We spend about a third of our life sleeping.  That means if you live to be 90 years old, you’ll have spent about 30 years of your life asleep!  These days, a lot of people see sleep as a waste of time and they may cut out time in bed in order to have more hours in the day to get things done or to do things they enjoy.  So people often want to know whether sleep is really important, or whether it is just a waste of time. There are two ways to think about the question: “Is Sleep Just a Waste of Time?”.
Impact of Lack of Sleep
First, we can think about the way that peop…

Exercise could be the best thing you do for yourself today – and every day. It’ll make you stronger, livelier and smarter.

Researchers recently found exercise bolsters brain power in older adults. Not only does exercise get your heart and muscles pumping. It gets your brain charged up, too.

Without getting too technical, here’s what University of California, San Francisco researchers found: When people (and mice) exercised, their livers pumped out a little-known protein. When that protein spiked a bit, out-of-shape, elderly study participants experienced rejuvenati…

You have lots of family members you cherish. Even more friends you adore. You might have even a relatively active social life before the pandemic. So why do you feel so lonely?

You aren’t alone – even though if feels so desperately like that.

Social distancing. Sheltering in place. Locking down. Self-isolation. Getting groceries delivered. Waving at family from windows. Missing out on so much.

It’s taken a toll on loneliness.
The lonely concern is real
Everyone – from social workers and scholars to neighbors and children – is concerned about older adul…

What do painting, meditating, listening to an orchestra play, doing yoga or Tai Chi, bird watching, and walking in nature have in common? All of these activities lend themselves well to a mindfulness practice.
Practice of Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is a 2,500 year old practice that focuses on creating an attentive awareness of the present moment. After decades of modern clinical research, science has demonstrated reasons why mindfulness is so effective in promoting overall well-being.

Mindfulness meditation is often taught as a group activity in conj…

If you have lived here as long as I have on this earth, you will agree that stress is a part of life. So, why do we still complain about it? After all, wasn’t life harsher for our parents and grandparents? Did they not experience more adversity in life than we have?  Whatever form stress takes, it is here to stay. Is it because at some deep level, “we need to have challenge, something to test our mettle, prove our resilience, and make us stronger?” That question is posed by Dr. Joel Bennett in his book Raw Coping Power: From Stress to Thriving. Dr. Bennett believes w…