More than 131 million people live in places with unhealthy air quality, according to the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of Air report. This is an increase of 11.7 million people from the previous year. The report also finds that the number of days with “very unhealthy” or “hazardous” air quality in the United States was the highest in 25 years. [Read more…]
The Benefits of Deep Breathing and Why It Works
Feeling anxious? Angry? Frustrated? Disappointed?
The evidence clearly shows there is something you can do—no matter where you are or what the circumstances are. Take a few slow, deep breaths.
In most stressful situations, human nature actually drives us to take deep breaths. If you’re getting ready to give a speech to a large crowd or standing at the starting line for a community running race, you may find yourself taking a deep breath without even thinking about it. [Read more…]
For Better Sex, Get Your Sleep
About one in three Americans do not get enough sleep every day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a problem because a large body of research demonstrates that sleep is foundational to our health. [Read more…]
Why Laughter Is Such Good Medicine
You know the feeling (hopefully!): Something silly sets you off – a movie, a joke, or maybe someone near you slips and falls – and you burst into laughter.
It feels good to laugh. And since the 1970s, medical experts have learned that laughter can boost pain tolerance and improve overall well-being. [Read more…]
Recent Research Questions Summer Learning Loss
For decades, education researchers have warned about “summer slide,” where students forget some of what they learned over the previous school year during summer vacation. [Read more…]
What We Know About Coffee and Parkinson’s Disease
Across the globe, more than 10 million people suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder that leads to unintended and uncontrollable movements such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination.
Scientists are working to better understand the mechanisms involved in Parkinson’s disease. At a basic level, they know that the disease occurs when nerve cells in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain that controls movement, become impaired or die. Most researchers believe a mix of genetic and environmental factors trigger the disease. [Read more…]
The Psychological Impacts of Donor Conception
Researchers estimate that there are upwards of 1 million Americans who were conceived using donor egg or sperm. Anonymous donation, in which the donor’s identity is not available to the donor-conceived person, is common in the U.S. and Canada, while many European countries require the donor’s identity be disclosed when the donor-conceived person turns 18.
How Heat Waves Affect Your Brain
As heat waves roll across the U.S. in the summer, heat-related illnesses are a serious threat to Americans. Although we often hear about the dangers of overheating and dehydration, heat waves lead to even broader consequences for the people coping with them. A “heat dome” covered the East Coast and southern U.S. last month, and has now shifted to California. [Read more…]
The Best Ways to Manage Anger
According to a worldwide Gallup poll of more than 147,000 people living in 142countries, nearly one-quarter of people feel angry on a regular basis, and that number has remained flat for the past three years.
Anger is one of the basic human emotions. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes in the body including increased heart rate and blood pressure, and higher levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline.