Life Hacks

Our family has developed this habit of never arriving or departing each other without a hug. It may seem obvious to you, but I know plenty of people who don’t do this.

We’ve never talked about it…it just happens. It feels natural. And if one of my grandkids gets all the way out the door and into my son’s car, she will run back if she forgot to give everyone a hug. And I mean everyone. Even Leroy, the dog. Well now I find that we’re on to something….at least when it comes to our health.

For many reasons there’s been an increased focus on boosting our immune system lately. But today researchers are reporting that we don’t need supplements – or a special diet……what we need to strengthen our immune system is a daily hug.

According to the journal Psychological Science, every time we hug a loved one, we give our immune system a powerful boost. In a recent study, people were purposely exposed to a cold virus……but those who got the most hugs were significantly less likely to get sick.

That’s because, when we’re stressed out, our immune function is suppressed and we’re more vulnerable to infection. But a hug – and the emotional support we feel through that physical contact – dials down our stress, bolstering our immune system, and our ability to fight off infections. 

Alright….let me hear it…when was the last time you hugged someone?…and who was it? [email protected]

No matter what challenge you’re facing – whether it’s balancing your budget or putting together an IKEA bookshelf – do this as you get underway:

Take a deep breath in through your nose.:}  It’ll improve your focus and accuracy. That’s according to a new study in the journal Nature Human Behavior. 

The researchers say inhaling deeply through your nose wakes up regions of the brain that optimize focus. And they relate this back to our ancient ancestors.

Because early humans had to rely on their sense of smell to sniff out danger, differentiate between edible food and something spoiled, and find a mate based on the pheromones they were giving off.

So, inhaling deeply is actually a survival mechanism linked to cognition, to help us make life-and-death decisions.

Again, No matter what challenge you’re facing   Take a deep breath in through your nose.

(Question) Have you ever built anything from Ikea? I haven’t, but I got lost in the store one day for an hour. My wife left me behind 🙂

The number one “brain game” is officially: ping-pong! – also known as “table tennis!”

That’s according to research from the Mayo Clinic. They used MRI scans to track the brain changes of people playing ping-pong.

And they found that, more than any other sport, regularly playing ping-pong challenges the brain in ways that help it GROW and ward off cognitive decline. And that’s true even in people who’ve already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s!

The reason? Researchers say the most obvious factor is that table tennis is a light aerobic activity, which gets us moving enough to increase our heart rate, and get more blood pumping to our brain.

And aerobic activities are proven to grow and strengthen neural connections after as little as 15 minutes!

Also, games that involve hand-eye coordination activate the brain’s frontal lobes – which are associated with controlling movement, attention, and decision-making. They also light up our hippocampus, which is involved in storing long-term memories……

Plus, ping-pong is a SOCIAL game. And many studies show a strong social circle is associated with a happier, healthier brain.

Researchers concluded that regularly playing ping-pong can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s by at least FIVE YEARS!

And for patients already diagnosed with the disease, ping-pong offers an effective non-pharmaceutical way of managing – and even REVERSING – the symptoms of Alzheimer’s!

We need to make time for a little SILENCE every day! Because we now know it’s an excellent way to GROW your brain and help it thrive!

That’s according to psychiatry professor Dr. Mathias Basner from the University of Pennsylvania. He says, our world is louder today than it’s ever been. Today’s sirens are six times louder than they were a century ago – and they have to be because our cities are louder, too. And noise pollution doubles every three decades. 

But when we’re exposed to excessive noise, it triggers our body’s stress response. Our brain thinks we’re under attack. 

And even with “safe,” persistent sounds – say, from steady traffic – our brains stay activated for hours. And all that noise wears down our energy, and triggers the release of hormones proven to raise our risk for heart disease, stroke, and depression! Even a single night of noise exposure while we sleep can make our blood vessels stiffer! 

And that’s why we need a dose of silence every day!

One recent study put mice in a soundless chamber for 2 hours a day. And they actually GREW more brain cells…… especially in brain areas linked to memory and problem-solving! Essentially, silence gives our brain more capacity to think and grow.

That’s why Dr. Basner recommends having a few minutes of total SILENCE every day – where the only sound you hear is your own breathing.

Here’s a really easy way to improve your performance in ANY area of your life: Just tell yourself, out loud: “You’ve got this.”

That’s according to a huge study, involving about 44-thousand people. It found that those who used positive self-talk – like, by telling themselves “You can beat your best time” or “You can handle anything that comes your way” – were the most likely to follow through, and actually do better.

For example: One experiment asked participants to play an online game. Some played after getting game instruction videos, while others played the game after watching videos that trained them to use positive self-talk as a motivational technique.

The result? Time after time, the people who watched the self-talk training videos saw the biggest increase in their game scores. That’s because positive self-talk is linked to lowering stress and boosting our “can do” attitude……

And when you combine positive self-talk with visualization, the sky’s the limit! Visualization is when you IMAGINE yourself getting better. And it works because visualizing something activates the same brain network that governs the actions we take in real life. 

And this study makes it clear that visualizing your goals – and telling yourself “You’ve got this” – are the most effective ways to put you in the mindset for achieving your goals.