Research shows that yoga and meditation reduce stress, anxiety and depression.

Reported by Dr. Katie Guttenberg for ABC News:

Though the practices of yoga and meditation have their roots in ancient cultures, they’ve both become modern day movements. More than 20 million Americans meditate regularly, according to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. More than 13 million do yoga.

To explore the health benefits of meditation and yoga, Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical correspondent for ABC News, hosted a tweet chat Tuesday. He invited experts from top hospitals and research centers, including the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the University of Wisconsin, the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard Medical School, as well as respected yoga authorities from the Krapula Yoga Center in Stockbridge, Mass., and West Hartford Yoga in Connecticut.

Click here for the full transcript of the chat. Read on for the highlights.

What is meditation and what does the science say about its benefits for the brain and body?

Many forms of meditation evolved from ancient religious and spiritual traditions, said the NCCAM. Although practices vary today, most meditation techniques aim to train attention and awareness to help bring thoughts under control.

Studies show how helpful a regular meditation practice can be for relieving pain, anxiety and stress. Although a series of University of Wisconsin studies have found meditation can benefit patients with chronic inflammatory disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, more research is needed to understand its role in the treatment of chronic health conditions.

T2 #Mindfulness #meditation appears 2 be associated w/ measurable changes in the brain involved in memory, learning, & emotion #abcdrbchat

— NIH NCCAM (@NCCAM) May 21, 2013

Researchers have found that mindfulness meditation can reduce high blood pressure, stroke risk, heart disease and chronic pain #abcDRBchat

— Rep. Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) May 21, 2013

What is yoga and how can a regular practice help me keep healthy?

There are more than 200 schools of yoga taught throughout the world. All of them aim to connect the mind and body through careful breathing and movement.

As with meditation, studies find that regularly doing downward dogs and warrior poses can help manage stress and anxiety. There’s even some evidence that yoga can help fight cancer-related fatigue, manage high-blood pressure  and ease chronic pain, especially joint pain. For example, studies by the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle found that after several weeks of taking yoga classes, subjects reported fewer backaches and greater lower-back mobility.

T3 #Yoga is a mind-body practice to improve physical, emotional, and mental #health. #abcDrBchat

— Kripalu(@KripaluCenter) May 21, 2013

T3: #Yoga is a combination of breathing, movement & mindfulness! #abcDRBchat

— Cleveland Clinic (@ClevelandClinic) May 21, 2013

Any advice for yoga newbies?

Don’t let an instructor push you past your comfort zone. Listen to your body. All our experts agreed that the most important advice for yogis at any level.  If you’ve got any sort of chronic medical condition, are pregnant or haven’t done any sort of exercise in a while, it’s a good idea to check in with your doctor before taking up a yoga practice.

T5: Repetitive practice can cause injury, balance with a mix of styles #abcDrBchat

— Barbara Ruzansky (@BarbaraRuzansky) May 21, 2013

T5 The afterword to my paperback has lots of injury detail, including 20,000 emergency room admissions in the last decade.#abcDrBchat

— William J. Broad (@WilliamJBroad) May 21, 2013

For people who are stressed out by tragic events in the news like the tornado that ripped through the Moore, Okla., can meditating help?  

Since meditation – and yoga for that matter –  promote relaxation, it can definitely help manage the emotions that bubble up after hearing bad or disturbing news. There’s some evidence that a few moments of quiet reflection is especially helpful for people who suffer from anxiety and depression to begin with. And the group dynamic of a yoga class can bring people together and not feel so alone after a tragedy.

T6 Preliminary research studies on yoga and meditation for trauma and stress have shown positive benefits #abcDRBchat

— Sat Bir Singh Khalsa (@SatBirKhalsaPhD) May 21, 2013

Join us on June4, at 1 p.m., ET,  for our next health tweet chat on preventing breast cancer. Click here to learn how.

These fake frozen peas can be used to ice up injuries. Photo credit: frozenpeaz.com.

Sir Isaac Newton found his inspiration in an apple.  MaryCarol Dolivier found hers in a bag of frozen peas.

After Dolivier tumbled down a flight of stairs a few years ago she was forced to lay on the couch for several weeks, a bag of frozen peas propped on her swollen knee.

The bag leaked when it melted. When she refroze it, the peas formed a lumpy iceberg. The squishy mess they became when microwaved made them a totally unacceptable choice for heat therapy.

Dolivier knew she could do better.

Along with her partner, Arthur Blackwood, Dolivier invented Frozenpeaz, green-tinted, pea-shaped glass beads that heat and cool a lot like… well, frozen peas.

“If you just get a simple bump or bruise, we are not what you are looking for,” Dolivier said. “But if you’re serious about sports or if you have a chronic injury or you are someone who is relying on hot and cold therapy on a regular basis, a bag of peas simply will not do.”

The $65 Frozenpeaz kit improves upon a $.74 bag of frozen peas in the follow ways: It can cool or heat an injured area for up to 30 minutes with no messiness or mushiness. It can be reused without losing shape or effectiveness.  It includes an attractive wrap that conforms to any body part, three bags of peaz, a Velcro strap to hold it in place and an insulated compression band that protects the skin from freezer burn.

This last feature is the most important one, Dolivier said, because compression is one of the basic tenants of the R.I.C.E. injury treatment protocol recommended by orthopedic specialists, along with rest, ice and elevation.

“A regular bag of peas or a conventional ice pack doesn’t offer compression to help with swelling,” she pointed out.

Since the virtual pea packs began selling on the internet in January, Dolivier said sales have been brisk. Beginning this fall, consumers who wish to give peaz a chance will be able to purchase them at Walgreen drugstores nationwide.

(Image credit: @redcrossokc/Twitter; Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo)

Volunteers from the American Red Cross are on the ground in Moore, Okla., where a violent tornado tore through homes, a hospital and two elementary schools killing 24 people and injuring at least 240 more.

Full coverage of the Oklahoma tornado

The organization, which provides food, shelter, blood and mental health services for disaster survivors, turns 132 today. Its birthday wish? To support and comfort the residents of Moore for “as long as it takes.”

“We’re there to help communities recover and rebuild,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego. “Our hearts go out to those affected by this tragedy, and we want to be there to help today and tomorrow and as long as it takes.”

Founded May 21, 1881, the American Red Cross works closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to more than 70,000 natural and man-made disasters a year in the U.S., according to its website.

“Our members respond to a disaster every eight minutes,” said Borrego, noting that most of the disasters are house fires. “We’re a national organization, but we’re built on local chapters and in communities across the country.”

In its 132 years, the Red Cross has grown and expanded its reach, using the latest technology and social media to connect to people in need.

“In 1881, it was much smaller,” said Red Cross historian Susan Watson, explaining how founder Clara Barton had “a handful” of volunteers collecting money at local gatherings as reports of a disaster landed in newspapers.

“Social media is allowing us to reach much further and get the word out much faster,” Watson said.

The response is faster, too. It took six days to get help to deliver aid after the Johnstown, Pa., flood of 1889, according to Watson.

“In Moore, we’re there now,” she added.

The organization was actually chartered by the United States Congress to “carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing the same,” according to its website, working hand-in-hand with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ninety-one cents of every dollar donated goes towards its humanitarian programs, according to Borrego.

The Oklahoma tornado tragedy hit close to home for her, she said, and affected everyone at the Red Cross.

“My mother’s from Oklahoma and I grew up driving past Moore on the 35, I can’t even count the number of times,” she said. “We’ll be there to help the community with whatever they need.”

The easiest way to help the Red Cross support the people of Moore is to donate money online at RedCross.org or by texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 (the text will automatically donate $10).

Portland residents vote today on water fluoridation. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Residents of Portland, Ore., will vote today on whether to add fluoride to their drinking water — a move hailed by some as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. But critics say a “yes” vote would expose residents to a “risky” chemical in the name of stronger teeth.

Minute amounts of fluoride have been added to American drinking water since 1945 to help curb cavities in kids and delay decay in adults. In 2008, 72.4 percent of the U.S. population had access to fluoridated water, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in Oregon, the percentage drops to 22, which has created a statewide “dental crisis,” according to state epidemiologist Dr. Katrina Hedberg.

“Tooth decay is a serious problem and fluoridation is an effective, affordable and, most importantly, safe way to improve the public’s health,” Hedberg said in a statement, noting that one in three of the state’s first- through third-grade children has cavities, and one in five, has rampant tooth decay. “It is also consistent with the state’s effort to focus health care on prevention rather than after-the-fact acute care.”

Like cereal fortified with folic acid, milk fortified with vitamin D and salt containing iodine, tap water containing fluoride delivers a healthful supplement that busy bodies don’t even have to think about, according to the CDC. Water fluoridation has been shown to reduce a person’s risk of tooth decay by 25 percent, and a lifetime supply costs less than a single filling.

But skeptics question the safety of fluoride, citing a 2006 report by the National Academy of Sciences that suggested fluoridation could have serious consequences for certain subgroups of people, such as the very young, the elderly, and the sick.

“Our campaign is not saying there’s complete consensus in the science on either side,” said Kellie Barnes, a volunteer with the anti-fluoridation group Clean Water Portland. “We’re saying the emerging science shows a reasonable amount of concern.”

Barnes, a physiotherapist and mother of two, said she hadn’t thought about fluoridation until her dentist voiced his skepticism.

“I grew up on the East Coast not thinking about it,” she said, referring to her hometown of Baltimore, where water is fluoridated. “But he raised questions about the effectiveness of the policy, and that was concerning to me.”

Clean Water Portland has taken safety concerns to heart, publishing a list of 12 reasons to vote “no” on their website. The list also highlights the cost of water fluoridation, and suggests a possible alternative.

“Instead of spending up to $7 million on a fluoridation plant and $500,000 or more a year on fluoridation chemicals, a comparable investment in increased access to care would better help at-risk kids while protecting the entire community from the health risks of fluoridation,” the group’s website reads. “While fluoridation activists like to focus on Oregon’s ‘untreated decay’ rate, this rate highlights the real issue: a lack of good access to dental care.”

Ballots must be delivered to a ballot drop-off location by 8 p.m. PT.

Image credit: Getty Images

By Wendy Troxel

Sleep.  It occupies about one-third of our lives. We need it for our mental and physical health, and for our survival.

Compared with other health behaviors such as smoking or exercise, sleep is unique because for most adults, it is a behavior they “share” with a partner.  But according to studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association, sharing a bed doesn’t always produce sweet dreams.

Research by me and my colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh found that for men, poor sleep predicts more negative interactions with his partner the next day.  For women, the converse was true: How she interacts with her partner during the day predicts how soundly she sleeps at night.  In other words, for women, marital strife can lead to a sleepless night; for men, a sleepless night can lead to marital strife.  Taken together, these interactions can create a vicious cycle, potentially increasingly poor sleep and distressed relationships.

Despite the fact that most adults share their bed with a partner, and that sleep problems and relationship problems co-occur, only a handful of studies have investigated how sleeping together affects the sleep of both partners.

Evidence from these studies suggests that there may be costs to sharing a bed with a partner. That is, on nights when couples sleep together, they tend to have more fragmented or restless sleep than nights when they sleep alone. Some evidence suggests that these consequences are stronger for women. On the other hand, people generally prefer to sleep with a partner and believe that they sleep better when sharing a bed.

So why do we prefer to share our beds when, at least by objective measures, we tend to sleep better alone? Looking to our evolutionary past may help answer this question.

Sleep is a universal and essential health behavior, but it is also extraordinarily dangerous from an evolutionary perspective. Think about it: Sleep occurs while a person is lying down, in a semi-conscious state, and highly vulnerable to potential threats from the environment. But it is nearly impossible to fall asleep if you are feeling unsafe or insecure.

Humans are inherently social beings, and we derive a sense of safety and security from our social environment. This fundamental need for safety and security at night may explain why we generally prefer to sleep with another human being, even when sharing a bed may not always result in the best quality sleep.

Humans may no longer depend on sharing a bed to protect them from harm in the hostile environment of our evolutionary past. But focusing on the potentially adverse consequences of sleeping with another may obscure the importance of stable, good-quality relationships for healthy sleep.

For example, some research has indicated that women in stable, long-term relationships have better quality sleep than their unpartnered counterparts, and women who are in highly satisfying relationships have lower rates of insomnia than those in distressed relationships.

Should couples sleep together or sleep apart? The answer may be … it depends.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Couples need to decide what works best for them and consider how to optimize their sleep as well as their time together so that they can be the best possible partner for their loved one.

Ultimately, the time couples spend together before falling asleep may be the most important time for connecting, being intimate and just being “alone together” without all of the other distractions of the day.  Whether couples sleep in the same bed or separate beds, they need not give up on that important and satisfying pre-sleep time together. Perhaps the real benefits of “sleeping together” are realized in the precious lull before sleep comes.

Wendy Troxel is a clinical psychologist and behavioral scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology.

Allana Maiden wanted her mother to feel beautiful again after she’d undergone  a radical mastectomy. But Victoria’s Secret, the company she hoped would design sexy lingerie for women who’ve  had breast cancer surgery, has rejected her appeal for a “survivor line” of bras.

The Richmond, Va., 28-year-old was 6 years old when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and had her surgery. But she was always aware of her mother’s struggle to feel good about herself — and to find a bra that not only fit but was reasonably priced.

Maiden was particularly disappointed in Victoria’s Secret’s decision after actress Angelina Jolie announced that she’d had a preventive mastectomy after learning she had the BRCA  gene, which predisposes a woman to breast cancer.

“She put the news out there that you can still be attractive after having breast cancer and mastectomy,” Maiden said of Jolie. “But a beautiful bra would have been a great thing to have, and now these bras are very limited.

“My mom and I have always said how much we appreciate Victoria’s Secret research efforts,”  said Maiden, who works at an animal shelter. “But cancer research doesn’t help survivors feel beautiful after the battle is over — mastectomy bras do.  This is a company that prides itself in innovation that helps women feel beautiful. I don’t think cancer survivors like my mom should be the exception to the rule.”

A representative from Victoria’s Secret called Maiden two weeks ago to tell her that the company would not be creating a new line of “survivor” bras.

“Through our research, we have learned that fitting and selling mastectomy bras … in the right way … a way that is beneficial to women is complicated and truly a science,” said Victoria’s Secret Tammy Roberts Myers in a prepared statement today.  ”As a result, we believe that the best way for us to make an impact for our customers is to continue funding cancer research.

“I was disappointed, obviously,” Maiden told ABCNews.com. “I understand her decision, that there is a science that goes [with these] bras, and it’s more complicated than a regular bra would be. But I felt that if anyone could do it, they could. They have everything in place.”

According to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and it estimates that more than 1.6 million new cases occurred among women worldwide in 2010.

Maiden’s mother, 57-year-old Debbie Barrett, works in the admissions office at Virginia Highlands Community College. She was 36 when she found a lump during a self-examination and soon learned it was malignant.

Barrett wears a prosthetic because at the time of her mastectomy, insurance did not cover the cost of breast reconstruction. Because she lives in a rural part of Virginia, she has to drive 1½ hours to find a store that sells bras that hold prosthetic breasts.

“It’s a huge ordeal,” her daughter told ABCNews.com earlier this year after she filed a petition on change.org, asking Victoria’s Secret to consider her proposal for a “survivor” line of bras. To date, the petition has garnered 120,000 signatures.

The bras that  Barrett wears have little pockets to hold the prosthetic breasts.  They can be bought online, but it’s hard to get a good fit without being measured in person, say both mother and daughter.

Maiden and Barrett met with Victoria’s Secret representatives twice — once when they delivered petition signatures to the company’s New York office and again when they were flown by the parent company to Columbus, Ohio, to meet with additional team members and cancer researchers.

Victoria’s Secret parent company, Limited Brands, has donated more than $1.6 million to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society to fund breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment. Additionally, in the past two years, it has raised nearly $10 million for cancer research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, according to the company.

Limited Brands just participated in the local Komen Race for the Cure with the largest team in the world.

Aimee Copeland, the 25-year-old who lost her hands, both feet and her entire right leg to flesh-eating bacteria a year ago, has received two new bionic hands.

Copeland spent the week in Ohio at Touch Bionics, where she received two bionic hands free of charge. The hands cost $100,000 a piece, on average, a company spokesperson told ABCNews.com.

Aimee Copeland received two new bionic hands this week from Touch Bionics in Ohio. (Credit: Copeland Family/AP Photo|Touch Bionics)

In a 30-second video Copeland sent  to WSBTV, the ABC News affiliate in Atlanta, she uses one of the new hands to pick up a potato chip and put it in her mouth.

“That was great. How is it? Satisfying?” the man behind the camera asks. Copeland nods enthusiastically as she chews. Then, she laughs.

Copeland spent the week getting fitted for the limbs and learning how to use them. The prosthetics respond to muscle signals in Copeland’s residual limbs and are capable of 24 different kinds of movements.

She will leave Touch Bionics to return to her Snellville, Ga., home today.  Touch Bionics offered to donate the prosthetic hands because Copeland had run out of health insurance to pay for them herself, a company spokesperson said.

Copeland cut open her right leg falling from a zip line near the Tallapoosa River in Georgia in April 2012, allowing a deadly bacterium to enter her body. She said she sensed something wasn’t quite right days after receiving 22 stitches to close the wound on her calf because it hurt up to her thigh.

The bacteria advanced undetected until her leg turned “a dark purple color,” Copeland said on the set of ABC’s “Katie” talk show in September.

“I wasn’t able to walk,” she told show host Katie Couric. “I wasn’t able to speak. The only thing I was able to babble was, ‘I think I’m dying.’”

After being in and out of the emergency room with the painful wound that wouldn’t heal, doctors realized Copeland had necrotizing fasciitis and amputated her leg from the hip.

Later, when her hands turned black, doctors amputated them, too.

Copeland spent two months in a hospital and another two months in rehabilitation before returning to her renovated home in late August 2012.

Visiting a gynecologist for the first time can be awkward and embarrassing for some teens. But the visit is crucial to help them understand their bodies and lay the groundwork for future health and wellness.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends the first visit should be between the ages of 13 to 15. The exam should be an opportunity to educate teens about their bodies and help them establish a relationship with a gynecologist at an early age.

What to Expect

The first visit is an opportunity for teens to get accurate information about the changes in their bodies. A gynecologist will discuss acne, painful or irregular periods, breast changes, pelvic pain, body hair, nutrition, sexual behavior, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. It is also an opportunity to talk about preexisting conditions and any family history of cancer.

Beyond talking, the visit might also include a breast exam, pelvic exam and a pap test, which screens for cervical cancer. The gynecologist might ask for a relative or nurse to be present during these exams.

While the first visit might be awkward, it’s an important step in the transition from teenage girl to healthy woman. Starting a conversation with a doctor helps you lay the foundation for health and wellness.

Courtesy of Carolyn Meiselbach

What do you do after you’ve survived six strokes, beat cancer twice and suffered from osteoporosis, arthritis and diabetes? If you’re 79-year-old Carolyn Meiselbach, you go skydiving. Of course.

Meiselbach said she leaped into the upstate New York sky last month to settle some unfinished business.

“When I was young, I went through a 20-week parachute training course. But I was afraid to make the jump because there was no reserve chute,” she said.

The great-grandmother took the leap from more than 13,000 feet up despite three doctors advising against it. She sustained only one minor injury, a bruise on the chest from where her pacemaker mashed up against the parachute harness.

The jump, she said, was terrifying. The worst part was sitting on the floor of “the narrow, dinky plane which was not exactly a 747″ waiting for her turn to jump.

“I made the mistake of looking down,” she said.

But as soon as the handsome instructor pried her hands from the plane’s door and led her out into the air, she said it wasn’t so bad. She concentrated on keeping her mouth closed so she wouldn’t lose her teeth or look weird in the pictures.

Meiselbach is a 24-year resident of Carroll Gardens, one of the hippest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, N.Y. She served six years in the U.S. Navy and raised two sons as a single mom. Considering all she’s been through, she said getting pushed out of a plane was a piece of cake.

She’s planning a second jump for her 80th birthday in October.

The Eat Balanced Pizzas aim to give consumers a perfectly balanced meal. (Eat Balanced/Splash)

In the constant battle of the bulge,  pizza would seem to be off-limits. But one British professor of nutrition is aiming to change that with a pizza designed to provide all essential nutrients.

Dr. Mike Lean, professor of nutrition at the University of Glasgow and working physician, designed the Eat Balanced brand pizzas to offer the correct balance of all the nutrients recommended through the day. According to Lean in theory three pizzas a day would give the exact daily recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals based on United Kingdom guidelines.

Lean was inspired to make the pizzas after even he had difficulty putting together meals that had the right mix of vitamins and nutrients.

“We want to make nutritionally balanced meals, we want to eat balanced,” said Lean. “[But] It’s jolly difficult.”

To get the right nutrients in the right amount, Lean worked with the Eat Balanced founder Donnie Maclean and others to figure out how to get the recommended nutrients including vitamin C, iron and zinc into the pizza without losing the pizza taste. The team ended up putting unusual ingredients like seaweed in to the crust and red peppers in the tomato sauce to get all the nutrients. However they made it a priority that the pizza would still taste like pizza.

“[Seaweed is] in the bread mix, the upshot is it had all these nutrients,” said Lean. “People say, ‘Oh it tastes and looks and smells like pizza.’ It’s made by an Italian [chef] with a round tummy who knows who to make pizzas.”

This week the pizza went on sale in the United Kingdom, but Lean has bigger plans.

“I’m going to recommend to NASA [that the astronauts going to Mars] should eat three pizzas every day,” said Lean. “They are going to get all the nutrients [they need].”

However, some nutritionists are skeptical of the “healthy” pizza label. Susan Levin, a registered dietitian and director of nutrition at the food watchdog group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said the pizzas should not replace actual proven healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

“In fact, these percentages [of total and saturated fat] are not so different than what an American consumes on average,” said Levin, who pointed out that the use of processed meat is linked to other diseases like heart disease and cancer. “I appreciate the niche this company is trying to target. But I wish it did it with really high-fiber, low-fat, cholesterol free offerings.”