Learn anytime, anywhere! You can access the Improving Your Memory course whenever you want from your smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. This online course is perfect for adults of all ages who want to improve their memory and focus.

Learn how to remember more…recall names and facts quickly…strengthen focus…and hold on to those memories you’ve worked a lifetime to build! A new online course will show you how!

Dear Reader,

We’ve all “lost” the car keys — in the house. Or drawn a blank on a familiar face.

The good news is that you can boost your brain’s powers of recall. You can keep your brain ready, retentive, and resilient.

An empowering new online course from Harvard Medical School is packed with strategies to recharge your memory skills, enhance concentration, and promote keen and enduring mental agility.

Hold that thought!

It’s not always easy. And it’s not just age. Other factors, from stress to medications, affect memory. The course identifies these culprits with problem-halting guidance.

And, you’ll learn how to firmly commit thoughts to memory as the course shares seven focus-sharpening techniques to cement must-remember information.

Memory-stimulating steps that will give you peace-of-mind!

For each of us, memory is the lifeline to a lifetime of experiences we draw upon — and depend upon — each and every day.

This course is a practical and purposeful investment in that wealth of memories.

You’ll learn how to build cognitive reserve… find how to anchor a fleeting memory…and discover the keys to energizing your brain’s ability to acquire and retrieve information.

Plus, if you need a “reminder,” no more strings around the finger. You’ll master three better ways to remember appointments, birthdays, and even passwords.

You’ll give your brain what it needs to give you its best.

The course shares seven core strategies for improving memory and nourishing brain health. Some you may already know. Some may surprise you. All are easy to adopt.

You’ll be briefed on the value of both physical and mental exercise — and the ‘smartest’ activities for each. You’ll survey the body-brain connection…exercises shown to ward off cognitive decline…and ways to challenge your brain beyond puzzles and crosswords.

You’ll be introduced to the best foods for thought. Is fish really brain food? (The answer is yes.) How do the Mediterranean and MIND diets compare? (You’ll find out.) What about those TV-advertised brain supplements? (You might want to forget them!)

You’ll explore the importance of hearing and vision…the role of sleep and dreams…ways to stay socially active…how to reduce the effects of stress on your memory…and more.

A course you’ll remember!

Our memory skills help keep us independent, and they also keep us connected — to others, and to all the experiences that have shaped and touched us.

This dynamic new course will give you the tools and techniques to protect those skills…preserve peak mental agility…and sustain steadfast recall. For all the memories you’ve made and those yet to come, send for this course today!

Don’t wait. Save $10 when you enroll. Order Improving Your Memory course now.

A sharper mind: tai chi can improve cognitive function

Up until about two decades ago, it was believed that your brain only produced new cells early in life. But research has shown that the brain has the ability to change throughout your entire life span, growing new cells, making new connections, and even increasing in size. These changes can improve cognitive function—and various forms of exercise, including tai chi, can help.

Take Harvard’s An Introduction to Tai Chi Online Course In this Online Course, Harvard experts explain the amazing health benefits of this balance-boosting practice plus bring you how-to videos that teach you 20 different moves so you can create your own tai chi routine. In this fascinating course, you’ll discover health benefits of this balance-boosting practice plus bring you how-to videos that teach you more than 20 different moves so you can create your own tai chi routine. And everyone can benefit from the practice no matter what your age or fitness level. Harvard Health’s interactive online video course is the perfect way to get started practicing Tai chi. Every tip, technique and fascinating fact is explained by our experts.   SHOW ME MORE →

In a meta-analysis of 20 studies on tai chi and cognition, tai chi appears to improve executive function—the ability to multitask, manage time, and make decisions—in people without any cognitive decline. In those with mild cognitive impairment, tai chi slowed the progression to dementia more than other types of exercise and improved their cognitive function in a comparable fashion to other types of exercise or cognitive training.

In one study, researchers had nearly 400 Chinese men and women with some cognitive impairment perform either tai chi or a stretching and toning program three times a week. After a year, the tai chi group showed greater improvements, and only 2% of that group progressed to dementia, while 11% from the traditional exercise group did.

In another study, tai chi outperformed walking. Following 40 weeks of either tai chi, walking, social interaction, or no intervention, researchers compared MRI images and discovered that brain volume increased the most in the tai chi group. In addition, that group also performed better on cognitive tests.

To learn more about tai chi, its health benefits, and how to learn its movements, check out Introduction to Tai Chi, an Online Course from Harvard Medical School.

Image: © kali9 | Gettyimages

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Must-know topics include: ✓ What is a stroke? ✓ How strokes affect the brain ✓ Medical problems that raise stroke risk ✓ SPECIAL SECTION: Lifestyle changes to help prevent strokes ✓ Diagnosing a stroke ✓ Treating ischemic strokes ✓ Treating hemorrhagic strokes

Dear Reader,

When you suffer a stroke, life suddenly shifts. And not just for you. A stroke’s repercussions ripple. A stroke will upend both your life and plans, as well as the lives of those closest to you.

Lower your risk of stroke — with this Special Health Report! from Harvard Medical School

In this report, you’ll discover the measures that matter most in preventing a stroke. You’ll be introduced to procedures and advances that are transforming treatment. And you’ll find new and welcome therapies that are solidifying the recovery process.

You can address — and arrest — stroke’s major causes!

Stroke brings you solutions that do not demand sacrifice. You’ll learn about the six major — and controllable — risk factors and why managing your blood pressure may be the most powerful weapon in the prevention arsenal — and the smartest steps to lower yours.

You’ll be introduced to a diet shown to lower a woman’s risk of stroke by 27%. You’ll find how many men can cut their risk of a hemorrhagic stroke in half. You’ll learn about a nondrug alternative to blood thinners…a new medication for high cholesterol…and the mineral you want in your diet now!

You’ll know about advances that halt a stroke’s effects!

In Stroke you’ll be briefed by experts at the forefront of today’s breakthroughs in stroke treatment and diagnosis. You’ll know about emerging procedures to limit damage and restore blood flow. You’ll be briefed on the most useful scan…a less-invasive treatment for an aneurysm…options in antiplatelet therapy…and an innovative clot retrieving device that’s becoming the standard of care.

You’ll learn about the exciting progress in stroke recovery!

Fully two-thirds of people who have had a stroke will benefit from rehabilitation treatment. You’ll explore therapies that sustain pace and progress. You’ll read about a novel “sound” technique for recovering verbal abilities…a new technology that encourages independent movement…an effective method to restore the skills of daily living…ways to ease post-stroke pain…and more.

More than ever we have the tools and ability to reduce the risk of stroke, to respond and access treatment more quickly, and to speed and enhance fuller recovery. For yourself, for your future, for those whom you love, get a copy of the Stroke Special Health Report today.

To your good health,

Timothy Cole
Editorial Director, Harvard Health Publishing

The advantages of body-weight exercise

All exercise is beneficial. But even stacked up against other types of workouts, body-weight exercise has a lot to offer. Not only does it provide an excellent workout, but it can also help you overcome some common excuses for avoiding exercise, like “I don’t have time to go to the gym” and “I don’t have space for a stationary bike at home.” All you have to do is move your body.

Get your copy of Body-Weight Exercise The health and fitness experts at Harvard Medical School perfected workout routines that use your own body weight to strengthen your whole body — routines that offer a wealth of better health and more pep in your step. They’re all in the Body-Weight Exercise Special Health Report, along with step-by-step directions and how-to photos. You can do these feel-younger exercises at home and adjust them to your fitness level. And there’s positively no equipment necessary to get great results.   SHOW ME MORE →

Here’s a closer look at some of the pluses.

It couldn’t be more convenient.

No matter where you are, you’ve got your body, so you can start exercising anywhere, anytime — in your bedroom when you wake up, in the kitchen while you’re waiting for water to boil, in your hotel room when traveling. That makes it easy to find the time.

The price is right.

With body-weight exercise, there’s nothing to buy other than a pair of shoes. You don’t need stylish clothing. You don’t even need a yoga mat, much less an expensive gym membership, although you can certainly do these workouts at the gym, too. You might want a few props, such as a chair, bench, or counter to modify some moves, but these are all items that you have on hand.

The intimidation factor is low.

You can do these exercises solo. You don’t have to walk into a gym full of buff exercisers and complicated-looking weight machines that require adjustments and may still not fit you properly.

It’s effective.

Research published in the journal Physiology and Behavior found that, as a form of resistance training, body-weight exercise helps build muscle “independent of an external load.” But it does more than that. When researchers looked at the effects of 10 weeks of body-weight exercises on various physical fitness parameters in a small group of young women, they found improvements in seven out of nine of the parameters. The biggest gains were in aerobic
capacity, with a 33% improvement. Muscle endurance, particularly in the core, increased by 11%, while lower-body power posted a 6% gain. Even flexibility was better after the training.

You don’t necessarily have to do a lot of it.

While it’s good to meet the Physical Activity Guidelines, smaller amounts of body-weight exercise can also deliver results. In a small study of active people in their 60s, Japanese researchers found that a workout consisting of eight simple lower-body exercises increased the participants’ muscle strength and power by about 15% after 10 months. That may not sound like much, but during this stage of life, strength and power are often declining. What’s more, the
participants achieved these gains by doing only six workouts a month.

It provides functional exercise.

Most body-weight exercises work multiple muscles at once rather than training an isolated muscle or muscle group, as many exercise machines and dumbbell exercises do. Therefore, body-weight exercises are considered more functional, using more muscles and joints at a time, engaging balance, and mimicking everyday activities.

It can be adjusted to your fitness level.

It may not be obvious how to do this at first. When you’re using your body as the weight, you can’t just remove 10 or 20 pounds as you can with machines or dumbbells. But there are ways to modify moves to decrease or increase the resistance. You can adjust your body position — for example, doing push-ups against a wall rather than the floor — or you can change the number of times you repeat an exercise or modify the pace you’re working at.

It’s good for your health.

Literally thousands of studies have shown that the more you move, the lower your risks for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, multiple types of cancer, joint pain, and Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise can also lift your mood, reduce your stress level, and improve your sleep. Body-weight exercise is no exception.

For more fast, equipment-free ways to get strong, fit and healthy, check out Body-Weight Exercise, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

Image: Yagi-Studio/Getty Images

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✓ 8 over-the-counter drugs that raise your blood pressure ✓ The good and bad of 11 common blood pressure drugs ✓ Diet secrets that can help you lose weight — and lower your blood pressure ✓ A technique that could get you off blood pressure drugs or help you lower the dosage ✓ Special Bonus Section on reducing salt

Dear Reader,

High blood pressure. It’s called the silent killer, because it has no warning signs or symptoms — until a stroke or heart attack occurs.

Yet one in 3 American adults has it — and only slightly over half have it under control. What’s more, millions of people have high blood pressure and don’t even know it.

Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect — and there are even proven ways to bring it under control without medications.

In this report, Harvard experts bring you the latest news that can help you disarm this silent killer, including:

• 22 medications that can give you high blood pressure

• How high blood pressure can lead to memory loss in older people

• Why some blood pressure medications stop working

• What to do if you have resistant hypertension

• The blood pressure reading that makes you 4 times more likely to have a stroke

• The candy that can actually increase your blood pressure — it may even be in your herbal tea!

• Why you should get your blood pressure checked in both arms at least once

• The diet that helps lower blood pressure as well as some medications

• And so much more!

Controlling Your Blood Pressure gives you important facts about blood pressure, plus dozens of secrets for controlling your blood pressure to help lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and even dementia. Plus, you’ll get a Special Bonus Section on the health hazards of too much salt.

One of the best ways to protect your health is to send for your copy of Controlling Your Blood Pressure today.

Order this Special Health Report today and receive a Special Bonus Section on conquering your salt habit.

Sincerely,

Timothy Cole
Editorial Director, Harvard Health Publishing

P.S. Is your blood pressure reading correct? Click
here to find out now — FREE!

HARVARD HEALTH BLOG

Demystifying hyperpigmentation: Causes, types, and effective treatments

Disorders of skin darkening, also known as hyperpigmentation, are one of the most common complaints in dermatology offices. While hyperpigmentation is not harmful to your health, discoloration on the skin can be alarming and emotionally distressing.

What is hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation refers to skin that darkens in comparison to its natural color. These patches of discoloration can develop anywhere on the skin, but are most often seen on sun-exposed areas such as the face, neck, chest, tops of the arms and hands, and shins.

Based on your skin complexion, these areas can appear brown, tan, pink, gray, black, or even purple. As opposed to a suntan, which comes and goes, hyperpigmentation tends to be more longstanding, although areas may lighten or fade with time and treatment.

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