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Celiac disease: Exploring four myths
What is prostatitis and how is it treated?
Mind & Mood Archive
Articles
Minding your memory
Not all memory issues are cause for concern. Here is how to manage those annoying everyday lapses.
Everyone experiences the occasional "senior moment" as they age. You may misplace everyday items, fail to recall the name of someone you just met, or forget to do something. While these memory slips can be embarrassing and stressful, they usually don't mean that you are on a path to dementia.
"Some degree of memory lapses is a normal part of aging," says Lydia Cho, a neuropsychologist with Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. "You can't expect to hold on to all information you've gathered throughout your life, whether it was long ago or recent. It's not realistic or adaptive."
The mental side of cardiac rehab
If you have experienced a heart attack or undergone a heart procedure, don't neglect your mental health during recovery.
Recovery from a heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty, or heart surgery — what doctors call heart events — can be stressful. Depending on your condition, it may also involve cardiac rehabilitation. This medically supervised program focuses on exercise, diet, and lifestyle changes. While the primary focus is to help you physically, you also need to address your mental and emotional health.
"It's normal to have some anxiety and stress after a heart attack or heart surgery," says Dr. Christopher Celano, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. "But how long these feelings linger, and whether they are also associated with symptoms of depression, can affect your rehab recovery success and potentially increase your risk of future problems."
Music to your brain
Listening to music or playing an instrument engages multiple parts of your brain — and can help your mood and memory.
Music has the ability to soothe, energize, and even to improve your memory. And tapping into its power is as simple as turning on your radio.
Whether your choice is jazz, classical, rock 'n' roll, or hip-hop, music has unique effects on the brain, says Dr. Andrew Budson, a lecturer in neurology at Harvard Medical School and chief of cognitive and behavioral neurology at the VA Boston Healthcare System. And you can reap benefits whether you are playing a musical instrument or just kicking back and listening to some tunes.
How to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder
Normally associated with veterans, PTSD can also affect people of all ages who have experienced any kind of trauma.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe and potentially debilitating mental health disorder that affects people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. PTSD often occurs in combat veterans, but it can also strike older adults, and especially men.
About 70% of older men have been exposed to trauma at some point in life, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Many of these traumatic events are accidents (or near misses), injuries, or serious health issues.
High intake of berries, apples, and tea linked to lower dementia risk
News briefs
Plants are loaded with naturally occurring chemicals that appear to help health. And high, long-term intakes of certain kinds of plant chemicals called flavonoids are associated with a reduced risk for developing dementia, according to a study published online April 22, 2020, by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers evaluated the health information of 2,800 dementia-free people (average age 59) who periodically underwent physical exams, had lab tests, and answered diet questionnaires. After 20 years, people who had reported the highest flavonoid intake were about 40% less likely to develop dementia, compared with people who'd reported the lowest intake. There are many different types of flavonoids; those with the greatest link to lower dementia risk came from tea, apples, pears, blueberries, and strawberries. A high intake was about the same as having 7.5 cups of berries, eight apples or pears, and 19 cups of tea per month. A low intake was about the same as having no berries or tea and less than two apples per month. The study was observational and doesn't prove that high flavonoid intake protected people from developing dementia. But researchers say other evidence suggests flavonoids may ward off brain inflammation and protect brain cells.
Image: © Slava Olshevskaya/Getty Images
Another strategy to cope with life’s dark times
News briefs
The United States is reporting increasing numbers of "deaths from despair" (suicide, drug overdose, or alcohol poisoning). Antidepressants and psychotherapy are often used to help people who are having a hard time coping with extremely difficult times and who are at risk for dying because of it. A recent Harvard study found that another strategy may also play a part in countering despair: attending religious services. The study, published online May 6, 2020, by JAMA Psychiatry, evaluated self-reported religious service attendance among 110,000 white, middle-aged men and women who were followed for about 30 years. Compared with never attending religious services, going at least once per week was associated with a much lower risk of death from despair: 68% lower for women and 37% lower for men. Researchers say that religious participation — regardless of affiliation — may serve as an antidote to despair and provide a sustained sense of hope, meaning, peace, and positive outlook. Also, faith-based organizations promote social engagement and connectedness and preach against self-injury and substance use. The study was observational and does not prove that regularly going to a religious service prevents death from despair. However, we know from other Harvard research that using religion to cope is associated with improved outcomes for people with severe psychiatric illness. Due to the pandemic, it may be difficult to attend your usual place of worship. Consider attending services via teleconference. If you attend in-person services, wear a mask and try to stay six feet away from others.
Image: © fstop123/Getty Images
More touching can build a stronger relationship
In the journals
Regular hugs and touches can help strengthen your relationship, suggests a study in the June 2020 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
Researchers explored the effects of nonsexual intimate touch, such as hugging, holding hands, and cuddling, among 184 couples. The participants completed separate self-reports that recorded the amount of touching in their relationship, their satisfaction with touch, and their overall relationship status.
Brain health and walking speed often decline together
In the journals
Slower gait speed and cognitive decline may be related, according to a study published online April 12, 2020, by the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Scientists recorded the gait speed and cognitive health of 370 people in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA). Cognitive health was measured with a test that assessed orientation to time and place, attention, recall, language, and other aspects. Gait speed was measured with a timed 10-foot walk.
Make up your mind
Do you struggle with decisions? These strategies can help you make good choices more efficiently.
We make countless choices every day. Most are the mundane variety: what to eat, what to wear, what movie to watch. But often our decisions (or lack thereof) have a significant impact on our well-being.
Poor decision making is often a consequence of natural cognitive decline. This can cloud people's judgment about what is the right course of action or make it harder to weigh multiple options. The result is that people make questionable choices, or they feel overwhelmed and don't make any decision, which is sometimes even worse.
Counting steps is good — is combining steps and heart rate better?
Appendix pain: Could it be appendicitis?
Can saw palmetto treat an enlarged prostate?
How does Ozempic work? Understanding GLP-1s for diabetes, weight loss, and beyond
Zinc: What it does for the body, and the best food sources
Respiratory health harms often follow flooding: Taking these steps can help
Tips to leverage neuroplasticity to maintain cognitive fitness as you age
Can white noise really help you sleep better?
Celiac disease: Exploring four myths
What is prostatitis and how is it treated?
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