Rest Changes Through the Life Cycle Rest is required for growth and maturation, but the requirements change over the life cycle. We need separate kinds of rest for special purposes at every stage of life – infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Recent work points out some of what’s required for growing kids: Infancy […]
Cholesterol – what does those numbers really mean to me? (5/31/11)
Behind the Numbers Be careful what you wish for – especially when the target is something as complex as cholesterol and heart disease. Controlling cholesterol levels has near religious status among drug companies and many researchers. Statins have been the source of tens of billions in profits for drug companies, who have continued to […]
Diet and exercise won’t solve obesity (5/27/11)
The Missing Link That Explains Obesity? It’s front-page news – the missing link to explain why we’re so fat. In the May 26th New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope reports on a new study led by Timothy Church that “a sizable portion of the national weight gain can be explained by declining physical activity during the […]
Can I avoid Alzheimer’s using “Lifespace”? (5/25/11)
Lifespace and Alzheimer’s Disease If you want to get through a long life and remain healthy, you might want to at least check a study done at Rush Medical School’s Rehabilitation Unit. It claims that those with greater “lifespace” were on five year follow-up far less prone to Alzheimer’s than those who stayed in their […]
Do we fall sleep one neuron at a time? (5/11/11)
Sleep Is Local Think globally, act locally. That old political mantra also is true of the brain – including sleep. The American model of sleep is relatively simple – light switch on, light switch off. We go out “like a light,” or as others put it, “lie down and die.” Then the light switch goes […]