Pets offer companionship, something to nurture, unconditional love, and a sense of security in new situations. And pets can relieve stress, which may help explain why studies have found that pet owners have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The nurturing role Taking care of an animal that cares about you and responds to you [...]
A lot of us don't get the kind of day-to-day physical activity we need, so are physically "unfit." "Physical activity" means any movement of the body that is made by skeletal muscles—and requires energy to accomplish. "Physical fitness" means the ability of a person to do physical activity. Physical fitness can be measured by determining [...]
Riddled with regret over missed opportunities? You may want to let it go. A new study suggests that being able to set aside regret might make for happier years later in life. Researchers from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, in Germany, examined regret in 20-somethings and 60-somethings to see how it affected their emotional health. [...]
It's never too late to take control of your choices to improve your overall health and your quality of life. Make small first steps, like adding a multivitamin and eating better, then slowly making tougher changes, like quitting smoking. The benefits of positive lifestyle changes are swift. For example, your heart rate and blood pressure [...]
As your eyes age, their lenses become less flexible, and they slowly lose their ability to focus on nearby objects. It's an ongoing, lifelong process called presbyopia, which you begin to notice between ages 40 and 45, when the condition starts to affect close-up tasks such as reading. It requires some attitude adjustment, especially if [...]
Psychologists are finding strategies to help people adapt to memory problems. Use these strategies to compensate for mild memory loss… View the rest of this article on the American Psychological Association website.
Losing keys, misplacing a wallet, or forgetting someone’s name are common experiences. But for people nearing or over age 65, such memory lapses can be frightening. They wonder if they have Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. Developing Alzheimer’s is a widespread fear of older adults. The good news is that Alzheimer’s disease is [...]
Normal changes to the brain can cause a slight amount of memory loss as you get older. The Harvard Medical School suggests these tips that may help boost your memory: Stay organized with calendars, lists and address books. Absorb new information in small, digestible pieces that are easier to remember. Focus on all of your [...]
You've met her before. You can even remember where. But her name? It eludes you, taunting you, just out of reach. Has this happened to you? Do you accept it as part of growing older? Ironically, this attitude may make things worse. Aging can make it harder to remember some things. But by focusing on [...]
Do you remember what you had for dinner last night? What about dinner last week? How about the name of your second-grade teacher? Your memory is built in three basic steps. Before you can remember something, you have to learn it. This is called "acquisition"—you acquire the information, and your brain places it in short-term [...]