Infotrak

Dean Ornish M.D, founder and President of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, author of “Undo It!: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases” Dr. Ornish is a well-known advocate for using diet and lifestyle changes to treat and prevent heart disease. He outlined four changes in lifestyle that he believes can stop the progression and even reverse many chronic diseases. He said it’s surprising how rapidly our bodies can begin to heal after making simple lifestyle changes.

Many Americans will be shocked once they reach retirement, to find that their IRA or 401(k) is not worth nearly as much as they think. Alicia Munnell, PhD, economist, Director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Peter F. Drucker Professor of Management Sciences at Boston College's Carroll School of Management said many upper income retirees will be hit with 25-32% federal tax bills on the funds they saved for retirement, and possibly even more from state taxes. She noted that those who save in tax-deferred retirement plans still come out ahead, even after paying taxes on the withdrawals.

It has been proven that a lack of enough sleep or poor quality if sleep is a major factor in heart disease. Michael Twery, PhD, Director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research at theNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health discussed a recent NIH study that examined the biological reasons behind it. He said the research may lead to improved treatments for both sleep disorders and heart disease.

Americans’ views about marijuana have drastically changed in a relatively short period of time. Amy Adamczyk, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice, City University of New York led a study that found that support for legalization began to increase shortly after the news media began to frame marijuana as a medical issue, rather than as a criminal or drug abuse issue. She believes that nationwide legalization of marijuana is likely in coming years.

Daniel Pink, author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing explained how timing affects everything — from work to home to school — and that it’s a science, not an art or luck. He outlined research that found that 86 specific days each year are the optimal days to start a project or to get a fresh start. He offered several examples of how productivity, personal goals and even medical procedures are significantly affected by the timing of the event.

Cheryl Hyatt co-founder of Hyatt-Fennell Executive Search talked about the importance of references in job searches. She said they are an integral part of an application package. She offered suggestions to customize references for specific jobs and how to choose the best people as references.

Nancy O’Reilly, PsyD, licensed psychologist, author of In This Together: How Successful Women Support Each Other in Work and Life explained why women experience more rudeness and incivility from other women in the workplace than they do from men. She said women have not been trained to lead as women. She offered suggestions for women to offer support to each other at work, rather than competing. She explained why men should also be concerned about this trend.

Americans are preparing to file their taxes, and fraudsters are getting ready to target taxpayers with new scams. Darrell Laffoon, Chief Technology Officer of security firms EZShield + IdentityForce outlined some of the most common schemes used to commit tax fraud and tax-related identity theft. He noted that the IRS never uses email to contact taxpayers or others filing tax returns. He explained what to do if you are targeted.

Nearly everyone can use some help in getting organized. Regina Leeds, professional organizer, author of The 8-Minute Organizer talked about the reasons that keeping order in our lives and possessions is so difficult. She offered small, step-by-step suggestions on how determine goals to get organized, and how to create positive routines for the long-term.

Jonathan Adkins, Executive Director of the Governors Highway Safety Association discussed a recent report from his organization that highlighted excessive vehicle speed as a persistent factor in nearly one-third of all motor vehicle-related fatalities. He believes that speeding is not given enough attention as a traffic safety issue and is widely deemed culturally acceptable by the motoring public. He outlined several public policy measures that he believes would help to reduce speeding.

It is common knowledge that good health and happiness depends on having proper balance between our professional and private lives. Bryan E. Robinson, PhD, psychotherapist, Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, author of #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life explained how ending the cycle of work addiction can be achieved by reframing priorities and cultivating mindfulness in our daily lives. He outlined the benefits of mediation to let go of anxiety and focus on the moment.

It’s well known that marijuana use has a negative impact on brain function and memory. Dr. Neil Dawson’s research team examined what specific areas of the brain are affected by long term use, for both recreational users and patients who use the drug to combat epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain. He said long term use of the drug impairs the ability of brain regions involved in learning and memory to communicate with each other. Dr. Dawson is a Lecturer in Biomedicine at Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results offered strategies aimed at forming good habits, breaking bad ones, and mastering the tiny behaviors that lead to extraordinary results. He explained how to find the underlying causes of bad habits and why that can help to correct them. He offered examples of ways to redesign an environment to break bad habits.

Tasleem Padamsee, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Services Management and Policy at Ohio State University. Dr. Padamsee led a study that found that African-American women at high risk of breast cancer are less likely than white women to pursue potentially life-saving preventive care. She talked about the most common preventative steps that at-risk patients can take. She also encouraged patients to talk to their physicians about cancer risk concerns.

Marcos A. Rangel, PhD, Applied Microeconomist, Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy Medicine at Duke University led a study that found that immigrant children are nearly twice as likely to study and pursue careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as children born in the US. He believes that because immigrant students are less comfortable communicating in English than their native-born peers, they gravitate toward subjects where the language barrier is less of an impediment.

Every day an unseen form of labor creeps into our lives—the kind of secretarial and managerial work necessary to run a life and a household. Elizabeth Emens, PhD, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, author of Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More discussed how this labor is created, how it affects our lives, and how we might avoid, reduce, and redistribute admin whenever possible—as individuals and as a society.

Each year, thousands of teenagers and young adults are prescribed opioids for pain relief after having their wisdom teeth removed Alan Schroeder, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine led a study that found almost 6 percent of these patients were diagnosed with opioid abuse during the 12 months after the initial prescription. He discussed alternate options for pain relief. He said wisdom tooth extraction is by far the most common surgical procedure for adolescents and young adults but there is very little research that supports the widespread use of the procedure.

Advertising works, and Dr Jennifer Emond’s study found that kids who were exposed to TV ads for high-sugar cereals were more likely to subsequently eat the cereals they had seen advertised. She talked about the effect this may have on diet quality and childhood obesity, and offered suggestions to parents on how to maintain control of TV watching, particularly for small children.

Teresa Gil, PhD, psychotherapist , author of Women Who Were Sexually Abused As Children: Mothering, Resilience and Protecting the Next Generation estimates that there are approximately 21 million mothers in America who experienced childhood sexual abuse. She discussed how that trauma may affect their own parenting. She talked about the value of strong mother-daughter relationships, spiritual beliefs, and therapy in coping.

How honest are you with your doctor? Over half of patients in a recent study say they don’t share key information with their physician. A research scientist says withholding those facts may be risky. Then, an expert says mothers in America who experienced sexual abuse in childhood may find the trauma affects them as parents.