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Some people consider this the worst word: Should. “Shoulds are the inflexible, authoritarian, joyless rules for thinking, feeling, and behaving,” says therapist Michael Schreiner. Shoulds [...]

Damn the fog! Since last October, the Northwest winter has been long, dark, rainy—and did I say dark? I’ve managed the darkness by remembering that every region has its disadvantages. And winter [...]

Do you ever walk to the kitchen and forget what you wanted? That’s how your mind works. When I wrote my books on brain fitness, I learned that the cognitive cortex is entwined with your [...]

There were no sayings on the walls in my house when I grew up. I used to think that slogans or words of encouragement were nice… and trite. The ones that said “Bless this house” seemed cute, but [...]

Can you try an experiment with me? What if you could reverse how you experience gratitude? The usual path to gratitude is to start thinking of what you are blessed to have — family, roof, food, [...]

My friend Mary Beth is ahead of the news. She and her husband started doing 12 minutes of bone supporting stretches last thing before bed. Since then, she said, both have had the consistently [...]

So much, and it changes every day! Seems like ages ago (just 2 weeks) that I was getting used to more hand washing and no hugs. Now I’m anticipating a request to shelter in place. I won’t enjoy [...]

Jia had long ago stopped reading articles titled “Why Sleep is Important.” They just made her feel if she didn’t fall asleep within 5 minutes, she was doomed to early death. She [...]

In our ferociously busy and stressful culture, people often feel sleep is something to add to their to-do list – or something to avoid because they’re too busy getting stuff done. This happens [...]

Loneliness hurts when you have insomnia. Awake in a quiet dark night… it feels like everyone else is happily asleep, including your partner dreaming beside you. My new client, Emma, [...]