Alia Crum’s long historyof experiments exploring the mind’s influence over the body began with a record-scratch moment midway through her undergraduate career at Harvard, in the early 2000s. At the time, Crum was a member of Harvard’s ice hockey team, a juggernaut that would go to three consecutive NCAA championship games during her four years in Cambridge. Crum was a role player, but her dedication was total. If the team trained three hours, she would top it off with an hour alone on the StairMaster. All the sweat equity, however, didn’t much impress psychology professor Ellen Langer, Crum’s academic adviser. “You know that exercise is just a placebo, right?” Crum recalls Langer saying.
The comment left Crum momentarily stunned. “Like, um, what did you just say?” But almost as quickly, it crystallized thoughts Crum had long had. Her studies—and life experiences—had made her keenly aware of the power of the mind to sway the body. Later that year, she would write a life mission statement, one that describes her work at Stanford today: “To help improve people’s health and happiness through increased understanding of the mind-body connection.” So, was she getting fitter and stronger because of all those hours in the gym? Or was it because she believed she would get fitter and stronger? What had sounded like a preposterous claim became an invitation for Crum to dig deeper.
Working under Langer, Crum recruited 88 female housekeepers from seven hotels to test the influence of their beliefs on their physical health. Few of the women said they got regular exercise—a third said they got none. Then the researchers gave half the women presentations revealing a hidden truth. Just by doing their jobs—where they might, for example, burn 60 calories in 15 minutes cleaning bathrooms—they were easily satisfying the surgeon general’s recommendation for a healthy lifestyle.
This change in perception seemed to change reality. Four weeks later, the women who heard the presentation perceived themselves as getting more exercise, despite reporting no change in their job duties or outside activities. Their bodies seemed likewise convinced. They showed a decrease in weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and systolic blood pressure, which dropped an average of 10 points.
“These results support the hypothesis that exercise affects health in part or in whole via the placebo effect,” the pair wrote in the ensuing paper, published in Psychological Science in 2007. Crum may have been the first author, but the paper’s restrained academic tone didn’t come close to capturing the wonder she felt. “It really opened the floodgates,” she says. “If placebo-like effects matter in shaping the benefits of exercise, where else are they playing a role that we’re not paying attention to?”
Ms. Rollin is a former NBC News correspondent and the author of several books, including the memoirs “First, You Cry” and “Last Wish.”
People are kind; some are wonderful. For a time. Then they move on to the next widow.
That’s how it should be. But I realized I wasn’t prepared for this after the following email exchange. A friend wrote, “How are you?” I wrote back, “I’m better.” The friend replied, “Oh! I didn’t know you were sick.” Given that I became a widow more than a year earlier, she had assumed that I had moved on and that I was feeling better after, perhaps, a cold or the latest Covid. But I meant that I was feeling better about my widowhood. I guess I was supposed to have recovered from that. Apparently the correct amount of time is a year or so. Apparently I wasn’t doing the recovery thing right.
Given all the widows in society today (11.4 million compared with about 3.4 million widowers), it’s surprising to me that people often struggle with how to talk to us, how to be with us. America has never been a more sensitive — or hypersensitive — place: There has never been as much discussion about mental health needs, especially of younger Americans. Although many of us are OK compared with other groups, we need people to be aware of us and to be mindful that we’re not all alike and not all experiencing loss and grief in the same way. And I have a word to my fellow widows, too: Interacting with people takes effort and creativity on our part, as well.
First, a little more about us. Most of the women who are widowed each year are over 65, and they frequently outlive their husbands by many years. Widows are far more likely than married women to be poor. Widowed men are far more likely to remarry than widowed women (and often remarry younger women). Black Americans, male and female, become widowed at younger ages than white Americans. By ages 65 to 74, about 24 percent of Black Americans are widowed, compared with about 15 percent of white ones.
Not all widows suffer their loss. For some, their husband’s dying was so horrific that death was merciful and, at least at first, the widow experienced mostly relief. Most older widows also have grown children, who may help their mother feel there’s someone left who loves them. One of the main ways I’m different is that I never had children (or siblings). When I was in my 30s and had breast cancer, a doctor advised me against having children. I might not have had them anyway; it was the 1970s, and I was what was then called a career girl. When, many years later, we learned that a colonoscopist for my husband, Ed, had seemingly failed to notice evidence of advanced colon cancer and that Ed was a goner, we joked about adopting a 60-year-old.
Ed and I married late. He was 42; I was 43. We had just short of 42 years together. Improbably, they were wonderful years. “Improbably” because we were so different — him, a mathematician WASP from the Midwest, me a New York Jew whose worst subject in school was, of course, math. But it worked out. More than worked out. We both felt dizzy with our good fortune at having found each other. When we walked home from the doctor’s office after getting the news that Ed had two years to live (they tell you straight out these days), Ed wanted to talk about how lucky we had been and still were. And when we got home and sat down in the living room, our coats still on, the sky growing dark, and I talked about wanting to write to the colonoscopist who seemed not to have noticed Ed’s progressing cancer, wanting, desperately wanting, to give him a piece of my mind, Ed said no. “I have two years, and we’re not going to spend any of that time being angry. I’m not writing to that doctor, and neither are you. We’re going to forget about him and be as happy as we can.”
And that’s what we did. Well, that’s what he did. A good part of the time, I was pretending.
Childless couples like us often have big social lives, and during the pandemic, thanks to Zoom, we continued ours with a vengeance. But as Ed got sicker and when he got on the heavy meds — thank you, hospice — we had to cut down on our time with friends. Ed continued to work on his math book. Did I mention he was writing a math book as he was dying? He managed to finish it four days before he died, and the book, incredibly, has recently been published. I’m thinking of having a party of close friends. First, though, I must get into more of a party mood than I am now. I’m trying. A psychiatrist helps. This guy is the one I saw before I married Ed; I hadn’t been any good at choosing men and was worried I might be making another mistake. The psychiatrist didn’t seem to think so. He was right, obviously. Anyway, I got his email and wrote to him. He wrote back that he was 1) still alive and 2) still working. So for the past year or so, he’s been trying to get me to cheer up. Well, that’s not quite correct. Mainly, he wants to help me get out of the black hole I still seem to be in.
Of course, I realize I have no right to be in a black hole. All I need to do is open any newspaper or turn on NBC News, where I used to be a correspondent, to know that I have no right to sadness and certainly no right to misery in the world we live in today. But one reason I’m confessing is that I know there are a lot of us who are in my situation and feel the way I do. Even the ones who have children don’t often live near the children. Or the children aren’t kind, or they have their own problems. And some of us oldsters are a lot sicker than I am. One of the nastiest surprises about being 86 is that you probably have something wrong with you, something that makes you feel your body wasn’t meant to last this long. And of course, there’s Covid. Even if you don’t have it, you’re probably still nervous about getting it. Especially now that you’re alone.
Although you are alone, there are some ways to be less alone. You can help others with a skill you may have. You can keep in touch with friends, even if they’re not perfect. Plus, I Zoom with friends, which still beats a phone conversation.
Here’s another tip: If you want to keep those friends, don’t forget to ask them how they are doing. That’s something that even happy people often forget to do. And here’s a choice that may work only for yours truly: I read books that have nothing to do with today. Like Trollope. Watching movies doesn’t do much for me, but I know it does a lot for some of us. Physical activity can be cheering. It makes the heart beat in a reassuring way. And if none of that does the trick, many widows can reflect on the fact that the main part of our lives was Covid-free, and free of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, in a world far nicer than it is now.
Finally, Friends of Widows, here are a few pointers: The main one is don’t do one sympathetic email with your widowed friend, then disappear. Don’t tell sad stories about your other widowed friends. Don’t (see first paragraph) assume that, after a year or so, the widow is all cheery again. Don’t assume anything about the widow’s finances. And now, just speaking personally: My Christian friends sent flowers; my Jewish friends sent food. Food is better.
The investigational vaccine is in the third phase of trials and targets flu strains expected to circulate this winter
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) are now recruiting participants age 65 and older who have not yet received this season’s flu vaccine for a trial of an investigational mRNA flu vaccine developed by Pfizer. The trial, taking place at many research sites across the U.S., will evaluate the vaccine’s efficacy and the immune response that it generates. If the vaccine performs well, it could contribute to improved protection against flu, which still has a large health impact in the U.S. and globally.
Current flu vaccines do not use mRNA technology, and both Pfizer and Moderna are testing mRNA flu vaccine candidates, which could become the first vaccines against influenza that use this approach. Vaccines using mRNA use the genetic sequence of a virus, rather than the whole virus, and are able to be manufactured rapidly at a large scale. They are also more easily adaptable, which could make it easier to match the vaccine to circulating flu variants.
Ed note: Once again, we’re faced with consumer unfriendly restrictions and costs in the health care industry. Now we’re seeing bargaining over care vs. profits! United Health Group Inc (UNH) is for profit and it’s stock continues to soar gaining 132.82% over the past five years as it buys up health care systems. It is now controlling about 25% of the “health care market.” Regence is part of the non-profit Cambia Health System. In the negotiations reported below (which have almost nothing to do with your health care, but a lot to do with your premiums) if these two giants can’t agree on how much Regence should pay United Health for their patients to be cared for at the Polyclinic and the Everett Clinic, Regence patients will have restricted access (or none at all). It points out one of the potential disadvantages of Medicare Advantage over Original Medicare and the mess we call “health care.”
Thousands of patients of The Polyclinic and The Everett Clinic could soon have to find new medical providers or face higher rates, if the clinics’ owner and a major health insurer can’t agree on a new contract within the month.
While negotiations remain ongoing, the contracts between the two physicians’ groups and Regence BlueShield, a Seattle-based health insurer founded in Tacoma, are set to expire Dec. 19.
If the contracts expire without a resolution, patients with a Regence plan will no longer be able to pay in-network rates with The Polyclinic or The Everett Clinic, so anyone who continues to receive care from either will likely have to pay higher, out-of-network rates.
Patients who will likely be most affected are those in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Whatcom counties. The Polyclinic also has locations in Chelan County.
Regence notified its nearly 19,000 affected Polyclinic and Everett Clinic members of the change earlier this month, saying in a letter that Optum, the parent company of the groups, left its provider network after “insisting on an unprecedented increase in what we pay them for your care.”
Optum asked for an increase of about 14.75% in negotiated rates, The (Everett) Herald reported, though the company hasn’t confirmed the figure. A spokesperson for the company did not respond to several other questions about how the change might affect patients.
“Supporting our patients with compassionate, quality care is our highest priority,” The Polyclinic and The Everett Clinic said in a statement. “We remain hopeful that we will reach an agreement with Regence so patients will have continued access to their trusted Polyclinic and Everett Clinic doctors and care teams.”
Regence, meanwhile, has said it’s “disappointed” that Optum plans to remove its local clinics from its provider network.
“Our premiums are based on what we expect care to cost,” the insurance company said in a statement Monday. “When providers demand unsustainable rate increases to provide care, our members and customers pay more out of pocket.”
Patients with some conditions might be able to continue network treatment for a short time, including those seeing a provider for a “serious” or “complex” condition, those benefiting from inpatient care, those who are pregnant and are seeing a provider for pregnancy-related care and those who are terminally ill, according to the state’s Health Care Authority.
“Our top priority is ensuring our members have access to high-quality, affordable health care,” the Regence statement said. “We are a tax-paying nonprofit founded in Tacoma more than 100 years ago and our commitment has always been to make care better for Washingtonians.”
For those looking for a new provider, UW Medicine, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, Providence Swedish and Overlake Medical Center in King County are in the Regence network. MultiCare, Providence Medical Group and Western WA Medical Group in Snohomish and Pierce counties are also in-network.
The Polyclinic was founded in 1917 by six Seattle physicians, and has grown to become one of the largest multispecialty physician groups in the Greater Seattle area. Its now 200-plus physicians represent most medical specialties, and work out of more than 12 locations around the Puget Sound area.
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The Everett Clinic began in Everett in 1924, and was acquired by DaVita Medical Group in 2016. In late 2017, DaVita Medical Group agreed to sell the group and other practices to UnitedHealth.
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Skyline readers: I am preparing a series of Sci-Tech talks, my annual update on climate prospects. Advance comments would be most welcome. The most valuable comments are those that tell me where you stumbled, tuned out, or where you initially misinterpreted. Don’t feel that you need to rewrite something in order to comment. Just flag the stumbles.
A quarter-century ago, the editor of The Atlantic spent a week trying to persuade me to write what became their January 1998 cover story, “The Great Climate Flip-Flop.” It was the first long magazine article (8,300 words) on abrupt climate change and “Gulf Stream” shutdowns. It could use updating but that is not my present concern and there are better people to do that job.
It is time to cover the 21st-century surprises that signal the need for rapid removal of the excess CO2 overhead. I have broken it down into nine aspects.
1. Climate action now needs the medical mindset 5
2. ‘Think again’ about the climate diagnosis and treatment plan 9
3. The carbon dioxide hanging over our heads 15
4. Heatwaves will need A/C powered by small modular reactors 19
5. Will climate change be gradual? (That’s so 20th-century!) 23
The Grand Prize Winner by Ann Bailey. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE OMNI GROVE PARK INN
Thanksgiving week marks the official start of the holiday season. But it also marks the official end of the National Gingerbread House Competition. Now in its 30th year, the annual event — billed as the largest gingerbread house competition in America — announces its winners just before Thanksgiving, leaving event hose The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina time to put everything on display for the Christmas rush.
This year, the number of entries — which were first solicited back in July — nearly doubled from over 120 last year to a massive 219 houses in 2022. The cash and prizes across all of the categories also increased: a value of $40,000 compared to $25,000 in previous years.
Those weren’t the only changes. The event added new speciality awards alongside its usual first, second, and third place winners in its Adult, Teen, Youth, and Child categories. They also added a new judge: 2020 James Beard finalist Ashleigh Shanti joined a team headlined by celebrity chef Carla Hall. However, the judging criteria remained the same: All entries had to be 100% edible and composed of at least 75 percent gingerbread; they were then evaluated on “overall appearance, originality/creativity, difficulty, precision, and consistency of theme.”Ikea Made Gingerbread Patterns for Some of Its Famous Furniture
Here are this year’s winners:
The Grand Prize Winner by Ann Bailey. COURTESY OF THE OMNI GROVE PARK INN
Ed note: It is felt that early morning light helps to regulate bothmood and sleep. How so? Light striking the retina triggers the optic nerve. The optic nerves cross on the way to the cerebral cortex. Above where they cross is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). This nucleus, when triggered by light, sends a stimulus to the pineal glad which secretes melatonin thus regulating our circadian rhythm.Below are some ideas about light therapy. This is important particularly in the dark winters we endure in the Pacific Northwest.
Light therapy boxes can offer an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder. Features such as light intensity, safety, cost and style are important considerations.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that typically occurs each year during fall and winter. Use of a light box can offer relief. But for some people, light therapy may be more effective when combined with another SAD treatment, such as an antidepressant or psychotherapy, also called talk therapy.
Light boxes are designed to deliver a therapeutic dose of bright light to treat symptoms of SAD. There are many different types of light boxes. All light boxes for SAD treatment are designed do the same thing, but one may work better for you than another.
Talk with your health care provider first
It’s best to talk with your health care provider about choosing and using a light box. If you’re experiencing both SAD and bipolar disorder, the advisability and timing of using a light box should be carefully reviewed with your health care provider. Increasing exposure too fast or using the light box for too long each time may induce manic symptoms if you have bipolar disorder.
If you have past or current eye problems such as glaucoma, cataracts or eye damage from diabetes, get advice from your eye specialist before starting light therapy.
Understanding a light box
A light therapy box mimics outdoor light. It’s thought that this type of light may cause a chemical change in the brain that lifts your mood and eases other symptoms of SAD, such as being tired most of the time and sleeping too much.
Generally, the light box should:
Provide an exposure to 10,000 lux of light
Produce as little UV light as possible
Typical recommendations include using the light box:
Within the first hour of waking up in the morning
For about 20 to 30 minutes
About 16 to 24 inches (41 to 61 centimeters) from your face, but follow the manufacturer’s instructions about distance
With eyes open, but not looking directly at the light
Light boxes aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SAD treatment, so it’s important to understand your options.
You can buy a light box without a prescription, but it’s best to use it under the guidance of a health care provider and follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Your health care provider may recommend a specific light box. Most health insurance plans don’t cover the cost.
What to consider
Here are some questions to think about when buying a light box for seasonal affective disorder:
Is it made specifically to treat SAD? If not, it may not help your depression. Some light therapy lamps are designed for skin disorders — not for SAD. Lamps used for skin disorders mainly produce ultraviolet (UV) light and could damage your eyes if used incorrectly.
How bright is it? Light boxes produce different intensities of light. Brighter boxes will require less time to use each day, compared with dimmer boxes, to achieve the same effect. Usually, the recommended intensity of light is 10,000 lux.
How much UV light does it release? Light boxes for SAD should be designed to filter out most or all UV light. Contact the manufacturer for safety information if you have questions.
Can it cause eye damage? Some light boxes include features designed to protect the eyes. Make sure the light box filters out most or all UV light to avoid damaging your eyes. Ask your eye specialist for advice on choosing a light box if you have eye problems such as glaucoma, cataracts or eye damage from diabetes.
Is it the style you need? Light boxes come in different shapes and sizes, with varied features. Some look like upright lamps, while others are small and rectangular. Smaller light boxes are more portable and easier to pack if you’re traveling during fall and winter. The effectiveness of a light box depends on daily use, so buy one that’s convenient for you.
Can you put it in the right location? Think about where you’ll want to place your light box and what you might do during its use, such as reading, doing a craft or watching TV. Check the manufacturer’s instructions, so you receive the right amount of light at the proper distance.
Talk to your health care provider about light box options and recommendations, so you get one that’s best suited to your needs.
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I always enjoy Thanksgiving, but I’m particularly going to savor this year’s in light of the midterm elections. They surfaced something beautiful and decent and vitally important in the soul of the nation. It was a readiness to defend the core of our democracy — our ability to peacefully and legitimately transfer power — when it was under imminent threat by Donald Trump and his imitators.
Had we lost our commitment to the solemn obligation that one party smoothly hands off power to another, we’d be totally lost as a country today. But instead, democracy was reaffirmed. Enough Americans — principled Republicans, Democrats and independents — sorted through their ballots and rejected almost all of the high-profile Trumpist election deniers for major state and federal offices.
In “using the tools of democracy to protect democracy,” as Vox put it, they reconnected the country with something deep in our heritage — that losers concede gracefully and move on, and winners win gracefully and govern. In celebration of that tradition, I offer these five readings for your Thanksgiving table:
Sept. 19, 1796, excerpts from President George Washington’s Farewell Address, explaining that he would not seek a third term and the most important lessons he had learned:
“The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize. … You should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness. … With such powerful and obvious motives to union affecting all parts of our country … there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands. …
“The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.”
Dec. 13, 2000, Al Gore’s concession speech after the Supreme Court effectively handed the 2000 election to George W. Bush:
“Good evening. Just moments ago, I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States. … Almost a century and a half ago, Senator Stephen Douglas told Abraham Lincoln, who had just defeated him for the presidency: ‘Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. I’m with you, Mr. President, and God bless you.’ Well, in that same spirit, I say to President-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country. Neither he nor I anticipated this long and difficult road. Certainly, neither of us wanted it to happen. Yet it came, and now it has ended, resolved, as it must be resolved, through the honored institutions of our democracy. …
“The U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it. I accept the finality of this outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College. And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession. I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honor the new president-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our Constitution affirms and defends. …
“This is America, and we put country before party; we will stand together behind our new president. … As for the battle that ends tonight, I do believe, as my father once said, that ‘no matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shape the soul and let the glory out. …’
“And now, my friends, in a phrase I once addressed to others: It’s time for me to go.”
A wooly sweater returns to its material roots in the latest creatures to spring from Helga Stentzel’s clothesline menagerie. The London-based artist captivated audiences last year with her whimsically strung farm animals that appeared to put old shirts and jackets out to pasture. Now, Stentzel’s collection of characters includes a dinosaur of bleached white undergarments, a sweatpants camel, and the aforementioned sweater sheep. Positioned against expansive views of deserts and mountainous areas, the stylish illusions take a playful approach to laundry day.
Alongside these creatures, Stentzel has been creating 3D works, some of which are on view from November 18, 2022, to March 1, 2023, at CXC Art Museum in Seoul. Pick up a print in her shop, and follow her on Instagram to keep an eye on the additions to what the artist terms “household surrealism.”
“Zelda” (2022)
“Inky”
“Baa-baa-ra” (2022)
“Camella” (2022)
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When you go to a medical appointment, your doctor may ask you several questions. Do you smoke? Have you been getting exercise? Are you sleeping? But rarely do they ask: are you lonely? U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy believes we are suffering from an epidemic of loneliness. This week, we revisit our 2020 conversation with Murthy about the importance of human connection to our physical and mental health, and how we can all strengthen our social ties. Murthy discusses his new book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World.
A new book by a renowned brain expert says there are a few simple things we can do to prevent memory decline as we age.
As we age, our memory declines. This is an ingrained assumption for many of us; however, according to neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak, a neurologist and clinical professor at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health, decline is not inevitable.
The author of more than 20 books on the mind, Dr. Restak has decades’ worth of experience in guiding patients with memory problems. “The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind,” Dr. Restak’s latest book, includes tools such as mental exercises, sleep habits and diet that can help boost memory.
Yet Dr. Restak ventures beyond this familiar territory, considering every facet of memory — how memory is connected to creative thinking, technology’s impact on memory, how memory shapes identity. “The point of the book is to overcome the everyday problems of memory,” Dr. Restak said.
Especially working memory, which falls between immediate recall and long-term memory, and is tied to intelligence, concentration and achievement. According to Dr. Restak, this is the most critical type of memory, and exercises to strengthen it should be practiced daily. But bolstering all memory skills, he added, is key to warding off later memory issues.
Memory decline is not inevitable with aging, Dr. Restak argues in the book. Instead, he points to 10 “sins,” or “stumbling blocks that can lead to lost or distorted memories.” Seven were first described by the psychologist and memory specialist Daniel Lawrence Schacter — “sins of omission,” such as absent-mindedness, and “sins of commission,” such as distorted memories. To those Dr. Restak added three of his own: technological distortion, technological distraction and depression.
Ultimately, “we are what we can remember,” he said. Here are some of Dr. Restak’s tips for developing and maintaining a healthy memory.
Pay more attention.
Some memory lapses are actually attention problems, not memory problems. For instance, if you’ve forgotten the name of someone you met at a cocktail party, it could be because you were talking with several people at the time and you didn’t properly pay attention when you heard it.
“Inattention is the biggest cause for memory difficulties, ” Dr. Restak said. “It means you didn’t properly encode the memory.”
One way to pay attention when you learn new information, like a name, is to visualize the word. Having a picture associated with the word, Restak said, can improve recall. For instance, he recently had to memorize the name of a doctor, Dr. King, (an easy example, he acknowledged). So he pictured a male doctor “in a white coat with a crown on his head and a scepter instead of a stethoscope in his hand.”
Find regular everyday memory challenges.
There are many memory exercises that you can integrate into everyday life. Dr. Restak suggested composing a grocery list and memorizing it. When you get to the store, don’t automatically pull out your list (or your phone) — instead, pick up everything according to your memory.
“Try to see the items in your mind,” he said, and only consult the list at the end, if necessary. If you’re not going to the store, try memorizing a recipe. He added that frequent cooking is actually a great way to improve working memory.
Once in a while, get in the car without turning on your GPS, and try to navigate through the streets from memory. A small 2020 study suggested that people who used GPS more frequently over time showed a steeper cognitive decline in spatial memory three years later.
Play games.
Games like bridge and chess are great for memory, but so is a simpler game, said Dr. Restak. For instance, Dr. Restak’s “favorite working memory game” is 20 Questions — in which a group (or a single person) thinks of a person, place or object, and the other person, the questioner, asks 20 questions with a yes-or-no answer. Because to succeed, he said, the questioner must hold all of the previous answers in memory in order to guess the correct answer.
Another of Restak’s tried-and-true memory exercises simply requires a pen and paper or audio recorder. First, recall all of the U.S. presidents, starting with President Biden and going back to, say, Franklin D. Roosevelt, writing or recording them. Then, do the same, from F.D.R. to Biden. Next, name only the Democratic presidents, and only the Republican ones. Last, name them in alphabetical order.
If you prefer, try it with players on your favorite sports team or your favorite authors. The point is to engage your working memory, “maintaining information and moving it around in your mind,” Restak wrote.
Read more novels.
One early indicator of memory issues, according to Dr. Restak, is giving up on fiction. “People, when they begin to have memory difficulties, tend to switch to reading nonfiction,” he said.
Over his decades of treating patients, Dr. Restak has noticed that fiction requires active engagement with the text, starting at the beginning and working through to the end. “You have to remember what the character did on Page 3 by the time you get to Page 11,” he said.
Beware of technology.
Among Dr. Restak’s three new sins of memory, two are associated with technology.
First is what he calls “technological distortion.” Storing everything on your phone means that “you don’t know it,” Dr. Restak said, which can erode our own mental abilities. “Why bother to focus, concentrate and apply effort to visualize something when a cellphone camera can do all the work for you?” he wrote.
The second way our relationship with technology is detrimental for memory is because it often takes our focus away from the task at hand. “In our day, the greatest impediment of memory is distraction,” Dr. Restak wrote. As many of these tools have been designed with the aim of addicting the person using them, and, as a result, we are often distracted by them. People today can check their email while streaming Netflix, talking with a friend or walking down the street. All of this impedes our ability to focus on the present moment, which is critical for encoding memories.
Work with a mental health professional if you need to.
Your mood plays a big role in what you do or do not remember.
Depression, for instance, can greatly decrease memory. Among “people who are referred to neurologists for memory issues, one of the biggest causes is depression,” Dr. Restak said.
Your emotional state affects the kind of memories you recall. The hippocampus (or “memory entry center,” according to Dr. Restak) and the amygdala (the part of the brain that manages emotions and emotional behavior) are linked — so “when you’re in a bad mood, or depressed, you tend to remember sad things,” Dr. Restak said. Treating depression — either chemically or via psychotherapy — also often restores memory.
Determine whether there is cause for concern.
Throughout his career, Dr. Restak has been asked by dozens of patients how they can improve their memory. But not all memory lapses are problematic. For instance, not remembering where you parked your car in a crowded lot is pretty normal. Forgetting how you arrived at the parking lot in the first place, however, indicates potential memory issues.
There is no simple solution to knowing what should be of concern, Dr. Restak said — much of it is context-dependent. For instance, it’s normal to forget the room number of your hotel, but not the address of your apartment. If you’re concerned, it’s best to consult with a medical expert.
Hope Reese is a journalist who writes for Vox, Shondaland, The Atlantic and other publications.
Thanks to Gordon G. who notes “Time to buy property in Wash. or Maine, along the shore, but about 20 feet above sea level😐!”
What levels of temperature can the human body endure? By 2050, nearly half the world may live in areas that have dangerous levels of heat for at least a month, including Miami, Lagos and Shanghai, according to projections by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Washington. Click here for a fascinating and worrisome NYT article.
Posted inenvironment, Health|Comments Off on Extreme heat will change us
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