Mike B

By Nicholas Bakalar (NYT) Moderate alcohol consumption may lead to slower mental decline in middle-age and older people, a new study found. Some previous studies have suggested that moderate drinking has beneficial cognitive effects; others have found it harmful. In the new study, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers tracked the cognitive abilities of almost 20,000 people for an average of more than nine years. The scientists tested the participants in three domains: mental status, word recall and vocabulary.... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/well/eat/moderate-drinking-study.html?referringSource=articleShare

Thank is a great point. I am the same. I keep an eye on the overall assessment but do not dive to deep into what the media is saying.

By A.C. Shilton (NYT) As Americans across the country enter their fourth month of social distancing, but now with more options for things to do as states are in various phases of reopening, many of us are doing the math on exactly how cautious we still want to be. There’s just one problem: Humans are not actually very good at assessing risk — especially their own risk, said Marie Helweg-Larsen, a professor of psychology at Dickinson College. Complicating things, there are many factors at play in human psychology that can skew our risk perception.... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/smarter-living/why-youre-probably-not-so-great-at-risk-assessment.html?referringSource=articleShare

By Matt Fuchs (WP) When I talked with 76-year-old Sylvia Okala for an article about thriving older tennis players last August, she said that though she prefers to sleep late, she would get up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for a match. Then the pandemic hit, and the U.S. Tennis Association suspended all activities in March. Okala can sleep in as much as she wants, but, “Oh my God, I miss it,” she said. The Washington, D.C., resident was used to playing four times per week. “Without competitive tennis, there’s no goal to make me practice and stay in shape,” she said. While the media has heavily covered the interruptions to the Olympics, and to collegiate and professional sports, older amateur athletes might be even more affected, because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging that seniors take extra precautions. Asked how they’re maintaining their well-being despite the disruption of their leagues and routines, several seniors revealed strategies for overcoming adversity, regardless of one’s age or athletic ability. .... https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/the-way-these-older-amateur-athletes-are-staying-fit-despite-the-pandemic-offers-lessons-for-all-ages/2020/06/24/2ed17ab8-b652-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html

By Maria Konnikova (NYT) In 2015, my life was thrown off-kilter. The year opened with my getting sick: an autoimmune condition that nobody could properly diagnose, which pushed my hormones into overdrive and rendered me unable to leave the apartment for week long stretches. My skin reacted to seemingly everything with a loud eruption of hives that covered my face, neck and body in a painful mosaic that made the thought of wearing clothes unbearable. As I pondered my new immobility, my husband lost his job and with it, our health insurance. And just as I thought we’d figured out a way to get it all under control, my independent, healthy grandmother slipped in the middle of the night, hit her head and never woke up.... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/opinion/sunday/poker-bluffing-luck-skill.html?referringSource=articleShare

By Benedict Carey (NYT) The psychological fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has yet to fully show itself, but some experts have forecast a tsunami of new disorders, and news accounts have amplified that message. The World Health Organization warned in May of “a massive increase in mental health conditions in the coming months,” wrought by anxiety and isolation. Digital platforms such as Crisis Text Line and Talkspace regularly reported spikes in activity through the spring. And more than half of American adults said the pandemic had worsened their mental health, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.....

By Matt Phillips (NYT) When Russian table tennis or Korean baseball won’t scratch the itch, some are trying their hand at trading equities. It’s enough to move the market, analysts say. When he wasn’t coaching sports, he was playing them or watching them. And if he was watching — well, a little skin in the game always made it more interesting for Steven Young, a teacher outside Philadelphia. Just small-dollar bets, mixed in with shuffling the rosters of his fantasy teams. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, all the games he cared about sputtered to a stop. So he turned to one of the last places in town for reliable action: the stock market. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/business/sports-gamblers-stocks-virus.html?referringSource=articleShare

By Rachel Lapidos The funny thing about being in a good mood is that it doesn’t always make for an extra good workout. But remember all of the times that you rocked your sweat sesh when you were letting out stress or anger? This is because there’s a legit connection between exercise and mood, and it impacts your performance in workouts. Stress levels are a main reason why your performance can be either helped or hindered. “Stress can be directly correlated to one’s performance in workouts,” says Leah Lagos, PsyD, a health and performance psychologist. But how these emotions translate in your workout tends to differ based on the person, she says..... https://www.wellandgood.com/exercise-and-mood/

By Larry Ginsberg It has been said that humans are creatures of habit, and while we like moments of spontaneity and surprise, we feel comfortable when we know what to expect and can follow a plan or schedule. During the COVID-19 pandemic it has been easy to lose track of time as our rigorous daily schedule and commute have been replaced by being quarantined at home for endless hours and days, and the lack of a schedule has made many of us more uncomfortable than we had imagined. According to Ramon Solhkhah, M.D., chair, Department of Psychiatry, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, “While many of us complain about how busy our schedules are, it represents expectations and patterns that are an important component of good mental health.” He continues, “The pandemic has left many people feeling adrift because those daily routines that were essential to us before the COVID-19 crisis have evaporated and been replaced by uncertainty and a lack of structure that can contribute to stress, anxiety and even clinical depression.”..... https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/HealthU/2020/06/02/why-routines-are-important-for-mental-health/

By Maria Cohut, PhD (Medical News Today) Around the world, physical distancing measures and worries about the continued spread of the new coronavirus have forced many companies to ask all or most of their employees to work from home. But even as officials in different countries are now beginning to ease physical distancing and lockdown measures, it looks like more widespread remote work arrangements may be here to stay. Some of the largest, most influential companies have already committed to much more flexible work from home policies going forward..... https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-spot-and-address-mental-distress-in-a-remote-work-context

By Gretchen Reynolds (NYT) Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now, after months spent sheltering at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Start slowly, they suggest, and then rev up your workouts, also slowly.. Many of us, admittedly, have been sedentary during the pandemic. According to data from the company Fitbit, which makes activity trackers, American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. This inactivity leaves most of us less fit than during those halcyon days of last year, with predictable consequences when we surge back to our favorite sidewalks, paths and gyms...... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/well/move/coronavirus-exercise-lockdown-quarantine-sports-weights-running-injuries.html?referringSource=articleShare

By Brian Resnick (VOX) How are Americans coping with the crushing realities of the pandemic and the economic crisis forming in its wake? Not well, according to a new survey from the Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, around a third of Americans have reported recent symptoms of anxiety and depression since late April. For comparison, in the first three months of 2019, just 11 percent of Americans reported these symptoms on a similar survey..... https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/5/29/21274495/pandemic-cdc-mental-health

By Gretchen Reynolds (NYT) A new study of exercise and mental health during the early stages of the nationwide lockdown suggests that the answer is yes. It finds that people who managed to remain physically active during those early weeks of sheltering at home were less depressed and more mentally resilient than other people whose activity levels declined. The study is preliminary and not yet peer-reviewed, but its results indicate that, during difficult, testing times, the benefits of exercise extend beyond the physical and perhaps bolster our psyches..... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/well/move/coronavirus-exercise-stress-mental-health-depression-mood-resilience.html?referringSource=articleShare

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-19-has-destroyed-your-libido-youre-not-alone/2020/05/22/68d059e2-909a-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html

By Paul Sullivan (NYT) Dale Mackey closed her event space in Knoxville, Tenn., a week before the state issued its orders to end large gatherings. She did not think about the economic ramifications of shuttering her business, the Central Collective; she said it was the right thing to do to reduce the spread of the virus. Work dried up for her husband, Shawn Poynter, a photographer, so to help make ends meet, Ms. Mackey began spending more time on a side business, making sweet and savory pies and selling them online. She and her husband are in their mid-30s and have some savings and no debt beyond mortgages on their home and the event space, so they were content hunkering down. But as the weeks wore on, thoughts of financial anxiety began to emerge. “It’s much more of a struggle for me about when we can reopen,” Ms. Mackey said, adding that the uncertainty began to weigh on her. “It’s different if I knew we were going to be opening in three months.”.... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/your-money/coronavirus-money-fears-financial-therapy.html?referringSource=articleShare