Author: Richard C. Trotter
If you’ve been taking an antidepressant for years, it can become just another daily ritual, as routine as doing the dishes or taking a shower. In fact, your antidepressant may feel as necessary to you as breathing or eating, because it helps you manage depression or another condition, like anxiety, chronic pain, or insomnia, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). That is: You filled your initial prescription for good reason. But as you swallow this pill day after day, year after year, you may wonder about side effects over the long term. Some changes, like an increased number on the…
If you’ve ever gone to a doctor for, say, a sprained ankle or UTI, only to sit through a chat about your weight before getting treatment recommendations, you may wonder exactly what doctors learn about obesity during medical school. After all, obesity is incredibly common: 42 percent of adults in the U.S. have obesity, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). And it’s typically considered an important health marker: Obesity is linked to serious, chronic conditions—including certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease—that lead to premature and preventable deaths, according to the Centers for Disease…
If you’re going through menopause, you’re likely eager for the hot flashes, bursts of irritability, and other tiresome symptoms to come to a halt. But unfortunately, there’s no definitive end point to menopause you can circle on the calendar. Technically speaking, menopause is the point when menstruation stops completely, marked by a year passing since your last period, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s during perimenopause—the transitional period leading up to the end of menstruation—when symptoms usually begin. And these symptoms can continue through menopause and into postmenopause—sometimes for a decade (or longer) after your last period, according to the Cleveland…
Any relationship with a new doctor begins with a dive into your family health history. After all, having a close relative with a certain condition can sometimes mean you’re more likely to have it yourself someday—including dementia. A family history of dementia is a risk factor for developing it yourself, according to the Mayo Clinic. With Alzheimer’s disease, for instance, even having an extended relative (like a cousin) with the disease is linked to an increase in your own risk, according to an April 2019 study in Neurology1. But if dementia’s floating around in your gene pool, keep in mind this is…
Pilates may look like it’s an easy modality because it doesn’t require you to crank out reps and lift mountains of weights, but that’s not the case whatsoever. The slow-and-steady modality beckons you to engage every single muscle in your body for balance, stability, and strengthening that celebrities like LeBron James, Jennifer Aniston, and Gabrielle Union say is unrivaled. Whether you’re visiting a studio nearby or using at-home Pilates equipment, there’s no denying: Pilates is one workout that’s not messing around. In Pilates, every movement comes from your core: “You are working it 100 percent of the time, and engaging…
With the Well+Good SHOP, our editors put their years of know-how to work in order to pick products (from skin care to self care and beyond) they’re betting you’ll love. While our editors independently select these products, making a purchase through our links may earn Well+Good a commission. Happy shopping! Explore the SHOP Drenched in sweat after an invigorating vinyasa flow? Fear not! A yoga mat towel can help transform your yoga mat from a slick and potentially hazardous surface to a secure, slip-free safety pad. While any towel can sop up moisture, yoga mat towels are made for the…
With the Well+Good SHOP, our editors put their years of know-how to work in order to pick products (from skin care to self care and beyond) they’re betting you’ll love. While our editors independently select these products, making a purchase through our links may earn Well+Good a commission. Happy shopping! Explore the SHOP Stanley Tucci once said, “If you find that thing you love, it doesn’t necessarily matter whether you do it well or not, you just need to do it.” For me, that something is cooking—heavy on the “love doing it,” with a dash or two of the “not…
With the Well+Good SHOP, our editors put their years of know-how to work in order to pick products (from skin care to self care and beyond) they’re betting you’ll love. While our editors independently select these products, making a purchase through our links may earn Well+Good a commission. Happy shopping! Explore the SHOP My skin and hair would like to thank the beauty industry for the following at-home beauty treatments that have been developed over the past decade and have in turn made my life *so* much easier: Differin gel, which pulled retinoids off the prescription pad and into the…
There’s nothing like the feeling of getting a good night’s sleep: you feel energised, refreshed, clear and ready to take on the day. When we sleep, our bodies repair and recharge, which helps us thrive. Getting your eight hours of rest each night is not just about clocking in the hours on the pillow. It’s about embracing the essential, life-enhancing benefits of quality shut eye. Often, this requires more than just a comfortable bed – it involves cultivating a calming atmosphere and a consistent routine that signals your body and mind that it’s time to wind down. As someone who…
You’ve been wanting to try the cardio dance class everyone’s been talking about. You sign up and pick out your cutest gym outfit—ready to slay your workout. But you walk in and you immediately regret it. The room is full of women seemingly fitter than you. Never have you felt more aware of the size of your body. This was supposed to be a fun and health-giving experience, but it’s become a serious self-loathing session. If you’ve ever experienced body comparison at the gym, you know it can dissolve your happiness in a blink. But the gym is a place…