Mindfulness and meditation may be growing in popularity, but so is their opposite: digital distraction. Our kids often spend more time on screens than sleeping. This lack of sleep along with the risks of online predators and pornography are obvious problems with today’s teen screen culture. But another big problem often gets overlooked: chronic stress….
4 Herbs for Stress, One Makes Your Serotonin Levels Soar
Your body has two adrenal glands located just above each of your kidneys. As part of your endocrine system, your adrenal glands secrete more than 50 hormones, including aldosterone (which helps regulate your blood pressure and blood volume), cortisol and adrenaline, the latter two of which can become overactivated by stress. Indeed, your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)…
The Sounds of Healing
I love music, especially some good old-fashioned jazz, such as that performed by Herbie Hancock or Harvey Mason. In fact, those two helped me get through all-night study periods preparing for my exams during medical school. I was even able to thank them in person many years later. Music has a power over us that…
Top Ways to Reduce Daily Stress
Try these tips to ward off ongoing stress and its many health risks, such as chronic inflammation and chronic disease. Do you handle stress as well as you used to? For most folks, it gets harder as the years go by–and that’s a potential problem for health. Stress increases the risks for chronic disease, to…
9 Foods That Calm Your Nerves In Turbulent Times
Many of us operate in high gear much of the day, putting out small (and large) fires, juggling schedules, dealing with traffic, and generally trying to keep our lives and that of our families in order. Even when our days and nights aren’t streaming at a high speed, levels of the stress hormone cortisol can…
Childhood Trauma Creates Seeds of Disease
Every day, we are exposed to things such as pollution that can increase our risk of illness. Many people take on additional risks—due to tobacco smoke, fast food, or alcohol, for example. But there’s a less-recognized exposure that is even more common than smoking and increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung diseases, sexually transmitted infections, chronic…
Why We Shouldn’t Multitask
How many of us were raised singing the praises of multitasking? That shining beacon of productivity we are all supposed to aspire to? But the ugly truth is that multitasking is not only bad for our brains, it turns out that we are simply not designed for it. Most of us spend a large part…
Midlife Brings Challenges with Stress, Sleep, and Happiness
Fewer than one-fifth of Americans say they actually experienced a midlife crisis. And yet there are still some common misunderstandings people have about midlife. I study midlife, and especially how people in this stage of life experience sleep and stress. In my research, I have also found that midlife brings both opportunities and challenges. Are We There Yet?…
Why Digital Wellness Is Becoming a Top Health Trend in 2022
Picture this: Your alarm goes off in the morning, and you wake up to start your day. Before getting out of bed, you check all of the notifications on your phone. Maybe you do some morning yoga or go on a walk. While you’re making breakfast or waiting for your morning coffee, you scroll through all…
How to Develop a Healthy Relationship With Your Emotions
She was someone who ruminated and worried all the time. Her mind was constantly busy chewing on and planning for one problem or another. She desperately wanted relief from her thoughts and the cacophony of her mind. And so we went to work. Through the practice of mindfulness, Lina learned to witness her thoughts; she…
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