To call, or to text, that is the (mental well-being) question

Like most peo­ple, I’ve been doing a lot of tex­ting with friends and fam­i­ly late­ly. COVID-19 (and the phys­i­cal sep­a­ra­tion it neces­si­tates) has made social­iz­ing in per­son very lim­it­ed, which means I’ve had to work hard­er than ever to keep my rela­tion­ships strong and healthy. But a new study sug­gests that if that’s my aim,…

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Volunteering can not only strengthen your community but boost your mental well-being by the equivalent of $1,100

The coro­n­avirus pan­dem­ic has led to the prac­tice of social dis­tanc­ing, cre­at­ing feel­ings of stress and iso­la­tion in many of us. Some groups have been hit par­tic­u­lar­ly hard, includ­ing the elder­ly, par­ents jug­gling work and child care, and peo­ple who have lost their jobs. Against this back­drop, many peo­ple have turned to vol­un­teer­ing to help…

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Move, Nourish, Connect, Be: Four daily habits to protect our mental well-being while sheltering in place

__ It’s a crazy time. Here in the Cal­i­for­nia, we are shel­ter­ing-in-place, leav­ing the house only for essen­tials like gro­ceries and med­ical care. And while we’re all (appro­pri­ate­ly) focused on car­ing for the phys­i­cal health of our­selves, our fam­i­lies, our com­mu­ni­ties, and soci­ety at large, our men­tal, emo­tion­al, and social health needs are quick­ly emerging…

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Latest brain research, tools and teasers to think outside the mental health status quo box

__ Time for a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains’ e‑newsletter, fea­tur­ing a range of  research find­ings, resources, brain teasers and rid­dles to help trans­late emerg­ing neu­ro­science into real-world appli­ca­tions and improve our col­lec­tive brain & men­tal health. New think­ing: Neu­ro­science tips about grat­i­tude, aging, pain and the brain: An inter­view with Dr. Daniel Lev­itin What’s normal?…

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