This week's must-read:
- How to eat that suits you lower cholesterol
- I can't stop coughing.I have a persistent cough This virus season is exhausting.
- Is salt that melts ice bad for dogs? How to keep your feet safe on snowy days.
- Scientists may have the key to treating tinnitus. retrain your brain
- Do you feel bloated after a flight? We asked an expert Air travel affects the body.
- Does your old self refuse to give up the car keys? Here's how to plan:
The most important nudge words for 2024
Ever since I started choosing nudge words to start a new year, I've been amazed at how quickly positive changes have happened. When my nudge word was “growth,” I started a new job, moved to a new city, and even attended graduate school. After choosing the word balance, I decided to get a dog. As any dog lover knows, finding a balance between work and home life is necessary, even if it's just getting out of the office and going for a longer walk with your four-legged friend.
Nudge words are words that reflect your values, intentions, and vision for the coming year. This year we're thrilled that thousands of you tried our Nudge Words Generator, an interactive tool to help you find the right nudge word. We have tallied the words that were chosen most frequently this year. Here are some of your top 10 favorites and what our readers have to say about why they chose them.
1. Balance: “I feel that balance is all-encompassing: peace of mind, being kinder, and nourishing my soul and those I love.Balance is something I have learned this year to protect me from the external elements of life. It feels like a much-needed umbrella.”
2. Resilience: “As I went through a divorce and my children moved out, I felt more resilient. I wanted to be able to say, 'I'm here, I'm going to pick myself up and move on.'”
3.Currently: “I want to appreciate my life and all the little moments that happen instead of always thinking about what's next.”
4. Happiness: “Everything I want to achieve is connected to my happiness.”
5. Thrive: “It inspires me to ask myself every day what I can do to grow, especially for my health, so I can grow in other areas of my life.”
6. Shine: “That's ambitious. As we enter the new year, I want to spend it with an even brighter spirit.”
7. Prosperity: “I want to grow. I'm 73 years old, but there's a lot I want to learn.”
8. Commit: “I chose commit because I felt it was the anchor word for the changes I wanted to make in 2024.”
Finally, my personal nudge word for 2024 is “fun.” Although this word has not been a popular one among readers (this year he was ranked 134th), it has already paid dividends for me. I say yes to more social invitations, play chess with my daughter, recently made weekend plans with out-of-town friends, and this year I'm planning my first real vacation in a while.
If you missed this year's Nudge Word Challenge, it's not too late. You can try out the Nudge Word Generator at any time, and you can also choose a new word if you feel the word you've chosen doesn't work. The real value of the nudge word exercise lies in the thoughtfulness and intention with which you choose your words.
This is your brain during exercise
We all wish we could slow down the aging process. This week, Your Move columnist Gretchen Reynolds shows us how. An exciting new study of more than 10,000 brain scans shows a link between exercise and brain volume. A larger brain generally means better health, and this study suggests that exercise may slow memory loss and cognitive decline.
What's really interesting about this study is that you don't have to be a long-distance runner to reap the benefits of exercise. The study showed that people who exercised just 25 minutes a week (less than 4 minutes a day) had larger brain volumes than those who exercised less.
You can find out more by reading the full article.
If you want to hear more from Gretchen, check out her engaging live chat this week. She answered her questions about how the 93-year-old rower stays fit and shared her insights about her own athletic challenges. Here's the chat.
The sexual health checkup you didn't know you needed
“Being sexually active as you get older is healthy and correlates with greater enjoyment of life,” writes Ask a Doctor columnist Trisha Pasricha.
“In fact, 40 percent of adults 65-80 years old About 10% of people are sexually active Over 90 years old I am,” she said. “But STDs spare no one. Few people I've ever seen who tested positive for STDs were expecting the results. And… From 2007 to 2017, the number of STD infections among adults 65 and older more than doubled.”
To learn more about taking care of your sexual health as you age, read the full column.
Here are a few things that made us happy this week.
- More lessons from a 93-year-old rower. This week, fitness columnist Gretchen Reynolds hosted an engaging live chat. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Check here.
- Why it's okay to say no to social invitations. Really. I'm just saying no.
- of best pictures This week's Washington Post features penguin parents and their amazing “holy” baths.
- What is French blonde?Apparently so Taylor Swift's favorite cocktail.
- Behind the promotion of padel are pickleball enthusiasts, privileged cousin
- Can your dog help you? (That wasn't the case in my case.) Fortunately, Ruby the dog understood her mission.
- Need more advice? Our January Reset Project all the answers you need About home, health, food, travel, etc.
Want to learn more about “fun” snacks? Our Brain Matters Columnist Richard Sima explains. Yyou can too Read this story as a manga.
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