Family Health Blog
Recent health news, buzzworthy medical blogs, and personal wellness advice curated by our PinnacleCare team and our CEO, Dr. Miles Varn.
Topic: Stress Management
How does heart rate variability affect your health?
If you wear a fitness tracker, you may have noticed a category you’re not familiar with—heart rate variability (HRV). We talked with Brad S. Lichtenstein, ND, BCB, BCB-HRV, a member of our Medical Advisory Board, naturopathic physician, and a former professor and clinical faculty member at Bastyr University about what HRV is and how it... Read More
How to build resiliency and support better physical and mental wellbeing
We talked with Julie Wald, Founder and Chief Wellness Officer at Golden (formerly Namaste Wellness) about the role of resiliency in health and wellbeing. The company’s new name was inspired in part by the Japanese practice of Kintsugi, repairing and strengthening broken household items with gold. Ms. Wald has been a wellness practitioner for over... Read More
Stress management for parents in a time of uncertainty
Being a parent has always been a demanding job. Working to keep your children safe and physically and mentally healthy, balancing work and home life, acting as a caregiver for older parents and relatives, and managing your own health and wellbeing can be stressful at times. But during the pandemic, the stress levels of many... Read More
Steps you can take to strengthen resiliency
As the pandemic continues, the level of continuing stress and uncertainty is taking its toll on mental and physical wellbeing. For many people, this stress is overlaid on other ongoing stresses in their lives, including the effects of systemic racism and prejudice against communities including people in the LGTBQ+ community and Asian and native communities,... Read More
How sleep health affects your mental health
You may be familiar with the connection between sleep and physical health, but did you know that sleep can also significantly affect your mental health and wellness? We talked with sleep specialist Dr. Michael Grandner to learn more. Dr. Grandner is Director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona (UA),... Read More
Has the pandemic strained your relationship? Try these strategies.
Perhaps before the pandemic you felt like you didn’t get to spend enough time with your spouse or partner. The time demands of work and social obligations may have meant less time time alone with your loved one. But for many people, that changed dramatically with work from home and limits imposed on social interaction... Read More
The secret to longevity is simpler than you think
I was recently invited to speak with Dr. Ruchir Sehra and Nancy Rothstein on the Performance Enhancer podcast. We covered a wide range of topics during our discussion, from COVID-19 to the steps you can take to improve your longevity. We share some of the highlights from our discussion in this post. The pandemic has... Read More
Tips to help you break your pandemic bad habits
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, news outlets and social media were filled with people talking about all the positive ways they intended to use their time during stay at home orders—learning a new language, becoming a better cook, volunteering to call older people who were lonely and isolated, or reading more books. More... Read More
How to create a sleep healthy lifestyle
With all the stress and the changes in how we live and work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be one of the growing number of people around the world living with sleep problems and the physical and mental health fallout caused by lack of healthy sleep. One study conducted during the early months... Read More
Four mental health tips to combat the stress of living with extended family
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the structure of many people’s households has changed dramatically. Campuses closed and young adults returned home and many will still be at home this fall as colleges and universities continue to limit on-campus classes. Some people moved in with family after a job loss. And some families temporarily moved older... Read More