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Samoa climate change resilience challenges Western perceptions
The resilience of Samoan communities in the face of climate change is providing a blueprint for other nations to follow, according to Samoa and Otago researchers.
It is one of the first studies to examine Samoa’s grassroots ability to adapt to climate change, and its authors warn officials risk ignoring village expertise at their peril.
The newly-released paper is co-authored by Dr Anita Latai-Niusulu from the National University of Samoa, and University of Otago Professors Tony Binns and Etienne Nel, both from the School of Geography.
The study, based on Dr Latai-Niusulu’s PhD thesis, interviewed 165 residents in villages across Samoa’s main islands Upolu and Savaii, including in coastal, inland, urban and rural areas.
More than 70 per cent of Samoa’s population lives in 330 rural villages across Upolu and Savaii, and most of the country’s infrastructure, population and development is near the coastline.
The researchers found villagers had a heightened awareness of climate change and noticed hotter days and longer dry spells, shorter periods of rainfall, stronger damaging winds, and sea level rise.
However rather than despairing at the prospect, villagers have developed a pragmatic and positive approach to impending climate changes.
Past natural disasters such as Cyclones Ofa and Val in the 1990s had a devastating effect on many communities, but the recovery period also brought opportunities for developing tighter social connections, new food supplies and infrastructural development and, in some cases, village relocation.
Professor Binns says the Samoan approach challenges general Western perceptions about Pacific nations’ ability to respond to climate change.
He says exposure to serious environmental challenges has not made villagers ‘fatalistic’ or ‘helpless’, but instead has given them a more optimistic outlook on life.
The close-knit Samoan village structure, with a village council (fono) made up of chiefly title holders (matai) from extended family units throughout the village, means that each villager has a voice at the local decision table.
Communities also regularly meet together at evening prayers to share information and strengthen social networks.
This, along with the fact that more than 80 per cent of Samoa’s land and resources are still collectively owned, means Samoans can engage in collaborative action against climate change.
Common strategies in all villages include diversifying food and water sources, being geographically mobile, having more than one place to live, and developing mental and spiritual strength.
“Such diverse livelihood portfolios and close community collaboration have generated an impressive level of resilience which communities elsewhere in the Pacific and beyond could well emulate,” Professor Binns says.
However, the study found climate change decisions in Samoa are primarily occurring at a national level, and are dominated by the views of government workers, consultancy firms and civil society workers.
Officials need to listen to community expertise and develop a more nuanced understanding of each village’s key concerns — which vary according each village’s unique geographical challenges, Professor Binns says.
“Governments need to carefully reconsider their expenditure in relation to climate change adaptation, with perhaps less spending directed towards building seawalls and coastal roads.
“More support should be given to other climate change adaptation initiatives such as village, church and family activities that strengthen social networks and build social memory.”
Small, fast, and highly energy-efficient memory device inspired by lithium-ion batteries
Virtually all digital devices that perform any sort of processing of information require not only a processing unit, but also a quick memory that can temporarily hold the inputs, partial results, and outputs of the operations performed. In computers, this memory is referred to as dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM. The speed of DRAM is very important and can have a significant impact in the overall speed of the system. In addition, lowering the energy consumption of memory devices has recently become a hot topic to achieve highly energy-efficient computing. Therefore, many studies have focused on testing out new memory technologies to surpass the performance of conventional DRAM.
The most basic unit in a memory chip are its memory cells. Each cell typically stores a single bit by adopting and holding one of two possible voltage values, which correspond to a stored value of either “0” or “1.” The characteristics of the individual cell largely determine the performance of the overall memory chip. Simpler and smaller cells with high speed and low energy consumption would be ideal to take highly efficient computing to the next level.
A research team from Tokyo Tech led by Prof. Taro Hitosugi and student Yuki Watanabe recently reached a new milestone in this area. These researchers had previously developed a novel memory device inspired by the design of solid lithium-ion batteries. It consisted of a stack of three solid layers made of lithium, lithium phosphate, and gold. This stack is essentially a miniature low-capacity battery that functions as a memory cell; it can be quickly switched between charged and discharged states that represent the two possible values of a bit. However, gold combines with lithium to form a thick alloy layer, which increases the amount of energy required to switch from one state to the other.
In their latest study, the researchers created a similar three-layer memory cell using nickel instead of gold. They expected better results using nickel because it does not easily form alloys with lithium, which would lead to lower energy consumption when switching. The memory device they produced was much better than the previous one; it could actually hold three different voltage states instead of two, meaning that it is a three-valued memory device. “This system can be viewed as an extremely low-capacity thin-film lithium battery with three charged states,” explains Prof. Hitosugi. This is a very interesting feature that has potential advantages for three-valued memory implementations, which may be more area efficient.
The researchers also found that nickel forms a very thin nickel oxide layer between the Ni and the lithium phosphate layers, and this oxide layer is essential for the low-energy switching of the device. The oxide layer is much thinner than that of the gold-lithium alloys that formed in their previous device, which means that this new “mini-battery” cell has a very low capacity and is therefore quickly and easily switched between states by applying minuscule currents. “The potential for extremely low energy consumption is the most noteworthy advantage of this device,” remarks Prof. Hitosugi.
Increased speed, lower energy consumption, and smaller size are all highly demanded features in future memory devices. The memory cell developed by this research team is a very promising stepping stone toward much more energy-efficient and faster computing.
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Clear, conductive coating could protect advanced solar cells, touch screens
MIT researchers have improved on a transparent, conductive coating material, producing a tenfold gain in its electrical conductivity. When incorporated into a type of high-efficiency solar cell, the material increased the cell’s efficiency and stability.
The new findings are reported in the journal Science Advances, in a paper by MIT postdoc Meysam Heydari Gharahcheshmeh, professors Karen Gleason and Jing Kong, and three others.
“The goal is to find a material that is electrically conductive as well as transparent,” Gleason explains, which would be “useful in a range of applications, including touch screens and solar cells.” The material most widely used today for such purposes is known as ITO, for indium titanium oxide, but that material is quite brittle and can crack after a period of use, she says.
Gleason and her co-researchers improved a flexible version of a transparent, conductive material two years ago and published their findings, but this material still fell well short of matching ITO’s combination of high optical transparency and electrical conductivity. The new, more ordered material, she says, is more than 10 times better than the previous version.
The combined transparency and conductivity is measured in units of Siemens per centimeter. ITO ranges from 6,000 to 10,000, and though nobody expected a new material to match those numbers, the goal of the research was to find a material that could reach at least a value of 35. The earlier publication exceeded that by demonstrating a value of 50, and the new material has leapfrogged that result, now clocking in at 3,000; the team is still working on fine-tuning the process to raise that further.
The high-performing flexible material, an organic polymer known as PEDOT, is deposited in an ultrathin layer just a few nanometers thick, using a process called oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD). This process results in a layer where the structure of the tiny crystals that form the polymer are all perfectly aligned horizontally, giving the material its high conductivity. Additionally, the oCVD method can decrease the stacking distance between polymer chains within the crystallites, which also enhances electrical conductivity.
To demonstrate the material’s potential usefulness, the team incorporated a layer of the highly aligned PEDOT into a perovskite-based solar cell. Such cells are considered a very promising alternative to silicon because of their high efficiency and ease of manufacture, but their lack of durability has been a major drawback. With the new oCVD aligned PEDOT, the perovskite’s efficiency improved and its stability doubled.
In the initial tests, the oCVD layer was applied to substrates that were 6 inches in diameter, but the process could be applied directly to a large-scale, roll-to-roll industrial scale manufacturing process, Heydari Gharahcheshmeh says. “It’s now easy to adapt for industrial scale-up,” he says. That’s facilitated by the fact that the coating can be processed at 140 degrees Celsius — a much lower temperature than alternative materials require.
The oCVD PEDOT is a mild, single-step process, enabling direct deposition onto plastic substrates, as desired for flexible solar cells and displays. In contrast, the aggressive growth conditions of many other transparent conductive materials require an initial deposition on a different, more robust substrate, followed by complex processes to lift off the layer and transfer it to plastic.
Because the material is made by a dry vapor deposition process, the thin layers produced can follow even the finest contours of a surface, coating them all evenly, which could be useful in some applications. For example, it could be coated onto fabric and cover each fiber but still allow the fabric to breathe.
The team still needs to demonstrate the system at larger scales and prove its stability over longer periods and under different conditions, so the research is ongoing. But “there’s no technical barrier to moving this forward. It’s really just a matter of who will invest to take it to market,” Gleason says.
The research team included MIT postdocs Mohammad Mahdi Tavakoli and Maxwell Robinson, and research affiliate Edward Gleason. The work was supported by Eni S.p.A. under the Eni-MIT Alliance Solar Frontiers Program.
Bacteria-infecting viruses bind mucosal surface and protect from disease
Mucosal surfaces protect organisms from external stressors and disease. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, have been shown to preferentially bind to mucosal surfaces. This has been suggested to provide an extra level of immunity against bacterial infections. Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland tested this idea using fish, phages (viruses) and a fish-infecting bacteria. Phages were confirmed to bind to the mucosal surface, staying there for days and give protection from subsequent bacterial infection. Research was published in mBio in November 2019.
The mucosal surfaces are important for protection of tissues and homeostasis, but often targeted by disease-causing bacteria. Phages have been suggested to specifically bind to host mucosal surfaces and prevent colonization by pathogenic bacteria. In this symbiotic model phage populations are enriched in the mucus, a substrate in which encounters with their bacterial hosts are more probable, while the animal benefits from protection against invading bacteria.
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä tested this idea using rainbow trout, phages (viruses) and a fish-infecting bacterium (Flavobacterium columnare). Phages were found to bind to fish mucosa, and maintain there for several days. Phages bound in mucus also protected the fish from diseases, although the pathogenic bacteria had a strong chemotaxis towards mucus, and exposure to mucosal molecules made them more virulent.
However, the mucosal environment made the bacteria more susceptible for phage infections, revealing a new aspect of the tripartite interactions between mucosal surfaces, bacteria and phages.
In conclusion, the mucosal environment influence both bacteria and phages. These interactions are important for understanding disease ecology and has significant impact in preventive phage therapy approaches.
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In a first for cell biology, scientists observe ribosome assembly in real time
A team of scientists from Scripps Research and Stanford University has recorded in real time a key step in the assembly of ribosomes — the complex and evolutionarily ancient “molecular machines” that make proteins in cells and are essential for all life forms.
The achievement, reported in Cell, reveals in unprecedented detail how strands of ribonucleic acid (RNA), cellular molecules that are inherently sticky and prone to misfold, are “chaperoned” by ribosomal proteins into folding properly and forming one of the main components of ribosomes.
The findings overturn the longstanding belief that ribosomes are assembled in a tightly controlled, step-wise process.
“In contrast to what had been the dominant theory in the field, we revealed a far more chaotic process,” says James R. Williamson, PhD, a professor in the Department of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology at Scripps Research. “It’s not a sleek Detroit assembly line — it’s more like a trading pit on Wall Street.”
For the study, Williamson’s lab collaborated with the lab of Joseph Puglisi, PhD, a professor at Stanford University. Although the work is a significant feat of basic cell biology, it should enable important advances in medicine. For example, some current antibiotics work by inhibiting bacterial ribosomes; the new research opens up the possibility of designing future antibiotics that target bacterial ribosomes with greater specificity — and thus, fewer side effects.
More generally, the research offers biologists a powerful new approach to the study of RNA molecules, hundreds of thousands of which are active at any given time in a typical cell.
“This shows that we now can examine in detail how RNAs fold while they are being synthesized and proteins are assembling on them,” says first author Olivier Duss, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology at Scripps Research. “This has been a very difficult thing to study in biology because it involves several distinct biological processes that are dependent on each other and have to be detected simultaneously.”
The team used an advanced imaging technology called “zero-mode waveguide single-molecule fluorescence microscopy,” which they have adapted in recent years for real-time tracking of RNAs and proteins. Ribosomes are made of both RNA and proteins, reflecting a molecular partnership that is widely believed to go back nearly to the dawn of life on Earth.
In a proof-of-principle study published last year, the researchers used their approach to record an early, brief and relatively well-studied stage of ribosome assembly from the bacterium E. coli. This involved the transcription, or copying out from its corresponding gene, of a ribosomal RNA, and initial interactions of this RNA strand with a ribosomal protein.
In the new study, the team extended this approach by tracking not only the transcription of a ribosomal RNA but also its real-time folding. The work provided a detailed look at a complex, and until-now mysterious, part of E. coli ribosome assembly — the formation of an entire major component, or domain, of the E. coli ribosome, with assistance from eight protein partners that end up incorporated into the structure.
A key finding was that the ribosomal protein partners guide the folding of the RNA strand through multiple temporary interactions with the strand, well before they nestle into their final places in the folded RNA-protein molecule. The findings, according to the researchers, also hint at the existence of unknown RNA assembly factors, most likely proteins, that were not present in their lab-dish-type imaging experiments but are present in cells and boost the efficiency of RNA folding.
“Our study indicates that in ribosomal RNA-folding, and perhaps more generally in RNA-folding in cells, many proteins help fold RNA though weak, transient and semi-specific interactions with it,” Duss says.
The team will now be able to extend this research further to study not only the rest of ribosome assembly, which involves multiple RNA strands and dozens of proteins, but also the many other types of RNA-folding and RNA-protein interaction in cells.
In principle, this research will yield insights into how RNAs misfold and how such events could be corrected. Scientists believe that many diseases involve or potentially involve the improper folding and related processing of RNAs in cells.
Treatments that already target ribosomes might also be improved. Some current antibiotics, including a class known as aminoglycosides, work by binding to sites on bacterial ribosomes that are not present on human ribosomes. These drugs can have side effects because they also impair the ribosomes of good bacteria, for example in the gut.
“When we understand more fully how bacterial ribosomes assemble and function, we could potentially target them in ways that affect a narrower group of harmful bacterial species and spare the good ones, reducing side effects for patients,” Duss says.
Because ribosomes function as protein makers, they are also crucial to the survival of fast-growing tumor cells. Several classes of cancer drug already work by slowing ribosome formation in one way or another. A better understanding of the human ribosome would, in principle, enable its assembly to be targeted more precisely and potently to block cancer growth, Duss notes.
5 Common Challenges Care-Givers Face, and How to Handle Them
It didn’t come as a total surprise when Elizabeth Miller’s 76-year-old mom landed in the hospital with serious respiratory problems in the spring of 2014. Her mother had struggled with chronic health issues for years. Even so, Miller, now 48, and her siblings had to scramble to figure out how to care for her. “Most of us lived hours from my parents, so we took turns visiting,” says Miller. She missed her son’s birthday, and had to work remotely. “My boss was understanding. But it wasn’t easy.”
What’s more, the siblings had to take on tasks they had never imagined—giving their mom injections, administering her breathing treatments, rubbing lotion on her swollen feet. Then that summer, Miller’s father developed sepsis after dental surgery and passed away shortly after. “We moved Mom to an assisted-living facility near me in Georgia, but she wasn’t happy,” Miller says. “I felt guilty, and wondered if we were making the right decisions.”
As the months passed, the pressure took a toll. Miller would find herself bursting into tears “at the drop of a hat,” and her doctor increased the dose of the anti-anxiety medication she’d been taking. “Caregiving stress is like the old fable of boiling a frog,” says Miller. “If you put a frog in tepid water and raise the temperature slowly, it doesn’t notice the heat till it’s too late. The stress of caregiving sneaks up on you too. You don’t realize the situation is getting dangerous until you’re at the boiling point.”
That’s an apt characterization, according to a slew of recent studies. And that proverbial frog? It’s most likely a woman. Of the country’s 40 million–plus unpaid caregivers of a person 65 or older, roughly 66 percent are women, many with jobs and kids at home. Despite those responsibilities, they spend an average of 21 hours a week on care—running errands, attending doctor’s appointments, and providing hands-on assistance. As Stanford University researchers wrote in a 2017 paper in the journal JAMA Neurology, “The best long-term care insurance in our country is a conscientious daughter.”
Most caregivers find their efforts meaningful, but it often comes at a personal cost. Caregivers are at risk for a host of health problems, including depression, back pain, arthritis, and heart disease, says Ruth Drew, director of information and support services for the Alzheimer’s Association. “It’s not uncommon for caregivers themselves to wind up in the hospital,” she adds.
But that doesn’t have to happen. Thanks to a growing body of research, the challenges of caregiving are becoming more widely understood. Here are five of the most common struggles women face—as well as effective ways to cope.
RELATED: Why Caregiving Is Putting a Strain on Women
Challenge 1: You have no bandwidth for yourself
Let’s do some quick math: 40 (or more) hours of work per week, plus 20-some-odd hours helping a loved one, plus child care equals zero time to take care of you. Sure, you’d love to work out regularly, get plenty of sleep, and cook nutritious meals. It just seems impossible.
But it’s vital to find small, doable ways to keep healthy, says Drew—not just for yourself but also for the person who needs your help: “Many of the women I work with finally start taking care of themselves when they realize their [older relative] would be lost without them.”
RELATED: 8 Self-Care Habits That Will Help You Feel Less Stress and More Joy
When it comes to exercise, remember that short bouts count. “Accumulating physical activity in 5-, 10-, or 20-minute increments adds up,” says Eli Puterman, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia. You might stash a pair of sneakers and a yoga mat in the trunk of your car so you can take a quick jaunt around the block or follow a vinyasa flow video on your phone while your loved one watches TV. There are also apps, like Tone It Up and J&J Official 7 Minute Workout, that will guide you through a brief strength routine. Your efforts will prepare your body for the more physical demands of caregiving, adds Puterman: “Helping an adult in and out of bed requires a strong lower back, core, and legs,” he points out.
Eating healthfully doesn’t have to be complicated either. If you buy fresh precut veggies, lettuce, and fruit, along with some canned beans and frozen chicken or fish, you can whip up fiber- and vitamin-packed meals that require little time or effort. And eating well will help you maintain your much-needed energy.
As for sleep, getting a solid eight hours may not be realistic if you’re up in the middle of the night with someone who’s in pain, or who needs to go to the bathroom. But don’t discount the power of naps. Try to snooze when your loved one does, to make up for lost sleep.
RELATED: 13 Things You Should Know Before Becoming a Caregiver
Challenge 2: Your nerves are frayed
“Caregiving is a superhuman task,” says Drew. “There’s a sense of urgency when someone absolutely needs your help and attention—so a lot of times the things that fill you up and nourish you are the things that seem expendable.” As a result, you rarely get opportunities to decompress, which can eventually lead to burnout.
Experts say one strategy that may help is mindfulness. “Caregivers are usually worrying about the future or the past,” says Susan McCurry, PhD, a clinical psychologist and research professor at the University of Washington. “Mindfulness is helpful because it brings you back to the present moment, where things are actually OK.” And when you anchor yourself in the now, your nervous system shifts from the sympathetic, fight-or-flight mode to the parasympathetic, rest mode.
RELATED: 9 Easy Ways to Practice Self Care This Week
There’s even research to back up the benefits of mindfulness: A study done at the University of Minnesota found that this calming approach decreased stress and improved the mental health, mood, anxiety, and sense of burden in women caring for a parent with dementia.
Once you get the hang of mindfulness, you can practice it anytime, anywhere: while you’re sitting in a waiting room or standing in line to pick up a prescription, or when you wake up during the night. Here’s all you need to do, according to McCurry: Bring your attention to your senses—whether it’s the sounds around you or the feeling of your bedsheets against your skin—then turn your attention to your breath. Allow your mind to rest on the sensation of it moving in and out of your body.
RELATED: If You Struggle to Find Time for Self-Care, These Clever Apps Can Help
Challenge 3 : You’ve lost touch with your friends
Caregivers aren’t just exhausted and pressed for time; they are often isolated because they don’t want to burden other people. “But sharing your thoughts and feelings with supportive friends reduces blood pressure, strengthens immunity, and has beneficial psychological effects, including reduced stress,” says Joan Monin, PhD, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. Having even one person to talk to can positively affect caregivers’ well-being, according to a 2016 study by Japanese researchers.
What’s more, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University found that when caregivers stayed engaged with their social support network, their care recipients’ health was better than those being tended by a lonely caregiver. “Having support may help you perform your caregiving tasks more effectively,” explains lead author Dannielle Kelley, PhD.
RELATED: Here's How to Use Your Happiest Memories to Fight Stress Now
Ask a friend to come over for tea, or schedule regular phone calls or video chats so you can stay in touch. And find someone, whether it’s your spouse or a respite care professional, to cover for you as often as possible so you can get out of the house for dinner or drinks, or even a weekend away—because, as Monin puts it, “leisure activities are vital for your health and your peace of mind.”
Challenge 4: You’re anxious about money—and your job
According to a 2016 report by AARP, 78 percent of caregivers incur out-of-pocket costs—on average, $7,000 per year. To make ends meet, 30 percent have dipped into their personal savings, 16 percent have reduced contributions to their retirement accounts, and 45 percent have cut back on eating out or vacations. If you’re faced with new costs, it may be worth talking to a financial planner, who can help you budget and, ultimately, feel more in control of your overall money picture.
Job security may be at the top of your mind too, especially if you’re out of the office more than usual. It makes sense to explain your caregiver role to your boss or supervisor, says Nick Bott, an instructor at Stanford’s Clinical Excellence Research Center. Not every employer will respond positively, but if you emphasize how committed you are to your career, you may be able to work remotely or tweak your hours to better accommodate your caregiving responsibilities. Also, if you can afford it, see whether you’re eligible under the Family and Medical Leave Act for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year without losing your job.
RELATED: 3 Expert Tips for Dealing With Financial Stress
Challenge 5: You’re wrestling with guilt
Guilt is common in women who are juggling a career and family as well as caregiving. “They feel like they’re not doing enough—emotionally, physically, or financially. And they beat themselves up for not doing it all perfectly,” says Carla Marie Manly, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Sonoma County, California, who treats caregivers.
A little guilt can push you to do all the tough jobs that caregiving requires. But being too self-critical can increase your risk for depression. So make sure you practice self-compassion.
One easy trick: Shift your focus from what you’re not doing to all the many things you are, suggests Manly. Throughout the day, as you check stuff off your to-do list, take a moment to recognize and celebrate your accomplishments.
RELATED: How to Stop Feeling Guilty About Everything
Another key cause of guilt, adds Monin, is feeling like your loved one is suffering, despite your efforts. “It may help to realize that caregivers often overestimate their loved one’s suffering and underestimate their actual quality of life,” she says.
It can also help to spend some time with your loved one that doesn’t involve any physical therapy or medications. Miller tried this after her mom moved into the assisted-living facility near her home. “Because I felt like I could never do enough for her, I was resentful,” Miller recalls. But then at a support group for caregivers, someone suggested Miller plan some fun activities with her mom. “We started watching Grace and Frankie together, and playing cards. Rekindling a more normal mother-daughter relationship restored a healthier balance,” she says. “It helped me enjoy our time together—which was a gift.”
Sharing the load
“Many caregivers aren’t good at asking for—and accepting—help,” says Rani Snyder, a vice president at the John A. Hartford Foundation, which gives grants for caregiving research. But if you want to get through it in one piece, you need partners. Here’s how to take a team approach:
Make a list of tasks, and get others on board. “What are the things that only you can do—and what can someone else take on, like housecleaning, lawn maintenance, car maintenance, shoveling snow, grocery shopping, and laundry?” says Drew. Then, convene a meeting with siblings, either in person or on a conference call, and let everyone choose.
RELATED: 15 Ways to Add Self-Care to Your Workout Routine
Don’t forget to ask for help for yourself. “When my wife’s mom fell ill, we had an uncle who would come by once a week and stay with the kids, which gave my wife time to go to the park or see a movie,” says Steven Huberman, founding dean of Touro College Graduate School of Social Work. Ask for emotional support, too. If you tell a loved one that the thing you really need is someone to listen, most will happily show up—and feel like they’re being useful.
Express your gratitude. Caregiving can be emotionally fraught. Acknowledging everyone’s contributions sets a positive tone, which can go a long way toward relieving stress and avoiding tension and resentment.
Coping tools
These smartphone apps might make your life a little easier.
To help you stay organized… Caring Village lets you coordinate activities like transportation, meal delivery, and errands; store important documents; and manage medications. Another app, called CaringBridge, allows you to update—and receive assistance from—friends and family during a crisis.
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To help you provide better care… Need to treat a nosebleed, or a twisted ankle? First Aid: American Red Cross has advice for almost any everyday health emergency, and comes complete with step-by-step guides and videos. If your loved one is in pain, the PainScale app allows you to log and track pain symptoms over time. And eCare21 syncs information like glucose level, heart rate, weight, calorie intake, and sleep from wearable devices like a smartwatch or Fitbit.
To help you feel less harried… Sanvello uses techniques based on cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness to address stress and anxiety. You should also check out Happify, which offers science-based activities and games to reduce stress, quell negative thoughts, and build resilience. It might have you list things you’re grateful for or notice positive words—all of which can help you think more optimistically.
Caring for someone far away
Long-distance caregiving is its own kind of burden. “You don’t have the daily demands, but the uncertainty and guilt can be tough,” says Sara Douglas, PhD, RN, a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Fortunately, no matter where you are, you can provide indispensable help.
Find a local point person. “Whether it’s a family member, friend, or neighbor, you need someone who can visit your loved one and provide accurate information about key issues,” says Douglas. “Is there food in the fridge? Are they eating? Are they getting to their appointments?”
RELATED: 11 Tricks That Will Help You Really, Truly Relax
Ask for assignments. Some examples of things you can do from afar: Pay bills online, arrange transportation, communicate with doctors, create and share a Google Calendar so local caregivers can coordinate meal delivery and taking out the trash, or post updates for family and friends.
Sit in on doctor’s visits remotely. You can use FaceTime or video conferencing. “Most doctors are open to it,” Douglas says.
Time your visits thoughtfully. Arrange them so you can give the local caregiver a break. “Ask when would work best—maybe a time when they can take a vacation,” suggests Douglas.
Consider hiring a nurse, or a social worker. If you can afford the extra expense, a professional caregiver may alleviate some of your worry, says Douglas.
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13 Foods That Fight Inflammation
Out-of-control inflammation can lead to obesity, heart disease, and cancer, among other conditions. Here's what inflammation actually is, and what to eat to fight it.
Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb Said They Were ‘Mad’ After Weighing Themselves
Stepping on the scale can trigger a lot of things. Anger. Anxiety. On some days, joy. For Today co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb, it jumpstarted action and motivated them to get on the intermittent fasting train. Just one day after weighing themselves on Today with Hoda and Jenna, the duo kicked off today’s installment with their first eats of the day: an egg white omelet with spinach for Bush Hager and egg whites with avocado toast for Kotb.
On the day of the weigh-in, both of them admitted that they’d been “stressing out” about going through with it on live TV, but took the plunge anyway. Kotb weighed in at 158 pounds, and Bush Hager at 171 pounds. “This is why I don’t really weigh myself,” Bush Hager said. “I think I weigh twice as much as my sister. Like, two Barbaras could fit in me.
RELATED: Hoda Kotb: “Suddenly Life’s Not So Scary”
The next day, those feelings of frustration lingered. Bush Hager, a mom of two who recently gave birth in August, said that she was angry after the big reveal. “I was playing with my kids and I kept having that one number in my head. And I was like, no no. I don’t want life to be controlled by a scale.
Controlled is a big word here, and an important one. For both women, they let that number really impact them emotionally. In Bush Hager’s case, it was even what she was focusing on when she otherwise would’ve been enjoying playtime with her children. Then, it determined how they acted the following today.
RELATED: 5 Reasons You Can Skip Weighing Yourself
In an ideal world, this type of decision—one to start or follow through with a diet—would stem from a conversation about how they’re feeling. As someone who lost 70 pounds in college, I too felt anxiety or nervousness around the machine. I remember the first time I took the toe tap of faith, and frustrations that pulsed through me as I was faced with a tough reality. That gut-wrenching feeling stuck with me every time I braved the scale, even as the numbers winded down.
These days, a good nine years later, I’ve learned not to let that number define me (trust me, that’s different than back in 2010). Instead, I base my lifestyle choices—like when I want to go for a long run or perhaps skip that second glass of wine—on how I’m feeling. How are my clothes fitting? Do I feel lethargic? Am I happy?
The reality is that there are so, so many things that impact the number we see on the scale regularly. From the time of day you hop on there to how hydrated (or dehydrated) you may be, there are things you know that the scale doesn’t. While it can be an important tool (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends weighing in once a week), it’s best not to let it define you. Set smart markers for overall well being, like a goal for regular water intake and consistent activity, and celebrate taking steps in the right direction. Because at the end of the day, life’s hard enough as it is, we don’t need the scale to bully us around into feeling less than.
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