Mind Health

Sometimes I don’t think I can look at the news—or social media. I’m a journalist and a news hound, and I’m suffering from headline stress disorder. Are you? I think it all began about five years ago I am sure, and yet I continue to find myself feeling like I’m “hooked.” (Wait! I must be […]

It may “feel” like we can’t retain a youthful brain as we age, but Henry Emmons, MD, and David Alter, PhD, are here to say “Yes, we can!” I like that, and I liked the book that provides common-sense tips and evidence from scientific research to help us along. Their new book, “Staying Sharp,” is […]

We are sometimes our own worst enemies. We procrastinate, we give up without trying, and we tell ourselves that “it could never happen to me.” The “it” in this case is something we want, we deserve, and that’s within our reach. I was really excited to read Amy Morin’s book, “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t […]

I remember once reading that “making change after age 30 requires monumental effort.” Maybe you agree that doing it at any age requires effort, because change (usually) isn’t easy. As midlife and boomer women, we’re at the age when we can make changes that may ultimately improve our health, and both improve and lengthen our […]

It’s the time of year when I receive really quality requests for guest posts here on Mind Your Body TV. I think holiday stress is its own annual event—just like the holidays, and so today, because I want you to stress less, please meet Prakash Masand, MD, who is president of Global Medical Education, and […]

How long can you work at your desk before your brain starts to get fuzzy? How long before you can’t really concentrate and you wouldn’t take on a challenging task that was heavily spatial or mathematical? I cite those two genres because I didn’t get “the gift” of either aptitude. I do want to get […]

The University of California – Irvine, affectionately known as UCI, lives in my own Orange County backyard. I just learned about a remarkable project, The 90+ Study, originating in the school’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders. Three researchers began studying the “oldest old” in 2003 and have 1,400 people enrolled now. Coincidentally, the […]

The tag line on her website map says simply: She freaking made it. When endurance swimmer Diana Nyad was younger, she must have felt like a fish out of water. She was abused by a swimming coach and has said that swimming was the only thing she did that made her feel emotionally safe. Now, […]

If your elderly parent has dementia, you know how difficult the condition can make life for your parent—and for you as the caregiver. So many of us are facing, or have faced, the reality of dementia when it robs loved ones of “themselves.” We all “wish” for better treatments and a cure for dementia and […]

Last night, as you tossed and turned, you had a dream about all the foods you really want—but that you don’t dare go near for a multitude of reasons. But wait! It wasn’t a dream! You had another sleepless night, and when you awoke, you craved a Krispy Kreme Carmel Chocolate Pretzel doughnut and a […]

Butter, arm, pole, shore, cabin, queen, ticket, grass, letter, engine What do these words have to do with each other? Nothing at all, yet they might help me win the brain game. They are ten words I had to remember today during a test of the MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) Screen—thought to be 97 percent […]

Several other publications had the same idea as I about a title for this blog. It simply had to be “Use It or Lose It”—your brain, I mean. If you’re grousing about not being able to retire, know that this cloud has at least one silver lining. Delaying retirement may mean you also delay the […]

The headline reads, “A dementia that rivals Alzheimer’s strikes before age 65.” NBC News featured this touching story recently and having watched what Alzheimer’s disease did to my mother, I silently wept for the couple featured in the piece. Now 62, the wife is diagnosed with the rare brain disorder frontotemporal dementia or FTD (not […]

In case you missed these three stories last week, here’s a recap.  We hear so much about how prevalent Alzheimer’s disease is, and the statistics tell a troubling tale. Just recently the Alzheimer’s Association released a report containing these sobering numbers: Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. More […]

Our lives are a compilation of memories, some we want to keep—others we’d sooner kick to the curb and leave for trash pick-up. We hold on to the good ones, replaying them over and over like a favorite hit record on an antique turntable. The bad ones either hurt or embarrass us. Sometimes we can […]

As the Olympics draw to a close, I’ve been thinking long and hard about why we’re so fascinated with this every-four-years mega-event. I live vicariously through every medal presentation, proud as punch for the three champions with shiny metal around their collective necks. I’m especially thrilled when the medal-winner is a baby boomer. Because I’m […]

Since I frequently write about studies, this week I want to share late information from two new reports. First, let’s revisit mounting evidence about the mind-body connection—one reason I created Mind Your Body. The results are in: Even mild depression or anxiety can raise your risk of cardiovascular disease or other conditions. We’ve seen from […]

Have you noticed that our generation seems to be the most aware of “brain health”? Maybe it’s because previous generations never “paid it much mind,” no pun intended. But with brain health proponents like Dr. Daniel Amen vigilantly reminding us on PBS that the brain is indeed worth protecting, and that we can take steps […]

Are you feeling wiser? (No, I am not asking if you’re feeling older!) I am feeling wiser, and it feels good. Chances are you are too, for as baby boomers, we’ve had experience in the game of life and opportunities to reflect upon it all. It’s a human characteristic that we sometimes feel like we’re […]

Christina Aguilera’s song, “Genie in a Bottle,” wasn’t written about brain supplements, but it poses the question: Can we fortify our brains by taking a pill? Here’s a list of some of the most common supplements currently touted as helping to fortify or renew our aging brains—lofty goals at best. I’m not endorsing these, however, […]

It’s estimated that almost 87 percent of us boomers owned a cell phone last year, and that number feels “just about right” as I think of all my friends and colleagues—for sure, they all do own a cell phone, smartphone or tablet. Surely you’ve noticed how some people feel they HAVE to punch away at […]

How’s your stress level lately? If it’s low, good for you! And if it isn’t, hopefully you’re working on some inventive ways to bring yourself more into the “aaah” mode. If you’d like to know how others are doing, American Psychological Association’s “Stress in America” report for 2011 has the story. Here are highlights I […]

My cats do it, so why can’t I? They sleep between 16 and 20 hours a day—nearly two-thirds of their lives, which is a lot of downtime when you consider they have nine lives. When I’m working away here in my tenth hour, there’s nothing so inspiring as looking around the office to observe three […]

The words “will” and “power” add up to one mighty force in our lives—or lack thereof. If we had more of it—willpower, that is—we could be richer, thinner, more successful, and the wish list goes on. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines willpower as: determination, drive, resolve, self-discipline and self-control, all admirable and desirable traits. […]

I liked this story from last year so much, it’s touching down again here, updated for Sunday. Women can be real fans, too. Imagine that during Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, the woman sitting next to you is so involved in the game that she boils over with: “If the Giants/Patriots (choose one) don’t […]

I confess: I am a slave to my computer ten hours a day during the week, and usually five hours daily on the weekends. Yes, I work a lot because my responsibilities demand it. Would I (sometimes) rather be somewhere else? You bet! I am not, however, addicted to the Internet. I like to think […]

The year 2012 is already almost a week old! Happy week-old New Year! So, with a nod to Sarah Palin, “How’s that hopey-changey stuff working out for ya’?” Your New Year’s resolutions, I mean? I hope you’re on top of them, instead of the other way around—or at least that you’re making a great start. […]

Major depression affects 15 million American adults, or approximately 5-8 percent of the adult population in a given year. You don’t need a study to tell you the current economy is pushing rates of anxiety and depression to new highs because so many consumers are so low. Antidepressants typically include monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants […]

I tend to look at statistics in a different way than many people because I’m a health journalist. True, I am not a “numbers person,” proven in fifth grade’s aptitude testing battery, so I might not otherwise pay as much attention. I do actually read numbers now because I want to pepper them liberally through […]