Health News and Tips:

35 Simple Health Tips Experts Swear By - A Series

We all struggle with finding practical ways to relax enough so we can actually fall asleep. For me, it’s connecting with my husband in the evening. A lot of times, we’ll watch some ridiculous, mindless TV show. That shared experience of laughing together helps us both find relaxation. You don’t want real bright light close to you in the hour or so before bedtime. Fortunately, the effect of light diminishes with distance, and our TV screen is far enough away.

– Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula

Sleep medicine specialist at Penn Medicine

When faced with a difficult decision, we can use the “deathbed test” to help us determine the best course of action. It consists of three questions: “On my deathbed, will I be mad I did it? Will I regret not doing it? Will it even matter?” The vast majority of ourdecisions never pass muster of mattering.

Alua Arthur

I don’t obsess over protein. I eat legumes every day and a reasonable variety of other plant foods, all of which contain protein. I know I’ll get as much as I need, with fibre (which never comes with animal foods) and low amounts of saturated fat.

Christopher Gardner

Director of the Nutrition Studies Research Group at Stanford Medicine

19 Ways To Improve Your Life - A Series:

Don't stress about not feeling happy.

We're often bombarded with surveys that announce where the 'happiest place to live' is, or which habits we should adopt to be happier. 

However, researchers in Canada have found that actively pursuing happiness can lead participants to perceive time as scarce, ultimately making them unhappy. 

They noted, 'This finding adds depth to the growing body of work suggesting that the pursuit of happiness can ironically undermine wellbeing'. Letting go of the 'must do better at being happy' goal may actually improve things after all.

Instead, think about creating a rich life.

And we're talking in psychological, not monetary terms. A psychologically rich life is characterised by plenty of interesting and perspective-changing events. These experiences don't necessarily have to feel good at the time; they might even be traumatic, but in a 2021 study, US-based psychologists Shigehiro Oshi and Erin Westgate argued in a paper in Psychological Review that work to understand the meaning of a 'good life' had missed a crucial dimension, which they called psychological richness.

Think about stripping back.

A happier life may also involve having less. We are overloaded, we are in a world of infinite choice. TV shows, books, friends, careers, travel (for some), where we get our news, apps, podcasts, food, cosmetics. We're simply not equipped to make all the thousands of micro-decisions we're expected to make in a day. It's about editing our lives so that they make sense again.