MSI Press Blog

  People love to say, “Well, everything hurts when you get older.” As if aging is some kind of warranty expiration date. But here’s the secret no one tells you: Bodies don’t fall apart because of age. They respond to how we treat them. I’m not talking about kale smoothies or gym memberships. I’m talking about the tiny, everyday choices that either support your body or grind it down. 🌼 Sleep matters If you spend eight hours a night in a position your spine hates, your spine will complain. If you spend eight hours in a position your spine likes , it will stay quiet for decades. Ask me how I know. 🌼 Movement matters Not “exercise.” Movement. Scooching, lifting toddlers, climbing stairs, carrying laundry, reaching, bending — that’s functional strength training. Your body adapts to what you ask of it. If you ask it to move, it stays capable. If you ask it to sit still, it stiffens. 🌼 Listening matters Pain isn’t the enemy. Pain is information. “Tight” means keep...

  In this week's blog post, Julie Gentile, author of two award-winning books, suggests a way to get the best sleep of your life . For more posts about Julie and her books, click  HERE . Find out more about Julie's book,  108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas .  IPPY Living Now bronze medal  and  Book Excellence Award . Find out more about Julie's book,  How to Stay Calm in Chaos .  Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards honorable mention: Mind/Body/Spirit. To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount, use code FF25 at  MSI Press webstore . Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to buy for it? (1) Ask your local library to purchase and shelve it. (2) Ask us for a review copy; we love to have our books reviewed. VISIT OUR  WEBSITE  TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author...

  In one Star Trek episode, the crew cannot enter REM sleep -- and as a result, violence emergences. That episode is based on scientific research. And it explains a lot about caregiver burnout  and anger . When a spouse or other family member suffers from cancer, needs for care do not occur only during waking hours. Often, it feels like 24/7, and a family member who serves as caregiver can find himself or herself unable to react calmly in the face of chaos and immense stress . Sleep provides a time to renew emotional balance. Sleep deprivation leads to deprivation of balance, calm, perspective--and ultimately, emotional control. Here are some details about the relationship between sleep deprivation and anger  from the National Institute of Health. Here are some details about the relationship between sleep and mood from Harvard University research. And here is some evidence of the relationship between anger, aggression, hostility, and sleep deprivation , also from NIH....

  From  Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star Sleep matters, too. Learners who doze off in class, fall asleep while studying, or otherwise are tired are working on half-thruster. They cannot take in new information efficiently. They cannot even use what they do know well.  See more posts on  this book . See more posts about   language learning.                                         Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

Thinking in Circles  In the background, a mix CD played on repeat throughout my five hours of labor at the hospital. My husband and I had burned this CD together and had included a track of soothing ocean sounds between every other song. Three hours into this repeated ocean soundtrack, I wanted the CD to be thrown out the window or at least turned off. I was desperate to be rid of those manufactured waves, but I could not speak out loud to ask my husband or doula for help. Never before had I felt such an odd separation between my mind and body. My thoughts continued in their ranting (I wish they would turn off that CD!), and yet I could not get the words out of my mouth. All of my bodily functions, including speech, were overtaken completely by the involuntary contractions of my uterus—and my uterus was doing its job whether or not the sounds of the ocean were soothing my mind. When I could let the music be background instead of foreground, my irritation would recede. I...