Category: Health

jax10289/Shutterstock.com Across the UK, a quiet shift in midlife exercise is underway. A decade ago, the cultural image of midlife fitness was the Lycra-clad cyclist speeding along suburban roads. Now, a different scene has emerged: women in hats and tow-floats stepping into freezing lakes at dawn – especially through the winter. Outdoor swimming participation has […]

The festive movie season is upon us, and one of my perennial favourites is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I will die on this hill: it is better than the original. But rewatching it as an adult raises an awkward question. How on earth did the Wet Bandits survive the first film at […]

Maksim Pasko/Shutterstock It is the time of year when decorations appear everywhere and everyone has a preferred style, from bright flashing lights to something more understated. Christmas decorations are meant to be cheerful, yet for some people, certain types of visual input can be surprisingly difficult to tolerate. No one wants to dampen the festive […]

morrowlight/Shutterstock When babies struggle with poor sleep, parents often suffer right alongside them. Growing evidence shows that a baby’s gut health plays a key role in comfort, digestion and overall sleep quality. Supporting a healthy gut microbiome may help babies sleep better, which can bring much-needed relief to exhausted parents. Newborns are not born with […]

Lysenko Andrii/Shutterstock Food poisoning affects millions of people in the UK every year, and the risk rises during the Christmas period. Large family meals, raw poultry, packed fridges and buffet food all increase the chances of contamination. In the UK, the most common bacterial causes of food poisoning are campylobacter and salmonella, both of which […]

Christmas is supposed to be restful, yet somehow it ends up being one of the worst times of year for sleep. Between late nights, travel, one too many eggnogs and all that excitement, your sleep schedule doesn’t stand a chance – and neither does your mood, safety or health. Here are a dozen sneaky ways […]

TLF/Shutterstock.com There’s an unwritten rule in publishing, or so I’ve been told: don’t write about COVID. Our collective attention span has been saturated by those endless months holed up in attics and cramped corners of apartments, staring out at a world we could no longer take part in. When the worst of it passed, we […]

Is it possible to spot personality dysfunction from someone’s everyday word use? My colleagues and I have conducted research that suggests you can, and often sooner than you might expect. Whether in a quick text message, a long email, a casual chat with a friend, or a comment online, the words people choose quietly reveal […]

Serg Grbanoff/Shutterstock Christmas is often considered a time of connection, warmth and belonging. That’s the script, anyway. But for many people, the reality feels different; isolating, emotionally weighted and filled with comparisons that sting. Whether you’re spending Christmas alone, navigating grief, or simply don’t feel “festive,” it can feel like you’ve slipped out of sync […]

Two Women Wearing Cosmetic Patches, painter unknown (circa 1650). Compton Verney Art Gallery/Canva You may have noticed people out and about with little stickers on their faces. Perhaps you’ve seen moons, stars, clouds or even smiley faces adorning people’s cheeks and chins. Maybe you wear them yourself. While some people do wear them as accessories, […]