You know the feeling. You’re doing fine, when all of a sudden your car dies, your daughter tells you she’s dropping out of college, and you find out you need a new roof. Suddenly, you feel like you can’t breathe. Your chest hurts, and you’re convinced you’re having a heart attack. More likely, you’re having an anxiety attack—an acute reaction to intense stress. Even if…
Deal with Anxiety and Get Your Life Back
6 Ways to Boost Energy and Beat Fatigue Naturally
If you’re about to complain about how exhausted you are (again), try one of these science-backed energizing tactics to get you going. 1. Space out. You might think multitasking will help you tackle your to-do list faster, but doing nothing for a few minutes can help your lack of energy and ultimately push you to get more done. The brain becomes fatigued after sustained use…
Feeling Lonely? It May Increase Risk of Early Death
People who feel consistently lonely have a 14% higher risk of premature death than those who don’t. The impact of loneliness on early death is almost as strong as the impact of being poor, which increased the chances of dying early by 19%. “Loneliness is a risk factor for early death beyond what can be explained by poor health behaviors,” says psychologist John Cacioppo, director of…
7 Simple Ways to Connect to Your Partner
Doing something small every day is important because your connection with your partner is a daily commitment. Here are seven simple suggestions for cultivating your closeness. 1. Do things together – Having shared experiences keeps your connection alive. 2. Touch throughout the day – Touch is a very primal, visceral way to feel connected to someone. It reminds us of our most basic needs as infants, and “we need to…
4 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues
The sky is grey, the temperature is low, and the color of your mood ring turns a scary blackish blue. The winter months — especially for those huddled under a snow drift during the first two months of the year — can trigger a major depressive episode or worsen the symptoms in persons with chronic depression. So what to do? 1. Get a lightbox. Less sunlight…
Change Your Attitude and Life Will Follow
Each January, most of us can’t help but think about the ways we want the next year to be different–and better–than the last. If you are inspired to make some changes in yourself, your family or in other relationships, remember that even change for the better is stressful and discombobulating. As creatures of habit, we get used to the way things are–even when the status…
Work Environment Plays Key Role in Well-Being and Happiness
Researchers from the UK have found that the work environment has a significant effect on a person’s perception of well-being and happiness. Queen Mary University of London investigators discovered positive aspects of working life — such as high levels of control at work, good support from supervisors and colleagues, and feeling cared for — were linked to higher levels of life happiness. Researchers discovered higher…
Making Up Sleep Deficits on Weekend May Not Really Work
Can weekend “recovery sleep” make up for too little sleep during the work week? According to new research, not so much. Researchers at Penn State University College of Medicine placed 30 study participants on a sleep schedule designed to mimic a sleep-restricted workweek followed by a weekend with extra recovery sleep. The result suggests that recovery sleep over just a single weekend may not reverse all the effects…
Visual Aids can Help People Better Understand Health Risks
In order to be able to make sound health decisions, patients need to understand the risks and the benefits that come with medical treatments, screenings, and lifestyle choices. But many people have difficulty understanding the numerical concepts that are essential for understanding risk-benefit information. Researchers Rocio Garcia-Retamero of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and Edward Cokely of Michigan Technological University discuss…
Facebook Status Updates as Social Snacking
Just about everyone has an opinion about Facebook. A favorite theme is loneliness. There are those who believe that Americans (among others) are becoming lonelier and that our habits of connecting by Facebook instead of in person are hastening our slide into isolation. From that perspective, people constantly posting status updates are revealing their own loneliness. Others instead believe that Facebook allows people to stay…