GUEST COMMENTARY: Stress can hurt body as much as it hurts mind

Recent studies suggest that over a third of Americans are living with extreme stress. In this time of high unemployment and financial uncertainty, that statistic is probably not surprising. What can be a surprise is the fact that stress affects your body as much as it affects your mind. Stre…

Stopping heart attacks in their tracks

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A long commute can lead to poor health

Researchers have found that car, subway and bus commuters suffer from greater levels of stress, exhaustion, lack of sleep and even days missed from work.

Road rage (male)

A furious man driving, as seen from behind the wheel. Shot using a very wide fisheye lens.

$High-intensity exercise causes stress fractures in teenage girls$

High-intensity exercise causes stress fractures in teenage girls

Exercise may be good for the body, but too much of it may be bad for the bones. Teenage girls who participate in high-impact physical activity have a higher risk of developing stress fractures.

How to stay standing in the face of fear

When faced with fearful situations, it's sometimes difficult to keep your composure. If you feel yourself start to panic, here's some advice on keeping calm and facing your fears.

Taking laughter seriously

A group of Hammond High School students, some of whom are under pressure to make better grades, pass tests or get into a good college, enjoyed a good laugh last week to help relieve their stress when laughter therapist Tanaz Bamboat, of Munster, visited.

Taking laughter seriously

HAMMOND | Everyone knows you always feel better after a good laugh.

Mindfulness meditation improves well-being, researchers report

Sit down. Close your eyes. Focus on your breath. Observe your thoughts objectively as if you were a scientist.

What causes a heart attack?

During an ice storm on Christmas Eve in 2009, she suffered a broken arm that severed a nerve, resulting in a pain so bad that it—in her words—"ruined my life."

How to make self-improvement a year-round goal

Self-improvement is a noble goal and one that many of us make as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. But we're only human, and willpower is not as powerful when faced with daily obstacles such as time constraints, boredom, and more fun, yet less healthy, options.

Yoga can help relieve stress

The same techniques used in yoga to loosen your muscles and create a more limber body—breathing and relaxing away physical tension—can be used to tame stress in everyday life.

Yoga can help relieve stress

The same techniques used in yoga to loosen your muscles and create a more limber body—breathing and relaxing away physical tension—can be used to tame stress in everyday life.

Listening skills are an important part of effective communication

Confidential Care: Helping to Battle Holiday Depression

Confidential Care, a psychiatric care and counseling facility located in Munster, recognizes that stress, depression, and loneliness are associated with the holiday season. Dr. Sanker Jayachandran M.D. says, "People go through a lot of suffering during holiday time, such as the loss of a lov…

Feng Shui: Life-changing or pseudoscience?

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics that some people believe will improve their lives. But others consider feng shui pseudoscience.

Gearing up and down for the holiday season

'Tis the season for racing through the mall, staying up late decorating the tree and spending all weekend baking cookies. But it does not have to be that way.

Stress getting to Chicagoans, new survey shows

CHICAGO | Chicagoans are stressed, and they're not doing a good job of dealing with it.

YOUNG VOICES: Require physical education at every grade level

Author Ralph Waldo Emerson summed up the importance of physical education when he said, "Intellectual tasting of life will not supersede muscular activity."

Illinois teen shares weight struggle on TV

ATHENS, Ill. | Even though one in every three American children is overweight, it's not easy when you're one of those kids, especially in front of a nationwide audience.