Listen
Listening to relaxing music before surgery was more effective at reducing anxiety than a sedative medication, a French study showed.
Grip
Grip strength was the best predictor of how well a group of more than 6000 men aged 45 to 68 would avoid being incapacitated later in life, a 25-year study found. The weakest-gripping men suffered twice the disabilities of men with hands of steel. In another study of nearly 140,000 men and women, poor grip strength correlated with a higher incidence of death, especially from cardiovascular disease.
Dance
Dancing reduces the risk of dementia more than any other type of physical activity, according to a study by New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Why? Learning new steps improves intellectual fitness, and if you dance with a group or a partner, you’re being social.