_ Grandparenting Kid's & Teen Health Mental & Emotional Health Parenting Can Fiction Heighten Empathy? By Sondra Forsyth article If you read stories to your grandchildren and also read fiction for your own pleasure, you may be improving the ability of both the children and yourself to understand what other people are thinking or feeling. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of a study presented on August 7th 2014 at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention in Washington D.C. by psychologist Raymond Mar from York University in Canada.
Why Did the Robin Williams News Hit So Many So Hard? By blog We hear of celebrity deaths frequently. Old favorites die of old age, new favorites may die of drug overdoses, illness, or in accidents. There are also suicides sometimes. The news of the deaths makes the rounds, now much more quickly than ever because of the Internet. We see retrospectives of the celebritiesΓÇÖ work, people comment on beloved scenes or events, and then we move on.
Coming Next Week! August 18th to August 22nd 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Mental & Emotional Health How We Form & Change Habits By Sondra Forsyth article Much of our daily lives are taken up by habits that we've formed over our lifetime. An important characteristic of a habit is that it's automatic-- we don't always recognize habits in our own behavior. Studies show that about 40 percent of people's daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations. Habits emerge through associative learning. "We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals.
_ Too Hot For Your Health By Jane Farrell article Almost every summer, there is a deadly heat wave in some part of the country. Too much heat isnΓÇÖt safe for anyone, and itΓÇÖs even riskier if youΓÇÖre older or have health problems. ThatΓÇÖs why itΓÇÖs important to get relief quickly, and even better, to prevent overexposure in the first place. Being hot for too long can cause several illnesses grouped under the designation hyperthermia:
_ Mental & Emotional Health Say Yes to NO! By Sondra Forsyth article By Jaime Kulaga, Ph.D., LMHC No has gotten this bad reputation. “No, you can’t do that.” “No, it’s too hard.” “No, I don’t have time.” “No, I’m too old.” “No, I’ll do it some other time.” I am sure that you have said some of these statements before. And, yes, when it comes to stopping a life dream, skipping out on a risk, or self-sabotaging with the word “No,” ….YES that IS negative. In fact, saying “No” all the time could skew people’s opinions of you, making them think you are a pessimist or have a negative attitude. I get it.
_ Pain Management If You've Been Diagnosed with Shingles By Jane Farrell article Shingles is a disease that affects nerves and causes pain and blisters in adults. ItΓÇÖs caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox in children. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus doesnΓÇÖt leave your body, but continues to live in some nerve cells. For reasons that aren't totally understood, the virus can become active instead of remaining inactive. When it's activated in adults, it produces shingles. Most adults live with the varicella-zoster virus in their body and never get shingles.
Coming Next Week! August 11th to August 15th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ High blood pressure / hypertension BP, Lower May Not Be Better By Sondra Forsyth article The mantra for treatment for high blood pressure has been "the lower, the better," but that goal can potentially put patients at risk of kidney failure or death, according to a study done Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles and published August 4th 2014 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers examined the electronic health records of nearly 400,000 Kaiser Permanente patients in Southern California who were taking medications to treat high blood pressure from January 2006 through December 2010. They found that:
_ Rituals Help With Asthma Med Adherence By Sondra Forsyth article Storing asthma medications in the bathroom and establishing taking the drugs as part of a daily routine may be helpful advice that doctors can give their older asthmatic patients who struggle to remember to stick to their medication schedule. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of a study done at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, which discusses how elderly asthmatics cope with taking their inhaled corticosteroid medication as prescribed. The report was published August 5th 2014 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys By blog This is the ninth blog in a series. To read the earlier entries, click here: Archive: The ThirdAge Romance Saga of Sally Franz. I just heard this phrase: ΓÇ£Not My Circus, Not my MonkeysΓÇ¥. It is purportedly translated from an old Polish saying. And it has become so popular you can buy T-shirts with the saying plastered across the front. I wish I could buy one for every stepparent alive.
5 Surprising Reasons a Good Relationship Is the Best Stress Reliever in the World By blog The stress response was our secret weapon for success through most of human history. It saved our lives, making us run from predators and enabling us to take down prey. The problem is that we are no longer responding to a wild animal attack that might occur once every six months, but instead we are dealing with hundreds of stresses every day. Human beings are turning on the same life-saving physical reaction to cope with aging parents, unhappy teenagers, costly gasoline, increasing food prices, traffic jams, and job insecurity.
_ Exercise 5 Exercise Myths Debunked By Sondra Forsyth article By Brett Osborn M.D. As a neurosurgraon and an avid bodybuilder, I know that you will do more harm than good if youΓÇÖve bought into some of the myths and ΓÇ£conventional wisdomΓÇ¥ about exercise that is simply wrong. HereΓÇÖs the truth about are those misconceptions:
_ Complicated Grief: When Sorrow Is Overwhelming By Jane Farrell article Losing a loved one is one of the most distressing and, unfortunately, common experiences people face. Most people experiencing normal grief and bereavement have a period of sorrow, numbness, and even guilt and anger. Gradually these feelings ease, and it's possible to accept loss and move forward. For some people, feelings of loss are debilitating and don't improve even after time passes. This is known as complicated grief. In complicated grief, painful emotions are so long lasting and severe that you have trouble accepting the loss and resuming your own life.
Coming Next Week! August 4th to August 8th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Pain Management 9 Ways to Tame Your Chronic Pain By Jane Farrell article When it comes to chronic pain, thereΓÇÖs usually a limit to how much relief medications and procedures can bring. ThatΓÇÖs where changes to your daily life can help bridge the gap. Cleveland Clinic pain and wellness specialists Daniel Leizman, MD, and Mladen Golubi─ç, MD, PhD, offer nine ΓÇ£pain wellnessΓÇ¥ tips to make sure youΓÇÖre following for maximum pain management. Take deep breaths. The average adult takes eight to 16 breaths per minute. Slowing that down to five or six deep breaths that really fill your lungs will help you relax, which can lessen your discomfort.
_ Sleep Health 3 Bad Sleep Habits To Give Up (And 5 Good Habits To Start) By Sondra Forsyth article This article, which is adapted from Sleep Soundly Every Night, Feel Fantastic Every Day, originally appeared on DemosHealth.com.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Menus Trick You Into Choosing Unhealthy Items By Sondra Forsyth article After analyzing 217 menus and the selections of over 300 diners, Cornell Food and Brand Lab study published in July 2014 in the International Journal of Hospitality Management showed that any food item that attracts attention with bold, hightlighted or colored font or set apart in a text box makes people more likely to order it. Unfortunately, according to a release from Cornell, lead author Brian Wansink, author of