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.
Suffer from chronic lower back pain? New single shot treatment could be for you
Degenerative disk disease affects around 40 percent of the population over the age of 40, and those who live with the agony of the chronic ailment understand how persistent and difficult it is to treat. However, positive results from a three-year trial point to a new, long-term approach to treating Read More...
More reasons to become a RAKtivist? Being kind to others also benefits the self
"Random Acts of Kindness" Day may be on a Friday this year, but the organization behind it hopes to remind you that being nice is an everyday endeavor. Of course, being kind to people regularly is simply a great thing to do. However, research shows that those who help others reap a lot of Read More...
Scientists find two new potential therapeutic options for ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurological illness with a poor prognosis, but two new trials suggest a brighter future. A team of scientists led by the University of Southern California (USC) discovered a gene and a protein in human cells and live mice that appear to be good Read More...
Happiness and well-being expert shares what actually makes a happier life
Happiness and well-being researcher and author of A Journey for Happiness: The Man Who Cycled to Bhutan Christopher Boyce spent years studying what makes people happy. However, he was still unsure of how to live a happy life himself, until he quit his decade-long career as a happiness academic to Read More...
Australia is the first nation to acknowledge psychedelics as medicine
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration surprised researchers by approving the psychedelic chemicals found in magic mushrooms and MDMA for use by patients with specific mental health issues, making Australia the first country to recognize psychedelics as medicines. MDMA and psilocybin MDMA Read More...
“Biological clothing”— the future of 3D lab-grown skin grafting
The science of bioengineered skin grafting is making remarkable progress thanks to a team at Columbia University, led by Asst. Prof. Hasan Erbil Abaci. Currently, bioengineered skin is only available in flat sheets, which work well for grafting onto generally smooth, featureless body regions, but Read More...
What is NEAT and why is it more effective for weight loss than exercise?
"Non-exercise activity thermogenesis," also known as NEAT, is a fancy term for the energy you expend during the day whenever you’re not sleeping, eating, or doing purposeful exercise (like sports or gym workouts). You engage in NEAT by just walking about the house or office, hurrying to catch a Read More...
3 expert-approved ways to deal with middle-of-the-night sleeplessness
We’ve all been there— lying awake in the middle of the night with nothing to keep us company except anxious thoughts and preoccupations like, “How am I going to get through my massive to-do list tomorrow if I’m sleep deprived?” Or, just as distressing, thoughts about the overwhelming Read More...
An easy hack to counteract the harmful health effects of sitting all day
Humans are not designed to spend the entire day seated. Nonetheless, billions of us do it at least five days per week, as Western work patterns dictate. The health consequences of remaining on our bums all day are significant. According to studies, those who sit for extended durations are more Read More...
Avatar's motion AI tech helps researchers detect rare diseases
Researchers are using motion capture artificial intelligence technology that brings characters to life in films like Avatar to track the onset of diseases that affect movement, according to a recent BBC article. The new system uses artificial intelligence to analyze body movements and diagnose Read More...