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.
Amsterdam strips meat and fossil fuel ads from its public spaces
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Since May 1, Amsterdam’s billboards and tram shelters no longer carry ads for burgers, petrol cars, or cheap flights. The Dutch capital is now the first in the world to ban public advertising for both meat and fossil fuel products. Where chicken nuggets Read More...
A bedtime alarm could be the only sleep habit you actually need
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You know that moment when you look up from your phone, realize it’s well past midnight, and think, “not again”? You meant to be in bed an hour ago. It just didn’t happen. For roughly one in three American adults, that’s not the occasional slip. Read More...
Chile’s maternity leave expansion led to a three-year employment boost
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In October 2011, Chile extended postnatal leave from 12 to 24 weeks for women contributing to the country’s social security system. The reform also introduced five days of paid paternity leave. A study published this year by economist Francisca Read More...
The research behind why your favorite songs make you push your workout harder
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most people assume music makes workouts feel better because it’s distracting or energizing. Both are true. But a new study found something more specific: music doesn’t raise your physical ceiling. It just delays when your brain calls it. The study: same Read More...
California sends newborns home with a month of free diapers
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM New babies go through eight to ten diapers a day, and diapers run about $100 a month. For families already stretched, that bill arrives before they’ve slept. Some parents leave diapers on too long or reuse disposables, which leads to rashes and infections. Read More...
The new TB diagnostic that could replace 150 years of microscope testing
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Tuberculosis kills more than a million people a year. It’s the world’s deadliest infectious disease. And for most of its history, the standard diagnostic hasn’t changed much since the 1880s: a phlegm sample examined under a microscope. The test has Read More...
Why experts say the hantavirus outbreak is not another COVID
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When a cluster of hantavirus cases emerged aboard the M.V. Hondius, a Dutch polar expedition vessel sailing from Argentina toward the Canary Islands, it was the kind of news that triggers comparisons to the early days of COVID-19. An outbreak on a ship. Read More...
The 3 needs that science says matter more than success and achievement
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from doing everything right. The career is advancing, the goals are being ticked off, and the productivity is real. And yet something feels off, or hollow, or impossible to name. Modern culture tends to Read More...
Australia is on track to eliminate a form of cancer entirely
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For the first time in history, a country is on the verge of eliminating a form of cancer entirely. Australia is on track to reach that milestone by 2035, and possibly sooner, through a combination of widespread HPV vaccination and a screening system that has Read More...
The three muscle groups behind knee stability, and how to train them
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Running, climbing stairs, squatting to pick something up from the floor: every one of these movements passes through the knees. It is easy to take that for granted until they start to complain. “Everybody could probably benefit from some sort of Read More...