Let’s talk about the emotional aftermath of the storm that left tens of thousands of older people on the East Coast without power, bunkered down in their homes, chilled to the bone and out of touch with the outside world.  Let’s name the feelings they may have experienced. Fear. Despair. Hopelessness. Anxiety. Panic.  What do [...]

In a study considered the first of its kind, researchers showed that moderate aerobic exercise can improve memory.  The study focused on older adults who are already experiencing atrophy of the hippocampus, the brain structure involved in all forms of memory formation.

Children need a minimum of seven minutes a day of vigorous physical activity, demonstrates recently published findings by University of Alberta medical researchers and their colleagues across Canada.

According to the latest census in 2009, Americans spend on average 25.1 minutes commuting every day. Eighty-six percent of all worker bees fasten their seatbelts, while five percent buddy up on public transportation, and three and a half percent of people walk or bike to the office. In some sprawling cities like Atlanta (where 12.7 [...]

Physical activity correlated with less brain shrinkage in old age.

For patients recovering from an illness or surgery, doctors first and foremost prescribe rest. But in many hospitals, noise from alarms on patient monitors, other equipment, and conversations is so loud that patients can’t sleep and end up heading home exhausted.  It’s been known for years that hospitals can be loud at night, but evidence [...]

As anyone who exercises regularly can tell you, some hearty sweating can calm frazzled nerves and ease a case of the grumps.  Turns out there are physiological reasons for that, beyond the runner’s high caused by a rush of endorphins.  Studies published by the American Psychological Association show that exercise improves the body’s ability to [...]