March-April
2009
Spring AT LAST!
Although it may be hard to tell from the weather, the spring (vernal) equinox was on March 20 - equinox for equal night (and day). This occurs when the Earth reaches a point in its orbit when the Sun is directly over the equator. Because of the tilt of our planet on its axis, this happens only twice a year - once in spring and once in fall.
Spring is a time for rebirth and new growth, for new ideas and for hope. We have a new administration with a "yes we can" and "yes we will" attitude. Many of us are learning new and creative ways to deal with financial uncertainty. I remember when "voluntary simplicity" was a movement among the upper middle class. Now we may have to learn "involuntary simplicity", which is an entirely different thing. It's one thing to choose to skip a meal, to walk or bus instead of drive, or to forego traveling for our vacations. (Last year, I heard "stay-cations" were popular because of the high gas prices.) It's entirely different to be forced to cut back on spending and give up things we want or even need.
We can remember to prioritize what's important and to be grateful for simple pleasures. My husband's dog, a lab mix, takes such incredible joy in just running to help fetch the paper or being brushed, and he's absolutely ecstatic at the prospect of a walk. It's inspiring, and he reminds us to exercise outdoors together, which is a lot easier now that we're moving out of the winter doldrums.
Enjoy spring. Enjoy simple pleasures with people and animals you care about.
Namaste,
Sue Redding
"Even the winter holds the promise of spring."
"Never put your life in the hands of twelve people who are not smart enough to get out of jury duty."
Milton Berle
"For wisdom will enter your mind and knowledge will delight you, Foresight will protect you and discernment will guard you."
Second Proverbs 10 verse 11
Stressed spelled backward is desserts.
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."
Buddha
Musician Jokes
"Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves, for we shall never cease to be amused."
Q: How many guitar players does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 13 - one to do it, and twelve to stand around and say, "Phhhwt! I can do that!"
Q: What's the difference between a Wagnerian soprano and a baby elephant?
A: Eleven pounds.
Q: Why do people play trombone?
A: Because they can't move their fingers and read music at the same time.
Q: What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
A: Everyone is relieved when the case is closed.
Q: How does a young man become a member of a high school chorus?
A: On the first day of school he turns into the wrong classroom.
Q: What will you never say about a banjo player?
A: You can tune a chainsaw.
Rating Your Stress Level
Answering these 10 questions can give you a quick read on how well you are handling stress. They come from the Perceived Stress Scale devised by psychologists Sheldon Cohen and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University. Researchers have found several connections between high levels of stress on this scale and increasing risk of health problems, such as respiratory infections, depression and failure among diabetics to control blood sugar.
How often in the past month have you felt this way?
0 = never
1 = almost never
2 = sometimes
3 = fairly often
4 = very often
- Upset because of something that happened unexpectedly.
- Unable to control the important things in your life.
- Nervous and stressed.
- Unable to cope with all the things you had to do.
- Angered because of things outside of your control.
- Difficulties were piling up so high you could not overcome them.
How often in the past month have you felt this way?
0 = never
1 = almost never
2 = sometimes
3 = fairly often
4 = very often
-Confident about your ability to handle your personal problems.
- Things were going your way.
- Able to control irritations in your life.
- You were on top of things.
Total: Perceived stress level:
Women:
0-7 (low)
8-20 (average)
21-26 (high)
27-40 (very high)
Men:
0-6 (low)
7-17 (average)
18-23 (high)
24-40 (very high)
From The Oregonian, January 28, 2009
New Expanded Hours & Spring Special
You can manage your stress with healthy diet and exercise, laughter, meditation, time spent in nature, yoga, and stress-relieving massage.
I'm offering more access to my assistance in relieving your stress by expanding my office hours. I'm staying open till 6PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and till 7PM on Fridays.
In addition, to celebrate springtime and new growth, I'll give $10 off any session during April and May.
Come in for a massage or for a private yoga lesson for individuals or couples. Try out Reiki or spiritual healing. Give a gift certificate to someone you care about.
Just give me a call for more information or to schedule an appointment - 503-235-4839.
US Census Bureau is Hiring
In Spring 2009 and in early 2010, several thousand temporary census jobs will be available for qualified applicants. Assignments will last 5 to 10 weeks and bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply. Positions available include Census Taker (also known as an Enumerator), Crew Leader, Crew Leader Assistant, Recruiting Assistant and Census Clerk. Census jobs pay competitive wages and workers are reimbursed for authorized expenses such as mileage. Some jobs are daytime workweek jobs while other may require evening and weekend work.
For more information on the overall program, call the Census Bureau at 1-866-861-2010. The Portland office number is 503-205-8351 and local recruiter Dustin Freemont's cell phone number is (possible toll call) 808-269-1894. The Census Bureau is also looking for spaces in Portland in which to conduct testing, training and operations. For more information, please email Dustin at dustin.freemont@gmail.com.
- From APNBA News Source Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations
Curing A Kid's Snore May Bring Behavior Benefits
Children who are habitual snorers are two to three times more likely than non-snorers to suffer the kinds of behavior and learning problems more typically associated with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.
By Patti Neighmond
A snoring child may sound like a purring kitten, but researchers say that if the snoring is chronic, it could be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder that can have wide-ranging effects on learning and behavior.
"Any child that presents with mood issues, irritability, impulsivity, aggressive behavior. attention problems or with academic issues, you have to think about their sleep," says Dr. Judith Owens, who directs the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I.
Dr. Michael Schechter, a pediatric pulmonologist and epidemiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, agrees, and says the problem is fairly common. About 12 percent of children under the age of 10 are habitual snorers. The sound can signal a sleep problem that is sometimes neurological or caused by a blockage in airways that leads to sleep apnea. That's an interruption in breathing that triggers mini-awakenings throughout the night to catch a breath. In other cases, the noise of the snoring alone is enough to disrupt sleep.
Symptoms Like ADHD
But whatever the cause, Schechter says, a recent study suggests that these "habitual snorers" are two to three times more likely than non-snorers to suffer the kinds of behavior and learning problems more typically associated with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.
"It can look a lot like ADHD," Schechter says.
That was the case with 12-year-old Michael Wasylyk, one of Owens' patients in Providence. Michael's mom, Sherry, says his teachers suggested his lack of focus in school and inattention might be ADHD and even implied, she thought, that medication was in order. But Sherry Wasylyk had been noticing other symptoms, including snoring.
- from NPR Morning Edition, March 5, 2009 for a link to listen to the whole segment, go to: http://thin.npr.org/s.php?sId=101426648
Singing Your Way to a Snore Free Night
Music teacher Alise Ojay has developed exercises that she claims will help many people stop snoring. The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital is studying her course, which teaches people how to strengthen the throat muscles she says can help reduce snoring.
- from NPR Morning Edition, July 6, 2005 for a link to listen to the whole segment, go to: http://thin.npr.org/s.php?sId=4731175
During hard economic times, women tend to be attracted to nice guys. They're looking for security and aren't willing to take the risk with a bad boy.
Disloyalty Gene
There is a gene found in some men that interferes with their ability to be monogamous. See the article below from the Washington Post.
Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord
By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, September 2, 2008; A02 Men are more likely to be devoted and loyal husbands when they lack a particular variant of a gene that influences brain activity, researchers announced yesterday -- the first time that science has shown a direct link between a man's genes and his aptitude for monogamy.
The finding is striking because it not only links the gene variant -- which is present in two of every five men -- with the risk of marital discord and divorce, but also appears to predict whether women involved with these men are likely to say their partners are emotionally close and available, or distant and disagreeable. The presence of the gene variant, or allele, also seems predictive of whether men get married or live with women without getting married.
"Men with two copies of the allele had twice the risk of experiencing marital dysfunction, with a threat of divorce during the last year, compared to men carrying one or no copies," said Hasse Walum, a behavioral geneticist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm who led the study. "Women married to men with one or two copies of the allele scored lower on average on how satisfied they were with the relationship compared to women married to men with no copies."
The scientists studied men because the hormone being examined is known to play a larger role in their brains than in women's brains.
The finding set off a debate about whether people should conduct genetic tests to find out whether potential mates are bad marriage prospects. Several independent scientists called the discovery remarkable and elegant but disagreed over whether such information ought to be used in making personal decisions about love and marriage.
Walum said that the presence of the allele increased the risk of conjugal discord, but that many other factors probably shape marital behavior. However, he and other scientists said the study is the latest piece of evidence to show that biology -- down to the level of individual genes -- can play a powerful role in shaping complex human behavior.
In other words, if a man's culture, religion and family background each have a seat at the conference table that determines his attitudes toward marital fidelity and monogamy, his genes might well sit at the head of the table.
"There are many ways this information can help a man and his wife when they marry," said Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University who studies romantic love. "Knowing there are biological weak links can help you overcome them."
A man who knows he has this allele, she added, might be able to use the knowledge to ignore tugs of restlessness he might feel in his marriage: "You can say, 'Oh, it is just my DNA, and I am going to ignore it.'
"The allele that Walum and a team of scientists studied in a sample of more than 1,000 heterosexual couples regulates the activity of a hormone in the brain known as vasopressin. It dictates how and where vasopressin receptors are situated in the brain. Effectively, said Larry J. Young, a psychiatrist who studies the genetics of social behavior at Emory University , brain receptors act like locks, and vasopressin acts like a key. The key works only when there is a lock; in the absence of a receptor, vasopressin cannot act.
About 40 percent of men have one or two copies of the allele. Walum, a PhD student, said that men with two copies of the allele had a greater risk of marital discord than men with one copy, and that men with one copy of the allele were at more risk of such discord than men with no copies. The study asked men in married or long-term relationships whether they had experienced relationship crises in the past year that were of such intensity that they considered divorce or splitting. The scientists also asked the wives and partners of the men what it was like to live with them, examining levels of affection, cohesion, consensus and satisfaction.
About 15 percent of the men without the allele reported serious marital discord in the past year, compared with 34 percent of men with two copies of the allele. Wives and partners of the men with two copies of the allele reported lower levels of satisfaction, affection, cohesion and consensus in the relationship than women married to men who had one or no copies of the allele.
Seventeen percent of the men without the allele were living with women without being married to them, compared with 32 percent of men with two alleles doing so.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Young praised the study, saying it extends a remarkable series of animal experiments he and other scientists conducted some years ago. They showed that the distribution of vasopressin receptors in the brain appears to predict why males and females form lifelong pair-bonds in one species but not in another.
The studies focused on two species that look nearly alike: prairie voles and montane voles. The first time a male prairie vole mates with a female, he forms a bond with her for life, breeding and raising successive litters. Male montane voles think of sex as a series of one-night stands; they are loners and do not bond with females or help raise offspring.
Young and others concluded that the difference between these species is because of the same gene variant that Walum studied. In the kind of experiments that cannot be replicated in humans, Young and others also showed that manipulating vasopressin receptors in vole brains can turn loner voles into devoted partners and fathers, and vice versa.
No one knows for sure whether the same mechanism is at work in humans. Although humans are evolutionarily distant from voles, there are many examples in nature that show that the action of genes is conserved across distantly related species. In the monogamous voles, Young said, bonding between animals seems to trigger vasopressin action in the brain's reward circuits. Not surprisingly, this prompts the animals to seek to bond with each other.
Geert J. de Vries, a neuroscientist at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst who studies vasopressin, hailed the new study and said it dovetails with work he and others have conducted that show vasopressin seems to play a much larger role in the brains of men rather than women. Beyond the immediate study on monogamy -- vasopressin seems to change how men, not women, behave in long-term relationships -- De Vries said there could be intriguing links between the Stockholm study and research into the causes of disorders such as autism. "If you look at what is most prominent in kids with autism, the big difference is in social behavior," said De Vries, as he pointed out that autism is far more common in boys than in girls. "In this study, they are looking at social behavior related to marital status and the way men and women interact . . . you could imagine variability in these alleles can contribute to autism."
All the scientists emphasized that more work needs to be done to replicate the finding, and to explore possible interactions between multiple genes and environmental factors. Partnerships in marriage and long-term relationships, moreover, involve many dimensions of behavior -- sexual desire, romantic love and the loyalty that Walum's study focused on.
"What this means is that some people will go into marriage with a stronger deck of cards," Fisher said. "But there are people genetically prone to alcoholism who give up booze and make a good marriage. No one is saying biology is destiny."
Fisher, who described herself as a romantic, said she would not reject a potential mate who has two copies of the risky allele. She paused, then added: "But I might not start a joint bank account with them for the first few years."
Staff writer Rob Stein contributed to this report. © 2008 The Washington Post Company
* * * Disclaimer: Information in this newsletter is offered as interesting information and is not intended to be medical advice. Please consult your physician.
Back
to Top
