Health bites

Better health could be going for a song. A new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, shows how musical melody and structure influences the heart rate of choir members. "Singing regulates activity in the so-called vagus nerve, which is involved in our emotional life and communication with others. Songs with long phrases achieve the same effect as breathing exercises in yoga. Through song we can exercise a certain control over mental states," explains Björn Vickhoff, lead author of the study.

Researchers at Princeton University have uncovered another reason for the running high: exercise alters the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function. In the study in the Journal of Neuroscience, mice that exercised regularly and experienced a stressor - exposure to cold water - showed a spike in the activity of neurons that shut off excitement in a brain region shown to regulate anxiety.