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Finding the right therapist to help you with your health needs can feel like a daunting task, especially if you are in a health crisis.

Some tips to follow:
1) Enlist an advocate. If you are in a health crisis, find a relative or friend to help you with your search. They can provide a good sounding board and help you collect information.
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Every January we begin making a mental list of what this year’s resolutions are going to be. Your chance for success can be partly determined by the process that you use to create your resolutions.

Here are some tips to help formulate resolutions. Continue Reading

Motivation is an internal state that drives us take action, spurring us to follow a given path, and maintains our engagement.

Motivation enables all of us, students included , to begin and continue in activities. Of course, it impacts students’ very own investment in school pursuits together with their time on task. It may also improve individuals’ energy and activity levels, which impacts whether students will approach school in a fashion that is active and engaged or passive and disengaged. Continue Reading

Regardless of your personal view of meditation or spiritual beliefs, the act of quieting the mind with normal meditation can lead to amazing physical and emotional advantages. This has been scientifically proven, and I’ve personally reaped the rewards of a normal meditation apply more than the years.

Many of my friends and some of my household members think they can’t meditate. They believe their minds are too active with racing thoughts or they can’t sit still for long. They simply do not see the rational, or believe they’re “doing it wrong” and give up. This really is simply because they look at meditation as being a means to an end rather than just a state of “be-ing.” Continue Reading

Not long ago i read an interview with Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D., author of “Stumbling on Happiness” and Harvard professor of psychology, where he described his personal process to researching happiness. Continue Reading

Stress is a serious problem for many people in today’s world. The everyday causes for stress that people are exposed to are almost endless. From the major causes like work and family to the little things like being cut off in traffic, stress can have a serious impact on you and the people around you. Many people look in all directions for a solution to their stress, but they simply don’t know where to turn. All too often, the solutions people find are drugs and alcohol, which almost always make the situation worse. Instead of just covering up the stress, the real solution is to get it to leave your mind and body. An excellent way to do this is to learn to play a musical instrument.

Many people would not look at playing an instrument as a way to reduce stress, but rather as another burden that takes up their time. This is untrue for almost every person that actively plays an instrument. Music acts as an alternate pathway to express your emotions and let your stress leave you.  Playing a music instrument allows one to relax and focus solely on the music he or she is creating.

The guitar is a great choice for the new musician for several reasons. Firstly, the learning curve of the guitar is relatively small, which allows for its many musical qualities to be enjoyed sooner than other instruments. You can make sound with a guitar the second you pick it up, which is not true for many other instruments. Guitars can also be fairly inexpensive, which makes them a good choice for just about anybody.

Most people would be very surprised at just how easily their stress and problems can be forgotten while playing their instrument on a quiet evening. There are no pressures or expectations while playing. There are no deadlines or conflicts, and nobody is watching you. This creates a perfect environment for relieving stress, along with the joy and relaxation of listening to your own musical creations.

Stress is a serious problem for many people in today’s world. The everyday causes for stress that people are exposed to are almost endless. From the major causes like work and family to the little things like being cut off in traffic, stress can have a serious impact on you and the people around you. Many people look in all directions for a solution to their stress, but they simply don’t know where to turn. All too often, the solutions people find are drugs and alcohol, which almost always make the situation worse. Instead of just covering up the stress, the real solution is to get it to leave your mind and body. An excellent way to do this is to learn to play a musical instrument.

Many people would not look at playing an instrument as a way to reduce stress, but rather as another burden that takes up their time. This is untrue for almost every person that actively plays an instrument. Music acts as an alternate pathway to express your emotions and let your stress leave you.  Playing a music instrument allows one to relax and focus solely on the music he or she is creating.

The guitar is a great choice for the new musician for several reasons. Firstly, the learning curve of the guitar is relatively small, which allows for its many musical qualities to be enjoyed sooner than other instruments. You can make sound with a guitar the second you pick it up, which is not true for many other instruments. Guitars can also be fairly inexpensive, which makes them a good choice for just about anybody.

Most people would be very surprised at just how easily their stress and problems can be forgotten while playing their instrument on a quiet evening. There are no pressures or expectations while playing. There are no deadlines or conflicts, and nobody is watching you. This creates a perfect environment for relieving stress, along with the joy and relaxation of listening to your own musical creations.

Being part of a committed relationship is not only emotionally satisfying, but it has physical benefits as well. Studies show that people who are married enjoy better health and live longer lives, in general, than those who remain single. According to a new study, simply being in a close relationship helps to reduce stress levels.

Researchers at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University put this theory to the test by measuring the stress responses of 500 male and female students in their late twenties, Some of these students were single and some were married or in a committed relationship. They were asked to take a computer test that would affect their future ability to get a job – as a way to measure their response to stress. After the test, they measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which rises when a person is under stress or intense pressure.

What did they find? In general, men had lower cortisol levels after taking the computer test than women. Even more interesting was the fact that single people of both sexes had higher cortisol levels than did students who were either married or in a committed relationship. It seems being in a committed relationship lowers cortisol levels – a known marker for stress.

A Committed Relationship Lowers Testosterone Levels in Men

Researchers also measured testosterone levels in these students and found that testosterone levels were lower in men in a committed relationship than they were in single men. Commitment seems to lower cortisol levels, as well as testosterone levels, in men.

Committed Relationship Reduce Stress Hormone Levels: What Does This Mean?

The conclusion? Men and women who are in a committed relationship develop more effective ways to deal with stress. It’s also possible that being in a close relationship makes men and women feel more secure, which reduces their response to stressful situations. This may have health implications since high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol increase the risk of certain diseases. High levels of cortisol, known as the “fight-or-flight hormone, is associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and depression. No wonder people who are married live longer!

The Bottom Line?

Being in a committed relationship could help you be healthier and handle stress better. This further reinforces the fact that humans are basically social animals and function better in the company of other humans, especially in a committed relationship. Now, there’s some scientific evidence to back it up.

References:

Eurekalert website. “Marriage and committed romance reduce stress-related hormone production”

Author: Kristie Leong MD
Photo by: rachdavies

A research study linking exposure to pesticides to an increased risk of ADHD has received extensive coverage in the media. The study found that children with higher than average levels of pesticide markers were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. The link between pesticides and attentional problems may be related to the effects that pesticides have on the nervous system. In light of this recent study, what steps can parents take to limit pesticide exposure? Some steps include:

1) Buy organic as much as possible (especially for produce that is grown in the ground or fruits or produce where the skins is consumed).

2) Wash all produce (preferably scrubbing the produce with a brush)

3) Do not use soap when washing produce as this can leave behind a residue containing chemicals.

A recent article was published in the April 20, 2010 online journal Nature called into question the idea the video games can enhance cognitive functioning. In the study, 11,430 volunteers between the ages of 18-60 participated in this online study.  Participants were randomly divided into one of 3 groups and practiced a series of online tasks for a minimum of 10 minutes a day, 3 times per week, for 6 weeks. Group 1 worked on activities associated with reasoning, planning, and problem-solving – abilities that are correlated with general intelligence. Group 2 did activities that are associated with short-term memory, attention, visual-spatial abilities, and math – exercises often found in commercial brain training games such as Brain Age and Big Brain Academy. Group 3, a control group, used the Internet to find answers to obscure questions.

Prior to the start of the study, the researches conducted baseline measures of cognitive abilities and then after the 6 weeks of study participation. They found that all groups made marginal performance gains, but the groups performed similarly – there was no advantage to practicing with the brain games.

Interestingly, these study results seem to be counter-intuitive at first. Doesn’t the brain work like a muscle? Isn’t that what the researchers from the field of neuroscience are finding? I’ve blogged numerous times on this subject, including one in which I touted the benefits of brain games, and I also reviewed books such Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain in which science writer Sharon Begley covers the latest research on neuroplasticity.

I don’t think I’m going out onto a limb to say that I think video games can enhance cognitive functioning in some respects. There are shortcomings to the study in Nature that leave this possibility quite open. Merely playing a brain game a few minutes per day a few times per week is unlikely to enhance cognitive functioning. It would take a lot more practice time than participants did in the Nature study.

Imagine that I had a number of people in a study designed to enhance athletic prowess (e.g., speed, power, agility, flexibility, endurance, strength). Let’s say I take a physically active group of people (akin to people who already use computers, the Internet, and play video games in the Nature study). I take this active group and have them practice playing tennis at least 10 minutes per day, 3 times per week, for 6 weeks. Then I try to see if that tennis practice improved the group’s overall athletic prowess. I seriously doubt that it would.

To improve at anything, it takes practice – lots of it. To improve something like overall cognitive functioning, much more than 30 minutes per week for 6 weeks would be needed to find any improvement. Now, I don’t see video games as a some panacea for improving our cognitive development. In fact, I think there are a lot of false claims being made about brain games and their potential to enhance cognitive functioning. Watch out for snake oil! Think of all of the millions of parents who bought Baby Einstein videos with the belief that this would turn their 6 month old into the next…well, Einstein. We have to be careful not to put the cart before the horse.

I’m quite certain that other research will be published that shows that video games and certain types of brain training software does improve cognitive functioning. Indeed, well-documented research exists already that some brain training software does improve working memory (e.g., Cogmed).

I think a balanced view is in order here.  Brain games are likely to help some, but which ones, how to use them, with whom, and what results to expect is still open to debate. In the meantime, if you want to improve the cognitive functioning of you or your children, here are the foundational activities that are sure to pay off:

1. Get plenty of sleep.

2. Have a healthy diet.

3. Exercise regularly.

4. Get lots of positive, connecting time with friends and family.

I know these are “too” basic, but they are often overlooked in favor of a more entrancing solutions. I doubt anything will ever be found to improve our cognitive functioning that can match these 4 fundamentals.

Author: Dr. Mike Brooks

Right! Where did I put my car keys? Why did I walk into the bedroom? What was I doing 30 minutes ago? What are the names of my friends? Sound familiar? Well you’re not the only one to forget simple everyday things.

We all forget sometimes, some more than others. Don’t worry, you’re not ill, you’re not turning into some zombie who walks round with a vacant look trying to remember where you are going. Can it be cured? Is “cured” the right word? Well it can! There are loads of things you can do to “train” your memory. Quite soon you’ll find that never again will you forget where you put the car keys or forget phone numbers or shopping lists.

It’s not difficult to improve your memory. What it does take is commitment and dedication. You need to want to improve and you can do it on your own, without the need to pay anybody for help. As an example you can, in the time taken to read this article, see improvement quite quickly. The education starts here all you need to do is to read and follow. Just relax, make sure you have enough time to read everything without interruption. By the end of this article you will have a much better memory guaranteed. Ok. Are you sitting comfortably? Lets get that grey matter working.

Tip #1: Rhyming Association

Your mind is programmed to remember poetic words and phrases more than ordinary everyday words. I’ll bet you can remember poems or songs from years ago. An example I used in one of my earlier articles concerned Henry V111, his six wives and the fate that befell them. Their fate was thus:

Divorced, Beheaded, Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.

That’s their fate in the order he married them. Nice ring to it, don’t you think? Keep repeating it and you’ll never forget. For some reason rhymes and tunes seem to get stuck in your subconscious. Try and block the memory of some catchy jingle you hear on the radio or television. The harder you try the more it becomes ingrained. How many times have you said”I can’t get that song out of my head”? Rhyming words seem to flow making them and the surrounding words easier to remember. How many times have you been introduced to someone and a few minutes later been hard pushed to remember their names? If you associate their name with a rhyme it becomes easier to remember.

Quick test:

If someone is called Phil(rhymes with pill)imagine him taking pills. Writhing about in agony after taking too many. (I have touched on another facet of memory training here comic visualisation-more on this later). Just whisper these rhymes to yourself over and over till they are ingrained in your memory. You can also associate rhyme with remembering everyday items. Imagine going shopping and you have to get Bread Milk, Butter and Eggs.

“Milk and butter, makes me flutter, eggs and bread, hard to spread. “Rhyme, repeat and remember. The 3 “R”s. Practise and more practise.

Tip #2: Alphabetical Association

If you need to remember a short list, such as for groceries, try making up a sentence where each word begins with a corresponding letter of the alphabet. You could also try the Alphabetical System of Remembering. If on your shopping list was Potatoes, Milk, Bread and Eggs. Take the first letter of each word and make a sentence up. For example “Pull(Potatoes) My(Milk) Big(Bread) Ears(Eggs). Rediculous? Yes, but it works. One of the reasons that this works is because simple sentences always have a subject and a verb, and usually an adverb or two as well. By putting your words into a sentence, therefore, you know when you’re missing an item if you have no verb (in this sentence, it’s “Pulls”) or no subject (“Big Ears”). Try it for yourself. You will be surprised.

Tip #3: Learn To Concentrate.

Simple but true. Lack of concentration is one of the main liabilities in helping to remember. There are two areas in our brain called “short term memory “and “long term memory”. You need to concentrate for about 20 seconds for the brain to move the subject from short term to long term. For complicated things it could take even longer. It’s a good thing in a way that we do not instantly store every bit of information that we come across. Imagine all the things that happen to you everyday. The brain is vast, but not that vast! We just need to keep thinking about a piece of information and the more we think about it the more it becomes ingrained. There are too many distractions every day. That’s why in say, social occasions, remembering names becomes hard, because there is too much going on and you are thinking about other things like “getting another drink” or “She’s(He’s) nice.

I was at a party with my wife(her firms Xmas do). This was the first time I had met any of her colleagues. She introduced me a director. She said”This is Martin. He is Director of Finance he’s worked here for twenty years. He used to work in another depot but moved here because his wife got a new job and his children had left home. “Now normally I would have been able to remember that, but at that moment a particularly pretty girl walked by. “What was his name again”? Just too much information. Not concentrating and committing to memory for a few seconds what you hear causes your brain to dismiss it. You need to give it time to move it from short to long term memory. You have to practise visualising what you are trying to remember. When meeting people repeat their names to yourself. Shut out all other distractions.

So there you have it. Seven seconds of work, and your memory has probably already improved. These are not difficult tricks or overwhelming steps for anyone; but if you put these tips into practice, you’re sure to be able to remember anything and everything with ease! In a nutshell that is it. It just takes a few seconds to commit to memory and once their not forgotten. The procedures outlined above are not difficult but, as with anything else, it just takes practise.

As I said earlier the study of memory training is a fascinating subject. My blog will give you more information. If you wish to learn more visit the site below, where you will find more helpful tips.

http://www.davehillmarketing.com/GamesToImproveYourMemory