Staying Healthy Archive

In the journals

There's good news for seniors who have trouble reaching the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week: a new study suggests that doing as little as 48 minutes can help some older adults.

The research, published online Aug. 18, 2017, by PLOS ONE, evaluated how different amounts of exercise benefited approximately 1,700 adults ages 70 to 89. Those chosen did less than 20 minutes of physical activity per week and were at a high risk for mobility issues.

Try these strategies to help you fill your social calendar.

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In an effort to ward off the loneliness that followed his wife's death, a 94-year-old man in Minnesota decided to install a swimming pool in his back yard for the neighborhood children. His back yard is now a hub of activity in the summer, filled with laughter, splashing children, and their parents and grandparents. And he's no longer alone.

While not everyone would be willing to go to such extreme lengths to make social connections, contact with other people should still be a top priority. Chronic loneliness does more than just make you bored; it can actually harm your health.

Avoid taking these drugs when they're not needed.

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It's the time of year again for sneezing, sniffling, and sore throats. But if you don't escape it, you can just head to the doctor for an antibiotic, and you'll be healthy again in no time. Right?

Probably not.

"Each year millions of Americans are treated with antibiotics when they don't need to be," says Dr. Erica Shenoy, an infectious disease physician, who is associate chief of the Infection Control Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Choose your classes and instructors carefully to make sure you get the best experience.

It's no surprise that yoga is becoming increasingly popular. Research has shown not only that it's a good form of exercise, but also that it can reduce body aches and pains, specifically in the neck and lower back. Still, not all yoga classes are created equal. There are different types of yoga and different levels of difficulty, not to mention variations from one instructor or studio to another.

This means that some classes may be better than others for your unique health needs or fitness level. Below is a quick guide to help you find the best fit to make the most of your yoga class.

Research we're watching

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Can a high-tech water bottle help prevent painful kidney stones? The National Institutes of Health is hoping to find out. As many as one in every 11 people in the United States today has experienced a painful kidney stone. Kidney stones, a condition also referred to as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, are hard deposits that form inside the kidneys. They can be as small as a grain of sand or the size of a marble or larger. Symptoms of a stone include excruciating pain, interrupted urine flow, or bleeding inside the urinary tract. In short, kidney stones are definitely something you want to avoid. One way to keep stones from developing is to drink lots of water. The problem is, people who have had a stone often don't drink enough water to prevent new ones from forming, even when they're told how important it is to stay hydrated.

This trial, which will enroll 1,642 people, is trying to change that by using a "smart" water bottle that not only encourages people to drink a target amount of water each day, but also tracks their consumption using an app. People in the test group who reach their daily fluid intake targets will get financial incentives. Health coaches will provide added support to help participants achieve their goals. The findings could shed new light on how to get people to change their behavior to prevent this common and painful condition. For more information on the trial or to see if you qualify, visit www.health.harvard.edu/push.

Time can pass awfully slow when you're hoping to see results after embarking on a new exercise regimen. But if you do gentle core work consistently, you can start to see progress in as little as two to four weeks. Once you do, you might wonder when and how to progress from there or how to just maintain the gains you've made. Either way, our tips below will help.

When to progress

Repeatedly challenging muscles makes them stronger. As you get stronger, exercises in your routine will become easier to do. You're ready to progress if you can manage all four of these tasks throughout each exercise: