignoring what they were told pay attention to. But when the older subjects were questioned further about what they were supposed to focus on and remember, over time they became less sure of their responses and the other objects in the photos interrupted their memories. "[W]hen we asked if they were sure, older people backed off their answers a bit. They weren't as sure," lead author Audrey Duarte said in a release. The brain activity, recorded by EEG, showed that the older group put more effort into sorting out the appropriate memories.

"While trying to remember, their brains would spend more time going back in time in an attempt to piece together what was previously seen," she said. "But not just what they were focused on -- some of what they were told to ignore got stuck in their minds," she added.

This was a study environment, but we are faced with situations like this every day - walking to work, going out to lunch or dinner with friends, even shopping. We may be in a grocery store, with music overhead, conversations around us, and displays with food tasting, all while we're trying to concentrate on remember what we need to buy. Younger people who are asked what occurred during that time may have an easier time recalling what they saw or heard, while an older person may have to sort through different memories, clutter, trying to pull out what is relevant.

Why are details like this important to study? Duarte said that such findings could explain why seniors fall for scams that use manipulation. "If someone tells you that you should remember it one way, you can be more easily persuaded if you lack confidence," she said. "This memory clutter that's causing low confidence could be a reason why older adults are often victims of financial scams, which typically occur when someone tries to trick them about prior conversations that didn't take place at all."

It's an interesting look at memory as we age.

Let's Talk Adult Vaccinations

There's a lot of talk about vaccinating children, but we don't hear a lot about vaccinations for adults. The conversation drops off the map, as if once a child has finished his or her scheduled vaccines, that's it, that's all. But that's not it, and that's not all.

The need for vaccines continues as we age, and then become even more important again when we enter the so-called senior years. And for those who want to travel to other parts of the world, some countries won't allow you to visit if you haven't had their required vaccines.

What types of routine vaccines should adults have? Health Canada and the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) have similar recommendations. To make things easier for me, I'll focus on Health Canada.

In general, Health Canada recommends that adults who have been vaccinated as children, should continue with the following schedule, unless recommended otherwise by their physicians:

• Tetanus toxoid- reduced diphtheria toxoid (Td): 1 booster dose every 10 years.
• Tetanus toxoid- reduced diphtheria toxoid- reduced acellular pertussis (Tdap): 1 dose 
• Pneumococcal polysaccharide 23-valent:  1 dose at age 65 or older
• Herpes zoster (shingles): may receive 1 dose at 50 to 59 years of age, recommended 1 dose
• Influenza:  1 dose annually recommended for all adults without contraindications

There are also other vaccines, such as those for hepatitis A and B, which are recommended for people who are at risk of contracting the diseases.

Tetanus: Many people I speak with don't realize that they should get a tetanus booster every 10 years. I've heard many times, "Oh, I get a tetanus shot in the ER or at urgent care if I get a bad cut." But tetanus doesn't need a bad cut to take hold, so the booster route is a really safer route. I won't kid you, the tetanus shot does tend to be a bit more "uncomfortable" than many vaccines. But it is only once a decade. Perhaps you can bribe yourself with a nice treat after?

Pneumonia: The pneumococcal vaccine is primarily to help prevent pneumonia, although it does prevent other infections too. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases,

It is estimated that about one million US adults get pneumococcal pneumonia each year. About 5-7% of them will die, and the death rate is even higher in those age 65 years and older. Fewer people will get pneumococcal meningitis or bloodstream infection, but the mortality rate for these infections is even higher.

So, while pneumococcal vaccine doesn't prevent all pneumonias, it does reduce the risk of this one, which can cause serious illness. It's particularly important for people who smoke, or who have respiratory diseases, such as COPD.

Shingles: I've had shingles; I was 44. One of my kids had shingles at only 21. I've known several people who had them before the age of 50. You don't want shingles. If you've ever had the chicken pox as a child, you are at risk of getting shingles. Remember, you don't want them. It's a horribly painful, uncomfortable virus that can knock you flat. There is also a complication called post-herpetic neuralgia, which can leave you with constant pain along the nerve line for years.

There is a treatment for shingles, but you have to recognize that you have the virus early enough for the treatment to work, and it really just knocks off a couple of days of suffering. It doesn't just get rid of the shingles. If you're on the fence about getting the vaccine, remember, you do not want to get shingles.

Influenza: The influenza vaccine seems to be the most controversial of the adult vaccination recommendations. Many people I know and love don't believe it in and refuse to get it. It's true that the vaccine isn't always effective. But I've seen what the flu can do, so the annual flu vaccine is a personal choice I make. Because I get so ill so fast with anything respiratory, I try to reduce my risk as much as possible.

Hepatitis A and B: I received this vaccine many years ago - it was required that nurses be vaccinated. I'm due for it again though, as it's supposedly worn off by now. The risk of getting hepatitis A is mostly for people who travel, but there is a combination vaccine that will protect you from both A and B at the same time. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

So, just because we're all grown up now doesn't mean we don't have to think about vaccinations.