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The first time Mesfin Yana Dollar assisted with an open-heart surgery, his patient was a teenage girl from Ethiopia. She was scared and crying.

He went to her bedside at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and spoke to her in Amharic, explaining he would be running the machine that would function as her heart and lungs during the surgery.

“I had the same surgery, and things are going to be just fine,” he told her, adding that as a teen he also had rheumatic fever that became rheumatic heart disease.

The girl told him, “You must be an angel.”

Years later, he still sees himself in every patient.

“I was on that same operating table,” Mesfin said.

Mesfin was born in a small village in Ethiopia in 1985. There was no electricity or running water, but he said he didn’t want for anything. He was surrounded by family and he was happy — until he got sick when he was around 10 or 11 years old.

At first, he felt like he couldn’t run as fast and he became short of breath easily. Then he couldn’t walk to school anymore, and his cough kept him awake at night. His parents tried tribal medicine and taking him to doctors in nearby cities. He still didn’t know what was wrong — but he didn’t want to feel like a burden to his family. One day, he got a ride to the capital, Addis Ababa, and walked into Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. That’s where he met American doctor Rick Hodes.

“I saw this young, short White man with a stethoscope hanging around his neck,” Mesfin said of Hodes, who lives in Ethiopia and helps patients with rheumatic heart disease and spine problems. “He was joking with the kids and joking with the patients.”

Hodes, Mesfin learned, is known for saving thousands of lives in Ethiopia, often finding creative ways to fund treatment for the poorest and sickest patients. Hodes has adopted children so he could put them on his health insurance and send them to the United States for spinal surgeries.

Leaving home for surgery

Hodes listened to Mesfin’s heart and lungs, then ordered a battery of tests before telling Mesfin that he had a serious heart condition. He would need surgery.

There was no open-heart surgery in Ethiopia at the time, so Hodes started working on finding a place for Mesfin to get surgery in the U.S.

“He showed up out of nowhere, diagnosed me, and now he’s looking into surgery,” Mesfin recalled. He credits Hodes with saving his life.

Mesfin flew to Atlanta when he was about 15 to get the surgery, which was funded in part by the nonprofit Children’s Cross Connection International. Jim Kauten, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Piedmont Heart Institute, repaired Mesfin’s mitral valve to improve his heart function. The surgery went well, and Mesfin returned to a host family nearby in Atlanta to recover.

His host happened to be a dentist, and he recommended Mesfin have his wisdom teeth pulled before returning to Ethiopia. He recovered from his surgery, had his teeth pulled and returned to Addis Ababa, where he stayed with Hodes so the doctor could continue to monitor his recovery.

Then the site of Mesfin’s wisdom teeth became infected. He developed endocarditis, a life-threatening condition. Hodes treated him in his living room with drugs, but Mesfin was getting sicker.

“I told Dr. Rick, you know what, you did everything possible,” Mesfin recalled saying. “This is the will of God, and if I die, there’s no problem now.”

Hodes said he would not let Mesfin die. He sent him back to Atlanta for emergency surgery. An ambulance met him at the airport.

Instead of a valve repair, the doctors replaced his valve with a mechanical one that would last longer. But this meant Mesfin would need blood thinners and monitoring for life — so he couldn’t go back to his home in rural Ethiopia, where care wasn’t readily available.

Mesfin’s cardiologist, Allen Dollar, decided to take Mesfin into his home — and the teen joined the Dollars’ growing family in Atlanta, which includes biological and adopted children. Mesfin eventually took the family’s name.

“It kind of reminded me of home because I have 11 brothers and two sisters,” Mesfin said. “This is as large a family as I had back in Ethiopia.”

‘A second life’

As a teenager at school in Atlanta, Mesfin studied hard to improve his English and quickly caught up to his peers.

“I was blessed with a second life,” he said.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in young adults in Ethiopia, and rheumatic heart disease, Allen Dollar said, is a top reason. Rheumatic fever can develop when strep throat, or sometimes scarlet fever, isn’t properly treated.

“Until recently, there literally were no heart surgeons for 100 million people,” Allen said.

The hospital where he worked, Piedmont Heart Institute, started bringing more kids over for surgeries.

Allen said that Mesfin quickly adapted to the rhythms of American life.

“Mesfin was the most studious of any of our kids,” Allen said. “I never saw a kid study so much in my life.”

Mesfin knew he wanted to work in healthcare. He went to Georgia State University and studied to be a respiratory therapist. That’s where he met his wife, Iyerusalem. They have two sons. Mesfin worked in Atlanta for a couple of years before moving his young family to Texas. He trained to be a cardiac perfusionist at the Texas Heart Institute and eventually got a job at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where his wife now works, too, as a cardiac sonographer.

At the Mayo Clinic, Mesfin, 40, runs the heart-lung machine for patients during some of the most complex open-heart surgeries in the world.

He and the surgeon who saved his life return to Ethiopia to do surgeries there through the nonprofit Heart Attack Ethiopia.

On the first surgery mission trip a couple of years ago, Mesfin surprised Kauten by showing up.

“That was especially nice in my mind,” Kauten said. “For him to be able to pay back to his community services that he received in the United States, and he was able to pay it back in Ethiopia.”

Kauten said that in addition to being a skilled perfusionist, Mesfin acts as an interpreter for the Ethiopian and American healthcare workers, and helps the team with a sense of cohesion. He also spends hours with students training to be perfusionists, like him, to help them learn.

As much as Mesfin loved his new life, he missed his biological family. He eventually helped bring his parents and several of his siblings to the U.S.

Allen said he is proud of his adoptive son’s professional success — but also of the person he has become.

“He has retained this spirit of gratitude,” he said. “He has never lost sight of what his life could have been and all the people along the way.”

“I’m always grateful,” Mesfin said. “I’m grateful for my family, for just being in the United States. It’s a resurrection for me. You know, I was once lost, dead, and I was resurrected and I’m living a new life.”

Playing music, dancing, creating art — and even playing some types of video games — aren’t just immersive and emotionally rewarding. They may actually slow down brain aging, a new study suggests. By analyzing brain activity data, the researchers found that engaging in creative pursuits of all kinds is linked to a younger-looking brain. The study was published by Nature Communications in October.

“This is not just a solution for the da Vincis of the world. Anyone can benefit from having a creative hobby, not just geniuses or professional artists,” said study author Agustín Ibáñez, director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. “We are living in a world full of stress, uncertainty, and despair. Creating a little bubble through art or music can have a positive impact on your brain health.”

Delayed aging

The researchers analyzed imaging data of brain activity taken from 1,467 healthy participants from around the world, including tango dancers, musicians, visual artists, and strategy video game players. To quantify brain aging, they used brain clocks, which are computational models that can estimate the difference between a person’s chronological age and their brain’s biological age.

“We use brain connectivity metrics to predict your brain age, and there is a gap between this estimated age and your real age,” Ibáñez said. “This gap is informative for assessing accelerated or delayed brain aging.”

Accelerated aging of the brain, as indicated by a person’s brain appearing older than their actual age, has been observed in some people with psychiatric and neurological conditions. In the current study, Ibáñez and his colleagues wanted to investigate what other factors are associated with delayed brain aging.

The researchers found that all four creative and challenging pursuits they looked at — dance, music, visual art, and strategy video games — were associated with delayed brain aging. And greater expertise and performance level seemed to help. Experts with years of practice had younger brains compared with hobbyists. Out of all participants, highly skilled tango dancers seemed to have the most youthful brains — an average of seven years younger than their chronological age.

However, even participants who learned a creative skill managed to reap some antiaging benefits. The researchers trained 24 people to play “StarCraft II,” a video game that requires strategic thinking and imagination. A control group was trained in “Hearthstone,” a rule-based video game with limited improvisation and creative play. After 30 hours of training, spread over three to four weeks, the “StarCraft II” group showed slower brain aging compared to the “Hearthstone” group.

The study used strong, well-validated methods, and its findings align with previous research showing that participation in the arts is related to younger biological age, said Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London.

“There have been increasing studies identifying associations between arts engagement and both cognitive preservation and delayed time to dementia onset,” said Fancourt, who was not involved in the research. “So while replication of the findings in this new paper in other data sets will be important, they overall reinforce the importance of continued research on the health benefits of the arts.”

Protective effects even from passive activities

Even taking in art made by others — such as going to a concert or play — may have protective effects that help buffer against age-related cognitive decline. Other research suggests such receptive arts engagement may help preserve cognitive function in later life.

In a 2022 study, Jill Sonke, a research professor in the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida, and her colleagues analyzed data from 4,344 older adults based on six cognitive tests given in 2004 and 2011. While test performance slightly declined overall in the seven years from baseline to follow-up, engaging in receptive arts activities (such as going to a concert, play, or museum) for up to three hours a week was associated with better subsequent memory.

A more recent study published in 2025 found that engaging in cognitively stimulating activities has a wide array of cognitive benefits, such as improved memory, better language ability, and improved executive functioning.

The findings originate from the Long Life Family Study, a research project focused on families that have multiple people living into their 90s to uncover the biological, environmental, and behavioral factors that contribute to healthy aging. Older adults without a history of family longevity who frequently participated in hobbies such as reading and attending concerts, plays and musicals were able to match the same level of good cognitive functioning as those with familial longevity.

“Even if you don’t have exceptional longevity in your family, what our results show is that you still can improve your chances for cognitive health by taking part in cognitively stimulating activities,” said Stacy Andersen, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and lead author of the September study. “There’s no time like the present to learn something new — like photography or how to play guitar — that can also help protect your future brain.”

How to benefit from creative arts

Here are some tips from experts on nurturing a creative activity:

• Cultivate your flow state. Ibáñez thinks creativity’s power comes from entering the flow state, where stress and time fade away. Lean into activities and experiences that keep you fully engaged and deeply focused. “To truly have a creative experience demands focus, attention, and practice,” he said.
• Participate in a hobby club or group. Having strong social connections is also linked to healthy aging, and a shared creative activity is one way to bond with others in your community.
• Combine creativity with movement. “Some hobbies such as dance not only engage the mind but also engage the body,” Andersen said. “Anything that keeps your heart healthy is going to also help keep your brain healthy.”
• Know that it’s never too late. Being excited to work on a creative project or hobby can provide a strong sense of purpose and fulfillment, particularly in retirement. At age 54, Sonke learned how to sing and play guitar. “It was just amazing taking up a new art form in midlife,” said Sonke, now 59. “I don’t strive to be a professional musician, but it is a huge part of my life now.”

“The arts are phenomenally multimodal, in that they give us so many different kinds of benefits at the same time,” Sonke said. “They can engage us with information, physical movement, and uplifting activities that contribute to reduction of stress and improvement in mental health.”

How can I organize my day so I can feel as good as possible?

The morning routines and “biohacks” you see on social media can seem extreme and often oversell the science. But consistent daily routines do matter.

Routines are linked to better health, academic success, and even resilience. We can all take simple steps to synchronize our activities with our circadian rhythms and biology. Small tweaks in the timing of things can pay off.

I analyzed dozens of studies to separate hype from science, and here’s my straightforward advice for a healthier day: Maximize your efforts in the morning — that’s when much of the magic can happen for your health and productivity. And be consistent with your nighttime rituals. The quality of your sleep, and your subsequent day, depend on it.

Here’s a science-backed daily schedule to try. Think of it as a template to help you plan a healthier day.

Early morning

Goal: Get sunlight or light exposure early, engage in physical activity, and fuel up with protein and fiber. It may not be possible to pull all these off each morning — like if you’re a caregiver or have a long commute — but try to check as many of these boxes as possible.

7 a.m.: Outdoor exercise then shower. If getting outside for an early walk or run is a nonstarter for you, think about investing in a light box to boost sunlike exposure and trying a quick and easy routine indoors to get your blood moving, like the 7-minute workout.

8 a.m.: Eat a high-fiber, high-protein breakfast (aim for 25-30 grams of protein). Studies have found that when people pump up the protein at breakfast — think eggs, yogurt, and whole grains — they feel fuller and snack less later in the day. And getting in your daily coffee in the morning, before noon, is linked to a 16% lower risk of dying from all causes compared with people who sip throughout the day.

8:30-9 a.m.: Morning commute or settle in for the day if you work from home.

Why this works: Going outside first thing is key. Exposure to blue light halts melatonin production (the sleep hormone) and has been shown in randomized controlled trials to improve alertness, productivity, and depression.

You’ll get bonus points if you exercise with a friend: A workout buddy boosts accountability, and social connectedness is an underappreciated key to longevity and happiness.

And about those cold showers that are all the hype on social media: If you enjoy them, sure. But the data on cold water immersion isn’t slam dunk, and cold plunges may actually undo the benefits of strength training.

Late morning

Goal: This is the most productive window of your day, so tackle activities requiring greatest focus.

9 a.m.-noon: Write the essay, read the stack of scientific papers piled on your desk, or finish working on that budget you’ve been procrastinating. Personally, this is when I leave my smartphone in another room and nix notifications.

Why this works: Our alertness and intellectual performance peak as we approach midday. Riding the high of your early morning cortisol (and your first coffee), this is the window when you’re bringing your A-game.

While you’re working, set a 50/10 timer for micro-breaks. A meta-analysis showed that a 10-minute or less break every hour — to stretch, stroll around the cubicles, or do a brief meditation exercise — can enhance, not hurt, performance.

Afternoon

Goal: Counter that post-lunch inertia with a brisk walk — not more caffeine. Then tackle simple tasks.

Noon: Eat with a friend, family member, or colleague if you can, then take a 15-30-minute walk.

1-4 p.m.: Now’s the time to get those mindless errands (or worse, mind-numbing meetings) out of the way.

Why this works: Decision fatigue builds as the day goes on. We’re all susceptible: A 2019 study published in JAMA Network Open found that as the afternoon wears on, primary care doctors are less likely to order breast and colorectal cancer screening tests for their patients than in the morning — and perhaps more interestingly, patients are also less likely to follow through with future screenings if that first appointment is in the afternoon.

High-stakes moments are better scheduled earlier, but you can help counter the fatigue with a post-lunch walk outdoors. Pro-tip: If the weather is bad, a 10-minute walk inside will help control your blood sugar after the meal, so still prioritize movement.

Evening

Goal: Eat early and start winding down.

5 p.m.: Pick up the kids, drive home, prep dinner, and pair your evening grind with a joy snack. I enjoy a fun podcast, calling my mom, or even just doing random acts of kindness for my fellow commuters like pausing to allow someone to cut in.

5:30 p.m.: Aim to eat within an 8 to 10-hour window each day, so chow down on the earlier side. If this time frame isn’t doable, try to eat ideally at least two hours before bedtime.

8 p.m.: Think of this as your digital sunset — minimize screens and dim household lights, which can suppress melatonin.

Why this works: Evidence for intermittent fasting is most promising when we’re talking about an eating window of 8-10 hours within a day. The exact same meal can raise your blood sugar more at night than if you ate it early in the morning due to circadian effects.

Bedtime

Goal: Avoid alcohol and vigorous exercise, and build in a nightly ritual to quiet the mind.

9 p.m.: Take a warm bath one hour before bed or slip on some cozy socks.

9:30 p.m.: Engage in a short mindfulness or journaling exercise.

10 p.m.: Lights out. The next seven to nine hours are for you and your pillow. Nighty-night.

Why this works: In my ideal schedule, I would have showered after my morning workout, so if you already bathed once, no need to repeat. Instead, wear some warmer clothes to start getting your body ready to sleep. This trick can be as effective as melatonin to help you fall asleep quicker by helping your core temperature drop.

A randomized controlled trial found that mindfulness exercises — even starting with just five minutes daily — helped improve sleep quality compared with standard sleep hygiene education offering tips such as dimming lights and avoiding alcohol or caffeine at night. Journaling can also help the mind unwind: Studies have found that actually writing a gratitude letter to someone specific (regardless of whether you send it) is more effective than making a simple gratitude list.

I also love to write a specific to-do list about the coming days. It helps alleviate nighttime worry, and a 2018 study found that people who do this fall asleep faster.

What I want my patients to know

New routines don’t stick overnight. A classic study found that it takes on average 66 days of practicing a new dietary or physical behavior each day before it becomes a habit. This routine is a great goal. But some days, with my two toddlers in the mix, work deadlines, and ruthless Boston traffic, I don’t nail it.

You need to make it easy to make it last. So choose one habit and list every barrier that will keep you from hitting the mark. Then presolve each one. Is it too cold to go for a jog early in the morning? Find a good 30-minute cardio routine on YouTube that you can do in your bedroom.

Don’t have time for a 15-minute walk after lunch? Turn one of your afternoon calls into a walking-and-talking meeting (a personal favorite), or take a smaller win with a 5-minute lap around the building.