Today’s Solutions: May 19, 2024

Lifestyle

Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.

two men having engaging conversation

Practice mindful listening to get the most out of your conversations

When engaging in conversations (and especially arguments) with others, most people tend to react immediately or impulsively rather than intentionally trying to understand what is being said. Or perhaps when people are speaking, you may find yourself zoning out or getting distracted and not Read More...

white Senior man has fun while taking outdoor walk

Study confirms you slow degenerative aging by picking up the pace

It’s no surprise that maintaining an active lifestyle is linked to staving off age-related diseases such as heart damage, memory loss, and cognitive decline. However, researchers are zoning in on specific activities that we can easily incorporate into our life that will directly slow down Read More...

Woman hand holdging box garbage for recycle.

5 rules that will make you a better recycler

According to a 2019 Covanta survey, a staggering 62 percent of Americans worry that they are recycling incorrectly. To make recycling easier and more effective, governments and companies will have to work together to reduce the amount of trash we produce while devising more responsible ways to Read More...

happy asian woman works from home on laptop

Beat procrastination and feel good at work with this mental habit

Procrastination is often seen as an aspect of poor time management, but research shows that as associate professor of psychology at Carleton University Tim Pychyl states: “Procrastination is not a time-management problem, it’s an emotion-management problem.” Even though bringing up Read More...

zero-waste back pack for travel

7 tips for zero-waste air travel

While traveling by air isn’t the most eco-friendly means of transportation, sometimes it's the only viable option to get us where we need to go in a highly globalized world. However, even if you do travel by plane, there are still ways to reduce the environmental impact of your trip (that go Read More...

Tibetan singing bowl.

3 benefits of sound healing to bring your body to vibrational balance

Music is a powerful force that can evoke all kinds of feelings and responses within our bodies. Scientists are only just starting to understand how our brains process these melodic sounds, with numerous studies looking into music's capabilities in treating human ailments. With that in mind, it’s Read More...

APA, AAPI...

APA, AAPI, APIDA or AANHPI? The history and significance of the “Asian American” identity crisis

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” ― Lao Tzu By Arielle Tiangco Weeks ago, seated cross-legged on my couch, I watched the small bobbing faces of my colleagues speaking within the confines of their equally-sized zoom rectangles. We were in our scheduled editorial Read More...

Different fresh wild mushrooms in wicker bowl on black wooden table.

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...

close up of woman's feet while sitting on the toilet

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...

Star trails during the Lyrid Meteor Shower, April 2020, Herefordshire, UK.

How to catch the Lyrid meteor shower this Earth Day

Earth Day is an international celebration of our beautiful planet and a reminder of what steps we need to take to save it. The date marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement which started in 1970. This Earth Day, the stars have aligned (so to speak) to bring us the Read More...