Wellness
What to know about postpartum psychosis, which can affect a new mom’s sense of reality
A key question in a Massachusetts murder trial is whether postpartum psychosis drove a mother to kill her three children. On Monday, a jury heard opening statements in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Both sides agree she strangled her children aged 5 and younger in […]
Jetting off for a summer vacation? How to eat and drink to minimize jet lag
Jet lag threatens to turn even a dream vacation into a slog. And with peak travel season underway, millions of people may have to contend with this disorienting condition, which can cause sleep disturbances, daytime tiredness, headaches and nasty gastrointestinal symptoms. But you can minimize the effects of jet lag — and not just by […]
Biking to work: Tips to get started, stay safe and look presentable when you arrive
NEW YORK | When 72-year-old Michael Roper rides his bicycle to and from the pub he owns in Chicago, he can’t imagine a better way to commute. He’s getting exercise, drifting through fresh air and catching glimpses of neighborhood life — a recently opened coffee shop or a diving owl at night —that he’s convinced […]
Cut the number of choices you make each day. Your brain will thank you
Jeans that fit perfectly. The ideal Netflix show for a Tuesday night. Your one and only soulmate. Modern life promises that with enough options, you will happily find the best of everything. But behavioral scientists say the increasing flood of choices — whether it comes to shopping, social lives or relationships — is doing the […]
How to keep babies safe when temperatures soar
Infants, toddlers and young children need outdoor activity to build strong bodies and minds, but they also require extra care in the heat. In the summer months, those twin imperatives can make parents anxious. How long should kids be out? How do I know they’re OK? What should I avoid? Human-caused climate change is making […]
Study shows a blood test can help identify healthy people at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease
WASHINGTON | A blood test may predict if apparently healthy older adults are likely to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms in the next five or 10 years, researchers reported Wednesday. That information could be reassuring or terrifying, but for now it’s a potential tool to speed drug development by helping to identify and enroll high-risk people into […]
One Tech Tip: How to soothe thumb pain when texting and scrolling
NEW YORK | Do your hands hurt when you use your phone? All that texting and scrolling might be stressing out your fingers. The term texting thumb can describe a wide range of phone-related pains caused by tired-out tendons and achy joints — like general stiffness, throbbing near the knuckle and a clicking sensation when […]
Tai chi practitioners seek balance and well-being in fast-paced Beijing
BEIJING | One arm raised and the other lowered, hundreds of people move every morning like birds spreading their wings at the heart of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. It’s a movement in tai chi, a physical and philosophical practice developed more than 300 years ago that continues to resonate in China today. “The environment is […]
An experimental Alzheimer’s drug shows some promise as researchers hunt new approaches
WASHINGTON | An experimental drug might help slow early Alzheimer’s disease in a markedly different way than today’s treatments — by lowering levels of a brain protein called tau, researchers reported Tuesday. Tau is one part of a toxic duo fueling Alzheimer’s but prior attempts to develop drugs that can target the protein have failed. […]
What injured athletes can teach us about recovery and resilience
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. | Serious injuries and medical conditions disrupt people’s daily routines and can impact their confidence and sense of identity. Elite athletes know the challenges from an injury that sidelines them from their sport, requires physical rehabilitation and leaves their ability to return to competition in doubt. The process that top athletes go through […]