healthbriefs
Clapping Hands Sharpens the Brain A
new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals that hand-clapping songs boost
the development of motor and cognitive skills in children ages 6 through 10. “We found that chil- dren in the first, second and third grades who sing these [kinds of] songs demonstrate skills absent in children who don’t take part in similar activities,” explains Dr. Idit Sulkin, of the university’s music science lab. “We also found that children who
spontaneously perform hand-clapping songs in the yard during recess have neater handwriting, write better and make fewer spelling errors.”
Sulkin engaged several elementary school classrooms in a program of either music appreciation or hand-clapping songs for 10 weeks. With the hand-clapping group, she found that “Within a very short period of time, the children who until then hadn’t taken part in such activities caught up in their cognitive abilities to those who did.”
The children’s teachers believe that those who participate in such hand-clap- ping songs also exhibit better social integration.
Folic Acid Update F
olic acid, or folate, a B vitamin found in many vegetables and whole grains, is known to reduce neural tube defects in infants when taken during pregnancy. But now, a study at the University of Southern California has discovered that men tak- ing a daily folic acid supplement of 1 milligram ran twice the risk of prostate cancer than those who took a placebo. Many foods are already fortified with folic acid, say experts in a BMC Public Health article, and taking the vitamin in supplements may result in “overdosing.”
Source: BioMed Central, 2009
Just Dance! S
eniors who regularly put on their dancing shoes benefit from more than just hav- ing a good time. According to University of Missouri-Columbia researchers, participa- tion by older adults in dance-based therapy can improve both their balance and walking speed, key factors in reducing the risk of falls and injury. The researchers used a program called the Lebed Method, based on a combi-
nation of low-impact dance steps, choreographed to music. In the latest of a series of studies, volunteers at an independent-living commu-
nity participated in 18 dance sessions over a two-month period. The seniors had so much fun that they continued dancing after the study concluded.
20 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
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