Researchers from the University of Sào Paulo Medical School, in Brazil, have found high levels of tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ear, and hearing loss in adolescents that use ear bud speakers. They examined the hearing of 170 students between the ages of 11 and 17 and asked them about their experiences with tinnitus in the previous year. More than half of the respondents had experienced the condition. The principal investigator for the study, Tanit Ganz Sanchez, an associate professor of otolaryngology at the medical school, notes that the prevalence of tinnitus among adolescents should be viewed as an early warning of a serious hearing loss risk. She says “If this teenage generation continues to expose themselves to very high noise levels, they’ll probably suffer from hearing loss by the time they’re 30 or 40.
-Natural Awakenings

Strength training has big health benefits, but you don’t have to become an Olympic weight lifter. A new study by Canadian researchers finds that lifting lighter weights for more repetitions is just as effective as lifting heavy ones for fewer reps. What’s crucial, says lead author Stuart Phillips of McMaster University, is that you do as many reps as it takes for your muscles to become too tired to lift any more. Lifting weights a couple of times a week can reduce the risk of falls and bone fracture.

Staying active has bee show to reduce telomere loss by 75%, and recent findings in the European Heart Journal suggest shy: Getting 45 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise (like brisk walking) three times a week for six months double the production of telomerase, a protective enzyme that adds DNA back to chromosomes during cell division. Even better: doing shorter burst of intense activity, which raises the amount of oxygen used when exercising, a factor closely correlated to telomere health. The easy workout Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D. recommends: Walk briskly for 3 minutes, then stroll for 3 minutes; repeat 4 times. Interval workouts also lower blood sugar 3 times more effectively than continuous exercise to outsmart craving and fatigue.

Sitting up straight can lift you out of a slump, report researchers in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. When they had 61 people with symptoms of mild to moderate depression sit either in their usual slouched posture or with their shoulders held upright, they found that those who corrected their posture had lower anxiety, increased positivity and reduced fatigue on a psychological test given five minutes later. Experts speculate that correcting slumped posture activates muscle and nerve responses that impact the brain to boost mood.