Chill out, calm down, chillax. We hear these messages frequently. The truth is, most of us don’t care to comply. In our time, we have seen the rise of the anti-relaxation movement. Given the choice between lowering tension and increasing arousal and excitation, loads of us prefer sensory overload to sensual enlargement. But it’s not […]
What’s Wrong With Immortality?
Endless life – what people won’t do to achieve it. Over twenty two hundred years ago the great Qin Shuangdi, the Tiger of Qin, unifier of seven kingdoms into the first Chinese empire, tried mightily to extend his life. The alchemists’ mercury pills did not work. Most historians suggest the attempt at immortality ended his reign, his […]
When Life Is Too Sweet
The First Drink What is your first drink of the morning? Water? Tea? Coffee? Booze? Energy drinks? Each gives very different messages to the body – with results that may last a lifetime. In the case of sugared soft drinks and milks – perhaps some artificially flavored ones – the link with diabetes and […]
Replacement as Reinvention
Substitution Aids Success Aging is a script. You are its director. However, chance and fate may make the script unpalatable – or deplorable. With the appearance of chronic illness, patients frequently say “why can’t I do what I love?” The answer most often is to do something else. The body works through continuous reinvention. Bodies […]
Will Sleep Apnea Make Me Get Alzheimer’s?
Better Breathing, Better, Sleep, Better Memory It’s been known for a long time that severe sleep apnea provokes memory problems. But what about not so severe apnea? A group at NYU decided to find out. What Did They Do? Repurposed an old study. A cohort population study looking over time at changes in neuroimaging and […]