Health & Wellness Writing
The Transformative Power of Gratitude
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and soon it will be time to calculate exactly how many pounds of turkey you need for each person at your table, how to schedule your meal around football, and whether it's worth it to get up at the crack of dawn the next day for some Black Friday shopping.
The fourth Thursday in November is often seen as the opening act for the big December holidays, but Thanksgiving is an important day in its own right. This day invites us all to pause and consider all that we have. It's the one day of the year when the entire country focuses on gratitude—something that most people could stand to do more of.
The Benefits of Gratitude
When the Puritans held the first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts, they weren't necessarily thinking about their mental health. But gratitude has a way of creating an upward spiral of good feelings.
39 and Counting: The Deadliest Hangover
That second glass of wine always seems like such a great idea. I’m happy and relaxed, the conversation is just picking up steam, and everyone is laughing and enjoying the evening. Why not keep the party going?
Well, for starters, the second glass doesn’t do what the first one did — at least not any more. Instead of maintaining that happy, glowing buzz all night long, more than one drink pretty well knocks me into slumber-ready mode these days.
And the next day? Oy. My eyeballs creak around in my head as if my retinas had turned to cotton. I can’t tell whether I’m hungry or nauseated, and I wake up weirdly early, even though all I want to do is lie down and pray for more sleep.
What fresh hell is the 40-something hangover? The older I get, the higher the price I pay for a buzz that is fleeting in a way that it wasn’t when I was 20. I decided to get some answers.
4 Ways to Get Fit for Free
How’s that New Year’s resolution coming along? You know the one. The lose-weight-and-get-in-shape promise you made without much of a plan in place to see it through.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Almost one third of Americans resolved to do better with their health this year, so we can only guess that millions of people have fallen off the wagon of their good intentions by now.
Sometimes that’s because getting in shape feels like an impossibly expensive goal. When you see the price of some of the fanciest organic or gluten-free foods at the grocery store, or check out the rates at your local gym, it can be enough to ruin your household budget. So should you give up being solvent or give up being skinny?
Trick question! You don’t have to shell out mad cash to get fit. There’s plenty you can do to step up your fitness plan and exercise for free.
Take a Look at Healthy Vision Month
Did you know that May is Healthy Vision Month? This year, the National Eye Institute wants you to take small steps to protect your vision today, so you can enjoy good eyesight and all its benefits well into the future.
Your eyesight is incredibly important, especially when it comes to safe driving. This should be a no-brainer; after all, you have to pass a vision test when you take your driver’s test. Sharp vision, whether you come by it naturally or with the help of eyeglasses, allows you to spot hazards on the road and react appropriately when you’re behind the wheel.
The Dangers of Driving While Visually Impaired
Just as you wouldn’t get behind the wheel drunk or otherwise impaired by medication, you also shouldn’t drive if your vision is compromised. Unfortunately, an estimated 23% of drivers around the world operate their vehicles with uncorrected vision problems.
Keeping Your Medicine Cabinet Simple, Safe, and Organized
If you’re like most people, your bathroom isn’t exactly the biggest room in your house. Once you add a spouse and kids, it can feel downright tiny — and you’ve got so many things to keep in there!
While shower caddies and cute baskets can help you get a grip on the rest of the room, your medicine cabinet may stay stubbornly resistant to organization. There’s not much space there, but it holds some of the most important — and potentially dangerous — items in your house. To keep your whole family safe and your sanity intact, follow these easy steps to tame your medicine cabinet.
Step One: Gut It!
Start by removing everything from your medicine cabinet. Just about every bottle of pills and little pot of ointment has an expiration date, and you need to check them. If something has expired, toss it.