Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
Thirty-nine percent of people across the world attend a religious service every week, but of them, few know just how beneficial religious involvement can be! As life changes with aging, from physical declines to loss of loved ones, religious involvement can help you remain healthy. No matter your prior involvement or your current abilities, you can experience the benefits of religion. Here are four reasons why you should embrace your faith as a means toward healthy aging.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing its national tobacco education campaign—Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®)—with hard-hitting TV commercials that feature real people who have experienced the harms caused by smoking. The 2018 campaign ads are again highlighting the immediate and long-term damage caused by smoking, and strongly encouraging smokers to quit.
The American Psychological Association (APA) is one of a cadre of national organizations partnering with the Tips® campaign.
For aging adults, declining quality of sleep and difficulty sleeping through the night are common problems. Sleep is an essential biological process, and good sleep is important to our overall mental and physical wellbeing. Researchers find that changes in circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock for cycles like eating and sleeping, can cause changes as we age
When my son was just eight weeks and two days into his gestational period, I settled my anxiety of giving birth to a Black male. The night before I gave birth, unlike his twin sister, he was hovered up into the corner of my womb and his heart rate had begun to slow down. That following morning, he was born. Now 20, my Black son has dreams and aspirations but there is the threat of death in the air.
From 2001 to 2015, the suicide risk for Black boys between the ages of 5 and 11 was two to three times higher than that of White boys, according to a new research letter in JAMA Pediatrics (Bridge, 2018). This concerning trend continues through adolescence as reported by the Nationwide Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Kann et al., 2017). The rates of attempted suicide, including attempts that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose, are 1.2x higher among Black males compared to White males.
By Ryan C. Thompson & Rowena Gomez, PhD (Palo Alto University) Improving physical health behaviors, such as eating healthy and exercise, is not the only way to protect older adults from stroke. In fact, psychological factors have been shown to play a role in increasing as well as reducing the risk of stroke. For example, […]
To mark Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day (May 4), we posed a series of questions to the authors of two titles from APA’s Magination Press, which publishes innovative books that help children deal with the many challenges and problems they face as they grow up.
It’s a new year and we know that 2016 was a stressful year for many of us. Thinking of a way to manage your stress and anxiety in the year ahead? Practicing mindfulness may be the answer.
By Bengt B. Arnetz, MD, PhD, MScEpi, MPH (Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and Chair, Department of Family Medicine, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University) The recovery after the “Great Recession” in terms of high-quality jobs and economic growth has been slow. This is usually attributed to economic reasons. However, I believe a major […]
This is a cross-post from Minding the Workplace (the New Workplace Institute blog). Professor David Yamada reflects on his experiences at the recent Work, Stress and Health conference in Atlanta, GA. By David Yamada, JD (Professor of Law, Suffolk University Boston and Director, New Workplace Institute) All too often, academic and professional conferences are something of a […]
Psychology Benefits Society 