Skip to main content

Exercise and Fitness Archive

Articles

Boosting your child's immune system

As children go through another school year under the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are asking what they can do to keep their children healthy. While no magic solutions can ward off every illness, parents can take steps to help children - and everyone in their household - protect their health by keeping their immune systems robust.

The popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters is soaring, but are they safe?

The convenience, affordability, and flat-out fun of e-bikes and e-scooters are undeniable. But as their popularity grows, the rate of accidents involving e-bikes and e-scooters is climbing. So how do we minimize risks for accidents?

Are you missing the subtle signs of anemia?

People with anemia have an abnormally low number of red blood cells. Those are the cells that pick up oxygen from the lungs, deliver oxygen throughout the body, and return to the lungs with a load of carbon dioxide and other gases to be exhaled. Without enough red blood cells, the organs and tissues don't get a sufficient amount of oxygen. That can cause nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue, headache, or wooziness, which are often attributed to other causes. As a result, anemia often goes undiagnosed.

Subtle cognitive decline foreshadows older adults' end of driving

A 2024 study suggests that cognitive changes are a more reliable signal than either age or biological signs of Alzheimer's disease to foreshadow an older adult's decision to stop driving.

Fit balance exercises into a busy day

If it's hard to fit balance training into a busy schedule, it might be easier to just do a one-minute balance exercise at different points in the day. Those points might occur during TV watching, cooking, or toothbrushing. Ideas for simple balance exercises include standing on one leg, heel raises, or sit-to-stands-going from a sitting to a standing position, arms crossed, then returning to a sitting position and repeating the process. It's best to stand near a counter or chair for support.

POTS: Diagnosing and treating this dizzying syndrome

Most of us don't think twice about standing up, but for people affected by postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), standing can provoke lightheadedness and a racing heartbeat. While some people with POTS will require medications, most will improve with some specific dietary and behavioral changes.

Top 5 ways to reduce crippling hand pain

The most common causes of hand pain include osteoarthritis, nerve conditions, and tendinitis. To help manage the pain and avoid surgery, doctors recommend splinting, corticosteroid injections, anti-inflammatories, heat and cold applications, and hand exer

Exercise trend alert: Walking soccer

A gentle form of soccer called walking soccer is packed with health benefits. It's a great way to socialize, exercise, and keep knee cartilage healthy. Playing the game also helps reinforce a person's ability to maintain balance and the ability to produce physical power, such as the force needed to get out of a chair and stand up. However, the game does pose some physical risks, such as ankle sprains, flare-ups of knee arthritis, and falls that result in wrist, arm, or elbow fractures.

Increasing energy levels for sex

Many factors can diminish men's energy levels, which can lower their libido and sexual stamina. The most common factors are naturally declining muscle mass, less production of the energy-carrying molecules adenosine triphosphate, low testosterone levels, and poor sleep quality. Addressing these issues through diet, exercise, medical therapy, and practicing good sleep hygiene can help improve men's energy levels for sex and daily life.

Free Healthbeat Signup

Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!

Sign Up
Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE 32-page gift worth $29.95.

PLUS, don’t miss out on your 25% off promo code.

Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle—You’ll discover powerful, research- backed strategies for health longevity drawn from Harvard Medical School experts—ways to eat for a longer life, build strength and flexibility to stay independent, protect your bones, heart, and brain as you age, and even cultivate the habits linked with “super-agers” who stay sharp and active well into their 80s and 90s—all delivered to your email box FREE.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well!.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well.