Saying NO isn’t easy – but vitally necessary. Especially true when someone you care for asks you to postpone your physical workout. Your workout routine keeps you healthy not only for yourself but your loved ones. Health, wellness, and vitality is part of being totally present for your family and friends. Truly, if the people in your life want you to be in their life for a long time they’ll understand your “NO.” “I love you, but no.” is a…..
Reaching centenarian status is a real possibility. A study in PLOS One indicates that adults who perceive aging in a positive light have a nearly 44% lower risk of developing dementia (WebMD.com, Sept./2018). Extensive studies by WebMD provide interesting statistics: 14 million, # of adults 65 and older with chronic health problems 67%, adults older than 65 with high blood pressure 88%, drop in dementia risk for women who are physically fit in middle age 1 in 4, adults 65…..
While driving I noticed an unattended bicycle lying on a public sidewalk. The cycle was discarded along the side of a busy public street. A well-worn black baseball hat hung from the handlebars and the dirty strap of a battered red water bottle languished on the bike’s universal bar. This bike had a story. My nursing instinct urged me to approach to see if the rider had fallen and was lying nearby on the pavement in need of help. But…..
Storing critical information in your brain takes a three-prong strategy: saying the words, reading the words and most importantly writing the words. There’s power in the simple act of writing words. Writing locks into your memory the information that you need to remember and it’s more likely to stick in your long-term memory (WebMD June 2019). You will remember the items on your shopping list. Technology provides modern-day options such as cell phone apps and pictures sent to us on…..
The doctor’s office is a logical place to be barraged with health questions. “Have you signed in? Do you have your insurance card? Has your health changed?” We freely give out personal information in a public setting to a stranger who may or may not be a trusted confidant assuming that our health will be improved by their interventions. Imagine how effective it is to ask those same intimate questions of someone who really cares about you, someone who you…..
People who are diagnosed with a chronic, painful, inflammatory disease, i.e. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, etc., may experience pain even when their inflammation is well controlled. Dealing with constant pain is exhausting, debilitating, physically draining, nutritionally challenging, fatiguing and can interfering with a person’s mood and memory ability. Centralized pain signals arise from distress changes in the central nervous system CNS which is comprised of the brain and spinal cord where pain alerts are processed according to a September/October 2018 article…..
A variety of talents and abilities are needed to maintain a healthy body. Systems working together maintain homeostasis ensuring a disease-free body. Your lungs breathe, your blood flows, your heart pumps, your veins and arteries integrate fluid throughout your muscles which in turn deliver movement energy to all parts of your body. You move, you think, you breathe, you digest, you interact – you’re an integral part of the world. Integrating these individual talents into a cohesive team is also…..
Doctors and medical providers are talking to all of their patients about autoimmune diseases. According to a recent September 2018 Redbook article, the immune system is like the body’s army – it spends the earliest years of your life distinguishing friends from enemies so it can protect you from invaders. An autoimmune attack can come seemingly out of nowhere, possibly due to a combination of genetics and the environment according to Anca Askanase, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Columbia…..
We’ve all been there, albeit for just a brief moment, as we unexpectedly catch the fleeting eye glance of a truly beautiful woman. It occurs as we’re bustling through a busy airport terminal or while hurriedly buying that last-minute item in a congested shopping mall. Whatever the situation, we are intrigued by eye contact. Eye contact increases our pulse rate, decreases our dishonesty factor (we lie less often), increases our adherence to rules and norms and helps us to attend…..
BACK AND FORTH, UP AND DOWN, SIDE TO SIDE – WHAT TO DO? Sometimes life is mixed up. Jumbled-up seems to be the theme of the day. Disorganization follows everywhere even into our thoughts. So what do we do? We understand that being in the throes of adjusting our lives is a central theme of life. When we look at nature adjusting is a central theme. Clouds adjust to the weather, temperature adjusts to the position of the sun, birds…..
HAPPY EASTER. We are celebrating this holiday season with family functions, festive meals, party planning preparations, and friendly conversations. Our checklist often begins weeks in advance with decisions being made that will showcase our finest and our best. We mentally and physically prepare by going through what we have and then become busy buying any needed items making sure that organization is our focus. INVITATIONS ARE IMPORTANT !!! Whether we call our guest on the phone, send out engraved invitations…..
Flowers play a prominent part in spring. Pink, yellow, purple, red, orange, white, green, brown, blue, turquoise, coral, speckled – flowers seem to come in all colors and a variety of shapes and sizes. Well, I guess that nature reflects human beings when it comes to variety. Nature seems to take a fancy pleasure in the diversity in its creation spreading the wonder of color and texture over the landscape of the weary winter soil. Smart humans viewing nature’s array…..
Writing is and can be an exhilarating pass time, fascination and/or profession. I appreciate my friend sharing this professionally created door marker. The insignia surely is not my creation but inspires me when I get a writing block. I took a short break from public writing which turned out for me to be a restless time because as we all know – ‘writers, write.’ The writing bug is beginning to buzz just like all of the busy birds and bees of…..
What’s all the fuss about? Ask any teenager and you’ll get a quick lesson on the limited need to take time away from friends, fun activities, laptops, cell phones, etc. However, according to a report by the periodical Community (Vol.5, Issue,2, Summer 2016) teens need 8-10 hours of deep, restful sleep each night. Sadly, sleeplessness has become an American epidemic. Consumers Reports (March 2019) indicates that 80% of adults have trouble sleeping at least once a week. In a recent…..
UNDENIABLE I was watching an interview between Dan Patrick and Ray Anthony Lewis. Ray Lewis completed a distinguished 16-year career as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens wearing #52 and is inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. Ray mentioned many inspiring quotes during the process of the conversation but one particular thought remains with me: “If you stay ready then you ain’t never got to get ready.” This seems to be his mantra for success. Even though Ray…..
100 million is the estimated number of Americans who live with chronic pain. Special nerve endings in our body can distinguish pain signals from other signals. These nerve endings send messages to our spinal cord. That’s why you yank your hand from the fire without thinking, “That’s hot.” – Your cerebral cortex thinks about the pain and decides what to do. (WebMD July/Aug 2018p.76,77) Your nerves, spine and brain constantly message each other to determine how you feel the…..
By the time you’re 2 years old, your environment has already influenced your developing brain. The message that both early stress and loving tactile interaction affects a child’s brain is nothing new (DiscoverMagazine.com5/2018). When you feed your precious newborn hold them and look into their eyes – don’t lay them on the couch and prop up the bottle with a baby blanket, it’s important! Developmental research shows that having one or more caring adults in a child’s life increases the…..
Co-hosting with James Kelly the syndicated radio talk show “Aspects of Writing” that is devoted to showcasing writers, authors, illustrators, visual arts, and creative composition gives me an opportunity to meet professionals in these fields. Recently we were privileged to host 4 distinguished guests who offered an exciting glimpse into the arena of creative writing and graphic design. These award winning creators share their unique talents with not only the general public but individual children. You may often spot them…..
This web site focuses on maintaining health and wellness. That’s why I’m writing about an invisible lifelong family legacy that you can pass on to future generations by simply making an educational decision. Epigenetics is the chemical modification of genes and how the information in our genes is expressed and used by our cells – how cells read our genes. The scientific journal Nature Neuroscience (June 2004) proved and reinforced this evidence. A mother’s behavior can cause epigenetic changes in…..
It’s a good time of the year to reflect on some of the articles about my adventures. As I place them together the collection seems a little small compared to the busy beehive of activity that’s been buzzing around my life. Additionally, as I co-host on the Talk Radio show, Aspects of Writing that is designed to inspire viewers and writers to focus on concerns in today’s society, my schedule fills up quickly. Response from LinesofListeningblog.wordpress.com continues at a steady…..
So what makes us feel good, what makes us sizzle? According to an article by Salynn Boyles from the archives of WebMD, athletes who encounter unavoidable injuries in playing sports can play through the pain because they have a higher tolerance than a “couch potato.” The report expands the theory that physical activity boosts levels of chemicals that mimic the effects of “feel good” and pain-relieving opioids, known as endorphins. Seems as though we can get a feel-good high from…..
Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid that is free from any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat or by mixing with an additive. So, what does this mean and why am I writing about it? Well, your most recognizable example of this process occurs as you walk along the beach and you find a solid form of light-brown tinted glass lying in the sand. When lightning strikes enough…..
As we enter the month of December the feeling of free-floating anxiety is rising. There seems to be an unwritten rule that we must perform unusual social activities with our friends and casual acquaintances for the next few weeks in order to fulfill an invisible cultural norm. This duty requires our appearance at social functions that are often scheduled to include potluck meals prepared with high-calorie foods that we prepare late at night with ingredients we normally wouldn’t purchase. We…..
I was listening to an interview with a prominent sports marketing and memorabilia entrepreneur. This person has overcome multiple challenges in his life to become successful. These struggles facing humiliation and embarrassment solidified his purpose at a young age. His focus which was forged into a purpose centers around developing healthy relationships. It’s obvious that this person is a prominent figure in today’s sports arena. He has strategically developed business relationships throughout his tenuous career. Therefore, he enjoys conversational dialogues…..
Grandma’s experiences influence our DNA structure. The science of Epigenetics studies the chemical modification of genes and how the information in our genes is expressed and used by our cells. The reason this concept of weight is important is that if grandma is obese that tendency is imprinted on her DNA and can be genetically passed to her descendants. (DiscoverMagazine.com) Epigenetics doesn’t alter the sequence but influences our gene expression. A Redbook article (Wrangle Your Stress, Sept.2018) relates that when…..
A simple definition of this exciting scientific arena is the study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes “on” and “off.” A recent web-based explanation of this emerging medical field takes a walk through the complicated steps to simplify the complicated knowledge. Cells are our basic working units and these energetic cacoons contain the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which are the chemical directors of activities. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is composed of nucleotide bases which we all know as the recognizable “double…..
How do we define disease? How do we define health? These seem like easy questions to answer. We know when someone is sick or when they’re without illness; it’s obvious. We can tell when our body isn’t working “up to par.” CLUES are interesting little bits of information that swirl around our everyday lives guiding us through the intricate maze of evidence that can lead us to a solution to our problems. Often these little, sometimes annoying, indicators lead us…..
As an author, I am always encouraging my characters to cooperate. Writing the final chapter of my next book is proving to be a challenge. The characters have been described, the plot is developing and suspense has been building for the past few chapters. So, as I enter the final path toward winding up my story, I’m finding it rather difficult to harness everyone into place so that the plot and the story can be drawn into its logical…..
You form antibodies or lymphocytes that attack your tissues; you destroy yourselves. LUPUS, a family of autoimmune conditions, ravages your body, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Your immune system, which normally works to protect you from illness, mutates into a devouring, cannibalistic animal intent on destroying your body. The potential for this destruction hides in your deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA contains the molecular basis of your heredity and is localized in your cell nuclei. LUPUS can attack any system of…..
GHRELIN is an interesting hormone. According to a recent article in WebMD (July/Aug 2018), this hormone is released from your stomach in large quantities when you lose weight. So, while you’re trying to reduce your weight, you’re releasing a hormone to encourage yourself to eat more so that you’ll gain weight! Not only that, the hormone ghrelin doesn’t level off after this roller-coaster ride. After you have been successful in losing weight, your body does what ever it can to…..