Stress Archive

Consider the most likely causes of memory slips before assuming the worst. You may just need more sleep.

Worried that you're getting more forgetful lately? Ironically, worry itself can trigger memory slips. Stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep deprivation are the four horsemen of forgetfulness in aging brains. It might take a conversation with your doctor to pinpoint the cause of your memory slips—especially if the change is sudden or uncharacteristic. "If it's worse than it was a few months ago, or somebody is asking you about it, that would definitely be something to see a doctor about," says Dr. Anne Fabiny, chief of geriatrics at Cambridge Health Alliance and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Therapy dogs provide comfort and support. They must be social, gentle, and enjoy getting and giving physical affection. My therapy dog, Maps, has those qualities in spades. They also must be well behaved and respond to their handlers, neither of which applied to Map when I got him as a puppy. After many therapy dog classes and a lot of practice, we learned. After two years of training, Map became a certified therapy dog. He shines when he is in his blue training coat visiting a preschool. He loves to see the kids and to work with me. How does Map help kids? His presence somehow lets children open up to learning. He offers kids a way to feel more whole in the face of physical illness or disability. He can also help children heal from emotional pain. Like any great therapist, Map knows how to listen and how to help children help themselves.

Try this simple technique to enjoy a variety of health benefits.

Are you plagued by daily stress? If so, you can tap a simple, free, and powerful tool called the "relaxation response." A simple method for achieving this relaxed mental state was developed and popularized by Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School. He is now director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Do you have a fast-paced, demanding job? Too much on-the-job stress could be putting you at risk for a heart attack or stroke, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard Medical School. The researchers looked at data from 22,000 women (average age, 57) who were enrolled in the Women's Health Study. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study.

After the women were followed for 10 years, those with high-strain jobs (defined as a demanding job with little opportunity for decision-making or using their skills) were 38% more likely to have had a heart attack, stroke, or heart-related procedure (such as angioplasty) than those with less stressful jobs, according to results published online July 18 in the journal PLoS One. The authors say stressful jobs might contribute to heart problems by leading women into unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, or by contributing to physiological changes, including depression or high blood pressure. Whatever the connection, job stress is something that working women need to address. "There are immediate and definite long-term, clinically documented cardiovascular health effects of job strain in women, and it is important for women and their health care providers to pay attention to the stresses of their job," Dr. Michelle Albert, cardiologist and researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said in a news release.

The dangers of a broken heart aren't just for poets and songwriters. Turns out, the risk of heart attack is 21 times higher than normal the first day after the death of a significant loved one and six times higher the first week, according to a study published in the January 9, 2012, Circulation.

"Grieving people are not getting enough sleep and are walking around with elevated levels of adrenaline and stress-related hormones," says Dr. Thomas Lee, a cardiologist and a professor at Harvard Medical School. "These tendencies can lead to increased clamping down of one's arteries, a faster heart rate and elevated blood pressure, all of which can increase the chance of a rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, causing a heart attack."

A new series of books is bringing readers the kind of inspirational stories that have made Chicken Soup for the Soul books international bestsellers plus with trusted health advice from Harvard Medical School. The combination of stories providing hope, inspiration, and great person-to-person advice plus straight talk and life-changing medical information from Harvard doctors will help readers live healthier, more satisfying lives. Each book focuses on a single topic. The first four will be available beginning May 22, 2012. They are Chicken Soup for the Soul: Boost Your Brain Power! by top neurologist Dr. Marie Pasinski; Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Back Pain! by leading physical medicine expert Dr. Julie Silver; Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Stress! by noted psychologist Dr. Jeff Brown; and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Hello to a Better Body! by respected internist Dr. Suzanne Koven.

Media reports describing “broken heart syndrome” often lump together two completely different conditions. One is stress cardiomyopathy, sometimes known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The other is myocardial infarction, better known as a heart attack. A huge sudden stress—like news that a loved one has died, experiencing an earthquake, or learning that your accountant has stolen all of your retirement savings—unleashes a torrent of stress hormones that can trigger one of those conditions. Stress cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. Over the course of a week or longer, the left ventricle tends to recover its pumping power. Heart attacks occur when something—usually a blood clot—blocks blood flow to part of the heart muscle.

Thirty-five years ago, Dr. Herbert Benson defined and tested the relaxation response. This simple method for quieting brain activity slows the body’s processes and induces a feeling of well-being. Both have measurably positive effects on disorders caused by stress or made worse by it, including high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and many digestive disorders. In a recent lecture at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benson described the technique and talked a crowd through it. Inducing the relaxation response is simple: Sit in a quiet place with your eyes closed. Relax your muscles and silently repeat a word, phrase, sound, or short prayer of your choosing over and over. When stray thoughts interfere (as they will), let them come and go and return to your word, phrase, or sound. Doing this daily can help ease stress.

Many people try to tune out stress. A healthier approach may be to tune in to it. Paying more attention to what is going on around you, not less, is the first step toward cultivating mindfulness, an excellent technique to help you cope with a range of mental and physical problems, including stress. Mindfulness teaches people to be present in each moment. The idea is to focus attention on what is happening now and accepting it without judgment. Mindfulness techniques have been shown to ease stress, prevent major depression from reappearing, alleviate anxiety, and even reduce physical symptoms such as pain or hot flashes.