The Stress of Life
“The Stress of Life” is a perennial bestseller by Hans Selye, written in 1956. Selye almost single-handedly introduced the notion of stress into the worldwide consciousness. By doing so, Selye changed the way we think about ourselves, our values, and how we conduct our lives. As Selye observed, stress is a double-edged sword. Many types […]
What’s the Problem with Stress?
We live in stressful times. The economy is tough, global conflicts rage, severe weather events are affecting people in every corner of the globe, and our numerous technological devices don’t seem to be making things any easier. Of course, this is nothing new. Every generation thinks theirs is the best of times and the worst […]
Weight Loss That Stays Lost
America’s weight problems are now so well-known they’re even fair game for jokes at the Oscars. “Americans really know how to fill up a seat,” jibes Ellen DeGeneres, host of the 2007 Academy Awards. The statistics are alarming. Sixty-five percent of Americans – 130 million in 2001 – are overweight. Fifteen percent of American children […]
Owning Your Health
Recent discussions in the scientific literature are focusing on monitoring and possibly improving cardiovascular health in children. There’s been a lot of conversation and a lot of controversy. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association1 argued that universal screening of children could result in young people being put on cholesterol-lowering drugs such […]
Principles of Posture
Long ago and far away, a fourth-grade teacher told a student to “stand up straight – you look like a pretzel”. The unthinking adult only offered criticism. The child was left to try to unkink himself in the ways that probably caused more structural damage. Most of us think good posture involves thrusting out the […]
Rise and Shine!
We all know people who get up with the first rays of the sun. Some people wake up even earlier, bouncing out of bed before there is even a glimmer of Homer’s famous “rosy- fingered dawn” in the eastern sky. In contrast, for many people leaving the confines of their comfortable bed is a daily […]