Self-control and Religion

Did you know that religious people may have more self-control than do their less religious counterparts? The conclusion of studies by University of Miami professor of Psychology, Michael McCullough, is that religious people may be better at pursuing and achieving long-term goals that are important to them and their religious groups. This, in turn, might help explain why religious people tend to have lower rates of substance abuse, better school achievement, less delinquency, better health behaviors, less depression, and longer lives. One potential implication? Religion may have evolved because of its ability to help people exercise self-control. (http://www.physorg.com/news149861062.html)

Obesity-Autism Correlation

Did you know that studies at the University of California Davis MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute have uncovered a possible correlation between obesity during pregnancy and offspring with an autism spectrum disorder? Researchers found that obese women were 67 percent more likely to have a child with autism and twice as likely to have a child with another developmental disorder (as compared with healthy-weight mothers). Is it the obesity itself, or the food that contributed to the obesity, or obesity-linked inflammation, or other obesity-related conditions during pregnancy? That will require more research. It does add another reason for women to maintain optimal weight—especially during pregnancy.

Education and Alzheimer's

Did you know that your level of education may relate to whether or not your brain develops Alzheimer’s later in life? Studies in Finland found that teens who don't finish high school are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease many years later as compared to those who get their diplomas and go on to further study. You may want to think about going back to school and challenge your brain with additional education. (Article: Warning for High-School Dropouts. http://www.alzinfo.org/newsarticle/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=248&zoneid=10)

Oprah's Definition

Did you realize that when you give the gift of forgiveness to yourself or to others, it’s primarily for you and not for them? Forgiveness can be one of the most difficult concepts to grasp. Even definitions differ. One of the best definitions I’ve heard was attributed to Oprah Winfrey: Forgiveness is to accept the fact that the past can’t change. That definition may also help to explain why forgiveness is one of the most difficult and greatest gifts to give. To refuse to give this gift, you actually give the other individual the power to make you live as if you were still a victim.

Sleep Bulimia

Do you suffer from sleep bulimia? Cognitive neuroscientist Robert Stickgold has equated sleep deficiency to an eating disorder. Sleep bulimics is a new term that describes a culture of individuals who purge on sleep during the weekdays and binge on the weekends; who try to compensate for sleep deprivation during the week by catching additional winks on the weekend. Not so fast. According to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, sleep deprivation is one of society’s most detrimental epidemics. You can make up for acute sleep deprivation once in a while. Not so with chronic sleep deprivation, which can seriously affect your health. Sleep deprivation is expensive, too. In the US, sleep deprivation accounts for over 16 billion dollars in medical costs and over 50 billion dollars in lost productivity—annually.

Diet and Cancer

Have you see the TED presentation by Dr. William Li who heads the Angiogenesis Foundation? It's entitled, "Can we eat to starve cancer?" Dr. Li said, “We’re treating cancer too late in the game, when it’s already established and, oftentimes, it’s already spread or metastasized. The obvious thing is to think about what we could remove from our diet. But I took a completely opposite approach and began asking: What could we be adding to our diet that could boost the body’s defense system? In other words, can we eat to starve cancer? Imagine that one medical advancement held the promise to conquer cancer, perhaps within your lifetime … the potential to also end more than 70 of life's most threatening conditions, affecting one billion people worldwide. This is the promise of angiogenesis, the first medical revolution of the 21st century." You might want to check this out. I’ll be adding a few more things to my diet! (http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html?source=email#.T8Fhm4DlLUw.email)

Longevity

Did you know that your level of conscientiousness may impact how long you live? Studies at UC-Riverside (Friedman and Kern) found that people who were less conscientious were 50% more likely to die at any given age, on average, than those of the same age who scored highly. Living a scrupulous life appears to prolong one’s life even more than socioeconomic status and intelligence. (Health Psychology, DOI: 10.1037/0278-6133.27.5.505). http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026794.800-conscientiousness-is-the-secret-to-a-long-life.html)