New & Now: EEG detects awareness in vegetative patients, plus more of the latest health news

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EEG detects awareness in vegetative patients

Researchers have discovered that they are able to detect conscious awareness in some patients thought to be in an unresponsive state. Using an EEG machine, researchers gave commands to 16 patients considered to be in a vegetative state following brain injury, and recorded any electrical signals in their brain. Three of the patients (nearly 20 percent of those assessed) produced brain activity similar to the responses seen in healthy participants. | Sympatico Health & Fitness

Eating nuts may improve your mood

In addition to offering health benefits such as a reduced risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol, nuts may also improve your mood. Researchers in Spain have found that after eating nuts, such as almonds, walnuts and brazil nuts, people had higher levels of serotonin’a brain chemical which helps to regulate mood, appetite and sleep. | CBC.ca

Daylight savings and poor weather impact kids’ activity levels

A British study on kids’ physical activity has found the level of activity to correlate with the number of daylight hours. The study found kids had the highest overall level of activity when there were 14 or more hours of daylight. Physical activity levels were significantly lower when there were fewer daylight hours or when bad weather was a factor. | Sympatico Health & Fitness