Executive function in children: Why it matters and how to help
Executive function refers to skills that help us focus, plan, prioritize, work toward goals, self-regulate behaviors and emotions, adapt to new and unexpected situations, and ultimately engage in abstract thinking and planning. Just as a principal conductor would do for an orchestra, executive functions supervise and coordinate a multitude of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional tasks.
Executive functions in childhood are, by default, challenging. That’s because, although our executive function skills begin to develop in the first year of life, they are not fully developed until early adulthood.
Executive function in chi...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 16, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Johanna Calderon, PhD Tags: Brain and cognitive health Children's Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Holiday jangle: Tricky conversations around COVID safety with family and friends
This holiday season, many of us are discussing topics with loved ones that may have seemed unimaginable just a year ago. “What do you mean, you aren’t coming to your cousin’s house for the holiday party? We’ve been going there for 20 years!” “Tell me why I should wear a mask in my own home!”
If you find yourself anticipating challenging conversations about travel plans (or no travel) and pandemic-related safety precautions for all sorts of gatherings, here are some tips that can help you communicate your own needs while still showing family and friends you care about them.
How to open the door for discussion ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Melissa Brodrick, MEd Tags: Behavioral Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Relationships Source Type: blogs
Shingles: What triggers this painful, burning rash?
If you’re like 95% of American adults, you had chickenpox as a kid. Before the United States started its widespread vaccination program in 1995, there were roughly four million cases of chickenpox every year. So, most people suffered through an infection with this highly contagious virus and its itchy, whole-body rash.
But unlike many childhood viruses, the varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox doesn’t clear from the body when the illness ends. Instead it hangs around, taking up residence and lying dormant in the nerves, sometimes for decades, with the immune system holding it in check. In some people, it lives...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 14, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kelly Bilodeau Tags: Health Healthy Aging Skin and Hair Care Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Magnets, sound, and batteries: Choosing safe toys
The holidays feel more important than usual this year as the pandemic rages around us; we all are looking for something to enjoy. And a big part of holiday enjoyment for families is, of course, buying toys.
As parents, friends, and family set out to buy toys for the children on their lists, here are some suggestions for things you shouldn’t buy — and those you should.
Buyer beware when choosing toys
The US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) has a list of kinds of toys that people should try to avoid. They include
Loud toys. Loud noises can actually damage hearing. Given how much noise we end up being exposed to ove...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 11, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Parenting Safety Source Type: blogs
Grandparents as scribes of the pandemic
One of many lessons from the pandemic is that grandparents can be remarkably creative and tenacious about staying connected to their grandchildren. Now as we slog through yet another month of our new normal, some of us are feeling COVID fatigue. We’re wondering how much longer we can enjoy Zoom visits, and what might substitute for bike rides and hikes when the days are cold, short, and dark. So, here’s one thought: grandparents can offer a true gift now that will last for years to come by signing on as record keepers of pandemic memories.
“How could we possibly forget this time?” you might ask. The reality is that...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 11, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ellen S. Glazer, LICSW Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Relationships Source Type: blogs
Why are mRNA vaccines so exciting?
The very first vaccines for COVID-19 to complete Phase 3 testing are an entirely new type: mRNA vaccines. Vaccines of this type have never before been approved for use in any disease. How do they differ from traditional vaccines, and what makes them so exciting?
How traditional vaccines work
The main goal of a vaccine for a particular infectious agent, such as the virus that causes COVID-19, is to teach the immune system what that virus looks like. Once educated, the immune system will vigorously attack the actual virus, if it ever enters the body.
Viruses contain a core of genes made of DNA or RNA wrapped in a coat of pro...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 10, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Anthony Komaroff, MD Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Will eating more chilis help you live longer?
I have to admit it: it can be hard to take news about the latest healthy diet too seriously. There seems to be an endless list of recommendations about food choices, but little consensus. It’s enough to confuse even the most careful reader of health news.
For a long while, low-fat diets ruled. But, then came the paleo diet, the keto diet, the LA diet, the South Beach diet, the Mediterranean diet, and many others — including diets around which entire companies are based (such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and NutriSystem). Eggs were terrible; now they’re okay (in moderation, of course). There are cleanses, detoxes,...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 10, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Healthy Aging Healthy Eating Heart Health Hypertension and Stroke Nutrition Source Type: blogs
Do thunderstorms worsen asthma and COPD symptoms?
Anyone familiar with hay fever understands that weather impacts respiratory symptoms. However, many of weather’s effects on respiratory function remain unclear. One unanswered question is the extent to which storms affect people with chronic lung disease, particularly the type affecting the way air moves in and out of the lungs. These “obstructive lung diseases” are characterized by problems with airway narrowing. The most common obstructive lung diseases are asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The two main types of COPD are chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Obstructive lung diseases affect a...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 9, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kathleen Haley, MD Tags: Asthma Lung disease Source Type: blogs
Stiff and achy in the mornings? How to fix that
Some days I feel incredibly ancient. Not in age or my knowledge of modern music (although my millennial daughter may disagree), but in how my body feels. There are mornings when everything is rusty and creaky.
You know what I mean: the stiffness and dull aches (and accompanying grunts and groans) that occur after you wake up. These feelings often go away in about five or 10 minutes. Some mornings are worse than others, and sometimes I awaken stiffness-free.
Why does morning stiffness happen?
“It’s not known why morning stiffness occurs, especially as people age, but the only common thread is that it occurs afte...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 8, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Bones and joints Exercise and Fitness Health Healthy Aging Source Type: blogs
How to give yourself — and others — a break
Be kind to yourself. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Few would disagree that this advice would lead to a life filled with less fighting and more empathy.
So, why don’t we always practice compassion?
American culture can promote and celebrate competitiveness, where it’s easy to never be satisfied and think that we should be doing more. We set high standards for ourselves, and sometimes put similar expectations on others, and believe that, “If I’m doing it, why can’t you do it?” says Dr. Khadijah Booth Watkins, associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital.
...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 7, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Steve Calechman Tags: Mental Health Relationships Stress Source Type: blogs
21 spices for healthy holiday foods
The holiday season is one of the hardest times of the year to resist salty, fatty, sugary foods. Who doesn’t want to enjoy the special dishes and treats that evoke memories and meaning — especially during the pandemic? Physical distancing and canceled gatherings may make you feel that indulging is a way to pull some joy out of the season.
But stay strong. While it’s okay to have an occasional bite or two of marbled roast beef, buttery mashed potatoes, or chocolate pie, gorging on them frequently can lead to weight gain, and increased blood pressure, blood sugar, and “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Instead, skip the butter...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 4, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Health Healthy Eating Heart Health Inflammation Nutrition Source Type: blogs
Gender fluidity: What it means and why support matters
Take a moment — yes, right now — to consider your gender. Do you identify as a woman, man, or another gender: essentially, how would you describe your gender identity? How do you show your gender to other people through how you look or act — in other words, your gender expression? And has your gender identity or gender expression changed or stayed the same over time?
Questions like these can be especially valuable if you’re wondering about how gender identity and expression may shift as children grow up. And, of course, these questions may also resonate with many adults.
At times in my life, I’ve had shorter hair...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Sabra L. Katz-Wise, PhD Tags: Adolescent health Anxiety and Depression Children's Health LGBTQ Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Aggressive hypertension treatment does not lead to dangerous drops in blood pressure
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. It is a primary risk factor for numerous medical conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, and dementia.
Blood pressure (BP) control is so critical that when the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology updated their treatment guidelines in 2017, they called for more aggressive blood pressure treatment. They lowered the definition of normal, or optimal, blood pressure to less than 120/80 mm Hg, and they recommended treatment for blood pressure higher than ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Alyson Kelley-Hedgepeth, MD Tags: Hypertension and Stroke Source Type: blogs
Treating neuropathy: Which medication is best?
Imagine experiencing burning, tingling, and numbness in your legs day in and day out, getting worse over time — and your doctors can’t find a reason for it.
That’s the situation for millions of people who suffer from idiopathic sensory polyneuropathy. The term “idiopathic” means that no cause can be identified; “sensory” refers to the type of nerve, in this case those carrying nerve signals such as pain or temperature; “poly” means “many” and “neuropathy” means nerve disease. So, this is a condition of unknown cause that damages multiple nerves; the most affected nerves tend to be those th...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 1, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Health Neurological conditions Pain Management Source Type: blogs
How to avoid a relapse when things seem out of control
There is no one who would deny that this has been a stressful year. As the Grateful Dead said, “If the thunder don’t get you, the lightning will.” If you manage to avoid catching COVID, then you are probably at least contending with some mixture of financial and childcare stress, the nail-biting political divisions we see daily on television and social media, and a constricted social universe. Our society already suffers from an epidemic of loneliness that has been cruelly worsened by the physical distancing required to keep the pandemic at bay.
Even people not struggling with addiction are finding their drug and alc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 30, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Peter Grinspoon, MD Tags: Addiction Alcohol Coronavirus and COVID-19 Mental Health Stress Source Type: blogs
