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Olympic Athletes Sleep on Cardboard Beds: Sleep Experts Assess How It Could Affect Their Performance

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It’s been a number of days because the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Despite that, we’ve already witnessed some incredible competition wins, like Simone Biles leading the U.S. gymnastics team to victory, taking home the gold medal. Biles won gold within the all-around, becoming the primary American gymnast to win twice. But despite the inspiring victories, rumors have been circulating about how our favourite Olympic champions are preparing for the competition within the Olympic Village, complete with cardboard beds.

The Olympic Village is situated 4.3 miles north of central Paris, stretching between the suburbs of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine. It was designed to deal with 14,000 athletes for somewhat over two weeks. While there are grocery stores and a laundry on site, there are not any blackout curtains or comfortable beds, hence the controversy over the cardboard beds provided to the world’s most elite athletes. Tennis star Coco Gauff was one in all the primary athletes to show living conditions within the Olympic Village in a TikTok video that later went viral.

Her footage showed a cramped apartment stuffed with several athletes attempting to prepare for the day, with pop-up hair stations, cardboard beds and garments all over the place, including their boat trip on the Seine. The caption for the video read: “10 girls, two bathrooms. #olympicvillage.”

After submitting the video, Gauff decided to remain at a close-by hotel as a substitute of the Olympic Village. We can only hope the hotel is more comfortable for her. As you would possibly imagine, your sleeping environment, including your bed, is vital for getting night’s sleep. Dr. Faith Pérez McGowan, a licensed psychologist and sleep expert, agrees. “Your bedroom environment, including your mattress, is very important for sleep,” she says. McGowan continues, “While a bad mattress can affect performance, Olympic athletes have likely trained their bodies to perform in several different conditions. If possible, I would recommend that they bring sheets or a mattress topper to help with the softness of their mattress. Using sheets/pillows can also provide comfort and familiarity with your typical sleeping environment.”

Olympic Athletes Sleep on Cardboard Beds: Sleep Experts Assess How It Could Affect Their Performance
A general view of the cardboard bed that might be utilized by athletes within the Olympic Village in Paris. Photo date: Tuesday July 23, 2024. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Some Olympians have invested in mattress toppers. But we still wonder if that made a difference. Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell, a board-certified physician, certified sleep specialist, speaker, and founding father of The Solution Is Sleep LLC, suggests that cardboard beds aren’t ideal, despite the added filling. “Good quality sleep improves speed, accuracy, muscle strength, and endurance, while sleep deprivation leads to impaired thinking, slowed reaction times, decreased concentration, and decreased attention, all of which are necessary to perform and compete at an optimal level. Sleeping on cardboard mattresses can impact sleep quality, leading to other effects. For optimal athletic performance, a proper sleep environment that supports sleep quality is essential, including a comfortable and supportive mattress and a dark, quiet, and cool room,” she says.

Olympic Athletes Sleep on Cardboard Beds: Sleep Experts Assess How It Could Affect Their Performance
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 23: A cardboard bed within the athletes’ room on the Olympic Village in Paris, France. The Paris Olympic Games might be held from July 26 to August 11. (Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

However, Dr. Funke Brown, a triple-board certified sleep physician, has a special perspective on cardboard beds. “The use of cardboard beds by Olympic athletes is an interesting development. A good sleep environment includes an optimal sleeping surface and may have an impact on sleep quality. Although cardboard beds may seem unusual, their impact on sleep and performance will depend on how they are designed and constructed,” he says.

He believes that Olympians who focus on healthy sleep habits will perform at their best.

According to Dr. Brown, listed here are some things to think about when selecting cardboard beds:

What is the support and luxury like? While a firm sleeping surface is mostly preferred, a cardboard box can affect spinal alignment and pressure points. If cardboard beds are well-designed and supply adequate support, they’re unlikely to significantly impede performance. In situations where a firm surface is uncomfortable, a mattress topper might help.

How durable and stable are they? The beds should give you the option to face up to the burden and movements of the athletes. If there isn’t a proper reinforcement, this may turn into an issue.

What is the psychological impact? Sleeping in latest surroundings and on an unusual bed surface may initially cause anxiety or discomfort for athletes, which could have a short-term impact on their sleep.

Are there other environmental aspects? Other elements of your sleep environment, comparable to room temperature, noise levels, and light-weight exposure, could have a greater impact on sleep quality than the bed material itself.

Here are a few of Dr. Funke’s favorite mattresses:

Memory foam mattresses conform to the form of your body, providing excellent support and pressure relief.

Hybrid mattresses: These are a mixture of spring and foam layers that provide each support and luxury.

Latex mattresses: Known for his or her durability and responsiveness, they mix natural and artificial. They might be good for athletes who change positions incessantly during sleep.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

What’s the difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest? One is plumbing, the other is wiring

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In July 2023, rising US basketball star Bronny James fainted on the court during practice and was taken to hospital. The 18-year-old athlete, son of the famous LA Lakers veteran LeBron James, experienced Cardiac arrest.

Many media outlets incorrectly referred to this event as “heart attack” or used these terms interchangeably.

Cardiac arrest and heart attack are separate, although overlapping, concepts related to the heart.

With some experience in how the heart workswe will see how they differ and how they’re related.

Understanding the heart

The heart is a muscle that contracts to act as a pump. When it contracts, it pumps blood—containing oxygen and nutrients—to all of our body’s tissues.

For the heart muscle to operate effectively as a pump, it have to be powered by its own blood supply, which is provided by the coronary arteries. If these arteries are blocked, the heart muscle doesn’t receive the blood it needs.

This may cause heart muscle damage or death and prevent the heart from pumping blood properly.

Heart attack or cardiac arrest?

In easy terms, a heart attack, technically often called a myocardial infarction, means damage or death of the heart muscle.

Cardiac arrest, sometimes called sudden cardiac arrest, occurs when the heart stops beating or, in other words, stops functioning as an efficient pump.

In other words, each seek advice from a heart that is not working because it should, but for various reasons. As we’ll see later, one can result in the other.

Why do they occur? Who is in danger?

Heart attacks are frequently the results of blocked coronary arteries. This is sometimes called coronary artery disease, but in Australia we are likely to seek advice from it as ischemic heart disease.

The primary cause in about 75% of individuals this is a process called atherosclerosis. This happens when fatty and fibrous tissue builds up in the partitions of the coronary arteries, forming plaque. The plaque can block the blood vessel or, in some cases, result in a blood clot.

Atherosclerosis is a long-term, hidden process with many risk aspects that may surprise anyone. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight-reduction plan, diabetes, stress, and genes all play a role on this plaque-building process.

Other causes of heart attacks include spasms of the coronary arteries (causing them to narrow), chest trauma, or other aspects that reduce blood flow to the heart muscle.

Whatever the cause, blockage or reduced blood flow through these tubes can prevent the heart muscle from getting enough oxygen and nutrients. Cells in the heart muscle can develop into damaged or die.

Here’s a easy method to make it easier to remember the difference.
Author provided

But cardiac arrest is the results of an irregular heartbeat, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the body effectively. These irregular heartbeats are frequently caused electrical failures in the heart. There are 4 differing kinds:

  • ventricular tachycardia: a rapid and abnormal heart rhythm by which the heart rate increases 100 beats per minute (A traditional resting adult heart rate is normally 60-90 beats per minute). This rapid heart rate prevents the heart from filling with blood and pumping it properly.

  • ventricular fibrillation: Instead of beating often, the heart quivers or “flashes,” resembling a bag of worms, causing an irregular heartbeat at a rate of greater than 300 beats per minute

  • pulseless electrical activity: occurs when the heart muscle is unable to generate enough pumping force following electrical stimulation, leading to no pulse

  • Asystole: the classic flat heart rhythm you see in movies, indicating a lack of electrical activity in the heart.

Aystole's heart rhythm, which shows no electrical activity
Remember that flat beat in the movies? This is an asystole, when there is no electrical activity in the heart.
Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

Cardiac arrest may result from a number of heart and non-heart conditions, including drowning, trauma, suffocation, electrocution, and drug overdose. James’s cardiac arrest was attributed congenital heart defectheart defect with which he was born.

However, amongst the many causes of cardiac arrest, coronary heart disease, corresponding to heart attack, stands out as the commonest cause, accounting for for 70% of all cases.

So how can a heart attack cause cardiac arrest? Remember, during a heart attack, the heart muscle may be damaged or parts of it will probably die. This damaged or dead tissue can interfere with the heart’s ability to conduct electrical signals, increasing the risk of arrhythmia, which may cause the heart to stop beating.

Although a heart attack is a common reason behind cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest doesn’t normally cause a heart attack.

What do they appear like?

Because cardiac arrest leads to the sudden lack of the heart’s ability to pump blood, the commonest signs and symptoms are sudden lack of consciousness, absence of a pulse or heart rate, stopping respiratory, and pale or bluish skin.

But common signs and symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain or discomfort that may spread to other parts of the body, corresponding to the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, paleness, and sweating are also common.

What is the message?

Although each heart attack and cardiac arrest are heart diseases, they’ve different mechanisms and outcomes.

A heart attack is like a blockage in the water pipes to your property. But a cardiac arrest is like an electrical fault in your property’s electrical system.

Although each conditions are different in nature, they’ll have serious consequences and require immediate medical intervention.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

Africa desperately needs mpox vaccines. But donations from wealthy countries won’t fix this or the next health crisis

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Africa says it needs estimates ten million doses MPox vaccine to manage this public health threat.

The situation is especially worrying in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he reported This yr, there have been over 27,000 suspected cases of MPox and over 1,300 deaths.

Europe and United States promised to donate mpox vaccines. In emergencies, donations are welcome. But donations are a “stop-gap” charitable solution that can’t be relied upon.

Here’s what needs to be done to make sure equitable access to MPox vaccines in the face of this and the next public health emergency.

How did we get here?

Less than a month has passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) mpox declared a global public health threat of international concern on account of the increasing variety of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the potential risk of further spread of the disease.

Mpox virus, formerly referred to as monkeypox, has spread to countries where it had never been seen before, likely on account of a brand new, more contagious strain of the virus.

But the WHO has not yet approved the mpox vaccines. This is needed before groups resembling Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance AND UNICEF can begin purchasing vaccines and distributing them to affected countries which have not yet approved them independently.

Once the vaccines are approved by WHO, vaccine donations may also be distributed. These include: approximately 175,000 doses from the European Commission and one other 40,000 from vaccine producer Bavarian Nordic. The United States has also committed 50,000 doses from national stockpiles.

Even in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which issued emergency approval for vaccines in June, donated vaccines have only reached apparently he just arrived.

Other wealthy countries haven’t been as willing to donate vaccines. Canada has to date he didn’t commit to share any of several million doses. Australia has secured some doses of the vaccine for its population, but didn’t mention anything about donations.

There are also worries on how effective current vaccines shall be against the recent strain of the virus.

We’ve seen this before

In 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded one other mbox explosionThe United States, Canada and the European Union were concerned enough that I purchased vaccines from Bavarian Scandinavia. But that left nothing for the poorer countries.

If vaccines had been available in Africa at the moment, the current state of emergency might have been stopped in the bud, he said. Ahmed Ogwell OumaActing Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Low-income countries, especially those in Africa, are all the time last in the queue in relation to accessing vaccines, diagnostics and coverings.

This is a story that was repeated again and again over the previous few many years – with HIV/AIDS, Ebola and most recently COVID.

In the first yr of availability of COVID-19 vaccines, 75-80% of individuals in high-income countries have been vaccinated against lower than 10% in low-income countries.

This uneven distribution will not be inevitable. It is a legacy of the exploitation of the natural resources of the colonized world by wealthy countries, a practice that continues today. global economic trade and investment rules that keep low-income countries poor and depending on richer ones.

Here’s What Happened to COVID Products

One key example is the international mental property system governed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This agreement gives corporations control over the production and pricing of their products—including COVID vaccines—until their patents expire. As a result, only wealthy countries can afford these vaccines.

In 2020, India and South Africa, supported eventually by greater than 100 other low- and middle-income countries, he offered to waive for COVID medical products for a limited time. This would liberate scientific knowledge, technology and other mental property to enable the ramp-up of production of vaccines, diagnostics, treatments and other products needed to deal with the pandemic.

Less than two years later, the World Trade Organization approved heavily diluted version The waiver, which lasts just five years, only marginally facilitated the export of COVID vaccines. It didn’t cover every other COVID medical products, including treatments and diagnostics, or the transfer of know-how and technology needed to soundly and effectively scale up production as quickly as possible.

We have to ensure this doesn’t occur again.

Outbreaks of Mpox and future infectious diseases are certain to occur as climate change and environmental degradation increase the risk of disease transmission from animals to humans.

Such epidemics is not going to be prevented or controlled by charitable actions, voluntary sharing of data by pharmaceutical corporations, or the goodwill of countries in the WTO.

African countries have recognized the need strengthen self-sufficiency their public health systems. To address current global imbalances, they recognized that they needed to strengthen their collective voice on global health issues and turn out to be simpler in preparing for and responding to disease threats. There is a framework for motion.

But the global maldistribution of emergency medicines will not be an issue that Africa can solve alone. A brand new set global rules It can also be needed to be sure that all countries work together to forestall, prepare for, and reply to pandemics and to share vaccines and other needed medical supplies. This is crucial to be sure that the global vaccine inequity experienced by COVID will not be repeated.

WHO Member States agreed to barter such an agreement in December 2021. But they didn’t meet the deadline they set for its conclusion by mid-2024.

While we usually are not facing a pandemic at this stage, the current public health emergency in MPOX reinforces the need for a coordinated, global effort to barter arrangements to make sure a more equitable distribution of vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tests.

All countries should take note. Perhaps the upcoming negotiations on the WHO pandemic agreement – ​​which sets out how the world manages pandemic prevention, preparedness and response – are the perfect opportunity.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

NYFW Celebrity Look Of The Day: Day 2, Tanner Adell – Essence

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In what appears to be her first New York Fashion Week, country artist Tanner Adell is killing it. On the second day of the much-praised gathering, the rising artist opted for a sleek Sergio Hudson look styled by Lex Robinson. She wore the memorable ensemble while attending Hudson’s spring/summer 2025 show at Manhattan’s NeueHouse.

With her playful curls, Adell wore a skintight denim corset in a deep navy shade. Corset-inspired pieces never exit of favor, so it was refreshing to see her on this number. She also wore a pair of flared trousers in a wealthy tan shade as a part of the look. The entire look was a part of Sergio Hudson’s fall/winter 2024 collection. It was refreshing to see Addell in it—a change for the country star—and we’re glad to see her on this high-fashion moment. Addell sat at Hudson’s presentation alongside DeWanda Wise, Muni Long, June Ambrose, and stylist Byron Javar, and what an elegant row.

NYFW Celebrity Look Of The Day: Day 2, Tanner Adell
Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images

Tanner has been killing it on her press appearances in recent months. With stylist Mandel Korn, Adell, referred to as “Buckle Bunny,” wore a press release Bach Maia Dress on the BET Awards. The all-white gown signified an uplift in her style. Fittingly, a white cowboy hat was paired with the look. Brielle’s offbeat moment was a key search for Adell, which she also wore that very same evening: a white lace sweater with a keyhole detail. The standout pieces marked her performance as the primary female country artist to ever perform on the BET Awards.

Separately, and Christian Siriano’s dress consisting of a dramatic skirt with a whole lot of flowers and a corseted top, the artist wore it in July. The moment was the alternative of restrained – it was whimsical. Each of those separate outfits proves that Adell is just scratching the surface in the case of style.

NYFW Celebrity Look Of The Day: Day 2, Tanner Adell
Michael Ostuni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images


This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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