Carole Carson

Is Mindfulness the Latest Fad? Are the Benefits Too Good to Be True?

Would you be skeptical if I told you that without taking a pill or seeing a therapist, you could lower your blood pressure, raise your self-esteem, experience equanimity in the face of stress, improve the quality of your sleep, reduce chronic pain, get greater enjoyment from eating even while eating less, increase your energy and make better decisions? That you could be happier and see the world around you more positively?

The practitioners of mindfulness make these and other remarkable claims—and their claims are not without merit! Research is pouring in from a variety of disciplines, such as neuroscience, psychology, medicine and business, validating these significant benefits of mindfulness. (You can find a comprehensive publication database here.)

What exactly is mindfulness? Some describe mindfulness simply as "moment-by-moment awareness." Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, best-selling author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, describes mindfulness as "paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment." Bodhipaksa's straightforward definition is my favorite: "Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience."

Anyone who is willing to practice the gentle art of being present has the key to unlock the benefits currently being validated by research. The question then becomes where and how to begin. Here are three options:

1. Study a dog. Dogs are great practitioners of mindfulness, according to Jonathan Kaplan, PhD, author of Urban Mindfulness: Cultivating Peace, Presence, and Purpose in the Middle of It All. Besides being nonjudgmental (dogs think their owners are great no matter what kind of bad hair day they are having), dogs live only in the present moment. What happened a few minutes ago is of no concern, and tomorrow does not exist. Clearly, a dog is a sound role model for staying in the here and now.

2. Read a book, specifically, Jon Kabat-Zinn's definitive work, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Besides articulating the theory of mindfulness and sharing the remarkable stories of how his patients are benefiting from its practice, Dr. Kabat-Zinn also provides a detailed program to help readers begin their own journey "along a path that ultimately leads nowhere, only to who you are."

3. Try a gentle experiment in mindfulness. Marty Cottler, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in teaching mindfulness in Grass Valley, California, recommends a three-minute practice for beginners:

At least once a day, check in with yourself. Intentionally pause for 10 seconds while you become aware of your breathing. Don’t try to change how you are breathing. Breathe naturally but with awareness.

For the remainder of this exercise, cast your eye-gaze downward to minimize visual distractions, and if possible, close your eyes and proceed.

Next, for approximately 60 seconds, move your attentive awareness from the top of your head down throughout your body to your toes and back up to the top of your head. As you scan your entire body, note areas of unpleasantness and pleasantness, such as tense shoulders or a full belly.

For another 60 seconds, focus your attention on your breathing at one of the following locations: your nostrils, lips, chest or belly. Practice awareness of your breathing at the part of the body you selected as your focus. Your attention will wander. Notice this and gently escort your attention back to awareness of your breathing at your selected body location.

For one more 60-second interval, practice being attentive to whatever grabs your attention: internal or external sensations as well as inner feelings and thoughts. Just notice—don’t chase after any of these sensations, feelings, or thoughts.

Lastly, open your eyes, raise your gaze, reestablish your connection with the outside world and carry on with your day. After following this routine for a few days, ask yourself if you are notice any difference in your daily experience.

We can easily lose track of our sense of self given the pressure of an increasingly hectic world where we are continuously bombarded with information and demands for instant decisions. Mindfulness is a way to cope—and even thrive—in this environment.

Steve Goodier, a Methodist minister and founder of an online support system, sums up the joy of practicing mindfulness in his motto, "Wherever you are, be there. If you can be fully present now, you’ll know what it means to live.” Echoing this theme, Dr. Kabat-Zinn says that mindfulness is neither a philosophy nor a religion; rather, it is "a way of being, a way of living your moments and living them fully."

What greater loss could we experience than dying without ever having been alive? And what better gift could we give ourselves than to be present during our numbered days, to live each moment fully? Be assured that in whatever time I have, my goal is to show up and be present.

Five Strategies to Improve Relationships and Live Longer

Tell me the strength of your ties to others, and I'll tell you how long you'll live.

This declaration may be a bit of an exaggeration, but researchers report that individuals with strong ties to others live longer than individuals who choose a solitary lifestyle. After reviewing nearly 150 studies on longevity, researchers concluded that "stronger social relationships were associated with a reduced risk of death of 50%."

Like the Beatles, who get by "with a little help from my friends," do individuals with solid relationships enjoy longer lives because they have more support when the going gets tough? Or does interacting with others generate biochemicals in our bodies that protect our health, much like the antioxidants in red wine? Whatever the reason, solid friendships seem to strengthen our immune system when responding to the ravages of life's inevitable storms.

But how do we build enduring connections with others? Henry David Thoreau said, "The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend." Strengthening relationships, however, isn't as straightforward as Thoreau suggests. Specific skills are involved.

Brian Ogolsky, a University of Illinois professor of human and community development, and his colleague Jill R. Bowers surveyed 35 studies and over 12,000 reports to identify the essential skills needed for promoting healthy relationships. They found five strategies that emerged as key to strengthening relationships between spouses. But the same principles can be applied to building strong ties between friends.

The five factors are: openness, positivity, assurances, shared tasks and a shared social network.

Openness is characterized by a willingness to talk about feelings—yours and those of your friend or spouse. Positivity involves being upbeat and cheerful and enjoying a playful sense of humor. Assurances entails giving your spouse or friend signals that you are committed to the relationship for the long haul. Shared tasks include switching the load of maintaining the friendship from one to the other, as well as sharing everyday tasks and each other favors as the need arises. And a shared social network, which could include neighbors, family or a religious group, while not essential, can further strengthen the ties.

Taking any important relationship for granted is a dangerous strategy—that is, if we want to keep it alive and vital. It's always important express anew our affection and appreciation for those individuals who are helping keep us strong and vigorous and for whom we can be equally supportive.

Brain Fitness: Four Strategies to Keep Your Wits with Aging

However magnificent one’s earlier accomplishments, getting older can be a humbling experience. Loss of peripheral vision and depth judgment, lessened hearing acuity, decreased sensitivity of taste buds, stiffened arteries, declining bone density, a less efficient heart pump, reduced lung capacity, wrinkling of skin, reduced muscle strength and, for some, loss of hair are a few of the physical changes that are biologically predetermined.

The aging process also brings social and emotional losses. As we age, parents and older relatives die, leaving us feeling orphaned and adrift. Some of our friends grow frail and die. And the loss of a spouse is a particularly hard blow. Perhaps most devastatingly, some of us outlive our children. Grief and sadness are normal reactions to these losses, and we cannot dismiss these feelings as trivial.

Without question, the physical and emotional losses that accompany aging are difficult to cope with. Even more worrisome is the loss of mental acuity. A diminished or disappearing sense of self is a common fear among seniors.

The fear is well founded. “In the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability, with depression and anxiety accounting for a significant percentage of the disorders,” according to Professor Barbara J. Sahakian, FMedSci at the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and the Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute. And based on her research, Professor Sahakian asserts that 40 percent of the individuals with dementia are unaware of their condition.

But all is not lost! Here’s the good news: The notion that mental acuity inevitably declines with age has been debunked by researchers’ discoveries on the neuroplasticity of the brain. Indeed, old dogs can learn new tricks. The adult brain can be rewired throughout life if we are willing to practice these four successful aging strategies:

1. Exercise your body. Exercise may be as close as we will come to finding the fountain of youth. Besides lifting our spirits, staying physically active improves our ability to plan, focus and shift quickly between tasks. Working out also triggers a “positive and energizing outlook” that may improve memory and decision-making skills. And exercise encourages the growth of new brain cells (a process called neurogenesis). Researchers who’ve studied the link between exercise and mental acuity report that “maintaining an intellectually engaged and physically active lifestyle promotes successful cognitive aging.”

Our bodies are forgiving. Even if we haven’t exercised regularly for years, it is never too late to start. And it is never too late to enjoy the benefits of exercise. As one researcher succinctly reports, “Older adults who participate in fitness training and physical activity benefit from significant improvements in their brain structure and function.”

Seniors in record numbers are participating in sports from archery and badminton to basketball and bowling, from racquetball and softball to swimming and tennis. And age is not a barrier. George Blevins and John Donnelly were over 100 years old when they competed in sporting events for bowling and table tennis, respectively.

2. Engage with others. However community is defined, being a respected and valued member of a community helps keep us mentally sharp. Engaging in activities with others—visiting friends and family, attending church, dining out, traveling, doing volunteer work or being involved with charitable groups—is an antidote for loss of mental acuity. Strong ties to others can even increase longevity. After reviewing nearly 150 studies on longevity, researchers concluded that "stronger social relationships were associated with a reduced risk of death of 50%."

3. Express your talents. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is quoted as saying, “The world is hungry for our help and our love.” In the second half of life, we have the unique opportunity to bring our authentic and wholehearted self to our chosen tasks and build our legacy. Dr. Paul Ward, a researcher and consultant on purposeful living, says, “Finding something to live for is an essential requirement to a happy and fulfilling life,” and this sentiment is no less true for seniors than for those beginning their careers. We don’t have to write a bestseller or become a Pulitzer Prize winner; rather, we simply need to bloom where we’re planted. And Margaret Mead tells us that “if you associate enough with older people who do enjoy their lives, who are not stored away in any golden ghettos, you will gain a sense of continuity and of the possibility for a full life.”

4. Experience the moment. Resolve to live in the here and now. Give attention to each passing moment. Ignore distracting thoughts and become mindful of what you are tasting, feeling, smelling, hearing, feeling and seeing. When you go for a walk, look around. Enjoy nature in all its glory.

Researchers tell us that by hitting the mental pause button, by stepping into the present moment and by becoming more mindful, we slow the aging process. In one study, researchers measured telomeres, which are bits of DNA protein at the end of chromosomes, in women ages 50-65. The length of telomeres tells how fast a person is aging.

The researchers compared the length of the telomeres in women who engaged in mindfulness with the length of telomeres of women who reported a tendency to engage in wandering thoughts and concluded that “people who reported as being more focused in the present moment had longer telomeres.” Moreover, “a more focused mind also leads to less cell ageing whereas a wandering mind accelerates biological ageing.”

Brown University researchers recently documented the underlying neurophysiological mechanism that explains two powerful benefits of mindfulness—more effective chronic pain management and lessened depression—that could be particularly useful to seniors.

Dr. Marty Cottler, a psychologist who trains his clients in mindfulness, says, "Even as our bodies inevitably age, our brains and minds can help us rejuvenate. Our natural and normal tendency is to drift off into thinking about the past and the future. With gentle effort, we can guide our attention back to the present. By practicing the simple skills of compassionate-mindfulness, of being aware of whatever we are experiencing in the present moment with an attitude of acceptance, this moment and then this next moment, we reinvigorate ourselves.”

The myths about inevitable mental deterioration with aging are falling by the wayside. Instead of being put out to pasture at age 65, seniors are increasingly playing diverse roles in society as workers, family members, business owners, caregivers, volunteers and consumers.

Even the notion of how long humans can live is being challenged. In her book, 100 Plus, futurist Sonia Arrison predicts that we are entering the “golden age of aging.” Arrison argues that this generation is on the cusp of living longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives and that the first person to reach 150 years of age is already alive. If her prediction is correct, we’ll want more than ever to keep our wits while aging.

On the Verge of Discovery: The Fountain of Youth in Pill Form

If you could take a pill and prevent further aging, would you take it? Besides extending the length of your life, what if the pill could protect you from cancer, Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes? You might even find your skin looking younger.

Do these claims sound like science fiction? Not at all, according to David Sinclair, a geneticist who heads the Lowy Cancer Research Centre's Laboratory for Ageing Research at the University of New South Wales. Dr. Sinclair, who is currently based at Harvard University, anticipates that antiaging drugs will be available by 2018.

Through his research, Dr. Sinclair has found that a single enzyme, SIRT1, "is switched on naturally by calorie restriction and exercise, but it can also be enhanced through activators."

Resveratrol, found in red wine, contains a naturally occurring activator. So to keep the doctor away, in addition to eating an apple a day, we should drink a glass of red wine with dinner.

To jump-start the antiaging nature of this enzyme, Dr. Sinclair and his associates have developed synthetic drugs that are 100 times more potent than the amount of resveratrol found in a glass of wine. Through their efforts, 4,000 synthetic activators have been identified, and the three most promising drugs are currently being tested on humans.

In animal testing, overweight mice that were given potent synthetic resveratrol "were able to run twice as far as slim mice and they lived 15 per cent longer."

The superior athletic performance of these mice raises profound questions about how humans would perform given the same synthetic activator. (For openers, we might need to raise the bar for awarding Olympic medals.)

Once the antiaging drug becomes available, the potential applications are mind boggling. Initially, the drug might be used to target type 2 diabetes, but the applications don't stop there. Dr. Sinclair believes positive implications exist for a variety of diseases associated with aging, from cancer to cardiovascular disease, from Alzheimer's to cataracts and from Parkinson's diseases to osteoporosis. Research has led Dr. Sinclair to conclude that "ageing isn't the irreversible affliction that we thought it was."

Welcome to the brave new world!

Trivia Question: What Is the Number One Killer of Women?

What is the leading cause of death for women in the United States? How many American women are aware of their personal risk?

1. Breast cancer is the number one killer of women, and 88 percent of women are aware of their risk.
2. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and 56 percent of women are aware of their risk.
3. Stroke is the number one killer of women, and 72 percent of women are aware of their risk.

The correct answer is number 2. In 1997, only 30 percent of women knew that heart disease was the number one cause of death for women. Educational efforts have improved the percentage of women who are aware of their risk for heart disease, but nearly half of the female population (44 percent), particularly young women and minorities, lack personal awareness of their risk. Personal awareness leads to effective preventive steps; consequently, the American Heart Association will continue to educate women about their risk for heart disease.

For Weight Loss, Is When You Eat as Important as What You Eat?

Do you follow the folk wisdom practice of eating like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner? Or do you hoard your calories and eat like a pauper throughout the day and like a king at night? If you tell me what time of day you eat your main meal, I'll tell you whether you'll be successful in your weight-loss efforts.

This declaration is based on a large-scale study, reported in the January 2013 issue of the International Journal of Obesity, conducted by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Tufts University in the United States and the University of Murcia in Spain.

Researchers followed 420 individuals who enrolled in a 20-week weight-loss program in Spain. The individuals were divided into two groups: early eaters and late eaters. Early eaters ate a Mediterranean-style lunch before 3 p.m., and late eaters ate their lunch after 3 p.m. During this meal, about 40 percent of the day's calories were consumed.

The study revealed that late eaters lost "significantly less weight" than early eaters and lost weight at a slower rate. Late eaters also had lower insulin sensitivity, which is a risk factor for diabetes.

In reaching this conclusion, researchers took into account the total calories consumed, energy expenditure, amount of sleep and other variables. Since there were no significant differences between the early eaters and late eaters in these variables, the researchers concluded that the time of the meal was the determining factor for weight-loss success.

Frank Scheer, PhD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, was the senior author of this study, and his conclusion suggests how we can apply this insight in our daily routines: "Our results indicate that late eaters displayed a slower weight-loss rate and lost significantly less weight than early eaters, suggesting that the timing of large meals could be an important factor in a weight loss program."

Folk wisdom has a bad reputation for offering contrary advice. For example, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" contradicts "Out of sight, out of mind." And "Opposites attract" disputes "Birds of a feather flock together." But in this case, Grandma's advice to eat a hearty breakfast, a solid lunch and a light supper is spot on. Researchers tell us that to improve our chances for successful weight loss, we need to eat our biggest meal midday rather than consume the traditional calorie-laden evening meal.

Photo courtesy of Steven Depolo

Source: Flickr

To Smarten Up, Put On a Happy Face!

Would you like to improve your working memory and decision making? Put on a happy face!
 

Researchers Stephanie Carpenter, of the University of Michigan; David Västfjäll, of Linköping University in Sweden; and the late Alice Isen, of Cornell University have concluded that a positive mood can boost brain power. The results of their study appear in the current issue of the journal Cognition & Emotion.

As part of a strategy to elevate mood, 23 seniors, ages 63 to 85, were greeted with a thank-you card and bags of candy when they arrived at the laboratory for the study. Other steps were taken to ensure the good mood of the participants, such as giving them computers that featured a background with a blue sky and pretty clouds to use during testing.

A second group of 23 seniors received neither a card nor candy, and the background on their computer monitors was neutral.

The outcome was unequivocal. The older adults who were in a good mood made significantly better decisions. Moreover, “results showed that the older adults who were induced into a good mood scored better on this test of working memory.”

So what’s the takeaway from this research for seniors? How can we practice the gleanings from this study in our daily lives?

First, we can recognize that our emotions play a key role in our ability to make decisions and retain information. Second, we can make a conscious choice about the perspective we take. Our circumstances will not always include thank-you notes and bags of candy. Indeed, we may experience some or many of the losses associated with aging—for example, the loss of energy, the loss of a spouse, the loss of a friend or even the loss of our health.

Whatever our circumstances, however, we can practice mindfulness. We can focus on the present moment and find joy in simply being alive. Marty Cottler, Phd, encourages his clients to practice mindfulness: “When we open ourselves to what we are actually smelling, tasting, seeing and feeling, we become more alive. And research informs us that doing so will not only increase our enjoyment day in and day out but might actually contribute to our living longer and healthier.”

Dr. Cottler’s assurance of increased enjoyment on a day-to-day basis through the practice of mindfulness should be enough to put a smile on our faces.

Photo courtesy of lululemon athletica

Source: Flickr

 

Organizing Your Kitchen to Support Your Fitness Goals

We seem to live in an obesogenic society where food is available—and consumption is promoted—on a 24-hour basis. So how can we possibly eat sensibly and lose weight? I posed this question to Dr. Edward Abramson, psychologist and author of Emotional Eating, Body Intelligence and It's Not Just Baby Fat, in a video interview you can find here.

Dr. Abramson points out that once we leave our home, we are bombarded with stimuli that encourage us to eat, and we have no control over that environment. But he quickly added, "We do have control over our home environment and especially our kitchen."

Because the food in our refrigerator and cupboards reflects the decisions we make in the grocery store, Dr. Abramson starts with tips on how to navigate the buying process. He suggests (1) shopping the perimeter of the store because the outer aisles display fewer processed foods, (2) selecting food from a planned list rather than buying on impulse, (3) shopping alone without pressure from children or a spouse to buy treats or favorites, and (4) purchasing individually portioned packages even though the cost might be higher. For example, purchasing individually packaged ice cream bars instead of a half-gallon tub of ice cream may help individuals limit the size of a serving.

Dr. Abramson might also have advised not to shop on an empty stomach. I've found that my grocery bill can climb by 20 percent if I am shopping while famished, and my choices aren't all that great either.

When you store food in the refrigerator, Dr. Abramson suggests moving tempting foods out of the line of vision and replacing them with healthy snacks, such as fruit and prepped vegetables in clear plastic bags. He also advises storing the most tempting food in foil or opaque containers so that the visual stimuli will not tempt us to eat.

Serving food presents its own challenges. To make smaller portions seem adequate, Dr. Abramson recommends serving the food on a small plate. He also suggests serving food restaurant style; that is, arranging the food on plates in the kitchen so second helping won't be at the table. This practice is particularly important because researchers have found that we eat 92 percent of the food that is in front of us!

In his final recommendations, Dr. Abramson suggests that we sit down at the table, use an attractive place setting and focus on eating during meals. He adds, "Turn off the television, put down the newspaper, don't text and don't read e-mails. Enjoy the basic pleasure of eating by giving it your full attention."

In light of Dr. Abramson's advice, here are three action steps you can take today:

1. Remove from your kitchen any foods that undermine your fitness goals. Give the food away or, as a last resort, toss it in the garbage.
2. Invest time in creating a basic shopping list of healthful foods that you can revise as needed. Stick to the list when shopping. 
3. Treat each meal as a special occasion. Sit down. Enjoy the food. Savor the flavors and notice the textures. If you're dining with others, enjoy their company. If you're eating alone, set a nice table for yourself.

Bon appétit!

When the Flu Strikes, Laughter Is the Best Medicine

When you're flat on your back with the flu, the ceiling becomes a blank slate on which you can write your thoughts.  Still bedbound on day five of what experts say is usually a three-day event (I would love to personally update these "experts"), I have moved on from feeling sorry for myself to thinking about the advantages of this dramatic interruption in my life's reel. I found 10 benefits to offset the inconvenient and uncomfortable minuses:

1. You save on groceries.
2. You lose weight quickly. 
3. You get to play hooky. Once friends learn you are sick, no one wants you to attend a meeting or a party. And you don't feel a trace of guilt for abandoning your exercise program. 
4. You don't have to make excuses for wearing your pajamas at 2 p.m. 
5. You can manipulate expressions of sympathy from your friends. 
6. You can catch up on your reading. 
7. You can persuade your spouse to wait on you hand and foot. 
8. You realize that, however important you think your work is, the world gets along just fine without you. 
9. You don't have to prepare meals or do housework. 
10. You aren't tempted by the hamburger or pizza commercials on television.

Don't get me wrong. I would much rather have avoided this unpleasant drama. But since the flu is my fate, I intend to take advantage of the situation. Who knows? I may even spend a few extra days in bed just for the fun of it.

Trivia Question: What Is the Best Exercise to Lose Weight?

If you want to lose weight, which kind of exercise should you choose?

1. Strength/resistance exercise, which boosts metabolism
2. Aerobic exercise, which improves endurance and stamina

 

The answer is number two. According to Duke researchers who compared aerobic training, resistance training and a combination of the two, aerobic training is "the best mode of exercise for burning fat."

Too bad the researchers didn't compare a third form of exercise: pushing away from the table. I wonder what the results would have been then.