Staying Healthy As We Age

Do you want to be as healthy as a 40 year old, when you are 70? Margie E. Lachman and Stefan Agrigoroaei from the Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts looked at what factors seem to affect health in midlife and old age.


They found that 3 factors were highly protective of health (especially when combined):

• Control beliefs -  how much participants thought that they could influence what happens in their life including whether they believed that their actions could bring about good health. If we believe that our actions can impact on our health then we are more likely to make healthy choices. 

• Social support (How much do members of your family really care about you?)

• Regular exercise

The study controlled for three risk factors known to impact on health:

• Smoking

• Alcohol and Drug Abuse

• Waist Circumference 

Older adults who believed they could influence their health through their behaviour; who had good social support and took regular exercise had health that was similar to younger and middle-aged people. 


If you have all three factors in your 50's you are more likely to be healthy in your 60's.

My new Vibram's - oh the excitement!

So I am going to put on my running shoes and go for a jog with my daughter...how about you?

We Need Reminding to Do The Right Thing

Doing a spot of weeding

Today I did some gardening. I love gardening. It is good for me and it makes me happy. But I don't do it very often.

What made me do it today? (FYI That is a solution focussed question - much better than -'Why don't I do it more often?')

Well, at the weekend I had a conversation with Albert about my hopes and dreams for my life. I realised that I am doing quite well in most areas of my life but one of my dreams is to create a lovely garden and I am not doing well on that one. So today I did some gardening.

And what else seems to help me get out into the garden? (another solution focussed question!)

A few weeks ago I found out that the most long lived people in the Terman study (a long term study of clever people!) didn't do 'exercise' they were just active doing what they loved. This suggested to me that I needed to garden more often.  So I got out there on that day.

What I think this means is that Alain de Botton is right. We need repeated reminders to help us do the right thing. He suggests we need to structure our lives to include those reminders. I am not sure how to do that yet - I will let you know!

Some Research On the Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation

I am soon to give a speech on mindfulness in group work at the Institute of Group Leaders Conference in Sydney, so I thought I should pull together some of the recent research on the effects of mindfulness meditation. Here is what I came up with:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/720772266xj33972/ - The effect of mindfulness meditation  on stress reduction and rumination

http://www.springerlink.com/content/n26838t52m727u13/ - The effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on health and well being

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/curious/201001/what-maids-teach-us-about-physical-health-and-life-longevity-lesson-in-mindfulne - The benefits of mindfully doing housework

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2007.00032.x/full - Mindful relating in intimate relationships

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/springer/jcogp/2006/00000020/00000002/art00003 - Mindfulness and Positive Emotion

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/ccp/68/4/615/  - Mindfulness based CBT

http://adviceonlifeandlove.blogspot.com/2010/09/mindfulness-and-acceptance-are.html - Mindfulness, acceptance and exercise maintenance

http://adviceonlifeandlove.blogspot.com/2010/12/everyday-mindfulness-v-mindfulness.html - The benefits of every day mindfulness

http://www.webmd.com/ibs/news/20110510/mindfulness-meditation-may-cut-ibs-symptoms - Mindfulness meditation and irritable bowel syndrome

http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20100927/mindfulness-meditation-vs-multiple-sclerosis - The effects of mindfulness meditation on well-being in people living with Multiple Sclerosis

http://women.webmd.com/news/20110603/stress-reduction-technique-may-ease-hot-flashes

http://chp.sagepub.com/content/13/1/34.short - Mindfulness for adolescents with learning difficulties

http://www.jimhopper.com/pdfs/Baer2003.pdf - Excellent review of mindfulness training as a clinical intervention by Ruth Baer

Making It Fun!

There is a growing public health movement to encourage people to do the right thing by making it fun.
Here is an example of how people will climb the stairs rather than take the escalator - if it is fun:



There are more examples here.

We don't have to use high tech equipment to make this work in our own lives. For example: I have stuck at Pilates longer than any other exercise class (more than 5 years!) Why?  I wish I could say it was because it is so good for me. Even though this is true, I know the real reason I keep going is because I go to a class at my neighbour's house and get to chat and laugh with my neighbours whilst I exercise.

The Well Being Equivalent of 5 Fruit and Vegetables a Day

The Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project aimed to, amongst other things, 'identify the wellbeing equivalent of “five fruit and vegetables a day”.' Based on an extensive review of the evidence they came up with:

1. Connect… with the people around you. 

2. Be active… find a physical activity you enjoy that suits your level of mobility and fitness... and do it!

3. Take notice… be curious. Savour each moment. Reflect on your experiences to help you appreciate what really matters to you.

4. Keep learning… try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Set a challenge you enjoy achieving. 

5. Give … practice intentional acts of kindness. Show gratitude. 

Nice.  These truths about how to live a good life are fairly obvious. It interests me how often I need to be reminded of them if I am to actually do them.

I would also add a sixth 'serving'  - without this one, the others are pretty meaningless: 

6. Develop Psychological Flexibility:

The ability to contact the present moment

fully and without defence

as a conscious human being

engaged in life as it is – not as your mind says it is –

and, based on what the situation affords,

changing or persisting in behaviour

in the service of chosen values (Steve Hayes)

The evidence for the association between psychological flexibility and emotional well being is becoming pretty compelling.