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Why shift work will give you heart-ache, how yoga can help stroke victims and, of course, the Olympics

Shift workers are at more risk of a heart attack than day workers, according to the BBC.

The study, published in the BMJ, says disruption to the body clock of shift workers can have an adverse effect on their lifestyle. The study calculated that shift work was linked to a 23% increased risk of heart attack, a 24% increased risk of coronary event and a 5% increased risk of stroke.

 

For those of you who thought yoga was only for celebrities, the young or the super supple – read on. The Daily Mail reports yoga could help stroke victims to regain their balance.

Lead researcher Dr Arlene Schmid, a rehabilitation research scientist at Indiana University in the US, said: ‘For people with chronic stroke, something like yoga in a group environment is cost-effective and appears to improve motor function and balance.'

She added: ‘It has to do with the confidence of being more mobile. These were very meaningful changes in life for people.'

 

And from one physical activity to… the Olympics. The Guardian reports that the NHS has spent £900,000 on private ambulances to answer 999 calls during the Olympics to help cope with extra demand.

The money for the private contracts is coming from £7.6m of extra funding from the Department of Health to help the NHS provide the services needed during the Olympics and the Paralympics, but this is seen by many as an example of the increasing privatisation of the ambulance service across England.