Stress Archive

The soothing and motivational sounds of music have far-reaching health benefits.

A favorite musical tune can stir up positive memories, boost your mood, and create a soothing, relaxing setting. But used in specific ways, music also is a valuable tool for supporting your health.

"Whether you need to relax, increase your energy, improve your thinking, or just get motivated for the day, music can provide extra support when you need it the most," says Marisabelle Diaz-Falcon, a music therapist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Learn what will and won't increase blood sugar levels and put your health in jeopardy.

It's essential to keep your blood sugar from spiking (rising suddenly), whether you're healthy or you're among the 122 million Americans who have diabetes or prediabetes. But with all the conflicting advice in circulation, it can be hard to figure out what foods and habits you need to avoid.

Bogus claims

On the Internet you'll find many reports of factors that purportedly increase blood sugar. Here are a few claims that you should know about because they just don't hold up.

While looking at the sunny side of life offers a lot of light moments, there may be a better path to well-being.

Optimism feels good. The expectation that positive things will happen is associated with happiness and better health, including fewer heart attacks and a lower risk for premature death. Pessimism, on the other hand, feels bad; it makes you depressed or anxious and keeps the fight-or-flight system activated, triggering chronic inflammation (which is linked to many diseases).

You might think the best way to improve your well-being is to cultivate an optimistic outlook. Think again. "Better than cultivating an artificial optimism is to see the situation and the world realistically," says Ronald Siegel, an assistant professor of psychology, part-time, at Harvard Medical School and medical editor of the Harvard Special Health Report Positive Psychology.

As we wade through our daily lives, stress is almost impossible to avoid –– particularly these days. Instead of enduring stress and letting it engulf you, try one or more of these three easy strategies to relieve it.

Researchers found that people who go on to develop Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder are more likely to miss paying a bill prior to being diagnosed, but such people face more significant related issues: poor financial decision-making and falling victim to financial scams.

Looking for a boost or alternative to antidepressant medicines? Here are four therapies that may help relieve your symptoms.

 Image: © RgStudio/Getty Images

Many people suffer bouts of mild or moderate depression as they age. Health issues and the loss of a spouse, family member, or friend are common triggers that can lead to persistent sadness and loss of enjoyment.

While antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can be helpful to relieve and control symptoms, they are not always the right choice.

Regardless of your size or fitness level, exercise has multiple benefits. Almost anything that gets you moving counts, and some activity is always better than none. These suggestions can help you make exercise work for you.

Work with your body, not against it, for long-term weight maintenance.

For many people, their New Year's resolutions include some sort of weight-loss goal. However, while extra pounds often come off, evidence shows they rarely stay off. Among overweight or obese people who are able to lose 10% of their body weight, just one in six is able to maintain the weight loss for at least a year.

Experts say it's not surprising that weight loss rarely sticks, considering what they now know about how the body works. "Most people believe that obesity is caused by overeating, while we now recognize that the main driver of obesity is one or more disruptions in the body's normal regulation of the amount of fat we maintain," says Dr. Lee Kaplan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Obesity, Metabolism, and Nutrition Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.

After everything that has happened in 2020, making New Year’s resolutions might be too much to expect of many. Setting goals for the coming year seems like too much to ask right now. Is it okay to just give yourself a break this year? Or is there another way of looking at the whole situation?