Off Topic Covid 19 restrictions have done one

It's actually 'most' rather than 'all', but still good news all the same.

 

Not for the low iq section of society who haven't had vaccinations for stupid reasons (as opposed to those who haven't for legitimate reasons). These are probably the same low iq people who are incapable of wearing a mask properly or believe in conspiracy theories.

Previously they were protected by other people who wore masks. Now, they won't be. Natural selection rules apply.

 

Everything so easy to predict..

Cannot wait for full football stadiums again....ping.


Boris. OUT.

 

The neuroscience behind why your brain may need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’ | Kareem Clark
With Covid vaccines working and restrictions lifting across the country, it’s finally time for those now vaccinated who have been hunkered down at home to ditch the sweatpants and re-emerge from their Netflix caves. But your brain may not be so eager to dive back into your former social life.

Social distancing measures proved essential for slowing viral spread worldwide – preventing upward of an estimated 500m cases. But, while necessary, 15 months away from each other has taken a toll on people’s mental health.

In a national survey last fall, 36% of adults in the US – including 61% of young adults – reported feeling “serious loneliness” during the pandemic. Statistics like these suggest people would be itching to hit the social scene.

But if the idea of making small talk at a crowded happy hour sounds terrifying to you, you’re not alone. Nearly half of Americans reported feeling uneasy about returning to in-person interaction regardless of vaccination status.

So how can people be so lonely yet so nervous about refilling their social calendars?

Well, the brain is remarkably adaptable. And while we can’t know exactly what our brains have gone through over the last year, neuroscientists like me have some insight into how social isolation and resocialization affect the brain.

Social homeostasis – the need to socialize
Humans have an evolutionarily hardwired need to socialize – though it may not feel like it when deciding between a dinner invite and rewatching Schitt’s Creek.

From insects to primates, maintaining social networks is critical for survival in the animal kingdom. Social groups provide mating prospects, cooperative hunting and protection from predators.

But social homeostasis – the right balance of social connections – must be met. Small social networks can’t deliver those benefits, while large ones increase competition for resources and mates. Because of this, human brains developed specialized circuitry to gauge our relationships and make the correct adjustments – much like a social thermostat.

Social homeostasis involves many brain regions, and at the center is the mesocorticolimbic circuit – or “reward system”. That same circuit motivates you to eat chocolate when you crave something sweet or swipe on Tinder when you crave … well, you get it.

And like those motivations, a recent study found that reducing social interaction causes social cravings – producing brain activity patterns similar to food deprivation.

So if people hunger for social connection like they hunger for food, what happens to the brain when you starve socially?

Your brain on social isolation
Scientists can’t shove people into isolation and look inside their brains. Instead, researchers rely on lab animals to learn more about social brain wiring. Luckily, because social bonds are essential in the animal kingdom, these same brain circuits are found across species.

One prominent effect of social isolation is – you guessed it – increased anxiety and stress.

Many studies find that removing animals from their cage buddies increases anxiety-like behaviors and cortisol, the primary stress hormone. Human studies also support this, as people with small social circles have higher cortisol levelsand other anxiety-related symptoms similar to socially deprived lab animals.

Evolutionarily this effect makes sense – animals that lose group protection must become hyper-vigilant to fend for themselves. And it doesn’t just occur in the wild. One study found that self-described “lonely” people are more vigilant of social threats like rejection or exclusion.

Another important region for social homeostasis is the hippocampus – the brain’s learning and memory center. Successful social circles require you to learn social behaviors – such as selflessness and cooperation – and recognize friends from foes. But your brain stores tremendous amounts of information and must remove unimportant connections. So, like most of your high school Spanish – if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Several animal studies show that even temporary adulthood isolation impairs both social memory – like recognizing a familiar face – and working memory – like recalling a recipe while cooking.

And isolated humans may be just as forgetful. Antarctic explorers had shrunken hippocampi after just 14 months of social isolation. Similarly, adults with small social circles are more likely to develop memory loss and cognitive decline later in life.

So, human beings might not be roaming the wild any more, but social homeostasis is still critical to survival. Luckily, as adaptable as the brain is to isolation, the same may be true with resocialization.

Your brain on social reconnection
Though only a few studies have explored the reversibility of the anxiety and stress associated with isolation, they suggest that resocialization repairs these effects.

One study, for example, found that formerly isolated marmosets first had higher stress and cortisol levels when resocialized but then quickly recovered. Adorably, the once-isolated animals even spent more time grooming their new buddies.

Social memory and cognitive function also seem to be highly adaptable.

Mouse and rat studies report that while animals cannot recognize a familiar friend immediately after short-term isolation, they quickly regain their memory after resocializing.

And there may be hope for people emerging from socially distanced lockdown as well. A recent Scottish study conducted during the Covid pandemic found that residents had some cognitive decline during the harshest lockdown weeks but quickly recovered once restrictions eased.

Unfortunately, studies like these are still sparse. And while animal research is informative, it probably represents extreme scenarios since people weren’t in total isolation over the last year. Unlike mice stuck in cages, many in the US had virtual game nights and Zoom birthday parties (lucky us).

So power through the nervous elevator chats and pesky brain fog, because “un-social distancing” should reset your social homeostasis very soon.

 

You know when you start reading something and get to the end and think....was it worth my time?

 

Long Covid: Will I ever get better?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57693637

Watched the programme at the end of the article, very life impacting for those that get it...

 

I had homeostasis once but got over it in a couple of days. Honey and warm dark
rum did the trick.

 

Just caught up on the thread. Re lateral flow tests; my lads needed them for Wembley and I need one to visit my Mum's care home, but for Wembley I could just show I was double vaxxed. Came back after the Germany game expecting the dreaded "ping" from the covid app as I forgot to switch tracking off; nothing. Went to the gym a few days later, and again forgot about the app as I put my phone in a locker, and then got pinged last week. The app said I was entitled to a test, so I got a PCR; negative. I've now deleted the app, and after the PCR test ignored the advice to isolate. I'm sure I'm not alone in either.

 

Surely, your locker should isolate...

 

Macron warns of mandatory Covid jabs as Delta variant surges - 'This is insane!' (msn.com)

This is concerning as I feel not just France and Holland will be thinking of this

 

Tonight the Uk parliament voted through mandatory jabs for care home workers on the exact same day as France, Ireland and Greece pushed through the same, coincidence ?
This just not effects actual care home workers but any electricians and other contractors that have to go work on site, most abhorrently and i find this quite sick is it now prevents non vaccinated relatives from visiting there loved ones in care homes.
A very slippery and worrying path as started.

 

You've just contradicted yourself in that sentence !
It's not just the care home workers you mentioned it effects many more people than them, basically any one now visiting a care home in any capacity be that tradesmen working on site or relatives or friends...for any elderly person to be denied visits from friends and family due to their medical status is sick imho !

 

What about if they had bronchitis? Or influenza? Or bubonic plague? Just let 'em in to hug Grandma?

 

My husband has a fair few relatives in Hull and all had avoided catching the virus. Today,however, one of his nieces has informed us that her 2 daughters have tested positive to the delta variant- both are in their 20's.

 

And how are they?

 

Bearing in mind that the residents and staff of care homes are most likely already vaccinated, as are their family and friends, then extending this to become a requirement for those going in for whatever reason will only be objected to by a tiny number of those unwilling or unable to be vaccinated. Nothing to see here, move on. However, if the wording prevents people seeing their grandkids or others that are medically unable to be vaccinated currently, I would object to that.

 

Things here in Vietnam have become rather troublesome. Cases here have risen, nothing like in the UK, but the government is very strict with movement between places. We cannot leave the town where I am, all shops, restaurants, sports facilities etc are closed, only supermarkets are open, even bakery's are closed it's like a ghost town.