Emotional and mental well-being Archive

Frequent handwashing may lead to dry, cracked skin. Strategies such as lowering the water temperature and moisturizing with a heavy hand cream after washing can allow the skin to heal. Also try wearing cotton gloves over a thick moisturizer at night.

Urine is often pale yellow, but different colors can indicate dehydration, injury, or conditions like kidney stones or liver disease. In some cases, different colors are caused by certain foods or medications.

Researchers estimated that if people increased daily activity by 10 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking, it could result in 7% fewer deaths per year. Increasing daily activity by 20 or 30 minutes could lower the rate by 13% or 17%, respectively.

Prescription deliveries have the potential for several problems. They might be delayed, damaged, delivered to the wrong address, lost, or stolen. People can miss a delivery if it requires a signature and they aren't home or they can't get to the door before the delivery person leaves. And packages are sometimes left in an unusual spot and overlooked. If medications don't arrive when expected, a recipient should first see if the package was left somewhere on the property, and then contact the delivery service or pharmacy to locate the package.

Scary or misleading claims about things that may cause cancer are so plentiful that it's hard to know which ones to take seriously. A new website developed by experts aims to provide reliable information about whether a particular cancer claim is true.

It can be helpful to think of health as a spectrum, with illness at one end and wellness at the other. Someone who is in the neutral (middle) position can move to the wellness side by adopting and sustaining healthy lifestyle habits — and that has little to do with a person's shape or size.

Sleep supplements, such as cannabidiol (CBD), melatonin, valerian, and chamomile promise a better night's sleep. But there is little evidence showing that they are effective. In addition, supplements aren't regulated, so it's not always clear if a formula contains what's listed on the label. Experts say that behavioral strategies are a better way to improve sleep. These include getting more exercise, going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, and sleeping in a cool, dark room.

A 2021 study verified that intermittent fasting may be an effective weight-loss strategy. It also seemed to improve some measures of risk for cardiovascular disease, such as lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.