Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Phone counseling improves quality of life, immune systems of cervical cancer survivors
A unique telephone-counseling intervention not only improved the quality of life for cervical cancer survivors but also altered associated stress-related effects on their immune systems, a UC Irvine study has found. Along with reporting psychological and social benefits, the women in the study were found to have improved anti-tumor immune responses. The findings point to the importance of a “mind-body” connection for surviving cancer with a higher quality of life.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
U-M study: Work hassles hamper sleep
Common hassles at work are more likely than long hours, night shifts or job insecurity to follow workers home and interfere with their sleep.
Health at Work • Productivity/Performance • Sleep • (0) Comments • Permalink
Nearly 1 in 5 troops has mental problems after war service
Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more. As many or more report possible brain injuries from explosions or other head wounds, said the study, the first major survey from outside the government.
Brain • Depression • Military • PTSD • (0) Comments • Permalink
The oldest Americans are also the happiest, research finds
It turns out the golden years really are golden. Eye-opening new research finds the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests. The two go hand-in-hand: Being social can help keep away the blues. “The good news is that with age comes happiness,” said study author Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist. “Life gets better in one’s perception as one ages.”
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Connecting a Million Hearts
Join 1 million people celebrating Earth Day with a simple 2 minute experiment.
Get feedback on your state
Now it’s scientifically proven that the heart can affect the mind. There are subtle changes in our bodies that affect and reflect our mental state constantly. Biofeedback is one way to become aware of and monitor these changes. Through this feedback, participants can then interpret visible or aural cues for their current and shifting psychological and physiological state. Biofeedback has given me a whole new way of looking at my heart and its emotional well-being.
Autonomic Nervous System • Brain • Education • Heart Rate Variability • HeartMath • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Transforming Your Life: HeartMath’s World-Renowned Seminar Programs Can Now be Experienced Virtually
HeartMath is announcing an exciting new opportunity for the millions of people who are ready to transform their old emotional struggles with anxiety, stress, overwhelm, worry and depression into revitalized energy and renewed hope. HeartMath’s world-renowned seminar programs are now available as virtual experiences, giving people around the world the opportunity to learn directly from the outstanding expertise of HeartMath leaders. Through a series of free monthly webinars participants will have the convenience of learning about and experiencing the transformational power of the heart from any location.
HeartMath Report Passes Five Million Visit Mark
The HeartMath Report, a unique blog covering mind-body medicine and stress research topics, passed the five million visit mark this week. The blog contains amost two thousand articles with links to relevant journal abstracts, and is a great way to stay up-to-date on important developments in these fields. Please pass the HeartMath Report URL, http://www.heartmathreport.com, to those who would be interested. Thanks for your help!
Monday, April 07, 2008
New Study Finds Anticipating A Laugh Reduces Stress
In 2006 researchers investigating the interaction between the brain, behavior, and the immune system found that simply anticipating a mirthful laughter experience boosted health-protecting hormones. Now, two years later, the same researchers have found that the anticipation of a positive humorous laughter experience also reduces potentially detrimental stress hormones.
Appreciation • Emotions • Happiness • Hormones • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
For the Golfer Who Doesn’t Quite Have Everything
Whether it’s a $600 driver or a $200 training aid or a newfangled tee that you can get free at the country-club pro shop, golfers are constantly on the lookout for anything that can help them improve their game, even if ever so slightly. And the good news is that some of this stuff actually works.
This Wall Street Journal article includes a nice writeup of HeartMath and our emWave technology.
HeartMath • Productivity/Performance • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Anatomy of pain can bring relief
Queensland researchers have made a discovery that sheds important new light on how the brain processes pain, and how central emotions are in the pain experience. This very reliable connection means that any signal that reaches the brain’s pain centre is almost guaranteed to set off a signal in the central amygdala. And the cells there trigger emotional responses—emotions, hormones, blood pressure increases and so on.
Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours
Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond. Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health.
Burnout • Military • PTSD • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop
They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Virtual reality Tube ride reveals extent of public paranoia
The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, demonstrates that suspicious or paranoid thoughts are much more common in the general population than was previously thought and that they are almost as common as anxiety and depression.
Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes.
Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes. Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples’ mental states, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.