Healing power of Music

By the time Debbie Clark took Adam, her autistic three year-old son, to a music therapist, he could barely speak. At the music-therapy clinic at California State University in Northridge, USA, therapists encouraged the autistic child to express himself by playing instruments and beating out rhythms on drums. They put conversations to song in order to get Adam talking.

"In tree months, the change was phenomenal," says Clark. "Before, Adam would never look a stranger in the eye, let alone speak. Now, after his music therapy session, he waves to the therapists and says, "Bye, Jim. Bye, Ron. See you next week." Believe me, that's music to my ears."

Music, researchers around the world are discovering, can help healing in a variety of ways. Burn victims encouraged to sing while having their dressing changed experience less pain. Cancer patients who listen to music and practice improvising on instruments, for example, see their levels of stress hormones drop and their immune systems get stronger. Part of music's power comes from ability to relieve anxiety, which can suppress immune defenses as well as intensify the experience of pain. Music, especially singing, takes a person's mind off the suffering and soothes tension. "By helping patients relax, music eases pain and may even speed recovery," says Richard Fratianne, a noted professor of surgery. The experiences of autistic children like Adam Clark suggest that music's effects reach deeper, even influencing brain development. The therapeutic use of music seems to activate different parts of the brain, including networks associated with motor control, memory, emotion and speech, explains neuroscientist and musician Michael Thaut. In his own work, Thaut is using the close link between music and movement to help people slowed by strokes, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease.

Says Northridge music therapist Ron Borczon: "Traditional healers have used songs and drumming for centuries. We're simply rediscovering what they always knew -- that music, through its profound effect on mind and body, can be a potent way to help people get well."

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Do your kids have dinner with you?

If so, they probably eat better than those who don't dine with their parents. In a recent Harvard study of 16,000 children ages nine to 14, 24% of those who dined daily with their family got the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables, compared with 13% of those who rarely or never shared meals at home. They also ate less fried food, drank less aerated drinks, and consumed more calcium, fibre, iron and vitamins C and E. Says Dr Matthew W. Gillman, lead investigator of the study at Harvard, "There are two possible explanations. When kids eat with their parents, there may be more nutritious food on the table. Or maybe there's a discussion of healthful eating." » Continue reading

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The Bedside Gift Guide

Visiting a friend or relative in the hospital? Here is a list of gifts a patient will love you for.

• Face, lip and body moisturizers, and bottled water. many hospitals are too hot and dry.
  
• Scented candles. You probably won't be allowed to light them, but they'll still help overcome that distinctive medicinal odor.
  
• A newspaper or magazine.
  
• Flowers are lovely, but they die quickly in a warm hospital room. A small plant or orchids will last.
  
• A book. Always take into consideration the taste of the recipient, but steer clear of heavy philosophy.
  
• A good small reading lamp. This tames the pallor of the overhead fluorescent lighting, and if reading is the patient's primary diversion, he or she deserves a great bedside light source.
  
• A portable tape or CD player and a tape or CD of your friend's favorite music.
  
• A notebook or journal to jot down telephone numbers, thoughts and messages.
  
• Tweezers. My sister made me promise that if she was ever in an accident and went into a coma, I'd come in and tweeze her eyebrows.

» Continue reading

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Dating not for the young alone

Do you think that dating is just for the young? Think again. The old have the right to be happy, too! In fact in this age when the kids leave their folks alone to fend for themselves once they're on their feet, single parents need company to spend time.

DatingForSeniors.com is a senior dating and senior match making website where senior men and women can chat, meet and find suitable partners to spend the rest of their life with.

Signing up is totally free and it is very simple and easy to use. Like on many other dating sites you can browse through profiles, search for senior singles from your area and start interacting with members, exchange emails and probably meet them in person.

You might ask - Why another dating site just for seniors? Why can't seniors make use of other regular dating sites? To find the answer you might better ask a senior in your vicinity. » Continue reading

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Reading, Writing & Runny Noses

Most schoolchildren tend to get three to six viral illnesses a year -- usually when the seasons change, as with the onset of the monsoon, or of winter. If you and your kids can follow these rules, you'll all have a healthier school year.

1. Soap up. Germs live a hand-to-mouth, -nose, or -eye existence. Keep your kids' hands clean, and they'll stay well. In an American study of 6000 school kids, regular hand washing-cut absenteeism 20 percent. It might seem too simple, but plain soap and water really work!
   
2. Hands off! Back up the frequent-washing plan by reminding your kids to keep their hands off their faces as much as possible.
   
3. Get some fresh air. Encourage your kids to play outside -- even if it's a bit cold. Kids don't "catch cold" from cool weather. Studies suggest even the traditional winter colds may result from people spending more time indoors.
   
4. Get plenty of sleep. Researchers have found that sleep deprivation increases our susceptibility to colds.
   
5. Just say no. If your child's best friend's mum says her son has the sniffles, cancel your child's play time with him.

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True Tales of Job Hunting

Office casual may be in, but etiquette still counts in interviews. Some tips:

Turn off your phone. While he waited, one candidate called his mum to tell her about how the dentist fixed his gums, says Anne Maxfield, president of a Manhattan personnel search firm. When a manager finally greeted him, he said, "I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Proofread letters. A candidate at Food & Wine magazine wrote post-interview thank-yous, but carelessness did her in. "She got the name right on one letter," says editor-in-chief Dana Cowin. "The other said: 'Dear Blah Blah.'"

Do you homework. To break the ice at one large company, candidate Fred Neurohr asked, "Is Ed McMahon around a lot?" He got no response but persisted. "I bet he's exciting at the Christmas party." Finally, his interviewer broke the news: "He works for our competitor."

Check your zipper. Linda Gilleran, a consultant for Hewlett-Packard, once left an interview thinking she had made a good impression. Outside, she says, "I looked down to find my fly open wit just the fluttering silk of my underwear between me and the world." She didn't get the job. » Continue reading

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Get smarter on Sunglasses

Summer. The time when sunglasses are most used. Some glaring facts about them from eye doctors.

• Not everybody needs sunglasses: most of us can tolerate normal sunlight unaided. Wear sunglasses if you constantly encounter dust, glare, wind, or prolonged exposure to intense sunlight. Wearing them at all times can reduce your eyes' tolerance to light, making even normal light seem unpleasant.
  
• Spurious sunglasses can harm your eyes. Select a pair with a brochure or sticker that says "UV400" or "100% UV protection." But manufacturers often falsely make the claim, so it's safest to pay extra for a reputed brand. Shaded behind sunglasses, your pupils dilate. So glasses that are not UV-safe will let in excessive ultraviolet rays which cause cataracts, a gradual clouding of the eye's natural lens.
  
• Glass colour has no bearing on quality or UV protection. But grey, light green or brown do not adversely affect our colour perception -- unlike yellow, red and other colours.
  
• Plastic lenses being unbreakable and light are safer than those made of glass for games or diving, and for kids, Ask for "scratch proof plastic."
  
• To test the optical quality of non-prescription glasses, hold them at half an arm's length and, with one eye closed, look through a lens at any object. If the object seems to move or wobble as you move the glasses, the lens has imperfections and may cause headaches. With a good lens, the object will stay as is.
  
• Polarized sunglasses are best for cutting the glare -- suitable for driving, boating, beaches or snow.
  
• Photo chromatic glasses adjust to UV -- a better choice for those who often wear sunglasses.
  
• Don't encourage small children to wear sunglasses habitually -- they're likely to grow up unable to manage without them.

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