Music and Your Brain

from Jo-Ann Rapaport

Did you know that listening to music is good for you?  Click here for a short video, where CNN’s medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta describes the formidable effect that listening to music can have on the brain.

Research has confirmed that playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full body workout!! Click here for a brief animation from TED-Ed, written by Anita Collins and animated by Sharon Coleman Graham that explains why playing music benefits the brain more than any other activity. 

The Power of Being Needed

Despite their differences in religion and politics, the Dalai Lama and Arthur C. Brooks agree on the healthful and joyful consequences of being useful to others.  They note a research study showing that senior citizens who didn't feel useful to others were nearly three times as likely to die prematurely than those who did feel useful.  Click here to read the article.

Jo-Ann Rapaport's Solution to Dry Winter Skin

How do you get moisturizing lotion smoothly between your shoulder blades on your back?  That’s where the itch associated with winter’s dry skin seems unreachable and intolerable to me.  Here’s my solution.  After showering and applying lotion everywhere I can reach, I take a square of paper towel and fold it into thirds.  I then pump moisturizing lotion over the entire exposed third.  I hold the top of the paper towel and place it on the nape of my neck. I then reach around for the other end of the paper towel and sweep it from side to side.   Amazingly I’ve just put moisturizing cream on parts of my back  I’ve never reached before!

Storyglory Workshop with Tina Martin Sat. Nov. 5, 10-3

THIS SATURDAY

Record your memories with a professional family historian.  Join our free workshop with Tina Martin (daughter of former residents Marjorie and Ralph Martin). You’ll learn how to use Storyglory, a free and simple personal history app for iPhones and iPads, to digitize a photo, record your memories, and share it with friends and family.

WHEN AND WHERE

Saturday, November 5
10am - 3pm
Residents Office, C Level (near Clermont puzzle table)

SIGN UP

Sign up on the Storyglory sheet on the Trips Shelf

BRING:  2 or more photos
An iPhone or iPad (or you can use ours)

QUESTIONS?  Jeff x1854  Sheila x1793  Caroline x1602

PRODUCED In collaboration with the Computer Committee

 

Laughter and Stress Relief: A Follow-up from Bill Rakower

Bill writes, "for decades now following the work of Norman Cousins, Ev and I have practiced so-called 'laugh therapy'.  It works remarkably well to elevate your mood."  He suggests going to YouTube, entering "laugh therapy" and you'll find many videos about how it works as well as videos that may make you laugh.  Click here to check them out.  Bill continues, "Of course, if you walk down the halls of KOH laughing out loud, your neighbors may think you are crazy.  You'll figure it out."

Preserving Healthy Vision from Jo-Ann Rapaport

When you last visited your eye specialist did you receive all the elements of a comprehensive dilated eye exam?   Vision threatening diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration may have no early warning symptoms.   Early detection can be sight-saving.

Click here for a play by play description (with an animated video) of the components of a comprehensive dilated eye exam from the National Eye Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health.

Laughter--and Stress Relief from Jo-Ann Rapaport

In the 1970’s, Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a dreadful disease for which there was limited treatment and a poor prognosis.  He and his doctor infused his treatment with doses of The Marx Brothers and Three Stooges movies and other comedies and discovered the healing potential of laughter. A new category of treatment was launched with his book Anatomy of an Illness As Perceived by the Patient and his subsequent research at UCLA into the biochemistry of human emotions, confirmed their relationship to healing.  His book has been republished as an e-book by his daughter, Sarah Cousins Shapiro, and is available from Amazon for Kindles and in Hardcover.

 Click here for a piece on stress relief from a Mayo Clinic publication, which says: Stress relief from laughter?  It’s no joke.  When it comes to relieving stress, more giggles and guffaws are just what the doctor ordered. Here’s why.

Traveling with Grandchildren, from Jo-Ann Rapaport

Some of us travel with grandchildren to share time together and experience far away places. Yet as the grownups, it’s our job to keep all of us healthy and safe. My childhood neighbor, Jane E. Brody, now a grandmother of 4 teenage boys enjoys traveling with them.  Click here to read the very helpful feature she wrote after their trip to Africa.