It’s Father’s Day—don’t spend it in the ER

  

• Men are less knowledgeable about health
• Between the ages of 35-54, men are less physically active
• Men are less likely to use sunscreen and two times more likely to die of skin cancer

Those are trends that we can change, guys! Here are some resources to help the dads among us to be healthier:

• Read the research on prostate cancer screening
• Stay active and fit, and prevent injuries
• Have a healthier sex life
  
• Eat a balanced, heart-healthy diet
• Learn how to manage stress

Consumer Reports Health Blog

DON’T Act Your Age!

Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer [conducted] a study . . . with a group of elderly men some years ago, retrofitting an isolated old New England hotel so that every visible sign said it was 20 years earlier. The men—in their late 70s and early 80s—were told not to reminisce about the past, but to actually act as if they had traveled back in time. The idea was to see if changing the men’s mindset about their own age might lead to actual changes in health and fitness.

Langer’s findings were stunning: After just one week, the men in the experimental group (compared with controls of the same age) had more joint flexibility, increased dexterity and less arthritis in their hands. Their mental acuity had risen measurably, and they had improved gait and posture. Outsiders who were shown the men’s photographs judged them to be significantly younger than the controls. In other words, the aging process had in some measure been reversed.

The Situationist