HER

It's time to reconnect with nature.Our brains and bodies need a connection with nature. Unfortunately, we spend too much time indoors... worse, we don’t really even think about how little we're outside. It's time to get outside. Vitamin D from the sun can reduce your risk for chronic diseases. It’s also beneficial for your retinas, lowering chances for nearsightedness. Encouraging outdoor activity is important for all ages. Recess is great for children. Parks are wonderful for people who live in the city. Many sports can be played outdoors. Turn your cell phone off to really engage with nature and experience a greater sense of peace. You don't need to capture ALL those sunsets or take endless selfies on your hike. Make the effort to regroup. Listen as Florence Williams joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share how important nature is for your well-being. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Find out how much sex you should be having.A 40-year study from 2015 surveyed more than 30,000 Americans and found that couples who have sex at least once a week are the happiest.  How much sex is enough? Should you put a number on happiness? Are you and your partner on the same page? Reflecting on your youth, you may find that intimacy and sexuality weren’t expressed in a positive and healthy way. Did your parents turn off network television when the scenes got too steamy? Were your parents observably affectionate for one another? The sexuality you observed in your younger years can influence your attitude toward sex as an adult. It’s easier to avoid sexuality and focus on areas where you succeed, especially if you feel critical of your own performance or are uncomfortable in the bedroom. For example, you may decide to place energy in something like painting or exercise instead of sharing intimacy. Technology and media may set you up for dissatisfaction and insecurity. You consume information that tells you how you should look and feel about sex. Stop comparing your relationship to others. So, How Much Sex is Enough? You should have enough sex to nourish your relationship. It is as important as your health. You must make it a priority. If you’re in agreement with your partner and feel good about what’s happening in the bedroom, you’re having enough sex. You’re connecting. That’s the important thing. Listen as Dr. Mary Andres joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss how much sex you should be having. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Learn about primal eating and how it may benefit you.The term “Paleo” gets tossed around without a full understanding. The Paleo diet references the Paleolithic Era, even though it actually refers to the diets of the Neolithic Era. It suggests the period in human development from 2.6 million years ago until 10,000 years ago.  “Primal” implies an earlier time after the last ice age. Collagen profiles prove humans consumed massive amounts of protein; more than other predators that shared our environment. We had the smarts and technology to bring down a woolly mammoth. Many plants in primal times were too complex to easily harvest for meals. They don’t provide many calories. Only certain parts of the plant were edible. Many plants required cooking to neutralize poisonous compounds. Raw tubers would pass through the digestive tract as unusable. They weren’t useful to the body unless cooked. The human digestive tract is small and isn’t designed to get as much nutrition from plant food as a chimpanzees. We are designed to get most of our caloric content from fat. Listen as Nora Gedgaudas joins Dr. Pamela Peeke for an in-depth discussion on a primal diet for women. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Does your partner seem distant and reluctant about emotional intimacy?Relationships are incredibly powerful. Chances are, the moments you were at your most joyful and most vulnerable revolved around relationships. Is your partner emotionally available? Emotional availability is the willingness to participate in a healthy, mutually gratifying relationship. Men and women have the same needs and desires. Men are just as capable of emotional availability as women. In fact, men are likely to profess love before women. Women are as likely to be emotionally unavailable as men. Unavailable Personality Types Critic: Finds fault, nitpicks and always sees the down side. You can never do anything right. Sponge: Relies on the partner to fill a void. The relationship is responsible for this person’s happiness. Desperately wants the connection but can never get enough validation. Iceberg: Tends to be dismissive of emotional intimacy, unlikely to be a warm source of support. It feels like this person is indifferent to you. Silencer: Feels either they can’t connect or does not want to connect with their feelings. This person prefers thoughts or facts to feelings. Defender: Shields real or imagined threats, including criticism. Might blame, find fault, withdraw or defend based on perceived threats. Keep in mind, these personality types occur in shades. Humans are complex. You may not recognize emotional unavailability when you’re dating, because you spend such small slices of time together. You might also miss challenges that are present, convincing yourself that changes will occur. If your relationship provides you with more benefit than not, you can get a better view of what you need and want. Communicate about what causes tension. Listen as Dr. Holly Parker joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss emotional availability. Sponsor: Prevention #spreadthehealth

Human emotions are a tad more complex than you may have expected.You may be fairly adept at identifying emotions when you see or experience them. But, do you know how the mind and body create emotions? We’ve been taught that different switches are tripped, based on stimuli in your environment. The switches create your expressions and fuel your reactions to stimuli. Your brain tries to match your behavior and emotion to the situation. Should you yell, run or faint in fear? Each mental event is a whole brain affair. Your neurons are firing all the time, not just taking a siesta until there is stimulation. Your brain uses past experience to guess what will happen in the present moment. It continually prepares multiple choices for any potential situation. It makes its best selection for the given circumstance. It uses thinking, feeling and all of its wits to keep your body balanced. Are Women More Emotional Than Men? Both men and women would say that women tend to be more emotional. In truth, journaling emotions over several days will prove that neither is more emotional. Some individual women are less emotional than individual men. The stereotype is untrue. When women don’t demonstrate the degree of emotion that people expect, they are considered untrustworthy and cold. Most importantly, your certainty about how someone else feels is not necessarily accurate. Your brain may be making the wrong guess. Be curious about others and curate more experiences. Give your brain more options for interpreting facial expressions and behavior. Listen as Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share more about how emotions really work. Sponsor: Prevention #spreadthehealth

How can you boost your fitness intensity?Spending an hour on a treadmill may be daunting. Most of us don’t have those precious 45-60 minutes available each day to dedicate to the gym. You have to find the fitness plan that works for you. Interval training is a great option for the time-pressed individual. Interval training consists of periods of relatively intense training and rest periods. Rest may be complete inactivity or low-intensity periods. High intensity interval training (HIIT) boosts heart rate to 80-85% of maximal heart rate. Sprint interval training is the more extreme variety that pushes you to the max. Sprint interval training is the most efficient. Your best bet is to push out of your comfort zone a bit more each time. Exert yourself a little more than usual. Elevate your heart rate more than what you're accustomed to. An interval for you might be speeding up your walk for a bit before returning to your regular rate. You can use perceived effort of exertion to monitor your intervals. The more intense your workout, the less time you have to spend working out to realize benefits. A “one minute workout” is a ten-minute process. Warm-up takes two minutes. There are three cycles of 20-second sprints followed by two minutes of recovery. Cool down takes one minute. Listen as Dr. Martin Gibala joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss interval training so you can find what’s right for you. Sponsor: Prevention #spreadthehealth

Why is it so hard to give and get a decent apology?We are not perfect people. No matter how hard we try, we’re going to wind up hurting others and others will hurt us. We need to learn how to apologize. A poorly executed apology can compromise a relationship. A well-done apology can heal and bring peace. How We Ruin Apologies “I’m sorry but…” But introduces an excuse, criticism or rationalization. Get your but out of your apology. “I’m sorry if what I said made you feel…” Don’t apologize for how the person feels. Be accountable. It’s better to say that you were sorry and won’t do it again. “I’m sorry for causing the same hurt over and over. Here’s a grand flourish to show how sorry I am.” You have to cease the bad behavior. Don’t think that box of candy is going to make the hurt disappear. “I said I’m sorry. Why won’t you let up?” You have to sit in the hot seat when you’ve upset someone. Hear people out. Acknowledge thoughts and feelings that come from the person you offended. “Sorry” isn’t a conversation ender. Is it Hard for You to Apologize? It’s tough to apologize when you’re in a relationship where you feel more criticized and blamed than valued and respected. It’s hard to apologize to someone when the hurt has been blown out of proportion. Drama about your injurious action doesn’t make it easy to apologize. Your experience as a child was unpleasant surrounding apologies. Childhood apologies can be so intensely shaming. Many parents don’t just thank the child for saying sorry. There is some pressure on men not to feel vulnerable or weak. Apologies may be viewed as giving the other person a competitive edge instead of gaining respect and integrity. Women tend to overly apologize. You must stand on a large platform of self worth to apologize for a major wrong. Look at the grand scheme. You don't have to forgive someone. You can find peace of mind in other ways so you can heal yourself. Listen as Dr. Harriet Lerner joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share how to stop mucking up apologies. Sponsor: Prevention #spreadthehealth

Stop letting men treat you badly!As a women in a traditional "man's world," you have to find out who you are and what you want. That’s how you can stop allowing men to treat you badly. Three common mistakes women make which allows men to treat them badly: 1) Women make excuses for men. Does he show up late for dates? Are you afraid he’s going to dump you if you don’t put out? Stop justifying his actions if there’s a pattern of behavior. How are you benefiting from and enjoying the relationship? Do you deserve better? Are you settling because you are afraid of being alone? You have to communicate in a way that your partner understands. Nagging and long explanations don’t always work. Talking with him about your needs and wants should eliminate the excuses for his behavior. 2) Women don’t say no to the things they don’t want. They give in because it’s easier, or they have a hard time establishing limits. You can say no with your words and actions. Work to understand your own needs. It’s okay to say, “That doesn’t work for me” or “I have to think about that for a while.” 3) Women aren’t always happy when men are nice to them. Maybe they’re trying to sort out the feminist ideal of being a strong, powerful woman. Is it okay to accept help from a man? One of the best ways to get what you like from a man is to appreciate the things that make you happy. Generational and cultural differences have complicated how we view relationships. You have to sort out what you really want. Make sure your partner genuinely suits your needs. Have the courage to try for something you want. As a woman, your duty is to stick with other women. Don’t body shame other women. Men don’t care about that ounce of body fat as much as you think they do. Stop buying into the image of beauty and sexiness you see in the media. We have to support each other. Listen as Dr. Susan Edelman joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss how to stop letting men treat you badly. Sponsor: Prevention #spreadthehealth

New cultural shifts within men's gender roles are making it an exciting time to be a woman.Men’s gender roles are changing. It’s a confusing time, because while women have been discussing and invested in gender for the past 70 years, men haven’t. It’s time to talk about the changes. Men have no way to negotiate the new reality where women are going to make as much money as they historically have. This means that men are being shifted away from the traditional role of provider. This change has led to men embracing an active role in child rearing. Men are more involved in nurturing the children. This has a positive effect on families. Friendships Men tend to grow out of friendships, while women grow into friendships as they age. Men have the same social needs as women. The old patriarchal norms of not needing other people have overshadowed men’s social drive. As gender roles change, these male friendships become more normal. It’s important to have bros (even bromances). Feminism The world needs more decent guys. The current president has brought questions of feminism to the front; uncertainty that seemed to be previously resolved. Does it need to be said that women are absolutely people? Any decent man who sees women being treated as less than 100% human will support the drive for recognition of women as equals. Pornography Pornography has thrived in countries that celebrate women, not nations where women are treated as chattel. It’s a bit more nuanced than you may expect. The journey to equality between men and women may seem slow, but progress is being made. Violence against women has significantly reduced in the past 50 years. The pay gap is decreasing in successful countries. The cost of excluding women from the public sector is vast. Listen as author Stephen Marche joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss the changes in men’s gender roles. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Dudes are getting into cosmetic treatments.No matter how well you take care of yourself, inside and out, age is bound to rear its ugly head sooner or later. Now more than ever, individuals are turning to cosmetic procedures. Botox is a neuro-modulator, injected to diminish the pull of the muscles that show age lines. It usually lasts three to four months. But, women aren't the only ones nipping and tucking. Statistics indicate that “brotox” and cosmetic surgery procedures for men were up 63% between 2010 and 2015. Men want to look fresher and natural. They want to be more sexually attractive and vital in the job market. They desire cosmetic treatment for the same reason women do. Men may notice the improvement their spouses have from treatments, leading them to seek out these treatments as an option. If you're thinking of undergoing an enhancement, be sure to visit a professional who has a variety of techniques to treat your specific needs. Not every individual is alike. We all want to look in the mirror and see who we feel like inside. Remember, a celebrity nose may not have the same balance on your face. Listen as Dr. Robert Singer joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss how men may benefit from cosmetic procedures. Smarty Pants Vitamins