_ In-home Caregiving Extends Patient's Life By Jane Farrell article An in-home program that provided elderly people with counseling and resources increased the time they lived successfully at home, even with dementia and other memory disorders. Most of the participants in the study said they preferred to stay at home. The pilot program, conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, focused on elderly Baltimore residents over a period of 18 months.
_ Marriage Double Dating Keeps Romance Alive By Jane Farrell article Just in time for Valentine’s Day, researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit have found that going on a double date may be more effective at reigniting passion in your own relationship than the classic candlelit dinner for two. That result appears to be because striking up a friendship with another couple in which you discuss personal details of your life will bring you closer to your own partner. The study will be presented the week of February 10th 2014 at the annual conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Austin, Texas.
_ Beyond Emotional Intelligence By article John Mayer, the University of New Hampshire psychologist who co-developed with Peter Salovey the groundbreaking theory of emotional intelligence popularized by Daniel Goleman in the book “Emotional Intelligence”, has introduced another paradigm-shifting idea.
_ Exercise Better Design for Running Shoes on the Horizon By article If running is your exercise of choice, you may soon have the option of wearing dramatically improved shoes when you train. A study of how foot muscles support the arch of the foot, led by researchers at t he University of Queensland in Australia used retro-reflective skin markers for three-dimensional motion capture on the right foot of each participant. The results were published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface on January 29th 2014.
Make a Date with Yourself for Valentine's Day By blog Whether you’re married, single or divorced, the Valentine’s Day’s emphasis on romance and the expectations it sparks can create more stress than joy for many people. There can be pressure on Feb. 14 for anyone. The happily single may begin to have doubts; spouses may question the quality of their marital relationship; and for someone who recently experienced a breakup, the holiday can bring nothing but heartache.
Women's Health and Wellness Women Fare Worse After Stroke By article Although more people survive a stroke now than 10 years ago, women have a poorer post-stroke quality of life than men do, according to a study done at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC and published in the February 7th 2014 online issue of the journal Neurology.
_ Financial Issues for Caregivers By article By Hilary Young While caring for a loved one may seem like the better, cheaper alternative to assisted living, there are actually many financial issues to consider. Understanding these issues and knowing how to cope with them is vital because people are now living longer than ever before and many family members will eventually take on the role of caregiver.
6 Little Known Secrets For A Lifetime of Passion and Love By blog Everyone wants a great sex life, but few people know how to achieve that goal and even fewer know how to maintain it in a long-term relationship. Couples try new positions and look for “sexy” things to wear. They try to improve their communication and relationship skills. But to really have a great sex life you have to know the secrets of what it means to be male and female.
_ Heart Health Spousal Supportiveness = Better Heart Health By Jane Farrell article Supportiveness from a spouse can help people fare better in their overall cardiovascular health, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the University of Utah, show that when partners perceive the support they get from each other as ambivalent – sometimes helpful, sometimes stressful – their levels of coronary artery calcification (CAC) tend to be high. The findings were published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Watch Out for These Destructive Types By blog Like so many Americans, we changed health care plans this past month. Mike and I shared a terrible experience this week when we went to meet a new doctor It was truly the worst behavior I have ever witnessed from a trained professional.
Simulated Blindness Sharpens Hearing By article Researchers at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University have overturned the long-held belief that adult brains can’t be re-wired to improve hearing by simulating vision loss. The findings, published February 5th in the journal Neuron, may lead to treatments for people with hearing loss or tinnitus, according to lead author Patrick Kanold and his research partner Hey-Kyoung Lee.
Mental & Emotional Health Mental Health Care Scarce for Rural Women By article Women living in rural communities are less likely than urban-dwelling women to receive sufficient mental health care, in large part due to limited access to services and societal stigma, according to a study dome at Penn State College of Medicine and published in the journal Mental Health in Family Medicine.
_ Is Your Inner Child Keeping You Trapped in a Bad Relationship or Job? By article By Steven Jay Fogel It happens when we see politicians repeatedly make the same self-destructive mistakes. Think former legislator Anthony Weiner’s repeated sexting scandals. Or we hear friends complain repeatedly about the horrible job they’re “stuck” in.
_ 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
_ Heart Health Patients, Have a Statin Discussion with Your Doctor By Jane Farrell article Patients and physicians should work together to decide on individualized treatments based on new statin guidelines, according to a commentary by three Mayo Clinic doctors. The guidelines, issued last year by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, called for caregivers to prescribe statins to healthy patients if their 10-year cardiovascular risk is 7.5 percent or higher.
_ Pain Management Beating Pain with Mindfulness Training By article A new intervention called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, or MORE, trains people to respond differently to pain, stress and opioid-related cues University of Utah researcher Eric Garland developed the treatment, which has been shown to not only lower pain but also decrease prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients. The study was published published online February 3rd 2014 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Re-Emerging By blog One definition of the word re-emerge is to once again make popular. Life has a way of going full circle and dreams from our past at times re-emerge. I found this to be true when my husband completed an improv class a few months ago. As a child, Kevin enjoyed entertaining his family by putting on silly shows and making them laugh. Many times things we are passionate about are things we did when young. If we are lucky and smart when grown we allow ourselves to let them re-emerge.