Hi, Yahoo readers! My name is Rachel Grumman Bender, and I’m here with your weekly wellness tips to make your lives a bit healthier and happier. First things first: Before you dive into your inbox, take a slow, deep breath. If you’ve ever caught yourself feeling a bit tense and barely breathing while staring at your screen, you might be experiencing “email apnea.”
Coined by technology wellness expert Linda Stone, the term describes the unconscious habit of holding your breath or breathing shallowly while reading and responding to emails, Slack messages or texts, reports Yahoo contributor Mikaela Conley. The stress-related breathing pattern that can kick in when you’re overloaded or intensely focused — and, over time, it can impact your health and leave you feeling drained.
While you can’t stop the daily barrage of emails coming your way, you can change how your body responds to them. Simple resets throughout the day, like taking a deep breath before checking email and stepping away for short breaks, can help counter shallow breathing (or straight up holding your breath) and keep you calm.
Before you head outside for some fresh air, check your local forecast. And while you’re at it, why not see what your horoscope has in store for you? Then choose “one small thing” for a healthier and happier week ahead.
👥 Get a creativity buddy
Most things are better with a buddy — from working out to doing mundane chores — and creative projects are no exception. In her NoomaLooma newsletter, writer Piera Gelardi, author of The Playful Way, shares that writing can be lonely and filled with self-doubt, but she’s found that having a small circle of peers to swap advice and give encouragement can be a lifesaver. But you don’t need to be a writer to benefit from a creative crew. Start a small group chat or just find one friend or coworker who shares a common interest with you — whether it’s painting, baking, playing piano, knitting, you name it — and check in regularly for inspiration, troubleshooting and a morale boost.
😴 Follow the 7:1 sleep rule
Sure, routines can seem a bit boring, but when it comes to sleep, they can really pay off. That’s the philosophy behind the 7:1 sleep rule (aka “the 60-minute bedtime rule”): Choose a consistent one-hour bedtime window — say, between 10 and 11 p.m. every night — and get at least seven hours of sleep, five nights per week or more. According to Dr. Martin Hopp, medical director at Daybreak, where he treats sleep apnea, recent research shows that sticking with this routine is “associated with living approximately two to four years longer.” Dr. William Lu, medical director of Dreem Health, tells Tom’s Guide that going to bed at different times each night can disrupt your body’s circadian cycle, while following the 7:1 sleep rule helps by “reducing large changes in your schedule.”
💊 Keep taking your daily multivitamin
For years, there’s been a debate over whether most people need to take a multivitamin. Now a new study published in Nature Medicine offers a point in the supplement’s favor: It may slow down the aging process. The study found that taking a daily multivitamin for two years slowed older adults’ biological aging — the age of cells and tissues based on DNA markers — by about four months, compared to those taking a placebo. (Full disclosure: The supplements were provided by Haleon, the makers of Centrum Silver, and the company partially funded the study.) Still, this isn’t a blanket recommendation to start popping these pills. “This is not to say that if you aren’t taking a multivitamin that you must start taking a multivitamin,” Howard Sesso, the study’s senior author and the associate director of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, tells NBC News, noting the decision should be made with your health care provider. More research is needed, but Sesso says, if you’re already taking a multivitamin, “there’s no reason to stop.”
💌 Send birthday cards in batches
If you’re one of the few people (like me) who still send birthday cards via snail mail but sometimes find yourself scrambling to get the cards sent out on time, then this one’s for you: A.A. Ford, aka Amber and Adam Ford of A.A. Ford Interiors, posted a solution on their Substack: “I drop birthday cards in the mail at the beginning of each month for everyone with a birthday that month. Takes 20 minutes. Feels elite. Highly recommend.” With 2,000 likes, the post is clearly resonating. One person commented: “I’m forever feeling like I’m up against the clock to get a birthday card out on time, but sending them further in advance like this could help alleviate that feeling!” Bonus: Dropping a card in the mail is a small way to stay connected to others, which is good for your health too.
🐟 Don’t skip eating the salmon skin
Salmon skin is often the first thing people peel off and toss (guilty) — but that also means throwing away some seriously valuable nutrients. Nutrition experts say that salmon skin is safe to eat and is loaded with healthy fats that boost the fish’s already impressive health perks. “Salmon skin is not only edible but also contains higher concentrations of those helpful omega-3 fatty acids,” Dr. Uma Naidoo, director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, tells USA Today.
🦻 Wear hearing aids (if you need them) to help prevent dementia
Your hearing matters even more than you might think. In a recent video, Dr. Stephanie Rogers, who is board-certified in geriatrics and internal medicine, shared that hearing loss is the No. 1 modifiable risk factor for dementia, accounting for 7% of cases. But wearing a hearing aid, when needed, can make a big difference. Rogers says the device can slow cognitive decline by 48% in high-risk older adults. Experts are still trying to understand why, but there are some theories: Hearing loss means the brain processes less information, so it can atrophy from the lack of stimulation. Serious hearing loss can also be socially isolating, which is a risk factor for dementia. “If you or a loved one has untreated hearing loss, this is your sign to get it checked,” Rogers wrote on her Instagram.
☀️ Get 10 minutes of sunshine for gut health
Sunshine doesn’t just boost your mood and deliver a dose of vitamin D — it’s also surprisingly good for gut health and regular bowel movements. Gastroenterologist Dr. Will Bulsiewicz recommends stepping outside for at least 10 minutes in the morning and adding a little movement, like a quick walk or some stretches. “A morning walk in sunlight is one of the most underrated gut health interventions available — and it’s free,” he tells Self. The combo of light and motion helps nudge your digestion along by stimulating the muscle contractions that keep things moving — no morning coffee required.
☎️ Schedule at least one catch-up session with a friend each week
With such busy lives, it’s easy to turn around and realize it’s been weeks (or months) since you chatted — not just texted memes — with a good friend. Here’s why you should pick up that phone: Having a real conversation not only improves your mood, but it also stimulates your brain, Nilufer Ertekin-Taner, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., tells Women’s Health. Research shows these social interactions can sharpen language and memory skills while easing stress. The same study found that chatting with friends or family on a weekly or monthly basis was linked to slower memory loss. Experts recommend setting a simple goal like calling one person a week to keep those connections — and your brain — strong.
🍫 Make a heart-healthy, sweet snack
Here’s a way to satisfy a sweet craving and do something good for your heart — it even gets the stamp of approval from a cardiologist: Have some dates, dark chocolate and dried fruit either mixed together or as separate snacks. “These snacks provide fiber, healthy fats and essential minerals” without added sugar or preservatives, Dr. Colin Zhu, a cardiologist and chef, tells Parade. Dates and dried fruit deliver the fiber, while dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants — two nutrients that support heart health.
🤔 Feeling stuck? Try this trick
If you feel like you can’t move forward on a task, rather than throwing up your hands in defeat, try this helpful hack: “Whenever you feel stuck, start with the assumption that you have three options,” Liz Moody, author of 100 Ways to Change Your Life, shared on her Substack. “Suspend your disbelief for a minute, and just say, ‘OK, I have three options here. What are they?’” Moody explains that this fresh framing can snap you out of negative thinking, “where we come up with a whole list of reasons why we can’t do something, or why changes we want aren’t available to us.” Shifting focus to what things could be done “puts us into problem-solving mode, where we can actually come up with creative solutions,” says Moody.