Sleep Archive

Tens of millions of people who've had COVID-19 suffer with persisting symptoms. The condition is called long COVID. Symptoms, such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and disrupted sleep, can seriously impair the ability to function at work and at home. Vaccines and antiviral drugs appear to offer some protection against getting long COVID. But more information is needed. The National Institutes of Health has committed over $1 billion to discover how to better diagnose, effectively treat, and ultimately prevent long COVID.

Neck pain is often the result of strained neck muscles that become irritated from everyday activities. Examples include watching TV for hours at a time, sleeping without enough neck support, slouching, looking down at a smartphone for long periods, lifting heavy dumbbells, or getting stressed out. Ways to avoid such neck pain include using pillows to better support the neck on a couch or in bed, sitting up straighter, keeping electronic screens at eye level, lifting weights that aren't too heavy, and practicing stress management.

Research into the health benefits of alcohol has not provided a clear answer. Some findings suggest that alcohol helps protect against heart disease and lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and drinkers tend to live longer than nondrinkers. Other studies say these benefits are less clear. If you don't drink alcohol now, there are no health reasons to start drinking. If you do enjoy it, it's best to have no more than 2 drinks in the same day.

A 2023 study noted a sharp rise in injuries (from 2001 to 2020) among people who walked dogs on leashes. Dog walkers most commonly suffered broken fingers, shoulder sprains, and traumatic brain injuries.

A 2023 study found that when the blood supply of an old mouse was connected to a young mouse, the organs of the young mouse aged dramatically. When they were disconnected, the aging reversed. Similar changes have been observed in humans with certain conditions.

The vast majority of online pharmacies are rife with risks. They might sell medications that are expired, fake, or contain harmful ingredients. Before ordering from an online pharmacy, one should look it up on the Buy Safely tool from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to make sure the pharmacy is verified. One can also look for a symbol on a pharmacy website indicating that it's earned NABP accreditation. The symbol resembles a vertical infinity sign (like the number 8) inside a red circle, and the words "NABP Accredited Digital Pharmacy."

People hunting for a new primary care provider may have a hard time finding a doctor who's taking new patients. But a number of primary care providers can do the job, including four types of physicians and two types of advanced practitioners. Doctors who provide primary care include internal medicine specialists, med-peds physicians, family practice doctors, and geriatricians. Advanced practitioners who provide primary care include nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Experts say the type of provider isn't as important as simply having a primary care provider in place.

Drinking coffee does not appear to increase the risk of heart rhythm problems, such as atrial fibrillation, in healthy people. It may temporarily raise blood pressure and the number of non-harmful skipped beats. While it may have other minor mixed positive and negative effects on other heart-related factors and behaviors (such as increased daily step counts, but decreased sleep duration and slightly higher LDL cholesterol), moderate coffee consumption appears to have no impact on the overall risk of cardiovascular disease.