All posts by SRH Matters

Study: Mammograms May Overdiagnose Some Early Breast Cancers

Uncategorized

Study: Mammograms May Overdiagnose Some Early Breast Cancers

2012-04-04

For years, women have been urged to get screened for breast cancer because the earlier it’s found, the better. Now researchers are reporting more evidence suggesting that’s not always the case.

A study in Norway estimates that between 15 and 25 percent of breast cancers found by mammograms wouldn’t have caused any problems during a woman’s lifetime, but these tumors were being treated anyway. Once detected, early tumors are surgically removed and sometimes treated with radiation or chemotherapy because there’s no certain way to figure out which ones may be dangerous and which are harmless.

“When you look for cancer early and you look really hard, you find forms that are ultimately never going to bother the patient,” said Dr. H. Gilbert Welch of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, who was not part of the research. “It’s a side effect of early diagnosis.”

(PHOTOS: A Photographer’s Intimate Account of Her Mother’s Cancer Ordeal)

The study is the latest to explore overdiagnosis from routine mammograms — finding tumors that grow so slowly or not at all and that would not have caused symptoms or death. Previous estimates of the problem have varied.

The researchers took advantage of the staggered decade-long introduction of a screening program in Norway, starting in 1996. That allowed them to compare the number of breast cancers in counties where screening was offered with those in areas that didn’t yet have the program. Their analysis also included a decade before mammograms were offered.

They estimated that for every 2,500 women offered screening, one death from breast cancer will be prevented but six to 10 women will be overdiagnosed and treated.

Study leader Dr. Mette Kalager and other experts said women need to be better informed about the possibility that mammograms can pick up cancers that will never be life-threatening when they consider getting screened. The dilemma is that doctors don’t have a good way of telling which won’t be dangerous.

“Once you’ve decided to undergo mammography screening, you also have to deal with the consequences that you might be overdiagnosed,” said Kalager, a breast surgeon at Norway’s Telemark Hospital and a visiting scientist at Harvard School of Public Health. “By then, I think, it’s too late. You have to get treated.”

(MORE: Most Young Women with Cancer Don’t Try to Preserve their Fertility)

Kalager and her colleagues looked only at invasive breast cancer. The study did not include DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ — an earlier stage cancer confined to a milk duct.

Under the Norway program, screening was offered every two years to women ages 50 to 69.

Researchers analyzed nearly 40,000 breast cancer cases, including 7,793 that were detected after routine screening began. They estimated that between 1,169 and 1,948 of those women were overdiagnosed and got treatment they didn’t need.

Their findings appear in Tuesday’s Annals of Internal Medicine.

The problem of overdiagnosis has been long recognized with prostate cancer. Darthmouth’s Welch said it’s also a problem in thyroid and lung cancer, a childhood tumor called neuroblastoma and even melanoma. He considers breast cancer screening a close call.

“The truth is that we’ve exaggerated the benefits of screening and we’ve ignored the harms,” he said. “I think we’re headed to a place where we realize we need to give women a more balanced message: Mammography helps some people but it leads others to be treated unnecessarily.”

(VIDEO: Pink Light: Burlesque and Breast Cancer Survivors)

An editorial published with the study said overdiagnosis probably occurs more often in the United States because American women often start annual screening at an earlier age and radiologists in the U.S. are more likely to report suspicious findings than those in Europe.

Radiologists could help by raising the threshold for noting abnormalities, wrote Dr. Joann Elmore of the University of Washington School of Medicine and Dr. Suzanne Fletcher of Harvard Medical School.

A “watch-and-wait” approach has been suggested instead of an immediate biopsy, but the editorial writers acknowledge that could be a “tough sell” for some women and radiologists alike.

They said most women aren’t aware of the possibility of overdiagnosis.

“We have an ethical responsibility to alert women to this phenomenon,” they wrote.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/02/study-finds-some-early-breast-cancer-overdiagnosed/#ixzz1r3vMcTZs

New book questions ‘The Myth of Sex Addiction’

featured, Sexual Health

New book questions ‘The Myth of Sex Addiction’

2012-03-30

Is sex addiction for real? Or is it “nothing more than a pop-psychology phenomenon, serving only to demonize sex, enforce moral views of sex and relationships and excuse irresponsible behaviors?”

Those are the fighting words of psychologist David Ley, who, in his rousing new book, “The Myth of Sex Addiction,” expresses concern over the slippery ease with which America’s mainstream media and burgeoning “addictionology industry” have seemingly conspired to transform a debatable diagnosis into a foregone conclusion.

“There are real dangers inherent in the sex addiction concept,” Ley writes. “I believe that for the field of health care, medicine, and mental health to endorse and reify a flawed concept creates a very dangerous slippery slope of moral relativism, where any socially unacceptable behavior is labeled a mental disorder subject to psychiatric treatment.”

Continue reading New book questions ‘The Myth of Sex Addiction’ →

Do we really give introverts a hard time?

Psycological Health

Do we really give introverts a hard time?

t is often assumed extroverts do best in life, but according to a new best-selling book, introverts are just as high achievers. It claims there is a bias towards extroverts in Western society. So do we discriminate against introverts?

Barack Obama, JK Rowling and Steve Wozniak.

They might not immediately stand out as introverts, but according to Susan Cain, American author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking, they are.

That is because she says, contrary to popular opinion, introverts are not necessarily shy or anti-social, they just prefer environments that are not over-stimulating and get their energy from quiet time and reflection.

Continue reading Do we really give introverts a hard time? →

Moms Say It’s Too Hard to Breast-Feed for the Recommended Six Months

Reproductive Health

Moms Say It’s Too Hard to Breast-Feed for the Recommended Six Months

A Scottish study finds that moms think the advice to breast-feed for six months is unrealistic. They call for scaling back expectations, but advocates say that’s the wrong approach.

The advice to breast-feed infants exclusively until they’re at least 6 months old is unequivocal: it’s healthier for mom, and it’s healthier for baby. But it can also be really hard.

A recent Scottish study that consisted of multiple interviews with 36 mothers and some of their relatives — 35 of whom intended to breast-feed their babies — concluded that the widely touted recommendations are in fact “unhelpful” and overly idealistic.

The study, published in an open-access publication of the British Medical Journal, acknowledges the health benefits of breast milk that have prompted many governments — including the U.S. — to urge moms to nurse their infants. But they argue that scaling back expectations is necessary if more mothers are going to give it a try.

Continue reading Moms Say It’s Too Hard to Breast-Feed for the Recommended Six Months →

Will living alone make you depressed?

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Will living alone make you depressed?

2012-03-26

(Health.com) — It’s long been known that elderly people are more prone to depression and other mental-health problems if they live on their own. New research suggests the same pattern may also be found in younger, working-age adults.

In a study of nearly 3,500 men and women ages 30 to 65, researchers in Finland found that people who lived alone were more likely that their peers to receive a prescription for antidepressant drugs. One quarter of people living alone filled an antidepressant prescription during the seven-year study, compared to just 16% of those who lived with spouses, family, or roommates.

“Living alone may be considered a mental-health risk factor,” says lead author Laura Pulkki-Råback, Ph.D., a lecturer at the University of Helsinki’s Institute of Behavioral Sciences. The study was published today in the journal BMC Public Health.

Continue reading Will living alone make you depressed? →

How Getting Tipsy May Inspire Creativity

Psycological Health

How Getting Tipsy May Inspire Creativity

A new study finds that men who got moderately drunk on vodka cranberries did better on tests of inspired thinking.
From Billie Holliday and Amy Winehouse to Coleridge and Kerouac, artists have long claimed alcohol and other drugs as muses for their creativity. But is there really a connection between intoxication and inspiration?

Increasingly, science is confirming that altered states of consciousness — whether induced by drugs, alcohol, sleepiness, travel or anything else that removes us from our usual way of seeing the world — do indeed improve creative thought. The inhibition of what researchers call executive functioning, which includes focus and planning — abilities that decline when we’re under the influence — may be what lets us generate new ideas and innovative solutions, instead of remaining fixed on the task at hand.

Continue reading How Getting Tipsy May Inspire Creativity →

What a Workout! Women Report that Exercise Triggers Orgasm

Sexual Health

What a Workout! Women Report that Exercise Triggers Orgasm

2012-03-22

Up to 15% of women apparently experience orgasm as a fringe benefit of physical exertion. Crunches, anyone?

Here’s one way to make workouts more palatable: combine exercise with orgasm.

It sounds like a pornographic fitness flick: women, sweaty from physical exertion, climaxing at the gym. But researchers at Indiana University say it really happens — independent of sex or fantasies. They’ve even got a name for it: “coregasm,” named thusly because abdominal exercises tend to spark the sensation.

In a survey distributed via the Internet, researchers asked women if they’d ever experienced exercise-induced orgasms (EIO) — 124 responded yes — or exercise-induced sexual pleasure (EISP); 246 had. Women were questioned about the types of exercises in which they were engaged at the time of orgasm, if the phenomenon happened repeatedly and whether they could control it, among other things.

Since there’s next to no scientific literature about orgasm while exercising, researchers prompted survey respondents to provide as much detail as possible. They learned quite a bit, according to lead author Debby Herbenick, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University.

Some women said they couldn’t help but make sounds during orgasm, which added to their feelings of self-consciousness. One woman wrote about biking strenuously uphill when she felt an orgasm coming on; embarrassed, she tried to hide it from her biking partner. According to the study:

“I had to really grind into the pedals. This must have caused me to rub on the seat in just the right away. I thought I was starting to cramp, but soon realized it felt great. [I] thought I should stop, but chose not to!”

Another woman described literally falling off a piece of gym equipment; one more recalled an errant medicine ball flying across the gym after she lost control. “Some talked about this happening as children during the Presidential fitness challenge, during pull-ups or chin-ups,” says Herbenick.

The research was published online Monday in a special issue of Sexual and Relationship Therapy. What’s so special about this issue? It’s all about orgasm: there are papers about tantra and orgasm, about non-genital kinds of orgasms deriving from mental fantasy, as well as criticisms about a perceived superiority complex surrounding vaginal orgasm. Says Herbenick: “It’s a very interesting issue.”

Herbenick’s contribution finds that exercise-induced orgasm is not of the wham-bam variety. In other words, don’t expect good vibrations from your first sit-up. “It’s often on number 15 or number 30,” says Herbenick.

Nor is what induces orgasm during exercise clear from this study. Most respondents said they weren’t daydreaming about sex at all. The catalyst seems to be the exertion itself, with abdominal exercises appearing to trigger the reaction in 51% of respondents. (The top orgasm generator in this category was the “captain’s chair,” a contraption in which the user supports her arms and back against a frame while the legs dangle, and she repeatedly raises her legs into a sitting position.) The next most likely culprits? Weight lifting, yoga, bicycling, running and walking or hiking.

Some women can induce orgasm by engaging in exercises that have previously yielded the big O; 40% of respondents reported they’d experienced orgasm or sexual pleasure while exercising more than 10 times. Others actively try to avoid climaxing in public; after all, it can be pretty mortifying. Yet even if it’s never happened to you, devoting some brain cells to its mystery and allure can serve as an excellent distraction during a workout. “Once you know about it,” observes Herbenick, “it is sometimes interesting to think about and wonder if others are experiencing it too.”

We know who’s not experiencing it: men. Sorry, guys, but this one’s (mostly) for the ladies. While Herbenick has heard of men orgasming during exercise, she says it’s far rarer. Even among the fairer sex, it’s fairly uncommon. Herbenick estimates that up to 15% of women have the uncanny and perhaps enviable ability to orgasm while exercising, a form of multitasking I’d never heard of before her research landed in my inbox. When I requested an interview with the author, an email response arrived with impeccable timing — just as I was winding up my morning boot-camp session. Alas, no fireworks.

Bonnie Rochman is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @brochman. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

Vaccines for Adults: What You Should Know

Sexual Health

Vaccines for Adults: What You Should Know

2012-03-21

In 2006 when the FDA approved the first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, it was big news. The new HPV vaccination made headlines at the time, which wasn’t surprising considering that it was the very first vaccine approved to prevent cancer — cervical cancer, to be exact.

Even though the HPV vaccine have now been around for a few years, not everyone knows exactly what it is, or what it does. You might be wondering: How does it work? Is it safe? Should you or your child get it?

So you can be more confident when you talk to your doctor about the HPV vaccine, here are answers to these and other common questions about the vaccine.
What Is HPV?

HPV stands for human papillomavirus. It’s a virus that can be transmitted through sexual contact. During intercourse or oral sex, HPV can make its way into the genitals, mouth, or throat and cause infection.

Sexually transmitted HPV comes in more than 40 different varieties. The type of the virus you get determines what effects it has on your body. Certain types of HPV cause genital warts. Other HPV types can make cells turn cancerous. You’ve probably heard that HPV causes cervical cancer, but it also causes less common cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, head, and neck.

What’s tricky about HPV is that it doesn’t have symptoms. There’s no sore throat or fever to let you know you’ve been infected. Most people clear the infection on their own. In fact, you might have absolutely no idea you’ve been infected until you develop genital warts or have an abnormal Pap test.

Though HPV might not be as well known among sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as herpes or syphilis, it is actually the most common STI. If you’re sexually active, you’ve got about a 50/50 chance of being infected with HPV at some point in your life. That’s why immunization is so important.
There are two HPV vaccines; what’s the difference?

Two vaccines are available to protect females against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. One of these vaccines also protects men and women against most genital warts. Whichever of these vaccines you and your doctor choose, you should stick with the same vaccine for all three shots.
Do I have to get the HPV vaccine?

The HPV vaccine is an important way for women to protect themselves against cervical cancer, which kills about 4,000 women each year in the U.S. It can also protect both men and women against genital warts. However, vaccination doesn’t protect against all HPV types that cause cervical cancers or genital warts. Whether you have to get vaccinated depends on your age and where you live. In certain states, girls within the recommended ages may need to get the HPV vaccine in order to go to school.

When should I get the HPV immunization?

The best time to get the HPV vaccine is before you’ve started having sexual activity. That’s why the CDC recommends that girls get their vaccination at age 11 or 12, although they can get the vaccine as early as age 9. If you’re 13 or older and you haven’t already been vaccinated, you can still get the vaccine up to age 26.

Although HPV vaccination is not on the recommended immunization schedules for boys and young men, they can get the Gardasil vaccine between ages 9 and 26 to protect them against genital warts.
If I’m over age 26, can I still get vaccinated?

The HPV vaccine isn’t recommended for people over age 26, because it hasn’t been studied well enough in this age group. If enough future studies show that it is safe and effective for people over 26, the FDA may eventually start recommending it for this age group.
How many shots do I need?

You’ll get three shots of the HPV vaccine over a 6-month period. You need to take all three doses to be completely protected. You’ll get the second shot about 1 to 2 months after the first, and the third shot 6 months after the first. Once you’ve started with a vaccine brand (Cervarix or Gardasil), stick with it for all three shots.
If I already have HPV, will this vaccine treat it?

No. If you have a current HPV, the vaccine won’t get rid of the infection. However, if you have one type of HPV the vaccine may prevent you from getting another type of the virus. There’s really no way to treat the virus once you have it, although there are treatments for diseases caused by HPV such as genital warts and genital cancers. This is why you should have regular pelvic exams and Pap tests (if you’re female) to screen for cervical cancer.
Does the HPV vaccine protect me for life?

You should be protected against HPV for at least 5 years; that’s how long the vaccine has been tested to work in studies. Longer-term research is needed to confirm exactly how much longer the protection lasts. Even women who are protected against HPV with the vaccine should see their gynecologist regularly for a Pap test to check for cervical cancer since the vaccine doesn’t protect against all HPV types that can cause cervical cancer.
Will my insurance cover the cost of the HPV vaccine?

Most insurance plans cover recommended vaccines, which means that if you’re a girl or woman ages 11 to 26, your insurance should pay for the vaccine. Check with your insurance company just to be sure. If your family doesn’t have health insurance or you’re on Medicaid, you should be able to get the HPV vaccine for free through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.

Is this vaccination safe?

Vaccines have to be rigorously tested before they can be widely distributed. Both HPV vaccines were tested on thousands of people and shown to be safe before they were released to the public. These vaccines have been used for several years now, and experts say the chance of them causing a serious reaction is very slim. You don’t need to worry about mercury or thimerosal with the HPV vaccine, either. It doesn’t contain these preservatives.
Is there any reason why I shouldn’t get this vaccine?

Some people shouldn’t get the vaccine. You definitely don’t want to get the HPV vaccine if you’ve had a serious allergic reaction to it or to any of its components, including baker’s yeast and latex. Let your doctor know if you have any severe allergies. Also talk to your doctor if you have an immune system problem or blood disorder.

If you’re pregnant, you’ll want to wait to get the HPV vaccine until after your baby is born. In studies, HPV vaccines didn’t cause any problems in babies whose mothers got the vaccine while pregnant, but pregnant women should not get HPV vaccine as safety studies are still ongoing.
Could I have side effects from the HPV vaccine?

You could have side effects, but if you do they should be mild. Most people who complain of symptoms after getting the HPV shot have minor issues like pain or swelling at the site of the shot, fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or muscle and joint pain.

Sometimes people faint after getting the HPV vaccine or any other vaccination. Sitting down after getting the shot can prevent you from passing out.
If I get the HPV vaccine, is there a chance I could get HPV?

No. The part of the HPV virus used in both vaccines is inactivated (not live) so it can’t cause actual HPV infection.

How Low Testosterone Affects Health, Mood, and Sex

Sexual Health

How Low Testosterone Affects Health, Mood, and Sex

Low Testosterone and Sex Drive

Testosterone isn’t the only fuel for a man’s sex drive and performance. But low testosterone can reduce your ability to have satisfying sex. Lack of sex drive and erectile dysfunction are sexual problems that can result from low testosterone. If low testosterone is the cause, treating it can help.
Testosterone and the Causes of Low Libido

Researchers haven’t unraveled the mystery of just how testosterone increases libido. It’s normal for a man’s sex drive to slowly decline from its peak in his teens and 20s, but libido varies widely between men. What one man might consider a low sex drive, another might not. Also, sex drive changes within each man over time and is affected by stress, sleep, and opportunities for sex. For these reasons, defining what’s a “normal” sex drive is next to impossible. Usually, the man himself identifies a lack of sex drive as a problem. Other times, his partner may consider it to be an issue.

Low testosterone symptoms don’t always include feeling like you have no sex drive. Some men maintain sexual desire at relatively low testosterone levels. For other men, libido may lag even with normal testosterone levels. Low testosterone is one of the possible causes of low libido, however. If testosterone is lowered far enough, virtually all men will experience some decline in sex drive.

In a large study of men in Massachusetts, about 11% overall said they had a lack of sex drive. The researchers then tested all the men’s testosterone levels. About 28% of men with low testosterone had low libido. These men were relatively young, with an average age of 47; older men might have worse sexual symptoms.

Low testosterone is only one of the causes of low libido. Stress, sleep deprivation, depression, and chronic medical illnesses can also sap a man’s sex drive.
Low Testosterone and Erectile Dysfunction

Surprisingly, low testosterone by itself rarely causes erectile dysfunction, or ED. Low testosterone alone — with no other health problems — accounts for a small minority of men with erectile dysfunction.

Erection problems are usually caused by atherosclerosis — hardening of the arteries. If damaged, the tiny blood vessels supplying the penis can no longer dilate to bring in the strong flow needed for a firm erection. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are the three main causes of atherosclerosis and erectile dysfunction.

At the same time, low testosterone is a frequent accomplice to atherosclerosis in creating erectile dysfunction. In studies, as many as one in three men mentioning ED to their doctor have low testosterone. Experts believe that in men with other factors causing erectile dysfunction, low testosterone can strongly contribute, making a difficult situation even worse.

Strengthening the connection, low testosterone is linked in some way with many of the conditions that lead to erectile dysfunction:

Metabolic syndrome
Obesity
Endothelial dysfunction
Diabetes

Although low testosterone isn’t known to cause them, the associations between other medical conditions and low testosterone can be significant.

Testosterone therapy improves sex drive and satisfaction with sex in many men. However, the long-term risks and benefits of testosterone replacement are unknown. Research trials on testosterone replacement in men are ongoing, although results are years away.

5 Tips to Overcome Emotional Eating

Psycological Health

5 Tips to Overcome Emotional Eating

2012-03-20

Drowning your sorrows in ice cream won’t help you feel better in the long run. Here are five ways to keep junk-food urges from devolving into a full-fledged binge.

Could work stress be causing your expanding waistline? A recent Finnish study found that women who had job burnout were more likely to turn to food for comfort and to eat uncontrollably, compared with women who weren’t overworked. The study‘s authors suggested that obesity treatment should include evaluations of people’s work stress and emotional eating habits.

It’s not just a stressful workweek, but also a fight with the spouse, a visit with the in-laws or an all-around low mood that can make the chocolate ice cream beckon that much more seductively. “Stress, anxiety, depression, really any kind of strong emotion can trigger an emotional binge,” says Dr. Joy Jacobs, clinical eating disorder psychologist and assistant clinical professor at University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. “Emotional eating happens whenever someone has an emotion they do not know how to handle, even happiness, and they channel it into an eating experience.”

But while self-medicating through fatty foods can provide temporary comfort, the aftermath is usually bleak. In the short-term, you’re likely to feel regret for binging; in the long-term, you may be setting yourself up for weight gain and related health problems. And spikes in consumption of junk food may end up worsening your mood overall. “We tend to go for the chocolate when we’re stressed out,” says Dr. Susan Albers, psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center and author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food. “It increases our blood sugar and we feel good, but then we experience a sudden drop. That drop makes you even more moody and you will want even more sugary snacks.”

One easy trick for curbing cravings is simple distraction. Doctors recommend finding alternatives to eating, such as calling a friend or reading a magazine — one study found that knitting helped take people quit obsessing over food. The same technique may help you overcome other bad habits too, from smoking to biting your nails.

“It’s good to get your hands engaged in something else so you cannot eat at same time,” says Albers. “Do something soothing to calm you down. It will also help you find other things that relax you besides food.” If you can distract yourself for a few minutes, the urge to eat should subside.

Logging your daily food intake can help you recognize your emotional eating triggers. Dr. Jacobs recommends jotting down the time of day you feel hungry and how you feel emotionally. This process helps differentiate between when you’re feeling physical versus emotional hunger.

“Physical hunger is usually accompanied by symptoms like a growling stomach or lightheadedness. Emotional hunger is when you want to eat, but not because you are physically starving,” says Dr. Jacobs. “People think they want to eat, but do not know why. They do not connect it to an emotion.”

Once you know your triggers, you can develop a plan for the next time you want to reach for the peanut butter jar. “If there is a certain time of day you are more likely to binge, you can change up your routine. If it’s right after work, you can do something else before going home. By changing up your routine, you ensure binging does not become a natural course of events for you. Emotional eating will not become a habit,” says Jacobs.

“You cannot be eating mindfully and emotionally at the same time,” says Albers. Mindful eating means creating an awareness of your eating habits and taking in all the sensations you experience when you eat. As you eat, savor each bite and pay attention to how you’re feeling.

“It is important to learn how to connect the feelings we get when we eat back to our physiological reactions — back to the reasons we should be eating in the first place,” says Albers. “It is about breaking our autopilot eating behaviors. We often don’t realize how much we are eating. We lose track and often overeat because we are eating mindlessly.”

Dr. Edward Abramson, professor of psychology at California State University, teaches mindful eating in his emotional eating workshops. “We have to start paying attention to our automatic eating behaviors. If a Doritos commercial comes on TV, we suddenly reach for a salty snack. When we are more deliberate about how we eat, we increase our awareness and decrease our consumption,” says Abramson. “I tell people, when you are standing in front of the fridge with the urge to eat, stop for a minute and ask yourself what do you really need right now. You may just be bored or anxious.”
Exercise helps you unwind and puts you in a better position to deal with heightened emotions. After reviewing literature on the neurocognitive aspects of eating behaviors and the impact of physical activity on the brain, researchers from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston concluded that exercise is a great way to deal with food temptation. According to the researchers, exercise strengthens the brain’s powers of executive function — thinking ahead and controlling inhibitions — which makes it easier to say no to a second helping of dessert.

Dr. Albers specifically recommends yoga for emotional eaters. “Yoga can help you deal with temptations and be a more mindful eater,” she says. “It creates body awareness. It reduces the fight-or-flight emotion you get when you’re stressed out and increases your levels of serotonin and dopamine, which help your mood.”

The chronically sleep-deprived may be more likely to succumb to anxious snacking. Getting adequate sleep has been shown to reduce your cortisol levels — the hormone that rises when you’re anxious or stressed. “Not getting enough sleep contributes to depression, irritability and reduced ability to control stress and anxiety. All of these things will further contribute to vulnerability for emotional eating in at risk individuals,” says Jacobs.

A recent study presented at the American Heart Association’s annual Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism conference found that people who were sleep deprived tended to overeat. In fact, compared with people who got to sleep as much as they wanted, those who were rousted out of bed too early ate 550 additional calories every day. Healthland’s Alice Park wrote:

Getting a consistent and sufficient amount of sleep each night may play an important role in regulating how much we eat and how many calories we burn, and it may also help determine when we eat. Eating when we should be sleeping, for example, may increase the risk of weight gain, as the body is more likely to turn nighttime calories into fat rather than burning them off.