Watching Others Exercise Can Make You Fitter, Study Shows

Watching sport can make you fitter, according to research Sunday that said viewing other people exercise increases heart rate and other physiological measures as if you were working out yourself.
The study, published in the international journal Frontiers in Autonomic Neuroscience, showed that when watching a first person video of someone else running, heart rate, respiration, skin blood flow and sweat release all increased.
They returned to normal at the conclusion of the "jog".
Researchers said that importantly, for the first time, it was shown that muscle sympathetic nerve activity increased when people watched physical activity.
"Recording this nerve activity provides a very sensitive measure of the body's physiological responses to physical or mental stress," said one of the lead researchers Vaughan Macefield, from the School of Medicine at the University of Western Sydney.
"We know that the sympathetic nervous system -- which supplies the heart, sweat glands and blood vessels, as well as other tissues -- increases its activity during actual exercise.
"Now we have shown that it increases when you are watching a moving scene as if you were running yourself."
During the study, very fine needles were inserted into an outer nerve of nine volunteers to record the electrical signals of nerve fibres directed to blood vessels, providing a very sensitive measure of the body's physiological responses to physical or mental stress.
The participants were initially shown a static image on a computer screen while the researchers monitored their muscle sympathetic nerve activity and other physiological parameters.
These measurements remained constant while watching the non-moving landscape image, but that changed when shown a 22-minute video shot by a runner on a vigorous jog.
"Although these changes were small, they were all appropriate physiological responses to exercise," said Rachael Brown, who conducted the study with Macefield, considered a top world expert in recording human sympathetic neurones in health and disease.
"As the volunteers were sitting relaxed with no muscle activity it indicates that the responses were psychogenic -- that is they originated from the mind and not the body.
"This dovetails with our recent work on the emotions, where we found that viewing emotionally charged images, such as erotica, increases our sympathetic nerve activity and sweat release.”
While the study concluded that your body will get a small workout from simply watching others exercise, Macefield cautioned that nothing compared to real physical activity.
"While watching other people exercise may increase your heart rate and have other physiological effects, nothing can replace the health benefits of getting off the couch," he said.

Starting Exercise Even Later in Life Triples Chance To Age Healthily

Even if you haven't been physically active, it's never too late to start reaping the benefits of exercise, a new study shows.
Older adults who started to exercise even once a week -- even after being inactive -- were three to four times more likely to age healthily compared to their continuously inactive peers. British researchers studied around 3,450 men and women with an average age of 64 from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Starting in 2002, the study tracked the participants biannually for over eight years, measuring the frequency and intensity of their physical activity.
At the end of the study researchers evaluated healthy aging by looking at the occurrence of chronic diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's, overall mental health, and any physical disabilities.
They found that participants who had sustained regular physical activity over the duration of the study were seven times more likely than entirely inactive participants to age healthily.
"This study supports public health initiatives designed to engage older adults in physical activity, even those who are of advanced age," the authors wrote.
Over the course of the study, one in 10 had become physically active, making them over three times as likely to age healthily. The participants self-reported their activity levels twice a year and also noted any changes in activity, such as becoming more or less active.
The findings of this study add to compelling research which points to exercise as one of the keys to maintaining good health with aging. Just earlier this month researchers found that cardiovascular exercise doesn't just help with heart health, it can also help older adults improve their memory and preserve their cognitive abilities. Another study showed that even simple physical activity, like gardening or fruit-picking, can help older adults reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Click through the slideshow below for some great exercise ideas for post 50s.

Cows Are The Root Of All Evil, And We're Too Hungry To Care

When put into perspective, it all makes sense: The rapid depletion of our resources, the assault on our bodily health, the bombardment of our olfactory senses, the planet-destroying flatulence -- cows must be hell-bent on our ultimate destruction. Or at the very least, they want us out of the way to make room for the arrival of their alien overlords. Either way, cows are the root of all evil.
Let's review the facts.

Cows Use All Our Space And Eat All Our Food

Feeding our largely meat-eating way of life requires an enormous supply of resources. And though delicious, one would not be out of line to question if we're really getting enough value for what we're putting in. In order to make up a single quarter-pound hamburger, it takes 74.5 square feet of land for grazing and growing feed crops, and 52.8 gallons for drinking water and irrigating crops.
Globally, livestock production takes up about a quarter of all land on Earth, much of which is used for cows. To feed those animals, we use about a third of the world's arable land.
Many view raising farm animals and cows specifically as an extremely inefficient way to feed the world's population. Rosamond Naylor, an associate professor of economics at Stanford University, told the New York Times that producing a single calorie of meat through livestock production takes two to five times as much grain as simply consuming the grain directly. That number surges to as high as 10 times when considering the popular grain-fed beef produced in the U.S. That's a huge imbalance, especially considering the many people who are still going hungry.


This is your cow friend, eating all your food, crashing on your couch and not paying you rent.

Cows Pull A Trojan Horse On Our Bodies

Though a good source of protein and B vitamins, frequent consumption of red meat has contributed significantly to the declining heart health of millions of people around the world. A study performed earlier this year at the Cleveland Clinic tested a little-known chemical called TMAO. Researchers previously believed that carnitine was responsible for the development of heart disease, but in fact bacteria in the intestines metabolize carnitine and release the TMAO chemical, which allows cholesterol into artery walls and keeps the body from excreting excess amounts of the artery-clogging substance.
But the most telling find was that the bacteria that makes TMAO is found primarily in people who eat red meat regularly. Vegans and vegetarians who were asked to eat steak for the first time in at least a year showed virtually no TMAO chemical in their blood streams.
Very sneaky, cows. Disguising themselves as tender delicious meaty morsels, and then once they're inside, BOOM, they go straight for your arteries with their cholesterol karate chops.

Cow Farts, Silent Or Not, Are Deadly

In the U.S., cattle account for 20 percent of all yearly methane emissions, or about 5.5 million metric tons. A study conducted by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization also found that livestock are responsible for 14.5 percent of all human-caused global greenhouse gases, and of that total, of that, gaseous emissions by cow are responsible for nearly 40 percent.
Obviously, we're at a climate change crossroads in history, and the more we can do to turn the tide, so to speak, the better. Cow farts are contributing to the rapid and catastrophic heating of our planet that scientists say is on course to force a drastic redefinition of the world's shores.
The cows have dealt it, and one day humans will be left with no choice but to have, um, smelt it?


And don't act like your sheep don't stink!

Cow Pies Are More Like Cow Lakes

On large factory farms, manure and urine are collected and directed into huge lagoons. These lagoons are used to hold nothing but this toxic sludge, sometimes in areas as large as seven acres containing as many as 45 million gallons of waste. Besides giving off toxic chemicals like methane, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, these pools are at risk of seeping into the underground water supply.
And while the manure is often reused as fertilizer on new crops, even that comes with its own host of problems. Overuse can cause excess to spill off, contaminating the surrounding environment, or to evaporate as toxic greenhouse gases, which then pollute the atmosphere and further overheat our planet.


That large, dark, rectangular pool is chock-full of cow waste. Notice how freaking massive it is.

They're Cheese Pushers, And We're Addicted

Cheese covers everything these days. We clearly love it. And while cheese is delicious and has some good health benefits, when you really overdo it -- which we are known to -- bad things can happen to your body. America's cheese consumption since 1970 has TRIPLED. The average American eats 23 pounds of cheese a year. As a nation, that's more than 7 billion pounds of cheese!


More, MORE!

Cows Are Hardcore Drug Users Themselves

Cows are on drugs almost all the time. A lot of farm animals are. And like interacting with anyone on drugs, it can be unpredictable and more often problematic. According to a report released by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, 80 percent of the antibiotics sold in this country are fed to animals that are then fed to humans. The thing about antibiotics is, when they are overfed to animals, the bacteria they are meant to fight can become resistant to the drugs. And there's mounting evidence to suggest that humans who consume those bacteria, often through improperly cooked meats, may not only become ill, but also may not respond to antibiotic treatment.
The CDC found that an estimated 23,000 Americans die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections, while 2 million get sick. While there has been an active legislative push to ban antibiotic-fed meat in hopes of preventing this number from growing, both the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries are powerful lobbies that have no interest in letting that happen.

Cows May Be Working With Alien Invaders

If we're going to hedge our bets as a species, it's best to consider all potential ways our civilization could collapse -- yes, including the "Cows Teaming Up With Aliens" scenario. You laugh now, but when the aliens finally do come, and cows are given a position of authority over humans as a reward for all the delicious help they've provided, you'll question why we gave them such a high ranking place at our table in the first place. We're also guessing they wouldn't be kind rulers after all we've done to them.
Think about it. If you were an alien species interested in taking over the human race, would you plan a full frontal assault, taking a stick to the proverbial bee's nest and whipping us up into an unpredictable defensive frenzy? Or would you instead slowly weaken humanity by targeting one of its greatest food sources, the mild-mannered cow, in an effort to prime a weakened human race for takeover. If done right, when the aliens did invade, Earthlings might be too busy napping through a food coma to care.
That leads some to ask, "But why then are cows abducted and mutilated by aliens?" Well, they could be trying to get a more intimate knowledge of bovine biology in order to sharpen their cow-centered plan for world domination. Or they're just tasting for themselves. Because they're delicious.


Like, it's so obvious, man.

One Cow Out There May Be The Devil

The Devil has horns. Cows also have horns. The evidence is piling up.


Spooky, huh? Like staring into Voldemart's eyes while he's wearing Darth Vader's helmet.

The Honeymooooon Is Over, Everyone

It's time we start examining the threats that cows pose to the human race; to our health, to our environment, to our very existence as a species. Let's stop playing dumb. As with most things, we look to the Simpsons' Troy McClure for guidance:

Childhood Trauma Linked To Teen Weight Problems (STUDY)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who have gone through trying times are more likely to be overweight by age 15, a new study suggests.
Stress in childhood has been associated with a greater risk of becoming overweight, although the link isn't always consistent from study to study, researchers said.
"I felt like I was seeing a lot of children who had experienced stress early in their lives later gain weight pretty rapidly" Dr. Julie Lumeng at the University of Michigan Medical School told Reuters Health.
"There has been quite a bit of research looking at stress in the lives of adults leading to weight gain, but it has not been studied as much in children," said Lumeng, who led the new study.
"We did this particular study because it looked at simply 'events' that had occurred in children's lives and then asked mothers to rate the events in terms of how much of an impact they had," Lumeng said.
The researchers used data from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
The mothers of 848 children enrolled in the study completed surveys when their children were 4, 9 and 11 years old. They were asked if any of 71 different life events had occurred during the previous year, and they rated the impact of the event on a scale from -3 (extremely negative) to zero (no effect) to +3 (extremely positive).
Four categories of negative life events were studied: health problems in the family; work, school or financial stability; emotional aspects of family relationships; and family structure, routine and caregiving.
The kids' height and weight were measured at age 15. Teens with a BMI above the 85th percentile for age and gender based on CDC growth charts were defined as being overweight.
Of the 848 children, 260 were considered overweight and 488 were not. Thirty percent of the overweight children had experienced a significant number of negative life events, compared to 22 percent of the non-overweight children.
Experiencing many negative life events was tied to a nearly 50 percent higher risk of being overweight, versus no negative events.
The associations were strongest for negative events related to family physical or mental health, among children of obese mothers and among children who waited longer for food, the researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.
"The number of negative events that had happened in a child's life predicted the likelihood that the child would be overweight in adolescence," Lumeng wrote in an email. "We thought this was important as well because while lots of interventions focus on healthy eating and promoting more exercise, if stress is related to children's risk of becoming overweight, this could be a new focus for interventions," she said.
The results were about the same for boys as for girls. "There is prior evidence in adults that women may be more likely to 'stress eat' than men, so we thought that girls may be more sensitive to the effects than boys. This was not the case, however," Lumeng said.
It's also important to note the risk was greater for kids whose mothers were obese. Obese mothers may have more obesity-promoting environments, which could lead to their children being overweight as well, the researchers point out. It could also contribute to some of the family health problems reported as negative life events.
"I think without a doubt that if you work in the field of weight management, you often hear about challenging situations that folks are coming from. Seeing this study just further documents what we're already experiencing in the clinics," Dr. Stephen Pont told Reuters Health. Pont is Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Provisional Section of Obesity.
"This study starts to show that there may be significant stressors that these children have experienced that has to some degree resulted in the weight problem they have right now. If we understand that, then maybe we can be more empathetic and not guilt or blame or look down on them," said Pont, who was not involved in the new research.
Family support is crucial for managing both stress and weight issues. Parents can help children get through stressful events by talking to them and focusing on coping skills, Pont said.
"Conversations are very important," he said. "Sometimes we can't know how a child is experiencing something unless we talk to them about it. With anything regarding stress or behavioral health, we recommend talking to your kids."
Parents can ask children how they feel about any stressful life events. Pont cautioned that some kids may not admit there's a problem and that younger children may not be able to verbalize how they feel. In those cases, parents should look for other clues like problems with friends or school, or unexplained headaches or stomach aches.

Four Cases Of Rare Infant Illness In Tennessee Linked To Parents' Refusal Of Vitamin K Shots

ATLANTA (AP) — Health officials are reporting four Tennessee cases of a rare infant illness that have been linked to parents refusing a routine shot for newborns.
The four Nashville-area infants suffered brain or stomach bleeding earlier this year. Their parents had declined vitamin K shots, which have routinely been given to newborns since 1961. The shots improve blood clotting and prevent internal bleeding. All four children were treated with vitamin K and survived.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the illnesses were the first tied to parents opting out of the shots; reports of vitamin K deficiency are rare. The CDC said the parents cited a belief that the shots weren't necessary or cause leukemia. Officials say neither is true.
___
Online:
CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

8 Worst Foods For Your Digestion

SPECIAL FROM Grandparents.com

Have you ever felt gassy, bloated or experienced an extreme case of heartburn after a meal? That uncomfortable, tummy-twisting feeling was most likely due to what you ate. Some foods are worse for digestion than others, particularly if you’re one of the 70 million people in the United States that suffer from a digestive disorder, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), acid reflux, diarrhea, constipation and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), to name a few.
We’ve rounded up some of the top foods that can put your GI tract in a bind. If you’ve found that other foods negatively affect your digestive system, let us know in the comments.

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  Artificial Sweetener
  Grandparents.com
  How it affects you: If you like to cut calories by adding artificial sweetener rather than real sugar to your coffee, you may be affecting your digestion and increasing inflammation in your body. “In general, sweeteners which are partially digested (sugar alcohols) have the biggest impact on the GI system and can lead to bloat, gas, and diarrhea,” according nutritionist and dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade. What you can do: Experiment with the multitude of artificial sweeteners that are on the market and determine which affects you the least, suggests Palinski-Wade, who recommends using natural sweeteners, such as agave nectar. “This is not calorie-free, but because it is sweeter than sugar, less is needed, helping to reduce carbohydrates and calories,” says Palinski-Wade.
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  Chocolate
  Grandparents.com
  How it affects you: Your sweet tooth may affect more than just your waistline. Caffeine contained in chocolate may trigger heartburn and IBS symptoms in people prone to digestive disorders. What’s more, like coffee, chocolate is also a diuretic, which can result in loose stool or diarrhea. What you can do: If you need to satisfy that craving, choose dark chocolate. “It contains polyphenols that can slow GI function and increase water absorption to prevent diarrhea,” says Palinski-Wade. “Cocoa, which is found in higher amounts in dark chocolate than milk chocolate, is also a good source of fiber, which promotes healthy digestion.”
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  Processed Foods
  Grandparents.com
  How they affect you: Beyond upping the risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease and leading to weight gain, refined carbohydrates, like white bread, soda, and potato chips, move quickly through the digestive tract and can result in bloating, cramping, and other GI issues. What you can do: If you can’t totally cut out processed foods from your diet, eat them in combination with foods that digest slowly, like lean protein – think chicken breast without the skin – and healthy fat – like an avocado or natural peanut butter, says Palinski-Wade. On top of that, keep portions in check, so those refined carbs don’t outweigh the good food you’re combining them with.
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  Spicy Food
  Grandparents.com
  How it affects you: Whether we’re talking hot curry or spicy Buffalo chicken wings, foods that give your taste buds a run for their money can also trigger heartburn, particularly if you eat them close to bedtime. What you can do: "Cooling foods, specifically dairy, can help to calm the burn associated with spicy food in some people," says Palinski-Wade. "Since milk itself can be hard to digest, reach instead for Greek yogurt or Daisy Brand cottage cheese, which contain GI-friendly probiotics to aid digestion while cooling the burn felt from heavy spices."
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  Fresh Fruit & Veggies
  Grandparents.com
  How they affect you: Conventional wisdom says that reaching for nature’s bounty in the produce aisle is the best way to stay healthy. And while fresh produce should always be included in a healthy diet, digesting raw fruit and vegetables can be difficult for people with sensitive GI systems. Raw produce has high amounts of insoluble fiber, which move quickly through the intestinal tract and can result in loose stool, diarrhea, gas and bloating. What you can do: Cook your veggies and, whenever possible, your fruit. “Cooking helps to break down some fiber in produce, allowing it to be digested more easily, limiting gas and bloating that can occur when eating raw produce,” says Palinski-Wade.
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  Greasy Or Fried Foods
  Grandparents.com
  How they affect you: Food high in saturated fat, like steak (certain cuts, like rib-eye, are fattier than others), French fries, and ice cream, is difficult for the body to digest and can make you feel uncomfortably full and increase the chances of acid reflux, according to Palinski-Wade. If you already suffer from heartburn, fatty food can make it even worse by relaxing the valve that seals off the stomach from the sphincter. The loose valve can cause stomach acid to rise into the esophagus and result in a really unpleasant case of heartburn, says Karen Ansel, nutritionist and dietitian. What you can do: If you’re jonesing for a steak, burger, or other high-fat meal tonight, remember not to combine it with alcohol, which can further irritate your GI tract, says Palinski-Wade. Whenever possible, cook meals in plant-based fats, such as olive oil, which is easier to break down than saturated fat, like butter.
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  Coffee
  Grandparents.com
  How it affects you: This energy hero can quickly become your GI tract’s worst enemy. In fact, nearly 40 million people in the United States refrain from drinking coffee – or as much coffee as they would like – due to stomach irritation, according to the American Chemical Society. Coffee doesn’t just wake up our mind, it also stimulates acid production in the stomach, which can cause inflammation and result in heartburn and GERD. What’s more, caffeine acts like a diuretic, which can cause dehydration and, ultimately, constipation. What you can do: Limit caffeinated coffee to one cup, says Palinski-Wade. “If that’s not possible, limit to one caffeinated cup every two hours to allow your body time to process the caffeine.” It’s important not to drink coffee on an empty stomach, which can increase indigestion, notes Palinski-Wade. She recommends adding something that’s easily digestible – like a banana or bran cereal at breakfast – to reduce symptoms.
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  Acidic Foods
  Ballookey Klugeypop/flickr
  How they affect you: Even if you have the best intentions, many healthful fruits and vegetables, like oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and tomatoes, may increase your risk for acid reflux and GERD due to their acidity. What you can do: Removing acidic foods from your diet is the best way to reduce your risk for heartburn. However, if you still want to eat these fruits and vegetables every once and awhile, don’t do it on an empty stomach, which can increase irritation and inflammation.

Can Meditation And Yoga Really Slow The Progression Of Dementia?

Taking some time out of your hectic week to put your stresses behind you and meditate may actually help preserve your mind, a new study suggests.
Researchers have long known that meditation changes the brains of those who practice it, but now a study conducted at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows practicing stress-reducing meditation and yoga can actually slow the progression of Alzheimer's and other dementias.
The study looked at 14 adults between 55 and 90 with mild cognitive impairments over a course of eight weeks. The control group received regular care while the study group practiced mindfulness through yoga and meditation at least two hours per week.
After eight weeks, the study group experienced less overall atrophy in the hippocampus and better connectivity in other parts of the brain responsible for memory. The hippocampus is shrunken in people with Alzheimer's and is vulnerable to damage during the early stages of the disease.
"We know that approximately 50 percent of people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment -– the intermediate stage between the expected declines of normal aging and the more serious cognitive deterioration associated with dementia -– may develop dementia within five years. And unfortunately, we know there are currently no FDA-approved medications that can stop that progression," first author Rebecca Erwin Wells said in a release. "We also know that as people age, there's a high correlation between perceived stress and Alzheimer's disease."
The stress-busting benefits of meditation have been shown over and over again, with recent studies showing it not only helps practicers feel calmer but it also reduces the stress hormone cortisol, The Huffington Post reported. Another recent study at the University of Oregon found that meditation has a protective effect on the brain, increasing protective tissues and signaling.
While researchers say further research is needed to evaluate larger numbers of people and measure other cognitive changes, the results do suggest mindfulness-based stress reduction (MSBR) may help protect areas of the brain affected by dementia.
So, are you convinced yet to meditate? Namaste.

7 Easy Ways To Add Years To Your Life

Sure, it's good to live each day like it's your last. But wouldn't it be great to just have more days?
While we're being bombarded daily with bad news about unavoidable everyday things that are decreasing our life expectancy (sleep deprivation anyone?), the good news is there are plenty of little steps you can take to add some of that lost time back.
We've rounded up the best for you:

1) Go wild for blueberries

Often called a "superfood," blueberries are loaded with heart-protecting antioxidants and have been known to help reduce inflammation. Recent studies have shown consuming around two cups per day can help prevent chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension and obesity. In older adults in particular, drinking blueberry juice has been proven to improve memory and reduce depression.
2) More face time, less Facetime

Of course our relationships add more meaning to our lives than anything else, but they can also add years. People with strong social ties are generally less vulnerable to mental health issues like depression and tend to live longer. Some studies have even shown that social interaction and having healthy relationships are as good for you as quitting smoking.
3) Pour yourself a drink

Having a glass of wine to unwind after work won't just de-stress you. Researchers say it could actually add 5 years to your life. People who drink any light or moderate quantity of beer or other alcohol increase their life expectancy by 2.5 years and those who drink red wine gain 2.5 more years a Dutch study found in 2009. We can say cheers to that.
4) Get frisky

Various studies have shown that people who have sex and achieve orgasms more frequently live up to two years longer. This could be attributed to the many health benefits of sex. First off, sex does count as a workout, burning 5 calories per minute. It also floods your body with many hormones which can help lower stress, provide more restful sleep, and yes, even reduce pain. Doctors say it can even help arthritis symptoms and relieve headaches.
5) Munch on nuts

Eating nuts 5 days a week can add nearly 3 years to your life, according to researchers at Loma Linda University. Nuts were shown to decrease the risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S.. Nuts are high in vitamin E and reduce oxidative stress in your arteries. They can be high in calories and fat though, so stick to almonds, cashews, and pistachios, which are some of the healthier nuts.
6) Take more vacations

Yes, this is a tough one. What with trying to save for retirement, keeping ahead at work, and the rising costs of travel, not all of us can spend a week on the beaches of Hawaii. But people who take more vacations tend to live longer, studies show. In fact, men who take at least one vacation per year can cut their risk of death by 20 percent and their risk of heart disease by nearly 30 percent. So even if it's just a weekend mini-break to a nearby resort or a camping trip with the grandkids, make sure you're taking the time to unplug.
7) Step away from your desk

It's bad enough as it is that many of us spend 8 or more hours a day sitting at our desk, ruining our posture and straining our eyes. Now researchers say that sitting for more than 3 hours a day can cut your life expectancy, even if you're taking trips to the gym. Getting up and moving every hour, even if just for a minute, can add up to two years to your life. Also, consider getting a pedometer to make sure you're clocking your 10,000 recommended steps each day.

Is Your Health Killing Your Sex Life?

SPECIAL FROM Grandparents.com

We all know that stress, anxiety, and depression (and many antidepressant medications) can interfere with your sex life. But there are other health issues that also can make it difficult to get your mojo working. Decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, and difficulty reaching orgasm can be caused by reduction of blood flow, which limits arousal and ability to reach orgasm. If your sex life isn’t what you want it to be, get a work-up from your physician to see if the responsible parties could be…

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  Adult Onset (Type II) Diabetes
  
  What it is: Muscles become resistant to the insulin hormone. Insulin allows blood sugar (glucose) to move from the blood into the muscles, which uses it as fuel. Often caused by obesity, lack of exercise, and a high-fat diet. How it can affect your sex life: Diabetes can reduce blood flow to the penis or vagina, which can limit arousal and ability to reach orgasm. What to do: Maintain normal glucose levels through a healthy, low-sugar diet, weight reduction, and regular exercise to prevent further progression of the disease. See your doctor about medications that can help manage your diabetes. “Catch it early and the sexual responsiveness will return; let it progress too far, and some of the dysfunction is irreversible,” said Barbara Bartlik, M.D., a New York City psychiatrist specializing in sexual health. Women can try the Eros clitoral therapy device, a small suction cup (placed over the clitoris before sex), and a small, battery-operated vacuum pump, available by prescription. The pump’s gentle suction action increases blood flow to the clitoris, which in turn, increases pressure on the clitoral nerve, lubrication, and sensation. (This device also useful for hypertension and high cholesterol-related decrease in arousal.) Men can use vacuum constriction device (VCD), or erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra.
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  Hypertension
  
  What it is: Elevated blood pressure and a tightening of the arteries. How it can affect your sex life: As with diabetes, hypertension can reduce blood flow to the penis or vagina, which can limit arousal and ability to reach orgasm. Also, some medications for hypertension can decrease sexual arousal. What to do: Work on keeping blood pressure low with a healthy, low-sodium diet and exercise regularly. If you need to be on medication, ask your doctor to work with you on finding one with a minimum of sexual side effects for you. “Everyone reacts differently to drugs, so what works for you may be a bit of trial and error until you find the right one,” says Dr. Bartlik. She recommended taking a well-absorbed form of magnesium, such as magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate. “Magnesium reduces blood pressure so the dose of antihypertensive can be reduced, plus magnesium is necessary for sexual arousal. Many are deficient in this mineral to start with, which is why their blood pressure is high,” she adds. As always, consult your physician before taking any new medication or supplements.
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  High Cholesterol
  
  What it is: A fat-like substance that contributes to plaque formation in the arteries, which impairs blood flow. How it can affect your sex life: Statin medications sometimes can inhibit sexual functioning, because they reduce testosterone. What to do: It’s worthwhile to talk to your doctor about trying to reduce your cholesterol without the medications. If you can't get off your medications, ask your doctor about naturally reducing your cholesterol enough so that you can at least reduce the amount of medication you have to take. Eat a Mediterranean diet – emphasize fruits, vegetables, fish, garlic, and whole grains. Limit unhealthy fats. Take fish oil, flax seed oil, and psillium. Drink green tea. Exercise regularly.
• 4
  Smoking
  
  What it is: Smoking cigarettes is not a disease (although it can lead to lung cancer and heart disease,) but it is worth noting that smoking is one of the biggest cause of sexual dysfunction in men and women. How it can affect your sex life: As with diabetes and hypertension, smoking can reduce blood flow to the penis or vagina, which can limit arousal and ability to reach orgasm. What to do: It’s time to stop smoking! We know it’s not easy, but it can be done. The American Cancer Society recommends: Make a firm decision to quit and commit to it. Pick a “Quit Day.” Tell friends and family about it, and engage their support. Meet with you physician to devise a plan: Cold turkey? Attend a stop-smoking class? Use nicotine replacement patches. Throw out all your cigarettes and paraphernalia. “Unlink” habitual activities that always had a smoking component. If you routinely had a cigarette with your morning coffee, find a replacement. Stay active and drink a lot of water and juices.

Joblessness Can Make Men Age Faster, Study Says

More bad news about joblessness. And, no, we're not talking about the unemployment rates.
New research suggests long-term unemployment could actually cause faster aging in men. Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Oulu looked at DNA samples collected in 1997 from 5,620 men and women all aged 31. The analysis uncovered that men who were jobless for more than two of the previous three years were twice as likely as their gainfully employed peers to have shorter telomeres.
"Shorter telomeres are linked to higher risk of various age-related diseases and earlier death. Stressful life experiences in childhood and adulthood have previously been linked to accelerated telomere shortening. We have now shown that long-term unemployment may cause premature aging too," said researcher Jessica Buxton from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London.
Telomeres are repeating DNA sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes. They shorten over our lifetime, with shorter telomeres associated with a higher risk of age-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes.
Emotional stressors can shorten telomeres as well as lifestyle choices like smoking or inactivity. Unemployment may shorten telomeres because of the psychological toll it takes. The American Psychological Association says unemployed people are twice as likely to have mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and even low self esteem.
While men seemed to suffer significant health consequences from unemployment, the same pattern wasn't seen among the women studied. Researchers say this could be because fewer women in the study experienced long-term unemployment.
Research has shown that unemployed people have poorer health habits and can even have higher mortality rates. A Finnish study found people who were jobless at two points over three years had considerably higher death rates -- 279 percent greater for men and 107 percent for women.
"These findings raise concerns about the long-term effects of joblessness in early adulthood," said researcher Leena Ala-Mursula from the University of Oulu. "Keeping people in work should be an essential part of general health promotion."

7 Surprising Dos And Don'ts For Drinking Water

SPECIAL FROM Grandparents.com
For a long time, we've been led to believe we need to drink 8 cups of water a day, but “this number doesn’t come from any research,” says Riana Pryor, who specializes in heat and hydration research at the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut. And although First Lady Michelle Obama’s new message urging Americans to drink more water is a good one for many reasons, no federal guidelines actually exist telling us how much water we should be drinking.
The latest guidelines from the Institute of Medicine recommend that most women consume about 91 ounces—that’s actually about 9 cups of total water a day. Men need a bit more; about 125 ounces (or 13 cups) a day. But there's good news: that total includes other beverages (like coffee, tea, soda and milk) as well as foods (for example, one medium apple translates to about 6 ounces of fluid).
Since water makes up more than two-thirds of the weight of the human body, staying hydrated is important for a few reasons. Water lubricates and cushions your joints, protects your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, and transports wastes from your body through perspiration, urination, and bowel movements. Being hydrated helps with memory and cognition; it also helps to improve your mood and immune function.
In terms of how much you really need, it depends on your size, weight, age, activity level, and more. Both children and adults over 50 have thirst mechanisms that are behind the normal healthy population. The danger? You might be slower to recognize thirst and thus be at more risk of becoming dehydrated (especially children, who lose water through increased activity and sweat). A helpful reminder to stay hydrated: keep some water within reach whenever possible and take frequent sips throughout the day.

Berin Szoka

President, TechFreedom

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FDA Just Banned 23andMe's DNA Testing Kits, and Users Are Fighting Back

Posted: 11/26/2013 7:46 pm

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Since 23andMe launched in 2007, over 500,000 Americans have had their saliva tested to learn more about their ancestry, health risks and genetic predisposition to a wide variety of factors. The price has plummeted ten-fold: just $99 for the home-test kit. The scrappy company was poised to take its product mass-market with marketing campaigns aimed at user numbers into the millions.
Perhaps that's why the Food and Drug Administration finally cracked down on the site. Today, the FDA shut down further sales of the saliva home-test kit, citing the "potential health consequences that could result from false positive or false negative assessments for high-risk indications... For instance, if the BRCA-related risk assessment for breast or ovarian cancer reports a false positive, it could lead a patient to undergo prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention, intensive screening, or other morbidity-inducing actions, while a false negative could result in a failure to recognize an actual risk that may exist." In other words, the FDA think that Americans can't be trusted with more information about their potential health risks because some people might make rash decisions with it. But banning personal genomics isn't the answer.
23andMe is simply doing what the Internet does best: forcing old dogs to learn new tricks. That's what the fight between Uber and taxicab commissions is about. Same for AirBnB and hotel regulators. The only profession slower to change how they do things than doctors is bureaucrats. So the FDA's reaction is understandable -- but misguided.
Those of us who have already used the site know the real problem is that doctors themselves are behind the curve. When 23andMe sent us our results, we followed their advice: we asked our doctor to talk about them. Most doctors didn't know where to begin. But the more of us ask about 23andMe, the more the medical profession is catching up. Slowly but surely, they're brushing up on genomics, taking the time to understand the site, and talking to us about our results and what, if anything, to do about them.
By prompting such dialogue, 23andMe has sparked a revolution in how the medical profession uses genetic information. Change like that rarely, if ever, comes from within an industry; it's almost always driven by people on the outside with new approaches and technologies that disrupt old paradigms -- like the idea that genomics aren't something "ordinary" doctors need to understand or that patients shouldn't be active, informed participants in their healthcare.
We're urging the FDA not to short-circuit this revolution, and have launched a Change.org petition to rally those who agree. Our message is simple: "Please trust us -- and our doctors -- to make responsible use of our own genetic information. Instead of banning new technologies, the FDA should focus on educating doctors and patients about the benefits, and limitations, of genetic testing."
If it takes the FDA as long to sign off on innovative services like 23andMe as it does for prescription drugs (around 8 years), the medical profession will continue dragging its feet, as if genomics and the Internet were only distant tools that might some day be incorporated into medicine. But they're here now, and they'll continue changing medicine for the better. Doctors and patients will both adapt to the new reality of medical care personalized for our genes -- but only if the FDA gets out of the way.

John Tsilimparis John Tsilimparis Writer, Psychotherapist, Featured on A&E's 'OBSESSED' GET UPDATES FROM John Tsilimparis Like 49 7 Practical Tips for Reducing Stress

Deep Breathing vs. Shallow Breathing
Breathing deeply can help to reduce your stress and provide oxygen to your brain to help you focus. Most people do not know how to "deep breath" and so they end up breathing shallow breaths which can cause hyperventilation.
Place your hand on your stomach and push your tummy out. Then breathe deeply by watching your tummy and your chest rise. As you do it, think of some aspect of the breathing, like your lungs expanding with air or the air itself, passing through your nostrils. Hold it for three seconds then exhale through your mouth. If you do five rounds of the deep breathing three times per day you will greatly reduce your stress level.
Many people take the benefits of deep breathing for granted. It is an integral part of stress reduction that cannot be ignored. And most importantly, it gives the "racing mind" something to focus on other than the stresses of the day. Breathing deeply is the ultimate distraction.
Muscle Relaxation
The process of slowly tensing and then relaxing muscle groups of your choosing is very important also. It accomplishes two goals, it naturally relaxes your muscles since you are probably very tense from stress and it distracts the "racing mind" by helping it focus on something different.
Stretch or tense muscle group for five to 10 seconds, and then release the pressure. You can do this for the same muscle groups multiple times. It's up to you which ones you choose. For example, start with your feet and ankles and work your way up. Stretch and tense your wrists, arms and shoulders. Then neck and face.
For the morning or evening stretch, lay flat on your back and cross your right leg over your body and pivot your hips to follow it so that your knee touches the floor. Do the same with the other leg. You can also pull your knees up to your chest, etc.
Ground Yourself
Sitting and "white-knuckling" through your stress hoping it will go away will only make it worse. The trick is to "ground" yourself in a tangible activity that will bring you back to reality. It will remind you that you are okay! Distract your mind by doing a concrete task around the house like cleaning, washing, organizing a closet, etc. You may read, or do a crossword puzzle or call a friend. Or, try running your fingers along the teeth of your keys, squeezing a stress ball, or holding any object in your hand that you can focus on, etc. Do not sit home alone and do not watch TV.
Thought Replacement
Thought replacement techniques have been around for years and they actually work if you know how to use them. When you experience a negative thought that is causing you stress, say "stop" to yourself. Write it down and then cultivate an alternative thought. Write the alternative thought down even if you don't believe it will help. Alternative thoughts are simple, more rational thoughts that give you peace. They help you see the larger picture.
For example, if you think you will get fired from your job because you were recently late for a very important meeting, stop that thought immediately and replace it with a more rational thought: "I am only human and can't always predict traffic. My self-worth is not dependent on being a perfect employee."

Guided Imagery
Close your eyes and try to think of a safe place that represents peace and calm. It could be your home, a beach, a forest, or being in the presence of a loved one or your favorite pet. Then imagine going there and embracing the experience with open arms. What are the sounds, smells and the particular sights you see? Get specific and keep deepening the details of the imagery until you feel your stress level come down. Try this two times per day.
Accept your Anxiety
Cultivating radical acceptance of your symptoms of stress is the first step towards reducing its power over you. Accept that that you are scared, and scrutinize the negative thoughts you are having. Is it danger or discomfort? Most of the time, our stress is the "anticipatory" kind which is when we panic about things in the future that have not happened yet or about things that will never happen.
Don't assume that just because you are stressed, there must be danger lurking somewhere. Stress skews our thoughts and tricks us into thinking that way.
Exercise
We all know that exercise releases endorphins which are responsible for increasing your minds ability to elevate mood and feel good. Exercise does not only mean heavy cardio activities or going to the gym for three hours every day. It simply means being as active as possible like taking a 15- to 30-minute walk once or twice a day. It can also mean "light" cardio like bike riding, a short hike, playing tennis or golf. It also means taking a yoga or Pilates class. The more you are active the better you will feel. If you are a couch potato, your chances of elevating your mood and reducing stress are slim to none.

India Is One Of The Worst Places To Be Born, But This Group Is Trying To Change That

By Melody Wilson, Women's eNews

NEW DELHI (WOMENSENEWS)--Three young women here hold court in the middle of the room, bedecked in their finest jewelry: necklaces, earrings, bangles. They haven't been this dressed up since their weddings. Lavish gold and red saris drape over them, nearly concealing their swollen bellies.
They are surrounded by their mothers and sisters, aunts and cousins and friends, who are seated on the floor or standing up against the wall of the community center. A few attendees beat drums, and all of them sing joyously.
The mothers-to-be, all in their third trimesters, are participating in godh bharai, the Hindi word for a ceremony that any American mother would recognize: a baby shower. Like baby showers in the United States, the women play various games--guess the gender! suggest names!--and men are usually forbidden.
Godh bharai has a long history in India. The Hindi phrase translates to "fill the lap"; traditionally, family members at these events deposit gifts of food, money, clothes and jewelry in the laps of expectant mothers. And it's not just a tradition in North India. They call it shad in Bengal, seemandham in Kerala and valakappu in Tamil Nadu. Among ceremonial variations there's one common element: celebration of a forthcoming child.
Altered Festivities
The government has relocated families from overcrowded urban slums within Delhi to Holumbi Khurd and Holumbi Kalan, on the outskirts of this large city. Here, a nongovernmental group, Child Survival India, has begun working with community leaders and health workers to introduce new elements to the festivities.
Now, older women in equally festive colors step forward to present the mothers-to-be with platters bearing peanuts, leafy greens and fruit; foods rich in iron and vitamin C. They explain how the young women--all of whom look to be in their teens--should eat to remain healthy during their pregnancies and how to continue nourishing themselves and their children after the births.
See also: JFK And Women; Here's The Uplifting Side Of Story
Kashyap Doshi works for the telecommunications company Vodafone India, but he's spending several months volunteering with Child Survival India.
"Baby showers have been going on for ages, everywhere in India," Doshi says. "But this form of baby shower; that is something from Child Survival India."
India has the highest number of child deaths in the world: More than 1.6 million Indian children under the age of 5 died in 2011, according to Save the Children's "State of the World's Mothers 2013" report. That means 24 percent of under-5 child deaths in the world happen in India.
More than a third of these children's deaths are due to malnutrition. In India, 28 percent of infants are underweight at birth and 44 percent of children under 5 are underweight.
"India is home to 42 percent of the world's underweight children and ranked a dismal 65 out of 79 countries covered in the Global Hunger Index 2012," Kunal Kumar Kundu reported for The Wall Street Journal late last year. A lack of food at an early age has long-lasting effects on a child's health and development.
A key factor in a child's health is his mother's health. "More than half of all married women are anemic and one-third of them are malnourished," UNICEF reports. Pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding place high demands on a malnourished woman's already poor health, and only 41 percent of new Indian mothers introduce early breastfeeding.
Early Outreach
It is key, therefore, to reach out to women as early as possible in order to improve their health and the well-being of their families.
Doshi says that the mothers in Holumbi Khurd and Holumbi Kalan have embraced the altered baby shower traditions. "For them, it's the celebration," he says. "They all come, dressed up. They wear whatever jewelry that they have. They're all decked out for this. Not only the pregnant ladies, but even the community."
Nutritional support of soon-to-be-mothers doesn't start here. "The moment it is known in the community that the lady is pregnant, the nongovernmental organization tracks them," Doshi says. Child Survival India provides expectant mothers with information about neonatal nutrition and other health services.
But at the baby showers, Doshi says, "it's more of a learning for fun."
The celebration of nutrition reaches beyond expectant and new mothers to the many impressionable young girls who also attend the showers. It also reaches women who have relocated to the area with their families. They may already have children, but for some this is their first introduction to a nutrition-focused godh bharai.
The best part? It barely costs a thing. The community health workers use grains, vegetables and fruits from their own kitchens, but the gifts are more symbolic than substantial.
By using existing customs to drive home their messages gently, Child Survival India opens up the lines of communications for other health campaigns, such as encouraging mothers to have their babies delivered at hospitals.
In order to enact real change in child health, however, the status of women must first change. Studies have shown that the poor health of women and their children is directly linked to the low socioeconomic status of those women.
Innovative reinventions of traditions like this can only help elevate more women. For now, the three young women at the center of this are obviously benefiting. Dazzlingly dressed and seated at the center of a boisterous party, they smile widely.
This post originally appeared on Women's eNews.

A Woman's Health Care Decisions Should Be in Her Own Hands, Not Her Boss's

Ensuring the full freedom of women as health care consumers to access essential preventative health services is a vital component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And nowhere are health decisions more personal or essential to keep in their hands, than those regarding reproductive health. The ACA was designed to ensure that health care decisions are made between a woman and her doctor, and not by her boss, or Washington politicians.
Today, there are people trying to take this right away from women, by letting private, for-profit corporations and employers make medical decisions for their employees, based on their personal beliefs.
A group of for-profit companies are currently suing to gain the right to deny employees access to coverage for birth control and contraceptive care, which are used by the overwhelming majority of American women in their lifetimes. Among the first cases to reach the Supreme Court is one filed by Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts chain whose owners want to be able to take the option for birth control benefits away from their employees.
We are confident the Supreme Court will agree that health decisions in this country should remain with individuals, in consultation with their doctors, families, faiths, and whomever else they personally trust. No corporate entity should be in position to limit women's legal access to care, or to seize a controlling interest over the health care choices of women. To take that type of power away from individuals, and to let the personal beliefs of a woman's boss dictate her health care choices would constitute a major step backward for women's health, and self-determination.

30 Questions and Statements That Most Parents Dread, But Will Probably Hear

If you really give it some thought, you could list a multitude of statements, and questions that are pretty inevitable while raising children, but who really stops to think about that stuff before it happens? 

 

There are certain phrases that you imagine hearing, years before they may ever be spoken. As a teenager, you dream of someone looking you in the eye and saying those three little words: "Where's the bathroom?" Oh stop, I was testing you, we all know what those words are. I for one dreamt of hearing them and then made-out with my pillow joyously or my favorite poster of Scott Baio (was that just me?). You envision the intoxication of uttering “I do,” and long for the life altering, “Congratulations, it’s a (put sex here).”
Today, while driving, my daughter asked this: If G-d made all the people then who made G-d? Um um um, I stuttered. Why couldn't she ask something simpler like "Where do babies come from?" Fiiiine, that would've caught me off guard as well.
If you really give it some thought, you could list a multitude of statements, and questions that are pretty inevitable while raising children, but who really stops to think about that stuff before it happens?
Well today, I did, and here's what I've come up with (feel free to add the ones you dread most).
Questions:
1) Where do babies come from?
2) How do they get out?
3) Why is the fish swimming at the top of the bowl?
4) Where do people go when they die?
5) Can we get a puppy/kitty/hamster/hermit crab/pony?
6) Did you ever try cigarettes/drugs/get drunk?
7) Mom, how come (insert crushes name here) doesn't like me back?
8) Can you drop me off a block away from the mall?
9) Could you please knock from now on?
10) Can I have the keys to the car?
11) Will you take me to get contraception?
Statements:
12) I know there's no Tooth Fairy, Santa … Easter Bunny.
13) Mom, I can read bedtime stories myself now.
14) I drew you a picture … it's on the wall.
15) You're not the boss of me.
16) The nurse said I have lice.
17) Look, I gave myself a haircut.
18) You don't have to tuck me in anymore.
19) I wish ______ was my mommy.
20) Your kisses don't really make it feel better.
21) I'm too old to dress up for Halloween.
22) Mom stop, you're embarrassing me.
23) You wouldn't understand.
24) I think I just got my period.
25) Everyone else is allowed to.
26) Meet my boyfriend/girlfriend.
27) I hate you. *Slams door*
28) See you for Thanksgiving break.
29) I got a tattoo, an ear-hole stretchy thing, my tongue/belly button/lip/nipple or eyebrow pierced.
30) The last of my things are all packed up.

The last one made me kinda teary, but truly, I dread them all, and yet most of them are par for the course. Hopefully, by thinking them through in advance, I'll be more prepared. Eh, probably not.

 

Social Support And Feeling In Control At Work Are Good For Well-Being: Study

The happiest employees are those who feel like they have control at work and have a good emotional support system, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the Queen Mary University of London examined data from the Whitehall II study, which included 5,182 civil servant workers in the United Kingdom. They answered questionnaires asking about their social support system and characteristics about their work.
They found that the workers who reported less job strain, high emotional support and high control at work were also the ones who reported the best well-being. These results held true even after taking into account other well-being factors such as standard of living, free time and accommodations.
The findings "suggest that policies that increase employees' sense of control and support in the workplace are likely to lead to greater well-being," the researchers wrote in the PLOS ONE study.
"In much of the debate on work-related stress there has been a focus on the negative consequences of work. This research reverses this perspective and suggests examining factors that improve the work environment and increase well-being and morale at work," they added.
Indeed, a recent study by career site Glassdoor also showed why it may be better to emphasize the positive over the negative. That study showed that more employees are motivated to work hard when they feel appreciation from the boss, compared with when they feel like they might lose their jobs, BusinessNewsDaily reported.

People Who Experience Migraines And Allergies Could Have Worse Headache Symptoms

Having allergies could make headache symptoms worse for people who experience migraines, according to a new study.
The research, published in the journal Cephalalgia, showed that people with both migraines and rhinitis experience more frequent headaches compared with people who have migraines but not rhinitis.
"We are not sure whether the rhinitis causes the increased frequency of headaches or whether the migraine attacks themselves produce symptoms of rhinitis in these patients," study researcher Vincent Martin, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, said in a statement. "What we can say is if you have these symptoms, you are more likely to have more frequent and disabling headaches."
Martin worked on the study with colleagues from Montefiore Medical Center, Vedante Research and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Nearly 6,000 people with migraines who were part of the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study were included in the study, and were asked "Do you suffer from nasal allergies, seasonal allergies or hay fever?" An answer of yes indicated that they had rhinitis.
Researchers found that two-thirds of the people with migraine in the study also had rhinitis. They also found that headache frequency was 33 percent greater among people who experienced migraine and rhinitis, compared with just migraine.
People who had "mixed rhinitis" -- meaning their allergy symptoms are triggered by not only known triggers like cats and dogs and tree pollen, but also non-allergic triggers like perfume, weather and cigarette smoke -- seemed to have it the worst. Those with mixed rhinitis had a 45 percent higher risk of experiencing more frequent headaches and a 60 percent higher risk of experiencing more disabling headaches, compared to migraineurs without rhinitis.
"The nose has largely been ignored as an important site involved in the initiation and exacerbation of migraine headache," study researcher Richard Lipton, M.D., of Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said in a statement. "If rhinitis exacerbates migraine, as these results suggest, treating rhinitis may provide an important approach to relieving headache in people with both disorders."
Both migraines and allergies are common conditions, with anywhere from a quarter to half of Americans experiencing allergies and around 12 percent of Americans experiencing migraine.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of study researcher Dr. Richard Lipton. It has been corrected.

5 Ways To Let Go Of Perfection At The Holidays

If you’re a perfectionist, chances are the impending aroma of turkey and the sound of jingle bells makes you a little bit nervous. Whether it’s your quest to find the perfect gift, the need to capture the perfect family moment or the desire to cook the perfect meal, the overwhelming drive to make sure everything goes according to plan is often at its peak during the holidays.
So how do you ease up on your perfectionism during such an important time? The solution isn't about giving up control but forming a plan that works for you, says Michelle Carlstrom, senior director of the office of work, life and engagement at Johns Hopkins University.
“I would never say [to someone focused on perfection] to let go of control entirely, because having control is often what makes perfectionists feel calm,” Carlstrom tells The Huffington Post. “But there are so many moving pieces in the holiday marathon that you cannot have control over, you have to understand what you can manage and what you can’t.”
Luckily, there are ways to manage your perfectionism -- without sacrificing your sanity. Below find five ways to let go of perfection during the holidays.
Prioritize and delegate each task and event.

When it comes to a full holiday calendar, Carlstrom says those who have a tendency toward perfectionism need to set boundaries and prioritize. “Whatever it is that you do, put your plan in place by thinking about what’s most important to you,” she says. “Is it socializing and holiday events? Is it family time? If you pick out the most important thing to you during the holiday season and how you work that in, you can remain in control of those parameters you set for yourself.”
Delegating responsibilities -- whether it’s someone to help with the cooking or with setting up the party -- can also help perfectionists let go without losing a sense of control. “Planning for what you’re going to do and not do helps establish boundaries,” she says. “Often times [perfectionists] manage too many commitments, but this way you still feel like you do maintain some control.”
Don't overdo it.

In order to manage holiday stress, it’s important to have a plan in place -- but be wary of going overboard. The challenge of putting up the perfect decorations or committing to too many holiday parties can trigger a perfectionist to break down, says Dr. Scott Bea, clinical psychologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
Avoidance behavior, he says, is common when perfectionists try to picture each task. “Perfectionists have a hard time starting something if they need a perfect outcome,” Bea told The Huffington Post. “If they can’t visualize the perfect end result, they’ll often start avoiding it altogether. Then things start to pile up and tasks mount.”
Establishing boundaries and only taking on a reasonable amount of work is the best way to tackle these tasks head on. “Holidays have so much to do with planning but not overcommitting -- being able to say no without guilt is important,” Carlstrom said.
Think about the reaction you want to have -- then forget the idea entirely.

If finding the ideal gift for your partner, family or friends feels like some sort of test, it can be a sign of perfectionism. Bea suggests mentally identifying what the consequences would be if things don’t end up perfect -- chances are, they aren’t so bad. “You can’t screw up giving a gift, if it’s an occasion or a material gift, if it’s coming from your heart you can’t possibly make a mistake,” he said.
According to Carlstrom, it’s important to remember that the perfect present -- and the reaction to the thought behind that gift -- likely isn’t going to make or break your relationship. “You can control your intentions as you look for a gift, but you can never control someone’s response to a gift,” she says.
The same goes for family dynamics. According to Carlstrom, the potential for conflict or negative reactions from loved ones often creates more pressure. The best way to manage those stressors is to face them head on and go into it with an understanding that you’re not alone. “We have in our minds that during the holidays we need to have the perfect family experience -- but all of us have dysfunctions,” she says. “Managing relationships is difficult, especially with people you might only see a few times a year.”
Acknowledge the good.

Another way to get over the idea of perfectionism during the holidays is to focus on gratitude. Expressing what you're thankful for is an effective way to channel the good surrounding the occasion and can open the mind up for a healthier thought process -- both crucial in letting go of stressful feelings commonly associated with perfectionism.
Bea suggests writing down what you're thankful for as a way to train the brain to be more receptive to positive thoughts. “A gratitude journal can help [perfectionists] notice what’s right about their efforts and the world,” he says. “The brain is designed to notice what’s wrong first -- even if everything looks right [perfectionists] will notice one thing out of place. Sensitizing to what’s going right can help them lose that sense of perfection.”
Try some new traditions.

With the same meals and events, it can be difficult to let go of the idea of perfection -- especially when you start comparing them to previous years.
Incorporating new traditions this year may help ease perfectionism during the holidays. Bea explains that making a change from the usual holiday events can help you shift into a more easy-going mentality. “Perfectionists try to maintain tradition, so they can experiment and train themselves for flexibility [through change],” he says.
Bea also advises perfectionists to recall a time that made them feel free -- chances are it was a time when they weren’t in control of the moment. By starting a new tradition and introducing flexibility, overall satisfaction -- in holiday planning and beyond -- will increase. “Human beings like control but we don’t have much of it -- people just like the illusion,” he says. “Most good times occur when control is loose. Practicing new habits and giving up control can lead to greater feelings of well-being.”