The Nokomis Nutrition Blog

It happens to most of us, halfway through the day we feel too exhausted and frazzled to go on. Many of us wish we had a pause button for life. While it is true, skipping meals can drain us of vital energy, sometimes the problem has more to do with the hormones released during stress which affect the brain's chemistry to alter itself in response to stress. Many times this is caused by nutritional deficiencies, but mostly it's because a few key neural transmitters are either used up or ineffective.

What can we do?

In addition to daily exercise, sunshine, a nutritionally sound diet, and getting enough sleep, it's important to know how the brain functions and what is needed to achieve the results we need to pick up the pace and lift up our chins.

If you would like to learn how you can achieve peace and calm while boosting energy during the day, please read the rest of our newsletter… click here

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By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Improved home ventilation that dehumidifies the air may make it easier for people with asthma to breathe at night, hint findings of a small study from the United Kingdom.

In theory, lowering indoor humidity should lower concentrations of moisture-loving dust mites - a major trigger for asthma-related breathing problems.

To test this, Dr. Neil C. Thomson, at the University of Glasgow, and colleagues measured breathing patterns over 12 months in 119 men and women who were about 42 years old on average and had asthma for 9 to 30 years.

Specialists retrofitted each home with a humidity-lowering ventilation system. They also steam-cleaned carpets, and replaced mattress covers and bedding, to clear dust mites.

In half the homes the ventilation systems actively exchanged indoor and outdoor air. In the other "control group" half, the systems had operational motors but non-operational fans to help ensure the groups remained "blinded" to what was actually happening, the researchers report in the journal Allergy.

Thomson's team found no overall difference in dust mite concentrations between the homes with and without a working ventilation system.

Also, their comparison of morning breathing tests done at the start of the study and again at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, showed no difference between those living with or without operational ventilation.

However, participants living in homes with working ventilation systems showed an overall significant improvement in evening breathing tests, while those with non-working systems worsened in these tests.

This may be partially due to the slightly reduced humidity, and dust mite levels found in the bedrooms and bedding of participants with active ventilation systems. But ventilation may also have improved overall air quality, Thomson speculated in an email to Reuters Health.

SOURCE: Allergy, November 2009.

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