Stay-at-Home or Work Full-Time? Discuss.
Another shot was fired this week in the stay-at-home moms vs. working moms debate: According to a new study, moms who work full-time (outside the home, that is) are healthier at age 40 than those who work only part time or who don’t work at all. Why? Because working on something other than raising children and tending home and family lives “gives women a sense of purpose, self-efficacy, control and autonomy,” according to study co-author Adrianne Frech. We, on the other hand, don’t want to touch the topic with a 10-foot pole.
Remember! Obesity’s Bad
A study out of Paris published this week in the journal Neurology demonstrated a link between obesity and cognitive decline. That’s right: In addition to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis and a laundry list of other“not goods,” now obese folks also have a faster mental decline to look forward to. The study showed that memory loss and a decline in cognitive skills occurred as much as a 25 percent faster than their non-obese peers.
His Clock is Ticking
Ladies, hear that? That tick-tock? Yeah, it’s not YOUR biological clock. Apparently it’s HIS! A new study published this week in Nature revealed that a baby’s risk of autism increases the older the father. Why? Because as men and women age, our DNA mutates and changes, for men more so than women. Hence, the older the man, the more likely he passes along mutated genes—up to 65 mutations for the average 40-year-old—by way of his sperm. The solution? Ladies, get that man to bed sooner rather than later. There’s no time to waste!
Music Matters
So you skipped a few violin lessons or gave up piano before making it to Julliard (and making your entire family proud). That’s a pity, but not all hope is lost. Those music lessons could still be paying off for you all these years later, new research shows. No matter if you took music lessons for two years or 10, the lasting benefits are the same: The brain shows improved mental function an average of seven years later, particularly in the areas of short-term memory, attention, organization and reasoning. Kind of makes youwant to dust off your fiddle and bow, doesn’t it?
