_ Getting The Most From Springtime Walking By Jane Farrell article With spring returning, most of us want to get out and walk, especially if we’ve been stuck at home for most of the winter. Springtime walking isn’t just great exercise; it also lets us observe the beauty of a reawakening world. At this time of year, it’s no wonder that people go outside urban settings and walk on country or unpaved roads. But as wonderful as that can be, rural and even some suburban walking have their own set of hazards.
_ Happy People Work Better By article Happiness makes people more productive at work, according to research done at the University of Warwick in the UK. Professor Andrew Oswald, Dr. Eugenio Proto and Dr. Daniel Sgroi from the Department of Economics were the study leaders. They found that happiness made people 12% more productive.
_ Exercise Get Fit For Free By Jane Farrell article Getting and staying fit can be intimidating, especially if you don’t want to go to gyms that might make you self-conscious and cost a lot of money. Even at-home equipment can be costly. But you can have an enjoyable fitness routine without spending anything. Experts from the Go4Life fitness program of the National Institutes of Health have some great suggestions:
_ Fillers Can Cause Bacterial Infections By article Many people have fillers injected into their facial tissue to give them “bee-stung lips” or to smooth out their wrinkles. Unfortunately, a lot of cosmetic treatment customers experience unpleasant side effects in the form of tender subcutaneous lumps that are difficult to treat and which - in isolated cases - have led to lesions that simply will not heal.
5 Steps to Get Out of Your Rut By blog The more I talk to women from all walks of life, the more I hear “I feel like I am stuck in a rut, spinning my wheels with no way to get out.” Too many women over 50 feel like they are driving aimlessly through life with no purpose or plan. Loneliness, depression and a sense of hopelessness take over, and instead of enjoying the freedoms of life after 50, they sink deeper into the quicksand of despair.
10 Things You Should Expect From Your Doctor By article By David Longworth, MDof the Cleveland Clinic You just waited two hours for a doctor who’s running late. Once in the office, the doctor zips through a jargon-filled speech, orders a test, writes a prescription and sends you on your way. You leave in a cloud of confusion, realizing that you never even asked a question.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Can Skype Make You Happier? By article By Hilary Young Loneliness and depression are not uncommon within the senior community. While the Centers for Disease Control reports that “depression is a true and treatable medical condition, not a normal part of aging,” the CDC also acknowledges that older adults do face a higher risk than other age groups of experiencing depression and anxiety. According to the CDC, about 80 percent of older adults are living with at least one chronic health problem, which could play a major role in the development of depression.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Diagnosing Borderline Personality Disorder By Jane Farrell article Borderline personality disorder, a serious mental illness, affects six to ten million Americans, according to statistics from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. That’s more than twice the number of people affected by bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. And up to 90 percent of those diagnosed are women; while that may be because women seek treatment more often than men, it’s still a substantial number. Despite its prevalence, borderline personality disorder less widely known than other conditions such as depression.
_ Rural Docs Doing a Good Job By article Although studies have found that the quality of care delivered to rural patients is as good or better than that available in urban areas, the belief persists that top-quality primary care is only available in big cities. However, a new study done at Massachusetts General Hospital and published in the National Rural Health Association's Journal of Rural Health finds few meaningful differences between rural and urban primary care physicians on key measures of professionalism, including their attitudes about participation in quality care improvement.
_ Racial Disparities in Type 2 Diabetes By article Two surprising risk factors – diminished lung function and low serum potassium levels - appear to have nearly the same impact as obesity in explaining why African-Americans are disproportionately prone to developing type 2 diabetes, according to research done at Duke University Medicine and published in the February 2014 print edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The finding points to potential new avenues for developing treatments.
_ Sleep Health Sleep: Myths vs. Facts By Jane Farrell article How much do you know about one of life’s most important activities? Here, the experts from the National Center on Sleep Disorder Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health, separate the facts from the myths and misunderstandings: Sleep is a time when your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation
_ Quality of Memories Trumps Quantity By article The capacity of the working memory is better explained by the quality of memories we can store than by their number, according to research done at New York University and published in the journal Psychological Review.
The Joys of a Birthday Morning on Facebook By Sondra Forsyth blog When I booted my computer early on the morning of January 14th 2014, I went straight to my Facebook timeline. Sure enough, the birthday wishes had already begun to arrive. What a joy to be in touch with such a diverse group of people! I had long since lost touch with many of them before I started to use Facebook at the end of 2008. In a very real sense, the hundreds of people who are my Facebook friends give me the invaluable benefits of social support -- the buzz phrase for having frequent contact with people you care about and who care about you.
_ Breast Cancer Stopping Breast Cancer Metastasis By article Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in salt Lake City have discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body, as well as a therapy which blocks that metastisis. The research results were published online in the journal Cell Reports on January 2nd 2014.
Why Is My Husband Depressed and How Do I Help Him? By blog What we call depression has likely been around since before recorded history and has been recognized for thousands of years. Aretaeus of Cappadocia (circa 81-138 AD) is credited with the first clinical description of depression. Hippocrates, the Greek physician of antiquity, was well aware of the disease of depression and called it melancholia. Whatever we call it, depression is becoming an increasingly significant problem for men and the women who love them. Women can be frustrated and wonder why is my husband depressed?
_ Sleep Health Best Treatments for Severe Sleep Disorders By Jane Farrell article Sleep is one of our most ordinary but important activities. If we don’t do it “right,” we can suffer. Snoring, the partial blockage of your airway, has been linked to some serious health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and weight. And the more serious sleep apnea – a condition in which your airway can be completely blocked from anywhere to five to 50 times an hour – can be life-threatening. And in both cases, you’ll probably be plagued by dangerous drowsiness the next day, affecting everything from driving to your job.
The Secret to Getting Your Man to Become More Loving By blog George and Henry are cousins, but their behavior in love and at work couldn’t be more different. Here’s how they are described by Paul, a person who knows them both well. “George is a stand-up guy,” says Paul. “He gets along well with others and he always looks for the peaceful solution to conflict. He is loyal to his mate and shares in the housework and childrearing. He is a good provider and loves to give to his family and friends.”
Memories of 9/11 in NYC By Sondra Forsyth blog On September 14th 2001, three days after 9/11, I posted "Attack on New York: Report from the Front Lines" on DanceArt.com where I've been "The New York Dance Scene" blogger since 1997. Here is what I wrote when the tragedy was still so fresh: