Health
Finding good health news amidst a pandemic can be quite daunting. That’s not the case with The Optimist Daily, where positive news is in high supply. Our Health section covers the latest good news from the health sector, featuring solutions ranging from mental and physical health to immunity, nutrition, and cutting edge medical research.
Four surprising reasons to add more mushrooms to your diet
Here at The Optimist Daily, we are huge fans of mushrooms. As each year passes, more scientists are turning toward fantastic fungi to treat a range of mental health conditions and look to their impressive networks for inspiration in building complex computing devices. Mushrooms have soared in Read More...
Seaweed could supplement our protein and future biofuel
Sometimes, the answers to important questions were right under our noses the whole time… or, in this case, underwater. A Swedish sea farm is growing seaweed in abundance to show how it can become a major food staple and a potential resource for biofuel and plastics. Sea agriculture At Read More...
A pelvic floor physical therapist’s 3 tips for regular movements
We’ve all got busy schedules, so when we find ourselves held back because of some uncomfortably long wait times while sitting on the toilet, it can be more than frustrating. It’s a bit of a taboo subject, but let’s be real—everybody can relate. There are certainly some lifestyle Read More...
Woman born without a chunk of her brain shows the power of plasticity
Imagine going to the doctor for a check-up and finding out you are missing a vital part of your brain. This is what happened in 1987 to a woman — referred to as EG— who had no prior knowledge of her condition before this scan. In accounts from EG and those who know her, no unusual behavior Read More...
Study finds the upside to impostor syndrome
“Impostor Phenomenon” was originally described in a 1978 paper studying women with high-achieving careers. Since then, the impostor syndrome theory has been widely studied and developed in many ways. Symptoms include feeling like a fake and not as capable as others think, unworthiness, and low Read More...
Paid parental leave improves infants' brain development
The months after giving birth are significant for mothers, not just for the physical and emotional recovery from labor, but for the time to bond with the new child and to adjust to the major life change. There is an ongoing discussion in the United States for the implementation of national paid Read More...
3 ways to relax to the max in nature, according to science
Okay, so you’ve finally decided to carve out the time in your busy schedule to commune with nature because you’ve heard and read that spending time outside has a wide range of benefits from physical health to mental wellbeing. However, you only have access to a city park, your backyard, or even Read More...
Should schools take on the four-day workweek too?
If you follow The Optimist Daily, you’ll notice that there’s been growing interest in the benefits of shortening our workweeks from the conventional five days to four—so why shouldn’t school children adopt it, too? The Forest Gate community school in Newham, London already has three Read More...
These 6 nervine herbs support the nervous system
It’s nothing new that herbs are full of substances that support our bodies. Studies have shown some can fend off inflammation, heal wounds, and calm stress. Then there are some called nervine herbs that actually support our nervous system. What are nervine herbs? Nervine herbs are a helpful Read More...
A new study reveals how engaging activities reduce loneliness
Loneliness can be a major problem for good mental health and brain health in the long term. Many of us, though, still live alone, and the pandemic and post-pandemic culture have led to sometimes unavoidable periods of loneliness. This doesn’t need to be unhealthy, though. A new study from Read More...