When the running and aerobics boom hit in the 1970s, a lot of smart people took up an exercise habit and have stuck with it ever since. Those people, some now in their 70s, seem to have put a brake on the aging process, maintaining the heart, lung and muscle fitness of healthy people at least 30 years younger.
Those are the findings of a recent study from Ball State University, headed by exercise physiologist Scott Trappe.
"We saw that ...these 75-year-olds — men and women — have similar cardiovascular health to a 40- to 45-year-old," he says.
Read more about some of the study participants who have been exercising for 50-60 years and how they kept it up.
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As evidence grows that chronic sleep deprivation puts teens at risk for physical and mental health problems, there is increasing pressure on school districts around the country to consider a later start time.
In Seattle, school and city officials recently made the shift, moving the official start times for middle and high schools nearly an hour later to 8:45 a.m. Researchers studied teens from before and after the change and got hard proof that it helps: Start school later and teens get more sleep.
Read the story to learn about the research, and other benefits that come from giving teens extra sleep.
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In this time of rising heroin and fentanyl overdoses, how do you make sure you’re prepared to save a life? Many states now have a standing order allowing anyone to buy the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. But as a nurse named Isela found out, being a good Samaritan can have troubling unintended consequences.
Isela tried to apply for life insurance and was denied because she had bought the opioid-reversal drug naloxone — brand name Narcan. The insurance company feared she was a drug user herself.
"But I'm a nurse, I use it to help people," Isela remembers telling her agent. "If there is an overdose, I could save their life."
Read more to learn about Isela’s struggles to get a life insurance company to accept her and the push to change their policies.
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More news about health and health care in America:Here are a few more health stories from NPR you don't want to miss this week.
Why doctors don't know how to care for pregnant women
Obamacare under the gun...again!
What the shingles vaccine shortage means for you
We hope you enjoy these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism on Shots and follow us for daily stories at @NPRHealth.
Your Shots editor,
Carmel Wroth
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