Welcome back to your weekly dose of wellness, helping you make tomorrow a little better than today . Before we start, an invitation to any writers among you:
I just launched the Writer’s Guide, a newsletter and coaching service where I teach you how to craft effective prose to serve and build your audience. You might be a journalist, blogger, PIO or topical expert. You’ll learn the fundamentals of good writing as I lay out the basics and share the secret sauce I’ve learned as a writer and editor at newspapers and websites small and large for 30+ years. Check out the free newsletter, plus mentoring and coaching opportunities, here on Substack.
Now back to your regularly scheduled program…
THIS WEEK’S PRESCRIPTION: SMILE
Numerous studies reveal that smiling improves physical health and your immune system, tamps down pain and even boosts self-motivation and happiness. But smiles are also contagious, conferring benefits to those around you.
“Remember, you carry an emotional first aid kit with you all of the time. It’s more reliable than a cell phone whose battery might die, or a wallet or purse you might leave behind or misplace,” writes John Kruse MD, PhD. “Smiling is always an option. If you’re down, dejected, rejected, overwhelmed, grieving, or embarrassed, your temporary relief is right at hand, or actually, at face.”
Kruse dives deep into the science of smiling — both real and fake. The story is bound to put a smile on your face (sorry for the cliché, but it’s true!).
YOUR INSIGHTS
Thoughtful reader comments on recent Wise & Well stories:
“In my late 70s I am very active, working with a physical trainer and teaching karate. Last year, as part of a cardiac rehab program, I went to a nutritionist, who said I needed to eat more protein. She then suggested a fitness app that monitored my food intake. So instead of eating 10 almonds after a rehab session, I ate a protein bar. I still do. And use that app.”
—Pascal Gambardella, re: Recreational Athletes Don’t Eat Enough and It’s Hurting Their Health by Elizabeth Knight, PhD
“From the moment we are born, our brains are trying to make sense of the world. Our brains operate like sophisticated pattern recognition devices and we develop our own “perspective” on reality based on our own personal interactions with the world. Interestingly, we develop our identity, the story of ourselves based on these experiences and how we view the world. But in my humble opinion, that is simply our mortal identity and not our true self.”
Joseph Gi re: Your Reality is Never What You Think by Robert Roy Britt
HEALTHY READING
A selection of this week’s informative and insightful articles:
Why You Don’t Control Your Health Data
Your health data is valuable. The hospitals know it. Insurance companies know it. Criminals know it. Breached health data can sell for 46 times the price of your credit card data on the black markets. But in almost all states, you don’t own your health data. What?! Find out why, and what you can do to protect your personal information.
—By Dr. Julian Barkan
Life-Saving Cures Emerge as Mysteries of Cell Death are Solved
Science has yet to figure out how to cure Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, MS, stroke, MS, heart attack and many other deadly diseases. But the seeds of serious solutions are emerging with the latest revelations about how and why cells die, discoveries that have overturned centuries of understanding. This scientist offers a layperson’s guide to the latest research, based on a recent scientific review he and a colleague published. Be warned: You might learn something about the many ways your body’s cells can perish.
—By Brent R. Stockwell, Ph.D.
The Alarming Effects of Sleeping with the Lights On
Whether you have a personal night light, or your city provides the light pollution, or you simply fall asleep with the lights on, your sleep will be degraded, your cellular energy supplies will be compromised, and your only indication is likely to be daytime grogginess, crankiness or lack of productivity. Learn why, and what to do about it.
—By Annie Foley
Where Have All the Public Pools Gone?
Community pools, where many American kids used to learn how to swim, can help improve physical fitness, mental health and societal connectedness. Why are there so few of them nowadays? An ugly history of racism and a decline in public funding are behind the demise of public swimming pools, while rising temperatures of climate change make them more necessary than ever.
—By Chris Arestides, RN MPH
Mind-Reading Brain-Computer Interfaces Raise Ethics and Privacy Issues
Rapidly advancing brain-computer interfaces can collect extensive data about what’s going on in your mind. Who owns the generated data, and who should get access? Could this type of device threaten individuals’ ability to make independent decisions? A neuroethicist (who knew there was such a thing?) explains the technology, the legal issues, and the privacy concerns at stake.
—By Laura Y. Cabrera
RANDOM BIT OF WISDOM
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
―John Lennon
If you like what you see, please follow Wise & Well on Medium. Meanwhile, I hope we’ve helped you make tomorrow a little better than today. — Rob