5 Wrinkle-Fighting Facial Exercises

In a pretty fascinating study, women who did daily or almost-daily facial exercises for 20 weeks looked two years younger (as concluded by doctors)! Here are some of the study’s moves (designed by Happy Face Yoga) that could work for you. Repeat each two to three times.

1. Cheek Lifter
Open your mouth to form an O, positioning your upper lip over your teeth. Smile to lift your cheek muscles up, placing your index fingers lightly on the top part of cheek. Release your check muscles to lower them, then lift back up. Do this 10 times. On the tenth lift, hold your cheek muscles as high as you can and lift your fingers about an inch away from your face and up toward your scalp area. Hold for 20 seconds while looking up at your fingers, then release.

2. Happy Cheeks Sculpting
Smile without showing your teeth. Purse your lips together, then smile, forcing your cheek muscles up. Place your fingers on the corners of your mouth and slide them up to the top of the cheeks. Hold that for 20 seconds.

3. Eyebrow Lifter
Smile, then press three fingertips of each hand under your eyebrows to force your eyes open. Keep smiling while trying to frown your eyebrows down against your fingers. Hold for 20 seconds while breathing deeply.

4. Upper Eyelid Firmer
Smile, then place your index fingers at the outer corner of each eye and your middle fingers at the inner corners. Squeeze your eyes closed tight, and roll your eyeballs up toward the ceiling (still keeping your eyes closed). Hold for 30 seconds.

5. Jaw and Neck Firmer
Smile, then open your mouth to make an “ahh” sound. Fold your lower lip and the corners of your lips into your mouth and hold them tightly. Extend your lower jaw forward. Using your lower jaw only, scoop up very slowly as you close your mouth. Pull your chin up about an inch each time you scoop, tilting your head backward. Open and close your lower jaw for 10 reps. On the final rep, your chin should be pointed toward the ceiling; hold for 20 seconds.

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Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?

This episode is dedicated to my neighbor Todd. Whenever we are outside hanging out in the evening, and the sun starts to set and the mosquitoes begin to appear, I know that he will act as cover. I’ll escape with only a few or often no bites at all, while he, unfortunately, will end up coated in them.

Todd is not alone. Scientists estimate that 20% of people are more likely to attract mosquitoes and thus get bitten more often. But what makes some people more delicious (to mosquitoes) than others?

What Attracts Mosquitoes to Some People More than Others?

Whether or not we are doomed to be highly attractive to mosquitoes is mostly determined by our genetics. For starters, the main way mosquitoes search for their next victim is by tracking down our carbon dioxide output, a telltale sign of a mammal’s existence. This means your metabolic rate, or the amount of CO2 your body releases as it burns energy, is a big factor when it comes to attracting mosquitoes.

To a large extent our metabolism is predetermined by our genetics but we do have the power to alter it somewhat. Drinking alcohol and exercising can both raise your resting metabolic rate and thus make you more attractive to mosquitoes. So going for a run and then stopping to have a beer at dusk is just asking to get bitten.

Mosquitoes also prefer pregnant women, a fitting prey since only female mosquitoes bite at all out of a need to develop fertile eggs. Pregnant women on average have higher metabolic rates than nonpregnant women. One study found pregnant women exhale 21% more CO2 than their nonpregnant counterparts. Pregnant women are also at another disadvantage: their body temperatures tend to be higher, another mosquito attractor.

We also naturally emit varying levels of acids and chemical signatures in our skin, some of which are used by mosquitoes to track down their next meal. Mosquitoes sniff out humans via the lactic acid, uric acid, and ammonia on their skin, byproducts expelled through our sweat (and thus another reason exercising can bring on the bugs). Some studies also suggest that people with higher levels of steroids or cholesterol on their...

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Does Pure Barre Work? Getting Fit with Barre Classes

According to their website, Pure Barre is a “total body workout that uses the ballet barre to perform small, isometric movements, which burn fat, sculpt muscles and create long, lean physiques.” We’ll get into my experience with the classes and my overall fitness impressions, but first a little background.

After I went undercover at Orangetheory, Crossfit, and BODYPUMP, I received a few emails asking my opinion of Pure Barre and I apologize for it taking me this long to get to it. I finally signed up for two Pure Barre classes: the Classic class and the Empower class. Both of which left me shaky and sweaty.

What Is a Barre?

First things first, for those of you who didn’t grow up doing some sort of dance class or other and also managed to escape watching TV shows like "Fame" or "Bunheads," let’s clarify what exactly a barre (not a bar) is.

It’s pretty simple actually. The barre is a horizontal pole (usually wooden, like a staircase banister) that runs at waist level on which ballet dancers rest a hand (or a foot) for support during exercises. The barre usually runs along a wall (often a mirrored wall) but can also be free standing in the middle of the room. Got it? Good.

Signing Up to Pure Barre

Right off the bat, I have to hand it to Pure Barre for having an easy to use website and a reasonable introductory offer. Unlike Orangetheory though, which offered a free trial that easily got turned into two free trials, I did have to pay for my classes. But $21 for a full week of unlimited sessions isn’t bad and honestly, during my first class, I was so busy making sure that I was doing the exercises correctly that I didn’t have time to form a solid opinion.

I was happy that I took some time the night before my first class to do some reading up on Pure Barre etiquette. The fact that you can’t wear shorts to the classes threw me for a bit of a loop. I run hot. And that means I sweat a lot. Which means, I like to workout in shorts and a tank top. I do own some running pants that I wear in the winter (occasionally) but for my first class I actually ended up wearing some woollen longjohns that I usually wear under my snow pants while skiing or snowshoeing. So yeah, I was a sweaty mess. Sorry ladies.

Are Men Allowed at Pure Barre?

Which leads me to a...

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To-Do List Essentials: How to Recruit Your Subconscious Mind

The wonderful thing about technology is that it gives us the illusion we can do everything! So we try. And then...we get overwhelmed. And then we suffer severe cognitive decline, physical stress, and we start to pull our hair out. It may be a good way to save on barbershop visits, but it isn’t great for quality of life. (Except for our corporate overlords, who buy lapis lazuli yachts with the profits from our amazing productivity.)

What we can do, however, is manage the overwhelm so it becomes doable. You’ll have to pay for haircuts again, but it will be worth it.

For example, David Allen’s Getting Things Done system is a great way to manage stuff when it comes into your life. It turns into a bunch of task lists, though. For me, it quickly turns to chaos.

Fortunately, there’s a better way. Just keep one Long List of tasks, and have a good way to decide what to do next.

Use a “Long List” for All Your Tasks

My favorite system for managing a gazillion tasks was created by Mark Forster. I think he’s the best productivity mind I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been a follower of his systems since the Get-It-Done Guy began.

Mark has designed a dozen different systems for recording and doing tasks. He starts with a different attitude on task management. He scoffs at ranking things according to priority (and he’s British, so when he scoffs, it sounds great). Instead, he uses the psychology around the interplay between your conscious and unconscious minds to decide what to do next.

My favorite system of his is “Fast Final Version Perfected” or FFVP for short. Here’s how it works:

1. Use one long list to record your tasks. I use a paper notebook. Paper engages all my senses in a way that works better than online lists.
2. Put a dot by the first incomplete item in the list.
3. Scan forward, considering tasks with a relaxed mental attitude.
4. When you see an item that jumps out at you, put a dot by that item.
5. Now, you have a choice: you can work on the item you just dotted, or keep going until another item stands out to dot.
6. When you have worked on an item for as long as you want, mark it complete. If there’s still more to do on it, re-add it to the end of the list.
7. Now work on the previous dotted item, or keep scanning forward from the one you just marked as complete and keep dotting.
8. When you reach the end of the last, work on the last dotted item.

“Jumping Out” is Conscious and...

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What Does Your Mouth Have to Do With Making $1 Million?

In this world full of hacks and “seven ways to do this or that,” we are often tempted to confuse clarity with the truth and to label obscure ideas as “impractical.” Yet in psychotherapy and deep coaching sessions, it is often such ambiguous realizations that truly move people to change their lives.

One such realization is the mind-body connection, a deeply meaningful and complex relationship that can stand in the way of your goals, even when your goal is as concrete as a making $1 million.

The mind is defined as “responsible for one’s thoughts and feelings,” and it is directly associated with the brain. Furthermore, the brain plays a role in the functioning of your entire body, from movement to breathing and beyond. In fact, the connection goes both ways: The brain sends messages to the body, and the body sends messages to the brain.

In turn, your goals are thoughts that arise in your brain, and because your body sends signals to your brain, your body can have quite a profound impact on your goals. Now, your mouth is part of your body, and, in theory, it can impact your brain and thoughts, too.

The Psychoanalytic Mouth

The mouth is associated with a characteristic we call “oral,” and we use this to describe “oral character,” or how the ingestive functions of the mouth are associated with the development of the self. These oral preferences—talking, eating, etc.—can have much deeper ramifications for one’s psyche and, therefore, one's goals.

The psychiatrist Sigmund Freud believed that we develop our sexual drives and instincts when we are young, and depending on our experiences, we may or may not resolve conflicts at each stage adequately. When we do not resolve conflicts, this results in a non-resolution or fixation on specific bodily functions (e.g., oral fixation), which can turn into powerful unconscious influences that create barriers to our goals.

4 Ways Your Orality Can Help You Achieve Goals

In my work with patients, I have seen the possible connections described by Freud and other theorists on orality and behavior. To take advantage of insights about your orality and to use them to attain goals, consider the following framework:

1. Identify your habits.

Discern whether you eat, drink, smoke, bite your nails, emphasize oral sexual gratification, or grind your teeth. Look for signals that orality is part of your makeup, and then attempt to limit...

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How to Organize Your Parenting Life with Julie Morgenstern

Family time is precious and seemingly harder to come by with the hectic lifestyles most families lead these days. New York Times best-selling author and organizational guru Julie Morgenstern understands the struggle that individuals and families face trying to balance their lives and their living spaces. A sought-after organizing & productivity consultant, she has been teaching people all around the world and at all stages of life how to overcome disorganization to achieve their goals for over thirty years.

Her latest book, Time to Parent, is a “job description” for parents. Her whole ideology is that parenting is overwhelming because the role of parent is undefined. The book is also the platform for her new podcast, Time to Parent, which will offer practical advice so parents can savor time both with their kids and on their own.

Julie Morgenstern joins Mighty Mommy to share her best tips for getting today’s busy parents and their children on track to figuring out a simpler and more organized lifestyle so they can spend more quality time together rather than letting all their “stuff” dictate their precious time.

Here are some of the topics we discuss:

1. Julie Morgenstern discusses why she wanted to write her new book, Time to Parent.
2. Julie shares some examples of the material covered in the book that will benefit a family that has never attempted to get organized before.
3. If you're just not sure where to begin, Julie recommends strategies that won't overwhelm you.
4. Should your children be involved in the process? Julie shares why hands-down it’s a family affair and how you can make it happen in your own home.
5. There’s a reason why some families are more successful at staying on task and implementing organizational routines and why others can’t seem to get out of their own way. Find out why.
6. Julie shares what areas in your home should be the focus when you’re trying to get organized and how you can maintain it.
7. Find out what Julie’s favorite organizational tools are that will give families the best bang for their buck.
8. Julie shares her heartfelt reasons as to why parents will benefit when creating and maintaining a well-organized home.
9. Julie’s new podcast, Time to Parent, is a tremendous resource for families that need additional inspiration...

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How Cardio Can Help Cure Diabetes

It is no secret that type 2 diabetes and obesity are increasing all over the world. Currently, the way that we treat these two health issues is not suitable for all patients, so researchers and physicians are constantly on the lookout for other ways to combat these problems. 

One promising therapeutic remedy is a naturally produced hormone called Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). It is so promising, in fact, that there are currently gene therapy trials and animal studies going on where mice are being fattened up and then given a boost of FGF21 with surprisingly great results. But these trials are far from being available to the general public (or even tested on humans).

What Is FGF21?

FGF21 is what is called a secreted protein which has been shown to behave like a metabolic regulator. That means it plays a large role in controlling things like glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and even ketogenesis. The liver is considered the main site of FGF21 production and from there it is released into the blood.

Cardio exercise training can cause up to three times as large an increase in the hormone FGF21 than strength training can.

Well, a new research study at the University of Copenhagen just discovered that there is an easier way to boost FGF21 than by becoming an obese mouse or receiving gene therapy. In the new study titled Divergent effects of resistance and endurance exercise on plasma bile acids, FGF19, and FGF21 in humans, published in the scientific Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers showed that cardio exercise training (on an exercise bike) can cause up to three times as large an increase in the production of the hormone FGF21 than strength training with weights can.

The Study

The researchers studied 10 healthy young men, who were divided into two groups. The groups did two different workouts which were relatively hard and lasted 60 minutes. One workout was pure cardio which consisted of cycling at 70 percent of the test subject’s maximum oxygen intake (what I would call "comfortably uncomfortable"). The other workout was a strength training session that consisted of five exercises repeated ten times, focusing on the body's major muscle groups.

After each workout, eight blood samples were taken over a period of four hours. The researchers did this so they could measure biomarkers like blood sugar, lactic acid, hormones, and bile acid...

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