Category: Living Well

Museums Inspire Good Thoughts

Yes, museums can do more than entertain, inform, and radiate brilliance. They can help us to reach a better state of mind.

Let’s see how.

Consider this story from TrendWatching:

“The Montreal Museum of Fine Art (MMFA) partnered with the Médecins francophones du Canada doctors’ organization to let doctors write prescriptions for museum visits. Medical professionals can write a maximum of 50 prescriptions. They will grant each patient an admission-free trip to the museum. The doctors involved cited the ability of art to improve mood, help patients take a respite from serious illnesses, and more – all, of course, with zero-side effects.”

“This program brings new meaning to ’art therapy’! It also shows how the pursuit of health and wellbeing is increasingly breaking free from traditional channels and formats: from cardio-meets-CPR fitness classes in Thailand to STI testing at music festivals in New Zealand to Costa’s low-budget loneliness-fighting coffee tables.” 

“The benefits of consuming art aren’t the most immediate or tangible. New audiences may be skeptical or resistant. By partnering with doctors, the MMFA benefits from a trusted and credible voice. And with the prescriptions making visits free, patients have no reason not to go!”

Click the image to read more from MMFA.

Museums Inspire Good Thoughts
 

Radio Interview About My Cancer Journey

Last week, I did a radio interview about the purpose of my new book Surviving Cancer and Embracing Life: My Personal Journey.

 As with the book, the interview is uplifting and describes how I have gotten through my time with pancreatic cancer. The book is free by clicking here. 

You may access the full interview by clicking below. [Note: In the near future, I will be dividing the interview into much smaller clips. :-)]

 

Are Walk-Ins and Virtual Visits for you?

Where do you visit a physician? Are you open to a walk-in clinic?

As patients, there are various ways for us to interact with physicians. Many of us even use multiple ways. Where do YOU fit?

According to Jessica Rudman, research director for financial services and health care at market research firm Maru/Matchbox:

“Recently we asked 1,500 Americans about their knowledge of and experience with various settings for medical appointments and probed their interest in using retail walk-in clinics. Currently, retail walk-in clinics are used by a small minority. And the same is true for online video conferencing. Most just sit and wait in a traditional office, where research has shown that almost everyone waits between 10 and 30 minutes.”

“Health care is on the cusp of significant change. The old sit-in-the-waiting-room and hope to eventually be seen by a doctor is not sustainable. People are used to smoother transactions. It used to be that to pay a bill you had to send a check or pay at the bank. Nowadays everything is electronic and even tappable. Booking travel used to be visiting a travel agent. Today it is all online. Shopping used to involve fighting the crowds at the mall. Now it is answering the door with delivery from Amazon Prime. Times change.”

“The old paradigm of waiting to be seen is ripe for revolution. Virtual visits and retail walk-ins seem to be the wave of the future.”

Are Walk-Ins and Virtual Visits for you?

Reducing Muscle Loss and Building Strength – Part 2

Recently, Jane Brody wrote two important articles for the New York Times. Here are some further highlights. Today, Part 2. Yesterday, Part 1. 

Building Strength — Through Tai Chi

In this second article, Brody looks at the value of tai chi in building strength:

“Watching a group of people doing tai chi, an exercise often called ‘meditation in motion,’ it may be hard to imagine that its slow, gentle, choreographed movements could actually make people stronger. Not only stronger mentally, but stronger physically and healthier as well.”

“I certainly was surprised by its effects on strength, but good research — and there’s been a fair amount of it by now — doesn’t lie. If you’re not ready or not able to tackle strength-training with weights, resistance bands, or machines, tai chi may just be the activity that can help to increase your stamina and diminish your risk of injury that accompanies weak muscles and bones.”

Click the image to learn more — and to gain encouragement as to why you should try tai chi. [It’s now on my to-do list, too.]

Reducing Muscle Loss and Building Strength - Part 2
Image by Gracia Lam

 

Reducing Muscle Loss and Building Strength – Part 1

Recently, Jane Brody wrote two important articles for the New York Times. Here are some highlights. Today, Part 1.

Reducing Muscle Loss

According to Brody:

“My young friends at the Y say I’m in great shape. And I suppose I am compared to most 77-year-old women in America today. But I’ve noticed in recent years that I’m not as strong as I used to be. Loads I once carried rather easily are now difficult, and some are impossible.”

“Thanks to an admonition from a savvy physical therapist, Marilyn Moffat, a professor at New York University, I now know why. I, like many people past 50, have a condition called sarcopenia — a decline in skeletal muscle with age. It begins as early as age 40 and, without intervention, gets increasingly worse, with as much as half of muscle mass lost by age 70. (If you’re wondering, it’s replaced by fat and fibrous tissue, making muscles resemble a well-marbled steak.)”

Click the image for tips on reducing muscle loss.

Reducing Muscle Loss and Building Strength - Part 1
Image by Gracia Lam

 

Wearables and Health Care

Recently, fitness trackers and other wearables have gained more popularity as health monitors. And this is expected to continue.

As Business Insider Intelligence reports:

“The health-care industry is undergoing a transformation due to pressure from ballooning healthcare costs, a rising burden of chronic disease, and shifting consumer expectations. Thus, wearables — including smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other connected devices — play a key role in this transformation.”

“U.S. consumer use of wearables for health purposes jumped from 9% in 2014 to 33% in 2018, according to Accenture. And penetration should continue to climb. With more than 80% of consumers willing to wear tech that measures health data. The growing adoption of wearables, and the breadth of health functions they offer, will capture a fuller picture of consumer health and behavior. Thus enabling health-care organizations to differentiate from the competition, drive value, and engage consumers.”

“In this new report, Business Insider Intelligence details the current and future market landscape of wearables in the U.S. health-care sector. We explore key drivers behind wearable usage by insurers, health-care providers, and employers. And the opportunities wearables afford to each of these stakeholders.”

“Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable sharing the health data captured in these devices with their doctors, employers, and insurers. Such data offer opportunities to improve outcomes, reduce health-care costs, and engage customers. Providers can use wearables to improve chronic disease management, lessen the burden of a burgeoning staff shortage, and navigate a changing reimbursement model. Employers can combine wearables with cash incentives to lower insurance costs and improve employee productivity.”

 

Staying Fit and Living Longer

Ways to stay more fit.

A section of the AARP Web site deals with healthy living and staying fit.

These are examples of the types of information available at the site:

Now, click on the image to access a quiz on “What’s sabotaging your weight loss efforts?”

Staying Fit and Living Longer