According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety is by far the most common emotional disorder. It affects 40 million people over the age of 18 in the United States, or just over 18% of the adult population. While anxiety is a highly treatable...
For years, the scientific community focused on the association between sugar and physical conditions such as tooth decay, obesity and diabetes. More recently, research is exploring a possible bidirectional connection between sugar and depression, meaning that either...
Society has changed in many ways and one of them is putting off having children until later in life. This means the average age of Americans becoming grandparents for the first time is increasing, creating a larger generation gap between grandchildren and...
When asked “What keeps you happy during your retirement”, many people may respond “I stay busy”. While there are those who will want to relax and take it easy, millions or retirees find satisfaction and happiness in maintaining a busy and active lifestyle. But, it’s...
For too many years, we’ve heard the so-called professionals say that we’re all going to grow old, get sick and die, and there was nothing we could do about it. Thanks to newer and better science, this thought has been put to rest. According to The New Biology, how we...
Sometimes life is so busy that we fail to stop, take a look around and think about all of the things we should be grateful for. Gratitude doesn’t just make us reflect and feel good about our lives, it actually has benefits to both physical and mental health. Some...
The short answer is yes. Here’s why. Older adults become very selective about what they choose to focus on and spend their energy on. They also simply choose to be happy by focusing on happy events and positive people in their lives. By focusing on the positive things...
Many experts now agree that taking regular naps is like adding icing to the cake. In other words, those who take cat naps, between 10 to 90 minutes, add more health benefits to an already good night’s sleep. And, it’s good to know that over 34% of Americans nap...
Between 2010 and 2019, 336,000 people died of the flu in the United States, with the majority of those being older adults. Further illustrating the impact on seniors in particular, 90% of the deaths from the flu between 2017 and 2018 were adults over age 65, according...
While it is completely normal to experience feelings of sadness, loneliness or grief, they usually only last a couple of days or a short period of time. When these feelings don’t go away and are experienced for more than a solid month, they may be associated with some...
Psychiatric medications are prescribed by psychiatrists and other physicians to help patients manage symptoms associated with mood, behavior and thoughts. They are also prescribed for serious mental health conditions including ADHD, schizophrenia, and bipolar...
For many people around the world, from many cultures, faith and spirituality are deeply associated with health and healing. In the Western world, science has dominated medicine until very recently. We are now though more seriously examining the intimate connection...
There is an exciting new field called New Biology and it is turning what we thought we knew about food, diet and nutrition upside down! Concepts from this new line of thinking are particularly important as we age and focus mainly on not eating for caloric intake, but...
While staying happy at work is important, work itself is associated with numerous positive physical and mental benefits. Navigating the social norms, customs and culture of the workplace helps to keep the brain active and healthy. Listening to the opinions of others...
Stress is an emotion that can produce both positive and negative results. Short-term positive stressors include getting married, having a child, starting a new job and buying a home. Long-term chronic stressors, on the other hand, such as serious illness and pain,...
As people age, and even after the age of 20, memory begins changing in various ways, and some are actually for the better. And while Psychologists who study memory and aging note that there are some clear and concerning declines as we age, there are also ways to...
Throughout history people have been fascinated by the aging process, though it’s only been within the last 50 years that the science of aging has dramatically grown. Some individuals live healthy lives in their 80s, 90s and 100s, while others develop multiple...
What do you think of when you hear the words “aging and mental health?” What types of images pop up in your mind? Depression, loneliness, anxiety and fear of dying? If this is what comes to mind … think again! There is no arguing that aging brings certain physical and...
Pain has been universally experienced by humans throughout the ages. It continues to be an unwelcome sensation today. Pain can be felt both physically and emotionally. In addition, it can negatively affect quality of life. There are more treatment options for pain...
