Everyday dog owners are helping scientists study what goes on inside the mind of a canine. The owners, 500 in all, from around the world, contributed to research that was published in PLoS ONE. While at home with their pets, the owners played the same games that researchers use in the laboratory to find out… Continue reading Dog Owners Helping Scientists with Research
Category: Family
4 Ways To Fortify Your Marital Bonds
Marriage is a complex, ever-evolving relationship that challenges partners to remain active in their efforts to maintain the relationship. While the components of a healthy relationship – passion, commitment and intimacy – may seem abstract, I have found specific actions through my practice as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist that couples can do… Continue reading 4 Ways To Fortify Your Marital Bonds
Refrigerating Food the Right Way
With age comes a change in our immune system: It becomes a bit sluggish in recognizing and ridding the body of harmful bacteria and other pathogens that can cause foodborne illness. The body doesn’t react like it used to – older adults who contract a foodborne illness are more likely to have a lengthier illness… Continue reading Refrigerating Food the Right Way
Lack of Vitamin D Shows A Strong Link to Dementia
Researchers have found a strong link between Vitamin D insufficiency and memory loss that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The effect of the insufficiency is “substantial,” according to the experts from the University of California Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Rutgers University. They discovered that people with low vitamin D levels declined at… Continue reading Lack of Vitamin D Shows A Strong Link to Dementia
Solo Grandparents Raising Grandchildren at Risk for Serious Health Problems
Single grandparents raising grandchildren are more vulnerable to poor physical and mental health than are single parents, according to a study done at Georgia State University and the University of Toronto in Atlanta and published in September 2015 in Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research. A release from the Georgia State notes that the researchers report… Continue reading Solo Grandparents Raising Grandchildren at Risk for Serious Health Problems
5 Ways to Maintain Balanced Emotions While Caregiving
Have your feelings been bruised recently by someone for whom you’re providing care? You may be taking caregiving too personally. If you’re the caring type, you want to be helpful. But what happens when you become too helpful or become too controlling of the life of another person, especially IF this person IS family? Caregivers… Continue reading 5 Ways to Maintain Balanced Emotions While Caregiving
Stress Can Stop Men From Giving Emotional Support
Stress may stop men from providing as much emotional support as women, researchers say. A study by an international team of psychologists, published in the journal Psychological Science, found that men and women who aren’t stressed out both provide strong support to their partners. But when under stress, women do a better job than men… Continue reading Stress Can Stop Men From Giving Emotional Support
Divorce And How It Can Affect Your Retirement Money
It’s the unthinkable that no aging person wants to face: divorce. The impact is huge on every aspect of your life, especially financially and the role it can play in planning for retirement. Certified Financial Planners Gary Plessl and Kevin Houser, authors of The Book on Retirement: Are You Ready for The Second Half of… Continue reading Divorce And How It Can Affect Your Retirement Money
Older People Are Getting Smarter, But Not Fitter
Older populations are scoring better on cognitive tests than people of the same age did in the past — a trend that could be linked to higher education rates and increased use of technology in our daily lives, say population researchers at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. The study was published in August 2015… Continue reading Older People Are Getting Smarter, But Not Fitter
What Vaccinations Should You Get?
As we get older, it’s more important than ever to keep up with the immunization shots we need. Here, from the federal Centers for Disease Control and the SeniorHealth division of the National Institutes of Health, is a helpful list for adults 50 and over: An annual flu shot. Over 60 percent of seasonal flu-related… Continue reading What Vaccinations Should You Get?
A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
A cure for alcoholism and other addiction could be closer to realization thanks to researchers’ discovery of a neuron that determines whether one drink leads to two. A study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, finds that alcohol consumption alters the structure and… Continue reading A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
Feeling Romantic? Send An Email
If you want to show someone you’re romantically interested in them, send an email – and don’t leave a voicemail. The finding, by researchers from Indiana University, contradicts previous research that said a voicemail is a more intimate way to connect with someone. The study will be published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.… Continue reading Feeling Romantic? Send An Email
Is Chronic Complaining Wrecking Your Relationship?
We all have bad days, and we often lean on the person we love most for support during tough times. But if your long-term partner (or you) complains too regularly, it can kill the intimacy and threaten the stability of your relationship. “A chronic complainer can cause his/her partner to lose compassion and shut down… Continue reading Is Chronic Complaining Wrecking Your Relationship?
Why I Became A Vegetarian
Like most women of my generation, I was raised on Sunday dinners of either roast beef or roast chicken with thick gravy poured over mashed potatoes. During the week our dinners consisted of pork chops, meatloaf, beef stew, chicken soup, and pork goulash, to name a few. But now that I’m vegetarian, I shudder to… Continue reading Why I Became A Vegetarian
A History of Grandmothers?
Did your grandmother ever encourage you to find a romantic partner? If so, she may be carrying out a tradition that reaches back to prehistoric times. University of Utah anthropologist Kristen Hawkes is known for the “grandmother hypothesis,” which credits prehistoric grandmothering for our long human lifespan. Now, Hawkes has used computer simulations to link… Continue reading A History of Grandmothers?
Understanding Diabetes in Dogs
Researchers are drawing closer to an explanation of canine diabetes, a little-understood but serious condition. Their continuing investigation could eventually lead to insights about treating humans with diabetes. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Baylor College of Medicine have used advanced imaging technology to precisely quantified the dramatic loss of insulin-producing beta cells in… Continue reading Understanding Diabetes in Dogs
Seniors and Emergency Preparedness
Disaster comes in many forms: hurricanes, tornadoes, environmental crises and terrorist attacks. And they all come with little warning, if any. You and your family are likelier to do better, or even survive, depending on how much preparation you have made. Senior citizens especially need to be aware of what they should do before disaster… Continue reading Seniors and Emergency Preparedness
Older Adults Possess Important Forms of Expertise
Just in time for Grandparents’ Day 2015, coming up on September 13th, researchers at Chapman University in California published an article in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology showing that as adults continue to age beyond their reproductive years, despite physical frailty setting in, they are often regarded as experts in areas such as in… Continue reading Older Adults Possess Important Forms of Expertise