Baby brain is real and dolphins and swimming
April 5th 2010 05:48
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From: The Sydney Morning Herald
PUT the tea bags in the fridge? Gone shopping and left your purse at home? It’s not your fault.
UK scientists have proved what many pregnant women and new mums already know: baby brain really does exist.
For the study, researchers gave 23 expectant mothers and 24 non-pregnant women memory tests. Pregnant women performed significantly worse than non-pregnant women in the spatial memory test during the second and third trimesters.
Researchers found women in the later stages of pregnancy can suffer a loss of spatial memory – the recall of locations and positions of objects. The problem was apparent in the last six months of pregnancy and lasted at least three months after a woman gave birth.
“Forgetfulness and slips of attention are phenomena commonly reported by pregnant women, but scientists have yet to identify a specific mechanism by which this memory impairment might occur,” says lead study author Diane Ferrar.
Experts now believe it can be traced to the effect of pregnancy hormones on the brain.
Dolphins get stressed by humans
A recent British study on bottlenose dolphins living off the coast of Zanzibar found the animals were experiencing “incredible” stress from pleasure boats packed full of tourists.
“Whenever the tourist boats were present the dolphins were very unsettled and spent less time feeding, socialising or resting,” explains lead researcher Dr Per Berggren.
Dolphins in theme parks also come under huge stress, according to dolphin expert Ric O’Barry.
“Dependent on sonar to navigate their ocean homes, dolphins are in [a] constant state of distress living in cramped pools, bombarded by noise and forced to perform,” says O’Barry.
“Any change needs to be tourist-driven,” adds Dr Berggren. “Our message is, keep your distance and put the dolphins first.”
Swimming best for older women
Women aged between 50 and 70 benefit more from swimming than walking or jogging, according to a new study.
Researchers from The University of Western Australia (UWA) studied 120 women over a 12-month period and found that in terms of fitness and weight control, swimming came up trumps.
“Until now, swimming was thought to have the same health benefits as other aerobic exercise such as cycling, jogging or walking,” says Dr Kay Cox from UWA’s School of Medicine and Pharmacology.
Researchers targeted this age group in an attempt to change physical activity behaviour before an increasingly sedentary lifestyle could have lasting effects on their health.
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