Do as Tom Daley does

Winston Churchill had painting, Judi Dench is famous for her rude embroidery and Tom Daley has been known to knit at the Olympics. Now researchers say we could all benefit from creative endeavours and that such pursuits have a bigger influence on life satisfaction than having a job. 

 While arts and crafts have long been used to aid mental health, experts said most research has looked at their effect on patients rather than the general population, and tend to look at specific activities.

 However, the researchers have now said such interests could be an important tool for improving public health in general.

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England child alcohol use tops global chart, finds WHO report

A third of 11-year-olds and more than half of 13-year-olds in England have drunk alcohol - putting it top out of 44 countries examined in a report by global health experts. Girls were found to be more likely than boys to be drinking and getting drunk aged 15 in England, Wales and Scotland. 

 The World Health Organization (WHO) report said alcohol, which can damage children's brains, has been normalised. It called on countries to introduce more measures to protect children.

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If you want to look your best in the morning, it may be worth swapping the ultra-processed pastries for wholemeal toast.

Researchers in France found that people who ate a breakfast rich in refined carbohydrates were rated less attractive than those who started the day with healthier unrefined carbs. 

 Scientists at the University of Montpellier believe the subtle shift in facial attractiveness may be driven by changes in blood sugar and insulin that can affect skin appearance and have longer-term effects on sex hormones. 

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Why Having Fun Is the Secret to a Healthier Life | Catherine Price | TED

 

 Have you had your daily dose of fun?

 It's not just enjoyable, it's also essential for your health and happiness, says science journalist Catherine Price. She proposes a new definition of fun -- what she calls "true fun" -- and shares easy, evidence-backed ways to weave playfulness, flow and connection into your everyday life.

 via

Want more health and happiness in the year ahead – without having to work too hard?

Illustration: Spencer Wilson/Synergy/The Guardian

Here are tried and tested tweaks that can lead to big improvements.

Is it illegal to get your dog high on weed?

"Animal poison control hotlines have been reporting exponential increases in the number of calls about pets exposed to marijuana as the drug has been legalized for medical or recreational use in states across the country," says emergency vet Dr. Caroline Tonozzi of the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Of course, many cases may be caused by dogs eating someone's stash that should have been inaccessible to the animal but it's not hard to imagine an idiot blowing smoke into their dog's snout. And apparently—while stupid—that's not illegal, at least in Illinois, according to animal rights attorney Suzana Harman.

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Loneliness as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day

WHO has launched an international commission on the problem – led by the US surgeon general, Dr Vivek Murthy, and the African Union youth envoy, Chido Mpemba – of 11 advocates and government ministers, including Ralph Regenvanu, the minister of climate change adaptation in Vanuatu, and Ayuko Kato, the minister in charge of measures for loneliness and isolation in Japan. 

 It comes after the Covid-19 pandemic halted economic and social activity, increasing levels of loneliness, but also amid a new awareness of the importance of the issue. The commission will run for three years. “[Loneliness] transcends borders and is becoming a global public health concern affecting every facet of health, wellbeing and development,” said Mpemba.

 “Social isolation knows no age or boundaries.” The health risks are as bad as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than those associated with obesity and physical inactivity, according to Murthy. Read more

 

Is lemon water really the elixir it’s touted to be?

For years, lemon water has been a staple of the celebrity morning routine, an appealingly approachable symbol of aspirational wellness.

 Its supposed benefits are myriad, according to dubiously sourced online articles and AI-narrated TikToks: it is detoxifying! It improves your skin! It balances your body’s pH and promotes weight loss! 

The touted advantages of this simple elixir are so comprehensive that it boggles the mind to imagine that any human on Earth is ever experiencing anything less than peak physical health, save perhaps those with citrus allergies. Is any of it true, though? 

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Why are we so intent on destroying the dark ?

Darkness is being stripped at a rate unprecedented in human history – the spectacle of the Milky Way in the night sky is now invisible to 80% of the world’s population (and 99% of the population of the US). There have been some efforts to reduce light pollution: in December 2021, for example, New York City passed landmark lights-out laws, while Germany, France and Spain have reduced illumination on municipal buildings. But this goes nowhere near to repairing the damage artificial light is causing. 

This matters because the dark matters. Not only does darkness offer unique physical and mental benefits to humans, it is vital to plants, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects – and not just the ones that are active at night. The trouble is, the dark scares us.  

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How stairs can super-charge your fitness

They’re everywhere, they’re free and low-impact. No wonder more and more people are ditching long runs – and taking the stairs instead. 

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Forget 10,000 Steps.

Walking just 4,000 steps per day—less than half of the 10,000 steps often recommended for maintaining an active lifestyle—may be enough to help extend your life, according to a new research review published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
That takeaway shouldn’t dissuade anyone from taking a longer stroll; the researchers found that more movement is better, with each additional 1,000 steps per day associated with a roughly 15% lower risk of premature death. But it joins a growing body of research that suggests workouts don’t need to be all that grueling or lengthy to improve your health.

 Everything from walking to housework to dancing can contribute to well-being, studies have shown.
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Can a bra detect breast cancer?

An aunt’s death led Kemisola Bolarinwa to develop a wearable device that can pick up Nigeria’s most common cancer much earlier.

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Air pollution is helping to drive a rise in antibiotic resistance , a global study suggests.

The analysis, using data from more than 100 countries spanning nearly two decades, indicates that increased air pollution is linked with rising antibiotic resistance across every country and continent.

 It also suggests the link between the two has strengthened over time, with increases in air pollution levels coinciding with larger rises in antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is one of the fastest-growing threats to global health. It can affect people of any age in any country and is already killing 1.3 million people a year, according to estimates. 

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Are your clothes making you sick?

Jaclyn is a former fashion production manager in New York City. She told me about her experience opening boxes of samples from Asia and South America every day and being hit in the face with the pungent smell of synthetic chemicals. After years of touching this freshly made clothing, she developed rashes on her hands and arms. When her dermatologist tested her for allergies, she found out she was allergic to several chemicals typically used in fashion production, including a blue disperse dye used to dye polyester. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to protect herself – all those allergens are perfectly legal to put on and in clothing. Even if she quit her job, she has to wear clothing to live.

 Her health spiraled after that, a result, she believes, of the stress of her job combined with touching and breathing in fashion chemicals day in and day out.

 Chemicals in clothing are a complex, opaque and an under-researched area. “There’s not necessarily a lot of evidence that goes into deciding what is a safe limit of a chemical,” Mordukhovich said. “Even if each chemical is below thresholds that would be considered a direct safety issue, what we don’t know is if you have hundreds of chemicals interacting together, what effects does that have?”

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Netherlands to provide free sun cream to tackle record skin cancer levels

Sun cream dispensers will be made available this summer in schools and universities, at festivals, parks, sports venues and open public spaces across the country, according to the government.

 It said it wanted to enable everyone to have access to sun protection and not be inconvenienced by factors such as cost or inconvenience. 

 In a public health drive thought to be similar in scale only to – and in part inspired by – Australia’s decades long slip, slop, slap campaign, which encourages people to slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat, Dutch authorities hope the campaign will turn the act of applying sun cream into an unquestioned habit. 

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Forever Chemicals

Children whose mothers are exposed to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” during pregnancy run an increased risk of low birth weight as well as obesity and high body mass index later in life, an effect similar to prenatal exposure to tobacco, new research finds. 

 The low birth rate effects of some PFAS have been previously established, but the study tracked 1,400 kids and found higher BMIs and more incidences of obesity in those ages two to five.

 The “low birth weight-high obesity risk paradox” was previously associated with tobacco smoke exposure during fetal development. “Something similar is going on with PFAS,” said Joe Braun, a Brown University researcher and study co-author.

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Can sleeping apart help a relationship?

For the partners of chronic snorers, sleep can prove elusive, no matter how many foam earplugs you test out – but sleeping separately may seem like a last resort for a relationship. However, a leading sleep scientist has advised couples dealing with this issue to see having different bedrooms as the “beginning of a new relationship”. 

 Better sleep will ideally make both partners “happier, more responsive to each other, less irritable”, according to Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford. 

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Apple cider vinegar: the ultimate panacea – or wildly overhyped?

It has been said to kill E coli, reduce cholesterol, lower blood sugar and aid weight loss.

 But not all health experts are convinced of its powers. 

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The first drug to slow the destruction of the brain in Alzheimer's has been heralded as momentous.

The research breakthrough ends decades of failure and shows a new era of drugs to treat Alzheimer's - the most common form of dementia - is possible. 

 Yet the medicine, lecanemab, has only a small effect and its impact on people's daily lives is debated. 

 And the drug works in the early stages of the disease, so most would miss out without a revolution in spotting it.

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Puppy Yoga by Yoga Kawa - Toronto - Super Cute & Adorable!

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