HEALTH NOTES: Healing power of lullabies  

Playing lullabies eases distress in sick babies, a study has shown. 

The infants were exposed to classic, soothing tunes while in hospital and registered as much as a 13 per cent drop in their heart rates. 

There was also a four per cent rise in oxygen saturation levels.

Both are signs of reduced stress and discomfort, according to a study in Advances In Integrative Medicine.

The music sessions – which featured songs such as Rock-A-Bye-Baby and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – lasted between 15 minutes and an hour.

Mums sang to their infants as they lay in cots, while researchers tracked their vital signs.

Vasectomy isn’t as painful as you think

Getting the snip is much less painful than has long been thought.

Vasectomies were believed to leave about five per cent of men with scrotum pain – a figure often quoted in patient leaflets. 

But only 0.12 per cent suffer such discomfort, according to an analysis of about 90,000 operations over a 15-year period by the Association of Surgeons of Primary Care.

Meanwhile, haematoma – when a bruise forms in the scrotal tissue – affects only 1.4 per cent of men and not the near ten per cent often claimed.

The number of men developing a post-operative infection is also much lower than had been thought.

Research leader Julian Peacock, senior registrar at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Vasectomies are very safe – this might encourage more men to undergo the procedure.’

Vasectomies were believed to leave about five per cent of men with scrotum pain – a figure often quoted in patient leaflets

Two to three hours of brisk walking a week could slash the chances of bowel cancer returning.

A US study has found patients who underwent surgery for the disease and stayed active were nearly 70 per cent less likely to face a relapse in the three years following the operation than those with sedentary lifestyles.

The findings, in the latest British Journal Of Sports Medicine, are significant because although physical activity is known to reduce the risk of getting cancer in the first place, this study shows moderate exercise also has an impact on the chances of it recurring.

Even after initially successful treatment, bowel cancer – which affects nearly 43,000 people a year in the UK – can return in up to 40 per cent of patients.

Google searches for weight-loss tips are at a near 20-year low, but demand for muscle-building advice is soaring, according to an analysis of the trends.

Fitness experts at sports nutrition supplier bulk.com say the need for slimming tips is the lowest since 2004.

The growing popularity of social-media influencers promoting muscular physiques means calorie-counting is second to guidance on bulking up and looking toned.

Abigail Roberts, the firm’s sports nutritionist, said: ‘In the 1990s, the emphasis was on being thin – we have been striving for more athletic physiques since.’