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Moving Forward

Could your thoughts make you age faster?

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Apr 26, 2017 / Elizabeth Blackburn + Elissa Epel Researchers are finding that your mental patterns could be harming your telomeres — essential parts of the cell’s DNA — and affecting your life and health. Nobel-winning scientist Elizabeth Blackburn and health psychologist Elissa Epel explain. How can one person bask in the sunshine of good health, while another person looks old before her time? Humans have been asking this question for millennia, and recently, it’s becoming clearer and clearer to scientists that the differences between people’s rates of aging lie in the complex interactions among genes, social relationships, environments and lifestyles. Even though you are born with a particular set of genes, the way you live can influence how they express themselves. Some lifestyle factors may even turn genes on or shut them off. Deep within the genetic heart of all our cells are telomeres, or repeating segments of noncoding DNA that live at the ends of the chromosomes. They form caps at the ends of the chromosomes and keep the genetic material from unraveling. Shortening with each cell division, they help determine how fast a cell ages. When they become too short, the cell stops dividing altogether. This isn’t the only reason a cell can become senescent — there are other stresses on cells we don’t yet understand very well — but short telomeres are one of the major reasons human cells grow old. We’ve devoted most of our careers to studying telomeres, and […]

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Friends

How to use rituals to get closer to the people you care about

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Jan 4, 2019 / Carly Alaimo Raúl Soria By turning our get-togethers with friends into regular events, we can build the kinds of connections that will sustain us, says life coach Baya Voce. Every weekday for the month of January, TED Ideas will publish a new post in a series called “How to Be a Better Human,” containing a helpful piece of advice from a speaker in the TED community. With all the “must dos” (work, pets, kids, home repairs, doctors’ visits) and “should dos” (eat right, sleep enough, check in with family, exercise) in our lives, there’s often little room for anything else. But what tends to fall between the cracks is everyone who doesn’t fall into those categories — like our friends and neighbors. Why does this matter? “People who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier, they’re physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected,” says psychiatrist Robert Waldinger — who directs the longest-running study on wellbeing and adult development at Harvard University — in his TED talk. Instead of thinking of socializing as skippable, try to view it as an essential and energizing part of your life. Life coach and event producer Baya Vocesuggests making a ritual out of get-togethers, something she calls “a powerful tool for connection.” Here’s how Voce and her friends do this: “For me and my girlfriends, our couches act as the metaphorical fire that we gather around. Every Monday […]

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Men & Womens Health

How Does Lighting Affect Mental Health in the Workplace

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Dr. Pragya Agarwal  Contributor Forbes.com Poor lighting often gets overlooked in the workplace, as we talk about mental health and well-being, and the focus is firmly on creating happier and healthier workplaces. But bad lighting is associated with a range of ill-health effects, both physical and mental, such as eye strain, headaches, fatigue and also stress and anxiety in more high-pressured work […]

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Family

Will Alexa Become Your Next Marriage Counselor

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DECEMBER 27, 2018  While it’s estimated that nearly 93% of soon-to-be brides use the internet to plan their wedding, we might have more tech to thank when it comes to making our marriage last. According to new reports, home listening devices, like Alexa and Google Home, might have the ability to detect common problems in your relationship. These virtual assistants are always […]

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Mental Illness

Is ‘Bird Box’ About Mental Health?

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Psychology Today Shainna Ali Ph.D., LMHC A Modern Mentality   If you’re a human who uses social media, you’ve likely seen flocks of folks commenting on Netflix’s recently released psychological thriller, Bird Box. Based on the post-apocalyptic novel by Josh Malerman, the adaptation has spiked in recent popularity as Netflix claims it has been watched by over 45 million viewers in just one week.   Bird […]

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Friday Quote

Friday Quote: Life and Living

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“My life is my message.” Mahatma Gandhi “Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.”  Seneca “Time means a lot to me because, you see, I, too, am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing and simplifying. If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” Bruce Lee Unknown  

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Moving Forward

Today in History January 3rd

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1496 Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine 1777  General George Washington‘s revolutionary army defeats British forces at Battle of Princeton, New Jersey 1834 The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City. 1977 Apple Computer, Inc incorporates 1986 British golfer Nick Faldo (28) weds manager’s secretary Gill Bennett   1840  1st deep sea sounding by James Clark Ross in south Atlantic at 2425                                 fathoms (14,450 feet) 1888 1st wax drinking straw patented, by Marvin C Stone in Washington, D.C.   Birthdays 1956   Mel Gibson, American actor (Mad Max, Mrs Soffel, Lethal Weapon) and                filmmaker, born in Peekskill, New York 1965  Eli Manning 1946  John Paul Jones, rocker, Led Zeppelin-Stairway to Heaven  

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Art

Art curiosity

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Originally posted on CRAZY LIFE:
I discovered my free online university, WordPress, and learned not only about writing but another subject that interest me also, so since this blog is called Crazy Life, there is a person https://lookingforthelight.blog/2018/12/27/for-the-love-of-art-plans-for-next-year/ wich I decided and… ordered! What is up with this art thing, always intrigued me. So I send her some questions and the person actually responded to this Crazy Blog, very interesting I might say.. Do you Paint? No I don´t paint, and neither I have goals to learn. (That took me by surprise, yet again I kept on asking) What does art do for you? Art takes me to the time period, it allows me to travel without leaving the chair. I look at the complexity of the art, were they appreciated at the time period. Even if I don’t like a time period or particular piece, I try to put myself in their shoes imaging what they were thinking while painting. How long did the painting take and what was the inspiration. What do you think about modern art? I am not a fan of Modern art yet have several pieces of current Modern, like Kieth Haring and Peter Max. It’s a goal to see more from the time period to see if a pice or artist changes my mind. Take Picasso, I like his early work very but when he moves into Fauvism and Cubism, you can count me…

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Caregiver

3 ways that your memory stays sharp even as you get older

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Ideas.TED.com Oct 4, 2018 / Alan D. Castel While overall memory declines as we age, that’s far from the end of the story. In fact, there are certain things older people continue to remember quite well, says researcher Alan D. Castel. Our memories are our identities, and at my lab at UCLA, I’ve worked to understand how we remember what matters to us, especially as we age. Memory decline is one of the first things that concern people about growing older — it can start after the age of 20, so being more forgetful when you are 60 or 70 is often normal. And while a vast amount of research has shown the deficits that accompany aging, it’s far too simplistic to say that the elderly have impaired memories. In fact, there are many things older adults remember quite well. Here’s a look at a few of them: 1. Older people tend to remember the essentials. A great deal of memory research focuses on what might be considered by some of us to be mundane — word lists, face-name pairs, studying and being tested on pictures — and it’s unclear why this might be important to remember. But how about things that are of real concern or interest? Imagine you’re packing for a trip. You want to make sure you’ve put in the most important items, the ones that would be extremely costly and/or inconvenient if you forgot them (e.g., your passport, your credit cards). While […]

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Caregiver

Once unwanted, these dogs are now on the front lines of wildlife conservation

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Ideas TED Talks Nov 6, 2018 / Rebekah Barnett These incredible pups catch poachers, sniff out invasive plants and diseases, and more, thanks to the work of wildlife biologist and conservation-dog expert Megan Parker. What happens to those dogs that are just too much dog for people to handle? “You know them — you go to your friend’s barbecue, their dog is so happy to see you that she pees on your feet, and she drops a slobbery ball in your lap,” says Megan Parker (TEDxJacksonHole talk: Dogs for Conservation), a wildlife biologist and dog expert based in Bozeman, Montana. “You throw it to get as much distance between you and the dog as possible, but she keeps coming back with the ball. By the 950th throw, you’re thinking, Why don’t they get rid of this dog?” All too often, their owners reach the same conclusion and leave their pet at a shelter. Thanks to Parker and the team at Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C), some of these dogs have found a new leash lease on life. They’re using their olfactory abilities and unstoppable drive in a wide variety of earth-friendly ways, working with human handlers to sniff out illegal poachers and smugglers, track endangered species, and spot destructive invasive plants and animals. Chai is shown here with a trainer. After a dog learns to recognize a particular scent, the education isn’t over — their handler works with them regularly so they maintain their skills. These days, you can find this […]

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