Did you know that..?

Are you brushing enough? The NHS advises that
we brush our teeth for about two minutes twice a
day. Surveys have suggested that most people don’t
even achieve that target – but there is evidence that
we should be aiming higher. Research by the University of Birmingham reveals that three to four minutes
will remove more plaque; and though this has yet to
be clinically proven, it’s likely it will lead to better
oral health. But people should avoid using hard
brushes and abrasive pastes – and should not brush
more than twice a day. The Times

Most CEOs see recession, survey shows.
The proportion of CEOs around the world who
think a recession is looming has surged to 60%, from
22% late last year and 39% at the end of 2020. The
boomerang in expectations for economic contraction
tracks a battle against rising consumer prices that has
become more pitched. High inflation is likely to
diminish demand for products, while executives
warned soaring energy prices and increasing
transportation costs will make the manufacturing of
goods more expensive. The Wall Street Journal

2021 was world’s fifth hottest year. The last seven
years were the world’s hottest on record, with the first
analysis of global temperature in 2021 showing it
was 1.2C above pre-industrial levels. Data from the
Copernicus Climate Change Service shows 2021 was
the world’s fifth hottest year, and the past seven years
were the hottest on record. US researchers also found
that ocean temperatures were the hottest recorded
for the sixth consecutive year, which scientists also
attribute to climate change. The Guardian

Cannabis addiction up in over 55s. A record
number of people over the age of 55 are seeking
treatment for cannabis addiction. Over the past 15
years there has been a 777% increase in the number
of people in the age group receiving substance misuse
treatment for cannabis. However, the figure has
fallen by 22% among people aged between 18 and 24. Dr Tony Rao, a consultant psychiatrist, said
cannabis is “still regarded as a recreational drug with
little awareness of the harm associated with its use”.
The Daily Mail

People taking statins less likely to die from
Covid. People who take statins are slightly less likely
to die of Covid-19 than people who are not on the
cholesterol-lowering drug, a study has found.
Researchers analysed health data from almost a
million over-45s living in Stockholm and found that
those who had been prescribed statins before the
pandemic were about 12% less likely to have died of
Covid during the study period – between March
and November 2020 – than those not on statins.
They stressed that more research would be required
to show that the association was causal but said that
their findings raised the possibility that statin
treatment has “a modest preventive therapeutic
effect on Covid-19 mortality”. BMJ

The best medicine for your heart. Going to bed
between 10pm and 11pm reduces the risk of heart
disease, a new study has found. Researchers at the
University of Exeter studied 88,000 volunteers and
found that people who fell asleep during that
hour-long window had lower rates of heart disease
compared with those with earlier or later bedtimes.
The experts believe synchronising sleep to match our
internal body clock may explain the reduced risk of
heart attacks and strokes. In other news, researchers
have concluded that adding plenty of herbs and
spices to your diet could benefit your heart. A study
found that feeding people a diet with plenty of
ingredients such as cinnamon, coriander, parsley,
garlic, black pepper, thyme and turmeric for four
weeks was followed by improved blood pressure
readings. The change was seen in people who
consumed about one and a half teaspoons of herbs
and spices per day. The Guardian