There are approximately 655 people incarcerated for every 100,000 Americans – the highest rate by far out of all developed countries. In total, that adds up to more than 2 million Americans currently in U.S. prisons and jails. About one quarter of these imprisoned people have not be convicted or sentenced; they are incarcerated because they cannot afford to pay bail. [Read more…]
A Pet Could Boost Your Mental Health
If you don’t have a pet, you may think about what caring for an animal entails: feeding, training, cleaning up after and paying veterinary bills. But most pet owners understand that pets provide them with benefits as well.
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Your Mental Health May Affect Your Vaccine Response
Nearly 30 million Americans have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine – thanks to a national effort to return the country to “business as usual” after a year of restrictions designed to stop the deadly virus’s spread.
One important component of this effort is maximizing the vaccine’s level of protection for each recipient. With this in mind, researchers from Ohio State University have summarized the evidence to date on how social and psychological factors impact our biological responses, specifically to vaccines. Their article was published last month in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. [Read more…]
How Gut Bacteria Are Linked to Mental Health
Scientists have been studying how the human body functions for millennia, yet there are still countless workings that we still do not fully understand. Just in the past decade, health researchers have discovered an interesting connection — one that affects tens of millions of Americans. It turns out the bacteria that naturally occur in everyone’s digestive tract play an important role in our mental health. [Read more…]
What We Know About Exercise for Older Adults
People around the world are living longer than ever before, which has led to an increase in the overall age of the global population. Over the past 50 years, the number of people over age 65 has tripled. If this trend continues, older adults will make up more than 25 percent of the global population by 2050. [Read more…]
New Evidence on Face Masks to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed approximately 2 million people, wearing face masks in public has become the norm almost everywhere and a requirement in many places.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended that Americans wear cloth face coverings in public after they learned that COVID-19 spreads via droplets produced when someone coughs, sneezes or even speaks, and that people can spread the virus without having any symptoms. [Read more…]
How To Mend A Family Rift
We often think of family bonds as unbreakable, no matter the circumstances. But, in fact, most American families experience an estrangement that leads to anger, sadness and heartache.
A new book – Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them — by Cornell sociologist Karl Pillemer takes a deep dive into why family rifts occur and how to heal them. [Read more…]
The Mental Health Costs of Caring for COVID-19 Patients
More than 125,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 – more than at any other point during the pandemic. Most of these patients are seriously ill, with low oxygen levels and potential organ failure. Most need constant monitoring and many need a ventilator because they are not able to breathe. [Read more…]
What To Do About Vaccine Hesitancy During COVID-19
Developing a COVID-19 vaccine in record time is a major accomplishment for the U.S. health care system. Now, as drug companies begin to distribute the vaccine across the country, public health experts must confront another challenge: convincing enough people to take it. [Read more…]
Holiday Weight Gain Stays With Us
With COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising across the country, the holiday season will certainly look different this year for most Americans. Although most of us are stuck at home without the typical holiday parties and cookie exchanges, there will still be plenty of opportunities to indulge in cookie-baking, candy canes and holiday cocktails. Unfortunately, all of that delicious food means that most of us consume extra calories during this time of year. [Read more…]
Gratitude Isn’t Cancelled This Thanksgiving
Like many events this year, Thanksgiving will be a starkly different holiday for most people. Rising cases of COVID-19 mean that many will forgo gathering with family and friends, instead staying home during what used to be America’s biggest travel holiday.
While big dinner parties may not be possible, there is one element of Thanksgiving that can stay despite the global pandemic: the notion of giving thanks. [Read more…]