Finally, a gold-standard clinical trial that produced a stunning—if intuitive—conclusion: dementia is not our destiny. The trial, reported in the April 2017 issue of Scientific American, followed participants for two years; the participants consisted of 631 men and women aged 60-77 in the intervention group and 629 in the control group. All participants were chosen […]
Overcoming Negativity: The Magic of the Three P’s
It doesn’t take much to send us down the same old negativity paths—with ourselves or others—because, well, we are creatures of habit. And if our habit is to be an excellent problem solver, this can accidentally translate into “being negative.” The truth is that our “negativity” is often nothing more than a propensity to problem-solve. […]
10 Ways You Can Take Action—to Diminish Stress Right Now
Stress can be a positive force in our lives when it is short-lived and when we use it to direct our energies to beneficial action. In other words, stress isn’t all bad. It serves a purpose. The problem comes when we forget to take time out from stress, or when we feel helpless in the […]
Dementia Prevention Checklist
I know so many people who are taking care of others who are at risk for, or lost in the depths of, dementia. Indeed, Alzheimer’s and other types of dementias have reached crisis proportions in this country. Over time, I’ll continue to write about dementia prevention, but for now I offer you this simple checklist. […]
Want to Be Less Weary? Take Hold of an Ordinary Life
“Can’t I just live a regular life?” My sixteen-year-old is actually onto to something with that question. Her goal, she claims, is not going to be to “do great things” but rather to find fullness in an ordinary life. She continues with an assertion, “It’s actually not that simple, you know. I think it’s amazing […]
3 Stress Relief Experiments I Tried—and You Can Too
Change isn’t always easy. Our brains like things just the way they are. Not because it’s necessarily in our best interest, but because it’s known. The known is a shortcut. And the brain loves nothing more than a good shortcut, because it requires less processing power. Growth, on the other hand, can require the forging […]