We all want to prevent chronic illness and live the healthiest lives possible, but that can be tough if you live with a disability in a rural area. All too often, there are just not enough resources to provide care for people in more remote areas, and it is something that needs to change. Until…
Feed a cold and starve a fever? Or is it feed a fever and starve a cold? The old adage dates back to the 1500s when it was believed that feeding helped warm a body up, and therefore beat a cold; and starving deprived the body of energy, therefore helping it cool and stop a fever. It’s…
Depression, while often hiding in plain sight, ranks among the top three workplace problems for employee assistance professionals, resulting in 3% of total short-term disability days. For context, that’s more disability than what’s caused by heart disease, hypertension and diabetes—all in the form of an illness that isn’t nearly as visible as a broken bone.…
The holidays are here. The season of giving, spending, celebration, and for many, the season of high calorie overeating. According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average American gains about a pound between Thanksgiving and the beginning of January. Even though the weight gain isn’t as high as…
A cold beer or chilled glass of wine sounds like a great reward for a hard, physical workout. Maybe you ran a few extra miles. Played pickle ball until the lights were turned off. Skied a steep trail for the first time. Or, worked extra hard in the garden for hours. For many of…
Little kids. They’re freaky fast. Running, wildly darting back and forth. Wow! Talk about fun. The faster you chase them, the more they laugh. For many parents, the image of bats escaping out of hell says it all. But, fast forward 40-plus years, and running like a kid is a distant memory. That kind…
When we think of back-to-school anxiety, it typically centers on elements like new routines, hectic schedules and whether our kids will find a friend. But those worries sound almost quaint, as we consider “back to school 2022.” With the ongoing pandemic, nearly all of the nation’s largest school districts are still offering remote learning opportunities…
It’s almost that season—time for school buses and alarm clocks. And if you’re like most families, you’ve probably been letting your sleep schedule slide in favor of late evenings spent enjoying the extra hours of daylight with a bike ride or the glow of a backyard fire pit in the warm night air. We don’t…
The Results Can Be an Important Indicator of Your Life Expectancy When is the last time you tried standing on one leg? If you haven’t done that in a while, give it a try. Stand close to a wall or table for support. New research has shown that balancing on one foot is…
By Cheryl Jones, Director of Mindfulness at Aetna As if the intensity of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic with its health and economic implications wasn’t enough, we now find ourselves in the midst of rising racial and political tensions. It feels as though our sanity and our humanity are at risk. I believe mindfulness (awareness that…
