Practicing “Mindfulness” Can Teach Us to Pay Attention

Practicing “Mindfulness” Can Teach Us to Pay Attention

You don’t have to be a yogi to know that meditation is more than just sitting like a pretzel and chanting. Now scientists are finding that practicing meditation not only affects our psychological life: it physically alters the structure of the brain.

The findings support the growing hypothesis in the scientific community: that the brain is a far more pliable system than believed even a decade ago. In fact, the choices we make in the way we think and act affect the health and growth of our body’s most vital organ.

The study on brain growth, completed at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, had participants doing 30 minutes of “mindfulness meditation” for eight weeks.

The study participants were given MRI to measure changes in the grey matter growth during the study. Increased grey matter was found in the area of the brain the controls learning and memory with decreased grey matter in the brain where stress is controlled. The control group showed no changes in growth in these areas.

Adding meditation practice to your retirement plans might just lengthen your life and make you more healthy. In 2009, a study found that people who meditate may have lower blood pressure, a leading factor in heart disease Another study found links between meditation and ability to “pay attention” – a critical skill in a world where we are being exhausted by sensory inputs.

Meditation – along with its fraternal twin, yoga — has blossomed in Western culture in the last four decades and is now a fairly common practice in the United States.

Meditation is often connected to Eastern religions such as Buddhism or Hinduism, but the practice of meditation is not a religious act.  It is the practice of quieting the body and the mind from the many external stimuli, moving through concentration to a place of “unbroken attention.”

Those who meditate often say the goal is to achieve the same kind of “mindfulness” in their conscious lives as they do in their meditation practice.

A long-term study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tested thousands of Chicago residents 65 and older, starting back in 1993. The study looked at the mental acuity, as it followed the seniors based on their adherence to a diet recognized as the “Mediterranean diet”: fish, vegetables, olive oil, and moderate amounts of wine.

Those who scores for adhering to the diet where higher were associated with slower rates of cognitive decline, even after controlling for smoking, education, obesity, hypertension and other factors. The study’s author said that the conclusions of the study showed a large difference in those who stuck to the diet.

The Mediterranean diet has long been recognized for its healthful qualities: It’s is the basis of recommendations by experts for a heart-healthy eating plan as well.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the key components of the diet are:

• Getting plenty of exercise
• Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
• Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
• Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
• Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
• Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
• Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)

The diet also recognizes the importance of enjoying meals with family and friends.

The Mediterranean diet has long been recognized for its healthful qualities

Know where to go...for now.

Who doesn’t love their GPS? It has saved countless marriages from bitter arguments over which exit to take. Sadly, research indicates, that the relationship-saving GPS may be degrading our brain power.

Findings presented at the 2010 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego last month showed that relying too heavily on the GPS likely inhibits our ongoing brain development.

Montreal’s McGill University researchers reported that excessive GPS use can shrink your hippocampus, part of the brain that helps with spatial navigation. The hippocampus is one of the first brain areas to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease, causing problems with memory and spatial orientation.

Veronique Bohbot, neuroscientist and associate professor of psychiatry at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, completed research finding that use of spatial memory may help to reduce the risk of dementia. She noted that people who rely on GPS may have a higher risk of damaging their memory and spatial control, and may have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

This research further supports the “use it or lose it” hypothesis underlying much of the research on age-related mental decline. 

Ron Doyle, blogger from Psychology Today, suggests two tips for keeping yourself from becoming a “GPS zombie” and avoiding full-on GPS brain drain:

1. Mute the voice.  Tune out “Daniel” or “Lee” and use just the visual cues to guide you.
2. GPS there. Brain home.  To better tune into the directions and use your own sense of direction to get yourself home.

 Overall, brain experts aren’t saying “no” to GPS. They do suggest that the ultimate workout to avoid being zombie-fied is exercising the hippocampus with ongoing intellectual enrichment.

“We live in a society that’s so fast paced that it encourages us to feel bad if we get lost,” says Bohbot. “What I say to people is that we can use GPS to explore the environment, but don’t become dependent on it. (Developing) a cognitive map may take longer, but it’s worth the investment.”

She works hard for her money!

If you are considering adding “work” to your retirement “to do” list, you are not alone.

A recent report by the Families and Work Institute and Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging and Work stated that a growing number of older Americans not only feel they need to work after retirement – for additional income – but are looking for work to because it makes them feel good.

The study further reported that the part of the graying population that goes back to work tends to find more rewarding jobs than they previously held.  These so-called working “retirees” found themselves with a better “family-life” balance than those who had not yet retired.

Two of the three primary reasons for continuing to work after retirement were:

To keep earning money to retire more comfortably.

To keep working because income from other sources is not enough.

However, 31 percent reported their main reason was to avoid becoming bored. In fact, almost half of cited reasons for working went beyond the bank account. Instead they were linked to maintaining a joyfully, active and fulfilling life.

Additionally, those employees working in jobs after retirement were committed to their work: the study found that age did not affect employee engagement. Retired workers were just as “a positive, enthusiastic and emotionally (connected) with work” as workers prior to retirement. Employee engagement measures what “motivates an employee to invest in getting the job done, not just ‘well’ but ‘with excellence’ because the work energizes the person.”

The Department of Labor calls this the “demographic metamorphosis” of America. The department expects between 2006 and 2016, the number of workers 55 and over is projected to increase by 36.5 percent. The Department of Labor’s Aging Worker Initiative has underwritten grants to develop multiple programs in areas of the country that face possible labor shortages. The programs also help train older workers in regions with high-growth industries.

For many retirees, the challenge first is understanding retirement and handling the transition. Such support sites as Workforce50.com and the “Working After Retirement” channel of the AARP website offer support and information.

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One group of doctors is looking to care for the environment as well—also concerning the use of anesthesia. By selecting certain anesthetics, some doctors are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Anesthesiologists Use New Environmentally Friendly Chemicals

Once a doctor finishes a surgery, the anesthetic gas is released into the air.  Many of these gasses have an impact on the environment, contributing to the notorious greenhouse effect. According to a report in the Sacramento Bee, anesthesia used at an average hospital has a carbon footprint equivalent to that of several parking lots full of cars (a carbon footprint is the entire greenhouse gas emissions caused by one product: basically, it’s a calculation of how much of an impact a product has on the environment).

When an anesthetic is inhaled by a patient, the body makes few changes. The gas is generally released into the atmosphere as medical waste, and often acts as greenhouse gases once they have been in the atmosphere for an extended period of time.  Keep in mind that the study does not recommend that doctors cease using anesthetics—rather,

Not all anesthetics have such a deep imprint on the environment. Susan M. Ryan, anesthesiology professor at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted a study on the most commonly used anesthetics to determine their carbon footprints. Certain products are less damaging to the air—like sevoflurane, which the study determined to the product with the smallest carbon footprint.

Sevoflurane is the most commonly used anesthetic at UC Davis Medical Center—however, it’s not because of its toddler-sized carbon footprint.  Rather, doctors prefer sevoflurane because they find it less irritating to patients’ lungs than other options.  In the same vein, the anesthetic with the largest footprint, desflurane, is used less frequently because it irritates the lungs more than other products.

Still, one must not discount the effects of these gases on the environment.  Acccording to the study, using the gas desflurane for just 60 minutes has the same impact on the environment as driving your car for up to 470 miles. In the end, Dr. Ryan suggested that doctors make small changes to help save the environment—while also ensuring the safety of their patients.  The study also proposed that researchers develop a way to dispose of anesthetic gases without releasing them into the atmosphere.

While our own health is undoubtedly important, maintaining the health of the world we live in is equally important. Hopefully doctors can both look after patients and the environment by making Dr. Ryan’s proposed changes happen.

E-Prescriptions May Be in Your Future

Many doctors have already chosen to use electronic prescriptions because they see the many benefits of this practice.  Electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions) will help to eliminate many dilemmas that arise with paper prescriptions.  For example, e-prescriptions reduce the chance of a paper prescription being misplaced or misread (since doctors are notorious for their bad handwriting).  They will also be faster because the doctors can send the prescription directly to the pharmacy and it should be ready when you arrive.  E-prescriptions will be able to forewarn if the patient is allergic to the prescribed medication. Importantly, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has approved the use of e-prescriptions for the time being as they prove themselves beneficial to the world of medicine.

E-prescriptions can prevent medical incidents before they happen, such as asthma attacks.  One of the many advantages of using this new system is it gives doctors the ability to regularly track patients’ use of medications.  A doctor can automatically refill the prescription and alert the patient about the refill.  This could prevent an asthma attack because the patients’ meds won’t run out and their inhaler will always be ready at hand.  A full prescription will get patients in the habit of routinely using their inhaler; therefore, reducing the risk of asthma attacks.  By monitoring a patient’s routine use of an inhaler, doctors can also decide if the prescribed medication is the best one for the patient.

Additionally, electronic patient records seem to be the next step for hospitals.  In fact, hospitals will be required to have most of their records filed electronically by 2015.  This will endure prompt and correct information.  Patients will receive better care because electronic records will be able to alert a doctor before they make a mistake.  This will help to eliminate medical malpractice and medication mistakes that may be otherwise overlooked.  Also, hospitals and doctors will benefit from the use of electronic records because they will receive money from Medicare and Medicaid for complying with the electronic system.

One concern that has arisen from the practice of electronic prescriptions and health records is confidentiality.  Patients have expressed fear that personal information will be exposed to public access.  However, the electronic information is secure.  Doctors and hospitals can ensure confidentiality and privacy to its patients.  Hence, the future of electronic healthcare looks bright.  Now that the journey is underway for many, we will wait and see if the hectic schedules of remaining doctors and hospitals can allow time for conversion to electronic healthcare.

But how can you live such a long life?

Part of the credit can go to the improved medical care available after World War II, especially in the United States. Resources like Medicare and nursing facilities specialized in elder care have undoubtedly helped boost those numbers. Still, health care is likely only one small piece of the puzzle.

Such longevity has often proved puzzling to the general public and researchers alike.  Some experts believe that diet and exercise are key to a long, healthy life.  Over 40,000 people over the age of 100 currently live in Japan, quadruple the number from a decade ago. The large population of centenarians and super centenarians in Okinawa, Japan highlights the importance of diet to lifespan. In Okinawa, the standard diet is high in fish, soy, seaweed, and other vegetables, reducing obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.

In Vilcabamba, Ecuador, there is yet another group of centenarians. Allegedly, one man lived for 127 years, and his relatives attribute his longevity to the village’s traditional diet.  Vilcabamba natives drink traditional horchata tea, and low-cholesterol, low fat diets.  The elderly also remain physically active: according to a Boston Globe article, one 92 year old man stopped working the bean fields a year before the reporter’s visit.  The elderly in Vilcabamba continued working, walking, and even romancing well into later life, keeping both minds and bodies active.

Celebrating Longevity: More Active People Living to 100

So all you have to do to live to 100 is eat right and exercise?

Not so fast.  Recently, researchers have been looking at a link between certain genes and old age. In Vilcabamba, where the elderly flourish, genes may play a huge part in the story: marriage was often limited to the small village, where many people are related.    Jeanne Calment, the woman who lived to a record 122 years, had parents who lived into their 90s.

Recently, researchers conducted a study which revealed genes related to longevity.  By looking at a group of 150 gene variants, researchers were able to distinguish centenarians from non centenarians over 75% of the time. According to the study, some of the participants’ genes were linked to the delay in cancer, heart disease, and other diseases related to old age. Still, there was no specific “long life” gene; rather, a combination of the 150 genes tended to appear in the centenarians. Still, researchers highlighted the importance of healthy lifestyles, especially exercise and diet, in connection to living long.

Undoubtedly, genetics plays a large role in determining how long you’ll live. However, genetics isn’t everything.  Some studies report that genes determine up to 30 percent of your longevity likelihood.  The environment in which you live has a strong impact on your life span.  Finally, how you fuel your body ultimately has the greatest say.  Eating a healthful diet and remaining active—both mentally and physically—is still crucial in living a long, fulfilling life.

Bad Nurses Able to Circumvent the System

When a nurse is accused of misconduct in a state outside the compact, they are suspended during the investigation and their license is revoked or they are otherwise sanctioned if the allegations are proven true. Within the compact, when a state is slow to act (or fails share information with its fellow compact members) on allegations of misconduct, nurses suspected of crimes remain free to work in any of the other member states. Some nurses in the compact will leave their home state while they are being investigated and set up shop in another compact state, jumping from state to state to elude subsequent allegations and putting patients in jeopardy. Compact officials don’t track which nurses are sanctioned for misconduct elsewhere by their home state nor do they investigate whether states are adequately monitoring visiting nurses.

Because there is no federal licensing system for nurses the compact has been an improvement over the state-by-state method for policing nurses who work in different states, but as evidenced the ability of one state to keep bad nurses out of its hospitals is only as good as the reporting of other states in the compact. As a result, though the compact has been heralded as a success, board officials in non-member states worry it gives compact members a false sense of security. They argue that differing regulations and standards across states make cooperation difficult. For example, laws in most states allow officials to suspend a nurse’s license immediately but some cannot no matter how serious the allegations. Also, some states require criminal background checks before giving a nurse his or her license, while other states don’t.

In an interesting article for Bloomberg Business week, Pat Weschler takes a look at a study of med schools, the amount of primary care doctors produced, and the “social mission” of the institutions. According to the study, Atlanta’s Morehouse School of Medicine is the top ranked med school in terms of “social mission” and primary care physicians.  Meanwhile, Harvard Medical School didn’t even break the study’s top 50, coming in at number 62.  Weschler writes that the study compiled data based on the amount of the med school graduates enter primary care, the number that serve in short-handed regions, and the amount that serve minorities.

The study focused on the “research culture” fostered at many top institutions, where specialists often model behavior to students.  One of the authors of the study, Fitzhugh Mullan, claims that schools could boost the number of primary care physicians by focusing on adding higher numbers of women, minorities, and older med students to the mix. At the same time, shifting the focus of med school curricula from research to primary care may also influence more med students to consider becoming primary care physicians.

I found the study’s claims very compelling. The culture of a college, medical school, or any other institution can very well alter your career path.  Medical schools can help reduce the primary care deficit by steering more students towards primary care. Dr Candice Chen, another one of the study’s authors, emphasizes the role of medical schools in increasing the nation’s number of primary care physicians. Breaking away from typical med school rankings may be able to help build a strong primary care base by the time the new health care reforms kick in for real.

Although I tend to agree with many of the points in the study, I do not think that one should count out the money factor.  The cost to complete medical school is astronomically high and rising higher, on top of loans from undergraduate courses of study. Primary care physicians also make far less than specialists after completing similar courses of study, which serves as another deterrent from the primary care profession. Like it or not, money plays a large role in job selection—although as the study showed, it is not the sole factor involved in the decision.

Our Primary Care Physician shortage is a national healthcare issue

By targeting medical schools in addition to (possibly) improving primary care salaries, perhaps this nation can create a strong foundation of primary care providers.  Ultimately, health care reform hinges on such a base of physicians, especially as over 30 million people will gain health insurance coverage in 2014, many of whom will most definitely seek preventative care.