The Daoist Diaries

A study presented at a recent American Heart Association Conference (www.americanheart.org) has found that candy in wrappers might help indulgers eat less as opposed to eating unwrapped candies.  Researchers found that people who ate candies and kept the wrappers in plain sight ate only about half as many as those who did not.

Lead author Brian Wansink (author of Mindless Eating, www.mindlesseating.org) says, “Having a visual reminder of how much [you eat], keeps you honest and eating less.  Your stomach can’t count, but your eyes can when they see the empty wrappers.”

It also helps to keep the candy in a less convenient location as opposed to a more convenient location, Wansink says.  So for instance, in the office, you wouldn’t want to keep the candy on your desk where it’s easy to get to.  Move it at least 5 or 10 feet away so that you have to get up and walk for your treats.

Not sleeping well can lead to problems, especially for older adults, research has found.  Depression, attention and memory problems, excessive daytime sleepiness and nighttime falls can all occur as a result of poor nighttime sleeping.  According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, some of the more common sleep disorders in older adults include:

• Insomnia, which affects almost half of adults 60 and older.
• Obstructive sleep apnea, which can elevate the risk for high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and cognitive problems.  Snoring, a symptom of OSA, is a very common condition affecting nearly 40 percent of adults, and is more common in older people.
• Restless legs syndrome, which can cause people to jerk and kick their legs every 20 to 40 seconds during sleep, is evident in almost 40 percent of older adults.

Follow these tips to get a better night’s sleep:

• Establish a routine sleep schedule.
• Avoid using the bed for anything other than sleep and intimacy.
• Avoid substances that disturb your sleep, like alcohol or caffeine.
• Avoid daytime naps.  If you must take a nap, limit the time to less than one hour and no later than 3 p.m.
• Stick to rituals that help you relax each night before going to bed.  This can include things like a warm bath, a light snack or a few minutes of reading.
• Don’t take your worries to bed.  Bedtime is a time to relax, not to hash out the stresses of the day.
• If you can’t fall asleep, leave your bedroom and engage in a quiet activity.  Return to bed only when you are tired.
• Keep your bedroom dark, quiet and a little on the cool side.

Husband see, husband do, and vice versa, a study has found.  Researchers say that if one spouse adopts a new health behavior, if one the other is likely to do the same.  So if one spouse exercises, quits smoking or drinking, or gets a flu shot, the other spouse is likely to follow suit.

Yale University researchers, who looked at data from more than 6,000 individuals and their spouses from the Health and Retirement Study, conducted the study.  The changes in health habits were most noticeable when it came to smoking and drinking, often spurred by outside cues, and patient-directed preventive behavior, such as a doctor’s referral to get a flu shot, researchers say.

Smokers were five times more likely to quit smoking if their spouse quit, when controlling for other relevant factors.  Drinkers were also five times more likely to quit drinking alcohol if their partner didn’t drink.  The good news is that the health of a family can be enhanced by the behavior of a spouse, but the opposite can also be true: A spouse can mirror destructive behaviors as well.  These facts should be considered in trying to help families reach optimal levels of health.