_ Mental & Emotional Health Can Money Buy Happiness? Maybe, Maybe Not By article Spending money on life experiences such as theater tickets or travel may not make materialistic shoppers any happier. Yet for these people, the purchase of high-end items fails to boost their mood as well. That is the conclusion of a study done at San Francisco State University and slated for publication in the June 2014 edition of the Journal of Research in Personality.
_ New Approaches to Parkinson's By Jane Farrell article Three studies from the University of Pennsylvania demonstrate new approaches to understanding and treating Parkinson’s disease, and eventually even staving it off. The findings were to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
_ Avoiding Complications After Hip Replacement Surgery By article If you’re scheduled for hip replacement surgery, you’re in good company. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 120,000 people have total hip arthroplasties annually in the United States. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reports that most patients who undergo the operation are 50 to 80 years old. Here, from the National Institutes for Health’s Senior Health portal, is advice about how to remain complication-free following a hip replacement:
_ Diabetes and Mount Everest By Jane Farrell article Using the high altitude of Mount Everest, scientists have expanded our understanding of how low oxygen levels in the body are linked with Type II diabetes. The research, led by investigators from the University of Southampton in the UK, was published in the journal PLOS One.
Esophageal Cancer Month, April 2014 By article April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month and ECAN, the Esophageal Cancer Action Network, is urging Americans to get the facts about this deadly disease, which usually isn’t detected until it’s too late. Some basic facts about Esophageal Cancer in the U.S. *Most cases of esophageal cancer in the United States are caused by the effects of GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), where acid from the stomach moves back into the esophagus. The most common symptom of GERD is heartburn.
_ Aging Well Helping Boomers Age in Place By article As the Baby Boom generation ages, the number of older adults living in America will double by 2050, with nearly 19 million of those adults age 85 or older. While the needs of this older adult population continue to grow and change, the current paradigm of care—institutional settings like nursing homes and assisted living facilities—is an inflexible and expensive way of caring for older adults with physical limitations or chronic health conditions.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Nasal Spray Treats Depression By article A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, according to research done at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology.
Grow a Nutritious Garden in a Pot By article By Melinda Myers Don’t let a lack of time or space get in the way of gardening your way to a healthy lifestyle. Plant a container of nutritious vegetables and herbs. Include a few planters on a windowsill, the front porch, back patio or right outside the kitchen door.
_ A New Understanding of Metastasis By Jane Farrell article In their deadly journey through the body, cancer cells travel much more efficiently than had been previously thought, a new study shows. Researchers, whose findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, developed a new mathematical formula that they say better reflects the behavior of cells as they travel through 3-D environments.
_ Exercise Good News for Lifelong Exercisers By article Along with its salutary effects on the heart, weight, and other facets of health, physical activity also helps to regenerate muscle mass, which tends to diminish as people age. That’s the finding of research done at the University of Utah and other institutions published in the March 6th 2014 in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
_ Sleep Health How to Keep Your Body from ΓÇ£Falling BackΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article By Julia Samton, MD
_ "Reading" Others' Emotions Is Often Inaccurate By Jane Farrell article If you think you’re good at reading peoples’ faces, you might want to think again. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University Distinguished Professor Psychology, has concluded that the widespread belief in universal emotions – i.e. you can read someone from a Third World country just the same as you would someone from the is simply wrong. “Emotions are not universally perceived, “ Barrett says. Everything that’s predicated on that is a mistake.”
_ 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.
_ Body Clock Controls Healing of Hearing Damage By article A discovery at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden paves the way for medication to help people with hearing disabilities. The researchers have identified a biological circadian clock in the hearing organ, the cochlea. This circadian clock controls how well hearing damage may heal.
_ Sunburns Strike Twice By article As severe winter weather lingers in many areas of the country, you may be thinking ahead to sunnier days when you’ll be able to soak up some rays. Yet here’s even stronger proof that UV rays are hazardous to your health: Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany have found that skin inflammation following UV irradiation promotes cancer cell spread along blood vessels.
_ 6 Ways to Give Yourself a ΓÇ£BreakoverΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article By Jay Ryan, Co-Founder of Breakupgems.com There’s a reason Neil Sedaka’s “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” became a pop classic. That’s because t’s true! But breakups can also be a time to reflect and embark on a new chapter in your life. Many people have been through a romantic heartbreak, which can be among life’s biggest challenges. Yet being single after a committed relationship can also be a good time to rejuvenate yourself.
_ Heart Health "Sticky Blood" and Strokes By Jane Farrell article Scientists at Imperial College London have discovered that iron deficiency may increase the risk of stroke by making blood stickier and more vulnerable to dangerous clothing. The Imperial team found that iron deficiency increases the stickiness of platelets, small blood cells that initiate blood clotting when they stick together.
_ Marriage 5 Tips to Keep Your Marriage Feeling Young By article By DJ Miller There’s popular assumption that once you get married, romance and butterflies fall by the wayside. That stereotype isn't always the case, but too often "to have and to hold" does become an obligation after a few decades. If you're part of a couple that is going through a marital slump after many years, here are tips to help you get out of the rut. Remember Why You Got Married