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?

How to Be More Attractive

Research has shown that only a small proportion of our attractiveness is determined by fixed physical qualities. This is good news!
So how can you make the best of yourself?

1. Be kind and likeable - according to David Sloan Wilson (and common sense!) we find people we like, more attractive. If you aren't sure how likeable you are, then take the free IPIP- NEO personality test and check out your score on agreeableness.
2. Present yourself well - clean, well-groomed, nice hair, nice clothes, healthy weight 
3. Be trustworthy but not boring. If you think you might be boring then read this poem - I guarantee that if you live your life in this way, you won't be boring!
4. Be happy, positive and friendly
5. If you are a woman - wear your hair long and wear subtle make up
6. If you are a man - go to the gym and get muscular!

Much of this post is drawn from this blog on the science of attraction.

Overcoming Self-Defeating Patterns of Behaviour

Most of us have some familiar self-defeating patterns of behaviour. It could be:

• Eating junk food when stressed or sad
• Trying to control other people 
• Dating people who don't treat us well
• Working too hard
• Spending too much time sitting watching bad TV
• ......the list goes on....

Most of us have also spent a lot of time figuring out 'What makes me act in this way?' and sometimes that is helpful. But I want to suggest an alternative strategy based on solution-focussed techniques:

1. Work out what behaviour you would like to do instead. For example: 'When I am stressed, I would like to nurture myself with delicious, healthy food'

2. Decide how that behaviour links to your values. (What you want your life to be about, Who you want to be in the world): I want to look after my body so that I give myself the best chance of living to a healthy old age where I can be a loving Mum, good friend, caring partner and continue to do the things I enjoy.

3. Ask yourself: Have there been any times when I have chosen the preferred behaviour? Have there been times when I have been stressed and I have eaten healthy food? What were the circumstances? What was different about those times? I didn't have to cook alone - I was either with someone who I enjoy preparing a meal with or I bought something easy and healthy that I could just heat up.

4. Could you make that happen more often when you are stressed? Probably.

5. Make a plan. 

When I cook a healthy meal, I will do a little extra and put it in the freezer so I can heat it up when I am tired and stressed

If I know I have got a stressful week coming up, I will schedule time to cook and eat with my loved ones. 

6. Start with one small step

7. Expect setbacks and lapses and respond to them with compassion

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

I Am Writing This Post Standing Up

I have been reading about the health benefits of working whilst standing. There is a link between the amount of time spent sitting and mortality - yikes! So I have constructed this ramshackle standing desk and I am giving it a go.

I quite like it so far.

I Wish I Had Looked After My Teeth

My father is in his 70's. He has been having some problems with his heart recently and after some weeks discovered that an infection in a tooth was making things worse. There is increasing research linking gum disease with heart disease and stroke.

He said to me:'I wish I had taken better care of my teeth. It would have saved me a lot of pain and discomfort. And what is really frustrating is I knew this when I was young and I still didn't do it. In my 20's I had a friend with perfect teeth. He told me that the secret to healthy teeth was:
1. No lollies
2. Clean your teeth after every meal (not just twice a day)
3. Floss every day'


This is good advice. Better go and clean my teeth....

And here is Pam Ayres: " I Wish I Had Looked After My Teeth"

Mindful Eating

Evidence is growing that the best approach to healthy eating is to eat mindfully.

So I am giving it a go. I read recently that flavour is composed of taste, smell, texture, appearance and temperature. So I am working on noticing all of these components when I eat.

This morning I started to eat this:

and when I really focussed on the sensation in my mouth I noticed that although it was sweet it was also quite floury and claggy in my mouth. ('Claggy' means 'stickily clinging' to those of you who weren't brought up in Derbyshire). I had one mouthful and went looking for something else.
This is what I chose:

The berries were a taste sensation - smooth and firm on the outside, explosions of taste when I bit into them.

So my conclusion

1. Mindful eating is fun!
2. Mindful eating helps me to question my unconscious rules about what I like to eat. Which is a good thing!

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.  

Dance Whilst You Can!

Mum and Dad in the days
when they would dance all night

My Mum just got invited to a New Year's Eve party and she said to me 'I realised that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I used to when I was younger because I can't dance all night any more, and I felt sad about that'.
Her advice:

'Make sure that whilst you are fit enough to dance all night, you do it. A time will come when you can't - that time is much easier to accept if you made the most of your health when you had it'.

Mindfulness and acceptance are associated with exercise maintenance

Mindfulness and acceptance are associated with exe... [Behav Res Ther. 2010] - PubMed result

How many of us start an exercise program and then...give it up?  A lot of us!
This paper makes the stunning suggestion that the reason we give up is because exercise is often uncomfortable.  But then they discuss an interesting finding - there is an association between mindfulness, acceptance and exercising more regularly. When people are able to non-judgementally notice the sensations produced by exercise and accept the discomfort as part of the price to be paid for the many benefits of regular exercise; they tend to miss fewer exercise sessions and feel more positive about achieving their fitness goals.

I have been pondering this finding. I think acceptance of discomfort, in the service of values around being healthy, is important in maintaining an exercise regime. However I also think that mindfulness transforms the experience of exercise. Instead of rushing to get to the end of each set of reps, if I observe with curiosity the sensations that arise as I repeat a movement, it becomes fascinating and also utterly joyful. And I feel so grateful that I have a body that does what I ask it to.

But I don't think that lack of acceptance is actually the major reason that most of us (including me!) aren't exercising enough. I think it is more about competing values. If I am to exercise more, then I need to do less of something else that I value - hanging out with my loved ones chatting and laughing? Focussing on my work?          Writing this blog? What do I give up?

I think that this is actually a genuinely difficult dilemma. The most recent pieces of research that have helped me with this are

• Mindfully doing housework increases the fitness benefits
• Gardening is good for children's self esteem - just wish I could get the kids on board with this one!
• Self compassion is a really good idea

And IMHO by far the best book on time management is 'Do it Tomorrow'

Forster recommends a 'Closed List Day Planner'  - each day write a list of what you need to get done, but only include what you can realistically get done in a day.  Then just do what is on the list. When you have finished the list - STOP and go and play!

Does personality affect your outcome if you get cancer?

No, it doesn't.

There is a widespread belief in our society that people get, or, fail to recover from, cancer because of unresolved psychological issues or faulty approaches to handling thoughts and emotions.
Extensive research has shown no relationship between personality and likelihood of getting or recovering from cancer. But there is some contradictory research on the broader topic of emotions and illness:

1. Having a mental illness, like depression or anxiety, has been associated with increased physical illness and earlier death in a number of studies
2. Having 'trait positive affect' i.e. having a tendency to experience a lot of 'positive' emotions in your life - like joy, happiness, enthusiasm - is associated with longer life in some populations (e.g. community based older people) but not in others (e.g. people who were 'gifted' as children and had high levels of positive emotion were actually more likely to die before 65 than less happy gifted children)
3. Minimization of emotions has been found to be associated with longer survival in breast cancer patients but denial is associated with shorter survival.  The differences between these two approaches are important but subtle.
4. Emotions seem to pay a larger role in illnesses where inflammation is an important factor (e.g Heart Attacks, Diabetes, Infections) than in illness where inflammation isn't central (e.g.many cancers)
5. Research findings about one subset of an illness are sometimes different to another subset e.g. 'In breast cancer patients with a hormone (estrogen and/or progesterone) receptor positive status (biological factor), life events were related to recurrence of breast cancer, while such a relationship did not occur in women with hormone receptor negative breast cancer.' 
6. Some factors e.g.depression, perceived social support, anger/hostility, denial/avoidance) have shown both positive and negative relationships with survival from breast cancer.

So what are we to do in response to all this contradiction and uncertainty?  Here is my advice (for what it is worth!)

1. There is a consistent finding that social support is associated with emotional and physical health - so put effort into broadening and building important relationships.
2. Get clear about what a rich and meaningful life looks like to you and who you want to be in the world. Then behave in ways that move you towards living that life in each moment.  If you do develop a serious illness (we all will some day) you can look back on a life well-lived.
3. If you have a loved one with a serious illness and feel an urge to tell them how they should be handling their emotions
• Accept that different people have different ways of coping with challenges - something that works for you may not be right for them.
• Know that the messages our society gives about how 'unresolved psychological issues' cause illness, create feelings of guilt in people living with serious illness - do you want to add to that burden of guilt?
• Be aware that your urge may be more about dealing with your own distress than genuinely helping them.
• Remember the link between social support and health - the most important help you can give your loved one is to show them that you care about them.

If married people are healthier, should single people be desperately looking for a partner?

Not necessarily.


A recent lab study measuring hormonal responses to stress found that "single and unpaired individuals are more responsive to psychological stress than married individuals, a finding consistent with a growing body of evidence showing that marriage and social support can buffer against stress"

Which is all well and good and aligns with a lot of research that shows that, on average, married people are healthier than single people.


The problem with this type of finding is that it can lead people who are currently single to feel helpless.  Getting married isn't really in our control, so being told that you would be happier, less stressed and healthier if you were married can feel a bit like being told that you would be happier if you were a best selling author - possibly true but not really helpful advice, especially if you don't like writing or going on speaking tours.


Another approach is to dig a little deeper. Another study quoted in New York Magazine found, 'married people were indeed healthier—if they weren’t lonely in their marriages. If they were, the health benefits were so negligible the researchers considered them statistically insignificant.' 

The New York Magazine  article goes on to quote Harvard epidemiologist, Lisa Berkman: “friends substitute perfectly well for family...Any one connection doesn’t really protect you. You need relationships that provide love and intimacy and you need relationships that help you feel like you’re participating in society in some way.”

Now this is more helpful - developing meaningful friendships, participating in your community - this is much more in our control.

Making Public Commitments

Yesterday I made vegetable soup. As you can see I am no Master Chef.  You may be wondering why I have decided to do 'show and tell' on my soup.

It is because the reason I made vegetable soup yesterday is important.

In a couple of recent blogposts I have mentioned the importance of eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.  This public announcement about diet and health led me to notice that there was a difference between what I was saying and doing.  So soup got made.

If you want to motivate yourself to do something, make a public announcement and then let yourself notice how your behaviour is stacking up.

Six Healthy Behaviours of the Slim

Choice magazine recently reported on a survey of readers of Consumer Reports magazine which explored the relationship between certain behaviours and Body Mass Index (BMI). They found that the following six behaviours were associated with a healthy BMI (i.e. being slim):

1. Carefully controlling portions at every meal
2. Limiting fat to less than one third of daily calorie intake
3. Eating fruit and vegetables at least five times a day - the more days per week respondents did this, the lower their average BMI
4. Eating wholegrain rather than processed grains
5. Avoiding eating out or eating take out
6. Exercising regularly - Cardio workouts at least four times a week and strength training at least once a week. 

Interestingly, low carb diets were linked to higher BMI's

This information needs to be taken with a pinch of salt - it is entirely based on self reports and is not prospective.  However, the six strategies do seem sensible, don't they?

What Maids Teach Us About Physical Health and Life Longevity: A Lesson in Mindfulness | Psychology Today

What Maids Teach Us About Physical Health and Life Longevity: A Lesson in Mindfulness | Psychology Today

Can mindful awareness of our movements improve our physical health?

by Todd Kashdan

Hotel housekeepers who were encouraged to be mindful of how their work was a form of exercise lost weight and saw improvements in blood pressure.

This is a really interesting piece of research.

Think about the chores and activities you do each day that involve moving your body - cleaning the kitchen, running up stairs to get the jacket you left behind, taking out the rubbish etc. Try mindfully engaging with those activities, making them a mini-workout. Perhaps, like the hotel housekeepers, it will improve your health. Changing your relationship with the activity, seeing it as an opportunity to benefit your health rather than a chore has to be a good idea.