MONDAY, Feb. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Got dry, itchy eyes?Working out might help, a new study suggests. "Instead of having to use eye drops or other alternative treatments, our study aimed to determine if remaining physically active can be an effective preventative measure against dryness," said study co-author Heinz Otchere. He is a doctoral candidate in vision science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.The small study divided 52 participants into two groups — athletes and non-athletes. The athletes exercised on a treadmill at least five times a week, while non-athletes did so no more than once a week.The researchers assessed the moisture level of participants' eyes before and five minutes after each workout.While the athletes had the greatest increases in tear...

THURSDAY, Feb. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Alan Holman didn't stop exercising when told he had cancer, and he's glad of it, now that U.K. researchers say moderate exercise may improve chemotherapy outcomes in esophageal cancer patients.Holman, 70, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December 2016, shortly after retiring from his job as a facilities manager at a shopping mall in Britain. Like many patients, he underwent chemotherapy and then surgery.But Holman also enrolled in an exercise regimen as part of a small study. "Once I started the chemotherapy, it was tiring, but doing an hour with the trainer, you come out feeling better," said Holman, adding it "got me through the chemotherapy." The study included 40 patients with cancer of the esophagus, sometimes called the gullet...

THURSDAY, Feb. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Worried about losing your mental faculties as you age? Get out there and exercise, new research suggests.Physical activity helps keep the aging brain sharp, according to the latest of many studies showing a link between exercise and brain health.This study included 90 adults, ages 50-74, who wore devices to measure their levels of physical activity and completed thinking tests at home.The participants did better on the tests on days when they were more active, and worse on days when they got less exercise, according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine."It was a very linear relationship," said principal investigator Raeanne Moore, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry. "We hypothesized...